alifrew

I joined in with The Rebel Readers online book discussion for the first time today and had a great time. I joined the group as soon as I heard about it in the Facebook group and have read all the books but haven't managed to join any of the online meet ups until today. I had a thoroughly lovely time discussing the book and am looking forward to the next one already. My soap-making kit arrived today so I'm looking forward to having a go at that soon. I'm making good progress with my quilt too and have finished sewing all of the quilt blocks today. I 'm currently trimming them down then need to bind them together to finish the top. After I've quilted it, I'm going to have a go at using a self-binding method and a baby blanket as the backing. Slightly nervous but very excited to see how it turns out... I've done a fair bit of knitting over the last week and have nearly finished the scarf I started as part of the craft badge. I need to see my friend soon to glaz...

 I took my houseplant for a walk last night! Yep, I went to the beach on the north-west coast where some of the filming for Andor was done and took 5 photos of the plant at various filming locations. Also ticked off a few more BKS clauses by making the houseplant a sandcastle, going on a swing and a slide and having a picnic of favourite childhood foods. In other news, my Advanced Reader badge has started as I have chosen a challenge - to read 75 books from my TBR list. I have a bookcase in the house which is FULL of books that I have bought or borrowed (mostly bought) and not read yet. Some of them I have even bought twice and not read, as I discovered when I did a big book clear-out at Christmas to make space for new purchases. This isn't an ok situation, so I need to make a big dint in this as I know I will continue to buy more. I'm not banning myself from buying more books as I recently bought an e-reader and don't have a huge pile of books on it yet, and I also take pa...

Well, the summer holidays have started and the weather so far has been pretty rubbish. It's given me some time to do some badge work, which is great, but is also limiting outdoor time which is stopping me from getting on with a few things, annoyingly! I made my dinosaur fossils and absolutely love them. I want to try to replicate something similar with the children at school next year so need to to come up with an idea where they can make their own. They'd love it. I still need to paint mine but it's a clause well on its way to being ticked off. I've also put a fair bit of time into my scarf and it's now more than halfway through. That's a great one for Craft 1. I had thought about doing calligraphy with this as part of the diarist badge and do a gratitude diary but I've been rubbish at keeping up with it regularly. I need to work out a way of doing this well... Instead of calligraphy, I'm going to do quilting and have made a start on a baby quilt for a ...

I'm starting the palaeontology badge this week and have been doing a bit of research into how to make my own fossils because this sounds very exciting. I've been getting prepped to do a lot of badge work over the next six weeks and I think the fossils will be the first one. Plaster of Paris has arrived, as have my dinosaur toys and I picked up some modelling clay on the way home. The weather forecast doesn't look great for the weekend so I think badge work will win!! Although perhaps not Big Kid Summer... I went to watch Six! The Musical last week so I'm going to review that for the critic badge and try to organise a few more things to watch/listen to so I can get working on that in earnest. I've finished the reader badge, strictly speaking, but I'm in the middle of a book and want that to count towards it so I'm not officially finishing until tomorrow then I'll claim it. I've done everything else and started in April, so just need to document all my...

Work has been pretty bonkers recently so haven't done as much badging as I would like to have done. I've only got one week left before a big holiday though, so should get plenty of time to get stuck into a load of badge work whilst I am off. I'll be finishing my reading badge tomorrow, which marks three months since I discovered rebel badges. I started the reading badge the day I read about it in the book as I had unplanned surgery the day after my first book turned up, so was a bit limited in movement. Reading fit the bill perfectly though. I'm very slowly working my way through Big Kids Summer. I tried rum and raisin ice cream today. I know it's not a particularly exciting choice but it was the only one the ice cream van had that I had never tried. Really didn't like it!! Won't be having that again. Raisins in ice cream? No. Just no! Determined to try something more pleasant before the end of the month.  I had to pop into town today so I bought some water ...

