I wasn't going to blog today as I am so busy running around getting all of the last minute preparations sorted for my knitting classes at tomorrow's love food festival. However I was watching the news last night & a story came on about 31 year old, James Stephens who had died following an epileptic seizure last April. You can read the story here. His mother & sister were interviewed on the news & were horrified that neither they or his carers were every made aware of that Stephen was at risk of dying as a result of epilepsy, and that his illness and treatment were never explained to them. They were also insulted and appalled that when the coroner wrote to the Care Quality Commision (CQC) stating action should be taken to reduce the risk of similar deaths and awareness of the guidelines should be circulated to all those caring for people with epilepsy, the CQC 's response has been that it will not be taking any action.

That is what's wrong with so much medical treatment in my opinion. We treat the immediate symptoms, the medical profession don't help people to live with an ongoing condition. Pills are handed out without the bat of an eyelid, but if the pills don't work you're on your own. Thanks to the NHS having to make more cuts this is only going to get worse & this is heartbreaking! I had a science degree & was studying for a MSc in Health psychology so was well armed in my quest for treatment........But what about the patients who don't shout as loudly & who don't know the right things to say? What happens to them? Charities try to pick up some of the slack but they too are facing budget issues so cannot make themselves as readily available as they would like much of the time. 

Stories like James Stephens make me so sad as it is made so clear that lives can be saved and the quality of living of patients greatly improved with better education about the condition they are suffering from. Surely having what is wrong with you fully explained to you isn't too much to ask for, but apparently it is. Sorry if this is a bit heavy or dull, I just needed to get it off my chest. As the current government do their best to demonise the sick & disabled in a bit to justify cutting benefits and healthcare is under pressure due to lack of funding what is going to happen to people who really need help learning to live with disability? It's a scary thought!

I got the idea for this cushion cover from Pinterest, but the original method didn't really work in our household because as soon as Henry clambered over it or the dog led on it, the cushion cover came apart! So I have refined the method and it works wonders now!

I love how it looks like a bow & more importantly that you don't cut any of the fabric, so when you're bored of the cover you have a metre of fabric that can be used for other projects. Excellent in my view as i'm always changing things in our house to satisfy my need for new colours & fabrics!

Anyway if you fancy a super quick craft project & don't like sewing very much this is the project for you! You literally have to do 6 stitches for this to work, and it really does only take 5 minutes! Here's how to do it:

Anyway there you have a magic 5 minute cushion cover for even the most craft challenged of us all! I bet even the Mr of my house could manage this one! 

I would have posted this earlier on today but have been busy all afternoon thanks to one of my emails being hacked, leading to Facebook & twitter accounts suffering the same fate. It's been a bit stressful and I hope i didn't spam you! 

Goodnight my lovelies! xx

I'm so excited to tell you all that I will be running knitting classes at The Love Food Festivals this year! I have been planning these for a while, but wanted to finalise all of the plans before sharing the news. Although it's quite short notice for you all now, as the first one I'm teaching at is this Sunday 1st July at Dyrham Park! I will also be at the Love Food Festival held at the Paintwork's in Brislington on Sunday 15th July so I hope to see lots of you Bristolians there, as it's so close to home.

I've been attending the Love Food Festivals in Bristol for years & really admire Lorna who started up the festivals by herself while also raising her young son Ned! I think it's great what us self-employed Mamas can do when we put our mind to it. The festivals have gone from strength to strength over the years & it really was an honour to be asked to get involved! I'm so excited!

I will be running short taster lessons throughout the day where you can stop by for a 30 minute break, have a sit down and learn to knit this pretty bunting with me. Classes are a bargain at only £5 and they include all the materials you need, plus you get to keep what you make & you will have the pattern to take home! Classes are suitable for anybody over 10 years old who wants to give it a try.

I will be there all day (10am-4pm) so if you're popping down to the beautiful Dyrham Park on Sunday please do stop by & say hello! I'm really excited and I hope we get some nice weather!

Also just a quick reminder that if you book one of my full knitting courses or individual tuition sessions before Sunday 1st July you get £10 off  the full price! You can learn to knit for as little as £2.80 per hour!!  This is a brilliant offer to celebrate the launch of my Tenderfoot classes. Don't miss out!

Ok so here's the thing, I love being in love and I love other people being happy.....but I've never really been that enamoured with marriage or weddings. Weddings have never moved me to tears, I have never been the type of girl to daydream about my own wedding or being a bride. Throughout my childhood I saw many marriages around me fail including that of my parents so I never really thought it was worth the money or effort, plus I always thought that buying a house was a bigger commitment anyway.

