Oh Blimey

Has it been over a month since I last posted?

Well, I guess this might be a long post. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin!

About a month ago, my eldest son came to live with us. He didn't like living where he was in Essex and wanted to move to Wales. So we've been adjusting to having another person in the house, (not too hard, and he's been a great help with keeping his 15 year old hormonal brother in check!) and I've been getting used to having someone around all day while he looks for a job, which is one of the reason's I haven't blogged for a while.

It's lovely having him here. Hubby now has someone to play with and chat to about computer games and other *boy* stuff, and at the moment they're trying to better each other at Guitar Hero 2. Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd being a favourite!

(I play computer games too, but I'm picky! The Burnout games I love, as well as some multiplayer fps games . But I don't fancy Guitar Hero, so I leave that to the boys to have fun with.)

Hmm, so what else have I been up to?

Been to a couple of car boot sales. There's one near us that's on all year round which seems to be going downhill. We went there very early in the year and there were 3 rows of sellers, but the last couple of times we've been, there have been less. The last time we went, there were only about 5 sellers! So after reading about Samanthas finds at one near to her, we decided to give that one a try and it was much better. I got a vintage pinny (75p) to add to my collection, and an old box of Fuzzy Felt (40p). Anyone remember that? Hubby got a trouser press for a fiver and Dan (eldest son) got a wrestling figure. I also saw a woven (like Lloyd Loom) bedroom chair, bedside table and ottoman that I loved, but I wasn't allowed to get them! Both hubby and son were adamant that they were far too horrible (read that as chintzy and girly!) and grubby, despite my protestations that once I'd repainted and recovered they would look fab. Hey ho, you win some, you lose some.

I'm trying to remember what goodies I've found in the charity shops recently. More books, an odd curtain (odd because there was only one, not a pair) that has a pretty pink flower design on it, (that's destined to become my new ironing board cover.) a Porkert mincer (the plastic mincer which I also got in a charity shop turned out to be not very good) a couple of new summer tops and a summer dress (unworn so far thanks to the weather), ooh, and I'm sure there's more, just can't remember them offhand.

What else?
Oh, hubby and I went to Samanthas open house and I bought some bunting which now decorates the shelf above my kitchen window, and some lovely ceramic buttons from her friend Gill.

I've bought more fabric for my stash, and rediscovered some of my old fabric stash.
My old stash includes a lot of swatches of Anna French fabrics that I've had since the 90's, an 80's Habitat fabric, a seersucker fabric that mum gave me from I'd guess, the 70's, and other bits and pieces that I've picked up over the years. (I wanted to be a textile designer when I was at school, so I've always had a fabric stash.)
My new stash (not including stuff I've picked up in charity shops) is mainly from Sis-Boom. I love Jennifers fabrics and I feel that she doesn't get enough credit. Everybody raves about Amy Butler and Heather Bailey, and I think that Jennifer Paganelli should be up there on that pedestal too. So, I'm planning a funky bag for my laptop with the largest piece.

Also on the crafty front, I finally got one of my Mothers Day presents from J. It's not his fault they're late. I asked for a couple of books from Amazon. The Cute Book and The Bad Book which I didn't realise hadn't been published yet. So, I've now got The Cute Book, but I'm still waiting for the other one, which apparently Amazon have in stock, but there hasn't been any email to say it's on its way. grr. But the Cute Book is very good. I'd recommend it to children because it has very easy and fun instructions, and to adults who want something quick and lighthearted and kawaii to make.

Still on the crafty front, I finally got around to finishing a bag I've been making for myself. It's a tote bag, but bigger in the width than the length. I used a bag that I use all the time for the dimensions, and cut up my coveted Ikea Rosali fabric to make it. (I've seen how much a metre of that can go for on ebay!) I'd made the body of the bag (lined with red and white polka dot poplin) and just needed to make the straps, so I did those today. I'm pretty pleased with the results, but I should have used some interfacing to stiffen it and stop the pattern of the lining showing.
Also while I had the machine out (my sewing machine isn't named) I ran up a curtain (also in the Rosali fabric) to hang in front of my washing machine. Now I have enough Rosali fabric left for a cushion cover and something small.

Oh, and Freecycle! I love freecycle. I've been longing for a swinging bench/hammock, but haven't been able to afford a decent new one, but one came up on freecycle and I was lucky enough to get it. It's in better condition than I was expecting, (just a small patch of rust that can be sorted) and I also got some celtic design stepping stones with it. I'm thrilled to bits with it. Now I'm just hoping that we have some nice days so that I can fix the rust, put it together and swing in it. (Other than that and the earlier brief mention of the bloody weather, I'm not going to go on about the lack of a summer.)

A bit of a down note, remember I mentioned having a miscarriage back in January? Well, about 3 weeks ago I got a phone call from a midwife on the team that I was assigned to when I was pregnant. She said there was a place in the ante-natal classes and asked if I was interested. I told her no, and then why, and she apologised, saying they didn't know.

So, I thought, ok, now she will make a note of it.

But last week I got an invite. Ooh, an invite, I thought as I saw those first words, wondering who would be inviting me to what. It was an invite to a *Preparing for your baby* thing.

FFS, is there NO communication?

I showed it to Dan (after having a bit of a cry outside) and he asked what the phone number was. He was ready to rip them a new one. I told him it was ok.

So, on that down note, I think that's pretty much it, except to say, a big THANK YOU to Suzie Sews for asking if I was ok, and thank you Love Boxes and Country Girl and everyone else who has posted comments. They mean a lot to me.