Holiday week

We have had a busy week. It started last Saturday John and Biddle went walking and left me to my own devices at home. I pottered about and did some sewing. Grace's dress is coming along but got neglected after the weekend. On Sunday Elizabeth and Steve came. We went to the garden centre and bought a few plants for the tubs. Then had a very nice curry. They left me a pressy bag ready for Wednesday and a present and card for Biddle.

On Bank Holiday Monday we went off to Headingley to watch a 20/20match between Yorkshire and Leicestershire. This was quite nail biting at the end but Yorkshire did manage to win. The weather was sunny to start but clouded over a bit which was better for me


Then we caught a bus to Saltaire for the Seth Lakeman concert. We had to eat too but nowhere much was open so we decided to have fish and chips and we sat in the bus shelter because there was rain in the air. The concert was great and Seth plays a mean fiddle.

Tuesday was spent at home pottering about doing not much at all.

But it was a beautiful sunny day and we walked through a variety of scenery
Wednesday the birthday was a good day. I had some brilliant presents. John bought me a book of Ashes facts and a book from the Cloud appreciation society. I am sure you have all made pictures in clouds and this book showed some really good ones. In the year 2000 John bought me a minimum/maximum thermometer for the garden. I have been recording temperatures daily since then. I have no been upgraded and have got a new gadget that is radio controlled. And can record all sorts of things now. I have also got a rain gauge/thermometer and weather vane. I haven't taken a photo of this yet.

Mum sent money and when we went to town I spent my Christmas money on a new digital radio and my birthday on a jacket for walking etc.

We then went to see Coraline

I enjoyed it immensely but think that some of the small children in the cinema might have found parts scary. After the film we went for a meal and Nando's. Biddle came too of course. I think it was his first cinema visit. We were home to watch Barcelona beat Man Utd!

Thursday was a day catching up at home doing boring stuff like washing.
On Friday we travelled by bus to The Waterton Countryside Discovery Centre in Wakefield

I cannot find a very good link to it.


We could hear lots of different types of birds singing in the trees but they were hard to spot in many cases.

Biddle enjoyed it here and found some interesting things.






The meadow of buttercups looked amazing and the woods gave us some respite from the sun


On Saturday and Sunday we caught up with some planting in the garden and John fixed up the water butt we have had in stored in the cellar for far too long. So... I can guarantee a rain-free summer, new shower-proof jacket, rain gauge and a water-butt ....

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Cross stitch and things

I have neglected my cross stitch over the past couple of years. I am not a quick stitcher and when I see how much some stitchers can accomplish in a day, week, month I get disheartened. There is me plodding along. So I have been knitting and sewing a lot more lately. But I am determined to finish
Ye Olde Chocolate Shoppe. And she is coming along very nicely


I have all the easy bits left now so I can stitch with out too much counting ( yes I know its counted cross stitch). I have so many projects and I will hopefully get to grips with a few more. One problem I have is that we moved the table out of the front room and I haven't got anywhere to spread my stuff ( and it certainly used to spread).

My local shop had McCall patterns half price during April and it seemed a shame not to take advantage of this. I could not find a jacket pattern I liked - all too boxy, short, fitted and so Grace has benefited. I have bought a toddler patter which will be a good fit for the chest measurement but I will have to alter the length. She is one spoilt bear.This is the fabric from my stash.

It will have a plain collar and a plain facing for the sleeve ties. I am out of practice with dressmaking and this will ease me back in.

The pots in the garden are changing the spring bulbs are finishing and the summer ones I planted a few weeks ago are all showing through. The sweet pea seedlings will need planting out soon, but there is no sign of any pepper seedlings coming through in the mini greenhouse. It has been so miserable here the last week or so, with several heavy showers and even some thunder. But the garden looks fresh and clean. I just hope it warms up a bit soon. It is half term next week. To be fair I can hardly acknowledge it as I haven't work much but John is on holiday for the week and certain festivities will take place. Including a visit to Saltaire to see Seth Lakeman

so this week I will be listening to his music. Do you sing? I sing all the time. I harmonise along with various singers while listening. I join in at shows when invited with most people around me not doing. My sister used to tell me off because I used to sing out loud walking to school.

But the time to worry is when I don't sing! Singing means I am happy, singing means I am content.

I wonder what kind of singer I would like to have been. Folk, rock, opera. In my daydreams I have been them all.

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I am one of the Weird its official

Now I have always known that I am not your usual female. I love watching most sport and most of my musical tastes are very different to that of female friends. I am not into make-up, jewellery most material possessions, or brand names (except Apple mac of course) . I take bears on trips and photograph them. My blog has been acknowledged in the post

new friends

on Mad Priest's "Of course I could be wrong blog." I love his blog (but it may not be everyone's cup of tea) and have found out all sorts of things and linked to loads of sites I would have missed..

I have several pieces of work that are in progress.


This is from a Pattern by The Chook shed I bought at a Harrogate show.



This piece of patchwork is a practice piece I made years ago I thought I would put together with the background fabric I acquired ( where from escapes me)

The last piece is again from the same The Chookshed pattern and will feature fabric and bits from the colour exchange I took part in


I am not sure exactly how they will all end up. Ye Olde Chocolate Shoppe is going well and will be worthy of photographing again soon.

We had a visit from a female blackbird at the weekend and was pleased to see she easily managed to get into the feeder cage. We bought this because pigeons can eat a dish of food in next to no time.



These were taken from the kitchen window and the background noise is me giggling I don't know why it might be at Jonathan Agnew on
Test Match Special on the radio

ps sorry video wouldn't upload so there is just the still photo

We only started getting feral pigeons visiting in the the very cold winter weather and they are a nuisance.
Some of our pots are looking really lovely and this bush gets bigger and better each year. The sparrows shelter there quite often




There is only one week left after this week before Springbank. John has the week off, we will be out and about for Biddle's birthday and that of a weird blogger
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It's May

and its cold...nothing new there. It was a busy week last week. I worked three days and enjoyed it.
I have been rummaging about and found a box of dolls clothes spanning a large part of my life.
Those in this first picture were made for my dolls by my mum. The baby nighties are spare fabric from a nightdress and pyjamas she made for my sister and I. The knitted jumper and shorts were for the last doll I had as a child. Also made by my mum.


Those in the second picture I made when I was about 11 for the same doll. The blue outfit was made from my old dressing gown and the baby nightie from a remnant that I bought with my pocket money. The 'suit' I designed myself. The grey patches are not dust but where the fabric has worn out and faded over the last nearly 50 years.


Those were probably the last dolls clothes I made for quite a few years. I ventured into the world of grown up clothes in a serious way. So my next adventure with dolls clothes was Cindy clothes for my daughter.

I sewed dresses too but I think Libby must have those tucked a way in her own house.
I love the way these small items bring back so many memories. My mum made most of own dresses when I was small and knitted all our jumpers and cardigans. I was so proud of them all. Most of my sewing skills I learned from her too.

One summer holiday I decided that I had better try and use up some of my wool stash and I began knitting new clothes for the dolls and bears in residence here.

Christopher of course got a new outfit. He is now nearly 47 older even than Biddle, a little grubby but looks as good as he did when I unwrapped him all those Christmases ago




Needless to say the wool stash has not diminished! Biddle and Grace have tempted me into buying more.

I have no new work to show this week three wall pieces are in progress and I have not got a doll started yet.

I am ashamed to say that my contribution to a challenge on a doll group did not get any votes. I quite like her though. And I did vote for the one that won.