foxys crafty thoughts

new lines

2011-01-09T15:33:00.000-08:00

have been working on a new line in shrugs and have just finished a lovely pink one. have given it a little handwash and it is hung up to dry will post a wee pic when i have pressed it and put it on the dummy

WORK

2011-01-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

took my car for MOT today and passed and now i'm getting ready to get back to work tomorrow again - been off now for 2 whole weeks and didn't miss the place one little bit

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2011-01-02T16:45:00.000-08:00

Well my crafty friends i have been idle for far tooooo long and now i'm back. Big son is now at Glastry and doing very well and wee son is jogging along nicely. I have taken an IT course through work so my presentation should be a bit better and i have branched out onto MISI and Folksy and and dipped a toe into the Ebay waters and the odd wee craft fair along the way.

Some of the items i have made i have put on here as well and i have been working on a few new ideas for the next week or so on ebay.

These wrist warmers have been a big hit at the last couple of fairs but as yet i haven't shifted a pair on Folksy, but the year is young and i am still hopefull.

And i have made 4 of these scarves of which i have sold 2 already!! I hope to put this on MISI next week and see how they go or i might just keep one for myself.

Right off to bed now and get ready for another day and i'm back to work on tuesday after 2 whole weeks off. Glad all that snow is now away.

SCHOOL DAYS

2010-06-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

well only 2 more sleeps and big son will have finished primary school and be ready after the summer to move onto big school and i have mixed feelings about the whole thing. He's more than ready for the next step and looking forward to going to my old school but on the other hand my wee boy is starting to turn into a young man in front of my eyes!!! and i'm not sure if i'm ready for all this. But life go's on and i have to move with it .........

ringa ringa rosie

2010-06-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

a few weeks ago addy and i planted up some baskets and pots and at last they are starting to look like something. below is the ones along the front of the house

and these are some of the pots i put out the back

we did 2 of these big wall hangers - this one is between the garage doors and it is really starting to look good

and this last pot has my lavender and a lovely plant the boys bought me for christmas and it is now starting to bloom

hop this dry spell of weather keeps up and we might be able to get a few more pots and tubs done for august as we are hoping to have a bat-b-que for char birthday

FIRST FAIR FOR A WHILE

2010-06-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

i've just popped in to check the old emails and a wee look about here as i'm getting ready for a fair tomorrow at conlig and once i've the car packed then the baskets that addie and i planted a few weeks ago need a good watering

sunny days

2010-06-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

apart from a little rain over the weekend, what great weather we are having !!!!!!!!!!!!
just hope it holds out until the boys finish school in a few weeks time and for sports day tomorrow , and what good (and bad ) football on the telly as well

NEW HAIR DO!

2010-06-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

just back from my aunts where me and the boys had a good old fashioned hair cut, (hubby was there yesterday) - boys had the usual short back and sides and i had a whopping 3 inches of mine !!!!! off to find my hat and scarf as my neck is cold (shivers)

lawnmowers???????

2010-06-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

what a lovely few days we have been having. and with a little light rain thrown in the grass is growing .... very fast so today the boys and i thought we would give dad a hand and cut the grass. Char asked if and when i got the lawnmower started could he have a go and i thought this was a good idea (have to start somewhere!) so we trailed the mower out and checked for petrol and pulled the handle ... and pulled the handle.... and pulled the handle ... and well you get the idea the NOTHING HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gave up after half an hour and left it till dad came home and it took him a few minutes but it spluttered into life so out of bad temper i started with the small front garden and then moved to the back so after an hour and one very sore shoulder i was finished way hay! so off the bed now to nurse my aches and pains but my lawns are lovely .......

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-06-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

hello again !!!! been very busy in the last few months and not had much time for me... Lots of good things going on at school as well and big son is now in his final year at primary school and is getting ready for the move to 'big school' in september and was delighted to get into the local collage (which is a very good school). And he also had a part in the school play of the Wizard of Oz!!!! and for my sins i got to make a lot of the costumes for the kids - some were cobbled together from old outfits in the school and a few were made from stratch, below is Addy in the lions costume which used to be a rabbit? and now i have time to get caught up on the important things like stock for my next fair and enjoying the little bit of sunshine we have been having ..... so off to swimming lesson tonight with addy (he was able to swim without any help last week !) and then we are having 2 friend over to stay for the night while mum and dad have a wee night out - off to get the boys from school and make hotdogs for dinner!

Winter warmers

2010-02-05T05:44:00.001-08:00

Have been very busy at these gloves. I have an order for 4 pairs for a wee football club and am on no 2 think they look cool .

