wishing you all a very....

and thank you for all your support and friendship during this past year.

I have decided to close this blog on the last day of 2008. I have a couple more things to share with you so will hopefully post a few more times.

I would also like to do a final giveaway, so if you would like to be entered into the draw please leave a comment before the 30th December sharing with us the funniest Christmas present you have ever received .


I hope that you all have a wonderful and peaceful holiday with those you love.

with warmest wishes
Ginny xx

edited to say.... just closing the flour loft blog ... it seems the right time, but will be still blogging at sweetmyrtle and commenting on all your fab blogs as usual (you can't get rid of me that easily!)
...and for the future who knows?

lots of love to you all....i am now off to wrap presents and hope i get them labelled correctly as i have had a few glasses!
xxx

December 5

I like Fridays... the end of the week and the promise of time spent with the family at the weekend, chilling out, eating pizza and watching trashy tv. My favourite Saturday programme is Merlin. VERY loosely based on Authurian legend. I always make time to sit down and watch it with the girls. They like sharing the experience with me. We have a giggle as King Uther has banned the practice of magic. One of our cats is called Magic so the girls think this is great fun and say.. 'Magic not allowed'!

This weekend is the School Christmas Fair. I like to help out but this year we are just going to enjoy attending it and support it in that way. They have gone to school in Mufti (no school uniform) today with a gift of small goodies for the fair in return for this treat. It should be fun.. wonder how i'll do on the bottle tombola this year. ... maybe a bottle of black tower ? .. my friend still hasn't drunk hers from last year! I luckily got a large bottle of good lager which was finished very quickly by my man.



Today I want to share this photo with you of my wee family who mean the world to me. I have it pinned to my pin board and a glimpse of it as i walk by always makes me feel so blessed. This was taken on Fathers day earlier this year on a lovely river walk. It was one of those days that are not planned but gently unfold and end up being perfect. One to remember when I am away from them.

Have a lovely weekend with your friends, family and loved ones... they are what life is all about.x

Our Halloween...

I don't remember celebrating Halloween as a child at all. These days children in the uk seem to get very excited about Halloween (maybe it's the sweets?) and with any excuse to dress up we have gradually got into the 'spirit' of things. The girls really enjoyed making cards and decorating cakes to take round to our friends for Friday night's festivities. We usually get together with friends for food and games. Apple bobbing being the funniest thing ever. ( i don't know if i cheated but i was lucky enough to find one with a stalk this year!).

It has been very chilly here this week and we even had a light dusting of snow... in October.
Baking and soup making has been my reaction to this... and wearing lots of layers. I am now also wearing bed socks at night (for those of you who are interested in an update of my chilly feet)... my mum has knitted me a pale blue pair (very pretty) from an original 1940's pattern that was passed down from my grandma. I am sure my grandma would be pleased to know that my feet are now toasty.

I hope those of you who have been on half term have survived and had a great time. All back to normal routines for us again. I have some stock to make this week for the Vintage and Handmade Fair as time is whizzing by and it's less than 3 weeks away. I will also be adding a few more items for sale to the website which is overdue an update.
Have a Happy Week.
G x

apple pips...

Cut an apple in half across the centre to reveal a 5 pointed star (mine looks like a flower too).

To find out which beau (or belle) loves you the most take out two pips and call each one a name of two possible loves.

Press one each side of your cheeks.


The one to stay on longest is the one who loves you the most.

Wishing you all happy festivities.
g x

the last day of the holiday

Today is the last day of the holiday as the children return to school tomorrow... hooray!

Don't get me wrong as I have really loved having them close by but i must admit that now at the end of a lazy Summer we are all looking forward to an ease back into a more daily routine. I know that i shall miss them but i know too that it will enable me to get into my new workshop and to start working on some of the new ideas that have been buzzing through my head all Summer.

Today is also the last day that my youngest is 7 and the last day before she goes to junior school. Yes, she is starting a new school on her 8th birthday, but is pretty cool about it all as she will have her elder sister there looking out for her. She will have to wear a tie, but she is confident that she can construct this without help. I still have 2 boxes of their school clothes to label, which somehow got lost as my crocheting addiction took over. I now have 18 grannie squares, 2 of which use 2 colours! ... may attempt 3 next time.


