Hug a Mug

This morning I was up bright and early - yes I know, it is my day off but I'm an early bird remember?  We had an office breakfast planned for today as one of our lovely staff nurses is leaving us and I had offered to bake muffins and warm up the croissants.  She is such a sweetheart and has been a delight to have in the team - always cheerful, always ready to help anyone, very organised, great to work with and a whole lot of fun to be around. 

Like me she can be an early bird too so we have shared the office in the morning before everyone else gets in and she pops the kettle on first thing - she knows her priorities!  I love that and I shall miss it LOL!  Me?  I'm usually side tracked by all the things I have on my mind to do that day to even get around to putting the kettle on first thing so from here on my first cuppa is likely to be between 9.00 and 10.00 am (I'm in at 7.30 am).  The first hour of my day will seem much more lonely now that she's going too.  The office can be a tad spooky when you're rattling around there on your own.

We enjoyed watching her open her cards and gifts and bless her - she even got a couple of gifts for us - well for the office!  How sweet was that?

All the best Laura in your new job - they are sooooo very lucky to have you and we're sooooo very sorry to be losing you :-(  Visit us often :-)

After a lovely breakfast - we sooooo have to do something once a month - maybe I'll suggest a bring and share lunch or something?  Anyhow I headed into town to see if I could find any fabric to take my fancy plus I wanted some wadding for some fabric caddy's I'm looking at for a storage solution and something caught my eye as I passed Clinton Cards.  When I took a closer look there were the cutest array of porcelain mugs with lids for just £7.99.

I have seen ceramic mugs like this before but they were priced much higher and no where near so pretty either.  I chose a red & white polka dot one because it took my fancy even tho' there was a pretty patchwork looking one.  I knew I had a pretty floral 'mug cosy' I'd made from fabric scraps that would look nice against the polka dot background so I wasn't bothered

.

This mug is double insulated so it will keep your drink hot (or cold for those of you who like a cold drink).  My tea is forever going cold while I finish off a sewing or craft project so I NEED THIS MUG!  And since I've now had not one but two lovely hot cups of tea from it I think I done good buying it.  Plus the silicon lid is soft against the mouth and doesn't smell like plastic (which I hate).

AND since I already have a pattern for a mug cosy how cute would they be for my tea lovin friends and family.  I don't do Starbuck's or Costa's but my mug makes me feel like I do LOL!

Oh darn!  It's empty again!  Guess maybe I should go fill it up.  My little people have just arrived (Grandma's babysittin today) so no more blogging for me.  I'm gonna take time out to visit with them and then hopefully a bit more sewing this afternoon.  I have made that many fabric carrier bags for orders that I still have my own requests to finish yet.

Quick update on the sewing classes - I know it's early days yet but ladies please email me here if you want to book on.  If I don't get enough bookings on the first class I won't be bothering with any of them.  I don't want to be messing everyone around - we're either in or we're out. I had such a cute idea in mind yesterday for putting together the patterns too - no reason why I can't craft a bit for you all huh?

Enjoy your day!

Suezie

Mom's Tomatoes?

We are still waiting for our first red tomato of the season.  I've had some lovely yellow cherry toms from the hanging baskets in our back yard but our tomatoes on the plot seem to be taking forever!

We were tidying them up this weekend after picking berries and hubby clipped this one off by mistake.  You can see how big it is by the size of my hand and it's really just a baby!  There are bigger ones than this.  Something makes me think we must've planted mom's tomato seeds this year.  I take charge of planting up all the seedlings and my memory is absolute CRAP so I may well have done and just not remembered it.  They look like mom's toms.

To my recollection Mom had been cultvating these seeds forever - well as long as I can remember at least and then some - and I know they have been grown by several generations in the family.  I'm pleased to be keeping that tradition alive so I must make sure I keep seeds from these for next year.

Hubby is 6 feet tall and so when you see this shot you get some idea of just how tall the plants have grown.  He had chopped much of them down by the time I took a picture. 

