This is... what scrambles my brain

1. 6887, 2. letters & numbers., 3. CATHERINE Zipper Pouch - Numbers, 4. measured., 5. new perpetual calendar - craft 365 - day 234, 6. 222, 7. bean dolls on chair, 8. tape measures, 9. Numbers quilt

Numbers... they are my kryptonite. I just don't understand. They are so important and so useful and yet my brain goes to pieces in the face of numbers:

I write down a phone number and some of the digits switch places.
I try to work out which is the better deal in the supermarket, and I'm still there, twenty minutes later, with the back of my shopping list covered in maths, no nearer to understanding which one gives me more for my money.
How much fabric do I need to back this quilt? This can take days of scribbling numbers, sweat and tears.

I'm lucky though, I've always had understanding friends or family nearby who'll look at my pages of numbers and say "I've no idea what you've done here, but the answer is 3". When my best mate at college used to work out the utilities bill for our shared house of six people, the answer always came out to me owing her exactly the price of a pint! :)

Thanks to Juddie for this week's theme, and as always to the lovely Angela.

Oh, one more thing... if you're at a loose end in cyberspace over the next 3 days, could you drop by Threadless and vote for my husband's tee design? Thank you.

Friday Flickr Favourites - A Day at the Beach

1. Beach Huts Fine Art Photograph, 2. Cobalt Blue necklace, 3. Spring Hopes...Summer Wishes 63/365, 4. Ocean Gift Bracelet, 5. Beach Cartwheels, 6. surfs up, 7. Susanna, 8. Beach snails, 9. jellys @ the beach 1

Today I spent most of the day at the beach with my son and niece (4 and 3 yrs old). We dug holes, built a pretend truck depot and made ourselves hilarious shoes out of sand. The day disappeared so quickly, leaving three sandy, exhausted and happy people.

All the above pics are from Flickr and all were originally posted by Etsyians, so click through the links for more information on some great crafters.

Pimping my Man - Threadless Tees

You know how I mentioned my lovely husband, Phil, back in this post? He set up the downloadable bookmarks for me (please do help yourself to them, by the way). Well, he's submitted a design to Threadless and it's a great one.


Here's what Phil has to say about his tee:
"Yesterday you loved Radiohead. But today you hate them. And now your in love with some obscure Swedish electronic act that nobody's heard of which makes you the coolest. And tomorrow you might switch allegiance to a band with a distinct folk ouevre. Then this is the tee for you. This favourite band tee will outlast any fleeting loyalty to any band you happen to like this week, or even just for the next half hour. Ideal for those who like to have their finger on the pulse at all times."

If you're passing through, please vote for him. Thanks.

Plush Team Challenge - Favourite Childhood Toy

There's a distinct waft of nostalgia round here. It's just coincidence that this weeks "This is" and this months Etsy Plush Team challenge have both been about favourite childhood memories. For the Plush Team challenge we had to recreate a favourite childhood toy, here is mine:

I first saw Monkey in 1978. He was hanging from a papier mache tree in a display window in a toy shop near my home. I loved him so much. One day we went into the shop and there was a big performance as the shop-lady had to find a ladder and climb into the display to get Monkey. "Does it have to be this exact monkey?" "YES."


I had to wait a few more days, til my birthday, before I got to have Monkey, but I already loved him. Two years later, my brother threw him across the living room and one of Monkey's eyes fell out but I still loved him. Monkey sat on my bed for at least another eight years, until I put him carefully away and hung up posters of Michael J Fox instead. But I still loved Monkey and I still do.


The original Monkey was made of a dark pile fabric and was very cuddly. Instead of recreating an exact copy I wanted to recreate the "spirit" of Monkey, a cheeky friend who came on so many imaginary adventures with me. We pretended to row down jungle rivers together and we climbed real trees together, he even used to come to Narnia with me. Would Michel J Fox ever sit in a hedge with me, pretending to be in Narnia?