Happy Endings...

The end of September already!  After a seasonal/unseasonal misty, rainy start to the day, by home time the sun was shining again and it was warm enough for a power nap in the garden before collecting the kids from school!  Long may it last, I am not ready to put my flip flops away yet.

But not only that, but I also received happy mail.  Last week, on a metaphorically dark day, one little ray of sunshine broke through into my Inbox from Lucy telling me that I had won her Cotton & Steel giveaway.  It made me smile, but then life took over again and I honestly forgot, until today.

Fat Quarter Shop parcels are always wonderful to receive, but when they contain prizes, then even better.

I have been pretty selective in my C&S purchases, so this gorgeous Splash bundle is a welcome and gorgeous addition to my stash.

I love these colours.  I am working on a commission quilt so far outside of my comfort zone right now, that these beauties totally reinforce what my natural colours are.

Thank you Lucy, thank you Fat Quarter Shop xxx

Let them eat cake, again...

Well the Harvest Festival and Autumn Feast meant that there was no cooking again for me (yippee), and the kids had hotdogs, ice cream and cake again.  Balanced diet, blah blah, it doesn't happen often, and they ran most of it off before we got home.  I also got to say hello to Jean in the playground - Hi again Jean!

No cooking, sadly, did not mean more sewing time though, but I did get some sorting done for the weekend, and I got my #IGminiswap quilt sandwich all ready for some quilting action…

My cold is abating during the day, so no excuse not to be at work, but it comes back the minute I sit down in the evening; don't you just hate it when that happens!?

Well that was my Monday folks, pass the tissues please xxx

One of the crowd...

Having just had a quick skim down my Blogger reading list, I see a theme, and I am almost pleased to be in such great company with those also suffering from a lurgy.

My turn with the sore throat of a couple of days ago, (thanks kids), has manifested into a snotty, sneezy cold, with one of those annoying evening headaches.  Hey ho, I am just glad it is this weekend not next weekend… but more on that, um, next weekend!

Still, I had to get some sewing done today, and stitched up 176 (or thereabouts) Drunkard's Path blocks…

Not the most taxing morning in front of the machine, but way more enjoyable that the pressing that followed!  But done now, and the secret commission quilt top is within sight and all set to meet the deadline, phew.

We also popped out to the Brownie and Guide Fall Fair; lots of sweets, cake, hotdogs and tombola prizes.  It was a gorgeous summers day here, so it was good to make the most of it.

I am really hoping to wake up in the morning feeling a bit more normal, I have so much to cram in this week, starting tomorrow with work and then the school Harvest Festival/Autumn Feast; the kids will be having cake for tea again then!

Legs Eleven...

Eleven years as Mrs Gordon…

Thank you for every minute Mr Gordon xxx

Mr & Mrs Clooney, you have some catching up to do, just saying.

Déjà vu...

Another Friday, another Brownie badge, the one I didn't get round to last week…

… all stitched down in time, just!

The only other fabric-related fun was cracking my way through a couple of meters, in preparation for another one of those secret projects…

I realise that this little blog has been a little light on the sewing front since the summer - I am going to blame school and work for zapping my energy and addling my brain, but I am hoping to rectify that pretty soon, I promise, so please keep coming back.  xxx

No Sh*t Sherlock!

Going on the zoo trip was never going to be easy on the feet, ears or throat - after a 3 hour journey up to London, we were whizzing round the animals, herding children and back on the coach before we knew it…

The kids indulged in hours of 'are we nearly there yet?' and us grown ups remained as noncommittal as we could, but it was still smiles all round when we got back to school, so worth every long, noisy minute.

After the longest journey there, we took the North Circular route home, and that meant Baker Street was the way to go…

221b in full Sherlock glory.

It won't take a super sleuth to work out where I'll be by 9pm!

Oh, and before I go, thank you so much to all of you who have watched dear son's video already, he is so totally thrilled with all the views and likes; if he hits 100 views by morning, he'll probably combust!

We're all going to the zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow...

Yes, tis true.  I finally get to go on a school trip and it's to London Zoo.  Wish me luck with my quota of 6 seven year olds!  I am hoping it will be a cheerful day in amongst so much other stuff right now.

And if you would like, or need something to make you smile, which I guarantee will make one young lad really really happy, please check out my son's first YouTube video.  It's a stop-motion Lego adventure, it's only a couple of minutes long, but he has been monitoring his stats since he posted it a couple of days ago, and a little surge in interest will make his day…



If you, or the youngsters in your lives have a YouTube account, or log in using Google and can Like or even subscribe, oh please do.  I promise you won't be inundated, it will all be short Lego or Minecraft movies, suitable for all the family.  When he's a world famous film director, you can all say you knew him at the start.

