Pre-FQ London Linky Party!

Well I am not the first to the party by any means, but I am here now after an exhausting day 'doing it for the Queen' - more on that tomorrow.

So as is the case with many of the Retreat-goers, it took all of one sleep to purchase my ticket after they went on sale at the beginning of December; (I just checked my emails - tickets on sale notification 2pm on the Thursday, hotel reserved before 5pm, and ticket bought before 7am on the Friday), so to say I was eager to be there is a bit of an understatement!

I have literally been counting down the days and can't believe this time next week I will have met so many of my online friends for the first time!!!  I have only met Terri out of any 'friends' that are going, and she is the only one who has met me ;)

For those who are popping in for the first time today, I look a bit like this...

OK, maybe more like number 4's Mum!

I actually hate having my photo taken!

I am 41, have a long-suffering husband who is also my best friend and will be responsible for keeping the kids, (7 year old son and 5 year old twin girls) alive all by himself for 36 hours!

We live in a pretty village in West Sussex, (fortunately for the small folk, it has a Fish & Chip shop, Tesco Express and other necessities for survival), and I will be coming to Retreat by train early on Saturday morning, meeting Nicky on the way.  Hello Nicky!

I have been 'preparing' for months, literally...

Look there's snow in the background!

I will be wearing this...

And I am still trying to figure out just how to get all this...

...plus my old sewing machine up to town in the least ridiculous manner.

I have been sewing since school, Dress 'O' Level to be precise, stopped whilst I had way better things to do like drinking and travelling, but took up quilting and making lovely things, or maybe just buying lots of fabric, almost 2 years ago.  I had to make a few samples for my C&G Interior Design and got the sewing bug again.

I work part-time as a Civil Servant, but you are likely to find out that I can be most uncivil and will probably be found swearing in a corner with Susan and being asked to 'keep it down a bit'.

Can you believe we have not got a single class together, I cannot think why!

I am a Brit Bee and proud, also a Stitch-Teaser and all-round gobby cow, (well, when the nerves have subsided).

I will be paper-piecing with Kerry, embroidering with Aneela, making a Union Jack cushion with my old mucker Lynne and finally making frame-purses with Katy (which reminds me, our idea of fancy dress and jubilee hats seems to have fallen by the wayside!).

I am equally excited and silently freaking out about being there, I know I am not alone in that.

I am staying at the Radisson, and kind of thinking they do not have a clue what is about to descend on their beautiful hotel!

I just need to try and work out if I can email/blog/upload pics to flickr and here by phone along with making a few more bits and pieces, going to work, packing and shopping for some clothes that won't make me look like a Russian Eurovision entrant, even though I love their aprons!

So that's me xxx