Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series consisting of sevens photos representing your week – a great way to keep blogging if you don’t have much to blog about!

Nat over at Threads & Bobbins explains how you can take part in #sundaysevens in her post here.

So this is my week in brief……

1. The day bed is finally getting some proper use now the weather has perked up – my favourite place to do a spot of crocheting.

2. My crochet-everything-in-the-book challenge is well under way – I’m nearly half way through already!!

3. Popped into Butterfly Bright in Sherborne and discovered that they do a range of knit/sew/crochet ‘n’ natter type sessions that I quite fancy attending.

4. Caught The Boys making mud pies in their school uniforms.

5. Methinks ALL the hens are taking liberties now.

6. My ‘England’ passport cover popped up in Craftseller magazine this month.

7. A cheeky lunch out whilst The Boys went bowling with their football team today.

What have you been up to this week?

Sunday Sevens is a weekly feature showcasing a photo a day from your week. Sometimes things don’t warrant a full blog post, so save them all for Sunday Sevens!

This was thought up and organised by Nat at Threads and Bobbins – visit her site for more details of how to join in.

1. No.3 Son was eight on Monday so we had a day out the day before. A (rare) trip to the cinema followed by a three course meal at a restaurant of his choice.

2. Amber is obviously feeling back to normal – we found an egg hidden behind the curtain! Hens stop laying if they’re ill or traumatised so this is a great sign.

3. No.1 Son asked me to sew up the hem on his trousers in time for an interview. I told him I’d show him how to do it!

Well, everyone benefits from learning herringbone stitch, don’t they?

4. He did a great job.

5. My new assistant arrived!

I finally decided to buy a new dress form to fit my mature figure. It’s the Lady Valet by Adjustoform. Well, I might as well have the best that money can buy….

6. A friend saw this and thought of us. Needs a bit of work, but hopefully it will be in and working by Christmas.

7. Last but not least – my Ascot dress is featured in this month’s Love Sewing!

Mr. H-L was chuffed that he got in too.

That’s all for now – can’t wait to see what you’ve all been up to this week:)

What a week!

This week’s #sundaysevens consists entirely of photos of my week in Polzeath, Cornwall with The Girls.

We’ve been besties for twenty-five years since pregnant with our first children and have had many holidays together over the years, both with and without the kids.

This holiday was just for us though, as it was a special celebration for the first one of us to reach the big five-o.

We spent an indulgent six days getting up late, lazing on the beach, eating at the finest restaurants and drinking.

Lots of drinking.

I shall spare you all the drunken photos and just share a few nice ones:)

1. Meet The Girls.

2. Prosecco on the beach by day…

3. ….the best dishes on the menu each night.

4. Water taxi home at midnight.

5. The Birthday Girl herself.

6. Toasting her health with a bottle of Bolly.

7. Our gift – a Tiffany charm for her bracelet.

8. Here we are all together – what a fantastic week we had!

I’m the next one to hit fifty in a couple of years, but how we’ll top that as far as celebrations go I have no idea!

If you would like to join in #sundaysevens, pop over to Nat at Threads & Bobbins to find out more.

Sunday again already? Where did THAT week go?!

Time for #sundaysevens then, a round up of your week in seven photos as thought up by Nat at Threads & Bobbins. Click here to find out more and join in – everyone’s welcome!

1. This arrived from Amazon – soon to be translated into Christmas presents for two little girls.

2. Crochet night at a friend’s house, accompanied by Prosecco and homemade raspberry vodka.

3. Amber, our hen with the broken leg, is feeling better. She wanted to go outside and spent a happy hour pecking away and dust bathing.

4. Then the others came over and started bullying her, the way hens do when one of their flock is injured.

She was pecked on the wattle and head quite badly before we saw the attack. I brought her inside again and now we only let her out to scratch around while the others are cooped up.

Trouble is, hens get depressed without other hens for company. We solve this issue by leaving the french windows slightly ajar so she can ‘talk’ to them in safety. They chirrup away quite happily to each other!

She has progressed from hopping on one leg to limping on two, so we are hopeful that she will recover enough to reunite her with the rest of the flock in a few weeks, when she is strong enough to stand up for herself and peck back!

5. The next three month’s supplies were delivered from Minerva Crafts for the Blogger’s Network!

Just look at that pile of Aran yarn waiting to be transformed into something magical – I’ve got until mid October to complete this project but I’m not sure if that’s going to be enough time!

6. Ah, a lovely liqueur coffee brought to me by the wonderful Mr H-L while I was watching my favourite new discovery, “The Suspicions Of Mr Whicher”. He knows the way to my heart!

7. It’s finished! My fuschia linen dress that will be blogged about soon.

That’s it for this week – next week I’m in Cornwall with the girls, celebrating the first one of our group to reach fifty. No, not me – I’ve got three years to go yet.

It’s going to be a messy week…..!

Hope you all had a good weekend?

Ours was particularly busy, hence this week’s #sundaysevens being a day late.

Pop over to Threads & Bobbins where Nat explains what it is all about and how to join in.

1. I’ve started knitting another pair of socks from the same gorgeous 100% merino that this pair were made from.

2. I made this play tent out of eleven of my husband’s discarded shirts and raffled it off at the school fair – it raised £70 for the school funds! I will do a tutorial soon.

