Furry Felt Bears

A few of the cute bears I have recently completed to take to Fairs, this little family are going off to live with a lovely human family in York, I know they will be v happy!

Sports Day

The coolest, windiest day we've had for about a month and it had to be sports day, not an overly exciting afternoon - we have 'non competitive' sports days now (whatever that means...)and this year was particularly uninventive but my 8 year old seemed to be bouncing around the pitch a lot so I guess he was enjoying himself...the best bit of the afternoon was Dolores' gorgeous cream scones that she was selling to raise money for School Funds ...I brought some home for after tea, much to J's annoyance - he'd have been happy to scoff the lot on the way home from school...and now at 7:45pm the sun has come out and it is a beautiful evening...typical !

Crafty-ness

Martha and I made some really cute containers using a cup as a mould and yarn covered in PVA
I made the patchwork bag for the most recent Craft Fair, very pretty.

Playdough fun

We can not resist playing with the lovely squishy stuff, everytime I make a batch for a Fair we all sit together at the table playing with the left over dough like a class of nursey kids, it's great...you are never too old, it is also very good stress therapy!

Pretty Garden

Catching up

Hi, the weeks are flying by so quickly, only two weeks of school left for the kiddlies...last Sunday's Craft Fair went really well, a lovely sunny day too!
Have finally had time to finish the baby blanket I was working on, that was posted off this morning, Martha has been pestering for me to get on with her cardigan again, which I really must do - as well as Joe's blanket and have just ordered fabric for a new skirt for number one daughter....
Anyhow, here are some photo's of all the bits and bobs we've been up to lately!

Fairly poor

Just got back from a local school fair where I had stall - pretty quiet, thank goodness I sold one of my mum's cushions - I'd have been out of pocket otherwise, my youngest two did a good job of spending all the spare cash I had too, rather partial to a bit of shopping, especially cakes....anyhow, a good friend who makes gorgeous cards was there so we had a good catch up.
I've come home and am in the process of making a bit more jam for next week's Fair, this is the recipe I usually use, it is from Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros :
500g strawberries, hulled
200g caster sugar
juice of one lemon
Wash and quarter the strawberries, place in a bowl with the lemon juice and the sugar, stir and place in the fridge over night.
Pour contents of half of the bowl into a large pan and bring to the boil, simmer for 15 mins on a low heat, puree the mixture then add the rest of the fruit to the pan and heat for a further 10 to 15 mins, test to see if the jam is ready by spooning a small amount onto a saucer that has been in the freezer for a few mins - if the jam sticks to the saucer and does not run off the plate it is ready. If still runny put the pan back onto the heat for a while longer. The jam should look quite sticky.
When ready, spoon the jam into sterilised jars, fill to the top, seal and turn jars upside down until completely cool. Store in a cool place for up to 6 months, once open keep refridgerated and use within 6 weeks or so.