Holiday Fun (and a little bit of knitting and crochet)

The summer holidays are in full swing over here at Magpie Towers and we have been getting out and about as much as we can. Over the last week we haven't managed to get to the beach, but tomorrow's forecast is looking good so we will be getting out the buckets and spades once again.

In the last week or so we have enjoyed picnics aplenty in a variety of touristy destinations; it is great living in a seaside town, you feel you are on holiday just by popping a mile up the road. Actually, last year every time we went to the town centre, the littlest Magpie would gleefully announce 'We're at the holiday!'

As well as the picnics, we have been crabbing, swimming, walking, playing at the park (well, several parks) exploring a model town and having a few adventures.

Examining the catch, the final tally was 7!

A brave new friend.

A Model Town



The littlest Magpie wanted to take this cutie home.



That's me - I did the monkey bars!!

My Hitchhiker#2 has been living in my handbag so that it can be whipped out at any available opportunity while the boys are otherwise occupied and has been growing steadily. The missing Hitchhiker#1 got to 45 teeth and I think that the yarn ball looked slightly smaller than this one. I'm on tooth 30 now, so still a way to go but I am proud to say that there are still no mistakes in this one and I aim to keep it that way!

I have also been adding the odd new stripe to my Granny blanket when I get settled enough of an evening. This picture shows 20 more stripes than when I last blogged about the blanket here. Because we have been using the blanket so much already I have changed my mind about making this double-bed sized because I think that if I do it will get left on a bed and would be too big to be carried around by the kids or to be a useful size.

I have just completed stripe 55 and think that I will probably continue to a nice round 60 before moving on to the border.

Granny Magpie has been making her very own Granny Stripe, her first crochet project and I can't wait to see it. A good friend of mine who asked me to show her how to crochet has also been making her own blanket so hopefully soon I can show you pictures of three finished masterpieces!

This weekend we will be having a visit from Grandad, who will be taking the middle-sized Magpie back up to the Midlands to spend a week with Granny Magpie. After a relatively quiet week we will be visited by the Magpie cousins and are looking forward to all the Magpies enjoying some holiday time together as Mr Magpie will be off work too.

I hope that you are enjoying your summer too,

Thanks for reading,

Beth x

This Week in the Nest

Finally the littlest Magpie has recovered from all his mishaps and we had a great time yesterday celebrating his birthday. As you can see, cake decorating is not one of my talents, although I can confirm that it tasted delicious and was speedily devoured by the clan.

Another little one in the family is having her birthday next week. so today I have been stitching up a teddy bear sleeping bag (designed by Florence), like the one I made one for her sister in February. This time I used another Annela Hoey fabric, from her new range 'A Walk in the Woods'. I love this fabric, and treated myself to a very restrained three half-metres from Alice at Backstitch.

Since writing the last post about my blanket, I have added another half-dozen or so rows, including my rainbow section. Work on this has got to slow down now though so you won't be seeing it again for a while.

This new granny square has taken the place of the blanket. the idea is to turn it into a cushion, along with the two other fronts already made, as these can be sold at Larmer Tree. This way I get my crocheting fix without the guilt that I am not making stuff to sell. Perfect!

I know I mentioned that I went to Ikea a few weeks ago, but I didn't show you any pictures of the fabric I bought. Ikea fabric really is great value for money, especially from the children's department. These fabrics work out at £2 per metre and they are really popular with my customers.

  The idea is to turn these into more drawstring wash bags like the ones below.

I have also been busily cutting out felt shapes to turn into brooches. At last year's craft fairs I sold pretty much every one I made, the bird design in particular was a big hit so I am planning on sewing lots of these to take with me to the festival. I'm not sure that the photo does the colours justice, but please can I have your thoughts on the colour combinations?

Well, I had better be off to feed the family. I'm hoping to go to Stitch and Bitch tonight as it seems like it's been ages since I went to a knitting group and I'm really missing it. Pop back next week for some finished brooches and that look around the craft room I've been promising!

Thanks for stopping by,
Beth x

Rainbow Colours

After a week of crawling and being ferried around in a borrowed buggy, I am happy to report that the leg of the littlest Magpie is now out of plaster. He hasn't broken any bones, but has damaged the soft tissue and is meant to be taking things slowly. Quite how you're supposed to stop a little bundle of energy from bouncing on the trampoline with his brother or from chucking himself around the park is obviously beyond me, but he does seem to mix his bursts of energy with a little limp or wanting to be carried so I suppose he won't hurt himself. Can you tell he's my third child?!

I was gadding about in London when the plaster came off, but Mr Magpie reliably informs me that at first the injury resembled most of the colours of my crochet.

