first flight

 

Piper had her first day at nursery ... she waited, stewing all summer, to get to this day.  Last week she was beside herself with frustration as her big brothers both got to toddle back to school.  Her daddy was even off work so we were all able to enjoy this momentous occasion together ...

After dropping the boys off at school, nipping home for the inevitable forgotten item(s) and returning them to the boy in question, before the bell, by the by .... we trundled back up the road, and were still early for her first day.  Her response was to take the car keys out my pocket and attempt a bit of B&E before class!

As predicted, when the moment came for us to leave, she didn't even give us a backwards glance :)

We were asked to return early today to pick her up, and it didn't go unnoticed that she did not want to leave (quelle surprise?!).  However, she skipped up the road, in fact zipped, so she could show us and her uncle Stevie how fast she could run.  Sadly she fell over, and scudded her wee schnozz off the tarmac :( A loving hug/carry home from mum did the trick though.

Despite all her activity and her apparent tiredness, she still managed to keep up with us until almost 8pm, as we all plugged into the xbox to play Lego Rock Band.  We had a great laugh with Taede on bass guitar, Stuart on lead guitar, Ewan on drums and Piper and I on vocals ... it is interesting ... but mostly fun, especially when whoever has the mic goes to the loo with it still switched on and we can all hear everything! :) Piper invariable pulls out the leads to both the mic and the guitar, but you know, apart from all that ... we had such a great laugh :) 

Spontaneous crazyness is always good for the heart ;)

maaaaan

where does the tempus fugit to?

I thought August so far had taken the amount of time it was supposed to so far.  Despite being busy with little things here and there, children returning to school and work taking up much of my time (I am finding it takes longer and longer to recover from the weekend's efforts)
But now I return to blog-land and notice it's been quite a while since my last post.

Piper starts nursery tomorrow, so she has her bag packed (ok, has had it packed for a week, and I'm buggered if I know what she's done with it! ;) ) and a new outfit to get dirty :)

I made some cute little phone pouches ... they seemed a hit :)

 

I got a few orders so will be busy with it all for a while, though I do have a bead soup and a Buead Buddies forum challenge to complete.  I can't find the time to do it all without guilt at the moment! :/  

Sigrid and Lisa are coming over for a swfit supper and probably/possibly some beading on Tuesday night ... I was going to stuff some mushrooms as Sigrid is severely curtailing her carb intake, but I saw some scumptious looking pasta today so I shall have pasta with red pesto, salad, and I am thinking that I shall make some bread ...and I am considering making the cheeseless cheesecake for afters ... 

I was also planning to re-jig the furniture in the living room to fit the dining table in for the winter... but I think that trays will be the answer, I like the space I have :) (cluttered and toy befuddled though it may be ;) )

I missed a night out last night by being responsible and going to work instead of taking a holiday ... I wonder what I missed, I am certain those who were out enjoying themsleves wouldn't have missed the enormous workload we had (and failed to deal with - grrrrrrrrrr) :)  My body is now paying for it, but I feel I shall sleep tonight xx

Earlier Vintage

now I can reveal the bag, the one that kick started this recent compulsion with sewing bags of every persuasion.


Lynn Davy very kindly sent me some beautiful vintage Sanderson fabric and requested I make a bag ... I'd never made a bag before, far less used such precious fabric. It had been a curtain at one point and had belonged to an aunt who had recently passed away.  So I had to be certain I could do it justice.  I was scared, apprehensive and very reluctant to start, didn't want to cut it, didn't want to balls it up and procrastinated a fair bit whilst other things that were more pressing came in and out my life.  I vowed on my return from our holiday week away I would make a start, and a mock up of less important material.  Buoyed by that success, I wasted no time and started the bag. 

I made an arse of ordering ironmongery having mised up 2.5 inches with 2.5cm (A common male/microsoft issue it would appear) and had to await the right sized buckle to make an adjustable strap. 

Then Lynn was on holiday when it was completed, so a nailbiting wait ensued until her return and then I was able to post it out.  I believe it was a triumph, as Lynn seems rather happy with the result :)

I hope you are too ... I was thinking of making up a blog tutorial/pattern for it here ... would anyone be interested? :D

I also made a cute little evening bag to go with JoJo's shoes ...

And this was the result of another recycling effort ... with her favourite colour of blue as the lining

Hoping that JoJo has lots of fun with it ... :)

Vintage

I've always had a thing for vintage stuff, jewellery, fabric and clothes.  When it was my final year disco (prom, we never had no steeeenking prom) I wore a rust coloured velvet dress my mum had made and worn herself in the sixties!

I've recently fell into recycling materials and such, having always had a knack for purchasing WAY too much in the past and having a lurve of raking through charity shops! 

Lisa (Oblibby) recently lent me this book - which as a resource is fabulous for bags -  the only pattern of which I am none too fond is on the front cover! :D

I really think I am going to have to buy it! :) Inside there is a cute little Dorothy bag that I thought I'd have a bash at, if only to work out how on Earth it is fashioned.  This is my first ever zipper insert and I've got to admit that I didn't use the pattern, just freehanded onto the fabric and flew by the seat of my undies! From what I can tell (the instructions seemed a little hazy here) the bag in the book fastens itself by looping the loop over a fabric handle.  I already had a nice chunky 80's bangle I wanted to use as a handle, and the loop was never going to fit over it, so I had to bodge up a compromise.  The book also disguises this handle conjoin with a big bow on one bag and a rather dashing yet also humungous rose on another. I quite like my vintage button though, which allows the bag to open into a crescent (ok Ewan, bananaaaaaaa) shape.  

I have another small piece of this scarf fabric left, and I'm holding out for a few offcuts of a camel coat so I think another bag may be in order .... though I *do* have some black fabric.... hmmm decisions decisions! :D

These bags are taking me roughly an afternoon to make from start to finish, so i think I might just be getting the hang of it ;) I'm getting the Piper seal of approval!

My next bag project is forming in my head ... in fact it's been in my head for a while, a nice little simple envelope clutch bag that is making my head ache.  Perhaps that will be better out of my head and into reality! I really need to get Marcia DeCoster's Urchin pattern for the embellishment though... I plan on having that either dangle from one side with some fringy embellishments or make it the clasp ... but you know me, everything could change on a whim! :D

Talking of whims ... I recently won the opportunity to bead this button for a Bead Buddies competition.

The project I chose to match this was a textural, embellished rope.  As it was pictured on the forum reminded me so very much of Picasso ... but now the button is in my hand I feel so much drawn to the influence of Gustav Klimt .... but I am bound by my original suggestion and boy is that going to be a challenge in, and of, itself! :)

I'm also going to introduce me to my Bead Soup Blog Party Partner ... (try saying that when one is pickled!)drum roll please ......  Liz Deluca.  I am already on it as far as looking out some pretty bits and pieces.  So it is another trip to the Post Orifice for the other half!

busy!

I've been a busy girl lately, and have loved it!  It isn't often I can say that about things I have to make, but I've felt I have throroughly enjoyed the pressure :)

I finally finished Lynn's bag, but I don't want to reveal it until the lady herself has seen it ...
so make do with a photo of the fabric!

I also managed to send out my O:TTBS bracelet swap and am itching to reveal it and the beautiful one I received!  And find out who it was from! :)

I'm fairly excited that I finished this bracelet - I had gotten so far before Tuesday evening's Bead 'n' Banter but needed to buy some more pearls to finish it.  Of course I forgot one of the colours of crystals so couldn't embellish it ... I turned instead to doing a bracelet for the Bead Buddies' Monthly Colour Challenge.  Whilst at the B'n'B I had a eureka moment and decided to attempt a ring!

I was over at Sigrid's on Wednesday afternoon where I finished the bracelet off after bending needles, and snapping thread a go-go. My Turkish Delight bracelet still had to wait as I'd forgotten the alternative colour of crystals AGAIN! But I had a very nice afternoon with my girly, getting all caught up and being fed lovely food!

I posted out the doggie doorstop and the shoulder bag that Flossy-Lou-Lou and Laura won on Bead Buddies Pass The Parcel Draw - I was so silly I'd completely forgotten that I'd won Linda's beautiful treasure box and beads for that competition and was only after a nudge from Sooz I flew into a panic!   So congrats ladies, hope you like them and that you all forgive me for being such a ditz! :D

I was out last Saturday night with the girls and guys from work and we hit the town... after a much enjoyed dinner at Wetherspoons (some of which was liquid, natch!) we went for karaoke, but detoured via another bar for shots .... I had my first (and second) Jager Bomb and turned up too late for any singing slots ... just as well, because we would have blown away the competition! ;) We ended up at one of the local discotheque whereupon I got a fairly ok groove on, and then got dropped off (very generously, thank you Liz and sober significant other ;) ) at the end of my street! At 2 ay emm! :D  And didn't even suffer much on Sunday! Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this story is Jojo had on a pair of beautiful shoes and I offered to make a bag to match them! :D

I have a lovely pair of charity store find trousers that will make a fairly cute bag to match these stunners, and thanks to a loan of a brill wee book from Lisa Broadley I'm all good to go.  I also found a lovely couple of tartan scarves and a bracelet that I'm going to use as a handle for one ...

Look what came in the mail today!  Beautiful hand tatted lace from Pammi who is also a Beady Buddie :D Thank you Pammi, it is beautiful and will look adorable on the project that is still in my head :D x I'm such a lucky lady!

My final reveal is something I'm really chuffed with ... forgive the state of my hands etc but I adapted the Turkish Delight bracelet pattern to form a very blingy cocktail ring.  I like my rings ... precioussssssss :D  I'm thinking about doing a tut for them, as I've been encouraged by the lovely ladies at Bead 'n' Banter!

That's all for now folks! ;)