Today is a good day...

Today is a good day, I awoke to a brightish room despite the earliness of the hour, Friday is my busiest day of the week. But the brightness made me think I had overslept even though my two children cuddling me assuring me they had another ten minutes of cuddle time I still worried. I managed to pull myself out of bed and pull the curtains back and the bedroom was saturated in light. A feeling of excitement rumbled in my stomach. The thought of spring, the signs starting to creep in that January is nearly over and soon the grey days will be turned into warm and energy giving light days, yes indeed they are nearly upon us...
OK I am not talking summer here but the change in the light had a significant effect on my mood and well being. I wrapped my dressing gown around me a little tighter as the chill was still nipping at my skin which was still warm and cosy from being curled up in my bed. As I walked into the kitchen the sunrise over the moors was reflecting on the kitchen wall, it made me smile, what is more it made me want to quickly get my camera and capture the moment...So we (the boys and I) sat around the table and discussed the day ahead whist we munched on our cereal and toast, I have to confess that we also snuggled up next to the heater as indeed the chill was causing us to have dragon breath, swirly streams of breath as we chatted and eat before we all went our separate ways for the day.
Shhhh the end of the day is now near, the boys asleep and I sit in the kitchen on my own...looking at this tin waiting to go in the recycling bin, only its not made its way there and was a present from a neighbour for looking after her home whilst she was away, an empty box the contents long ago eaten. Mmmm why have I kept it. I looked at the container, I looked at my basket of spare wool by my chair in the corner of my kitchen. I looked again and started to put a plan together whist I waited for my supper to cook. Forty minutes later... Tah Dah...
Yes the day has ended on a note to match the morning, a happy one. My new vase of flowers on my dressers.
Making plans in my head for the weekend with my to do list getting a little silly...

- Work on a sewing order

- Work on a couple of cushion designs

- CLEAN AND TIDY UP!

- Make some cakes for a child's birthday

- Try to manage a couple of hours of studying

- Food shop

- Washing, drying and ironing the children's school uniforms

- Clean out the Rabbit and Guinea pig plus cut their nails and give the bunny a good comb out as he is matting up his winter coat.

- A wool shop visit, needing some more yarn in particular colour for knitted cupcakes.

- Tip run

- Re plant the pots by my front door with primulas

- Take the children books to the library

- OK, NO MORE THOUGHTS, MY HEAD IS STARTING TO HURT AND THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY HOURS IN THE DAY.

Time for a glass of wine, a little sewing in front of the fire and then a good nights sleep.

What ever you are inclined to do this weekend I hope the sun makes an appearance and fills your day with joy.

Love Letters...

OK is it is just me or is this month just flying by? Usually January is the slowest month of the year...Already in the short four weeks since Christmas day I have done so much, in fact so much that I have had little time to blog. Being a student is proving more challenging than I care to admit and I am finding I am studying into the early hours and on Friday I had my first and largest assessment, the preparation alone was over six hours written work and I don't even want to tell you about how nervous I was. I am pleased to report that everyone around me was extra helpful and I felt a real sense that my work colleagues really wanted me to do well.
In the Dotty Red household I have been busy with all things romantic... as I progress through my first year as a little creative enterprise I am learning a lot and I have found I need to be more organised and plan ahead a lot more, but this is what my sewing is all about at this stage, its all about learning. Any helpful hints you can pass on would be greatly appreciated.
So today after a busy day getting the house cleared and staged for the Estate Agent to come in and take pictures, working on a order, school run then preparing supper for my children... we all took a moment out of our busy day and sat around the table with a jug of Hot Chocolate and some cookies, a pile of new felt tip pens (100 pens from Asda £1.20) selection of paper, a mass of chopped up bits of felt and glue. Whilst the boys got busy cutting, colouring and sticking I had a little play with the felt...
Which resulted in a cute pile of fabric love letters... little padded felt hearts, blanket stitched together and sealed with a kiss. A special little pocket added to hold a little paper heart for you to write your own secret message. Now of course these are for your loved ones, for romantic or even cheeky little messages, but the Mom in me also thinks they are a sweet thing to pop into your child's lunch box and leave a little message to let them know they are loved...
How I love these creative times around the kitchen table and how I love sitting in my newly decorated kitchen... happy days.

Oh and finally a little sneaky peek in to the Valentines cushions I am making, using dreamy fabric and vintage lace finished off with a lavender heart tucked away in the fold at the back of the cushion.

I wish you a happy and heartfilled week...

The Bleak mid winter....

So this weekend was the bleakest and most depressing weekend of the year, I heard it on the radio, I read it on the net and in newspapers. As someone that loves Christmas and all it means, its the celebration that helps me through the bleakness of winter and I really am not a winter child in the slightest so I was actually a little worried that I would struggle through this weekend. With the Christmas tree now in its rightful place in the garden, the lights and baubles are all packed away in coloured tissue and boxes and stored away for next year... The Friday arrives and my little one and I have a virus and spend the day curled up in front of the fire nursing our sore tummies, by the late afternoon our bug seemed to have passed and we spent our time reading and snuggling. The big boy came home and after a chat we changed our plans of a weekend away with friends to a cosy time at home. It proved to be the best idea of the week. After a quite night on Friday staying up late, we awoke to the snow all gone, a lazy morning mulling around in our PJs we thought we would wrap up warm and go for a country walk, we headed off and of course ended up in a country pub. After a soul warming mug of Chocolate and a nip of brandy ( Brandy for Mommy only I must add) we headed home to warm our toes up by the fire.
We all ended up in the kitchen and spent a few hours around the kitchen table while a very special friend of ours cooked us a fabulous meal. What a treat. How I love a lazy dinner, when you sit around and chat, sip wine and just relax, yes relax was the word for this weekend, indeed its the most relaxed I have been for a while. Once the boys had finally given in to sleep, a movie in front of the fire which ended in a snooze for the grown ups...
Sunday was much of the same, but a little busier in the kitchen, baking up a storm with some little helpers, the enthusiasm of children cooking always warms my heart. It was baking to finish off all the Christmas left overs and rid the house of chocolate.
Now don't get me wrong, being totally lazy just does not happen around here, yes Christmas might be over but its time to think Love and hearts and all things valentines related... So on the shop front I have been busy putting together the Valentines Dotty Red range. Cushions, hearts and some little heart covered journals. I have got my hands on some fabulous organic muslin styled cotton, little flecks of thread running through a beautiful rough cream fabric, big squishy over stuffed hearts a little label of words of love sewn on with a single cross stitch either side of the label and a loop of matching ribbon to hang it on your door, coat hanger or in the house... your light switches...

Back to normal this week, all well and a dairy that is full, lots of things going on this week...

Homework, work, sewing, a couple of Dotty Red shop visits, solicitors, meetings with Estate Agents and maybe at the end of the week a little more time to relax.

What ever you are doing I hope you have a great week and manage to get all your jobs done and still have a little time left over to take a moment out just for YOU.

Happy New year...

From my creative place to yours I wish you a very Happy New Year...Reflection is a big part of New Year for me, I like to give myself a little time thinking about the past and making plans for the future. Only this year I have chosen not to reflect. Its not been the best year of my life, still struggling with the reality of becoming a single parent, not being able to be the home Mommy I always wanted to be, having to go back to college and work, making my sewing and knitting a business not just a hobby, losing my place by the seaside, some friends finding the changes in my life not compatible with their lives, its not an easy transition. This New year also holds lots of change, this month my family home goes up for sale and my children are finding this part of our family life the most difficult, lots of personal 'stuff' to handle, many many challenges and I have exams to work towards also . . . yes lots of change, so instead of reflecting I am taking a big deep breath and feeling, for the first time in a long time, excited about my future. My life is full of insecurity and worry about my family and our future, but it is also exciting and full of possibilities. My boys and I myself are blessed with good health we are warm and we have food in our tummies and our home is full of love, laughter and so many cuddles plus some very special people that care for us. So no dwelling on the past this year, only looking forward... new designs for Dotty Red, a new creative vibe, a new home . . . my two beautiful children and myself take a great big positive leap into 2011.

Happy New Year

Wishing you love, happiness, good health and wealth... Here's to the future, lets make great plans and ignore those who try and trample on our dreams!

Photograph. My beach boys happy by the sea side. It is my tradition to go to the seaside at Christmas for a wind swept walk along one of our favorite beaches, with our holiday home now gone we didn't manage it this year, so a little memory to help us all along... Soon it will be summer and new beaches will be discovered...