uniquely snowflake

I'm a little obsessed with...

2012-01-19T15:02:00.001Z

..Fungi.

I see growth everywhere, spring into light tucked away in corners, growing on logs, in tree, popping up from the dewy grass.

Life, nature, growth.

Circles, rhythms, patterns.

Amanda.x.

Blowing Off The Cobwebs

2012-01-10T21:45:00.001Z

Stuart and I had the chance to go for a long walk to Wreay Woods, without the children, we had a lovely morning meandering along the river bank and seeing all the signs that Spring is not far away.

Stu got a great camera for Christmas, a Canon EOS 550D which means we got some beautiful shots of the new growth. I especially loved the Fungi pictures the one below being my favourite.

He managed to sneak a couple of me too, but this one is not too bad.

Take some time out this week to look around, the world around you is waking up from it's Winter snooze a little early, let's hope the mild weather stays.
Amanda.x.

Epiphany

2012-01-06T15:30:00.000Z

Epiphany: The sudden realization or comprehension of the essence of something.

So this blog post hopefully fills in my absence from before Christmas, not Christmas is normally a very hectic time for me and this year was no exception. It's normally the best chance of getting overtime at work(Monsoon), I had my own makes and commissions to finish as well as doing all my shopping and cards etc....
I love Christmas but never actually rest long enough to completely enjoy it, all I wan to do on the day is sleep.
However this year something happened, my cousin Lesley died very unexpectedly she was 38 and left behind a loving husband and 6 young children 2 days before Christmas. She was a wonderful person and it was heartbreaking to think of her family without her.

It made me concentrate on what actually matters, my own family, so every spare moment I had I tried to spend more time with them than doing for others, we made paper chains, I enjoyed the wonderful biscuits Hubby made with them, I tried to relax when I got home from work so I wasn't so tired when I was with them, I hugged them harder. I loved them more.
So sorry blogging world I was too busy to talk but I had things to do, we had Santas to visit, things to bake, gifts to make and people to appreciate; I'm sorry to say I didn't blog about any of them..
This year I enjoyed Christmas because I had the realization that it wasn't about gifts,cards,posh food, drink but family, just sat round chatting enjoying each other, and that is exactly what I did.

I hope you enjoyed your time together this year.
Amanda.x.

Meet the Maker - Amanda Mercer

2011-12-07T09:59:00.000Z

One of the most beautiful stands at Country Living was that of Amanda Mercer, who won the Editors Choice Award and her ceramic star decoration was used in the promotional adverts for the show.

More exciting is that she lives in my home town, I remember seeing her graduation show in 2009 at University of Cumbria and thinking what intricate work it was then, it's wonderful to see how far she's come.

The stand was well laid out and oozed vintage Christmas, I think I'll be having a tree like this in my house this year, her decorations looked so delicate.

Yet by far my favourite item is these ceramic earrings, I couldn't get close enough and her stand was packed out but they have vintage bird and insect pictures on them.

Her designs would make great Christmas gifts but I'd be too tempted to keep them all for myself.

Amanda's site can be found here.

Thanks for reading

Love Amanda.x.

Why I'm a bad crafting blogger?

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000Z

Because I keeping making things and not showing the process before it's done.

I got this far on making Maisie a crochet cardigan before going "Bugger I should have blogged that", and there was plenty to blog as it's the first crocheted garment I've ever made.

A quick run down would be I picked the pattern, printed it, started the first line of cardigans bobbles and decided I didn't like it, threw pattern away, and made up the rest.

I got this far before even thinking to try it on Daughter.

Yes I'm that type of crafter, but thankfully it does indeed fit and looks quite cardigan like.

I have the yoke to finish and Maisie would like little sleeves added.

I may have to try and work out how I made it now, so I can write it up as a pattern.

Also another crafting success but forgotten in the blogging write up was my little Mistletoe brooch, it took few goes to get this right, the hardest bits being the little bobble berries, they can end up looking quite big or messy. The brooch is now for sale in my Maisielu shop here.

I think it would make a nice gift for any Winter loving friend or relative, I have one on my jacket and it gets lots of comments.

Thank you for reading,

love Amanda.x.

Country Living Christmas Show part 2

2011-12-02T19:23:00.001Z

This post is very photo heavy, but the Country Living show was all about the sights and sounds, so I can give you a taste of one of those at least.

This stand had the most amazing colourful angora wraps and beautiful headbands woven with flowers and gemstones, I really wished I'd bought one now. The lady doesn't seem to have a website but can be contacted here.

There was a beautiful array of food on offer. Although this stall which had an amazing selection of Mediterranean food; was responsible for The Feta incident. My friend Mhairi was offered a sample of Feta as we walked past, I also had some and it was lovely, however she'd never had it before and I can quite honestly say I've never seen a look of horror more complete, caused by eating something. Poor thing I thought she was going to throw up on me, which was unfortunate for the Belgium chocolate lady who's stand we where then stood by. She kept saying "please don't be sick in front of my stand", Mhairi recovered her composure and the chocolate lady gave her some samples to take the taste away but I don't think she'll try feta again soon.

More beautiful food on show, this stall was showing you how to make these wonderful Christmas cupcakes, with local classes taking place in Glasgow.

Ah Demijohn, what lovely glass bottles you have, as well has being happy to give out lots of samples. They had a great selection of liqueurs, wines and whiskeys but I still think my Damson Gin tastes better.

A huge light up tree sparkled in one of the furniture display areas.

The displays were beautifully done, as someone who does a lot of visual merchandising they were very inspirational.

This is Sue Quinn and it was great to see her actually crafting her unique little handmade bears and other animals, she was sewing a small mouse but I especially loves this basket of hedgehogs on her stand.

Rustique Interiors reminded me of my Grandma's house a colourful mish mash of patterns and textures. The patchwork chair below looked so comfy, I was very temped to nap in after all the show walking.

Christmas design and inspiration was on display in every small space around the fair.

It's always great to see Gillian Kyles stand at fairs, her products always look amazing quality and really takes me back to my Grandmas kitchen, the labels make me so nostalgic for those times and have great appeal.

This stand needs a mention, Caurnie Soap Company it's real asset I'm afraid I can't pass on, it was the smell. Oh it was glorious, his whole stand looked like a old potting shed they were selling handmade soaps and natural beauty products, and we could just not stop smelling them.

Well we all had a wonder time at the Country Living Christmas Show, so if you need Christmas Gift ideas please click on my links or go here for the exhibitors list and find something beautifully handmade for a friend this year.

Have a happy handmade Christmas this year

love Amanda.x.

December 1st - So it begins.

2011-12-01T11:30:00.000Z

Merry December 1st, in my house this is officially the start of Christmas in that the decorations begin to appear around the house. Hubby doesn't like it looking too Christmassy so early, so I tend to start with just a few pieces and build up until Tree time.

I've had these tiny silver angels for a few years bought from a little gift shop in Carlisle, their little metal bodies shine against the lights.

My crocheted snowflakes, I have a few of these in various sizes so they tend to appear and move around normally ending up on the Tree.

This year is the first year that we've had a fireplace, which is wonderful. I've found the children looking up it with my sons Thomas the Tank Engine Torch, to see if they though Santa would fit down, they're still not sure that he would and have decided he'd probably come in the front door using his magic key,like in our other house(oh the lies we tell).

Maisie and I spent today making paper chains, I wanted to do Christmas crafts and focus on making things for Christmas rather than everything being bought, my Mum still has things we made as children and it gives me a really warm feeling when I see them at this time of year. I bought these paper chains from Marks and Spencer for £3.50, I could have cut the paper out and got some pritstik but she was too impatient and wanted to be making, it's rare at this time of year to get time together to just enjoy a simple thing like that so I wasn't going to argue.

These are my new Christmas lights, waiting to go on the Tree I love the green/blue colours. Behind is the children's Playmobil calender, they have a chocolate one too but I liked the idea of them building up a winter scene which they could get out each year.

Have you started your Christmas build up yet, or are you a last minute person?

Love Amanda.x.

Country Living Christmas Show, Glasgow.

2011-11-30T19:22:00.001Z

Well I've been so busy with shop job work I've not had the chance to blog about the wonderful

Country Living Christmas Show which was held in Glasgow, they do quite a few shows all over the country.

This was extra special though as my friend Catherine Ball was having a space there and had asked if she could take some of mine and another friends stock too. This post shows that stand and gives you links were you can buy from these lovely ladies, but I'm going to do some other posts showing stands of note.

This is Catherine unpacking stock quick as possible as it was selling out quickly, I loved her space using antique furniture, especially the letterpress tray she uses to display rings and small items in.

You can see some of my stock here, my crocheted covered tea light holders sold well.

The drawers attached to the wall worked really well showing off the pieces but making them very shop-able, Catherines pieces are all unique and incorporate laces relief texture or are stitched, which is beautiful.

To keep up with Catherines latest news and products click the link here, Stitched Ceramics.

Above you can see her amazing hand stitched vessels, I love the flower design.

I think my crocheted pieces work really well along side the textures of her ceramics, here you can see my Hurricane Lamp, I've only made the one so far, but think they could make lovely wedding centre pieces.

Showing my pieces here, tea light holders, purses, cosy cups; it was great to hear feedback from customer at this, and other stalls. I'm thinking of going back next year but with my own stand.

Below is a suitcase of treasure from the other seller in the stall Natalie from Flossy Teacake, she is certainly a crafter to watch out for. Her work has instant appeal styled from her childhood memories, using mixed media, she creates amazing 3D models of buildings and townscapes.

Click the link for her facebook page, Flossy Teacake.

The atmosphere around all the stalls was amazing, and it was great to see that even in the grim economic climate we currently have people still treasure the quality and uniqueness of the handmade.

Hope to be there next year,

Amanda.x.

We will not forget.

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000Z

Picture drawn by my five year old Daughter Maisie.

In Remembrance

Amanda.x.

Lucas David Ryan-A birth story.

2011-11-09T21:11:00.000Z

Today is my son Lucas' birthday, he has turned 3 or in his words "Big Boy now" and this is his birth story.

When I found out I was pregnant for the second time I was excited but also full of worry.

However these are normal worries, and my pregnancy went great to start with, but it also felt completely different I wasn't sick just felt it, I ached all over, felt grumpy and was exhausted constantly.

I joked that I must be having a boy, as it was causing me trouble already.

At my 20 week scan it turned out I was right.

We went through the usual processes at this time, thinking of names (I'm a One Tree Hill fan, shh don't tell Stuart), trying to explain to Maisie why Mummies tummy was getting bigger, trying to sell our house upon the realisation that a small 2 bed house maybe a tight squeeze(we managed there for another 3 years) and figuring out how money would stretch.

However another problem began that made these issues pale in comparison, at a routine midwife meeting at about 6 months they measured my bump as usual but it was coming up too big. I worried my baby would be huge as Maisie was no small potato at 9lb 60z , and your second is meant to be bigger.

I gave extra blood samples and was booked in for another appointment a week later. However at that appointment with a different midwife I measured small, very small. Much confusion followed, they got a second midwife to measure me, I was told to go for a walk and come back to do it all again, it was still small.

The midwife took blood samples and I was booked in for a scan at hospital.

I was about 7 months pregnant when I had my next scan, it was lovely to see my little child on the screen again and to me he looked just fine, but no the hospital said he seemed too small, I was devastated and blamed myself, it must have been that glass of wine I had or not eating the right foods.

So many ways to blame yourself.

I was sent for a blood cord scan in the maternity unit a week later, where the midwife told me me everything was okay, and although my baby looked skinny he was in fact lanky and was looking grand and made me another appointment at scanning unit for 2 weeks later, told me not to worry and sent me on my way.

Ahh big sighs of relief, until at that scan I was told yet again that my baby was going to be small, I'd planned a home birth but was advised that I would be unsuitable as baby would probably need an incubator. They had no conclusions as to why he was small, I was still exhausted all the time (ahh you see it all so clearly in hindsight) but trying to eat right and rest even with another child to chase round. I was sent for another cord scan, cord and placenta was fine, midwife told me she didn't understand what they were talking about, yes my bump was measuring small but on the scan Lucas measured up fine. We were left not knowing what to believe. We had two different departments telling us two different things, and no one else to turn too.

The consultants I saw recommended I was induced as they felt something was hindering his growth but couldn't figure out what, and he's grow better on the outside. His was the thing I dreaded yet again an other induction, a forced birth but this time with a baby that they said would be about 41/2-5 lbs max.

My induction went exactly as it did with Maisie, a long drawn out process to speed up a birth unnaturally, great fun, not. I did feel more in control this time though, and felt more confident to move birth positions. The whole process, started at 2pm was done by 8.30am the next morning.

I'm very grateful for my lovely midwife who knew I wanted out of hospital after the birth as quick as possible, so when I was in the last stage and completely lost it begging for pain relief just nipped my leg and told me I'd feel better, I did, I thought I'd had diamorphine.

Lucas was born 2 minutes later and I wasn't knocked out with drugs, I was wide awake and feeding what turned out to be a 6lb 11oz lanky boy, I wonder how big he would have been had he had 2 more weeks inside.

I really wished the midwife's years of experience was taken over the judgement of a consultant.

I didn't care I had my beautiful baby, who was safe and well and I was introducing him to Maisie 3 hours later while having bacon butties at my in laws. Look at those skinny long legs.

About 3months after his birth I went to my GP, I was still exhausted I know 2 children, family and home to deal with, but I just didn't feel right. She checked my notes and the first question she asked was what iron supplements are you taking? Well none I said, she disappeared into her notes again. Apparently the last tests taken at the midwife clinic showed I was very low in iron(the hospital had never received these results) but previous tests showed I was fine so they went on these results. I was never asked for more. My levels were that low she was surprised I'd not been required to go to hospital, she was really shocked to find I'd given birth while that anaemic, she gave me iron tablets and felt grand and strong again in a matter of days. I wish this problem had been sorted earlier, maybe I'd have had a whopper of a boy, maybe I'd have felt stronger and more positive in my post pregnancy period.
However I can't complain, look at my beautiful boy, he's amazing and I'm thankful he joined my family.

I love you Lucas.x.

From Mummy.

Not all pregnancy's have a happy outcome. I was reminded of this when Stuarts cousin lost her unborn baby girl at 9months, the sadness of this event and the effect it will have on their lives is truly heartbreaking, nothing will ever make up for their missing child.

However there are ways to support the families who go through this loss, Sands is a stillbirth and neonatal death charity, giving support to those affected by the death of a child, helping health professionals offer correct support and researching the causes of stillbirth.

It gets no government support, relying on just donations to keep this amazing group going.

Mia Giggle's page is here if you wish to donate http://www.justgiving.com/miagiggle

Thank you.x.

Barbie/Disney Doll holder.

2011-11-08T13:59:00.004Z

As a Mum finding your Daughters collection of Disney/Barbies like this not uncommon. Which is a shame after spending all that money on them, you can't see them, also their hair goes crazy. After this picture was taken I spent 20 minutes combing Rapunzels hair and it's still all matted.

So I came up with a plan, I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this but I bought a over the door shoe holder from Dunelm £3.99, and a fabric pen. I liked the plain colour but they did have bright blue and pink too.

I wrote the names of the dolls Maisie already has, leaving gaps for future dolls, I kept them even at each side so the holder didn't lean. I used the last row for shoes, clothes and accessories.

Then I got some glue, flowers and buttons out.

This a job your child could do themselves, and could be a great way to spend their day.

Ta da, a completed doll holder.

No tangle dolls, and you can see them all and know they're all safe.

A good way to help a 5 year learn how to look after her treasures.

Hope this was helpful

Amanda.x.

Remember Remember....

2011-11-07T09:02:00.000Z

Bonfire Night in Carlisle

Every year Carlisle holds a huge Bonfire and Fireworks show, it's become very famous with people travelling the country to come and see it. Over the past few years we've missed it, mostly due to having very small children who don't like being cold or loud bangs.

This year however my daughter Maisie really wanted to go, she was a little worried about how loud it would be, but decided with a big hat to cover her ears we'd be fine.

She's five now, and really enjoys having a late night, it's an exciting change for her.

However the weather had different ideas for the evening, a thick blanket of fog descended upon Carlisle, above is the childrens play park which Maisie thought was brilliant to play on in the spooky fog.

The bonfire started which looked magical through the tree line, however adding smoke to the fog just turned the whole sky a bright orange, meaning the fireworks just matched the background.

Can you spot the fireworks? Luckily we could see a few, better than the camera picked it up.

Maisie and I had an awesome night, drinking hot chocolate and cuddled up in the dark.

I think she really enjoyed the event, she loved that we were out really late and we celebrated with late night chips on the way home like all nights out should end.

Hope your Bonfire weekends were safe and fun filled.

Amanda.x.

Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

2011-11-06T11:53:00.000Z

During my friends hen weekend in Manchester, I was very excited to find that that weekend Manchester was also holding the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair. So with massive hangovers I dragged my friends off to find it on the Sunday morning. I was little worried that the name may actually big the fair up a little too much, calling yourself Great is quite a statement but gladly I was not disappointed.

The standard of work was amazing with far too many great makers to name them all,click on the link above to look them all up, but some really caught my attention.

The Manchester Craft & Design Centre, is a great place and I normally visit them every time I'm in Manchester, so it was nice to see them here. They're based in the Northern Quarter of the city, and are open design studios filled with unique works of art and crafts. They also have an awesome cafe.

Gemma Truman I love glass, the weight the lustre, it captures me every time. I have a small collection of Caithness glass given to me on special occasions, so Gemma's stand had me hooked as soon as I saw it.

Her stand felt very organic, and although her droplets were beautiful, with droplets of colour running through their centres, it was the hanging Kiota nests that captured me. These are based on a community of nests created by African weaver birds, and the workman ship of both the glass and weaving was stunning.

I'd love to have a community of these hanging from a window in my home.

Alix Swan This makers stand captured the child in me, her Red Ballet shoes badge caught my eye, but then her dolls, the mini books, stories in a box, wow, just wow. I expected the small stories to suddenly leap from there boxes and dance in front of us.

Her stand was a wonderful treasure trove of fairy tales and imagination, I think some friends will be getting Christmas presents from her site this year.

Caroline Kirton Her smile shone out from the back, which instantly made me want to talk to her. Too often I find it hard to talk to makers about their work, I'm nosey I want to know why they choose their subjects. I love talking to makers and was glad that Caroline was so open. I saw some of her work in the reception area, machine embroidery using vintage fabrics to create a story through the image.

I love machine embroidery work, but a lot of it is very stylised and basic in it's feel.

In Caroline's work she uses the stitches instead of a pencil to convey her feelings, it had a very young and graphic quality the likes of which you'd see in a fashion magazine, and to start with I thought she was a young artist conveying their own experiences. It was lovely to realise she was using her work to make a connection with her teenage daughters, and view the world through their worries. Her work really appealed to me, their concerns are exactly the same as I had as a teen, and even though my daughter is still very young, I know one day I'll have to deal with her having these issues too.

I hope Caroline's daughters are really proud of their Mum, she's an amazing artist.

There's was so any wonderful artists, I may mention some others soon, but in the meantime go look at these lovely makers sites. Just in time for Christmas.

Amanda.x.

Happy Samhain

2011-10-31T21:19:00.000Z

Samhain is another name for Halloween, the word means Summer Sunset or Summers End

Our pumpkin, carved by my lovely Husband Stu.

