Giving up, giving in, opting out - in other words, having a break

I realised I had reached a bit of a crisis point with my sewing when I was wishing I could do housework instead! Those of you who know me will understand how extreme that is!!

So I have dropped out of the craft fair at the weekend and have decided to give myself a couple of weeks holiday from the crafting that I "ought" to be doing in the hope that I get the buzz back.

My husband's aunt used to describe me as being like "a bug in treacle" because my life is so chaotic and in the olden days (!) I disagreed - now it seems like the most appropriate label for me.

I need a break so that I can focus on the most important things in life for a bit

i.e. these

this

and this

(because if I can make the house tidier and more manageable so many other things will get easier - especially poor Mr Locket's life!)

I'm not having a break from blogging, nor am I stopping crafting - I have plans of things I'd like to make with and for the children as the holidays start tonight - but I'm just stopping doing my orders and pifs and swaps for a couple of weeks until everything else is more settled - I hope you will all understand.

Lucy x

A thank you and some apologies!

First of all a HUGE thank you to Jodie who sent me a parcel to cheer me up after my "cheer me up post"


my very own mini Gocco'd bird cage

Jodie it's fab - and definitely cheers me up!

I just think these little birdies are so clever - I want a Gocco machine more than ever now!

As I have mentioned before I have a craft fair coming up on Saturday so I have a list a thousand miles long and no real crafting mojo to go with it. I spent this Saturday tidying my sewing area and then most of Sunday cutting out new wallets and a new idea - "Wendy Wabbit" - but you will have to wait until the next post to meet her.

This leads me into my apologies.

First of all I must apologise to all of you who have left me such lovely comments lately - I really want to be the kind of blogger that replies to each and every one of you and I have times when I almost seem to be able to do it - but then I get stuck when it comes to the "no-reply" comments and the bottom line is that I have been so busy lately that I am just not getting the time to reply individually - I'm really sorry, especially to all the new visitors who have been popping in recently. I appreciate each and every comment so please don't think my silence is from lack of enthusiasm!

Secondly - I am going to have to put my swaps, PIFs and gifts on hold for a couple of weeks until I get on top of my orders and stuff for the craft fair. I have lots more mini quilts in various stages of construction and have started my Russian Doll Swap gift but they are all going to have to wait for a bit - I'm really sorry.

Thirdly I have to apologise for a drop in the amount of blogs I am getting to read and comment on at the moment - again it is down to the fact that I am just running out of time.

We popped to the allotment yesterday evening and it took ages just to pick the strawberries (not that I'm complaining - we must have brought home about 5lbs) but even more excitingly we got our first potatoes!


Oh they were so scrummy - the ones we ate last night were International Kidney (Jersey Royals) and they were delicious! The only problem was that I couldn't remember where I had planted each variety so I ended up digging about 4 different varieties - some of which should have stayed in the ground for another couple of months!

Frustratingly I haven't managed to do any sewing today but I did have some crafty fun because I went shopping! First of all to the big craft supply warehouse near me to get the interfacing, stuffing, zips and fleece that I need for my orders and craft stall and then to Ring a Rosie's to buy my mother-in-law's birthday present

Aren't these wools gorgeous? I hope she likes them - if I get time I will make her a special knitting bag too.

So even though most of my shopping was for craft supplies that I needed or presents for other people I did have fun and while I was out I spotted these two beautiful pieces of pottery in the window of a charity shop - I have a selection of this style of Torquay Ware, I'll have to show you some time.

this gorgeous egg cup has a chip in but it's so pretty I don't care

and I think this spotty mini jug just speaks for itself really! An extra fun thing about this is that it has "Gretna Green" on the back - not that I am planning on eloping!

So how much did they cost? Only 99p each!!!

And I will leave you with proof that I have done a little bit of sewing


a purse to match an as-yet-un-made wallet inspired by all my strawberry picking and jam making!

It's all Lesley and Patti's fault....... and Michaela's too and then there's April as well

My sewing mojo seems to have upped and gone lately which is not a good state of affairs when I have a craft fair in a week and no stock for it.

But it's not my fault.


No, not at all.

It's Lesley's fault for explaining "rippling" to me and getting me hooked on this particular form of crochet.


And then Patti's fault for lending me this book

with this gorgeous blanket pattern in it.