3. Went to another village fête – don’t you just love the traditional Summer fête?

4. Royal Ascot was on Thursday (see previous post here)  and, for those of you who were wondering why the limo bus left without us, this is what happened.

We hired car and driver for the day as usual at the cost of a thousand pounds (he arrived half an hour late) and all was well until 6pm. Some of the girls went back to the car early to enjoy drinks under our private gazebo only to find the driver had packed up and was about to leave. Four of us had decided to finish off Ascot the traditional way with songs around the bandstand until 6.45pm, as we do every year.

The driver refused to wait, saying the contract was until 6pm, despite a 7pm finish having been agreed. We got a ‘phone call, left the bandstand immediately, but the driver had already gone without us.

The four of us walked to the station, paid a further £130 for train tickets and had a peaceful journey home.

The ten girls on the bus had the journey from hell!

The driver confiscated two bottles of champagne that we had left for the drive back, saying they were now his property.

He stopped in the services for one of the girls to have a toilet break, nearly drove off leaving her there and, when the others stopped him going, he threw both bottles of champagne (£250 worth!) on the road and smashing them in a temper! The police were called and he was told to complete the journey – which he almost did. He dropped them off at the garage nearest their home, kicked them all out and threw all their luggage across the road.

The company is called NEWTON ABBOT LIMO HIRE, or HUMMER LIMO DEVON on Facebook – don’t use them!

5. Fun and games on the water slide at my brother-in-law’s football presentation do, followed by a midnight pizza run and camping out.

6. Cooking bacon and egg rolls for everyone at breakfast the next morning.

7. Exhausted after a late night/early morning, No.2 Son and Tess fell asleep on the sofa at midday.

Phew, what a busy week! Now I need to slow down and catch my breath for a bit:)

It’s Sunday once again and that can only mean one thing – Sunday Sevens!

The brainchild of Nat at Threads & Bobbins, #sundaysevens is a weekly blog series featuring seven photos representing your week.

Last week, a mishap with my ‘phone meant I couldn’t participate but, luckily, The Man At The Gadget Shop fitted a new screen and my photos were retrieved.

There are a few more than seven pictures as I’ve squeezed in two week’s worth of photos:)

1. Mr. H-L acting the fool in his Speedos and swimming hat!

2. Having fun in a Spanish market in Albox.

3. Back home – some friends stayed the weekend and we had Sunday morning breakfast outside. Lovely!

4. More colourful Merino wool arrived for sock making.

5. I really ought to invest in a wool-winder…

6. A pair of House Martins decided that the top edge of our open bedroom window would be a good place to start building a nest!

7. We have a poorly hen.

My favourite girl, Amber, has broken her leg somehow and we found her being dragged around the garden by the others. Chickens often bully to death, quit literally, an injured hen, so she has a new home in the lounge for the next few weeks.

8. Village fète on the school playing fields on Saturday. There’s something so very English about a scene like this, isn’t there?

9. No.2 Son beat both his brothers and his father to become the Welly Wanging Winner 2015!

10. We celebrated with a plastic (as opposed to a glass) of Pimms.

11. Pudding after Sunday lunch today was Kladdkaka, a gooey Swedish chocolate cake bought at the fète, with strawberries and cream. Delicious!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

This week’s set of images come from Andalucia in Southern Spain.

Thanks to Nat at Threads & Bobbins for the weekly blog series which includes seven photos summing up your week.

1. Our view for a fortnight.

 2. Selfie with Mr. H-L at sunset with the Andalucian mountains as a backdrop – beautiful! 3. This wonderful mare, Honey, was my mount for an hour as we trekked through the mountain paths. Such a gorgeous horse! 6. Cantering up the last rise and…I fell!  4. Fun in the pool.  5. More knitting at siesta time. 6. The Boys had their first experience of pony trekking which was, luckily, less ‘eventful’ than mine!  7. Seafood Paella for lunch today – cooked by Faustino at one of our regular haunts, Bar La Cinta.  Yum!  And a jug or two of Sangria to wash it all down!  

This weeks Sunday Sevens is the last one from England for a couple of weeks – I will test the ‘phone app out in Spain:)

You can head over to Nat at Threads & Bobbins to find out how to take part but, basically, it’s seven photos as a snapshot of your week to encourage you to keep blogging.

1. In a bid to avoid the dreaded “Second Sock Syndrome”, I cast on again as soon as the first one came off the needles.

Sunshine Yellow.

Well, they were never going to be subtle, were they?!

2. Here follows three of the many reasons why May is my absolute favourite month: –

Wisteria

Bluebells In The Hedgerows

Cow Parsley

3. A commission for monogrammed napkins was packed and sent off.

4. New knickers! Good old M&S online.

Why do I always wait until my old ones are full of holes before I ‘treat’ myself to some new ones?

5. Watched ‘Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals’ on TV and Mr H-L ordered the book before the end of the programme….

6. 300 Swarovski Crystal Beads arrived at last, after a month of waiting. They’re going to be incorporated into some knitting for Christmas presents.

7. My Matilda Tunic pops up in ‘Love Sewing’ this month.

Hope you all had a good weekend and I look forward to reading all your Sunday Sevens too:)