Before the fancy dress, sweet sellers and merchandisers got hold of this day it was traditionally celebrated as a harvest festival, and a way to honour the dead. It was the time when you choose which livestock to kill and did a stocktake of the grains store, and then beginning of Winter. Traditional feast were had using seasonal foods,of beets, apples, corn, nuts, pumpkins, cider, mulled wines and gingerbreads. A table place was often set for departed loved ones, and they were toasted, made part of the proceedings.

Being close to the Scottish Border means a lot of their strong Celtic customs are kept here too. When I was little we carved a Turnip, a tradition from Jack of Lantern and then went out Guising in a handmade costume around our small village, I remember being given fruit and money but never sweets.

Another custom was to divine your future Husband, I remember my Nana trying to show me one Halloween. You were meant to peel an apple all in one long peel, think of your future Husband and throw the peel over your shoulder, and it would spell the First letter of his name. I suppose in my case it did, as it always just looked like an S to me.

These days Halloween in Britain is hot on the heels of the Americans, the traditions that British travels took over there have be changed and sent back. But I think it's still important to remember it's roots in The Harvest.

So today to celebrate Samhain, I made Damson Gin, Pumpkin Soup and Roast Pumpkin Seeds, as well as dressing up my children and giving out sweeties.

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients: Big Pumpkin(fleshy big)

2 chopped large onions

4 chopped carrots

2 cloves of garlic

2 pints of veg. stock

Mustard seeds, cinnamon, turmeric 1 tablespoon each

Splash of milk(or substitute)

Olive oil

Take one lovely fat pumpkin. Take out seedy gloop but don't throw away, place it in a bowl for later. Using a metal spoon or ice cream scoop, scrape out the pumpkin flesh. This way you have a thin shell left to carve.

Heat oil and sauté onions, add garlic and spices and stir through the onions. Add pumpkin and carrots, muddle with spices and onions. Add the veg stock and boil for 20 minutes, then simmer till veg is soft.

While simmering add the milk to give creamed appearance, and using hand blender give it all a whizz.

Hmm, yummy soup.If you like spice you can add chillies at the beginning with the onions.

Add salt and pepper to your taste. Serve with squishy bread.

Or if you feel very posh some cubes of feta cheese.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Now don't you throw away that gloop from the middle of the pumpkin, mix with some cold water and skim the seeds from the top onto a kitchen towel.

Lay the seeds onto dry baking tray, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake on gas mark 5 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. They could do with a shake in the middle of the time. Then you these little beauties.

Which of course you eat instead of your children's Trick or Treat chocolate, won't you?

The Damson Gin can wait for another post, I've got soup to eat.

Happy Samhain, Blessed Be.

Amanda.x.

Happy Birthday Little Sis

2011-10-23T13:27:00.000+01:00

Happy Birthday Barbara.

Today is my little Sisters birthday, I don't often tell her this but here go.

Sis you're cool, and here's why.

* You're very clever, graduating from Physiotherapy degree First with Honours.
* You're brave, climbing big hills and flinging yourself down them wearing stupid skis(I don't like skiing).
* You've got a cute (don't tell him he'll get a big head) Irish boyfriend, who you can drink under the table.
* You're a great Auntie, even though my children terrify you.
* You own your own house before you're 30.
* You were stuck with an old ladies name and made it cool.
* You got the job you wanted, in the place you wanted, and kick ass there.
* Everyday my Daughter does something that reminds me of you, and it's funny.
* You love dressing up stupid (admit it you do).
* You have a great mantra for life that I use everyday, but I think it was probably mine first:

"smile and the world smiles with you, frown and you frown alone"

We didn't get on really well as children as our age difference didn't work well, and I was a moody teen but I'm very glad we're friends now.

Happy Birthday Chick.

Love Amanda.x.

Wordless Wednesday - Autumn

2011-10-19T19:37:00.000+01:00

Amanda.x.

Wordless Wednesday - WIP Crochet Balls

2011-10-12T19:58:00.003+01:00

Photograph courtesy of M.Fleck

Secret Post Club August/September

2011-10-08T16:52:00.000+01:00

Every month as a member of the Secret Post Club I get a wonderful little gift in the post, and it's lovely to know I'll get something other than just bills each month.

This gift came all the way from Australia, a lovely bookmark and phone charm, from Jo at mumtoJ.wordpress.com

Thanks Jo from making my weekend a little cheerier,

Amanda.x.

For the love of Granny

2011-10-07T11:42:00.000+01:00

Some time away as I lost my camera charger but now I'm now back.

And with some WIP to show, these are 4 of the Granny Square Blankets I'm working on, and they're growing well. When I first started to crochet as a child my Nana had blankets like these, she'd start you crocheting round and after a while she'd start on the next colour and chase your loops as you went.

As I crochet these and feel the yarn through my fingers I'm reminded of my Nana, her smell (Lavender perfume and Parma violets) and watching her hands wrinkled and soft working their way round behind me.

I've used arcylic yarn to make these, which some people will barf at I know, there's a few reasons behind this decision.

First is I'm not made of money or sponsored by a yarn company, to get the huge array of colours I like I need a reasonable priced yarn.

Second is I'd been approached by vegans about things I make, and was told there was not alot of vegan friendly items made from lovely colourful materials.

Third is washability, I hopeing that people will buy these to be used not just for decoration, so it helps to have an easily washable yarn.

I love the colours of the top 3 blankets, but I'm not sure of this one, I wanted it to be bolder than usual blankets but I think I like the effect of single lines of colour.

Which colour do you like best?

Have a lovely Friday,

Amanda.x.

Wordless Wednesday-The little things.

2011-08-31T10:36:00.000+01:00

Photograph courtesy of Stuart Ryan Photography

Love Amanda.x.

Harry's Rocks Coastal Walk - Dorset

2011-08-30T19:36:00.001+01:00

This was our walk along the coastline towards Harry's Rocks, it was quite a long walk for the kids, but they did a great job.

We had some true British holiday beach weather but as usual it didn't stop the children having fun.

My Hubby Stu made his mark by leaving some amazing balanced stones behind us.

We were amazed to see people walking across this tiny strip of chalky land to get to the bigger rock, not something I was going to risk.

I think is was as close to the edge as we got but some people were sitting with their legs dangling over, this was a lovely walk and well worth seeing but with 4 small children and 2 dogs my anxiety levels were quite high while the edge was in sight.

Happy and safe holidays,

Amanda.x.

Durdle Door Coastal Path - Dorset

2011-08-27T10:12:00.001+01:00

This is part of the Coastal walk in Dorset called Durdle Door, the walk to this place is not an easy one but you claim the prize for walking down steep steps of a uncrowded and beautiful beach.

We had a great time looking for crabs, shells and fossils on beach, Maisie found a little one which made her day, below is a good example of Purbeck Rock which is created when pieces of rock shifted thousands of years ago.

There was a area of stones on the beach which were all this colour, apparently caused when a large iron deposit is under the ground sweeping into the water.

Four little coastline adventurers, I can't wait till next as we've already booked to go here again.

Happy holidays,

Amanda.x.

The Blue Pool - Dorset

2011-08-25T09:41:00.010+01:00

There are some places we visited in Dorset that need a special mention, so I'll do some separate posts on them, one of those is The Blue Pool and Tearooms in Wareham.

The tearooms have been open since 1935, the pool varies in colour sometimes green, sometimes blue, it's actually a huge clay bowl which has filled with rainwater.

The site has 25 acres of woodland surrounding the Pool full of various wildlife and flora.

It was an amazing tranquil place, even with our 4 children and 2 dogs added to it.

They have trails for different abilities through the woodland, and a wildlife trail for he children. Hidden in the trees near markers were ceramic owls, red/grey squirrels and woodpeckers for them to spot, they were very hard to spot as we had some difficulty and only Ben(aged 6) completed the task, with the rest giving up to run through the woodland, Lucas was very excited just to find the markers.

I was amazed at every turn, finding smaller ponds teaming of frogs, fish, and dragonfly's, the latter were huge and a beautiful array of colours.

Oh look can you see an Owl?

Entry to the site costs £5.30 per adult, £3.20 per child between 5-14 or £13.80 per family of 4, making it a very reasonable day trip out.

The park also boasts 3 play parks hidden in the woodlands, which even with my kamikaze son flinging himself from the roundabout, were a great addition to this old but glorious beauty spot.

Happy Holidays,

Amanda.x.

Dorset 2011

2011-08-24T20:41:00.001+01:00

For the past couple of years my family, Mother and Father-in-Law.Sister in Law and her family have all had a Summer holiday together, in previous years we've done Devon, Cornwell, Somerset so this year it was the rightful turn of Dorset.

We stayed at Woodhyde Courtyard at Corfe.

Wow, what a beautiful place, I loved this holiday venue best of all.

Our holiday house was very close to Corfe Castle, where we spent a great day out with the kids, it's mostly ruined but they enjoyed scrabbling about and guessing what the rooms used to be.

This is Corfe Castle during what was one of the best sunsets I've ever seen.

Maisie did a lot of this during the holiday.

And Lucas did a lot of that.

Maisie, Lucas and Daddy at the top of Corfe Castle.

We did have a bit of unpredictable weather, this was our holiday BBQ. Look at those clouds.

Oh actually this is the other direction at the same time, with my lovely Hubby manning the BBQ. We had a great dinner and the weather stayed nice that evening.

The holiday house had other welcome visitors while we were there too.

The holiday house had it's own pool too which when he weather got bad was a great asset, the children were in the pool at least once a day and I was surprised they didn't develop webbed feet by the end of the week.

It also had a games room where the boys learn to shoot pool, you may notice the cue is the wrong way but that was to aid play and save the green, Lucas loved following his older Nephews around and doing boy stuff.

Maisie also learn to play ping pong, and she now has a mean serve, which sometimes rebounds from the ceiling but that's just the way we play.

Hope your Summer holiday's have been full of fun, games and sunny days.

Love Amanda.x.

