continuing christmas whilst in a funk

I have been little Miss Moody today. A big grey cloud is surrounding me. It might (hmm - does) have something to do with those blooming Morris fabrics. Too much brown. I need some colour.

Still, not everyone has my impeccable and flawless taste in fabrics, do they, Mother? Some people like those less in your face colours of falling Autumn leaves, don't they, Mother? Some people weren't keen on the giddy cheerfulness of wonderland, were they, Mother? Some people wanted Morris Workshop, didn't they, Mother?

Well, Morris Workshop is what she chose, and Morris Workshop is what she's got. And whilst it's not to my taste, it will look just perfect in my parent's bedroom. And they'll love it. And that's all that matters.

In a panic I realised there was no way I was going to be able to quilt the pattern I'd wanted to make (too big), and if I wanted to get it sent out for quilting it would have to be done super fast. I scrapped the original plan and have gone for the ever faithful turning twenty. But a little bigger, so it'll still end up around 7.25 feet square. I'll drop it off with the quilter next week, and pick it up mid-December. Just in time for Christmas.

I cut out the fabrics, after starching and pressing them, sewed the blocks and the rows up, I just need to sew the things together now and then I can rid myself of the grey cloud. Maybe I should leave it for the day and do a spiderweb instead.

In fact, let's just look at one.

Oh, can you feel the grey cloud lifting?




*sigh* that's better.

you started yet?

No. I'm really not being a smug cow. Because watch this space - these 2 quilt tops will stay like this until next february. Just wait.

But in the spirit of being organised (and possibly avoiding cutting into that morris fabric) I've made a start - a start, not a finish, not anywhere near a finish, but just a start, on a christmas quilt chez moi, and one for my friend who shall remain nameless because she might be lurking.

This is for the nameless friend. It's made from Michael Miller Funky Christmas fabrics, a bit of Kaffe dots, some other dots, and some retro Michael Miller christmas fabric too. I'll add on borders. Or one border at least, in a black based fabric - maybe the black and white bubble dot that is in the blocks. Maybe a thin solid black first. Maybe maybe. Can you tell I'm no planner?
The back will be pieced, but I haven't thought about that bit yet - it's still september, I can't be too organised. People might think Martha's been round again.



The one chez moi is the result of the swap on Beth's blog. It's only going to be a diddy one, but I'll probably add on some borders to make it a little bigger. So far it measures 36 x 48 inches. Or thereabouts.



So, my question is - have you started on Christmas yet? Or do you have better things to do with your time? I hope it's the latter.

spiderwebs have taken over my life

The spiderweb quilt is growing. Albeit slowly, but that's what sticking to just one a day will do for you. I think I'll love it more if I take my time and not go all out hell bent on finishing it fast.

However, my next obsession has shown itself. It's lucky we don't have any pottery barns here. Because I am in love with that single girl quilt. In Katie Jump Rope. Heck, Denyse Schmidt knows how to get into my head and poke at my brain. Did she know I've been hoarding KJR? Buying up more in case of an international shortage? Swapping my kids, husband and cats for flea market fancy? It seems she did know that, and has given me a purpose. Maybe next year though, Denyse, it's getting too close to Christmas and I still have to cut out the fabrics for my mum's quilt, get a christmas quilt finished and a baby quilt for my friend who could have had her baby and I just haven't heard yet. I should call her. My friend, not Denyse. I don't have her number (oh, but if only I did).

I've got me the pattern. I might have to top up the stash a little bit more. Just in case.

spidey sense

My new obsession. Spiderweb blocks. I've told myself I can't spend all day making them, because the family won't get fed, the cats will end up eating other, the house will attract rats. Ever so slightly addictive? Yep. I'd say so.

So I'm restricting myself - one a day. No more.

This is the weekend's rations. A slow start, but it won't be long before I can have sweet dreams underneath a layer of scrappy spiderwebs.





See how beautiful they'll look when joined together (thanks to big huge labs and their mosaic maker). Maybe I'll make an inroad into my ever breeding stash of scraps. Now that would be a bonus.

