Guilty Secrets....

I am always chatting to someone.At the show my friend & I got chatting to a lady who was drooling over the cloth on the Fabric Galore stand.I must admit it was fabulous .Anyway she was justifying to herself her need for some sumptuous Liberty lawn & she admitted she wouldnt probably use it for ages as she found it really difficult to cut into lovely fabric & it stayed in her stash.She said it was her "guilty secret"!!!

I thought of all the different things that I had stashed away & everyone else I knew who had a fetish for certain things.How many of you are there who has a penchant for maybe some special type of make-up or some paper or stationary.You know who you are!!!!

With me it can be fabric or some yarn or card making items or even a packet of seeds!!

Here are some more Quilts from the show.

There's no inspiration.......

Like Show inspiration!!

Yesterday I went along with my friend to see a quilting show at Ardingly .Wow wow wow....lots of money later we cam home armed with fabric ,haberdashery & lots of inspiration.I have to say I did stick fairly well to my budget & may have just gone over just a tinsey winsey bit!!!!

I will be making some new bits & pieces.

They held a quilt competition which was fabulous.By the time we had done all the stalls downstairs (& our purses) ,we were able to view them in the hall upstairs without being pushed ,shoved or hit with a stick!

I will show you a section of photos over the next few days.They were fab!

Waiting & having a rest....

The Schoolhouse- by Beckenham Quilters ,Kent.This quilt was started in Jan 1993 & finished i n March 1994.It is machine pieced & hand quilted.

She sells Seashells-This is a fun piece using a cut back technique.Made by Irene MacWilliam ,Belfast , Northern Ireland.

More pictures to come....

TGI friday!!!!

Its been a long week.The cold weather has eaten into my bones & when I have not been working I have slept like a door mouse ,missed most TV (I doubt that was a huge loss) & generally not done much more than knit my WIP.

WIP....it seems like its taking just about forever ,but , I have about 9 more inches to go to the end of the main piece then the endless border to do.I shall have to block it before long ,cue pins in carpet & dogs getting in the way!!

Some of you who know me realise just how girly I am & know that is because I am living in quite a mans world & its stamps my identity somewhat.I grew up being the first girl in the family for over 60 years.I have Maisie & Peggy as my girly comrades but even that seems to have gone by the board!!

Here is Maisie Magweed joining in with the boys playing her paw at Poker!!!

WIP & charity shop finds.

Yesterday I wrote about my WIP & the bits I found in the charity shop.

Here they are.

Its been a long day & although the weather has been fabulous ,it turned so cold & I was glad to get home from work.Yes I have to work on a Sunday.....

I am looking forward to an evening snuggled up on the sofa with 2 Borders at my side & a Scottie in her bed at my feet ,with Wild at Heart on TV & my knitting in my hands.Bliss!!!!!!!!

Comforting thoughts.

Over on Dog-Daisy Chains she is having a wonderful giveaway of Cornish ware mugs.

This made me think of all things comforting as they reminded me of my lovely Nana.

She used to sit with me in an old wicker chair in the kitchen & have a cuddle.This chair was next to a dresser which is still at my mums (sadly in the shed).The dresser housed all manner of items ,mainly food .Sometimes there would be a surprise inside for me!!!Often it would be a little wooden Polish Doll, on their backs some rolled up handkerchiefs.How I would love to find some of these dolls & start a small collection of them.I can hear my Hubby groaning but I need a bit of lifting up.

Had a horrible day & the Figaro has been in the poorly hospital & I ended up having to get her emergency surgery with a new exhaust.She is much better now but my purse is very sore.I was also soaked by no less than 4 stupid drivers who drove right through a huge puddle as I stood at the road crossing .There were a few other things but I am going to go back to my comforting thoughts for now.

I also went into my favourite charity shop & purchased a few haberdashery items.4 zippers, a large roll of woven cotton tape ,3 vintage wooden cotton reels with thread , all for £2.That made me happy......

Will post some pics very soon but for now enjoy the little wooden friends

Big Butts...

I read on the BBC News the other day that new research has found that people with big behinds & large thighs are more likely to be protected from heart disease.Yay ,there is a God!!!

Needless to say I went back to fat club yesterday for my post Christmas weigh in...................drum roll..............3 1/2 pounds on.Not too bad considering I really enjoyed my food over that time ,ate nearly all the cake ,no I correct 2 cakes(the 2nd one was tiny!) & had a very large dose of chocolate.I am quite happy with that.Even though it took me a year to get my nearly 3 stone off ,I am just getting back on the wagon again.Life is for living after all.Not to mention at work we are having a new uniform of fitted cycling shirt & combat trousers very soon.

To help me out & keep my hands so busy I cannot pick food up & stuff it in my mouth ,I have started the baby blanket.It has very long rows!!

Power of the stitch.

