The Forbidden Corner

I can't even begin to describe this place...

It's magical (even in the rain)...

It's unusual...

It's full of surprises...

It's too much to take in and do so taking photos is almost impossible...

It kept the boys entertained and excited the whole time...

It's well worth a visit!

Diapers, Dinosaurs, Lego & Lambs

With now only 9 weeks to go, I thought I had better get a nappy/diaper changing bag made. Especially if I suddenly have to make a dash for the hospital ;o)

As it's custom made for me by me, I put in 5 internal pockets for keeping all the baby junk...er... I mean stuff separate =)

And I have finally started nesting, I thought I'd work on the house first before I tackle the 'nursery'. I bought the boys dinosaur curtains and a rug to match for their room and today from 2 of their old t-shirts, I made these pictures:

Making these entailed 2 old pictures on wooden frames, my handy staple gun, interfacing on the backs of the t-shirts and camouflage fabric. And Voila! 2 DIY bedroom canvases.

The boys were very pleased.

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For Tonya and her Lego quilt:

Barely a day goes by without some new Lego creation in our house!

Roaaahhhrrr!

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And a parting shot of some local scenery.

I had to pull the car over to let these stragglers go by...

Beautiful Yorkshire!

The Finishes

I rushed to finish my New York Beauty (NYB) wallhanging and so never got a chance to take any decent photos of it in its completed state:

I took a few close-ups of the hand quilting in the borders...

Sometimes I followed the patterns in the blocks...

Sometimes, I just went with what I thought suited the quilt...

And sometimes I just had to do a few circles...

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I have also finished the doll quilt. I gave in and quilted it 'Stitch In The Ditch' (SITD), BUT I drew lines that went all the way to the edges and through the solid squares so that the quilting made up a grid.

I enjoyed the quilting and am now pondering the baby quilt, more stitch in the ditch in a grid OR free-motion hearts?? We'll have to see :o)

Basting for Baby

I have managed to quilt and bind (but not photograph) the doll quilt and thought that with less than 10 weeks to go until my due date I had better get a quilt made for baby...

So today before I took the boys down to the beck for a picnic in the cold and a dip in the water which was FREEZING (I know this as I took off my shoes and socks, rolled up my trousers and went in to help my son rebuild a bit of a dam wall for approximately 2 minutes before I lost all feeling in my lower limbs!!), I basted the baby quilt....

As usual I used the Sharon Schamber method of basting which works a treat with the bedposts that I keep on hand for just this purpose =)

I started this quilt before we found out what we were having and I am hoping it's still sufficiently neutral should the information be wrong :-)

Now to find time to quilt it, wash the baby stuff, get the baby a bed sorted, clean the house, entertain the boys for another 2 weeks before school starts.... oh and in September meet some wonderful bloggy friends in London!

Royal Armouries

Wednesday I took the boys to the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

It's a great day out and there was so much to see and do.

You would definitely have to like guns, swords, weapons, battlefields etc. a bit more than I do to get the most out of it, but I can see the bigger picture and enjoyed myself nonetheless =)

And of course I did love the costumes!

The boys had an absolute blast. My youngest son pretty much ran everywhere! He could not get enough of the place (even if he barely glimpsed in any of the cabinets!)

The views out the windows onto parts of Clarence Dock were great too!

There were some pretty spectacular displays... here the boys enjoyed watching a bullet being fired in slow motion... (I had to bribe them to look at me for a photo!)

It's a very airy building with galleries on 3 levels...

The children's play area was very well equipped with lots of dressing up kit, mini archery and a chance to decorate a paper sword, shield or crown...

Definitely a great (boy's) day out!

Seeing Yellow

I wasn't going to start anything new, but I had the instructions printed out and I had that yellow phobia I wanted to explore further and I had lots of spare florals and, and, and...

SO I did a few little blocks just to see what all the fuss was about and I have to say Bonnie's Florabunda is a very cute block!

