Happy Halloween

Teddy, cousin O and Matt. aka James, Jack Sparrow and Thomas.

What's cuter than daddy holding the baby's hand?


The boys waiting for trick-or-treaters.....

The end of an exhausting day.....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE :-) :-)

A picture of yours truly.....

Here's the earliest picture of me that I have:


And a close up:

That's me, my two brothers and my two cousins on my mom's side. I also wonder why I was making such a stupid face. It was a compulsion on my part - there are other pictures of me doing that sort of thing.

I love this picture for a couple of reasons. The first is that I don't have many pictures at all of us as children and the second is that it brings back happy childhood memories (oh yes people, there were a few in there).

The picture was taken at my Aunty Pam's house, but for ever after that, sat in my Nan & Taid's living room (the room we never used). They lived in North Wales and we would visit them a couple of times a year. They were such fun times when we would get to see our grandparents, Aunts and cousins. I loved visiting them, their house always felt so safe and warm. So I associate this picture with their house.

When they moved to a smaller house a few years ago, they gave me that picture. It's still in its original frame and I will never change it. Every time I look at it I feel like I'm with them. I wish I could see them more often. They are now in their mid-80s.

Oh, and this picture is pre-birthmark removal too. People still ask me if I have scratched my face. I guess facial surgery wasn't what it is now back in the mid-70s :-)

Also, check out the 70s curtains in the background. Groovy baby :-)

SnowFlower and the Secret Fan - a controversial post

So last week we discussed A Thousand Splendid Suns at bookclub. Our next book is Snowflower and the Secret Fan. Both books are about, at least in part, the suffering of women within different cultures - the first book in Afghanistan, the second in China.

Snowflower, relatively early in the book, gives a detailed and graphic account of the chinese practice of "Footbinding". Although the author gave an amazing description of how the foot should look once the process was complete, I just couldn't picture it in my mind's eye.

So I googled it. And google I almost did, when I came across a photo of an actual bound foot. That link is not for the faint of heart, let me warn you.

Anyway, to get to my controversial point, I see no difference between the act of footbinding, which was carried out in China for A THOUSAND YEARS!!!! and the american custom of circumcising baby boys. Both serve absolutely no purpose and are perpetuated in the name of 'custom'.

What say you out there in the blogiverse........

Pleased to meet you....

oooof, has it really been a month? So, what have I been up to?

Not much knitting, and just a bit of sewing.......


I made some pillows with the fabrics I bought at Purl Soho when I was in NYC a couple of months ago. Here's a closeup.....


Guess which is the Amy Butler fabric.....

See the Log Cabin Blanket in progress on the back of the sofa. It's still in progress. As is the Clapotis. And I have cast on a Jaywalker.

We had an awesome book club meeting at my house last night. We read A Thousand Splendid Suns. What an AWESOME book. We all LOVED it. It's one of the best books I've ever read. I made curry - big thanks to my mate Jamie Oliver for the recipe :-)

I also have been sewing for my etsy shop - go check out my adorable "Dolly diaper bags". Everything a little girl needs for changing her baby doll. I have more fabrics cut out and ready to be stitched together. Just need the time.

OK, blogging mojo back in gear. More pics soon :-)