Lots going on.........

Lots to tell you about today so brace yourselves!!!

First up ....where did I go yesterday to celebrate Armistice day???

I headed off to Ottery St Mary where the local garden centre was holding a war time tea dance!!
For every 10 people dress in 1940's clothing the owners would donate a further £50 to the British Legion.
Now I'm not a great lover of fancy dress but I wanted to make an effort!

I made the ribbon corsage & simply dressed up my work outfit (all black) with red accessories. A lovely red beret, red button earring's & some red lippy! Teamed with my shopping basket I think I looked the part, I was getting some funny looks on the train!

I dragged my mum along (no chance with dad!) but when we arrived there was hardly anyone dressed up! It was full of really old people.....there's a pattern forming here with my days out!..... they were all dancing but it wasn't very war time. I was starting to feel a bit silly now!

We set off for a bit of retail therapy to cheer us up, mum works there so can get discount & I've just found they sell Yankee candles.....Silver bells is my favourite!

When we arrived back at the dance it was tea time........

Homemade biscuits...........yum! Then the music started again.....

No money wasted on decorations here! I was very disappointed by the lack of bunting!

This was the total number of people who had dressed up..... I was in the back so didn't put myself forward & no one asked me....maybe they thought it was my normal outfit!
These people looked fantastic but you could only see the back of them because they were facing the judges. I turned out to be a very enjoyable evening & it was nice to spend time with mum.
At the end of the evening they announced they had raised nearly £600 for the British Legion! The tickets were only £3.50 including the tea which I think is really good, unfortunately there were a few people sat in the normal restaurant watching that hadn't paid at all!

Next up are some gifts......

CK Christmas tea towel is a treat to myself! Does anyone know if you can still buy poster hangers? It's too nice to use. The Keep Calm mug was a belated birthday gift & the CK mug was a gift from Erica for teaching her how to knit.....I really haven't done very much as she's a natural.

Did anyone else see the White Stuff campaign to adopt a Gnome for charity?

I love Gnomes so couldn't resist this one. He sat in the shop window for weeks with my name on, I had quite a few texts & email asking if I really had adopted a Gnome! I went to collect him on Tuesday but it's far to wet for him outside, I think he looks quite at home next to the LA sign.

This week I've been trying to make badges & hair slides to replace the ones I sold on Saturday.
Looking forward to the fair tomorrow but wish I had made more stuff now!

Hope you all have a good week, for those of you lucky enough to be going to CL & Vintage handmade fair......have fun!
I'm working in Bristol next week so I think a visit to my favourite shop might be on the cards!

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month the guns fell silent.

This will be our first armistice day without the WW1 veterans, who would've have thought all 3 would go in one year? It doesn't seem a year ago when we watched them lay their wreathes for the last time.
With the pasting of these hero's it now up to us all not to forget the horror they saw.

I'm working today (the first time in about 6 years) but I'm hoping I can pop out at 11am. Although I had booked today off I had to change it due to a head office visit. I don't like working because you always get a customer ask you something at 11am & it makes me mad!!!
It's also the first time I'll be celebrating today, come back tomorrow to see what I did... .......
I'm excited!

Remembrance day & craft fair

'They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning

We will remember them'

Hello, sorry to repeat last years post but I don't think anything more can be said.
I stayed at home today to watch the TV service, this was the first time in years that I hadn't made the effort to go out. I was thinking about the time I made the journey to the cenotaph, it was about 6 years ago. I'm so pleased I did it but not sure I could face it again, I still remember how cold I was & how my legs didn't work after it had finished.
Listen to me moaning when people died in freezing trenches!

So on a lighter note yesterday saw me & Penny heading off to Whipton Community Hall in Exeter to attend our first craft fair.
Come on in......

It was a very cold grey afternoon ................ just look at those lovely heads on the windows....

I arrived first to find a very tiny hall full of tables, our was the 2nd one just inside the door. They were so tight together I couldn't even get my stuff set up!!!

Here's our table all set up.
What do you think?

It didn't look as good as I hoped, I had a picture in my mind that just didn't work out on the day. The table was so small we had trouble fittings both our things on.
It was only £5 a table so maybe we should've gone for one each.
Did you spot my lovely new bag?
I ordered it from The Mail On Sunday back in June but it only arrived this week.....
I love it, it stands out in the crowd!

Before pricing anything we went for a wander to see what was on offer, well Vintage & Handmade fair it was not!!! In fact it was rubbish! One lady had a whole table full of knitted toys that were really bad, she was charging £1 for them. I felt really sorry for her because she told me she knitted all the time just for this fair..... not sure if she sold anything because her table looked just as full at the end.

What do you think of Penny's dresses??

Beautiful aren't they, all made from recycled fabrics.

I made my first sale at 2.05!!!! I was so chuffed!
Here's a close up of the table looking slightly messy from people 'looking'.

Christmas decorations, lavender bags, corsages, shoes & slippers.

