What Katie Did

Tynedale Hospice Shop re-opens

Today was the relaunch of the charity shop that raises money for Tynedale Hospice at Home. It is one of Hexham's better charity shops with some great bargains to be had. Someone on the team had the imagination to invite kids from the local High School to design the new look shop. A group of 6th formers gave the shop a makeover and today, the Duchess of Northumberland came to open it. I am involved because the kids and I are looking at ways to recycle some of the textiles that get donated and are not sale-able as they are - so I am doing workshops to help them make bags from old curtains and looking at ways of giving tired old clothes a quick lift. 

Emily - on the right - made the bag - and a very good bag it is too - and the Duchess was very pleased with it. Looks like a nice Duchess doesn't she?

I have had a smile on my face all day. There is so much energy from these school kids and they have really enjoyed taking this shop in hand. 

Smiling too because I scored this great coat for a fiver

and got to spend the afternoon with this very contented baby - Charlie

All in all - a very nice way to spend a Monday! Hope your was as much fun.

Reasons To Be Cheerful

Friday is Oxfam Shop Day. The secret is out now - there is going to be an Oxfam in Hexham dedicated to just books and I will work in there on Fridays. This is great news, I will be able to have whole sections of books for children now, instead of 'young kids' and 'older kids'  which is what we have in the general shop. I can have big picture books and 'read it yourself' books and 'make it' books and really good books for older kids. Very satisfying! Today, I found this for Geoff - a late birthday present.

and I got this for me

which I am sure you'll agree is wonderful. Tomorrow some of the Knitting Group are coming to eat food, drink tea and knit, lovely pastimes, and we will be thinking about the squares for Wateraid I wrote about in the last post. And I kept an article from the weekend Guardian where Michael Morpurgo talks about the knitted quilt his wife made for their granddaughter. I wonder if I can find a link to it? Well, what do you know - here it is - (isn't the Internet wonderful). Well, with all these knitted squares about, I am thinking that I may have to have to start a few to have to hand at that odd moment when I haven't got anything else to do.......

Its World Cup Time. Owen had fun with this image in photoshop.