Treats for me!

Just before the bank holiday weekend my lovely postie delivered a couple of parcels that I had been eagerly awaiting...

The first was from a lovely lady called Alesha who I did the handmade swap with. As she lives in Canada and their post office were on strike for a while it took quite a while for our gifts to reach each other. But it was all worth the wait. I'm not sure what they are called but they look wonderful on my kitchen windowsill next to my Denby coffee pot (£2.50 from a charity shop - bargain or what?!

They are made from coloured card and have pearl and diamante pins in the centre of flower, just look at the work involved - I love them!

I'd sent her the first handbag I made, it was only a small one but I lined it and made a matching purse and ring. The photo is a bit dark, for some reason my flash refused to cooperate that day!

My other parcel came from the wonderful Pinkapotamus when I won her giveaway. It's a handbag made from a book. How cool is that?

She even put my initial on it! I shall be using this on my next night out on the town - it's the perfect size for a ladylike evening spent quaffing wine

I'm spending this bank holiday busily catching up on my crafting after being denied it while I did some more of my massage course!

 

Withdrawal symptoms...

I have had to spend this weekend catching up on my massage homework and swotting. So my sewing machine has been put away. The wool tops, fabric stash and part-made handbags have been hidden so I don't get distracted

This is what I have been up to...

...isn't the massage table handy for putting all my coursework on?! Other than swotting, organising my notes and writing up my case studies I designed a massage room, it was part of the homework, honest!

I found a wonderful website called mydeco, please don't go there for a quick play, I'll probably never see you again! The hours I could have wasted there making castles in the air! It is so easy and such fun, so that was a nice bit of homework for me

Everything is all packed away now...

... ready for my next case study to arrive after work tomorrow

A little taste of summer

I've been really busy with my massage course lately... my next 5 day stint at the college starts a week on Thursday and I still haven't finished learning the names of all the muscles I should... eek! So that's more swotting to do along with fitting in case studies! I am loving the course even though it is hard work

Since it is summer I thought I'd try my hand at felt strawberries...  I had some key ring chains so I figured they'd be nice as a bag charm. Of course, I shall have to make a whole new handbag to put them on... one more for the to-do list, or does that count as another WIP?

I have also done a bit more work on my bluey-purple handbag, adding some swirls using that lush wool I bought with Sharon in the Spinning Weal the weekend before last... 

I have started sewing assorted small dark purple beads into the swirls. All I need to do now is to finish the beading, find the perfect material to line it and then decide what to use for the handles

Happy times

Last week I received my magic ball parcel from Helen the undomesticated scientist. To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement... it took me most of the evening to unravel! I had four luscious balls of fluffy wool and a pair of handles to knit a handbag, another four balls of scrummy fluffy purple wool, some material, a strip of really pretty pink roses ribbon trim, masses of sweeties, a knitting needles holder with needles and crochet hooks, a row counter and all kinds of loveliness. I can't thank Helen enough

Unfortunately my camera went on the blink and then my card reader went missing for days, so I didn't get any photos of it all wrapped up but here is one Helen took before she posted it:

To top off my happiness, my lovely Internet friend Sharon arrived with her son Paul. We have known each other for about ten years but never met before. We chatted away non-stop, only stopping when we fell asleep and that was late on both nights! Sharon is a knitter, so of course we just had to drop in to my beloved Spinning Weal for a little treat. Sharon bought some yarn to make a tunic sweater and I got some more wool tops for my felting. I also bought this...

it is soft jewel coloured wool that I just couldn't stop touching... perfect for needle felting in to my felt handbags as decoration

I wish my camera had been working so that we could have taken photos of our weekend. I drove us to Weston Super Mare and along the Gordano Valley to show off all my favourite sights. I really love living here ... I can't remember now, did I mention that Sharon? ;-)

Our jaunt ended back in Clevedon with lunch at Tiffin on the seafront, for a spot of lunch... fresh crab, very yummy! I do recommend Tiffin if you are in the area and fancy a delicious meal, with excellent service that is not overpriced, but do make sure you really read the menu before you order, otherwise you'll find yourself suffering from food envy when you see what other people have ordered!

After we had worn ourselves out with lunch and the yarn shopping we met up with my mum and  repaired to Corrister & White, a delightful tea room that sells amazing cupcakes. We ladies had strawberry cupcakes and Paul enjoyed a delicious looking slice of chocolatey heaven! 

All in all it has been a fabulous few days and I am so glad to have finally met Sharon & Paul in the flesh, they are both very lovely people and such fun to be with. We're all a bit tired now after our late nights but I don't think it'll be another decade before we meet up again... we just need to recover from these last late nights first!