Competition Prize

Well! I’ve done it again! It’s been quite some time but well worth waiting for! I’ve won another competition.

You may remember that a few months ago I was telling you about my hobby of entering Competions. True  I had been in a competion desert  for some time. Historically I have won some lovely prizes but not recently. Until now!

Last week I had an email to say that I had won a mobile phone. Not only a phone but a virtual reality headset as well. Now some may say that I have enough problems with reality never mind the virtual stuff. To say I am delighted is an understatement.

The prize was from a competition run by the Caravan Club of Great Britain and consisted of writing a caption for their photograph. I entered through Facebook and promptly forgot about it. Until, that is, I received the congratulating email.

The phone is a new edition Android set, easy to set up and off we go. Thank you to The Caravan Club.

Ps I have a theory that I ALWAYS win three prizes at a time so stay in touch to see if if this theory becomes a reality.

Inspirational Textile Packs

Friend K and I have spent a few hours putting our ” Textile Inspiration Packs”together for a forthcoming cruise that we are teaching crafts on. We don’t go until mid January next year but I am strapped for time.

All the stress of my own making. Before that particular cruise I have another Caribbean cruise to fit in. Such a hard life! I also have an early alternative Christmas weekend with my girl friends to enjoy before the REAL Christmas. Then there is middle child’s big birthday weekend in a log cabin. Bonfire night party. Further projects to complete for craft cruise and knitting Christmas gift to  finish. A half made crochet blanket for expected new Grandchild phew!

Oh and I will need to post Christmas cards very early and Christmas shop the beginning of December as we don’t return from the Caribbean until 23rd December! Gifts will need wrapped and distributed early.

I also need to complete my departed Mums paper work and formalise her finances. Not to mention sell her house!

I need to make candles and do some fabric printing for a craft fair that I’ve promised to do in November.

Goodness me I’m exhausted just reading this list so maybe I’ll just lie down in a dark room!

I Will tell you more about the Textile Inspiration Packs in the next post ( if I’ve got time!)

A Hair Raising Experience

Well  I reckon that most hair styles are a result of hair dressing products. I am no exception. I wash, condition, mousse, spray and gel most days! This routine is often done whilst on automatic pilot. Take yesterday as an example. I completed a reasonable effort to make my hair look good, reached for the hair spray as usual and STOP! I’d absently picked up spray glue! Not much different than hair spray you might think. Wrong! You try washing it out!

I have used spray starch by mistake in the past. There seems to be a pattern forming here and my hair isn’t that fantastic. I really must separate the household products from the beautification products!

I didn’t tell you how amazing my birthday cake was did I? Darling daughter made a Piñata cake which was fantastic

It appeared as an ordinary, if rather tall, white cake embellished with Happy Birthday candles. When I ceremonially cut into it a beautiful rainbow filled with multi coloured sweets appeared, with the sweets cascading out! It was absolutely lovely. Thank you family for a different treat.

PS

The base was surrounded by multi coloured buttons, probably the contents of Darling Daughters button box, which Step Granddaughter begged to take home. A budding crafter here!

A Passion for Travel

Travel is my passion. Whether it is global cruising, trekking The Himalaya or Sunday walking in Snowdonia. Travel stretches the mind, excites the imagination and feeds the memory banks.

Damnvan1 is a great way to travel around the UK. We have travelled coast to coast and Lands End to John OGroats. We have manoeuvred over (very) narrow bridges up steep hills, onto ferries and, best of all, along our beautiful coastline.

We have great plans to travel Globally and continue in Damnvan1 to forests,valleys, mountains and coast. So BRING IT ON!

Cruise craft #1

Well dear friends I am off on another cruise teaching crafts to fellow cruisers. OK I don’t go until January but I am busy preparing. Quite a lot of work goes into the prep beforehand. This includes working out how many classes will be required, what to make and what we hope will interest any crafters from beginners to experts.

This next cruise I am planning on using some of my mountainous stash of vintage linens to make up cycled/re purposed items. This project sits nicely with my recent spell of clearing out, making space and de cluttering. I really do have an almost limitless stash of vintage linens but can’t bear just to throw it away. This way someone else will take pleasure from some of it and ( hopefully) make something useful and definitely have fun

I have spent the past week thinking about a one day project, what to do and how to do it. The prototype is now done so one project down, quite a few more to go. This project is a hanging heart made from vintage linens. It is gently perfumed with Lavender and embellished with lace, buttons and ribbons. It is aimed at taking one hour to make although we will find more time on the day.

Lavender Heart

The cruise line that we are going on is Fred Olsen and this voyage goes to Norway in early January. Fred Olsen provide wonderful cruises and look after their guest lecturers (aka craft instructors!) very well

I will update you as and when I have sorted more projects so watch this space.

A small number of large vintage cloths

Neolithic Birthday!

I recently celebrated a birthday ( yes another one!) and because we were visiting the Lake District, Cumbria, I wanted to re visit the Castlerigg Stone Circle on my special day. It’s a good walk over fields and along hedgerow lined lanes to this National Trust property. The stone circle is like a HUGE birthday cake with stone candles on. It is situated in a beautiful bowl shaped area surrounded by lovely fells and mountains. On this special autumnal day the sky was blue, sun was shining and sheep were causing mayhem! All was good in my moment of time along with the thousands of moments of time there must have existed at this historic site.

The Neolithic British Isles refers to the period of British, Irish and Manx history that spanned from circa 4000 to circa 2,500 BCE. The final part of the Stone Age in the British Isles, it was a part of the greater Neolithic, or “New Stone Age”, across Europe.

This is a famous monument in a dramatic location, surrounded by mountains. The main circle has 38 large stones, some standing 3 metres (10 feet) high. The entrance seems to line up with the midwinter sunset. It’s one of Britain’s earliest stone circles, about 5,000 years old, and has been officially protected since 1883. However it gets so many visitors that conservation is an everpresent concern! Managed by the National Trust and English Heritage.

Location: Grid ref NY291236. 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) south east of Keswick off the A591. Limited parking near site.