awarded!

I've been nominated by my blogging friend Jo from throughthekeyhole for the Liebster blog award. Thanks, Jo!

The "rules" are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to his/her blog. ✔︎
2. Copy and paste the Liebster Award badge to your post. ✔︎
3. Answer the ten questions you've been asked. (✔︎ see below)
4. Create ten new questions for the bloggers you are nominating. (✔︎ see below)
5. Notify the bloggers that you have nominated. (see below)

1. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
We went to see the newest Star Wars film. I was a bit worried about it as I didn't like the second batch of Star Wars films (the ones that supposedly told the story before the original films) but it was great!

2. Where would be your ideal place to live, town, country or coast?
We live in a town on the east coast of Scotland so that's 2 out of the three! We've also lived bang in the middle of the country and it had its moments! Being cut off for 2 full days due to snow (no electricity/heating) wasn't much fun, let me tell you!

3. Do you have any pets?
Not of our own. We look after Joanna's dog, Tilly, when she's at work and, at the moment, that's enough.

4. What is your favourite area of the UK?
Scotland. I am, of course, slightly biased, but, in my humble opinion, you just can't beat it!

5. What song annoys you?
"Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd. I was teaching when it came out and, regularly would walk down the school corridors at the change of classes only to hear "We don't need no education" being sung by the masses. I did try to tell my classes that the very fact that they were saying those words meant that they did indeed need an education but the double-negative explanation fell on deaf ears - or stupid ears - or both. Now, even after all the years between, I HATE that song!

6. What three things would you take to a desert island?
Sun-tan lotion, a whole library of books and Douglas.

7. If you were given a million pounds, what would you spend it on?
A big house with a huge kitchen, lots of rooms for hobbies and a garden.

8. What would be your last meal?
Roast chicken, roast potatoes, oatmeal stuffing, carrots and gravy followed by cheesecake for pudding.

9. Have you ever met anyone famous?
Douglas and I met Paul Laidlaw who appears on "Bargain Hunt" and "Flog It" and some other antiques programmes on the BBC. He is such a lovely man - and fascinating to talk to!

10. What's your favourite take away?
I don't remember when we last had a take-away! If I had to choose, it'd probably be your bog-standard fish and chips.

Now, I know I'm supposed to nominate people for this award and tell them I've nominated them but I don't do that. So, what I'm going to say is, here are 10 questions. If you feel the urge to answer them, go for it. If you don't, that's fine too!

1. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
2. When you go somewhere are you early, on time or late?
3. Do you listen to music in your car?
4. Are you left- or right-handed?
5. What colour are your eyes?
6. What shoe size are you?
7. Have you ever had an imaginary friend?
8. Do you play a musical instrument?
9. What's your current desktop picture on your computer?
10. What's your favourite Disney movie?

Thanks again for nominating me, Jo. It was fun to answer your questions - and hard to think of 10 to ask!

award-winning!

I was nominated for the Liebster blogging award by my blogging friend Jo, at through the keyhole. Thanks, Jo. I really appreciate it!

The "rules" of the Liebster award are that I have to tell you 11 random facts about myself. Then answer the 11 questions that my nominator asked. And then nominate 11 blogs that I read for the award.

I'm going to do the first two parts but not the third. As you'll see from my list of random facts about me, I don't obey rules very well! ;o)

11 random facts about me:
1. I have psoriatic arthritis - in remission at the moment.
2. I can't drink alcohol because of the medicines I take for the above but it doesn't bother me in the slightest!
3. Nora Roberts is my favourite author. If I was marooned on a desert island and I had all her series with me, I'd be a happy bunny.
4. I would like the play the piano better than I can - must get it tuned first, though!
5. I don't obey rules very well. If you tell me I must do something, I'll be trying to find a way not to do it. And vice versa!
6. Douglas and I have been married for 35 years - 36 in September. He looked after me so well last week when I had the flu, it just made me love and appreciate him all the more!
7. I love chips - as in French Fries.
8. Apparently, we have 61 drawers in this house - Douglas counted them at one point. Every New Year I think this will be the year I'll go through all of those drawers and get rid of stuff. I've been thinking of doing that for 5 or more years now! :oD
9. I'm happiest in my own house. Last week, when I was ill, I didn't go out of the house from Friday 6th until Friday 13th. That didn't bother me in the slightest!
10. I sing in a choir and I love it. There are only 21 of us in the choir but we make a good sound.
11. I can sit for a very long time trying to think of an 11th random fact. I think it's going to have to be "I give up when I can't think of something else"! :oD

Now on to the 11 questions Jo asked.

