Mermaids and birthdays

I was just having a look and a catch up through some lovely blogs when a thought suddenly stuck me.........didn't I write my very first blog post around Halloween last year? So I just looked back and realised I've missed it!!! Oh dear, it was on the 23rd October, so I am only a couple of days out!
Whenever I thought about my first 'blogiversary' I always planned on doing a giveaway - but as I am unorganised with this now, it will be a belated giveaway!! I shall have a think about what to send.....maybe a mermaid doll  a bit like this one...

(but not this one as it was a little girl called Flo's birthday present!) and a few bits of fabric from my stash?

I will sort this out in the next couple of days! I'll keep you posted.

Time to snuggle up with a good book!

I love reading and it is that time of year again when the heating goes back on and all I want to do is cuddle up on the sofa with a really good book (in between watching X-Factor - god, I hate to say it but I am totally hooked this year!). 

I have just finished this fantastic book.

I loved it, although it did take me a few chapters to get used to it being narrated by Death - but what an amazing read and as with all good books it made me laugh and cry. It is a teenage book and what a brilliant read for teenagers to read and learn about WWII, from a young German girls point of view.

In another life before kids I worked in Children's Publishing and was amazed at the fantastic and totally brilliant teenage/young adult novels that are out there, that I had the pleasure of reading as part of my job - so many adults miss out on reading them! Many adults have probably read Harry Potter and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy but there are so many more of these fantastic books out there - my list could be endless but authors such as Robert Cormier (very dark novels), Philip Reeve (Mortal Engines - wow!) and Eoin Colfer to name just a few of the fantastic authors whose books I have read and loved (and was lucky enough to have met).

If only I could get to my box of books which are tucked away in the shed, waiting for some shelves to made in the living room. They have been there since we started building our kitchen extension about 2 years ago and I am itching to get them out and just be able to look at them!

After singing the praises of young adult novels I will have to say that another book that I read recently and is currently up there as one of the best books I have ever read is this amazing one, which is not a YA one!

But you must read it, if you haven't yet read it, please you must. I promise you will not regret it!

Woman's Weekly Knitting & Crochet special

I apologise for not posting for a long time, been lots of upheavel in our house at the mo - but glass half full, everything happens for a reason etc I will spare you the details!

Please, please excuse me for the proud parent bit, but I am very, very proud!
In shops at the moment in the uk you will find Woman's Weekly Knitting & Crochet Special.

Look, there in the top left  - you see that gorgeous blonde girl and boy....they are ours!!!

My mum used to work for Woman's Weekly until she was made redundant in January. During the many years she worked there we have all appeared in there at some point!!   This was F's third modelling session for them, which have all taken place at beautiful houses in Whitsable, on the beach.

The jumpers were lovely and the kids...wow, they were brilliant and so amazingly behaved! The shoot organiser said D should be called Grace as she was so calm and graceful..........What!!! Not the words we normally use to describe the D we know and love!!!

Here are a few behind the scenes shots I took during the photo shoot!

And F even appears in the Knitting & Crochet special twice as he is in it again from a photo shoot he did a couple of years ago!

Ok, proud parent bit over with now!

Red sky at night

I love a good sunset and we do seem to get such gorgeous really red ones in Whitstable. I don't know if it is just being by the sea and having a horizon, but I have never seen more beautiful sunsets anywhere else that I have lived!

This is one that I saw the other night, just as the kids were about to go to bed I had to run out with my camera and try and capture it!  Not the best picture, but I love the colour of the sky.

The best ever sunset I have ever seen in Whitstable happened about 3 years ago on Guy Fawkes/ Firework night (I don't have a picture of it to hand as it was taken pre-digital camera! I will find it and scan it in!) . Canterbury Council put on an amazing, free firework display on the beach! It has never been repeated, but was truly spectacular and something I hope they will do again. Mother nature had the last laugh though, as everybody was waiting  for dusk and the fireworks to begin, the sky turned the most amazing, beautiful and stunning red colour I have ever seen!   If you have ever been to Whitstable, imagine hundreds of people on the beach by the Old Neptune watching an amazing red sky as the sunset slowly into the sea. Stunning.

Oh and I should quickly add that I am still not sure what on earth to do about Crafty at the Coast....I am going to look at somewhere tomorrow, but if this venue is not suitable then I am going to leave the fairs for this year and see how I feel about organising some next year.................will keep you posted.

Cancelled

Excuse the picture it doesn't go with the post (it was taken at the Whitstable Craft Fair back in May), but I needed a nice smiley picture today as I am totally devasted as I have had to cancel the Christmas Crafty at the Coast.

I am so angry beyond belief as it is the hall where I hold them who have cancelled the event today.

To cut a very long story short they have basically double booked the hall with the Farmer's Market whilst the man who I normally book the hall with is off with a long term sickness. The Farmer's Market hold events at the hall every other saturday and I believe they must have changed their dates at some point in the year as I provisionally booked the hall for the 12th December back in January and all of their dates were already in the diary and the 12th was free!

My deposit had not been paid as during the time the man I deal with has been off sick it was sent back from the May fair and not carried over.  I still believed my booking would be safe as I had not had a phone call from anyone saying other wise, until I went to pay the deposit and found out that as my deposit cheque had not been paid in I have lost the hall, and don't appear to have a leg to stand on.

I am so fuming, upset, hurt and angry as I put so much of my heart, soul and time into organising the fairs, but most of all I am upset for those who were due to take part and had probably started working hard on items to sell and for the goodie bags. It just feels like a slap in the face. I confess I was not at my calmest when the man from the hall rang to tell me that I basically do not have a booking and I more or less told him I thought they were incapable and that I would not hold any other events there again.

I have organised five craft fairs now, the Christmas Crafty at the Coast would have been my 6th fair since 2007 and I have met such a great and talented group through them over the last couple of years, I am very sad.  I do feel they have taken so much time over the last few years even though I loved every minute, I don't think I will organise any others for a while! I might change my mind in a few months if I find another venue.

If anyone is organising a crafty type fair in the kent area, do let me know as I would still love to take part!

Germany

Germany. Well it was all about family, sunshine, the zoo, picnics, markets, fribard, trains, buses and sleeping in till 8am every day! heaven!

And getting back, well, you would have thought we had been away for a month and not five days as getting back has been all about the washing and ironing and getting ready for school! Mine were back on Thursday to school and playschool.

I felt a mixture of emotions! So sad as we had a brilliant summer but there is a little tiny bit of relief to having just a little bit of time to myself once again!

Buttonholes

I have had my Janome sewing machine for close to two years now and yesterday decided it was about time I attempted to do a buttonhole! I have never, ever done one!

My sewing machine comes with an automatic buttonhole foot, where you put the button in one end and the buttonhole is sewn the perfect size!  Easy I thought, erm..... it should have been but I managed to make hard work of it!

I have to say, deciding to do this at 11.15pm was probably not the best idea!
Finally at about 12.15am after quite a lot of swearing..

lots of studying the instruction manual..........

lots of failed attempts...

I finally managed to do it!

And what is it? Well, it is just a little travel document holder as we are off to visit some relatives in Germany on Friday and I wanted something to hold all the flight details, passports and travel insurance info!

I can see 'things' with buttonholes are going to be my new thing!