Blogtober 2012 is here!!!!

  I have been spectacularly bad at blogging for quite a while now, but help is at hand!!!  I am always inspired to blog for the Blogtoberfest, and it's almost that time of year again!  Yippee!!!!  Ooooh, got to love those exclamation marks!!!!! :)    So if you feel like signing up, please go to this lovely website 'I saw you dancing' - it's a new host for this year, and a whole new blog to discover, right in the spirit of Blogtober!  And you get to grab a beautiful button too, so what are you waiting for!  GO!!!!!!!

My Creative Space: There's a birthday in the house ...

It's a very special little man's birthday today!  And I must have done something right in my parenting as his special request for a birthday meal was beef, gravy and vegetables!  Followed by lemon meringue pie instead of a birthday cake.  Here is where we got creative - candles stuck into a foil covered potato, favourite Star Wars candle held up with blu-tac, and empty party poppers lined up artistically by Little Man himself to form a backdrop.  Looks rather stunning overall don't you think?  A good team effort in creativity :)

Charlie dog entering into the party spirit with party poppers

Follow the cake crumbs over to here to view other creative adventures ....

And the recipe for the lemon meringue pie is from Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course ... yummy!

Where is September going?  Wherever it is, it's going there fast!!!  I feel like I'm lagging seriously behind where I should be - lots happening, birthday and accompanying party, big kids leaving school, wishing I could get my life into gear and start my arty adventure ... where are you at?

Highlights and hoarding ...

Here are my highlights from the last part of last week, seeing as I didn't blog for a few days:

Wearing my lovely new DM's for the first time at work which I'd bought whilst in the UK ....

And I do have a problem with fabric and yarn hoarding.  My stash is getting so big I will have to move everyone out of our home so that I have room for it!  My friend and I went out at lunchtime from work last week and had a stroll round Spotlight.  These are my treasures (also can be read as more 'stash') from this expedition ...

Yarn to make a scarf for my sister's Christmas present ...

Some vintage inspired fat quarters I want to use as bag linings, such fun ...

Although I do obviously have a really big problem, I'm fortunate enough to have two workmates who understand and dare I say it, share my desperate need to make crafty items, even if it does mean giving up living space to accommodate our hobby.  Insanity to some, necessity to me :)

Time for a September quote ...

It's Thursday, and it seems fitting to have a quote from a Thursday, for a Thursday, even if it's a written Thursday ...

You know those people who know everything, who tell you everything you should be doing, and leave you wondering just what you should do, and whose advice to take?  You feel in a state of confusion?   Well, this quote is for you xxxxx

"All three were experts, and all three had conflicting views.  I was reminded of Clarke's Second Law of Egodynamics: 'For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert'" 

 - The Written Thursday, from 'One of our Thursdays is Missing' by Jasper Fforde.

This has been my craft of choice today - I've rather overdone the hexagons and gained myself a quilter's injury - I've made the end of my finger sore with the eye end of the needle pushing into it (and sometimes through the skin - ouch!)  So, I couldn't bear to sew anymore.  No need to worry about infection as it's been cauterized too - I burnt said finger on a hot dish when cooking this evening!

The cardigan is called the 'Shalom' cardigan - you can find the pattern on Ravelry I think.  I've never knitted a yoke before, and  am quite impressed at how easy this has been, especially as the whole jumper is knitted on circular needles, which means no seams - yay!  I've used 'Chantilly' by Moda Yarns, from Spotlight.  I chose the yellow because I loved the colour but don't use it that much and the yarn was so soft to the touch.  Unfortunately as I 've been knitting it's rubbing up and I think I'll either have to give it a soft brush or a trim with tiny scissors to make it look neater when I've finished.  If the winter weather continues after today, I'm not really going to care what it looks like as long as it keeps me warm :)

Heavenly Hexagons

Well, it may be blowing a hooley and raining heavily outside, but I don't care :)  And this is the reason why ...

my beautiful hexagon quilt ... this is just the weather to keep on quilting, knees kept snuggly whilst working.  Blissful.  Wonder how much I can get done before the blistering summer heat starts?