Tullie House - Roman Frontier Gallery

2011-08-08T10:58:00.001+01:00

Our local museum Tullie House has had a bit of a regeneration lately, it's now become a trust held site and spent millions on a new Roman Frontier Gallery. This is something my family was eagerly waiting for, we go to Tullie at every opportunity as for local people its free entry, and the gallery exhibitions are exceptional and for young children they normally add extras that help them take part and explore art.

We went on opening day, which meant they were some extra special activities to take part in.

Nijmegen Helmet, it still has some of it's gilt and gold decoration, when worn by a Roman soldier it must have been a sight to behold. This is the first time it's been seen in the UK.

Maisie really liked the nudey lady statues, she thought the Roman ladies looked very pretty but may have been a bit cold walking around Cumbria like this.

Lucas loved the dressing up section of the museum, he rocked the Roman look, and spent most his time playing with the little camping stove.

The new Roman gallery is well thought out, with lovely spaces and all age ranges taken into account. We'll certainly be visiting again over the Summer holidays.

This is Maisie and Lucas enjoying a talk on herbs used in Roman Britain and making a Roman necklace.

I hope that Tullie House continues this level of renewal throughout the whole gallery, it's starting to look a little dated in other sections. I would especially love to see more of a Natural history element to the museum, I know that this is what the building begun it's life as so I'm sure they have plenty of exhibition material to hand.

I'll do a post on the other galleries within the museum soon, until then this is their site,

Tullie House, they have a great selection of free or minimal price activities for children throughout the holidays.

Maisie's Review: I am aged 5 and I thought the new gallery was very nice, I liked looking at the statues, jewellery the ladies wore and the boxes that you had to guess the smells. I really liked dressing up but got very hot, I think the Romans would have been very tired wearing this for work. Everything was exciting and interesting but the skeletons were a bit creepy. I would like to go again and see if they are still creepy.

Maisie Simone Ryan.

Amanda.x.

Wordless Wednesday - June and July where did you go?

2011-07-27T09:00:00.003+01:00

Light at the end of the tunnel.

Amanda.x.

Goodbye Little Cottage

2011-07-26T20:18:00.000+01:00

June and most of July has been a stressful, amazing and weird few weeks, and it's taken me this long to kinda get my head around it all and evaluate it's meaning upon our lives.
In May we decided to try and get our act together and get our house on the market, you know splash some white paint around and fix up all those things that you've put off for the last few years.
Our house although lovely was bursting at the seams with the mixture of craft materials and children's toys, and to be truthful I was very wary of bringing any potential viewers into it. I mean seriously how do you sell your house with children in it, do you cage them them up or something? by nature they're messy creatures, the thought of having to make our house look amazing at the drop of a hat just brought me out in a cold sweat.
Then Hubby hit on a plan, we'd rent a house close by move into that house, leaving our house empty, not in a chain and more likely to sell. It would be tough financially but could work out better as we could sell our house quicker. It's a crazy plan but it might just work.

So then to sort the rental house, this may seem strange but Hubby and I have never lived in a rented house, we managed to buy our first house at 18year young, and have owned our owe home since. So looking into rented was very strange, we found a house just around the corner, managed to barter on the price(always worth ago) sent off our forms and waited, and waited and waited.....
They rang saying pop up sign the forms get the keys, yeah.
We all headed to get the keys, having had many chats in the weeks before explaining the situation to our children they seemed very excited by the prospect, Maisie was especially excited about having her own room as she's always had to share with Lucas.
So we get the keys and suddenly realise we don't have another day off together for 2 weeks, Maisie wants to sleep in the new house, I don't drive so couldn't move anything big and all of a sudden at 11am we think okay lets move in today. What were we thinking, never ever move house this way, we were packing stuff into boxes as in was going into the car, it was a nightmare. The kids thought the chaos was amazing, and had loads of fun throwing random items into the car, we didn't have a van just a mates people carrier but had managed to get all the big stuff moved in that first day. Phew.
The children were completely chilled out about it all, even though my stress was probably edible, and they slept fine as if we did this kind of thing every day.
But it's now done, after a couple of weeks painting and fixing we have our empty on the market house.
4 Sinclair Cottages. FOR SALE.

Strangely I thought I'd really miss our house but I feel that we had lived all we could there, it has loads of potential that we were too young and silly not to build on. We've learnt many lessons from living here, had 2 children here, started a business here, laughed and cried with friends here. It's been a great house but now we need to get it sold so we can find our home.
Thank you
Amanda.x.

#notgoingtoCyberMummy 2011

2011-06-24T20:01:00.001+01:00

Last July I posted this post Not going to CyberMummy on my blog all about the CyberMummy conference, I still believe this and the many other conferences, networking groups and award ceremonies are a valued and valid way to meet and promote yourself.
However the reason I started my blog hasn't changed, and neither has the feeling that business wise I'm just not ready to be "out there" yet. With a busy family life, finance tightness and a huge workload I'm just not going to CyberMummy this year.
Now last year a lot of people I knew through twitter were going, and that's great, they had a amazing time, but for those left behind we did not shrug our duties to network under the CyberMummy banner.
New friends were made, laughs were had and it would seem a new tradition has been born.

So here are some helpful tips:
*Get on twitter, just incase you're not already, it's strange to begin with but everyone is nice.
*Use the hash tag #notgoingtoCyberMummy if we all use the same one we could even get it trending with would be great for CyberMummy and fun for those not attending.
*No Haters- it's not about slagging off those that go, there's really no reason for that, if you wanted to go , then go.If not like Grandma said"if you can't say something nice..."
Haters will be publicly twitter tutted at by all other delegate.
* Put the badge up on your blog, if you can. I've still not become technically advance enough to make it into a widget badge but it's small enough to fit in a sidebar. Please link the badge to CyberMummy so they get a bit of linkage from our fun.

I think that's about it, CyberMummy doesn't start till tomorrow but as they all meet up across Londontown in hotels and get to know each other before the event, so should we.

Have fun,

Amanda.x.

P.S. I understand that most people who read my blog won't have a clue what this is about,
it's fine, nod, smile politely and walk away till the next post.

Moving moving moving...

2011-06-24T19:11:00.000+01:00

Well it's almost a month since my last blog, and I've not had time or Broadband connection to write, because I've moved house. Not in a very well planned way but in a messy, drawn out and confuddling way(more on that in a later post) leaving me mentally and as people keep finding the time to tell me, physically shattered.
I will explain and catch up soon, there's very exciting new in with the messiness.
Until then I'll leave you with a random stomping Owl, I figure this is how I look most days at the minute.

Picture from The Telegraph Picture of the Day

Thank you

Amanda.x.

Tutorial: Crayon Butterfly's.

2011-05-26T09:00:00.001+01:00

This is a sweet quick tutorial for multicoloured shaped crayons, we added these to Maisie's party bags and got good reports from parents on them.

They maybe fun to make during the half term holidays.We use cheap silicone moulds (ours were chocolate ones from Home Bargains) and a couple of packets of wax crayons .

Remove any paper from crayon, and chop up into small pieces, get children involved by giving them the pieces to fill up the shapes, you need to over fill the voids a little as it sinks down.

Pop in the over Gas mark 5 for about 15minutes, or until melted down as it depends on your oven. Take out and leave to cool, once set pop them out.

Then draw something beautiful with your rainbow butterfly's.

If you make any in different shapes, please feel free to post a picture as a comment.

Thanks Amanda.x.

Wordless Wednesday: Maisie is Five.

2011-05-25T14:54:00.000+01:00

I love you my baby girl

Mummy.x.

Maisie Simone Ryan- A birth story.

2011-05-14T13:47:00.001+01:00

WARNING: This contains details of childbirth, if you're a bit squeamish do not read.

I've been blogging (well intermittently) for a few years now, about craft, food and mostly my family but I've never spoke about the start of their journey.

Today is my daughters 5 birthday and I thought it fitting to start with her birth story, we knew already our baby was a girl as I found out at the 20week scan, and although we had some problems with very bad morning sickness(I lost 2 stone), and thinking I had gestational diabetes(she was just big) my pregnancy went without a hitch.

We'd already choose her name, Maisie is a Scottish form of Margaret(Stu's Grandma's name) and Simone after my favourite singer Nina Simone.

Then she just didn't turn up, my due date was May 1st, and it ticked past without a twinge, I was very big, tired and bored, I wanted to see my baby.

I tried every urban myth in the book to get started, pineapple, sex, Castor Oil, hot currys but nothing.

So on May 13th I went in to be induced, now I have a hatred of hospitals and my worst nightmare was that I'd have to stay in, so having to be induced was not exactly part of my birth plan.

I was shown to the room, met my midwife who explained the process(eek) of induction using prostaglandin gel/tablet inserted into the cervix, and then when done it was back to waiting...and waiting...and waiting OMG where the hell was my baby? Three times I'd had the gel/tablet inserted, not slept all night as it gave me pains and backache(they gave me sleeping tablets which just made me feel weird but not sleepy) and was attached to a baby monitor recording her heart beat, in the morning I was only 2cm dilated, I nearly cried when she said that.

It was now 11.30ish, they thought a drip with oxytocin may help the process,oh yes my other fear needles, hell what else could they throw at me? So feeling thoroughly prodded, poked, in pain and tired; they stuck a huge needle in my hand, and sent me off to have a lovely hot bath. Hubby went home to feed the cat, with orders to sneak a Burger King back in for me as I'd not eaten anything and let everyone know nothing had happened yet.

I was sat in the bath for 15minutes trying to ignore the hand pain and just relax, I remember chatting to my bump watching it move around, asking what was wrong with me? why don't you want to meet Mummy?

Then I felt pain, not the achy stuff, I'd had previously but searing hot pain right down my spine, and causing stars in my eyes, I was very scared, it was so sudden I rang the bell. Nothing. Rang it again, and again. Tried to move, nothing but more white hot pain.

I would like to say at this point I have no bad feelings towards the Midwives, they had 3 staff on call that night, 2 have to be present at each delivery and 18 babies were born that weekend.

You do the maths, and having heard of other experiences aboard I love our NHS.

