it's been 9 months....

I am so ashamed that it has been 9 months since I last wrote on my blog. I do have valid reasons but I apologise for those of you have been so faithful in following me and sharing my posts on social media. I hope to resume my accounts now that life is more settled.
Why the delay? In October we moved house. I know I gave no notice but that was because it all happepned so fast! We moved out of the flat because we were unhappy with the damp and it had storage heaters which are not ideal with children and copious amounts of washing to dry. We were offered another house from friends and so handed in our notice on the flat but then the house fell through and we were facing homelessness. My husband was in between finishing his degree and gaining work so we couldn't find a landlord that would have us so we approached social housing and were awarded a house with them. So we moved in October but it was all a shell so we have had too decorate, fit carpet etc. We're still not finished but a home isn't made overnight. I hope to include accounts and pictures of our progress including the garden which is our current project. Shortly after moving, my darling son was sick on my open laptop :( alas it will not work and so I lost most of my recent pictures and the easy access to an available computer to update this blog. Following Christmas (it pained me not to blog during my favourite period) we had several bouts of sickness but we improved in time for a family holiday to Norfolk during half term. I managed to visit several more National Trust sites and began some crafty projects for the house.

 This was a cardboard reindeer I decided to make after some pinspiration.

 I decided to cover all of it in a patch work effect using pattend paper from Wilko.

 I then attached it to a wicker oval wreath and finished it off with ribbons and it took pride of place in the kitchen tying in the other grey and red Christmas decorations.

 We visited Clent Hills which isn't far from us. It's a National Trust site and has fantastic views across Worcestershire.

 Kids and trees-yes I put them up to it without any complaints from them.

 We also went to Croome estate over Easter and did their egg trail. It was a blustery day but none of us minded.


March was eventful. I managed to pick up a dangerous organism in water which gave me a nasty bug resulting in 4 days in hospital on a drip and weightloss exceeding a stone. I'm recovered now but Easter passed with me mostly in bed still weakened from the infection and now I find myself in May with a 2 year old. How is my baby boy an active, noisy, chatty and demanding tot! My 4 year old has chicken pox and I suppose this is proof life is just busy when you have kiddies. So 9months has passed very quickly. I have missed out some of the lovely things I have done like going to a pride and prejudice re-enactment in the grounds of Brockhampton Estate, seeing 'Rebecca' at the theatre, making my first set of curtains, putting up my first shelves and curtain poles. My phone has captured some of these momentous achievements and events but the picture quality isn't the same standard as my Cannon unfortunately so I again apologise for blogging faux pas.

These pictures were taken at the countrytastic event at the 3 counties showground. There is so much for the kids to do here from seeing animals, doing crafts, tractor rides, face painting, animal and falconry displays, sawdust play areas with miniature tractors and circus skills.

These pictures were taken at the stitch and craft show also at the 3 counties showground. Lydia was trying her hand at block printing here and I admit I am hoping to buy a collection of blocks myself.

I am working on the above quilt for Michael using material I got from the stitch show and utilising the big shot to cut perfect squares using my quilting dies.

This was a cushion I made for my friend who loves ducks. It was supposed to have been a Christmas present but I didn't get it finished in time so it was a birthday gift instead.

So this was a bit of a catch up on missed posts over the last 9 months. I will post again soon with an account of our Norfolk adventure.