Marching on...

After yesterday's progress, today I have continued the productivity by piecing the #ukminiswap top, making the backing and binding, and deciding for sure that, with all the seams, a little hand-quilting round each feather is the way to go…

Each double-feather block measures 6" square, so you can get the scale.

Scrappy binding, a pieced backing and white perle to complete the picture.

I think I will save the quilting and binding for the weekend, a little of what you fancy does you good and all that jazz ;)

Feather-brained...

Today I actually got down to a full day of cutting and sewing.  It felt rather good.

Although the #ukminiswap deadline is still a month away, I thought it was time for me to crack on with my AMH feathers that I started last year!

I am pleased to report that I now have all 18 mini feathers sewn up…

Excuse the dark night-time shot, this one, taken at the mid-point this afternoon is more true to the colours…

These have been a bit of a labour of love, and I am hoping my partner will love them as much as I do.

Thinking ahead already and wondering if a bit of hand-quilting could be in order?

To-ing & Fro-ing

School, other school, work, recorder concert, other school pick up, parents evening, home, tea, Cubs…

Knackered 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 ;)

Happy Red Nose Day!

Have a peaceful weekend everyone xxx

Ta dahs!

Here are the finished Lola's!

The first, for my colleague, now ex-colleague, which went down very well, it has to be said…

Apologies for the dodgy night-time shots before I wrapped it up last night, sorry.

However this afternoon I finished the other one destined for my Mum for Mother's Day…

Hurrah for the return of the sunny outside photos!!

Yep, I am more than happy with these, complete with little leather zip pulls, and the combos of heavier weight 'bottoms' in Essex Linen and a Kokka blend, with the lovely AGF 'tops'.

That's 4 Lola pouches so far, I know there will be many more!

A lovely pair of Lolas!!

Almost finished!

I pulled fabrics yesterday, but all the cutting, fusing and stitching were on today's agenda, (along with a load of school stuff and trips to the post office).

I have just finished the binding on the one I need to give as a retirement gift tomorrow, the other needs to be finished for the weekend, so I am on track.

I love this pattern so much; hope the recipients are in agreement.

My pair revealed...

I do love it when I can reveal all; and this month's Quilt Now holds the long-awaited appearance of a pair of cushions I made at the tail end of the Christmas holibobs…

Made with lovely AGF fabrics, two versions of the same.  Lots and lots of geese; honestly, lots!

This issue is again jammed-full of real-life friends, and on shelves this week I believe.

As for the here and now, tomorrow there will be sewing, you mark my words xxx

For Susan...

This weekend, between healing the sick and feeding the 5,000, I stitched up this month's Stitch Tease blocks for Susan, I am good like that.

Based on this quilt, Susan wanted blocks divisible by 6" finished, so I made a 12" square, two 6"s and a 6" x 12"…

If Susan's quilt ends up half as wonderful as the original it will be fantastic!

I enjoyed picking my fussy cut centres, and the wonk didn't give me too many palpitations either.  Hope they fit the bill my friend xxx

Another one of those days...

I spent the day holding the hair of a poorly child, and finishing of a couple of chores between bouts.

Then to top off the day, I went on the Brownie village quiz trail, finishing off at the chip shop.

I did have Jaffa Cakes for my tea though!  You can't say my life isn't glamourous xxx

Another World Book Day...

I got away with just buying the girls some fairy wings this year, but dear son was the recipient of a handmade outfit.

Polly The Party Fairy, Gandalf, Luna the Loom Band Fairy

Gandalf the Grey from a sheet; the head hole was chopped a little large, but it all came together and I feel like I did my bit.

If you had small folks partaking, I really hope it wasn't too painful!

I am rubbish!

You know the list?  The list that I actually had forgotten to add my most urgent to do to.

Well today I totally ignored it and painted my nails!

I know, I have commitment issues!

OK, let's do this thing!

I have my list; I have a day off tomorrow, which I intend to use wisely…

I just need to locate the sew-jo, and there'll be no stopping me!

March at last...

For the shortest month of the year, February was chock-full of sh*t!

I am glad it is March, I am not even able to make a Fresh Sewing February mosaic, as most was secret.

So let's move on, and look forward to Spring.

The kids hoped a new month would lead to new fortune…

Sadly they were wrong xxx

To look forward to...

I have to stick my head back above the sewing parapet this weekend, World Book Day beckons, and I have pattern writing to do, but whilst I get busy with the 'have to' I will be looking forward to the 'want to'…

Hope you have a peaceful weekend my friends xxx

Lighthearted Lola...

I may be suffering from a heavy heart, but a little sewing yesterday (which actually took me all day), and a combination of Lighthearted, (Ayumi's so gorgeous new line for Kokka), and Sveltlana's pattern, I ended up with this…

Poor rainy day photography, I have resorted to the stairs for pictures, sorry.

This large sized pouch pattern is superb!

With a metal zip, a little silver leather patch, and natural Essex Linen with sneaky band of the floral inside, this was a labour of love.  Yes, I stitched half the zip in upside down first time, but there was limited swearing.