BAD NEWS!!!!!

2010-01-31T14:10:00.000-08:00

have been busy getting over Christmas and the new year and between all this work sent me for a health review and i have some good news and some bad news!!!!! the good news is my hearing is very good for my age and working a very noisy place and i have the lungs of a 45 years old again good because of the place i work and having had pneumonia a couple of years ago and I'm 43 so that OK but the pains in my hands and wrists have turned out to be the early stages of carpel tunnel syndrome ...... not good and this really bad spell of bad weather has not helped. i have seen a consultant and it has been confirmed but not bad enough for treatment yet.. i did ask about the knitting and crocheting and the doc said it was good to keep mobile until it starts to bother me for having given myself a rest over the holidays i now have more reason than ever to get back to the needles and for my first new makes it is wrist warmers and some pairs of gloves for a guy at work for his wee football team -------- so off to the knitting needles and hope to knock out a couple of pairs of gloves for the weekend, will post a pic of the first pair next week

2010

2010-01-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Sunset

2009-11-24T02:53:00.001-08:00

Have been sooo busy not had much time to keep up dated. The other night on the way to swimming it was such a lovely sun set we stopped the car and Char took this picture of the Islands on strangford lough close to where i grew up

hello peeps

2009-09-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

i have been busy!!!!! up to my eyes in beanie hats

off to take a few pics and be back in the morning

mud bath!!!!!!

2009-05-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

we spent the weekend at ballywalter house at the game and country fair and this is what we had to deal with MUD! on the friday it was a bit damp and as the day went on the weather became wetter and a little bit more muddy. and when we arrived on saturday morning the placed was more like a sea of mud than a green field, good job it was only round the road from us and we didn't have far to travel.
but as usual loobylou and i made the best of a bad thing and had a ball, although we didn't make much money and as you can see we could still smile about it.

the guy beside us is a local artist and this was his first fair of this kind and he soon found out that we were good people to know and kept him supplied with constant cups of coffee and a large amount of witt and wisdom from marriage (bless he is only married a year, 'it il soon wear off' we told him) to getting sales at a fair

and although the weather was better today the mud was still there and the punter were sooooooo busy keeping their hands in their pockets we made very little in way of sales

but we looked good anyway!!!!! well at least the next fair is in a church hall where we will be away from the mud ......

busy,busy,busy

2009-04-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

i have a very busy few weeks in front of me! me friend loopylou and i are off to a big game fair at the weekend and then a small fair in our church to help raise money to extend the halls and then the next week off to the big farm show in belfast and followed by a lovely weekend in the local national trust property (just round the corner from me!!!!) so off now to sort out the car for the first drop off and set up tomorrow, hope the lovely weather we have been promised arrives in time for the weekend and i think i will spend monday in bed, or at the sewing machine making more of everything ......

huffy puss

2009-04-28T11:30:00.001-07:00

i have been very busy over the winter making stock for the up and coming craftfairs and not much time to sit about and relax- so after the success of my new labels i thought i had a few minutes spare i would make a load more and got stuck in, but i had a big problem ....... in the shape of hammy!!! as you can see i was not paying him much heed and he thought it was about time he got a little tlc

so after walking over me and the table a few times he settled down for a nap?????

tags take 2 !!

2009-04-26T14:52:00.001-07:00

well with a bit of fiddleing about i have managed to make my own handmade -handstamped tags !!!!!!!!!!!!! ad you can see i went for the oval shaped punch and a cream card

and when i had punched out the required amount i stamped some with my new stamps ( as you can see i have went for the usual green for the handmade in ireland one )

and then with the single punch i made 2 holes to allow the back of the brooche to fit in

and there you have it and a lot cheaper than having to buy luggage tags by the thousand now i can make my own and i'm sure i'll find some other use for these lovely tags

just hope this makes the punters want to buy even more of these lovely little brooches

rosie

2009-04-20T14:25:00.001-07:00

meet rosie

i have been on the lookout for a bust for a long time to display my shawls etc and i had a blowup one but Char squished it one day and it now has a hole that i can't fix. i had picked up a copy of the local ads for free in the hope of finding a new link box for the tractor and fell in with this instead !!!!!!! isn't she just great
sent hubby a picture and he said she could stay of she could iron and do a bit of housework

here rosie is wearing one of my beanies and a lovely blue neck warmer

hope she likes being my new best friend?

busy day

2009-04-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

been a bit of a busy day today - i have finished the heart chalkboards i have been working on now for a little while and i have also finished some of the brooches and felt flowers that i have been working on over the last month .

these are the large ones that are a bit like a corsuage (not sure if these are spelt right but you know what i mean ) and the ones below are a mixture of felt flowers which are, i hope, in this years colours of the purple that there is so much of about and the others are the little knitted brooches that i have been futtering with for a while until i got just the way i liked them

Board!