EDIT - completely forgot to link to the tutorial I'm using. It's on Marit's blog and uses no paper foundation (which makes me a very happy bunny).



This next picture is for Aneela. I made my first cut. Give me a pat on the back. It was tough, but I did it.

Sunday Stash

I had a panic the other week. More like a nightmare, in fact. What if suddenly Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt was as hard to find as Flea Market Fancy. What would I do? Curl into a ball and cry, most likely. So in order to rectify that situation I ordered a few bits from down shadow lane on etsy. I'll keep on adding bits, until I have ensured that I'm sorted when the drought comes. I can't be caught short, can I? I have plenty of blue, and green, now I'm pretty much sorted for red and brown. I'd better get the yellow stock in order.

In weather news. I am happy to report it is almost Autumn. The leaves are falling off the trees, there are conkers being found in the pockets of a certain small ginger boy. The air feels crisp, the nights are drawing in. Summer shoes are being tucked back in the back of the closets, and my old friends are resurrected. Soon I'll be able to wear tights again. Oh joy.

I love Autumn.

a bird in the hand (or something - Sunday Stash but different)

Miss G had her bedroom decorated earlier this year. Late last year? I forget.
Anyway. I was looking in our loft today, having a clear out and came across some leftover bits and bobs of wallpaper. Could anyone use it?

The birds are hand sized.....



This is it without flash...



This is a pic of it using flash....



I have 1 and a bit (maybe half) rolls. A roll is 10 metres x 53cm (11 yds x 21 inches). There'd be enough to make a nice little feature on a wall, or on a fireplace or for using for crafty stuff. It'd look great as a covering for a dresser or chest.

Shoot me an email and I'll pop it in the mail to the first person that makes a claim for it. If you live overseas I'd have to get you contribute to shipping. Say £5 ($7 US).

**********IT'S GONE TO LIVE DOWN UNDER WITH LIS (FIRST PERSON TO EMAIL) - THANKS!!!!*************************

mailbox treasure

There is nothing better than opening the door to the postman and being greeted by a little stack of parcels. Especially when they look like these ones. A set of nice advice postcards from hellojenuine, 2 swap parcels from flickr friends (liberty print for flea market fancy - always a fair exchange, I think), and last, but most certainly not least - my fat quarter of christmas fabric designed by the future Heather Ross (yes, I will big her up) Aneela. I'm not sure I can bring myself to cut into it though.

What a great start to the weekend.

hushabye, hushabye, hush

When Miss G was teeny tiny she loved this book. I can't help think about whenever I see the hushabye range of fabrics. They're so sugary sweet and perfect for a little baby. Or a little girl in general, I suppose. Not my little girl, she's not little anymore. *sigh* They grow up so fast.

Luckily my sister in law gave me (well, not for keeps) a new baby niece, who I am very much in love with. And every little baby needs a few quilts. This one is for when she is at my mother in law's house. Mother in law will probably use it for herself, though, when she's watching TV. She has taken a fancy to the fabrics - but just so she knows it's not hers I embroidered Mollie's name on it.

John sent me a layer cake, and two charm packs of this lovely fabric in return for a copy of material obsessions 2 before it came out in the US. This quilt has taken up one of the charm packs, and I have a quilt planned for my mother in law's best friend using the layer cake. That leaves me with one charm pack left. I think I might have to make some pillows or something.

sunday stash...yes, it's monday

That's the whole collection of The Morris Workshop by Barbara Brackman for Moda.
I can't get excited by it, it's not my cup of tea. I suppose that's not strictly true. I do love William Morris designs, but I'm a whore for Liberty and if I'm going to have William Morris, I want it in tana lawn. Or in a heavyweight canvas for interiors.

But, I didn't choose them. My mum did. She has requested a quilt for christmas, a big one, she said. So a big one she will get. Although, she now tells me that what she meant by a big one was not a baby quilt. Silly mother. She's over 60 now, I can't see her and my dad having babies. So she has tried to back track herself and tell me that in actual fact she wants a quilt that will sit on the bed, but not over hang it. My dad disagrees, he wants the biggest I can do. I say they'll get what they're given. And if it's ready in time for christmas be extra bloody grateful.