One lady who was 9months pregnant, on going into labour went to A&E instead of maternity and ending up having her baby on the floor there, they tell you to go maternity for a reason,some babies are eager to get out.

So taking a deep breath I climbed out the bath, got my robe on and staggered back to the room, drip in tow.

Stu returned, with my Burger King, to find me curled up in a ball rocking and weeping on the floor(I think I told him to shove the burger) the midwife was behind him. She discovered they'd put the drip up too high giving me a large dose of oxytocin, hence the pain and I'd gone from 2cm to 10cm in about half hour, thankfully then I got gas and air. I'd love to be one of these amazing people who give birth without drugs in fields etc, but I'm not we have pain medication, why not use it?

All time is a bit hazy from this point, I remember asking to go on holiday to Whitehaven(must be the drugs),think I had a catheter, it being commented on how big a baby she was, tearing (alot) being cut and then, wow, a baby, my beautiful 9lb 6ozs amazing baby.

They passed me my baby, Stu cut the cord and she was laid on my chest. She could lift her head up and opened her eyes, and latched on for her first feed. I refused to go to surgery to be stitched for my 4th degree tear(I'd have to stay overnight if I did)and demanded to go home as soon as I could, I think they got fed up of me moaning as they let me.

Maisie Simone Ryan was born 3pm, and we home before 8pm I could not have been happier.

Not all pregnancy's and births end as well as mine. I was recently reminded of this when Stuarts cousin lost her unborn baby girl at 9months, the sadness of this event and the effect it will have on their lives is truly heartbreaking, nothing will ever make up for their missing child.

However there are ways to help the families who go through this loss, Sands is a stillbirth and neonatal death charity, giving support to those affected by the death of a child, helping health professionals offer correct support and researching the causes of stillbirth.

It gets no government support, relying on just donations to keep this amazing group going.

My Sister in Law Claire Ryan is running a fabulous Charity Raffle with all proceeds being donated to Mias charity page where her parents are trying to raise £10,000 for Sands, please take time to donate to her page or buy a raffle ticket, it's for such a great cause.

Love Amanda.x.

Drowning under a sea of chocolate

2011-05-09T19:56:00.000+01:00

So I'm still playing catch up with my blog, but give me a break I'm a busy Mummy with my hands full with cheeky children and drowning under waves of shiny tin foiled covered chocolate. Thankfully over Easter time we got a lovely package from Kelloggs (thanks) which contained a lovely baking kit, lots of cake topping goodness and instructions on making a Marshmallow Rice Mummy Head, which you won't find here as myself-esteem couldn't handle it.

However it gave me ideas for using up the huge amounts of chocolate we had by making classic Rice Krispie cakes and as we were still feeling patriotic from the Royal Wedding some marshmallow square flags(hmmm they didn't quite turn out).

Above is Maisie and Lucas quality checking chocolate before breaking it up into the bowl for melting, I love that Maisie choose to accessorize her chefs hat with flower clips, she's becoming so girly now.

Lucas did have some hat trauma but we quickly turned into chef hat peep po, although he didn't really enjoy the baking he loved the dressing up of it all.

Lucas is going through the stage of not liking his hands being dirty, which didn't help when we came to making marshmallow cakes, my plan was to put in on a baking tray, smooth out and then decorate like a Union Jack.

However, what we made was not an easy substance to use, Maisie thought it looked like an alien from Dr Who, and all 3 of us became attached by goopy melting marshmallow.

Maisie and I loved it but Lucas ran to the sofa and the comfort of an un-messy Peppa Pig.

We couldn't get it to flat on a tray so I wrestled it into cases and see to on the roll of master decorator, covering them in dolly mixtures and icing.

I think she did a great job, the cakes above if you squint, who am I kidding they won't look like a flag, but they taste great and the chocolate Krispie cakes, well you can't beat a classic.

Thank you for reading.

Amanda.x.

Picnics, parks and pretty people.

2011-04-28T22:13:00.000+01:00

It's been half term here and because of the amazing weather we've had most of our time has been spent outdoors. Notice above Lucas still had his big hair but we cropped it for the Summer, think I'll grow it back and hide those ~~mammoth~~ cute ears.

There was lots of meeting other little friends,runnping, jumping, exploring, splashing and building.

Have a lovely long weekend, whatever your plans may be.

Love Amanda.x.

A bit of a show, and some crafty business.

2011-04-28T22:12:00.000+01:00

April has been full of mayhem, making and madness. On bank holiday Monday while my Hubby and children were playing in the sunshine, I had a stall at Rheged Discovery Centre Food and Gift fair. I've not done a fair for a long time and was very jittery about this one, having been told it should be very busy. However that was not the case, I don't know if it was the lack of advertising and communication from the centre or the good weather but it was very quite, and not just for me but for all the stallholders. Below is my table for the event.

It was such a shame the event was quite as the level of the artists was amazing, below is

Weft Studio which is an independant gallery and studio, they had a display of all their

crafters work.

Then my other neighbour at the event was Jenny Lockwood Designs, as a seasoned fair trader her display cases put my stand to shame.

I especially liked her tea holder birds, and ceramic bunting.

She'll be at the Country Living Fair later in the year and is definitely a "next big thing".

One stand which really stood out at the fair was Rachel Gaw Jewellery, it was mostly resin pieces and so funky, full of sparkles and funk. A must for any Alternative girl wanting to make a statement.The love heart necklace and sugar mice were my favourites.

The other stall to pull me in was K.A.H Ceramics, her stand was full of beautiful yet

simple designs.

Well made, functional and yet so stylish, I loved her vases covered with product labels and the bird feeder bowls. With their cute Owl and bird designs, I wouldn't be surprised to see them in a magazine soon.

So although a bit of bad day for making money and missing out on family time, I did meet some lovely makers and chatted to plenty of(hopefully)would be customers.

Thanks for reading, your comments as always are welcome.

Amanda.x.

Ready for my close up...

2011-04-28T22:03:00.000+01:00

I've been doing very badly at my photographic diary lately, and although taking photos mostly every day have been very slow to get them uploaded. Hopefully May will be a less hurried,
less stressful and more creative month.

Until then, I've had fun in April taking pictures close up. I'd like to say they're amazing but I have quite a basic digital camera and limited knowledge, but some are good are others just fun.

If you want to see more you can look at all my pictures on Flickr by clicking the widget at the right hand side.

Sometimes the beauty is found close up.

Amanda.x.

2011-04-28T20:31:00.001+01:00

The Big Wedding(not that one).

2011-04-28T20:29:00.000+01:00

Well April has been a bit of a crazy month here, hence the blog absence, so we'll play a bit of catch up.
First up, and the reason a lot of my time disappeared this month was it my friend Lyndsay's wedding, but before the wedding we had the hen do.

Above is the lovely Bride to be(left) and the infamous Sally Crangle.

Thankfully there was no major fancy dress themes or huge L plates, just a great group of friends eating nice food, drinking yummy drinks and having a laugh.

You'll notice the funny look here, it's not for Sally but more likely the strange guy that came and smelt me, seriously weird, but just added to the fun.

Then the week after THE BIG DAY.

I was very proud to be asked to be witness for Andrew and Lyndsay's wedding, I've know them both for a long time and they make such a lovely family.

I was glad to get this picture though of my family, Lucas is putting on his photo face, so cute.

Goodbye Lyndsay Douglass, and hello to the beautiful and very radiant looking Lyndsay Hill.

Love Amanda.x.

Yarn Bombing

2011-03-31T20:08:00.000+01:00

My lovely crafty friend Mhairi owns Weft Studio here in Carlisle, I sell some of my wares there and run crochet workshops. However the thing I love best is sitting having a brew and a crafty natter, she has a nice view of Castle (although it would be better without a bloody dual carriage way in front of it- politics, sorry) and people watching is a great hobby of mine.
However it has become apparent that the drivers of Carlisle cannot park on the street outside her shop, it's quite narrow to squeeze into the spaces and in the course of one day in the studio I witnessed 3 cars bump a signpost outside the shop door, and one car bump into another and drive off.
So I thought I must do something to help drivers see this post.

This is my first piece of Yarn Bombing, and I'm really chuffed at it, especially when 2 different people stroked it as they went past. I'm hoping to cover the whole pole, but as there's lots of other crafter's that use the studio I think it may become a mixed media affair.
Some people say why? I say why not?
I think it highlights the craft, but in this setting does it then become art?
Have I someone managed to bridge the gap between artist and crafter, this topic is one that comes up often in my crafty chats. I consider myself a crafter, but what is the difference really? And what do you consider yourself to be?

"I don't see craft as something you make, but rather something you need to achieve good art."
-Dawn Detarando

"Art can't deny craft, but refuses to acknowledge it. In the end they are still brothers."
-Christian Barr.

Questions, questions my blogging friends. My mind is full of questions.
Comments, as always are welcome.
Amanda.x.

For Japan With Love

2011-03-17T21:00:00.002Z

For Japan With Love - A Day of Silence

Friday 18th March 2011 will be a day of silence for bloggers around the world as a mark of respect for the victims of Japan's recent disaster, I'm joining in and will not be posting.

It's great to see that their target of $5,500 for Shelterbox has already been exceeded but those folks need all the help they can get, more will be raised by the exposure from this event.

The following is a quote from one of the organisers Utterly Engaged

The aim is just raise awareness and respect and acknowledge the devastation going on in Japan.

The guidelines are simple.

1. This coming Friday, March 18th, no posts at all on your blog.

2. Please post a blog post about what you will be doing this Friday whenever possible in hopes to spread the word and whoever else would like to join in.

You all can check out what Lydia of Ever-Ours did for her’s here or how we did ours here and do it your way if you’d like.
3. Tweet and Re-Tweet the shiznit out of the link to http://www.forjapanwithlove.com please.

4. Encourage your readers to contribute to donate shelter to Japan.
Whatever anyone can contribute will be appreciated.

Every little helps.

