A Time for Stitching

Before and After!

2012-02-02T22:04:00.000Z

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I've joined a musical theatre group so I thought you might be interested in a little update. Despite a few doubts, I've continued to go to rehearsals for Me and My Girl. I'm not quite sure who I'm supposed to be in it (I don't have a speaking part) but think I'm probably a servant. Not having seen the show, and rehearsing songs without knowing the story or how the songs fit into it makes things a bit confusing. I'm sure things will become clearer as we progress. I've made a few friends now, which was difficult at first when all we did was sit and sing then go home. We were informed at the last rehearsal on Wednesday that it is 10 weeks until the first performance!! Gulp!! I'm not sure how many times we're doing it or exactly where, but I will keep going and put my confidence in the experience and knowledge of the longer term members to pull it all together.

I had a lovely day off work on Monday! I booked it off recently after remembering that I had a day left to take before 1st February. The plan was to sew all day, seeing as it was a day I wouldn't normally have been at home.

before

Unfortunately, there was a large pile of ironing calling me from the basket in the bathroom. My sister, (who normally does my ironing these days) had just gone on holiday for 2 weeks so it was not a good idea to ignore the pile and keep adding to it for the next fortnight! And besides, I know me, and I wouldn't have been able to settle down to sewing knowing that it was there lurking and taunting me.

after

So - it took me all morning (it doesn't look that much does it?) but it was done. I felt a great sense of satisfaction when it was finished, particularly as it was the first time the ironing basket had been completely empty for quite a few years (yes that's right - years)!! Then, it was onto the fun stuff!!

before

I'd been over to my shed in the garden on the weekend and, with a few projects in mind, pulled out some supplies. Some of it is pictured above. I wanted to make a couple more zipped pouches trying a different method for putting in the zips. This time I covered the end of the zips before making up the pouches. The result was neat-ish but still a bit bulky. For good measure, I also ran up a mini pin-cushion with the same fabrics.

after

Last but not least was this little pouch with an appliqued key. This one I made for a friend in work who was celebrating her birthday. She'd mentioned a few weeks ago how she always had to go hunting in the bottom of her bag for various keys and that she should get a purse to put them all in, so when I heard that it was her birthday, I had no trouble coming up with something to give her. She was delighted with it and filled it up with her keys straight away.

Later on my friend asked me if I'd sewn the key on, thinking it was a bought pouch. When I told her I'd made the whole thing she was very impressed and said I could make and sell more things like this. Another friend, who was present, said to me knowingly "See!!" because that was something she had said to be many times before. If I'm lacking in anything to motivate me to sell what I make, it's certainly not friendly praise and encouragement.

Now, with the danger of repeating myself like I did last week, here's my progress:

Zipped pouches - 2 complete
Pin cushion - 1 complete.

Knitted cowl - roughly 20 rows completed (not convinced the stitch pattern is working yet)

I also have some fabric standing by to make a couple of tote bags so let's wait and see what comes of that!!

Bye for now
Teresa x

Boring Beige!

2012-01-26T21:21:00.002Z

My mother gave me these buttons to try on my knitted cardigan. There are 5 different designs here but I like the idea of the buttons not all being the same and it seems to be a bit of trend these days, whether the difference is in the design or the colour.

There is only one of this design with a sailing ship design that looks like a coin and it's my favourite of the lot. Prepare yourself now for the sight of the finished cardigan. I told you I didn't much like it but I'm willing to reveal all if you're prepared to make allowances for my really bad photography skills.

It's not just the lighting that's poor (although it is quite close to the actual colour) but looking at this pic now I've realised that the cardigan would have looked a lot better if I hadn't put it against a colour that was exactly the same as itself!! Duh! Maybe if I'd worn it with something bright it would have been an improvement but as it's a little on the large side for me I don't think I'd have been doing myself any favours. I can't see myself wearing it anytime soon so, as far as I can see, my only options are to ask my mother if she'd like it or to put it away until I'm about 80 years old (when it may suit me and may even fit me!!).

What's this - my newly finished scarf trying it's best to brighten up the cardy? What a struggle though; it's rather having the opposite effect and making the scarf look more muted than it really is. Lesson learned! Put more time and thought into my photographs!

This zipped pouch is actually quite nice in reality but the dullness seems to have spread here too. Who's idea was it to' photograph a yellow pouch against a yellow wall with bananas in the background, for goodness sake?!! I'm sheepishly raising my index finger in the air in answer. Actually, it wasn't a conscious decision, which is wherein the problem lies.

Look inside! There's a surprise stripy lining. I'm pleased with the way this turned out. I decided to cover the ends of the zip before making up the pouch and it went together quite well. I'll try a few more like this to ensure it wasn't a fluke!

A bit of non-stitchy stuff now. DD is off on holiday to Florida with her boyfriend, and my sister and her family, on Sunday. As it's her 26th birthday while she's away we're going out for a meal together on Saturday evening. DS won't be joining us but there's a good reason for this - he'll be cooking the meal as he's covering for the chef's holiday again. It's become clearer to me since he last stood in there how much trust they are putting in him. The establishment is 2nd in the county for good ratings on Trip Adviser!!

Now for the round up since last time. I realise I've said it all already but I'll stick to the same format as previous posts as a summary:

Knitted cardigan - buttons added (even though I jumped the gun and said I'd finished it previously)

Knitted purple scarf - finished apart from darning in ends (this was the third incarnation of this scarf)

Yellow zipped pouch - finished, made from recycled materials apart from the checked fabric

Teensy weensy pin-cushion - to be stuffed

In planning stage - 2 more zipped pouches and one tote bag.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Resolved to Sew 2012

2012-01-17T16:20:00.000Z

I've said before that I don't believe that New Year's Resolutions are a good idea and I stand by that; however, if I did make one it would be to Resolve to Sew in 2012. I will still strive for it, but not as a measurable goal that could be setting myself up for failure.

Finishing my HST quilt last week has spurred me on. Recognising that 'procrastination' is my biggest stumbling block could be the key to making more progress this year.

All this has come to my mind as result of Ali at Very Berry Handmade and her amazing Giveaway launched yesterday, entitled Resolved to Sew 2012. As a blogger myself I get an extra entry for writing a post on the subject and with such fabulous prizes on offer (yes there are 11 prizes!) I had to give it a go. I highly recommend you to pop over and take a look at what's on offer, especially as she will post anywhere.

Although this is a little, extra, mini-in-between-post, just to keep up the momentum, here's my stitching progress since last time:

Knitted ripple scarf - this is no longer a ripple! It was working out too chunky so it's been unrun (twice) and is now being knitted in a lacy pattern. So, basically, it's at the same stage as last time.

Knitted cardigan - tried out for size some buttons that my mother gave me from her stash but haven't sewn on yet.

Zipped pouches - One almost finished, one hardly started.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Why?

2012-01-14T23:43:00.000Z

Why did 2011 go so fast? I've heard it said that the years seem to go faster the older you get, but even children are noticing the years zooming by; yet, when I was a child, I'm sure time went much slower.

My first finished quilt!!!

I can think of 2 possible reasons for this. Firstly, more and more of our time is spent in a virtual or technological reality. Our lives are filled with TV, computers, ipods, ipads and mobile phones etc. 'Friendships' are conducted via text or 'twitface'. Time is literally eaten up with these activities and you can easily find that hours have passed that felt like minutes! The wasted time can never be recovered and as a consequence is lost for ever.

The whole quilt.

My second theory may be a bit more difficult to get your head around. I've mentioned it to a couple of people with varying reactions from 'surprise that they understood what I meant' to 'looks that suggested that I'd lost my marbles'.

My quilt in situ - don't know if it's going to live here

What occured to me was the thought that time may ACTUALLY be slowing down. I find, when trying to imagine the extent of the Universe, I have to stop after only a few seconds because it totally overwhelmes me, but one thing I do know is that the Universe is still expanding. And therefore I would suggest time is slowing down as a consequence. The cycles of the solar system and the workings of clocks etc still seem the same but they all move with the Universe. (Are you still here or have you shut down your computer and run screaming from the mad woman yet?) It would explain why each year seems to go faster than the last, why people look younger than their parents at the same age and why life expectancy is always increasing.

Don't worry, I haven't lost my mind. I don't really believe this; it's just an example of the way my mind works sometimes when I let it run amok :-).

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Well enough of that rubbish - The other day I saw that the second issue of Crafteroo online magazine was out so, as I found the first issue such good value and full of inspiring articles, I ordered and downloaded it. I haven't read it yet but am looking forward to doing so. Imagine my surprise when I got home to find I'd won one of the prizes offered in the first issue. Namely the pattern above for pyjama pants and a cosmetic bag offered by Sew Me Happy. I think this will be great made up from a soft brushed-cotton sheet so I'll look out for one in a charity shop.

Crafting since last time:

Knitted scarf started - from a scarf my DD didn't want, that I unrun to make into a nicer one.

Zipped pouches - one almost finished, another started.

Bye for now

Teresa x

2011 into 2012

2012-01-03T22:14:00.006Z

Hello friends! It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks here, as I expect it's also been for many of you. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that 2012 is off to a good start. One thing I wish for this year is that it goes a little slower than 2011. I think the trick is to enjoy the moment and focus on each task or event rather than to be always thinking of the next thing you have (or want) to do.

Glasses cases and phone case from Folksy.

Although I didn't have time to make presents for gifts this year, I tried to buy handmade or eco friendly where possible.

Handbag mirrors from Folksy with cases (note the pretty matching crocheted flowers - it's the little touches that make all the difference)

On the day I finished work for the holidays, I arrived home to find that OH had put coloured lights on my shed for the season.

I've compared my crafting and book reading pages from 2010 and 2011and it's clear there's little difference in the book reading,which is a bit disappointing. I thought that having the previous year to compete with would give me more impetus to get reading. As for the crafting, I can't believe how little I got done compared with 2010. Keeping a record is clearly not the way to inspire me to do more. I'll keep the record going out of interest but I'll have to think of some other way of motivating myself.

DD made starry biscuits to contribute to the Christmas Fayre

At least the last 2 weeks have given me the opportunity to complete a couple of long-term projects (details below).

OH & me at a New Year party (and no, it wasn't fancy dress or a masked ball - we, and 3 friends just decided it would be fun!)

I don't think New Year Resolutions are particularly effective at helping to motivate me. Plans or goals, however, might be the way forward. I'll think more about how to go about this but any ideas would be welcome.

Crafting since last time: -

Knitted cardigan - finished apart from adding buttons (after a little hiccough during sewing up when I realised I'd made a mistake in the decreasing at the top of each sleeve) The only problem now, and it's a biggie, is that I don't like it!! I'll add the buttons to see what difference that makes but I'm not too hopeful. I might show a photo soon if it isn't too horrible!

HST quilt - ALL FINISHED APART FROM SEWING DOWN THE BACK OF THE BINDING (which I will do at my quilting club on Saturday). Can you tell I'm pleased about this one?? It's my first quilt, albeit a small one, so I'm quite proud of it and will definitely show a pic next time.

Bye for now
Teresa x

P.S. I'm afraid my blog reading has run away from me so I'm not sure when I'll be able to catch up with your lovely blogs. I will definitely get around to it eventually because I'd hate to miss anything, so please be patient with me.

The Big C!

2011-12-20T14:36:00.000Z

I finish work around lunchtime tomorrow and then start the first of 2 and a half weeks off!! Our preparations are almost complete and there's lots to look forward to. Carol Services are over, cards have been written and the decorations are up. OH took responsibilty for the decorations this year and as a result things are quite different. The porch is more like a grotto this year and I love what he did with the bunches of baubles hanging from the wall lights.

I might have mentioned in previous years, that despite OH being a forester, we have an artificial tree! We've had real trees in the past but it inevitably means moving a chair out of the room, and I think we have more use for all the chairs we can get at this time of year than we do a real tree!

We are going with DD on Thursday to do a little more shopping, along with gettting the final Christmas food. There are a few more presents to wrap then we'll be ready. We'll be having our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve (OH, me, DD and boyf, DS and girlf) as we've done the last few years. Then the next day, after we've opened presents and enjoyed a nice breakfast, they'll be free to accept other invitations to dinner without clashing, .

These 4 chaps have made themselves more comfortable since I took their picture earlier.

Stitching progress since last time:

It's hardly worth mentioning but, I've finished the crocheted mitts.
Not another stitch has been produced by me and I've even sat in front of the TV on a couple of evenings with nothing at all in my hands to do, which is almost unheard of. And funnily enough, I didn't feel compelled to do any or guilty because I didn't do any. I hope I'm not losing my 'mojo' which I've read about on other blogs. No, I'm pretty sure I'm not. It's just something to do with the fast approaching Big C!!

It just remains for me to wish all my readers, followers and commenters a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2012!

See you next year

Bye for now

Teresa x

That Festive Feeling!

2011-12-07T14:25:00.001Z

That festive feeling is beginning to build for me now. I don't know about you, but I've not been feeling it much yet and have found it difficult to get enthusiastic about the planning. However, a few Christmassy events have helped to get me going.

First was the December meeting of my quilting club, Ladybugs, where we enjoyed a bit of sewing (I managed to quilt another block), a Show and Tell, Christmas card exchange and a Hope Lunch (where everyone brings something, nothing is planned but, somehow, no dish is duplicated!). One member's clever daughter made this lovely ladybird cake which was cut up and shared during afternoon tea. Sorry about the messy table; I didn't get the picture until after the table was raided - and the ladybird had lost it's antennae!

A church in Usk converted into an art gallery

I wasn't planning on going out on Sunday but J (daughter) rang and we decided to meet in the afternoon at Usk Winter Festival. (Bathroom cleaning had to wait until another day) It was a clear, fine day and not too cold so we had a leisurely browse of the stalls, drank mulled wine and listened to carol singers.

Usk clock tower in the middle of the square where the event was held.

The clear sky meant that as soon as the light faded it got quite cold. As J couldn't feel her toes anymore we decided not to wait to see Father Christmas pulled through the main street by reindeer and left just as the crowds gathered and it started to rain, but just before the road was closed.

K (son) mentioned he might pop to the Festival after work. We didn't see him there (nor my parents who were apparently also there) even though it wasn't that big, but I assume he went, and picked up this little chap. I found him on the kitchen window-sil when I pulled the curtains the next day. In case you're wondering.... there's a teensy weensy cactus under the disguise!

I'm ready for IT now (not in the preparation but in the mental sense)! Choir practice continues tonight with Christmas anthems for the carol services and we've got a shopping day planned for Saturday when I'm sure all the shops will be decked out and filled with festive music. Onwards and upwards!!
I hope all your preparations are progressing well!!!

Stitchy progress since last time:

Quilt as you go Quilt - one more block quilted
Crocheted Mitts - Knitted second incarnation (then undid it), knitted half of another one.
Ummm........uummmm...........no, that's it, can't think of any more.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain!

2011-12-01T15:11:00.001Z

Apparently it's called a 'mnemonic'; a phrase where initials of words to be learned, are made into a phrase that's easier to remember. It's how we were taught in school to remember the colours of a rainbow; Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Indigo, Violet.

I took this photo a month or so ago from my office. However lovely they are, I don't normally go around taking photos of every rainbow I see. This one, though, was AMAZING!! Not only did I take a photo, I also went round the office telling everyone to look at it (most of them sit facing away from the window or on the opposite side of the block, so hadn't seen it). Without exception, they all said, 'WOW' when they turned around. I'm not very good at taking photos so I hope this shows a glimpse of how utterly fabulous the colours were.

It was so bright and clear, especially near the ground. The second (double) rainbow was fairly clear too which is unusual but means we can check out the fascinating fact I read on Wikipedia about Rainbows; you might have know this already but it's news to me that the colours on the second rainbow are opposite to the main one!!