So was it worth it?
No!!
It was full of old folks coming for a chat & a cup of tea. One lady even told Penny her patchwork double size quilt was so expensive.....she put £225 on it because it took her years to finish it.
It just wasn't our target market but I did sell lots of little things that added up so I did make a profit on the day..... I suppose you can't ask for more. Unfortunately Penny didn't sell one thing even through she had made some beautiful things.

I have another one on Friday 13th (oh dear!), I think this will be better because The Body Shop at home will be there plus a locally owned shop that it quite high price but sells more things in keeping with my stuff. Hope it will be worth it.
So angry I gave up my Saturday off & now I can't come to the Vintage & Handmade :(

Crafty day

Today I've been mostly making a mess!!
With only 5 days to go until my first fair I've been panicking & falling out with my sewing machine yet again!

OH has gone back to Majorca for 6 days so I'm home alone....thankfully!
I was up really early this morning & with all the housework done I thought I could have a full day crafting. The day has gone so fast & I feel I haven't got much done.
I'm really hoping this fair will be the first of many but if I don't get my act together it could be my last. I've been selling my knitting for about 15 years & always talked about doing fairs etc but never got around to it.
2 years ago when I met Penny we've talked & talked about it, finally the day is nearly here & I'm not ready!!! I know I can sell..... I'm pretty good at it at work, lets face it if I can sell a £3k sofa surely I can sell a few corsages...... but I'm worried I won't sell anything!

I settled down at 11am with my machine....... why does my cotton keep breaking?????
I can't even sew one seem without it happening, I've tried everything....... including shouting quite a lot!

So after making rather a lot of mess I decided to stick to what I know & sat in front the TV to do my crocheting!
I watched Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday'................fantastic!
I love that film & after 2 hours of singing & some armchair dancing (!!) I felt much calmer & happier! Not sure I can face the machine again just yet though.

Now I think some of you ladies will be very jealous. I was hunting for my flat cat (more about him later) when I came across this white box that I haven't looked at for 3 years!
I wonder what's inside???

Lots of fabric & some knitted things from when I was planning on setting up a web site, I think I should take those tanktops to the fair....you never know!
Now lets look more closely at the fabric.....

Do you know what it is???

Here's some still in the unopened bag!!!
How naughty, at the time I really wanted it........ it makes me feel so bad..... I'm such a spend thrift......no wonder I don't have any money!!!!
So now I'm thinking about what I can do with it that doesn't involve my machine.....hahahaha!!

This is my flat cat..........

The picture's so bad, I can't believe how dark it is at 4pm...hardly worth drawing the curtains.
I made him years ago but thought he may go down well at the fair, I need to work out what I did....... I never write anything down as lots of my things are one offs.

Another bad picture!!
These are my gifts I received from some lovely bloggers.......

They were included in the hat parcels....... thank you Hen & Karen.....sorry it's taken so long to post about it & I don't think I've done them justice with the terrible photo!!!

Things just aren't going well at the moment...... do you ever have days like that????
Well mines lasted 4 days now & I'm starting to get a little bit fed up with things going wrong!
I think it because my back it still bad & the tablets I take make you feel yucky.
Hope to be back soon to show you some things I've made, have a good week.

Happy Halloween!

What are you doing?

Awards

Thanks MelMel for these 2 awards....

So the rules.......

1.link back to the lovey ladies who awarded you.........and thank them......

2.Post the logo or award.

3.Share 7 things about yourself.

4.Pick some lovely fellow bloggers to pass the awards onto!


I've put off doing this because I never know what to say about myself.
So as it Halloween tomorrow I thought I'd share some spooky stories.....

1. I did my first Ouija board when I was 16 & believe me it worked!!! The glass moved & answered a question that only I knew, the glass then flew off the table & smashed against the wall...never again!

2. I moved out of home the same year
to a shared house with my sister & a few spooky things happen. The person who I lived with had an affair with a married man, she ended it when he had triplets & it was all over the paper!! Unfortunately he committed suicide...sad story, just after this happened some really odd things started happening in the house.
Music coming on in the middle of the night, washing powder in the kettle so when it boiled it foamed up & locked doors opening! I was quite frightened so I use to lock my bedroom door, one night the door opened & everything was knocked off my chest of drawers...when I say knocked I mean swept off....this continued all around the room until the curtains started moving. I ran so fast out of that room!! I slept with my sister in a single bed for weeks after that!

3. About a year later I was living above a pub & in the top bedroom I saw a solider walk in & sit at the end of my bed.... I put it out of my mind thinking I was seeing things but years later someone else who lived there told me about it & said he was quite famous.

4. I used to work in a shop in the high street in Exeter, after a few years of working there odd things started happening but only on a Saturday night. It would start about 5pm from the ground floor..... you could hear banging then the pictures would start moving on the walls on the stairs as if there was a very strong breeze. Things would then start falling of the shelves, needless to say no one wanted to work Saturdays! The final thing was a phone call from what sounded like a little girl giggling & saying 'Hello it's me'.... this really freaked me out & apparently I was a white as I ghost...hahaha!!!

