Mechanical Failure!

Hello Lovelies, how are you all.  It has been so cold today and I must admit I have not wanted to take my coat off in work as it has been a shivery day.  I hope you are all keeping snug and warm.  We had a busy weekend and I hope you all had some fun too.  Do come in and make yourself at home while I put the kettle on.  I want to apologise to all my lovely Blogger Friends as I have tried to keep up to date with everyone's posts but it has been so busy but I will make sure that I catch up with you all.

Well my Lovelies it has been a week of mechanical failures I am sorry to say.  Firstly my phone refused to send any photographs to my computer so I was at a complete loss as to what to do about my Blog.  Alongside this we have had such a packed week at work as we have had inspectors in so it hasn't been the easiest of weeks.  Then my sewing machine stopped - I managed one night of sewing and Rachel, my teacher, tried everything to get it going again but it had well and truly given up the ghost.  That sort of put the top hat on the week and I just felt at a loss as to what to do.  I have very little knowledge about the workings of the modern phone and even less about a sewing machine.  But my lovely husband came to the rescue last week and found a shop on the trading estate which sold machines so along we trotted and a lovely lady there helped me pick out the one most suitable for me. I must say that I am so pleased with it as it does a few more tricks than my other one did, although I am sorry to say goodbye to my old trusty workhorse.  I had to more or less leave the machine in the box as we scooted down to see our little Peeps for a birthday party, although I had some time with the littlest one when we went out with scooters at the ready.

 

You might remember a while ago when I spoke to you about losing a dear friend and how sad I felt.  Sue was an absolutely fantastic cake maker and had been creating wonderful birthday treats for all our Peeps over the years.  She never ever let us down and always worked her magic for each and every one of them - the eldest of those Peeps is having her 21st birthday this year which shows you how much she was involved in our family.  After she left us I didn't honestly think I could ask anyone else to make a birthday cake for us.  The children had been told about Sue but the little ones are too young to understand properly and began to ask who would make their cakes.  One of our little lovelies was 6 years of age on Christmas Eve and had her party this weekend (Christmas is always so busy so she has a little family party on the day and then a party for all her friends in January/Feb).  Now then what kind of cake did she want?  For those of you with little girls I am sure you have heard about Frozen which is the new Disney film about two sisters.  These girls are mad about it and desperately wanted a cake making.  Luckily for us Sue's best friend lives next door to where Sue lived and is also a fabulous baker, in fact Sue would always say that if she was away I must go to Sandra for our cakes.  I did feel so guilty contacting her after Christmas as if I was letting Sue down in some way - can you understand that?  I spoke to a friend at work and she said that Sue would have wanted Sandra (her friend) to make our cakes.  Well I have to say that Sandra was just fabulous and made a tremendous job of creating a magical cake for our little one.  She had her party and it was wonderful - in the splash pool first and then upstairs for food and games and of course, some cake. Just have a look and see what you think - needless to say the inside of the cake was as scrumptious as the outside and there was hardly a morsel left at the end of the party - I like to think that Sue had some input into it from wherever she is.  So it is a big thank you to Sandra and to Sue.  By the way the snowman looks wonky in the film too!

 

 

 

The two cushions from the Frozen fabric with the photographs on from MollyFelicity where a huge success and both of the girls just loved them - I went up to see them before going to bed on Saturday night and there they both were, fast asleep on their cushions.  I will certainly be making some more as they are so easy to do and look so effective.  I am sorry that you can only see a snippet of each cushion but I don't feel that I can share the photographs on the internet, I hope you do understand.  Believe me, they are just lovely.

 

 

Sarah did a lovely job of putting their names on each photograph making it so personal to each of the girls.

 

 

 

 

 

Once we were back home from the party it was full on at work but I did manage to sort out one or two things in my craft room.  I found a little bag which I had bought in the Woolfest a couple of years ago and in it was some skeins of gorgeously soft yarn.  I had bought it with the intention of knitting some gloves but obviously that was in the middle of the summer so I must have put them away at the back of the big cupboard and there they stayed!  One of my many resolutions this year is to finish off projects and not to be keeping yarn and fabric stashed away.  I must admit I have a real itch to knit for some reason and this yarn looks just ready to sort my itch out.  Do you like it? 

 

 

 It is as soft and silky as it looks in the photograph Folks - but what should I knit?  Well I am going to do something for myself for a change.  Have a look at these patterns.

 

 

These look pretty easy to knit up and will be cosy when I am walking into work every morning.

 

 

I love the design of this scarflette, it is just so pretty and I could wear it with a dress or blouse.  What do you think, do you like it? 

 

Now over Christmas I was given some money to spend and I have been saving this for a special treat.  The lovely Hen from Henhouse, one of my favourite bloggers, had made up some gorgeous little bags from vintage fabric with a little felt brooch on the front.  I just had to have one and decided to buy one, I was lucky as they were nearly sold out.  I just love it and have decided to use it to store my crochet bits and pieces.  Hen has such style and can make something really beautiful out of vintage fabrics.  If you haven't been to her Etsy shop yet do pop over as it is fabulous. 

 

 

So what else have I been up to this week besides worrying about work and my blog?  I managed to get a really sweet piece of fabric with buttons on from Rachel.  I have sewn with this fabric before when I made two bags for the Peeps a week or so ago.  However, Rachel managed to get some more so I was pleased to get my hands on it.  It is a really unusual fabric and I am not sure of the designer but I do love it.  I haven't decided what I am going to make with it yet.  Any ideas really welcomed Folks.

 

 

I also found some gorgeous tea towels in Sainsburys this week for £5 for three and I think they are really cute.  Hope you like them too.

 

 

I also had to make something with my new machine didn't I?  I wanted to make something really quickly to get a feel for it.  I must admit that I love the machine as it is so easy to use so thank you Hubby for being so kind to me.  I love the fact that it does blanket stitch.

 

 

I am so pleased that it can write as well!  It is a bit difficult to see this writing as I should have used a deeper shade so I hope that you can just see it.

 

 

 

This isn't the best pattern but I was so excited about just making something!  I hope you like it.

 

 

Do you like the lining of this little bag?  I found this scrap in my box and I think it is wonderful.

 

 

 

For once my zip went in really neatly, not sure if my new machine was boosting my confidence.  I also love the different stitching which I used around the top of the bag, have a look and see what you think.

 

 

Well my Lovelies I am so glad to be back with you all.  I apologise that the images are not the best but I have been worried that I would not be able to post for a while.  Thankfully it has been sorted and I am thinking of using a camera rather than the phone to see if the photographs are a little clearer.  I have really missed you all this week, it has been really stressful but it is nice to be back.  If you remember I said that I would be offering two mystery giveaways when I reached my 100th blog - well this is number 100.  I cannot believe that I have managed to do that number but have loved every minute of it.  The two mystery giveaways will be made out of tea towels and that is all I am going to say.  If you would like to take part please leave a comment between now and the 20th February when I will announce two winners.  Good luck Everyone, I do hope you will take part.  I have some news for you all on my next blog so look out for this one. 

 

Have a wonderful weekend Everyone and keep safe and happy.  Big hugs to you all, lots of love, Dorothyxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx