Getting there slowly

I certainly don't seem to be doing anything fast!

On the job front, I have applied for loads and not heard anything back. I really need something so that we have a wage coming in while we build the Plumbing business up.

At least we finally got to see somebody who gave us a bit of help and I am going back to see her this week for help with my CV. We also have an appointment with "Fenland Enterprise" (although they are not called that anymore) to find out about setting up in business.

That is going slowly as well. Mark had a couple of jobs last week but nothing so far this week. He is a bit down about it.

Still, the good news is that the snowdrops are finished as well and Mark has made me all the frames for them. I just need to mount them now. So here is another sneaky peak

The light at the end of the tunnel.

I haven't blogged in nearly two weeks! Apart from not having the time, I didn't have the inclination.

Mark got told on the Thursday after the last post that it was him who was going to be made redundant. Then they sent him home on "Gardening Leave". This meant he has been home since then driving me loopy. Of course, it would have to be at a time when I have a lot to do anyway, both on line and off.

He wasn't too bad the first couple of days but as time when on I could see he was getting more and more stressed over the situation.

We spent the following Monday and Tuesday rushing about and getting no where! The Job Centre is as much use as a chocolate teapot and people just don't return your calls. All we wanted was some help with a CV. Neither Mark nor I are any good at selling ourselves.

On Wednesday he had to go to work for a "Consultation meeting" at 10am then had an appointment at an employment agency in Huntingdon in the afternoon. So he went for lunch at his Mums.

He came home in a bit better mood from the meeting. They told him how much he would be getting and, if he starts a new job while he was still working for them, they won't penalise him by reducing his payout. He has worked out that we will have enough to pay the bills for the next 3 months as long as we don't spend anything else.

I was looking forward to a days peace but ended up with a sort of interview at 10.30am. It was actually more of an informal chat. It is only part time but looks like a fun job and right up my street. It is activites organiser at a local OAP home. Wonder if I could get them scrapping????? I have filled in the application form they gave me and am now waiting to hear from them.

Now he just needs to find a job.

Well, maybe........

I want him to be a plumber. He knows the trade, he has worked in it for the last 6 years. He actually knows more about the products than the plumbers. He has to, to be able to sell them to him. He designs bathrooms for both the retail and trade customers and has fitted ours - which is so posh it belongs in a 10 bedroomed house!!!!

He is very dubious about it. Actually, its more of a case of being scared. He has never been in the position where he doesn't have a payslip at the end of the month and the thought of not having one is scary.

His other problem is that he is the only one who doesn't know how good he is!!!!!

He went out the other night to meet up with some plumbers after I had insisted that he phone some of them to do a bit of networking. One of them turned around and told him that he would be "Unfair Opposition" as he knows too much. So finally, he has agreed to give it a go. After all, what has he got to lose? He is out of work in 6 weeks anyway!

I haven't been idle even though I haven't been online much.

My domain name has finally been sorted out after a lot of hassle. It is www.enfys.me.uk I have made new banners and updated them on my links page with the new addy and the new location of the banners. I have put them all in Photobucket.

I am in the process of uploading everything to free web space. Then, if things do take a turn for the worse and I lose the internet and the current site, the banners will still work and all I will need to do is get the domain name to forward to the new site.

I have finished the pattern for the Rainbow and sent all the information off to Scrapbook Inspirations - complete with the new domain name.

I now need to make a whole load of new business cards with the domain name on.

Its just all go!

The lady who ordered the silks from me came to pay me a deposit and bought the "Four Seasons" at the same time!!!! She also liked what I have done so far and will be wanting another two of the Shooting Star. I have finished beading that one, want a sneaky peak????

Ups and Downs!

My life seems to be full of Ups and Downs at the moment.

First of all, there is the prospect of appearing in Scrapbook Inspirations. I still don't know any details but have to have all the info to them by June 25th.

Then I won the UKS photography competiton. Totally unexpected but very exciting!

FenVAC are holding a one day art exhibition at March Town Hall on Saturday, 14th June as part of the March Summer Festival celebrations and I was asked if I would like to participate.

After all that hassle with Tesco they refunded the service charge. Big deal! I thought after that headache they caused me. However, in the post this morning came a £10 gift card and another apology. That will pay for the veg this weekend.

