Weekend gad about!!!

This weekend seemed to just whizz past us. We had planned a lazy weekend as the children are very tired after their first week back at school. So whilst we seemed to be working at a lazy pace we did managed to get so much done. Saturday was the out and about kind of day, a visit to a park, some time spent in the garden and best of all a little time shopping in a craft store. I am not usually a big fan of these big craft warehouse style shops, I think they are bad news for the small retailer who puts their heart in to their shops...As I only wanted a refill from my glue gun, needs must. Yes, of course we came out with rather more than glue sticks, a few small kits for the children as they had Christmas money to spend and I finally managed to get some quilting safety pins. As the store is quite a drive from my home and near to my Moms, we phoned her from the car and asked if we could call round for tea...sadly her reply was she had nothing in to offer us and could we do it another time...I know I do not talk much about personal stuff, so forgive me but, it sets up the rest of the weekend...My Mom loves me and the children, I fear though, that we are a little too much for her, as a family we moved some distance to be nearer to her...I think we actually see her less than when we lived a few hours away. As a Mom I struggle with this and without going into too much detail, I feel she is missing out so much on my children's lives and they could offer her so much in return. So once my rejection complexes had kicked in I felt the need to do lots of quality stuff with my own children just correct the balance...
The next day we woke up and had a sleepy morning chilling out in our PJS, we read books, I did a little knitting and we got all the pens and things out for some crafty time. Once the rain had slowed down a little we put on the winter gear, knitted tops and mittens and we pulled on our wellies...Off for one of our WELLY WALKS...Wellie walks are such fun, we get as mucky as we wish and have names for all the types of puddles we wade through, welly washers, welly dippers etc...
Suddenly we realised it was actually getting quite dark, a little scary too as we had walked for a while, so with a last go at POO STICKS we headed home. A few last pictures more got taken, did I tell you my children are as crazy at taking pictures as I am, yep even the wee one...with comments like 'OH Mom, look at this shot, that is sooo interesting' or 'Mom why is this picture so wobbly?' etc...between us we had taken over 100 pictures on this one walk... So once we got home we pulled off all the heavy winter clothing and had a cuddle to warm up, we thought some biscuits and hot chocolate seemed like a good idea. So out with the recipe books and we got busy in the kitchen...
Peanut butter cookies, chocolate and cranberry cookies and oaty biscuits, we had to make three different types as we all like different things...

A lot of effort, well maybe, a lot of fun and giggles and sticky fingers...you bet...Worth it? What do you think?
So along with a jug of chocolate...a perfect recipe for this Mommy and her babes for some quality time together...
Fancy a cup? How could you resist when those little hands holding tightly to the mug say it all...as for the rejection complex...not after some time spent with these guys!
There is more too...it wasn't all welly walks and baking, when the boys had managed to snooze off in the evening I curled up in my favourite chair put in a DVD (I have been watching:Paris with Sandrine Voillet...must watch DVD...Pure Brilliance and amazing camera work) warmed my toes by the fire and got some knitting done...
So as we start another grey and wet week...I wounder what the following few days will hold as I have quite a few appointments ahead, I am sure I will get some blogging time in though...

Today I have been mostly making...

Just a short post today to start off the weekend...following on from my previous post I never managed to get the cushion finished yesterday, I got a bit hooked on blog reading...you know how it goes... So today, my easy day, I started the day off with a swim, then a little bit of food shopping (Oh man!!! how I hate food shopping) I returned home and baked myself a nice fish pie. Once the kitchen was all clean (or as clean as I make it) I retreated into my sewing room and got busy on the cushion...
So there you have it, the front view, the back view and the close up, all that's left is for me to sponge off the transfer pencil from the front cotton piece and I am already to invite someone in to sit on my nice comfy sofa filled with all my cushions...anymore cushions and there will be no room for anyone to sit there, still it looks pretty...
Last night I sat at the kitchen table with the children and we got the art stuff out, we thought it would be fun to make a farm as we are thinking about a little holiday I am trying to plan on a working farm...sometimes with the age difference its hard to get something they both like and can do, so this proved a good project, so I thought I would share a miniture tutorial with you...
If I knew how to do a pdf file (if thats what you call it?) I would, sadly as I do not, if you wish to have ago you will have to sketch the picture out to the required size, they are nice easy shapes so it should not be to difficult, just make sure the feet are straight!