Although I am intending the colours of my blanket to be rainbow-like, the shape similarities are not intentional. Can anyone advise me if this is normal? I am hoping that when I add the edging at the end it will sort out the problem.

I had a great day out in London with my daughter and our friends. We did a LOT of walking and sightseeing, although we didn't get to see the Hockney Exhibition after all as we got a bit lost between Brixton and Piccadilly and didn't have time to queue for the two hours needed for entry. We did find a nice old Irish pub to pass the time in until we had to collect our little goth chicks though, so not all was lost.

Although Mr Magpie soldiered on with the flat-pack construction while I was sightseeing, he did leave me my new desk to construct. I didn't have to swear once while putting it together, so can thoroughly recommend it if you are needing some storage. You get a pic of work in progress but the holidays mean some time away from craft, aside from the odd bit of crochet so you will have to wait a few weeks for a tour of the newly organised room.

After all the glorious sunshine, it is raining here in Bournemouth today so we are off out to find some indoor, leg protecting fun. Hmmm.

Thanks for stopping by,
Beth x

The Big, The Broken and the Colourful

After the lovely news we had about Larmer Tree last Friday, events took a turn for the worse on Sunday afternoon. We had been enjoying an afternoon on the beach, which we had cycled to so that we could see the giant deckchair.

Unfortunately we forgot to take our camera, so these pictures are 'borrowed' from the internet, although when we were there the deckchair was being guarded by ugly railings and two security chaps so these pictures give a better view of the colossal seat.

Anyhow, we had just started cycling back when all of a sudden my bike stopped dead and I almost flew over the handlebars. I managed to hang on, and while my brain was scrambling through what had happened my son whose seat is on my crossbar started screaming.

It appears that he had taken his foot off his footrest and put it near the wheel, whereupon his shoe got caught in the spokes and his leg got dragged through, which stopped the bike. Luckily we weren't travelling at any great speed or things may have been much worse.

As it is, I managed to free the poor lad's foot from the spokes and we quickly applied wet tissues to the ankle. It was obvious from the enormous swelling which came up instantly that he would need medical attention so we had to call an ambulance.

A few awful hours later we returned home with the little chap's leg in plaster. The hospital team couldn't be sure, but they think that he has damaged the growing plate at the end of one of his leg bones, so we were sent home and told to return on Friday for further assessment.

My brave little soldier has been coping so well and I think secretly enjoying all the fuss, and being pushed around in a buggy again.

Crafting for the festival has been put on hold until after the Easter break. Tomorrow we are off to Ikea to purchase some more flatpack joy and a dozen other things that will no doubt catch our eye. I will be buying supplies for festival crafting and finally getting the desk I have been wanting for the dining room which will help me organise everything.

On Friday I am taking my daughter and her friend to London so that they can see some hard rock/heavy metal/I'm not sure but it sounds awful band playing at Brixton Academy. I will be taking my own friend so that we can hopefully go and see the Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy while the girls are watching said awful band.

We shall be travelling to London by coach, which takes about two and a half hours, so I will be taking my crochet so that I can hopefully hook up a couple of large granny squares to act as backs for the two cushion fronts I've made.

I have also started on a granny stripe blanket, inspired by Lucy of Attic24. I'm sure all you crocheters are already aware of this fantabulous blog but if not, please do hop over and have a look, you won't be disappointed.

This is my humble effort so far. I'm hoping that we'll be travelling to Nottingham over Easter to see Granny Magpie and the rest of the clan so the journey can be spent productively for me. My plan is that by the time Larmer Tree comes around I will have a colourful stripe-fest to drape over my Magpie knees when the sun goes down.

For the first time I can remember I am actually a little bit sorry to see the back of the dark evenings. I have been so happy sitting warm by the fire with something to keep my fingers happy (and away from the biscuits). I'm not saying I don't enjoy the longer days, I love summer, but I am glad that I don't need to worry about Winter coming around again.

I hope all of you have been managing to get out in the sun, it's been gorgeous hasn't it?

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth x

Exciting News!!

For those of you who don't know, I only started sewing seriously last year and took part in my first craft fair in September. In the run-up to Christmas I took part in several more fairs, during which I met some fantastic fellow crafters and got lots of lovely compliments on my work from members of the public. I always feel very honoured when someone chooses to spend their hard-earned cash on something made by little old me.

The rest of the Magpie clan have been very understanding about Mum's new hobby. Mr Magpie has taken the younger two out for days out without me so that I can 'make' in peace, the attic, and then the dining room have been cluttered up with ever-increasing amounts of supplies and stock, dinners have been less exciting and there has been a constant whirr (or clunk) from my sewing machines, not to mention some choice expletives inserted at regular intervals.

