Sunny Days & Website Updates

Hello, hello, hello !!

How fantastic is this weather ? Essex has been positively basking in sunshine this last week and I'm LOVING it ! At last, the children actually want to be outside - we finished the play centre last weekend and they've spent literally hours on it. And of course with all this lovely weather it would be silly not to use the pool, so everything has been checked and serviced and is ready for the summer season. Unfortunately I didn't realise that we'd run out of oil so had to make a pleading phonecall to the fuel company and beg them to deliver some oil so that we can use the boiler to heat the pool. Sadly they can't come until tomorrow, but there was a teeny weeny little bit left in the tank so we managed to get the pool up to temperature so that we could use it today. Which was just as well because today is hubby's 40th birthday. We had a lovely day, just chilling out this morning and then friends and family round for swimming and drinks this afternoon.

So, with all this lovely weather things have been a bit slow on the website front and I haven't had time to update the site. But, I had a fantastic delivery on Friday and it contained 40, yes 40 different colours of wool roving. They're all 25g balls and will be loaded onto the site this week (my camera is playing up, which isn't really helping things at all!)

I've also had a complete restock of felt balls, along with a few new designs.

I'm now stocking handmade felt shapes - again, these will be on the site later this week.

And this book is on the way to me as we speak - if you fancy giving needle felting a go, there are some really lovely projects in this book. And of course, you can buy all of your wool roving, needles and pads etc from my site at the same time !!

If you subscribe to my mailing list you'll receive an email from me later this week once everything has been loaded onto the site as well as details of some new, very exciting items that are on order. If you aren't currently on my mailing list and want to know about the new items, then get yourself over to the home page of my website and subscribe !!

Sarah x

And the winner is ....

Ethel & Edna's tearoom !! CONGRATULATIONS !!

Please email me with your details so that I can post your bag out to you.

Bad luck to everyone else, but thank you so much for showing your support and leaving lovely comments. I really do appreciate it.

I've had a very tiring day today ... did a 22 mile training walk for the Breast Cancer / Playtex Moonwalk that I'm taking part in on the night of 17th May and am struggling big time with very sore legs and feet. If you fancy sponsoring me (pleeeeeeeeease) you can do so by clicking on the "Just Giving" link further down on the right hand side of this blog.

Thanks again for taking part in the freebie giveaway and I'll be back with a massive website update once I've recovered from today's walk !

Sarah x

100 not out !!

Yep - this is my 100th post !! I can't believe it - although, had I not been so lazy lately I would have reached it a whole lot sooner, but I'm here now !

Last week I received a lovely new shipment of hand painted ceramic buttons

A restock of some of my most popular sellers, but also a few new designs which I hope you'll love just as much as I do.

I've also just received this new book - a must for all would be felters and needle felters - £12.99 available for sale through my shop and I'll throw in a little bag of felt balls for free too on every purchase of this book and the "Felt so Good" book by Betz White.

Next week I'll hopefully be receiving a complete restock of felt balls, along with 40 (yes, 40) different colours of wool roving.

So, back to the 100th post - to celebrate I'm giving away this lovely, lovely bag/purse - handmade in Nepal and it's an exclusive too ! You won't see anyone else with one of these beauties (well, you'd better not !)

The bag/purse itself measures approximately 7.5" X 5" and the plaited wool handle measures aproximately 58" end to end, so it's perfect to be worn messenger style across your body. Completely made of 100% wool felt, and fully lined, the colour is what I'd call dark cerise (the first picture is the closest match colourwise)

So, if you'd like to be entered into the draw to win this bag, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post by midnight on Saturday, and on Sunday either my little man or little miss will draw a winner.

No excuses now - I know there are a LOT of lurkers on this blog - I've seen you all on my little map (bottom right of the blog), so this is your chance to make yourself known and be in with a chance of winning a lovely bag.

So get posting and I'll see you on Sunday

xx

A Flying Visit !

Sorry I haven't been around lately - my darling hubby took me to Rome for a child-free weekend last weekend and it was FAB !! Now don't get me wrong - I absolutely adore my children, of course I do, but sometimes, just sometimes, we all need a bit of adult me time and I am no exception. So as a little birthday treat to both of us (it's his 40th this year), he decided to book a weekend in Rome.

Having never been to Italy before, I was excited yet a little wary at the same time. I know no Italian whatsoever (apart from Latte, Cappuccino, Lamborghini and, of course, Prada !!) so was panicking slightly that we wouldn't have a clue what was going on and would be continually lost ! But of course, my panicking was a complete waste of time as most Italians can speak a little English and reading the menus in the restaurants was doddle - Lasagna, Penne Arrabiata, Pizza - etc etc. I even started to think I could actually speak Italian myself !!

But we had the most fantastic time - if you have never visited Rome before I can highly recommend it. I fell in love with the place - the history, the architecture, the people, the food, the shops - all of it was fantastic.

On Saturday we did a tour of the Vatican, St Peter's Basillica, the Cistine Chapel etc and was absolutely in awe of the beauty of the place. Now, I'm not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, but visiting somewhere like that really makes you stop and think. After a lovely lunch at the Piazza Novona and an hour or so of people watching, we walked to the Pantheon and spent a little time in there and then wandered around the tiny little streets looking in shops and stopping for beer, wine and icecream (not all at the same time, I hasten to add). Well, they do say "When in Rome" !!

Sunday included a visit to the Colloseum in the morning - now, that place really is something else. It was actually quite spooky thinking about what had gone on there all those thousands of years ago and to hear from the tour guide how Gladiators would fight virtually all day either against other Gladiators or against the wild animals that had been shipped in specifically to please the Roman Emporers and their people. Elephants, Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Camels, Zebras, Panthers - all of these animals were killed by Gladiators just to entertain the Romans. What a horrible thing to do, yet it's a part of history that will never ever be forgotten, certainly not by the Italians and certainly not whilst the Colloseum is standing, which it is likely to do so forever, bearing in mind how long it has already been there !

More lunch in an open-air cafe at the Pantheon (the weather was gorgeous by the way - 72 degrees on Saturday and 75 on Sunday), followed by a meander to the Trevi Fountain and then some serious shopping - sadly not in Prada, D&G, Gucci or any of the other mega expensive stores, but a 1950's style Audrey Hepburn dress was purchased in a lesser known store and that gorgeous dress is the dress I shall be wearing to the School Ball next month.

And then on Monday it was back to reality - chilly weather, food shopping, queuing for petrol. But seeing my gorgeous children's faces light up when my parents dropped them back home after school and nursery, is probably what I shall remember most about my grown-up weekend in Rome.

Ciao xxx

For Sale

Ok, as promised in my last post, I've had a good old look through my huge fabric pile and am putting the following fabric up for sale.

Every piece is priced per Fat Quarter (18 x 22"). Postage on every piece is £1 and £1.50 if you purchase 2 or more pieces (UK). If you're purchasing from overseas, please let me know and I can work out a shipping price for you.

But you'll need to be quick, because this is all I have and I won't be getting any more !

Just contact me if you want to buy any of the fabric and I will send you a paypal invoice.

Thanks and Happy Shopping !

Red & Blue cars Japanese fabric from Super Buzzy. 100% cotton
Price per FQ - £4.00

SOLD

Ballet Shoes/Slipper Fabric by Alexander Henry

Price per FQ - £2.50

Number available - 1

Navy & White floral fabric - Amy Butler style

Price per FQ - £2.00

Number available - 1

Bon Voyage - Ship Departure by Makower

Price per FQ - £2.50

Number available - 1

Gorgeous pink & purple girly fairy fabric - can't remember the name of the designer but the pattern is apparently quite hard to come by now

Price per FQ - £2.50

Number available 1

Pinky/Mauve shabby chic floral fabric

Price per FQ - £2.00

Number available 1

Pinks & Mauves shabby chic floral fabric

Price per FQ - £2.00

Number available 1

Pink floral shabby chic fabric on a sage green background (sorry - it doesn't show up well in the pic)

Price per FQ - £2.00

Number available -1

Bright Green & Yellow Froggy Faces on a Turquoise background - 100% cotton Japanese fabric from Super Buzzy

Price per FQ - £4.00

SOLD

Alexander Henry girly fabric featuring handbags, sunglases, shoes, lipstick etc

Price per FQ - £2.50

Number available - 1

Alexander Henry Ballerina Fabric

Price per FQ - £2.50

Number available - 1

85% cotton / 15% Linen Japanese Fabric from Super Buzzy - small navy dots on a natural background

Price per FQ - £4.00

Number available - 1

Alexander Henry Handbags Fabric on a pale green background

Price per FQ - £2.50

Number available - 1

100% cotton Japanese Strawberry fabric from Super Buzzy

Price per FQ - £4.00

Number available - 1

Petit Fours Cakes Fabric by Timeless Treasures

Price per FQ - £2.50

Number available - 1

85% cotton / 15% linen Japenese Fabric from Super Buzzy - Large natural dots on a navy background

Price per FQ - £4.00

Number available - 1

Lovely stripey fabric by Alexander Henry

Price per FQ - £2.50

Number available - 1

Pale Blue check cotton fabric and a co-ordinating pale blue stripe fabric (for sale separately)

Price per FQ - £2.50

Number available - 1 of each design

A set of 4 FQ's purchased in the USA. 2 x bright prink & 2 x bright green - SOLD

And that's your lot !!!

Blooming Disaster !

Yes, that's what Sunday's Spring Fair was ... a "Blooming Disaster" !! And they had some cheek calling it a "Spring" Fair too - more like, "Middle of Winter" Fair ! It snowed, and snowed, and snowed, and, oh yes ... snowed a bit more !

Of course, all the snow put people off venturing out of their houses and into town and those that did brave the elements were on a mission - to get from A to B with no distractions or diversions in between. I stood there, from 9.30am until 4.30pm watching people going about their business, with their blinkers on and not even glancing at my table that I had lovingly spent over an hour setting up (ignore the big SALE stickers in the back - that was in River Island's window !!)

Thank goodness for one of my good friends who had battled her way into town with her little girl and very kindly came and bought lots and lots of things from me. If it hadn't been for her, I would have barely broken even.

It wasn't all bad though - a lady who was looking at my goodies started asking lots of questions about felt in general and said that she ran a Brownie Group and would place an order through the website for some supplies for the group. Then, on Monday I got an email from her asking if I would be interested in taking a table at a Pamper Evening that she was organising next week ! So, I can't complain about Sunday really.

But, I've got a question about pamper evenings, if anyone can help me out. I've never been to one but the name leads me to think that people will be pampering themselves with stuff like manicures, facials etc. If that's the case - what's the point of me being there? Or, does the word Pamper mean - treat yourself and buy something nice - in which case, count me in !!

Today has been the most gorgeous day (so far!), so I took the opportunity of spending 2 hours this morning playing with the children in the garden. Sam is back at school next week and it has been lovely having him at home, but we've started to run out of things to do now, so I'll be pleased when he goes back (and so will he I suspect, although quite what Grace will do without him, I really don't know !).

The blossom is on the trees, the flowers are starting to bloom and the grass is starting to throw itself out of the ground (which unfortunately means that the 3 hour stints of grass cutting will soon begin).

But in the meantime I'm having a bit of a sort out as my craft stash is turning into less of a stash and more of a mountain. So my next post will have lots of fabric for sale. As I've stopped doing the "Name in a Frames" the piles of fabric that I purchased are now surplus to requirements so I'll be selling them off. If you're interested, meet me here next time !!

Byeeee x

A Day Out

Today my good friend Amanda and I took our children to Woburn Safari Park. After a rather long car journey there, we finally reached the Park at around 11.30 and then spent the next 45 minutes or so trying to point out all the different animals to 4 VERY hungry children !! Soon, it all became a bit too much and we had to speed up a bit in the lion enclosure so as to get to the picnic area before WW3 broke out in the back of the car.

I think my fav animals we saw were the giraffes. There were 2 baby giraffes and what I'm presuming were the Mum & Dad were running after them across the park. They seem to be graceful yet clumsy all at once and the way they run makes them look like they're running in slow motion ! But they are extremely beautiful animals and my little lady was just SO excited at seeing them.

Before we left for the Safari Park the postman bought me this ....

A BEAUTIFUL money apron made for me by Sara of All About Eden. Thank you so much Sara - it's even better in the flesh and fits perfectly. I can't wait to wear it on Sunday at the Spring Fair.

And this is your last reminder - I will be in the High Chelmer Shopping Centre in Chelmsford Town Centre on Sunday (this Sunday) from 9.30am until 4.30pm. Do please pop along and say Hi if you're close enough. I'm starting to panic slightly and need a bit of moral support (or maybe just rent a crowd so that lots of people will wonder what you're all looking at and come over and buy, buy, buy !)

Oh, and before I forget - Craft Business trade magazine contacted me earlier in the week and asked if I would be kind enough to do an interview with them about "Felting Trends". Of course, who I was to turn away the opportunity to see my name in lights. This is the link if you fancy a nosy.

Enjoy your weekend and I'll hopefully see some of you on Sunday.

Sarah x