1) If your house was on fire, what one thing, other than family members and pets, would you save?
My sewing machine and as much of my fabric stash as I could grab!

2) What, other than your children, is your greatest achievement?
Going to university and getting some letters after my name. B.A. Dip. Ed. to be precise!

3) What would be your dream job and is it a job you do or have done?
I would love to work in a fabric shop again. Or a book shop. Or a combination of both. I've worked in a fabric shop before.

4) What is your dream holiday destination?
I would like to go back to see the Grand Canyon again. We were there in 2006 and it really is one of those jaw-dropping places and well worth another visit. I wouldn't go out on the glass platforms they now have over the gorge, though. No way, no how!

5) If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you bought?
Knowing me, probably fabric! LOL

6) Name your top three films of all time.
It really depends on my mood but I love "You've Got Mail", "The Fifth Element" and "The Count of Monte Cristo". (The Jim Caviezel version ... yum!)

7) If you could have a conversation with a famous person, dead or alive, who would it be?
I'd like to meet and chat with May Martin from the Great British Sewing Bee. Just talking to someone who loves sewing as much as I do would be inspiring, I think. And, if she brought Patrick Grant along too, I wouldn't complain! ;o)

8) What is your earliest childhood memory?
Going out to tea with my Auntie Anna and her family before they emigrated to Australia. They went in 1959 so I must have been 4 years old.

9) What is your favourite season and why?
I like them all for different reasons. I love the fresh newness of spring, the warm days of summer (if we're lucky), the colours and smells of autumn and the cold crispness of winter. These photos were taken in 2011.

10) What made you decide to start a blog?
My daughter, Debbie, was heading out to Canada to live for a while and she told me I should write a blog so she could keep up with what we were all doing. I started it in July, 2008 so nearly 7 years ago. Apparently, I have a lot to blether about! :oD

11) What would you like the future to hold for you?
Health and happiness for us and our girls ... and, maybe a few grandchildren ... eventually! ;o)

Thanks for nominating me, Jo. If you don't know Jo, go and read her blog. She's an inspiration - and her dog, Archie, always reminds me of our wee Rosie. :o)

around the world blog hop

I've been nominated by my blogging friend, Jo from through the keyhole, to take part in the Around the World blog tour. Thanks Jo! I will now attempt to answer the questions!

What am I working on right now?
For my the tartan bee shop: I have a pile of bags cut out waiting to be sewn ... some time soon. (See photo below)

In dressmaking - I made a top on Saturday which is - believe it or not - far too big for me!

Today I unpicked all the seams and cut it out at a smaller size. This one seems to fit me better. Fingers crossed that it still will when I put the sleeves in.
I bought another duvet cover out of Asda's this morning (for £5) for another dress like the one I made last week. Here's the duvet washed and drying on the line:

How Does My Creative Process Work?
When I make for my tartan bee shop, I buy fabric with an idea of what I'm going to make with it. I know if I'm going to make bags with a piece of material or pinnies (aprons) or both. I love to buy fabrics for those that are interesting. Let's be honest, going food shopping isn't exactly the most exciting thing to do so, if you can do it using a bag (or bags) that make you smile, then it has to be better. I also like to buy fun fabrics for pinnies. If I could, I'd keep one of every fabric as a pinny but I just can't do that. The kitchen drawer where I keep them is hard enough to close as it is! :oD

After I've got the fabrics chosen, I'll usually spend a couple of days just cutting out loads and loads of bags and pinnies. I won't necessarily sew them all up at one time but I like being able to sew up a couple when I have some time or the urge to do it. Here's the pile of bags in the crate waiting to be sewn.

