Wednesday 27 January 2016

LAST NIGHT....

.... was Congleton Quilt group.. it was a Making night.. there were about 40 ladies and TWO machines ... SO .. I brought mine home and had a go this morning .... BECAUSE .. I can now walk to my sewing machine with no hindrance!! lol x.. don't you love a bit of boasting xx

It is a little pouch for ... sewing notions.. pills... ANYTHING you like really xx....

 

 

its a bit rough.. but for a first try I am quite happy... I am sure there will be more in my future x

I am sure you remember me moaning and whining on about garter stitch.. and not liking it! SO .. of course.. I have been looking for patterns to force me to have a go xx lol x ...SO ...the FREE downloads on Ravelry are my friends now xx This is my latest ...



YES I know there is a lot of lace .. well it does reduce the amount of garter stitch !! xx He-He x

As usual I was down to the last bit by the time I had finished x


The colour is called.. THE LADY HERSELF.. which is a Discworld reference to one of my favourite characters.... Granny Weatherwax ... I HAD TO USE IT even though there is a LOT of pink in there x

As you all know I had the dreaded lurgy recently .. well yesterday this ..


....arrived on my doorstep from Sue (www.kiwikidspage.blogspot.com )it cheered me up no end to have a bit of Australian sun and fun to look at xx ... its over my sewing machine x

Hope you all had something to make you smile to-day xx

Diane x


Monday 25 January 2016

I MADE IT...

... to the sewing day on Saturday x ....the top was finished and is waiting to go to Show-And-Tell at Congleton Quilt group (tomorrow) before being given to the parents-to-be...



I am really happy with the way it came out .. and the designer seemed happy with the feedback and pictures.

Sunday was the BIG Annual Fabric Sale in Sandbach... our Quilt group (Sandbach Sew and Sews)  were asked to put on a display of members work...I was on set up squad this year .... by 07.45 ..in the dark wee hours here!!.. I was already hard at work putting quilts on stands xx  ..... 2 hours later as I headed for home ...I got a sneaky peek at all the wonderful fabrics .. BUT .. I then went home having NOT bought a single thing x

 I am patting my self on the back for this x Mind you I was PRETTY tired by the time my stint was over and needed a lie down on the sofa with a brew to recover xx lol x 

This morning I began The Plan for the craft room tidy. I set an alarm ... and then worked away for an hour.. at the end of that time I went down stairs made a brew and had a rest.. THEN I went back for another hour.. at the end of this time I shut the door and went and had my dinner xx lol x

I have 2 bags of rubbish in the bin .. and 1 bag of rubbish for re-cycling. I am REALLY pleased with the progress so far.. I can see (small amount admittedly!)  sections of flooring .. and my cutting table is free of clutter and "stuff"... there is a huge pile in the middle of the room .. but that's OK because tomorrow holds some more hour-long segments when I can go back ... or not! lol x

Taking the pressure off my self to GET IT DONE is helping so far... in fairness I have to admit I have not been anywhere near fabric or embellishments or buttons... or ... lol x

Hope your day has held some fun

Diane x

Friday 22 January 2016

I DONT MAKE.....

.... New Year Resolutions...... because I know I will .. forget them.. get bored.. find something else I would rather be doing... etc. etc. BUT I do like to have some ideas for what I MIGHT want to do in the coming year xx

LAST year I was going to buy less fabric ...and... use more from my stash.. Notice I don't say STOP buying .. we all know that is unrealistic and NOT going to happen!! ALSO I wanted to clean and tidy my craft room

WELL.. I did reduce the buying.. and I did use some stash.. although at times it is hard to see where the reduction happened ! lol x

The tidying.. well that was a stop-start project.. and it seemed mostly STOP! I think part of the problem is that it is just SUCH A MESS ......that it gets just too overwhelming to tackle.