(Image borrowed from Mama Mama)

You know I have never really thought too deeply about how important a garment is or indeed how much a hand stitched item means to people.But without the means to sew or knit where would any of us be?The need for warmth & security is the most basic need & yet we don't think about it until something happens in our lives.It may not just be a blanket for warmth or a hat to keep a new born safe.It may be in the shape of a uniform , a nurse or a police officer or even a countries flag or emblem stitched to represent a group.It is all those types of clothing that help us & keep us safe.

Over on Mama Mama there has been a collective drive to make hats for newborns in Haiti.The suffering has moved so any to action & they have collected together over 5523 hats & 169 baby blankets to send out to Haiti via an organisation called Konbit Sante.This was all done in about 2 weeks.Amazing !!!

I believe the main collection has finished but if you keep an eye on the blog I am sure there will be other charity make collections.

I saw the article yesterday before I went off to work & thought then how powerful we can be when we create.I then thought it again after a man reached out to me for help when he saw me in the street on patrol & because of what I was wearing he knew I may be able to help.Yesterday that stitched piece of clothing stopped a man from ending his life......

Verity by Ysolda Teague

I started knitting this last night & its on my head tonight

This beret was a dream to knit .The pattern was purchased from Ysolda Teague on Ravelry.

I thought this was going to be difficult to knit but I was proved very wrong.

The pattern had clear instructions both in written format & chart.I was pleased with the sizing & knowing I wear a size 58 cm at work I plumped for the medium.I used Debbie Bliss Fez in a shocking pink that was a Christmas present along with the handmade ceramic button that came from The Wool Bar in Worthing.I used slightly larger needles as I only had a 5mm cicular needle& the pattern stated to use a 4.5 mm.I must be a tight knitter.

The pictures show the beret just a few minutes after sewing it up so it isn't blocked yet.It may look better if I block it.

String of Scots!!

I have had a string of Scotties for many years now.Obviously with time ,the material deteriorates.I decided to give them a re-vamp! First I pulled the string apart & cut the little brass bells off.I then cleaned these so they would be ready to use on the new string.

I then made a card template of the Scottie & drew around it on top of 2 layers of fabric.I then stitched the outline on my sewing machine leaving a gap at their bottoms for turning.I then trimmed a seam allowance & clipped the corners & turned the dog the right way out.

They were then stuffed using polyfil stuffing from a cheap pillow (far cheaper than using toy stuffing) .I trimmed them using buttons,beads ,ribbon & braid& re strung them together using beads & more bells.

Here is the finished result.I am pretty pleased with them.You will have to excuse the photos.I seem to get blurry images at the moment.

Jamie's favourite store!Not mine anymore....

Thank goodness for local butchers.
I have just had huge arguments with the manager of the local supermarket about the wrong packaging of the chicken breast fillets.They had them priced at £6.98 reduced to £3.49.......half price, per kilo.The packet was a 500g packet & was priced at £3.49......not quite right eh?!!!!When challenged over this ,the staff eventually agreed with me but the manager did not.They had even sold a pack to another customer at the reduced price of 2x500g packs for £3.49 as the butcher of the store had agreed with him about the pricing.The manager could not see this.It is an error on the packaging I agree ,but they are legally bound to uphold what they are saying on the label& why have they sold it to the other customer at a reduced price & he even told the manager this I was speaking to & yet he would still not agree.I even found a pack that had different labelling on to prove a point.
The manager kept me waiting for 20 minutes while he argued with his staff who had agreed with me & then had the cheek to ask me if we had seen his staff when he knew we hadn't as he had just left them & I watched him walk towards us.
To be honest I didn't even want the chicken breasts,they were for my elderly mother.She was made to wait as well & not so much as an apology from the manager.
I am not sure whether to contact Trading Standards over this as can I be bothered.......?
The supermarket giants seem to make as much profit as they possibly can & its always us little people who pay.
Have you had a similar experience?
Just watch your labels!!!

Cot bumper

Charlie has been waiting for his cot bumper.He is getting quite big now & his crib is getting a little snug for him.He has lasted well as my first born ,Rob, was only in it for 4 weeks.

I was very pleased with how it turned out.The images were made from my drawings & I appliqued & quilted the bumper using varied fabrics.The backing was red & white gingham fabric.

I hope you like.

Mountain Rescue.

I was listening to the new this morning & they ran an article about Mountain Rescue in some areas being almost out of money as they are being used to supplement the Ambulance service in the towns.They desperately need funds or they will have to close.

I can really appreciate the work they do.Its been a long hard week ,both at work & then at home.Hubby is still ill so it was down to me to get supplies to my mum.She lives right in the sticks so it was a walk across fields with an old recycling box(I knew it would come in handy!) full of essential supplies for her.I was almost there when I hit a hump of ice & the whole thing tipped over .Luckily the eggs didn't break.

It has made me realise that a) we need to have a sledge ,just in case & b) maybe we should consider a 4x4 for our next car.For now the cheapest option is this & I really want one

In the summer maybe as there are none at the moment.

Just because.....

Sometimes a girl has just got to treat herself.

I fell in love with this ring by Redherring.