2009-04-19T06:19:00.001-07:00

Had a go at this . I cut the hearts out of ply and sanded and then painted with blackboard paint added the fabric to hang it with. Its 33 cm by 33 cm approx ( my sawing is still a bit wonkey)

Hurry up!

2009-03-26T03:33:00.000-07:00

Hammy thought i had done enough ironing and it was time to feed him so if protested on the ironing board followed by his brother who huffed when i put them off

hello again

2009-03-22T05:59:00.000-07:00

hello and a happy mothers day to one and all from my shiny new laptop !!!!! what a surprise i had this morning when i came down and found the box sitting waiting for me (hubby got a bit fed up with me always having to use his as my old one had got so slow - its an age thing!! ) and the boys had made cards and paper flowers in school at the end of the week which i love.......
off now to play with my new toy and get this blog on the road again ######

fat thursdays

2009-02-04T14:46:00.000-08:00

will it's that time of year again and the diet books are out with a vengance, but not for me but my mates in work and after 3 week of the 3 day crackers and cheese and tuna and ........ oh i could go on but they have had enough had we are now to have a new day, fat thursdays and for this i have made a raspberry ruffel cheesecake and it might not last until the morning as i could sleep walk and scoff the lot ..... the girlies would kill me if i don't turn up in the morning with this in toe

busy weekend

2009-01-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

well the weather has been rubbish and we have spent a lot of time inside again this weekend but in saying that a few things have happened that need to be mentioned - Char has been having swimming lessons for a year and a half now and has been doing really well, so much so that he got his 25 meter badge on friday and today we spent with other family and friends at a baptisim of my cousins young daughter. great days craic and way to much nice stuff to eat, and i ate so much pudding (well some one had to do it) and fresh cream that i can feel my waist band expand as we speak ........

off now for a 20 mile jog hahahahahahahahahahahah sorry was getting a bit carried away the off to bed with a bag of crisps !!!!!!

a bit windy

2009-01-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

what a night we had last night! the weather forecast had been bad for the weekend and northern ireland was to get the worst of it, so we battoned down the hatches and spent the evening watching tv and keeping the fire will stoked and the candles burning (the electric was flicking and we light a few candles incase it went out and we wouldn't be left in the dark) and the boys and i just put the night in without doing very much of anything - and keeping an eye on the rabbit as the last big storm the hutch sailed around the yard but all was ok this time. so tonight because i sat at the fire and warmed my toes i have a mountain of ironing to do!!!! and most of these are hubbys shirts which are my least fave things on the ironing board........
so peeps have a good weekend and on with the housework (sorry for the use of the bad words 'ironing' and 'housework')

christmas secret santa

2009-01-17T14:13:00.000-08:00

on the lovely craft forum that a same to spend way to much time on some days we had a secret santa and below are the pictures of the wonderful things that i recieved

good job it was a lovely fairy and i think a wood nymph as we had been so busy on the run up to the big day that we had run out and bought a tree and stuck a set of lights on it we had nothing on the top of the tree!!!! so now once all the bits and pieces have been take down the two have been packed away carefully ready to be the first things out for next christmas

we had all agreeded to open our secret santa gifts on christmas day and i was a little sorry that i waited as i should have had these lovely little people on my tree for a lot longer but the boys thought they were so good i knew that they will be the first things on my tree next christmas

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2009-01-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

hi folks its been a while since i talked to all you lovely peeps out there in blog land. i have been up to my eyes coming up to the christmas period with family and crafty things and now the boys are back at school and i'm back at real work and hubby is in bed with the flu. i hope you all had a good christmas and a peaceful new year and lots of good ideas for the new season. the kittens are now a big part of the family and as well as being almost full grown and are now due a small visit to the vets!!!!!!! so off now to bed now to get refreshed for a long weekend of crafting

monkeys

2008-11-29T10:39:00.001-08:00

i was at a small craft fair today, well it was more of a sale of work as most of the stall were ladies who meet in on a tuesday morning and make some beautiful stuff between them and i had a ball sold a few bits and pieces and made some new friends and a bit of criac - but the bargin of the day has to be the things i got of the bric-a-brack stall for the church and the best bit was the monkey i bought for my monkey!!!!!!