Thanking you in advance xxx

at a glance pouches...

Remember the binding I gave you sneaky peaks of a few weeks ago?  Well, my lovely friend Aneela asked me to do a bit of pattern testing for her, and her wish was my command…

I made these at a glance pouches for the kids; they are now all full of loom bands and much loved.  I didn't give the girls a wide choice when it came to fabrics, although dear son had free rein, can you tell!?

I am totally biased, no denying it, but it really is a sweet, fast and fun make.  I need to stock up on vinyl, because it is so useful, and I want to make a fold over sewing pouch very soon too!

You can purchase both patterns over at Aneela's Etsy shop now, plus her third new pattern, the totally cute mini pouch and needle book combo.

If one thing is certain, you can never have too many pouches.

Sunny Spot...

Between the homework and ironing, when the kids and himself went out and about to let me have a little headspace yesterday, I finally stitched up the birthday present that was needed for last night's 'late night disco', (yep, an Inset day today, I know, already), and the sun even came out for the photo call…

Jeni Baker's free pattern is always a good, stress-free little make, thankfully, because apparently last year's zippy pouch and key fob went down so well, shop-bought was not an option.  I had my orders.

Today, hubby was on Inset duty as I had a course at work.  An all-day course.  I have not worked a full day for 10 years!  To say I am exhausted is an understatement.

It was nice to come home to a present of biscuits - made by the kids, decorated by daddy…

Forgive me whilst I go rest my brain with a cuppa and the last crumbs!

What should have been...

My thoughts and love are with my sister and brother-in-law tonight.
xxx

Highlights...

Just the highlights of today, it's late, I am tired, and my To Do list is getting longer and longer; yes that is panic you can hear.

I struck lucky at the local Doughty's Roadshow first thing, I got the wadding I needed (yay!) and some fun spots and some elephants for luck…

I wasn't sure what to expect, but to say there was more batik and brown than anything else is not a fib!  I was the youngest in the room, bar the Doughety's chaps, by a generous 20 years, and boy can those ladies shop!

What I actually needed to buy today was elusive though; owner Jo and I ransacked the shelves at Eclectic Maker and I came away rather despondent and disheartened, but that's delving into the depths of the lowlights, so moving swiftly on.

This afternoon the Cubs went kayaking, a first for dear son, and he had a fantastic time.  It was good fun to watch too…

So at least one person will be sleeping well tonight!

Right, I need to mull and alter plans and hope I get one of those middle-of-the-night revelations x

Not the plan...

I was headed off to Eclectic Maker after work today, that was the plan.  However a phone call from school just before I clocked off, and it all went to pot.

The poorly girl was poorly again, running a temperature, so home we came.  No shopping, just Calpol.

It's a sad day when the most crafty I get is sewing on a last minute Brownie badge…

… and I only sewed the one, as the poorly one didn't go this evening, I'll do her's 5 minutes before next week's meeting!

Love 'em really...

… even when the planned for 'free' afternoon is taken up with a so-called poorly child, followed by a school meeting about the O2 Sing Up/Young Voices malarky in January.

Are anyone else's kids involved in that logistical head-scratcher?  What started out as a great free club had turned into a money pit that could all go tits-up if it snows!

Some days I am never happy ;)

Mojo no-go...

I had the whole day to sew and stuff; the clock was willing but the mojo was weak!

Although I am determined not to let my hand-pieced Green Beans tribute get left on the shelf, and I even cut a few strips to hand stitch on the slow, sitting out in the sun I quickly began to flag.  I grabbed my book.  Fell asleep.

So I didn't get much done today, but I am going with the theory that I needed the sleep more than I needed to do anything else, and sleep is good.  I'll be doing it again later x

#IGminiswap Full Frontal

Time is short today - work, dentist, school Meet The Teacher session, pick up, home, back to school for a 2nd post-Chess club pick up, home again, showers for the girls, dinner, Cubs (although hubby had the pleasure of helping with the pack litter pick!), shower for the boy, and then, only then, time for a cup of tea!

So here's a full on pic of my #IGmini…

I am seriously thinking of a nice bit of spiral quilting, a little off-centre, in-keeping with the wonk; as much as I would love to get my hand quilting action on again, the number of seams in this beauty would totally scupper my rhythm!

Day off tomorrow though - woo hoo, 'nough said!

#IGminiswap progress...

