It's been a couple of days since I posted and I've been so busy. Not necessarily doing anything I want to do, but rather being kept on the move by other people.
I've had visitors popping in, demands made on my time that I felt I couldn't refuse.... Doctor's appts, phone calls, requests for reports on the local Community Garden. (Which reminds me we have a meeting booked for this coming Wednesday and I've heard nothing back from any of the others on the committee.)
I also have two tables booked at a couple of craft fairs. These are happening two Saturday's in a row towards the end of June , and I really need to make more stock for my table. Also the CraftFest at Creative Connections will be on the 9th June and running for a week.
This weekend we have the Southend Airshow so the last couple of days have been extremely noisy, ...........not so much from the aircraft, but the crowds of people going past my door. Parents shouting, children crying, people who've had too much to drink. I assume they are enjoying themselves, but to hear them, you wonder why they bother going out at all!
As I'm typing this the Red Arrows are flying overhead, & I always enjoy watching them, but of course adding to the noise is the number of car alarms they set off with the low passes!
My father popped round yesterday with some lettuce thinnings and a couple of Redcurrant bushes he had propagated for me, but I shall wait for a quieter day to plant them out. This is the second time in 3 days he's popped in unexpectedly. I think I shall have to tell him I'm going out for a few days just so I can get on with some card making.
My neighbour is still waiting for a christening card to be made. I have until Friday to do that as she is on holiday until then. I have an order for 30 Christmas cards to be sent off to Holland for some friends of mine as well.
If I could sell a few more online and at craft sales, perhaps I could save up to go and see them again, it's been about 6 years now since I've been able to afford to go. I'd like to be able to go again, none of us are getting any younger, and they are such good fun.
I've been making a summer dress today and just taken a break before I attach the collar and front facings. I desperately needed something lightweight and cool, and have cut up my old duvet cover to make it. Mind you, the time it's taking me, the nice weather will be over before it's finished! It's actually in the nature of an experiment, the fabric is a little flimsy, but if it works out I may be able to pick up some slightly heavier sets from the charity shops, and the bits I don't use for a dress I may be able to make some childrens cot quilts to sell on my craft stalls. I'll have to see how that works out. I've never done quilting before, but it sounds like fun, and I got a book of patterns to try.
One of the neighbours children has been popping in and out all weekend, which is another distraction. I don't like to say she can't come in. She doesn't get on with her stepbrother, and sometimes coming in gives her a break from him. Complicated situation, and I feel quite sorry for her. She's been making a cross stitich card for her teacher as this is her last year at primary school, and she wanted to do something special for her. I've been showing her how to do it, and she has been getting on quite well. She's also been learing to play chess with my daughter, so mornings are used up with these pastimes, and afternoons are spent cooking cakes also with my daughter.
After 3 years of arguing and fighting the Housing Association, they finally agreed to send in a damp specialist to prove to me that the plaster falling off the wall is due to my bad ventilation of the rooms causing condensation. I've been vindicated!! It took the specialist surveyor less that 5 minutes to confirm my suspicions. The damp proof course has gone and I have rising damp!
Now the results have to go to the Manager of the Housing Association, and (hopefully) something can be done. I had an email last Wednesday to say they had received the report and it would be discussed in a meeting on Friday morning. I would be informed of the outcome in due course............watch this space, as they say!
I must try and get on with a bit more of this dress, and I will of course post a picture when it is done...............if I don't ruin it. Its a few years since I've done any needlework I made a dress for my daughter when she was 5, and she is 22 this year, so I'm a bit rusty. Just keep your fingers crossed.
See you soon
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About Blackbutterfly Cards
I started making cards for pleasure in 2007, and quickly found my home was becoming swamped by cards everywhere. I decided to put some of them up for sale on a webpage in an effort to recoup some of the costs of my hobby. I called the webpage Blackbutterfly Handcrafted Cards, and it can be found at http://www.blackbutterfly2007.co.uk/
I try to take my cards to a couple of table sales or craft fairs a year, but make my cards mainly for friends and family. I would love the website sales to take off, as I nowhere near cover the costs involved in this all absorbing hobby, but for me the main thing is the pleasure I have in making my cards.
Recently I have decided to expand my blog to cover my other interests too. It's a sort of substitute for going to work and chatting to people, as due to ill health I was unable to work, and since the beginning of 2014 I am officially a pensioner.
Although I'll still show my cards, I'll also be covering my other interests and how I attempt to make ends meet day by day.
In fact anything that crosses my mind will be on here, so be prepared for waffle and a wasted five minutes as you read. Make coffee and settle in, why don't you?
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