Crafternoons

 Spring is definitely here, isn't it? The trees are suddenly bursting forth with blossom, and rather delightful it is too. The longer days and lighter mornings mean that Albie is now waking up at the crack of dawn. Not ideal, though he is going to bed much earlier and is still napping beautifully twice during the day. It wasn't always this way! After seven months of non-sleep we took Albie to an osteopath where he had cranial treatment. It really helped his sleep, all of his problems were attributed to his difficult delivery and thankfully now the problem is fixed. 

The weekend was a perfectly weekend-ish weekend, starting with viewing the dearest house in Moulsham. Thankfully, we made an offer and it was accepted! A gorgeous Victorian cottage in the street we desperately wanted to be. We are buying it from a friend of Darryl's so he can give us the inside scoop! It's been beautifully decorated though of course we'll want to put our own stamp on it. This week is motivating, with mortgage appointments and solicitor's letters etc. So friday night we celebrated with a sausage cassoulet and some prosecco. 

On Saturday I went bridesmaid shopping with Helen (the bride) and her lovely step-daughter-to-be Olivia. We had great fun at Primark buying headwraps and kitch earrings, and got the most beautiful bridesmaid dress at Coast along with the other four bridesmaids. On Saturday evening my mum and sister came over and I made a fish pie and we drank wine and watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona. It was heaven. I love Woody Allen, though I think you either love or hate his movies.

 This was Sunday's beginning. A cooked breakfast. With eggs and beans of course! But you can't oven those.

 And this was the rest of Sunday! Baking and then a crafternoon tea, with my girlfriends. I made Cook Yourself Thin brownies (only 91 calories each ifankyew) and some cheddar biscuits from The Great British Baking book. It was the first time baking from either of those books and I'm pleased to report they were delicious and came out perfectly. So pleased! I am creature of habit when it comes to baking, and usually stick to Nigella or Delia.

 Sarah and Amy came over with their knitting, and Corinne brought her beautiful daughter Belle. Belle and Albie are only a day apart and loved playing together! They kept each other occupied while I taught Corinne how to make a granny square. She already knew a few crochet basics so with jedi crochet master Amy's help by the end of the afternoon she was well on her way to crocheting a beautiful teal granny square!

 As you can see I've been cracking on with the house tea cosy. I've completed one front/back and both the sides. Last Wednesday I went to knit and natter at Make, Do & Mend and with a little help from Hannah I managed to suss the pattern. I've had trouble with this pattern, as it seems to miss out a lot of vital information. I've found that a few crafty folks have also had problems with Kirstie's Homemade Home as the projects do not seem to go into enough depth. Sure enough my jedi knitting master assured me that it was lazy pattern writing to blame for my inadequacies rather than my logic. She also kindly gave me a stitch holder and row counter so I could be a real knitter. I've taken to keeping everything 'knit' in my green spot Cath Kidston book bag, rather than the crochet baskets I seem to have strewn about my lounge.

There's no reason for this picture other than I liked the colours of the tealights today in their vintage-y glass holders. The candles are from Paperchase if anyone's interested. The holders I bought years ago from Habitat. 

Now I'm back off to my dreamland, choosing Farrow and Ball paint colours and curtain fabrics for our new home. Hopefully this week there will be A Big Reveal of a finished project. Until then, happy Springtime-ing.