Beeing...

This weekend I fulfilled my January Bee commitments.  I like that feeling of being up to date.

Firstly I made the next instalment of this year's Brit Bee quilt.  In December/January we were/are all making the block designed by Jo, and I was making for the lovely Jude.

This was a challenge of a block as you can see!  It, as with all the Brit Bee blocks, measures up at 15(.5)" x 30(.5)", and thankfully mine worked out that way.

As an aside, I have one of those appliqué flowers sitting awaiting completion for my My Small World, which has been sat neglected next to the sofa all Christmas; however I got all 6 of these stitched on Saturday afternoon!  I will finally get mine sewn tomorrow, that's my plan!

The brain-ache block finished, I set to Susan's blocks for Stitch Tease.  More of a challenge in the fabric pulling department, jewel-toned, tone-on-tone, no white, wonky log cabins with a navy 'log' in each block.  I think I managed it…

So that's me up to date with everyone.

Tomorrow, (daytime), I am going to shut myself off from the stresses of school re-organisation, work relocation and all the stuff and nonsense that has begun to fill my days, and try to crack on with some of my WIP sewing.  I'll hopefully get everything into some order to write a FAL post to keep me on track, (ahem).

Tomorrow evening I will back on the campaign trail, a meeting at dear son's school with the Council which has the makings of being rather lively!  So don't wait up xxx

Secrets and pies...

Only one more morning at work, then I will be free to catch up with myself, my blog, a giveaway, oh and Christmas!

Today I mailed my Secret Santa gift for the Brit Bee ornament swap and despite having received mine on Saturday, I thought it only right and proper not to open it until I had been to the post office and fulfilled my side of the deal!

So I ripped into the wrapping the minute I got home today, and here's what was inside…

Thank you so much Secret Santa, you spoilt me, and I know who you are, (what's with all the questions!?).

I'm sorry my picture doesn't do sparkly justice to the tiny cross-stitched Santa; and I am not going to mention the treats in the foil!  I have realised that this Christmas-time I am not going to be able to show you any secret stitching or anything, what with the now highly-teched up small-folk in the house!

I am so lucky to be in this amazing Bee, I love all that we do, especially our newest member, mwah!

Brit Bee - A New Year...

And we are off on another Brit Bee adventure, and this is going to be a great one, no doubt about it!

We have each designed a 15" x 20" block, shared our fabric / style preferences, made our 15" starter blocks and the whole kit-kaboodle has been posted in Dropbox, and the wait is over.

We are all making the same block each month, and first up is the one designed by Susan.  I spent the day making this block for Katy, who, in a nutshell is wanting bright solids, against white, using only 2 or 3 colours per block, albeit different shades of said colours.

Ta da…

Now for someone who had to do a bit of solids shopping before I could begin, because I claim I don't really do solids, I actually really love the fresh look.

What I do love even more is the snappy crab block, or aquaman with big grabby hands!!

I am so looking forward to these quilts developing over the next 12-18 months.  They are going to be so different, even though we are again using the same grand plans.  I love that.

The block I have designed will be the final one of the twelve, so you will have to wait patiently to see what I came up with.

Brit Bee Forever, Terri in our hearts xxx

Gotta Lotta Bottle...

Jenn's request for her month in Stitch Tease is/was Bottled Rainbows blocks using Rachel's lovely method.

You may remember that I've made these blocks before.  Brit Bee made blocks for Ceri when her youngest was born, and then we went on to make two of the most precious quilts I have had, or will ever have the honour of being involved in…

This time we are following the tutorial to the tee, QAYG included, (which reminds me I will need to de-fluff my sewing machine when I pull it out next time!).

So on Wednesday I got cracking.  I chose to make a dark pink block, with Kona Pomegranate as my sashing and scraps to match…

Love the viewfinder…

So that's one Bee commitment satisfied for October, and I can't wait for next week, when we get cracking on the next round of Brit Bee proper; it's going to be awesome!

PS. Blogging silence last night due to Scout investiture…

Why get invested on the ground, if you can do it 5' in the air!?

… and the Bake Off final, sorry x

A lorra lorra Lolas*

* apologies if you are not of a certain age or nationality to get that!

I want to go on about the weekend, and the Medallions but I realise that you might not feel the same!  So moving on, slightly, I've got a FAL finish already, and I'm going to link back to Brit Bee.  Bonus.

