Not a Tidy House.

I really am going to tidy the house today... but there were minor malfunctions with the youngest of my small brood and I had to fix him.

It all began when the boys were invited to walk through the farm and have a cup of tea with their Poppa. Hugo tripped over half way there and ended up limping home distraught. Archie stayed with him despite his little brother shouting at him to go away and made sure that he reached home safely. I can't tell you how proud I am of my biggest little man.
Archie is now at Gran and Poppa's house but Hugo stayed at home, still not very well and completely tuckered out. So, how to restore Hugo's inner peace - craft.

From painting with food dye and oil pastels to using straws as bubble blowers - I think he is fixed.

Through the Yellow Door.

Dogwoods, straw peeping and old red doors.
I found this anemone sprouting from a broken terracotta pot. Spring is full of surprises.
Spring is even springing up on the couch (this pattern is from The Royal Sisters).

Cushion tops still waiting to be made up in to real cushions...

This morning was spent outside in the sunshine covering a garden bed with straw and planting lots of lovely new plants like clary sage, lavender and cherry pie borage. The air is warm and life will be (and is) good again. Love Kate xxooxxooxx.

Snippets.

A photo to show the sun shining again after weeks of wind and rain.

What are the boys watching so intently...

Jonno and his sausage maker - chicken, sun dried tomatoes and white wine.

Hugo's toast - he is sick again, this time with strep throat and needed some cheering up.

Hard to believe but we are back to quietly shuffling around the house as Hugo is feeling very poorly with lots of temperatures and a sore throat. It's no surprise really as of course the only place we have been while his system was under attack was the doctors and there always seem to be a few germs lurking around.
As for me, sleep and strep throat don't go hand in hand so I am catching up with snippets of naps here and there. I am actually feeling very cheerful - just such a relief to have chicken pox over and done with. But you know what - I am so looking forward to posting about craft and only craft!!!

A Birthday!!!

Time for some cheer. It was Jonno's birthday yesterday...

One finished cushion.

Making wedding invitations with Stef.

Singing 'Old MacDonald had a farm' with Hugo on the ukulele.

It's been a very quiet week on the blogging front. Just one of those times that took a lot to get through (the chicken pox plague was only the icing on the cake). But, the week is over and it is now time to start connecting all the dot's of happiness together again for a much better picture. And now it is time to tackle the house and find clean clothes and let fresh air in.

Have a good weekend, Love Kate xxooxxooxx.

Gruesome Games with Playdough.

Are words even necessary... at least the insanity went into something positive... sort of.

Love Kate xxooxxooxx.

P.S. I am thinking of putting some things up into my Felt shop again - is anyone interested or have any better suggestions. I will be having some Christmas sales towards the end of the year probably just from home and will start amassing stuff over the next couple of months. Any comments would be gratefully received.

Climbing the Walls... and trying to get back down again.

This afternoon I hit the wall... and then I started climbing it. Light is certainly starting to twinkle at the end of the tunnel but how long can four people be cooped up in a house with wet, windy weather and itchy crankiness. In all fairness to the boys, they are looking much better. I have just lost the plot though. EEEEEKKKKK.

As a result I grabbed the hammer... and decided today was the day to start hanging pictures up in the new room. I gingerly knocked against the wall with my knuckles to locate where any beams or noggins or whatever were and Hugo came into the room. He was obviously expected to make a report back to Archie so he shouted "It's just Mum punching the walls".

After the pictures were hung I was suddenly overwhelmed, filled with sickening compulsion (you know how it feels when you have done anything 'creative' in a while) and made the linen flower picture above. When it was done I felt good - very good.

Aside from that I have a new little friend above, Michael Mouse. He is also pretty nonchalant but doesn't realise that he is only a prototype at this stage... don't get too cocky young mouseman.

Time to tear the boys away from t.v. for dinner - hopefully the gory docco will give them a good appetite.

Love Kate xxooxxooxx.

Hellooooo!!!!

We are still here, hanging in but after a couple of rough nights, life has become extremely quiet. It turns out that children who get eczema have a terrible time with chicken pox and that is precisely what has happened with Hugo, his inner elbows covered so tightly with blisters he can barely move his arms. I think he and Jonno are just about to turn the corner though but at the moment, they are very, very sore and tired.