However I have found myself slowly softening to the idea of marriage and all of a sudden it doesn't seem that terrible. Maybe it comes from being a family now, the fact that we have already made the commitment to buy a house and raise children together, or maybe it's just the fact that we have found the right person. Who knows! However we both agree that we probably will get married, but we'll do it in our own way, I'll keep my surname & the day will be small, inexpensive, informal, relaxed, fun......with NO organised photography session! (I have softened on the marriage subject so much that I now even have a pinterest board devoted to wedding ideas now!) 

Why all this talk of marriage & weddings all of a sudden?! Well on Thursday we attended the wedding of two of our closest friends, Peter & Laura, a couple who like us didn't do things in the conventional order! First came baby, then came a house, then 6 years later another baby.....then a year after that marriage. They have been together for 11 years and they really are made for each other. Don't get me wrong they have had their ups & downs like all of us, but they didn't give up and worked hard at their relationship, and it really was worth it. I think both Ken & I were surprised by how emotional the day was for us. It really felt like they were making their family complete and It really did feel like a celebration of their relationship & everything they have achieved together. It was totally 'them' and it was a really beautiful day full of friends, family and lots of laughter! We were so happy to share the day with them, especially as we had the honour of being their marriage witnesses. 

It was a great day all round, the bride looked beautiful, The groom was dressed up (very out of character! hahaha!)  their daughter Abigail was a beautiful flower girl & baby Samuel made a very cute page boy, and the rest of us didn't scrub up too badly either. The wedding ceremony was held at The National Trust owned Tredegar House in caerphilly. It was a beautiful setting & the weather held out long enough for the photos to be taken, which was a blessing as once the rain started it didn't stop all day! The 'after' party was held in the old stable buildings on the grounds so we could relax & enjoy a party without disrupting the daily runnings & visitors to the main house. It was a long day as the ceremony starting at 10am, but it was worth it as Henry was so worn out by partying all day & late in to the night that he slept in until 10.15am the next day! 

Here are a few* pictures from our day......


* A LOT!

On Sunday evening I went to my Friend Laura's Hen party in Cardiff. It wasn't a typical 'go out & get drunk' Hen party as she had already had a night out on the town.....this was a more subdued affair where the bride to be could relax and have a bit of peace before the big day. We had a pamper party in a Lush Ltd store after the shop had closed. With the whole place to ourselves & 4 members of staff on hand to give us facials and hand & arm treatment it was a real treat!  Unlike in a beauty salon or spa we were able to take along our own bottles of wine to enjoy & there was a lovely atmosphere with lots of  relaxed laughter! 

I was a bit apprehensive before I went in all honesty as i thought that the treatments we received might not be as good as at the spa we had previously planned to attend, and that it would just be a 2 hour long sales pitch from the staff. I was wrong! The facial in particular was excellent & was really tailored to my my personal skin type. The staff handed out lots of advice on how best to care for my 'problem' skin, but were never once pushy about buying products. It was a real bargain at £20 per person as we each received 2 treatments & £5 off any products that we might want to buy. I don't think you can go wrong for that really can you, especially as Laura also received a massive gift hamper full of Lush goodies as it was her party!  

After wandering around the store after my treatments I decided to treat myself to a few goodies. My skin has been horrible lately thanks to my hormones going CRAZY, so i thought it was justified. I ended up getting their new Colour Supplement in 'light pink', Grease Lightening gel, Cosmetic Warrior face mask , and a soft coeur massage bar. 

I haven't written about it sooner as i wanted a few days to try out the products that I got and to see how my skin felt after the session. I'm pleased to say that i am really happy with all of my purchases. The Grease Lightening & Cosmetic warrior have cleared my skin up in only a few days which is a miracle in itself, and using the Colour supplement as a tint for my moisturiser has meant that i haven't had to wear foundation all week. It covers all of my blotches like a dream & it can be used neat to cover up any pesky spots. Apparently because it contains fresh rose petals it's actually good for your skin too.

Their massage bars are great, especially if your little one likes a massage too, and most of them are child friendly too! I use mine after getting out of the bath & it has left my skin feeling & smelling delightful!

I've been so impressed with the experience in general that I think i'm going to do the same thing as a little treat for me and a few friends for my 30th Birthday which is coming up in 9 weeks time. It was a bargain & I really appreciated the mama pampering time without feeling too guilty about spending money I don't have! I highly recommend it ladies & gents!

This isn't a sponsored post I just thought i'd share my experiences with you all. 

Before having Henry Father's Day was never really a big day of celebration for me. I haven't always had a great relationship with my own dad, after my parents had a very messy divorce when I was 6 years old. Things weren't always handled very well by everybody involved and the result is that as an adult I don't have what I would deem a normal or easy relationship with my Dad. It will always require effort and has never reached a point where it is unconditional or easy for us both.  

