Oh yea of little faith....

I have been a very silly girl....and I have learnt a big lesson about relationships and my own lack of faith in myself ..... I will explain....
After writing my first post in years I checked my emails hourly for posts from my old friends in the blogging world.....but nothing, from nobody, every day I checked and nothing appeared in my mail box...oh well I thought to myself, it is a long time ago.... I am sure they have all moved on and forgotten me.
Then quite by chance today I found myself linked by Pinterest onto my blog page and there I found lots lovely encouraging comments from my old friends...thank you so much.  It has made my day.  
I have no idea how they haven't been linked to my email for approval, the only thing I can think of is that as I can't use my new Gmail address for my blog,  I use my school email and the kind messages that you have left have ended up in a spam folder.
Oh yea of little faith Helen.... 

So I feel encouraged to continue blogging and I have started up my other blog A still small voice again too in the hope that my sermons may be of encouragement to others.

The lesson learnt is this.....Sometimes we view ourselves through very distorted glasses with lenses which don't always show us the truth. I have been wearing a pair of these glasses for far too long, so I am taking them off and I invite you to enjoy this beautiful view with me......  its of my dream house in Skye and every time we go there on holiday and drive past it my heart feels full....

...Remember me? Long time no see.....

Remember me?

I can't believe it is sooooooo long since I last wrote a post after being addicted to blogging for so long.

So it is high time that I gave you all a quick update!  

I am feeling so happy today, I got up at 4am and finished my last assignment on ethics and if  I pass  all my assignments this year I will be a nationally accredited Baptist lay preacher.....

but my adventure doesn't stop there....I was recommended by the Baptist Union in March to train for a further two years to become a Baptist Lay Pastor/Minister..... so more assignments and more reading... and more trips to Manchester in the little green van!

By day I am still teaching Drama and yes of course I still manage to fit some knitting into my busy  life, every stitch a second of stress relief!

And my little sweet pea?  Not so little - she is nearly 17!!!  and went to her prom last friday!!

I  was privileged enough to baptise her on 

April 14th!

 and she is now busy revising for her GCSE's.  It was a proud day when she achieved an A* for her textiles coursework!  She plans to do her A levels then apply for art school.

The little green van still takes us on adventures - but usually up the M62 to college.

Alfie still sits by my side waiting for a tickle, although he had to have all his teeth removed at Christmas.

Life is good and I finally feel I can have some me time today and make contact with old friends.  My assignments are all finished and all my students have all gone on their study leave.  Look at the wonderful 'knitting cake' they made me when they left.

 It has been a very hectic two years.  If any of my old blogging pals are out there, please get in touch....I would love to hear from you.

:: My time to dance ::

Remember me? I was the woman who once had time to do a blog post ever Saturday morning and sometimes mid week...I was the woman who had time to regularly visit the blogs of her many blog friends, to read and comment and try their suggested crafts ideas. I carried a camera, took copious photographs, spend hours uploading them and wrote and wrote about my adventures in my little green van.

I once wrote a school production involving 250 children, I would knit all day long in the car (not while driving) in the cinema at dinner parties or in coffee shops...I wonder now, where did that woman go?

Well the little Green van had to go in a different direction every other month, towards Manchester, and my part time degree in ministry and mission at Luther King House and suddenly my life was turned upside down with reading, assignments placement tasks, preaching, pastoral visiting - oh and teaching full time and running my home etc etc...

Am I busy ? Yes. Have I time to knit? Not really.....But am I happy? - YES YES YES!!!! Never have I been so fulfilled and so filled with joy. I feel I have come home, I have found my place, I have found where I belong.

So, I now begin plans and preparations to apply for the ministry, and now I am known as the Vicar of Dibley by my colleagues at work.

I continue to publish my sermons on my other blog A still small voice but my training, college work, full time job and work in the church has taken over somewhat and it is with regret that I have been an absent friend since my last post when I prepared for my summer holidays. Where has the time gone?

So please accept my apologies and my blessing to you and yours this Christmas....I would love to hear from you so please don't be strangers, email me and keep in touch ...but until my next window of opportunity I will love you and leave you and thank you for your support and friendship over the years.....be sure of one thing my Friends....now is my time to dance......

:: At last ! ::

I don't know where the days weeks and months have gone....but life has been hectic and very full. I have been finishing off various craft projects and re-writing all my lessons and resourcing them ready for September. I will have to hit the ground running when I start school again as I will be starting my 4 year course at Luther King House to train to be a Lay Minister.

I have also been taking services at church, spending hours writing sermons, working, helping with Sweet Pea's school production, being a Mum, church groups, plus everything else that seems to fill my days and keep me away from blogging. I think this seems to have been the case for a lot of us recently....How did I find the time to write a post every week?

So to apologise for being absent of late I thought I would do a show and tell.

Last year we visited Charleston House, the beautiful home of the Bloomsbury set, it was such an inspiring and magical place.....and I hope to return one day.

There is also a wonderful shop.... I spent rather too long in there and couldn't stop myself from buying some fabric, but at £50 a meter I could only afford half a meter.

