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Monday 11 November 2013

A Techno Free Weekend. with sewing on the side.

Good Morning, I am refreshed and raring to go. I had a lazy day yesterday, sitting in the car for nearly 5 hours Saturday did me no favours at all, my joints were rebelling all Sunday, I did not feel up to writing a blog post so had a technology free day. I filled my day nicely with some reading and a little bit of sewing and a very little bit of cooking.
I put some bacon chops in the slow cooker with a bottle of Mr T's cheapest Cola and served them with mustard mash, cauli and broccoli. Jam sponge and custard for pudding. Yum.

I did manage a quick visit to Burton-on-Trent Saturday, a quick look round the market and a zip in and out of the Charity Shops.




I picked up this single duvet cover for £1, it is very good quality and in new condition. I plan to turn it into aprons with a frill round the skirts. My local Cats Protection CS can sell them as fundraisers.




The quilt for James and Cerys is done, I could not settle on fabric to back it so used a fleece blanket and it is really warm.



One thing that I noticed in the Burton CS was the price of pillowcases, £1 upwards!! I pay 25p at most. The one in this pic is one of a pair for 35p. I stuff them with 3 or 4 layers of wadding offcuts, sew up the opening and do a little hand quilting and there is a very cheap pet bed. This one will fit a small to medium dog or a couple of cats. I sew the layers of wadding together as well so that when washed they retain their shape.

I got my November block swap on Saturday, I am not a happy bunny, it came with a letter saying that she had cut it wrong so had put a patch in one corner, did I mind!! if so let her know and she would try again!
Well yes I do mind, I take great care to send a swap as near perfect as I can make it. I am fussy and like to think that others are also. If it turns out too small I remake, if I am not going to do it properly then I do not do it at all. To me part of the fun of swapping is to match the swap with my partners tastes and to make them something with a bit of "OOH" factor. This is what I got. BTW my colours are Red, Yellow and Aqua on White, with no Batiks.



This is not square, it does not measure 12 1/2" and it is not Aqua, it also has grey and the blue is a Batik.


This is where she cut it wrong, the red point has been cut off and the blue pint was lost when she added a scrap of fabric. 

I am putting it in the post and sending it back. The block pattern I quite like but I could not keep this even to cut for scraps, evrytime I saw it I would seethe. My last block was nothing special but it was the right size and the right colours so I will use it. All the other blocks that I have had are really good and I look forward to turning them into a quilt.

Moan over.



This was our dinner on Friday, spicy fried chicken, in the end I did not make batter I dipped the meat in milk and then a spicy gram flour mix. The sausage gravy was lovely, I used a 50p pack of RTC honey and mustard sausages and added a little extra mustard to the gravy.
It was so tasty that we are having a version of it tonight on pasta.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Pain free for 24 hours.

2. A visit on Saturday and a catch up.

3. Being made aware that my health issues are negligible.

4. Being made aware that our health service, with all its problems. does a very good job on the whole.

5. Feeling fortunate in having Francesca's family in my life.

In 2 weeks Fran will be moving to her new house-share in London, a time of change and for us all. I look forward to seeing more space in the cottage and seeing her social life actually happen. She will instantly gain over 5 hours a day by not commuting.
On that thought I really ought to drag out some of the things that need checking before they are packed, there are a lot of boxes that have not been touched for 2 years!

                                       TTFN                            Pam




8 comments:

  1. Oh that is really too bad. You join a swap, you send your best work. If you know yours isn't up to scratch you don't join. Simple as. I would have felt the same. We had bacon chunks yesterday, I obviously felt your bacon vibe going on! You won't know yourself with the extra space in the cottage, but you are right about people having a social life too.

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    Replies
    1. Enjoy the vibe, and the bacon. Francesca announced last night that, as it was to be her last Sunday roast for a while, she would like Lamb. That gives her Shepherds pie and lamb and mint pie during the week, there,s no moss on her brain, 2 of her favourite dinners. She also asked for apple puree crumble, she only likes cooked apple if it is puree. No probs. The offending block is on it,s way back.

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  2. I received a bad block a while back and it totally put me off. I never thought of sending it back though. Love the duvet cover - so pretty.

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    Replies
    1. I did not know what else to do with it, I would not use it for anything. That duvet cover is lovely, I hope to get 6 aprons out of it, I will use the back for waistbands, yies and pockets.

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  3. I had missed your posts, glad you are feeling ok. The duvet cover is lovely, really must start builfing up a stock, I have been picking up men's shirts during this year, but have done no patchwork as I have really been enjoying crocheting. Such a shame about the block, very disappointing but it does have to be right. X

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    Replies
    1. Men's shirts are great for quilts, have you seen Bonnie Hunter deconstruct one, it is on you tube and well worth a look.

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    2. Hi Pam,
      Have just checked out the video. I have never seen this before, but unbelievably it is basically how I deconstruct a shirt, I am far too impatient to use a seam ripper - and I always keep the buttons, even if they are just normal shirt buttons!

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  4. Hello Pam, I'm your swap partner for the Christmas Cracker Swap - will chat soon, just exploring your blog a little to get a feel for your style. Bettyx

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