Tuesday 30 December 2014

Ho! Ho! Ho!

So, if you're anything like me (and the rest of the "We're Celebrating Christmas" world) , you'll be sitting here with a cup of Earl Grey, staring glazedly (new word) at this screen, wondering what on earth just happened.....One minute it's all Christmas wrapping paper and big bird roasting times, and the next it's getting quotes in to have the doors widened to accommodate an enlarged girth. That last bit MAY just be me...but you get the gist.
I'm not very au fait with other culture's traditions......do they have manic, overspent gift-buying frenzies at a set point in the year, followed swiftly by a few days of gorging on overly rich food and chocolate? By the shed load? I may have to do some serious research....the door frames are becoming wider than the rooms they access!!
And, in my defence...I'm not the worst....not by a long shot. My children get just one moderate present a piece, we don't buy for the adults in the larger family (just our own spouses'....and even that can be negotiable), I don't have a long list of friends and relations, and I try to make presents wherever I can....but I STILL seem to get sucked into the sheer madness of it all. I shall have to do better.
However (extremely wide grin now plastered on face) I was an Extremely Spoilt Lady this Christmas. The Husband saw fit to give in to my not-so-subtle pleadings (which, by the way, never work when it comes to hoovering or cleaning the bathroom) and bought me The Best Christmas Present. EVER.
Just take a look at this......


Oh....you can't! I'll try again (after I've retrieved the laptop from across the room, where I've just hurled it....).
Right. Here goes. Again.
Ok. Note To Self. Hurling would appear futile. For some reason, best understood by itself, The Laptop is declining all attempts to upload a photo for me. I've no idea why. We've had a perfectly amicable, uploading photos relationship until just now. What I'm trying to show you is the most fabulous quilting frame, which you should be able to see here.... machinequilter.co.uk . (Brilliant! At least that bit worked!) Sadly though, I can't show you any of the practise quilting I've been playing around with, and this blog post is going to look very dull without a photo or two!! But let me tell you....this quilting frame is just THE BEST!!
I'm going to love you and leave you now, in order to practise my hurling technique....I could be a while.....
XX





















Monday 8 December 2014

Hola! Bonjour! Hi! Guten Tag!

Yay!! You've found me!! And are probably trying to fathom out why! (Not why you found me....hopefully because you love me lots!!....but why the change of blog site...) Well, it's really quite simple....new beginnings.
I'm going to try and set up the sewing side of my life a little more professionally (PLEASE stop rolling around the floor with hysterical laughter), and therefore have been doing a little research. Apparently, Search Engines require a little bit of a helping hand, when it comes to actually searching, so I needed a name that would help the lovely little Engines point people in my direction when they typed in "sewing...."...that said something plainly about what I do, and kept things simple.
Not being overly adventurous in the name department, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that "Sew Kirstie" fulfils the brief.
Becoming a little more professional also means that I shall be opening an Etsy shop, where I shall (possibly cringing greatly while I do so) endeavour to charge proper prices- rather than barely charging the cost of fabrics- for my needlework.
And the reason behind THAT is The Husband. The Darling Man has treated me to a Long Arm Quilting machine (I realise that I'm now Speaking In Tongues for the non-quilting friends among you) so I should be able to make quilts far more quickly and easily. In theory, anyway!! I will still prefer my hand made projects, as my own way of enjoying my spare time, but for those asking me to custom make a quilt for them, I should now be able to do so, far more efficiently.
Hand in hand with all this, but still in the early stages of existence, is a programme of workshops. Proper timetables, proper venue. Proper. Watch this space!
Which leads me into telling you about a workshop that I'VE just attended. At the Royal School of Needlework (  royal-needlework.org.uk ) don't you know.
Not really enough words to explain this little Slice Of Paradise...but if you have any spare pennies, and a desire to learn, then you could do a lot worse than a day spent here....



....learning how to do something like this...


Obviously, still a way to go before I can show you the finished article, but techniques were well learned, and I'm ready to use them to fullest advantage!
So, I shall leave you now, to ponder perhaps, on what a "more professional" Kirstie might look like.
Thanks for popping over. xx