For those of you who love crocheting here is a sweet link for making some crochet trees from a lovely blog called resurrection fern... i am tempted to try but i will have to wait.

Thank you for all your comments on my last post and the suggestions of ticking off things on my list before i move onto the treats (ie, crocheting ). I have finally ticked off the buy school shoes, although my eldest is developing her own sense of style, which is great, but even finding shoes which fitted- a mammoth task in itself- then there was the not liking them to deal with. I must admit i knew what she meant... well would you want to have shoes with a toy in at age 10? how i hate those toys in the heel anyway... i am sure it interferes with the comfort and structure of the shoe.... a rant i know is shared with many other mothers in search of suitable shoes. I also expect that many school teachers find them a trial too. So we have opted for a fill in 'cheaper' pair until we can find some nice plain ones that fit.

Today i need to food shop , make a school P.E. shoebag (still on list), make school bag with eldest (new addition to the list), do some laundry (always on the list), sew on all those labels, wrap and prepare some birthday presents and organise a bithday party. Wish me luck.
How are you filling your day today?
ginny x

Summer fun

Despite the weather being pretty crappy we do have some summer fun to report.
Our little camping trip went well and most importantly the tent went up on a sunny day and thankfully was packed up on a dry day too. So no tedious airing it in the back garden when we got home!



We stayed on the east coast of the Isle of Wight this year and explored from there. We didn't plan each day rigidly but rather let them unfold gently. This worked so well and kept everyone happy. The girls were a delight and we all enjoyed this holiday and easily adopted a much slower pace.

The first day was a scorching beach day, with deckchairs, picnic, warm sand, swimming and ice cream.

We also made it to the garlic farm this year and the lavender farm.



Elephant garlic flowers.


lavender farm

A fantastic time was shared with friends here at a fabulous Medieval day. There were demonstrations and activities for the whole family. We all had a go at archery, watched some Medieval dancing and talked to the costumed exhibiters about Medieval life from herbs and food to dress and latrine pits. The company who run these events have a website which has some great links on and this event is planned at the end of August too. Looks great!? I was particularly drawn to these as you would imagine...

Medieval poppet dolls made from wool and linen and stuffed with moss.

Many hours also were spent looking out to see and waiting to catch the waves as they crashed over the rocks. So exhilerating!

waiting to get wet!

and finally here is a photo of a friendly tiny rabbit who with it's friend were seen nibbling leaves just 50 yards from our tent. The girls were over the moon to see wild bunnies so close.



They are so desperate for a pet and now that i am going to be at home more we are looking...
there is a possibility of a friends kittens (they are sooo sweet!) but we think R is allergic to cats. We have arranged to borrow one when they are a bit bigger (only 4 weeks old now) to check. Although we may not need to as black cat appeared on our doorstep last week wanting to get in... it has been back a few times and when i got home at 12.30 the other evening there was a loud miowing ... we are so soft that we let her come in. She (we think it's a girl ) had a look around, brushed up against our legs in that affectionate moggy kind of way and went upstairs and curled up on the end of the girls bed and settled down. It was like she had always done that. We both think that she is here for a reason.. maybe she is a magic cat says my eldest, come to test daddy's allergy. I have always loved black cats.

We made her a bed and let her sleep downstairs. She went off a little reluctantly in the day and appeared back last night and appeared hungry. We fed her outside the back door and then another black cat appeared! almost identical. Our feeling is that some folks may be on holiday and that she is being fed but wants some petting (although she did seem hungry). She is very friendly. She has no collar but i understand that cats can be microchipped nowadays. I have a contact of a local cat protection lady and i hope to talk to her today. I would be gratefully if anyone has any advice on this and on cat allergies too. I will let you know what happens.

Nearly the weekend. Hope yours are good.

Will be back soon with book news... very exciting as it is nearly September!
ginny x

thank you's and moving on...

The school term has now finished for the Summer and brings the mixed emotions of the excitement of lazy days and holidays but also the sadness of saying goodbye to special teachers and of the anticipation of moving on to the next stage.

