What a Hoot

Well, I totally take my hat off to Claire at Craft Shmaft for making these gorgeous things look so great because I found this quite fiddly and mine looks very much homemade unlike her extremely professional examples! Still, it was a first and I enjoyed it and I hope Grace wants it in her bedroom!! Thanks for letting me test the pattern Claire, which I should add was brilliant and even I could follow it.

Craft Shmaft is set to take over the craft world with the launch of this fab online store: http://craftschmaft.bigcartel.com

Return of the Sock

Following yesterdays migraine and today's migraine hangover I wanted to focus on something non-screen this evening. So I've made a test owl for the owl mobile that I'm pattern-testing for Claire at Craft Shmaft. It was lovely doing some sewing again. I have to make the complete mobile by 25 Sept so I'll need to take it to Dad's this weekend but I thought I'd do a trial owl tonight with one of Grace's old socks to work out what socks would work best. He's pretty cute despite not having any wings yet (I need to get fabric tomorrow). Anyway, will update on progress when I start making the real thing.

A friend on facebook today posted a quote that said something along the lines of art should be a one-off and craft should be repeated. I'm definitely more craft than art. I need to practice too much for art!

Iron Maiden

The midwife told me on Friday that I've got low iron levels (nothing like having something extra to make you feel even more tired when pregnant!). Luckily she recommended Spatone liquid sachets because it doesn't have the usual evil effects of iron tablets (pregnant womans worst nightmare). Anyway, have only been taking them since friday so early days but they seem great and when mixed in with a glass of orange juice you can't taste them either. The funny thing is, they were also an old client of James's at the bank and I remember him having to convince the bank to lend the company millions to buy the well in Wales! More info at: http://www.nelsonsnaturalworld.com/en-gb/our-brands/spatone/

Big skies

Just back from a lovely weekend in North Norfolk. We stayed in Burnham Overy Staithe. All the villages up there are so well kept and the coast is just stunning. I'm always tempted to complain about the seaside up here because I can't help but think of the sheltered coves and gorgeous beaches in the westcountry where I've spent a lot more of my time over the years. I think this is because the North Sea is often so grey and uninviting (plus Aldeburgh beach is all pebbles!). But the North Norfolk coast was just stunning this weekend. Perfect beach weather in my opinion, sunny enough to get your shades on but cold enough to need to wrap up a bit and keep the crowds away. Although I have to say that Brancaster beach this morning was a tad windy and Grace and I both wished we had no hair like Daddy!!

Saturday at Holkham beach was so clear and calm it was wonderful. A big trek down there from the car park though and no public conveniences which for a 7-months pregnant lass was quite a challenge! Worth it though.

Sunday was quite grey so we took Grace to a brilliant indoor play area on the seafront at Hunstanton. Mummy got to sit and drink coffee whilst Daddy clambered through tunnels, into ball pits and down rope swings with Grace. Then we drove over to Holt so James could do a bit of business research although it turned out that suprisingly most places in Holt seem to close on a Sunday.

Today we popped to Burnham Market to return the keys to the cottage. This is a great village but boy does it get busy, even at this time of year. We then went to Brancaster beach which we'd never been to before - it is such a huge expanse of sand and due to the windy conditions we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. Then it was a pub lunch and a drive back home.

Our cottage was nice but we wouldn't stay there again - overpriced for what we got I think. It also took us 24hours to unwind when we got up there as we were all over-tired from a busy week. But by Saturday pm we were in holiday mode, if only we'd had a few more days!

Here are a few pics from the weekend. My favourite is James's Barbour pose at the end, perhaps this will be the new homepage image for www.ocbutcher.co.uk :)

Bizarrely she only managed to get a tiny bit down Daddy's neck...

Where Grace goes, Marmalade goes too!

Look at the size of that bump - 10 weeks to go still!!

Nasty Daddy (she loved it really)

Hooray that she still fits in the backpack - she loved it - and she would never have walked that far!

Walk at Blakeney with Cley windmill in the distance

The Cottage

Breathtaking Brancaster beach

What has Grace done with all the people?!

My Barbour hero :)

Interesting subject

Amazing what you find on that there interweb. On doing a trawl to see what was being mentioned about the shop, James found this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildberrys/3856326253/

Hem night, not sock night...

Sock night has tonight been replaced with a boring bit of sewing tonight as i need to hem some trousers. How dull! Still, it might finally make me wear some trousers before there is no longer a bump to keep them up. Perhaps i can sneak a sock and some thread into my suitcase tomorrow and do a bit of crafting in north norfolk, i'm sure james will be well stocked with fishing mags for the weekend... Burnham-overy-Staithe here we come!