? Difficult to buy for.........

I think I am easy to buy for, to people who know me, but I agree that some may think I have peculiar taste. I also dont make things easy by saying ,when asked, "Oh I don't want/need anything".
This year, with no help, the children excelled themselves.
I love & collect Emma Bridgewater pottery which I use every day.Verity bought me the Matthew Rice calender which has hung in my sittingroom every year for as long as I can remember.This year, a mug has been made to go along with the calender and the illustrations are gorgeous.




She also gave me an exquisite key fob made locally in Northumberland.






For the past 4 or 5 months, I have been drooling over a Shelley wall plaque, in a local Antique centre.I normally don't hesitate but this gorgeous green/mauve plaque was quite expensive.
On Christmas day the boys gave me a large, round prezzie and I couldn't believe my eyes when the longed-for wall-plaque was inside.
Alex remarked that Verity had mentioned the plaque and when they went to investigate they knew straight away cos it was green!!!



The plaque looks just perfect hanging in the hall.

monday post

We enjoyed a lovely family Christmas here in snowy Hexham, just the 4 of us, the kids divided their time between home & friends, so there was plenty of coming & going.Plenty of food & drink consumed and now A,C & V have flown down to London to continue the fun & games, and a belated birthday celebration, with their Dad.
I have a couple of days to myself, dogs to care for but other than that I can suit myself..............bliss.

I have gone a bit overboardthis year with bulbs, forced in different containers. The paperwhite narcissi are long finished but the hyacinths and amaryilis are about to bloom.



Crafting wise things are a bit slow.I made a pair of curtains for the sitting room just before the snow arrived and my trusty bernina sewing machine was not performing at 100%, so she'll have to go in for a much needed MOT in the new year.I think the feeddogs have dropped a bit so the fabric is not going through evenly'

I have 2 knitting projects on the go ; a pair of wool/silk socks and a reversible jersy in a tweedy mix .Both the wool and the pattern must be over 20yrs old, my sister in law Rosie photocopied the Yarnstore pattern for me.




The spare/sewing bedroom is occupied with boy's stuff till after the new year so anything I do happens on the sofa in front of TV.

~What a Coincidence~

Went to Tea & Tipple in Corbridge for a coffee with Penny. During our chat Penny brought out some knitting needles that she had just bought at Scope. These needles caught the eye of 2 women at the end of our table, within a couple of mins we were in animated conversation.
These girls were off to organise a course in screen printing at an artists studio near Horsley. We chatted about painting , knitting ,patchwork and it turns out Denise is also a nurse at the RVI. Check out her blog at primrose patch
A quick look around RE and then home.

Oxfam Goodies

I tend to visit my local charity shops about twice a week.

Most weeks I find a gem or two but Oxfam was a tresure trove this morning.
Some pieces of old rolled-up fabric revealed a beautiful rainbow of tapestry threads, kept and sorted by someone who loved their crafts.





A handmade blanket made from a piece of soft green wool, bound with ribbon and finished with a gorgeous embroidered cherub.





Recently, I have been working on some cross stitch in the evenings, samplers mostly so finding this Jo Verso kit, brand new , in a charity shop was a real find. I may not have chosen it if I could have afforded to buy it new but I'm sure I'll enjoy picking it up in the evenings over the next few months.






Verity sat her UKCAT exam in Newcastle yesterday, this took 2 hours so I filled in the time with some browsing in John Lewis.What a great shop this is.

Rowan and Debbie Bliss wool and books to read ond touch.

Amy Butler's fabrics to dream over and also her range of fluffy towels to contemplate.

A brill kitchen/china department and a decision made about the roller blind for my revamped kitchen.

Fenwicks is also a great store and I ordered some stacking guest beds which were a good price in their Home Event.

Met up again with Verity, who did really well, lunch in the American diner and then home.

~ Back to Blogging ~

Why did I stop..........

Don't know but got out of the habit, but still enjoy reading my favourite blogs.

Have a new laptop which takes a bit of getting used to & the super dooper anti virus says my camera has a virus so wont let me upload any pictures so until I can sort that out or send photos from the computer upstairs this will be a veryboring blog.

Bought a great, vintage piece of kit today which I'll share when technology allow


Right, this is starting to get complicated upstairs now trying to add pictures via my old computer.

So looks a bit shabby/ tatty but....



is going to be so useful.



now WHAT to put in it ? wool....or fabric.....or patterns or.....a combination.
that,s a decision for tomorrow !!!

Oh forgot to mention......cost £15 !!!!