We have 9 of these beasties on our plot of land and we decided to clip back quite a bit to expose all those lovely toms to a bit of sunshine.  I am DESPERATE for them to go red so I can start making Italian sauce.  I run out of it pretty quick each year cos I love any kind of pasta, tomato and cheese dish.

I seem to recall these were a late ripener as well.  In fact it was last September when we lost mom that we were home and she had them growing in her back yard.  They were just about turning red then and when you know how hot and sunny it gets back there - I think I may have to be patient a while longer yet.  Thankfull we don't seem to be bothered by those big fat tomato worms that I always hated on hers.  Well least ways I haven't seen any sign of them yet.  Hopefully they're an American thing and we won't have them in this country.

For now I have my green tom on the kitchen window sill in an effort to get it to go red.  Wish me luck!

Quite the Weekend

Our weekends are known for being particularly busy but this was was quite the weekend! 

On Saturday I decided to pretty much hang out all day at YTOC with good friends for what was a really sad day.  It was the very last trading day as Kay, Amanda and Rosina closed the doors on one of our favourite craft stores for good.  We have become a wonderful little crafting community so while it was good to see lots of the 'usual' crowd - it was also very sad to be saying goodbye.  I don't doubt we'll see each other here and there but it will never be quite the same.

Lots of lovely ladies came along for one more crafting session but also to say good bye and wish Kay and Amanda well in their futures.  They still plan to take part in several craft shows to keep their hand in.

Rosina taught her last Saturday class right in the middle of the store.  Despite having a wonderful classroom upstairs I always enjoyed teaching downstairs on the shop floor like this.

And of course all of our favourite ladies took Rosina's class including Sheila, Wendy and Shirley.

Sadly the day did not pass without a few tears now and then and it was tough but it had to be done and now a new chapter can begin.

I was emotionally shattered by the end of the day - the heat didn't help either and with the grandkids coming to dinner I wasn't quite sure just how I'd manage but thankfully hubby had prepared a BBQ dinner so all I had to do was sit, relax and enjoy the company.  A fun movie and ice cream after dinner and then an early night once the kids had gone home and I was up and raring to go again this morning.

Just as well as I baked several more zucchini breads and even cooked some apples for the freezer - all before breakfast! 

After breakfast it was back to YTOC to help clear out the store before rushing off to watch Kaleb play football in the first tournament of the season.



Here he is with his team mates after the tournament (third from the left, front row).  They played in about 4 matches altogether with a draw, no goals scored in two games, and a win 1 - 0 in which Kaleb scored the winning goal.  Just like his older brother he is a real team player and we were proud to find out that the coach had sought after Kaleb for the team.

 We stayed for the presentation and all the lads got medals.  Unlike his brother, Kaleb is happy to pose for the camera so I get some lovely shots of him every now and then.

Zacheriah on the other hand has to literally be pinned down to get a shot and even then he wont look at the camera.  Would ya look at that hair!  He refuses to cut it right now even though he has to 'flick' it out of his face all the time.  He starts football with his first match next week and it's so funny to watch him 'flick' his hair out of the way throughout the match.  I don't know how he manages to see much of the game and still play but somehow he does!

And even though I had been up and going since 6.00 am this morning there was still more to do.  Dave and I stopped in at our little plot to pick elderberries.  They simply wouldn't wait any longer - if we didn't pick them right there and then they'd have been gone in a day or two and the opportunity would be lost.

Making elderberry cordial is quite a lengthy process and after a busy weekend we were simply too tired to make a start so we picked as many as we possibly could, bagged them up and popped them in the freezer for a couple of days until we get a free evening to cook them and extract the juice.

 

We picked about 14 good sized bags in all so this lot is gonna keep us pretty busy I can tell you.

We have a lot of things coming on at once right now which is giving us plenty to do.  Thank goodness the cucumbers didn't do so well and I don't have pickles to make this year.  I haven't made any jam this season either.  I am waiting to turn these babies into pumpkin pie and soup for the freezer next.

