Sunday, 23 August 2009

Edinburgh Book Festival

We went back to the Book Festival again this year - we were organised too - took lunch, water and remembered our rain jackets (we needed them!). We were extremely lucky to get a couple of ticket returns so Lucy and Adam could get in to see Jacqueline Wilson and then even luckier when a woman behind me in the queue said she had a spare ticket and gave it to me so I could go in too (and she wouldn't take my money either - nice lady). JW gave an hour long talk with question time at the end and was really lovely. Really interesting and easy to listen too. The only tiny disappointment was that we didn't manage to get Lucy's book signed as she had to limit the numbers due to her health, but we were all thrilled to have seen and heard her. She is teeny!



I also met up with a lady from the Open University (they are one of the sponsors of the BF and had an area there) that had helped me when I returned to study with them 3 courses back. She was extremely helpful to me at that time, although I had never met her in person, and so I was delighted to finally meet her face to face and be able to thank her in person.

After all that excitement, we traipsed in the rain to watch the street performers in the rain at the Mound. I seem to remember it raining at the Mound last year too! It was fun though - the kids absolutely love it.

So, a good day had by all including Dave who even managed to avoid all tram works and find a very handy parking space.

Saturday, 15 August 2009

Sock Pattern?

Some time ago I was knitting a pair of socks on four needles with some lovely self patterning wool. I say some time ago, but it was actually July 2008. How time flies ;-) Anyway, I've not got much (any) further forward and have lost the pattern and am trawling the net looking for another.

So, my question is - does anyone have an EASY pattern for a pair of socks? I would much rather begin with something that someone else has actually knitted and can vouch for instead of me stumbling through a pattern that may or may not work (surprisingly, this has happened to me a few times lol)

You never know, I might get further this time :-)

Tuesday, 11 August 2009

DIY

I hate DIY. Well, not hate exactly, I just loathe all the hassle that goes along with it. All the furniture heaving and towers of books all over the place that are guaranteed to fall at any moment, treacherous toys underfoot and so on. I've been decorating Lucy's bedroom and I'm (almost) finished. It seems to have taken forever but now it is a vision in pink (a surprising choice from the girl who has objected to all things pink and 'girly' up till now) - on one wall is Cheeky Wink - a dark pink, and the other three are tastefully pale in Mademoiselle - oh and traditional white woodwork. Good. I'm not planning any more DIY for a while :-)

By the way, thank you so much for all the comments that have been left regarding my course result. I do truly appreciate every one of them. Thank you. xxxxxxxx

Thursday, 6 August 2009

Happy Dance!!!

I am totally gobsmacked and (almost) speechless... I got a Distinction for my OU course A363 Advanced Creative Writing!!!!! I sincerely cannot believe it. But I have checked several times and it is writ large in red letters so it must be true lol. Happy happy girl :-)

Sunday, 26 July 2009

Sphinx Cake

After being sent to Mr Ts for fondant icing, I was banished from the kitchen so Miss Lucy could bake a secret cake (she's very bossy sometimes. I don't know where she gets that from...). The result was a very artistic (and extremely delicious) Sphinx cake. We weren't sure if a Sphinx should have a tail or not, so she added one anyway!



I'm not quite sure why it needed candles - it just did :-)



I love it's happy little face.

Thursday, 23 July 2009

Twilight Mini Book

Miss Lucy is a big fan of the Twilight books so I thought I'd make a little keepsake for her. It was a lot of fun to do and she really loves it, so I'm pleased. I thought you might like to see it - but please excuse the photos, they are a bit fuzzy.













This page below was a little flowery for the genre really, but I couldn't resist that floral black red and white combination!




This page below is my favourite - it looks a lot better in real life, the colours are actually really nice together.



I must admit I do love to make mini-books and journals - there's something about all things compact that appeals to me. It's inspired me to get back to doing more in my art journal - I love working on that - I think it's the freedom to express yourself and create pages without restriction or boundaries. Where did I put that gesso...?

Monday, 20 July 2009

Last week...

My second post in one day - miracle!

I have to be honest. Last week was pretty boring. After being camping we were out of cash, car-less (Dave being back at work) and a bit stir crazy. Well, I was stir crazy - the children were quite content to play on the playstation or the computer or go to the local park which has been renovated and has a zip slide! By Friday I had had enough and we headed for the local town where I enjoyed with great delight, a large cappucino in M&S. Bliss.



There were some developments at the bottom of the garden. A new gang hut was under construction, and with some useful bits of wood and two different coloured tarpaulins and a bit of string, it was soon built and looking good.

Under construction...



Inside...



Looking out...



I'm just wondering how long till they want to sleep in there...