In the post ...

I love receiving things in the post and this week has been an excellent one for making me rush to the doormat every time I hear the thump of something falling on to it. Or sometimes, more often in the middle of the day, the doorbell rings and there is a terrified delivery person, shaking at the intense barking that ensues every time it rings, ready to hand over something wonderfully anticipated.

I have Belinda to thank for the introduction of this satchel to my collection of bags. I spent many hours browsing the options in terms of colour, style and size and finally opted for this gorgeous metallic version. I'm not a shoe girl, but am definitely a bag girl (not bag lady!).

Next up were some of Celia's amazing Not just for Valentine's Day cards.  My plan for these is to frame them and hang them somewhere prominent in the house. I absolutely love Celia's work and so, for me, this is a great way to be able to own some.

Just as satisfying as receiving things in the post, is making up little parcels to send out to others.  I have finished my final block in the #twitknit scarf swap I have been taking part in. Not all my blocks needed blocking, but this one most definitely did to show off the pattern.

It seems like a little sprinkle of magic happens when you use some pins, a water sprayer and a smidgeon of patience.

I'm hoping that making trips to the post office to make such deliveries is going to become a regular happening soon as the last package to have fallen on my mat this week is very exciting (at least, to me) and after a bit tweaking here and there over the next day or two I will be unveiling a little project that I have been working on recently. I've been dropping hints over on Twitter so it's not exactly a secret if you follow me there ...

Sorry for terrible grainy phone photo, but I was just a tad excited and had to take an immediate photo!

A five year anniversary...

:: the patchwork of my life ::

Who knew when I first started writing this blog that I would be able to maintain the momentum of it continuing for five years? And yet here we are today, marking that very anniversary.

It has been my place to record the minutiae of my life and has brought me many unexpected things in return: wonderful friendships, a sense of community, a passion for crafting and being creative, intensified by the joy of sharing.

I like to think of it as a colourful space and one that reflects my outlook on life. It is ridiculously obvious from a mere glance through this blog where my passions lie. This year, more so I think, than any other, a huge focus has been on my garden. The colour I add outside is interpreted into what happens inside. Having said that, my garden, like the inside of my home isn't necessarily a riot of colour in all its permutations, but instead I like to add punches of it now and then. And that is a good thing as there have been periods of intense darkness, as regular readers will understand.

This blog also gave me a taste of how it feels to write about the things that are important to me and through it I found the confidence to write about how it felt when Tom died enough to be able to embark on a soul-searching journey that ended in the publication earlier this year of my book. Sometimes my posts require few words and at other times, I find that the words are flowing freely and my fingers are moving swiftly over the keyboard. I like that often, my photographs speak for themselves and I have never felt more inspired to capture elements of life and have them all in one place.

This chair that I re-upholstered (freestyle as I went along, using one of my favourite fabric collections), now has pride of place in my kitchen. It has become quite a talking point and one that I have been nagged (you know who you are!) about blogging about on many occasions. So it finds itself here, in this post, and reflects exactly what my blog and the whole blogging experience has come to mean to me: the patchwork of who I am and what I like (and don't like), in all its mismatched glory.

You never know what the next post will contain. I never know! I just mosey along and when the mood takes me, I blog.

So there you have it. Sort of in a nutshell. I am hugely proud of this space and long may it continue. Who knows what it will become? I have the inkling of an idea in my mind about perhaps taking my crafting to another level so the focus might change. I hope not too much. Onwards and upwards!

Published...

It has been a long journey but today, for the first time, I held my book in my hand.

It feels like an age since I first posted about it here on my blog.

You may remember seeing the photo used on the cover, here.

No2 wants me to sign his copy. Sweet.

I have to confess to becoming overwhelmed with emotion when I opened the package from the courier.

Should you know someone who you think would benefit from reading it, you can find it here. It is a little earlier than anticipated, so I'm sure you won't have to wait until 1st June for despatch.

We are having a launch celebration next Friday at Helen and Douglas House. I have new shoes and an appointment at the hairdresser. It's not every day that something quite so exciting happens.

In the post...

I succumbed and bought myself a Kindle. I'm very aware that my reading has dropped off to virtually non-existent because I am addicted to technology. I would rather faff around on my phone or my iPad rather than pick up a book.  This hasn't stopped me buying books, it's just that I buy them and tend not to actually read them. I am hoping this will now change.

Yesterday, a tweet came up on my stream that I couldn't ignore - one of Rebecca's beautiful Kindle covers had made an appearance in an Etsy treasury.

I had no resistance and immediately snaffled one up. It came this morning! There are plenty of other gorgeous things in Rebecca's Etsy shop if you fancy something of your own.

It has been a good day for post - I also treated myself to a little fabric stack from Alice at Backstitch.

I have been antipating this vibrant and distinctive collection for some time as I love Geninne's work and have some in my kitchen already.

Maybe I'll make something for the kitchen...

(sorry for terrible photo)

9 :: Journalling...

Do you like to journal? For me, my blog is one way I like to record and remember snippets from my life. This digital age has made it all so easy to combine words and pictures. I can't remember the last time I actually printed photographs, let alone put them into an album.

I've never been one for keeping a traditional diary with thoughts and observations from my days, although I have, until recently, always had a small diary in my bag for jotting down the obvious stuff such as birthdays and dental appointments. Of course, these days all that is on my phone and with the launch of iCloud, it gets duplicated seamlessly onto my desktop calendar without me lifting a finger! I do have a calendar hanging in my kitchen but I tend not to write on it anymore and so I'm thinking that is a tradition that has reached the end of the line for me.

