Birthdays and giveaways...

Well I have made it to my 100th post on the same day that my big boy turned 3! So Happy Birthday Jack, I hope you have many many more! Here he is with his birthday loot...


Here's baby brother who'll be one next week...
(note the fabric stored in our bedroom while my sewing room gets 'done'!)

The cake for school... (pesky icing wouldn't set, but that's what you get when you ice a cake at midnight I guess)


To celebrate my 100th post I'll send someone this African fabric tote bag that I have made along with an African apple key ring...

If you'd like a chance to win this bag, just leave a comment on this post. I will draw a name next Friday so leave a comment by then with a way to contact you if you don't have a blog. I'll send three runners-up (assuming I have that many comments LOL) a chilli key ring.... (the apple keyring can be seen here too)


Next week, regular sewing commences!!! I have been sidetracked this week as a friend has offered to put a few of my things on her craft stall on Sunday so I have been finishing bits and pieces (cushions, bags included) and making bits.. Hopefully she'll have great weather and lots of customers :O)

I have also made my PIF's (Pay it Forwards) which I signed up to on Kerry’s blog. Kerry still has a couple of hundred days, but I just wanted to get mine done and off my list. Here are the backs of them...


I have some NYB BOM's to make and tons of WIP's, UFO's etc... so I better get going LOL. Actually I feel so much more content when I sew, funny that huh?

A better, but busier week

It has taken me days to get over that nasty bug and I still don't feel myself, but maybe it's just a sign of getting older. After we were all sick, no-one wanted to touch a thing except DS1 who had lunch and then dinner! In fact, last night was the first proper meal I've had in days - sadly I will not be needing to change my entire wardrobe for a smaller size LOL

This week I won't be blogging much or sewing either, I imagine, as we have lots of birthdays coming up.
Crazy to think that it's been 3 years on Friday that I first screamed my lungs out with DS1 and next week it will be a year that DS2 smoothly and more calmly joined this little family of ours. Here DS2 wants to know who to talk to about getting some good stuff...


This time last year we were building an extension which needed a roof and I was going insane trying to 'nest' in the chaos. This time, this year we are renovating and needing another roof...

At least we've got a good view...

And DH managed to get the plastic sheeting back on just before the big rains came!!

My Mother is back safe and sound in South Africa so there was no holding me and my mess back in the 'spare' room..

The post brings cheer to this nasty week

I have done nothing sewing related for days and I think last night may be why.... Continuing my terrible week, Thursday night my family and I spent most of the night racing to the bathroom with a tummy bug. (DS1 spent most of his throwing up in our bed - yuk!) so we are all feeling pretty jaded today. I heard the post van this morning, but I just could not raise myself to go and see what he had brought.

When I finally made it with wobbly legs the few steps to our postbox, I was delighted to see that Kate had sent me some good cheer. A great African block for my growing collection of these blocks in our one-on-one blockswap. I really enjoy this swap with Kate and the Roberta Horton book (The Fabric makes the Quilt) that I have recently purchased is sure to provide plenty of African inspiration for future blocks.


Kate also included some yummy rose fabric! I love roses and am doing a paper-pieced hexagon rose 'something' as my handwork project when I'm home in South Africa.
These are beautiful fabrics, and because they are FQ's I have something else in mind for them too. Thank you so much Kate. Hopefully we'll all be well tomorrow and I can start sewing again....

Post brightens the days

I have had the worst week! When did it start? Saturday when I lost £10 out of my pocket when buying my crying baby a snack at the supermarket? Monday when my almost 3 year old decided to have a tantrum in the shops and caused me so much embarrassment? Or was it Tueday when I tried to drive to Ikea and my baby threw up in the car, not once, but twice? Maybe it was Wednesday? I finally got to Ikea on Wednesday, but only after I lost confidence in my directions and went the wrong way adding hours to my journey. At one point when I still hadn't got there, I wondered how I would (or if I would) ever get back. When I finally got home I had managed to drive over a nail! So now I need a new tyre too.

I have not had a chance to take decent photos of my mail of the last 2 days, but I have had such wonderful things through my letterbox! Here are a few teases... (I will try and take pictures of the whole tops as soon as the weather improves.)

From Juliann this wonderful top for Project Linus.


Juliann also kindly included some lovely reading matter for me.
Thank you Juliann!!

And Anne sent me these wonderful star fabrics...
Thank you Anne!