Hubby is taking one into work tomorrow for the little boy of one of the gals who works in the office.  He promised him a pumpkin and since there are still 8 or 9 more growing in the pumpkin patch we have plenty.

I am soooooo glad it's work tomorrow so I can sit at my desk.  I literally haven't stopped the entire weekend.  I managed to get work clothes washed and dried thanks to the weather and made a couple of fabric carrier bags Friday night to take into work tomorrow but other than that I simply couldn't have squeezed in anything else if I'd tried!  Still I'd much rather be busy than do nothing all weekend.

Here's hoping whatever you all did that it was a good one.  Wasn't the weather lovely?  I have the sunburn to prove it - shame I go red like a lobster instead of tanning LOL!

Sewing Class Update

Well I promised to look into setting up sewing classes for those of you who have been asking and today I booked a venue that I am very familiar with.  It may be an older village hall but it's only a short distance outside of Bury - Fornham St Martin.  In fact we held our youngest grandson's Baptism reception there and it has ample space to spread out and plenty of parking to boot.  I know we'll need to unload our sewing machines at the door rather than carry them any kind of distance and this venue means we can do that easily.

I have tentatively booked 4 dates - one each month between now and Christmas in preparation for all your Christmas gift giving.  Details of final projects will hopefully follow once I know whether or not there is enough interest and what kind of projects everyone is looking to make.

These are the dates:

Saturday 10 September - 1.00 to 4.00 pm
Saturday 8 October - 1.00 to 4.00 pm
Saturday 5 November - 1.00 - 4.00 pm
Saturday 3 December - 1.00 - 4.00 pm

I have arranged for 3 hour sessions initially to give us plenty of time to get projects well under way.  If it turns out we need more time then I can negotiate to 4.30 or 5.00 pm but this may effect cost.  Some projects such as rag quilts may be impossible to complete in a day, let alone a session - but I would expect you to go home with it at least half finished and all the skills needed to complete the project yourself at home as well as make several more.

I'm aiming to provide full instructions and patterns for each session and planning to give some basic info for purchasing and cutting fabric before hand to speed things up a bit.  This will be provided when you book and pay for a session - payment must be up front as I have to pay for the venue - sorry, no exceptions.

I anticipate needing minimum 4-5 to run a session and maximum 6 initially.  This is because while there is plenty of space in the hall, there is only one of me and I would very much want to make sure everyone has my attention as and when they need it.  If there are more competent seamstresses amongst the group then I may be able to take one or two more on board but certainly 8 would be the absolute maximum.  It would be helpful to know your level of sewing skills when you book.

As with any sewing class you'd take; in town or otherwise, I would expect you to know your own machine in as much as you could thread it, wind and load a new bobbin (I suggest you come with a full spare anyhow), have recently tested it for good tension & stitch, know where your reverse button is located and have used it successfully at least once or twice and can sew in a reasonably straight line.  If you are in any doubt get it out and test these functions!

Apologies if this all sounds a bit basic but it's essential you can master these few tasks otherwise we could spend an entire session learning those and nothing else!  I am happy to meet up with you and run through the basics of your machine ahead of class if need be. 

Cost is likely to be £16.00 per session (£15.00 if you book 2 or more sessions) and will include patterns (my own homemade), instructions, tuition and tea & coffee.  You will need to bring your own sewing machine, scissors, pins and related sewing equipment along as well as purchase the required amount of fabric for each session.  I believe in pressing, pressing, pressing new seams as much as possible so I will provide a couple of irons and ironing boards for this purpose.

All that's left now is for me to wait to see if you are still keen to have these classes.  I for one am excited at the prospect of teaching sewing projects.  I love to sew them AND to give them as gifts and I hope you will too.

I know many of you have seen the kind of hand sewn gifts I've made and shared here on my blog....

...and these are exactly the kind of things I hope to teach and share with you.....

....so I really do hope you'll join me...

....and I hope like me, you're already excited at the thought of your handmade gift giving this year!

Email me here if you're interested or want to know more.

Blessings

Suezie

Sewing Classes!

