The dog ate my homework...

I actually have no excuses except 'life' to blame for my one-post-a-week presence at the moment!

Last week was draining and that wasn't just the weather.  Parents evening for the girls - both doing well, a day sorting pressies and then Thursday night's firework spectacular, complete with mud and brollies.  Dear son went hiking and came home with half the Downs caked over his waterproofs and boots, and pretty much all the sewing I did in the week was of the Scout badge variety.

Saturday, a rather cleaner boy went to Brighton Comicon with friends in his Steampunk regalia, and the girls went partying; I came down with some glandular-viral throat/neck thing.  I have plodded on and come out the other side, and today I finally attached my clamshells to My Small World, albeit upside-down; section 4 now complete…

My World is not as grey as this miserable dusk photo suggests!

The girls' presents have just been wrapped so we are all set for tomorrow's 9th birthday celebrations, which will probably commence c.5am.  Later in the week it's hubby's turn, son's parents consultation is after school tomorrow too and an office location announcement at work on Thursday is looking rather like bad news.

But there's a Pizza party and visit from my parents to look forward too at the weekend, and I have a parcel waiting me at the post office which I am hoping is my #schitzelandboominiquiltswap package, but could just be more pressies for others (I lose track!); I'll find out tomorrow.

So that's me in a nutshell.  So please bare with, it's not you, it's me xxx

Nine!

Happy Birthday dear son...

So proud of your reaction; when, after looking forward to it for weeks, and for what felt like many hours in the Lego Shop, you finally decided how you wanted to spend your birthday gift certificates, only to be told by the shop-boy at the till that their machines could not accept gift cards today.

Mummy, I can assure you, was not so polite.

PS. Craft It Forward opportunity update:
Sarah at Silly Banana Sewing
Benta at SLIKstitches

Not-so Fresh Sewing Day!

I'm back online, with pictures, and feeling better than I have done for over a fortnight, although fading fast after a very busy day, but let's hope good things are in the offing at last.

I have a lovely brand spanking new hard drive in my MacBook, big thanks to hubby, and the girls are tucked up in bed with new teddies...

I thought I would link up with Lynne anyway, even though I am a day late, purely as when it came to it, I was surprised how much I had achieved in the first half of October...

And obviously my proudest moment was piecing together the strips of the secret Oakshott quilt top for my/our wonderful friend Helen...

So I will wish you adieu for now; leave contemplating the mind-blowing number of unanswered emails that just downloaded until tomorrow, and keep taking those pills!

xxx

In The Pink...

So Monday Blues is more how I am feeling, but I've managed to get the first make of the week under my belt already.

This was one of the things on my 'need to do' list; a birthday present for the girls' best friend for Saturday.

After tea, I turned these Walk In The Woods scraps...

...into this...

Water into wine, pah!

I had the notion to construct the front block in a scrappytripalong stylee, but the pieces were not conducive so I had to just piece it longhand.  It finished up at 15" square and plumps up nicely with a 16" cushion form.

Not thinking a real Staple Dress and a Super Tote will come quite so easily this week, but here's hoping xxx

I heart Pizza Hut!

To hold a party for 16 very noisy and enthusiastic 6 to 8 year olds, get them all to make their own lunch, eat a bit of salad and then a lot of ice cream, (OK that bit was easy), all without me having to prepare a thing; worth. every. penny.

The quick trip at the end by a poor Pizza Hut chap to Sainsbury, to get a birthday cake (they had not noticed we had ordered one!), was more amusing than annoying, (but then we didn't have to pay for it - bonus). 

No clearing up, no washing up, and considering the amount eaten, no throwing up.  A great party.

Dear son's birthday, even having to share the party with his sisters, has been declared another 'best one ever'.  The surprise Nintendo 3DS went down as well as the Leap Pads last weekend; so now they are all tech'ed up, bring on the quiet times, and fingers crossed, lots of sewing time for mummy!

Tomorrow, I can seriously start thinking about Christmas... just wait for the screams! x

Friday Night Deja Vue...

One more sleep until dear son's 8th birthday.

So I have spent another Friday evening wrapping presents and getting psyched up for the Pizza Party tomorrow!

So all done now, and I have just watched the Olympians/Children In Need number - oh I miss the summer!

Have a peaceful weekend chaps x

Happy Day!

It has been officially declared the best birthday ever by the girls, not bad as it is their 6th already!

It was an early start, but I managed to delay the first request for presents from 5.15 to 7am!

The pressies went down a treat though - we hid the Leap Pads until last, as we didn't want one spoiling it for the other; the cases fit!  Spot the picture when Ms P spies what her sister is opening!

We went over to Chichester at lunchtime, I popped into Eternal Maker for a pit stop; Anna is in Japan, on a buying spree with the Man from Del Monte Kokka, so no nattering, well maybe just a little.

Wool felt, AMH voile, Echino deer with glasses & Cosmo thread = happy me!

McDonalds for lunch and then Madagascar 3D for the afternoon.  It was actually way, waay better than I was expecting, and the kids all absolutely loved it.