For this reason it means so much to me that Henry has Ken as his dad. From the moment that Henry was born he became the most loving, reliable and just generally amazing Dad, I really couldn't have wanted anymore from him! He will get up at 6am just to play with Henry, will do whatever he thinks is necessary to make him laugh & he misses our son when he is away from him for a single day! I know that no matter what happens in our lives Henry will always have his Dad's unconditional love and support, and this means the world to me and makes me love him even more! I know this is all terribly slushy and mildly vomit inducing and I apologise for that, but their relationship really does bring me joy. 

To capture the specialness of their relationship I commissioned the very talented Abby Wright to do this amazing portrait of the two of them. It's fantastic isn't it! They both look so happy here & I'm sure that this will be up on our walls for many decades to come. A moment of perfection captured by a very talented lady.

We had a lovely day together yesterday having Breakfast with Ken's parents in Bristol before heading over to Cardiff together for the afternoon. We managed to eat very well for very little money thanks using 50% off vouchers at Carluccio's for breakfast and Ask for dinner. I love a bargain! Ken seem remarkably perky and hangover free considering he had been on a day long stag do on Saturday! The Man-Hamper that Henry & I made for Ken took the likey occurrence of a hangover into account! including everything that we thought he might need to perk him up for the day!

At the end of the day I went for a pamper session at the Lush Ltd store in Cardiff which was amazing, but I'll tell you all about that later!
Anyway I hope you all had a lovely weekend & had fun whatever you were doing! xx

Mother's day was a non-event in our household this year as it fell on the weekend that we were finally moving into our (unfinished) new house. We were too busy trying to make the house safe & habitable for us all to stop & celebrate. However we normally try and make a big deal out of these days of celebration as being a Mama & Daddy is really important to us. However if you are anything like us there can also be a sense of dread as any special occasional looms as it inevitably means spending money, which is really tight lately. For this reason I have decided to use my imagination and make the day as special as I can without going over budget, and i thought i'd share one of my projects with you so that you can give it a go too! I'm also sharing with you the gift we gave Ken last year as it is a really nice idea for new Dads, Ken loved it & it doesn't cost much at all.

I am making quite a few little things for Ken which are art & craft based to enable every present to be a personalised one of a kind. Also Henry is now 16 months old & loves drawing, painting & anything messy, so I'm always looking for projects that a toddler or child can do. I don't think it's ever too early to get children involved in creating & crafting so even babies can get involved.  I'm only sharing one of this year's projects before Father's day as i don't want to spoil all of the surprises. I can't wait to show you all the other things Henry & I have done for Ken though!

I know that posting this on friday night when father's day is on Sunday is a little bit short notice for making presents, but these really are super quick to make & are great if you've forgotten to get anything & can't face buying  cheesy I ❤ Dad chocolates!

These are a great idea to do with toddler's as it's just like playing with play dough for them.  I'm pretty sure that most people will have flour & salt in their cupboards......and that's pretty much all you need so these really won't break the bank!

To make the salt dough:

All You'll need is - 
1/2 Cup of salt
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of plain flour

Last year for Father's day I gave this picture to Ken for father's day. It's a photo of him holding a newborn Henry, however to make it special I typed out all of his tweets from his @Codename21 twitter account from the first few weeks after Henry was born. These were a great record of how he was feeling at the time & are a really great memento for both Ken & Henry. Obviously not all new dad's use twitter, but text messages or Facebook status updates could also be used. The important thing is to make sure the date is next to the quote!

I had grand plans of going out in the sunshine yesterday to pound the pavements of Bristol posting up flyers for the knitting course promotions.......and then George our dog starting acting very strangely followed by some serious poo based action! I was suddenly housebound keeping an eye on a poorly dog & trying to protect our furniture & floors from any serious damage. 

However I was full of energy to 'get things done' yesterday after psyching myself up for a proactive day of promotions so I decided to make the most of a day stuck at home and set to work organising our small 3rd bedroom in to my craft room / office space. We have been meaning to organise it for months, but after we moved it started to become a bit of a junk room. In all honesty after working so hard for months, spending every spare minute we had to renovate the house to make it habitable, once we actually moved in we ran out of motivation to finish things. The idea of doing anymore DIY or unpacking was exhausting! Our walls have remained bare of pictures, boxes have remained unpacked.........until now that is! I have had enough of the house not feeling like our home so I have set to work making the house more personal. 

The craft room has been a dream of mine for over a year, and after spending all day yesterday putting up shelves (by myself I might add *proud DIY face*), unpacking, tidying, arranging and organising it's starting to look just how I want it! I'm so happy to have this space to work and think in, a space free of toddler toys, nappies, dogs and mess! It's somewhere I can have some peace to create, write and plan. It's only a small room, but it's light, airy & perfect to me! I feel very lucky that the Mister has been kind enough to let me adopt this space as my own........he even bought me a bunch of my favourite flowers to celebrate the craft rooms grand opening last night! He's a charmer when he wants to be! ❤

It's my space full of colourful yarn, fabric, and everything that has been deemed too flowery/kitsch for the living room! I love it! There's a comfy sofa by the window which is perfect for sitting in the sunlight knitting and embroidering and I have a desk space for sewing and working at too......what more could I want?!?
 
