Here is my latest make, done in 3 days and will be soon winging its way to a dear friend as a little gift to thank her for her kindness of spirit. In the past few chaotic months my band of online buddies have kept me upright and I will never forget that.

Here is my darling boy in his car. He is smiling at his reflection in the door panel. I cannot believe he has started school today and immeadiately took to his carer. 

I lost a lot of pictures when my Pc dies but am hoping to have them all back soon, meanwhile am off to take lots more.

Where did April go?

I seemed to spend a great deal of April run off me feet, finishing projects, starting new ones and of course ignoring a few I should have got on with. Then Jenni announced that her and the boys ( partner and son that is) had booked a cheap holiday in Spain and were away for a week. I did no more than jump on the pc and book us a break in Lincolnshire at a fishing place that catered for disabled people. I had my heart in my mouth as I did it as Hubby was quite fragile after a suspected mini stroke. I told him I had booked but it didnt actually register that we were going the next week until he heard me on the phone to Mum then he got excited and started packing...fishing gear..and more fishing gear..began to wonder if I could actually get in the car.

We spent 4 days in total peace and quiet and barely spent a penny. Hubby had to walk a few yards to where his fishing gear was set up at the lakeside so he enjoyed every minute of it. I sat in the cottage with the door open, stitching away or sat on a stone bench outside the cottage listening to the birds. Unfortunatly on the Wednesday hubby took ill and we had planned to go out and meet Ilona from Life After Money blog but hubby spent all day in bed. Of course the lovely lady understood that circumstances being as they are with Hubby it was amazing we got as far as we did. I still think the 4 days was worth it just to recharge my batteries if not his as it makes me able to keep on keeping on.

 Here is our little cottage and my stone bench refuge.

This was the beginning of my newest project when I got back, a patchwork quilt for my Grandson made from his tiny shirts and his Uncle Gareths man sized shirts. I had been waiting till gareth wore out a very nice blue check one so I could get started.

Here we have the first panel. I used to do very technical quilts by hand and all paper pieced but lifes too short so I ran this one up on the machine. It may not be perfect but theres love in every stitch and thats all that matters. maybe with my next one I will have a look at Froogs way of doing it and make it neater but for this one Im very happy. Im now on my 6th panel so just 2 more to go and I will back it etc.

I made this for little mans birthday and he was so pleased with it when he opened it that he gave it a squishy hug! Success! 

A lovely nomination!

I have been lucky to have been nominated for this award by my friend Jacquline at http://jaquelinef1.blogspot.co.uk/

What was the last book you read? - Yet another James Patterson, I Alex Cross

Do you have any "hidden" talents that you would like to share? - not really all my talents are pretty well known! 

What is your favourite smell? - natural scents like vanilla, orange.

If you wanted to escape would it be cottage by the sea or log cabin up a mountain?- Definately a cottage near the sea, not too close as its hard to grow veggies.

What item do you seem to knit the most of?

Can you knit with double pins? - no my feeble mind cannot manage more than 2

If you could spend a day with someone famous who would it be? - not famous in the real world but some of my online friends on MSE who are famous ther

In cooking would you choose Mary Berry or Delia Smith? - Mary cos she makes more cakes than Delia

Do you have a favourite sweetie? - midget gems

Do you have anything stashed away that your husband/partner doesnt know about? - Apart from wool you mean ? £8 in 5ps

Do you write a shopping list or do you shop as you go along? Bit of both but as I get older I write more lists.

Thank you Jacqueline I feel immensley honoured. My online friends keep me sane as I am mainly homebound with Hubby. I went from running myself ragged as a Charity shop manager - yes it is very physical work as well as juggling volunteers, keeping the weekly targets and all those other tasks behind the scenes - to looking after hubby and getting to craft for many hours a day. Some days other than talking to Hubs, daughter and son the only other person I speak to is the checkout lady at the supermarket and you know, I dont mind a bit. 

keeping busy...

I have spent a few months making squares and the last 2 weeks decided it was time to start joining. this is number one, coffee and cream.

Number 2 is a gift for a friends grandson down south after he kept borrowing the Christmas one I made for his grandma - can't have that he needs one of his own.

This is a larger one made from leftovers of my favourite yarns. Im hoping to sell numbers 1 and 3 so cross your fingers for me.