5. I've been regressed twice......... I was an old lady called Gertrude! I helped the smugglers in to Cornwall then stole all the loot...ever so unlike me!!! But I did have a very large dog called John...more like me!!!

6. The second time I was a man living in Nottingham in poverty..... I had a wife & a child (called John...see a pattern forming!!!) ....... I really resented him because I had no money to feed him & wished he hadn't been born..... it was very sad & I was crying when I was talking.
Is this why I don't have children now???

7. My nan, who passed away in 1977, visited me once on Halloween about 5 years ago. She spoke to me through a friend.... I won't go in to details...... my nan knew my mum had found a crochet hook in her living room but she wanted me to let her know it wasn't a crochet hook it was a hook for doing up boots.
I phoned mum the next day & before I could say anything she asked me to teach her how to crochet. She had found a hook on the floor but dad thought it was a boot hook!!!
Don't know how I held back the swear word...lol!

So that's it..... 7 things..... are you scared now?????

I wasn't sure if I should do this post because I know alot of people don't believe in this kind of thing & a few people will be thinking ....'she's just made that up' but I didn't, honest!
The good news is it doesn't happen so much now.

Now I know I'm supposed to past this on but I'm not sure who as you're all great!! If you read this & want to give it ago feel free.

What are you doing for Halloween?

Back soon.

My holiday

The story of Can'pastilla

12 years ago me & OH decided to head for the sun for the first time. We took a flight from London to Palma & booked in for one night, we only took small back packs & planned to go where ever we wanted.

After spending a night in a tiny but very expensive hotel we headed to the bus station & got on the first bus that was going to the sea! We went through a little town & when the bus stopped we could see the sea ahead so off we jumped. Now little did we know this was the start of a love affair that is still going!

The town is a mix of Spanish, German & English (less now), we booked into a hotel & went off to see the sights. The first street we went down had a English bar, we popped in & got talking to the owners...... OH went on to set up their web site & helped them sell the business when the time was right. We ended up becoming friends with loads of other bar owners & OH got lots of work from it.
It may not be everyone's cup of tea but it suited us for short breaks, I felt happy to walk around alone at night as there was always someone you knew about. It was all about relaxing, laying in the hotel room or on the beach & going to the bars with a bunch of great people.

I used to go about 3-4 times a year but this all stopped 3 years ago when we moved. The cats became too old for me to leave them for more then one night & I don't fancy asking anyone to come in as we now have a litter tray. OH continues to go every month, he loves it there & would like to move. He doesn't do as much work over there but because he deals with web sites he can take his laptop & work .....better then the office!

This week the flights worked out just right & cheap, so on Tuesday morning we headed to the airport. I hate flying..... not because I think it'll crash but because there's never enough room or air!!! I must confess it was a terrible flight, very uncomfortable & seemed to go on forever!

So we arrived ...at last..... the sun was out & it was lovely & warm, you know that nice warm.... sunglasses on we headed to the bars!! It was lovely to see everyone again...some people thought that OH had buried me under the patio so I think he wanted to prove them wrong!!!
Lots of kisses & cheap drinks later we went back to the hotel only to wake at 2am to listen to the rain :(
Now I'm well known for bring the rain..... I think they should send me to countries that haven't had rain for years!!!

We had nothing planned so laid in bed reading.... OH said 'you could've done that at home' but no I couldn't because there's always things to do...... how come men don't notice mess??

At midday I was hungry & the rain had stopped so we went out......it was flooded & the wind nearly knocked you over! The bars & restaurants were all closed but the KFC was open.....yay!!! .... at least it was food!
We decided to go for a walk before heading back to the hotel but the heavens opened again so we had to dash to an open bar....thankfully..... then the storm came!
Now you all know how much I hate storms!

This was the beach just after the storm.... look at those crazy people!

It was amazing that within a few hours the sun came out again but look at the wind!

It was really mild so although the wind was strong we found shelter & enjoyed a coffee in the early evening sun before hitting the town for our final night.
All to soon it was over & time to head back to the airport......until next time!
The flight back wasn't so bad but we came back into Bristol...... hence the travelling with a very bad back :(

I've been taking my pills so it's not as bad but I can still feel it hanging around...... it must be this time of year because last year I was signed off with a trapped nerve.

Today was the last day of my holiday :( I don't want to go back tomorrow but I must say today has been trying! Lots of clearing up of crafty things before getting out the sewing machine..... the needle broke & hit me in the face :(
I changed it but couldn't get it to work without snapping the cotton..... after fighting with it for about an hour I put it away..... any tips??? I've changed the tension.
Then I made my dinner & spilt the whole lot down me...... now I've really had enough so maybe an early night is on the cards. I told you those pills make me crazy!!