Kate deserves a big thank you too! Look what she sent for my local Linus!!! Two quilt tops! This beautiful one...
and this one fun yellow and blue one as well!!!

Thank you Kate!!!

And my other friend Kate (P) sent me these great blocks for Linus...

And a little something quilty for me.

Thank you Kate (P)! I have such great blogging friends with such big hearts - it makes any bad week seem so much better.



The books I ordered on Ebay arrived too not that I've had a second to read them...

So it's been a bumper mail crop for the last 2 days - perhaps I would have been better off just staying home waiting for the mailman LOL

Two birds

I really like Carol Doak's blocks (and her cutting guides for making the blocks too) so when I heard she had a 'Block of the Month' I just had to sign up. Here is September's:

I used some African fabrics that Ria (a neighbour of my mother's) had sent me from South Africa a while back. Lots of nice bits that I hadn't thought to use before. I made two blocks - one is for a special someone who I swap African blocks with, but I not mentioning any names beginning with K until she gets it LOL.


On another note: My mother is only here until Sunday so time for a last pie...

Yum, it was plum, peach and apple as the blackberries seem to be all gone now. The cake lift is from South Africa and is made by Carrol Boyes, she makes really great functional art (http://www.carrolboyes.co.za - if you're interested...). I have the bread knife, cheese knife, butter knife, trivet, serviette holder, a vase, a few frames... - I did say I love her stuff LOL and I have been buying or been given a piece here and there over the years. If DH doesn't know what to get me he always just goes there and everything is just beautiful and gladly received, just a pity she doesn't sell quilt stuff :O)

Some of (my) life's questions

Sometimes I have to ask myself certain questions, some of them I can't ask here LOL, but these I can...

Why have we had a broken digger in our garden for a week and still no garden?

Because the caterpillar track broke on the digger and the 'digger man' is very busy. He fixed it today and swears it will be out of here tomorrow. We'll see. It has been fun to have a digger in the garden for 'tractor boy" (DS1), but not today! Today he went out and a few minutes later he was back with oil all over his jeans and raincoat. Anybody got any ideas how to get oil out of a raincoat??

Another of my questions is why do kids never sit still for photos?
Here DS2 comes to take a closer look at the camera again! (I have lots of these pictures!! Cameras must be really interesting if you're not quite 1 yet LOL)

Grandma went to Cambridge and came back with some T-shirts for the boys. DH studied there so he really liked them, but of course I could never get a shot with both boys looking ok at the same time!

And when I finally got focus, I also got tears!

Why do I sign up to swaps when I barely have time to brush my hair?

Because I can't help myself? Here the Bear Claws are finished for the swap and I hope to mail them tomorrow.

Quite a fiddly block for a blockswap and quite tricky fabric so I shall see IF I manage to do anymore...


And how do I know it's all worth it?


When I catch my child wrapped up in one of his quilts...
I can feel so grateful that I was able to make both of them (the kids and the quilts!)

This bad blogger will make good

Well I am unbelieveably inching up to 100 posts and when I get there I will offer something to those who read this ol' blog LOL.

I often read some of my posts and I'm so vague I'm sure nobody but me knows what I'm on about :O) So I will clarify my previous post, but not the previous 90-odd!

Here are the beautiful fabrics from Josie:

The silks are really lovely in the flesh, so lovely to touch, I shall have to think what to do with them. Any ideas?

Then here are those pesky bear claw blocks...

I followed the pattern which said to put two squares together, sew on either side of the diagonal and then trim in half, then half again and then on both diagonals, but there is so much trimming on the individual little pieces as well to be done. 160 itty bitty blocklets! I hate that! Perhaps I will do them tonight and just get them out the way so that I can sew the blocks together even though Thursday evenings I normally handquilt in front of the telly (Grey's Anatomy - I'm addicted).

In a previous post I mentioned I had made Bonnie's Pineapple Blossom quilt which gave bonus triangles

A whole lot in fact. I plan to make a lap quilt in this layout...

Not that interesting a layout, but I like it :O)

Busy, busy, busy

Things conspire against me daily as far as blogging goes LOL. Today I had time to blog, but had left my camera in the car which DH had borrowed and I thought I can't blog without a picture... I will find one to add to the end of this post as now it's too late and too dark to photograph the lovely fabrics Josie bought me on her holiday in China. Luscious silks (and cottons too) - very nice and many thanks Josie.

I have also not sewn a stitch as we have been out and about for the last 2 days and I'm exhausted... I could have worked on my bear paws for a swap, but I couldn't face squaring up 160 x 2 and 1/4" blocks for the claws! I will do them tomorrow!