have to say at 50p he is a great find and addy just loved him as you can see and now he has something to carry about other than the cats

not sure which monkey is the cutest?

baby update

2008-11-29T10:27:00.000-08:00

well they have been here for a weeks now and have taken over the whole house !!!!!!
RJ is the one that rules the roost and keeps the rest of the house in order and is getting on very well with my old dog sophie - this is him below

but Hammy is the joker in the pack and always up for a play even when i'm trying to knit with the ball of wool he is carrying off

and as soon as the laptop is on Hammy gets up and sits on the keyboard

babies

2008-11-08T11:42:00.001-08:00

i have been a cat person for many years and now as my boys are a bit older and able to help look after a cat i thought it was time to see is i could find one and as luck would have it one of the fellas at work was looking for homes for some kittens. so i told him that ifhe had any males i would take one and then i thought about it and as twos company i might as well have the last 2 boys and here is RJ in his box, bit like king of the castle and as usual Hammy is off exploring his new surroundings

now this is only a small cat basket and just about room for one cat (the boys are about 12 weeks old) but as Hammy seems to be the boss, even though he is smaller than RJ he had to get into the basket as well !!!!

and as for hubby, well he did the usual huffing and puffing about cats in the house and fur all over the place and the rest, and when i have my back turned he's on the floor playing with them!

now all i have to do is learn to knit with the 2 of them on my knee.(ha ha)

hearts

2008-10-30T11:43:00.001-07:00

i had been into the local fabric shop to pick up some more stock and i found some really good stuff for halloween and i just had to have a wee meter and as i was wondering what to make with it the boys asked for bandanas - so when i had finished and was clearing up the ends i had a little left so i sat down at the machine and had a bit of a fiddle!!!

and very soon had a small pile and after a bit of lavender and stuffing a and as you can see the finished hearts modeled by char and i think they turned out very well - as always i take a few samples into work and the response was very good and even a few orders after the craft fair this saturday so i might have to nip into the shop and get a few more meters just in case (he he!)

the fixer

2008-10-26T05:33:00.000-07:00

the boys finished school for the halloween break and as usual they have a half day on friday and a fancy dress party and this year addy went as a vimpire and dosen't he look a smasher

and char went as a hippy and he won the class prize for best costume!!!!!! he was well pleased as he had gathered up most of the stuff himself and he and addy drew flowers and things on the old pair of jeans his uncle had given him - as usual addy had to get into the picture somewhere

at last i think i'm up and running on the laptop front anyway and last night i managed to add the phone software so i can also add pictures -- and here is the lovely darren or the PC Doc as he likes to be known and he got me running again, he works with me and as usual was on hand to help. he's a big softie and a sucker for a sob story (just as well in my case as i'm a technophobe) and is easy to pay ( large chocolate cake ) thank goodness!!

sunday again

2008-10-19T14:06:00.001-07:00

well it's just a week to my first craft fair for a while and as usual i'm up to my eyes in it !!!
have been busy making stock all summer and now i have to tidy up the ends and add the labels
and my friend arrived on friday with a large box of material that had been in a suitcase for 30 + years so i now have a load of new ideas racing around in my head which i won't have time to put together for saturday ######

now i've got my laptop back i need to gat the stuff for my mobile added on again so i can start to gat the pictures on here again

now off to bed 6.00 am comes a little to early for my liking

See they really are red

2008-10-15T13:00:00.001-07:00

At last a picture of the famous red arrows pity it was such a wet day but worth the wait in the rain

i've found it

2008-10-12T15:21:00.000-07:00

at last my mojo's back !!!!!! have had a bash at the old sewing machine tonight and made a bandana for char and then had a go at the fleece hat i've had the pattern for what seams like forever and now i want to do more but i have to go to bed or i'll never make it to work in the morning. laptop is in for a service tomorrow so i'll have time to sew tomorrow evening and get a few things made and pictured so i can show off when i get it back - ok now off to bed ...... night all

hello old friends

2008-10-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

hi peeps sorry i'ts been a while - i've got a new camera phone and am having trouble uploading my pics as well as having been really busy over the last few weeks and the weather has been rubbish as well. and in the middle of all this had a new bathroom put in so we're trying to get the house back to normal after no bathroom for a few days! the boys are back at school and doing really well and had a great time last saturday when we all attended an open day hosted by the company i work for - even though it rained ( there's a surprised) and there was a bit of a delay the day will be remembered for the great display put on for us by the Red Arrows, and they were parked on the runway with good viewing for us! (sorry it's not red but the pics i took i can't post here yet)

