A Little Break.....

It's half term here in England, and we decided to take Vera The Van for a little trip away. The Husband, The Son and The Dog were loaded, along with a few provisions, fresh clothes and some soap.....indispensable when travelling with males!! Off we toddled and a lovely time was had, exploring small villages along the South Wolds.

I didn't take any needlework with me, which is unusual, but sometimes a little break is needed to fire up my imagination and drive again. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. Am I alone in this??

When we take The Dog, she behaves herself, and on the whole behaves as she would at home. When at home, she is NOT allowed on the furniture. EVER. So I think she looked particularly guilty, when I returned to Vera The Van and discovered this.....

She remained absolutely stock still, as if she imagined that if she didn't move, I would perhaps not notice!! Hmmm.

On our last evening at the campsite, entertainment was provided. This is unusual at Caravan Club sites, but before long, we'd been overrun by energetic men in white.......

......and very good they were, too. They are looking to recruit, so if you fancy something a bit different in your free time, I'm sure they'd be delighted to hear from you! Apparently, no previous experience is needed. Oh good.

I shall finish with my latest acquisition.....

Bud vases from the fabulous Susie Watson Designs susiewatsondesigns.co.uk . I've been looking for the right bud vases for ages....and as we all know, good things come to those who wait!!

See you soon. xx

Hooplessly Hooked.......

...on quilting without a hoop!! I LOVE IT!! The freedom of it! And my stitches are smaller and easier to control...what's not to love??
For years I've wanted to try, but each time I did, I had trouble with the quilt sandwich shifting under my stitches, resulting in a rucked up backing...not a pretty look, and VERY frustrating. But now, thanks to my Wonder Frame Basting, I'm stitching away happily on a shiftless sandwich. Yay!

Because hand quilting obviously takes much longer to do than machine quilting, I've not got anything else on the sewing front to show you, so I thought I'd leave you with a pretty walk I took today, with The Husband and The Dog, whilst The Son blasted 6 bells from his friends during a paint ball party.

Hope you've had a fabulous Bank Holiday weekend. Thanks for popping by. xx

It Never Ceases......

.......to amaze me, how, as a relatively well educated individual, I can remain such a NUMPTY at times!! Just no common sense!!


How long have I moaned about the fact that I hate basting a quilt sandwich? Since FOREVER!! All that crawling around on my hands and knees, pinning my way from the centre to the edges, with my back close to breaking. I LOATHE IT.


Since having the frame, I've not had to baste, as you feed your sandwich onto the rollers. This has been wonderful for the quilts I've machine quilted, but hasn't solved my problem, when I've wanted to hand quilt.


Now. I've often read various articles, where people have said that they sent their quilt tops off to a Long Arm Quilter to be basted, and thought how lovely to be able to afford that particular luxury. I've thought that thought recently. With my Quilt Frame sitting quietly upstairs. Late last night, you'll be pleased to hear, the penny finally dropped.


Et voila!!

One machine basted quilt sandwich!! Hooray!! So now I can spend the BEST evening watching back to back episodes of Outlander, (I'm only mildly addicted!) whilst hand quilting this Foxy Loxy beauty. Heaven.

Enjoy your Sunday evening. See you soon. xx

A Little Behind.....

.....or in my case, possibly a big one. Both metaphorically and physically. I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm not much cop with this blogging business. It's the whole multi-tasking bit ( that we women are supposed to be so good at).....if I'm sewing (and therefore creating fodder for my blog) then I'm not blogging, if I blog then I'm not sewing. You see the problem. How do all my Bloggy Friends do it? Bearing in mind that I'm not Wonder Woman (in spite of the Little Voices in my head) and DO actually need to sleep occasionally!

In an effort to catch up.....and stop wittering....I thought I'd just show what I've been up to.....

The fox pattern is "Fancy Fox" by Elizabeth Hartman ( ohfransson.com ) and is truly a delight to work. I'm looking forward to some hand-quilting on this one. Did you know that the collective noun for foxes is "skulk"? Fabulous word!

I've also got another finished quilt, currently to be found in the washing machine, on it's first cycle, with obligatory colour catcher sheets, so you'll need to wait till next time to see that one. Bet you can't wait.

Thanks for popping by. See you before Christmas. 2027. xx

The Newest Member.......

