tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16256940645308720932024-03-14T06:26:26.060+00:00Random RamblingsWelcome to my very Random Ramblings. This started out as more of a journal than anything else but has recently become more crafty as I embark on my journey into quilting. I love to know where visitors come from so please take the time to say 'Hi' if you can, you could even add yourself to my followers!easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.comBlogger385125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-62452296943054492162013-02-15T08:24:00.001+00:002013-02-15T08:24:40.753+00:00This diet thing...Over the years I've tried many diets from simple calorie counting to the more structured Weight Watchers™. I was most successful with Weight Watchers™ losing 30lbs in just six months, however keeping it off was a different tale and in the ensuing years I put it all back on plus a hell of a lot more.No matter how hard I've tried since then I haven't been able to stick to any type of diet plan, easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-68510958327047014372012-10-20T16:03:00.001+01:002012-10-20T16:03:47.915+01:00Something completely different!...in a quilting way anyhow!A couple of Christmases ago, John bought me a lovely fat quarter bundle of flannels. They sat happily waiting in my stash until I had a plan for them and a few weeks before we went on holiday I decided it was time to slice into them. Stupidly I didn't do the maths properly and cut the strips just a little too big to fully utilise all the fabric but never mind, I easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-82096640491335591682012-09-18T18:43:00.001+01:002012-09-18T18:43:52.423+01:00Greetings from California!So here's a little blogette form the good ol' US of A! We've spent the last couple of weeks with our very good friends in Santa Rosa, California (the same friends who lived in Missouri).We have had a wonderful time with sightseeing at both the coast and inland. We've been through forests, mountains, valleys and beaches. And of course we've shopped! Not a lot, just a little. Honestly. We promised easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-65523344328484446902012-08-04T19:12:00.001+01:002012-08-04T19:24:09.718+01:00A dogs tale...I feel I need to blog! And this post is something I never thought I'd write!A few weeks back, I started to think about suggesting to John that we should get a dog to keep him company when he retires in a few weeks. Just thinking, you understand, I'd had the odd google for rescue dogs, but was disappointed that they were nearly all Staffordshire Bull Terriers. Not a breed I liked at all. I said easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-37820069433625456522012-06-21T07:16:00.001+01:002012-06-21T07:16:55.074+01:00Finally I can reveal....What I was working on for so long! This is the first time I have made a quilt for somebody else, normally I make them and they sit in the cupboard!I started this quilt last summer and got a bit frustrated with it, I'd bought it as a kit and have to be honest, it wasn't the best quality cotton I've worked with since I started quilting. It got put away but I knew I wanted to give it to Amanda for easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-29834996181295239302012-05-26T17:31:00.001+01:002012-05-26T17:31:24.973+01:00Memory bagsJust thought I'd share a few of the bags I've made so far!When I made the first batch, I made the bottom of the bag the fold and stitched down both sides. That was fine for the plainer fabrics but not for those with a pattern! I had some lovely fabric with buses and cars on - sadly they are upside down on one side of the bag :( never mind, lesson learnt!I've also created a Facebook group called easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-84575617294456018282012-04-25T20:37:00.001+01:002012-04-25T20:37:28.659+01:00Just a quick post........I know that some of you who read this are crafty types so hope you don't mind me putting out a bit of an appeal for the neonatal unit where I work ( I don't work in the neonatal unit but you know what I mean). They are asking for people to make 'memory' bags for the newbies that will be placed on the incubators for parents to place things like name bands and other bits and pieces in, as a easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-87153652869143672152012-04-21T09:54:00.001+01:002012-04-21T09:54:54.446+01:00My Vodafone woes - againI know I haven’t written