time to escape....

The sun is shining and its the best reason to escape the kitchen, turn your head away from the mess that quickly mounts up from running in and making a sandwich or a bowl of pasta, yes when the sun is shinning its time to head outside...Simple food cooked in a simple way and just enjoying the fun of running around outside and not having to worry about messing up the floor, the birds and squirrels will clean that up later.
The amazing colours of food that just lifts up your spirits, an array of reds and green.  Yes we are enjoying the best this season can offer us.
As we play the sound of tinkling water fills the air from our family pond ... OK , ok , our big bucket filled with water, sadly no frogs this year unless they are hiding in the depths of the bucket!!!
Ending the day with milk and cookies as we warm our hands over the dying embers of the barbie.  (Pistachio cookies... recipe by Bill Granger)
I thank you for the warming comments and emails about my child and his poorly leg, sadly its still not healing and with no swimming or boarding for a week or so, he is most unhappy.  The comments cheered him up.  Thank you.

What ever you are doing in the sunshine I wish you happiness.

Tinkering...

OK I confess, I have an inability to concentrate at the moment, tick tick tick...I find I am just watching time passing me by a second at a time.  Some days I awake and I am in 'full on' action mode, the washing gets done, the house gets cleaned and I even manage some time sewing.  Then there are those other days I struggle to get out of bed in the morning and the day just sort of gets lost... I have noticed I am am having more of the latter than I find acceptable,  despite the present situation I find my little family in.  So I am trying to take action.  Whats a crafty girl going to do when the going gets tough??? Well get crafting of course... now inspired by some yarn and a knitting book I bought a while ago I finally got round to some chicken knitting.  I had planned to knit these a while ago and when I saw .....Periwinkle Park.....  (8th May 09) results I was inspired to pick up the pins.  Something that needed shaping, a little concentration even but, quick results...
So I sat there on Saturday night in front of the fire with a quilt over my knee and watching a tear jerker of a film with a good glass of wine for company I got clacking (or should that be clucking) away.
Ahhhhhhhh I am now on to the crochet bits, as I do not crochet very well this could be challenging...

I have been really good this year on my book buying and only actually bought a couple of books.  Recently though I have had a desire to hold some new inspirational books in my hands.  So I took a peek through blogland and noted down the books recommended and made some purchases.  As the books arrived the guilt of buying myself something kicked in.  It disturbed me a little, I looked back on last years 'May'  postings and I discovered I had bought a pile of books at just the same time.  SO I am guessing its a season thing with me, after the bleakness of winter passing and the promise of sunny days, the in between stage of rainy days and gloriously sunny days, it aspires me to get lost in the beautiful pages and the wonderful photographs of these books...
I am slowly working my way through them, devouring each book with passion, my head is spinning with ideas and my design pad is getting scribbled in daily.  My guilt in these purchases is still there, but I justify them against the price of a meal out or of a few drinks in a county pub on a Sunday afternoon, things I just do not do anymore, and I feel that taking that into account, these books are good value, and what is more they will last me for years to come.  I am especially enjoying the Homemade book, to be fair its nothing none of us will find new, but the photography is superb and I adore the feel of the matt pages, not shiny and glossy but a lovely smooth papery texture...just beautiful.  Should you buy a book for beauty alone...I should think so!!!
Its also that time of year when the food I feed my family changes.  The heavy warming stews cooked in the slow cooker and the thick creamy soups of winter are now not being made.  I sift through my cookery book shelf looking for brighter, lighter summery dishes.  So once again fresh inspiration is required... with books like these, Voluptuous delights, Family cooking and the wonderful Bill Granger's Feed me... well there will be some goodness  being put out on the dinner table this summer that's for sure.  My favourite cooks are the fabulous Jamie Oliver who's energy and zest for living really speaks to me.  The other favourite is Bill Granger, his books are always so beautifully photographed and the lifestyle he puts over is incredibly appealing to me (OK I give in I also find him very attractive)... 
The opening words from his cookery book...I really don't think we can underestimate the importance of good food in our lives.  Providing nutritious and delicious meals for loved ones-and taking time to eat together-is one of life's prime sources of satisfaction.  It is also fundamental to good health and happiness.  But, in today's world, where the pace of life seems to be ever increasing, and we are all juggling competing priorities, time for preparing and sharing meals can easily be compromised.  But it needn't be... and should not be.

Well I could not have said it better myself if I tried...The book is filled with family orientated food, with excellent (and available) ingredients, all laid out in easy to follow  chapters with stunning pictures.  Yes maybe its a lifestyle kinda thing but his books are the most inspiring for me and if you get a chance to watch his cookery programmes, pull on your shades, imagine the sand between your toes and the salty sea spray as you enjoy outdoor eating!

