Goings On

This is my Friendship Braid quilt. If you look close enough you can see the basting stitches - I had just finished layering it up when I took this picture. I am now going to quilt it which won't be an easy task because it's so large. We had to put three tables together to layer it up. I've used Bamboo Wadding for the first time, it feels like silk so I just had to try it.

On Saturday Gina was at the shop giving a workshop on Machine Embroidered Textures. It was a very quiet class, all the ladies were so absorbed in their work. The pictures below are of their work. I love all the colours it was so nice to see all the schemes coming together.

The next picture is of Gina's work. She has put a temporary frame around her work and you can see what a lovely picture it will make.

It was a lovely workshop all the ladies enjoyed themselves and Gina was as wonderful as ever.

Nearly Finished Table Mats

I have now made table mats 5 and 6. Now all I have to do is layer them up, quilt them and bind them. I am really pleased with these and I will do Square Dance again.

I took Sparky back to the vets yesterday for a check up. He has now got another tablet to add to his cocktail of drugs. It takes ages to get his food ready now. It used to be so quick just giving him dog food and biscuits. Now I have to warm up the chicken and rice, crush tablets, split capsules (and remember which ones I've done) and make chicken gravy. Thank god for gravy granules. Then I have to do it all again at tea time. The new tablet is for his thyroid. The vets still don't know if it's his thyroid causing a neurological problem or the other way round. So we have to try these tablets and see what happens. We have got to take him back to the Dick White Centre next week.

A Finished Quilt

This is christmas table mat number 4, numbers 5 and 6 are waiting to be made.

We've got a social stitching day at the shop today so Steph said she would like to make a cake for every one and she did. Last night she made these lovely Pumpkin Muffins. They smelt so good when they came out of the oven, temptation was hard to resist . Not too much longer now to wait for coffee break.

I thought you might like to see this. Do you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning? So does this fella. He got up came downstairs jumped onto the sofa laid the cushion down and curled up on it. Neil came down felt sorry for him and covered him up. The dog stayed there for half an hour!

This is my crazy quilt as you go quilt finished and hanging up on the wall. It's so large that I had to take two pictures. I'm not totally happy with the borders, they didn't go on very well but they're on and staying. Overall I am happy with it, I just love all the colours.

Last night I spent some time on my hexagons. I now have two strips sewn together and 27 prairie points (only need 26) so now all I need to do is put it all together.

Thoughts Of Christmas

The hexagons are progressing slowly but surely. They are very pretty and I have enjoyed the little bit of handsewing. I did have some help, I must confess, and say thank you to Barbara who tacked the fabric to the paper hexagons which saved me a lot of time.






At the same time I have started work on some table mats for christmas (that dreaded word).
The pattern is square dance and I am really enjoying putting it together.

The black one is my favourite although it looks brown in the picture.

Just another three to go. I wanted to make each one different but now I'm worried that once it gets to christmas day lunch there are going to be arguments, every one has been picking their favourites.

We have had a poignant weekend. Steph's fiance has gone to Afghanistan. There has been lots of tears and even though it's only been a few days since he went we miss him lots. He is due back just before Christmas. Nick is in the RAF (a communications officer) and is confident that all will be well. We think of him every day so far away from home as well as all the other servicemen and their families.

Who's Blackmailing Who

It's meant to be me blackmailing him but I think it may well be the other way round. The only way I could get him to take his medicine was to put it in chicken and rice, which I had to cook for him. As he was clearly feeling better I thought he could go back onto proper dog food. How wrong could I be! Yesterday morning I put his medicine in his dog food and with true Sparky attitude he didn't eat it. He didn't eat all day. So at 7:30 last night I cooked some more chicken and rice put it in his bowl with the medicine and he ate it!

When he had finished this is the look I got. What do you think he is trying to say?



This is as far as I have got with the wall hanging. I have decided to leave it alone for a while have a think and see what happens.



I have been working on this quilt for a few months now and it's very nearly finished. All I've got to do is two bindings. It's such a pretty quilt.

We had a delivery at the shop on Monday and inside one of the big boxes was some of these little boxes.

Inside the little box is 320 two and a half inch squares. They are so cute you can't help but pick them up and feel them, flick through them and stroke them. If you love fabric you will understand.

Anyway, feelings put to one side I set about using them.

I cut 38 one inch hexagons out of freezer paper.


Decided which squares I was going to use and that wasn't an easy decision.

Then I ironed the freezer paper hexagons onto my chosen squares ready for the next step.