On Pins & Needles

My cat says:

"I don't care how many pins it takes to make a hat,

I am sitting next to you on 'my' quilt!!"

 I'm preparing for a 'mini' market,

and as summer is upon us,

I'm making sunhats again...

(hence the blog-silence!!)

Some with roses sewn on...

 Some reversible ones with spots, or roses...

Some with flowers...

Anything that is hat-able is a joy to make into a hat!

Woo-Hoo Wimbledon!!

What a year for Wimbledon:

A British winner!

And Mom and I visiting on one of the rainiest days!!!

Absolutely NO sunhats were needed,

but we had lugged them all the way there

 and we were determined to wear them for

the all of 2 hours of tennis that we saw!!

 Rainy, but fabulous!

 What a place,

what a spectacle!

Loved it!

 We were wet, weary (from our travels),

but happy!!!

  

 A thrill to see Ferrer and Kivitova!

 And even from the cheap seats one had a good view,

until the rain covers came on again!!!

Which fortuitously meant that we actually made it in time

for a scrumptious dinner with Kate and her family and

Lana and most of her family.

Kate showed me how to make strawberry pie...

 And the kids have loved it!

Next up a quilty post!

Wimbledon Hats - Take Two

As Mother suited the smaller hat

of the two hats that I had made

I gave her that one,

which left me with the larger hat.

I felt that this one in comparision

didn't have the same va-va-voom so to speak.

I was about to make yet another hat

when my husband suggested I just fancy this one up a bit...

So it's no longer reversible,

As I put a band around it

and made some roses

The band has made it a bit snugger

and a much better fit for me...

I just hope the sun shines for us now!

*****

I will be staying overnight with a dear friend

after the tennis

so I made her a little something...
She may or may not read my blog before my visit,

so here is only the tiniest of sneaky-peaks!

More to follow, when it's been gifted.

Wimbledon Hats

Mother and I have been fortunate enough

to get tickets to Wimbledon this year.

Neither of us have ever been...

So we are both super excited!

I'm hoping the weather will be kind to us...

As I've made us both reversible sunhats!

Both hats can be worn with either the green

or the purple facing out

And both hats have brooches that

can be used any way you wear your hat

or on your raincoat lol

Hat Therapy

My dear friend

starts Chemotherapy

on Tuesday...

She asked me to make her a hat

for when she loses her hair... :(

This is a very sad time,

BUT she's strong and she'll pull through

surrounded by all of us who love her!

And boy, do I love her!!!

My youngest son modelled

the hat I made for her:

Everyone needs a bit of leopard print

to cheer themselves up!

All quiet on the homefront

I have been neglecting this poor old blog because I have not been sewing up to 'post exciting trips to Germany to meet quiltmakers and spend time with wonderful quilty friends' standards.

Sewing-wise though I have been making lots of reversible sunhats for summer...

I love making them because I can handsew the lining in while watching TV (not that I watch much TV, but when I do...)

The boys and I went to the beach by train on the long weekend, but we ended up in the cinema and market to escape the howling wind. In the market I bought ice creams for the boys and lots of yummy wool for me...

(The bonus about having a four-year old is that he only eats half an ice cream, so I technically got wool AND ice cream too LOL)


The weather has been very dry. Windy, very windy, but sunny too. So lots of time has been spent in the garden. Growing seeds, starting a little flower bed...

And letting Abby explore outside (making sure that the door is open so that she can charge back in when something startles her... ;-0 )


April was really busy with lots of overnight guests and even a birthday for me. I was spoilt by my friend's daughter who made me this magnificent cake when they came to stay:

And Vicky made me this gorgeous bag out of a sweater that I had worn, loved and managed to shrink in the wash. Thanks Vicky, I love it!

Next year is a BIG birthday for me. I will have to change my gift motto which is usually 'If I can't eat it, drink it or bath in it, I don't want it' to 'If it isn't slimming, anti-ageing and in an easy to open container, I can't use it' :-D

More memories...(and hats too)

... of first bus trips...

Well the next day when DS1 came home, by himself on the bus, DH and I walked up to meet him. (His first time had involved DH driving with the bus to show the driver where we live.) It was a long walk with the crutches, but so worth it to see him get off the bus for my first time and to get a few photos of the event!

The bus driver probably thinks I am nuts LOL.


He raced us back because Grandma was visiting!



Here are the hats I made...
...6 have already found new homes!

Oh my hat!

I had a go at another hat.

I followed the pattern a little more closely this time, but still made a few changes (can't seem to help myself LOL).



I made it reversible again and in a softer colour scheme.

Think I'd like to make my own pattern now and a smaller style for the boys.

Watch this space ;-)

Rudolph's hat

We had a BBQ (braai) yesterday and I managed to sunburn my nose! Unheard of, if you know me, but I have a cold so I guess I must have blown all my sunblock off! SO I decided last night to make myself a sunhat from one of my great sewing books (I won't say which one just yet, because I will not do it justice as I adapted the pattern. Note to self: Do not adapt the pattern until you have tried the pattern as is!!!)

Anyway, it's a bit big, but I like it...

It's also reversible...

Big enough to keep the sun off my nose... (and everyone else's... )

And DH likes it... (not neccessarily on him though LOL)

So it's not all bad :-D