SPRING HAS SPRUNG

Reasons to be cheerful part 3

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Summer, Buddy Holly, the working folly

Good golly Miss Molly and boats

Hammersmith Palais, the Bolshoi Ballet

Jump back in the alley and nanny goats

Today I am having lots of reasons to be cheerful.

Admittedly I woke up in a grump surrounded by grumpy boys, but as the day has gone on a mellowing has occurred.

So now on a mellowed Sunday evening I am feeling gratefully cheerful about many things that have happened over the last week.

1. My next children's sewing class is more or less ready to roll.

Its on Saturday 5th March here is Sunny Streatham

We are going to be making glove puppets.

The Heston Blumenthal lookie likie on the end has been making me cheerful for days.

If you are interested in coming along leave me a message and I'll let you know the details.

2. Printing my own fabrics to be used in some new notebooks.

I got the designs from this book.

So much fun!

3. Having nine lovely ladies working really hard getting to know their sewing machines at my latest sewing machine workshop,

put on by our brilliant and fab local community group for all the brilliant and fab people who live literally on my doorstep.

Ladies if you want to see more pics of the day click the flickr link on the right.

4. My beautiful grumpy Pamela Primm needle case.

A extra special present to my self made by the very talented Viv of Hen's teeth.

Have a look at Mrs Primm in all her glory.

I am just loving the (very) vintage linen button and scraps of french packaging.

It is so beautiful I can't actually bring my self to use it and so it now resides on the shelf above where I work. Where Mrs Primm and I can eye each other warily and gauge the level of todays grump before commencing upon the work in progress.

5. So grateful to and made so cheerful by my friend Jane who works at a well known London Department store and texted me to ask if I want any cheep ribbons.

What do you think?

This little lot was so cheep it was almost a crime.

6. A flock of owls landing in my garden.

More, oh so much more about this soon.

7. Joining in the Very Berry hand made fabric scrap swap.

In its self something to be cheerful about.

But being me I had to only choose scraps with a story to tell.

writing those them there little labels made me really really happy.

As did wrapping them all up in old orange wrappers.

8. My very old friend, no thats wrong, we are not that old, my very good friend from a LONG time ago, yes that sounds better.

Well any way my friend Carolyn's daughter, who I may add I remember being born and becoming very clucky over, Jess has just been published.

What a girl!

Even though I haven't seen her for many years I feel so very proud.

Jess has illustrated and written a graphic novel about her struggle with anorexia.

Which I must admit doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs.

But being a nosey type I bought a copy and it is so darkly funny, I loved it.

9. I am going to be interviewed!!

Beth at Do what you love is going to interview me about my rarely mentioned

real life job.

Which is a bit weird, as I really try not to mention it here at all.

Mainly because I am well known in that world, its a very small world, that is a fairly all consuming world at times.

Flaming Nora my alter ego

is a safety valve in a way,

some where to do what I enjoy but with a lot less pressure.

10. Very excited and scared and cheerful about a workshop I am running for teenagers with learning difficulties on Wednesday.

I suspect the most challenging workshop yet.

Ohh hoo!

Fingers crossed!

yes yes

dear dear

perhaps next year

or may be even now.

With love to the never ending memory of Ian Dury,

and to every one who makes me cheerful, grateful, scared and happy.

More grateful can be found here.

Love Nora xxx