Crochet and baking ....

I haven't crocheted for a few months now due to the fact that my hands and thumbs have been very sore this year.  However, when I saw Helen's (from Archie the Wonder Dog) post on IG this morning I felt compelled to make some flowers.

There was a call out for #aflowerforjenny on Instagram a couple of days ago .... if you click here there's a great blog post relating to this.  It broke my heart reading about what this family has gone through and the courage 19 year old Jenny is showing whilst planning her own funeral.

So if you crochet or knit or can make pompoms maybe you will consider making some very soon and send to Jenny.  I have just read an updated IG post and they are already inundated with pledges so do not now need anymore!!  How awesome is this community?!!!

Today is also ANZAC Day when Australians and New Zealanders around the world remember the fallen in Gallipoli.  My girls will be happy when they come home from school to find ANZACs in the tin!  It was very strange to be baking on my own and not have the girls asking for a 'lollipop' - ie a spoon full of raw biscuit mixture!

This is the recipe I use (posted to a very old blog of mine!!) and I did just have to try one that broke as I transferred them to the cooling tray - delicious!

Life can be so fragile and can be ended way too soon for some people.  I often tell people I love "I love you!" and I will continue to do so a very regular basis.  Lots of love heading out from me to you aswell!!

Let's Bee Social .... spreading the love!

Well I am having a very social week this week seeing as it was my turn on the Blog Hop for the New Quilt Bloggers group.  If you missed my introduction post then click over here if you fancy learning more about me and a host of other great new bloggers.  Pssst .... there are prizes on offer too!  I also have a little something on offer at the end of this post ... so keep reading!

I appreciate each and every comment I get on this blog and love visiting other people's blogs and reading about their adventure in quilting and life in general.  I think we quilters are quite a unique breed.  We may be separated by many thousands of miles but we still find things in common and we all pull together when needed.

I am sure you have seen the call out from the Orlando MQG for #quiltsforPulse and the Leeds MQG for #quiltsforjo and so it felt only right to get some made .......

For those in the UK Esther Moorey, IG @esthermoorey, at Squeeze Quilts, is collecting blocks for #PulseOrlando, so you can send them to a UK address.

Some of you will know that I am a local co-ordinator for Project Linus and last week saw lots of finishes for them.  Over the weekend I pulled out another quilt for another cause, Siblings Together.  I 'met' Nicky from Mrs Sew and Sow over on instagram and loved the idea of these quilts.  She was recruiting mini bee members earlier in the year so I jumped at the chance,  My Bee mates made me single colour scrappy blocks bordered with white.  I even got a whole load of blocks from people who weren't in my Bee!

I have another example of how lovely quilters are .... at the beginning of the year I signed up to the Bee Hive and so had 11 Hive mates.  Through swapping blocks and various chats on IG you get to know some of your Hive mates quite well.  One of mine headed off to the States for work recently and just before she left she messaged me and asked if there was anything she could bring back for me!!  Of course I could have had her fill a suitcase but I decided to ask for something that I was finding impossible to get in the UK - a printed version of the Fancy Forest pattern by Elizabeth Hartman.   I wasn't holding out much hope but look what arrived yesterday ....

I have never met this lady, although we plan to meet later in the year, but she was kind enough to do this for me.  Like I said, the quilting community is very special.

To celebrate this wonderful community, both online and in real life, and to mark my 150th blog post (this will happen on Friday) I would like to spread some quilty, bloggy love around the place.  Back in February I was lucky enough to be chosen as a recipient in the Pay It Forward Ruth, from Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner, had up on her blog.  As Ruth says, the premise for a Pay It Forward:

was based on a book of the same name about a kid who comes up with a social experiment to make the world a kinder place. He decides on the Pay if Forward principle - I had heard of this before the movie, paying the toll for the next person coming along behind, buying someone a cup of coffee unexpectedly. Giving without the expectation of receiving in return, only asking the next person to do the same at some future date, when they have an opportunity to make someone's day easier! 

Actually I have just realised the book is by my bedside but I haven't started it yet!  It is now my turn to Pay It Forward.  I want to offer something to people in my quilting community and so will be picking someone who reads my blog, someone who follows me on IG and someone from a Facebook group that I am part of.  It's called UK Quilters United, if you're interested, and it is a really active, friendly and supportive group.  So three people will receive something from me at some stage before the end of the year ..... hopefully it will be a lovely surprise for those people.  In turn they will offer a Pay It Forward into their quilting community.

If you would like to receive something from me, then please just leave a comment below and a person will be picked at random at the end of the week.  If you are on instagram you have another chance by commenting on my IG post!  If you are going to leave a comment please state your favourite colour/s and also just for fun what do you think the collective noun for quilts should be?!

Linking up to Let's Bee Social with Lorna today. x

Work in progress (or lack thereof) ...