Were you taught mnemonics to remember lessons? Some that come to mind are the ones associated with learning the music notes on Treble and Bass Clefs; Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit; All Cows Eat Grass, FACE (not a mnemonic, but didn't need to be!). I can't remember the one for GBDFA.

The Sudoku panel made into a cushion

As for crafting (Do you get the sense that I'm trying to avoid the subject?), there HAS been a little going on this week. I've had orders to take the Sudoku cushion to my quilting club on Saturday. It's 'Show and Tell' day and they want to hear all about it. I must remember to shout this time; last time we did 'SaT' I was asked to speak up!!! We meet in a huge echoey room that's not conducive to public speaking and I must take into account the elderly-ness (and consequent hearing loss) of some of the ladies without deafening those right next to me.

Now that colder weather has set in, I'm finding it difficult to keep my hands warm (as usual) so it was very timely of Judith from Rags to Bags to post about these snuggly fingerless mitts. She very kindly emailed the pattern to me and I got started straight away. The yarn I picked out of my basket was 4 ply so I crocheted it double. Not sure if it's clear in the pic but it's a mustardy colour. DD said the mitt was ok apart from the colour :-( I have actually only crocheted one so far and I'm not totally happy with the cuff so I'm making it shorter so it doesn't need to be folded over.

Other craftyness has also occurred so here's the run-down:

Sudoku cushion - finished
Crocheted mits - prototype made, another started.
HST quilt - Quilting finished, hoorah hoorah, only binding left to do.
Knitted cardigan - pressed ready for putting together (and possibly completely ruined - we'll see)

Bye for now
Teresa x

You'll Never Guess What I've Been Up To!!

2011-11-22T15:50:00.001Z

I missed posting last week due to lack of anything interesting to say or show. Today, however........boy, have I got something to say!!!!

I finished tweaking and twiddling my Sudoku block and will definitely get it made into a cushion by next time. (No, that's not IT)

I'll keep it on our bed so it doesn't get dirty too quickly. I don't think it will stand up to the treatment meeted out to the sofa cushions so it'll be better off out of the way. (This isn't IT either)

I made this box at a day workshop a few years ago. It wasn't until I received the information about the Sudoku weekend course and looked into what might be involved, that I noticed the connection with this box. Look again at the panel above and see if you can spot it. (No, not this!)

Hip hip hooray. I've actually completely finished something for the first time in months. The two pin-cushions are no longer flat. They are stuffed, plumped and buttoned. I know that you can barely bring yourself to believe it, and that it's a major achievement (for me), but that's not IT either!!

THIS IS IT....

OH and I were lucky enough to attend the Welsh Premiere of this film on Monday, along with a couple of hundred other people including the author of the book the film was based on, some of the stars and many more of the production crew. The star guest, however, was none other than HRH The Prince of Wales!!!

Since the book was set (and the film was made) in and around the area of Abergavenny, the Welsh Premiere was held there the day after the London Premiere. We walked up the red carpet, listened to speeches, watched the film and attended a reception afterwards where wine and nibbles were in abundance and all the hotel staff were dressed in 40s outfits. HRH wasn't at the reception but the film people were and I was struck by how much younger and smaller (in height and girth) they were in real life.

Much of the filming took place on the country estate where OH works and his boss was kind enough to get the tickets for us and other estate employees. The estate employees were also mentioned in the speeches and acknowledged in the film credits!

To be honest, OH wasn't keen on the film but I enjoyed it. It's a very moody, atmospheric film with more silence and expression than dialogue. The acting is superb and the story clever, with the Welsh countryside playing a major part. Having read the book (of the same name) beforehand, I found nothing jarred with my imagination, although, when the film ended, I couldn't remember if that was how the book had finished. (I wrote this before reading the review linked above and was surprised to find similarities in them - though a little less eloquent in my case)

It was an opportunity not to be missed and, despite being a 'school night', we were detemined to make the most of it. I still haven't caught up with my sleep but I'm sure I will soon and it was well worth it.

The Welsh theme included the little gift placed in each cinema seat's drink holder. There was a bottle of water (which I presume was from a Welsh source but didn't think to check) and a little box of 3 chocolates called Black Mountain Gold from a Crickhowell based chocolatiers .

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I'm not going to spoil the mood, or depress myself or you, by listing my crafting accomplishments for this week. Suffice to say that the above mentioned items are about all there was anyway.

Bye for now

Teresa x

Tweaking and Twiddling!

2011-11-09T13:02:00.000Z

Tweaking and twiddling, that's what I was doing most of last weekend! I took Friday off work and headed for Farncombe Estate where I'd booked a weekend course called Texture into Sudoku.

I've been to Farncombe before. Last year I stopped off on the way for a few hours in the quaint village of Broadway and decided to do the same this time. The weather being wet and dreary, and the village being inundated with road works, I didn't see any point taking photos but you can see a few if you visit last years post, since the weather was much nicer then. I partook of a little luncheon in the same cafe as last year (the second cafe.... ahem!). If you've never tried peanut-butter, banana and honey sandwiches before - give them a go. Yum....my!

Saturday's weather wasn't much better but at least it'd stopped raining.

Jennie Rayment, who taught the course, is as good at teaching her craft as she is at doing it. She travels the world teaching and I can understand why she's in demand. She's funny and lively as well as having a teaching manner that doesn't make you feel like a complete idiot if you don't understand.

My progress after the first day.

'Sudoku' refers to the layout of the 9 different blocks, in Jennie's quilt below. Each block design represents a number (1 - 9) and the blocks are put together in the layout of of a Sudoku puzzle. Clever eh!!

Thanks go to Jennie for allowing me to use these photos!

There's even one block replaced by a question mark and extra blocks hanging from bottom, one of which is the correct one to fill the space. I realised after I got home that we'd become so engrossed in our own projects that no-one had actually taken the time to work out the puzzle.

This is my progress at the end of the second day. The two blank squares also had pieces ready to stitch on, so it was coming together. I have a little more 'tweaking' left to do so will show the finished piece next time.

Sunday was a much nicer day weather-wise. As I wandered the grounds in an after-breakfast stroll, the clear sound of church bells rang out from down in the village. Look at the photo above and imagine standing there listening to peals of chuch bells! It made me feel at-home; somehow nostalgic.

We'd all come to the course armed with our sewing machines, equipment and fabric already cut out to the correct sizes. Some ladies had used different colour combinations, while others, like me, had stuck to the suggested cream calico. We were shown enough variations of each block (in colour and design), along with lots of extra hints and tips, to keep us in ideas for a very long time.

Stitching progress since last time:

-Texture into Sudoku panel - nearly finished.

-Knitted cardigan - Second sleeve finished (but realised I'd made a mistake on first sleeve so un-run it to the armhole shaping and nearly finished re-knitting - need to check I haven't made the same mistake on the second sleeve before continuing)!!

-Scrappy pincushions - still flat and waiting to be stuffed!

Last but not least, if you said Roger Moore for the knitting patterm model in the last post - that's who I think it is too!! In fact, I'm 99% sure after doing a little googling.

Bye for now

Teresa x

Before He Was Famous!

2011-11-03T15:35:00.001Z

Well there you have it, Brulee is more popular than Caramel (see previous post). The only disenting voice came from DD who has only tasted the latter and, although has served the former when working as a waitress, didn't much like the look of it and was never tempted to try a sample.

Thank you for the helpful hints regarding how to bring together my Bee Quilt (also previous post). I looked at the pic with the soft green sashing/border in mind and I think that's the way to go.

There are a couple of old books sitting on our bookshelf that I browse through now and again out of interest. One is a knitting book and the other is about sewing. I can't remember precisley where they came from. Most likely they were from when we sorted out MIL's house after she passed away although she was a crocheter rather than a knitter and not very skilled at sewing.

"A perfectly plain, perfectly knitted twin-set is a 'must' for every woman.........."

The knitting book was published in 1949 and has obviously been used most because a few of the patterns have pencil notes on and the pages are coming loose in places. Most of the patterns use 3ply yarn and are smallish in size, many without any extra sizes. There seemed to be no such thing as 'loose fitting' in those days either. All the garments are shaped to within an inch of their lives and are very ~~uncomfortable~~ tight looking.

"The teen-age youth will appreciate this polo-neck sweater for weekend wear......"

There aren't many teenagers these days who would appreciate this, or any other kind of hand-knitted sweater. Do you think it's the clothes, the hair styles or the black-and-white photos that make them look much older than they are? Does this young chap look familiar to you? He did to me.............

.....and when I came to this photo a bit later (which is of the same person) I was more convinced than ever of who he is. I may be wrong but I think................no, I'm not going tell. I've just changed my mind because I think it would be much more fun for you to guess.

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If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Believe it or not these people are of friends of mine. We're on our way to a party to raise money for the local Music Festival. WeThey like to dress up!!!! It's funny how some peoples' personalities change when they put on a costume. OH in particular became a different person. He said it was because people reacted and behaved differently than they normally do to HIM. I wonder how much of our normal behaviour is governed by how people interact with us rather than how we really feel!?

Me on the left, OH on the right!!

I had to change my plan for the little felt hearts. The darker felt was finer than the pink so when I tried to hang it up it pulled out of shape. I put together a few more hearts and joined them in a circle but it's a bit too 'chunky' for my liking. Put it down to experience - on to the next thing......

Here's the crazy patchwork piece I made (along with another one) turned into a ready-to-be-stuffed pincushion. Stuffing will commence after the weekend because I'm off on an exciting little jaunt by myself.

Stitchy progress since last time in addition to the above:-

Knitted cardigan - second sleeve still not finished but I'm on the homeward straight i.e. decreasing the raglan shoulder.That's it!!

Well this time I even have excuses! The last couple of weeks I've been doing some proof-reading for a friend and I've joined a Musical Theatre Group.

I know, I know - there's no hope for me. :-)

Bye for now

Teresa x

Caramel or Brulee?

2011-10-26T16:05:00.000+01:00

DS has recently finished a 2 week stint covering a holiday for the chef of a local pub/restaurant. It was a one-person kitchen so, apart from a washer-up and a couple of waitresses, he was on his own. It was the first time he'd been in charge and quite enjoyed being called 'Chef' rather than being the one doing the calling. It's a small establishement but has a good reputation locally for its food so the owner was putting a lot of trust in DS! By all accounts, he did himself proud!!

OH and I went there for a meal in a group of 7 and we were all thoroughly impressed! The Creme Brulees he made were to-die-for!! It reminded me of the time we went on holiday to Malta when the kids were about 8 (DS) and 10 (DD) yrs old. DS was always quite adventurous about trying different foods (although he'd not shown much inclination towards cooking himself). He ordered Creme Caramel for dessert at a restaurant after I'd explained what it was. When it arrived, however, he didn't like it and failed to eat much. It turned out, he'd thought it was Creme Brulee. Now, here he is, making Creme Brulee himself - and quite perfectly, I should add. Not sure if he's made Creme Caramel yet but I have to say, I much prefer Creme Brulee too!!

These 2 desserts are quite similar but the end result tastes very different. Which do you prefer? Is there anyone who prefers Creme Caramel?

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I got out all my Tag Square Bee blocks last weekend and layed them out on the floor of my shed. So, here they are!! On reflection (and looking at them layed out together), I think I should have been more specific in my requested colour preference. "Autumn colours" was a bit too general and I'm now a bit flummoxed as to how to put them together. From looking at many quilts online over the last few years, I'm aware that I probably need to choose an accent colour to bring them all together somehow. The questions are - "What colour?" and "How do I use it?" I'm thinking sashing and borders in the mystery colour, but will it take more than that to bring this lot together??

My Life Coach friend (who, incidentally, has just launched a website for her business - see my testimonial on the Sunflower Club page) came round yesterday for a 'tour' of my shed. She saw it at the Shed Opening Party, but not since I've filled it with furniture and fabric, books and buttons. Showing her my ongoing projects in one go opened my eyes to exactly how much I have to do. It's time to buckle down and concentrate on one long-term project at a time (with little ones in between!).

Talking of "little ones in between", I was feeling in need of a quick-fix fabric fiddle so pulled out a few scraps and - well - fiddled! There's a little heart- felt creation that will hang up once I've added a ribbon (inspired by Betz White (sorry couldn't find exact post), but nowhere near as neat and pretty as hers); then there's a completely random piece of crazy patchwork that I have to decide what to do with. Maybe a pincushion?

Stitching progress since last time:

Knitted cardigan - a couple of hours on the second sleeve.

Bee Quilt - Laying out blocks and umming and ahhhing.

Felt and fabric fiddling.

Writing down here, for the last few weeks, what progress I've made has been a useful exercise. I knew I wasn't getting much done but didn't realise that some weeks it was practically nothing! I wonder if the next step should be to write down what I want to do (or am going to do) before the next post. Mmmm, I'll have to think about that a bit more because I've only just thought of it. It might motivate me, or it might make me leave a longer time before posting until I get it done (which would be a bad thing).

Bye for now

Teresa x

Porthcawl! (and a co-incidence)

2011-10-21T11:57:00.000+01:00

OH hurt his back last weekend and wanted to go somewhere he could walk around to prevent stiffing up. He decided on Porthcawl; a seaside town close to where he grew up. We picked up DD on the way, as she was at a loose end, and as we travelled and chatted OH took a scenic route that took us past where he lived as a child, went to school and played.

The beach at Porthcawl where the tide goes way out.

It got us thinking and talking about family; who was related to whom etc. and we explained to DD the tenuous connection OH and I have to each other, by marriages in the family, through my aunt and his mother, which is so convoluted even I have trouble explaining it! In order to explain, we each started at our own family and somehow met in the middle!

An interesting new addition since last time we were there - not sure if we like it or not!

OH and I also have a connection relating to his work on a private country estate. He and his father both worked on this estate and I have a great-great-somebody-or-other who was an ostler on this same estate generations ago.

Looking along the promenade one way

It's surprising the connections you can find with people if you get chatting (even complete strangers). Our ladies group recently had a speaker who'd been to Africa with a charity operating on children with cleft palates. When his trip was over, he took an extended break in Egypt (I think) and got talking to some people there. It turned out they were neighbours of one of the people he'd just been in Africa with!!

Looking along the promenade the other way

There must be thousands of stories like this because we're not as disparate as we might think. And the further back in history you go, the more likely you are to be descended from a prominent figure, since there were fewer people around then.

Out of season for the fair (not sorry though)!

I tried to think of more examples of connections but having a terrible memory they'll probably come to me next week when I'm thinking about something else! I did, however, remember another sort of co-incidence:

It starts at a school dance in 1980/81 where I became aware, by chance, that there was a girl in another school in the same town (whom I never met) with the same name as me. A few years later, exactly a week before my wedding day in September 1984 there was a road accident and my 18 yr old brother died whilst riding his small motorbike to work (no sympathy comments please, I only tell this for the co-incidence that arose around the event). Unable to focus on what we'd have to do to postpone all the arrangements, we went ahead with the wedding, cancelling only the party in the evening. We therefore had a funeral on the Wednesday followed by the wedding on the Saturday. Over the next couple of weeks there were articles and notices in the local newspapers regarding the accident, the funeral and the wedding. My attention was also drawn to articles that appeared at the same time regarding the 'other' Teresa D....... Apparently, she had married the same day as me which was quite a co-incidence! But it didn't stop there...........

- My name is Teresa D......... - So is hers
- I got married 15 Sept 1984 - So did she
- My brother died the Saturday morning the week before the wedding - her brother died the Fri evening
- Both brothers were in road accidents.
- We each went ahead with our weddings
- We each married a 'D.........' and therefore kept our maiden names.

