2018 Wk 52 part 2

Were you spoiled this Christmas?  I was!

Jackie made me this awesome purse that opens to a really good size, plus these Christmas decorations

From Sharon I got this gorgeous Christmassy fabric with matching ribbons

From Avril I got these super badges (I'm not sure I can take them off their cards - they are just a pretty as the badges) and these super lush threads

And from Plum I got a whole load of goodies!  A basket, a couple of kits, some clam templates and a box a really good sized beads

And Stephanie gave me a thread cutter which is useful and pretty!

Thank you all xxxxx

I've been doing some hand sewing - Kantha doodling

 And spent time with these two (I love to see them using my quilts!)

But mostly spent time visiting this lovely lady (my M-i-L) who has now been confirmed as having a fractured femur.  Now that they know what the problem is they can start putting it right.

While she was in hospital some lowlife scum broke into her house.  To be fair they didn't trash it or create a huge mess, but they did steal cash she had taken out for the grandchildren and great grandchildren for Christmas, and they have taken some jewellery.  Sadly the gold charm bracelet that she had collected over many years (like this one) has gone

But they overlooked this . . . her engagement ring that she's had over 70 years!!!

2018 Wk 52 Christmas part 1

Hope you had a very . . .

We did! 

M-i-L sadly missing from the Boxing Day festivities but she was very well looked after in hospital with a visit from Santa, gifts of a scarf and a box of chocs and a card from a local school child.

With the festivities over and all the waifs and strays back at their own homes I've actually done some "me" things!

A whole load of 1½ squares have been stitched first in pairs, then in 3s

and now being stitched into 9 patches for the Tiny Blocks quilt Jackie and I are making.

 I am also warping a loom: Have you seen the temperature quilts that people made last year?

You knit or crochet a set number of stitches in a colour that represents a temperature, then you do the same every day.  You can choose whether you use the maximum or minimum or average, just pick one and stick to it.  One of my students from many years ago is a very accomplished crochetter: she blogs at https://lullabylodge.blogspot.com and is cheerleading a crocheted blanket along (!) starting here.  I really wanted to have a go but I'm already thrown by the crochet tech talk, and don't have much in the way of wool colours . . .  however I have plenty of embroidery threads and have no objection to buying any extras needed so I am doing a woven equivalent.

Warping a loom has to count as one of the most boring craft preparations though - which is why I've done half then got distracted by doing my tax return and a blog post!

 I also got very spoiled - pressie pics will follow

2018 Wk 51 - !!! I'm not ready !!!

I need a pause button!

JUST TWO SLEEPS TO GO!!!

OK, so the dodgy raffle block has been corrected

The spare bedroom has been tidied so Niki can sleep there tomorrow night

I wasted time at work last week doodling through a team meeting!  Shame it's got confidential details under the highlighter - I'm quite please with this one

I've finished travel tags for the Christmas stockings

Thanks to Mr Amazon, a picture frame ordered yesterday arrived this afternoon, so a picture (sketch? pictorial representation?) I did of mum's family tree starting with her grandparents has been framed and is just waiting to be wrapped - that's all Christmas Day pressies finished

And two to-be-posted gifts have been finished (hand stitching not too shabby!)

But another three are still only pinned and there are NO POSTING DAYS TO CHRISTMAS!!!!

So there are some people who are going to be getting Happy New Year squishy pressies instead of Merry Christmas ones! (Sorry!!)

To do list :
Tidy sitting room and dining room so we have a place to sit and a place to eat,
Buy fresh fruit for fruit salad tomorrow night
Go to work for a few hours tomorrow to hand over keys etc
Wish everyone Merry Christmas

See you on the other side!

2018 WK 50 - too busy to blog

Life has been a bit hectic recently - I've got a new job starting 2nd January so I have been making sure everything at my current job is up to date to be handed over . . . and I've been teaching and making gifts!