For a couple of the teachers, Akela and one of the girls' friends, Lola pouches were on the cards and prepped a week or so ago and added to my Q3 FAL list.  Today, in a mix of productivity and anxiety I finished them all up!

I made them in the intermediate size that I'd calculated and made a few weeks ago, and the Tula Pink one was adjusted to fit the scraps I had; for the Forest School teacher, it was too good a print not to use.

OK, I admit I wrapped Akela's for this evening before taking a photo, sorry, but there is definitely another one in there!

I also made another last week, but had to keep it secret until the recipient, Sarah, opened it along with her medallion…

I used up the scraps that had accumulated on her medallion's travels.  As far as I am concerned, everyone needs a quilt with a matching pouch!

If you haven't made your own Lola yet, why the heck not!?  You can get Svetlana's pattern here.

Make all the Quilts...

I know that if you follow me, you probably follow at least one other Brit Bee member; we seem to be an omnipotent dozen, so apologies perhaps, because you know what's coming!

Pop over to Katy or Susan's for full size pics of them all.

These quilts were a long time in the making, I am just so totally thrilled to see all the tops finished!  Being Brit Bee, we did the handover in synchronised style with those unable to attend, (well, those who could wait, Hollies!), and the wait was completely worth it!

I know I have a pile of other things on my To Do list, but today I went and bought batting, proper expensive stuff, not my usual, and the fabric I want for my last border, or maybe borders, I haven't decided yet.  Oh, I already have the backing!

I am going to hand-quilt mine, I want it to be special in every way and taking the time to work over every block just seems right.

Thank you again to all my wonderful Bee-buddies for making me the most peaceful and perfect quilt...

There's no denying it, we are definitely the best Bee in the world xxx

The Best of Friends and a Winner...

I have so much to tell you about the weekend, but my brain and emotions have been stretched to the limit and I do not think I have all the words just yet.

On Saturday most of Brit Bee were together to celebrate the life of our amazing friend Terri.  Alternating between laughter and tears, we certainly ran the gamut.  Terri would have loved it, her girls were a complete credit to her, and the love shown by her husband, friends and everyone she knew, was testament to our beautiful friend.

Only Terri could inspire a church filled with balloons and cookies and jokes about TeaPigs and The Sound of Music; who else could make the switched off disco lights flash as the service drew to a close?

Oh there were quilts too.  We handed over the quilts we made for Terri's daughters, and the ones we had made for her grandchildren were on show. Some of us brought our Brit Bee quilts to display and Ceri's patchwork running outfit was there too.  For the saddest of days, it was a perfect tribute.

There was also the grand handover of Brit Bee Medallions!  They will have a post of their own later in the week.  It was a bittersweet day.

xxxxx

So as promised, the winner of my 5th Blogiversary Giveaway…

Bravo Mary!  I will email you shortly.

Thank you everyone who entered, I loved reading all your hopes for the future.  I did promise to tell you my 5 years aspirations, and right now I am hoping to have all 3 children with their own house keys and continued good grades, the government to have just announced that it is so sorry for not giving the public sector a pay rise for 9 years, so we get a backdated pay award to apologise, and for my family (and everyone else!), to be happy, fit and healthy.  Not a big ask, eh!?

The brightest stars...

I have spent a lovely day off along the coast at Ceri's, stitching; thank goodness for interchangeable power cords (doh!), and chattering.

As many of you will know, Brit Bee lost the most wonderful, beautiful, amazing member of our group earlier in the year.  One of her wishes was that we finished a pair of quilts for her daughters made from the blocks that we had sewn for her over the first two years of Brit Bee.

So today Ceri and I pieced the two tops…

These quilts are so bright, so full of life, so Terri, so perfect.

I am honoured to play my part in moving these quilts a little nearer to completion, and can't wait to see them after Troods has worked her quilting magic xxx

Nice one...

Did you have a good weekend?

My parents came down for the day on Saturday, so gifts were given, cakes eaten and we took a nice walk through the woods and around the block to keep the cobwebs at bay.

On Sunday I got spoilt.  My Pandora bracelet is now pretty much maxed out, as is my waistline after a lovely Mother's Day lunch out.

So no sewing as such, although late Friday I did get to cut the final fabrics that I will be adding to the Brit Bee medallions…

I have Sarah's top here to finish, and the other tops are, fingers crossed, playing speedy catch up so that the grand reveal will take place some time in the not too distant future.  For a self-confessed impatient control freak, I am bearing up quite well ;)

Wonderful Wednesday...