My youngest will be moving on to a different school in September so it was a final goodbye to the fantastic infant school which has nurtured her for the past three years and her sister for three years before that. It was also time for me to say goodbye as a parent. We are all ready to move on but will remember this very special school with such gratitute and warmth as it truly has given both my girls the most amazing start to their school lives.

On the whole I believe that a School Education is a good thing but feel that it is so important for schools to give each individual child the freedom to experience and develop in their own special ways. I base less emphasis on the academic results but in nurturing a child's spirit and desire to embrace the world and everything around them. I do not agree with the testing as i know many teachers do not either, especially with such little ones!

I wish for my children to have a good all round experience at school, to be inspired by the wonder of nature, to learn by doing, to build their confidence and excitement about life, to follow their dreams and to be sensitive and caring to others. This school has provided the tools to inspire learning and really has complemented the philosophies that i hold and that we practice at home.....except the large amounts of homework!... i do like my girls to have lots of unstructured down time when they drift off into the most amazing imaginative play.

My youngest who loves to sew wanted to make some thank you gifts. She had a clear idea of what she wanted to do and designed some lavender cushions with each of her teachers in mind choosing the colours that she thought they would like. She stitched and stuffed them herself and i just helped when instructed.



My eldest also made a gift for her teachers (sadly no photo). It was a lovely fimo plaque with the words 'the best teachers' on it. She said that they really liked it and were going to put it up in the class. Her teachers have been fantastic too and she has grown so much this year.

All the teachers got some 'divine' chocolate too... it felt mad buying so many bars at once and if you are wondering... yes we couldn't resist getting a bar for us to enjoy too! Some special teachers received green and blacks mint or orange chocolate instead. And the caretaker even got some dark chocolate accompanied by a hand written card thanking him for , 'cleaning up my sick'! Not a nice job and definately deserved some chocolate don't you think?



So today is the first day of our holiday... the girls are playing in the garden, the collared doves are cooing, the sun is out , i am just about to hang out my washing, which is one of my favourite household jobs. What bliss.
Have an appointment to sort through fabrics later as i am finally moving into the new space... will be back later in the week with more on that.
Happy days and happy holidays to you all!
g x

my favourite kind of day

We have had a mixed few weeks here... with both good news and bad.
Firstly the joy of a new little soul and then the sadness of learning that a friend of ours had tragically lost her 3 year battle against breast cancer.
Life's preciousness has been very much in the forefront of our minds and it has made us more determined than ever to live for the moment and to fully embrace life and to give our children happy times and good memories.


Yesterday was a well needed lovely low key day with the four of us just hanging out together, with good measures of pottering and relaxing. These kind of days with simple pleasures are my favourite and days that i feel very fortunate to be able to enjoy. These are some of the things we got up to.

My little ones planted out their seedlings... polly pansies, calendulas and pumpkins.

My eldest painted the bricked up wall of the workshop with a tiny paintbrush and a sample pot which is all we had left of the colour as the paint it seems is now discontinued. She did a great job.

I pulled some rhubarb and made us all crumble for lunch - one plain and one with our raspberries added in and served with vanilla ice cream...delicious.

The girls merrily played with pebbles in the pebbley bit of the garden and lined up their finds on a chair which we were under strict instructions not to move. They also made a den with windbreaks around the climbing frame where they made up all sorts of wonderful games, of which little snippets were a delight to hear!

We also spotted a large hoverfly on the sage bush and luckily managed to get a shot of it...

I think R was avoiding tackling the last bit of the workshop as instead he made these two covers for the salad bed out of some of our offcuts of wood.

but the biggest distraction on Saturday was seeing this arbour seat in the sale at £75 at our local garden centre... i could not believe it as they retail at over £300. I set my heart on this style of seat ages ago but had just resigned myself that i could never justify buying one. It is perfect and i bought it with my 40th birthday money which i had been saving. So last night was spent relaxing there with my beau after the girls had gone to bed.