ok off now to make a bandana for Char and knowing Addy when he see it i'll have to make another one and i promise to get the pic thing sorted very soon

hello again

2008-08-22T03:46:00.000-07:00

well what a few hetic days i've had and the bad weather didn't help!
busy in work making lots of airoplanes and lots of work at home trying to get my winter stock on the go as well and the boys are still of school for the holidays and between all this we had the big traction engine rally at Mountstewart (the local national trust property) and family day for work at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and it rained and rained and rained ........
at the rally we had a tractor drive on the friday night and we all had a brilliant time with well near 100+ tractors on the drive and on the saturday it rained so hard and the bad winds blew our tent down in which we were to do the bread making so if anyone would like to see what soda bread looks like just go back a few posts as the day was so bad i didn't get any pictures but on the up side we did lift over £400 for charity .......
and family day is a great day out with everything be provided by the company i work for and as usual we ball even though it rained most of the day but a little rain never stopped us before

wheat bag

2008-08-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

not a very good picture i know but i hope this gives you an idea of how the wheat bags have turned out quite easy to make once you gather all the materials together

if you want to get ahead get a hat!!

2008-08-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

well as you all know i'm always up for a new craft and today was no exception . have been toying with hats for a while now and had a bit of stare time and some felt so i thought i'd give it a go!
this is my first attempt and i'm very pleased with it, have been thinking of taking orders and maybe a wedding theme would go better

and realy pleased i splashed out on those display heads as it makes the little hat look even better , now i'll have to look out for some nice felt/wool material and make a few more examples for the next craft fair and explore the wedding/bridesmaid/mother of the bride thing and see if it might be worth while doing a couple of bridlefairs?

swimming

2008-07-27T14:19:00.001-07:00

the boys and i went swimming at the local leisure center this morning and because it was such i lovely day on the way home we called into the local train station for a ride!!!!
about 4 miles from home is the lovely little narrow guage railway station call drunawhey junction and it has been there for a number of years and we have visited it many time but haven't been much in the last year so what better time to pay it a visit.
as you can see they have plenty of trains of all shapes and sizes as long as its small, char had been many time as a small child but addy had not been very often and now it was char's turn to be the big brother and look after addy and i could just sit and watch.
the driver was telling me it had been very busy before we arrived but now it had slowed down and the boys got the whole rain to themselves
and you know the old saying boys and their toys well here we have a great example and what a beautiful engine she is and on the way home addy asked that when he grew up could he go there and work - i somehow think that the men that go there now most weekend wouldn't look upon this as work if you would like to know more you can log onto http://bcdmrs.org.uk and see more pictures of this great place

it's raining so it must be ballymena

2008-07-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

well it's that time of year again and the ballymena steam engine rally was last weekend and for those of you who are not quite sure what a steam rally is well i will give you a quick tour - it's a weekend where big men get together and play with their engines and tractors and compare how dirty they can get and who can make the most steam or noise and be big kids for the weekend.
and what were you doing there i hear you ask? well for the ladies the are plenty of stalls and a craft tent to help them pass a few hours and hopefully spend a few pounds
so after an early start on friday morning i reached ballymena and got the car unpacked and set up it was time for coffee and as hubby was working all week at sir thomas and lady dixon park at the world famous rose week he had the large flask so i had to fall back on plan B. beside me i had a lovely lady selling jewellery and on the other side i had a gentleman doing your family name. being the generous type i offered him a cup of tea and he said that if there was any going that would be very nice and when he saw what plan B was he was well impressed and as you can see i was very comfortable
well the gentleman introduced himself as Ian and we had great wee chats over the course of the next 2 days and some good exchanges on the topic of the ulster-scots language in which i'm fluent and we kept an eye on each others stall and had great craic. turns out his son works for the same company as me only at a different site, later that day mum and the boys and my brother came up for the day and between the showers they had a walk about and then came in and joined me for a while - saturday was a better day weather wise and the craic was just as mighty although we all noticed a shortage of £20 and takings seemed to be down for everyone on last year, but not to worry we all enjoyed the tome there and on one short trip out of the tent i managed to get a picture of the engine that was beside the tent
bit of a beauty this one but the mud dosen't do her justice

ps. this is the sort of things i grew up with and my dad was a great one for bits of engines and tractors so it was a bit of a busmans holiday as well

heads up

2008-07-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

now that i have been making my winter stock i thought i would be better displaying them with a little more class and when i checked out the web for plastic heads i found a company in belfast that supplied them - well what a find and a big saving on the postage as well

much better than laying them on the table in any old shape don't you think?

