Rain rain go away

I can't believe Monday has come around again, without me finding the opportunity to blog. The week has been hectic, as usual, but fun and fruitful. This week has seen the Leigh Art Trail, which has been a great success for my lovely friend Emma who sold all but a few of her paintings. On Thursday evening we had a reception and it was attended by the local celeb, Phil Jupitus, who purchased one of Emma's star exhibits.



'Yeah!' Emma with one of her exhibits



On Wednesday it was Borough Sports day for Ru and she was allocated the task of competing in the Javelin discipline (not that she had seen one before the event). She had three shots to try and get it as far as she could. The wind was blowing straight at her as she took her first shot which went up in the air and came back down at her feet! Ru's dad and I cringed as we saw her embarassment but she didn't give up. Her next two shots, following some sound advice from other competitors, were good enough for her to come third so she was really chuffed!

I came 3rd Mum, Yippee!

So here I am back at Monday and its raining as I watch Andy Murray make it really difficult for himself to get through the first round. I've done my usual trawl of the charity shop circuit and found a picture for a very cheap £1, which will be added to the gallery when I get a chance.

Monday Find

Finally, what better way to spend the evening than making squares for the two throws that I'm in the middle of doing, whilst drinking a cup of tea! Oh happy Monday everyone xxx



Little Piles of Happiness!



Monday, Monday

Monday is now officially my day off so I decided I was going to enjoy the first one and do things that I don't otherwise get time to do. So, after a quick housework session, I had a wander into Leigh for a charity shop trawl. It was a good day for finds - one floral cushion cover and two pretty doilies, all for the princely sum of £1. And who should I bump into but Lisa doing the same thing. Great minds think alike!


Bargain finds from the Salvation Army shop

 This afternoon I have made some floral cushions for the living room - I've decided I'm going to revamp the flat and have been collecting bits and bobs in preparation, like fabric, junk furniture etc which is all stored in the garage, waiting to be brought back to life. One of my most recent bargain finds was some beautiful wallpaper from Laura Ashley, which was end of lot and reduced to £4 a roll. I do love a bargain! Anyway, all I need now is some time to get started!

lovely floral fabric for cushions

The week in pictures

What a great first week in the shop as a full timer!

It's been a roller coaster of fun and emotion and I feel pleasantly exhausted as we go into the weekend. First of all, on Tuesday I attended a first aid course, which was really interesting and useful. Tuesday evening was very special as Sam finally finished her first project. I have to say Sam, you are a star. The jumper is great and you made it in less than a year after all!!!!!

Not bad for a first effort, Sam!

Then on Wednesday we had an apron making session as you can see. It really brought out the domestic goddess in us all.  It's amazing how wearing our finished articles made us want to rush home to bake.

Pat went with a flamenco feel, the pockets are handy for her castanets...

Then Friday, Jen visited to show us her poorly foot.  And spot the nail varnish!  She may be in plaster but she has standards!!!!  Never a dull moment at Roses and Rue!

No Jen, YOU get in the car!

Frankly, for sartorial elegance nothing competes with Jen's foot covered by a blue plastic bag during a rain storm, where Jen leads Vogue will follow.

Patchwork

I've nearly finished my little lap quilt and its looking really cute. It's all put together and just needs quilting ready to put in the shop window. Saturday sees the beginning of Leigh Art Trail and my darling friend Emma is exhibiting in the shop. I'm hoping that people who wouldn't ordinarily visit the shop might stop by to see Emma's work and this will give us a chance to widen our audience. It's always nice when people visit for the first time and compliment us on the shop and what we are doing. I'm always ready to listen to what people have to say and still feel like I have so much to learn. Now that I'm no longer teaching I just want to work really hard on making the shop a success so that I can feel the risk was worth taking.

Recycling scraps

Hi there,

The weekend was quite quiet in the shop, but then that is to be expected during half term. Friday was especially quiet because poor old Mad Jen has broken her ankle and is holed up indoors with a large cast on her leg. And no Jen tends to mean more restrained behaviour at Crochet Club. Never fear, she'll be back in action next week, because we've arranged to go and collect her - its just not the same without a dose of Jen.

On Saturday I decided to a) make a quilt, using a range of charm squares from the shop so that I could display it in the window and b) have a go at the recycled bunting idea, taken from that fab new mag Mollie Makes. The quilt is almost completed, and hopefully I'll have a pic to show you soon. The bunting was great fun to make, using scraps of fabric from the scrap box and looks lovely up on the wall. I'm going to have a go with the children at craft club on thursday because its so easy to do and so effective.

Happy Campers

Oh there is something so completely relaxing about camping. I know that there is all the faddle of packing and unpacking etc, but whilst there its just so relaxing and calm and everyone is chilled. Even if the weather is not so good. We've just come back from Kelling Heath, near Cromer in Norfolk and have had a great time. We've had rain, wind, sunshine and clouds, plenty of red wine, swimming and playing 'werewolf' ( a game that you should really have a go at!). And check out the party tent complete with bunting!

Oh, and Richard won the stone balancing competition on the beach, with a very impressive 11 stones!!!!