 Final day in June today so will be finishing off my brain games badge (I hope) so I can claim it for this month. I've also done the rebel health check badge, which is my first monthly badge, and I have a point to claim for a June bonus so I'm fairly pleased with this month's progress.  I've downloaded the July bonus points picture and will be making a start on the Big Kid activities over the weekend as well as making a start on the quarterly challenge. I've been trying to do the birthday challenge but I'll end up overlapping at this rate as I didn't start it until May, then bought into the subscription so will be taking part in all of the quarterly challenges from now on. Might need a rethink...

 Very excited about the release of the big kid summer badge requirements today!! Will definitely be having a lot of fun doing that!! I'm a bit sad that there are quite a few things I won't be able to do because of my back as a fair few of them are quite physical. However,  I'm also massively grateful that there are so many more things I will be able to do that I wouldn't have been able to do a few months ago. So I will do what I can and enjoy them immensely. Chris will be away for a few days in July so will have to see which ones I can do whilst he is away. Wonder who might like to come for a sleepover.....

 Well, going back to work for the first time since the operation hasn't half slowed down my badge work! I'm still plodding on through them but it's definitely less than I was doing before. I'm not even reading much and that is not like me at all. I don't think the hot weather is helping, but it's time I got myself a bit more sorted... I am working on the June monthly badge of health check. I need to phone the doctors and the dentist tomorrow to get some appointments booked in.  I've subscribed to the quarterly challenge so am looking forward to trying to stay on top of those. We are also looking at where to go on holidays and days out over the summer and I am going to tie in as many as possible to badges so that will be fun. Bletchley Park is a definite so I need to do a bit more research to see what else I can fit in. The craft badge started off well and I need to keep on top of that so I have it finished within three months. I do wish I hadn't started ...

 I'm quite happy with my Rebel progress throughout this month. I have had quite a bit of free time to work on badges due to being signed off work. However, due to the operation, I am a bit limited on some of the things I can do and this is likely to remain the case for a while yet. I have managed to do quite a bit of work towards my reader badge and will continue to do so over the next 6 weeks. I'll move straight on to Advanced Reader after that and need to find a good challenge that will last 6 months... I've had a great time exploring some new crafts this month and have now done pottery, knitting and printing. I haven't completed my knitting project yet but I'm making good progress. I've also come up with a fab idea for my advanced crafting badge but need to do the other two first. I've signed up for the 30 day wildlife watch which will help towards the nature lovers badge and takes place throughout the month of June. I've ordered the badge as well so ...

 I am so excited about tomorrow. A friend of mine is a potter and I'm going to spend the day with her working on some pottery. That'll be a great start to one of the craft badges. Can't remember which though... I spent a bit of time dong some badgemin today and recorded some of the progress I have made in my big book. Came to the realisation that I am spending a huge amount of time thinking about the badges but not actually getting on with things and recording them enough. Need to do something about that! Reader and Scrapbooker are coming along well. Need to put a bit more time in with the bees before the end of May for my Rebel with a Cause badge.  I also need to go round and take photos of what I have done so far to give myself a bit more of a feeling of satisfaction. That can be Wednesday's job...

 More progress has been made towards my Rebel with a Cause badge. I have gathered the equipment to make a bee bath, bought some more seeds to plant for pollinators and also have an insect house to put up, although they are only useful to one type of bee. They'll help other insects though, so that's good. Weather doesn't look great today but the forecast for the weekend is good so I should be able to sort some things out over the weekend. Still reading lots so making good progress with my reading badge. I've ordered two books about bees, which will help with both badges, so that's good. They should arrive today. Scrapbook is progressing nicely and I've ordered a tilted board to put on my table, so I should be able to work for longer periods of time without my back starting to hurt, which will be good.  I've also made a birthday card for my brother-in-law so will count that towards the birthday badge. I'll sing Happy Birthday to him in Latin as I have been...

