11 questions

I was delighted to be nominated for the Liebster Award from Natalie at 'Love Natalie'.

To receive the award I have to post 11 things about myself, answer 11 questions set by Natalie then set 11 questions myself and nominate 11 bloggers for the award – I hope I've explained that correctly!!!

So here are 11 things about myself:
I love reading but because I have mild dyslexia it takes me ages to finish a book.

I have two big phobias - thunder storms & wasps/bees.

I celebrated my 21st birthday in four different countries; Austria, Italy, Germany and UK.

One of my most embarrassing moments happened when I was 18. I threw up all over the marbled floor in Castle Howard - I had food poisoning...

I met Mr Gertie when we both worked for a radio station. He was a studio manager and I was a presenter.

I was a chief official on a round of the world rally championship.

My favourite TV programme of all time is M*A*S*H.

My most hated food is trifle.

I used to be a civil servant - for my sins!!!

I enjoy writing. I've written one novel (unpublished at the moment....) and am working on another, and I'm also writing a non-fiction book.

I got my first knitting machine when I was 14.

Here are the questions set by Natalie:
Where do you see your blog/craft in 5 years time?
I'd like it to include more recipes for baking (at least one post a week) and to have sewing/craft tips and tutorials. As for my craft, I'd like the business I'm in the process of setting up to be successful.

What was the first thing you ever crafted?
That's a tough one as I've always made things. I do remember making clothes for my Sindy dolls when I was about seven.

Do you make mostly for yourself, others or to sell?
I would say it's probably mostly for me though a lot of them end up in the cupboard.....

Why did you start blogging?
We (myself and Mr Gertie) set up 'The BOGOF Blog' as a way of staying in touch with our friends who are scattered around the country. I then set up 'The Joint Journals' as a diary of my life without a hip, and with 'Gerties' blog, it was somewhere to keep a record of the things I've made and to pass on my favourite recipes.

Do you have an allocated craft space/studio?
I do. The room has been several things in its life including an office when Mr Gertie and myself used to organise conferences for a national charity and a knitting room (I used to have three knitting machines up and running....). Currently it's a craft room-cum-study.

Do you have a dream project that you'd like to make if money and time were no object?
We live in a 1910 terraced house and I'd love to build doll house size replicas charting it's history from when it was first built, to how it looked in the 20's, the second war years, the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and finally as it is now.

How much time do you spend each week writing posts and reading blogs?
I write Gertie's post either on Sunday morning or afternoon. I've been neglecting our other two blogs recently so they haven't been updated for a while. I usually try and check my favourite blogs once a day/once every two days

Is there a craft that you would like to be able to master?
Lace making. I tried it many years ago and managed to make a very stringy bookmark.

Do you only make things for a purpose or do you have a "stock" of items that you've made for fun?
A bit of both.

How many Works In Progress do you have?
I can't count that high !!! Off the top of my head I have: a knitted cable jumper; a knitted cable blanket, a crotchet blanket; two needlepoint cushions; two needlepoint glasses/scissors cases; four quilts; three cross stitch Christmas cards; two large cross stitch patterns – a tiger cub and a tigers eye; a four foot model of the QM2 cruise ship and a large needlepoint of the Battle of Trafalgar (started in 1985 !!!).

What are you most proud of having made?
A wedding ring shawl.

At this point I should be nominating 11 people to receive this award. Well I'm going to be a bit of a rebel and not do this. If you’ve never had a blog award then this is for you. 

Here are my 11 questions:

What craft have you tried but couldn't get the hang of?

What is the furthest you've travelled?

Excluding relatives, who would you like to have as a dinner guest and what would you eat?

What's your favourite craft website/blog?

Have you had any crafting disasters?

If money was no object, where in the world would you live, and why?

What's the most expensive thing you've made?

Who would you like to craft for and what would you make?

What were your favourite childhood sweets?

What's the most useless/silliest thing you've purchased at a craft show?

What piece of craft equipment you couldn't be without?

Have fun.

Gertie xx