holiday fun

This post will be mostly pictures because a picture paints a thousand words......and I'm lazy.

we went on holiday to Torquay last week with my whole family. It was a little bit stressful as there where 10 adults and 3 kids in one house but we managed to have a few relaxing days, the weather was brilliant and of course the kids loved it and got spoilt rotten.

 i love this pic, thing 2 and daddy are pointing and laughing at thing 1 as she got on a

a fair ground ride, it was the one that throws you round in circles and drops you from a great height, its usually called the terminator or something along those lines. Thing 1 loved it but her face whilst she was on the ride was hilarious.

 Thing 2 was actually quite scared by this huge plastic penguin.

 look at all those lovely houses and shop fronts. i have a million pictures like this but i find that photos never do the actual places justice. This was in Dartmouth, it is one of my most favorite places along with Brixon and Teingnmouth. They are all lovely quiet places with candy coloured houses and lovely harbours to stroll around.

 Thing 1 and Thing 2 at the living coast zoo

 Thing 1 at Paignton zoo

 can anybody tell me why this tortoise shell is taped up? they where all like that, is it to hold them together?

 Having fun at the arcade with dad any uncle Alister

and there ends my post, i have a million pics to post but these are a few of my faves. Hope you are all having good holidays.

take care

x Becci x

just a quicky (its a pluggy sort of a post)

(browse my folksy shop HERE)

I have added some lovely new things to my folksy shop today, ive also revised my prices a bit and am offering free UK delivery for a little while. So please take a look at my humble little folksy shop i only do it out of love for crafting but it would be great if i could make a bit back so i can buy more lovely fabrics.

also would anybody be interested in a givaway? ive gained loads of followers recently and would love to say thank you. It would be a bit of habby and some items from my shop. whatta ya think?

Take care

x Becci x

my UFOs for the month

OK so here is my first finished project for the month, Ive had this stuck in my head for ages now and the fabric has been cut out waiting for over a month it was only down to my lack of wire coat hanger that it was never started. But i found one in the coat cupboard and the rag wreath was finished within the hour! yay!

i also finished my yarn wreath, it has been wrapped in yarn for a long time now and I've just been waiting for the right embellishments to come along....i waited and looked until i realised that i had them all along, so i borrowed a few yoyos from my yoyo quilt pile and stuck em on. what do you think?

shamefully i haven't done much to my crochet blanket and to be honest i am getting a little bored with this one, i think it may be the uniform colours, maybe i need to mix it up a little? i know it will look nice when its finished but I'm struggling a bit getting it done.

and last but not least is my patchwork blanket, i have done absolutely nothing to this for two weeks as I've been on holidays and the house we stayed in didn't provide a sewing machine (how very dare it) and i cant see myself adding to it anytime soon as the kids somehow decide that they will argue every time the sewing machine is out and i like to get a good few uninterrupted hours in at a time so i think it will have to wait until they go back to school.

so my projects for this month are to make things for the craft fair I'm attending on the 20th August. i have a bit done but it is my first craft fair so I'm not to sure what to take and how much of it. ill let you know how i get on. if you want to join the UFO support group you can do so here, its a great way to keep up with all those projects that you want to finish but cant quite muster the enthusiasm. Although saying that i have lots more UFOs than i am going to admit to, i have a real problem with concentration and willpower.

what are your shameful UFOs?

Take care

x Becci x

Garden Goodness

Here is a little post about my garden incase anybody is interested.

can you see my little pink garden friends hiding in all those lovely candy coloured flowers? they are my trusty garden gardians, i had these even before i had a garden, i got them whilst i was still living in a flat in anticipation of having a garden. They were the first ever things i brought for our new house over 7 years ago.

They came all the way from Amearica because those sorts of things just wernt available to buy in the UK at the time, i bring them in every autum and put them out again every spring. I love them, they just brighten up the garden.

Am i a little mad?.....yes i think i am

Have you got anything like that in your garden?

Take care

x Becci x

shoes (a very girly post)

i love shoes....no not just love adore!

 i have loads and most of them i just look at because i cant walk in them. a few years ago my new years resolution was to learn to walk in heels but alas my poor poor feet simply could not take it, i managed a pair of wedges that are reasonably high and they are still my favorite pair of shoes today but i could not manage sky scraper heels so my bunions will have to wait to have a chance to form. whilst i am waiting for the miraculous day that my feet don't scream in protest at shoes any higher than 2 inches here are some of my favorite shoes. They are all from irregular choice, i have 1 pair of irregular choice shoes but i aim to have at least 3 pairs by the end of the year.

i love the huge fabric flower on these and I'm sure you could probably create something similar yourself.

i love the red patent material and the big red bow,  also because they are wedges they should be easier to walk in. (should be!)

i have no idea when or where i would wear these but i would wear them god damn it! probably just pottering around doing the housework.

who doesn't like pastel coloured bunnies on their shoes?

 and little monkeys and polka dot bows?

 these are my favorite, although I'm not a pink person and i have nothing pink to wear them with, again probably more of a housework shoe.

 what is it about purple suede that makes me sigh with lust *sigh*

and who can resist a powder pink pussy cat?