Buying fabric for dressmaking is a completely different thing. I freely admit to buying fabric without knowing exactly what I'm going to use it for. I might know I want to make a blouse or a top with it but I won't know which pattern I'm going to use until I get it on my sewing room table. It keeps my dressmaking interesting for me that way and, after all the years I've been sewing, I don't think that's going to change any time soon.

How Does My Work Differ From Others In Its Genre?
I suppose, since I made up the patterns for the pinnies and the bags myself, they're different from other people's but they're not unique really. I mean, they're shopping bags and pinnies - nothing too unique about those! I like to think the fabric is the way to make them stand out. Same for my dressmaking. I could make the same pattern as someone else but I doubt they'd choose the same fabrics as I do.

I'm also proud of the finish. I have a quote in my sewing room which says "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well" and I try to stick to that rule. If I'm not 100% happy with something I make, it won't even get near my Etsy shop. If there's a flaw in it anywhere, I won't sell it to someone else. That's why that kitchen drawer is hard to close!!

Why Do I Create What I Do?
I've always loved making my own shopping bags and pinnies with fancy fabrics so, when I decided to open my Etsy shop, it just seemed obvious to me to keep making things I was good at making and see if I could sell them. Sewing with Christmas fabrics has always made me happy so I started adding some Christmas things into my Etsy shop. I actually just re-listed them for this year. Christmas does start in July, doesn't it? LOL

In my dressmaking, I just make whatever I want. I've always loved being able to make things that other people don't have. I bet I'm the only person in town - perhaps even in Britain - who has a couple of tops and a dress made with (different) duvet covers from Asda's! That pleases me no end.

~ ~ ~ I'm going to be a bit of a rebel here and not nominate specific people to carry on the blog trip. Instead I'm nominating all of you who are reading this to answer the 4 questions on your blog then let me know when you've done it so I - and others - can come and take a look.

Here are the (original) questions:

1. What are you working on right now?
2. How does your writing/creative process work?
3. How does your writing/work differ from others in its genre?
4. Why do you write/create what you do?

Thanks again to Jo for nominating me. It was harder than I thought it would be to think of the answers as to why I do what I do.

not one but three!!

I was delighted this week to be given the Liebster blogging award by not one person, not two but three! Wow! So chuffed!

The "rules" of the Liebster award are that I have to tell you 11 random facts about myself. Then answer the 11 questions that my nominators asked. And then nominate 11 blogs that I read for the award.

As you'll see from number 4 of my random facts about myself, I don't obey rules very well so, I'm going to change things slightly. I'm only giving you 11 random facts - not 33! (I bet you're quite glad about that. I know I am! LOL) I'll answer all 33 questions because that was fairly easy. But I'm not going to nominate any blogs. Not because I don't think the blogs I read are worthy of nomination by any means. I just couldn't choose so I'm leaving that part undone.

Okay, here we go.

Eleven random facts about me.

1. I LOVE my spiky hair.
2. I wear coloured or patterned socks. Plain black socks are not for me!
3. I collect salt & pepper sets.
4. I don't obey rules very well.
5. When I was young I wanted to be an archeologist. For my 12th birthday, a friend of my mum's bought me a "Teach Yourself Archeology"book. To say it was as dry as dust is an understatement so I gave up that idea pretty quickly.
6. If I had to eat only one food for the rest of my life, it would be potatoes.
7. I've been married for 33 years - 34 in September. As one of my cousins said to my Mum and Dad on their golden wedding anniversary "you get less for murder"! :oD
8. I collect cookery books - mostly I just look at the photos!
9. I can't drink alcohol because of the medicines I take but it doesn't bother me in the slightest.
10. In my 5th year at high school, I dropped the cymbals at a school concert - the leather tie came undone so I didn't really drop it. The trumpet player started to laugh then the rest of the orchestra joined in and so did the audience but the conductor was not amused.
11. I laugh at silly things. My comment on this photo from our holiday in Paris in 2008 always makes me giggle. The comment? "does size matter?". I'm sure these guys are checking out their - em - wares and are not impressed. tee hee

* * * * *

My first Liebster award came from Softie who blogs here. Go visit her. I know she'd be delighted to see you.

