Chilling out

That's what we've been doing this weekend......chilling out.  Almost literally too, we had beautiful weather through the week (by Friday it was up to 27 degrees and I was shattered at the end of the day!), and then we woke up yesterday morning to a chilly wind and temperatures around 12 degrees.

So - the picnic on the beach plans were abandoned and we relocated to Binning Wood.  One of our, many, favourite places.  It has some lovely glades which are perfect for settling down in and cooking sausages for lunch.  And we had to settle for quite a while too as we'd forgotten how long it takes the Cobb to warm up.  My parents gave John his Cobb for Christmas a couple of years ago.  His was bought in South Africa, where they are made, but you can by them in the UK now.  While they are wonderful little cooker/camping stove/BBQ hybrids they do take a while to build up heat........next time we'll remember to light it as soon as we can.

Cute Kipper and handsome Moray

Meanwhile the children and dogs (we're back up to two temporarily as mum and dad are away for a few days) had a lovely time roaming around and occasionally popping back to check that John and I hadn't moved (and whether lunch was ready yet!).  I did almost nothing except sit and enjoy spending time with John and seeing the children have so much fun exploring by themselves.  We've had a very hectic few weeks and the next few will be, at times, too so it was lovely to have the chance to really relax.

In anticipation of Friday's heat I thankfully abandoned my sewing plans for Thursday and instead cut into my recently purchased Anna Maria Horner voile to make a skirt.  I'm really reluctant to buy maternity clothes or even to make anything that can't be worn after September.  I'd spotted this little tutorial on AMH's website a while ago and thought it would be a perfect compromise - the deep waistband is made with four narrow strips of elastic so next summer I can shorten the elastic.  On Friday I wore it with the waistband rolled down under my rapidly expanding bump which was very comfortable...........and showed off a little of the green lining when my, non-maternity, top rose up too much for the millionth time.  It kept me very cool and comfy and I think will actually look better when my waist, hopefully, returns at some point in the future.  Photos are somewhat pathetic but that mirror is the longest we have i.e. not full length, or width for that matter!

And today John took the kids off for a walk this morning and I spent a happy, peaceful, time sewing a baby blanket which was bought on Folksy at the end of the week (I make them up to order so that I can include any fabric or personalisation requests).  It is now prettily wrapped up and ready to send off.  I do like seeing an order all ready to go and feeling/hoping it will be enjoyed by the recipient - in this case I think its a present for a new niece.

I do hope everyone is well and found at least some of last week's sun.  I have lots of beautiful fabric to show-off next time (mostly bought for two toddler blanket commissions but a little for my stash).  And I'm very excitedly, and not at all patiently, awaiting a delivery from Superbuzzy.......I'll share the contents when they arrive!