Sunday 29 November 2015

IT WAS....

.... Do-Your-Own-Thing day yesterday ... this..


...  is about as good as the weather got.. and as bright as the sky got! It POURED down all day. WELL you say .. you were inside ..OH YES! BUT the heating broke down (again)!!

We had 80 something squares , made by the members at Congleton for a charity quilt.... to organise ... SO being the Daft/Fool-hardy/brave (?) lot we are .. the coats hats scarves and gloves stayed on.. and organised they were!!!!

 NOW they have been taken home by a "volunteer" to be made into a top ready for long arm quilting x .. and for once the "volunteer " is not me xx

By the time we had finished the plumber had been .. it never got really warm but a few coats came off by the time it was home time xx

I made a panel (given to me by Maria ... www.dottysdaughter.blogspot.com ) into a baby quilt..





...just simple quilting and a fleece back x Very pretty though x The pictures are not wonderful .. but it is .. wait for it ... raining xx

Hope its dryer where you are x Im off to have dinner with the family so we will be warm INSIDE xx

Diane x

Friday 27 November 2015

FROM THE TIME....

... I retired I have met up with some of the girls I used to work with ..... every two months ... for a meal, chat and catch up with all the gossip x

Last night was the time to brush the cobwebs off the Christmas jumper ..


and take myself off to Panama Hatties in Spurstow x Last night there were 8 of us ..

 
 

....FIRST Christmas do for us all .. AND .. can you believe it is TWO YEARS since I worked my last shift xx...... and I don't care what they say ..I don't have time/don't want to go back xx lol x

To-day the new carpet went down .. and next week there will be a new settee x BECAUSE two weeks to-morrow my daughter and family will be LANDING at Heathrow having flown all the way from Australia ... getting VERY exciting now xx

To-morrow I am off to the last Do-Your-Own-Thing day  for 2015.. off to sort out what I am taking with me to work on x

Diane xx

Sunday 22 November 2015

HAVE YOU NOTICED...

... that it takes TWICE as long to put everything back after decorating! I have to .. sort.. and re-organise.. and decide what the heck was I keeping that for?..... lol x at this rate the shelves and cupboards in the front room will still be empty when the family arrive ... mm maybe then THEY will put it all away!!!.. now there s a thought xx

Do you remember I made a cot quilt for a baby born 12 weeks premature? .. well that was 12 weeks ago... and she is going home to-day (fingers crossed x)She will need oxygen at home and constant monitoring .. but she will be at home and mum and dad are SOOO excited x

I finished my latest shawl .....




I really like it with the stocking stitch x I don't think I told that I am using this..


....book. ... honestly the model must be the size of a 9 year old for the shawl to be that big on her!!! .....ANYWAY .... while I was making it I was thinking about my mate Sue.. remember I made the pink sparkly shawl for her up-coming BIG birthday... well my brain did a bit of overtime and I am giving her 50 presents for her 50th birthday!!.. her birthday is 16th December .. so that makes 10 days to Christmas .. SO ...5 presents a day for 10 days ... you still with me? lol x


... she loves pink and anything to do with African animals .. hence the wonderful tissue paper I found lol x...ANYWAY... I had this FUN wool in my stash..



....that I never knew what to do with (OR ....why I ought it ... am I the only one? .. surely not!!)

SO... I turned it into a shawl (WHAT else .. I seem to have a shawl obsession at the moment!!)... it will suit her and has made up the right number of presents ...





....this one is not from the book... but is a free download from Ravelry...


YES !!!.... garter stitch .. but it worked out well for this wool x


OH WELL! Back to sorting "stuff" into its rightful place ... carpet going down this week so I need to shake the old tail feathers and get going x

Diane x

Wednesday 18 November 2015

THE DECORATING...

.... is entering the final stages .... SO exciting xxx It is going to be SO POSH for Christmas xx

I have been finding small things to get finished so that I am available as tea maker and answer of questions .. good grief SATIN... SILK ... EGG SHELL .. is this paining or sewing!! lol x

Anyway .. I have made 2 little cards for Sandbach Quilt Group Christmas party swap .. one to gift one as a spare just-in-case anyone forgets !!...


only small but good fun x

AND I have been wrapping Christmas swap parcels .. want to see?...





.. come on now...you didn't think I was going to show the INSIDE!!! lol x

I KNOW I said .. no more swaps ... but Christmas is special!.. mind you 4 swaps may have been a tiny bit over board !.. Im not complaining xx

Off to fulfil my tea duties xx

Diane x

Monday 16 November 2015

THE SAGA...

... ie .....the LONG and epic tale!.. of the front room may actually be coming to an end !! I KNOW! its hard to believe xx

The old carpet is dead and gone to the tip ... and a lovely young man called Chris is putting up wallpaper even as we chat here xx  

Tomorrow he will begin the mammoth task of painting ... I so admire anyone who can do this .. and as I live in a Victorian terrace and my ceilings are about 10 ft high  you need courage to try !.... I think half (if not more) of my problem is that I just find it soooooo boring! lol x

I went and chose a carpet.. oh yes! THEN came home and had a had a meltdown at the cost of it !!!... took me a while to recover I can tell you!!!!!!!!!!! I just keep telling my self it will last my lifetime .. and be worth the expense!... I again have the problem that my room does not meet the "standard" size of a room in the modern house so I need the "extra" bit to ensure that it fits .. mind you I would rather have my quirky odd shaped house than a modern one any day xx

I have decided that I WILL NOT let the dreaded GARTER stich  defeat me and so ... as the next shawl in my book is called GARTER LOVE you may guess what I have been doing! THIS..




is the result x I may just be getting there ...mind you the whole time I was making it I kept thinking .. this would look so nice in stocking stitch!! So guess what I am doing now..


... the dyer has names the colour Vampires Tipple which I just LOVE xx It is a super wash merino and nylon mix and I SOOO wish I could share the feel of it with you all .. it is soo soft I can barely feel it as it slips through my fingers x LOL x OOPS .. off to make a cuppa for the worker x

Diane x

Saturday 14 November 2015

THURSDAY EVENING ..

... was Sandbach Quilt Group meeting. We had an On-The-Night make . MY pack looked like this..


... at the end of the night! I "somehow" got sidetracked from making to ....handing out the trimmings needed to finish the project ... there were several choices that our ladies could mix and match x

This morning I managed to put a plug in the time leak and now I have...




....another step closer to being ready for Christmas x

My heart goes out to the people of Paris this morning in this desperate time and also the people of the whole world as we will ALL be affected by the fall-out.

Diane x

Tuesday 10 November 2015

I HAVE DECIDED...

... NOVEMBER is officially my least favourite month of the year! It is Dull... Damp ...Dismal ..and Dark !!!

But that's a good excuse to stay inside and be creative xxx

I had a bag to make for a special young lady with Cerebral Palsy..




... cheered me up no end to make it x Her favourite colours are pink and green ... think I may just have got that right x ...I find it amazing that for someone who professes to NOT like pink .. I always manage to find some in my stash when it is needed xx lol xx

Off now (YES into the Damp and Dismal!!) to find some "special" goodies to fill it with x

Diane x

Friday 6 November 2015

I MUST HAVE...

... plugged a hole in my Time Leak because I actually had a little bit of time to sew!! OH YES xx Go ME!!! lol x

So .. I made my November swap block for the Christmas Block Swap...


....AND I have time to Blog as well x Its been a creative morning here in a wet and gloomy UK x

Sally and family will be here soon (from Australia xxxxx) and they are SO going to notice the cold .. SO I made her another shawl to put over her shoulders while she is feeding baby ...



AND I made my last Christmas shawl.. (I LOVE this wool sooooo much)




THIS and the BLUE one are going to be soooo hard to part with .. I am going to wrap them up to stop me touching and longing to keep them xx lol x

Just in case I don't get to post again before Sunday ...


....my brother is on his way to London as I write this .. he was in the Army for 24 years and every year they go down for the Service Of Remembrance .. this Sunday .....when he will be marching past the Cenotaph (and The Queen) with his regiment.

Hope you get some time to be creative

Diane x

Wednesday 4 November 2015

LAST NIGHT....

... was Congleton Quilt Group meeting ... we had an on the night make .. NOW I had every intention of doing the project .. BUT one of the tea ladies was not well ... and ..well.. you know we CANNOT function without our cuppa and a biscuit .. SO I was the stand-in-tea-lady .. and did not get my sewing done xx

This morning I DID make my little ..

 
 

...bag x Its not as good as it could be .. but its my first and I did not have the instructions!! so the old brain had to WORK!! lol x

We also got our Christmas Challenge packets .. it is only a few weeks away people !!!!

Our Gallant Leader was at a wedding in South Africa this summer and so ..


...we have a feather!! ..some African fabric .. a bell !! .. and some African buttons .... desperate for IDEAS here !! mmm .. none appearing at the moment!

I have to report also that my grandson and I stopped on the way home from the school run yesterday and I now HAVE the wallpaper for the front room .. AND.. new curtains!! OH MY!!  He has been informed that if its not right or doesn't look GOOD he will be held responsible!! lol x

Off for a brew to rest my poor grey matter ... and to get over the amount of money I "calmly" handed over x

Diane xx