I think I have mentioned on here before that I wrote a monthly diary for Tom for eight years. It is something I have written about in my book within the chapter on Creating Memories. That is so important to me now - the actual hard copy of the diary and the job of remembering. I don't want to take it for granted anymore. So now, journalling is almost compulsive but will never to be a chore to me. I think there is a place for private thoughts and ones to share. These are some of the ways I'm going about it at the moment.

Last month I entered a give-away over at The Sometimes Crafter on the subject of journalling and to my delight, I won! It arrived at the beginning of the week and I wish I could receive mail addressed like this more often!

I chose the she journal as I loved the simplicity, the way it looked and that it had some prompts in it too. I am going to save it until the new year now, although it is sitting on my desk daring me to make a start in it.

In September I spotted this over at Christina's too and although it took me a few weeks to get going, I got stuck in. I have chosen not to publish my list online (or in the Flickr group), which I suppose isn't very sociable but I have enjoyed dreaming up my lists each week.  Of course, it was a great excuse to go and choose another little notebook.

At the beginning of 2011, I had a Simple Diary on the go. Again, it is full of prompts and questions to get you going and think outside of the box. Each day you had to choose one of three words/phrases to describe your day, a bit like a multiple choice. For example on 18th February, I could choose from getting there :: outspoken :: like spaghetti then you had to explain why. It's very tongue-in-cheek and fun to fill in. I loved that the actual date wasn't written in (you filled that bit in yourself) so it didn't matter if there were gaps. I hate to feel pressurised in doing something!

My latest squeeze in my need to record and remember is, of course, to be found on my phone. Momento was a staff pick in the app store a couple of months ago and I succumbed immediately. It's a great place to keep all your online stuff too as it streams all your feeds into the diary, such as Flickr, Facebook and my blog. I can add something profound when the thought strikes me (that was said tongue-in-cheek, btw!) and you can add photos, tags and locations. 

I do wonder sometimes, if, in years to come, anyone will be actually interested in all this information other than me. I'm hoping that my descendants will want to know a little about me and my day to day life. Because, as Katie over at Gadanke says, we should celebrate our story.

The Secret…

…to hanging perfectly straight photographs (or any other type of pictures)…

I promised I’d share my secret and so here it is:

 

:: the ingredients ::

 

no more nails and some 1” x 1/2” batten

a level, preferably a long one!

 

:: the method ::

I cut the batten into roughly 6” pieces (making sure they would all fit behind each of my different size frames) then drew a level for the top line of my bottom row.  Using the no more nails, I stuck the batten pieces roughly in place of each photo – I lined them up on the floor below to give me some idea (plus I’d laid them out previously to get my final layout).  I had to wait patiently for 24 hours before I could then hang my frames on the battens.  They are literally just balanced on the batten!

Then I drew another level above this row (I balanced the level on top of the frames and drew along it!). I then rested each of the top row of photos on top of the level and marked it with a pencil to show where to stick the next bits of batten.  24 hours later and up they went! 

:: the result ::

 

I used what I had to hand (read, my camera memory card) to ensure an equal space between each photo and for the two lots of double height frames on the top row, I repeated the process of hanging the lower photo and then marking position of the batten for the top ones.

So, you see, nothing fancy, just good old display tactics! 

Thanks Allison, for the tip!

Zoom…

I always forget, so am pleasantly surprised, when I realise that for the months of February and March, if you pay by direct debit, you don’t have to pay for your monthly council tax bill.  Living in London, it is my highest monthly bill, so to get a reprieve is a real bonus.

 

:: baby blue tit ::

So… having a bit of spare cash and spotting a very good deal on Amazon (33% off) I treated myself to a new lens for my camera and I am LOVING it.

 

 

I don’t know all the technical terms for photography (yet… one day… ) but I know that I can get some great shots of the birds visiting the feeders in the garden:

 

 

 

Or helping themselves to the new buds on the blossom tree:

 

 

 

Some nicely captured sunlight on acid green new leaves:

 

 

 

And some more (!) shots of the white blossom at the bottom of the garden:

 

 

My gallery…

I can’t believe it was way back in January that I started playing around with the layout of my photo from my swap with Mary.

I finally bought all the frames (nothing fancy, just Ribba from Ikea, but in an assortment of sizes) and then had a lesson in photo mounting from a friend.  It was just the sort of job that I love – plenty of required precision.  I knew that keeping my old square from my college days was a good idea.

 

I also love a bit of kit and the mount cutter was very satisfying to use.

 

 

 

 

 

I have to confess to being stupidly pleased with how they all turned out!

 

 

And, I am just LOVING them altogether on the wall in the living room.  I LOVE the eclectic subject matter.  I LOVE the simplicity of the frame with the white mount. 

Most of all, I LOVE that they travelled a long way to grace my wall and complete my room.

 

 

Discipline…

I have many things to do and many more things I want to do and so I am having to be strict with myself.
I just had a tally up and I have seven Roman blinds and one pair of full-length curtains on my to-do list.  How on earth did that happen?  I wasn’t even aware that I still did curtain-making! None of them are for me, I hasten to add.  Luckily I have made two blinds this weekend (they aren’t included in the seven!), so my plan is working.
My sister was getting rid of this chair and I immediately saw a patchwork opportunity not to be missed.



I put my favourite quilt on it to get a feel of how it might look when I’ve finished with it.



It really will take every ounce of discipline I possess for me to keep it in line with the other jobs that really ought to take priority.

As a tiny reward for exercising a huge amount of discipline this weekend, I allowed myself a frivolous 10 minutes play and created this heart garland.



Sooo  easy and satisfying to make.

Playing…

…with a new quilting project…

 

…a photo gallery for a big blank wall in my living room, the result of my wonderful swap from last year…

 

 

…with my macro lens…

 

 

…it balances out all the other stuff.