Okay so I am finally listening to everyone who has shown interest in taking sewing classes with me - took me long enough!  As I'm not teaching papercraft classes for the time being I guess maybe now is a good time to do something different.

I will post dates and venues just as soon as I have worked out the finer details so stay tuned.  I will most likely do one a month unless there is more demand and I figure if I can get them up and running in September and include early December then that's 4 different projects - all suitable for Christmas gift giving.

I simply refuse to make anything that isn't useful or gift worthy!

To give you an idea of the projects I have in mind they'll most likely be 4 from this sampling:

Turbie - yes I will give up this pattern and instructions!
Fabric grocery bag
Rag quilted bag OR basic bag (with variations)
Rag Quilt
3/4 Apron
Fabric Tidy Boxes

OR anything else I think might be interesting to learn and fun to give.

Please email me (address here on my blog) or comment if you think you might be interested.

I'll keep you posted.

Hugs

Suezie

Festival of Quilts NEC

Today Kay, Rosina, Amanda and I all went along to the Festival of Quilts event at the NEC in Birmingham - a long ol' drive for poor Amanda so can I say a massive thanks to her.

And just in case you were interested in going yourself next year here are the dates.

This post is likely to be a bit top heavy on photos but I'm sure you won't mind that.  I had never been to this event before so had no idea what to expect.

There were of course lots of very beautiful quilts but there were also 'no photo' signs everywhere and 'please respect the designers' here and there but every now and then there were items on display in areas where there seemed to be no restrictions.  The above coat was in one such area.  It's made from sheer fabric with pattern pieces sandwiched in between.  It's just a bit of artistic fun but I liked it's creativity and design.

I liked these too - scrumptious fabric desserts!  I just love the strawberry pavlova one.

And here are Rosina and Amanda admiring the many lovely projects on this stand.  Amanda was particularly taken with the pink and green patchwork bag.  There were so many lovely projects to look at and if money was no object - you could easily have bought half the fabric there - it was all so yummy and such beautiful colours and patterns too.

The whole day was just a pure feast for the eyes and I was sooooo inspired to rush back home and sew.  I didn't.  I had been so excited last night that I hardly slept a wink and I am feeling pretty dozy even as I type this so I won't be long if I can help it and then I'll toddle off to 'Bed'fordshire.  I have work tomorrow so I need my sleep.  Hubby came back from camp completely shattered so he's already there lol!

You can just about make out Amanda (pink top) in this shot too.  Bunting seemed to be absolutely everywhere which was fine by me - I love any excuse to get my own bunting out and hang it up cos I think it's just way too pretty to keep tucked away and there were some very fine examples today I can tell you.

I think one of my favourites has to be this Union Jack bunting by Mandy Shaw.  I soooo want to make something using this Union Jack design - a cushion, bag, maybe even bunting but I like the idea of using pastels which I think would be super pretty.  Needless to say I was inspired by this project.

There were lots of buttons, ribbons and other trims on offer as well today.  These were mostly quite pricey I have to say but I did pick up some 'measuring tape' ribbon which I thought would look cute on a card with a 'sewing' theme plus I picked up some really nice printed labels for my handmade gifts.  They read....

• Material Girl
• Sew a Little Happiness
• Sew Special
• Stitched with Love

I picked each one out based on the person I was going to make projects for and they were only .50p each which I thought was quite reasonable.

There was so much to drool over and I could've had any number of these pretty ribbons.

Rosina picked up the pattern and fabric to make this 'oh so cute' little fabric pail (with a little help of course).

Amanda picked up one of Mandy Shaw's books.  She was such a friendly lady with some fabby things on her stand and she was even nice enough to autograph Amanda's book!  How sweet was that?

She had a wonderful style and I don't think there was anything on her stand that I didn't like.  Her work was just stunning and soooo adorable.