 I am being completely useless at keeping up with this blog, although I think it's because I haven't done a huge amount of badge work over the last week or so therefore haven't had much to update. I'm still reading plenty towards my Reading badge. Need to include some non-fiction books as I'm an avid fiction reader and this is pretty much what I default to. I only really read non-fiction when I need to learn about something and tend to go for the internet, rather than a book. I'm on the lookout for a challenge to start when I finish reader and can move on to advanced reader... I've made a really good start on a scrapbook, which will earn me the scrapbooker badge. It's all organised and laid out. I just need to actually make the pages now - the bit that takes the longest!! I've been doing quite a bit out in the garden while the weather has been nice, which is helping with quite a few different badges. I'm concentrating on making it a nice environm...

 I've spent a lot of this weekend in the garden so I've made some good progress on a couple of badges. I am feeling a noticeable ache in my back so need to be a bit more careful and remind myself I had spinal surgery three weeks ago and not push it too far! I've taken and uploaded my shed selfie, earning my first points for TeamBader in the May Challenge. I've kept up with my gratitude journal and my calligraphy practice. If the weather holds tomorrow, I can get a few more things done outside to help the bees for my Rebel with a Cause badge. I did see a couple of bees in the garden today, which was lovely. I've also sent daily photos to my two rebel buddies of daily outfits, so I'm feeling happy with the small levels of badge progress that I'm making.  I'm also doing well with the reading badge. I'm reading loads at the moment whilst I am off work and needing to rest a bit. I reviewed Paul O'Grady's Countrylife this morning, which was part of...

 I've done loads of admin towards my badges today and I'm feeling very organised!! I've got a large notebook and labelled a double-page spread with each badge as I start working on it. Any photos I've taken linked to projects will be stuck in there, along with any writing or notes needed. I have also listed which badges I am going to work on to try to gain each of the patches. I'm two days into my gratitude journal for the diarist badge, and I'm also working on calligraphy for the craft part one badge so I'm writing a quote each day in calligraphy to practise my lettering. It's not great at the moment but hopefully I'll see it improve as time goes on. I've been working in a hand lettering practice book and watching some youtube videos to help me. I've been through my craft supplies and have a kit ready to start a scrapbook of a holiday we went on to France last summer so that will work for my scrapbookers badge. Really excited about getting s...

 Just discovered that the app doesn't publish on my blog, just saves it as a draft. Not overly helpful... I'll just have to make sure I log in on the laptop regularly. I'm making some good progress on a few badges and I've started a couple more that I wasn't planning on starting at the moment, so that's great. I'm trying to gain as many points for Bader as I can, so am making the most of being off work and doing whatever I can at the moment. I've ordered a few more things to help me with different badges so I'm pleased with how everything is going. Progress since my last post: - bought two lavender plants to pop in the garden for the Rebel with a Cause badge - ordered a straw hat to make a buttoned hat for the May bonus - ordered a diamond art kit for the craft badge - found my hand lettering practice book and calligraphy pens for the craft badge - started the buddy badge with two other rebels, working towards photographer and my style - read a coupl...

It’s been a  bit of a tricky week to make much progress as I’ve had to go to my parents as I can’t be alone after the surgery yet, so haven’t been able to do a huge amount.  However, since my last post, I have made a start on a few things: - bought a cactus and an orchid to work on the indoor gardener badge - started to hand sew a rabbit as part of the designer badge and potentially part of the builder badge as well because it is part of a kit but I don’t know if I will be able to use it for that or not yet… - arranged a pottery day with a friend of mine who does her own pottery as part of the craft badge - started a journal to record progress - ordered some wool to knit Christmas presents for two special people - ordered the rebel with a cause badge and a load of stickers to start my rebel journal  I’m hoping this bank holiday weekend at home will give me a good chance to make a good chunk of progress on getting some photos taken and a couple more things set up ☺️

 Hi, I'm Ali and I've recently discovered the Rebel Badge Book and Facebook group. I am very excited to become a rebel and start working on badges. One of the first ones I am going to start working towards is the Writer's badge from Book 1. This blog will be my writing project for Writer, and potentially Advanced Writer. I am notoriously rubbish at regularly updating social media. This blog is an old one that I started years ago to record the crafts I made. I've just deleted all the old content to update it to record my Rebel progress and the last post on it was in 2015! Here's hoping I'll be a bit more successful this time!