Friday 27 March 2015

I'm not showing you today!

I have finished a couple of small items that I am unable to show today.

Monday is our big REVEAL of this years Challenge from Higham Piecemakers and that is all done and framed and ready to show, and I am quite pleased if I say so myself!

Next week is also the Ta Dah! for our March Mini Mania - which has also been a bit of a challenge, but quite fun too. Really.

I have sewn and filled 126 ( odd number but that's how many!) lavender bags 

And the crochet is coming on nicely too 
I think the coral colour is wrong - but its not coming undone!
 The hardest thing is deciding which colours to use, so I have given up on this dilemma and am using all that I have,  except red.
Don't know why I am not using the red - but I'm not.

I have shown this to teacher (I know its a bit wobbly)n but she has passed my efforts with a "well - it is your first attempt" and I am going with that.

 A couple of months ago I purchased two paintings from this lady and we have been umming and ahhing  as to what frames to put these lovelies in. I am happy with the finished result but may invest in some non-reflective glass!


And just because someone likes me.....


Guarding Little Miss tomorrow and meeting the nephew ( the sailor not the traveller) in Bristol on Sunday so a busy couple of days for me.

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Where did that week go??

Sister 2 and the nephew - (the one that has been travelling in South America for 6 months ) - began the week with a brisk walk around the reservoir .  It was a lovely morning, but he had been in much warmer climes for a long while and was definitely feeling the cold!!

He is ALWAYS smiling!
 It was a really glorious start to the week

And the hedgerows are filling with blossom that looks like snow!
I did manage to get some more of the crayon roll up's made, some to go to the Shoe Box appeal and some to be saved for our sales table later in the year.

And then there was the Eclipse.
little boys and their toys
 Lots of glueing and sticking on Thursday evening .......

Resulted in a viewing box for the occasion
 But it worked!!!


good old cardboard box

Then there was baking for a charity stall and Strawberry Muffins made to be added to a pudding/cake found on Pinterest.

Do you "do" Pinterest?I spend so much time looking at things that I want to do, instead of actually get on with the making!!! But it does inspire some great ideas.
strawberry muffins
Anyway the  Strawberry Almond Layer Cake that I made for a "welcome home" celebratory meal that lots of the family attended on Sunday went down a treat.
And we may or may not have had a royal visit

                                      
 Meanwhile back at the coal face --- I am halfway through sewing 120 lavender bags for a friend of mine.
 Before I am allowing myself to play with these pretties that the nephew transported back from Sister 3
I am giving myself a couple of hours with the hook each evening and after unwinding the 6 rows and beginning again I have now got 15 rows of lovely colourful comfort.

So I am keeping busy!

Off to babysit on Saturday and meeting the nephew (the sailor not the traveller) on Sunday to hand over his belongings that we have been looking after before he transfers to his new ship.


And that will be another week gone........

Monday 16 March 2015

Crochet Cracked! ( Well - Nearly)

 I am still sorting out my HUGE box of scraps and some of the larger pieces were destined to be used to make these lovely little wax crayon roll up's at our group meeting this week.
 I have cut 100's of 2 1/2" squares  and strips and that box also yielded nearly 30 roll up's too!!  Just got to finish them all off now.

I have - for some time- promised myself that I would learn to crochet, You may remember that I did a mini course at Yarndale last September, and I made a small basket at that workshop.

Well on Friday, I (complete with a cake baked as a bribe) joined in a home crochet group. I had decided to use all the little bits of carpet yarn from mine and my friends previous projects to make another basket.
 But I wanted this one slightly taller, so I had to start and extra two balls to finish it off.

And then I had some more leftover yarn from that basket, so ---- I made another
And then I has to start another ball to finish this one, so ..... see where this is going? well it could go one forever, so I have popped the leftovers in the supply bag, in case anyone else needed just a bit to finish off.
The baskets are made with three strands of carpet yarn, and there is no "give" in the yarn, so they are quite sturdy an happily stand up on their own.

 Anyway, I think I have the drop of how to create the stitches, so I am going to jump in and make a striped blanket using Attic 24's  Cosy pattern . It is not a difficult pattern to follow and I just LOVE the change of colour every third row. I have not used the same colours, but this will be my variation on Cosy.
Looking like it should
 so I added a couple more colours and felt a bit like maybe my "cast on" row was a bit tight, compared with the actual blanket

 Keep on going or start again ???

After this pic, I added two more colour rows, and took it off to my group this morning to ask "teacher" what she thought. ( I actually knew what she was going to say, but you just have to ask don't you!)

Yup!!  All unravelled  ( or "frogged" for all you professionals) ready to start again, but using a larger hook for the start chain. I know she's right! 


 I have had a lesson from Little Miss O in taking a "selfie"

lesson learned - don't sit in front of the window!

 She knows just what to do!!

 And just to show you how much my son loves me -
 My Mothering Sunday card.  That is JUST him!!!

We have a busy weekend coming up - a big family "Christmas" dinner to welcome nephew home from his 6 months of travelling in South America. 
Lucky boy! another nephew (the sailor) will be coming into the UK from the USA on Wednesday, and we will be meeting up with him, to hand over  belongings stored whilst he was away, and maybe - just maybe, he might have transported a few goodies from across the water.  Just a bit excited!!


Wednesday 11 March 2015

A Busy Week

 But not necessarily on the sewing front.
I have kept up with the walking round the reservoir at Sywell Country Park, and this week took a photo of a really striking Jay

But it wasn't this photo...
Jay perched on a branch (c) Mike Rawlings
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/naturelibrary/images/ic/credit/640x395/e/eu/eurasian_jay/eurasian_jay_1.jpg

Try as I might, I couldn't find the blummin bird amongst the tree in my pic!


We seemed to have all sorts of appointments taking up time and a long overdue visit to Sister 1,  and then off to Wendover to help out at the Art Exhibition at "S's" place of work

The preview evening on Friday was packed, as was the Saturday morning so they hopefully will have raised lots of dosh for their running costs .

We did have time to sneak out into the glorious sunshine for a bite of lunch.

It WAS healthy - really!!
 And the last couple of days has seen my lovely workspace go from this

to this!!!


I have been sorting out my overflowing scrap box. Cutting squares and strips and the binning the smallest pieces.


So the scrap box now looks like this


And I have a bit more tidying up to do before I can start filling the box up again.


The Mini Mania quilts had a group photo
12" square Puddle Jumping pattern from ThimbleBlossoms
 And a sneaky peak at the March design - which is almost complete! Go Me!!

points missing... perhaps a good press will work!

Monday 2 March 2015

February's Mini Final

 We have a little Mini Mania Group that will be making a mini each month through 2015. 

So, what began at the beginning of February like this.....

1 1/4" squares!
 Finished the month like this!!!
Lynda's
Jo's
 And my little gem - I need to pop a label on it, but as this will be a series, I am waiting for inspiration for a name
Jewel colours
 And let me tell you, making a mini is not an easier option to making a "normal' size quilt. This one measures 12" square

We have our March design ready to start, and this one is about 8" x 10" . Let battle commence


And talking of little gem's - here is one I made earlier.

Big CONGRATULATIONS to my beautiful daughter, who has just been promoted to Senior Physiotherapist ( she's so young to be "senior" anything!!!).

Well Done and Well Deserved Susannah xxx