And it's finally happened

Regular readers will know that I've been preparing for several months for a visit by my dollshouse club to view my houses.  Having a deadline has been a driver to complete many long-outstanding projects as well as putting right niggling issues with older houses.  The last few weeks I've been preparing signage for the houses and for our house to direct people towards toilets/garden/ downstairs room etc, not to mention doing an unaccustomed amount of housework.

And today it finally happened.  I imported my in-laws to handle the catering side of things, and my m-i-l made three cakes and two kinds of scones in preparation for visitors.  DS was on go-fer duty and bussing tables, while DH was co-host and also helping get people up and down the basement stairs.

I set up the back opening houses in the dining room for easier 360-degree viewing, and added a few small tables for teas.

I re-arranged the main dollshouse room so that everything could be seen clearly and had its write-up nearby.

As recently as last month's meeting, it wasn't at all clear how many people were coming so we didn't know whether to expect 6 or 20.  We prepared for 20 and just prayed that somebody would come. We were joking that if it were only a few people then we would have to hold them hostage until they ate several pieces of cake each.  But to my relief we did eventually have 12 people in total turn up.  They all had a really good look at both displays and were very complimentary. In fact they have now asked me to give a talk on next year's programme about how I got into dollshousing and about some of the projects I have completed!  Then most people repaired out to the garden for refreshments although a few people preferred to stay inside in the dining room.

I alternated between visiting all the groups and chatting and answering questions, while the in-laws took care of top-ups and the catering side.  It was a very jolly group and they stayed for a few hours enjoying the sunshine in the garden.  I hadn't asked for anything for hosting but they very kindly had a whip round for charity and raised an impressive £50 which I have donated to MacMillan Cancer Support.

And now it's over.  It feels funny when something you have been preparing for over a long period is suddenly over.  Now I have no excuse not to tackle things like getting my quilt frame out or starting one of the many dollshouse kits awaiting my attention.

Holiday

We were actually away the past five days on a short break to the Isle of Wight. Although I had booked for three, in the end DS had to go back to Oxford to defend his thesis so it was just the two of us.  We had a lovely time, we were very lucky with the weather and the cottage I had rented turned out to be very comfortable.  We used to go to the island regularly when DS was small, so 15 or so years ago, but hadn't been for a long time.  It was really nice to be back, and we had fun visiting our old haunts such as the fabulous Mother Goose bookstore in St Helens, and the lovely Shanklin Chine and the beach below it, and the beach at St Helens where we used to camp many years ago.  I managed to fit in a visit to Strictly Knitting in Shanklin which is a very nice knitting store.  I bought three colours of Debbie Bliss Cotton Denim DK to knit a cowl, and some Araucania Botany Lace to knit another Rose Window hat.  I also visited the Hellerslea Fabric Store in Newport, which was a good size with a wide range of haberdashery, quilting and home dec fabric but I didn't buy anything there.

I took along the Rose Window Hat as a project and finished it on the drive home, it's blocking right now.  I also took my ancient cross stitch project and did a few square inches, as well as my GAA Afghan Squares  to crochet around in preparation for joining.  And my Victorian Lace Today shawl which I managed to finish the main section and cast off in preparation for the knit-on border.  So yes, about half the car was taken up with my craft projects.  At the book stores I found a secondhand copy of Christine Springett's Lace for Children of all Ages, and a lovely cross-stitch book in French with very attractive designs featuring houses.  We visited several art and craft shops so I also managed to bring home a sewing-themed clock, some art glass, a hanging teacup for the garden summerhouse, some LED garden lights, biscuits for work colleagues, and quite a few books.  It was a job to fit the in-laws' luggage into the car when we collected them on the way home!  It was a nice break, and felt much longer than it was.