I spent the day in the company of friends today, very special friends…

Stolen photo from Di's Instagram feed!

I can't really verbalise what a precious memory today will be, but in true Brit Bee style, there was the swapping of gifts, and the handing over of fabric; a fun pub lunch, much laughter and maybe a few tears...

Thank you for such a lovely day Terri, Di, Ceri and Susan xxxx

Tuesday Tease...

Yesterday's stitching fulfilled this month's Brit Bee medallion commitment, a coral and navy flying geese border for Katy.  As per the rules, only a disguised sneaky peek allowed…

Today I almost got my pair of Sew Together Bags finished, I just need topstitch down the last bits of binding where the tabs meet the sides.  Not bad going all things considered.

It was such a beautiful day again, so we gave up waiting for a delivery and went to the park.  The delivery never came, and the courier's website is next to useless, so maybe tomorrow for that and a couple of finishes.  Here's hoping!

End of days...

Ooh that sounds a bit more dramatic than I was intending!

If the weatherman is to be believed, the weather will be turning wetter, windier and colder, so I am glad I got to put my feet up for a little while in the sun today.  It was beautiful.

The feet up was a break from the preparation, both of what I am taking away, as well as what and who I am leaving behind for the weekend.

Yep, it's a Brit Bee Weekender, and I can't bloody wait; it has been a long time coming.  Some of our wonderful number will be absent, in body at least, which we are all sad about, but they will be in our thoughts.   The remaining baker's dozen, (not a quilter's dozen, 'cause that would be 12 and a half, I suspect!), will be stitching, munching and talking, printing, munching and talking some more, from tomorrow afternoon until Monday.  Did I mention that I am rather excited!?

It's a long old journey from here to the Peak District, and I wouldn't do that for any old body!

This evening though, (as if I didn't have enough to do), we went to visit dear son's next stop on the educational ladder.  We have a peculiar system here with years 6 to 8 attending a middle school before moving onto the Grammar, and tonight was the open evening.  We were impressed, but boy those year 8s look big!

Roll on tomorrow, and roll on next September.

I did some sewing too!

Firstly, thank you all again for the kind words and encouragement that you have given the young stitcher over the past couple of days - he is so proud of what he has achieved, the cushion has a tour of show and tell venues all lined up, Cubs, school, my parents and pride of place on his bed.

Surprisingly I was able to have a go on my sewing machine too over the weekend, and have a quite a few bits to show you over the next couple of days.

For starters, a couple of blocks for Bee Blessed...

... they were nice and quick(ish).

I also added the next sections to Jo's Brit Bee Medallion, but as secrecy prevails, here's some doctored proof...

I also made my real partner's FQR name tag, and popped it in the post today - so hopefully I will be able to show you that midweek.

I am slowly ticking off my To Do list for June and feeling like the pressure is off a bit... I am just building up my stamina for basting and quilting my Siblings Together quilt.  Soon, I promise, soon xxx

There was sewing... honest!

Today I made loads; things I can't show you, but wish I could; things I can show you, but I forgot to take any pictures of (doh!), and things I am not sure I will ever show anyone, lots of unpicking has been taking place, dammit.

But what I can show you is the contents of a parcel that came today...

Can you spot Trudi's awesome quilt skills?  This is the pair of quilts started back in March at the Brit Bee gathering, and they are now with me for binding and safekeeping.

They are on my rainy day list, because with Half Term coming up, we are bound to be sofa-bound at least once during the week!

4 Seasons in One Day...

Well not quite, but it was the most beautiful Spring day; there was gardening, I raked up a tonne, (well, half a wheelie bin), of dead leaves out from under the bushes, I know, should have done it last Autumn, but it started raining, and didn't stop for 4 months!

I then spent the afternoon soaking up the sun, it was pretty glorious.

When the conservatory cooled down enough for some sewing action, I got to work on my next Brit Bee border; finishing off Laura-Jane's modern Christmas vision for the month...

This sneak peak was taken in the last sunshine of the day; I have since stitched it all together, joined it to the growing quilt top and it's ready to move on down the making line.  It looks fab.

So I have cleared my conscience a little about wanting to get on with my bag, I just have to write up a few projects, take some photos and I know I owe you some finishes, including a couple from my FAL list already, although one will not get a grand reveal for a while, annoying secret sewing, sorry.

