Today is the first day of the rest of my life

Because today I begin to let my little man go. No more boo boo. That is what he calls breast milk. It is already lunch time and he hasn't had any. Whoopee.

New for 2010

If transforming the way I look was as easy as revamping my blog. Well I know which bits of me I would drag and drop. Which bits I'd copy and paste and which bits I'd send straight to the recycle bin. Oh the life of the rich and famous not so much the click of a mouse but the sweep of a blade. Hmm.

I have been sorting out my computer (a little housekeeping was indeed in order)hence the long awaited blog banner. It did not take long and is fitting for today. I might want to change it later though.

Like a lot of people I craft on a budget but I want to stay up to date and enjoy expressing myself to the fullest. I have found two pieces of software in the last few days that will increase my creativity intensely. I am really grateful that a whole lot of technology is available for free via the web. In our recent age of make do and mend I am truly grateful.

If you don't have office try open office
If you don't have photoshop, corel draw and the like try Netpaint

They are working for me and they could work for you too.

The spirit of the internet lives on in freeware.

Keeping Busy.

This week seems to have moved forward at full speed. I hardly know what day it is. I haven't had much time to craft. I have been organizing my craft space and planning some new projects so watch this space.

I have been sorting out personal problems too. This week seems to have been productive.

I love that cosy feeling.

I went to town last week shopping for clothes for the boys. To be fair, the sales were a bit rubbish but what the hey. I did get them togged out so I achieved what I'd set out to. Anyway Manchester is great for bargain hunting. I always check out the poundland store and my find this week was an ugly hot water bottle. Needless to say it is not ugly now. After a busy Sunday last evening I sat down and played a little with some fabric I've been stroking for ages. The result is as follows:

This image does not do it justice. IMHO this is the finest cover I have ever seen. (I love it, I really love it).

Inspired by Poppy Treffry

I love all things craft.  People who know me know this.  I really do like to experiment with different crafts and techniques.  My sewing machine has been my best crafting buddy for a while.  I really haven't shared much of what I have made but I am trying to address that now by blogging often.

I like to browse Amazon for the latest books on crafts new and old to me. One of my latest finds was Poppy Treffry's title 'Free and Easy Stitch Style'. 

I have many craft books but I have to admit that I have been disappointed by the content in a few of them. This is not the case I am happy to admit with my newest acquisition. 

I don't own this book yet, and what I have found useful in creating my own craft library is to loan books from the public library before I purchasing.  This one has been added to my wishlist. 

It has easy to follow instructions, lots of pictures which I really appreciate and templates for projects.  It is published by David and Charles. My only complaint which is often the case with books like this, is that the templates need to be enlarged before being really useful. I suppose this is a small deviation before the crafting can begin.

So my adventures in free hand embroidery which is the topic of this book began a few days ago and my progress goes a little like this:

Yesterday

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