Monday 26 May 2014

Week Twenty One

Another week has whizzed by, here are the highlights:

I was so pleased I had my phone to hand when I turned round and saw Alfie snuggled up with one of his babies :)
On Tuesday me and Sarah went off to the theatre to watch Grumpy Old Women, it was so funny and a really great evening.
The sun put in an appearance on most days :)
I cast on something new, a cardigan for my niece Alice.
I caught my stalker outside my office door :)
We had the most amazing thunder storm but 10 minutes later the sky looked like this:
Dirty pudding :)
Choosing tea again on Friday, it really gets us in the mood for the weekend.
We watched the last episode of Gogglebox, I swear these two think they're actually on the program as they have to sit in their certain seats each week!
I did a quick bit of scrapping and made this layout for my sister for her birthday.
Sunday evening was gorgeous and it was made even better by knowing that the next day was a Bank Holiday and I wouldn't have to go to work the next day :)
All in all it was a lovely week and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Wednesday 21 May 2014

A Stitch in Time

When I was choosing my options at school I wanted to do sewing, pottery and art but my mum wanted me to do chemistry, technology and physics.  She won and I ended up with qualifications in subjects that have had absolutely no impact on my later life :(

I really love to sew, I was good at sewing and it's a hobby I've done for many years.

Twenty four hours before she was due to start I found out that Maddie had finally got a place at nursery school.  She needed a bag to put her PE kit in so at 10 o'clock at night I thought I'd make her one.  This is the bag, she never wanted to get rid of it even though it's no longer used.
I thought I'd make her a reversable bag with the brightly coloured fabric I had.  There was no pattern, no instructions, it was all in my head.
And it only took me about twenty minutes to do, making sure it was neatly finished inside and out.  I didn't have a table at the time so I did all of this sitting crossed legged on the floor, hunched over the machine, using the side of my knee to operate the foot peddle!
I was always so good at looking at an item and just knowing how to sew it, I didn't need patterns and instructions back then.  I made a few skirts and some beautifully smocked dresses all from ideas in my head.  So why am I now scared to get out my machine and sew?  During the week I tell myself the machine is coming out at the weekend but when the weekend comes so does the mental block and I never start sewing.

Maddie still thinks her bag is cute and since looking at it again I've been trying to tell myself that I CAN DO IT.
Maybe this weekend....

Have you ever had a mental block when it comes to doing something you used to love?

Thanks for stopping by

Jo xx

Monday 19 May 2014

Week Twenty

Here we are just beginning week twenty one already, here are my highlights from week twenty:

The weather was good which meant some lovely sunsets:
I actually managed to get a picture of my girl smiling in the sunshine, she normally prefers to pull funny faces!
I got started off on my Christmas list, I know it's early but I want to make a lot of gifts this year.
Another dirty pudding :)
This has become a Friday night tradition, choosing tea and Googlebox :)
A crime scene outside my office, it was not a pretty sight :(
An early morning coffee in my friend and hairdresser's garden.  She needed a lift to get her car and I needed a haircut, seemed like a fair exchange :)
As the weather was so lovely I moved a few of my hobbies outside and enjoyed a day in the garden.
It was my nephew, Egg's,  birthday so I spent some time with my family.
Maddie found a little star pin in my Studio Calico kit and declared herself a giant fairy!
Alfie still hasn't got the hang of a family selfie!  He hates the camera and I'm sure he thinks that every photo that is taken of him steals a bit of his soul!
I finished the week with a gorgeous bottle of wine that was a lovely gift from my boss.
I'm really looking forward to this week, especially as I'm going to watch Grumpy Old Women at the theatre tomorrow night.

I hope you have a good week.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Monday 12 May 2014

Week Nineteen

Week nineteen was a great week, here are the highlights:

I went to Southbank on Bank Holiday Monday and it was packed, there was a food festival and the smells were amazing! Unfortunately the queues were far too long to sample the goods :(
I then joined the queue with my friend, Sarah, to watch The Paul O'Grady show.
Paul was great, we weren't meant to take photos but I managed to sneak a few :)
And I was so pleased when Kathleen Turner was one of his guests, I've always been a fan of hers and she was amazing!
We then hot footed it home and went straight to bingo where I was lucky enough to win £100!
I managed to rescue my socks.  Alfie had eaten the bamboo needles they were on but he managed to do it without dropping a stitch!
My baby brother, Jamie, came back from Thailand.  I haven't seen him since last June and it was really lovely to see him again.
Mmmmmm dirty pudding :)
I had lots of laughs with these two :)
And a great day at the crop.
Where I managed to do some secret squirrel stuff along with this layout.
I thought these papers were perfect for a layout of the bingo girls :)
I managed to finish my sock so just one more to go and then that's a WIP off of my list.
I had lots of fun playing in the garden with this silly boy.
Who then had a lovely sleep on my lap.
And I finished the weekend off with a lovely sunset and a large glass of bubbly :)A
I hope you had a good week.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Monday 5 May 2014

Week Eighteen

Another week has whizzed by, here are the highlights:

I had a naughty coffee with my girl, it seems ages since we last went out for coffee on our lunch break:
My friend, Clare, came to visit:
Me and Alfie played in the garden until he was ready to drop!
I had this little visitor to the garden, he keeps popping in but I have no idea what type of bird it is.
A lot of these were consumed this week and they were delicious.
I looked back on how far I've come with my weight loss.
I still had dirty pudding though :)
While Maddie enjoyed her favourite doughnut.
Another friend popped over for drinks which was a lovely end to the working week :)
I got week 17 in the album.
Although I still feel a bit sad that I'm so up to date so can't have a long Project Life session :(
We'd had a bit of rain so the garden had got very wild again, it was nice to spend time sorting it out in the sunshine though.
I helped some friends build a shed!
I had a long look at all the projects I have on the go and decided to start a group on Facebook for people in the same situation.  WIP Busters will hopefully help me get these unfinished projects done as well as to encourage others to get their projects finished.  Head over to Facebook if you'd like to join :)
So another lovely week has passed and another one has started with a Bank Holiday!  Who do I have to talk to to get every week started with a Bank Holiday Monday? :)

I hope you have a great week.
Thanks for stopping by
Jo x