If you have a blog and want to join in and spread the word please write a post and leave a comment over on Utterly Engaged to let them know you're taking part. Thanks for reading x

Get yer wellies on..

2011-02-24T20:26:00.038Z

I think we've started to go stir crazy, tantrums, crying and trips to the naughty step are now everyday occurrences and that's just me, we had to get out of the house.

Today the sun peeked it nose out from behind the clouds and we were off, wellies and picnic snacks grabbed, we ran for the nearest woody walk to us which is at Wreay.

The beautiful Spring sounds and at last some sunshine brought out the poseur in Maisie and her Daddy it would seem.

Opps, me catch out chilling in the back ground, I think Lucas' face is because he's just seen the muddy footprint of his on my white coat.

But really could any Mummy be mad at a cutie like this?

And Maisie had a bit of practise for when she becomes a famous model, I loved her styling of traditional green welly boots with frilly skirt.

I love that here the fallen trees are left for Mother Nature to deal with, which was pretty much what we did with Maisie's bike as the mud was too much for it.

Happy sunny days

Amanda.x.

Ten Years Past.

2011-02-16T09:27:00.001Z

During the year of 2001 the foot-and-mouth crisis gripped British agriculture, over 10million sheep and cows were killed trying to stop the spread of it. Cumbria had 843 cases being classed as the worse effected, and had a huge impact of The Lakes being a tourist destination.

Photograph from Toadfish on Flickr

At the time of the outbreak my family lived on a farm in Cumwhinton a small farming community just outside of Carlisle, time were never easy living on a farm but they managed, my little Sister was studying GCSEs at the time, and although I no longer lived at home I was still connected to it. It was difficult during the outbreaks, at times I couldn't visit home, and my sister had to move into a friends house for the worry she'd end up trapped in the farm when she needed to be concentration on her exams.

We did not get Foot-and-Mouth but it was the end of our farm, there was a complete halt on moving and selling livestock, but we still had to feed and look after them, and there was no compensation for that. A lot of other farmers were in the same situation, we heard of farmers trying to get the disease just to start again.
I can not imagine the grief the farmers who saw their whole livestock shot and burned went through, your emotional ties to your stock is more than just a stock number and price, you have to really respect the cattle to successfully owe a farm. Living in Cumbria a change of wind and you could smell the death in the air, I think a lot of farmers felt they'd failed their stock, and just never went back to farming.

For us the financial strain was too much to bare, the farm(which we rented but had lived in for 50+years) was given up and then sold to a building company, they turned the farm into a housing estate of which we, nor anyone I know, could afford any of the homes. The other farms in the village have went the same way, or changed business.
The village is no longer a farming community and seems cut off from country life, so many villages have went this way after Foot-and-Mouth, I think it's one of the highest prices of the outbreak.

However one of the things I love about being Cumbrian is that we'll take a bad experience on the chin and turn it around.
Great Orton Airfield is the resting place for 466,312 carcasses, comprising 448,508 sheep, 12,085 cattle and 5,719 pigs buried between March and the 7th of May 2001 in 26 trenches, the site is now a nature reserve called Watchtree.
Watchtree provides a range of habitats for many birds,bats, Red Squirrels, toads, newts and small mammals. As well as providing an education centre of future generations to come and hopefully building back some of the bridges from Town to Country.

Amanda.

Review: Cath Kidston SEW.

2011-02-06T19:56:00.002Z

I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of Cath Kidstons new mini craft book SEW to review.

As with the other books in this range, it's well set out for those who are just being introduction to the craft, or as in my case, those who are just looking for new inspiration. Its removable book cover contains templates, patterns and beautiful needle book, and the book is brimming with classic Kidston photography.
The layout of the patterns within each section make even the hardest looking project easy to manage, and as long as you follow the guide step by step all the projects in here are very doable, and you don't need a huge outlay to produce them.

My favourite in the book is this Areoplane blanket, but maybe it's the mega cute needlefelt bird or boy Granny blanket in the background that's swaying me.

Thank you for reading
Amanda.x.

Seven Things You Don't Know About Me

2011-01-21T09:53:00.003Z

I have been tagged in a meme by Claire my Sister-in-law on her blog to write 7 things that you don't know about me. I'll then tag some interesting people I know, and so the loop extends...

1. My Maiden name was Pinguey (ping-ee) strange eh! and was the constant joy of the school bullies. However I'm really proud of the name, as you grow and have children it makes you step back and look at where you came from. My family has been traced back to a French monk living at Holme Cultram Abbey, and set up as a farmer when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries.

2. Unlike Claire I'm not scared of cows, and have actually milked a few in my time. My formative years were spent living on my Grans farm, which has now been sold off and turned posh houses I can't afford to buy, I have many wonderful memories from the farm which was also haunted so those people may have bought more than they bargained for.

3. My Dad is a Paranoid Schizophrenic, it had a huge effect on my family. And left me with some twisted phobias including medical/hospital buildings including the dentist (it's the smell), seeing feathers poked in the ground, wary of fires and wary of any one else I know to have mental issues. This makes me feel bad as I know it's an illness and nothing they can do can change it but it still makes me on edge.

3. I'm a very crafty person(you probably do know this about me)I think it's an inherited gene my Grandma Pinguey knit, crocheted, sewed , baked, made rag rugs and anything else that took her fancy. My Nana Green was the Head Chef for Border TV(local channel) for years and could bake the most amazing and huge cakes.

4. I was brought up Roman Catholic, when I was confirmed I choose Bernadette my Nana Green took my Mum, Sister and I on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, it was an amazing experience. I went to Nevers where her glass coffin is laid out, and to the actual grotto where they covered the hole she dug in glass, but you see where her fingers dug in the clay. Even though I'm not a practising Catholic I am still inspired by her story and have a photograph of her laid out in my sewing box.

5. I'm a film and TV geek, I used to love horror films but after having children they don't have the same appeal. The list of programs I watch is too extensive to list here but most are supernatural, sci fi or crime based. And I think that if zombies attacked I would survive, I have a plan.

6. I have a strange and electric mixture of music on my computer, Nina Simone is always my favourite for lifting the spirits but I'm also currently listen too Styx, Flaming Lips, Bad Company, Queens of the Stoneage, Dropkick Murpheys, Timo Mass, John Spencer Blues Explosion, Pixies, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Cash and AC/DC. What can I say I like variety in my life.

7. I have had many jobs in my life, starting at 14 when I used to clean holiday homes in Windermere, I then worked in a pub, Kwik Save, another pub, restaurant, BHS, pub, Wife, Border Fine Arts, pub, hotel, Barista for Costa, mystery shopper, pub, on a make up counter for Benefit, Floor manager for Monsoon, Mummy, and setting up my own business.

So people I've shown your mine what you got...

@MhairiMcGhie
@_inmylife
@blottedcopybook
@seasparkle_x
@meridianariel

Love Amanda.x.

Queen of Procrastination

2011-01-19T20:47:00.000Z

So after weeks of illness(mine), Christmas, illnessMaisie), New Year, illness(Hubby) and back to work I've had no crafty mojo spare. However I've suddenly been inspired to do all these lovely things.

Watch Maisie create her first embroidery, it was a alien but could now be a robot, or maybe a bird.

Start on a great big hexagon Granny blanket.

Begin a Ripple children's blanket.

Make some more Granny centres.

Play with the Jelly roll I got for Christmas, what a lovely selection of fabric.

And re-pot my chilli plants that we grow from seed last year.

All these are a creative way of procrastination, as what I should be doing is my Tax Return.

Amanda.x.

Guilty as charged.

2011-01-14T20:11:00.004Z

When I first told people I was pregnant with Maisie I was amazed at the information, books, personal stories and hearsay everyone to pass on. Some of these were most welcome, however a lot was very outdated (well maybe not!) and dangerous. The one thing I was never told was about the guilt, in fact that doesn't do it justice, THE GUILT. It starts from the moment you find out of course; like "oh I wish I hadn't that glass of wine when I was 2 weeks pregnant" to "I'm destroying my children's lives by not affording that toy", well I never said THE Guilt was reasonable.
Now I like to think I'm a laid back parent, I took in all the advice, books etc and then mostly did my own thing. The times when I listened to others such as trying he Contented Baby book (it was thrown over my wall onto train tracks) or getting Maisie separate jabs because of MMR worries, left me stressed even more that I was failing as a Mother. I know this seems like a rant, and well it is because I'm sure it's not just me who feels THE GUILT, but today I saw this article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12180052 all about how we've yet again been doing it all wrong.
When I had Maisie I was told not to wean her till 6 months and that I must exclusively breastfeed her till 6 months(you were made to feel very bad if not yet more guilt, now as she was 9lb 6oz at birth by 3 months she was starving I just couldn't feed her enough, my heath visitors advice - get her on milky weetabix and porridge, ignore all books and go with your instinct. Maisie as thrived ever since, but what about her brother Lucas, a little wee thing of 6lb 10oz, he didn't want to entertain solids till after 6 months, so have I destroyed his life? I think not. I think that I followed my instincts and needs of my child, rather than being dictated to and knowing this means I will not let myself feel THE GUILT over this subject, I did what was right for each of my children.

However just as I start to feel on top of motherhood let me tell you of a conversation I had with Maisie on the way to school.
Mummy: Oh dear I forgot to put your gloves in your bag.
Maisie: Oh dear, you're not a very good Mummy are you?
THE GUILT returns....

Is it me or does everyone feel it? Hugs to parents everywhere, you're doing a great job.
Happy weekend
Amanda.x.

Yumola Granola

2011-01-10T15:19:00.002Z

In the new year everyone's thoughts turn to dieting and healthy food, this is one of my favourites to fill you up at the start of the day.

However it seems to be eaten as a snack food in my house, and my Husband swears it's the best thing to nibble while drinking whiskey.