I haven't been in my studio since Friday ..... having had 5 whole days in there last week it's like I am having withdrawal symptoms over here!  So not so much going on here for this week's Let's Bee Social ......

I did receive a rather lovely email from Adrianne over at On the Windy Side saying that I had won a $30 voucher for Mad About Patchwork for a FAL 2015 Q4 finish - hooray!!  Even before the actual code came from Pam I was on the site deciding what I would like.

March's theme for Project Linus is also out - Disappearing 9 Patch blocks.  All the details can be found on yesterday's post.

Don't forget I have a giveaway running at the moment and there's still time to enter - two prize options up for grabs.  You'll find the giveaway and entry requirements at the end of this post from Friday.

This morning I took the plunge and entered some categories for Quilts UK, Malvern in May.  The closing date is 04 March 2016 so you still have a couple of days to enter if you like.  The piece doesn't have to be finished yet, in fact one of mine is not even started yet ...... yes, I did say one of mine.  I really bit the bullet and have entered into 4 categories!!!  There's nothing like a deadline to ensure that projects are finished in time.

Well, I didn't think I could have a post without a picture so I quickly popped into the studio and sewed the white borders onto some fussy cut squares for my polaroid blocks.

3 blocks wonky trimmed, 9 blocks with all borders added, 17 with just white borders and 17 squares cut out.  I think I need 60 finished blocks so there's still some way to go with this. Hopefully there'll be lots more to show you over the coming weeks. x

My kind of birthday ....

Today is my birthday - hip hip hooray!!  Yesterday a card came through the post and I assumed it was a birthday card when in fact it was a card from the lady whose quilt I recently returned after longarming it.  This is what she had to say:

 

"I would like to thank you so much for the lovely quilting you have done for me on my applique quilt. In particular the additional spirals on the sunflowers and the extra detail on the leaves. I am sure ...... will be most thrilled when they receive the quilt ....."

 

The quilt in question can be seen over here.  What a fantastic birthday present to get!

 

The morning started with presents .... lots of handmade ones and my youngest daughter made us all pancakes.  It doesn't get any better than that.

 

I thought my daughter had bought this set but when I asked her where she had got it from she told me she had made it and just put it in an old package she had!

 

 

I am just blown away by their creativity sometimes .... and all this made in secret without me knowing about any of it!  My eldest daughter is cooking dinner tonight and I don't have to do any clearing up - bliss!!

 

 

 

I have also had time in my studio and am well on my way to finishing my Rainbow Mini quilt for an IG swap.  Hopefully it will be a finish tomorrow for Finish it up Friday and there will also be a giveaway announced. xx

In the post this week ....

I received my Schnitzel & Boo Mini Swap package.  It was ready to be delivered last Friday but we were out so I had to wait until Monday to pick it up from the depot!  I was very excited driving there ....

 

What a lovely package it was and definitely worth the wait!  As well as the stunning blue and white mini there were some rather funky extras.  Admittedly I had to look a couple of them up to know what to do with them!!  Aswell as a very handy straight 2 1/2" ruler there was a Hex n More ruler and a Wacky Web template and papers.  I have always loved the look of spider web blocks but haven't made one ..... yet!

Yesterday there was another little package through the post box ....

It's official - I am now an Authorised Co-ordinator for Project Linus.  I am starting a new area so there will be lots of work to be done, both in 'recruiting' sewers and in find organisations/individuals to donate the quilts to not to mention finding fabric, batting and backing fabric!  Realistically not much will get done before the New Year but I have some plans swirling around my head for then ....

And lastly I received my order of paperwhites.  Many years ago I saw a wonderful display of these scented flowers as a Christmas table decoration and have wanted to make something similar since.  This year I was too late to but them at any of the local shops who stock bulbs but managed to find them online.  They might not be quite ready by Christmas now, but whenever they flower they will bring a much needed dash of colour and scent to the short, cold Janaury days.

A week of finishes ....

A bit of a different Finish it up Friday over here today.  Lots of finishes but not all of a textile nature!

1. The finish of my first Quilt Show entry.  I finished the quilt, please take a look over here for the full story, and it was driven up to Harrogate for the Great Northern Quilt Show.  I had planned a couple of days up there, visiting the area and the show.  I was really excited and somewhat nervous about going on Saturday morning and to my HUGE surprise I had won a Judges Merit rosette.  To say I was happy was an understatement - I was walking around like the Cheshire Cat all day!

2.  The finish of another year of marriage.  No, not the finish of a marriage - I wouldn't be quite so blasé as to announce that here, but the finish of our 16th year of marriage.  My niece came and looked after the girls and we got a child free day (which is something of a rarity in these parts seeing as we home educate!) of tiki touring around the Cotswolds.

3. The finish of my eldest daughter's birthday celebrations until next year!  She turned 11 on Wednesday - where does that time go?  She had a birthday party sleepover at the end of August and then we spent the day together as a family on her actual birthday.  We took the girls to the West Midlands Safari Park - it was amazing!!  I had never been before either so it was a great way to spend the day doing something new to us all.  The bunting was finished too in time to hang up and is another item ticked of my FAL Q3 list.

