And the winner is .....

Yet another beautiful day in Somerset! Pickle-Lily is at Guide camp, I have been busy sewing and cutting ...

felt flowers

it really is too hot to knit! Son is painting the fences in the back and front garden (I am paying him) so using him as a random number generator - how many panels have you painted so far? The answer has provided me with the winner of the Surprise! Surprise! giveaway.
And the winner is ... Felt by Rae
Thank-you to everyone for all their kind comments about the geek cushions - Mr PL was very impressed and happy with them, and I feel a whole range coming on!

Jo x

Geek cushions

Can you guess what it is yet?

Monday 23rd is Mr PL's birthday and Pickle-Lily and I hatched a plan, a very cunning plan for a present. Some time ago Mr PL admired the computer key cushions on Walden's sofa in 'Two and a Half Men' tv programme. So P and I have made him some!. We used grey wool mix felt from John Lewis to make three envelope style cushions and I cut out Alt, Ctrl and Delete from black felt and blanket stitched them on.



Computer key cushions

So a great present for any computer fan! We have now decided that we can make one for Grandad for his birthday and that you could use text speak as a teenager gift!
I will visit all the other blogs at Handmade Monday this week, so why don't you? I'll be announcing the winner of the Surprise, Surprise giveaway in the next couple of days, it is open until midnight on Mr PL's birthday.

School's out for summer :)

Yes - you can see Christmas fabric!

Hello!!!

The sun is shining and I have broken up for the summer holidays!!!!

Sorry I haven't appeared for a while, but I have just been soooo busy and I'm afraid blogging was one of the things that had to give. School wise I have been very busy, I think lots of people had to fit in final paperwork and so I have had a good July, supply wise. My Folksy page continued to be busy, which meant I was up till midnight some days and awake at 5am others to fit everything in - but I most definitely not complaining!

I have managed a little fabric shopping ....

I have also created a new Make kit - Funky Fish - ready for the summer holidays. You can make a big bean bag fish and a little key ring fish. P keeps singing 'Big fish, little fish, cardboard box ... but I have no idea where this comes from! She is off to Guide camp next week so we are busy getting all the blue clothes together ready for her to pack (they are only allowed to wear blue clothes!). The good news is son is off the crutches and out of the boot so he is good to go to camps over the summer as well!

Pickle-Lily and I are also working on a special, surprise secret project for Mr PL's birthday, so hopefully all will be revealed Monday -  it is a great gift idea, if I say so myself, so watch out for it next week.

If you are looking for ideas for the summer I can not recommend this blog enough The Imagination Tree it is full of wonderful ideas and so easy to do!

See you soon

Jo x

PS Don't forget the Surprise! Surprise! giveaway closes on Monday 23rd - more to look forward to!

Summer of Love

Photo from The Craft Hub

It's 5.30 in the morning and I am sitting here writing my blog! Life has been so busy that this seems to be the only time to fit something else in!

In the Pickle-Lily household we have had poorly children (the latest virus doing it's rounds) - I had forgotten how much sleep deprivation really knocks you, probably why I can't sleep now! At some points it has  felt like we were backing in 'teething times'!

School life has been very busy, I've been driving between schools in some lunch times and turning work down as I was already booked! I also had a couple of interviews, and the result is I have been offered a permanent post (teachers out there will appreciate that these are rarer than hen's teeth) for two days a week - brilliant news, exactly what I was hoping for!

On the crafting front, there have been lots of fairs of differing sorts - school, village and street!  Some have been very quiet, lots of people looking but not buying, some have been wet (thank goodness I invested in a proper gazebo this year), some have been scary - a street fair where the wind was sailing my gazebo along the tarmac - and some brilliant!

Picture from The Craft Hub

I had a great Sunday at The Summer of Love with The Craft Hub where I met some lovely people - and treated myself to some lovely hand cream from Aromatika, visitors would come wafting in after trying the free samples. I wish this was interactive so you could smell it too! P sold some cushions and tidgy totes so she was very happy and we bought lots of yummy cakes and cookies from Kiss and Bake up. I am now looking forward to their Christmas event. Thanks Pip and Hannah for a very well organised and supported event!

It has also been very busy in my Folksy shop as some of my goodies were featured in the Teacher's gift guide and I have been visiting the post office every day! But I am not complaining!

What new things have I been up to?

Pussy cat, pussy cat where have you been?

A friend asked me for a cat keyring as a gift and after much cutting out - I like to cut out paper patterns, re-cut and trim when I'm being creative (very messy!), here is my cat! I'm now making them in lots of lovely cat like colours and then will add them to needle cases and note books and hopefully make little ones as brooches, as there are lots of cat lovers out there!

Hopefully - life will be a little more routine this week - I have a Family Fun Day to start getting ready for today (I'm hoping the BBC weather is right - there are these funny yellow circles on the page!) and I can knit and sew during the week! I also want to visit all the other blogs over on Handmade Monday - I have really missed visiting blogland and want to catch up with everyone!

Jo