I need to play serious catch up with my Amitié BOM, the next month arrived today, so I may be popping the hand-piecing in here, you know, to keep me motivated.

PS. Apologies if I owe you an email/reply, I'll be on it over the weekend, promise xxx

Slowly...

I took today slowly, achieved more than yesterday, used fewer tissues.

There may even be a finish to show you tomorrow.

Bear with me xxx

There's a place for us, 

Somewhere a place for us. 

Peace and quiet and open air 

Wait for us 

Somewhere. 

The world has lost an amazing whirlwind of love, friendship and laughter.  

I am heartbroken.  

Be at peace beautiful Terri.  

We will miss you so much xxx

Lola, L-O-L-A Lola, L-O-L-A Lo-la-ah!

I bought Svetlana's Lola pouch pattern as soon as I saw it!

A pouch, with binding - genius!

Needing to make a present for my sister's birthday, on Saturday I pulled out a nice little combo of fabrics, Priory Square, Cotton & Steel, Pat Bravo and Frances Newcombe prints…

This is an awesome pattern.  I only made the smaller size, but I want one, or two for me now.

I obviously finished the binding by hand; even with that, it was under a couple of hours in the making.

If you fancy a pouch pattern that is just a little bit different, and like having someone else do all the measuring and thinking for you, I can definitely recommend it.

I also finished up my secret C&S cushion (oops, did I say cushion!?), too, so not a bad weekend's work.

Back to the office today, kids in school, really looking forward to my day off on Wednesday!

Nice end to the week...

Apologies for my absence last night - I'm sure no-one noticed, I was watching Eastenders too!

Well half term is almost over, and the sewing has been very limited, but I can live with that.  Today to counteract the doom and gloom, happy mail to put a smile on my face…

I had to re-subscribe to Quilt Now, due to an admin error when I cancelled my Love Sewing subscription, (just way too many clothes for me… ooh Matron!), so I took advantage of the Aurifil offer; and having won a small fortune £25 on the Premium Bonds earlier in the week, I had a mini-splurge on some of Ayumi's gorgeous Lighthearted from The Village Haberdashery.

They, at least, will play nicely together for sure.

Have a lovely weekend, see you on the other side xxx

C&S Sneaky Peeks

Just to prove to you that I have had a needle in hand this week…

Lots of lovely Cotton & Steel.

Today's Half Term interlude was a trip to see Big Hero 6; yes I cried.  Really looking forward to seeing Bill at Easter though.

So the week seems to be whizzing by, why don't working weeks go so fast?

Sunshine, snowdrops & secrets...

Today was glorious, and rather than being cooped up indoors all day, the kids and I went off for a long walk in the woods…

So many snowdrops!

There was a little sewing too; but they remain secret projects for now, sorry, and I didn't even take any sneaky peeks.

Hoping your week is turning out brighter than expected xxx

Marking the day...

Dear hubby and I still like to celebrate Valentine's Day, which means gift swapping and a quiet 5 minutes before the kids start demanding!

This is the love token I whipped up…

So simple, but says it all.

We spent the rest of the day up in London, visiting the British Museum and seeing the Mummies exhibition to tie in with dear son's current school topic.  We also ran round the National Portrait Gallery, glancing at the Grayson Perry exhibits then spending longer in the queue for the loos!

Sunday allowed a little more secret sewing, and the first day of half term has enabled me to tick off the kid's trip to the dentist, take a trip to the library and order fairy wings for World Book Day.  Doing well.

Good things come...

… to those who wait and wait and wait!!

This week we have solved all the heating problems at last, been connected to the super-fast web and now it's half-term, for which I am completely thankful, a week away from work could not have come soon enough.

To top it off, I have been to two cake sales today, at school and Brownies, and I have that nice bit of binding to look forward to…

And here's a couple for Amitié BOM blocks I stitched in the week…

… for added happiness.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend xxx

Siblings Together 2015...

Over the past week, the Siblings Together stitchers, those in the Bees, those independently stitching and some of those wanting to contribute in any small way they can, have been bandying ideas about raising the profile of this wonderful charity once again.

Sadly there will be no early summer FQR for a grand handover this year, but that is no reason not to be involved in whatever way you can.

Maria has blogged here, and with a goal of 100 quilts before summer, Mary has come up with this gem…

Provided byFund-Raising-Ideas-Center.com

… which I will be adding to my side bar was a constant reminder of things to be done!  Mary will also be guesting over at Lynne's blog over the weekend, so please make sure you check that out too.

If you haven't heard of this charity before, have a look at the posts above and let one of us know if you want to be involved.  Even if you are not up for any sewing, donations of fabric and wadding are more than welcome.  The flickr group is also full of information, requests and ideas.

Let's bust that target!

Welcome Wednesday...

Although the boiler man popped in for 5 minutes this morning, long saga finally (?) over, I was free to sew today.  No calls to BT, no sorting or complaining or chucking my toys out of the pram; just peace and quiet and me time !!

So I got on with two secret projects.  Some of this…

… and the quilt for my Mum's friend…

I have got as far as attaching the binding.  So pleased!  First time this year that I have managed over an hour of uninterrupted sewing, and not a second too soon.