I was able to stitch up all my drunkard's path 'quarters' yesterday in the end, and I trimmed them all this afternoon.

They were trimmed in a wonky fashion, on purpose.  My partner loves a bit of improv, but that doesn't come naturally to me as much as I would love it to.  So this was my best attempt; there are still nice matching points in the centres, and each block fits together like proper quilt blocks, but it has the look of the carefree and easy going, so everyone's a winner!

I snapped a few pics as I went, and the Instagram likes are a real confidence boost…

The top is now complete, but here I will stall for a while, as I am currently wadding-free, so I need to rectify that.  But, how the bugger am I going to quilt it!!???

Back on the Home Front..

Those who follow me on instagram may have spotted the point in last night's proceedings when we resorted to selfies and silliness…

It was an evening of sublime and ridiculous, seeing some old friends and colleagues, false moustaches and cream teas.  We managed to stay out until about 10.15pm, by then the kids were full of cake and getting restless, and I was happy to swap my heels for flip flops and come home for a cup of tea.

Up bright and early-ish today, I Sizzix cut all my #IGminiswap DP pieces whilst helping dear son with his homework, multi-tasking at its best…

So all set for another week, a relatively normal week at that, but I have a couple of corker weeks coming up, so I am happy to just go with the flow for a bit.

Stepping out...

Today has been all about the chucking of tiny clothes and putting the house back together after a full week of work and school, but tonight we are stepping out…

My sister-in-law's 1940s 40th birthday party, there may be photos to follow, but I know for sure that my feet are going to be killing me tomorrow.

xxx

Quick, make!

It's my sister-in-law's 40th birthday today, but more on that tomorrow, or maybe Sunday.  But whilst my attention had been taken up with that, I got caught short by my best school-mummy-friend's birthday.

So glad I have a go to pressie make eh!

She is now also in receipt of one of Jess's fine cards too; I bought my pack at FQR and I only have a couple left.

A quick job well done I say.

And so, thank goodness it's Friday; my battery is both literally and metaphorically at 4%, so I better hit publish now before I run out completely xxx

#IGmini prep...

Having all three kids in after-school choir today meant I had a little extra time before pick-up to pull and sort fabrics.  You could be forgiven for thinking that there may have been an ulterior motive last term when sign ups opened!

So it's currently all about the #IGminiswap, so the plotting continued today.

64 scrappy squares…

… and all the LV fabric have been picked out too, all ready for an almighty Sizzix session over the weekend, c'mon xxx

Tickerty-tick...

I crossed off a load of To Dos today, so it feels good even if there's not a lot to show you for my efforts.

There was typing up, wrapping up, a trip to the post office, emailing, invoicing and plotting.

I stitched down all the binding…

… and I even got to thinking about my #IGminiswap.  I have the bones of a plan, I will pull some fabrics, then put it out there on Instagram to see if my partner takes the bait…

Looking forward to getting stuck in to this one x

Testing times...

It's been a typically back-at-it busy day, work, after school swimming, Cubs, sewing on Cubs badges in a last minute panic, swiftly ignoring the fact that they had been waiting for attachment for about, umm, 8 weeks, and I have just sat down in an exhausted heap, whilst waiting on the tumble dryer to finish.  Back in the old routine, grrr!

Whether or not I get the energy back to finish off these little pattern test samples this evening…

… I wouldn't put money on it.

However, I have my non-working day all to myself tomorrow, so I think I might just add them to the To Do list and have a cup of tea x

Ahoy!

Over the weekend I had time to fulfil my monthly commitment to Bee Blessed, making a couple of sweet sailing boats which will end up in another quilt pieced with love by the fab BB ladies…

What makes me particularly happy about these blocks is that I will be able to hand them over in person to Jude and Sarah in a month's time!!

Mental Blocks...

So I finished those blocks today that had caused me to have to think!  Oh how very dare they!

They look good, and Annabella likes them, (always a bonus with Bee blocks!).

I am pleased to get these under by September belt.  The tutorial is here if you feel so inclined.

I did try to reduce the wastage, and that is what caused most of my angst, so attempt at your peril, fabric or sanity, you decide!

BOMing...

I've signed up for a BOM.
Not any old BOM.
A mystery BOM.

I have never signed up for anything so quickly; how on Earth was I meant to ignore Jen Kingwell's mystery BOM!?  The promise of fabric, hand and machine piecing and appliqué, heaven!

GT&SB block

There's still time to sign up, the BOM begins in October; 12 months of awesomeness for sure.  Anyone else taking the plunge?

I am so excited!

#IGminiswap Mosaic...