If the facts hadn't been backed up by the newspaper articles and the family friend, I wouldn't have believed them. Quite a co-incidence! Don't you think?

Stitching progress since last time:

Knittted cardigan - First sleeve finished, second sleeve half knitted.
Other projects - thought about them every day!!
New projects - thought about them every day!!!!!!
(this is getting embarrassing - showing my progress every post was supposed to motivate me!)

Bye for now
Teresa x

Blocks!

2011-10-14T12:26:00.000+01:00

Do you remember when I got stung by a wasp a couple of weeks ago? At the time we couldn't understand where the wasp came from. There's no nest nearby that we know of, no windows were open and the only open door was the back door which is in quite a sheltered spot. Since then we've had wasps in the house on a few more occasions - sometimes 2 or 3 at a time - and they are HUGE!! The mystery was solved when OH went outside to bring in some blocks for the fire and a wasp flew out of the wood pile!! They were coming in with the wood he brought in - so I blamed him for the sting I had from a wasp that must have been (at least) 2cm long!!

Now to blocks of a different kind. (I don't know why the colours in these photos look so dull. They really are much more vibrant than they look here!) The block above is one of my QAYG blocks that I finished quilting this week.

This is my last block to send away for the Tag Square Bee. It goes to Jo of Bellsjo who is the very patient blogger who organised the Bee. She wants to make a 'girly' pink and white quilt for herself so requested these colours. While I was pressing this, OH commented that there was a lot of white. He didn't realise it was for someone else and was trying to subtly say that they weren't my sort of colours (I'm not really a 'girly' girl you see).

Earlier in the week I received this colourful block from Jo of Bearpaw for October. The colours and fabrics are amazing and the appliqued circles add a nice touch - the little house and the teapot are great.

Due to the fact that 2 members of the Bee dropped out, I had 2 fewer blocks than I should have. What a surpise it was, then, to get these 2 beauties in the mail from Bellsjo so soon after receiving the October block! (I said she was patient didn't I?) The tiny squares in the centre of the one above are amazing - lovely colours and so neat. And the fabrics in the one below are wonderful. Jo must have a fabulous stash to choose from!

Now, all I need to to is to get these blocks together in a quilt. Did I say ALL!! I think I'll lay them out and photograph them together help me decide how to do it. I may even ask your advise!

Stitchy progress since last time:

QAYG Quilt - Finished quilting one block (approx 6 to go I think)

Knitted cardigan - A couple of dozen rows added to first sleeve

Bee Blocks - Last one completed

Read one Quilting Magazine

Visited one Craft Fair - I think this counts as research!! even though it was disappointing and we (DD and I) only stayed about 10 minutes.

Bye for now

Teresa x

Wacky Weekend Weather!

2011-10-07T10:53:00.001+01:00

Normal autumn weather conditions have resumed after the blazing blip of glory we enjoyed last weekend. I've probably mentioned the weather before (once or twice!) but it seems to be getting more and more erratic so this, undoubtedly, won't be the last time.

This year, the rose bush in our small front flower-bed has bloomed beautifully - twice. Once when we had summer weather in spring and again more recently.

October is traditionally chilly and wet and even when it's sunny it's still wooly jumper weather. But just look at what we enjoyed last weekend. Our sunny street above and crowds at a car boot sale on Sunday below. Everyone in short sleeves (and some a lot less than that!!)

I went along to help DD take advantage of the good weather to get rid of a few more things. I picked up a few cushions to recover the pads, a M&S hand bag and a book (none of which is pictured!).

This little lot I got elsewhere. The pile of fabric is from my Saturday quilting group (someone had a clear-out so I got this lot for £2). The bag and books are from the Church fete. I was surprised no one else had snapped up the bag with it being the day that charges were introduced for carrier bags. I've taken my own bags for grocery shopping for years but this week I left them in the supermarket cafe after having lunch there!! Luckily, when I realised and went back they were left at Customer Services - I'd have been annoyed with myself if I'd have had to pay for bags after all this time!

What's this? At last some evidence of stitching! Actually the block above is one I received from Karen as part of the Tag Square Bee on flickr. Look how the autumn colours perfectly match the postcard she included. There was also a very useful book of postcards in the parcel. The set of wooden nesting dolls is another bargain from the church fete - they've taken up residence in my shed for the moment.

Ta da! Here IS something I made at last. It's my bee block for September and will be winging its way to Julianna as soon as I get the little signature block made to go with it. I struggled to find aqua, white and brown fabrics for this one. I hope my interpretation of 'aqua' is the same as hers!

Stitching progress since last time:

Knitted cardigan: Left front finished, one sleeve half done (1 1/2 sleeves and finishing remaining)

Bee block: September block made, fabrics chosen and cut for October block

QAYG Quilt: 3/4 of a block quilted.

This may seem a lot (for me) but I've been a bad blogger and this is a couple of weeks worth.

Bye for now

Teresa x

27 Years and Counting!

2011-09-21T14:44:00.001+01:00

Rather than take a new book away, I decided to take the one I've been reading at work during my lunch hour: Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything". I'm really enjoying the fascinating run-through of the history of planet earth, with all the interesting facts (and guesses) as to how we got to where we are now.

Unfortunately, I was up to the chapter concerning the atmosphere when we boarded the plane, which proceeded to describe the phenomenon of 'clear-air turbulence' and a typical incident when a flight suddenly fell 90 metres flinging passengers against the ceiling! It also helpfully described air pressure and explained how it tries to equalise itself, like 'in a balloon, an air tank or an airplane with a missing window'!! It was a good thing the flight was only 45 minutes long.

Moore's Hotel in St Peter Port, Guernsey where we stayed

Just like Jersey, which we visited a few years ago, Guernsey was occupied during WW2. A visit to the Occupation Museum was a must for us, with the most interesting exhibits (to me) being the ones that showed how the lives of civilians were affected by the presence of the Germans. In the typical parlour scene below the mother is keeping watch as the father listens for news on his homemade radio set. All radios were confiscated by the Germans so the people improvised to make crystal sets, then had to find ingenious ways to hide them from searches. I also found the personal items very poignant; newpaper articles, postcards, diaries and especially photographs.

The remains of the defences built by the Germans are in evidence all around the coast, as we saw on our drive around the island.

Although 'British' in many aspects, Guernsey is a Crown Dependency and therefore rules itself. As a result there are subtle differences. The driving experience was one of the most notable differences to us. The registration plates had only numbers with no letters. There were few roads more than 2 lanes in total, and most of them were hardly wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass, so the maximum speed limit is 35mph. And where we have signs at junctions saying 'Stop' or 'Give Way', they had 'Filter In Turn' - and they did!!

Our hire car

The way of life is generally very relaxed and certainly conducive to unwinding on holiday,

enjoying the views......

.......and the food!

We hadn't thought of visiting this Little Chapel but did so on the recommendation of our hotel manager. While we were there an elderly couple asked OH if he would mind taking their photo in front of it. They were on holiday to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary and were revisiting the places from their honeymoon. We had a lovely chat as they explained how they'd flown to Guernsey all those years ago in a 12 seater plane, where they could see the controlling cables moving under the wooden planks beneath their feet and the pilot looked like "Captain Bird's Eye". We told them it was a co-incidence that we were also celebrating our anniversary but they had 33 years on us. When we later realised it must have been only 5 or 6 years after the liberation of the islands when they visited, it somehow brought the history there to life.

This display of sewing machines is on show at a Folk Museum we visited. The oldest (on top of the cream stand at the back) was from the late 1800's. I wouldn't be surprised if there are still a few like the one on the bottom right still in use today - I can certainly remember family members having similar ones.

There were also lots of workshop set-ups showing the tools and methods of different trades in the past. This cooper (barrel maker) has slight damage to his left hand just at the base of the thumb. I thought he would be made of a hard material but it looked like sponge inside so I leant in and touched it. He was a lot lighter and less stable than I expected and immediately started rocking. It looked for all the world like he was working on his piece of wood (a bit spooky actually, as I was alone at the time!). OH couldn't resist touching either, when I told him, and almost knocked him over!!

It was very windy and turbulent on the flight home but, luckily, I'd moved on from the chapter on the Atmosphere and was now onto Bacteria. We had to wait about half an hour for our luggage when we got home and when they appeared I can honestly say I have never seen so many people running around the conveyor belt after their bags! It reminded me of a game we used to play as kids where one child would skip around the outside of a circle of children facing inwards while singing a song, eventually dropping a piece of paper that represented a letter behind one, whereupon they would both run in opposite directions around the circle to get back to the space. The one left out would then skip round, and so on.

Stitching progress since last time:

Knitted cardigan - All I've managed this time are a couple of hours knitting.

Does reading a patchwork magazine on holiday count I wonder.

Bye for now

Teresa x

Show Business!

2011-09-14T14:54:00.000+01:00

I managed to prise OH away from the World Cup Rugby on Saturday and dragged him out along to mutterings such as "It's too cold!", "It's too windy" and "It's going to rain!" Then we were soon on our way to Usk Show. It's the nearest agricultural show of the season to us and, although not as big as others, much more friendly.

Despite the threatening clouds, we had only a couple of light showers during the day, which the gusty winds quickly blew away. We were able to sit on the grass enjoying the pies, olives and Welsh Cakes we bought in the local food producers marquee (luckily, OH had insisted on bringing a picnic blanket).

It was a very pleasant day, spent looking at exhibits and stalls, animals and displays of all kinds. I'm afraid I missed the best photo opportunities - but that's what happens when you're enjoying yourself! OH was particularly interested in the farm machinery and vehicles but (im)patiently waited for me outside the crafters marquees, with the other men!! We bumped into many family members and friends on our way round and I took the opportunity to speak to a local lady I'd heard about who has a business sewing from the shed in her garden. We also popped into the Rotary Club tent where my mother was taking blood pressures and advising people who needed to get further help. Apparently, according to my BP I'm "disgustingly healthy". There was also a 'first' for me when I was stung by a bee. The 2 nurses in the group we were talking to, couldn't decide, or couldn't remember, what to put on it so it was a good thing it didn't bother me much!

Sunday morning was an early start to get to DD's. She then drove me to Greenmeadow Community Farm (where her OH worked until he broke his toe - he's recently gone back to do some light work) where she had a stand to publicise her small animal care business. We took a gazebo with us but luckily we were in a marquee otherwise we'd have been blown away .

The stallholders are all setting up for the day (above) on a six-inch layer of straw, which was very helpfully put down by the farm staff following heavy rain in the night.

We were directly by the marquee opening so we battled a bit against the wind while setting up, and I spent much of the day holding down the tent side with my foot so it wouldn't blow our leaflets all over the place (again!).

While popping out to get a coffee for myself and a hog roast roll for DD I managed to get myself caught, without a coat, in one of the heavier showers of the day! I thought I could hurry and not get too wet but my way back was blocked in readiness for the Sheep Run event (see culprits above). Staff had blocked off a route around the farm and let the sheep out to run the circuit for the children's amusement. By time I got back to DD, her roll was cold and a bit damp, and I'd forgotten the stuffing and apple sauce! She took it back to get the 'extras' and returned 10 mins later with a 'complete' fresh roll wrapped in foil, for no extra charge!!

When it got a bit quieter in the afternoon DD took me on a tour of the farm. There were lots of cute babies to see.

There was a cupcake stall opposite us that I was eyeing up all day, determined to get us a treat at some point. They looked as if they were packing up quite early in the afternoon so I was over there in a flash in case we missed out, and bought 2 banoffee pie cupcakes from the lovely Lynn Tarling of Cupcake House who had recently started the business with her daughter. They weren't packing up after all, just putting some cake pops in a container to carry around to tempt people to buy (a great idea that worked well by the way).

Quite a few people took a leaflet from DD but we won't know if the day was a success for a while because it all depends on WHEN people need her services.

Stitchy progress since last post:

Quilt-as-you-go-quilt: Finished handquilting block (approx 17 finished, 9 remaining)
Knitted cardigan: Right side finished, left side started

Bye for now
Teresa x

The Uninvited Guests!

2011-09-08T16:08:00.000+01:00

OH and I went to a family birthday celebration last Saturday that we weren't invited to! The event was organised by 2 cousins to celebrate the 80th birthday of my aunt and 78th birthday of my uncle. As it was a 2 and a half hour drive to the venue, and another aunt and uncle who live near us didn't have transport to get there, they asked us to take them. Around 50 guests from both ends of the country (Scotland for my aunt who was originally from the Outer Hebrides and Wales for my uncle who was brought up in the house where I now live!) attended and it was lovely to get to know a side of the family we had never met.

As has become the custom these days, old photos of the birthday 'boy and girl' were displayed for all to see!! My uncle is in the picture above (on the left), which must have been about 70 years ago, with 2 of his brothers. The first house on the right is now ours! The house adjoining now belongs to another aunt but the lady looking over the hedge is Great Aunt Kate who died in 1978. Having only know her as an elderly lady, I was surprised by how much I look like her. It was amazing to see all my aunts and uncles when they were young.

This is their wedding which must have been around 55 years ago because my aunt (the one who lives next door now) is the 13 yr old girl in the front (3rd from the left). My gran is behind her to the right. See the sweet little page boys in kilts!

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Sunday's activity couldn't have been more different!! Dressed in Hawaiian shirts and with plasitc palm trees on board 9 friends took part in the local annual Raft Race for the second year running.

The weather was much better this year so I almost wished I'd agreed to take part. As there were more than the previous 6 who wanted to do the race an extension was built on last year's raft to accommodate them.

This modification made the raft much slower and it took a good four and half hours to complete the course (even though they didn't stop for as long as last year at the pub on the river!!)

The last 2 pics are taken from a pedestrian bridge over the river and in the last one they are just pulling into the side to 'park' for the pub stop. Despite it being called a 'race', hardly anyone really races. The sole purpose of one raft of 'pirates' it seemed, was to ambush and board the other rafts as they passed. The point at which I changed my mind about taking part next year, was when I saw them all get off at the end; freezing cold, exhausted, bruised and soaking wet!!!

Later, when they'd all showered and changed, 14 of us met at the local hotel for dinner and relived the event all over again!

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Stitchy progress since last time:

Knitted cardigan - a couple more hours knitting the one front

Quilt As You Go Quilt - 3/4 of a block hand quilted.

A very poor show but what did you expect with all the above going on :-)

Bye for now

Teresa x

Red Cake and Jumping Stitches!

2011-09-01T10:29:00.000+01:00

Having just had an unexpected day off (Friday) followed by the Bank Holiday Monday it's been a nice long weekend. It meant a good catch up was possible ready for the next 3 busy weekends. I won't bore you though with tales of cleaning, laundry, washing up and grocery shopping.

Baking and stitching, however, are different (to me anyway)!

I've made these beetroot muffins before (probably this time last year, at the peak of the veg garden season). The recipe calls for grated beetroot but I was disappointed the first time that the colour inside didn't reflect the pinky-red tops, so this time I cooked the beetroot before grating hoping more pigment would be released. It was a good deal messier to do but didn't make one jot of difference to the inside colour!

I was convinced the photo in the recipe showed a rich red interior but when I checked, it didn't even show the inside of the cakes, so I must have dreamed it! I'm thinking next time I'll try replacing some of the liquid ingredient with the beetroot water - I don't give up that easily.

Enough with the courgettes already!! I put the biscuit there for scale but it makes them look smaller - ?!
They are huge. We've also frozen some, given some away and there are more on the way.

Remember this HST quilt? I can - just about! I posted this picture 2 months ago after adding the borders and have just got around to having a go at machine quilting.