......of the family has arrived! You may remember that a while ago, I bought a quilting frame which adapts a domestic machine into a long arm quilter. This meant that my All Dancing All Singing machine has moved upstairs to set up permanent residence in my bedroom, with said frame.
You may also remember from previous posts that I am Madame Laziness Personified, and although All Singing All Dancing could be easily carried back downstairs, it would require some effort on my part (ha!) and some faffing around, re-setting All Singing All Dancing when she returned to her perch on the frame (ha!ha!ha!). Not only am I lazy, I'm not so good in the Faffing Department either.
So, since the arrival of the frame, I have been piecing on my back up machine, Little Brother. Now Little Brother is a perfectly fine machine, and will always have a home here with me, but his one major flaw is that he refuses to wear the beautiful Janome feet that I have.....funny that! I've tried not to let that affect our relationship, and for the most part, almost succeeded....but struggling to put the binding on a quilt, without a walking foot, finally sent me to Relate For Sewing Machines. Otherwise known as Ebay.
After a little searching, I found the lovely Julia, who was looking for a good home for her Janome New Home. We discussed and agreed terms, and a few days later I welcomed New Home to her new home. And she is perfect. A gentle, middle aged lady, who happily wears all the feet I ask her to.......

We settled into a happy understanding instantly, and now this little pile of Riley Blake (which had been quietly waiting in the wings).....

....is now transforming into these.....

My first time at piecing Economy Blocks, and I've fallen in love (it happens a lot!) With any luck, today should see a baby quilt well on it's way to completion, while I put Newbie through her paces.
Thanks for popping by. Happy Sunny Sunday to you. xx

A Little Bit Of This.....

....a little bit of that...This is how I am spending my convalescence. After yet more hernia repair surgery (I think we should bring back corsets!!) I'm having to find things to do, that don't involve lifting anything or bending over tables, so quilting is out for the moment.
What to do? Well, I've always been very talented in the Dabbling Department. Dabbling is where I'm happiest. That and in it's sister department, Pottering. I only manage to finish quilts because I rule myself with an iron fist, and MAKE myself finish one project before kindly allowing myself to start another. If I relaxed my grip for even a moment, quilt tops would abound in various states of un-finish, with little to no hope of ever becoming a fully fledged quilt.
However, due to my inability to lift anything heavier than a needle, whilst seated comfortably, I've managed to find a little bit of this and a little bit of that to keep me happy.
Firstly, a little light quilting magazine reading lead me to this....

Hopefully, if you get your magnifying glass out, you'll be able to read it. For those of you out there that quilt, I'm sure this will raise a wry smile.
Then I turned my hand to embroidery, which I enjoy every now and again. I found a delightful pattern by Charlotte Lyons (actually I found 2 but haven't had enough time yet to complete them both)........

These little ladies were a lot of fun to make, and are just the right size for little hands to hold.
And today found me another little Dabbling Project, thanks to the lovely Kati and her Fabulous Family. Kati has a couple of vintage crochet throws. She also has a couple of little boys. (Well Kati also has another son and a daughter, but they're Sensible And Not To Be Blamed!) I'm not sure which of the toddlers stand accused of Pulling The Thread, but suffice to say that thread was pulled, and unravelling occured. Yippee....another little job I can do.....

The repairs should be finished this evening, so I shall once again be strolling through the Dabbling and Pottering Departments. How exciting! I'm never entirely sure what will pop up....watch this space!!
Thanks for dropping by to see me. See you soon. xx

Here I Go AGAIN........

....just when I thought my insides might stay inside (come on....sing along....we all enjoy a bit of Dolly Parton every now and then....)
Don't worry....I've not taken leave of my senses. But I HAVE had yet ANOTHER hernia repair operation. My third in as many years. Hence my views on insides trying to get outside. Via my abdominal wall. Or where I once HAD an abdominal wall. But THIS repair is going to be different. For THIS repair my consultant, has decided to fix extra strong mesh to my stomach wall......using SCREWS!! I have been reliably informed that these are surgical screws, and CANNOT be found in any B & Q stores. Mr Consultant told me I would be very sore because of them. Mr Consultant was right. I may never be capable of coughing, laughing or running a marathon ever again. (For those of you unfamiliar with my lazy self, it should be pointed out here, in respect of all that is honest and good, that I have NEVER run a marathon, nor indeed ever had any intention of doing so. However, I now have a valid reason as to why not.)
In other news (as it has been forever since I last posted) The Husband, The Son and I went to New York during the February half term. We had a BRILLIANT time, inspite of temperatures keeping to the -10 degrees mark. I chapped in places that were too large to be dealt with my Nivea Chapstick.
A beautiful city.....

There has also been a fair bit of sewing...in no particular order.....

And now that I'm having to convalesce for the next 4 weeks, unable to even lift a kettle, you can watch this space for some hand sewing. It's a hard life...but someone has to live it!!
Thanks for popping by. xx