Going to the ducks...

Ahhhhhhhh!!! They say things happen in three, bad luck that is, well I am on a roll, either luck can not count or I am being served a double dose.

I want bore you with the details, all to tedious to mention really and all involve large sums of money... of which I don't have.

One of the issues however is my blog account, its playing with me, its no fun I assure you. So today I had lots of lovely holiday pictures of camping and seaside adventures, blogger has other ideas and want let me upload more than one picture at a time and as I have a heap of chores to get through this evening plus some baking for the school fair and an early start in the morning getting two children to two different schools at the opposite side of town and myself in work all before eight thirty, so I will have to just post one photo.

Moan moan... Listen to me go on... anyway the spring half term was indeed a good one, spent with many close and dear friends, the children (lots of them) all had such adventures and for the first time in a while mine slept so well, all that seaside air. The weather varied dramatically and indeed one day half the tent needed re pegging before I lost it!!! The second half of the week was spent with a friend in a seaside house in Wales, just two Mums and five active boys, fortunately the sun came out and we spent hours on the beach and the boys body boarding in the sea.

I can not express in words the magical, calming and very healing effect sitting on the beach cradled by the windbreak sipping a warming drink, watching the seagulls searching for a small snack left behind by the days visitors, as the air cools down as the sun dips too low to be able to continue to keep us warm, the sea calm and the sound of our children laughing in the gentle surf holding on to the last hour of daylight. Even as we packed up the days belongings and stagger back to our holiday home loaded down with buckets, spades and BBQ, our skin tightening from the sun and sprinkled like cake topping with sand, yes the memory of time on the beach is one I hold dear and cling onto whilst I watch so much go wrong around me.

Back home now and working on a couple of orders, including my little duck friend here, this is a sample, I was asked to make a duck with big feet, similar to my Christmas Doves, but with these flipper feet. Anyway I had a little play and this is the result. I will be taking it in to show the shop next week and I am hoping that after all the playing about and sizing, half a book full of sketches and cast aside paper patterns cut out, I am happy with it, although a little fiddly, I even have a cardboard pattern ready to make more... Do you think they will like it...

Holiday time hurrah!!!

Been busy here at the home of Dotty Red, cutting, sewing and stuffing...
In fact once again its been a week filled with productivity...
I am pleased to report that at the weekend the pace slowed down a little bit and I even snatched a moment of solitude in the garden with a glass of wine and a good book...
Only to wake up an hour later with warm wine and the book on the floor...
Apart from that moment, its been hectic...
Working on a new line of 'beach hut' based cushions
and many, many lavender hearts, so many in fact my home smells delightful...
So the tent is packed and the car is busting at the the seams with all the camping gear... wellies, waterproofs and hot water bottles. Its half term and we are off in about an hour to fight our way through the traffic in the hope that we get our tent pitched up before bedtime...
I hope that you have super week and the sun manages to shine on what ever you are doing. Happy Holidays...

Am I mad to take my two boys camping when gales are predicted? Ah well, the need to be near a beach and the boys to see their old friends is more important than a bit of a breeze... Yes I believe I am mad, still you do what you have to do to see your children happy... Happy Camping!!!

All cushions sold, thank you for your interest, more on the way... :)

What's up...

How can that be, a whole week has just passed me by whilst I have been busy doing so much stuff. Yes a contradiction, but that is how my life is at the moment. I remember when I wrote about rhythm, taking time to smell the coffee, camera always in hand and a crafty project by my side whilst baking a tray of cupcakes as my children played at my feet. How I miss those days, I have finally admitted I am indeed just 'flying by the seat of my pants' kinda girl at the moment. Each week I think I will be on top of it all and then something else needs attention.Over the holidays I so enjoyed my time with my children and I did indeed take time out to just be with them, for the first time in a couple of years I felt relaxed and slept well, I awoke in the mornings ready for the day instead of dragging myself out of bed for that much needed caffeine intake before I could truly open my eyes. I made time for my children, just for fun, play dates, some social time with friends and time for sitting in the sunshine watching my children play. Indeed, it was a good break. However its back to reality and orders are mounting up, the job search is demoralising, school issues, meetings and tomorrow is my final assessment at college. I need a bit of beach time to get all three of us back to that spacial place of finding our own flow and just going with it.

