moments

4th November, lunch time. A loaf of bread on the sofa whilst watching TV. Healthy lunch?



5th November, lunch time again. Bed still not made. I got into bed like it last night too. It's been unmade for most of the week, with new bed linen waiting to go on. It won't make itself, will it? Actually, never mind the unmade bed - that quilt doesn't even have any binding on it.

Proof that I am no creature of perfection (I'm not sure you needed any proof, I think it's common knowledge).

I do not have vases of beautiful freshly cut flowers displayed around the place, I have laundry piling up in the laundry room (thank heavens for having a laundry room to hide the laundry, although it is no bigger than a cupboard), I have clean laundry still in baskets in various rooms. I have nothing in the fridge to make any kind of edible lunch for myself, my children are most often a little scruffy. As am I.

I hold my hands up, I say it loud and proud - I'm not perfect, and I'm happy to show you my real life 'moments'. Little snippets, nothing dressed, nothing made to look better than it is. No making sure I crop the picture to hide that half eaten sandwich, or pile of last weeks newspapers. Warts and all.

If you'd like to join in and share your own true life moments then skip over to Amy's place. She'll welcome you with open arms.

the value of peace and quiet

Yesterday the husband was down in London shopping/hanging out with his friends/pretending he hadn't really gone to watch the Regent Street Christmas lights switch on.
I attempted, although not entirely successfully, to get the kids into bed a little earlier than usual, so I could hand stitch the binding on to a quilt or two, and settle down to a little bit of Vampire romance on the DVD player.
The kids were not playing along, and ended up going to bed at their usual times, but armed with my cup of tea and snuggled under the quilt I was stitching, I sat and got settled with my DVD.

The books are always better, aren't they? But still, it was lovely and Edward was suitably handsome, although he can't possibly be a teenager, can he? Is it a Michael J Fox situation - is he really 35 or something pretending to be a teenager? Like in Back to the Future and Teen Wolf (now, there's an awesome movie).

The best thing (for me) was when they were playing baseball in the field, and my favourite band's song started playing. Vampire romance and Matt Bellamy's heavenly guitar playing? Nice combo. I get a little bit giddy when I hear a muse track starting, I have a not so secret crush on Matt Bellamy, not for his looks (he's not all that beautiful, actually) but for what that man does with a guitar. *sigh*

So, back to the quilts. This is a blog about sewing and stuff, isn't it? Not a blog about a 34 yr old woman going mushy about a man in a band/vampire novels for teenagers.

And last night's stitching gave me this......




My value quilt from the quilt along over at Katie's place is done - before the quilt along has even finished. I'm annoyed I didn't go bigger, it's approx 50 x 60 inches, and in all honesty I was too impatient to make more half square triangles and make a nice big quilt. Lazy lazy lady. Impatience is not a nice trait, and I am incredibly impatient at times. However, as the technique is so simple, and such fun, I'm going to make another. One that will be bigger, much bigger. In fact, I might make a few more. It's all stash stuff, out of the scrap box, or by choosing some of my favourites that I've stashed away, afraid to cut up.

it's over

My readathon has finally finished. I bought Breaking Dawn on Saturday afternoon, and finished it yesterday morning. It's such a good thing I'm a fast reader, I don't think I'd have noticed if the whole family had moved out whilst I was lost in my books.

Saturday evening was spent in the kitchen, avoiding the hoards of children that were in my house for halloween - I was doing an excellent job of pretending to be a gracious host. I was, in fact, discussing the wonder of Twilight with my friends. And felt MUCH better when my biggest literature snob friend came squealing at me 'you've been reading Twilight, haven't you?!!!!' and then turned into a 15 year old girl right in front of my eyes gushing about Edward.

So, quick review - what did I think? (I promise I won't give ANYTHING away to those of you that are only on your first or second book).

I'm so glad I asked you all if I should get book 4 - I wasn't going to bother because of all of the awful reviews on Amazon (I never read the good reviews, only the bad ones - bad habit of mine). Ok, so it was a little far fetched in places, but if I'm not mistaken the books were about a regular girl falling in love with a vampire boy. It might be different in Washington State, but I don't think I've ever met a vampire, or heard about them falling in love with normal humans. I often LOOK like a vampire, but last time I checked I did have a pulse, and I don't really like blood much. So, it was a bit of fantasy, and a little too sweet in places, but book 3 (eclipse) and a large chunk of breaking dawn were definitely less sugary. I loved them, I would be shocked if there wasn't a spin off TV series, and if there is I will most definitely be addicted to that as well. I have bought the twilight DVD, and I shall be going to see New Moon in November. Ooh, that's this month!!!! And I heard that they just finished filming Eclipse. Actually, Miss G told me that, she knows more stuff than I do about most things. Eclipse was probably my favourite book, but breaking dawn brought the story to a satisfactory end - with some peculiar twists. If it wasn't for the fact that the books are so very innocent with no adult content, I might have found one of the twists a little more uncomfortable...but I think that is more to do with my age, and cynicism.

But now it's back to real life - I have 3 quilts to bind this week, before I nip down to the big smoke on Friday (taking Sookie Stackhouse with me - I'm saving her until then).