Before i sign off, I would like to say a huge thank you to lovely Diana at Pebbledash who's kindness this week has overwhelmed me. She has been making these beautiful sketch books recently and ran a little giveaway to win one. She then decided to make one for everyone that left a comment. Three beautiful doodle books arrived with a bundle of lovely tags and some 'delightful 'chocolate. The girls and i love them and daddy was very interested in the chocolate! Diana has a lovely calming blog with gorgeous photos and lots of creativity. Do pop over and say hello.


So a good day yesterday but now i have a very poorly girl at home who woke up with a sickness bug at 3am this morning. She is asleep at the moment, hence the chance to post. Better get back to the housework now before small gets home from school... it's been nice to check in though as i have been a little absent lately.
Have a lovely week everyone!
g x

a Dorothy dress

We have now completed the tongue and groove of the third wall in the studio space,(hooray!) but it still needs painting. Only one more wall to finish now. I am so itching to get in there and to get all my books, beads and fabrics in one place as most things are still in storage.

Despite the fact that the new workspace is still not complete i have managed to sew albeit on one end of my dining room table.
We do not have much space in our tiny house so unfortunately i can't leave the sewing machine set up as we use this table to eat our meals at and the kids also do their homework there.
I know many crafters manage this way. I was spoilt having the Flour Loft Studio. But soon i will have my new Garden Studio and it will be amazing.

I had another special commission to do last week. A Carnival costume to make for my eldest. Her schools theme was Hollywood, so after finding some...

blue gingham...

and some ruby slippers...

i made her a Dress and blouse and we set about transforming her into Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz... completing the look Buster went as Toto in a straw handbag as we didn't have a basket.


We ragged her hair the night before the Carnival to give it a little more body as it is usually dead straight and went to town on the make up. We had to buy some lipstick just for the occasion as i don't own any.

Here they are together with lots of make up on and my little one dressed up like her school friends as a Samba dancer.



The Carnival was great fun, the weather was sunny and the kids had a ball.
g x

a special commission

Yesterday when i picked up our smallest person from school she was full of beans and very excited. She couldn't wait to tell me that she and 2 of her friends had come up with an idea for a competition to run in her class.

They had created a character called Shiny the Star with their idea being to ask their friends to place Shiny in a scene, ie colour a picture of Shiny in an interesting place. The prize, they had concocted was to be a star shaped Shiny softie, which my little one had volunteered that she would organise with her mummy, as her mummy 'did sewing'.
She was eager that we must do it straight away... so we set about making Shiny come to life.

First she drew a picture of Shiny.

Then she chose the fabric.

A pattern was drawn by her, complete with scaled up face, was pinned to the fabric and 2 star shaped pieces were then cut out, by me.


She transferred the face on to the top piece of fabric ready for me to hand embroider to her specifications.


Then with right sides together Shiny was stitched up, clipped, turned through and stuffed.





My small person, who is also a budding photographer, decided she would like to take lots of photos of Shiny. Here are a few of the ones that she styled and took.



Boy racer Shiny on scooter.


Gardener Shiny.



Shiny on bike.



and finally Shiny having fun on Hoppy.

She had so much fun playing with Shiny that i think she may be sad to give him to the winner.
I expect we shall be making a Shiny mark 2 soon!

Gx

Things i have been doing since my last post....

wow ... it seems to be over 3 three weeks since i last posted here... so i thought i'd better get back on the horse so to speak. Hope you are all well and that you have been enjoying this welcome change in the weather.
Here are a few of the things that i have been doing since my last post...


*making chocolate cake and place settings with the girls for my dad's 70th birthday celebrations, which all went well. He looks fab for 70 and has so much more energy than me. He goes dancing about 5 times a week which keeps him fit. I think he is amazing but then i would as he is my dad.

*missing my husband when he went off to New York for work. (no purl soho visit this time but he brought me back a dress... brave man!)

*watching my eldest daughter turn 10 (growing up fast).

*tee shirt labelling.

*trip to see Nim's island (sweet film) with new 10 year old and her best friend, which produced a few tears from me.... has anyone seen it?

*took 10 year old and best friend clothes shopping (an insight into the future).

*making pizza.

