Hats Outrageous!

Busy busy busy!

It's the wind-down to the summer holidays - I should say it's me that's winding down, while everything else seems to be winding up!  At school it appears they're now trying to fit in all the things they've had all year to do, concerts, plays, school trips, whatever...and it's all happening right now.  The weather is topsy turvy, but whatever the weather, I have to keep on working, school work, craft work, house work...it's non stop!  This week I've attended my daughter's summer concert at her school.  I went to the Christmas concert, and was a little non-plussed.  Not sure why - I think it might have been because we travelled there by train and it finished very late, which meant we were on the station platform freezing whilst waiting for the train...the concert itself wasn't so bad, but my memory has been coloured by that cold, cold night! This time around, I still travelled by train, but my daughter stayed at school and organised her own dinner and so on - what a difference six months makes!  Back in November she wouldn't have dared do that, the result being we had to rush around in a mad panic because she arrived home half an hour before we had to catch the train - now she's Little Miss Independent, and I was able to take my time!  The concert finished almost as late as the November one, but the main difference was most certainly the weather, we walked to the station in the dusk - at 10pm - and although there was a chill in the air on the platform, it wasn't nearly so bad.   Anyway, this concert was great - my daughter played piano as part of the Lower School Symphony Orchestra, and sang as part of the Vocal Ensemble.  It's really lovely that she's so involved in school life; I really wish the opportunities were there for me to be as involved, but this is secondary school, the focus is on the children (young adults!) rather than the parents, and in a lot of ways that's much better...I guess!

My daughter also had her Confirmation on Sunday!  I'm so proud of her - she made the decision herself to have it, and although she was very nervous, it was lovely to see her stand up and profess her faith in Christ in front of everyone.  Poor thing was in tears because she was completely overwhelmed by it all, but she had her first Communion and that made it all worthwhile.  She's told all her friends at school that she's now considered an adult...a few of them are looking at her in a different way...and it's certainly had an affect on her attitude!  I wonder if this is part of the reason why she was happy to stay back at school on Wednesday?  She's having an outing to the cinema with her friends on Monday, which is a big step for me as much as for her, because it involves her taking two buses to get to the shopping centre where they're seeing the film.  She's under strict instructions to keep her phone turned on when she's not in the cinema...eep!  On the other hand, she's 13 and a half, I should be happy she's growing up and wanting to do things with her friends...and I'm sure I was doing the same sort of things when I was in Year 8...

I've been busily crafting and listing every day on Folksy - I can't believe it's been nearly a month and I've managed it every day - and once again, I'm *so* sorry I've not managed to do the same for you all here, and blog every day...how about I see what I can do for June?  Anyway, my daily listing is starting to see dividends:  I've been featured in quite a few blogs, and I've had *two* custom orders for my map coasters.  I haven't shown you my map coasters yet, have I!  Okay, well, here goes, let's have my Folksy Listings from where I left off...starting with the 17th of May:

1.  Map Coasters

   

2.  Felt Flower Brooch

   

3.  Felt Flower Brooch

   

4.  Map Coasters

   

5.  Denim and Patchwork Shabby Chic Coasters

   

6.  Large Barrette with Felt Flowers

   

7.  Crayon Roll

   

8.  Crayon Roll

   

9.  Felt Flower Brooch

   

10.  Felt Flower Brooch

   

11.  Felt Flower Barrette

 

Now, all of these are for sale, and are listed in my Folksy Shop!  I ship everywhere, and take payment by PayPal.  Don't forget, all proceeds from every sale go towards sending my daughter to the Jamboree next year!

Table Sale - Part 2

We made £22!

What's amazing about that is that I didn't sell anything at all...it was all in raffle ticket sales!  No. 1 Son was a bit slack at the beginning, but then he worked out that all he had to do was hassle all the people he knew  - mostly Cubs/Scouts/Beavers Leaders and their spouses (spice??) and their kids...plus other Cubs - and he'd make a sale!  The tickets were 20p each, so...a quick bit of maths shows that he sold 110 tickets!  What a good boy (well, 100 - I sold 10 from a secondary book while he was off around the place selling...).

You know what the really strange thing is?  Daughter (she who is going to Sweden...with the 22nd World Scouting Jamboree...I'm sure I must have mentioned this before!) had a Table Sale at school - and she made £22.19!  Not sure where the 19p came from - but weird that we made the same amount of money!

Anyway, not the £120 I was dreaming of/wishing for, but hey, it's a lot better than nothing at all!

I shall take photos of (and put up in my Folksy Shop) the pretty totes I made, but not today...too tired!

So - you might be wondering - where is this Mysterious Daughter, that she wasn't there helping me raise money to send her to Sweden?

On a Jamboree Training Camp!  Of course!  Where else would she be???