And finally this was my stash from the day.  I could easily have bought much more and when I got home and looked at this I did wonder why I hadn't bought more - but then I was buying with various people in mind so I'm happy with what I purchased.  The bright pink selection is part of a 'fat quarter' pack.  In fact we all bought one of these, each with different colours and patterns and now I have to teach the girlies how to make a rag quilted bag.  I can't wait to see how they all look once they're made up.  I promise I will share a picture - just as soon as we can all get together and get them made.



All that's left to say is that I thoroughly enjoyed my day today and seeing all these fab projects has really inspired me. I soooooo have to get my sewing classes off the ground too.  Hope you enjoy!

Below are just a few web links from today that you might like to check out:-

Daisy Chain

Finstall Fabrics

Homespun Hearts

Dandelion Designs (Mandy Shaw)

The Button Lady

Fat Quarterly

Seattle Quilt Co.

Blessings

Suezie

London - Last Post

Okay I promise this is the absolute last post about London.  I have fabric bags all cut out that I am keen to sew and since I didn't get out of bed until nearly 8 am today and have been here at the computer, pretty much from getting up - it's now mid-day would you believe - I need to go get busy.  I woke up at my usual time of shortly before 6 am but was clearly still tired because I simply couldn't drag myself out of bed and I almost NEVER lie in!  I think my two very busy days in London may finally have caught up with me huh?

Jilly and I included in our adventure our very first ever experience of a youth hostel which I thought I'd share with you.  We had tried to get one closer to London, or so we thought, but we couldn't have been more happily situated than this one.  It was called Thameside YHA and was in the Rotherhithe area, not far from Bermondsey which was beautifully green and, we discovered, was also part of the Jubilee Greenway.  It was just 10 minutes walk to the nearest tube station where we found we could be anywhere in the capital within minutes!

We chose to have a temporary membership rather than join which allows you to use youth hostels but membership is pretty reasonable and with youth hostels the world over it's worth consideration.

You can find more information about the Jubilee Greenway here and once on it all you need to do is look out for these frosted glass paving slab markers.  it was this route that took us along side the Thames river and winding through all those fab industrial buildings and eventually lots of quaint shops.

These were our views as we approached the youth hostel - this one on the right with the outskirts of the city visable over the tree tops as we approached.

It was from about this area that we discovered the many pretty walks and green areas along the river Thames.  We felt very safe and secure and were surrounded by lovely neighbourhoods strewn with trees, many of which were as a result of an outstanding man named Dr Salter and his 'daydream' project.  He was also founder of Guy's hospital and set up an early form of health service 20 years before the NHS.  He chose to make this place his home and community and served it well (much to the annoyance of his professional colleagues) and at great personal loss but thank heaven for individuals such as this, that have helped shape so much of what is good in our world today.  It was these neighbourhoods that incorporated the wharves with their huge warehouses and industrial buildings that I admired so much and I'm sure provided much needed work for the men and women who lived surrounding them. 

This whole area seemed to have undergone updating and transformation but Jilly and I stumbled across a scene of statues in a pretty little area beside the Thames that paid tribute to this truly remarkable man.  Whilst web surfing I ran across a blog entry - it seems we weren't the only ones who happened upon this walk and had taken the time to read about this amazing man - clearly one who, if you ever had cause to doubt, would restore all faith in humanity.  I am sharing the link here in the hope you'll stop by and find out more.  Jilly and I were both deeply moved by his story so I hope you will be too.

As to the youth hostel itself - well we have nothing to compare it to - this being our first experience.  I have to admit the sleeping quarters were very basic and by mistake I must have booked us into a 'single sex dorm room' rather than a private room.  Not sure how I did that? It didn't matter as we were the only two people in the room, which surprised me for the time of year but it mean't we had the privacy we wanted.  I couldn't help feeling if it under-went a much needed update it would be a gem in the crown of youth hostels and could be much more in demand.

Part of the 'ethos' of youth hostels is to bring travellers together and it certainly did that.  We found ourselves chatting with several visitors to our country, even sharing breakfast in the communial kitchen with two very young girls touring Europe.  Perhaps they seemed so young because Jilly and I were much older but we felt them very brave to be travelling alone. 