Home for birthday cake, lots of Leaping, and now all is calm.  Well they are probably definitely still playing in their beds, but we can't hear them, so a success for everyone!

I love days like these xxx

One more sleep...

...if they would actually go to sleep!

I am sat here with a big bag of birthday pressies waiting to be wrapped, sellotape and scissors at the ready, but whilst the little darlings are still running about and chattering way too loudly, I am in limbo-land!  They are likely to come crashing into the room at any point.

So I shall make another cup of tea, track down some biscuits and wait...

I know, it's a very boring picture, but it's the best of a bad bunch this evening!

Sadly the late night will not mean a lie-in tomorrow, their body-clocks are as good at telling the time as they are!  Ooh, an idea for Christmas pressies!

It's going to be a long evening and short night; I hope your Friday night is more exiting than mine! x

Let the Panic begin!

At this time of year I get in a complete panic when it comes to thinking about Christmas. 

I have the small matter of all the others in the house having birthdays within a week of each other starting this weekend.  List writing goes into overdrive!

Today, to try to get something ticked off the Birthday list, I did some satisfying sewing for the girls. 

They had selected their own fabrics for a 'bag' each, which I said I would make for them.  But sneaky Mama instead turned them into Leap Pad cases. 

They have been going on and on and on about having Leap Pads, so we have told them that they would have to wait and see what Father Christmas is bringing; but only 3 more sleeps and they will find out!

I found this brilliant tutorial last night, and made this pair in a couple of hours this morning; and that included a lot of cutting pieces; I hate cutting.

A big zip pocket for extra games, Velcro to close, no fiddly buttons, nice flannel lining and fingers and toes crossed, once the consoles are out of their vacuum packed packaging, they will fit!

Next!

It's June!

I love June.  My birthday is in June, so from Christmas onwards I always look forward to this month, summertime and all things happy.  But before I get older, there is the small matter of Fat Quarterly Retreat to attend to; have I mentioned that at all?

But before jumping ahead, as is customary, here is a little montage of my May - linking up with Lynne, (who I am going to meet tomorrow!) and Lily's Quilts' Fresh Sewing Day.  There were preparations and Bee blocks, the Blogger's Festival of Quilts and sunshine too...

So for the next couple of days things might be pretty quiet round here; my blogging will either consist of pictures and few words, or zilch, should that practice with my mobile phone go all Pete Tong.  But I promise there will be a full run down next week.

Whatever you are up to this weekend, especially if you are celebrating the Jubilee, have a fantastic time.

See you all soon and some of you tomorrow xxx

Monster!

Well I promised you 'bigger than owls', so may I present this fella...

Made using the Mollie Makes (issue7) tutorial, and downloadable pattern; with the children in charge of the colour combo, he had to resemble the picture in the magazine as closely as possible!

I didn't quite finish him last night, but he probably only took a couple of hours to sew together, a little longer for cutting out all the pattern pieces and felt.

Hairy shoulders!

He measures about 7" tall, and has been a big hit with my young critics.

He will be heading to my parents' on Saturday, as a birthday gift for my Dad, where I will also have to measure their dining table, again, so I can complete their Dead Simple table cloth in time for Christmas.

I am hoping for a quieter night than the last, as one poorly twin in the bed with mummy and daddy, full of cold and unable to get comfy, did not make for a refreshing rest!  'Tis the season xxx

Done!

I can hang up my Birthday hat for another year - all done, and kiddies asleep!

Today's party was good fun, I may have gone on the bouncy castle, but there are definitely no action shots...

Cake with the bunting!

I will now spend the evening making a list of all the things I need to make before Christmas - I sold all the travel trays I made for my mum's friends, so the teaching assistants will be back on the list, mixed feelings on that one.  The sales equate to a third of my FMF fund, so I don't think I can begrudge the TAs too much.

Hope you are all having a good weekend too xxx

Excuses excuses!

I am spiralling towards the end of the family birthday celebrations for this year, and am currently 'mid-bunting'! 

I have printed and cut some tiny bunting flags for the birthday cake tomorrow, and it is taking ages to hand-tie them.  I would have used the sewing machine but I need to just slouch in front of the TV.

I didn't sit down between going to school this morning and pick up time, somehow managing to turn a quick clean of the house into a mammoth task, and to all but me, it doesn't look any bloody different!

So my best intentions of a double FMQ Friday went by the wayside as checking nibbles and dunking marshmallows in melted chocolate for the party took priority after tea, sorry.

Just to keep you 'on side' here's a picture of the gang this morning, all ready for Children In Need Day at school.  The girls had to make do with an extra bow on their shop-bought Pudsey ears, but I made dear son's, (uncontrollable-shedding-yellow fur and all!) and attached them to his hat, which he didn't take off all day...

Oh I cannot wait for this time tomorrow - I can then start to think about Christmas :)

A journey through space and time...

7 years on, and this squidgy little bundle...