What was I supposed to do? Resist temptation? No, not me!

So in all that time when I should have been sewing I have been rippling instead

which is all very pretty and lovely but isn't going to pay any bills.

But then again if I keep going it might just keep us warm in the winter.

Then again, I reckon young Michaela should take part of the blame for the lack of sewing going on in the Locket household.

It was her after all who got me onto the jam making which meant I had to follow her example and make fresh scones (my new addiction) to go with them.

But then I would have to lay some of the blame at April's door for sharing this recipe with us

I may now have some yummy biscuits to welcome the little Lockets home but what about those orders???


At least my conscience is clear - it wasn't my fault I was led astray by these bad women!

I KNEW housework was bad for you!

The other day Mr Locket bought me this book


but before you all take up arms against him in honour of Women's Rights I must point out that I did persuade him that I really really wanted it and if I am totally honest he does far more housework than me (on top of his very stressful fulltime job)

Our house is such a tip and I really don't do enough to keep it nice so I'm at the stage when any helpful advice would be very gratefully received. I also find it easier to do things if I can "read myself" into the mood - so reading about cleaning would make me want to clean (hopefully!!!)

At the start of the first chapter about decluttering there was this questionnaire thingy
Has she been here????

And what does she mean "three of these boxes"? I ticked them ALL and some of them more than once!!!

I think my house may have given up on screaming and just accepted resounding defeat!

Anyway, always up for a challenge I decided to follow Missus Turner's advice and start with the hall - the smallest mess you'd think - so why did it take me a full hour to clear the clutter and give it a quick clean?

Here's why..................


this is just the childrens' clutter (there was plenty more including a still packed suitcase of the children's clothes from our two nights away in May!)


and these are the shoes that no longer fit or are in pieces but were still in the shoe box - also note the odd ones......... I always knew this family was "hopping mad"!!!!!! (really, really bad pun, I am hanging my head in shame here)

But look how nice looks now

- flowers and herbs from my garden, unpainted patches courtesy of Mr Locket who ran out of paint (only about 8 months ago!)

and the long view

which almost shows you my lovely 1920s bannisters that were covered with panels when we moved in; and leads me to the main feature of my hall.....................

THE QUILT WALL!!!!

so here are some photos of the wall as requested - in fact there are three because it is impossible to photograph all the quilts clearly in one shot - I may have to relocate "the wall" so I can get some better photos

(view as you come in the front door)

(view from the kitchen doorway)

(as I come down the stairs each morning - how lucky am I?)

Anyway, back to the reason for my title. That hour of frenetic housework was clearly very bad for me as I woke up this morning feeling really yuk - headache, sore throat, earache, achey arms a weird hollowed out feeling inside and a total lack of interest in sewing(!) - all housewifely duties must clearly be suspended forthwith.

So I will leave you today with my first courgettes from the allotment


and if you were impressed with the productivity of my strawberry plants take a look at my friend Alison's
She had already picked 4 punnets worth and these were only the very best and ripest strawberries - her plants were still laden!

I picked about another 3lbs or more but they didn't look anything like these - more jam and scones need making I reckon.

An amazing mini quilt and proof that I CAN make scones!!!

An absolutely gorgeous parcel arrived through my door today all the way from Jo in Tas - I had only seen a peek of the back of the quilt on her blog


but nothing prepared me for how beautiful the front would be!


It is so gorgeous and Jo has done so much work on it!

then there was this beautiful little card


And to top it all she sent me a copy of Homespun (my most favourite craft magazine - and sadly one I can't afford to buy at the moment) and it even has two of her projects in! One of which she won a prize for!
Thank you so much Jo - the quilt is amazing, now I'm panicking about what to make for you!!!

Moving on to very serious business, some scorn has lately been cast upon my scone-making abilities! I'm very glad I amused you all ;) but I have felt compelled to prove that I CAN MAKE SCONES!!!!

And here is the evidence!

First up are the ones I made using the recipe Michaela sent me


I've even taken "during" shots so you can't accuse me of buying them in!


and a carefully angled photograph to show the height of each scone


and the children had them for pudding - Daisy decided she didn't want any of my scrummy jam this time (strange child!)