I consulted a couple of manuals, put on the 'walking-foot-I-didn't-know-I-had-so-bought-another-one', practiced on a spare quilt 'sandwich' then decided I was ready to take the plunge.

All was going swimmingly (or so I thought) until I checked the stitching and noticed it was jumping a few at the intersections. I unpicked a bit and re-did a few sections but the re-doing or overstitching was spoiling it! Continuing on, I elected to use the quick-slow-quick-slow method (a name invented by myself but a method probably used by countless other stitchers through the ages who couldn't be bothered to name it, or were too embarrassed to admit they had to use it!) which involves going quickly on the flat sections, then slowing to a crawl at the intersections - with some success I might add.

I'm going to go over it when I've finished and tidy up these bits by hand which will look better than oversewing but will be a right pain in the derriere!! I'm guessing it's a tension problem but I was too impatient to stop and get expert advice and my 'method' seems to be working for now.
For goodness sake - when I've got time to stitch that's what I'm gonna do!!

So, (taking a deep breath) here's this post's stitching progress:

HST Quilt - main body almost quilted (7 rows and some tidying up to go)

Knitted cardigan - right front half-knitted (in addition to back and pocket linings from before)

Bye for now

Teresa x

The 'S' Word (and a bit of E)!

2011-08-24T13:49:00.000+01:00

There are a couple of subjects that haven't come up here lately; namely singing and exercise. It's because there hasn't been as much of either going on as there used to be!

Newer readers may not know that I used to belong to a church choir, 2 singing groups (one group finished soon after the other one started) and take singing lessons. Now, I only belong to the church choir! As I said, the one group finished; the other is on Saturday mornings (and I don't have time to commit to it at the moment) and my singing teacher moved away after becoming a Baptist Minister. I still love to sing (in the car, in the shower, while walking up/down the road, in the pub, in church, in my office (quietly!)) and hope to join another group sometime, but for now I'll have to be satisfied with the above. I'll tell you what though, I've certainly noticed a big difference since giving up the lessons. My range has decreased and my singing doesn't 'flow' as easily.

The garden is in full production mode - these are courgettes no's 2, 3 & 4 and I counted at least 14 more on their way.

There's been a little exercise going on in the background but not much. I won't let it decline to nothing but we haven't belonged to a gym for a few years now and don't go jogging outside anymore (only on our treadmill). I make an effort to schedule 2 exercise sessions a week; one aerobic and one resistance/muscle toning, and on top of that, whenever it comes to mind, I do a little 'batwing' toning or crunches to target the most needy areas :-)

I found this when I got home from church after OH had been preparing veg from the garden for dinner and the freezer!

Another subject that doesn't come up here nearly enough for my liking is stitching!!!! Considering that's what this blog is meant to be about, it's a pretty dismal effort. I've decided, therefore, to mention it in every post. I will include an update of any progress since the previous one, however small. There may be photos (or there may not, because the small amount of progress may be negligable or embarrassing) and I'm hoping this will help me 'up my game' a bit (or a lot!).

Lovely, welcome fabric scraps from Ali in return for a book I sent her

Well, there's no better time to start than now, so here's the progress since last time I mentioned the S word:

Long term UFO cardigan - Finished knitting back and pocket linings, started one front
HST quilt - Sandwiched together and pinned ready for quilting
Quilt-as-you-go quilt - one more block quilted (17 done, 8 to go).

Tonight I'm off to my friend's Sunflower Club for women (with DD) which I'm looking forward to. This months discussion is 'your favourite book'. I'm taking 3!!! One has my favourite sentence, one my favourite chapter and the other IS my favourite book. I'll try not to talk for too long because I know there are new members coming and our time is limited, but get get me started on books and...well..........!! I'm quite reserved in public really - that's why this group is so good!!

Bye for now
Teresa x

Fun by the Sea!

2011-08-17T13:12:00.002+01:00

Being with a big group of friends makes a huge difference when you're camping in the Welsh drizzle! Altogether we were 6 couples, 3 teenage boys and 3 dogs (DD, her partner and 2 dogs joined us at the last minute).

Above are all our tents in a row (we're actually positioned around a corner but you can't really tell from this).
From the left we have DD & A with 2 dogs, OH and me, communal gazebo, M & C with 1 dog, the boys (C, D & L), H & R, M & J and finally C & J. The biggest blue tent belongs to first-time-for-a-long-time campers and they were just showing off with their ready-attached bedroom section and remote control light. They were last-but-one to arrive and after 'helping' put up their tent a group of us stood around the entrance calling to the others to come and look. You'd have thought there was a fully fitted kitchen in there! Another 2 show-offs were in the littlest tent at the end with their blow-up sofa no less. We were duly impressed at how they'd got all their supplies and equipment (inlcuding sofa) into that little sports car until we realised that their tent was brought in M's 4x4!

OH and my tent is about 8-10 years old and they don't seem to make them like they did when we were kids (you know - the big, heavy canvas type over huge metal-poled frames). The morning after the first rainy, windy night we all trouped down to the beach after breakfast - OH and I leaving our tent raining inside. Luckily the bedroom side didn't leak as much, so our beds were only slightly damp!

M led us down a footpath in a wood that proved to be steep, muddy and dark!! Only R was unlucky enough to slip in the mud and get covered in it all down one side (he was wearing OH's jumper at the time because he only took one which got wet the previous evening!). We'd all forgotten something it seemed, but someone usually came to the rescue.

We spent the next few hours wandering over the rocks and around pools (to the right - just out of the picture) seeing what we could find. We turned over stones and marvelled at the little swirling holes in the sand at the bottom of pools (which we presumed were sand worms?).

Inevitably, things turned into a competition to find the biggest crab. This is the winner, up on its back legs, attacking a giant hand.

Back at the camp later there were lots of wet clothes/towels with nowhere to dry them. As it was still drizzling on and off we tied cord up in the gazebo and it became quite an effective drying room (oops, some fell off in the wind - add clothes pegs to the Forgotten Items list).

As we walked down to the Club House after lunch to watch Wales beat England at rugby, I took this pic of the fabulous view across the bay.

Sport fever rubbed off and a game of football was organised later during which DD's partner broke his big toe!!!! He's going to the fracture clinic today and there's a chance he may have it pinned (OUCH)!

OH, DD, her partner and I left the next morning after a game of rounders (where no-one actually ran around because they were too stiff after the previous day's exertion at football, but just stood and hit the ball until they were caught or missed 3 times). The men forget that they're not teenagers any more and invariably act like they are when we're together!

We've tentatively (pun intended) agreed to do this together again sometime. Let the friendly rivalry continue!!

Bye for now

Teresa x

Bee and Garden News!

2011-08-11T17:06:00.001+01:00

Due to the fact that one of the Tag Square Bee members seems to have left the group (cannot be contacted) Bellsjo has had to do a fair bit of rearranging to even things out. She and a couple of other group members have stepped into the breach to make the missing blocks. This is the block she made for me to fill in for March. I especially love the centre blackberry fabric which fits in perfectly with the Autumn vibe I'm looking for.

Also, due to the rearranging this is the block I was meant to send out in June. Luckily Nanabanana also wants bright colours so it's on its way to her for August.

The produce in the garden is coming thick and fast at the moment. Runner beans are filling the freezer and we have lots of beetroot, potoatoes, carrots, onioins, parsnips and apples ready for use. This is the first of our courgettes, which we (OH) haven't grown before but I'm sure we will again because they are so easy. It's a perfect specimen with not a single blemish to spoil the shiny green skin. We're also waiting eagerly for the tomatoes to ripen.

The potatoes, however, are giving me the same problem as last year. I don't know how long you cook yours for but would you expect them to look like this after 5 minutes? Only once have they been just right. I set the timer for 4 minutes, when it went off I finished peeling a couple of carrots, checked on them and this is the mess I found!

It only takes 30 seconds for them to go from just perfect to a pile of mush. I can't even give them less time because 30 seconds less and they are still hard in the middle. It certainly is a challenge - but I'm determined to not let them get the better of me!

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OH and I are off on a jolly again this weekend. This time we're going camping with 4 other couples, 3 teenage boys (not ours) and a dog (not ours either). It's supposed to rain!!!

Bye for now

Teresa x

Eavesdropping in on Dorset!

2011-08-03T19:58:00.000+01:00

Do you like to eavesdrop? I do! I don't mean the glass-against-the-wall or ear-to the-keyhole type. Just catching snippets of conversation, when you can't help it, from passing groups of people or while sitting in a restaurant.

Hooke Farm B&B

Here are a few snatches of conversation I heard while away in Dorset last weekend:

Father to young daughter who expressed a desire to have one of the fish she could see in the water 5 feet down over the harbour wall: "Well jump in and get one then". (Joking - I think!)

Mother to late-teenaged daughter passing the bench where we were sitting eating icecream: "Just so as you know, if you get a tattoo you'll have to move out!" (Serious!)

Husband to wife at next table one lunchtime: "I only asked what you're doing next Thursday and you just wittered on!"
(How rude!!)

Inevitably, writing this got me thinking about the origin of the word 'eavesdroping' (my daughter tells me I think too much) so I looked it up and according to Wikipidia - "Eavesdrop also means a small low visibility hole near the entrance to a building (generally under the eaves) which would allow the occupants to listen in on the conversation of people awaiting admission to the house. Typically this would allow the occupant to be prepared for unfriendly visitors".

Quaint side street in Beaminster

Hooke Farm B&B where we stayed for the 3 nights was what we'd call 'in the middle of nowhere'. It was very peaceful and quiet at night, the only sounds being the creaking of the old house and at 4.30 am, one morning only thank goodness, a distant cockerel crowing. One difference from other B&Bs we've stayed in is that the guests sit together at one long refectory-like table at breakfast. A good idea I think as, inevitably, we soon chatted with the 2 couples we met and useful tips about places to visit and/or eat were passed on.

The Giant

My photos look overcast but it was in fact quite warm and humid. This is the best photo I was able to get of The Giant of Cerne Abbas (probably for the best though!!)

Jurrassic Coast

This amazing cliff was the view from the end of the harbour wall at West Bay (I think - we went to so many places)

One of many noisy, scavanging seagulls

We watched the seagulls in action from a bench overlooking the beach. They mostly just glided around at our level but occasionally homed in on little fishing boats returning to the jetty or benches as people moved from them (presumably to see what goodies they'd left).

Taking in the view from a bench (one of us was snoozing!). My legs didn't reach the wall!

It was a good break with plenty of good food and relaxing strolls. Looking forward now to a camping weekend in August and a few days in Guernsey in September!!

Bye for now
Teresa x

Picture This!

2011-07-27T14:33:00.001+01:00

The conversation went something like this:

Me to OH: 'I have a little job for you. Could you please hang that picture in the bathroom'.

OH to me: What picture?

Me: The one that's been propped on the back of the bench in the kitchen since we bought it in Malta about 5 years ago!

OH: 'I thought it was meant for the kitchen.'

Me: 'It's a picture of a bathroom. Why would it go in the kitchen?'

OH: 'OK'.

Job done!!

Why wasn't it that easy 5 years ago?

That gave me the idea to show you some more of what adorns our walls.

This lady is in our sitting room, near a corner, with a window to the right across the corner, so it gives the impression she's gazing out of our window too. I love this picture and often wonder, when dusting it, what she's waiting for, or looking at (dusting???..... Well, maybe not THAT often!).

This is the sight that faces me as I step out of our bedroom!! It's DS's bedroom door, with the upstairs toilet door to the right. In the middle of the night, in the eerie light from the window, while half asleep, it could give one a bit of a jolt!!

And because this is supposed to be a stitching blog, here's my effort for the Tag Square Bee for July. It's for Jo from Bearpaw who has a lovely blog here. She wanted an aqua/red/pink colour scheme so I hope she's happy with this. When I first laid the pieces out I didn't like it at all, but the next morning it had grown on me and then I loved it after it was all sewn together. The red fabric with black/white flowers is left over from a dress I made for DD nearly 20 years ago.

OH and I are off for a long weekend in Dorset tomorrow so I'm very much looking forward to 2 days off work!

Oh... and my friend loved her 'shoe' bag!!

Bye for now
Teresa x

Knitting, Jam and Sewing Shoes!

2011-07-21T08:10:00.002+01:00

(Before I start today - A message to Bev - Please don't read this until after Friday!)

I'm loving all the bunting and beach-hut beauty that's popping up all around blogland at the moment. There's a particularly clever tutorial by Quilt Routes that I love (part 2) for a beach hut picture. The method could be adapted to any type of landscape. I wish I had the time to give it a whirl. And Rags to Bags has combined bunting and beach huts in this cheerful cushion.

I'm not so satisfied with my own efforts recently though. This is one of my long-term UFOs. I've decided to knit a simpler pattern from the same pattern book. Although I'm not sure about the neck shape or the wide rib, I will stick to the pattern because trying to modify it will only end in tears! I haven't un-run what I started the first time (can't face the defeat!) and probably won't until I run out of yarn and there's no choice.

I was given some cherries last week and needed to use them quickly, before they went too soft, so I boiled up a pan of jam. It was acutally two saucepans of jam (because my mother was away and I couldn't borrow her skillet). The result was too runny, which I wouldn't normally have minded, but as I agreed to give some to the donator of the cherries, decided to give it another boil when I got the correct pan.

As you've probably twigged by now, the resulting jam is now too thick. I will send a jar to the donator but with apologies for ruining a perfectly lovely box of cherries.

A friend of mine had a birthday at the beginning of this month and although I'd started this, I only finished a couple of days ago (and I didn't even make the bag - I had it in my stash!). It would have been quicker if I had made the bag because I'd have sewn on the shoes by machine before making it up, but had to do it by hand since it wouldn't go under the machine. She has a big love of shoes so I combined that with my effort to be eco-friendly and came up with the idea for this tote bag covered in shoes. I hope she won't be embarrassed to use it when out shopping and that it helps indirectly in the reduction of plastic bag use. It 's going to contain a scrummy choccie bar too. I'd love to get this for a present myself so I hope she likes it!!

The other side!

Country Style!

2011-07-13T16:25:00.001+01:00

I was going to get all serious today and write about how I can't believe anyone could be unconcerned about climate change these days (especially people with children/grandchildren) and the speed at which we are using up the earth's resources. So, I started to think about what to say and realised that once I started, it would be difficult to know where to stop! I'm also not very good at expressing myself, even though I'm clear in my own mind what my views and purpose are, and don't want to nag or preach to anyone. I've decided, therefore, that the thing to do is to continue as I am, following my conscience, doing what I can, and hope it rubs off a little on those I come into contact with. Most people would rather not be reminded of the global environmental situation because they then feel guilty about what they could be doing and would rather continue as they are and push it to the back of their minds!!

(It's surprising how much you can write, just to say what you're not going to write about :-)

Now back to what you'd normally expect from me - A weekend round-up!

I didn't realise the carrots in the garden were ready to eat until OH brought in this huge bowl of produce on Sunday! Shame I bought some from the supermarket on Friday!! Carrots with dinner for the rest of the week then? That's the last of the lettuce though for a little while (OH is going to plant some more). Every year I plan to pickle lots of beetroot but I like them so much they don't make it into a jar! I used to microwave them but try not to use the microwave too much and now boil them on the hob (they take the same amount of time and I also find it less messy).

On Saturday I went with DD and her 2 dogs to a village fete where her OH was manning a stand from the Community Farm where he works. We were too late to enter the dogs in the dog show but they had plenty of attention from other fete goers, particularly one little girl who ~~pestered~~ played with them for what seemed like a couple of hours. Dogs had to be kept on leads so the first time she threw a twig for them I nearly had my arm yanked out of its socket! DD and her OH were laughing as they envisaged me being dragged through the wet grass by the lead. Despite the frequent showers, there were many visitors and we managed to enjoy tea and cake in the refreshment tent and take a stroll around the stalls.

