Monday, 29 October 2018

THIS WEEKEND....

.. we in the UK put our clocks back .. which means that we have to accept that WINTER is on the way. JUST TO RUB IT IN .. I went out to the car this am and it was FROZEN due to the fact that the temperature was -2 degrees! Granted I was out early because I had to have mum at the hospital at the crack of dawn because she is having the first cataract removed.. she was SO GRUMPY.. as she said she doesn't get up until AFTER 8 am on a normal day!! As you can imagine I dropped her off .. AND RAN !! lol x

UPDATE; (just back from collecting her .. all went well x)

I have not gone any further with the quilt top I showed you last time .. Im thinking about it ! I did make a cot blanket for a little girl who was born 4 weeks early.. (she is doing well x)




At  Sandbach Quilt Group we were making a Christmas Tree decoration … and as the person (read idiot !) that suggested we have an alternative for those who have made it before/don't want to do a tree .. I got the job!! SO I was the alternative make in the corner!! Very simple decoration idea.. but seemed to go over well..




… they were quick to make too x

The INVICTUS games have been on so I needed a project to work on (and soak up the tears!) It turned into three..






I learned linen stitch for the yellow one … you may be able to see it on the "plain section". It was interesting and easy to do.

 NOW I am working on a red shawl to wear during November  (not quite poppy red .. but close) .. for this one I have learnt star stitch..


It will look better when it is blocked .. but you get the idea x

At Congleton Quilt Group we were given the fabric for this years challenge block..


… you may remember I "won" blocks last year that have become a table runner .. I WILL NOT be "winning" this year .. I will REFUSE!

The head gardener has been .. to keep grandma under control..


Hope you are all having a wonderful Autumn .. before winter gets here xx

Diane x

Wednesday, 10 October 2018

TIME..

.. has once again slipped away from me .. but I am still here .. I promise xx lol x

Since I last spoke to you all I have once again been made a grandma (that makes 4 boys and 1 girl x) x My daughter (in Australia) had a .. not so .. little boy x He weighed 9 POUNDS and 6 ozs…. no idea what that is in metric!.. but BIG in any language x So far the reports are that he is content, a good feeder AND a good sleeper x 

I asked his brother what he though of the new baby.. the answer? … GRANDMA  !..... I am fixing the wheel on this trolley!.. well that told me!

There was already some knitting on the go for the big brother .. so some extra was done for the little one ..






… they are for next winter .. as they are coming into spring now x... bit more stash used up too.

At Congleton quilt group we had a sewing evening and made..



.. a slightly bow-legged fairy xx lol x

This week we were sewing an art project ,.. but I forgot my camera .. so that will have to come later when we do the next part. I CAN however show you what I came home with ..


.. free to a good home x lol x I stewed them this am .. yummy x

I finished the 5 gold rings..


and I don't mind the slightly wonky look now x It feels good to be ahead of myself this year.

Our local Linus Quilt representative was telling us that she is getting plenty of baby and small child quilts and not so many for older children/teenagers … so I went to the scrap bag and have started a top..



I am "thinking" about what to do with it next x

The garden still has some colour  despite some decidedly "sharp" mornings..

 






My mum has been at the hospital again .. she is to have her cataracts removed..OH MY! We will all be in for it when she can see better! lol x 

Hope you are all well .. we are in the midst of flu jabs and dire warnings of storms and cold weather here xx AH! Winter is coming x

Diane x

Monday, 17 September 2018

THIS LAST WEEK...

BOTH of the quilt groups I belong to started up again... NOTHING FOR 6 weeks then two meetings in one week ! .. oh my ! lol x

Congleton was first .. it was catch-up, sales tables, general chatter and a "make" pattern. The pattern is for Prem baby hearts. The idea is to make 2 non stuffed hears , one for mum to wear next to her  skin and then one for baby to wear so that it gets to absorb mums smell .. which is SO important. These are mine …


I know the curves are more angles .. but I don't think the babies will care x lol x They will go back next time x I took in the tissue holders .. they were snapped up by the sales table/tombola ladies .. and if I want to make more... ! SO..


..yes I made some more .. they will go next time too x

Sandbach also started back. We had a sort of speed dating evening .. BUT with finishing techniques!! lol x There was a long table and we had 10-15 mins. to talk about our topic .. there was squaring up .. types of wadding (from silk mix to one made from re-cycled plastic bottles !).. layering techniques from tacking to a gun with plastic tags!.... marking techniques.. hand quilting.. machine quilting.. buttons and tying and ….making and attaching binding …. PHEW! The ladies asked lots of questions and seemed to really enjoy it all x

It was also announced that we will be working for a charity next year …. SO I kept going and made more tissue holders..


I AM SO DONE!! lol x They are waiting for me to get some more little packs of tissues x

I started back on the granddaughters cardigan..


BECAUSE I finished the shawl I wanted to make with the beautiful club colour way for this time ..




I LOVE IT x

WARNING... I am going to mention CHRISTMAS!!! lol x You may remember that each year I have made  a wall hanging for my son and daughter-in-law for this holiday .. this year is 5 gold rings ..  they take a while to do .. SO I thought I had better get started..


lol x mine are more like 5 gold ovals!! But from across the room (I hope) no one will notice x

I feel it has been a productive week .. hope yours has been the same x

Diane x 

Saturday, 8 September 2018

THE....

… weather forecast for to-day is that we may have some "heavy showers"...



.. mm I would agree! THANKFULLY last Saturday was lovely and sunny .. I say thankfully because my middle brother got married..


it was a lovely day all round x Mum and dad were both well enough to go …


TO-DAY is their 67 th wedding anniversary .. they are not doing too badly .

My lilly's did well..

.. just when I thought they had finished flowering they put out a few more..


not bad for a couple of plants from the "reject" shelf x

I finished the cardigan for my granddaughter..


.. it was only AFTER I looked at the picture I noticed that the sleeves have different amounts of pattern repeats! OH WELL! I am going to call it a design feature .. and it is truly unique!

I was asked to make a cot quilt..




which was a quick and easy project that WAS fun x

I have another granddaughter cardigan one on the go...



HOWEVER it is sitting in its bag having "a rest" … because the latest instalment of the shawl club arrived .. ON THE MORNING OF THE WEDDING! I was very good and did not open the package until the next morning...



I LOVE the colours this month x I like the look of the pattern … however when I read through it I was not so sure... BUT I joined the club to expose me to new stitches and techniques .. which it has done. I decided to have a go with some other wool first .. and I am glad I did. 

The start is an i-cord cast on .. I have never done this before AFTER FOUR attempts I got something I could live with  and I began to do the pattern … 



HOWEVER it was not fun, I was finding I just wasn't happy and did not want to do it ..and I was frustrated by my lack of equal tension …. SO I have undone the work produced so far and have started something else with the beautiful wool for this month. I KNOW I need to practice the stitches needed … and then I will have another go at this months pattern. Crafting should be FUN .. and if its not then put it away and have a go at something else x

The head gardener has been keeping me under control..


.. well mostly!!

Hope you are all having some FUN with your crafting x

Diane x

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