Here are the 11 questions from Softie.

1.Where would you travel to for your dream vacation?
Somewhere warm (but not too hot) with some interesting museums to visit.
2. What is your favorite dessert?
Vanilla ice cream - but the one made by a local Italian family. It's so delicious!
3. Do you prefer mountain views or ocean views?
I love both.
4. In how many different places have you lived?
I've only lived in Scotland but I've lived in 6 different towns/cities.
5. Which do you prefer a wedding band or wedding set?
I have an engagement ring and a wedding ring - is that a wedding set?
6. Did you have any input in choosing your wedding ring or was it a surprise?
I was there and tried it on with my engagement ring to make sure it looked okay.
7. Saver or spender?
A wee bit of both.
8. What is your favorite film or movie?
I have so many but, if I had to choose, it would probably be "You've Got Mail"
9. Vintage or Modern?
I don't mind vintage as long as it's not shabby but I wouldn't choose to buy it myself.
10. Do you have a favorite quote?
Yes. It always makes me laugh. "Don't criticise someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, you're a mile away ... and you have their shoes!!". :oD
11. What made you laugh or smile the most this week?
The antics of the dogs. They're like children egging each other on and hoping they won't be the one caught in the act!

* * * * *

The second Liebster award came from Gilly who blogs here. Again, I know she'd be pleased to have you visit her.

1. What's your favourite animal ?
Rosie, our dog.

2. Sweet stuff or savoury ?
Sweet.
3. Where in the world is the best place you've been to ?
The Grand Canyon was a-ma-zing. I'd love to go back for another look.
4. Do you still live in your country of birth ?
Yes.
5. Which of your hobbies/crafts/talents is your favourite ?
Sewing although I love singing in a choir as well but I don't do that as much as I sew.
6. Hot & sunny or cold & snowy ?
Can it be warm and sunny, please? Not too hot.
7. Dogs or cats ?
Dogs.
8. What simple things make you happy ?
Drinking a cuppa whilst reading a book.
9. Town, country or by the seaside ?
We live in a town by the seaside and I love being in the country so all of the above.
10. The book or the movie ?
Usually the book.
11. Are you an Adventurer or a Homebody ?
I do like adventures but I'm always happy to get home.

* * * * *

And my third Liebster award came from Plain Jane who blogs here. Again, go and visit her blog. She'll be happy to see you all.

1. If you could only have two courses of a three course meal which ones would they be?
Main course and dessert. Can't resist desserts!
2. Choose three words to sum you up.
Caring, crafty, cuddly.
3. Which film last made you cry?
Apollo 13 always makes me cry when we're waiting for them to come through the earth's atmosphere. Even though I know they do - sorry if I just gave the game away!! - I'm always sitting there with tears in my eyes!
4. What animal would you most like to be and why?
A dog in a loving family because they don't have to do much and they get fed and cuddled regularly.
5. Is there a smell that takes you back to your childhood?
Peat fires. We didn't have them but my Granny and Grandad did and now, when I smell a peat fire, I'm instantly back in their house.
6. What would your Desert Island disc be?
Elbow's "One Day Like This".
7. Where do you most like to be?
My sewing room or my kitchen or anywhere I can sit and read a book.
8. Potatoes - chipped, mashed or roasted?
Yes please. And baked too. I LOVE potatoes.
9. What quality do you most admire in others?
Good manners.
10. Sky dive or bungy jump?
Good grief, no! Never ever ever!
11. What 'words of wisdom' would you pass on to others?
Be polite.

* * * * *

Now, if you're still here, I think you deserve an award! Thanks so much to Softie, Gilly and Jane for giving me these awards. I really do appreciate it. :o)