2021 Week 47

 Hmmm, no post for a month 😱

My excuse has been that I've been busy, busy and ill, ill, too ill to care about being busy and now busy again, with a hint of being ill!  At least I haven't had Covid - *just* a horrible cough and cold and then (without being guilty of TMI) a burning sensation that is being sorted by antibiotics!!!

So a review of the last month (broken down into two parts)

The Gingers have decided to start a countdown to Christmas!  I made a few of these to sell at a village Christmas Fayre, and a few others which will go to the half dozen or so lovely Ginger fans in the villages!  I'm just finishing them off so they can be delivered by Tuesday

A young friend in the village is an amazing cheerleader and trampolinist.  One of the groups she trains with have these sparkly backpacks with their names on in gold - she was gifted one but it had someone else's name on - so a gold patch was created and hand stitched onto the bag over the previous name

My girly trips (see under LSA labels) to Europe have all had a badge made for them.  It started with a backpack for the ones that went to Norway in 2007, with a norwegain flag on it, but they suggested that all the trips should have a design, so they got created and added to the bag.    Since then I have been making them as a patch - I've managed to lose my bag so have re-done them on a fleece shawl: it looks as if the other bags are getting rather full!!!

  

I have made and posted the November Hexie flowers for the FB swap

And taught a class on Sashiko embroidery.  I bought pre-printed panels but as we stitched in white it doesn't show very well 

A bit of grand-kitty spam, sorry, but aren't they cute!!!  Penny is sat in the pouch Jackie and I made Niki for her work stuff

And Thor is sat in a cat cave that (based on the receipt date) he and his sister have totally ignored for 367 days, but NOW its a cozy place to sleep!!!

At the start of the horrid cold I had a few days away with girls that I worked with about 30 years ago: so lovely to be together

And finally for this post - I had fun sorting out all the keys for the village hall - now I only need the few keys to get in and then can access all the other stuff from this key cabinet - I love that it's colour co-ordinated and all labeled - is it very sad that this makes me so happy???

2021 Week 38

This week showcases holidays and stuff - yes: for my family it was a real holiday: paperwork to the nth degree and Covid tests then a plane to Malta where they had a great time

I went to Swanage with girlfriends instead - we also had great weather and actually went swimming in the sea too, although I did think my heart stopped when I went under!

We stayed in a lovely airb'n'b with patchworks on the sofas in the bonus room - pretty darn prefect I reckon!!!

I completed my hexie flowers for the monthly swap (striped flowers for September)

And received these back (plus another one but it must have been camera shy!)

I thought I'd share my FAVOURITE type of phone - a munchkin sitting on a Benta patchwork!  Thank you Janine, she looks gorgeous!!!

This one hasn't gone to it's munchkin yet, but has been collected by his great aunt so is on it's way

I really am rubbish at taking photos but this gorgeous necklace arrived for my birthday.  It's fob watch repurposed into a sewing themed necklace

It arrived accompanied by these gorgeous goodies too

And possibly the best bit of all is that they all came in the arms of BBF Jackie who braved the red tape, the mask for hours, and the plane to visit

(and I can't even add a decent photo!)   We had an amazing weekend, so much sewing and chatting!!!  We made almost a dozen zippy pouches (semi circular and boxy) but I've just realised they've nearly all been gifted before being photographed!

2020 Wk 36

 I seem to be better at taking photos that I am at blogging - so to create a blog post I look at the photos I took recently: and here they are

I sent a niece in America a quilt when she had number 1, but a year later when number 2 arrived I didn't even think of it!  Anyway I got my act together during lock down and made and posted off the second one - she sent me this lovely pic of they have a fort movie night!

The embroidery of Lisa' new house has been finished - she wanted it as a gift for the vendors!

This plus quilt has finally been fully quilted in spirals on alternate plus blocks.  The lovely Karen from Richmond and Kew quilters occassionally works in a quilt shop so she is going to find me some fabric suitable for binding

I hand quilted a Mickey Mouse block quilt . . .

. . . and appear to have quality control approval for it

I did some babygro / onesie embroidery for a customer (and about 100 Pumpkins t shirts but that's too boring to photograph!!!)

My spiral crochet is growing - I still haven't found the optimum count for increasing so it alternates between being too many (a bit wavy) and too few (the edges curl up) but I'm hoping that when I've finished / got fed up blocking will make it lay perfectly

This insipid quilt got pieced and quilted - it's almost impossible to see the different fabrics but if you look closely there is a round-the-world effect around where the button mirror is placed.  It's been quilted to show the ever increasing diamonds and will be bound and sent off to Linus Quilts sometime.  I really don't love it but it used up some unwanted stash

I got two amazing cards in the post yesterday: This one which even husband and daughters could immediate name show three work colleagues

And this one which arrived just 24 hours after a quilt for baby Oliver arrived in Canada - aint progress wonderful!!!!

2020 Wk 19 - the weeks blur into each other

I saw a meme about the days being renamed Thisday and Thatday and Theotherday - I can really relate to it - I know days are passing as more UFOs are getting finished off, but other than that each day is very similar to the next!

My lovely friend Lora popped round with a challenge more suited to the "Repair Shop"  We got a selfie which also shows the Gingers in the window! (Pics below)

Meet Basil (go, on, do the Sybil voice, you know you want to).  He is very loved, but is falling apart, so Lora has relectantly asked me to foster him for a few days and try and sort him out!

My Dad and hid wife became great grandparents again a few days ago - and in finding a quilt for the new granddaughter ...

I remembered that the 3rd GGC hadn't had a quilt, so I put Luke's name on another one.  They will go in the post today with fingers and toes crossed!

(During Lockdown I have sent one quilt to Bellingham USA which came back and has gone again tracked this time, one to Australia (1st April) which hasn't been delivered, and one to Ireland which hasn't been delivered!)

I've finished the May hexie flowers for the swap group

And used Kay to help bake a chocolate cake for husband!

There is a young girl in one of the neighboring houses who has been infected during lockdown - nothing to do with COVID 19 ... she's been infected with the crochet bug!  This project has not made me happy.  It started too wide, then got frogged and restarted, and has become horribly distorted and I have fallen completely out of love with it - so it has gone to Tilly to make something beautiful out of it!

Tilly's mum is a tutor with the Brush Strokes group.  She isn't working at the moment but when I signed myself up for an online class she lent me an easel and brushes and helped me sort out paints etc.  I have a lovely evening totally ignoring the world problems and painted this

I've got another one booked for a few week's time, and am really looking forward to doing a real class with Judi soon

The latest few Gingers have gone in the window: Someone in the village suggested a Zoo keeper

This is the lad next door who loves to bang his up-side-down saucepan on a Thursday night

And I have no idea how I would cope without Mr Amazon doing so  much shopping for me!

And finally - I had already done a postman, but he was generic - this one is "my" postman!!!!

Most of the family so far: