and just when I thought winter was over....

...the snow is forecast for the weekend!
We spent all last weekend in the garden doing a big tidy up.

We had lots of chopping down to do.

I managed to find some flowers.

and it was mild and we had a blue sky.

Before...

...after!

Then this week has been work and fog.

The blue sky has gone.

At school the children in class 5 made rag rugs for their topic on the Victorians.

and I have taken to having a latte most days when I get home from work....some times accompanied by a treat but not always.

And what a treat was waiting for me when I arrived home the other day....

A beautiful heart made by Judy that I had won on her blog giveaway.
Her work in paper and fabric is so special, do pop over and take a look.
The heart is at home in my workroom window at the moment.

So that is the beginning of March....I do hope the sun comes back soon.

stressful week!

Thursday

Ideal Home March

Oh it's been a stressful week and I will be so glad to get to the end of it. The school was visited by OFSTED Wednesday and Thursday and well it's never nice being assessed in your job no matter how much they say they understand that you are nervous you still mumble, go blank, rush, panic.....I am so glad it is over and can only hope we have a good outcome with some positive feedback.

Period Living March

But I want to forget all about that for now....thank you very much!

Homes and Antiques March


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Sarah Raven March

Here are the Calendars for March. I Love the Ideal Home one.
I also managed to send off one of my giveaway prizes this week.
I did some sewing on Sunday, two little fabric boxes, one for me and one for isisjem.

I enjoyed making them and I can see me making some more in the future.

I then packed the prize box with crafty goodies as promised. I stuck to a spring colours theme.
You can just see the ball of yarn at the bottom of the box, well Jan started straight away on it and now has a scarf!
Friday

Can you spot Lucy? she has taken up residence on the step waiting for mice. She is very patient but hasn't caught any recently....I hope it stays that way. I could do without crawling under the bed or taking a stick to the back of the wardrobe to try and catch any she has let escape.
When I arrived at work last Thursday there was a robin singing his little heart out in the trees in the carpark.

can you see him?

I am on a workshop tomorrow at Bankfield. Then on Sunday evening I am taking a class to the Bridgewater Hall to see Purcell's King Arthur. So a busy weekend is planned....good job the rugby is on so Hubby is occupied!

So I feel very drained and just a bit fed up tonight but looking forward to a lovely weekend and then.....it's only 3 weeks until we finish for Easter and I go away with my lovely mum for a few days!

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Is any one else having problems with Blogger? I can not change any blogs on my Blog Roll, deleate or add new  blogs and I can't follow anyone new either. I might have to think about a change to another blog provider as their so called help section is...no help!

( and the spell checker isn't working either so a few might slip through the net...sorry)

Monthly Make and the Give-away

January's Monthly make was a watercolour painting of Sammy. Pop over to my other blog here to see it.

February's Monthly started with my Mollie Makes and the cute mice on the cover.

A cheeky mouse eating the bird food in the garden!

As it was half term I decided I would have a go at making one.

I cut out the pieces for the larger mouse using some unbleached calico.
*I would make the straight edges of the two pieces for the body back slightly longer to make it a little easier to sew together later.

* tweezers came in handy to turn the legs and arms round the right way

and a knitting needle!

I stuffed the limbs and attached them to the body. Sew up the back body seam.
* I would make a dart in the front body piece and not a cut

........that way it would look less like it had had open heart surgery!

Make the ears and attach to the head.
*Tweezers needed here again, it was very fiddly!

I put the eyes on at this point. I would use little black beads but I didn't have any so  I did black french knots. Stuff the head and attach to the body.

*I forgot to put the tail on as I was sewing up the back seam so it was just attached to the bottom!

I would recommend lots of nice things to eat whilst making this mouse.

So now to her clothes.....

I made a dress using the pattern from the PDF on the Mollie Makes web site.
And I made her some bloomers....remember to leave a hole for her tail!

Then after a brief consultation by phone with my mum I decided to knit her a cardi too!

After working on it for a while I realised because I didn't have the correct size needles or right type of yarn I would have to start again and make it with half the amount of stitches.

Then she wanted to have a go at some knitting herself!

So apart from the things I have mentioned as I have gone along, I would also say even though the magazine says you could make a handful of mice in an afternoon it took me considerably longer just to make one!

I would also not stuff her limbs quite so much near the tops so she would sit better and her arms could be lowered.
She is not neat and tidy...I am not neat and tidy when it comes to sewing...I would never win any prizes that's for sure and I also have to say that the mouse and her clothes are probably 90% hand sewn.
But I do love her....any suggestions for a name for her?
Now for the results of the give-away

Into the mugs went the names.
Thank you so much to all that entered, I was so pleased so many of you took the time.

Hubby did the honours as Lucy couldn't be bothered....sorry!
And......
drum roll please.......

Isisjem wins the Crafty Goodies and Simone wins the Pet Portrait. (please email me your addresses so I can send the prizes but please be patient. SImone you will need to email me some photos of Gizmo!!!)

I am sorry for the others and really wish you could all be winners, really I do. All I can say is please enter my next give-away and you could be a winner next time....and I promise not to leave it so long before my next one!

Thank you

Half Term Part 2

Thursday was 'white cloud with the occasional break for the weak winter sun'.
But I was off to visit my friend Shan and have a great day out.

We had booked Afternoon Tea in the Sun Terrace at the Midland Hotel, Morecambe

It was a very grey, cold, windy day but that did not dampen our spirits.

First we had a walk along the stone jetty. It was a bit different to the last time I was here in this post.

It was too cold to linger outside so we headed indoors and the grandeur of the Art Deco Hotel.

Then we were shown to our table

With a view of the Jetty

And then Afternoon Tea arrived

I have to say the food was not quite as nice as the afternoon tea I had with Diane and Kathy in this post at the Raddison Hotel in Manchester last year.

But the ambience was perfect and won hands down!

Soft jazz music playing, perfect company, beautiful surroundings and CAKE!
What more can a girl ask?

Friday I spent at home.

I went into the garden for a little while until the drizzle got too much and I retreated indoors.

I did boring stuff such as washing, ironing and cleaning the oven but I also had some time in my room on the sewing machine.

I will do a separate post all about my Monthly Make as It is turning into a long tale.
On Saturday Hubby and I went to Keighley.

We went to Cliffe Castle Mansion and Museum.

A fascinating place full of Victorian curiosities.

I have not forgotten about the give-away. I will do the draw tonight about 10pm so you still have time to pop over to this post and leave a comment telling me which prize you would like to win!