If you have allergies that could be affected by this recipe, you can replace any of the nuts, seeds or berries with others, it's a very versatile recipe, try using coconut, dried bananas, sultanas etc..

Ingredients

400grams of wholemeal oats

2 handfuls of dried cranberries

2 handfuls of sunflower seeds

1 handful of shelled and chopped walnuts

1 handful of sesame seeds

1 teaspoon of cinnamon or nutmeg

150grams of light brown sugar

6 tablespoons of runny honey(2 big squirts in it's in a squeezy tub)

80grams of butter

2 oven trays

Large storage jar.

Pre heat oven to gas mark 3(160c)

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl, trying not to pick at them as you do.

Melt the butter, honey and sugar in a large pan, once heated but not bubbling, add the dry mix and stir through until it all clumps together.

Spread mixture across the trays and place in oven, after 10 minutes remove and rough up mixture so it forms small clumps, put back in oven for 5 minutes, then take out to completely cool.

Once cool place mixture in air tight container, mine filled a 3 1/3lb glass jar.

Sorry some of the measurements are vague but I tend to guess most cooking, if you make this let me know how it turns out.

Enjoy Amanda.x.

Wordless Wednesday - January Joy

2011-01-05T15:57:00.000Z

January Joy.

New Beginnings

2011-01-01T23:09:00.001Z

Every new beginning comes from some beginnings end.

I think it's a fitting start to my 100th blog post that we celebrate the dawning of a new year, I hope that 2011 will bring inspiration, joy and meaning to everyone I know.

Thank you for all your lovely support in the last year, Happy New Year.

Amanda.x.

Winter Solstice 2010

2010-12-21T23:57:00.000Z

Winter Solstice, full moon, and total lunar eclipse on Dec. 21st 2010.

This synchronicity hasn't happened since 1703.

I normally use Solstice as a time for reflection, I hope to have all Christmas presents bought and wrapped so and therefore begin the business of being relaxed and merry, this is still a pipedream but I can hope.

I also spend time thinking about my goals for the year ahead, now this is normally a protracted list which only serves to make me feel pressured, looking back at 2010 I have spent most of it with one illness or another, spending the last month on antibiotics!

I set myself targets and goals, which I'm not saying is a bad thing but it just heaps stress where it doesn't need to be. You may notice to help with my new goals the lists down the sides of the blog counting down the items I've made, and my to do list have disappeared.
I will not make New Year resolutions.
This blog will be a place to list my thoughts, and my only goals for this oncoming year are to be healthy, be crafty and enjoy my family life.

Enjoy the Solstice.
Amanda.x.

Oxford Baby!

2010-12-20T22:56:00.000Z

We went to Oxford last weekend of November sorry I'm just getting round to telling you.

A while ago I was lucky enough to win a weekend away through the Skillscape section of Ready For 10,

a great website for parents with lots of information and ideas for your family. The competition I won included 2 nights Dinner, Bed and Breakfast in a Four Pillars Hotel, now being from the North I've never heard of this chain of hotels but was delighted to find they were based in some of the most beautiful parts of the country including Oxford, a place that I've always wanted to visit.

So hotel was booked, we choose to stay at The Oxford Spires which was the closest to Oxford centre, I had a wonderful rose tinted idea that we'd drive down early on the Saturday book in, wonder into town for a few hours then come back to the hotel for Dinner and relax in hotel watching Strictly Come Dancing, with some knitting and wine.

However the weather had other ideas laying down pretty heavy in the North but not getting past Manchester it did mean that we hit loads of traffic jams and had to drive slow, not getting to Oxford till 5pm, we did try to head for town but as it was -10 and dark realising we'd only get their when the shops were closing we turned back. The hotel didn't have a dinner booking till late and with 2 children that get extra grumpy if they go past their 7pm bedtime, we choose to get room service. The rooms was well set out with a cot and sofa bed and still had plenty of room but only had 5 channels on their TV, much to Maisies astonishment as she thought all TVs came with Cbeebies, we got them settled and ordered room service which for a family meal was a lot of trips by the poor staff, but wow it was good food.

Maisie stealing chips before Lucas digs in.

Look at those amazing puddings, Maisie loved the fork design, and thought the person that drew them was very good. Below is Maisies contribution to the service questionnaire.

We had a wonderful walk along the Thames into town on the Sunday, even seeing a deer prancing along the riverbank but bloody hell it was cold, it didn't reach above -9 the whole time which led to very cold and grumpy children. Now I would have loved to have done all our Christmas shopping that weekend and wondered around gallery's and museums but I've been a Mummy long enough to know that they would get stressed, Hubby would get stressed and I'd want to cry, so instead we escaped the cold and had chocolate and cake before going anywhere.

While we were there the Oxford Castle Christmas market started which was beautiful and with hot chocolate in our belly we stomped around the lovely market stalls, we bought some handmade goodies for gifts, I loved the Christmas goodies, especially the hot spiced cider, and the tree was so beautifully understated in the lovely surroundings mixing modern buildings with old.

I loved the Christmas goodies, especially the hot spiced cider, and the tree was so beautifully understated

but quickly we got cold again so retired back to the hotel. We had a lovely swim, and at this point I'd like to congratulate the Oxford Spires on their pool, it is the warmest I've evr been in and really perked my children up normally they're shivering after ten minutes but not here. Then back for room service supper and wine but too knackered for knitting.

The next day was going home day, but I thought the kids needed to see something they'd remember and really shops just ain't that. So we went to Oxford University Museum of Natural History and wow look at that building it's awesome. If you're in Oxford you have to visit this place, Maisie(4) and Lucas(2) were mesmerised by everything. Maisie was also very excited that she was off school for the day, but we explained that this was still part of a school, third school she called it(university).

For Lucas it was definitely all about the dinosaurs, its one of the few words he can say without prompting and he loved the displays, a little too much in some cases. Just after this photo he ran up and shook the dinosaurs hand and got chased off it by a passer-by.

Maisie loved the displays with bugs and beasties, asking her Dad to explain everything to her. She loved all the different butterfly colours.

She also liked showing her little brother round and explaining the exhibits to him, she really enjoys her role of big sister and always watches out for Lucas.

Thankfully the journey home was uneventful, and the show held off till we reached the Lake District where it magically turned into a winter wonderland much to everyone's joy.

Thank you Ready for Ten for the first holiday with just the four of us, it was a wonderful adventure for us all.

Amanda.x.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas my true brought to me...

2010-12-12T20:33:00.001Z

Twelve Balls of wool....Yes 12 balls of wool....

I would love enough wool to knit myself a full size item of clothing, maybe a shrug or tank top but never have enough pennies for the outlay and I'm always worried with how long I take to make things the dye lot will have gone if I need more.

This looks like a interesting blend & I love the colour, it can be bought from The Life Craft for the amazing price of £2.99. Hint hint.

However if that's too much this would be lovely for a Spring Shawl the colour way is Sea Urchin and it's hand dyed by Abstract Cat Crafts on Misi, amazing deepness of hues & only £12.

Well the build up to Christmas has well and truly started, I've hopefully given you some great ideas for gifts. Now go shop, but remember Christmas is about family, food and relaxation.

Amanda.x.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas my true brought to me...

2010-12-11T18:11:00.000Z

the work of eleven pipers piping....(although really I think it's just one lady).

These were all made by a local to me company called Cutiepie Cupcakes, and I'd be delighted to get some of these beautiful made cakes as a gift. My cupcake piping experiences have been far from satisfactory so these are completely stunning to me, and would make a change to the usual chocolates or Christmas cake.

Enjoy Amanda.x.

On the Sixth, Seventh, Eight, Ninth and Tenth day of of Christmas my true love gave to me...

2010-12-10T15:51:00.000Z

A bloody chest and sinus infection, making me feel yuck and spewy.

Hence me not really keeping up with the advent, but after a huge dose of nasty antibiotics (which my Doctor described as bleach for the body) I'm starting to feel a whole lot better, although I also fell on the ice we had meaning I also have a sore back. Grr, enough of this blah humbug.
Here are some beautiful photographs my lovely Husband brought me back when I was too ill to leave the house, he has a really good eye and I really wish I could afford to get him a fancy camera for Xmas.

Happy Winter Days

Amanda.x.

Five Pom Pom Rings.......

2010-12-05T10:20:00.001Z

Okay so there's six rings but I wouldn't mind an extra one, would you? As a crafter I love crafting gadgets and pom pom makers are top on the list of cool ones, these are just examples of the ones in my local

wool shop but they can bought in other styles, sizes and shapes.

Yes shapes the one at the bottom makes heart shaped pom poms. I have some basic round ones already but pom poming is addictive and easy for all ages so if you're stuck what to buy for your niece or crafting friend for Christmas, one of these and a ball of basic wool will score you high brownie points.

That's if you don't keep it for yourself.

Happy Yuletide.

Amanda.x

On the Fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

2010-12-04T11:10:00.014Z

Four tweetie birds on a T.

This t-shirt is so cosy, I adore those button eyed birdies, tweet tweet and has been hand embellished by iEllie over on Folksy. This would make a lovely unique give for any lady.

Amanda.x

On the Third Day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

2010-12-03T09:08:00.017Z

Three Happy little Hens...

These are so cute and would make a great addition to a child's jumper or even a ladies cardi, the colours are wonderful and they do indeed look like happy hens, and would make a great stocking filler for a crafty friend.
The buttons are from Amandas Attic over on Folksy for the bargin price of £3.95.

Happy holidays.
Amanda.x.

On the Second Day of Christmas my true gave to me....

2010-12-02T10:19:00.002Z

Two pretty Doves on cushion for my settee...

And what a beautiful cushion it is from the lovely Helcat Design on Misi, I'd be very happy to receive this on Christmas day.

Hope you're enjoying the festive build up.
Amanda.x.

On the First day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

2010-12-01T22:52:00.000Z

A Beautiful craft book and a cup of tea.