And last, but by no means least, I have had a commission for two silk paintings from the lady who bought the one from the local florists. She wants one with Snowdrops and one with stars and rainbows.

So guess what I have been doing today! These two pics are painted and backed. I have basted white behind the snowdrops and star so that they stand out. Of course they still need quilting and loads of beading before they are finished.

And now the Downs!

Last Thursday Mark had a letter "inviting" him to a meeting to "discuss how the downturn in trade affects his role in the company." That meeting was this morning. After making us stew all over the weekend about whether or not he would still have a job after today, we still don't know. He and the other manager were told that one of them would have to go and there are certain criteria they have to follow to decide which one. We will know Friday.

Bloomin' Lovely!

Rain doesn't stop play when it comes to flowers! After being very dismayed about that cat having my poppies, I am please to announce I have more! I took this first picture last Thursday and, as you can see, more buds with one about to open.

This picture was taken Friday. And, this morning, there are four nice strong buds. Lets hope they stay that way as this looks ever so pretty when there are a few open in different colours.

This is the Mimulus in "Highland Orange". It hasn't had a lot of flowers but they are a very striking colour.

The "Highland Yellow" has loads more flowers on it. They are the same colour as Primroses. They are not as bright as the orange ones but they certainly cheer the place up.

And the Thyme is out in full bloom. Its delicate tiny pink flowers stand out against the green beautifully! I did take loads more but that is all I have time to edit for now!

Journalling Pattern Finished!

Finally!!!!!!!!!!!! And here it is in all its glory! Its no wonder it took me so long to write, there are 20 pages in this one. It includes upper and lower case letters, numbers, punctuation and the doodling that I have put up as free pattern. Now the question is "What next?"

I have been thinking of a "Weather" set. I can include my Rainbow in it. I was thinking of Raindrops and Wellies. Possibly a Brolly.

I can also put the Sun, Moon and Stars in it. But that isn't going to fill a pattern. So if anybody has any suggestions, please lave them in the comments

Another thing that has cheered me up is that I won the photo competition on UKS. I got really excited about that!

Thank you to everybody who voted for me.

I love the postie coming!

Especially when he brings me more stash!

This is the latest haul in my Crochet Swap.

These were from Jay and included a bar of chocolate for Benjamin. As you can imagine, that didn't last long! I love that little mini book. And the colour is wonderful! All the blue bits will be perfect for scrapping Benjamin!

And these were from Jane. I will forgive her the pink bits because of those lovely stammp Tilda images! I have 2 neices birthdays coming up and they will be perfect for their cards. This is much more fun than stash shopping because I never know what I am going to get!

Just a quickie!

I have lots to do!

I had my free copy of SI this morning and rushed straight to page 71, just to see my name in print!!!!

So now I am working on the pattern for the Rainbow. I did have a double sided version up on my msn group, which I altered to make one I used for scrapping. Of course, being me, its all just notes and not a proper pattern.

It isn't going to take long to do, but I do need to make some more and block them to take pics. But, wouldn't you just know it, I have run out of the thread I need!

I was debating on whether to get some new thread - now I am going to have to! And, as it is pointless just getting one ball, I had better sort out what other colours I fancy!

In anticipation of some visitors from SI, I have been re-arranging my msn group so that all the scrapping patterns are on one page. The rainbows will be added as soon as they are sorted.

Also in the post this morning, came some lovely stash. Thank you Jay. I will take pics later and post them soon.

And finally, my "Trolleys" pic got short listed in the UKS photo comp!

Last time I looked, I was joint 1st with 3 others!

Now I need to get to the bank, then order some thread then get on with some work!!!!

R is for Rapeseed

The latest in my A-Z photo journal of Chatteris.

At this time of year you can't but help noticing the bright yellow fields all around you. The growing of Rape is big business

Rapeseed is grown for the production of animal feed, vegetable oil for human consumption, and biodiesel. Rapeseed is a heavy nectar producer, and honeybees produce a light colored, but peppery honey from it.

