Sharp End is on a diet

No more saving him the batter from fish on a Friday...It's not all bad news though because that means when he goes to visit Granny she buys him these...

Lovely red peppers, his favourite vegetable ( or is it technically a fruit? lol ). No kidding Granny is soft enough to actually buy these especially for him!

...so no more of these.



The vet did say though that she has only come across one other of his breed his age, so we must be doing something right...lets hope his secret to longevity was not the fish on a Friday!


Aww, poor Sharp End...

Will we have enough Potatoes?

Erm there is not much room for anything else LOL

Last year we grew a wide variety of things, this year FIL thought we ought to try potatoes!

How small was the chick?

We found a little egg shell in the garden, I think it's a robin's perhaps...just imagine how tiny that baby chick was! Just look at the size!

Top number 2

Last night at about 11pm I had a creative urge ( read as some thrifted fabric and sewing store purchases teasing me from the corner of the room )...so I started on another top. It started out as one of Rae's tops but ended up as a bit of a hybrid as I wanted try something new too. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to try when I started out, but it ended up as my first attempt at shirring. It looked a bit plain on the first fitting so I decided to ditch the straps and try some shirred angel wings instead. I was very pleased with the result, nice and girly. ;o)





The tutorial for the angel wings can be found here





It has been a productive day, not only did I manage to finish this top but I also got 11 trays of seedlings pricked out...it would have been more but I was beginning to feel as if I would burn in the sun if I stayed out any longer. Mr Doxie was productive as always...he has been tweaking our wardrobe arrangements...or should I say strengthening them since the pole collapsed under the weight the other day LOL. Thank you Mr Doxie you've done a grand job, it looks lovely.





I have a million and one projects in my mind for this week, but the ones I am really keen on getting done are the re-designing of some bought tops.

It's gonna be a good weekend

You know when you are little and you are waiting in line for something SO THRILLING ...you are going to go on an exciting ride, recieve a gift from the real Santa Claus in the store, going to meet someone famous...you know that feeling you get, your belly goes tight, your chest area is fluttering in anticipation with sheer delight and joy, your little hands are clenched in little fists...it is a real physical thrill...well that is how I feel tonight reading through my new books...there are so many things I want to do, I am so excited and I just can't think of another way to describe how I feel other than thrilled as I read and look at the pictures...I so want to start them now but Mr Doxie just called me up to bed( he is knackered ) but I just don't know how I am going to sleep...I think it is reading with a torch under the covers tonight...I NEED to carry on reading them to at least get some of the excitement out of my system. This is going to be a fanstastic weekend.

Doxie wishing you all a happy weekend and hoping you can all find something to feel equally as thrilled about. :o)))))

Erm...I think this means I'm obsessed

...What does it mean when you wake up in the morning and your ear worm is the closing song on the Bernina presentation...It started as I got out of bed, carried on through the bubbles in my bath, drowned out the sound of electric tooth brush and it is still there now ... I just can't get it out of my head.

Could it be that the clever people at Bernina planted some sort of brainwashing technique into their podcast?...leading anyone who has seen it to break out in song with " This is your time Bernina!" at random times...what a good way of advertising that would be...I'm sure people would notice you if you did that on the tube, in the grocers or waiting in line at the bank. Let's just hope that if this is the case, all the new and unwitting advertisers are wearing their best home sewn outfits or it would backfire horrendously LOL

Or perhaps I am just now officially obsessed with this sewing lark.

Either way I am happy in my madness, I wonder what I will produce today...

Doxie who is obviously a bit doolally

And now for something completely different

...Okay I know this is supposed to be my place for creative activities but seeing as I am the author I give myself permission to change theme for a post and do a small bit of crowing...ahem, clearing throat and putting my rooster hat on...here goes

DS had the last session in one of his night classes tonight and he got the results of his assessments...He got the highest mark in the class AND he is the youngest, educated up until now at home by his slightly off the wall Mother...WOOHOO, YIPPEE,HURRAH, DIDDLEY DOO DAH!

Oh crikey I have popped the buttons on my blouse my chest is puffed out so much, oh well good job I like sewing...

Doxie off to get some button thread ;o)

Realising that you have to let fabric give up it's former guise

I have a very large fabric recyling box...erm, translate as about 1/4 of the craft room. I have been playing around tonight trying to find the right fabric for a project but have got nowhere...then it struck me...the reason is that I have been looking at things thinking is this worth cutting up for said project. It's daft really as the recycled stuff is just for personal use ( gifts have the luxury of having fabric bought especially for them) so it is of no consequence really...this makes me think that I ought to have a session of cutting up old clothes etc, taking off arms and jjust making lots of large squares of fabric, then I will see it for what it now is FABRIC and not it's former self. How silly it is that the simplist of things can cause such a barrier to getting on and actually DOING stuff. Ho hum.

Dox

Feel the fear and do it anyway...

To quote a book title...( which everyone seems to have read but me lol )...that is what I feel I should force myself to do later , no, not read the book, feel the fear.

Last weekend Mr Doxie took me to my favourite fabric buying haunt, and boy did I go on a fabric buying frenzy!!!...all vintage style of course. Now I just cannot bring myself to put scissors to material. I am full of the what-ifs, even though I had projects in mind for each piece as I bought them...is this the curse of being creative I ask?...We can see a hundred different possibilities for everything we buy...We are scared that we may think of something better after we have made that first cut (eek!). I see this as a perfect example of "Perfection leading to paralysis". The fabric has sat there for nearly a week and I have not started what was planned...so I am telling myself that if I go ahead and launch myself into the proposed projects something new will be along super quick to keep me busy anyway I will have forgotten the "what-ifs" of today.