Jilly and I had decided to spend our money on the attractions we wanted to see - not the accommodation and we also 'self catered' where possible, choosing to eat out only when we needed to.  Our young companions helped show us how several things worked as well as sharing their experiences with us.  They didn't rate the sleeping quarters at Thameside very highly in comparison to other hostels they'd experienced so I think we'll reserve judgement until we've experienced at least one more. 

On the first evening I found myself demonstrating a 'can opener' to a group of Italians.  Are they really so different?  But it felt good to be part of a community however brief or small.  I'm pretty sure Jilly and I would choose to stay there again just for location alone and the staff couldn't have been more helpful, but it has to be said it was overdue a bit of an internal 'face lift'.  Maybe a private room next time perhaps?

We decided before setting out to the city again on day 2, to cook our own breakfast in the self catering kitchen at the hostel even though there was both a bar/cafe and a restaurant but shortly before we checked out to head home later that day one traveller told us about the fab £4.95 'pretty much all you can eat' breakfast she'd had there.  I'm pretty sure it's designed to set travellers up for the day.  Her only disappointment was that she was meeting a friend for lunch and had eaten so much at breakfast she could only manage a cup of tea LOL.  Worse still lunch was her friend's treat.  How funny!

And lastly I'm sharing a quick picture of one of the pleasant green spots we found rest in when we needed a sit down for just 10 or 15 minutes before continuing on our journey.  There are hidden gems like this dotted all over the capital which just makes you appreciate London even more.  It never ceases to amaze me that so much is available for exploration and discovery in this rather large, often noisy and very busy city  - some of the best of which are NOT the usual attractions but pretty tranquil havens (especially for weary feet) such as this.

I may not be having a 'real' vacation this year and yes, I may have missed out on youth camp too (been there and done that tho') but I've had 2 of the best days of my life exploring my birthplace with my dearest of friends, Jilly and the many wonderful discoveries we've made and moments shared will stay with me forever.  She patiently endured my bossing her around and making her face her fears (London Underground Escalators) several times with far more love than I deserved - all of which makes me love her even more. You can't even begin to put a price on that now can you!  I am truly blessed to have you as my friend and I've had a blast!



Blessings

Suezie

Two Major London Attractions

Today I decided to share my thoughts on two major attractions that Jilly and I visited during our London adventure. 

First up is the London Eye situated along the Thames river.  I have actually 'flown' the Eye 3 or 4 times now - mostly when we've shown relatives or friends around London but this was Jilly's first flight so it was exciting to share in that with her.

We were already excited but even more so when we got our first glimpse of the Eye, especially Jilly!  She positively squealed with delight and kept saying she felt just like a kid discovering everything for the first time.  By the second day I had somehow picked up the phrase 'boy you really are like the country mouse aren't you Jilly!' which thankfully she didn't mind one bit.  She is 'right Suffolk' and I adore that about her.

I also love this shot crowded in by the statue, the lamp post and even the trees and buildings - a less common aspect of the London Eye than most shots I grant you but it appeals to me.

But as you walk along Embankment you get plenty of opportunities to get good shots of the entire structure adding a very real sense of the sheer scale of the Eye.

There are also opportunities to view the Eye from amazing bridges too - again London has an ecclectic mix of old and new structures to admire and explore.  The railway ran along side this one on a much older railway bridge (to left of photo) which brought old and new together and you could stand on this modern bridge and see trains travelling along the other.

This is the type of scene you get once you're on the Eye looking at the neighbouring pods which you glimpse for only a short while as you go up and then again briefly as you come back down.

And these are the views you can expect from inside the pod looking out at various landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament & Big Ben.

See the bridges and trains going in and out of the (domed roof) station? And if you look close enough you can just about make out a dot here and there which are the people on the bridge.  Looking at London from the Eye gives you a bird's eye view but it also gives you an idea of the sheer scale of the city - as far as the eye (Eye) can see! LOL

But of course I like to take shots of the structure as much as the view and I have soooooo many shots like this to prove it believe me.  But then I find them interesting so why not?