Today I'm off to play pro quilter with Brioni and her new quilting frame. We shall eat bacon sandwiches (I'm making presumptions, she hasn't promised me bacon) and drink tea (that's a given). We will also be stroking fabric and discussing other exciting subjects, like thread and wadding. I live life on the edge, don't I?

On another note - does anyone have a Kindle or know anyone that has one? I was thinking of getting one for christmas (or at least asking for one - whether I get it or not is another matter). I did the same thing as I usually do, and read the bad reviews, now I'm thinking it's just a gimmick and totally unnecessary... but they are amazing, and would save me cramming my carry on with 6 books every time I go on holiday (plus all the other crap I lug about with me).

new moon

Finished it this morning. Onto Eclipse we go. I'm off to the bookstore in a bit to get the final book, I'm just really hoping it all ends in the way I want it to.

I can't remember the last time I was this obsessed. Maybe it was when I fell in love with Katherine and Michael from Forever way back in 1987 or something. Or it might have been when I was convinced I was Andie and spent the whole of my teenage years wishing for Blain to whisk me off my feet. You know what, he did too, he whisked me off my feet on the last day in April 1998, when I had just turned 23, 4 months later we were married.

Whenever it was, it was a long time ago, and a 34 yr old grown up lady with children (one almost at the intended age for the twilight books) shouldn't be quite so hooked.

Hubs is in London today, and tonight, so rather than watching TV, or sewing (which is what I should be doing), or feeding the children, or getting the house ready for the impending halloween party, I shall be reading the next installment of Bella and Edward's romance. Bliss.

(and I have the Sookie Stackhouse books lined up for when this lot is over. Got to be prepared, haven't you?)

dangerous distractions

I finally caved in and bought the trilogy, only a couple of years late. Right? Vampire love story - like I was going to get sucked in by that (excuse the pun). Pah. I could read the books on the way to and from London on the train when I'm down next weekend, nice and easy, nothing to it. I was sure they'd be pleasant enough, but nothing more than nice, simple, chick lit.
Well, the books arrived yesterday, I've finished twilight, and I'm onto new moon. I can't put them down. I can't do anything other than read the bloody books, I've taken them with me everywhere I've gone in the house. Last night I put the kids to bed and sat on the sofa and read until bedtime, got up this morning and read until I finished the first one. I couldn't make breakfast until I was done.

Dangerously distracting. And there's no way I'll still have an unread book by the time I go to London on the 6th - what am I going to read then? Should I buy the 4th one? It has some pretty bad reviews. Will it leave me disappointed? If you've read it, let me know.

So whilst I should be trying to figure out the tension on my new baby (scarily fast - even on slow)....



sewing the binding on this quilt.....




and quilting this quilt....




I'm back to Bella and Edward and hoping for happy endings. Seems I'm a hopeless romantic after all.

checking in

Isn't there something special about a jelly roll? The way it's ever so tightly rolled, the way you know you're never going to get it as tight again once you untie that ribbon, the whole collection of fabric, but just a little strip of each one.

This beauty is my first. I'm a jelly roll Virgin. Pure, unsullied, never touched. I feel ready to take the plunge now. I think I've found 'the one'. Would you care for an introduction? What do you think? I think I've made the right choice. Oh, with age comes wisdom.

Any way, hello! Wow, that week flew by, didn't it? I'm still going to take another week or so off, because I've really enjoyed having the time to actually get things done, instead of spending the day chatting or skiving, or using hunting down fabric I don't need as an excuse to avoid getting things finished. Or lusting over jellyroll patterns.

I might give myself a coffee break a day to do all things flickry and bloggy. If I behave, at least.

Because this week has been really productive. And I like to see a stack of finished jobs, it makes me feel good.

The spiderweb grows...by another 12. Which takes me up to 42 in total, only another 14 to go. And 9 of those are going to come from my European posse.



The Christmas Quilt has borders and its backing has been pieced. Next week I'll quilt it, maybe I'll even finish it completely. It is half term, so I might have to talk to the kids every now and then.



Giant Animals part 2 (boy colours) was finished. Although I will admit it was finished a little before last week, but I didn't take a picture so I'll try and speak it in here without you noticing.

I might have to re-name this giant wrinkles. Better get it pressed before I take ti round to Baby Fin (who I still haven't met, despite him being almost a month old)



And finally. I finished up the pop garden quilt from the workshop I went to a few weeks ago.

It feels good to get things done.



So, I'm off again, I'll be in hiding again for the next week. Getting ready for Halloween too. The kids have planned a party, I think we have 15 kids coming, which is a little better than last year. There are fewer adults this year too. To be honest, it's those that the harder work than the kids - needing constant refilling of wine glasses, and conversation.

Before I go, have you seen/heard of/tried howcast.com? It's kind of like you tube, full of 'how to' videos. Might be a good one to bookmark? Like I need another website to trawl through.

I know I said I was taking a break...

...but I was just checking out my stats and stuff and noticed I'd been nominated for the little blog awards on the dorset cereals site.

Isn't that cool? Total surprise. I wonder who nominated me? Someone who didn't tell me - so whoever you are, secret person, I love you. Thank you.

You can go and vote for me (if you'd like...I currently have no votes. Which is a little sad, it would be nice to have one or two) by clicking on the pic below.



Ok. Now I am truly going for a week or so. I have had SUCH a productive day today, I should be able to get all sorts done by the end of the week. Oh yay.