My daughter has been brilliant at accompanying me to fairs (although she usually manages to spend some of the profits for me at other stalls) and the other Magpies have coped very well in my absences, although I have missed them.

One excursion Mr Magpie took with the younger two boys to give me craft time was to Latitude Festival. Walking around the market place, he noticed a distinct lack of the type of things I was making and texted me to say that I should be selling there.

As a family (and occasionally as a couple)  we have been fairly regular visitors to Glastonbury Festival, our last time being an ill-fated family attendance in 2007 (gallons of mud, not much sleep and lots of bands missed due to that). On the whole though, we love the festival experience, and decided that it would be great if we could combine festivals and sewing.

We thought carefully about where to apply for this year and decided on Larmer Tree as it is fairly local to us, but also a long-established and successful event. The cost of having a stall is very much more than you would pay for a normal event, but comes with entry to the whole festival for two adults and two children. The idea is that one of us will man the stall while the other spends time enjoying the festival with the children.

The application was a pretty nerve-racking experience for me as it was a little more involved than for the other events I have done.Then there was a nail-biting wait for a decision, as applicants are told that stalls are always over-subscribed.

This morning, I am deliriously happy to announce, I received my confirmation email. I'm in!! Miss Magpie will be off to the festival come July, installed in the Artist's Quarter no less!! I am really, really looking forward to the event and a new chapter of Miss Magpie. Even if I don't sell a thing, just to be at the festival, with my family in the English summer time will be brilliant.

You may be hearing a little less from me for a while as I have to get busy creating the stock I want to take with me, but I will still blog little bits of my progress. Wish me luck!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Beth x

World Book Day

Parents of primary school children will no doubt be aware that today is World Book Day and children up and down the country have been asked to go to school dressed as a favourite book character.

Sometimes I actually dread this event coming around, but this year wasn't too painful, although we did scrape some elements of the outfit together rather last minute.

Middle son declared his intention to attend the event dressed as a 'Bin Weevil' and did actually give me more than 24 hours notice which made things easier.

Extra legs were created from black leggings stuffed with newspaper and sewn to an old belt, and the nose was a sock stuffed with fibre filling (which I will be reclaiming later) sewn to some elastic. Black face paint finished off the look. I am glad that he will be at school all day as in the twenty minutes he was wearing it at home he managed to smear two walls, a radiator and the cloakroom sink. Don't ask.

Anyway, here is my little Bin Weevil in all his glory

Angela, from This is Wiss is celebrating World Book Week with a week of posts, starting with her own, which you can read here, in which Wiss has a brilliant costume and enjoys a game in the park. Check back through the week for lots of lovely posts from some of our little community. Mine is tomorrow, which includes a treat at the end!

I would love to hear about any of the costumes you have made over the years, so please get in touch, I love receiving your comments and will try to reply where an address or link is given.

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth x

The Versatile Blogger Awards

Last year, I was very kindly nominated for this award by Katherine, who had in turn been nominated by Sophie (please do have a look at their fab blogs).

I had been struggling to put together my own list, not for want of nominees for my seven favourite blogs, but for the list of things I share about myself.

Whilst procrastinating, I have now been nominated for this award by another blogger, Emma, whose blog 'Oooh Betty' is another firm favourite of mine. This action has spurred me on to completing my own list, although I will be sticking to seven favourite blogs and not the fifteen Emma talks about. If you are in need of more than seven recommendations, please look at my side bar towards the bottom of this page. All of the blogs listed here I read regularly and I enjoy them all.

As the tradition goes, I will now nominate seven bloggers whose blogs I read regularly and also tell you seven things about me that you might not know.

Seven Blogs I Enjoy:

Sew, Ray, Me

Rachael only began sewing just over a year ago and makes the most gorgeous things which she sells at craft fairs and on Folksy. She has also been really supportive of all crafters, but those just starting out in particular, always ready and willing to share hints and tips. She has patiently answered many of my questions - thanks again Rachael!

This is Wiss

I have only recently found Angela's blog and I am always excited when she posts as she makes some really clever things. I particularly loved this kitchen that she made her son for his second birthday.

Georgina Giles

Georgina is a professional textile artist and maker whose work is really quirky and eye-catching. I really love the little monsters she makes and enjoy reading about her adventures. She has been known to leave little crafty presents dotted around her home town, which is such a lovely idea.

Lemons for Lemonade

Emma is also quite new to craft and blogging and is someone else who strikes me as a person who is willing to go out of her way for complete strangers in the name of craft! Crochet is her particular passion and you can find her wares on Etsy.

