Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Good evening

Guess what? Its been another cold day here. We've had snow on & off all day - enough to cause panic buying in the local Co-op and for the boys to enjoy snowball fights with their friends at school today.

This was the view that greeted me this morning when I unburied myself from the duvet & blankets;

I still managed to cycle into town today - carefully & even more slowly than normal but I did it. I needed to do a post run and also collect some vital supplies from the supermarket - can't have snow without hot chocolate and marshmallows ;)

Just as I was leaving the postie handed me large, flat parcel - I knew what it was - my handmade Christmas decoration swap parcel from Pene. 

Lucky me - look what she made & sent;

Its gorgeous - when she said in an email about the shape of the parcel I kind of hoped that it might be a wreath of some sort and it was and I love it. Thank you Pene very much and also to Betty @ MrsYappy Dog for organising this swap. My parcel to Pene went on its way on Friday so hopefully her postie will soon be knocking at the door.

Whilst browsing my ever growing list of blogs this afternoon, I spotted a lovely giveaway over @ Hapi-ness - lots of crafty things as prizes :)

I wonder what the weather will be like for us tomorrow - the boys are hoping for a day off school.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Pause for Advent - First Pause 2010

Good afternoon

How has your weekend been? Ours has been cold - no snow, just frost & subzero temperatures. It has also involved lots of layers, including thermals!

Can't believe how fast the past year has gone - here we are again at the start of Advent and the countdown to Christmas. Thank you to Floss for hosting this again - please pop over & see who else is taking part.

The first pause for me this year is about Tradition. I guess as the Pause is into its 2nd year that itself is destined to become a tradition. This time of year more than any other seems to hold many traditions within our family.

We have to bring out the fabric advent calendar which I bought for big sons very first Christmas. It is now beginning to look a bit tatty but the boys insist its the one we use. It has to be filled with chocolate coins or quality street toffees - nothing else will do!!

We also have to hang the stockings I made for the boys on the fireplace until Christmas Eve when they get taken upstairs and put on the ends of their beds. This isn't a wise move - when I made the stockings I sewed lots of little silver bells onto each stocking - it makes the task of removing them & placing them back a big harder for Father Christmas especially if he's had a drink or two ;)

All pictures recycled from 2009!!

Other traditions in this house include carol singing in the town square on Christmas Eve - MrVV's brass band plays & the rest of us go along & sing (badly). Again tradition dictates that we meet friends & exchange cards & Christmas wishes & kisses.

What traditions do your family have??

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Blogger has created a tradition of its own recently - going incredibly slow whenever I try & blog :( Not one I'd like to see continued long term!!

Festive finishes & new handsome fella!!

Good afternoon

Have you got snow?? Nothing here in Suffolk - just sunshine & its very cold.

Am wrapped up today like a russian doll - so many layers. Have resorted to wearing my old Ugg boots as slippers as my feet are so cold :(

Its been a fairly quiet week - sort of calm before the festive storm starts to hit this weekend. Brass engagements for little son & MrVV - think it will be time to hunt the thermals out for them.

I'll managed to finish my festive WIP's;

 Mum's Christmas pressie - a snuggling on the sofa quilt

Its little hand sewn label

Knitted 'paper' chains

The reality uncropped shot with my cluttered kitchen dresser!!

Usually each week I visit all 4 of the charity shops in town at least once - recently I've not found much. But this week has been very successful - a couple of additions to my wardrobe - a NoaNoa beret for just £1 and a gorgeous green sweater for another couple of pounds. I was very pleased the other day to find this handsome fella in our church shop for just 20p!!

Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll be lucky enough to find some more festive additions to the house.

Right off now to try & keep warm. I must get my decoration swap parcel wrapped today and possibly even my SS one too.

Keep warm & I'll see you soon.

xxx Vicki xxx

A knitted christmas and special party

Good evening

Where has the past week gone? It seems to have slipped by in a mix of fog and festive making. I've managed to finish the scarf for my niece;

Had just enough leftover yarn to add pockets to keep small hands warm on cold winter mornings.

The other day whilst I browsing through blogland I spotted an idea on another blog that I knew I wanted to copy. For ages the idea has been in my mind to knit some 'paper'chains - when I saw some on The Blueberry Patch that Sarah had made some, it gave me the kick I needed too;

Since the photo was taken the chain has grown - another 2 to make tonight & it will be 20 chains long - plenty to string across my kitchen dresser :)

Yesterday was a very special day in the family calendar - it was my Grandma's 85th birthday. We decided this year it was easier to bring the party to her than for her to travel. We ganged together making cakes/scones/sausage rolls and lots of nibbles. Her cupboards were raided for vintage china and a very lovely afternoon tea was laid on;

The birthday girl & her daughter (my Mum). This picture shows where I get my lovely of clutter and heaps of stuff from ;)

It was one of those rare occasions where all 5 cousins were together and they posed briefly for a quick photo - very hard to get 5 faces all looking 'normal' at once!!

Today I've been very busy - I remembered I'd promised to make my Mum a patchwork throw for Christmas, so I've been busy cutting out squares/rectangles and piecing them together - am glad Mum asked for a random patched quilt rather than one that has all the corners perfectly matched up!!.  110 squares later the top is finished - just the fiddly bit of attaching it to its fleece backing and then binding the edges left to do. Hoping to get more done tomorrow and then I can take some photos.

I see from the weather forecast we are promised some sleet/snow later in the week - just in time for MrVV's first Christmas band engagement!!

Off to watch SCD - am hoping its Goodbye to Ann tonight, last nights 'effort' was just awful.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Keeping warm

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

What a cold week its been so far. This morning was particularly chilly when I got up. A quick peek through the curtains showed the world has turned white & slightly sparkly. After wrapping my dressing gown tightly around me I ventured out into the garden to feed the birds and break the ice on their bird bath.

To be honest by the end of the afternoon our north facing garden was still frosty in places. I guess I'll be out there defrosting the bird bath every morning now until spring.

When its this chilly a girl needs to keep warm - sometimes keeping warm means a clash of colours, much to the boys amusement;

And of course mugs of hot chocolate with a topping of marshmallows are an essential too;

Lastly at the weekend, I was chatting to my middle niece (aged 9) and I asked her what she would like for Christmas. I was expecting a reply that included books or something for her growing Barbie collection, instead she surprised me and asked that I knit her a scarf! So yesterday morning I headed into town to the yarn shop and chose something I know she will love;

Its a super-chunky and using 12mm needles means that I've actually knitted through 2 balls and have made a start on the 3rd. This will leave me enough left over to add pockets to keep little hands warm.

Right off to tidy the kitchen, nag homework to be done and then settle down to an evening of Kirstie and Turnback the High Street :)

xxx Vicki xxx

PS - Last mention I promise. Thank you for all the lovely orders and if anyone wants anything that I have sold out of let me know and I am sure I can rustle up a few more ;)



Craft Fairs & Pop-Up Shops

Good evening

How has your weekend gone? 

Its been quite a busy one here, with me out for most of yesterday and MrVV out at Remembrance Parades for all of today. Sadly he got rather wet this afternoon - think it might take a large whisky later to help him warm up!!

The stall @ the Autumn Fair went very well - I sold quite a few things and most importantly my Christmas fund has received a big injection of funds :)

It was lovely to meet another blogger - Liz and her lovely family. One dolly went off happily with her new little owner :)

I still have some items left and in a bid to boost the festive funds, I thought I'd offer them for sale via my blog. Now I'm not good at the hard sell stuff so apart from this post and then popping things into the side-bar there won't be any pressure or arm twisting ;)

Payments can be made via paypal (Email me for details) and postage for all items is £1.50 - discounts available for multiple purchases ;)

Red knitted dolly - £6.00

Green knitted doll - £6.00

Green Rainbow Raggydoll - £7.50

Multi-coloured rainbow raggydoll - £7.50

Large Gingerbread Men - £2.50 each (2 available)

SOLD - Thank you

Knitted Gingerbread Cottages - £2.50 each (2 available)

SOLD - Thank you

 

Right off to put the finishing touches to dinner. I'm looking forward to seeing who will leave SCD tonight - surely it must be time to say Goodbye to Michelle?? Not sure how I'll manage without my dose of Downton Abbey - I guess we might be stuck with MrVV's choice of TV. Time to find some crafting to do instead!!

xxx Vicki xxx

Making & Remembering Thursday

Good evening

Wow what a day - gale force winds and torrential rain. The boys were very glad that MrVV works from home today as it saved them from getting soaked on the way to school & back.  My bicycle stayed in the garage - certainly wouldn't have been safe to ride it today. The road into town was apparently littered with branches and wheelie bins!!

Definitely the sort of day to stay indoors and keep warm by crafting - mainly finishing off lots of WIPs - some of which I want to take with me on Saturday!!

This Angel is off to be part of a Festival of Angels in a local church - hopefully she'll come back and grace my tree when it is over.

I've completed another of the knitted toys my Grandma asked me to finish.

One raggy doll for the sale at the weekend (left) and a raggy witch for a friend.

Lastly for today, I shall leave you with one of my favourite pictures from the last 12 months - perfect for Armistice Day;

xxx Vicki xxx



Somewhere over the rainbow

Good evening

How was your weekend?? Ours was mixed. We never made it to any bonfires or fireworks - blame the weather and a less than 100% little son. Instead we watched other peoples fireworks from an upstairs window. Of course we also managed to watch SCD on both nights - definitely the wrong result this week :( I said a sad goodbye to Downton Abbey last night - so many questions remain so I shall be looking out for series 2 next year. I cheered when William flattened Thomas - he had that coming.

We did manage to get out as a family yesterday - yep that's right - all 4 of us went somewhere together!! We opted for Southwold - a perfect mix of peeking into the gorgeous shops and dropping hints for next month and also a lovely long walk from the harbour to the Pier and back.

The weather was mixed - one minute sunshine and then showers - at least it meant there were several of these;

At one point the end of the rainbow was tantalizingly close - like big son commented - Where are leprechauns when you need one ;)

The sea was gorgeous and rough - coming over the seawall in places and leaving the beach covered in what looked like the remnants of a foam party;

We stopped for lunch at the cafe on the Prom - warming fish and chips all round - scrummy :) Of course we had to walk along the Pier - quite easy as it really was not busy yesterday at all. In fact we were able to watch the water clock without anyone in front of it;

However many times we watch that, I still think the boys will find the toilet humour amusing.

Today has been a blustery one here in Suffolk - my cherry tree is now almost bare. It was far too windy to cycle into town today instead I had to walk. It gave me a chance to spot lots of ivy's & berries which hopefully will be there next month when it comes to making a wreath for my front door.

Don't forget the Good Life with Sue Perkins on BBC2 later - am hoping its as good the reviews suggest.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Busy shopping, busy making....

Evening

Well so much for going to fireworks today - its far too soggy @ the moment :(. Think we'll try again with another display tomorrow. Thank goodness for Iplayer - it will mean I won't miss Ann & Anton doing the salsa - that has got to be seen ;)

This afternoon before it got too soggy, I went over to Snape Maltings with Dawn. We decided to make a little start on our christmas shopping both for families & bloggy swaps ;).

The first part we went into was the Antiques centre - lots of lovely things at some rather lovely prices. We both were happily taking pics - think we've managed different items. It was only as we were leaving we spotted the 'Don't take photos' sign - ooops. We exited quite quickly giggling like a pair of teenagers!!

This spinning wheel reminds me - there's a new series on BBC2 on Monday night with Sue Perkins & Giles Coren, they are living the Good Life to celebrate the programmes 35th birthday!!

Loved all this floral enamel - I know there are lots of other bloggers that love it too.

You can't beat a bit of blue & white cornishware - I have a small collection of this that I've built up over the years. Fortunately at prices far less than they wanted today.

Did I buy anything? Of course I did but not in the Antiques centre but in several of the other gorgeous shops that are there;

Sorry - can't show you the contents - some of its for my SS swaps and also for pressies for a couple of others that read my blog ;)  Think the boys will love this years candy canes for the tree  :)

Lastly I've been frantically cutting out and making as I've booked a table @ little sons schools autumn/christmas fair next weekend - I did quite well @ their summer one so thought if worth the little outlay. Still got quite alot to make but so far so good - I think I can easily fill the table;

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post :)

Have a lovely weekend - don't forget the final part of Downton Abbey on Sunday.

xxx Vicki xxx

The effects of blogging

Evening

I've been pondering about do this post for a while and today had got as far as taking a few pics with the view of doing a post sometime. However an email in my inbox prompted me to do it now.

The effects of blogging are far reaching - the never leaving home without a camera, the inability to open a parcel without taking photographs of every stage and of course the little voice in your head that says 'oh I must share that' when you make something new, try a new recipe or find the perfect piece of vintage clutter in a shop or market.

There are some really wonderful aspects too - taking part in many swaps & giveaways has result in blogging being part of my day every day - whether is having a cuppa from one of the mugs I've been sent;

Or sitting in my sewing room surround by pressies, cards and gifts from lots of lovely bloggers;

How does blogging affect your everyday life? and how much of your blog life do you share with other non-bloggy friends & family? As far as I know my family including MrVV have never read my blog!!

The email that triggered this evenings post was from the dotcomgiftshop - they've written an article called Vintage Blogs We Love and my little blog has been given a mention along with so many others that I enjoy reading on a regular basis - http://www.dotcomgiftshop.com/blog/vintage-blogs. A lovely surprise which I needed to share with someone so who better than you lot :)

No S&B tonight both MrVV & MrCountryGirl are busy so instead the 2 of us have arranged a meetup on Friday for nattering and light shopping :)

Oh one more thing before I go - Amy @ Blighty Boutique is having her very first giveaway - 2 gorgeous prizes.

Right off now - need to stalk my Secret Santa Swap person and see if I can gleam a few more ideas of  what to include in their parcel - is it you I wonder??

xxx Vicki xxx

Shades of autumn

Good evening

Can't believe its a week since I last blogged - I had such intentions last week of posting but time kept running away. It doesn't help that I'm not 100% at the moment so some days I'm sleeping rather alot - think the record was 15 out of 24 hours!! Hoping that I get some blood test results this week and an answer & solution can be found.

Anyhow where did I leave off last? Oh yes half-term. It passed fairly smoothly - the boys are happy to amuse themselves. Often only appearing for mealtimes!!  I left them at home with MrVV on Thursday and took the train 4 stops north to visit a friend in Beccles. We had a wander around the town stopping at lots of the shops - I managed to buy nothing at all! Was seriously tempted in the wool shop - but I ought to use some of the stash I've built up first.

Saturday morning dawned bright & sunny. When I went into little sons room I was taken aback at how gorgeous our cherry tree was looking;

We really are having the most gorgeous autumn - every time we are out and about I am loving all the gorgeous colours.

Little son & I joined MrVV on a trip into Woodbridge. He was playing with his brass band to launch this years local poppy appeal. Little son & I opted for a wander around the shops - apart from one small christmas pressie we again left empty handed!

Sunday was very much a stay at home day. I spent time sewing - can't show you as it is for one of the swaps I'm taking part in.  We also needed to prepare for 3 small visitors who had promised to pop by and scare us. Oh yes Halloween - very much a marmite event. As with most celebrations we tend to take a more traditional approach rather than the mass panic must buy consumerism approach that the high street stores would love us all to have. This year was ever less than usual - I forgot to buy a pumpkin and MrVV returned from the shops empty handed when he tried to buy one on Sunday :( Instead we filled the porch with lanterns and tealights in jars - trust me it looked very pretty.

Our little visitors came - not scary at all. A rather cute skeleton, a gorgeous witch and my oldest niece was Hermione from Harry Potter. All left happily with the bags of sweeties - have yet to hear from my sisters if my overuse of halloween confetti was appreciated!!

We spent the rest of the evening by candlelight enjoying 2 of the best things on TV at the moment - Downton Abbey and Strictly Come Dancing.

Who do you want to win Strictly?? For laughter it has to be Ann & Anton but of the serious dancers it must be Sccccccccccoooooooooooooooootttttttttttttttttttt ;)

Pictures from BBC Website

See you soon.

xxxx Vicki xxxx