Well not me actually but Jake has – he had his prom this evening so thought I would share some pics with you. 

He and friend Sammy decided to adopt a Holmes and Watson theme (having recently seen the movie at the cinema ) so he hired a very dapper dinner suit complete with cravat and waistcoat and bought himself a top hat which he has been wanting for ages. 

 Ellie and I got dressed up and went to the hotel where the Prom was being held to watch everyone arrive. 

We had a lovely time watching all the limos (and two horse drawn carriages) arrive and they all looked so lovely. The scary thing is that I have known quite a few of these kids since they were 2 at toddler group! 

Jake’s limo was one of the last to arrive – they all had black windows so you couldn’t see who was inside so of course I took pics of every limo that arrived just in case but his was a very cool one with pink flames on. 

I hope that they have had a really nice time – I am just here waiting now for them to come back and collect tent and kit and go off for a post prom camp out. 

I know that have said this before but I am very, very proud of my kids. They are successful in what they choose to do but more importantly they are kind, supportive, helpful and really lovely to spend time with. They have had to cope with some really tough stuff in the last couple of years and have been so brilliant about everything. I am very much looking forward to our holiday together where we can spend lots of time just chilling  – hopefully with some very lovely weather. 

Mind you England is supposed to be nice this weekend which will be good as my brother and his partner are coming round for a BBQ – the 6th at home this year – I love BBQs – the smell of the charcoal, the roar of the sausages! 

Anyway thanks for visiting and will be back after Italy!

Well it wouldn’t be England without BBQing in the rain would it?  Today I visited my brother Ben to christen his new hand-built BBQ. We had a lovely time (in the rain) but luckily his BBQ is under a shelter (we do live in Yorkshire after all) so rain did not stop play. He plans to extend the outdoor cooking complex with a pizza oven next. 

Ben and his partner Amanda are really keen cooks and as well as the veg they grow in their garden they have an allotment so tonight’s menu featured home-grown new potatoes, salad leaves and radishes which was all wonderful. Amanda also makes brilliant jams and chutneys – her rhubarb chutney is superb and is very sought after in the family. 

I travel a lot for work and mainly it is local city visits but I have been to Oldham a couple of times in recent weeks and as the train station there is currently closed for refurbishment I have taken the bus which is the most wonderful journey through Saddleworth and the moors. The scenery is fab so this week I took my camera to capture my journey. 

At the moment I live near town which is very convenient and practical but am planning on moving a bit further out towards the moors in the not too distant future. 

This would be an ideal location for me – just look at that little fixer upper (aka derelict cottage over there) – what wonderful views! 

I have been very busy on the sewing front but nothing finished yet to show you – lots of boring hemming etc but hopefully will finish Ellie’s new dress soon – needs to be ready by Friday anyway. 

Hope that you have had a good weekend – thanks for visiting.

This weekend we were camping again but here in Yorkshire. Some friends, Jane and Patch, who live locally have a beautiful barn conversion which used to be an old mill complete with large mill pond – see pic below.

They host a little gathering every year where we all go and camp, bbq, have a bit of a sing song round the campfire etc. in the field attached to their house. This year we were entertained as well by friends who have band called Stringfellows.

 We had a really lovely time and it was nice to catch up with a  few people I have not seen recently.

Last year I downsized a bit and bought a smaller tent that I could take more easily on the train – the pic above shows us in it this weekend. It is a Vango 500 and is a great tent for a couple of nights away with plenty of space for sleeping, kit storage and cooking if the weather is not good. It has its first outing in on a clifftop in Cornwall last year when we did the Tintagel event and survived a very windy pitching and a few heavy rainstorms which is a very good test of any tent.

We still have the very large tunnel tent (nicknamed the aircraft hangar) which I will use again when I get a car, two small two man tents (one of which is Ellie’s) and a medieval tent. I love tents – could quite happily own loads and loads and love spending time when camping going round and looking at other people’s tents!

The weather was fab – apart from a short but heavy shower about 10pm Sat night there was sunshine all round. It has been really hot today as well so after we got home and cleaned, sorted and re-packed the tent ready for the event next weekend (hurrah more camping!!!) I did a bit of a garden tidy up.

I have also finally put together the new bike I bought myself a while ago – it was a winter sale bargain but it has been in its box waiting to be fettled. Being a well trained girlie I was able to put it together with a bit of help from Ellie keeping it steady as I sorted the brake calipers. Just need to get a new bike pump and I can be off!

Had another bbq for tea tonight – must be the 7th one so far which is a bit of a record for this time of year – weather has just been so nice we need to make the most of it and I love cooking outdoors.

Have had a busy week costume making – have completed a new peasant dress for Ellie and three pairs of brais (trousers) for Jake and two of the boys in the group. Am off tomorrow to a goldwork day workshop at my Embroiderers’ Guild so am really looking forward to that. Will post some pics of what I do later.

Saturday was my very last day of teaching for this year and Ellie has now finished all her A level exams so we are looking forward to a very mellow summer of camping, stitching and generally chilling out. Life is very good!!!

Apologies for the lack of recent posts – we have been away on a little holiday and I have some pics of that to share with you.  It was a special birthday treat for Ellie for her 18th and we went with my Mum to Disneyland for 3 days followed by 3 days in Paris.

We had a great time – weather was very good after the first day and we really enjoyed everything. Went on loads of rides – some very scary like Crush’s Coaster and Armageddon and saw lots of parades including of course lots of Disney princesses for Ellie.

It was Mum’s first time in Paris so we did a lot of the sights – me and the kids have been a few times before though not for a few years – this was actually our 4th trip to Disneyland Paris – we are all big Disney fans and are planning more trips in the future – on our own and with grandkids  (the kids have promised me lots of these!).

I have been busy since we got back – we celebrated  Mum’s birthday before she went back to Spain with a lovely meal out with us, my brother Ben and his girlfriend Amanda. I gave her the crazy patchwork bag that I have been working on which she thankfully really liked. Ellen gave her a goldwork picture that she started for her about 18 months ago.

I have really enjoyed making this project – I got the inspiration from Barbara at Embroiderers’ Guild who makes the most amazing crazy patchwork tea cosies. She was going to lead a workshop on this in Feb which got cancelled due to the bad snow we had then but since I had all the stash for the project I decided to do it anyway on my own.

I have really enjoyed the unstructured and experimental aspects of the work as I normally do very controlled and counted pieces but I liked just letting the project evolve and seeing where it took me. I am particularly pleased with the little embroidery embellishments which I think look very pretty and I found some lovely buttons to add to it.

Mum with the completed bag

I have had a very productive day today – have spent most of it in the garden as it has been gloriously sunny here. Was  going to do lots of sewing making a new nun’s outfit but it was too hot to stay in the conservatory where I normally sew – I did get the outfit cut out later on but spent a lovely afternoon tidying up and refilling the pond – the garden now looks lovely ready for summer.

Have lots of other pics to post this week of various textile treats so will get round to that later in the week. Meanwhile off to finish stitching a baby card for a new arrival.