2021 Week 3

 I hope you aren't fed up with Gingers!!!!

Some more for the village incentive to Keep 20121 Moving

 

(including a new version of mum and baby ...without the mankini look!!!)

 

 

I got a lovely thank you card from Kathy's grandson - and a pic on him on his quilt

This Ginger is ready for when the activity campaign in finished so they come out of the window

And I'm ready for Valentine's Day too

There is a village group that set up a few years ago mostly to promote good Mental Health and to help people who were suffering - they have become busier during the last 10 months or so!  They asked for nomination for "unsung heroes" and the distributed these - what a lovely idea, and I'm go glad the Gingers were nominated!

Two I Spy quilts now finished for customers: just need to add a name on the top version: baby arrived yesterday so I can get that finished and delivered next week

And finally my current Slow Stitch project.  There are some elements I want to re do, and there are a few more hundred colonial knots and another lake (filled gravel pit) to add to the map but I'm enjoying the journey (excuse the pun)

I think the stitched version needs to be twisted clockwise slightly but it's not far off!

2021 Week 2

More Gingers - this is a mum with a baby in a sling - I thought I'd mention it because when I design I am sometimes moving individual stitches so I get very engrossed in the design, then I stitch it out and THEN I realise the sling looks like big green school knickers (or worse - a mankini?!)  And to make it worse if the green is a pair of big knickers, the babies feet are . . .  no lets not even go there!  I will be stitching another version which hopefully address these issues!!!

This one went better - a "recycles youth" in the village whose family tell him he should wear a mark even when he's out walking

And here are some more for the Keeping Moving campaign

Me? Not so much of the moving although I have been to the village on my bike a couple of times this week.  An I-Spy quilt for a baby girl

And a pile of log cabins started for a new quilt.  They need a few more founds but I'm running low on the coloured fabrics

2021 Week 1

 Hello, Happy New Year!

Days off work meant sewing - yippee!!!  The EPP triangles got quilted

And the bound

Some grey fabrics I got for Christmas were cut into 1.5" strips ready for a log cabin

I started an embroidery map of the village (just a few million more colonial stitches to go!!!)

A bit of progress on the cross stitch

 

And the beginnings of a new group of Gingers!  These are all doing much better on their New Year's resolution to exercise than I am!  (some of these are from MemoriesInThread.com and some are my costume / activity designs

 Keep safe xxx

2020 Week 52

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas - probably not what you are used to, but most of the year has been like that!

I had some lovely crafty gifts - thank you!  A map making DVD from Plum (watch this space), a needle keeper and a chocolate sewing machine (yum) from Avril.

I finished another julenissen for us:

and have completed this flimsy.  I'm a bit cross at the way I've arranged the colours, but it is what it is!!!

Looks good hung up with lights behind it - almost stained glass!!!

Very good friends moved out of the village just before Christmas so I made them a tree hanger of their old house - apparently I made her cry . . .  that's a good sign right????

  

I've made and posted the FB hexi swap flowers for December (poinsettias) (yes, I confess, I havent finished mine yet!

The vicar was delighted with his ginger nativity set and wore them for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve - I mist try and make some of the rest of the cast for next year!

Another Elf sized "ginger" dressing up outfit was delivered 

And the spiral crochet has been finished (as I came to the end of the wool) and just needs a bit of blocking.  I might need to buy some more so can can start something else!!!!

I got some fabric packs for Christmas, and some  other crafty bits, but this is my absolute favourite . . . Lisa bought me a class to make these!  Once we are allowed to be in the same place at the same time we are going top have a go

Christmas was mostly virtual  . . . but good to see everyone 

My triangle EPP has been pieced.  Where the points meet is supposed to look like this 

But many junctions didn't get the memo!

I have a circular die for the sizzix, so I cut lots of circles from heat and bond and ironed them onto each junction to keep the points in the right place

Since them I have removed the paper backing from the circles and ironed the whole lot to a white fleece, and have quilted it in variegated thread - jut binding to do then another one done

And finally I've been embroidering in front of the TV.  I found this panel in a pile that needed putting away, it had been pieced but was just pattern / black / pattern / black.  I've had fun extending some of the patterns into the black and now will make it into either a zippy pouch or a basket

I do believe that for once I am going to start the new year with fewer UFOs that I started it with - yes there are still some, and yes I did get some fabric for Christmas that I may be about to cut into, but things have definitely been more chaotic in the sewing room in the past!

Keep well everyone, and keep safe xxx

2020 Week 51

 This dotty paper foundation pieced quilt was finally finished this week

The binding was black (with small white dots) onto black fleece - I'm glad that's finished, it was really difficult to see where each stitch was 

The upteenth attempt to start my crochet spiral circle is actually working!  As I cant start a crochet piece I'm in the hands of others as to how it's going top look, but Lisa made a great choice in the style of this one - I'm using the variegated wool and the cream wool together!

My friend Louise had her first baby, Jessica, the same day I had Lisa - that's actually how we met - in adjoining beds.  We used to see a lot of each other but over the last 29 (!) years life has moved on so its less frequent but it's always a joy to see her and her three girls.  Grandchild number 3 has a feeding issue and has to be tube fed . . . could I find a way to add front / belly zips to baby vests so the port can be accessed.  I started with creating a lined opening and trying to add the zip to the front but it was a lot of fiddling ... so for this one I added a second zip put to the zip, stitched it on the outside, then opened the zip and cut away the now unnecessary fabric behind it - took about 5 minutes!  It's gone in the post to them - if it works for them I can easily adapt other vests for baby M

Louise's second daughter, Claudia, is my God Daughter, and she has just become a mum - baby William was born earlier this week.  This EPP quilt seemed a perfect gift - with three big cousins who can use the fussy cut hexies to invent stories for him!

So I've added his name and this has gone in the post too!

The girls and I did another on-line Brush Party painting class - it was great fun but we are not natural painters so would like to do one with a real life person - when ever we are allowed to!!!  Anyway, I don't think these are too shabby!!!

A very good friend of mine is Jewish.  She ordered a few Christmas gingers from me: I added a Hanukkah ginger for her - just mixing my faith and non faith celebrations!!!!

More Gingers - these went to Manchester to my childhood best friend (I love that we've reconnected through Facebook!)

For a quite week there seems to have been a lot happening!  It was mum's birthday last weekend - but we were not allowed to meet in a home so we agreed to meet for a walk and a picnic - come the day it was *pouring*, so we chucked the gazebo into the car too and used the boots of the cars as seats!

A birthday we wont forget in a while!!!  Mum enjoyed it!

Nat used the Elf Ginger costumes

My friend Jane crocheted me an awesome Julenissen

And Barbara made me a mask with a matching zippy - isn't it great!!!!

If I'm not in touch with you before "the" day - I hope it's a great one even if it's not what we hoped for and we cant see the people we want to see, but by doing the right thing this year we can see each other next year.

Lots of love xxxx