No, I didn't make a scrumptious batch of Welsh Cakes and leave them near the open window to cool! I bought the cakes and this book at the fete. When I picked the book up, I thought it looked familiar but, on flicking through it, I didn't recognise any of the pictures. However, I should have because I found a copy of the exact same book on the shelf at home!! ~~If anyone would like a copy of this book (UK only, sorry) let me know in the comments and I'll mail it to you.~~ Book taken, thanks Ali.

Bye for now
Teresa x

It's Blooming Marvellous!

2011-07-06T09:37:00.001+01:00

What do you think of this cheerful chappy that greeted me as I stepped out of the front door on a perfect sunny Sunday morning this weekend? In case you're worried, his petal isn't broken, just folded back on itself. I did try to straighten it up for the photograph but he wasn't co-operating and I didn't want to break him.. ha ha!!

Pretty purple pansy

And these beauties surprised me by bursting open recently. I only get into the top garden on the weekend and when I caught a glimpse of yellow while pulling into the drive on Saturday, I had to investigate further.

Lovely lilies

The veg garden is filling out nicely and we have lettuces galore at the moment!

Our reliable knarled old apple tree is nurturing plenty of 'cookers' that will be ready later in the year along with the 'eaters' on the newer trees (there's a branch of one in the foreground above).

Old faithful's knarled and scabby trunk!

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I used to make these almond slices quite often at one time because they are a lot easier than they look and everyone likes them. I thought I needed ground almonds but kept forgetting to buy some. I remembered this week but then discovered the recipe didn't call for them anyway! What I didn't have though was sugar. They don't look too bad and tasted ok, according to DS, but I don't recommend using preserving sugar and two and a half years out-of-date almond essence!

This may not look a very interesting photo but it's quite significant to me since it shows my first ever successful poached egg!! I've always shied away from making them because my few efforts have resulted in a stringy, watery mess. My secret this time is that I managed to catch DS in the kitchen cooking scrambled eggs and I remembered to ask him what to do. He showed me that day and this is my effort a few days later of which I am quite proud!

News next time of a crafty project/present that I'm working on.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Dove-tailing Episode No 2.......

2011-06-28T13:50:00.000+01:00

I recently came across the Facebook page of a local Craft Centre (The Court Cupboard). I was interested to see their programme of workshops after attending one a couple of years ago. It was a day course where I made this folded-fabric covered box.

The Court Cupboard were having a drive to get 100 ‘likers’ for their Facebook page and, what do you know, they were at 99!! I couldn’t resist and immediately clicked, leaving a little message too! They came back with a message of congratulations and said to pop in for a complimentary coffee and cake (not knowing whether I lived down the road or the other side of the world!). They would leave a note behind the counter for whoever was on duty.

HST quilt slow progress (borders added)

I didn’t need asking twice and called in a couple of weeks later for a browse of the lovely crafts. The crafter manning the counter (they take it in turns) welcomed me and I started to explain who I was, expecting him to rummage behind the counter for a note about me. Before I’d finished my sentence his face lit up with understanding and he was welcoming me like a celebrity, offering me refreshment and explaining to the other visitors who I was. It was quite a welcome, I can tell you!

June block for Tag Square Bee (subsequently found out recipient is no longer part of the Bee)

On a similar subject, I’ve booked a weekend course in November with Jennie Rayment at Farncombe Estate called Texture into Sudoku. I took the list of materials required for the course to my quilting club last month and they happened to have a few books by Jennie that I was able to look through to get more information. While doing this, I noticed one of the designs looked familiar. It was the method I’d used to cover the box (above) at The Court Cupboard! Well, at least I have an idea of what’s in store for me in November now!!

Bees of a different kind!

I found this lying on the settee when I got home from work the other day. Apparently DS bought it. I wonder if he got the idea from the bees trying to take up residence in my shed. Whatever the reason, I haven't asked what his plans are!!

Bye for now

Teresa x

"It All Dovetails......" (As Mrs Jerebohm said in The Darling Buds of May)

2011-06-22T19:29:00.002+01:00

Buying magazines is one of my little luxuries but being aware of adding to the general junk on the planet, I normally try to stick to 2 copies a month. This month, however, I've been naughty and the lure of all the new magazines catering to the handmade market has been too great.

I recently cancelled my subscription to Zest (because I wasn't interested enough to read the last issue before the next one arrived!) to replace it with Popular Patchwork and I ususally buy Country Living because I love looking at the beautiful pictures of country homes and reading about the lifestyles. But I also succumbed to the temptation of Craft Seller and Handmade Living.

I was most looking forward to reading Craft Seller, thinking it would give me a lot of advise, help and 'oomph' to get going with selling my own work, but it didn't tell me much that I didn't know already. I much prefered Handmade Living with it's 'makeable' projects and blogger profiles.

The 'dovetailing' involves the pile of CL and Zest magazines I recently offered on Freecycle. There were 3 interested parties and, unbelievably, 2 of them were also called Teresa!! OH randomly picked one and it turned out to be a Teresa, who lived at the end of our road and I didn't know!! Well she called to pick up the mags and promised to Freecycle them on while I promised to pass on my magazines to her in the future. A satisfying deal all round!!

Watering cans hanging from the garden room ceiling

The photos are from the garden at the back of my hairdresser's salon that is going to be part of an Open Gardens weekend next week. Can you tell the theme is Yellow?

Another 'dovetailing' story coming soon concerning a local craft centre, a handmade box and my quilting group.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Dreadlock Holiday!

2011-06-16T20:36:00.001+01:00

The local annual Music Festival is all over again for another year. We came to take for granted the beautiful hot, sunny weather we had over the last 6 years and it was a bit of a shock that it wasn't a permanent feature!! Despite the rain, the weekend was a great success with more events than ever.

Despite the drizzly Friday evening, when we sat under umberellas in the pub garden listening to a lively cover band, Saturday dawned bright and sunny.

OH and my friends at the Castle waiting for 10cc

It soon became cold and cloudy, though, as we headed up to the Castle car park to see 10cc, wrapped up to keep warm. In typical British-weather-style, the sun came out and blazed during the first supporting act until we were all down to T-shirts.

You didn't expect it to last did you? We hoped it would, but were prepared for the worst because we actually believed the forecast (which proved correct)!! The temperature must have dropped about 15 degrees but within an hour was back to its sunny brightness :-)

Owen Money at the golf club on Saturday evening.

I'm glad we went to see Owen Money (even though it meant missing a lot of 10cc when they over-ran) because he was hilarious and we had a good laugh. We were glued to our seats for another reason too - if anyone got up for anything, they were picked on like a shot. DD's boyfriend went to get drinks and although he waited until Owen was halfway through a joke before coming back in, thinking he was safe, the joke was abandoned and Owen and his band sang a little ditty about him 'wearing a checked shirt' and 'looking like a prat'!! It might sound rude, but actually it was very funny!

Due to the all-day rain on Sunday the usual Male Voice Choir concert was held in the church so we decided to do something different and went to see a young reggae band at The Beaufort. It was a shame there weren't more people to see them because they were great fun. If it'd been sunny they would have been performing outside on the terrace and people would have been drawn in as they passed. I can't tell you who they were because they were an amalgamation of bands that got together just for the festival and not as listed in the programme.

The last 2 years our group of friends has worn fancy dress on the Sunday evening, so all weekend people were asking us what we were dressing up as and wouldn't believe us when we said we weren't. We did try to thing of something but as the concert was a Take That tribute band we couldn't think of anything suitable. Maybe next year!!!

We took Monday off work to recover - toasted tea-cakes in the sun!!

Well that was supposed to be a post about the Music Festival and ended up being more about the weather. That's the British for you!!!! But we have an excuse in that we have an awful lot of weather to talk about.

On a different note - As I haven't heard from the winner of my second brooch in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway I drew it again using a random number generator. It chose 32 which is That Girl, who I will contact shortly.

Bye for now
Teresa x

On the Road Again!

2011-06-10T18:47:00.001+01:00

I know I've been a bit quiet recently but there has been a reason. Do you remember in this post where I mentioned that after our last office move we would either be finishing after a few months or moving again. Well...........we moved again!!!!!

Packed and ready to go.

Last time I packed 35 crates but this time I didn't have quite so much stuff and only had 25.

At the other end after movers had left!!

The crates above are mine but the rest of the junk is not. I don't know where it came from but had to get it all moved before I could get to the cupboards to unload my crates (which were piled in 3 different rooms).

All unpacked and ready for action.

The rooms in these new portacabins are wider than the last ones so I don't expect to bruise my legs on the corners of the desks quite so much! And whereas we (females) had one toilet between us before, we now have more than one each!?

This is one half of the corridor and has the air of a submarine about it.

If you stand in the position above, you can't recognise anyone standing at the far end of the corridor. I know because someone waved to me yesterday and I have no idea who it was.

This view is a big improvement on the last one. I don't feel so enclosed and shut off from the world here. It's changed a bit since I took this because they've finished laying the tarmac carpark. Now we can park almost outside the door and don't have to get a minibus from the temporary carpark, approx 1 minute walk away!! As it's an active construction site, it was either that or don full PPE every morning and afternoon.

It's a bit longer commute for me (about 50 mins each way), so after one week I'm feeling a bit tired as I'm not used to getting up at 6.30 every day. I'm sure I'll get used to it and it's an advantage that we moved in the spring because hopefully I'll be well into a routine by the darker winter mornings/evenings. I've heard rumours we may be here until the end of 2012 but nothing is definite in this business!

As a little extra, and a divertion from boring work business, I thought you might like to see who's trying to set up home in my shed! This hive is (was) about 5" across and well on it's way when OH discovered it on the underside of the front overhang of the shed. A lone bee made a feeble solitary attempt to rebuild after OH knocked it off but his attempts, too, were thwarted. Hopefully, they've now given up because I'm not sharing my shed with anyone - IT'S MINE!!!

This weekend is Music Festival weekend so lots of fun to be had by all. Unfortunately, it looks as though this is going to be the first time we haven't had lovely sunny weather for it. I have, however, learnt from previous years and have taken Monday off work to recover!!

Bye for now

Teresa x

What an Idiot!

2011-06-01T18:43:00.005+01:00

Not you, no!! I'm the idiot - I'll tell you why later.

First of all, I had a splendid Bank Holiday weekend and I'd like to share a few of the highlights. They're nothing too out-of-the-ordinary but I made the most of the time, was far more relaxed than usual and rather than worrying about what I should be doing in the house enjoyed the 'moment'.

I finished putting together this little experimental project while watching Batteries Not Included on TV (love that film - so sweet!). It could have done with being a bit smaller because, although the felt was quite stiff, it wasn't stiff enough to hold the shape as I wanted. I'm sure I'll find a use for it. I'll try a smaller one next.

When I craft in front of the TV, I generally have my equipment scattered on the sofa next to me but this project involved a lot more bits and pieces, so I copied Bugs and Fishes and put it all onto a tray and it worked out well - No scissors lost down the side of the cushions or reels of thread rolling away.

On Sunday OH and I went to the local garden centre to pick up some plants to fill our borders. We also ended up having lunch in their cafe and I bought a new pair of sandals, none of which was planned :-)

From there we went on to a local craft centre where I bought a bag before Christmas. This time the lady who makes the bags in a studio on site was there and I had a lovely chat with her. She and I are similar in that we both use recycled materials and our favourite colour is orange. Where we differ is that she has just given up a part-time job to work 2 days in the craft shop in exchange for free use of the studio. Waaaaaah.................I am so jealous. But I was so pleased, I got excited FOR her and congratulated her on taking the plunge.

The weekend also involved some baking, some exercising and meeting with friends listening to a singer performing in the lounge at the local hotel.

Now for the idiotic bit! Remember last time I said I was waiting for a Walking Foot for my sewing machine so I could quilt my next project properly? Well, it turns out I had one all the time! As soon as I opened the package I recognised the box.

It came with the machine when I bought it, but I didn't know then what it was for and assumed it was for some fancy procedure that I would never need. I'd then put it back in the pocket and didn't think to look at it again. I contacted the shop and luckily they agreed to refund my money if I sent it back - otherwise I was considering ebay which would have been a bit risky. No excuses now, not to get on with the quilting!!

Bye for now

Teresa x

P.S. I've sent off the first brooch to Helena, but I'm afraid I haven't been able to contact Sharon who won the other brooch. If you read this, Sharon, please email me with your address (or if you leave it in a comment I won't publish it). I'll draw it again if I don't hear in a week or so.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Results!

2011-05-26T18:32:00.001+01:00

I've had fun taking part in Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway again this May. I entered quite a few myself, (although not as many as last time, due to restricted time) as well as offering a prize. I don't think I had any success though! On the other hand, that was more than compensated for by the 33 lovely comments I had (and 4 new followers!!). It seems that handmade items get far fewer entries than supplies because it comes down to whether readers need or even like the items. So I was thrilled to get 33!

I think (hope) I replied to each one but please accept my apologies if you didn't get one. One of the giveaways I entered had well over 500 entries but still managed to reply to me. I wonder if she used some kind of mass reply-sending function!

Now, down to business:

I chose the winners using the usual on-line Random Number Generator and the first number chosen was 3. Therefore, Helena from Thumbelena Dreams will be the recipient of the first brooch/corsage. The RNG next chose number 4 which was Sharon (who doesn't seem to have a blog) who will receive the green brooch/corsage. Congratulations to you both!! Please let me have your addresses (I've also emailed you with the news).

I searched for something to photograph to make this post a little more interesting to non-winners (hope you had more luck in other giveaways!). All I have is this glimpse of something I'm currently working on as result of the wool felting fiasco (see last paragraph) I had a little while ago. I've cut out pieces, blanket stitched edges and auditioned trimmings. Who knows whether it will come out as I imagine it! I don't even have a finished image in my mind - just a vague idea, not even a sketch! Not a good way to go about it really!! And all the time I have my half-square-triangle quilt ~~at the back of the cupboard~~ in the back of my mind calling me to get on with it. It's not a very big quilt but it's the biggest I've tackled so I'm feeling a bit intimidated. However, my new walking foot (for my sewing machine - for the benefit of non-quilters) is on its way so that should help!

Bye for now
Teresa x

P.S. - DS's leg is healing well and he managed to pass his tree climbing certificate a few days later. Thank you for all your concern :-)

Sew Mama Sew May Giveaway!

2011-05-22T23:02:00.003+01:00

I hope I'm not too late for the deadline of the Sew Mama Sew May Giveaway Day!! I've been trying to get online today and there seems to have been a widespread problem stopping any sort of access. I'll plough ahead anyway and if I'm too late it will just be a little giveaway for my regular readers. I've taken part in one of Sew Mama Sew giveaways before and it was a great way to find new bloggers, get new followers and try to win lovely things. It made me feel part of something big (which it is) and it's generous of the people of SMS to give us the opportunity.

I mentioned a while ago that going past 5,000 blog views was a reason to celebrate and I was going to have a giveaway for that (I'm now past 5,500); I have also mentioned in the past that I would have a giveaway to get your views on some brooches/corsages I'm making. So, using the SMS giveaway event as a platform, I will mark all these things with this giveaway.

I have 2 brooches to giveaway to 2 entrants. This one is made from layers of cotton and satin topped with a felt circle and a vintage button.

This one is multi-layers of felt, cotton, satin and silk also topped with a vintage button. All the materials are reclaimed or recycled except the felt. I'm disappointed that the colours haven't come out well. They are much richer in real life!

All I'd like is for you to tell me which one you like best and why (if you know why) to give me some idea of the style that would be most popular. I'll choose one winner who will get the brooch they prefer then another winner who will get the other one, whether it was their first choice or not! I wouldn't like to exclude my loyal overseas followers so I will send anywhere. As requested by SMS, I'll leave the giveaway open until 25th May and post the brooches on 30th.

Now for some news of what's been going on around here. Just one item of news really. Remember I told you my DS had started a gardening business? Well, on Saturday morning he headed out to do a hedge cutting job 5 minutes away. Twenty minutes later the phone rang and it was DS who told OH he'd cut his leg!!! I was frantic until I spoke to him myself!! Luckily, it wasn't too serious but it wasn't very pleasant watching him have 3 stitches put into his leg (or for him having them - the local anaesthetic didn't work very well). The lady doctor laughed when he pulled his trousers down to show her the wound - I think it was relief that it wasn't a bigger injury but DS thought she was laughing at his baggy, Beano jockey shorts. Now what was that your mother always says about underwear and getting knocked down by a bus?!!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway and good luck.
Bye for now
Teresa x

Edited to add: Thank you for all your fabulous comments!! This giveaway is now closed and a winner will be chosen and notified shortly. Teresa x

Block Party?

2011-05-18T17:46:00.001+01:00

Now we're well into May I was beginning to wonder why I hadn't received my Tag Square Bee blocks for March and April. Then, lo and behold, through the door comes this beauty! It's my April Block from Floh Stiche. I asked for autumn colours and this certainly fits the bill.

The way the rota works meant that Floh Stiche was the recipient of my May block. Blues of every kind was the colour scheme Floh requested and I had no trouble finding these. The spotty fabric is one I received in a recent scrap swap organised by Ali.

Speaking of swaps, I have to apologise to my swap partner Mary Emmens for not posting about the lovely parcel she sent me in the second swap Ali arranged. Since I was having a major splurge on moving my stash out to my shed, the fabric got caught up with it all and I didn't get a photo. But if you link to Mary's post above you can see what she sent me. She was also thoughtful enough to research from my blog what I would like and made sure some of the fabric was recycled!

My parcel (the photo of which I deleted, thinking I'd already posted it) went to Linnhe of Wee Mindings who makes cute bags and brooches.

OH and I went to the wedding on Saturday of a chap he has known since he was a boy (the chap was a boy, not OH!). It was a civil ceremony, which we've only experienced once before (OH's brother) a long time ago, and, although all the trappings were present, the general 'feeling' was very different from a church wedding. Personally, I wouldn't feel truly married if it didn't take place in a church but I understand that a generation (or 2) has grown up without appreciating even the tradition of such an occasion never mind the religious aspect, and that they probably feel more comfortable in this setting.

It was a lovely day with a happy, friendly atmosphere - from the actual ceremony to the evening party. The hotel where it was held is very popular for weddings - my photos don't really do it justice so if you want a true picture of the place take a look at the website.

The wedding reception tables - the general colour theme of this wedding was blue

The beautiful floral arrangements that lined the way to the registrar (is it called an aisle at a civil ceremony?) and were then put on the tables for the reception.

OH and I thoroughly enjoyed the day - from the brides tears to the funny speeches to the white chocolate fountain in the evening (sorry no pic). It made a change after last weeks party, to relax and enjoy a function with someone else worrying about what was supposed to happen next!!

Bye for now
Teresa x

A Golden Wedding Celebration Weekend!

2011-05-10T13:48:00.000+01:00

My sisters, brother and I have been secretly organising a surprise party for our parents' Golden Wedding Anniversary. The actual event was on Saturday evening but the whole weekend has been a party of sorts!! On Friday evening we took our parents out for a drink and surprised them with the appearance of our brother, his 2 children and grandchild (their great-grandchild) who none of us had yet seen. Everyone got quite emotional. It was quite a feat keeping them hidden and deciding who they were going to stay with so that the secret was kept.

Our parents on their wedding day

The parents had been told a few days before that we were going out for a family meal. We were on pins worrying that someone would let the secret out before the party (a few people did say the wrong thing but the comments were explained away somehow).

The anniversary cake made by a clever local lady. The flowers are all made of icing!

We were pleased when everyone started arriving at the venue and that they all came in time to be there before our parents arrived. When they came in, everyone stood up clapping and cheering, then by the look on their faces, we knew the secret had been safe.

It was also our mother's 70th birthday the same weekend.

The evening was a great success with everyone saying what a wonderful party it was as they left. After my brother and his family had left for home on Sunday, 17 of us, including our parents, went out for lunch. We were lucky to get a booking with that number of people seeing as it was a last minute decision and we only rang 2 hours in advance.

We had the balloons for the tables delivered and spent a couple of hours getting the venue ready

It was a wonderful weekend all round and now we all have lovely memories of a great occasion.

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A little relaxation was in order after such a hectic time. On Sunday evening I finished off these 2 pin cushions with button centres and put together this brooch/corsage.

As I mentioned I was going to do in a previous post aaaaaaaages ago, it's a modified version of my first attempt but I'm still not happy with it. It's made from reclaimed cotton and silk with new wool felt at the back. I think it might look better without the felt. Version 3 coming up!!

Bye for now
Teresa x

Royal Blue!

2011-05-05T14:22:00.000+01:00

I haven't time for many words today so I'll let the pictures to the talking. I'm also sorry I haven't had time to catch up with your blogs on my Reader lately. My siblings and I have been busy arranging a surprise party, which is taking place this weekend, that has taken up quite a lot of time.

I was determined to get to the bluebell wood this year before the ferns grew up and swamped the flowers, so OH and I popped along one day after he finished work, while I was still on holiday. It's the same wood as in the photo of my children, taken about 20 years ago, in this old post.

Entrance to the Bluebell Wood a few miles from home

Mounds (that are thought to be the remains of an old fort) covered with bluebells

Close-up detail of the wild bluebells

A last look on the way out

Royal Wedding celebration desserts :-)

You can never have too much dessert!!

Royal Wedding party at a friend's house before all the guests had arrived. It was overcast and threatening rain but not too cold to sit outside.

Next time I'll have news on the surprise party and hopefully a bit it stitching.
Bye for now
Teresa x

A Time for Enjoying the Sunshine!

2011-04-25T22:53:00.000+01:00

I've been following my own advise to make the most of the good weather so over the last few days OH and I have enjoyed a long walk, a BBQ and a bike ride. Do you see the little black dots over the hedge in the photo above? DD told us about these large 'flies' that she had come across on her dog walks. When we went on our walk, they were everywhere!!

They were slow compared to normal flies so were easy to catch but didn't stay put for long enough to photograph when OH opened his hand.

This was the best of a bad lot but captures it quite well. Have you seen them in your part of the UK? It's like that mystery of the cobweby patches in the hedges last year!

This pic (above) is the result of leaving OH with my camera when I popped into a field for a moment (as you do in emergencies) - a weed!!

I managed to capture this butterfly but the orange tipped ones were too quick and active even though there were lots more of them. And I had to capture this clump of my favourite forget-me-nots.

We spent a few hours today out on the bike ride stopping at a hotel for lunch.......

.....and some liquid refreshment. When we continued our ride, one of our group said something had happened to his bike while we were at lunch, making it wobbly!!! Can't think what he meant - mine was OK!

I've still got 7 days left to make the most of, which will possibly include another bike ride, another BBQ and a Royal Wedding celebration. I will also try to fit in some shed organising and stitching. A small cloud on the horizon took the form of a deep scratch on my new car where the bike rack came loose and rubbed down to the metal as we were driving home :-(

(Hello to any new and recent followers or visitors - you're very welcome and I'd love to hear from you sometime.)

Bye for now
Teresa x

Back on Track!

2011-04-19T11:56:00.001+01:00

So many times in previous years I've failed to make the most of a welcome spell of lovely sunny weather thinking that there'll be plenty more to come in the summer. Well, I've finally learned my lesson and will make the most of any opportunity that comes my way, no matter how dirty my house is or whether there's anything to eat in the kitchen!! For the last few years, our summers seem to have come early and not taking advantage of them has resulted in missing out altogether.

So.......

.....this is what we did, this weekend, and last. Loaded up the bikes and took off for a cycle with friends (six of us last week and 8 on Sunday). Last week, we took our usual route along the old railway line by the river from Monmouth to Symonds Yat. This week, we rode along the canal path from Abergavenny to Crickhowell (a much longer route that required 2 pub stops as opposed to the usual 1!).

People were out in droves - walking dogs, pushing children, cycling like us or narrow boating.

Being the slowest cyclist (and therefore last) I had the advantage that I could photograph the others while moving along, but it was a disadvantage when groups of walkers had just managed to reform after the others had scattered them, then I came along!! It was a fun afternoon out and I'm sure if we do it more often there'll be no more saddle soreness (despite wearing gel pants)!

Stitchy news in brief - (because this is all there is, due to taking advantage of the good weather - you can't have everything!!)

I'm right up-to-date with my Tag Square Bee blocks now with this latest offering for Jen in rainbow colours. I had a real struggle finding all the colours and I'm not sure that this fits the brief entirley because the fabrics aren't modern enough. I've a feeling that another member of the Bee wants rainbow colours, but I'll worry about that when the time comes. I have yet to recieve my March and April blocks though so I'm looking forward to that.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Blue and Bargains!

2011-04-12T14:53:00.000+01:00

My Tag Square Bee blue and white block for March is done and sent off. As I said to Ali of Very Berry Handmade, when I commented on her lastest post, blue is not a colour I have much affinity with in general. But one of my favourite flowers is/are forget-me-nots and I'd love to make a whole quilt using blue and white. There's something about the combination that is so fresh and clean looking. My block for April is to be 'rainbow' coloured so I'll be able to ~~get rid off~~ use up some of the brighter scraps I have in my supply.

Following the lead of my DD, and since he's almost finished his college course, my DS has decided to start his own business: Gardening! We bought him a strimmer and hedge-cutter to start him off, then he got himself a second-hand mower. He already has a chainsaw because he needed one for his course. To solve the problem of transporting the equipment to his jobs, DS got a tow-hitch put on his car and we got him a second-hand, almost new trailer from Ebay. After putting up 1 poster in the village Post Office and taking a few flyers around our locality, he's already completed 2 jobs that will be regulars and has another 4 in his diary. By the way - he's still working a day a week for another contract landscaper and doing part-time chefing at the local hotel. One thing he's not afraid of is hard work!!

DS's first job with the trailer was for me. I found an Ikea cupboard in an antique/junk shop that is perfect for storing my supplies in my shed, so he was able to collect it for me.

See!! It's a perfect fit and it doesn't stick out into the room more than 13" so doesn't overwhelm it. It has shelves the whole height, a couple of which you can just see, which is ideal for stacking fabrics etc. Hopefully, I will get in there over the Easter holidays and sort it out.

My paper-cuts made it into the shed too and Pam P was correct in her comment when she suggested Rip Van Winkle for the green one. I emailed the seller to satisfy my curiousity!

I came across this piece of farmyard fabric in a charity shop on the same trip into town as when I got the cupboard. It's quite a large piece and cost only £1.

Whoever owned it had cut out a few of the animals around the edge and then got rid of it. DS, his girlfriend and I worked out which animals had been used by looking at the pattern repeat. A set of 3 little pigs and a couple of chickens we think! I can't think off-hand what I would use it for but couldn't leave it there!

On another crafty note, I gave a few woollen jumpers a hot wash to felt them over the weekend. Most of them worked out fine but 2 of the jumpers shrunk to about a quarter of the original size and are as stiff as boards. I don't know what to do with these either!!

Bye for now

Teresa x

April Antics (or What I've Been up to the Last Few Days)!

2011-04-04T17:30:00.001+01:00

Spring has definitely sprung. All the countryside has come to life (plants and animals) which also means it's the beginning of 'road-kill' season. Yes, my route to work is strewn with the bodies of little birds and animals that had no concept of what a road is, never mind the Green Cross Code! Last week I was following a van that hit a large bird. It affects me for quite a few hours when something like that happens! Luckily, I didn't hit it too because it was knocked onto the verge in a flurry of feathers.

Yesterday, however, I was to claim my own victim in the cycle of life. A female pheasant sauntered delicately across the road from the far side and right in front of my car as if I weren't there. I attempted to avoid the collision by slowing down and willing the bird to speed up (it didn't) but, as I glanced in my mirror and saw 2 cars following me, I couldn't brake too drastically. I actually didn't feel a thing but I'm afraid to say the pheasant probably did because I saw the same tell-tale flurry of feathers in my rear-view mirror! :-(

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Now onto more pleasant things!! On Saturday morning, before going on to my quilting club, I called in at a Coffee Morning and Craft sale in the village with my mother. We spent a pleasant hour browsing the stalls, buying homemade cakes and raffle tickets, drinking coffee and chatting. When I got home later, I found out I'd won this wonderful food hamper!

The goodies kept coming the next day too with it being Mothering Sunday. I received these lovely cards and presents from my 2 wonderful offspring.

Do you see the card with the buttons stuck on it? The first thing I said on receiving this (well, the second after 'thank you') was 'I can use these buttons when I make something'. My son and his girlfriend looked at each other and laughed because they'd said to eachother that I would say just that!

I'm up-to-date with my Bee Blocks now with this blue and white one finished. The colours are not as muted as they appear here. I'm wondering if it would have looked better photographed on top of something brighter. I must experiment more with this sort of thing!

The Book a Cook evening I mentioned last time was great fun but not what I was expecting. I thought it was a going to be a group of ladies enjoying a chat with a chef brought in to do all the work. Instead, it was at the home of the Cook and was in fact a demonstration of cooking various dishes which we got to eat afterwards!!

Before I go I must tell you about my Indian Head Massage experience. (It was actually on my way there that I murdered the pheasant so I was in dire need of relaxation by then!). I was met at the door by a lovely lady called Lorraine who's relaxed manner immediately put me at ease. Sitting on a chair having a complete stranger massage my shoulders and neck with scented oils was a new experience for me. It took me a good few moments to get over my uneasiness but I soon drifted into a trance-like state and began to enjoy the experience.

Although I was relaxed, my mind was whirling with thoughts such as, 'I wonder if anyone has ever dropped off to sleep and fallen off the chair' and 'Will Lorraine be offended that I am not relaxed enough if I scratch my nose?' and 'If I open my eyes, can she see me in the mirror on the wall opposite?' I didn't do any of those things because, although I could think it, I couldn't actually do it - or anything in fact, until it was over.

Immeidately I stood up I could tell that the tension had gone from my shoulders and for the rest of the evening I felt lighter than usual (not in weight - in spirit)! I will definitely be going back again and I think I'll benefit more next time because I'll know what to expect.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Plants, Paper, Patchwork!

2011-03-31T09:43:00.001+01:00

It was my brithday a couple of days ago. My daughter invited us for a meal and gave me the gorgeous tulips (the colours are much more striking than I've managed to capture here) and my son gave me the Hebe which will go in the garden to replace one we lost in the harsh winter frosts. I'm also booked in for an Indian Head Massage next week, courtesy of my OH. I find it so relaxing, having my hair washed at the salon but it never lasts long enough so I'm hoping this will compensate and relax me for at least a few days!

I was browsing Etsy a while back, looking for some prints to hang in my 'shed' and came across these adorable 'paper cuts'! Little Miss Muffet was perfect with the spider theme.

However, I'm not sure what this one is meant to be! I actually ordered Rumplestiltskin - the spinning theme was also appropriate - but this one came instead. It looks like an old man with a stick and a long beard so I'm a bit confused. They didn't cost very much and took so long to come that I'm going to keep it now anyway.