...has turned into this wonderful young man...

Happy Birthday to our little Timelord!

xxx

Tardis - part 2. Birthday Season Finale!

I was so happy when I finished this, I immediately sent a picture message to my husband and Dad, and for the first time ever showed a picture to one of my mummy-friends at the school gate - so I think you can tell I was just a little bit pleased with the result!

OK, so here are some sunny pics of dear son's new Sonic Screwdriver case...

I based it on the numerous zippy pouch tutorials that I have pinned, picking and choosing the best bits to make a 9"x12" finished case. 

I stitched in the ditch (well almost) along some of the seams around the Tardis to attach some thin cotton batting, giving it all a bit more 'body'.

The back fabric is the same Kona Windsor as the Tardis, with some grey pinstripe quilting, backed again with batting.

Geek alert  The 10th Doctor (David Tennant) is dear son's favourite and wears a pinstripe suit - when I quilted the man quilt, his first comment was 'oh it looks like the 10th Doctor's suit', so what else could I do!?

I only had a 7" zipper, so I extended the end tabs to match the size of case I wanted, and it all adds to the 'bigger on the inside' illusion!  The lining is Kona Orange. 

I added the tag on the side, because where else will he keep the key to the Tardis?

Fez's are cool, but will no longer be needed for storage!

The Birthday Boy will get this and too much more in the morning xxx

Tardis - part 1

I did it!!

Kids packed off to bed before 7pm, and Tardis-making time for me!

I found a great picture here and used this as my 'pattern'.  I had grand ideas of paper-piecing it, but I got all confused at the first seam, so just cut the fabric to size and made it up as I went along.

I printed onto some white Klona, and I think dear son is going to be pretty impressed!

Apologies for the dreadful photos - I will take more tomorrow for part 2, the finished item - no leeway here, it's his birthday on Thursday!

I was originally planning a 'crayon-roll' type affair, however the number, size and multitude of removable sonic screwdriver bits and pieces was making this a little tricky to plan out, so I am going for a huge zippy-pouch, about 9" x 12", and hoping it'll be bigger on the inside ;)

Further apologies to all non-geeks, this probably made no sense whatsoever xxx

If I had a hammer...

OK, I do, and I'm going to use it!

This morning's task, (other than washing, ironing and a trip to Tesco), is to complete some change trays to give to my Mum later; a couple of her friends have requested some for their daughters for Christmas.

So in those brief spare minutes recently, I have been stitching up the squares and starting to get those tricky poppers on.

So far I have made 3 large, 2 medium and a pair of matching smaller ones and have just four more to hammer this morning.  They actually don't want that many, but I figured whichever they don't choose can be put aside for Teaching Assistant Christmas gifts and the like.

For those not hanging round these parts when I last had a travel tray blitz, here's the 'how'.

Thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes for dear Hubby yesterday - he loves his quilt, so quit asking for it!!  I even got a Flickr Explore for a picture of the front!

I didn't get to catch up an all things bloggy yesterday, and doubt I'll get a chance again today as the hubs and I are out to a concert tonight, so have a great rest of the weekend, and I'll catch you all tomorrow x

Hubby Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband xxx

So without further ado... 'Man Quilt' reveal!

Low-down:
Front - Aneela Hoey's Around The Corner Quilt pattern from Moda Bake Shop
Back - I made up as I went along!
Cosmo Cricket c.1934 Layer Cake and Charm pack
Corners - Klona Natural
Backing - Kona Coal
Binding - Bonnie & Camille Bliss Polka Dots
Quilting - Aurifil 2021 (Cream)

Apologies, no man in the quilt (Nicky!), I had to steal it back for the photo-call whilst the man was in the bathroom!

5 years on...

5 years is a very short time, but it has turned these two...

... into these...

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girls!

xxx

Mr Blue Sky!

Yes, you heard right - the sunshine made an appearance at last - it certainly made my busy day feel far more 'happy'.

After my 2 1/2 hour stint playing 'Oxford Reading Tree' Bingo with the Reception class, I came home in the sunshine to some wonderful mail. 

Quick smart, washing line up and all the Bee blocks out for all to see...

I love them all; Laura-lolly-pops' block arrived today along with some Christmas lovelies, thank you kind lady!

There was also a parcel from my lovely friend (and probably yours too!) Nicky.  Gorgeous Aurifil and chocolate!!!  Nicky, you are magic!

Also getting to venture into the sun was my super festive mug rug from Judith D that came with her Bee block a few days back...

Look, shadows!

I am never ever going to fail to be astounded at the generosity of this crafty community.

Leaving the laptop switched off, I spent an hour or so of hand-stitching the binding of the Man Quilt in front of the TV before the school run, and it was the most relaxed hour I've had in so so long, I am over half way round now; there was some hexie action during ballet, and then dear son came home with another badge from Beavers, grrr!

Anyhow, all the pressies are now wrapped, the alarm is set for a little earlier than usual and the 4 year olds will soon be 5!  Time to change my 'profile'!