Tales From Homemade House

Kelli (or Mrs DG as I am used to thinking of her as) is a busy mum of four who also runs her own business from home. Her blog is a lovely insight into her life, her family and hobbies and has a definite heart-warming feel to it.


for alice with love

Laura's blog is another recent read. She also sells at craft fairs and makes beautiful home wares and gifts.

Tizzy Crafts

Andrea's blog appealed to me initially because she makes mostly bags and uses oilcloth, which is a material I enjoy working with. She was also very helpful when I was making enquiries about sewing machines.


Seven Random Things about me:

1) I hold a full motorbike license. Although, sadly I had to sell my bike because it was rotting on the driveway, I am capable of riding big bikes and hopefully one day when I have more time I will get another.

2) My feet are big. They are not only a size 8 but also quite wide which makes shoe-buying a bit of a nightmare for me. I will never love heels and tend to buy decent shoes which I live in until they die.

3) I love to sing, especially in the car. I'm not the greatest of warblers but I enjoy it. My family doesn't.

4) I think I'm addicted to Vaseline. I've been using it to moisturise my lips since I was about fifteen and I am never without a pot. There are little tins dotted everywhere, in the car, my pockets, in all my bags and I get a bit panicky if I don't have any with me. I sometimes wonder if the constant use has led to my lips losing their self-moisturising properties; they feel horrible without Vaseline on. The whole family hate me kissing them when I've just re-applied it (all the time then).

5) My favourite colour is green. I have green eyes, which I didn't like when I was little because I remember for one assembly in primary school the class was arranged into eye colour - and I was the only one with green eyes and had to sit alone! Now, I love having green eyes, they seem to change with my mood and if I have a good old cry for any reason they go a really deep green. Mr Magpie also has green eyes, as do both our boys. I buy quite a lot of green clothes and my customers will know that my bags and labels are green.

6) I am more of a cat person then a dog person, although I do like dogs. I just don't like them licking me or trying to sniff me. I have two tabby cats who are fiercely loved by me and my middle child and tolerated by the rest of the family, who are more doggy types. We don't have a dog, and no kids, we're not getting one, sorry.

7) My actual first name is not Beth. I was named Helen Elizabeth but never really liked my name. In my early twenties my life changed quite dramatically and I started to introduce myself as Beth, changing it officially a few years later. I'm still known as Helen to family and old friends and you never know, one day I might feel like changing names again!


It would be lovely if you could have a peek at some of the mentioned blogs

Thanks for stopping by,
Beth x

Chilling on the Prom

This afternoon my youngest announced that he wanted to ride his bike at the beach and wouldn't be fobbed off with a visit to the park. The other Magpies steadfastly refused to go out in the cold, so leaving our middle son with the two teenagers, Mr Magpie and I bravely wrapped up ourselves and the insistent youngest and duly headed off.

It was very, very cold and windy but he was determined to reach the park further down the prom.

We lasted all of ten minutes in the park before deciding to head back, this time walking into the wind. It certainly was a bracing walk, but the scenery made it a little more bearable.

For years I didn't appreciate where we live properly but I think now I have travelled more I understand how lucky we are. As much as I love the beach in the summer, I find it all the more appealing in the winter when there are fewer people around. As we walked back, the sun was just setting. We have been having some fantastic sunrises and sunsets lately.

If you look carefully, you will see that there was someone out kite surfing. I love to see a bit of dedication!

Chilly Magpies

As we were getting near to home, our funny little boy announced that we had had a 'lovely journey'. It was; I'm glad that sometimes children make you do things you wouldn't  do otherwise.

Thanks for stopping by,
Beth x

Happy New Year!

Just a quick post to say I'm still here. We've had a lovely Christmas, despite most of the Magpies being ill at various stages and are all getting ready to go back to work and school. Not much craft has been happening; my main work space is in the dining room which was very much in demand throughout the festivities so I had to pack everything away. I am planning a massive overhaul of the room over the next week or two so that I can feel comfortable enough to get creative again, more on that another time methinks.

I haven't got any craft fairs booked in for 2012 yet, but I do have quite a long list of things I need to make for the house and things I'd like to make for myself, so there will be plenty to keep me occupied. My daughter very kindly bought me a crochet book for Christmas, I've been saying for ages I want to learn so that will keep my fingers busy when I'm tempted by the mountain of chocolate we still seem to be surrounded by.

Out of curiosity, I'm wondering where other people do their crafting? Do you have a dedicated space, or have you got a clever storage solution? I'm trying to think of all possible options for my own stash. If you'd like to leave me a comment, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy New Year to you all, I'm looking forward to a very crafty 2012!