Now every year my family seems to forget what my biggest hobbies are and never buy me anything craft based for my stocking, I ask for wool and they just chuckle, a jelly roll got me strange looks, I even have a huge Amazon wishlist of crafty books they could easily pick from.
But no every year I get told I'm hard to buy for, and I kind of understand it, if you're not craft orientated then how do you know where to start. Well start with a nice craft book, even if the projects aren't something they'd make straight away craft are beautiful to look through for inspiration.
I was lucky enough to be sent Stitch! by Cath Kidston to review, and if you have any friends into making things then this is the book to buy them for Christmas.

STITCH!
This book is a new look at needlepoint and cross stitch which often get thought of as old fashioned,but is probably one of the simplest ways to embroider on cloth, and one I learnt early as a child.
The projects use a lot of Kidstons iconic patterns as well as sticking to to basic designs for beginners. Most of the projects are quick to make and low cost.
Not all the projects are roses and dots though, look at this stunning Cowboy, this will look great in my sons bedroom.

The layout of the book is clear and simple with stage by stage instructions being very easy to follow. It would make a great book for a crafty teenager to have a go at and there's some makes in the book which would be especially suited to a young crafter, such as the badges below.

I especially liked the Union Jack pencil case, I think this may be my first new year project to sort my crochet hooks into, the colour ways can easily be adapted to suit your tastes.

If you do choose to buy your loved one this book it should be accompanied by a cup of tea and a good couple of hours to plan their next project.

Which is happily included in the book, as there is nothing worse than getting a beautiful new book only to have to wait till the shops open before you can make anything.
This book contains a giveaway project to make a lovely new purse for yourself too.
The book retails at £14.99.

Enjoy your first day of Christmas, was it a snowy one for you?
Amanda.x.

We Shall Keep The Faith

2010-11-11T08:08:00.001Z

Picture courtesy of Philip Klinger through Flickr

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!

We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
In Flanders Fields we fought

by Moina Micheals

York Day Trip

2010-10-14T21:06:00.000+01:00

After the wedding in York the next day we though we'd hang around for the day, we enjoyed a morning coffee in town, but couldn't get near Betty tearooms as the cue went round the corner(9am Sunday ).

We had a lovely walk around the Museum Gardens(free) which are full of beautiful plants and trees set against the city ruins(my friends house is 2 minutes away,lucky her) there is a museum there too but it's very history based, too much to take in for our too little uns.

We wanted to take the children to one of the attractions in York where they still run about a bit, we thought of Jorvik but at £26 for a family of 4 thought it too steep especially as Maisie & Lucas are probably too young to take it all in.

Instead we went to The Castle Museum a tardis of a place, full of different displays set through all ages, it had lots of exhibits that were interactive, it costs £8 per adult and kids are free, the ticket lasts for a year.

Maisie enjoyed the Victorian Street scenes with lots of shops to go in. However as I was looking after Lucas some minus points did come up, this museum has no lifts and a lot of stairs, pushchairs are not allowed but you can borrow a baby carrier(I missed my Snugbaby it would have been a lot comfier)but it's very heavy and cumbersome(especially if your child falls asleep) and some of the stairways and street scenes can be dimly lit, I'm not sure how disabled people manage!

The dungeon area proved a little bit scary for Maisie where as Lucas squealed happily at the projections of past people appearing on the walls, again dimly lit and very low ceilings so watch for bumping children's heads in the carrier, not that I did of course.

And when we came out it was to glorious sunshine, so after a treat trip to M&S for supplies it was back to the Museum Gardens for a picnic, some squirrel spotting(shame they all Greys) and lots of running around.

Thanks for having us York you were great fun.

Amanda.x.

Took you guys long enough...

2010-10-11T19:48:00.002+01:00

On Saturday 9th October & after a very lengthy engagement my friends Trish and Will tied the knot, and I was very happy to the return the favour and be Trish's Maid of Honour.

The two babes behaved themselves brilliantly which earned them a treat the next day,

how cute do they look in their finery?

What a great day it was they got wed at York Registrar Office, then went for a lovely meal and evening of relaxing together at The York Pavilion which was perfect for a small intimate reception.

The awesome wedding cake, check out the Star Wars cake topper.

Congratulations.

Love Amanda.x.

First Crochet Workshop

2010-10-05T20:11:00.002+01:00

When I say first crochet workshop I mean the first I've ever taught, eek, it was so scary.
I think I'm pretty good as a public speaker & talking to people on a one to one basis but when it comes to actually showing 6 other people how to do your craft it's really mentally taxing.
I understand why my Nana had a hard time trying to teach me as an insistent 5 year old at her knee, I think learning crochet is a lot about muscle memory, the ebb & flow of wool through your fingers is something which becomes remembered by your hands and happens when your brain switches off. But learning those initial skills is hard work, and you have to concentrate on every little loop.

The workshop took place at Weft Craft Studios run by the lovely Mhairi below, who played with my pom pom maker all night instead.

I find it fascinating watching peoples hands working with fibre, and I loved the age range of all the ladies attending, and that some of them actually finished a lovely little flower for their coats by the end.

The lovely ladies and I at the end of the night, I hope they had a lovely time and as my computer won't let me attach their refresher worksheet to their email I think I'll post a how to guide on my blog.

So would anyone else like to crochet along?

Amanda.x.

Wordless Wednesday-Autumn Daze

2010-09-22T20:29:00.000+01:00

Roses are red,pink,blue,orange,green...

2010-09-20T14:08:00.001+01:00

So it turns out there are some great benefits to Maisie being at school, and that's getting some crafting time back, and boy have I being making the most of it. Below is my rainbow of Rose corsages I've been working on, they look so pretty, but I'm not sure if they need leaves before I put them in the shop.

What do you think? Maybe felt ones with fabric trims, hmm.

Would you like to see any different colours?

I'm also trying to work on a crocheted jewellery range, more on that soon.

The wool I use for these Roses is Rico Creative Cotton, which is a beautiful fibre for crochet, it doesn't split and glides through your fingers.

I've been using this cotton for ages, collecting a little range of colours but thought it was a little expensive in my LYS at £2.50 per ball, & had my fears confirmed that I'm being locally ripped of by those smiling old ladies when I Googled it and found this lovely shop, First4Yarns selling it at £1.50. And what's worse is that I always read Attic 24 blog and Lucy had previously blogged about this yarn & where to buy it from.So I have now learnt my lesson, even though I'm a crusader for buying locally I think with this yarn I be getting it from First4Yarns. Look at the lovely pile I've still got left, sat there in all it's yarny goodness.

This brings me to my other exciting news, on the 4th October I'll be running my first craft workshop at Weft Studio in Carlisle, on how to make these Roses and after that date I'll publish the pattern here for you all to have a go.

Love Amanda.x.

Too cool for school.

2010-09-20T09:17:00.002+01:00

Sorry for the bloggy gap but I've getting my head round Maisie's first couple of weeks at school, I'd taken a couple of weeks of work so I could be home for her, but it was a shock how much I worry about her while she's at school.

I don't think that is anything to do with her however, Maisie is a tough cookie who takes everything in her stride, and has been at nursery while I go to work. The only wobble she had was on the 4th morning when she asked where am I going tomorrow? when I explained "school again Sweetie" all I got was "school again I've been there loads already".

No I think my worry stems from my unhappy school days, I all ways felt like an outsider, had few real friends(although I still have the same ones) and was bullied, I worry constantly about these things for Maisie, I'm sure I'm not the only mother to think about it though, and not all my school days were bad but when you send your child off in the morning it's the bad ones you remember.

Maisie is already coming back being rewarded House points for good conduct and telling me about her friends, so I think she'll take after my sister Barbara in school and be Awesome Girl(more about sis in a later post) and I couldn't be happier about that.

Lucas & Maisie on her first day, he really misses his big Sis when she goes to school but his talking is coming on leaps and bounds now he can get a word in edgeways.

My beautiful Maisie looking very grown up, Love you Sweetie.

Amanda.x.

Happy Anniversary

2010-09-02T09:01:00.000+01:00

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary, and time really does feel like it's slipping through my fingers now. I love my husband more today than I ever thought possible, & I'm sure that's not just because he saves me his last piece of chocolate.

We got married at 20, which in our parents times no one would have batted an eye lid, but people had strong reactions to us marrying young (mostly asking if I was pregnant) but all we wanted to do was show how committed to each other we were.

Our ceremony was very small by a lot of peoples standards, we got married at the Registrars then went for a meal at a beautiful country restaurant.

We had a total of 27 guests, most of which we are still great friends with which means a lot to me,as friendships can change a lot in 13 years.

This is my favourite picture from that day, my lovely Husband thanking everyone for coming, he looks so full of happiness( & so young).

These 2 photos just had to be added so you can laugh at the fashions from 13 years ago, hey we were bloody trendy, okay we weren't but heyho a great day.

Amanda.x.

Groundhog Day!

2010-09-01T16:09:00.000+01:00

Well after a day chilling out on the Bouncilene as it was renamed by Josh & Maisie, we headed back yo Longleat for day 2 adventuring there.

We did some spinning on the cups, just watching them go round & round made me feel a little sick.

We also went on the little steam train that goes past over parts of the park.

And got lost in the Maze, well we did let Maisie choose the way to go.

We visited the small animal area, full of Bunnies,Parrots,small furries,and creepies to hold.

Maisie spotted this lovely Groundhog watching everyone, he was so still that she thought he was stuffed.

But as soon as she turned round he looked up at her, when I told her he'd moved and she turned back round...

He went right back to where he was before

I nearly fell over laughing and Maisie thought I was trying to trick her.

We ended our Longleat trip in the Adventure playground area, you could have spent a whole day just in this part, & the adults enjoyed it as much as the children, although adults aren't allowed down the slides,

Naughty Grandad.

The whole Longleat experience was very enjoyable, and I'd happily go back. Using the Clubcard points made it cheaper & as the passport tickets covered one entry for everything and you can go back again & again.

I think we will.

Amanda.x.