Next up are scones made from the same recipe as last time but with a little added bicarbonate of soda and baking powder (and YES, I did use Self Raising Flour -BOTH times!) and this time I made sure I didn't roll the dough out too thinly

This recipe has less sugar and sultanas and no egg - just more milk

and the jury is out over which scone "tasted" best - I think it was pretty much a 50/50 split.

So Trashy, do these look more "scone-like"?????? Or am I still at the drop scone/biscuit stage?

A thank you post

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my last post - it is so nice to have such caring friends. I will be trying to reply to each of you in the next couple of days.

I've been feeling quite a bit brighter - partly because I am beginning to attack my "to-do-list".

I am busy making a boy "betty bunny" - not sure what he is going to be called yet, and have cut out two more Dilberts - only these are called

Philbert


and Lilbert


I have also stitched the central panel for Rachel's mini quilt and have started my Russian Doll swap present for Emma.

I have a craft fair coming up in two weeks at a local kindergarten which will be a fantastic place to showcase some of my "made from children's clothes" toys - although I have set myself a totally unrealistic target of things to display and things to sell. I just have to accept that I am being unrealistic and not get too down when I don't manage to do everything.

With this craft fair in mind I got some lovely fabrics this week - firstly from The Fat Quarters where I took my friend so she could choose the fabrics for her son's dinosaur herself (see Philbert above)
I think these ones would be great for a wallet


and I expect you can guess what I plan to make with this!


And these came from this ebay shop


I love these Michael Miller retro prints but I wish the designs were smaller so I could use them on wallets as I'd intended. I think they will have to become parts of bags or pencil rolls instead.

I also bought this fab pattern


because I thought it would be a good one to have for little people.

I've spent most of today's crafty time turning and stuffing doll and bunny limbs (my very least favourite part of too making) but I took some time out to make jam with all the strawberries that I keep bringing home from the allotment - I got another 4lbs yesterday too!


I used Michaela's instructions - and she is right, it was so easy and so quick and I now have 4 jars and two little pots of the most delicious jam for the grand price of 70p for the sugar as the strawberries were free.


Following Michaela's instructions to the letter I then had to make some scones (not something I have ever really done) and although they were disappointingly flat they tasted scrummy!


And I'm getting excited now as it is not long until the conclusion of Dr Who!!! Please don't let them take David Tennant away! He is so fantastic - practically fizzing with glee and such fun to watch!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend - ideally a much drier one than we are having too!

A cheer me up post

I'm sorry I haven't blogged for a bit - life has just been getting on top of me lately and it is hard to write the happy, crafty post that I want to do when I am feeling rather flat.

There is nothing majorly wrong in my life - Mr Locket is very stressed at work and the current economic climate is beginning to pinch so I am trying to get as many orders done as possible - which is having the knock on effect of making my "to-do-lists" rather overwhelming, and the house seems to be falling to pieces around us, the garden hasn't been touched for months and the weeds are having a merry old time at the allotment - all of which is fairly stressful. But whilst this is going on in the background some seriously bad things have been happening to a couple of very good friends which is really getting me down.

Sorry - I didn't know whether to mention any of this but then I couldn't bring myself to write a happy bouncy post without any reference to the crappity bits.

That's the miserable bit over and done with - on to the reasons to be cheerful..................

First and foremost - my mini quilt from Est - 100% designed to make me happy!


Isn't it gorgeous? It arrived on Monday and I have been feeling guilty about not blogging it before now - I love it so much and it really works - every time I look at it I smile!


Est also included these gorgeous buttons

and these beautiful flowers - so pretty! I'm trying to think of something really special to put them on!and everything came so beautifully wrapped with Est's little handmade stamps printed on the paper


Thank you so much Est - I can't believe you thought your quilt was primitive - it is absolutely charming - but then again I KNEW it would be - your work is always so beautiful and happy - I love it!

My other lovely post on Monday was Rosalie Quinlan's book hot of the presses and sent to me by Rachel
it really is a gorgeous book - definitely worth getting hold of!

And finally, although the allotment is weedy it is still managing to be productive - look how many strawberries I picked yesterday


the mug is there for scale (and because it is rather pretty and only cost me £1 in Matalan yesterday) and the cornflowers are there - just because!

P.S. I've just weighed the strawberries and if some naughty little Lockets hadn't pinched the odd one or two there would have been over 4lbs!