Rapeseed Oil can be used in much the same way as olive oil. It is a recognised fact that olive oil has a reputation as a healthy oil. Up to now, what has not been widely known is that cold pressed rapeseed oil is substantially healthier than olive oil. It has the added benefit of being locally grown, without the need to be globally transported, therefore saving on "food miles" as well. Rapeseed Oil has only half the undesirable saturated fat content of olive oil. Whilst having twice as much of the desirable omega 6 and about ten times the amount of the desirable Omega 3. The sodium (salt) content is zero.

Rapeseed oil is produced locally by L & A.E. Munns & Son. Westmoor Farm is part of the Cambridgeshire County Farm Estate and is situated in the heart of The Fens, 1.5 miles west of the market town of Chatteris. The Munns family has farmed there since October 1959 when they took on the tenancy of a 21 acre smallholding from the then Isle of Ely County Council. Funding was provided from a £100 pools win and extended credit from suppliers.

Catching Up!

It has been a busy couple of days. On Friday we went out with a friend and her daughter to HGL for brekkie. They had a BOGOF on so we decided to take advantage of it. It was scrummy! And I was stuffed!!!! Afterwards the children played for a bit then we had a look around. I very nearly bought some "Chocolate Mint". It was only £1.59 and smelled just like "After Eights"!

While there, I also got a couple of pictures for the UKS Photo competition. Joanne suggested this one when I explained what I was doing.

The brekkie offer runs for another 2 weeks and I have a spare token so we are going again - when the kids are in school! I think I am going to get that mint as well.

That afternoon we went to Skylark Garden Centre. Joanne didn't realise there was one there. She hasn't lived in the area long and has only just passed her driving test, so I was telling her about some of the local stuff. The kids had a great time playing outside, even though the bouncy castle wasn't up!

I also managed to get the picture I needed to finish off another letter in my A-Z photo journal of Chatteris.

I just need to sort out the pics before I post them.

After seeing all the excitment about a LO in Scrapbook Inspirations which used one of my crocheted Rainbows, I thought I would do one myself. I checked out this weeks challenge for inspiration and this is what I came up with. And, while on the subject, keep an eye on SI because I might be in it soon! I emailed them concerning my Rainbow and got a lovely email back.

I am really excited about this! It might be just what I need to get people to my site. If I can sell a decent amount of crochet each week, I wouldn't need a job!

And if that does happen, best you get your orders in before the rush!

Loads of Brads!

Look what I got in the post today! Loads of lovely Brads in exchange for some crocheted Ladybirds. Rebecca asked me if there was anything in particular I wanted, so I told her I always have to go and raid Lesleys brads. There are also some rather pretty beads. Also, I am in Scrapbook Inspirations this month!

Somebody entered a layout using my crocheted Rainbow. Unfortunately there is only my UKS user name and not my site addy, but at least I am in there!

Now to find a copy......

I couldn't resist!

Mark asked me to do dinner at lunchtime yesterday, as he needed to go and see a friend after the Grand Prix and it would be easier for him to have it before he went, rather than rush back for it.

This meant that I had some unexpected time to spend online and decided to have a look around UKS. While I was there, I checked out the weekly challenge.

I haven't done one in ages - and my points showed it!!!!

Imagine my surprise when I found out it was Alphabet Themed

I just couldn't resist!!!!!!

Its a digi LO and is here if you want to leave me loads of lovely comments!!!!!

Stash!

I have been getting loads of lovely stash in the post.

No, I haven't been on a spending spree!

Would I?

This is from my crochet embellishment swap.

Mandi sure knows the way to my heart. Loads of lovely beads and buttons for me to play with. I am seriously tempted to take up this Fimo thing to make my own, they are so much more fun to crochet with than the stuff you can buy. I would also be able to make the holes a bit bigger to make them easier to crochet with.

And look at all this stash Tinkerbelle sent me. Far too much but I am not complaining. I love the hand made cards but I doubt very much that they will end up being used for cards as they are perfect for my Silk Album. I have another swap to get done and in the post for next week. I did tell her Monday but, of course, its a Bank Holiday so it will have to be Tuesday.

I have finished the lower case letters. And what is more, they are all added to mys site, including the doodling! The page still needs a bit more work as I need to add the numbers to it and the link for the free pattern. I also plan to convert this lot to digi and add the downloads to the page.

I redid the "Exhibition" for my Silk Album. I had to squash it in a bit because the new letters are bigger than the old ones. I am still pleased with it though.