Table Sale

Bit of a stressful afternoon, but not nearly so stressful as when I was getting ready for Misty Moon!  Tomorrow is the 6th Mottingham Cubs Table Sale, and I have a table...No. 1 Son (the Cub in the family) is having a raffle and selling some stuff to raise money to send his sister to Sweden next year...you know why!  I've been busily making bags - totes, shoulder bags, lavender bags...you name it, I've bagged it!  The t-shirt yarn bags which I featured on here the other day (you may now also see them on my Folksy page - they're still available to buy even now...) additionally I've made some lovely totes by upcycling curtains - 3 yellow with botanical pics (also seen on this blog), and today, 3 blue/purple with screen-printed flowers on them.  All are lovely, if I may say so myself!

Anyway, must go, this is a quickie - it's time for Ashes to Ashes, and I dare not miss a second!

I'll let you know how I went...

Folksy!

After an age of threatening, I have opened a Folksy shop.  It's only fairly small potatoes at the moment (only 5 items) but hopefully something will come of it.  I've listed some brooches I've made in the past few months and one of my scarves, and I've decided for the time being all proceeds will go towards sending my daughter to Sweden...of course!

I also have an Etsy account, but I've not listed anything there yet.  I'll see how I go with the Table Sale on Saturday and whatever I have left from that I'll list in both places.

EDIT - I have listed some items in my Etsy Shop!

22nd World Scouting Jamboree

I've bitten the bullet and I've set up a Facebook Page to raise funds towards sending my daughter to the 22nd World Scouting Jamboree in Sweden next year (I'm *sure* I've mentioned before that she's part of the SE London contingent??!).  Anyway, there's going to be details of things we're doing towards getting the money for her, sales of things and whatever, plus on the "info" page there's a link to my PayPal account, which takes you directly to a donation button.  (ooh - I've put it here too...)  Anyway, don't feel pressured, but please show your support if you're on Facebook by visiting or commenting or whatever...every little helps! 

School's Out for Easter!!

Excited, me?  Yes, a wee bit.  The kidlets are off school for 18/19 days - the youngest returns to Nursery on 20/4 wheras all the others go back to school on 19/4 - we don't have anything big planned, in fact, not much planned at all, mostly down to not having the money - but I don't mind one little bit!  Oh, we have a trip to the Dentist on the 9th, and I have a Table Sale at Cubs on the 10th, and Daughter's going off on Jamboree Training Camp, also on the 10th, returning on the 11th...Oh and No. 1 Son has a Computer Badge course for Cubs on the 7th...and I have to go visit my Little Old Man on Monday...apart from that, nothing!

I love Easter.  It's not the chocolate egg stuff, it's the promise of resurrection.  Christ's resurrection is celebrated - He is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed!  No, we don't have to remain in the grave when we die - we are not without hope when we are in Christ - for HE has gone before us, he's tested the waters and said, "Come on in!  It's lovely!"  In my life, in my husband's life, in the lives of our children, we see Christ everywhere - an answered prayer here, something "too co-incidental" there...He is there, at work in our lives at every minute of the day.  Thank you, Jesus, for not giving up when you were so sorely tempted to do so.

Amen.

Oh my!

A little bit of stress and tension in our household.  First off we have Husband working.  Okay, one day money will be coming in, but it's not happened yet, although there is a rumour that it shall be showing its face somewhere near the end of the month.  Which is soon.  Hurrah!  Secondly, Husband isn't happy where he's working, most upset last night about being away from home and hearth, as it were.  It's the weekend though, so there's a little bit of relief in sight, and we prayed about it, he mostly has to remember to take some reading material with him next week, that was half the problem.  I can see the books he intended to take...sitting on his desk!

Next we were waiting for the notice about what school our baby boy is going to go to - okay, he's 4 in May, he's not such a baby!  The notices went in the post yesterday, and I only applied for one school - the one his sister had gone to and his 2 older brothers are currently attending.  Even though the odds were fairly stacked in his favour, sibling-preference and all that, and having 2 siblings at the school would likely stack them even higher, it still didn't stop me having a heart-sickening worry that he wouldn't get a place. 

Anyway, the post's been, he's been awarded a place, as we'd hoped.  Hurrah!

Lastly, and quite possibly the most pressing one - I am selling at Misty Moon Easter Art and Craft Fair tomorrow!  I'm not quite sure how much stuff I will have, but I have a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that it's not quite enough, and I'm going to put a bit of an effort in between now and then...what am I doing on here??  Wish me well!

Very slack, I know!

Sorry folks!  I've not been on here for a while because it's been head down, bottom up for the past few weeks, getting ready for Misty Moon!  It's an Arts and Crafts Fair, on 20th March, so hopefully I'm going to have enough stuff.

