The Swimming Lessons

Just coming out the other end of a week long swimming crash course for Chloe.  It didn't go just as well as I had a hoped (I really shouldn't get my hopes up so much) but it did go well.  She didn't pass the class which means she will have to retake the beginner class and pass it before moving on to the next level.  The sticking point ... putting her head under the water willingly and confidently.  It's what caught a couple of the kids out so she isn't alone in having to take the class again.

I feel awful for her at the minute because she's actually ok about her head going under.  On the first day she managed to put her face in the water by herself, only for a second though and she slipped off her aids a couple of times and went under too and didn't freak out, she just stood up, wiped her eyes and carried on.  What she needs to do is stand in the middle of the pool with her hands on top of her head, fingers locked, and bend her knees until she's under then stand up again and she just can't bring herself to do it and after a day of trying it started a hinder her in a couple of other things as well.  She did learn to swim a few lengths of herself but not the prone 3 metres she needed to pass, she could float on her back on the first couple of days but by testing day so great was her determination to keep her head out of the water, even the back of her head that she couldn't manage to float.  The one good thing though is that it isn't fear stopping her from doing it, she's just decided that she doesn't want to and that kid's nothing if not stubborn as a mule!

Rather than book the next set of lessons again straight away I'm going to spend a bit of time taking her to the pool myself and my brother is going to do the same and we'll try and get her to put her head under, then she'll start proper lessons after Halloween in school which she can "pass" and the leisure centre will accept that as a pass and let her take one of the higher levels at that stage.

The lessons at Ards Leisure Centre are fantastic though if anyone in the area is thinking about taking their kids to learn to swim, I really can't fault them.  The instructor, Shaun, is great with kids, understanding but firm and turned out quite a few little swimmers this week.  One girl in particular who sank like a rock, couldn't figure out what to do with her arms and legs, and tensed so much with the floats that she went down like the Titanic on the first day was knocking out widths of the pool by Wednesday and she wasn't the only one.  The kids were all great too, really nice and encouraging and cheering each other on when it came to things like jumping into the pool.

So now I need to find a swimming costume ... you have been warned!!!

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In other news I've finally set up a shop on Etsy and I've joined the lovely Crafty Folk Team over there who are kindly showing me the ropes and not getting annoyed when I ask yet another really stupid question that has a really obvious answer.  I'm learning, be nice to me:)

It's one of those things that has been on the to do list for ages now and I just never seemed to get round to it, but I sent the husband to bed with a beer and tv the other night, put my head down and got stuck in.  At the minute I'm duplicating across both shops but once I've settled in and have a better feel for the place I'll start to divvy up.

I've made a start adding a few listings to give me something that resembles a shop and I'll be able to carry on with the daily listing club in the Crafty Folk Team.

To celebrate my finally getting my finger out and getting some work done on the shop I'm having a little opening weekend offer.  You can use the code "OpenDay20" to get 20% off your order until the end of this weekend.  As I say I'm still adding stock a bit at a time so if there is something you've been after and I haven't got round to listing it yet, give me a shout and I'll pop it in there for you.   I'm nice like that:)

Kindle Case in Deckchair Stripe on Etsy

Kindle Case in Lemon & Lime on Etsy

Kindle Case in Aviary Birds

Summer Wrap Up and Shop Update

I never really did get the hang of Summer.  Some people are so organised and go into it with a handful of kids and plans for days out and holidays and trips to the beach and they do this with a clean house, a well stocked kitchen, a mountain of stuff in a rainy day box and with a camera in hand so they can show you how much fun their beautiful kids are having every day.  I fail on just about every level.  I end up running head long into it without so much as a notion scribbled on a napkin let alone a plan and my camera has been plugged in for use the last handful of times because I just don't seem to have gotten round to charging the batteries yet ...

Summers are disorganised chaos here, put it that way, but despite lots and lots and lots of rain we've still had plenty of fun.

I can't quite believe we're into the home stretch already.  Just two short weeks and Chloe will go back to school.  This week is the start of her crash course swimming lessons so even though it's tipping it down again ... oh aye it is .... I've actually got something planned, so there, neener neener and all that:)

She starts swimming classes in school this year and although she's pure water baby (it could have gone either way, I love the water, her dad ... not so much) and she's very comfortable in the water so should take to swimming, the last time we had regular access to a pool we didn't seem to get too far beyond this;

See, having far too much fun and none of us thought to maybe whip the armbands or rubber ring off her and see what happened.  With a bit of luck this week will give her a good start at least and then the school swimming lessons will take over and, save us all, I'll even dig the swimwear out and take her myself a few times.

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The shop has been quite tricky to manage this year too.  Way back at the start of Summer I was asked by Folksy if I'd like to be one of the beta testers for the new plus account.  Stupid question .... of course I would.  I figured it would be a great incentive to keep me on track and let me add lots of new stock ahead of Christmas.

Christmas is never a bundle of laughs for crafters, even if we're just making for friends and family as gifts we somehow manage to think we've planned a butt load of time to get everything done and still end up sitting hunched somewhere under the world's smallest table lamp, with the sewing machine on a towel so we don't wake the family at 2am.  I loved the idea of a head start!

 

And cue Summer when I typically get nothing done.

I have managed quite a bit though ... I've surprised myself, but then I've had a huge amount of help from my mum and dad this year as they've whisked Chloe away almost every weekend to let me get on with a few things.

I've really been enjoying making the Kindle cases over the summer, they're a great size so I can cut a few at night ready for sewing the next day, and they're easy to pack away if need be without anything getting so badly out of order that I can't find where I left off.  I'm looking forward to getting back to some larger projects once Chloe's back to school and I've more time and space to play with.

In the meantime I have been motivated by the plus account and have added lots of lovely new kindle cases.

Kindle Case in Coffee House Canvas

Kindle Case in Cherry Blossom

Kindle Case in Harlequin Kaito

Kindle Case in Honey Gold and Flambé Pink - New Season

Feel free to click over for a browse, these are only the very tip of an ever growing iceberg!

New Kindle Cases

Are now in stock and available in more fabrics than you can shake a big pointy stick at.

Navy Dandelion

Forest Fern

Blomma

Aubergine Swirl

Golden Yellow

Chocolate Mimosa

Black and Yellow

And loads more still to come, available in two sizes.

I should point out that they're very well padded so that big pointy stick probably won't do you much good, you might just as well put it down and pop the kettle on instead:)