And I need to add a "?" to this page so that I have all the punctuation on one page. Just like British Rail, I am getting there!

Free Crochet Pattern

Remember the Crocheted Doodling? Well, I have finally written the pattern and it is on Rainbow Valley! It is really simple to do so there is no excuse for not trying!

I have finally finished the upper case letters. I am now working on the lower case set. I am up to "u" so, with a bit of luck, I can get them finished today and blocked over night ready to photograph on the weekend. I am hoping to get all of these, along with the punctuation and numbers, on to my site for sale this weekends. I can sell the finished items before the pattern is ready as I can use my notes to make them.

Then I have to remake everything to check that I have written the pattern properly.

I do this in a different thread which I use for the photos for the pattern.

Unfortunately, the thread I started using is only available in the UK as it is manufactured by a UK company.

Also, they have changed a few of their lines and I can't get it as easily as I used to.

This means that I have to write the patterns using a different thread that is available in the US as well.

I am slowly building up a stash of this in different colours and, as soon as I have a decent colour range, I will swap everything on the site over to the same thread as the patterns. It will save taking twice as many photos!

Please note that the letters are not a free pattern, just the doodling.

Bloomin Lovely!

Well, after the "Pattern Fiasco" I decided I had had enough on the puter and went out into the garden.

My trough is looking beautiful! It is full of flowers and loads of buds. I was especially pleased to see some buds on the Icelandic Poppy. It is delicate like the Field poppies but comes up in a variety of colours. Monday, one of the buds opened and another looked as if it was about to.

But Monday tea time I looked out to find that all of the buds, except the original one, had disappeared. There was also hollows in the gravel on the top and stones all over the floor. Cats had been in my trough!!!!! There will be more buds later so it isn't a total disaster. Just really disappointing.

This is Sisyrinchium "Californian Skies". Most of the plants in the trough are Alpines because it is in full sun at the hottest part of the day. And now it has been moved, its in the sun for even longer.

This was only very small last year. Mam was after a cutting but I wouldn't let her. This year it is about 10 times the original size with loads of flowers. Unfortunately, she still cant have a cutting as she is having work done on the house. At least next year it will be loads bigger for one!

I also have this in yellow but it isn't as big yet and not as delicate as the blue.

It also flowers later so I have only had two flowers on it so far. But there are loads of buds just waiting to come out!

And I have a few things just coming into bud.

This is Lemon Thyme and it smells gorgeous!

Lavender

And Mimulus in both "Highland Yellow" and "Highland Orange". Also known as "Monkey Flower" because the flowers are supposed to look like monkey faces. You are supposed to plant them a certain distance apart but I put them close together in the hope that the two colours would mingle.

And finally, my Clematis. It is "The Vagabond". It is a lovely colour and already has has a few flowers. There are loads more buds and it is supposed to flower all through summer.

The Bad, the Good and the Terrific!

Yesterday started off quite well, I sold a pattern. I also had an email to say that new crochet thread had been despatched!

Thats enough to put anybody in a good mood. Right?

Well I was. For all of 5 minutes. Right up until I went to find the pattern to email out to the customer. It wasn't there. Whats more, another wasn't either. Major panic. I finally worked out what had happened. When I finish a pattern, I write it to disc then put it in the "finished Patterns" folder on the desktop. That way I have a copy of it which is easily accessible if I need it. During the reformat, I didn't save the Finished Patterns folder, because they were all backed up on disc, weren't they? No, they weren't!!!!!!

Both of my Scrapbooking patterns hadn't been written to disc. The thing is, my writer doesn't work and it is such a palava to transfer them over to Marks puter to use his burner. I was going to get around to it eventually!

So, when I came down from off the ceiling, I had a think.

I have both of the patterns in hard copy. That means I can scan them in with OCR which will mean I don't have to type them all up again. However, the pictures are not good enough so I have to remake everything to get new ones During a visit to CTM we were looking at my Silk Scrapbook and realised that I had use quite a few bits in there. That would save crocheting them. Also, while I was there I realised that I have pictures on my msn group so there is very little I am actually going to have to make.

