What a difference...

... a day makes!

At 6.30am it was still snowing, blowing a gale and school was closed for the day; thanks to a nice early text, we didn't have to do the full getting ready routine and then find out, for a change.

By lunchtime the sun was out, time for a little fun and by teatime, any snow that had seen the aforementioned sunshine was all but gone...

So I got an impromptu extra sewing day, and started on my Orbit top; which I am hoping to get finished tomorrow.  Every bloody print is directional though, unlike my (miserly) cutting, so I had to cast caution to the Siberian wind and just not stress about it...

Oh, and I am back here in full blogging glory, after giving my MacBook a good shaking!  Not what a Mac Geni-arse would suggest I am sure, but it worked, and after a day of trying all the proper technical mularky, that was good enough for me!

Just another Monday...

The kids went back to school today, albeit not in uniform; by the looks of the field at pick up time, there had been a lot of snowman building!  I went back to work, nothing at all exciting to report from there.

Highlight for me being the kids getting excited when they turned round, and the cloud had lifted for the first time in days, so they could actually see the Downs on the walk home...

Not exactly Alpine proportions, but they are our mountains.

I did do a little bit more of the #scrappytripalong binding last night, and now I only have about 60" left, so what am I doing here?  I best get cracking!

#happyday

On the weekends I like to have a quick look at my iPad before venturing from our warm bed, postponing going into the usual war zone of children and breakfast cereal, (this morning it was kids fuelled on thieved cookies!).

Today I also awoke to the most lovely and excellent surprise courtesy of the amazing Nova.  Did you see this post? 

I did, and it was the best start to the day.  If you don't follow Nova's blog, a cuppa and a catch up, I jolly well suggest you start!  She makes the most beautiful things, and has written some wonderful patterns, which, even if you aren't familiar with the lady herself, you will have seen all over the Land of Blog.  Thank you again my lovely friend x

The rest of the day continued equally happy; the snow remains, so we went out with the sledges, and ended up at the park, where there was an albeit small slope, (and best, did not require any parental assistance), and it provided an hour of fun before the cold took grip and we headed back for hot chocolate...

After lunch, I reclaimed the table, and set to quilting my #scrappytripalong. 

A couple of hours of nearly-straight-lining, and it was done!  I quilted each side of alternate seams, and called it a day.  It looks good, feels good too; so tomorrow I will trim and attach the binding, and that will be me sorted for a few chilly evenings of stitching.  Wonderful.

And now, the small people are finally up in bed, time for a DVD.  I think Mister Clooney has been waiting his turn since Christmas; so it would be rude not to.

xxx

Be careful what you wish for...

It's here, lots and lots of snow.  Actually, not that much, but 6" is way more than the local road gritters can cope with, apparently!

School was open this morning, however the headmaster gave me the option to take the kids straight back home, but for some reason I thought it was a better use of taxpayer's money to try to get to work.

I got half way there, in twice the time it should have; visibility sporadic, road surface slippy and the other drivers on the white-knuckle duel-carriageway, mental! So I did an about turn and headed back home.

I stopped off for some milk in the village, and it was like a scene from Armageddon in Tesco Express, the shelves were pretty much bare, and people were frantically filing up with petrol, I assume in case they were going to have to evacuate to warmer climes!

So I got home, suffering from brain-freeze, and did a run round with the hoover before the school finally closed at 10.30am.

I left the snowball fights and sledge-dragging to the kids, whilst I sewed up my next Stitch Tease block, a 24-incher for Helen.  Bright wonky stars on Kona Ash, but I can't show you anything more than the sneaky peak above, sorry.

Rainbows was unsurprisingly cancelled this evening too, much to the girls' disappointment, so we baked some cookies instead; happy faces all round.

And that was my Snow day.  I hope you have stayed warm (or cool Mrs S!), and are easing nicely into the weekend.  I am off to to do some PLPS stalking xxx

Happiness!

Woke up this morning to this...

...which soon turned to rain, disappointment and bad hair, but never mind, look what I made this evening...

 As soon as the dinner plates were cleared off the table, the sewing machine was out, and my 36 #scrappytripalong blocks were stitched into one beautiful quilt top.

I know I have asked before whether is it wrong to love something you have made yourself, well this time, I am not even asking.
  
I love it!

There was swearing, in a very good way, as I flapped out the completed top after sewing the last seam.  It is beyond what I had hoped for, and I am so so pleased I jumped into this using my most precious hoarded fabric!

I will try to catch up with blogs and emails later, but I might not!  If you have a problem with that, you'll find me on Cloud 9!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Just as we headed out the door for school this morning the snow began to fall; by the time I got home, everything was white, but then the sun came out, it all melted and that, as they say, was that!

But coincidentally, I finished up a little embroidery, another of Aneela's Little Stitches festive beauties.  There were many, many french knots, they were a challenge that provoked a lot of swearing, but now it's finished and ready for Christmas...

The second picture is the wall hanging I am hoping to get finished this evening.

I also got to the point of boxing the corners of the 5 remaining draw-string bags, but they will have to wait.

I have load of blogs to catch up on, my MacBook seems to be feeling the strain of Giveaway Day and is going incredibly slowly, so I may be reading and not commenting, because the sight of the Mac beachball of doom is driving me round the bend!

So on that note, farewell for now, I'm off to grit my teeth!

Snow!

Yesterday, after the disappointment of last weekend, waking up to an Inset Day like this was the perfect start to the Half Term holidays...

It may not have been knee-deep, but it did the job nicely!

I'll be back tomorrow with some more snowy shots of my latest make.  In the meantime, thank you all so much for your kind words and support over the last couple of days; you have once again proven the wonderful spirit of our blogging friendships xxx

Lucky finds!!!

I am so happy!

When we packed up and moved here, I was 5 months pregnant with the twins, chasing (waddling) after a 20 month old, and working more hours than I do now. 

So when I carefully put all my prized possessions, my Tag Heuer watch I'd been given for my 18th by my parents, a diamond eternity ring from my grandparents, some jewellery from dear husband and the earrings I wore at our wedding, in a little organza bag for safekeeping, I hope you will understand that I wasn't exactly in the best of mental states!

Over the last 4 years I have sporadically searched for said organza bag to no avail.  I had resigned myself to having lost it in the last move, or it had been thrown out in the pocket of an old coat.

But tonight we have been re-united!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

The bag, in a glasses case, in a shoebox, in a bigger box, in a packing box, in the loft, was on tonight's sorting agenda.  I can quite happily throw everything else out without even looking now :)

I also stumbled across a few wonderful photos of dear son as a baby, and the manual for my sewing machine!  It really doesn't get any better, as I know for sure that there sadly isn't a suitcase of money waiting to be found.

Oh, and it snowed!