Music I am listening to... Nelly Furtado In Gods Hands

A beautiful person with a stunning voice, a song that rips through my heart about love lost, trust and sadness. 

Show and tell...

The therapy that sewing and knitting offers should never be overlooked, the repetitive action of knitting allows me to clear my head and relax my body, as I watch my fingers instinctively work with rhythm and flow creating the fabric, a process that actually involves little thought (unless its a complicated piece) it feels natural and soothing like time has just slowed down.  Sewing a quilt offers me a similar meditative state...I have been working on my summer quilt, a simple jelly roll quilt, as I sewed the pieces together enjoying the colour combinations I allowed my thoughts to flow, worries and anxieties slowly through the process of sewing and concentrating on that quarter of an inch seam got replaced with happy thoughts and making plans for the coming summer months.
The top and the bottom of the quilt are now pieced together and the sandwich is all layered up and pinned together ready for the quilting and then the binding.  I went to the shop to buy the edging fabric and I had taken my quilt top with me, it was greatly admired, I blushed through my smiles, I got talking to a group of women about the Kirsty Allsops programme.  Now this serious has actually had poor reviews, bur personally I have loved it... One of the ladies I was talking to in the fabric store went and bought herself some fabric to make a quilt having being inspired by the show and being able to handle my quilt... sometimes you just have to touch something to understand its beauty and secrets. 
If you have missed the series you can catch it on the computer catch up for another 20 or so days.  Kirsties Homemade Home. 

Its a fascinating look at the skills people have, that you can use or even learn to do yourself, full of inspiration.  I loved the quilting, sewing and knitting parts, I watched with my boys who commented on its what I do with some pride in their voices. I was also really interested in the Blacksmith, wow this was stunning to watch someone work in such a traditional way and produce such great results.  Now its not practical for most of us to do our homes out with handcrafted expertise, when maybe you could just nip to Ikea and pick up some cheap fabric to make curtains or a chair for your child's room, but I see no harm in doing a little of both.  To salvage, ebay, skip hunt and use crafts people to make your home, a home with history, is appealing to me, what I had not thought of was how much I love my belongings to have this history but the thought that they would also be passed on to someone else, with my little bit of history added in.
Indeed a programme that inspired me and has made me look at my home with fresh eyes.  OK I also have to admit here I am a Kirsty fan, I love her humor, her voice and as  for her dress sense, yes I like her style.  She visited the home of Kaffe Fassett  

I remember reading a book, well looking at the stunning riot of colour blooming from the pictures, when I was a teenager, I fell in love with his beautiful cabbage leaves and mosaic walls and I have followed his work ever since. On the show he said this 'Find your voice with colour, be a slob for a few years.  Once you get it right and you know what you want to say, you will then clean up your act' You will have found your voice with colour.  
I have enjoyed the series and have loved watching the derelict house become a home to be filled with life, love and the chaos of family living, whilst retaining beauty and style.  Oh and the opening shots of Kirsty  knitting and those fabulous stockings she is wearing, I have to get myself a pair of them...

On my homemade front, things are picking up around here, I have completed an order for knitted flowers, my cardigan is now back to being worked on and I am also enjoying some baking time in my kitchen.  So its the weekend and my children are at parties at the moment,

early evening the plan is to make some popcorn and settle down to watch a family movie, and tomorrow we are going to a dogs home, the kids are very excited at the possibility of having a dog.  IT is just a possibility mind!!!

Have a great weekend whatever you are doing. 

Listening to GoldFrapp in particular my favourite track live at the Eden Project.  WOW that would be one fab night out.

The Gingerbread house...

Happy New year and may I take this opportunity to wish you all the very best for 2009 and may it be filled with lots of love,  peace, health, happiness and of course creativity...So the New Years Resolutions are still just jotted down notes in my journal and will soon be an actual list.  I checked up on last years resolutions and I had a success rate of about 75%.  If I may say so myself I thought I did pretty well.  Some will be carried forward, some are no longer appropriate for me anymore and some... well... just unrealistic.  
Two years ago one of my resolutions was to start my Suzie Sews blog and maintain it for a year, so on to year three and here I still am, still wittering, still taking pictures of everything and still sewing and knitting up a storm.  I however do not feel still, no life moves and changes, it shifts in all sorts of directions and the ability to move and grow with it are an ever demanding part of life.  Each day that passes I am grateful for so much, I love the things that life teaches me and I love the creativity of my spirit.  I draw inspiration and strength from my ability to use my hands creatively.
So dare we imagine what the New Year holds for us all.  One of the things I believe in is to enjoy the moment.  Motherhood has taught me to slow down, stop the rushing and just open my eyes and see the beauty around me and take joy in the simple pleasures that surround me on a day to day basis.
Its fabulous when we make an effort and we do something out of the ordinary, but what about the ordinary, why should it be so dull?  If you promise yourself one thing this New Year, try and see the goodness in your everyday life.  The sun coming up in the morning, the first show of spring, the delicious food you eat, a successful sewing project...  a smile from a stranger... the list is endless... one of those special moments for me was the last day of the holidays...
The children and I had been invited to a friends for dinner, our kitchen cupboards needed to be restocked after the holiday period so we had no food to take... after a rummage through the kitchen I remembered that we had not done the Gingerbread House... so two excited children and I have to admit.. me too... got sticky and messy and spent a very happy couple of hours putting together our master piece of a house to take along with us as a Hostess Gift... the best part... watching four giddy children smash it to pieces at the end of their meal and eat it all up...

So after a rather sparse time on the making front, I feel inspired, the sewing room is all tidy (with a gorgeous new cupboard to store my fabric in) and ready to spring into action and that is the place I am going to right now...  Wishing you all the very best for the 2009...

Paper chains......

So its here, the Christmas music is singing out, people are smiling and saying hello, its a happy time (for most) and the season of good will is up on us... All around me the plans and preparation of the season are in full flow...
With the recent snow, we have spent a lot of time at home due to the village school being closed and when we were not out enjoying all the delights the snow has to offer, well we spent some time warming up our frozen fingers and toes sitting around the kitchen table.  We are on the count down now to Christmas, we have three advent calenders on the go ranging from bought-put it together yourself and of course a hand made one...  The dark Christmas mornings are forming a pattern,  we all snuggle down under the quilts in a sleepy haze, then we get up to open the advent calenders, breakfast is the time we discuss the day ahead before its full swing into action to start the day... Its a comfortable groove and I kinda like these dark cosy mornings...
So with all this special time together we have been creating a good old fashioned mess in the kitchen...from making our own decorations to baking some delicious yummy treats...
of course the time at the table would not be complete without the traditional jug of Hot Chocolate to really warm us up...
...sitting amongst the mess of activity...
Yes its been a time to be together, to enjoy each others company and just chill...before the craziness of Christmas takes over and we start to run all over the place with nativities, choir, music shows, parties and sharing our time with special people...

Take a moment to enjoy this time, slow it down a little and hug your loved ones...

A mixed bag....

Its a mixed bag today and what could be nicer than starting off the day with a little thank you gift,  a wonderful bag of beautiful chunky yarn, how lucky am I?  Mmmmmm just lovely 100% wool and a gorgeous shade of baby blue...I am thinking a nice cosy throw knitted on great big needles to cuddle up with over the Christmas holidays.Now that is my plan of what to knit and I actually promised you completed projects, so on with some silly knitting... cute little felted hearts... a free pattern from the talented Mochimochiland, yes free! You just print it off and knit, I made them over breakfast with my little ones chatting away about their day to come... The eyes are optional, but kind of make me smile!
Talking of hearts a little knitted mobile for a new baby... I had no heart pattern at this stage and I was trying my hand at designing my own pattern, it needs a little work, but the end result is rustic and that's the look I wanted...
So on to sewing... I am being inspired by this new party skirt, just far to pretty to hang in the darkness of a wardrobe, it is in my sewing room, it is just the most beautiful fabric, it makes a wonderful swishing sound when you move in it and it is guaranteed to make any girl feel like a princess...  
I seem to be making more clothes now than bags, maybe its seasonal? Funny how these patterns of creating  go.  With all the rain we have at present a fabric bag is far from practical. Whilst I am limiting my fabric buying at present (saving up for a blow out at the Harrogate show) I have made a small purchase... I went to IKEA for a new table cloth, I was uninspired by the selection but spotted this fabric, I think it will jolly up breakfast time a treat and with a clear plastic cover over it, I can relax around the children and their creative endeavours.
I have been playing about with some Christmas gift ideas, I am planning on backing a couple of journals for some friends that will appreciate this kind of gift...  this tree idea is appealing, its not perfected yet but its fun playing with the idea... seasonal trees... 
Summer Tree... Autumnal Tree... (click on to picture for greater detail) 
Ideally  a silk painted  landscape for the backing fabric would be stunning, in reality time will not allow this.
A couple more blocks for the quilt have been finished, some applique and a block which involved a protractor... I have not used one of these since my school days and even then I had no idea what to do with it, suddenly it all comes together...
Its also a chance to raid the button stash.  The green Amy Butler fabric is by far one of my favorite designs, the colour is perfect, its my favourite colour!
A mixed bag of things today and no flow at all, I have yet to find my Winter groove and I am so not feeling it yet... I am trying, maybe trying just too hard... the cooking is no longer summer foods, its been replaced with stews, chunky crusty bread, soups and for the children they seem to want warm rich flavours.  
With the onset of the dark evenings, the outdoor play is no more after school, instead we are having to think about what we want to do, some nights we just chill out and others we...well, make a mess!!! 
But with some smile inducing results...
Ah I have always had a secret passion for play dough, the colour, texture and smell... 
SO how to escape this winter funk that I find myself in, looking around the house and my garden I am reminded  that summer is a long time off, how I long to stand on the beach, to listen to the movement and power of the sea, to feel the grains of sand scratching at my skin, the wind making my eyes stream with tears and the smell of fire burning in the evening light... this is what I do when I need inner strength.  BUT, with the sea so far away and prospect of cold wet winter days ahead, whats a girl to do?
Time to move on, and look at the positive.  The rich, lush  shades of red that mark the coming of the  holiday season, its that in between time, Winter is here and the festivities are just around the corner, right now however they all seem so far away. I received my first Christmas card today, the calender already has a few parties dated in  and I am well and truly involved in the Christmas planning at school, but just now the only bit of this promise is a room in my home, a room every spring I want to paint yellow and every winter I am pleased I have not... I love the reflection of the light in the glass of the picture and you can just make out the horizon of hills that can be viewed from the window.  Yes it feels like a transitional period... a time of change, in a short period of time Christmas cheer will be all around us... 