This is the first bit of stitching I've done for nearly a month and I'm thankful to discover that I haven't lost my enthusiasm for it. I'd just got out of the habit of doing a little bit here and a little bit there. I had tidied up a lot of my things before going on holiday and I found it an effort to get it out again. I've got a good break from work coming up and I'm determined to get the rest of my stash/equipment/materials moved into' The Thread Shed' in the garden. It might be an effort to get out there to stitch until it becomes a habit but having it all in one place will be easier and the better weather will also help until I get into a routine.

This is my February block for the Tag Square Bee (in the background is the start of the March block). I held off from joining any bees until I thought I could devote enough time to it, so I'm disappointed to have got behind like this. The recipient of this block wanted it to be black, white and yellow and I've been trying to acquire some black (to no avail). So this is the block that was sent off yesterday and now I need to get hold of some white fabric to add to the blue for the March block. And as it's April tomorrow, I'd better find out what the next recipient wants!!

Tonight, a friend has invited me as a guest, to go with her to a Book a Cook social at the house of a member of a business network group she belongs to. I won't know anyone except her, but hopefully it will be fun and I'll meet some nice, new people!

Edited to add: - I meant to say before, and was reminded while reading Rhonda's blog, Down to Earth, that I think my eco-friendly ways are beginning to rub off on the family (or at least make them think). OH and DS each bought me body lotion for my birthday too and made an effort to get natural products, and DD pointed out that the tulips were grown in the UK and not flown half way round the world!!

Bye for now
Teresa x

Bra....vo! One for the ladies! (not that any men read this, as far as I know)

2011-03-23T13:43:00.000Z

(The theme of this weeks photos is mainly the 'exiting' things I got up to last weekend and are nothing whatsoever to do with this post! Sadly I have no new stitchy news. I seem to have no energy or motivation for it since I got back from holiday - my mind still whirrs with ideas but I can't persuade my body to carry them through.)

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I'm sure you all know that a woman's bra size can vary greatly over her lifetime. Puberty to the menopause and everything in between (pregnancy and childbirth being the main culprits) can have an effect.

(Vacuuming with The Bee - a cleaner I bought partly to enter a competition (I needed it anyway) and won a pressure washer!)

It's challenging enough to get a bra that fits at the best of times without having to review the situation every few years. The fact that sizes vary between brands doesn't help either! I've also found that the formula often quoted for calculating bra size to be far wide of the mark (you know the one - measure underneath, measure over the top, add or subtract a set number then calculate the cup size from the difference).

(Washing out in the sun to dry for the first time this year. The flat airer fell over twice that day - grrrr!)

And what if you're not exactly....ahem....symmetrical! The problems then increase to inlcude making decisions such as, "Do I go larger and get a chicken fillet to even things up?" or "Do I go smaller and risk overspill?"

(I don't very often do my own ironing these days but my 'lady' is a bit unreliable lately and I still haven't caught up from the holday. My sister offered to do this weeks basket :-)

Considering all this, why then, a couple of weeks ago, did I buy on impulse (something I rarely, if ever, do these days), a bra from a supermarket for £8 without so much as trying it on?

(A close-up of the braid I bought in Italy.)

'The Bra' was a size that I consider myself to be (not calculated as above) and, joy of joys, was the most perfect fitting bra that I have ever bought!! It was as if it was tailor-made just for me! It has good support without being 'matronly' and is pretty without being 'skimpy', if you know what I mean!

(A beret style hat I crocheted to wear in Italy. I did wear it quite a bit but have decided it needs a few modifications)

I'm sure I'm not the only woman whose day was 'made' by such a simple thing!!

And now you know why I have no photos to accompany this post ;-)

Bye for now
Teresa x

(Disclaimer - I have never, ever made use of a chicken fillet. Anyway, what are they? Never heard of 'em!!)

Italy - March 2011

2011-03-17T14:11:00.002Z

The Italian Alps in all their snowy glory. This is where OH and I and 9 friends headed last week for a skiing holiday. I''ve mentioned before that I don't ski but I'd never been to Italy so decided to go with them this time.

My sister (who also doesn't ski) and I spent our time walking, looking around the town, reading and drinking hot chocolate or vin brulee (mulled wine). We were struck by the ingenuity of this tree trunk made into a stand for heathers out side a gift shop.

We couldn't resist buying a bread roll from this vending machine, put in the doorway of the local bakery when it was closed. There wasn't much in the way of English translation to help us so, as we were in the middle of working out what to do, a local lady came up and showed us that we had to place the bag under the shoot and told us which button to press. We shared the roll which, although was nice and fresh was, disappointingly, very salty.

On one of our walks we came across this road sign and had to take a picture to show the rest of our party. Various explanations for its meaning included 'No Trumpet Blowing' and 'Don't Make a Noise to Cause an Avalanche' but we concluded that the most likely meaning was 'No Car Horn Tooting'.

Most days were full of beautiful sunshine which was good for us and the skiers!

This was one of the nicer mulled wines we sampled sitting outside a bar that became our 'local' for the week. On one occasion my sister and I went separate ways (me to buy gifts and her to find a chair lift that had eluded our map reading skills). After a few hours I stopped at this bar and ordered a hot chocolate with cream (yum) and was sitting waiting for it when my sister walked in. I called her but she didn't see me and went straight in to the ladies. I watched the door for her coming to sit outside but somehow missed her because the next thing I knew she was texting me from a table around the corner saying she was drinking hot wine and asking what I was doing. Great minds think alike!!!

These are the bits and pieces I picked up that day. A pack of biscuits for each of the kids. Some stone-ground dark chocolate for my parents and a few bits for myself (a fridge magnet, a metal hook for my shed and some wide, alpine themed braid).

A couple of the Six Nations Rugby matches were on while we were away so, there we were, watching Italy beat France and Wales beat Ireland (woo hoo!) in an Irish bar in Italy!

I'd like to say things are back to normal now but I'm still playing catch-up at work and at home!

I had a few comments about the green fabric in my last post making me realise how remiss I'd been not to mention it. It's the first piece I've used from a lovely pile of fabrics from New Zealand that I won in a giveaway run by Lis of Online Quilting.

Bye for now

Teresa x

What's been happening around here since we last met!

2011-03-01T17:08:00.000Z

Here it is, my new-to-me car, as promised (I nearly put 'she' instead of 'it' but I'm not one for giving personalities or names to inanimate objects!). It's quite...well....Blue!! It actually looks shinier and slighty blue/green in real life. It'll do for me for a while (no heated seats Leslie but that's not where I feel the cold!).

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My Scrap Swap parcel arrived yesterday from Sally exactly on deadline as arranged by Ali of Very Berry Handmade. A great selection of scraps here, many of which I've not seen before. I'm sure they'll come in very useful. Thank you Ali and Sally!

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The look of the little bags I've been making recently all depend on the zip. My starting point when making these has to be whatever zip I have in my stock that's a suitable colour, length and type. In this case a dark green one. Next comes the fabric to go with it. Finally, the size and design of the bag depends on the length of the zip and the size of the pieces of fabric available. This process is obviously governed by the used materials I'm able to get hold of, but suits me fine in that quite a few of the decisions are out of my hands. Therefore, procrastinating is kept to a minimum and precious time is saved! This is a birthday gift for one of my sisters and will be filled with a couple of pampering goodies. See, I remembered my label (only the 2nd time) and didn't sew it in upside-down like the last time!

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Two tiers of tasty treats here; My usual batch of muffins on the top and a double batch of Oaty Ginger Cookies from a recipe from Ali's blog (see Ali's link above). The muffin recipies always make exactly 12. Don't know what happened this time but only just managed to scrape 11 out of it (I know what you're thinking, but no, I didn't succumb to temptation before taking the pic)!

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And finally......I know it's 1st March today and not April but I had to check twice before I sent the email requested by my boss via his assistant. I was concerned that I was being taken for a fool. He wanted me to ask everyone in the office to save the the 'dots' from hole-punches and collect them together for him to use as confetti at a family wedding next year!!!

Do you see why I had reservations?

Bye for now
Teresa x

Doing my Bit for the P.O.!

2011-02-23T14:21:00.000Z

Due to the fact that I was camera-less last week, I should have twice as much to show today. Wrong!! The photos of the zipped bag I made for DS's girlfriend were lost somewhere during the changeover, but you'll just have to believe me when I say it was very pretty!

I've been on a sending/receiving spree and made good use of the postal service this week!

This is the lovely Tuscan themed block I received from Jo of Bear Paw for The Tag Square Bee for February. I've been very punctual about getting my blocks sent out so far but this month I am delayed due to a serious shortage (complete lack) of black fabric.

I've been better organised for the Scrap Swap organised by Ali of Very Berry Handmade which had to be sent by 28th Feb. This is the little parcel of goodies that is winging it's way to Jenny of Gingerbread House, if it's not arrived already!

It's not diffucult to find recycled/rescued fabric to add to my stash but old reels of thread are another matter. I've, very rarely, picked up the odd reel in charity shops but Ali (see above) came up trumps with her recommendation for the site Rag Rescue, which is where I got these beauties! I was a bit worried that, if they were very old, they would be weak and unusable but they seem to be fine and they're exactly the sort of colours I use quite often.

Brightly coloured buttons are also not easy to come by so I supplemented my collection with a couple of 'lots' from ebay. (Wonder how that rogue purple got into the yellows?)

I finally got the red thread, from my auntie, that I needed to finish this cushion and, would you believe it, the reel was so big it wouldn't fit on my little domestic machine! So, instead of satin-stitching the little linen hearts on, I blanket-stitched by hand. Here it is reclining on a kitchen chair................

.............and here posing on a comfy chair.

Here's the obligatory close-up - pores and all!!

Next week I will have swapped my car (and some money!) for a newer one. OH tells me I need a car that is more economical on longer journeys so it'll have a slightly bigger engine. Don't ask me anything about cars because they don't interest me one bit. So long as they get me from A to B I'm satisifed, although I did want a green one (it's blue!!). I'll show you next time.

Bye for now

Teresa x

Picture-less Post!

2011-02-15T10:34:00.000Z

Hello everyone, just popping in because I can't keep away, even though I have no photos to pretty up the post. I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day! My OH said he'll do some of my ironing for me for V Day!! What more could a girl ask for!? I've mentioned to him in the past that I think V Day is too commercialised, which he interpreted as "I don't want anything"! To be fair though, I only got him a little box of heart-shaped chocs and it will be good to get some of the ironing out of the way!

My DS, on the other hand, went the whole hog, as you do when you're 22! Roses, chocolates and a meal. All that having just come back from a weekend away for his girlfriend's birthday. And that is why I have no photos!!

Confused? Well let me explain. DS's girlfriend had a camera for her birthday but it had no memory card. They wanted to take photos on their weekend away and lo and behold my memory card fitted her camera. My first instinct was to say 'no' which I did. How could I blog without any photos? Then I felt really selfish and mean. She said she would manage with her phone camera, then I felt even meaner! Their first break alone together and I was going to deny them any decent photographic memories of the occasion! Their need was greater than mine.

Now, if I did have a camera over the weekend I would have shown pics of the zipped pouch I made for her birthday, the pile of goodies I dug out of my stash for the scrap swap at VeryBerryHandmade and I may have taken some photos outside on Saturday, which was a rare day of glorious sunshine.

You won't have to wait very long to see the craft goodies; the glorious sunshine, however, is another matter and not in my control.

Oooh - I've just noticed my Stat Counter is nearly at 5,000 - that will be something to celebrate!!

Bye for now
Teresa

Roles Have Reversed!

2011-02-08T11:50:00.001Z

On Friday evening OH and I went with DD and her partner to watch England beat Wales :-( in the Rugby at the local pub. DS and his girlfriend joined us later when he finished work, and we and our friends took part in a monthly charity quiz. We've somehow ended up playing girls against boys in these quizes (never mind what any other team scores!) and it's become a bit competitive. It was 2:1 to the girls until then and I think we drew so no gloating this time (the boys that is!!). When OH and I got home at 2am!!, our DS and DD were already tucked up safely in bed!! Roles have reversed somewhat over the last few years - not that we make a habit of this you understand, but where did we get such sensible offspring? There was a reason for the responsible behaviour though - they had arranged to go to a club in Cardiff on Saturday night for DD's birthday.

DD's present that I managed to finish in time. All recycled materials, except the yellow fabric.

Getting to bed that late would have been fine if we'd been able to have a lie-in, but the phone rang at 7.30am on Saturday to call OH out to a fallen tree on the Estate that was blocking an access road. He took DS with him to drive and help cut up/move the tree (both have chainsaw certs). I didn't get back to sleep after that and spent my day at the quilting club in a sleepy haze, doing a bit of hand quilting and trying to give sensible replies when spoken to.

I added a Suffolk Puff to the front, turned up the bottom corners with buttons and filled it with goodies.

I was still very tired on Sunday but managed to potter about getting housework done (apart from an hour or so in the afternoon when I sat down to have a cup of tea and almost didn't get going again)!

As mentioned in the last post here is my second Ripple Scarf made from an un-run (frogged) jumper. This one has 2 wider ripples instead of 4 narrower like the first one (see Stitchng Progress page 2010 if you want to compare).

Finally, here's my January block for the Tag Square Bee from the clever Nanabanana of Sisters in Stitches, all the way from Texas. I think this design may be called Bear Paw (Never mind thinking it, it's pretty obvious really!) I need to start on my February block soon which will be black/white/yellow. Having to select colour combinations that I wouldn't normally think of certainly helps with creativity and I love seeing what other Bee-ers come up with from my colour choice. Before I do that though, I am in the process of making another zipped bag, like the one above, for my son's girlfriend's birthday on Friday.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Brooches and Beans!

2011-02-01T16:40:00.000Z

Sunday afternoon was lovely and sunny, although still cold. It put a smile on people's faces and allowed us bloggers to take some reasonable pictures. My OH had come home Saturday evening from a week of skiing in France (just in time to refill the screen-wash in my car :-) and took over fire stoking duties once again. Though I had managed to keep it going since he left. It was good to have him back!

While he was away I was able to get on with my projects and not worry too much about having meals ready at certain times or even cooking at all! I finished these 4 brooches, which I showed the makings of last time. They're not quite how I pictured but I'm reasonably pleased with them. I now have an idea to improve the design and have picked out the fabrics ready.

As you can see from the top pic, I made 2 small and 2 large (The small ones are a bit too small really). All the fabrics/buttons etc are recycled or thrifted except the felt at the back which is wool felt that I bought a while ago.

I tried out the blanket stitch on my machine for the edge of this one. It doesn't have quite the same rustic look of hand stitching that I like.

All in all, the weekend was quite busy. My Saturday Singing group met for the first time since December and started on some new material. We haven't any events lined up after missing out on singing the Welsh songs we learned when the Welsh Evening was cancelled due to the snow!

On Friday evening I remembered to put these haricot beans to soak. I should have used a bigger bowl. My DS told me I needed to add more water so, when I did, it was almost running over (that's why it's on the draining board!)

Saturday lunchtime I drained the beans, boiled them for 10-15 mins, drained again, then threw them in my slow cooker with a little of this and a little of that (see above). I also added a large chopped onion, a large tin of tomatoes, some vegetable stock and some brown sugar (sorry, no measurement - I just threw it in).

Following the guidelines in my slow cooker book, I put it on low and then left it for about 7 hours (stirring once or twice, just out of curiosity). I'm very satisfied with how they turned out. Eminently recognisable, in both appearance and taste to the tinned sort, but better! Not sure if they work out cheaper though. I'll have to check the prices. I got about 8 portions out of this, some of which is in the freezer, but probably should have stretched to 10. I will definitely make them again!!

