While the cat's away...

The mice may have played...
The 'mice' may have made me order a few books online...
This one may have arrived today...


(The rest to follow soon I hope)

The 'mice' may have turned the living room into a fabric explosion...


(The 'mice' and I may actually be embarrassed to show this photo LOL)

But, the big bad cat is back LOL. So the fabric has been packed away (well most of it), the book buying spree has stopped and life continues as before EXCEPT!!!
My Chookyblue Secret Santa arrived from Jenny of Elefantz....



I was 'allowed' (according to the rules) to open the first parcel and I love it!! Thanks Jenny, it's gorgeous, so modern and the colours are fabulous for our kitchen where it has been hung up already!!


And I shall wait until Christmas for my second parcel, I promise! (especially because it's so beautifully wrapped that I like it just as it is LOL)

Why does it always rain (on me)?

Rain, rain, rain... and lots of hail too!

Today the bridge flooded again and I was worried we wouldn't be able to get home from school! Luckily we could get under the other railway bridge so I'm home to tell the tale:-) Sadly, I had no camera with me, so I have no photos to show the water levels around here which are thankfully not nearly as bad as in parts of Cumbria.

Well, it's been a long time no blog, but all the secret swaps have kept me underground however I can show one...


I'll not say anymore, but I hope they like it...


And look what I received from Ailsa for the Advent Swap....


Looks so amazing that I can't wait until the 1st of December! Thanks Ailsa!

Also received: (along with some other cool bits including something yummy that disappeared pretty quick!!)


Thanks Kandy, I can't wait to try this pen out on my butterfly quilt... (I believe the marks also disappear pretty quick LOL)

Last time we were stuck in with the weather, the boys and I made Gluten-Free mince pies (And yes, I ate all (or most of) the pies!!!)

I'll try not to leave it so long between posts, but as I'm now working on Christmas presents, I can't promise anything :-)

Flood Day

No school today because the rainwater under the bridges left the road to school impassable.

Luckily I sent out 2 swap parcels and my giveaway parcel last week!

Amy from the Calico Cat likes blue, so I sent her a blue parcel which included a blue cat bib for her little boy, a tote bag, a bag charm, fabric, ric-rac, fabric to make a dinosaur bag....



...and it has arrived safely so that's a relief.

Hoping to have the kids back at school tomorrow!! (Perhaps it's time for a canoe LOL)

Wanna win a quilt?

This is the quilt you could win....


Andrea is raffling a quilt to raise money for her daughter's trip to Africa. Pop over to her blog (www.welshquilter.blogspot.com) to buy a ticket!

Swaps, swaps, swaps, swaps...

Ok, so I'm a bit mad. Last I checked I needed to send/make 4 Christmas swap parcels (as well as my giveaway parcel). This means I need to get a shake on, but all the swap effort will mean that I have a thoroughly crafty Christmas - yippeee!

Speaking of swaps, my Angel Stitcher's parcel arrived in Italy (forgive the terrible photos!):



The parcel for Cristiana included an embroidered tote bag, a large cosmetic bag, some fabric, some ric-rac...



A hand stitched heart...


And a beaded handbag charm made by my mother...


(one down, 4 to go LOL)

Two tops done and a winner

Our combined quilting effort is now a top.


Pieced entirely from scraps left over from my brother's quilt, it should make Mom a great lap quilt for when she visits us. I hope to get it basted and quilted a.s.a.p.

And here are the borders on my Double Delight....



These 2 little trick or treaters, despite being poorly, had a grand Halloween thanks to our kind neighbours and their impressive stash of chocolates...



At last, a photo of our new kitchen. Thanks DH, you did a great job!!


(Even if you don't notice when it's tidy LOL)


The winner of my 300th post giveaway chosen by a random number generator of all the comments on the last 2 posts is The Calico Cat. Please email me your address and I'll pop a 'Lucky Dip' parcel in the post for you!

There has been crafting...

Happy Halloween!

I managed to lightly quilt and then bind these 2 panels that Toni sent me. The long one is hanging at the front door and the smaller one over the fireplace...



Little big boys are big into crafting too especially when it's on my table in my sewing room and means that there is access to all sorts of trims etc...



But I'm very proud of the results...



I also decided to put the leftover blocks together from my 'Butterfly Blossom' quilt that I gave my brother and his wife. DH couldn't leave the layout of this lap quilt alone and so in the end we compromised and used half his idea and half mine, but here he can be seen rearranging...



I discovered a new use for selvages: row numbers for pinning!!



I also finished the borders on my Double Delight but that will go into my lottery winning wish pile for longarm quilting LOL. I am almost finished the borders on the above butterfly quilt, but this one I plan to back with fleece and quilt myself for use by my Mother when she visits as she's always complaining that it's so cold here - compared to South Africa, I guess it is :-)

My drawing is now closed and I'll announce a winner in my next post - thanks for playing!