SO the last couple of days I have taken time out to sit and look around in there... AND I am going to tackle this elephant one bite at a time... I have started by sorting and putting into bags ....fabrics and blocks that I have clear ideas of what I want to use them for....



.. looks interesting hey!

Some of these I have been collecting for YEARS and not got round to using.

 Next I am going to start going through my boxes of fabric ..... I am going to decide... will I use this .. and if the answer is NO.. then I have 2 options ... bag it up and take it to one of the quilt groups I belong to and give it away .. OR .. and you may want to sit down here ... throw it away!! YES I am giving my self permission to GET RID xx

It actually feels good to have made the decision and I  KNOW it will allow me to move on.. it may take a good while but that's OK xx

I hope that at the end of the process I will have fabric etc. that I WILL use.

I have A LOT of books as well and they may well get "sorted" at some point !! xx Maybe I will find patterns I want to make!!... oh my goodness lol x

To-morrow is the Do-Your-Own-Thing day and I am feeling up to going .. so the baby quilt will be finished...  I have made a little friend to go with it...

 
 
 

... using up some of that stash too xx

Hope you have had a good couple of days x

Diane x

Tuesday 19 January 2016

LIKE MANY OTHERS...

... my family gradually went down with a NASTY bug during December and early January. I resisted until the end of last week! ...

....then it started.. first the headache/sore throat and nausea.... then the flu type phase were all you are capable of doing is sleep and pour fluids down your throat ... then the stuffy head quickly followed by the runny nose ... THIS IS PAINTING A VERY ATTRACTIVE PICTURE I AM SURE xx...

 THEN you wake up in a puddle of sweat (just as YUCKY as it sounds) indicating the fever has broken so that you can proceed to the chest infection .. oh my! When the coughing stops I sound like a cross between a broken down horse and a 40 a day smoker .. which.. when I last checked ..I am neither!

Along-side this is the time when you start to feel better and ... of course being a woman/mother etc. ....you do TOO MUCH.. and end up in a heap on the sofa ... wondering why didn't I stay here reaching out a hand for the peeled grapes and next offering of food and drink ... answers on a Post card to that one please xx lol x 

I HAVE decided not to shuffle off this mortal coil just yet.. it involves just TOO MUCH effort!! lol .. so you are stuck with me Blogging .. and sharing lol xx

I have .. while SITTING  DOWN... done some machine quilting on the pattern test top.....



I was going to make a wall hanging BUT.. we have a new baby due in the family in April .. so as the gender is not known.. and the colours are neutral .. I decided it will be a pram/car seat cover.. AND it wouldn't be one of mine without some embellishments... and a terrible bit of NON-matching of points he-he x..


He-He x There is a Do-Your-Own-Thing day on Saturday that I am DETERMINED I will be fit enough to attend ...  the flowers will be sown on and the binding sewn down then x

I also finished a shawl... in the interests of honesty I have to say that there were about 3 rows that I worked on .. when I wasn't well and should have left it be!!... it looked as if I had been working from a different pattern! lol x So they were undone and re-knitted ....






I LOVE the pattern .. BUT I have a few issues with it. I don't like the colour I chose.. maybe because I have been using BRIGHT and BOLD colours it seems dull and lustreless... also I was working on it during the last days that the family were here and it reminds me of that .. it will go into the gift pile and I will just have to make another with BRIGHT and BOLD wool xx

Keep warm and well

Diane xx

Sunday 17 January 2016

I THINK...

... Gus is getting used to his waterproof .. and lovely warm fleece lined coat!! This morning all I got was a low grumble in the back of his throat when I wrestled him into it!!

Mind you in this ..



I think he is secretly pleased to be wearing it xx

NOT a lot of snow (thank goodness!) and will soon be gone .. I HOPE!! We don't get much .. or often here in Cheshire thanks to the many hills that surround us x

Keep warm and safe x

Diane x

Friday 15 January 2016

THEY MADE IT...