Sunday evening I popped up the road to my aunt's to cadge some red thread for the cushion cover I'm working on and to see if she has any fabric I could use as a border for my half-square-triangle quilt. My aunt used to make a lot of curtains and soft furnishing for people but doesn't do it much now. Consequently, she has lots of fabric remnants and bits and pieces which she keeps telling me to use. I'm waiting impatiently to see what she digs out. Come to mention it, I'm still waiting for my January block for the Tag Square Bee too. Nanabanana send it over 2 weeks ago and it still hasn't arrived yet (I'm waiting impatiently for that as well!).

It's my DDs 25th birthday today - Happy B'day Bessie!!! - and ~~she reminded me~~ I realised the other day that, although I've got her a couple of 'sensible' gifts, I don't have any nice little pressies that are fun. I hastily ordered a couple of things online yesterday, in the hope that they will be delivered before we go out for a meal on Wednesday, (latest is they have been dispatched so fingers crossed) and yesterday evening stitched up another little something which I can't say any more about because she will quite possibly read this before then. Besides which, it needs a bit of tweaking and finishing off tonight. I never make 2 things exactly the same, but have to make some kind of modification which is not always successful!!

With all this expectation and things in progress there should be plenty to show next week, including my second Recycled Ripple Scarf. That's the first time I've ever said that with any confidence.

Bye for now
Teresa x

8 Reasons Why I Blog!

2011-01-25T12:21:00.000Z

1. Mostly, I blog because I enjoy it;

2. It motivates me to craft more;

3. I enjoy the interaction with lovely readers;

4. It's nice/useful to have a record of what I've accomplished to put into perspective;

5. I like having a record of what I (my friends, family etc) have been up to;

6. I like being part of this virtual world;

7. It's nice to share something that not many of my 'real' friends 'get'.

8. I would one day like to use my blog as a one of a number of ways to direct traffic to an online shop

I post once a week because it seems about right for me. I tried twice a week but ended up looking for subject matter rather than just sitting down and letting it flow. I'm sure I'd get resentful if I made myself post more often and would then end up drifting away from here altogether. It might not seem very spontaneous to have a rigid once-a-week timetable but if I didn't, I believe I would have the same drifting away problem, as intervals between posts became further apart!

My OH is away skiing in France this week and I was so looking forward to spending lots of time sewing. It hasn't quite worked out like that so far but I did get some baking done (not the choc/nut muffins above - these are from last week - but some banana bread to use up some over-ripe bananas I had kept in the freezer) and tried cooking a whole chicken in my slow cooker (which turned out well). I'll cook chicken like this again - there's very little mess and the meat falls off the bones when it's done.

On my kitchen table is a little experiment in progress of a crafty idea I've had in my head for a while. Things have moved on a little from this and the results are almost ready to show. It hasn't turned out quite how I pictured but I already have an idea for a modification to try next. I may have to test the waters, so to speak, and offer one of my prototypes as a giveaway to find out what you think of them. If I make both versions and offer a choice, it will give me an idea of what would be successful.

My photographing mojo has been a bit lacking recently. Once, I would see something interesting or beautiful and immediately whip out my camera, but lately I've been remembering when it's too late! I say this, in case you're wondering about the random selection I've presented today - they're all I have that you haven't seen!! I blame Christmas!! Well, perhaps the holidays rather than Christmas itself. I've got out of the habit - but fear not - I will make a concerted effort to get back on form. I enjoy showing you my pics and, let's face it, this blog would be seriously lacking without them!!

Bye for now

Teresa x

Books: Old, New. Borrowed.........but not Blue!

2011-01-18T15:03:00.000Z

I want to start today by thanking you lovely ladies for all your encouraging words and compliments in my comments. It's largly because of your interest that I've made what I have, and I realise now I must stop comparing what I've done to other crafty bloggers and celebrate my own achivements. I'm going to concentrate on my crafting and only look at other crafty blogs for inspiration, ideas and to 'oooh and ahhh' over all their goodies!! (If you comment on this post, please don't mention this bit - I'm not fishing for compliments but wanted to thank you and let you know how you've helped me).

-------

The Christmas holidays saw quite a few books appear in our house from various directions. (Time now to sort through and get rid of few, one way or another - what do you do with your old books, do you take them to the charity shop, sell them on, give them as gifts or put in the bin?)

Below are a couple of new books I treated myself to for Christmas. A Slice of the Goodlife is one I saw back in the summer at the Centre for Alternative Technology and kept in mind. I've just finished reading The Handmade Marketplace (so it will be No 1 on my reading list for 2011!) and found it packed with useful information for when I start seriously selling my wares......ahem, ahem! (I will one day, honestly!). I'd heard about many of the crafty bloggers mentioned in it already which made it seem familiar. A lot of the information in it was new to me and will be really useful to have on hand to refer to in the future.

This is another new book that I got my DS for Christmas. It's also one we saw at the CAT Centre and which he showed an interest in.

The book, The Great Explorers, below is also new and was a present to my OH from his boss. He has quite an illustrious family and this book was edited by his uncle, the explorer Robin Hanbury-Tenison.

These 4 books fall into the old category since I bought them from charity shops over the holidays. Quite a mixture here: a bit of light reading, a humerous history and a look at green fashion.

Now to the borrowed. At various times during the last year there were film crews filming at an old farmhouse on the estate where my OH works. He was told it was for a film called 'Resistance' about what it would have been like if the Nazis had invaded Britain in WW2. Eventually the TV news showed an article about it, interviewing the author of the book on which the film was based. He was Owen Sheers, (who I don't know but) who grew up in a nearby town and whose grandparents lived at the end of our road for a while before they passed away a few years ago. Owen started out as a poet and my mother collected his works, continuting to do so when he began writing novels as well. So here we have the book 'Resistance' and his previous work, 'The Dust Diaries' borrowed from my mother.

Looking at piles of books makes me happy! It's the potential in them that makes me excited; about what emotions they will take me through or information reveal to me. It's the same feeling when I look at my baskets of knitting yarn or shelves of fabric - The Potential! My BIG problem now is which one to read next!! I think it may have to be The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (first brought to my attention by Leslie) which I got from a charity shop and want to read before I watch the TV version I've recorded.

Ooh, I'm going for a lie down now! It was tiring posting all those links :-)

Bye for now

Teresa x

Look to the Future!

2011-01-12T15:07:00.002Z

Looking at my progress on my blog pages for reading and crafting I see that in 2010 I managed to read 14 books and complete 16 craft projects. I immediately thought of declaring them dismal results but I must look at it a different way. I must look at the lists and actually 'see' what is listed, congratulate myself on what I've achieved and aim to do more in 2011! Therefore, I must look forward now and not back or I'll convince myself I can't do any better. My friend, who is a life coach, has told me that each time we meet up she wants me to bring something new that I've made to show her. That will be good motivation for me.

I'm aiming to get enough items made to take part in a small craft fair this year and maybe even sell to friends. This scarf, along with my purple mini quilt and small embroidered hanging/runner makes 3 items in stock!! I finished up this scarf, which is made from reclaimed yarn, during the days after Christmas when I wasn't feeling my best. It's not from a pattern exactly but based on an idea from Betz White that intrigued me.

The recent holidays also saw me finish sewing together the half-square-triangles at last!! I need to decide where to go with it next. I think it needs some kind of border to finish it off but will have to put a bit more thought into it.

The Tag Square Bee had a break for December but is back in action now for January. I had an idea for the block below but somehow managed to cut 8 instead of 4 squares for the middle.

So I cut extra small squares and made this one aswell. Monafrank wanted a block with all shades of green (except neon) and would welcome the odd bit of blue, red or orange in it too.

I've decided to send her this one simply because I asked my OH and DS which one they prefered and they chose it! I'll make a cushion cover or something out of the other one. I nearly forgot - someone must be sending me a block too - can't wait until it comes and I can add it to the pile.

I didn't intend for this to be 2 'bread-shaped' loaves! It started as a plan to be one 'bread-machine-shaped' loaf. Wanting to make use of my machine in the holidays I used a pack of granary flour I had in the cupboard and followed the recipe on the pack. The recipe made 8 rolls so I thought I'd double it and started throwing ingredients into the pan. When it came to the flour it wouldn't all fit so I left some out, put the pan in the machine and crossed my fingers! I went to check after 15 minutes and, although the machine was making a noise, nothing was moving!! There was nothing for it but to tip it all out and continue by hand. I was quite relieved when I saw it was acually rising! Turned out alright in the end I think!

Bye for now

Teresa x

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T18:18:00.000Z

(Our lane on Christmas Day as we walked to meet up with family. Very pretty but slippery I can tell you!)

Hello again and Happy New Year!! I really wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas but computer problems and then being a little off-colour for a few days prevented me getting here.

(My DS and his cousin playing TV console games later in the day at my sister's house)

I hope you all had a wonderful time over the Christmas period!! We had a lovely time with family and friends and I managed to get all the homemade gifts finished.

This is a cross-stitch bookmark I made from a kit that I bought when we visited The Centre for Alternative Technology in the summer. It's for a good friend of mine. Making it made me realise why I haven't done any cross-stitch for some time - it's time-consuming, fiddly and frustrating!! It came to life when I added the backstitch but I'm not very inspired to do any again soon.

I made about 125 of these peppermint creams a couple of days before Christmas. It wasn't easy to keep count of them with my DS around and, of course, having to "taste test" them. :-)

Here are the family's gifts ready to be wrapped.

A closer view shows the finished coasters clearer. The peppermint creams are in celophane bags in the mugs.

The church in the village is spot-lit over the Christmas period courtesy of the local hotel opposite. I took this photo on our way back home quite late Christmas Day.

Just before Christmas I won a giveaway run by the generous Miss Prickly and my package arrived today all the way from Oregon. I was lucky enough to be the winner of one of 3 prizes offered - this lovely colourful wristlet. A lovely extra pressie just for moi!!!

Tonight there are 15 of us meeting at a friend's house for a takeaway, then we are heading for the village to join the locals to see in the New Year.

See you all again in, what I pray will be, a happy and healthy 2011 for everyone.
Bye for now
Teresa x

Second Last Weekend Before Christmas!

2010-12-13T17:16:00.000Z

Saturday am

Rehearsing with the Saturday Singers for a Welsh evening on Monday 20th (squeezed into a corner of the Fellowship Rooms because there was a children's party in the Chapel where we normally go). We're singing 2 welsh songs: 'Suo Gan' and a carol that I can't remember the name to) . None of us, except the choir master, speaks much Welsh so we've been struggling a bit with these. I remember my sister telling me about the time a visitor to the hotel she worked at was asking her about speaking Welsh. She told him she did and spouted out a long sentence to prove it. He was quite taken in but all she had said was "Abergavenny, Monmouth, slow down, stop, service station" and various other Welsh words on our road signs. He then proceeded to talk about well know Welsh TV series Pobol y Cwm but pronouned it in quite an unfortunate way that had us in stitches when she told us.

Saturday afternoon

Met up with a friend for mulled wine and a chat. She's recently started a life coaching business that's beginning to reap rewards for her after putting in a huge amount of work.

(one of DD's sweet little bunnies in the palm of her hand)

Sunday pm

DD picked me up to go to town. Where we had a some lunch before heading to the shops for Christmas shopping. I couldn't go in my car because a man was due sometime in the afternoon to replace the windscreen - I'd somehow developed a 6" crack in it during the cold spell!

(A little knitting I work on when my eyes tire of tiny cross-stitches)

Before my OH picked me up to get back home in time for the first Carol Service of the season, DD showed me the baby bunnies that had been born to one of her rabbits just a couple of weeks ago. Sooo cute!!

Back at work now for the last week before the 3 week break!!!! :-) We had the news today that we were successful in our appeal and the planning permission has been granted for the next stage of the job. This means work for another 18 months to 2 years. I wish I was happier about it because I should be grateful to have a job and certainly wouldn't give it up unless I had to, but this job is not really what I want to be doing.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Third Last Weekend Before Christmas!

2010-12-07T12:28:00.001Z

Just in case anyone is on tenterhooks to find out, you can breathe again now because I can announce that I had exactly a QUARTER of a snow day last week!!!! Sorry for shouting but a QUARTER!!! What am I supposed to do with that? Do you know what I did? I CLEANED!! Sorry, I'll calm down now.

This is the scene as I drove to work one day last week. Here we have freezing fog on the two lane road. The car said the temperature was -13!!!!!

Things were a bit brighter as I neared the office on the single track road.

I'm not really angry - I had a lovely weekend starting with a quiz at the local pub on Friday evening (which my team won)!

I finished my Christmas bell pull (above) to take to my quilting group where we also enjoyed a Hope Lunch (everyone takes a plate of food and hope there'll be enough). I didn't take any quilting to do, but concentrated on some cross-stitch for a Christmas present I'm hoping to finish by next weekend when I will see the recipient. Pics will have to wait until after Christmas so she doesn't see.

On Sunday I ~~dragged~~ accompanied my OH to a local craft centre that has recently re-opened after a few years being closed. Most of the crafts they sell here are made in Wales. In a workshop at the back of the centre I found a room with lovely bags hung all around the walls, and shelves at the end piled with gorgeous fabrics (not new but recycled and reclaimed!). It was almost exactly as I envisaged my own fantasy workspace and I was so envious of the mysterious Cayt whose workshop it was. I couldn't resist buying one of her lovely bags (the flower is a detachable brooch!). OH and I stayed for coffee and cake and had a lovely chat with the owners who suggested I go back when Cayt is there and chat to her about her work. I fully intend to take up the offer! I also want to look in the vintage clothes room that was closed on Sunday in order to tidy it up after they held a Craft Fair the day before.

To finish off, here's a pic of the (mostly) vintage Laura Ashley fabric I won on ebay recently. There are 3 lots from the same seller here and with combined postage it came to less than £11. The pieces are all different sizes but some are quite big. The only one I am disappointed with is the lightest fabric 5 from the left. I haven't looked closely yet but it seems to have a few marks on it and is not a very inspiring design to boot. ("to boot"??? - where did that come from? I never say that! I just had to look it up so if you're interested have a look)

Bye for now
Teresa x

Teething Troubles at Work!

2010-11-30T16:25:00.000Z

I expected the portacabins to be cold so wrapped up warm accordingly.

I expected the roads to be icy with the cold and snow so drove carefully.

I expected to be further from any shops so made sure I didn't forget to bring lunch.

I expected to be further from a garage selling cheaper fuel so filled up in advance.

I didn't expect it to be quite SO cold!!

I didn't expect the water pipes to freeze leaving us using water from the drinking bottles to fill the kettle and pour down the loo to flush it!!

And I didn't expect the frozen pipes to burst when thawing out, flooding water into the corridor and resulting in having to share the 'men's facilities in a separate cabin outside - Brrrrr!!!

Add to that poor mobile coverage, a dodgy land line system and a view out onto a blank wall and, well, you can't blame me for hoping today would be a 'snow day'!

Well, I managed to get there despite a bit of slipping and sliding, the toilet is fixed and I'm ensconced in my little office with the heater on high so things are looking up (and if the weather is anything to go by, I might yet get a snow day this week) :-)

Stitchy News

I absolutely love this block that I received from Anna from Finland for the Tag Square Bee for November.

Look at the lovely fabrics. I particularly like the big white flowers on the green background and the brown with butterflies.

The coasters have now been trimmed down during a few spare moments over the weekend. Making things in batches seems to be the way to go with small items.

Here's a glimpse of a corner of my Christmas Bell Pull hanging I started at my quilting group last meeting. The next meeting is on Saturday when we are supposed to take it in to show, so as I've only got the binding to sew down, I should get it done. I know what I'll be doing if I do get a snow day :-)

Bye for now
Teresa x