Not cute enough with all that yellow to make a massive quilt,

but definitely cute enough to maybe make 16 blocks for a baby quilt...

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Of course the doll quilt sits on top of my other sewing machine waiting to be quilted

while my attenton is diverted, but I will do that soon...

... well as soon as I can come up with a quilting design to try out

as I think I may be all Stitch-In-The-Ditch-ed out =)

While I was taking photos I looked up and saw the printer's tray that I bought at a Village Fete for a £1.

I love it filled with threads...

I have far too many polyester threads so will be putting cotton thread on my list for the next quiltshop/quiltshow expedition! I like 100% cotton threads for quilting and polycotton threads for bag making... just one of those things...

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Abby is still using my battng/wadding as a 'nest'.

I noticed when I tidied the sewing room that she has scratched herself a cosy spot

so I will have to re-wash it and use it for stuffing toys if I am allowed to use it at all!

But how could I even contemplate ruining her special place =)

It's been oh so quiet!

My little boys stayed at their Aunt's house for a night.
Besides the deathly silence in the house, I did get a chance to tidy my sewing room
and get a few things done...

White borders on the baby quilt:

I ironed the backing for the scrappy heart quilt.

I was really pleased with how this pieced backing turned out.

It's very scrappy and it used up a lot of rose prints that I wasn't sure what to do with.

I also got my Cathedral Stars out and auditioned borders...

And I basted the doll quilt...

So although I can't wait to get them back, I did get quite a lot done.

Wordless Wednesday - Quilty Cat

Sunday Sunflowers

We went to visit my DSIL yesterday and she had the most gorgeous sunflowers

in her front and back gardens...

This is one form of yellow that I do like :-)
(Especially when the bees like them too!)

Her front door looked so pretty...

Spot the ladybird...

She also had these berries which I had in my wedding bouquet.

I had them combined with white roses...

Now that was a while ago...

A Trophy Finish

Today was the Annual Village Show and so I had been furiously hand quilting to finish my New York Beauty quilt. I wanted to enter it in the show and only just managed the last few stitches on the binding last night. But my efforts proved worth it as my quilt won a 'First' place in the Needlework section and a 'Best Exhibit in the Handicraft Section'. It was great to have a judge who appreciates patchwork and quilting as a lot of work has gone into this quilt.

(This is not a great photo, but I didn't have time to get any shots in any decent light as it has rained all day and it was only finished last night - perhaps a decent photo to follow this week.)

My first ever doll also won a 'First'. (I like this judge LOL):

And one of my bags also won a 'First'. (I REALLY really like this judge! LOL)

The children also did well with their exhibits and enjoyed receiving some prize money.

My eldest son was very proud of my trophy for: 'The Most points in the Handicraft Section' which made Mummy very happy indeed.

How Many 9 Patches Does It Take...

... to realise you are making them the wrong size for the project you have in mind?

30!

I had a bit of a sewing session this morning as I was up early and needed to sew. I took a wodge of my Leader & Ender 4 patches and made them into 9 patches. Later I cut setting HST's and then, and only then, did I realise they were the wrong size! Oh well, never mind... they'll be used for something else I'm sure...

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I never confessed that while in Germany visiting Birgit and meeting Bonnie Hunter, I bought ALL 3 of Bonnie's books (and Tonya's too!)

I needed inspiration for a very mini cot quilt I have been asked to make for someone's granddaughter's doll...

So 'Sister's Nine Patch' it was from Bonnie's Adventures with Leaders & Enders...

Now to quilt it!

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The garden continues to grow and we are enjoying all it has to offer,

including courgettes/zuchinnis which are absolutely delicious in a cake

filled with home made lemon curd and topped with cream cheese and lemon icing!

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The weekend saw us head off for a picnic. DH takes fishing for tiddlers quite seriously :-)

They must find it so curious to be fished out, admired and then thrown back after a bit...