Wednesday, 9 April 2008

Vintage Swap Sneaky Peek

I have finally got round to finishing my entry for the MNCrafters Vintage Swap.

It will be winging its way to Devon to vInTaGe VioLeT.

But here's a sneaky peek!!

Tuesday, 8 April 2008

Sal's Tag Giveaway

Over on Sal's Snippets, she's doing a Tag Giveaway.

The idea is that you search for your first name amongst the books being sold on Amazon / Ebay and the like, post a picture of 4 or 5 of them along with some witty comments.

My name is LEAH, so I wasn't holding out for a great selection!!

Leah wondered how to fill her day ...

She could sail the 7 seas ...

And search the beaches for her favourite sea creatures ...

Or she could just take a walk in the country ...


And dream of galloping over the moors ... Should she just do some cooking ?

But that would just lead to more hours at the gym

to ensure she could fit into her new purchase!!!

LucyLocket's Mini Quilt Swap

I've signed up for another swap organised by the fabulous LucyLocketRecycledHerPocket.

This time we have to make a mini quilt.

I've just started patchwork, applique and quilting so I'd going to enjoy creating

A Snowy Day

We woke on Sunday morning to a couple inches of snow.

Whilst I was doing the 6 hour round trip to collect DS from his dad's, DH and DD built a "snowman" - well I say snowman but DH has decided not to use a carrot for a nose but has used them for ears so the resulting creature is rather bunny looking!!

We decided to get energetic in the afternoon and went to WaterWorld in Stoke, which is one of those indoor waterparks with slides, etc. Great for DS (14) but not really ideal yet for DD (3).

We rounded off the day by stopping for eats at a punb in the way back but the food was really awful so we should have gone to Frankie And Bennies as its DS's favourite eatery!!

Swap Bunny Revealed


As the bunny I made for Levinke as part of LucyLocketRecycledHerPocket's Bunny-Hop-Bunny-Swap has reached Australia I thought I'd reveal her in all her glory!!

She's only the second softie I've made - and my first bunny - so please be gentle with your comments!!

Wednesday, 2 April 2008

I've been Tagged

There is a "4 Things About Me Meme" circulating blogland and I've been tagged by Jill, so here are my answers.

4 Jobs I've had:

* I worked in the sex industry (have I got your attention??) This was in the 3 years leading up to me having DS when I worked on a thoroughbred stud. The breeding season was Feb to May so we could have 100 mares (and their foals) there at one time - boy were we busy!! There were even a few that I saw conceived, watch born and took to the yearling sales end up on the racetrack

* Horse Tack and Leatherwork Maker - this wasn't saddles or bridles (I'm sad to say), but more rugs (where we hand stitched the buckles on), knee pads, racing clothes, surcingles etc

* Civil Engineer - this was working for the local council in their Highways department. I starting off tracing the engineer's drawings onto acetate (which would then be made into blueprints), and progressed up a step whilst attending day-release college where I got a O.N.C. in Civil Engineering. I was only 1 of about 3 women in the class but came out with better grades than most of the boys!! I left when we relocated and to this day the smell of wet tarmac turns my stomach - so it obviously it wasn't the career for me!!

* Human Resources Officer - this started out as a temporary job which led to me now being qualified to Masters Degree level. My last job (before DD) was working for CAFCASS, where I was the only HR person for their West Midland region (@200 people) which covered Staffordshire in the North, Herefordshire in the South, Shropshire in the West and Warwickshire in the East. I liked to think of my job as "hiring and firing" (of which I did my fair share), but it included lots of admin and making sure people got paid

4 Favourite Movies:

* The King & I - I LOVE the presentation of the Royal children, I know the words to all the songs, and I still cry when Yul Brynner dies at the end!

* The Shawshank Redemption - Great performances by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. (This is one of DH's favourites too)

* A Knight's Tale - a fabulous romp staring Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer and the now deceased Heath Leger

* The Sixth Sense - a film you have to watch more than once!!