... home safe and sound .. such a LOOOOOOOOOONG journey for them xx The little man was wonderful by all accounts .. there were quite a few other families with little ones on the plane and so no-one minded about the odd cranky episode x They all need to get over the jet-lag now before "normality" strikes on Monday morning xx lol x

I finished the top...


I am only putting one border on as I have a space it will fit into .. that's the beauty of a Victorian terrace with lots of odd-shaped bits of wall! lol x The pattern has 2 .. but then it is only a guide and having read through it there were no problems to report back with x I enjoy these test makes as very often they are patterns I normally would not make..... and its fun to be one of the first to .. have a go x I have to think about the quilting now.

I need to get some wadding as I used up most of the big..ish pieces with the Christmas makes 

Have a good day ... and try to find something that makes you smile .. or better still laugh at xx

Diane x

Wednesday 13 January 2016

THE FAMILY.....

... arrived safe and sound in Singapore ..thank goodness.. and after a wash and brush-up break are well on their way towards Sydney xx... not long now and I will know they are safe on the ground once more x




To-day is my dads 86th birthday..


 
 
I don't know why he has his eyes closed every time! lol x

We had a meal out and cake on Sunday before the family left...



.. yes .. the monkey has candles in his eyes! lol x THEN to-day we... went out for a meal and had ... more cake..



.. lol x Mother was in good form.. YES she has a bubble on her head lol ... DONT ASK!! well... it made us laugh x

I have not touched my sewing machine while the family have been here .. waiting on the top of my "projects to do" pile is a pattern test .. SO before food and cake stopped play I made..



well on the way .. play will resume to-morrow x (pictures are a bit dark.. will try and do better tomorrow x)

Have a good day x

Diane x

Tuesday 12 January 2016

MY HOUSE....

... has been cleaned .. from top to bottom ... the washing and ironing are done (make the most of that statement as it will be a LONG time before it will be repeated!! .. if ever!).. and my mood has been like the weather ie. Dull Damp and Dismal!! (actually it is sopping wet .. but I needed a D word xx)

The reason being that my daughter and family are on their way to Singapore on the first (11 hours!) leg of the journey home x The house is empty .... quiet ... and tidy ! Sigh xx  I will see them on Skype .. but wont be able to touch or hug them for a long time .... I have been looking at pictures and remembering the happy month that has JUST FLOWN away ...

 
 

 
 
 
 
(I have more pictures .. but Blogger does not want to put them in !!... Hey-Ho x Maybe it will let me play tomorrow x)

BUT being D..D..and D just wears you out .. and if we look hard enough the silver lining does shine through xx

FIRST .. I had a long and chatty call on Skype with my middle grandson in Perth, Western Australia

SECOND .. the Postman brought me ...a little bit of sunshine ..


....well there was a sale and I had a coupon .. what more is there to say? lol x

THIRD.. well I have to explain the back ground to this ... SAM has a rough, thick coat that keeps him warm and dry in all weather. I have a BIG coat that keeps me warm dry and snug. GUS.. has a short coat that ..yes.. lets in the cold and rain.. the weather at the moment is AWFUL.. and a train of thought was set in motion x In 2008 (the receipt was in the bag!) I bought Gus a coat.. he never wore it because he growled snapped and REFUSED to have anything to do with it... TODAY I was taking NO prisoners!

It was put on .. at risk of life and limb.. both of us!...

 

OH ! I have been laughing for hours over this x I had to DRAG him out of the house and up the street.. I think he was embarrassed to be seen in public ! He-He x

 He tried to shake it off.. AND  he scrapped it on everything he could! It has cheered me up no end xx When we left mum and dads bungalow he had to be dragged again xx lol x I think the gentle shush-shush as he walks soothed him eventually though ..


Gotta love him xx... he has done his bit to cheer me up.. and so he had an extra biscuit when we got home x

Hope you have found something to keep you feeling cheerful to-day xx

Diane xx