One of the first techie things I did on return from holiday, (a whole week ago, sob), was to make up a quick mosaic for my #IGminiswap partner, you know, just in case my long and detailed 'Likes/Dislikes'  lists on the sign up form weren't enough.

Trying sooooo hard not to be a complete control freak, but it really only consisted of the usual 'No brown, primary colours, batik, kiddy or funny'.  OK, there may have been more, but I forget!

So dear partner, here's my mosaic again, in a more eye-friendly size, (I pity the phone-only instagrammers, trying to see what the heck are in those mosaics!)…

I think it sums up my current loves, don't you?  Scrappy, low volume and a bit of Jen!

I have started stalking my partner too, she has posted a great mosaic, (so if you haven't, it's not you then, but more importantly, why the heck haven't you!?); I think I have a plan.  Watch this space.

In other news, I have now managed a whole 2 days back at work, and am well and truly ready for the weekend xxx

Working blues...

I put in my 5 hours today; cleared down my Inbox, well almost, and came home.

I had plans to make my Stitch Tease blocks for Annabella this afternoon, but an unscheduled stop at the park on the way home from school, meant not enough time to get further than piecing the strips that will go on to make a pair of shattered chevrons…

Now I love Annabella and I always try to do my best when making bee blocks, but I have to say, these are my worst nightmare.  They look simple, but involve thinking, with angled cutting (longer than my 12.5" rule) and create shedloads of waste if you are not careful.  Perfect bee block choice then!

There isn't as much variation in fabrics as I would have liked, but that is partly down to the construction, but shockingly, my stash of light to mid-tone blues is minimal.  It is not one of those colours I am drawn to; but I hope these will do the trick.

I hope to get them finished over the weekend.  This evening I am just going to close my eyes, to try and clear the headache that the first day back at work always induces xxx

My kind of day...

Yup, a day for me.

The kids all packed off back to school…

NB. The expression of the middle child is due to eagerness to get to school, and not wanting to be held up by stupid photographs!

… and so time for me to crack on with a commission without interruption, which means all I have to show you is this sneaky peak…

I am back to work tomorrow, so I expect you can guess what a fantastic mood I am in this evening; please refer to photo of middle child above, for a close approximation!

6 weeks without having to do what I do, I could settle for another 6 if anyone has any going spare.

Let's see if Bake Off can make me smile x

Pretties...

There's been no sewing, but I sat in the sun today, (yes, there was enough to warm my cockles), and play with the package I received from Pink Castle when I got back from my hols.

A few weeks ago Brenda had a stupendous discount on bundles, and seeing as I had just been paid, I indulged in a full flat rate envelope, because obviously it would have been both stupid and rude not to…

They all play together so nicely, I couldn't have planned it better if I'd tried.

For those who want more than just to look at the pretties, I purchased a half yard of both the lovely plummy and silver XOXO from Cotton & Steel and DS Honeycomb Lace (sold out); a FQ bundle of Scrumptious bias stripes; a FQ bundle of Sara's awesome Jungle Avenue; Brenda's Ah, Paris In The Summer bundle, and Katy's Sorbet picks.

I have no plans as such, other than to not buy any more fabric for a long time!

Well hello!!

I'm back!!

I had a lovely break, we were away in Menorca for 11 days of the past 14, and only had a sporadic internet connection for 24hrs, and as that was so rubbish, I couldn't be bothered to drag myself from the sun lounger to keep trying.

I have missed you all, don't get me wrong; however it has been so relaxing and liberating not to be tied to my MacBook/iPad/iPhone.

I read a couple of amazing books, The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden and I Am Pilgrim, did practically no sewing as it was either too hot or too dark, and took it as easy as I possibly could!  I really wish we were still there, I can feel my blood pressure rising and suntan fading already.  I am not even going to mention the pile of ironing I have inadvertently created!

So linking up with Fresh Sewing Day is a little bit of a lightweight affair this month…

Excuse toes!

The only new things to show are another Green Tee block, the beginnings of my Cartwheels EPP, and a tote I made for the evenings on holiday for carting all our gear to the bar and entertainment; sparkly linen and faux silver-leather and blatantly copied from a Victoria Beckham design; it did the trick.

I also trialled and wrote up another commission, the real-deal will be made in the next week, but you will have to wait until Christmastime for that, which isn't long, seeing as the festive goodies are already hitting the shops!!

So looking out the window today pretty much confirmed that Summer is gone from these here shores, dammit, so back to reality we go.

Oh you missed my chirpy, positive outlook I'm sure xxx