I am slowly chipping away at my FAL list, my To Do list and my ooh sh*t I forgot about that list!  But heading in the right direction.  Roll on Half Term!

Kaleidoscopic...

On Sunday I exorcised a few demons when I made my February Stitch Tease blocks for Kari.

She asked for kaleidoscope blocks, paper-pieced, and to be honest, the whole idea filled me with dread.  I tried kaleidoscope blocks way back in the mists of time, and quite frankly completely buggered them up.  I've avoided them ever since!

My centre points were definitely not pointy, and the finished blocks probably didn't even get a mention on the blog as they were so shocking, they were also batik, so the less said the better!!

So fast forward about 4 years, and this weekend, big girl pants pulled right up, I set to it.

Pleasantly surprised doesn't even go there!

Lovely points, even if I do say myself!

It just goes to show how much my piecing has improved over the years, thankfully, it's not like I haven't had enough practise!  What I do need to practise though is paper-piecing without so much wastage - I have to cut big, as I don't have the time or will power to work out all the reverse angles and which bit will flap where and cover what.  Maybe I'll suss that in another 4 years!

So these will be winging over the pond to make what will be an awesome first Bee quilt for Kari.

And in case you are wondering about the lack of Brit Bee stitching around these parts; the quilt tops are playing catch up, and I am now only awaiting Sarah's to piece the final border.  We are going to wait until they are all finished before having them sent home and I for one am sooooooo impatient, longest 18 months, so far, EVER!

From the other side...

I think we are on the other side of the winter woes; the heating is going strong, and hey, here I am with the blue glow of the BT hub for company; apparently I am going really fast!!  We haven't actually received any notification that we have been connected, and myBT still says we are being switched on Wednesday, but that is somebody. else's. problem!

So I hope you had a good weekend; Saturday at my parents' was lovely, catching up, and pressies for all.  I came home with these goodies…

I love the tui and pohutukawa fabrics, and the magazine will be keeping me out of mischief the next time I get some quiet time to myself.  I also love that although my parents were half a world away, these were bought from Lyndy, whose blog I have followed for years, and whose shop is on my 'one day' list for when we next make it over to New Zealand!  Thank you M&D xxx

I'll show you what I got up to on Sunday tomorrow, when hopefully I'll have got a couple of decent photos.

Fingers crossed for a good week xxx

Here comes the weekend...

Very glad to get this week out of the way!

Plans for the weekend include seeing my parents for the first time this year; they were over in New Zealand visiting my sister and brother-in-law since New Year and then stopped over in Hawaii on their way home.

Jealous?  Hell yeah!!

Then Sunday, after I have dragged the hoover round and ironed a few clothes, I will be plotting and planning, catching up with Bee blocks and other must-dos.  After that, hopefully getting time to play with this bundle of Cotton & Steel from Simply Solids…

I have a little something in the works as part of the Simply Solids Blogging Team; fun fun fun!

Have a good weekend tout le monde; we have been told Monday is the big switch day from Virgin to BT Infinity internet, so let's see if they can manage to swap a couple of wires without another 2 week delay eh!?

Round in Circles...

It has felt like I have been busy going no-where recently, but I am almost convinced that I can see a dim light at the end of the tunnel, if I squint, and stand on tip toes.

The chaps came back and fiddled with the radiators this evening and they have hopefully balanced things out a bit better.  We now have heat in all rooms - what a luxury!

So with the girls' quilts finished, and minimal enthusiasm for sitting at the machine in the evening right now, I am concentrating my efforts on my Amitié BOM blocks…

One down, four more prepped.  Good job I can feel my fingers again xxx

Something to smile about...

We have incoming calls again, and a lucky unused line meant no digging up the drive!  We also have the promise of Infinity broadband next Monday… hmm.

We have had the central heating system re-filled, but this evening, no heat downstairs, (yes that was me you heard screaming!).  So that'll be me on the phone tomorrow morning, politely requesting the chaps
come back then.

Not only did I have the company of engineers and plumbers, but also a (not very) poorly girl.  It was one of those days.

So I sat and stitched the binding, and just before we had to go collect the other two from school, I finished the Amsterdam quilts!

I love them, the girls love them; thank you Stitch Tease buddies for helping make these possible.  The girls decided their own layouts of one block each from each of my Bee mates and the extras that I made.  I think they did well.

The quilts finish up at c. 60" square; no batting, no quilting, just bobble Minky, wide sashing of Robert Kaufman dots and Dashwood Flurry bindings, all from Plush Addict.

Smiling girls tonight…

xxx

Simultaneously...

Yep, I am getting the binding on the girls' Amsterdam Quilts.  Easy and pleasurable enough, the only thing I am having to do is make sure that they are finished together!

So it is one side of one, then one side of the other.

I will be at home all day tomorrow awaiting central heating chaps and a BT engineer, so I am hoping to get a lot more stitching done.  I have a lengthening To Do list, but these are my top priority right now, and hopefully a good distraction from the trials of modern life.