4.  And for the final finish of the week ...... eating the last of the blackberry pudding I made yesterday!!!  It is the season here in the UK for foraging in hedgerows for all things edible.  Yesterday we gathered blackberries, damsons, apples and plums on a gorgeous autumnal sunny day.  The blackberries became this delicious, and very easy, pudding, and were also mixed with apples for a bramble and apple jelly.  The damsons were placed in containers with sugar and gin to slowly become Damson Gin (and I have to say the duck recipe with the damson gin sounds rather nice!) in time for Christmas and I have just finished boiling up the plums with a few other ingredients to become plum sauce.  Our kitchen smells divine at the moment!

I have had very little time in my studio this week but need to getting in there and start starting, and finishing, things that are on my ever expanding to-do list! x

And I am linking up with Amanda Jean over at Crazy Mom Quilts today.

An early birthday

My daughter doesn't turn 11 until the second week in September but due to friends begin away she had her birthday party sleepover at the weekend.  She asked for a chocolate cake but that I should make it (she has actually made her own for the last couple of years for different reasons!!) and that the rest should be a surprise.  So chocolate cake she got.

And from her face I think she was very happy with it!

But when it came time to cut it her face was truly amazing!

 

It was a piñata cake full of M&Ms!!

The last day of summer ....

31st August.  Bank Holiday here in the UK.  And torrential rain nearly all day.  And it was cold - not above 14 degrees.  It certainly feels like the end of summer, although I am hoping for an Indian summer somewhere along the line!

It got me thinking about the summer we have just had and how easy it is to forget the things you have done by doing more things quickly after!  So our summer in some pictures:

The weather in early and late spring was lovely so we made elderflower cordial very early on in June

Home Ed kayaking group met for their second course of the year - the weather was somewhat cold!

Impromptu visit to the National Trust's Hidcote Gardens - truly beautiful and inspiring gardens - well worth a visit

A break on our journey to Bude saw us stop at another National Trust property - this time it was Tyntesfield.  It was the first time we had visited and there was sooo much to see.  Another visit is definitely in order, probably without the children!

We went to Bude for a week and were greatly surprised by its beauty and warm welcome. We quickly fell in love with it and we were already talking about a return visit before we had even left the town environs on our departure!

The lobster pots at the end of the sea canal - that just happened to become my blog header ...

One very happy surf mad daughter - it was hard for her to leave the coast of New Zealand and live in the middle of England

July saw the arrival of my Handi Quilter Avante longarm quilting machine and a glut or Project Linus quilts to practice on, here, here and here.

I attended an indigo dying workshop with Edwina Mackinnon and loved the results

On the Home Ed front things wound up for the summer but there was our monthly group meet up in Snitterfield, a production of Tom Sawyer, sports sessions at the playing fields, a trip to Sulgrave Manor to attend an Explorers in the 16th Century day, a day of presentations on European countries, a visit to the Lunt Roman Fort near Coventry and a lovely day spent at a local farm helping them with hedgerow planting.

August started with a very full to-do list

The Webb Ellis cup, the trophy awarded at the end of the Rugby World Cup, came to Stratford which was cause for great excitement in our household - although we have a divide in our loyalties when it comes to rugby!

August also contained:

- a Flower Show, more to come on that

- lots of sewing on my Straight Line Bow quilt, progress can be seen here, here, here and here

- time spent with family, birthdays, barbecues and sleepovers

- time spent with friends, on the water and in the woods mostly

- lots of reading, magazines and books

All in all a great summer, despite the weather.  I won't be sad for autumn to start I think it's my favourite time of year, but then again I like spring too and I guess winter and summer.  I think what I like is the change of seasons.  When I lived in Tauranga in New Zealand I missed the four distinct seasons we have here in the UK so now I truly relish all that comes with each season and the natural cycle that we move in through the year.  Goodbye Summer - until next year! x

A child free day ....

 

A child free day is a rarity in these parts and I am amazed at how much I got done today!

 

My next series of workshops are starting again tonight so I though I had better do some revision myself.

 

- a lined zipped purse

 

- that was started and finished in one sitting!

 

Binding for my quilt cut and stitched and ironed ...

 

Orange zest and juice ready to put into the carrot and orange soup ...

 

Binding stitched on and hand sewing commenced ...

 

A gluten free and dairy free cake for the ladies who are coming tonight - although I had to try it beforehand. 

Well you can't give something to people to eat without knowing it tastes OK first can you?

 

Also included in the day:

 

washing and ironing - but no need for photos of these eh?

rice pudding made - and now eaten

some computer bits and bobs

two coffees - drunk whilst hot

and started to read new library book on juicing.

 

And the most amazing of all? 

A clear lounge carpet ALL DAY LONG!!!!