Place the cutout shapes on the fold of folded card and then cut out, use a bone folder if you can, it makes it a nice crisp line, my little one likes to do this...then once all cut out, get the colouring pens or pencils out of your choice and go a little crazy, I liked this bit best and indeed ended up making more than required just so I could colour them in!!! As I was doing this I let my imagination go and thought that you could add googly eyes or bondaweb fabric on to card and have textured animals, or lovely fabric for really funky animals...this would maybe make a nice gift from one child to another...anyway don't forget to glue the horses head on and make sure you get the weight distribution right or you will have a tipsy horse...

So its the start of the weekend, I wish you a good one, what will the Suzie Sews household be doing? Making a barn of course..Have fun and be well...

Candy!!!

Have you got any candy, chocolate and other goodies left from Christmas? We are nearly through it...just this one jar and a few luxury chocolates. I love this jar, I made a few jars up for pressies this year (the idea came from the Country Living magazine). I saw a box of sweets from my childhood and thought they would make a great gift for someone I know with a sweet tooth... The little box was £40.00 I had a closer look at the contents and worked out that there was only about £10.00 worth of sweets, so whilst the box was adorable the gift was for a man who would just not appreciate the box so this was my solution...Of course I had to check that the sweets really did taste like they did when I was a little person...
Now on to a candy of a different sort...eye candy...more to the point my WIP...I bought this fabric pre Christmas and fell in love with it, I was planning on a wall hanging...nothing fancy just pinning it around a board and hanging it up...then I was looking through my latest copy of Homespun and saw this lovely wall hanging with an embroidered centre...so I copied the bird and sat the last two nights embroidering it, picking up all the colours form the fabric, hopefully later on today I will make it into a cushion...
I have also being playing with buttons, all the lovely button wreaths over Christmas and also some super cool buttons from artsycraftybabe gave some inspiration here. So I got the glue gun out and had a little play...what a mess...I am still picking buttons up days later...anyway I made a load of pins which as usual I gave away to some friends, but I made a special one for my new coat, yes its from Boden, a beautiful green velvet coat, it can not have escaped you that green is my favourite colour, usually I struggle to buy clothes in green, at the moment it seems to be everywhere, I don't know if I am happy or not about this, as it will still be my favourite colour once the fashion designers have moved on to another shade. Anyway I am very pleased with the result and it was just so SIMPLE!!! Glue a few buttons together and glue a pin to the back of it... Here is the funky scarf for my youngest. Last Christmas I made one for my older child, a blue one with a boat design, it was a fun and easy project to do over the busyness of the holiday period, not much thought needed and very portable. Once the desired length was achieved I lined it with some fleece for softness and warmth, as soon as I sew together all the pieces of the sweater to match it, it will be a cool set for my little chap...
Yes once I sew up the sweater, all the pieces are knitted I just need to sit down and sew them together...actually I have a couple of knits at this stage, I am always so eager to get on to the next project...as you can see from my current knitting basket which sits next to my chair so I can curl up in the evenings in front of the fire and click away.

I have recently started a HUGE project for me, a swing coat...now this will be an ongoing project, I imagine until this time next year, I know I will not have the commitment to stay faithful to it...Oh look...its green!!!
So here are the new additions to my fabric stash, mostly bought in the sales, first from my favourite ebay shop...Sal has some really super stuff that you often struggle to get in the UK and she is so so generous, I have always had one or two extra fat quarters in my order and on this order I got some little Christmas blocks for the children and some great little patchwork squares that I am itching to put together. Thanks Sal. You can link to her shop through her blog... I also made two trips to a patchwork shop sale, I was buying some fabric for my current quilt, but also to stock up my stash for the year...so yes I did go a little mad...
and there's more...
Of course storage is always a problem so I purchased another rack for my new goodies... With that lot, I am moving happily into the New year with lots of projects in my head and some already in progress...So much so, I shall away and get an hour in the sewing room before the school run...