for a while and I come back with a gripe! Sorry… At the end of February I took the brave step of upgrading my mobile to an i-Phone. Gulp. A big step but I had just about had enough of my HTC wildfire S so I thought it was a step worth taking. As my contract was only a short while in, I had to ‘buy’ myself  out of six months worth of contract – and I had to do thateasternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-80808313482280866272012-03-28T21:24:00.001+01:002012-03-28T21:24:34.716+01:00Just testing!I know, it's been a while and now I post with a stupid title. Well you see I've got this new toy that has then over my life and I've been so preoccupied that I haven't even thought about blogging!Anyway, before I write too much and find it hasn't worked, I'll stop to check. Watch this space there'll be more to come!- Posted using BlogPress from my iPadeasternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-5535658603853109022011-12-27T10:48:00.001+00:002011-12-27T10:48:58.096+00:00Christmas day plus twoWell, that’s Christmas over for another year. This year, for the first time ever (as far as I can remember) John and I spent most of Christmas day on our own. We were very civilised and sat down to a full blown Christmas dinner which we then slept off while we waited for David & Amanda to come around, with her Mum & brother, for tea. I don’t usually do much in way of tea at Christmas but easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-64245931957163657382011-12-11T17:57:00.001+00:002011-12-11T17:57:31.540+00:00I’ve only gone and done it!!Now that caught your eye didn’t it! What have I done? I’ve listed some of my bags on Etsy – you can find me here at Handmade by Heather. I’m not sure if they will sell but if I don’t try I will never know will I? The pricing looks a little strange ‘cos you have to put the price in US dollars and I suppose depending which exchange rate the site uses the rate will vary. I really struggled to come easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-75453376163556839332011-11-20T19:57:00.001+00:002011-11-20T19:57:07.038+00:00A-ma-zing!!Sorry if this is becoming boring but…Strictly was blooming fantastic. I’ve set this to post after tonight’s results show because the audience were sworn to secrecy about the result! We arrived at Wembley about 4.30 and queued for a short time before taking our seats which, although not fantastic, gave us a good enough view. We were fortunate enough to have a screen that we could see the dancers easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-73427174266880344302011-11-19T12:00:00.001+00:002011-11-19T12:00:18.010+00:00Needles & PinsAh, I see you all thinking this is going to be a crafty post, well you’d be wrong! It’s been almost five weeks now since I’ve been able to do any hand sewing or crochet – that simple holding action between thumb and for finger seems to have been the trigger for the dreadful pain I was having in my shoulder, arm & hand. However I have now had two acupuncture sessions as part of my easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-3387478748182285292011-11-06T19:21:00.001+00:002011-11-06T19:21:10.119+00:00Lucky me!!Something a little different this week. When it was announced that London had won the 2012 Olympics, John & Matt volunteered to help with whatever was needed, they heard nothing so assumed they wouldn’t be wanted but, when we got back from holiday, John had an email inviting him for an interview for ‘transportation’. I jokingly said that he would be driving one of those electric carts that easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-18293913775043430612011-10-30T08:33:00.001+00:002011-10-30T08:33:02.924+00:00Decision madeOK – time to put the past few weeks to bed I think. I’ve decided to ride out whatever storms arise at work, thanks to this strange positivity that’s arrived over the past couple of weeks I now feel a lot more positive and optimistic about the future – just hope I can keep it up! Moving on to other things of a more domestic nature. Matt seems to have settled in Brisbane, he’s been there for abouteasternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-3047574303363149782011-10-23T18:10:00.000+01:002011-10-23T18:10:55.085+01:00Positive Mental Attitude
Yes - that's what I've got now! Still need to decide about work but that will come, I know. The positive mental attitude (PMA) has come about from a weight loss programme I'm trying and I will let you know more about that in good time.