baby beanie

2008-07-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

now i'm the first to say that i'm not cut out as a housewife and always have plenty to keep me away from the ironing board and kitchen sink and bless my hubby he does put up with a lot but a few weeks ago he said "could you iron me a shirt for work and crochet me a baby shawl as a lady i work with is about to be a granny!" ..... so when i finally got the wool that he liked, took 2 goes at that as well, i started the shawl which it in the tumble dryer now but when i had a spare half hour i also made the baby a little beanie to go with the shawl

this is the first baby beanie i have made i'm quite good with the bigger sizes and i must say i'm rather pleased with the result **** and the moral of this little story is - teach the boys to iron their own shirts and then they won't interupt my crochet time !

teach them young

2008-07-14T05:28:00.000-07:00

the other day i was hooking (as usual) when my youngest asked if he could have a go, well i'm all for teaching them while their young and at 5 i thought it would be a good idea but i had one problem - addy is a little leftie and as i had never taught a leftie before was faced with a slight problem. but never one to give up i got him a footstool and set him down in front of me and and got started and guess what - he loved it and as you can see from the pictures below he got the hang of it

so now i have a helper for my craft supplies but i won't be waiting on the first finished hat for a while yet

at the zoo

2008-07-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

we had been invited to a small fair at Belfast Zoo on saturday 5 july and as we set off the heavy rain had eased a little but we did pack the coats etc just in case and as we traveled up the road it showered but never one to be put off by a little water we arrived and set up. The Zoo staff were great and a welcome coffee when we arrived and lovely little marques and a fantastic setting and a wee prayer we got going

so here we all are with a wee cuppa and a biscuit to sustain us for the crowds and the hard work ahead (ha ha)
and we waited and waited and waited but the only thing that came was more rain and even foxy kept a lookout but the weather was out of out hands
but not to be a wet blanket (these puns are just so bad ) the kids had a ball and went around most of the zoo and below is a picture of the elephant that char took with his phone, they wanted to watch the penguins being fed but even they stayed inside and the seals just lay about in the rain
so by the time they made is back to me they look a little wet - good job i packed the coats
even though it wasn't a profitable day we all had a ball and the kids got to go around the Zoo and the Zoo staff were all a great help which made it a little better the boys have asked if we can go there for a day out - we will try and pick a better day and take more pics so you can get a look at what a lovely place Belfast Zoo is and the views over the city

new stock

2008-07-06T11:43:00.001-07:00

i have been trying out some new things in the past few weeks as i have a bit fair soon and i know these will be good winter sellers but with the turn in the weather i might get a few early sales, at the time the only model i could get was addy and as you can see he wasn't to pleased with the colour

and now i have an employee!!! yea as if i could pay someone to knit for me but i have managed to get my mum to do me some of her fantastic tea cosies and these are a great seller so far
we were thinking of branching out into football team colours
and i have found that the coffee drinkers out there like to keep their pots warm and what better way than these, i have also found that the men folk seem to like the leopard print best!

Wish I'd asked my Gran: Braveheart!

2008-06-30T14:39:00.000-07:00

Wish I'd asked my Gran: Braveheart!

flying machines

2008-06-28T07:37:00.001-07:00

well it was a lovely morning and we thought that it would be good to visit the local car boot and boy are we glad we did!! The boys fell in with a large box of plastic meccano for £5 and i got a couple more cup to make pin cushions out of - but the best find must be this juice press, brand new and still in the box and when i looked at it i thought it was about £30 new and when i asked the price and the lady said £2 i nearly had her hand off as well, don't you think it looks swell ?

so with the bargin hunting over we headed home, stopping on the way home at the new cafe at the local airfield. The boys had large pieces of chocolate cake and i had coffee cake - yummmmmy and it was delish - the big bonus to this was we were able to sit outside and watch the helicopters land and take off and as you can see the boys really enjoyed the cake
this one was just getting ready to take off and the noise and the smell of the fuel all added to the event
the view must be awesome up there and we have all agreeded that this is something we would save up for in the future
and the cake wasn't half bad either

two more sleeps!!!