PS Thanks for all the reassurance about the dynamics of friendships and the relationship to the status of children from my previous post, its good to know its not just me.

Getting Silly

Well very little sewing got done over the Christmas period, so I have eased myself in gently with some silly sewing, and what fun I have had...let me tell you its pretty addictive...first one apple (see previous post for the inspiration)... Then an orange...
This is how it gets silly...a whole bowl full...in our house we have a rule...if you want fruit you never have to ask, just help yourself. It is to encourage the children to eat fruit rather than sweeter things...so that meant I had to make a quite a few..so we have pairs, oranges and apples...I even got the children in on the fun and got them to stuff a couple for me...
So on the pathway of nice, satisfying projects I eventually got round to having a go at Simple Sparrows coasters...go check out her tutorial, she posted it around the start of the Christmas period, its fun, its so simple and I love the results, I even cut into my beloved linen...
So that's its...all the decorations are down and suddenly the house looks twice the size, we pulled the last remaining crackers to mark the occasion. I have spent the last week socialising, with family, friends and their children, the house seemed so empty with all the decoration down and the children not playing around, so I thought I would have a few friends over for lunch. So today four of us, without children, sat, chatted, drank and eat...

It funny how the cycle of friendships pans out, when children start school, or when friends still have babes at home, the dynamics shift...I have found myself over the past year or so watching friends move on to other things or think I do not want to be involved because they have babes and I don't. Whilst I understand why this happens, I can not help feel a little bewildered and somewhat...well...hurt by this. After all my friends are my friends, I have said before I am someone who likes just one or two close friends rather than lots of friends...although through all the changes we go through in life I am finding that close friendship is a luxury, I know some really super people who are a big part of my everyday life, they inspire me, stimulate and care for me...so why should the dynamics of your status in family life effect this...OK saying all off that, today for the first time, I enjoyed sitting, chatting, eating and drinking without wiping noses, making beakers of milk, potty runs etc...and if your a Mom with under threes you will know just what I mean when I say...I actually heard the whole conversation. The children got some serious cuddle time in this evening, I think we are all missing one another...

Tomorrow I am having a day at home, I plan to spend a while in my sewing room, I have a quilt to finish and I am still kicking lots of ideas around in my head...Maybe I will share with you some of the amazing fabric I have bought over the last week and some of the plans for it...

Holiday Traditions exchange

Well it is twelfth night tomorrow and I am having a little bit of a reflective evening, as I drove home this evening with the children in the car the game of 'spot the Christmas lights' was no longer appropriate as there seemed to be very little of them, I find it quite sad when so many of my friends are itching to take the lights and decorations down, me...well I could have them up easily for another week... Anyway back to reflection...was it really so many weeks ago that I signed up for the Holiday Traditions Exchange organised by Montessori by Hand. I was given my partner and had to get busy with my sewing. I had never read my partners blog previously and its great to be introduced to a new one, and when I looked at the goodies this girl made, well I was a little worried and excited at the same time: The Wool Food Mama
This girl is a whizz with felt and felting and I saw some lovely things on her blog...So you can imagine my delight when my parcel arrived just before Christmas day.
A huge box full of goodness...Take a look at all the stuff I was sent...I ripped open the box and my Christmas had come a little early...no way was this waiting till Christmas day...
I adore the little tree stump, it is beautiful and I had seen on The wool Food Mama's blog that she had made one for herself and had a little hedgehog popping out. So this is just the push that I needed to do a little frivolous sewing this season so I made the little mouse just to add to my happy little tree.
Look at all the other bits I got...the most perfect little tea cup to add to my collection, which was extra sweet as it meant that she had taken the time to read what I liked when she made up my package. A little treat for the senses too...some Cloves and Cinnamon sticks, candy canes (which the children thought great and rushed off to hang on the tree) also the cutest little angel...wait there is more...the most perfect hand felted orange...Amazing

As they say...'Didn't I do well?'

A HUGE thank you to my Swap partner.

I Wish You Your Best Year YET...