Husband has also started work, yesterday in fact. They rang on Monday and asked if he could start on Wednesday, but Wednesday was his birthday...so no go so far as we were concerned!  Anyway, he started yesterday morning, and as I type, is (hopefully) just about home.  It's a nice, short introduction to his new working life.  Sometimes there's going to be weekend work.  Not this or next weekend though, as this weekend he doesn't have access to the building yet, and next weekend I've already planned for him to look after the kids while I do Misty Moon...It's only 3 months though, so I guess I can cope...I'll have to!).   Next week will tell though.  He's waiting very impatiently for his credit card to arrive, because we're sort of cutting it a bit fine in terms of our money situation.  Never mind though, worry is a sin and God has a plan, He keeps showing this to be true!  Yesterday morning we were up at 5.30 to get him off and running, and it completely wiped me out, so, although I had high hopes of spending 2 hours in the Studio doing some sewing (ie. after the kids had gone to bed) I was fast asleep on the lounge at 8.  Fortunately I woke up on the dot of 9 to be able to tell No. 1 Son it was time to go to bed ("Rats!" said he).

In addition to getting up at the crack of dawn yesterday, I also popped into Knitshop, a lovely shop owned by my friend Julieta.  We got to know each other when our children were in nursery together, and back then she was running things out of a small studio and online.  Knitshop is still online, but her shop in Lee Green is fantastic - I just wanted to feel everything.  I bought some gorgeous cotton ribbon yarn (think cut up t-shirts, but neater) and have nearly finished it all.  I've offered my services as a knitter, a "proof-knitter" if you like, and I go back in next week to pick up my pattern and yarn.  She's also asked if I can "proof-crochet" some patterns when she gets some together...oh, and would I like to make some patterns myself, and sell them to Knitshop?  Oooh yeah!!  It's stuff like this that really excites me and I feel like I can quite possibly make a living in the visual and creative arts.  I can't wait!

I've also been typing for Jim, my little old man up the road who's been carrying a book around in his head since 1945.  I generally go up to his place on a Friday morning when No. 3 Son is ensconced in Nursery, but this week Jim has a friend staying with him, so rather than get in their way we decided I could work from home this week (and next week, as I thought I had something on next Friday, but it turns out that's actually the following Friday - note to self:  ring Jim!).  Because I'm now taking No. 3 Son everywhere with me rather than the luxury I had before, which was leaving him with The Good Husband, I had to plot what I was going to do before I did it, and so after dropping off Nos. 1 and 2 Sons at school, I asked No. 3 to watch a DVD or play on the computer (his choice) while I did my typing for Jim.  All done by 9.30, just in time to take No. 3 to Nursery...couldn't be easier!  I came home and went straight out to the Studio, where I sewed wheat bags for 1 and 3/4 hours...before I had to pick up No. 3 again at 12, have lunch, then pick up Nos. 1 and 2 from school...

Is it any wonder I'm exhausted???

Woot!

She got in!!!!  My daughter just received a phone call to say she made the team representing South East London for the World Scout Jamboree in Skåne (in Southern Sweden) next year.  Serious yaying in our house...

Wet wet wet...

My daughter's away on a Scout Camp this weekend.  Not just any Scout Camp, but a selection camp to choose the lucky 27 Scouts who will be reperesenting South East London next year in Skåne, Sweden (my favourite part of Sweden, primarily because of Henning Mankell and Wallander).  Now, I'm not sure if it has anything to do with her, but every time she goes on a Scout Camp...it rains.  We thought the hoodoo might have been broken, as yesterday was, not quite glorious, but compared to the weather we've been having lately, positively tropical.  True, we had a spit of rain, but nothing to write home about, and definitely nothing which would threaten the whole weekend.  But this morning...we woke to torrential rain...and it doesn't seem to be wanting to give up...still, it could be worse.  A few weeks back we looked at the long-range forecast for this weekend, and we were supposedly having HEAVY SNOW!  Glad that one went away...

To make matters worse, our car is playing up a bit, and I'm a bit worried that my husband won't be able to get to the campsite today to pick her up (what, you were thinking I was going to do it??!  Hah!)...the car's been working quite well for the past couple of months, but yesterday it had a hiccup on Hubby's return from the campsite.  Urgh.  Oh well.  We'll see what happens.  She'll be cold and wet, but I'm sure she'll have had a great time.  We'll find out by the 8th of March - I'll keep you posted.

In other news, Hubby and I spent quite a bit of time yesterday tidying up our Garden Studio (photos are here somewhere of a sign which says "Leisure Centre" - that's the Garden Studio), getting all the toys and crud out of it, so it will become a proper studio for me, and a hang-out for us girls (daughter and myself) away from the Testosterone City that is our house.  I'm quite excited about it all!

Crochet class tomorrow night - we're out of printer ink, so unlike last week, when I had take-home sheets for my class (hence there being no printer ink...) I'll be doing stuff out of my head.  I'm sure I'll be fine.

Oh - and Hubby has a phone-interview tomorrow for a 3-month contract!  Prayers please, we need this job!