Linaloo

New to me

A list of new things that are making me happy this week.

I found some excellent non fabric related thrifty scores at la fripe yesterday.  Vintage glass baubles and some bargain milk glass bud vases.  The idea of recycling someone's cast offs never fails to bring a smile to my face.

I am really enjoying the hilarious, very clever and new to me, Tim Minchins (best listened to out of the range of children).  Introduced to me via Monda.  My particular favourite here.

I am being sucked into the geeky side of Ravelry - I've recently spent time logging my knitting needle sizes into my profile details.  Seriously.

I found an amazing new yarn store last week with a friend.  I'm knitting a hat and scarf with Merino (as suggested by owner of said new yarn store when I told him of my aversion to itchy wool) which is so so soft. 

I'm excited about my first ever photography course which started last week, my teacher is amazing.  I have an assignment already.  Still life, shooting in RAW and using a tripod.

Uncertain

Summer photos from my 365 project on flickr. 

 

Hello.  I've had a good break.  So good in fact that I'm thinking that I might just wind up this little blogging adventure and move on.  It's been almost two years...and although this little space has brought me a great deal of pleasure during that time, I feel the need to regroup and focus on other areas of my life.  Maybe it's a transition thing (my youngest starts kindergarten next week) but I've yet to make any firm decision on the matter.  No doubt sporadic posting will ensue before my typepad account is up for renewal (in a couple of weeks).

 

Thanks for all your support and friendship!

 

A random list of thoughts

For the whole of June and July I am soccer mom...I don't like that I'm this van driving cliche but I am.  It's ok though, my children are really loving soccer this year. I'm trying to come up with some new healthy snack ideas to counter the amount of junk food tempting us this time of year.  Too many hotdogs and popsicles people!  I'd love to hear your ideas. I'm sewing Tommy a quilt.  I'd said I'd have it done in time for summer..only two weeks to go. This article from Florence written for Sew Mama Sew about feet for sewing machines is very informative and delightfully charming, as all her posts are.  OK totally unrelated picture I know.

Finally, thank you Donna and Sara of Kindred Crafters for my recent awe-summm award. Right back at ya girls.  Their blog is beautiful, go check out Sara's new etsy shop and 100th post giveaway. In return I must tell you seven things that make me awe-summm.  Hmmm.  How about just seven things? Of course I'm supposed to seven more people yada yada yada...feel free to join in dear readers, for you are all awe-summm.  Please can I stop saying that now?

1. My children are children, never kids, for they are baby goats.
2. My part time job has been a bit full time lately.
3. I am the last person on earth to discover Flight of the Conchords.  Oh how these guys make me laugh.
4. I lied to my children about being allergic to dogs.  I just don't want one.  Overheard:  Tommy to Daddy "Daddy, when Mummy dies can we get a dog?"
5. My last name has 15 letters, thank you Greek husband.
6. My children learned to spell their last name by singing it to the tune of "Sur le pont d'Avignon".
7. I have danced on the real bridge at Avignon and nearly passed out shortly after with heat stroke.

Have a lovely weekend!

You know you're getting old...

when you look at a pair of sandals and say to yourself. "Hmmm, they look comfy." SOLD! I seem to remember this being a Victoria Wood joke about scholl clogs. I draw the line at scholls but this is my second pair of birkenstocks, the previous ones lasted a good 4 years and I loved them dearly.

Time for a pedicure and a bit of lawn mowing I think.

Weekend

A shirt for a birthday girl.

Hidden treasures emerging from the thaw.

And delicicous corn muffins courtesy of Amber.

 

Not a whole lot going on here. I'm desperately trying to finish off my red and white quilt but the quilting process is taking longer than I anticipated.  Also a week of persistent insomnia (I seem to suffer more as I get older) is forcing me to take it easy.  Tonight, in an attempt to break the pattern, I'm seriously considering an over the counter remedy.  Wish me luck!

Nothing

That's what I've got for you. I've tried to write a post several times this past two weeks, but I've had a case of blogger's block. Nothing seems quite post worthy somehow, even though I've plenty of things I could write about. How about starting off with breakfast? Not mine I hasten to add (for the mere whiff of a banana is enough to make me gag) but a firm favourite here, nutella and banana topped toast.

What else? I could mention about this being reposted in quite a few places lately and that I'm grateful for the steady stream of new visitors here and on flickr. Or that there's plenty of custom stockings and other crafty bits and pieces that have been made and delivered without any photographic evidence of their existance.

Or I could tell you that after almost two and a half years of living here, my almost six year old daughter's Canadian accent arrived practically overnight last week.

Perhaps I should mention that I've started a new knitting project, and that when I made a few mistakes and ploughed on regardless, in a totally uncharacteristic fashion, (for I am not at all a perfectionist) I ripped the whole thing apart and started again. Maybe I am a patient crafter after all?

Or how about I tell you that we've had our first snow fall and that I have the world's ugliest but most comfortable snow boots?

Actually what I think you really ought to know is that on Wednesday 3rd December, I'll be giving away a little something here as part of Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day. Won't you come back then dear friends?