I really hope you had a great weekend too, and hoping the second week of the holidays is just as perfect x

Prepped and ready...

I crossed a couple of things off my To Do list today, keeping myself occupied with the help of a little skiver so-called poorly child, who, 10 minutes after pick up at 9.30am, seemed as right as bloody rain!

So first I made the binding for Terri's quilts.  As far as I know, the tops are still in block form and then need to be quilted, but I am ready!

Then I made the next additions for Jude's Brit Bee Medallion, but I forgot to take any pics, but as they are secret anyway, no biggie.

And although I have the MATO applique at the ready, I feel a little lost when I don't have a bunch of EPP on the go; so I sizzixed into yesterday's bundle and a dozen complementary prints, mostly Liberty, including my first quilty fabric purchase from the V&A exhibition in 2010!

I am not sure what these will become yet, whether I will stick with my usual random, or make pretty flowers, I cut 8 hexies of each print to keep my options open, and time will tell.  I am just happy to have some basting to keep my fingers busy.

So until next time dear folks; it'll be Random Thursday, and if the sedative hasn't worn off, you can probably expect something a bit more random than usual!

What she said...

You may have seen Susan's report back on our Brit Bee meet up already, and I really cannot add much more.  Brit Bee days are special.

I only snapped a few insta-pics during the day - way too much talking, hugging, eating and sewing to remember to take any more, I even got snapped by Trudi 'playing at' being a domestic goddess...

And today I put the borders on 8 of the team's ticker-tape blocks...

Mad instagram colouring, apologies if this has burnt your eyes x

I can give you a belated reveal too though.  Remember my super-speedy ribbon order, well here's what I needed it for...

Mini key fobs; Liberty, linen and a whole lotta love xxx

Secrets...

Brit Bee Secret Santa is always fun, and this year was no exception and we all made cushion covers for each other.

I was secretly making for Ceri.  Back when I was first feeling poorly I needed an EPP project, so I pulled some Oakshotts, white Essex Linen and Boo Crew fly-screen, and set myself up for a bit of Triangle City-building.  When Ceri posted her 'Dear Santa' wish list, it couldn't have been more serendipitous!

A nice bright cut of Joel Dewberry home dec for the back, and a concealed zip(!), and this Santa's work was done.

That last little keyfob went in the parcel for Felix too, and both, I am relieved to report, went down well.

And what did I receive?  Jackpot joy!

Santa-Pops made this perfect beauty for me.

Please excuse the ill-fitting cushion pad, but I wanted to use it before getting an insert that actually fits!

So that was a bit of the secret making that was going on here undetected; I'll get a snap of the last of the secret Christmas makes to show you tomorrow.

My parents will be taking the kids to the Saturday morning Panto, and hubby and I will get a couple of hours to regain our sanity!  I haven't been more than 500m from the house in over a week, which, given the conditions out there, is not a bad thing, so a little non-family interaction will be a novelty.  I better go find something to wear other than slippers!

Woo hoo Wednesday!

I got a lot done today.  I didn't think I would, but things fell into place rather nicely.

I pieced the backing for my Stitch Tease-Scrap Vomit, and made the binding; and after that little bit of mathematical fun and games, the quilt is 72" square not 60" (doh!), the basting is going to be a bloody cinch...

My fabric deliver arrived...

I was able to then get Di's Brit Bee borders on, hence the little-bit cryptic pic...

Then, oh yes, another thing, I finished my Brit Bee Secret Santa cushion!  I will keep that one under wraps for now as i) it's a secret, ii) there's something that is bugging me about it and iii) if I decide to keep it and make a different one, you will never know!

So I feel a bit more in control of my stitchy destiny this evening compared to last night; well I was, until I saw the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day date, and now I have something new to panic about.

Medallion Monday...

This evening I got the appliqué petal borders on to my Midnight At The Oasis quilt, however it's now way too dark for any decent pictures, so I will get you some soon.  It's looking like a complete colour riot, and I love it!

What I can show you, as promised an age ago, is a sneaky peak, and highly tinkered with photo or two, of Susan's Brit Bee quilt top with the addition of my border...

I already have Di's to work on, thanks to Susan's current speed-stitchery, and for the simplest border, it really is stretching my fabric-matching skills, I may need to shop!