Not the best photo, but it's late so the light quality is pretty awful right now. First batch of birthday bunting for Little Miss C is complete. So is her birthday dress. Many things still to complete before Friday though... For those interested in the details: material from my stash (probably from St Albans market originally), bias binding for the tape and the triangles cut with my new pinking shears. Start to finish - 50 minutes. ... read more
Bing Your Britain Photography Day
I was fortunate enough to recently be invited along to a photography day in London organised as part of Bing's Your Britain photography competition. The day kicked off with coffee, cupcakes and a workshop with the wonderful Jackie KIng. I've always wanted to be a better photographer and Mr C has been trying to teach me things for a while, but it's rare that I get the chance to concentrate on it for a whole day, but luckily that's exactly what I was able to do on Saturday. Jackie's tips at the start of the day helped me to focus on what I should be ... read more
London Green Fair
It was a complete fluke that Mr C and I stumbled across the London Green Fair on Saturday, but I'm so glad that we did. We were both in London for a rare day on our own to take part in the Bing Your Britain bloggers day (which I will expand on in a separate post as it was fantastic) and as part of the day our challenge was to take photographs around the city. After the initial briefing and workshop we instantly headed to the nearest bit of green space; Regent's Park. We thought we might find some interesting nature or wildlife there, but instead we ... read more
Preparing for a birthday…
There's quite a major birthday here next week. A very special little girl will be celebrating her first birthday and being the girly girl that she already is I know I've got to pull all the stops out. There are gifts still being made, a party to plan and decorations to be completed. The latter was where I turned my attentions today; cutting out triangles that will hopefully soon form bunting. All the material comes from my stash (which strangely seems to have a lot of blue in it) and the only new purchase was the bias binding that Ii'm using to string it all together. I just hope ... read more
A day at the farm
This picture just perfectly sums up how Little Miss C's been recently; full of beans and keen to explore everything, normally with a cheeky grin on her face! Yesterday we had a lovely day out together at Wimpole Home Farm, along with an old friend and her two kids. We dodged the showers for most of the morning, but still managed to squeeze in time to see the pigs being fed and a first sit on a donkey. After lunch, at the insistence of an adventurous three year old, we went over to the adventure playground where the rain caught up with us properly. After such a dry period, it was ... read more
Bags for little ladies
When going to a little girl's first birthday party you certainly can't arrive empty handed. When the birthday girl also has a slightly older sister then two gifts are required so as not to give mum and dad a headache later on. Therefore A, and older sister B, were both the recipients of these lovely little bags, each containing a new bit of bedtime reading. Both bags were made with fabric from my stash with the girls' initials added in felt. Not difficult to make, although sewing round the curved edges of the letter B made me realise just how little time I've recently ... read more
Breakfast without words
(Blueberry pancakes from the fantastic River Cottage Baby and Toddler Cookbook) ... read more
A dress for Jemima
Do you remember this little lady? I'm delighted to be able to tell you that she's no longer sat in the cupboard in her underwear, but instead has a very pretty dress to wear. In fact, the exact dress that my version of Jemima had when I was a little girl. Talking to Mum, she has no recollection of Jemima having any clothes other than the dress. This Jemima should have a more varied wardrobe, just as long as I can find the time to complete everything before Little Miss C's fast approaching birthday. I have a long list of sewing projects to complete before her birthday - so long in fact that ... read more
Moore at Hatfield
We managed to squeeze in an extra day out at the end of Mr C's week off work. Hatfield House really is no distance from where we lie, yet for some reason we hardly ever go there. The local BBC news did an article recently on the Henry Moore exhibition that they are currently hosting (Moore at Hatfield) so we decided to pop along and have a look. The sculptures are spread about in the West Garden and that separation between them does give each one its own space in such a way that they don't feel like they're competing with each other. Each one has its own character and ... read more
River Cottage Baby Frittata
It has been non-stop here over the last week or so. A family holiday in Norfolk (pictures will follow just as soon as I get round to it), catching up with various friends that we haven't seen in months, and Mr C with a week off work in an attempt to get various jobs done around the house and garden. Finding time to go online just keeps getting knocked off the end of each day's to do list! There has also been the arrival of many new books (both new new and old) and various new recipes have been discovered. The first of these comes from the very new River Cottage Baby and Toddler ... read more