Thanks for stopping by,
Beth x

Christmas Craft

Hi folks, sorry for the gap in posts but I'm sure you can all appreciate that this is a busy time of year. I've also been having some laptop issues, i.e, I don't actually have my own and the other Magpies are very protective of their toys and are being a bit mean about sharing.

I've been having another break from my sewing machine, but have been doing lots of hand sewing. I made a 'Merry Christmas' decoration as a present, similar to this one that I made last year.

And this is what I came back from work one morning to find. (We've been watching Ice Age films recently, Scrat is a character from them!).

I'm sensing lots more anagrams over the festive period; a quick Google revealed over 5,000 variations!

For Christmas last year we bought Grannie Magpie a copy of the book 'Knitivity' as she is a fantastic knitter. I was really looking forward to seeing this. It has taken months of hard work and we all think the results are amazing!

The dolls are really detailed, with all the pieces knitted separately. I didn't mind undressing baby Jesus but I thought I'd better not undress the adult dolls, you'll have to take my word for it that their clothes come off!

Mr Donkey still needs some wire in his legs.

I don't think I would have the patience to finish the whole scene so hats off to Grannie Magpie for this, it's brilliant!

We're currently enjoying our Christmas visit to the family in the Midlands, then it will be home for some last minute present making and wrapping before getting settled in for the main event.

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth x

Paper Mache and Cupcakes

Things have been relatively calm here over the last week. The children were all back at school and it was the adult's turn to be poorly. Still, I'm pretty much fighting fit again and ready to crank up the machine for the last craft fair this Friday.

Some crafty-ness has been occurring here. Last year the school attended by our youngest two introduced 'home learning', which involves families in the current topic being studied. Whilst the current topic is being studied, the children are asked to do a related piece of work at home. Usually there is a choice between a report-type task or a model-making one. Our middle son's last topic was India. When I noted that the choices were between producing a powerpoint presentation and making a model of the Taj Mahal I felt sure he would choose the former, being something of a computer whizz.

To our dismay, this was not the case. He felt that constructing the Taj Mahal from the inside of toilet rolls would be far more appealing. I have to say, it turned out to be an enjoyable occupation. Mr Magpie deserves most of the credit, but the whole family got involved and we were all really pleased with the result.

Our version of the Taj Mahal. Please ignore the far superior version on the right!

Our youngest son is in the nursery at school. His topic has been 'Rainbows' and included the reading of the Elmer stories. For home learning we were invited to make ingenious 'Elmer' models by cutting the tops off of 2 litre milk bottles. I'm so glad we were given instructions for this, I would have gone into a minor panic as to how I would help a three year old make a model elephant otherwise.

First we covered the plastic in paper mache and sprayed it in white paint (done in conjunction with Taj-making).

Next we put my felt scraps to good use. It was quite hard for control freak me to let him decide where to stick the squares!

We finished him off with some of big brother's 'googly eyes'

Yesterday, the youngest demanded that we make cake. He is something of a cake-monster and I wonder whether he enjoys baking only because he gets to taste the goodies at the earliest opportunity. Sometimes he can't even wait for the finished batter, and I'll catch him putting his finger in the creamed butter and sugar!

Notice his tongue peeking out, eager to get the spatula in his mouth! Unfortunately, I can't show you a picture of the finished cupcakes. Whilst they were supposed to  be cooling for icing, my little monkey crept back into the kitchen and took a bite out of every last one!

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth x

All the Fun of the Fairs

Three craft fairs, three poorly children and a visit from the in-laws. Last week was rather manic and has left me feeling pretty shattered. The craft fairs were all really good though. I sold lots of stuff and met some more lovely people.

My brooches were selling really well. I was making them while I was sitting behind the stall. Some of them got sold within minutes of being finished. I also sold all of the apple pincushions and most of the pears. It was a bit odd seeing the first one I made get chosen, but it's new owner assured me it was going to a good home!

I've got the setting up and taking down of the stall pretty well sussed now, I can even speak whilst doing it and I'm getting less nervous and actually enjoying myself more.

On Sunday, we went out for a lovely walk along the beach and then through the town and back again. We're still having really mild weather in Bournemouth and it was lovely to be outside. As we headed back, the sun was setting and the sky looked brilliant. I took lots of pictures, but none that properly captured what it was like.

 Skies like this make me want to paint. I wish I could!

Usually I make my Christmas cake at Halloween but all the sewing has taken priority. I finally managed to get it done yesterday.

From this to this in only five hours!

Only one more craft fair before Christmas. I really need to get started on the presents I'm making this year, but the children very kindly passed their bug on so I'm taking it easy this week.

Thanks for stopping by,

Beth x