EDIT - As I didn't give a warning, I was going to close my giveaway drawing, I'll leave it open and will draw a 'Lucky Dip' winner on the 4th of November. (Hopefully by that time my children will be well and back at school and nursery which will give me time to make up the winning parcel)

Are you feeling lucky?

This is my 300th official post (that excludes the odd deleted one LOL) so if you're feeling lucky leave a comment and introduce yourself especially if you've never done so before. Who knows you may be the recipient of my 300th post giveaway. I have decided not to show what the prize will be as it will be a sort of colour co-ordinated 'lucky dip' LOL. Let me know what colours you like and why and that's what colour the prize may be... It will be a bag of some sort like a tote bag, evening bag, sling bag etc filled like a 'lucky dip' with some quilty or crafty goodness...

Lately, I have been helping a friend with her sewing which has inspired me to be more creative in my own sewing...



So I made these pencil cases/cosmetic purses using an assortment of trims that I have been collecting for some time now. Christmas is coming (Ho Ho Ho) and I'd like it to be a crafty one. I was telling another friend that I may make her something for Christmas and she replied "Yes, I like the whole Mother Earth thing". Mother Earth!! Huh! An apron for her then!!!

I have also made a little girl's birthday present:



A gift for a new baby boy in the village:



And I have also been working on my hexagons again.

I always seem to work on them after a hospital visit or whenever I get new rose fabrics in the mail. This time it was a combination of both.

On the house front, DH got the floor up, so that we could get a new floor down (long story!) Hopefully completed kitchen pictures to follow!!



And look at the leaves around here... the seasons are changing - such a metaphor for life, eh?

This, that and t'other

I have had limited computer access as I still have not had my computer fixed, nor have I bought a new one so I am behind on keeping up with little people joining their brother at school ...

(only in the nursery that is!)

And the weather turning colder..


I didn't even manage to blog that last weekend I was kindly given a place to do a Shibori dyeing workshop which I thoroughly enjoyed...

Ode to Vicki W: my attempt at hearts! :-)

Love this one: looks like a dental x-ray...



Then Thursday we had a flying visit from my wonderful brother.


What a treat!

Thanks Bro!!

And thanks for bringing zips and buttons from Mom!


I am always on the scrounge for zips and buttons ;-)

This week I also managed: 'A gift for a poorly person':


Our dear friend and neighbour is in hospital and we are thinking of him... (Come home soon!!)

In the meantime, I made him a bag to fill with hospital essentials like water, the newspaper, sweets...


And my dear friend Vicky gave me a super kitchen present. Gorgeous red spotty mugs in a gorgeous polka dot bag.


Thanks Vicky! I'm saving the mugs until we've had our first cup of tea out of them together. (The chillis are from a friend and I made 'chilli confusion' i.e. it was meant to be chilli jam, the ingredients are, according to her husband, chutney-ish, but it's more like a sauce. However, it is YUMMY!(even if I say so myself!)

Mummy makes a present

Today my littlest boy is three years old!! Where does the time go.

The other night we had 'Postman Pat makes a present' as his bedtime story.



He said that he wanted me to make him a present for his birthday. I offered to make another cake. No, he wanted something made. (And wrapped up with a ribbon!) All hopes of making and finishing the boy's a quilt each by this birthday flew out of the renovated window so I only managed a backpack and matching wallet...




Don't look too close, it was my first attempt at a wallet without a pattern

And here's a photo of a birthday present bag that got delivered to a little friend who had his party on Saturday...

On the nose front, I have been having a few early nights as I've really felt like I have been knocked out, but I'm sure it will pass.

Good luck, bad luck, frozen peas...

The Good Luck?
I have been undeservedly spoilt again!
Not 1, but 2 random acts of kindness!

Thanks Jodi for inviting me to join the Hedgehog revolution.



Actually, in this house they are called 'Hehodge's', but that's because some people in this house are only little :-)

Thanks also to Kandy. Kandy offered to send me some bobbins, but sent me lots of other lovely things too!


Look at the size of this gorgeous Log Cabin.

I love Log Cabins, but scrappy mini ones are even cuter!

The Bad Luck?
Well that's why we needed the frozen peas! Yes, there was blood on the trampoline!!! I was playing with the boys when DS1 ran into me as I bent my head over and hit me full on the nose with his knee. I heard a crack and was suddenly gushing blood. Blood ran down my arms, covered my hands, I thought I was going to choke, I had so much blood in my mouth and throat, but I remained semi-calm. I sent him in to get daddy, held my head back, used my sock(!) to stop the flow of blood and cried and laughed at the same time!! DH said not to bother with the hospital, just lie down, put some frozen peas on the swelling and not to worry as it's not too skew LOL.



(It's not easy taking a shot of your own nose ;-)
It looks ok now, so there's no more lying down for me. I had better get cracking on my made gift for DS2's birthday!