Jolly Red ~ in the bag

Last Saturday I headed into Edinburgh for a little bit of Girly retail therapy with my best friend and my little girl.

We had a really lovely day out. And as much as we really do love our boys it was nice to spend sometime together ~ just us girls.

We started off with a very unhealthy breakfast in McDonalds, and then at lunch time we had a very yummy lunch in a lovely little family run Italian restaurant. In between times we had plenty of time to browse around and do a lot of window shopping. As usual we didn't have much money to spend but I did have lots of Christmas vouchers instead ~ mostly for John Lewis. And we all know that the best department in John Lewis is the crafty one ~ don't we?


After taking our time to look at all the lovely things I decided to splash out on this little Jolly Red Needlepoint Kit. Back in my much younger days I used to do a lot of cross stitch, but unfortunately I've now reached that sort of dodgy age where your eyes start to go a bit funny when you are looking at things close up! And although I've never attempted to do any needlepoint before I figured that the holes on the canvas and the thicker tapestry wool should make this a little easier on my dodgy old eyes than cross stitch.

The needlepoint I chose is called Quilt Hearts by Jolly Red and it all comes packed up in this dinky little red bag.

Would you like to see what is in the bag?...........

Of course you do!


There is a colour printed canvas, lots of lovely coloured wool, charts and instructions, a needle and a needle threader ~ which may come in handy when I try to thread the needle with my dodgy old eyes!

I can't wait to get started on this and it goes without saying that I will let you see how I get on with it too.

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend ~ See you all next week :O) xx

Successful Shopping

I had a very successful shopping trip last Saturday and actually came home with some very useful purchases. You might have already guessed by now that I love shopping for woolly bits and pieces but I hate shopping for clothes for myself. I don’t normally get the chance to buy very many clothes for myself as money is usually a bit scarce and like most families the children’s needs come first. It also has to be said that they have much nicer clothes than me and a much fuller wardrobe too!

However, I was on a mission on Saturday to buy myself a very much needed pair of shoes in preparation for the winter months ahead of us. I don't know about the rest of you but I usually get a picture of what I want to buy in my head and then can’t find anything that I like when I trail around the shops. Luckily for me this Saturday the shopping was very successful. Do you want to see what I got?


A very comfy pair of trainers ~ perfect for wearing with jeans and doing the school run.


A very cosy pair of black leather boots ~ also perfect for wearing with jeans and doing the school run when the weather gets a bit colder.


And a very pretty little top and a pair of jeans too! You have probably realised by now that I am definately a jeans and t shirts kind of girl and I just don't never ever wear heels!

Like I said ~ A very Successful Saturday Shopping trip :O)

Getting there

We are getting there! It has been busy...busy...busy! An absolute hive of activity in fact! Workmen have been coming and going at an alarming rate! But ......walls have been painted, patio windows have been repaired, kitchen sink has been replaced, carpets have been laid and everything is starting to look very lovely indeed. We still have quite a bit of work to do, but our little house is almost ready to be put up for sale.



I am getting there with my very colourful crochet cushion cover too. Both sides have now been completed and I just have to join them together now which I will do by using this method here from the very lovely Lucy over at Attic 24. All going well I should be able to show you the finished cushion cover sometime very soon.


I am also almost getting there with two amigurumi figures that I have been making. A cute little pink birdie and a sweet little grey rabbit. They still need a few finishing touches done to them ~ such as sewing in of ends ~ but I am fairly pleased at how they have turned out.

I am really looking forward to this weekend as we have a Friday and Monday holiday from work and school. I am taking myself off on Saturday with my very best friend for a little Girly Shopping Trip and I really do intend to make the most of the day out. It is such a treat to be able to go out shopping without having to have eyes in the back of your head whilst keeping watch on two wandering small children. It is also such a treat to be able to stop for coffee and cakes and a lovely lunch when you want to....... instead of listening to cries of 'I'm hungry' or another favourite 'I’m bored’!!

I hope that everyone has a very lovely weekend and I will ‘see’ you all sometime next week :O)

Saturday Shopping

I had a lovely day out on Saturday, shopping with my friend in Edinburgh. Our first stop was John Lewis for the haberdashery Dept ~ where else! I bought some lovely Rowan double knitting wool and a new crochet hook. My theory is that is if I have the same lovely wool as Lucy then maybe I’ll be able to crochet as well as her too! I live in hope ~ even half as well would be a big achievement.


We decided to do most of our shopping in the morning and had a leisurely stroll along George Street having a look in Lakeland Ltd, Cath Kidston and Paperchase along the way. We had a delicious lunch in our favourite restaurant and then headed up to a little shop in Castle Street called A Treasure Trove. This little shop is run by The Royal Edinburgh Repository and Self Aid Society and is an absolute delight. It sells all sorts of lovely crafts made by local people in need. I have just learnt this morning that Floss ~ was in that little shop on Saturday too. Unfortunately we didn’t bump into one another this time ~ hopefully there will be a next time!

I bought these lovely flowers this morning as I have a meeting to go to this evening at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary as it is the Simpsons Special Care Babies AGM, which is the charity that I am involved with. We are having a bit of a celebration tonight as our lovely Secretary has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list. This is in recognition of her work over many years for Simpsons Special Care Babies. Well Done Gill :O)

Crocheted Mess

I’ve only very recently come across the delightfully fantastic blog Attic 24. It is wonderfully written, very colourful and very inspiring.

I was taught to crochet by an old Great Aunt when I was still at school ~ which is a lot more years ago than I care to remember. I made a granny square blanket and remember that is was lovely to crochet because it used to keep me cosy at the same time. Anyway, being inspired by this lovely blog, I thought that I would try my hand at crochet again. I dug out some yucky old double knitting wool (all scratchy and nylony) and found an old crochet hook and set to work.

Do you want to see?


Not very good at all is it?

I thought that I would still be able to do the basic stitches, but it’s not as easy as I remembered it being. It took me absolutely ages to get the first row done as I couldn’t get my crochet hook into the foundation chain and then I don’t thing that I am doing the right thing when it comes to starting and finishing the rows as it seems to have gone a little wonky at the edges. I have decided that I am going to give some of the blame to the horrid wool and the tiny crochet hook – and am going to treat myself to some new supplies tomorrow.

I am having a Girly Day out in Edinburgh tomorrow with my best friend and plan on going on a bit of a Woolly Shopping Expedition ~ some lovely new wool, a better crochet hook and maybe even a little book on all the crochet basics. I have also got some ideas for my Seaside Swap project and need to pick up some bits for that too. I will hopefully let you see some lovely purchases next week. I hope that everyone has a great weekend :O)