Well was it a good one? I thank you for all your lovely comments and emails...I have thought a lot over the last few days about blogging. It was my last years resolution to start one and commit to it for a year. So officially I can stop now. I have so enjoyed being part of this community, the support and actually not feeling like a complete 'NUT' because I get twitchy if I don't make something on a daily basis!!! So I thank each and every one of you who have read my blog all year, for those who have taken time out of their day to leave a comment, to anyone who has just read it for the first time, for those who dip in and out and not forgetting those people who have read it and will not return, well its not every ones cup of tea...So I am going to carry on, I can not face life without my creative time, it really helps me through the day and gives me lots of 'light bulb' moments!

As I am just recovering from the celebrations of New Year, the voice is just starting to return and the headache has at last gone!!! I danced in the New year and eventually had to leave the partying to those with more stamina and take my sleeping babes back to their own beds. I like New Year, I love the reflective part of it and the making of the new plans and all the promise that it brings, last night I sat up in bed with a pot of tea and my heated blanket on as it was so cold out (I am just such a kitten)!!! I made pages of notes on all my hopes and aspirations...I hope that some of them come to fruition - and those that don't, well, its good to dream. I wish you your best year yet...

Just a few more days left of the season then its time to find a new groove, facing a house without all the glitter and twinkle that Christmas brings and the silence as the children return to school...Ahhhh...my solution this year is to use up my sale purchases...lots of new fabric...Yum!!!

Photo: Gingerbread House...made by the little people on New Years Eve!!!

Memories are made of this...

Memories are made of this...yes the last few days have been full of old and new traditions with laughter, tears, and lots and lots of conversation. Its a time for family and friends and not really for sitting at my computer, although I do have a few minutes on my own, so I am going to let the pictures do the talking. I hope you had a blessed Christmas and overcame any obstacles that came your way and you are at peace with the your world, thank you for all the personal wishes. So as we bask in the afterglow of the season and start with the run up to the New year...I wish you well... So Christmas Eve, a hearty meal with the seasons colours and lots of mulled wine (well for this Mommy anyway, especially with a cold...nothing like it to clear the infections). Then we have the children's first Christmas present from Mommy..a new pair of PJs after all the children are all lovely and sweet smelling after a big deep bubbly bath...
Then its outside with the Santa dust and reindeer food...as Santa's tray is laid out (reindeer biscuits, carrot, mince pie and milk...I was not allowed to put sherry out as it might make Santa giddy and he would not be able to get on with his job) the children look up the chimney for signs of Santa and they work out amongst themselves how he actually does it all...
Once the children are a sleep a little magic happens...Santa shakes the snow off his boots and lays out all the lovely gifts for the two little ones that have been good all year (OK maybe the last bits just too much of a fairy tail)!!!
I love this time at night, I have watched the midnight service, all is done, and I sit with the twinkly lights and just soak up the atmosphere and of all the promise it holds for the fun and delight of the next morning. A time to really count my blessings...
The best bit of the morning is seeing it through the eyes of the children...How my wee one loved his kitchen, as I sat and watched them playing I thought of all the lovely stuff I could make to fill its cupboards...felt cup cakes, cookies, fruit and veg....
Ahhh then its the time for Mom to retreat to the kitchen, the mulled wine goes on (again) and the music sings out...you got to love Andy Williams and Bing at this time of year! So the table is laid with my best dinner service..much to my Moms disgust as I tell her how every piece of the matching set was thrifted from various places throughout the last couple of years...

Everyone falls in to bed, the house is full of scrunched up paper and cling film covered bowls of food...TOYS everywhere...and a special camera sits in its box waiting to be opened...yep I got my camera...yes the very same one I have lusted over for about two years now...So we awake on boxing day morning and after a little breakfast and yet more playing we get our wellies on, heavy coats, hats and gloves we venture out on a grey wet day...
After all a walk is part of our family tradition and despite my Mom being in her seventies she joined us, I think because my dad used to love walking around the area I live in. This makes it extra special...
It is now understood by my Mom why our front porch is always full of coats, wellies and lots of mud!!!
The air was clean, the ground was well...wet!!! I love this little walk is is just a short lap around the house, a full circle you go out the road one way and return the opposite direction and the views are amazing at all times of year, of course for me the best time is summer, but you knew that already right?
It is stunning too at this time of year, lots of bare trees and reflective water although it does all look a little sinister, my home area holds so much history I was reading a book about the area and it goes back to the Stone Age...hunter gathering...then through the ages...Romans, Celts and Anglo-Saxons. So as I walk through the surrounding area there is a real sense of belonging to the land and being part of its history...