Summer giveaway...

As promised..the summertime giveaway, you know what to do...leave a comment on this post and you will be in the draw...(knitted cup cake, hair clip and gingham button pegs)...How can that be...only two weeks left of the summer holidays...well I plan to make the most of every moment with my guys..so I will be off line and as soon as I return I will pick the winner...
So its been a holiday made up of special moments with special people...we have been away a lot, as much BEACH TIME as we can manage and a few days out to various places.  Eating outdoors has been a major part of our holiday time with picnics and BBQs...you just can't beat eating outdoors, especially with children, less mess to clear up and they eat so much more and food they would not normally eat...
Water is a big feature of our time out and about, from the wild sea to the calmness of the canals...
and why does Hot Chocolate always taste so good when your all sandy and curled up after a chilly dip in the sea?
For some reason when I look at my summer photos there are so many pictures of daisy's, I think they sum up our time together, simple, sweet and a wonderful symbol of summer time fun...

Summer has been all about knitting socks...addictive!  Lots of plans for new sewing designs and makes are all ready to be put in to action come September but, for now I am enjoying as much 'play time" with my children...We have a cool camping trip planned, to spend a week body boarding...the camper van needs a good clean out as we have not made the use of her this season, we have new body boards so there is no stopping us...unless it rains...Ahhhh camping in the rain!!!

Thank you so much for the thoughtful comments made on my last post, what can I say...you guys are the best!

Wishing you a healthy and happy couple of weeks and may you be blessed with good weather...

In the bag...

Well its all over...the end of term is finally here...the presents got finished, the last minute PTA events got attended to and the goodbye service to the last class about to take the next big step in their world was filled with tears... So its here at last...the start of the summer holidays...filled with promise, promise of long summer days, eating ice cream and feeling the sand on our skins, BBQ's in the fresh air, camping and meeting up with friends and family...
Most of all, not looking at the clock, days and days of just going with the flow...time to chill, to read with my children, to take slow walks and eat pic-nics and lots craft activities...
Its the best time of year and the start of the holidays is by far the most exciting time...
So whilst I get into my summer groove I am going to be off line for a few days. I need to get into the flow of being free from living by the clock, to reconnect with my little family, to establish the ground rules and to get on with some serious 'making' time. So many things are planned for the summer, I have some goals I want to achieve with the children...learning to tie shoe laces, reading and improving writing, working on the joy of photography with my eldest child and lots of sewing and knitting for me...so please bear with me and I shall be back soon with all the news...Enjoy the summer and take time out to create...create a mess, learn something new or just simply follow your dreams...to me this is what summer is all about...

Photographs....1)teachers presents wrapped and ready for giving 2) Suzie Sews bags all complete especially made for each teacher with the fabric selected by the children 3) a close up 4) a little extra parcel for a little poppet, one of the teachers babes...