*more tee shirt labelling.

*had eight 10 year old girls (all from the same class) and a 7 year old round for a party. Forgot to ask another grown up to help... i was seriously outnumbered and they really forgot that i was there. They were hugely noisy but extremely good fun. My plan was for them to play some party games, hang out and play and after eating tea make their own Sundae style dessert. It worked well and i have to say i enjoyed being an honoury 10 year old for the afternoon!

*nursing a 10 year old with a violent tummy bug... poor girl. (not party related i hasten to add)

*enjoying taking photographs of poppies and poppy seedheads.(see sweetmyrtle).

*making a carnival headdress with my 7 year old.

*planting out veg and getting the veg beds up to scratch.

*taking nightly slug hunts by torchlight with my old man (who is obsessed).

*running a quiz night at our local school with a few friends. This had been planned for earlier in the year so we had put most of the questions together. One round which worked well was a spelling test (i know i would have been rubbish)... there were a good few teachers there who we thought would appreciate being on the other side for a change! The spelling round was left till two thirds through so by then a fair bit of alcohol had been consumed. Four teams were all in the running to win so the atmosphere was great... friendly but with underlying competitiveness!

*picking the first raspberries of the year... tasty!

*even more tee shirt labelling!

*waiting for a baby to arrive.... still waiting. I will let you know as soon as we know. Thank you for your best wishes to Alice... i have passed them on to her. She is feeling great although a little more uncomfortable now that the head is down and ready to go! should be very soon now. x

*planting up pots... a new thing for me... we have seeded sunflowers so i put them in the centre of a pot and surrounded them with either salad leaves, spinach or nasturtium and with a rare bit of genius from me i surrounded some with alpine strawberries which i have running all over the garden. They are great in the garden to keep the weeds down but i do thin them out at this time each year to allow other plants to grow so it made perfect sense to put them in pots.

*ran a plant stall at the school fair yesterday...got sun burnt and yes and brought a few plants home too.. true to form in purple and pink.(scabiosa and thrift)

* and finally more bloody tee shirt labelling... hopefully this week we can complete this mammoth task as i am so desperate to get into proper designing and sewing again and i would so love this blog to get back to being about the things i make. I am sure this will happen one day soon but first we still have a studio space to finish.. which is the next job.



Gosh this is a bit of a rambling list, though i could have gone on even more... If i have managed to keep your interest to here i'll be amazed.
Have a good week.
g x

ps. while i have been typing this post the girls have been creative with fimo for their dad! ( see pic above)

Our Bank Holiday

We were so lucky this May Bank Holiday to have glorious weather here in the South of England.
My brother in law and his girlfriend came down to visit. These visits usually combine football with a wee bit too much to drink. This did happen but i also witnessed brute strength, lots of dust and some circular saw action. The two brothers took out the old window and made a opening for the new door into the soon to be 'garden studio space'. This was the result....



While they were partaking in brute force us 4 girls went off in hunt of some Maytime festivities.
We managed to find my older sisters folk group who were dancing locally along with 3 other local 'sides' in an event organised by Pilgrims Morris. She belongs to a Ladies North West Morris group. They wear clogs with bells attached and often dance holding garlands.
Some years ago i made her a little folk dancer doll in her colours. Before you ask... no my sister is not the one on the top left!!




We also found these beautiful gardens and Castle ruins. The girls got snap happy with the camera. These are their photos... My eldest got really excited when she saw the lady bird photo opportunity. (top right...click to enlarge)



I love watching them take photos. It gives me a peep into how they see the world, especially when they are given the freedom to shoot whatever they want to. The camera also has a film setting. Now that they have discovered that there is no stopping them... we have just been watching some very funny video they took around the house discussing to camera the clutter and the mess. Maybe they want to send it off to 'Clutter Nutters'?! We had better watch out.. or worse still... 'How clean is your House?'

So an enjoyable long weekend with good company, lots of sunshine and gardening and most excitingly for me the studio space a little further on as we now have a door ... Actually 2 doors... but that's the next job... to take out the old door and to put the old window in it's place.
Hope you had a good time too. How did you spend yours?