So there you have it, shoe lust at its best, i know that some of these are in the current sale so pop on over to have a look. unfortunately they are still too expensive for me so ill just look and drool all over my keyboard until i win the euro millions.

take care

x Becci x

Patchwork adventure part 1

 Good morning, what an awful rainy Tuesday morning i do hope that the weather picks up in time for the 6 weeks holidays. if not i have got more than enough to be getting on with.

I have become more than a little obsessed with patchwork, i browse pictures and tutorials for hours online and i thought it was about time that i gave it a go myself. i had a little go at it here and whilst it wasn't a complete success i thought id give it another go. Id already cut my squares so all i needed to do was to sew them together. i found a tutorial about nesting seams here and i thought that it was great it really helped me to get those seams to match up.

 i cut my squares the old fashioned way, using a ruler and scissors and i know that my measurements were not perfect so that is why some of the squares are a little off, i also didn't want to confuse myself by following a pattern  or having to count too much (I'm easily confused) so Ive sewn them in a completely random pattern.

 as you can see i pretty much made it up as i went along and although the quilt is far from attractive it is a good starting project. when i have finished it i will maybe use it as a picnic blanket.

Ive definitely learnt a lot through starting this project, the most important thing is probably that you have to be spot on with your measuring otherwise your whole project wont look right, I think that my seams look OK but they are not perfect, also i thought it would be a quick and easy thing to do and actually it does take quite a bit of time you cant rush it. so grab a coffee and some fabric and get patch working!

 i will have mine finished the by the end of the 6 weeks holidays.........promise! (maybe)

take care

x Becci x

i have a problem

i have a problem..........i am a crafting butterfly, i flit from project to project almost without thinking about it and unfortunately this has resulted in allot of UFOs. Luckily Ive joined a support group and discovered that I'm not the only one, far from it in fact. we are going to post all of out UFOs at the end of each month and hopefully give each other a much needed kick up the bum to finish some of those poor neglected projects. I'm really looking forward to it to be honest and just the thought of someone else in the same position is giving me inspiration to get on with it :) 

 anyway here are 3 of the projects that i will be posting at the end of this month. In the white tureen are scraps of fabric that i intended on making in to a rag wreath, the circles are destined to be made in to yoyos for a cushion cover and throw and the squares are my first attempt in patchwork (well my second). i have chosen just cheap fabric to practice on as i know naff all about patchwork and quilting but if it turns out OK  i will make it in to a blanket for the garden. To be fair these projects have only been lying around unfinished for a few weeks now but i know that if i don't sort it out they will never ever get done.

 i have also been busy with oil cloth this week, i ordered some spotty red to cover some old tables and they look fab but i have loads left over so Ive made a table runner (see below) and i thought it would make good place mats too. Ive also ordered some green and yellow polka dot oil cloth so i can line some shelving (i will post pics when it is finished) and make some nice bright waterproof bunting for the garden. i read this blog recently and she has some brilliant ideas for making your outside more usable and i think her garden looks fab so its inspired me to try and jazz up my garden a bit and because I'm really rubbish at gardening bunting seems like the next best thing (well to me it does).

 This week has also seen my first venture in to patchwork. i recently treated my unborn baby myself to a cath kidston nappy bag in the cowboy oilcloth and i wanted a taggy to go with it, so i looked on eBay and couldn't find what i was looking for so i purchased some fabric and had a go myself. It took forever, i couldn't get the squares to line up, the sewing machine  had a hissy fit, and to top it all off the fur on the back was a nightmare to sew it kept moving around and puckering. id like to say never again but the end product came out OK, i know its a little wonky and all of the squares are different sizes but I'm happy with it because i made it for my child....and it took ages :)  just watch the baby loose it in the first week i give it to him.

 and here is a little peek at the nightmare fabric on the back

if anyone has any patch working tips it would be great to hear them, i have a book on the subject but i learn much better by having a go myself and talking it through with others.

and remember if you are a crafting butterfly there is help out there for you

take care x x x