When I was small we had a sofa in one of these prints. It was green and brown, and I can remember hating it. It wasn't like the other kids at school, they had black vinyl corner sofas, or that draylon velour type with tassels around the bottom. I wish we still had it, it'd be quite cool now. And my mum could sit on her William Morris sofa with her William Morris quilt over her.
I bought the fabrics from fabric buffet. Betty, the store owner, was really helpful. The packages took forever to arrive - obviously not her fault, and most days she would email me and check on their progress and ask if I had any news. She was very helpful, I'd recommend her wholeheartedy. All too often you don't get that kind of personal service from online stores, once your package has gone out it's no longer their problem. Betty emailed me just yesterday to check up on things. That kind of service is hard to beat.



Thank you for all your lovely happy anniversary wishes. I can't believe it's been 11 years already. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess! I was 23 when I got married, that sounds so young when I say it out loud. Funny how I just knew when I met Warren that he was the one. No-one had made me laugh so much, or made me feel as special then or since. Don't get me wrong, it's been a windy road, and we've had our share of problems, but we got through them. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

I am supposed to be trying to find the source of a musty smell in my kitchen and laundry. I think the washing machine has sprung a slow leak, it's not pleasant. Fun fun fun for a Monday morning.

11 years ago....

In Las Vegas, 4 months after we first met, me and the husband got married. Cripes. Don't we look like babies on the picture? And don't I look like the most ghostly pale person in the world?

Happy Anniversary, baby. Here's to another 11! Love you xxx

Oh, winged messenger - what do you have for me?

This morning, bright and early a winged messenger (well, the UPS man) brought me gifts in orange boxes.

Ok, just one box. But still. To me those orange boxes are more than a little exciting....



Reluctantly I unwrapped it. They always look so perfect with ribbon tied around them, don't they? (boxes in general, not just the orange ones)

You can't see it too well on my terrible picture. And to be honest, you can't see it very well on the pictures on the website, but take my word for it - a scarf doesn't get much better than this...



Liberty x Hermes. I'm in love.

But that wasn't the only treat in the parcel. Oh no. Thanks to a friend I had a £30 off if you spend over £150 voucher. Now, you may say I should have stopped at the scarf, but then I wouldn't have got this little pretty - technically for free.

Look at the pretty little toys, and the...what?...GUNS?...HAND GRENADES?...KNIVES? I know, it's not to everyone's taste, and it is a little less beautiful than the regular tana lawns, but I had to get a little bit, it's designed by the artist Grayson Perry, whose work I will never be able to afford. I think I'll keep it somewhere safe, not cut it up.



On a different note, here's a completely unrelated picture of my baby. NooNoo, you do co-ordinate beautifully with hushabye, don't you?

back to school - back to sewing

ah, the peace, the quiet, the early mornings, the rush, the last minute dash to find something terribly important that we forgot to mention last night, the heated discussions as to why biscuits are not suitable for breakfast, the calm that enters the house at around 9.10am. Yes, the monkeys are back at school.
I've had a fried brain for the past month really. My head has been in 'please go back to school' mode (as have both junior sized brains in the house). Miss G had 10 weeks off. That is just too long. What do the parents that work do? Spend all of their earnings on summer camps? Childminders? Leave the kids home alone to fend for themselves? I'm lucky I don't work. We'd have had to remortgage the house to pay for 10 weeks of childcare. We filled most weeks with summer camp, holidays, staying at friends and fun stuff, but you can't do something for every minute of the day, and when you are so used to having your days as structured as they are at school, being bored without any good reason is hard work.
Miss G is the last year of junior school this year. As I dropped her off on Wednesday morning she told me she had butterflies. Apparently the rest of the school will look up to these oldest ones and they have to set a good example. Hmm. We didn't do too well. My school shop fear got the better of me, and she went in her shabby old blazer, missing a button (that I can't find a suitable replacement for). I'll venture to the shop next week. I will conquer the fear of the dragon lady in there. I can't believe that this is the last year of little school, that next year my baby girl will be in seniors. I don't think she's old enough, maybe someone made a mistake?
Ginger is back at nursery, he only got the more usual 6 weeks off, plus a couple of extra days thanks to teacher training. His class was eerily quiet, the older ones have moved up into the 'big' school and the little ones haven't started yet. They filter in gradually over the next few weeks. Soon it'll be as rowdy as ever. He has a new teacher, who I am told (by Ginger) is 'cute'. Hmm. I'll have to watch out for him chatting to the older ladies, charming them with his ginger locks.