On the work tray at the moment (you know the one that you sit with in the evenings and do your hand sewing whilst watching some telly... or is that just me) is a huge pile of hearts all ready for stuffing with the gorgeous lavender. Also finishing off an order for corsages, I love these floppy roses and often make them to go with my fabric bags.
Following on from my last post I had bought some super big buttons and wanted to use them so instead of 'zipper wash bags' I have 'happy button wash bags'. . .
Using the machine embroidery to personalise them and matching them up with the fabric insert to finish the the whole bag up with style. Thanks to Poppy for this super easy bag design.
I have been on a little Dotty Red shopping trip, I was asked to make something in a particular fabric which then sent me on a shopping search...did I say fabric, yet here I am showing you a picture of yarn...it was on offer, half price so for ten pounds I bought myself a little sash and I know just the project for it...
I have not knitted for myself a long while so over the holiday I worked on a small project of Bunting, knitted bunting. Useless, time consuming and sometimes fiddly... but so nice to do...
Pretty pastel candy stripes, delicate shades which reminded me of vintage seaside holidays of my childhood with all the faded sunny shades eating ice cream on a beach. A memory which I hope to pass on to my own children with our own trips to the seaside.
On buying the yarn I was chatting to my friendly local kitting shop staff that even though I had not been to my knitting night at the shop in two years (no childcare) I was indeed still knitting, yet I was still a virgin when it came to cable work. It was obvious that this was a shock and surly someone that did so much crafting could have learnt this skill, because its so easy, if you know how.

No... still need to learn it, its so hard and complicated...

So I sat in the sunshine that very afternoon with cable needle and pattern in hand I mastered the skill... years I have wanted to be able to cable, and after just one afternoon in the garden... I can now cable, and I am SO PROUD OF MY NEW SKILL . . .

Have a great week, as for the weekend, I am going to make it one that is of a slow pace and I will take time to smell the coffee. Hope you do too.

Gently sewing up a storm...

After my break away it was kinda hard to get back into the swing of things. I had taken a design pad away with me and had done a little doodling of some ideas I wanted to try out. So to get me back into the swing of sewing I had a little play.To be fair though it was a play with a purpose, a friend of mine runs a little nest of cottages in the most beautiful rural location. We had discussed cushions, doorstops etc... to make the cottages a little more bespoke and that little bit different from the other holiday hide aways. Luxury is the word here and with a country feel. So with this brief in mind I set about a few idea.
Now machine embroidery has become very popular of late and I am a big fan. For some reason though I never thought to have a ago myself, I have worked a lot recently with applique and used bondaweb,it is however time consuming and a little fiddly.
A couple of years ago when I blogged under Suzie Sews I worked on a sampler to learn this skill, mostly for my quilting (click here for post). I loved the weekend I did this and the results are on display in my hallway and it makes me very happy when it catches my eye as I rush out the house. So actually it seemed a natural transition to move on to using this technique with a more structured design.
and these are the results...
I love the shabby chicness of it all, its great to use up all the little bits of fabric I couldn't bare to throw away but too small to actually make anything with. My favourite however, is the stress busting key rings, cute little parcels filled with sweet smelling Yorkshire lavender, so when you feel a little stress coming on, give them a squeeze to release the soothing smell of lavender...

Whilst the lavender was being used I finished of my latest cushion with a little matching lavender heart to pop under the flap of the cushion to give added comfort to this plump, soft, squishy cushion,using one of my favourite vintage Laura Ashley fabric...
With the cup design knitted up using the very talented 'Little Cotton Rabbits' free pattern. To be fair I tried to make my own design as I was away without my computer, but after a few tries, I just could not get the increases right, and why bother when its been done already by such a talented person.

So Dotty Red is back on track and hitting the work room...