I haven't got much to tell you this week apart from the problem with my shoulder which is slightly marring my PMA. For a few months now I've suffered easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-3755417907048854902011-10-14T07:20:00.001+01:002011-10-14T07:20:44.627+01:00You have mail….Dear Blog, I’m sorry that I’ve ignored you for so long. No excuses, well perhaps a few. We had a lovely holiday and I promise I’ll let you see the photos eventually (just need to get around to editing them a bit). Matt seems to have settled a little more in Australia. He’s been to Sydney and is now in Brisbane, he’s taken some great photos (I’ve pinched this little gem from his Facebook album – easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-15773388804112605232011-09-10T08:29:00.001+01:002011-09-10T08:29:14.105+01:00Things I’ve learnt this week  Warning – melodramatic Mum overload, I won’t be offended if you skip this post!! I don’t want to bore people too much with all of this stuff so I won’t link it anywhere, but if you stumble across it in your reader I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not to read it! 1) Saying goodbye is really hard, no I mean really hard – I’d kept everything tight right up until Tuesday when easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-57777145717966836942011-09-07T19:55:00.001+01:002011-09-07T19:55:40.495+01:00And the rain came down……just in time for our trip to the airport to see Son2 off on his adventures! We’d had our own adventure before he left, he came ‘home’ on Sunday and bought all his bits and pieces back on Monday – so much stuff! And clothes – he only took one suitcase with him plus a back pack and the rest has been left behind. The first suitcase split under the strain just as he finished packing, luckily we easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-73447946446433090802011-09-02T19:22:00.001+01:002011-09-02T19:22:06.071+01:00I am winner–woo hoo!!Last night while I was idly watching Twitter scroll by relaxing after a hard day at work, the following message jumped up in front of me: Twitter: I need a title for BBCR4 short story about twitter. It's got libel, people not being who they say they are, and daytime TV. Ideas? This was posted by the author Jojo Moyes, and I sat and thought for a few moments and for some reason the words ‘easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-40624855618565374382011-08-29T14:31:00.001+01:002011-08-29T14:31:26.327+01:00Getting together to say goodbye……to Son2! He wanted a chance to say goodbye to family friends as I briefly mentioned last weekend. So yesterday was the day, it sort of coincided with John’s big birthday and we had our friends from Colchester up with all the grandchildren and we were joined by FDIL’s mum and brother (who was 18 on Friday). As usual, we bought far too much food both barbecue and otherwise and now the freezer iseasternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-11632679289177651932011-08-21T07:23:00.001+01:002011-08-21T07:23:27.312+01:00Good times!I’ve had a couple of lovely days! Friday was my day off and I had planned to go to lunch with Nicola. Normally our socialising is limited to slaving over a steaming sewing machine but I had a voucher from Groupon for a local restaurant so off we went. Now, if you read Nicola’s blog, Stitch Magic, you will know that she spent a few days at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham so of course she had easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-59392329437782264582011-08-14T18:25:00.001+01:002011-08-14T18:25:03.321+01:00Catch up!After the fun and games of last Saturday, we took an impromptu trip to Snape on Sunday for the vintage market. I’m always so tempted by the wares displayed on the stalls, constantly saying ‘oh look, we had one of those’ or ‘oh look how much they want for that’! I resisted though and didn’t buy, although I was sorely tempted by the lovely cake stands made, mainly, from similar but not quite easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-39868985866302150952011-08-06T17:58:00.001+01:002011-08-06T17:58:30.129+01:00Ladies who……Earlier today I had a really catchy title in my mind for this post, however the sieve that has replaced my memory in recent months has let it leak out and it’s lost! I hope as I’m writing I can come up with something that tells you what a great day I’ve had today! A few weeks ago I had the brainwave of inviting some likeminded ladies to spend the day being crafty and today was the day we settledeasternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1625694064530872093.post-75568378422986804212011-07-24T17:37:00.001+01:002011-07-24T17:37:05.439+01:00Another week , another reveal!Another first for me this week – a bag on a clip frame, I’ve always wondered how these work and now I know. This one is called Easy Peasy Purse and came in kit form from U-handbag. I have to say it was very easy to make although I struggled a little getting getting the fabric into the frame – but it will be easy next time! In other news I took myself off to Dunelm on my day off as I had read on easternsparklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17655745434901079268noreply@blogger.com2