They have spent a lot of time curled up on the couch watching documentaries, something that suits them both and in particular Hugo. I have wondered at his fascination with them for a while and then it clicked... it is the only way a four and a half year old gets to watch blood and gore and violence - something that interests him greatly, especially in the animal world. Remember that this is the boy who likes to know what things look like on the inside (he really is very sweet and lovely it must be added).

For a change of pace, Archie and I are heading into town this morning to mingle with the greater population. Library first, then Farmers for a Transformer and after that, something delicious to eat.

Have a good weekend, Lots of love, Kate xxooxxooxx.

Knitting for Sanity.

Today everytime I have found myself staring longingly at the walls, I have sat down and knitted a couple of rows. Knitting is such a sanity saver!!! Poor Jonno is now resembling human bubble wrap and Hugo's case has developed into a very convincing dot-to-dot map. Hoots (as we call him) started going downhill mid-morning and I tried to keep him distracted with craft... to my complete astonishment it didn't work and we ended up reading lots of books instead. So the picture above is a wishful start to the village I thought we could make together. It was the sticky tape that did it - it refused to obey him and was just too exhausting. I did a few lines after that incident (lines of the knitting kind).

However, right now there is a sort of peace. Archie and Hugo are watching 'Babe' and Jonno is upstairs reading a book. Chicken soup is bubbling and a big batch of stewed apple is cooling down on the bench. Isn't it funny how a peaceful house goes hand in hand with food production...

Lots of love, Kate xxooxxooxx.

Revisiting the Chickens.

Stage 2 of my project.

Spring Flowers.
More cushions for the new couch... I still haven't put back onto any of them yet.

This little boy here - the one with the cheeky smile? He has just been told he has to stay at home for the week because he.... drum roll... has come down with the chicken pox. Can you see the delight dancing across his face? I have to add that this case of c.pox may be one of the mildest beginnings ever. Hugo told me it was because he has been eating too much chicken and too much chicken skin. He is now walking around the house pretending to be a chicken. It must also be said at this time that he is a little boy who would like to stay at home forever and never, never leave it... unless party food is involved so to have a faint case of chicken pox is a dream come true.

However, Jonno is not feeling the same way. Yes, Jonno has come down with the chicken spots too and by comparison is very, very poorly indeed covered in spots and feeling very low with flu-like symptoms. He just didn't beam at me in the same way when I confirmed his pox. No strutting around the house pretending to be a rooster for Jonno.

So once again we have some very quiet housebound days coming up which I don't mind at all - I just hope the nights aren't too rough.

Worse than the chicken pox though ( aren't I just a breath of fresh air this morning) - Mum had her appendix removed over the weekend. It all went really well and she is now back home but I couldn't even bring myself to post about it until I knew she was safe. She is feeling very tired and
sore but will hopefully be well and truly on the way to recovery before too long.

Aside from that all is well - we have a chimney sweep climbing on our roof (at least that's what he said he is) and Hugo's poppa is snuggling him on the couch (or wrestling) and lunch about to be made. Lots of love, Kate xxooxxooxx.

Washi Tape and Little Beanies.

Today was a good mail box day - another parcel from Katydid... more washi tape. It's the best thing in the world and I love it to bits - all the things I can cover with it!!! If you are wondering what on earth washi tape is, it's a translucent masking tape with origami style patterns on it. I wrote a bit about it on my last post.
Our weekend was very quite and very much spent inside with lots and lots of rain bucketing down around us. And so with bravery shining from our hearts, Archie, Hugo and I ventured down to the video shop and borrowed 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Ponyo'. Have I ever been so happy... I don't know.

With Johnny Depp up in our T.V. and my boys by my side, I spent my weekend knitting baby beanies (not for me, I will tell you about them another day) and crocheting cushion covers. Heaven.

Monday morning has treated us well so far, as I mentioned earlier, a package in the mail. Hugo and I also had hot chocolate milk in a garden cafe and bought lots of plants and then we trekked even further to the supermarket. Now we have all the food we could ever dream of consuming in one week. I feel so safe! Lots and of love and I hope your Monday is treating you kindly, Kate xxooxx.

P.S. I have just added a link to my crochet ball tutorial but realised that there are a few mistakes at the end which I will remedy a.s.a.p....