I surely can't be the only one that seems to attach this leash to myself, holding myself back from just going for it! What is the worst that can happen...perhaps I will still want to make the 101 other things out of that particular fabric...in which case I suppose it means I will just have to go ahead and do more fabric shopping for something similar, now wouldn't that be just unbearable? LOL

Doxie nervously taking the leash off today

The Postman arrived

Look at what the postman brought me today!

A pintucking foot...The only thing is I haven't bought the twin needles I need to use it yet...still I guess that gives me time to find a nice project to try it out on.

Ooooh I am so excited!

Any nice ideas for pintucking out there?

Doxie, a needle short of a pintuck!

sewn organiser baskets

I thought these are a nice idea...they'd look good for a home office if you co-ordinated them with the soft furnishings in the room.

Or how about these for smaller bits and bobs.

More for the to-do list :o)

The theme for June

I am so enjoying making all this girly stuff that I am toying on making next month's theme either "Beautiful Burlesque" or "Oh la la month".

Waiting for the postman

Oooohhh I am so excited, Mr Doxie has just ordered me something ...I'll keep you in suspense, but needless to say it is to do with sewing.

I really need to finish off some dinner mats and start thinking about what my theme will be for next month...Having a theme seems to be the only way I can avoid UFOs...I tend to have crazes on things for a few weeks...if I don't get things finished whilst I am fired up, some other shiny thing catches my eye and barges the now old obsession out of the way and takes over.

I really need to upload my latest pics too, I guess I have been too busy actually sewing to spend much time playing with anything remotely techno just lately.

Doxie sewing with her ear to the door

If you love Pincushions ...

...then you just HAVE to look at this. I am sure I could feel my heart fluttering with excitement when I was viewing this page. At last an attractive way to recycle bottle tops ( See there was a reason for keeping a bag with 3000 of the things under the stairs ( joking )... There is a book, yippee!



I have my own little squadron of ladybugs in production on the table as I type. Look out ! There is going to be an invasion...if you know me and you sew it is quite likely you now know what you are getting for Christmas LOL.



Doxie who is enjoying the quiet pace of hand sewing

I made a bag

Ooooh I love it. I made it as part of my personal gifting drive. I found a pattern to work from on Weekend Designer. If you haven't had a look there be sure to, it is so inspiring...if you see it, want it but can't afford it, Weekend Designer really puts across the fact that you CAN make it. This is just the concept I have been trying to put across to one keen little girl B I am teaching to sew, but more in the way of toys, hair bands etc. at the moment..somehow I don't usually think to "copy" clothes for myself, but why not? That said I haven't tried any of the clothes on WD yet, but I sure would like to.

Dox









It's funny really, thinking of the little girl I mentioned...I think the message has got through as her Mum told me that when they were on holiday recently, she ( B ), took lots of pictures of things she liked but couldn't afford to buy so she could show me and when she got back I could show her how to make them...I haven't seen the pics yet, I am both excited to see what she has in mind but feel slight trepidation...which of course I will do my best not to show...after all you can do anything you set your mind to, right? Oh boy oh boy I hope her mentor does not fail her. :o/









Doxie :o)

Hello Mr Bluetit

I found this so amusing, When Ds came back from a walk this morning he said " Nothing to report I'm afraid." I usually quiz him to see who was out and about etc.

Later when we were sat down together for a cuppa he told me a Bluetit had landed on him when he was out!!!!! Nothing to report???? How often does that happen?

He was crouching down to tie up his shoe lace, felt something hit his shoulder and turned his head to see what it was...there was said Bluetit perched on his shoulder, he looked him in the eye, went cheep cheep and flew off! How odd!

Lovely Bank Holiday Weekend

I'm writing this belated post to remind myself next year that the weather indeed can get warm en0ugh for Bar-B-Qs early in the year...Then I may be prepared in advance by having stuff in the freezer... rather than hacking it down to the local butchers at the first ray of sunshine in a mad rush to make sure he hasn't sold out of the good stuff. We spent the weekend in the company of some lovely people. Mr Doxie got the barbie out and cooked for us,yum! I got sunburnt arghhhh! Note to self to make a light weight bolero for the Summer proper.

I hope you all managed to get out in the sun for some R 'n' R wherever you are.

Doxie

Woodpigeons are not stupid.

Woody has now realised that even though he can't get his head through the new feeder he can cling on the side and swing wildly until the contents empty onto the flower bed below. He then has a lovely time tramping all over the bedding plants and having a good peck around.

Let the battle commence. I guess the next step is finding somewhere too confined for him to feel comfortable swinging but where the little birdies will still find it.

Doxie in need of a cunning plan.

slugs

I hadn't found that many slugs this year but didn't want anyone to eat my freshly planted cornflowers so I put pellets down as insurance anyway...boy oh boy am I glad I did!... after a night of rain the flower bed was littered with dead slugs. It was quite a shock to know that many had been hiding where I couldn't see them...a few had got to the odd cornflower but I have no doubt that the whole flowerbed would have disappeared over night if I hadn't taken precautions. They have been picked up ( YUK ) and put in the bin so the birds don't get them, although I do use wildlife safe pellets. ( obviously not safe to slimy wildlife though! )

Doxie the relieved.

One UFO down

Yesterday I finished an embroidery I had been doing since September ( okay I don't like to rush things lol ) for a friend...but it will be going to a different friend. I had started it for a surprise for "X" but sadly her circumstances have changed and I know the subject matter will make her sad now if she looked at it, and she certainly wouldn't want that reminder in her home ...BUT it was out on the side the other day when another friend came in who absolutely fell in love with it, infact she went nuts over it LOL. So my UFO which thought it had no destination is going to a new home this week!

Doxie with one UFO less in the fleet!