I am now clearing up the Christmas mess, changing the bed covers over and generally clearing up the house to welcome the next phase of the season, Bringing in the New Year...I wish you all a very Good New Year, may It bring peace and good health.

Happy New Year

Happy Happy Christmas

The last day on the advent calender has been opened and it is now up on us...Happy Christmas... Its just gone midnight and I have just finished setting the house up ready for all the excitement once the children realise Santa has been... I wish you and your loved ones all the very best for this Christmas, may peace and joy fill your hearts and homes.

I thank you now for all the support and the comments you have given me this year, it has been a wonderful gift and I do thank you.

So many pictures are being taken so I am sure I will have lots to show and tell and my head is buzzing with so many ideas of stuff to make, until then...Happy Christmas.

One more day to go....

What a whirl wind this Christmas has been to date...it just seems to have been rush rush rush...so unlike me...I do not feel Christmassy at all, I think the materialistic side has gotten hold of everyone around me...no one has time for friends and everyone is just so busy shopping...So I am planning on a quite Christmas Eve, no big party this year as most people are too busy doing their own thing, I hope to get some crafting done with the kids...To keep my fix of making stuff and chasing away the materialistic side of the Christmas period, I got busy on the teachers gifts. You know they must get so many Mugs and box of chocolates, not that there is anything wrong with that...I just thought I might do something a little different for them!!! SO something easy and practical that looked pretty...tissue cases...so off I went into production of these little things...(see above picture)
I wanted to make a little extra gift for my little ones teachers...so I finally put into use the tins that I was given with a comment of 'Your crafty...what can you do with these?' Well I turned them into storage pots (no big creative idea there then) with a little fabric label for them to fill in, a couple of little birds and...a tissue holder each!!!I really enjoyed making these and using up my scraps of fabric, they are double sided so I played about with some interesting fabric combinations. I wrapped them all up with pretty paper and a little handmade card to go with each of them. I hope they liked them, as they had been made with love and each teacher in mind when it came to the colour selection..
Well look what I got in the post, nothing is nicer than a surprise gift, Vintage Heaven had won a giveaway of mine then went on a, too long, blog break...this was a little thank you from her, so cute and I love the colours...I am very thankful and I hope this means she is back to blogging...she has been missed.
Now then, for me to leave the countryside and venture into the city is a BIG thing especially on my own. Well I did it!!! All the shopping was done, I just wanted to get my Christmas candles from Muji so I took a train ride and 'hit the city' sadly Muji has closed down, so I took a good walk round, amazing how far you can get without the little ones with you...I wondered around the German Christmas markets, I took a few pictures, I liked the shot with all the blue sky and the white metal work of the ride. I was pleased to get the very last copy in the shop of the Christmas Martha Stewart magazine...which is now so well flicked through it is now shabby! A good sign of a treasured read.
Of course a trip to the city would not be complete without your Starbucks coffee and cake a Christmas flavoured one at that...Being without my little ones I took my coffee on to the train, settled down with my IPOD and my knitting...Ahhh bliss! best part of the trip!

So its one more day to go, I am just about organised, I just want more time with my children, I have already had one of my little ones upset because he did not have me to himself all day with my Mom coming up, so I guess the excitement is on overload at the moment. I am thinking of the sadness some people feel at this time of year, it should be a joyous time, a time for peace, loving and kindness...I wish you all this and good health...take some time over the next couple of days to remember the reason for this season and share in its joy and promise. Wishing you and yours a very Happy Christmas filled with all you desire, and if you don't get that I wish you good sense of humour;-)