This little piece of treasured fabric lived in my study for a year!

I kept taking it out and looking at it, I would proudly show it to friends but I just couldn't take scissors to it....and I couldn't decide what to do with it.... A week ago I finally summonsed up the courage to make a decision - which was to make an Amy Butler 'birdie sling bag' for my holidays....

I used every single scrap of fabric on the bag - I couldn't bare to waste any of it....

I even made frayed patches to decorate the handles....

I added Suffolk puffs for decoration and some hand embroidery
I lined it with thick calico adding buttons and pockets and more embroidery.... well running stitch ....

Nothing was wasted...I am delighted with the results....

So it is now ready for our holiday...two weeks in Normandy....leaving on Friday....Hurray!

I can't wait to feel the sun on my back...

Alfie has been enjoying the sunshine in his little hidey hole under the giant white foxglove....

I wish for plenty of sunshine for you to enjoy my friends and I look forward to catching up with you all on my return....

::

:: Show and tell ::

Since the drama exams ended in the middle of May I have finally felt the pressure lifting from my life and so my knitting needles have been going clickety clack....I have just finished one of my own designs...Snow Queen .... because I love the fairy tale...

I wanted to use lots of different hand spun natural yarns from Yorkshire sheep...it's amazing to see all the different textures and subtle tones of cream....

I then added detail in tweedy reds and my inspiration was a lovely book I got for Christmas about Swedish embroidery...I love the way they use the combination of cream and red....

I also used vintage red buttons and little bits of lace which I bought at a flea market in Brugges....

This has been a very difficult post for me to do because I hate having my picture taken... poor Mr. B has been snapping away about with my iPhone camera in the garden...so I could fiddle with my new photo shop App.

The reason for undergoing all this humiliation in the garden is you dear blog pals.
When I have shown my designs and creations in the past you have asked to see me wearing them...so please excuse my pained expressions...focus on the jumper...(it's must nicer....)

I am planning to make some matching fingerless gloves and a hat for the winter...

I think its amazing what you can do
with an iPhone camera....

::

I have been having a lovely play...

Then all you do is upload and you are ready to go...

all ready for my blog...

thank you iPhone...you have made blogging so much easier...

and fun...

If you have an iPhone the app is a hipstamatic camera....

my friend Becky introduced me to it and I am addicted....

can you tell...?

::

I have also been having a wonderful time shopping recently....

::

I have lost two stone since Christmas and gone down two dress sizes...so thanks to eBay I have sold all of my old wardrobe and spent my profits on completely new one and ...'Toast' and 'Gudrun Sjoden' have been doing a roaring trade thanks to Slimmers world!

::

but that is another day and another post... until then my friends....

::

I have a red Debbie Bliss Luxury tweed coat to finish knitting....

::

Clickety clack.... and I will practice my smile for my next show and tell...

::

ps is anyone else having problems with blogger...its taking ages to move pictures and write posts and then I can't get rid of these huge gaps??? Help

:: Rested ::

Hello!! ...long time no blogging...I am so sorry...my crazy manic life has taken over and kept me away from my lap top....and my lovely blogging pals...do forgive me...

you were in my thoughts and when I could catch a minute I tried to pop by to see you...

although sometimes this was on my IPhone and I hadn't time to comment.....I hope these lovely pictures will make up my absence....

After the most amazing and the most frantic and busy start to 2011, working regular 15 hour days at school then dashing down the M62 to attend my Lay preacher course... a week in my beloved Skye was just what the Dr. ordered....

and not just for me.....

we were blessed with the most amazing weather.....

Even after seven years of visiting every Easter we still found somewhere new to explore...

We took a tiny ferry from Skye to the main land....the scenery was breath taking...

At the end of a walk we came to the end of the island...and here we discovered this little shed where we could have a welcome cup of tea....

in the company of these handsome fellows

Seven years ago I first became fascinated by Skye when I read about a book binder called Laura West who lived there.

Every visit we tried to contact her with no success...until last year when we visited her studio ...and my clumsy other half broke her toilet!

This year our annual trip coincided with a book binding course run by Laura in Portree - the capital....Sweet P and I attended....this is the view from the window of the room where we worked...

here we are at work...I brought our deeds which go back to 1864 and Laura helped me make them into a book....

Everyone will be getting books for Christmas...

I am hooked...I may even put my knitting needles down....

The finished project.....

and Sweet P made a lovely note book.....

While we made books Mr. B climbed the old man of Storr....

We also discovered the most amazing cake shop...these cakes were like little drops of heaven in your mouth...so hang the diet....where else would I go to celebrate my birthday?

We had another wonderful holiday...... Skye heals and brings peace and rest to the weary soul......

Let these pictures work their magic the healing views of magical Skye....

Yesterday we had a blissful walk in Bluebell woods

We were surrounded by a carpet of fragrant bluebells

Every year these little blue flowers never fail to delight me....

picture postcard views round every corner....



with every step....

A wonderful start to a long weekend in the sunshine......I hope you all have a lovey Easter weekend.....and the sun shines on each and every one of you....

::