These were some of the Christmas Decorations created at a recent Family Learning class

As well as me leaving, my poor boss is losing his other admin receptionist as she's going on maternity leave.  I made a Mickey Mouse quilt and taggie for the baby

 I taught Suffolk Puff Christmas Trees at Chertsey Museum

And ran a stall at the neighbouring village's Christmas Fayre talking to people about Stitch (our Days For Girls washable menstruation kits)

One of the group had been busy making stuff to sell to put towards more fabrics and an overlocker - I got this fab fella

Richmond and Kew had it's Christmas do: We do a secret Santa and I got this lovely little pouch with an easy thread needle

I also did a little side swap with Cheryl - she makes these fab free range sewing kit bags

And was making me one, so I made her a zippy pouch

2018 Wk 51

Some time ago I bought two packs of fabric from Aldi.  Pretty, spring fresh colours I wanted to share them.  I thought a Linus quilt would be nice and I thought it would be a good project for Richmond and Kew.  I cut all the fabric (12 FQs) and the same amount of white into rough 9" squares and last session gave everyone a white and a pretty square of fabric and asked them to make at least 1 x 8.5" block, with the idea that they will all be put together to make the quilt next year.

For one of mine I started with a small flowery strip: I added suitable other colours and went with a Bargello sort of design.

Another flowery design got sub cut and I added some suitable strips

And as that ended up too wide and have a strip trimmed off, I added the flowery and some orange to some white

And ended up with three fun, very different blocks . . . except - "£$%^&*() - drat and fiddlesticks, there is a top strip of purple missing from the Bargello - sigh, wop-de-do, I get to do some of my favourite hobby - unsewing!!!!

 However, more fun was sewing with Sharon at home and at Crafty Church -

We embroidered this cool hare and initials onto some towels for her husband

And this stunning quilt got finished, with the same hare on the back

And then my phone ran out of batteries, so no evidence, but at least two ladies were learning EPP and making Christmas stars like this one

I'm off now to unpick my bargello :-(

2018 Wk 47 Zips and Pouches

I've started using my delicious zip delivery (see, husband, I did NEED them!!!)

I've been cutting up and bordering some of the projects we have worked on at Chertsey Museum . . . in order to make zippy pouches as Christmas pressies for the ladies who attend and the Museum ladies.

That totals quite a few - as many as 14 in the class, and 4 staff.  I have used recycled denim for the main part of the pouch and fabric from a gifted pack as the linings

Quite a lots of lovely zips!!!!

Waiting to have zips attached

Showing the assorted linings

 A variety of decorations! (and a reduction of part completed stash!)

Bottom right was made from a sample embroidery for a friend's granddaughter who loves that girly mouse!  I made the sample to check the designs stitched out ok, and didn't want to waste it

Even if I was a bit fed up with it by the time I'd done babygros (onesies) and muslins

Wk 2018 Wk 46 - a playdate and basting in church

My friend Sharon came to a playdate here - she particularly wanted to work on a quilt for her husband

This is the quilt once it had been basted (isn't it fab - her first quilt!)

First though she needed cuddles with the cat!

We had planned the playdate for Crafty Church day so we could use the tables on the pew backs!  We taped down the backing and then spray basted the wadding

The surface is quite high so Sharon went up on the surface on her hands and knees!!!

Then we took the whole lot upstairs and she started sewing.  She stitched through tea break, everyone else's goodbyes and me putting everything away.  I didn't get a pic of the quilting (in the ditch) but it looks so good!

She needs to finish the quilting, then we'll add borders (and embroider his name at the top and hers at the bottom) then it can be bound ready for Christmas (yayhay - we'll need another playdate!)

Totally unnecessarily she brought 'thank you' goodies (but I didn't say no!)

This evening I did a little more on the Not La Pass

and whilst babysitting last night I listed to the new Jack Reacher book and stitched the football patches onto the scarves

Then did some work on the Hexi rainbow quilt.