When I got home I emailed a couple of customers, explained the situation and asked very nicely if they could help out. A US customer immediately sent me her version of the pattern. And a UK customer has promised to look for it after her weekend away. This means that at least I will have saleable copies of that one, even if I have lost all of my work

The problem with the other one is that I haven't sold any.

When Mark came home and I told him he was very matter of fact (typical) and just said "We will try that program on it."

"That Program" is one he bought when something went wrong during his format and he lost ALL of his files. It found them. It doesn't cost anything to download, install and run. However, if it finds the files you want, you have to pay to register it to be able to save them. It cost him $59.95 but was worth it as some of the files he had lost were programs (including Norton) and their key codes.

So, the good news is that it found a whole load of files which I now need to wade through. I have done some of them and found the publisher versions of the one pattern in both UK and US terms. As this is the one I haven't sold any of, this is the one I most needed to find.

Although I don't think I am going to get all my work back, I will have enough to not have to do any work (apart from converting the publisher files to pdf) to have the patterns available to sell again!

And what has happened to my cutomer in all this?

Well, she has been very understanding. I offered her a refund of a text version on a temporary basis. She opted for the text version. As I managed to get the US version back, I sent her that instead. As soon as I get a UK version sorted out, I will send her that as well.

In the mean time, I am sure I can find something else to send her as a "Thank you."

And some really good news is that one of my Silks at the Florists sold!!!! I was shocked. I went around to take her another one and pick my cheque up! Too late to bank it today but I will be waiting for them to open Monday morning.

Spoons and Dragons

Last night was Craft Club. This is the one that meets once a month and we get to try out new stuff. I always look forward to it.

Sometimes is is just a talk but the best ones are where you get to have a go.

Last night we made beaded spoons. They were fun to make and not too difficult. However, the smell on the glue was something else!!!!!

And now the moment you have all been waiting for! The Dragonfly page for my Silk Album. I used the thread I used to stitch it to crochet two of the Dragonflies and the beads I used on it to make the other one.

And, on the Silk subject, I had a good afternoon yesterday! The lovely man in the gift shop took all my posters advertising my patterns for both the Chatteris shop and the one in March. He also took a pile of business cards.

I was careful to put on the posters only the stuff that uses DK as that is what he sells. I figured if he was good enough to promote my patterns for free the least I could do would be to promote the ones that use his yarn. He also knows somebody who may be able to help sell my silks.

Next I went to visit the flower shops.

Both of them took a silk to display and business cards. And the best bit is that neither have asked for commission!!!!! One did say that if she sells loads for me I could make her one. I have to go in and swap them over every 3-4 weeks so that they have a change.

A Great Weekend!

It didn't take up long to get to York. The B&B was easy to find as well. However we had a bit of a shock when we walked in the room! I have never seen decor quite like it. I thought my taste was a bit eclectic, but this was amazing! Some walls Lilac, others Lavender. Blue blinds on the window and deep purple curtains. There was a bright purple canopy over the bed, burgundy velvet covers with hot pink cushions and even bright pink sheets. The Landlady called it the "Indian Room" and it was decorated with Indian style pictures and sequined elephants!!!

The bathroom was even bright! It had a "Primrose" bathroom suite. However, it was clean and smelled nice. The Landlady and the brekkie was lovely and, if you can cope with the decor, I would recommend it.

We had a rest for an hour or so as we were really tired after getting up at 5am that morning. Then we contacted our friends. After a snack, we went for a stroll around York. That city is amazing! It is a glorious combination of new and old, with the Minster appearing from above the other buildings keeping an eye on things.

And the Minster itself is stunning. I was lucky enough to get this picture as the sun was going down and the building reflected the colour. We went for a meal in a place called "Kennedys". You can always tell how posh a place is by the size of the meal. Just as well we had had a snack before we went out! They had a meal deal on which included a bottle of wine with two meals. So, as Mark and Steve were drinking beer, I had a bottle of red amd Sue had a bottle of white.

Just as well the camera was on auto focus because I would have never been able to take this one otherwise! We went on a bit of a pub crawl after that. I was good and stuck to soft drinks after all that wine.

In one of the pubs we saw this charater who kindly posed for us. He is one of the "Ghost Walkers". They take people on walks around York telling them all the ghost stories. The next day we spent the morning with Sue and Steve before leaving for home about 1pm.