Nice things do happen...

...occasionally.

On my way back from "Member's weekend" at Pinnacle Crafts I got caught in a traffic jam that would have been hard pressed to compete with a snail. A jam that turned out to be caused by roadworks but one of those situations where the 'wonderful' workmen didn't see a need to place any road signs until you were right on top of the closed off area. As a result I cut through a different way and as I was passing Craft Plus, I thought I would pop in and pick up a Joy stamp that I had been considering.

It is "Tombola" weekend (a fact that I had forgotten with everything else that has happened this week). The wooden box was being spun and everyone was being invited to draw a ticket which could have resulted in a discount of 10%, 15%, 20%...whatever.

The ticket that I pulled was for 50% off all purchases so I came away with a bit more that I went in for as you can see...

 ...this little lot would have been around £60 but at just under £30 I was a very happy bunny and you might notice there is a Tim Holtz Christmas blueprint set in amongst it all - this was the cherry on the top of the cake. I have looked longingly at this set for some time but couldn't justify the expense but now it is all mine.

Did I remember to get the stamp that I actually went in for?

Yes I did and here it is...

 ...I have some pretty pastel rainbow papers and I'm looking forward to having a play with this on those papers.

At Pinnacle's member's weekend I treated myself to this...

 ...as my pencil case has run out of spaces for the tools I have...

 ...I also added a couple of shaders to my collection...

...along with some pens...

...and a couple of grids.

I also picked up the G45 Worlds Fair in 12x12 & 8x8 as well as some Sweet Dixie dies that I have been thinking about. All in all I managed to get the things that I had budgeted for and a few extras (I hadn't planned on the Pergamano pens).

My friend Hilary was very pleased with her purchases and she is looking forward to the Sue Wilson dies that she pre-ordered.

The café at Barleylands is still out of commission but my suggestion of putting some seating in the barn has been taken on board so at least folk can sit out of the weather - there is also background music playing LOL.

Hilary and I had a lovely catch-up chat whilst tucking into a fried egg roll (Me) and a bacon roll (Hilary), washed down with nice hot coffee.

The latest about Mum - and thank you for all the lovely messages I received - she is still in hospital, still in pain (although the Doctor thinks some of this may be that she is tensing assuming there will be pain) and not very mobile. We have had to lodge concerns that the hospital are not being very 'open' about her condition as on Tuesday I visited to find that she was barely conscious but we had been told on the phone that she was "fine". Now the latest thing is that she isn't eating because she says it makes her feel sick - she has been in hospital a week and they only thought to mention it when my niece questioned them about something else yesterday (Friday). So I went in yesterday afternoon with a supply of baby rice because I know that it is something that she uses at home to help her swallow her tablets. She still wasn't keen but hopefully we can encourage her.

Today, I have to take her walking frame into the hospital because it would appear that they don't stock any that can be lowered sufficiently for Mum's height (???) - she's 4ft 10ins - not exactly minute. Hopefully having her own frame will encourage her to at least have a go at what the physios have been trying to get her to do.

Each day as it comes................................................................................

It's Wednesday...

...and VERY windy.

However, the WET seems to be holding off at the moment.

This is just a quick post to say sorry for my sporadic visiting at the moment but life is rather hectic as my Mum is currently in hospital. She took a tumble on Sunday as she was getting into the car after our shopping trip to Morrisons.

Because she tensed-up as she fell her back went into spasm and we ended up at A&E - that was 3pm Sunday afternoon. Two sets of x-rays later she was moved to CDU (Clinical Decisions Unit) at 6pm to await a bed on a ward.

9pm on Monday she was still awaiting a bed.

She was finally moved to a ward - depending on who you speak to; late Monday night or Tuesday morning.

So as I said, things are a little hectic at the moment what with work, keeping an eye on her bungalow and visiting.

I will try and work my way around so that I can catch up with you all but for the moment I'm not posting much.........................................................

I decided it was time...

...for a new knitting bag.

Not that I don't love my tartan one anymore.

No!

I love this cheery little bag that I have sitting by me on the sofa...

...but as you can see, it doesn't have a very large capacity...

...here it is full to the brim with just 2x 100g balls of yarn, a couple of knitted squares and a square "on the go". Fine for keeping my current knitting projects together in one place but not really suitable for crafting on the move.

Here is my new bag...

 ...in a sort of Cath Kidston style fabric that is wipe cleanable (which also means it is rain-proof). It has a lovely collection of pockets all around the outside and as you can see...

...lots of room inside - this is 4 x 100g balls and there is still plenty of room.

I had been looking at these bags in 'Linens Direct' for a while and decided I really did need something for travel purposes when it came to my knitting. I often take something with me when I visit Mum or if I am accompanying her to a hospital appointment but my old knitting bag wasn't really suitable. This is pretty and practical so it ticks all the boxes.

Another step towards a more organised Me in 2016...................................................................

All finished...

...and ready to use.

I showed you all another pair of fingerless gloves that I had started to knit. Well here they are all done...

 ...the lacey pattern adapted from the snood/cowl worked perfectly...

...and knitted up fairly quickly. I added slightly deeper rib bands this time and everything seems to have worked just as I wanted.

Now I just have to make a matching snood............................................................

A bit more...

...stash busting.

I hadn't realised just how many sheets of Kanban & Hunkydory stuff I had so I thought it would be a good idea to try and use some of this stash to make up some quick cards so that I have a bit of stock for emergencies.

This is the first one I've done and I honestly don't know what brand the sheets are from because what I found was just s poly bag with bits & pieces in...

...so using some brown CS and some 3D foam pads, here we have a completed card and a teeny-tiny bit less stash on the 'mountain........................................................

First full week...

...back at work.

What a nightmare!!!

On the craft front, there hasn't been much time to 'play' as the new rail timetable is still causing problems so sitting down and actually getting my craft stash out hasn't been high on my list of priorities. However, I did need to make a card for a friend.

This little miss was already coloured so I grabbed some PPs...

...some kraft CS and a selection of flowers and this was the finished result.

There was a bonus to making this card - everything came out of my scrap box so my 2016 aim to use up more of my old stash is off to a good start..............................................

Do you want...

...to get organised in 2016?

The lovely Kerryanne English over at the "Shabby Art Boutique" has a lovely set of free printables available so that you can create your own 2016 Planner.

Starting with a pretty Victorian style calendar she is intending to post links to a variety of printables over the course of the coming week and then she will have a tutorial about putting together a planner - in case you need some ideas.

If you are interested, do hop over to Kerryanne's blog and take a look. You can use the link above or just press the pretty button over on my sidebar...................................................