4 Places I've been:

* Sri Lanka - DH and I went here on honeymoon. This included a weeks tour taking in Kandy, the tea plantations, the elephant orphanage and watching Sri Lanka play the West Indies at cricket whilst sitting on the fort at Gaul. We were absolutely gutted when the Tsunami wiped out the area we stayed at but when DD is older we plan to go back and tour the north of the island

* Tunisia - DH, DS and I went on holiday here, and DH proposed on my birthday!! We never got to see where they filmed Star Wars so another place on the list to return to!!

* Loch Lomond in Scotland - DH and I stayed at The Lodge on the Loch over Christmas 2003. We'd had a tough year and came home having conceived DD on Christmas Day!! This is one of the reasons she has a scottish name

* Barcelona - I had a long weekend here whilst on a trip with the girls from college. We had to visit a business to find out how HR works there - and we visited a beer distributor - no free samples though!! Again this another place I'd love to return to

4 Places I've Lived:

We were very nomadic whilst I was growing up as my parents were in the hotel trade and this has carried over into my adult life!!

* Scotland
* Wales
* Kendal
* The Midlands (including Bucks, Oxon, Cambs, Worcs, South Derbyshire)

4 Favourite TV Shows:

* From the 80's - The Beiderbecke Series (Tapes, Affair & Connection) - I've just treated myself to the boxset so when DH is off in the States next I'm going to have a night in front of the DVD player!!

* Project Runway/Catwalk - I love to see what they come up with in the name of "fashion"

* The Apprentice - I tried to get DH to apply for this 1st time round, as he has the business skills Sir Alan is looking for but he wouldn't be as entertaining TV wise

* UFC (Ultimate Figher) - A bizarre choice but I'm a kickboxer. Although if you met me you'd assume Sumo wrestling was my sport!!


4 Favourite Radio Shows:

I have to admit that I don't tend to listen to the radio - maybe Radio 1 or Heart FM once in a while when I'm in the car but that's all.

4 Favourite Foods:

I'm a vegetarian - and have been for the majority of my life - so this has influenced my choices

* Dahl - I love it in all its variations

* Ice Cream - My favourite flavour is Tutti Fritti (but you don't get it much these days) and what I craved the most when expecting DS

* Crisps - I'm a savoury girl and my all time favourite flavour are Seabrook's Prawn Cocktail but I have developed a penchant for Bombay Mix lately

* Ernst & Julio Gallio White Grenache - there's nothing like a lovely chilled glass on a summer's evening

4 Places I'd Rather Be:

* Bizarely Shropshire - if we ever sell our house this is where we're relocating to (DH works just outside Shrewsbury). I'm getting to the stage in my life where I want a "home" and somewhere I can unpack my boxes - some of which haven't seen the light of day in 12 years!!

* Space - I wanted to be an Astronaut when I was younger and still think it would be great to look down on our world

* Newmarket - my love of horses always draws me to the links on a frosty morning seeing the racehorses exercising

* Anywhere relaxing in the sun beside the sea with DH , DS & DD - bliss!!

Now I have to tag four others - so I nominate

* Megan (aka vInTaGe VioLeT) and my Vintage Swap partner
* Adele (aka Dingle) who makes the lushest cards
* Levineke -my Easter Bunny Swap partner
*
Sam (aka IncyWincy) - who's cushions are gorgeous

Wednesday, 26 March 2008

A Bunny from Down Under

I was all giggley this morning when I opened my postbox to find an envelope postmarked Adelaide, Australia.

It meant that my LucyLocketRecyclesHerPocket Bunny-Hop-Bunny-Swap bunny had arrived from my swap partner Levineke.

I opened the envelope to find these:


How gorgeous are they?? A lovely calico bunny with her own dress and pinny! She came with a matching card and a great little book about her home town.

Levineke says that she's only been crafting for a short time - but WOW is she talented. You should see the quilt she's making which can be seen on her blog.

I shall have to find somewhere special for "Levi" (as I've named her) to sit - away from grubby fingers and the like.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. You've made my day xx