2008-06-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

well it's that time of year again and the boys are looking forward to the school holidays - 'how many more sleeps till no school?' addy has been asking for the last week or so and now it is only two more sleeps and they are off for the next 2 months!!!!! really hope that the weather improves and have to get the thinking cap on and work out the entertainment for the summer and in the middle of all this i have a couple of big craft fairs to attend but as usual the boys will come with me and help spend any money that i make. but in the mean time the boys are off for a picnic and a day at the local kids play club with the school and i'm off nto bed to get some sleep so i can keep up with them

tea cups

2008-06-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

i have just finished my latest 'project' - teacup pincushions and i'm very pleased with the end results. I was lucky to pick up the tea set at the car boot sale and the rest of the bits i had in my stash and my trusty old hot glue gun at the ready

the boys wanted to know what they were for as they thought they looked like cups full of pink ice cream and thought they were good enough to eat - hope the customers like them just as much!!!!!

SODA BREAD FRESH AIR STYLE

2008-06-22T05:20:00.000-07:00

well it was the annual fete at the local parish church and as usual we always go to the car boot that they have along with the tractor rides and cake stall and bottle stall and the bread making and the plant stall and all the rest that go on for the day - well we packed the car up and headed off and it was starting to spit and then a light drizzel and by the time i had went the 3 miles to the venue it was emptying. Loopylou had her hubby put up the gazebo for us but it really didn't make that much of a difference so we called it a day and loopylou headed home.
We on the other hand went to see how granny was getting on at the bread making and as you can see i was already wet a little more rain wouldn't hurt.

we went to where they were making soda bread and as you can see we are pretty well set out for outside catering!!!!

Addy just loves to help and here he is checking that i am mixing it right and in the back ground you can see the hobs that my dad made over the years, these are gas and this suits griddles well as we can regulate the heat better

the lady beside me is my mum and she taught me many years ago to make soda farls and wheaten farls and pancakes on the griddle and as this is a dying art we love doing demonstrations at fete and traction engine rallies and people love to tell the stories from their childhood when most homes had a griddle and made soda and pancakes every day but now because most of the shops and supermarkets carry it now and people don't have the same time not many people make their own any more. Another great thing of the griddle is potato bread but that is for another day !!!!

A big thankyou has to go to Mr Spence at Neills Flour for sponsoring the soda bread flour and in the bowl i have soda bread flour and buttermilk and a handful of sultanas and a good teaspoon of syrup and all you do is mix until it comes together and then turn it out onto a floured surface

then you lightly kneed it into a round and roll out till just under half an inch thick, cut into four farls and then place into a heated griddle and then wait and enjoy the smell

the farls will start to raise and when they have formed a skin and are nice and golden brown on the bottom they are ready to turn , below is plain soda farls cooking and the smell is wonderful

and this is what they look like when they are cooked and when we do these outdoor events there is always a great demand for this as you can't beat fresh soda with a spread of butter and a big mug of tea.

so we might not have done to well at the carboot but we had great criac at the bread making !

the 3 amigos

2008-06-22T04:48:00.001-07:00

what a lovely day for a craft fair and as you can see i always have something to keep me busy .
we were at a small pta school fair and had a good days criac

they had lots of things for the children to do and plenty of stalls for the mums and dads to spend their money on and the local firefighters turned up and set up a game for the kids to knock cones off with the water hose and then the kids could climb over the fire engine and as you can see Addy had a ball as he tried to drive the engine
as usual loopylou was with me and we were joined by Mrs Bell - Mrs Bell does a lot of work for charity and on this day she was supporting meningitis. The weekend before that she completed a charity walk and was only to do a short stint with the rest of the pack but as usual Mrs Bell went the extra bit and finished the whole section, more power to her elbow as i don't think i could have went the whole way

Rabbit

2008-06-03T13:46:00.001-07:00

Have to keep an eye on floopsy as he blends with the cushions

home james

2008-06-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

saturday afternoon and what a glorious day we are having so with nothing better to do lets go for a run on the tractor - well to be honest this has been arranged for a while by our church, a tractor run followed by a bbq and barn dance and myself and addy are ready for the road

and we have dressed for the trip but loopylou was dressed for shopping and had to take care not to get those lovely white trousers dirty!!!!! (which we mamaged with very little effort)
and on the almost 2 hour run on the trailor we passed the time eating sweets and drinking juice and singing songs and the children that were with us ( my 2 boys and loopy's 2 and a friends 3 and another brother and sister) they had a ball and as we were the last tractor and trailor we waved to all on the way past and when the singing got to much the driver shut the cab window to deaden the noise! and he also had a great chuckle every time he went over a bump because it made us yell even more
forgot to say that the tractor driver was loopylou's husband and an old friend of mine. after juggled about for 2 hours it was back to the village hall for a bbq and we sang 'she'll be coming round the mountain when she comes' on the way into the carpark (because it was the only song that we could remember) what a great night we all had

2008-06-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

this is my friend and partner in crime loopylou, we sometimes attend craftfairs together and are known as a bit of 'trouble' - wanting tables moved and starting off inside and then wanting outside - you know the sort of thing, us women are never happy !