Here's how it's looking so far:

So on a much more positive note the postcards & flyers to promote my new knitting classes have been printed & are ready to be distributed around Bristol over this coming week! I'm really excited to start really promoting the classes as I really hope they are a success! Now i just need to figure out where to put them all. If any of you Bristol based folk have any ideas where you think i could display a flyer or leave some postcards let me know & I'll add them to may list of places to visit!

I'm also thinking of different cost-effective (Cheap!) ways and places I can advertise to reach people looking to knit, so all suggestions welcome as i am totally new to this promotion lark! 

To kick start things off i have updated my June offer for all you lovely folk it's now pretty simple: Book in June to receive £10 off the course price! This includes all courses & personal tuition sessions so you can grab yourself a bargain!

There will be another free pattern on the blog next week as well as a product give away so watch this space!  

You'll have to excuse the medical tone of this post. I am writing it purely because I'm not in the mood to talk to people face to face about this so instead I am writing it down to get it off my chest & try to get it all clear in my head. 
So if you've read any of my previous posts or you follow my @Kimbled twitter account (It's my account that is less about knitting & more inappropriate at times) you are probably aware that i have been struggling with the symptoms of PCOS. For the last 2 months I have been following a low GI diet and have cut out most dairy from my diet in a bid to tackle the problem without the need for medication.

 However things have changed....You see last week i thought I was pregnant! I had the following symptoms: 
* Late period, 
* Totally exhausted, 
* A constant nauseous feeling, 
* vomiting.
 It all felt very familiar & I allowed myself to consider that I might be pregnant. I was scared & nervous but also very, very excited at the prospect that we might have another baby on the way. However 3 negative pregnancy tests & then my period arriving put paid to that theory! I was upset that i wasn't pregnant, but also confused as to why I was still experiencing these symptoms. I actually thought I might be losing the plot a bit & having a phantom pregnancy! The good news is that my doctor assures me that I am not going crazy, however the bad news is that the symptoms are being caused by my Liver kicking up a fuss. 

It seems like a cruel trick of nature to trick you into thinking you're pregnant when in fact that couldn't be further from the truth! I'm angry with my body again, I feel like its put me through enough over the last 6 years.....4 miscarriages, epilepsy & depression as well a healthy dose of acne & facial hair! I don't take any drugs or drink anymore really (a few drinks every 6 months or so!), i don't smoke, i don't have caffeine, and I eat a healthy vegetarian diet & I'm even trying to cut out dairy & my beloved sugar!! What more does my body want from me?!?! There's nothing left to give up! Because of all of this, yesterday I was feeling sorry for myself in a BIG way. It's not productive & i know it doesn't help, but I was indulging myself in a pity party. However now it's time to pick myself up & try and tackle this problem as quickly as I can (mainly as I am fed up of feeling sick & tired constantly......it does nothing for my mood!) so I'm adopting my 'science geek & health psychologist head' to try and find a way of sorting this myself, because starting medication means staying on medication for life & i'm not really that keen to do that just yet!
My doctor was great yesterday and talked me through what was going on with my PCOS & why my liver might not be happy about it all. We established a long time ago that I suffer from insulin resistance & also  high levels of  LH hormones thus have way too many androgens for a female. What i didn't know was that these issues can be linked to liver function as they both can have a negative effect on the liver's metabolic capacity. The liver acts as our body's filter & plays a part in digestion, but it also helps to synthesise our hormones. When you suffer from PCOS the liver has to work really hard to try and maintain a normal balance & if you overload it with other toxins as well as  hormonal imbalance & insulin resistance you have a very unhappy liver and it's time for a detox!  

So eating my feelings is not allowed anymore, no more treats including white bread, cake or white rice & pasta! Only organic whole foods & lots of water! I also started taking a number of herbal remedies yesterday that are known to help with PCOS & regaining hormonal so hopefully that will help. I am also going to start acupuncture. I have heard & read some fantastic things about the benefits that women experience when using it to balance hormones. I am excited to see if it helps (although I'm not to excited to see how much lighter my purse is after the experience!) If i'm honest I'm quite disheartened that all of the measure that I have been taking haven't helped, but i'm not ready to give up yet. I guess I have to admit that i could be stricter on the diet & that too many sugary treats slip their way in occasionally. Time to up the will power!

I don't really know anybody else in a similar position to me and it can be hard not really having anybody to talk to about it as i don't have a clue if any of this is going to work, but it's worth a try. At the very least a detox isn't going to do me any harm.

So wish me luck & hopefully I'll be able to tell you all about the fantastic health benefits i'm experiencing sooner rather than later!