So here's my pic to spice up this post...

I started this UFO when I lived in Germany. It's a Lone Star from a course which I did with Magda Goldbach. I didn't manage to get the squaring-up pieces in on the day (or even cut them!) and I never thought I'd be able to do them myself so I just left it. I'm sure I could probably manage them now, but I'm also wondering if I should finish it up as a tablecloth or a bed quilt or even a wallhanging... I fancy a bit of applique if I add white squares to it, but I'm not sure right now. Decisions, decisions LOL. Perhaps I'll wait for the next BQL Ostrich challenge (see mine from 2006 here) to do something with it....

Life's a beach

On Saturday I got in the car and DS1 told me he'd like to go to the beach. I love the beach...
it's only about an hour away. Not a beach like I know from Cape Town, but sand and water nonetheless.
We messed about in the sand and when I washed my hands in the water, someone discovered that water and sand made MUD! He ran around like a loony shouting "MUD, MUD, MUD!"

He was so happy, it was lovely. We will go again!

Here are few things I've been working on. A top for Linus...

My September, October & November BlockBuddySwaps Maple leaves...

And my September Blockbuddy's "Focus Fabric" block (Waterwheel Variation it's called)...

The fabric is from Donna's shop and is called Forest Fire Batik (if I recall correctly). Each month we're making a Quilterscache block using a bit of focus fabric somewhere.

I'm also working on something with my bonus triangles from Bonnie's Pineapple Blossom which I did in butterfly prints. More on that later...

A very quilty day

Today was the start of the Great North Quiltshow in Harrogate, Yorkshire. I went along with DM and DS2....

Everyone pictured above was very well behaved LOL and we had a lovely day. There was not a huge amount of quilts or vendors or even visitors so it was actually relatively stress-free pushing the buggy around. I imagine the weekend will be much busier.
I only did a small amount of shopping... Some homespuns for a current swap (and a brown dot print, not sure about that one - weird impulse buy LOL)

And some birthday fabric for 'Aunty' Vera who will be celebrating her 80-something birthday and is still quilting!



Then when I came home THE squishy was here! My 'Bag O Stuff' has arrived!!!
This is what I sent...

This is what Lorrie has created...

And a wonderful back as well!

And here's her statement

Thank you Lorrie - you've done a great job!

I must love red

Lots of sewing stuff is on the go... I collected my quilts from Chris on Tuesday so now I have 4 kid's quilts and my Scrapbuster quilt to bind. I have been sewing blocks for swaps that are due this month and I have pinned together a top for Linus and just generally been busy pinning and cutting.

Lately, I've noticed that the last few things I'd purchased were red.

Red welly boots for DS1

Red teapot because my white one got chipped...

That made me look at the red things around me.
The wooden heart hanging over my side of the bed (a blue one on DH's side - both bought at our local quilt guild's show last year even though I already had a red one from the lady who makes them, but they are lovely so i couldn't help myself LOL)

The red, white and blue quilt I made that lies on our bed, sometimes straight and neat, sometimes in a heap
(The red ran in this quilt - so I don't always love red!!)

Then around me, red things everywhere:
The view out of the church door on Sunday...

And the postman who still has not delivered my "Bag o' Stuff"...

One of the nicest things about living on the farm is the post van, I just think it's so charming, probably costs Royal Mail an arm and a leg, but it's lovely to see the little van especially when there's interesting post :O)


This afternoon we went Blackberrying again. Jam and pies coming up LOL


Oh, and while I was out merrily picking blackberries DH put up more scaffolding so to use the washing machine or get to the freezer shall be very interesting - luckily all my sewing stuff is pretty much out of there now.

Unluckily I can't remember where I put most of it....

Why I've not been sewing...much

Yesterday we christened our littlest baby boy. The lead up to it involved a LOT of cleaning the house and a LOT of cooking and baking. We only had family present plus a very few friends. The sermon was on hospitality so I felt like a real rotter that we had not invited everyone we knew, but the house being in the state it is we just could not have accommodated them.

(Amongst all this, I might have sneakily sewn a stitch here or there, I can't recall, but from tomorrow that sewing machine of mine will be back on duty!)

Here our lovely vicar baptises Toby



And here our lovely baby tries to pull off our lovely vicar's robes as they got in a bit of a tussle LOL



My South African family were really missed, but a great day was had by all.