The last one is a 36" square for my dear friend Mrs Twins (Sue) from SIBOL http://sunshineinternationalblanketsoflove.blogspot.co.uk/ Please visit her beautiful blog and see the wonderful blankets she collects from all over the world. They are mainly for elderley people in the Uk but some are auctioned so she can carry on helping as many people as possible.

Paisley packages tied up with thread...

...as opposed to brown paper packages tied up with string...here are a few of my favourite things, all from my dear fellow blogger Linda http://chalkygilbert.blogspot.co.uk/. I won her giveaway and my goodness what a wonderful parcel I recieved. Every item beautifully wrapped and tied, It was like Christmas. Even handmade gift tags - soooo pretty. Handmade notelets, earrings, note pads, stitch markers - just what I need - crochet doileys and a sweet little owl. Also a handbag/phone charm, lavender heart, a very useful shoebag, cookery books- yummy - and some crochet hearts. It was just what I needed to cheer me up. My daughter and her daddy were going to a friends funeral but Hubby was too poorly to attend after all so I have been running up and downstairs all day tending to him. I left all the gifts on the table so every time I went past it they made me smile. Thank you Linda.

I sold my vintage sewing box and 3 vintage shopping baskets of Fleabay last month and netted £25 for the lot, so much space now its quite addictive. However boxing them was another matter. Luckily Hubby is quite gifted in that area and created some sturdy if slightly deformed boxes. Im now popping upstairs to the 'bedroom of doom' and hunting out more things to de-clutter. having to do 10 minutes at a time as I have run out of painkillers - idiot I am.

I also have a box full of video's to dispose of, we came to the momentous decision they should go when we discovered we didnt even have a video player to watch them on. 

Christmas came and went quietly with a quick visit to see little man and give out gifts there. 

Christmas lunch was low key and served up when I felt like it, turkey and the trimmings, pud and cream with a rather nice beer shandy for 3 came to £4.70 and there were leftovers for Boxing day fry up tea and turkey wraps for lunch - that pleased me. OH has just returned from searching for painkillers for me, Mr T didnt ope n the pharmacy today but he found a local chemist open thank goodness. He also scored 2 bottles of milk for 49p each and double cream for 79p - thats destined for the freezer in tubs to enrich quiches or currys.

Michael decided grandads funny hat and baggy jumper were just the thing for a chilly day! 

Further to my No-spend-vember I decided to put lots of the goodies we found whilst clearing the loft out to E bay. Usually I dont do very well with it and stuff remains unsold. Seems I have found my niche now, I really only hoped to make minimum price for stuff which would have slowly filled our money pot but amazingly things have done really well. 

1. knitting patterns on Amazon sold for £11

2. OH's old Dinky toys have sold for £10 - !6 which was a shock as they are very well played with, no boxes and some have no wheels.

3. Lace making bobbins that Mum picked up for me ages ago in a charity shop sold from 99p a bundle to £8

Have boxes of things that I would have liked to keep but really are filling the house to bursting so am popping a few things on E bay every few days so in about 4 months will have lots of room and be able to pay off a couple of small debts thus saving us money every month. there are some pieces of Speedway memorabilia and Games belonging to Son that could potentially make (to me) a lot of money. Son has agreed to split the money with me so onwards and upwards!

Here is a preview of the pillowcase dress that I made for a charity working in the Gambia. the lovely fabric was gifted to me by my dear friend Chalky and so far I have made 10 dresses and 4 of the little bags. I am putting each little dress in a bag so its new owner gets 2 gifts in one. Some friends and I collect lots of useful stuff during the yea then my friend Annie delivers it all to the charities head quarters.

Michael loves his new hat and carries my handbag round so he can pretend to be Mr Tumbles. Also decided the best place to eat lunch is sat on manma's hatbox on the fireplace, much better than a custom made table (courtesy of Grandad) and a vintage chair.

Knitted these little fella's for a dear friend as an advert for her mouseworks soap company on facebook. 

I took part in a blog swop and my partner was nanny Nora. I received a parcel full of loveliness and so enjoyed my little parcels, well one was not so small - this beautifully stitched cushion is now my pride and joy  and my little grandson thinks its really comfy! 