I spent this morning stitching in the warm sunshine that was coming through the kitchen windows. Quilt number 2 for my new niece. This time a really simple one with a charm pack of tula pink's hushabye, and some linen strips. Made a little more interesting by stitching her name on.



I have another giant animal quilt top to finish up. The baby that this one is for is due any week now. I really need to step up my game.



Although, I have managed one finish in the past week. The quilt I was making for my friend's mum has been finished and given to her. She was over the moon, so that made me a very happy chicken. It's off to live with her in Spain, keeping her little legs warm on wintery evenings, when the temperature drops and there's no heating to rely on to keep cozy.



Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll have plenty of things to show you. Proof that I don't spend my free mornings sat on the computer, drinking gin and smoking a pipe. Although, now I mention it - that does sound like a lovely way to spend a morning......

more tattoo pics

I'm sorry. No sewing going on here, just more pics of my skinny little tattooed arm.
I think I just need a little bit of filling here and there. The odd button or two in spaces that are too small for anything else.

I'm happy with how it's looking though. Very happy. Now the pain has gone, and it's just itchy with healing I seem to have forgotten it hurt so much, and I'm ready for the next one. Funny how the mind plays tricks on you like that, isn't it?

I promise normal crafting pics will return forthwith.

is the pain really worth it?

I know plenty of people (yes, mum - you) who would say no. And I did struggle quite a lot this time. That bit at the top of your arm, underneath - it's quite fleshy, and squishy (on me, at least), and sensitive. According to my rule of 'if it's tickly it'll hurt' that bit should have hurt the most out of the places I've got tattoos. It did. I'm not ashamed to admit, I had to turn away so I could have a little cry. A very quiet one. That was a first.
But it's 2 days later, and it's starting to feel a bit better. The bruising is going down (I bruise really easily). It'll start getting itchy soon. My crafty arm is almost complete. I think I just need a few little buttons dotted here and there, maybe a couple of stars to fill in small gaps. Then we can move on to the left arm.

My friend, Sash, who is much cleverer with the camera is coming round tomorrow (she took this pic) so I'll see if she can get one of my whole arm.

School starts again next week. Today I have the last minute rush to get everything I've previously put off. We need shoes for Miss G, most importantly. Ginger's school shoes were bought right at the end of last term when he had a last minute foot growth spurt. Typically. I know leaving it so late will mean she gets no choice, which is bound to cause drama and much stomping of feet in ugly school shoes. I do it every year. I think 'I'll get everything early this time' and then forget. So here we are, less than a week to go. To be quite honest, she needs a whole new uniform, but I have an irrational fear of the school shop ever since I went once (yes, I have only been once - I write notes to the teacher asking for things, or send the husband) and a very scary shop lady screeched 'no children in the school shop' (which is difficult as it's a school shop, for school children to buy uniform). I think she may have left, she'd been there since the husband was at school, it's possible she's no longer on this Earth, but I'm too afraid to risk it.

good golly, miss mollie!

There she is, my brand new, teeny tiny, 5 weeks early niece. 10 years and 2 days younger than her biggest cousin.

Me, broody? Oh, just a whole lot more than I was previously. And that was bad enough.

She's so tiny the giant animals on her quilt look like they could eat her. Only 4lbs of baby - that's just big enough to stay out of the special care unit. Clever girl.