Blissful

Ahh! Two whole weeks of bliss holiday time...Day after day of skin warming beautiful sunshine, radiant in all its sunny happy glorious-ness...
Allowing me to take my shoes off and feel the sand between my toes as the boys and I discovered many pretty beaches...
Beaches, bays, sand and pebbles...
but all with the clearest of inviting sea...
My water babes , as ever, true to their nick name, played in the water for hours, from gently dipping their toes in the cool sea for the first time this year, to throwing themselves in and swimming, then being even more adventurous and sharing rides on a water ski...Oh yes, HAPPY HAPPY CHILDREN, which of course makes this Mom a very happy Mommy...
As for my creative side, well, not a lot was achieved, but creativity is all around us...
The most the children and I managed was lots of drawing and plenty of photographs taken. Evening spent curled up in front of a fire to keep the chill of the evening April air away, sipping wine and nibbling on tasty treats. Maybe with my knitting on my lap when I wasn't holding my hands up against the flames to keep the coolness of the evening away.
All to soon the holiday was over, a time shared with love, laughter, fun, beaches, sea, special friends and even some tears, some of joy and some of sadness at leaving. How quick we found our sunny beach rhythm, how the dark winter months now seem so long ago. Yes time by the beach is good for the soul. On the return I nested in my favourite part of my garden and knitted whilst the children played. I refused to catch up with the housework, I would not put away my holiday things, I would not do my chores... my time with my boys is a special time. Lately my children, especially my older one, has complained that I am no longer the mom I used to be, always stressed, always got 'stuff' to do, how I don't play with them, or even simply sit with them whilst they play. I made the effort to address this, and for the first time since my life changed, I chilled out, I listened to my children, and they are so right, I had forgotten the joy of just being Mom. Not super Mom, because that just means I do too much other stuff. Yes just being Mom was great.
I hope your Easter holds some special memories and the weather has made you smile. The eve of back to school day felt different, the nightly routine was back to feeling pressured, I knew how lucky and blessed I had been this past two weeks, but now its home and life has to carry on. How I even managed to get my sleepy boys into school this morning is amazing and a miracle in its self. This morning I have accomplished so much, washing, cleaning and two hours work. I have written my list of things to do this week and its already making me breath a little quicker and I have that feeling of being 'overcome' starting to wash over me. I am going to work very hard on keeping it under control and realise there is only so much I can do a day.

My over riding question to myself is why on earth do I live so far away from the beach... Here I am knocking myself out trying to sell the family home, I have lost my place by the beach that my boys and I loved so much and it has left a void in our lives, spending time viewing houses in the area I live, when actually maybe I should take the leap of faith and go and live by the sea... How about this place, a house and business all in one, is this the solution?

Ahhh dreams are made of this...

Its been a long time coming...

Its been a long winter for me and finally it feels like its 'my time of year' The time of year my babes and I head to the beach and pull off our shoes and socks and feel the sand between our toes.It was the first weekend we made it to the beach for more than just a blustery walk and the weather was superb, our beach bags held all we needed, some sun cream, some tasty snacks, towel, windbreak, yarn and hook, bucket and spade. Yes five hours of playing in the sand and the sea, rock pooling and beach combing.
I returned home to a week beyond my own expectation of a busy time. One thing after another, orders to be completed and delivered by hand, saying goodbye to my old friend, college, work, appointments, applying for a job I desperately want, house hunting, friends needing support, tip runs and worst bit of them all an exam....

But you know what, its all done now...

I am smiling...

I am now thankful for the life skills this past week has granted me, the opportunity to make my life more secure, the companionship of good friends, meeting deadlines, and doing things I never imagined two years ago I would achieve yet alone enjoy.

So its now reward time...

The beach bag has been shaken free of sand ready for its next trip, my guys and I are off to the seaside for a while.

Happy Easter and enjoy your special time.

I will return after the holiday and get back to the reason I blog, back to Dotty Red and all the things I and the boys have created in some much needed and very much anticipated 'downtime'

Today is a sad day...

Today is the day I said goodbye to an old friend, a family member, my heart is heavy...
My beautiful fluffy ball of fun is no longer free ranging around the garden, jumping into the kitchen to see who he can get a cuddle with or sneak a tasty treat to nibble, basking in the sunshine or sheltering under the bench...
No longer will he enjoy the summer months when the children play in the garden, Archie bunny was always there, always waiting for a tickle on the nose, if the boys played cricket he would sit in front of the posts, if they played footy he would sit in front of the net, this was not a bunny you could ignore, he wouldn't let you... Yesterday he sunbathed in the garden, whilst I did some study time at the table he came up and nudged my leg "DON'T IGNORE ME" He lounged under the trampoline whilst the boys jumped and as dusk set in I put him in his hutch with a tickle on the nose and said goodnight. Good night my Archie, you will be so VERY MISSED.