Happy birthday to me!

I am twenty seven on Friday! I have now stumbled into my late twenties and other than getting older im looking forward to a good and rather busy year. I decided to take control of my birthday this year as I wanted to do something that I would really enjoy without the stress of inviting every acquaintance to my house or pub and being disappointed when they either don’t show up or they do and I have to clean up after them. That makes me sound really old I know but then that’s the point!

So this year me and my lovely man are taking a little trip to Stratford, spending a night in a nice hotel and going to see Twelfth night. When I was a student I used to go regularly and get the cheap standing tickets but now that I am grown I will be sitting in the middle of the stalls! Yea im really excited.

Then to make it a perfect weekend on Saturday my favourite girlys are coming round for a sleepover complete with Pizza, Ice cream and copious amounts of wine. So heres to a great birthday weekend!

Oh and just to add to my excitement I bought myself a really great bracelet made from old typewriter keys I found on Etsy. Really loved it and as it is my birthday I didn’t even need to think up another excuse for treating myself.

Hope she doesn’t mind me stealing the picture but if you wanted to know the original is here

Jamtastic!!

Feeling really proud of myself this morning as instead of cleaning my house and doing all the things that need doing i made my first ever batch of jam. Well what are saturdays for! A lady at work gave me a bag of Damsons from her tree and it was enough for three small jars of Damson Jam. It wasnt as difficult as i expected but i did manage to get jam all over the kitchen so there is certainly room for improvement. Now feel ready to take on any challenge - which looks like its going to be the piles of washing upstairs :(

Harvest Festival

Well its feeling like autumn and after a miserable summer it’s almost a relief. I love this time of year. It’s cool enough to feel cosy indoors and indulge in the fire, blankets and wine but it’s not the misery of winter when you can’t walk around my freezing house without three layers of clothing, thick socks and slippers.

I did manage to fill up the hot water bottle not seal it properly and soak the end of the bed so im obviously a little out of practice.

Anyway I was thinking this weekend about the interesting pagan turned Christian ritual of harvest festival. It’s the time of year when people bring food to church to celebrate the bounty of the land and the successful harvest. Living in the middle of a city I feel like I sometimes forget what green spaces look like and being thankful for a good harvest seems strange when most of the produce we consume is shipped in from the rest of the world.

I had a small attempt this year at gardening and growing some vegetables. I have never grown anything in my life other than possibly some cress in primary school so I found the whole experience very educational. I can go to gardens and enjoy the beauty of the flowers but the excitement and appreciation I felt at every new bud in my own garden was quite overwhelming.


So last night as I gathered in my little harvest of Runner beans, Tomatoes, Spinach and some chives I was thankful for the enjoyment that my garden has given me this year. I have made many mistakes and have some very different plans for next year but being able to eat something that I have planted, cared for, watched and admired made me feel truly blessed.

Disappointment

Well i had intended to post about some of my new finds and finished projects and i diligently took pictures last night to bring into my work computer. But unfortunately i couldnt find the card reader and therefore the pictures are locked inside a small chip with no way of releasing

them :( But as i was so excited im determined to write something.

So on my last trip to the secret charity shop to get some cord fabric to make some floor cushions I found the most amazing Rainbow Brite quilt cover. Felt like six years old in the charity shop thinking i have to have this -- even if i never use it and cant think of anything to make from it. Its Rainbow Brite!!

Thinking i might make tote bags or something but really have no idea at the moment i just like to look at it. Also got some aweful seventys curtains and some cool blue glasses (which i proceeded to break as soon as i got in the house) Anyway just wanted to share my joy!

Work in progress

Well ive been trying to think of something to do with a whole pile of old girls comics i saved from the local charity shop - Im still open to suggestions!!

They range from the seventys onwards and have descriptive names like Sally, Penelope and Trudy. So last night i spent some time sticking them to cards and making envelopes to match.

Feel slightly evil cutting up books especially vintage ones but these were mostly taken from the one that had been lovingly scribbled on by its previous owner so that made me feel better.

Think im going to try photocopying pages to make the envelopes now as the paper is a little worn and yellowed plus it means an everlastling source that way.

The cards are only small (not sure you can tell from the picture) but im quite pleased with the result. Thinking i could replicate this with book marks or ever journal covers - what do you think?

Other bits and bobs

Just to catch up with all the rubbish i have made this month.

Here are a bean frog and soft turtle to add to the zoo of creatures now inhabiting my flat. Think im going to move on to something more practical next like cushions or finish up the apron i started.
You might notice a similar theme going on with the flowery fabric but thats all ive got to work with at the moment. Im really enjoying the sewing and hopefully my friends wont mind getting strange looking animals for birthdays and christmas!

Pink Minky

This is what i did while my boyfriend went to the Nine inch nails concert. Rock on! Actually i dont think i moved from the sofa the whole time he was gone. Seems to be less of a hobby and more of an obsession at the moment but i cant bear to leave things unfinished. Anyway i did leave this spotty monky without his ears for an evening so i must have a little self discipline.

So this is my first attempt at a sock monkey and as they are all over the internet i thought i would join the fun. Quite pleased with the result but discovered that i am really crap at embroidery so his mouth came out a little freaky - obviously something to work on. I bought a set of three little girls socks so he has two friends to follow but as that will be God knows when i thought i would post this one now.