Blackboard Basics

I had a blackboard in my kitchen for a shopping list - we write stuff on it as it runs out, and before I go shopping I take a photo of it on my phone, and use that at Tescos.

The blackboard was pretty

But now my kitchen as *finally* been tiled, it didn't really go any more

So I attacked it with some blackboard paint, and now it fits in much better

I also attacked some storage boxes I use for fabric - if only I'd used decent masking tape rather than poundland stuff these would have worked really well

Customers, Crazy Cakes (and cr@p)

While I've been plodding through a box of these, 

(and trying to ignore another box from another customer, why do they come at the same time?), Niki and her friend Becca have been the creative ones:

Ladybird and tortoise cakes

With wild and wacky insides

And they were yummy!!!  

On not such a happy note, (after starting to write this post) mother-in-law fell yesterday and broke her hip, and we've had a warning from the environment agency that water levels locally are going to reach flood levels so I may not get much chance to sew, blog or read your blog posts in the foreseeable future!   

Comfort food is so necessary at the moment, pass me the cake tin

Sewing at School

We only have one week left of the evening sewing class at school, sadly :-(

But there are some finished projects (Tara's bag, and Tracy's tooth pillow), some nearly finished projects (Kate's quilt) and an 'I know what I'm doing' project (Tara's umbrella appliqué / embroidery) so we're all doing well 

Time to Tessellate

I took my tessellated units

And stitched them together in pairs, and I pressed them, and now I've run out of time to blog. 

I'm sure you understand

Night night x

Broom Farm sewing

Just two ladies at Broom Farm this week - Cara was spending time with husband before he gets shipped off to Afghanistan - we will be thinking of you Steven! Keep safe xxx

Bekka has been adding to her ticker tape quilt

And Lauren's Monster Quilt is coming along at a great pace

 Meanwhile I was working on the House Group String blocks

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Christmas Choice

 I stitched all yesterday's strips together

And made myself a nice pile of ironed "25 patches"

But having lost all decision making skills, I cant decide whether to arrange my STAW blocks with sashing

or without

Any thoughts?

Either way I will have something very different to the traditional / usual STAW patchwork, but something that will be cosy and snuggly next Christmas!

Christmas Trip

No, I'm not planning to be away for Chistmas, this post is about my Christmassy Scrappy Trip Around The World (STAW)

I'd cut more strips and stitched them into blocks,

 

and I've now ironed and subcut, ready to make more STAW blocks

 

I see monotonous sewing in my future!

 

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One Hundred Days of Happiness

I recently posted that I've joined Instagram: my daughter Lisa is taking a photo of something that makes her happy every day for a 100 days, with the hash tag #100DaysOfHappiness. Well I think I have at least 100 days of happiness tied up in a gift received yesterday.
Jen from Quilter in the Closet and I agreed a private swap, and I sent her an iPad bag and on goodies a while ago, and yesterday her creation arrived:
I can't get over the fact that this is*mine*

The perfect piecing, and the fab FMQ

The lovely wording: "Friends and Quilts make like more colourful"

A thread catcher with the tiniest pieced squares

this gorgeous rainbow of the same fabrics in the star and the flying geese, and the thread catcher

And a label - which I never thought to add to the iBag

Oh, and goodies too!!!!!

I can't tell you how much I love this, but I can tell you I won't be hiding it under my sewing machine! (Jen has even put tabs along the top so I can hang it instead)

It is beyond gorgeous,

and I love,

love,

LOVE

it!!!

Thank you Jen I feel very honoured that you made it for me

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Sewing School

Busy ladies sewing at school tonight .  . . 

Tara worked on a reversible bag, and an unmbrella wall hanging (very appropriate given the weather!)

Naomi worked on a bolster cushion - the stuffing was taking longer than the sewing!

Tracey is working on the tooth fairy cushion,

And Kate has learnt spray basting and quilting!

Thank you ladies!

Finishing the Fun at Broom Farm

The local authority have changed the way they charge for adult education - as Broom Farm is an army base, the agreement was that the army wouldn't charge for the room, and the local authority wouldn't charge the army wives for the courses.  

The authority have now taken it into their heads that the army wives have to pay - not taking into account that they cant get jobs as they don't stay in one place long enough, that the army moves them around with no regard to where their natural support group (mum, sisters, aunts, long term friends) lives, or where their replacement support group is (other army wives, health visitors, children's centre staff, army welfare staff, adult education  teachers (!) and that their men are putting their lives on the line for our country

So some of my ladies didn't come back this term, as a lot of their men are being sent to Afghanistan.  Three did come back, although one knows her man leaves in two weeks, and the other two's men are expecting orders any day now which will see the whole family moving again.

So, as if the army isn't treating them badly enough, the authority has decided to cut the class!

So we have asked the welfare officer very nicely, and she has said we can still use the room, the girls will pay the weekly rate to me, and we'll carry on with these great projects. 

Lauren's Monster Quilt . . . 

Cara's working hard to finish a pillow for her husband to take to Afghanistan

And Bekka is making a ticker-tape quilt using lots of lovely fabrics

So Easy to Shop

I think it may be time to stop shopping and start sewing!

Some Christmassy fabric, needed for the scrappy trip around the world

And some Kona solids from Justine at Simply Solid (who could ignore 20%off? Thanks Justine)

But I do think I'll stop here (unless, of course, I see something else I *really* need, or at a true-good-to-be-true price!)

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Instagram Issue

Lisa persuaded me to try Instagram - I couldn't really see the point, but I gave it a try (the things we do for children eh?)  I also signed up for Twitter before Christmas, for a particular event which in the end happened elsewhere in cyberspace.

I dip into Twitter occasionally, but it doesn't do anything for me, but Instagram is a whole different thing - I love it!  If I've got hold of the right end of the stick, it's a bit like blogging but one photo per post and far fewer words, followers can comment or [like] or can move on. 

I think that I would maybe have chosen IG (get me, jargon already) instead of blogger if there had been a choice at the time

So, IGers - please let me know your IG name so I can find you (Hadley, Katy, Nicky, I've found you :-)

And because a blog post should always have a photo, here is a recent photo of the yellow hexie quilt

Immitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery ...well I hope Sheila (Blue Patch Quilter) agrees, as I have imitated a fab idea of hers!

I first saw her Mega Pinnie on  Hadley's Flying Blind blog, and fell in love - you can see why, isn't it awesome

 

(hope you are happy with me 'borrowing' your photo, Hadley xxx)

I did download Sheila's (FREE) instructions, but one of my many failings is a reluctance to follow instructions, so I grabbed some fabric

 

And got going.

I ditched the wadding, and used heavier fabric instead, I ditched the quilting, I ditched the patchwork (impatience is another failing) and in about an hour made this

 Well - an hour to stitch, and another hour to stuff!!!!!

I added a needle sheet, and a cord to hang a spool of thread on, and elastic and a short pocket for the scissors as I was running low on the fabric.  If I was making another one I might add a handle, its actually a bit difficult to move from one place to another as there is no obvious place to hold it, but I love it!

(Hope you can see  what you are looking at - photography is yet another failing!)

Sewing at School

Wednesday night went well at school, with 8 people coming to join me: two children and six mums, with a variety of projects - cross stitch, cushion pads, tooth fairy pillow, patchwork quilt, jazzing up a jumper, learning to use a sewing machine, and turning two curtains into a quilt!

I was kept busy all night, sadly too busy to remember to take many photos, but I snapped two as we were clearing up

Kate's patchwork

And A's Crossstitch

 

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