We purchased our tickets via reception where we stayed and got a better than on line deal so we paid around £16.50 each.  We might've been able to shop around more but we were pretty happy with that price.  It was money well spent although I'm sure when I first did the Eye it took about 45 minutes to get round and moved much slower.  I remember you had to look really closely to see it moving.  Now it took 35 minutes and it was easy to see you were moving all the while but still very much worth a visit nonetheless.  Maybe they think the 4D experience they invite you to watch first makes up for this - who knows?

The second attraction however is a different story.  I had been to Madame Tussaud's 'donkey's years' ago but had never been back.  I'm almost sorry I did!  It was my choice for us to go and if I hadn't gotten us in for £9.50 each - thanks mostly to Tesco voucher deals - I would have felt completely and utterly ripped off!

This is the building itself, easy enough to find and each time I have been to London I have said I'd like to go back and visit.  Well I have and I can't say I can recommend you visit this one.  I won't be bothering again I'm afraid.

The very beginning and end were probably the only saving grace for this attraction.  The first that we didn't have to queue for very long at all.  I had expected the exact opposite so was pleasantly surprised.  Unfortunately once inside we felt herded like cattle and when we entered the first room we had no idea what was even going on.  In fact because of the sheer scale of the crowds, it took Jilly and I several minutes to actually work it out, finally realising there were wax figures dotted in amongst the crowd! 

Everyone was jostling and pushing and shoving for 'pole position' and as soon as someone had a photo taken there were several people ready to jump right in next.  It was way too much like hard work, way too cramped, poor ol' Jilly got her feet stepped on far too often and generally very dissappointing.  There were far too many 'set up' photo opportunities where you had to purchase photographs.  Although in their defence staff were happy to take them with your own cameras as well. 

Thank goodness we hadn't paid the full £25 entry fee is all I can say!

Jilly was very selective in who she chose to pose with but was keen too pose with Shrek and Lady GaGa would you believe?  - how funny is she!

To our surprise the Marvel 4D Super Hero experience was added to our tickets free of charge and this turned out to be the second saving grace factor.  It was right at the end and I again had complaints about being herded like cattle and left standing 'body to body' for what seemed like ages in a darker room, children crying, people sweating with the sheer body heat before finally being allowed into the theatre but it was the best part of the entire experience.

Jilly and I sat in the very back few seats rather than fight to the front - in truth, utterly relieved to get off our aching feet, so we were off to a good start there - and then we screamed, gasped, squealed and giggled our way through the entire show!  It was full of unexpected surprises like 'micro jets of air or water at just the right moment, interactive seats that made you jump out of your skin at times and felt like a theme park ride all from the comfort of your chair!  I HATE theme park rides generally so this was my kinda ride!

That part of it we would both happily repeat but it's unlikely we will revisit Madame Tussaud's I'm afraid.  Still you don't know these things until you try huh?  My parting verdict on MT is that it's a rip off and not worth the effort but that's just my opinion.  It in no way spoilt our adventure and that's what's really important.

Enjoy!

Suezie

My First Cath Kidston Store!

OK - chances are if I haven't bored you all already I will probably bore the pants off you guys out there with this one LOL.

Jilly and I moved heaven and earth to get me to my very first ever Cath Kidston store - seriously!  Our feet were practically burning after doing Spitalfields, then Buckingham Palace, then walking for goodness only knows how long to find a tube station - then we ended up braving the tube to Covent Gardens during 'rush hour' no less!  Believe me - Jilly was scared at the crowds, the jostling for position, the pushing and shoving.  We even tried to 'wait it out' but they just kept coming so we ended up diving into the masses, and when even more people are squeezing into the lift (elavator) and you find yourself looking at the maximum capacity and doing a quick head count just as someone closes the door and pushes the button, it ain't no laughing matter.  Even if you take the stairs it's the equivilent of climbing a 15 story building!

I was more determined than at any other time during our trip to see this one through and poor Jilly was along for the ride - like it or not.  I sooooo love that girl.

And this is what all the fuss was about.  This CK store is tucked away down one of the side streets near Covent Garden and if it wasn't for the bright blue everywhere you might even have missed it completely.  It was the fact that it's open until 8 pm in the evening that drew us here so late in the day - the very last stop before heading back home.

And here I sit looking almost as red as the seat I'm sitting on.  Because of the rain it was getting pretty humid and the tubes had just been nothing more than a human sweat box on rails so Jilly and I were both all hot and bothered by the time we got here.  I could've just stayed sitting on this bench I think.  Nah!  Maybe not LOL.

But turn to your left and you could get a glimpse of inside the store and everything that awaits.  I was surprised to see several items that I hadn't seen on line or in the catalogues so I discovered it's well worth visiting a store - plus like every good store they have a 'sale' section so it's just possible to pick up a bargain too.

I am gifting the London saddle bag so am keeping it under wraps.  I am sorry now that I didn't pick up more than one of the blue floral stripe bag.  These were behind the counter and were just £5 each.  I think they'd have made a much better souvenir from London for friends and family than any kind of magnet or keyring.  Next time I'll grab a few.

Despite saying that, I plan to add to mine.  It's quite thin so I think I'll add a pretty colourful lining using a pink polka dot CK fabric.  Then I plan to add a different CK fabric pocket to the front and maybe even replace the webbing handles with pretty fabric ones, kinda like a patchwork bag.  It will make it much sturdier and then maybe I'll give it as a gift.

I did treat myself to these adorable buttons on cards because I have been keen to get my hands on them for a while now.  I saw them shortly after I placed my last big internet order so it was really frustrating.  Aren't they too cute?  I have some October Afternoon paper that looks like a sewing pattern that I planned to use to do a framed collage and I think I'll add these to the frame.

And as for the red CK ribbon well I can only say 'if you don't ask, you don't get' and 'what's the worst they can so? No - so why not ask anyway'.  They didn't actually sell this ribbon, they use it to tie around items and I watched them tie a ladies bag handles together would you believe?  That's a perfect waste of a good ribbon if you ask me LOL.

The sales assistant asked what I wanted it for and so I told her it was for crafting, same as the buttons I was buying.  She agreed to let me have some but said she could only let me have a little and then proceeded to pull off about 3 metres!  This one little act pushed this visit up the list of my London highlights I can tell ya :-)

And then after all the fuss I made despite our poorly feet and the sweltering heat and humidity, not to mention the rush hour pandimonium we'd endured AND the fact that we still had to brave the tubes for several more trips before we could get to the car and then head out on a long drive to get home (no wonder it was midnight when we finally arrived home) - my dear sweet friend Jilly had even bought me a 'thank you' gift in CK while I was busy - one that came complete with a pretty paper bag which BTW I'm keeping for recycled gift wrap!

Jilly is my oldest and dearest friend and I know that nothing I do or she does will ever change that.  So top of my list of London highlights - above all else - is that I got to spend two entire days in her company.  We felt just like we were kids again, that none of these years have passed and at night it took me right back to when Jilly 'slept over' at my house - you know,  we talked then said 'okay we should probably go to sleep now', then agreed  but talked a whole bunch more anyway.  Only difference is I didn't lay awake worrying about the ginormous spider that had scurried across the floor and where it had gone to!  I wonder if Jilly remembers any of that?

Next time I'm in London I plan to visit the Marylebone CK store.  I mentioned I was disappointed at the lack of fabric at this one and the assistant told me the Marylebone store had a fabric department in the basement.  Imagine  - a CK store on two floors - how wonderful!  See why I want to stay over when we visit Alexandra Palace next month LOL!

In a way I was glad not to be tempted by too much fabric in this store so I could save my pennies for the quilt show at the NEC,  Birmingham this Sunday.  I've never been before but boy - I sure hope I can find some yummy new fabric and sewing inspiration there.  Tomorrow I plan to relax with some sewing so I can be fit and ready for a whole bunch more walking.