Reasons to be cheerful

Unseasonably warm weather this week - 18C yesterday.

My new made up soup - butternut squash, onions, carrots, ginger and stock. Yum.

A family visit to see this eagerly anticipated sequel at the cinema.

An impromptu dinner with good friends tonight.

Sewing Christmas stockings.

Neighbourhood craft night. These were so easy to do. I feel a tutorial coming on.

I'm having a hard time justifying my blahs this week.

Novemblah

November, you and I are not friends. You suck away my energy and leave me exhausted, grumpy and irritable. You make me want to eat my own body weight in pasta and potatoes, curl up in my duvet and sleep.

A lot.

I complain bitterly about you every year. When Ruby was 3 and used to recite the months of the year, she'd always forget November, what a perfect year that would be! (No offence sis', I know it's a big birthday month in your house).

I've come to brace myself in preparation for this time every year and without exception, it's a tough month for me. In a bid to conquer my November blahs, I'm trying to take it easy, carve out a little more me time and take care of myself. This might become a totally craftless blog for a while.

Or not.

I'm very fickle you know.

Feeling a bit melodramatic

Our basement, former home of my sewing “area”(I use the term area very loosely) is undergoing a big renovation. I won’t have a sewing room to myself when it’s done, but there will be a dedicated sewing space just for me – for which I’m very grateful. Seriously, I’m not complaining. Hands up people in the UK who have no choice but to sew on their kitchen/dining room tables?

It will be a few weeks (maybe months?) before the basement is usable, which, coupled with the arrival of warmer weather and the desire to get outside much more, means I’m taking a break from the sewing machine. Time to shake things up a little and focus on other things for a while at least.

That includes blogging. I'm feeling like I lost my way a bit around here and need to remind myself that this is about me, not what I think others would like to read. I've also reached the point where it's becoming impossible to respond to all my comments. I hate to appear rude or ungrateful, but hope you understand what a relief it is to say that out loud. Of course I'd still love to hear from you and I'll still be visiting you all regularly.

Are you still here? Or did you just delete me from your blog roll?!

Taking better photographs is one of those things (I'm toying with idea of a fancy camera now that I'm earning again) and I happened upon this timely challenge yesterday, the 30 Day Macro Challenge the brain child of Orange Flower. I've learned a fair bit about taking pictures through trial and error over the past six months but I'm eager to learn more.

This is today's effort. My boy's amazing lashes.

Don’t forget to enter my tiny giveaway by leaving a comment on my previous post if you haven’t already.

About blogging

I was tagged by the lovely Anne recently about blogging. And seeing as it's been a long week with no time for any making - I thought I'd have a go at answering these questions instead:

1. Why did you start your blog?
As a stay at home mum, I often felt that the days just flew by in a murky haze and I wanted to document some of the details that are too easily forgotten. Whether it be crafting or parenting - its wonderful to have this record of our lives and how we're spending our time. It was also to help motivate me in my sewing and it's worked, I've been far more productive since I've been blogging. Now I'm back to work part time my crafting will inevitably slow down, but I still really want to carry on posting about our day to day lives.

2. How did you come up with your blog name?
Linaloo was my parents' pet name for me growing up. Although everyone knows me as Lina, it's actually not my real name, it's short for something else...

3. Do your friends and family know about your blog? What do they think of it?
My parents and sister know about it and a few friends in the UK who probably lost interest a while back. I'm pretty sure that my mum thinks this takes up too much of my time but I know she reads it!

4. How do you write posts?
Um in my head and most inconveniently at odd hours in the morning when I should be sleeping.

5. Have you ever had a troll or had to delete unkind comments?
A troll? What's one of these? I'm assuming it's something bad- I guess I haven't then! I've only ever received one spam message for a haemorrhoid cream and so far, no unkind comments. This is pretty miraculous as it's been 6 months since I started blogging.

6. Do you check your stats? Do you care how many people read your blog? If you do care, how to you increase traffic?
I didn't really know about stats at first and then when I found them I got a bit obsessed. Now I don't check very often. I am aware of how many subscribers I have through bloglines so I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested at all. I've never actively tried to increase traffic but my stats went loopy when some of my Chrismassy things were featured on the sew mama sew blog - I had 2000 hits a day for a while...but I soon bored them all rigid. I'd hazard a guess that tutorials are a good way to increase traffic but that's far too much work for a slacker like me.

7. What kind of blogs/posts interest you?
I'm a visual kind of girl so great pictures, fabric, crafts and general eye candy all around. Although I do love a bit of good writing also.

8. What do you like and dislike about blogging?
I find it very cathartic. I also love all the crafy inspiration, the tutorials and the community feeling. I do really feel that. The obvious negative is that it can suck all your spare time and ironically eats into my craft time.

I'm far too nosey not to ask anyone else to do this so I tag: Claudia, Jo and Dawn.

I've also been given the "you make my day" award by Florence and Paige - thank you! I'm passing the buck by passing it on to everyone who wanders this way. Thanks for stopping by!