Boot fairs and pre-fair nerves!

I have finally found 5 minutes to do a very quick post!

I have been very busy the last week getting all the final bits and pieces sorted out for the fair on saturday...eeek! can't believe it is only a couple of days away now.

I managed to squeeze in a boot fair on sunday morning with my friend and next door neighbour Vicki - the lovely lady with the bump in the picture below! I know you look at my blog sometimes Vicki, so I had to put you on here! We didn't make very much, but got rid of some old bits and I did give out lots more craft fair flyers. I also caught the sun a bit too much as after the fair I went on a door-to-door flyer delivering mission!

I am just about there with all the organising now! Gradually I am crossing things off of my huge to do list! I have got some brilliant stallholders for this fair and I am very excited to see what everyone has made and how it all looks together. Kirsty from Me plus Molly will be there with her gorgeous textile pieces, I can't wait to see what she has made. Also taking part are Butterfly Cottage Ceramics, Jane Bourne from The Cloth Hall and Kerry Mayo with her beautiful photographic prints of Whitstable and the local area.

There are obviously lots of other talented people taking part, but they don't have blogs or websites to link to. If you have a look at this post, from the Christmas fair I organised last November, you can get a taste of what treats are in store! (Although not all of those pictured were able to come this time).

Organising fairs is always a bit of a panic, especially when you get a last minute cancellation! My poor friend who was making and running the cake stall has fallen down the stairs and hurt her back, I hope she is ok but sadly it means she has had to pull out today. I haven't been able to find another cake maker who can produce cakes quickly enough for the fair, which is a huge shame. Luckily, underneath the hall is a cafe with a lovely garden, so nobody will go hungry!

I am also going to have to do something on Saturday that I am petrified about! I have listed the fair on lots of websites, including the bbc kent one. I got a call yesterday from a lady at BBC Radio Kent asking if someone could call me on Saturday morning for a 1-2 minute chat about the fair - where it is, what time etc etc. Err, yes please - but oh my god I am scared!!! I am sure I will sound like a bumbling idiot, but I couldn't turn it down could I! Hopefully it will bring some more people along anyway.

Well fingers, legs, etc crossed that all goes well - I will post with some pictures next week!

At least we have the weather on our side on Saturday anyway!

Home....

... Is where the heart is.

Or in my case at the moment, home is where there are piles of WIP's, fabric, flyers, lists, table plans, labels etc etc as I am starting to put all the finishing touches together for the Craft Fair I am organising which is less than 2 weeks away now, eeek! Oh and I just managed to work out how to add the poster to the side of my blog....I am still wearing my blog 'L' plates and learning new things all the time! Better late than never.

At work yesterday I had the idea to make these patchwork hanging signs and after a couple of doodles I came up with these and decided to make some for the fair. Why do I always seem to come up with a new idea for something, when I have almost no time left to make them!
Also more dolls/mermaids and lots of t-shirts and baby vests made - still a few more to do though, better get back to my sewing machine...........

A Whitstable Whale....

Yes there really is a whale in Whitstable, but more of that in a minute.....

The gorgeous weather on Saturday made us decide to go out for a nice walk/bike ride. Little F learnt to ride his without his stabilisers a couple of summers ago when he was only about 4, but he could never start off on his own, he just managed to balance!

He hasn't been bothered by his bike since then but really wanted to on Saturday so after a quick ride around the green near our house, he has obviously grown a bit as that was it, he was off! He was riding along with his Dad and D took her scooter, which of course I ended up carrying most of the way!

I remember reading at Attic 24 a week or so ago about a lovely sunday walk she had taken with her son and a beautiful blossom covered path! I forgot until Saturday that we have our own lovely little paths in Whitstable - some little secret parts of Whitstable that most people probably don't see. There is a lovely little path through the golf course.

Go along a bit further and come out at West Cliff and you will discover.............

Whitstable's very own Whale! This was in our local paper and I think it was even in The Daily Mail, but I never knew exactly where it was until Saturday!

Me and D couldn't resist posing with Wally the Whale (as we named him, not sure of his real name) - I think he might have eaten D's arm!!!!

BBQ's, morris dancers & lifeboat tractors!

This weekend finally brought our barbeque out of hiding and the first bbq of the year tasted just yummy! (plus the beers came out as well as you can see!)

I worked on Sunday and Monday so although I saw the May Day procession through the high street from the shop window of where I work, I didn't get to see the kids faces as they watched the morris dancers - but apparently they loved it!
They also went to the harbour with my mother-in-law and were very, very, very excited (can you tell from the photos!) to sit up in the lifeboat tractor and have a photo taken!

Weekend Sewing summer blouse

Well, It'a bit wonky (especially the placket, which I didn't realise till I saw the pics!) and it looks a bit like I am wearing my pj's (well it was made from an old duvet cover!).... but I finally made myself a summer blouse from the Heather Ross Weekend Sewing book.

It felt like it took me forever, but I really, really enjoyed making it! Think I will have to give myself a little break before I tackle making clothes again though!

Dare to bare....

Prepare yourself to view the worst carpet in the world...ever!

Yuck! This brown monster of a carpet has been in our living room since we moved into our house 5 years ago. I have hated it and was so, so excited when this weekend we decided it was warm enough to finally pull it up!

Now bare floorboards might not be everybody's cup of tea but after staring at that awful carpet for 5 year, to me they look amazing!

We are not keeping them as they are for too long though as we are getting a lovely solid wood floor to go on top as the floorboards are not in good enough condition and just too cold! all those gaps! brrrh

On a less brown note, I have just finished and scanned in the posters for the craft fair I am organising in whitstable on Saturday 30th May. I have sent them out to all the stallholders and will be giving them out to shops soon to put up in their windows. So if anyone is reading this and fancies a trip to the seaside then pop in and see lots of crafty goodness!

Fantastic Fifties fabric find!

I came across this amazing bolt of 1950's fabric a couple of weeks ago at a Church sale in Whitstable.

It is so amazing and has this fantastic brown tape that runs through it saying how many yards are left (there are 35 yards!) what a brilliant idea! I have been trying to find out a bit about it but apart from the info on the tape, that says printed by Bell Punch Company Ltd, London England there is nothing on the selvedge. I am thinking of selling some, but feel I really must find out more before I do. I am told it is quite rare to find this much vintage fabric together on one bolt.

Fingers crossed I find out some more info!