2008-06-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

now it took me a while but i have managed to gat my phone set up so i can now blog on the go - what a clever girl i am now off the upload more photos and get myself updated as we have had a very busy weekend and the boys now love to see what foxy has been up to

Friends

2008-06-03T12:39:00.001-07:00

Loopylou, foxy and me at the fair

2008-05-27T15:33:00.001-07:00

well it's wednesday the 21 may and we have a new addition to our family "flopsy" has come to live with us. not sure whether it a him or a her but it seems to be happy enough as rabbits go and addy loves it already ~ hope he's still keen when the hutch needs cleaning out, sophie seem a little put out after all she has been top dog for a few years now and likes the place to herself but then she is almost 13 and likes things her own way but sill have to just put up with another aminal in the yard

2008-05-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

well that time of year again and the grand garden and craft fair is in the lovely setting of mountstewart and we're just having a little rest before we set the table and get ready for the morning. my friend at country living candles is with me and we are looking forward to a great weekend as usual ( one thing about loopylou and me is we always have a good time even if we don't make much money!!!)

i have been making a new line and this is the first time it will be on show , my lovely hubby bought me the blow up doll! i think he was short changed as she has no head or legs but hay she makes my new shawls look good,

foxy is taking a well earned rest after selling the black shawl and i'm well pleased have replaced it with the multicoloured one which i like and if it dosen't sell i'll keep it myself

well i don't get to take the multicoloured shawl home after all - the lady opposit me watched it for a while and then she tried it on and after a bit of a haggle she gave it a good home so i'm very happy with the weekend and loopy did ok as well - ok so we had a wee laugh and got to indulge in our second hobby - talking! which we both do very well and made a few friends along the way and sure we would have only been at home doing housework augh!!!!!!

so now for the hard part getting it all packed up and heading for home, l love doing this fair as i get to spend the whole weekend at mountstewart and having worked on the property for over 20 odd years and the third generation to work for the stewart family i sort of feel at home here

2008-05-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

and then it was time for afternoon tea in the ulster farmers union before we headed back to the car and home after a nice day out .

that must save a lot of time at the other end now you just shear the sheep and the wool is already died the colour you want

2008-05-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

and after a while we headed to the cattle lawn where they were judging the best in show in for the cows and what a tasty site it was for foxy !!!!! and then to the sheep where we found that they now come in different colours.

2008-05-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

what a lovely day we had at the show. foxy had a ball cheaking you the sheep and the odd piece of rump steak!! the weather was good and the sun shone all day. after a tour around the kings hall and viewing all the stands then we had a spot of lunch and were able to watch some of the horses being judged. and then it was off outside to look around the tractors

2008-05-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

what a busy few days i've had, friday we spent at the show and the sun was good to us and today i was a mountstewart and again it was a great day. not as many punters - sorry customers about as normal but we still had a good day and my friend and i made plenty of noise ( we tend to spend most of the day laughting ) and are sometimes mistaken for the entertainment! foxy has been getting about and i will add the great pictures of him and my sons at the show - off now to finish a few bits for another day at mountstewart.

2008-05-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

what wonderful weather we are having and just in time for the Balmoral Show , at the Kings Hall in Belfast. We hope to get there on friday and fingers crossed the weather will hold out for us (the we being my mum, my brother, my two boys - Char and Addy and myself) we'll get to see all the tractors and animals and the bits in the middle and my good friend is there selling her handmade candles so i'll stop by and give her a pee break and then its home to pack the car and head of to the grand garden and craft fair at MountStewart for the weekend, it's the local National Trust property and my family have been conected with the estate for many years - i'll fill you all in at the later date. of now to get the boys to bed and finish the costums for the school play next week and a little bit of knitting before i hit the sack myself. poor old hubby is working late tonight as usual, but thats for another story

2008-05-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

well after a lot of thought i have taken the plunge and started my very own blog !! i am the crafty fox and this will be a good way for me to keep a track of all the cratfy things that foxy and i make and the great (and not so great) fairs that i attend