Tagged!

I was tagged the other day by Sara, and must now share with you seven random facts about myself, as well as posting the rules of the game, which are:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

My random facts are:

1. I stopped biting my nails years ago, but now I bite my fingers instead. It is really quite horrible
2. I hate to be taught - I have learnt all of my crafting skills from reading books.
3. I blush easily
4. I can never say no to anyone even if what they are asking is nigh on impossible
5. If I was never allowed to eat chocolate again I would probably survive. Probably.
6. Giving up work to raise the kids was both the best and the worst decision I have ever made.
7. I count everything in multiples of six. Obsessively.

Now I get to tag people in turn:

1. Chichiboule - a great read!
2. Suzanne (Alabamawhirly) - inspirational on so many levels
3. Christine at Paper and Cloth - love ya!
4. Bea at Hermit the frog - so full of energy and humour
5. Amelia (Bombus) - what a great lady!
6. Kate (Greygoat) - pure genius
7. Ali (Alicub cards) - a great artist

Don't hate me, please!

And..........relax!

I can breathe out, put my feet up, and drink coffee in peace today - the middle one has finally started school! The poor child has been asking "when will I go to big school, Mummy?" since January (yes, really); wearing her uniform since July, and working herself into such a state of excitement that the last few weeks we have been operating on the verge of hysteria.


Off she went this morning without a backward glance, into the classroom full of books and toys and playdough, and wonder of wonders - other children. Only half days for now, but hopefully soon she will enter the exciting world of "staying for lunch" with the big kids. And then my life really will be transformed. Scary thought.

Another day, another quilt

This quilt has been gestating for a while now, first in my head, and latterly on the floor of my sewing room, which has been covered in piles of fabric for days. Every so often I squint at them and rearrange them slightly, trying to find the perfect combination of colours and prints.


I started hoarding these bright floral fabrics months ago, inspired by this quilt by Jane Brocket, and inevitably ended up with enough to make three quilts. This is the first, and the rest of the material is still scattered around the room in ever changing stacks, awaiting that final flash of inspiration.

When you make a quilt, of course, you also make a large pile of offcuts. For a change I thought I would put some of them to good use, and sewed a couple of little pincushions. They also help to get through that enormous box of old buttons that seems to have crept up on me. How do things like that happen?


All for sale in my Etsy store

The summer that never was

Today it is autumn, after never really having been summer. We have been cheated out of the chance to sit in the garden eating fruit and ice cream, watching the kids play - the paddling pool never even got cleaned this year.


The school holidays are very nearly over and the children are getting on each others nerves - trying my patience, which is stretched very thin. I made a conscious decision this year that we would have a relaxed break, without the heavy scheduling of previous summers, and boy was that a mistake. We have been stuck indoors for the most part, and there is only so much of that we can collectively take.

At least the kids are looking forward to going back to school.