Ridgeway Cottage anyhow

I really do admire those people who stick to their guns, make promises to themselves and keep them. I live by a series of inconsistencies, always changing the rules and am very easily distracted by some new fabulous creative endeavour. I do not finish what I have started, execute my plans or ever set myself realistic achieveable targets. I would dearly love to follow some of those blog challenges that I enjoy reading about. One of my favourites is #amonthof and I also like 52 weeks of happy, both of which have Facebook groups and both of which I've tried and failed to keep up with. This month #amonthof theme is colour, which is one of the best subjects ever and today, no. 17 is fuchsia so here's mine.     Even as I write this post I'm not even thinking about how it would be great to just manage to follow the next couple of days (reasonable and manageable) but no, instead I am distracted by the unrealistic daydream that I could crochet something in a different ...

  Sometimes it just takes a little comment from someone to inspire you into action. I've had my sunshine yellow ironing board about a year now with the intention of jazzing it up and adding a little pizzazz but it wasn't until my lovely seamstress friend spotted the board and its potential that I finely got around to it.   I did already love it just the way it was, I mean who wouldn't adore that gloriously cheery colour, heavy classic Made in England design and vintage domestic loveliness. Such a yellow delight is certainly worthy of a little something from my sunshine yellow fabric stash. And so with a fair amount of searching high and low for all the bits I needed to do some stitching, I whipped up a new cover. It's not the best and most beautifully finished item I ever made but it does make a nice before and after picture.       Posted with Blogsy

At last the sun is out. It's not sunbathing weather but it isn't snowing so for the first time this year, I managed to get up to the allotment. I have a couple of rather good reasons for not having dug my way through the early part of 2013. Firstly I went swanning off to Australia, sunning myself on the beach and having a rather fabulous time. Next we moved house which kept me busy for a few weeks. The allotment pretty much looked after itself though and leeks, kale and chard were all ready to be picked this afternoon. Perfect for a really simple and delicious recipe. Just chop up all the veg and sauté it in a wok. Serve with a sprinkling of grated cheddar and a cold beer.     Posted with Blogsy

Why do we hold on to so much stuff? Why do I form emotional attachments to weird little bits of junk that the children make? Why is it that I feel unable to throw things because they belonged to my Dad / Grandma / Nan / Great Auntie? I would love to just walk out of a house and abandon everything I own but I have too much treasure to be leaving in just the clothes on my back. For a start, what would I wear and of course I would need coordinating accessories? And I couldn't possibly leave my bike behind, watercolours, crochet hooks, yarn, camera or iPad mini. Perhaps I could take my bike basket and possibly a vintage suitcase but which one? The green one that my mum took on her honeymoon or the little cream one with the collage of old photos in the lid? This is just some of multifarious craft paraphernalia packed away and ready to move house tomorrow. At the bottom of the pile is the trunk that I left home with at age 18 when I headed off to teacher training college in the Lake...

No. 1 Some little crochet chickens made by me and my lovely vintage chicken from the charity shop, I'm ready for Easter apart from having to move house the day before No. 2 Chocolate egg cake which was an experiment that turned out delicious. It was just a basic sponge or close enough with chocolate eggs stirred in and some sprinkles baked on the top No.3 A finished watercolour commissioned by a friend No. 4 a rather lovely necklace from here   Posted with Blogsy

Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken, Lay a little egg for me! Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken, I want one for my tea, I haven’t had an egg since Easter, And now it’s half past three, So, chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken, Lay a little egg for me!       My little crochet chicks are ready for the WI shopping night on Wednesday and I like them so much that I am rather hoping that they don't sell and I get to keep them. That can only be a good thing and I must say that there is nothing quite as cheerful as yellow. And if you want to make your own, I found the pattern here Posted with Blogsy

  Things are crazy busy for me at the moment. I am trying to make up the hours at work following my trip to Australia, we are moving in a couple of weeks and I am doing a spot of Easter making for my table at the WI shopping evening. This week I'm working at college every day as well as looking after my crazy kids, kidding myself that I might get some packing done and challenging myself to finish some of the crafty stuff I started. Something has to give, so seeing as I need more brain power than I currently have to write a blog post and really in the grand scheme of things, blogging is a bit more of a hobby than a necessity I have chosen to take a break. I need to earn money and packing my precious things carefully is a bit more important than collecting my thoughts and putting them out there.   I might try and post a picture now again though over the next month, especially if I can find ones as good as this drawing by Charlie of a cow being abducted by aliens fr...