I also got 4 more packages , one with a funky lavender bag to pop in  my knitting bag so everything smells sweet, a pretty dish complete with recipe for pudding, a good bookmark beautifully stitched and some tiny heart bunting which I will drape artistically over my printers box displaying my favourite tiny things. thank you so much for my gifts and I am pleased you liked yours Victoria ! dontcha just love blog land.

My lovely gifts from Laa Laaa at http://hookinwithlaalaa.blogspot.com/ from the Jubilee swop. Beautiful handmade pin cushio, shopping bag,badges and paper to amke garland but think that may well go on the cards for the hospice. Have decided to make 100 cards for my friend Roz's sister to take to the hospice to raise funds. last time I sent 25 and they were all bought by one woman who said she wouldnt have to buy a card all year.

John is struggling with his health and is due for more tests on the 16th of July. Cancer wears you out, especially when you are to ill with other things to have treatment. I cannot thank our friends and Gareth and Jenni enough for all the support they have given us lately. Also a big hug to all those on Money saving expert who are so generous of spirit and give me encouragement and unconditional love.

Snapped a quick pic of John and the little man bit blurry but so  sweet. I am guessing they are watching Pingu .

Jenni's birthday card an bouquet that I made her - will straighten the flowers when I am taking them over later.

I made a turtle suit for some pics of Lissy and Claire's little girl. Not bad since I copied it from a photo.

Got lots of lowers this week, from John , Gaz and Lissy/Claire. My mantel is full with them and all the thankyou cards from Mrs Twins and friends plus a beautiful Get Well card for John from one of the cricket teams. I love it when it looks like this.

Michael drove us to Wales on Sunday

He decided the sea wasn't for him until.....

...his Manma took him in!

Then he drove us home again. He was quite taken with the windscreen wipers and giggled everytime he turned them on!

Joyous day, picnic good company and my bliss - Michael !  

I am in love with my new camera and have been making a conscious effort to take pots of pictures now that cost doesnt figure in taking them and having films developed.

Its been a hard month with lots of bad things happening but we are soldiering on. John is struggling with his health much more and trying to deal with it all , although he doesnt seem to realise he is doing very well.

Pennypinching is always on my mind and I really cannot see where to chip away any more but have to keep trying. there seems to be a lot of cheap pork on the markets around Manchester and I am not too sure if I want to know where it is from??? Still it does help make a good meal, tend not to do a roast dinner too often now as the meat goes further in something rather than as the star on the plate.

Had to put at least one picture of Michael on here, he is such a good eater and loves corn on the cob. We made a promise to our selves with his Mummy and Daddy that he would get to try lots of different things and very few sweets. His cheffy Daddy and Mummy save him some of their evening meal every night for his lunch next day and he really likes couscous (so good they named it twice his Daddy says ). He is my bliss!

May again!

Finally plucked up the courage to try this from Attic 24' fab blog. It was actually easier than it looks. Its the front for a cushion. Not sure about the colours but will be trying some others. the top pic is my squares for my BIG blanket - upto 92 squares already!

Scrimping is getting harder...

The little man is 2 next week and had to pop my usual piccy of him in.

 We are having problems stretching the pennies at the moment and not dipping into our precious savings. Very few whoopsies to be found despite trawling the shops. Hoping for some great successes in the veggie garden to help out. The greenhouse was the best investment ever, much better success rate with seeds. So now I have 1 small greenhouse full and the walk in too. Have planted flowers too hoping it will cheer me up as well as saving the pennies. Have just read Greyqueens advice on MSE and she says soaking bean seeds for 24/48 hours definately helps them on their way so will be trying that with my next sewing. Actually grown mustard and cress - I must have tried 20 times before and totally failed. Goodness knows how much a punnet is nowadays but it all helps. So egg and cress butties for lunch.

March makes...

These are the squares I have posted off for the swop so far, still got a few to do. Hope everyone is happy with their colours.

 This is SIBOL blanket number 2 already to post to dear Mrs Twins

A few of my makes this month, cupcakes, bowls, cushion covers, a pair of bootsys and Oscar mark 2 - who is naked and needs his clothes, though he may change into a lady rabbit.  

This is my pride and joy this month, I loved the colours and it came out nicely faded looking - very shabby chic so I started some more squares to do another much bigger one,