Sewing and Pressing in the Rain

Well not out in the rain, just watching it hammer against the window. I did manage to get Ben out while it was not too bad.

I have had fun playing with fabric and thread though, I made something for me and something for Fran.

 

 

I have been meaning to run one of these up for ages, mine was one that came with the set of hooks and was very cheap looking. I like this and it uses some more scraps up.

 

I should have put the ribbon tie a bit lower, I will move it later, maybe. I do have a pattern or three for these rolls but just made it up as I went.



 

Fran likes big sun glasses, it is her birthday soon and I like to give her summery things, so I made this for her. 

 

The inside is a very pale yellow and sets off the turquoise trim nicely. As soon as I dug the fat quarter outer print from my stash I thought of the saying "2 swallows do not a summer make" there are many more than 2 here.

 

These are my specs so there will be lots of room for chunky sunnies. I will have to think of something else to make, possibly a new phone case, the ones I made her ages ago are quite scruffy now.

 

Now for the craft caddy.

 

I put all the names of the comments into a bag and fished around to pull one out. Saver of Suburbia, the bag is yours, just email me your snail mail and I will send it off to you.

 

I have a real give away coming up, a very desirable craft book. I will post photos tomorrow and give you all a week to comment. This will be for followers only and will be world wide, I know postage is steep but it almost Christmas after all.

 

Reasons to be grateful.

 

1.  A day playing in the sewing room.

 

2.  More scraps used up.

 

3.  Smoked cod for dinner. Mmmmmm

 

4.  I woke really early this morning so the house is spotless.

 

5.  My sweet pepper plant is still producing, there are 5 young

     peppers growing nicely.

 

I woke up and hit the ground running so all the house has had a blitz and looks good. I even moved the sewing room around so every inch was vacuumed. The bathroom and kitchen get done daily so they do not take long. I just want to wipe the big fridge out later and make a note of what I have to use up before it goes bad. I like to do this a couple of times a week, I hate waste of any kind. Mind you it does lead to some interesting food combinations at times.

 

I plan on making the most of my cleaningfest by having a day crafting tomorrow. I am taking Maggie to Ammanford first thing, 2 of her cats are having check ups and jabs. We will be back by 10:00, a quick coffee and I can cut, sew and press to my hearts content. Add in a little hooky and a smidgeon of knitting, lots of tea and the odd Fig roll for the perfect day. I hope that has not put the Kybosh on my plans, I ought to know better than to tempt fate.

 

The kitchen needs me, my fish will not cook its self.

 

     TTFN                                                           Pam

 

 



More sewing with Debbie and an apology.

First let me get the grovel out of the way. I have some new followers, I bid you welcome and will mention you all by name once I remember to make a note. I have also not replied to the comments on my last 2 posts, I will do that a bit later today. My only excuse is that I have been sewing and that means that twice in the last 5 days I have had to fold and place stacks of fabric back into the cupboards. I do like to pull lots of colours and patterns out to make my selection and I never put them away directly. I may be a slattern at heart.

Before I share my sewing I have a comment on a news item that I saw 2 days ago. The presenters were talking about heat or eat, there is concern that many more people now make this choice on a daily basis.
They then went to a home where a mum was serving dinner to her 3 children, she said that it was a worry for her as she could not keep the heating on through the night! how many can and why would you want to? I had to laugh at the fact that she was wearing a thin short sleeved blouse. I have to tell you that I was wearing thermal tights (Lidl, £2.50 and toasty) a Damart long sleeved tee shirt ( old but still warm), thin jumper and a thick cardigan ( layers so that I can cool off when needed) Oh and yes I was wearing a skirt and a petticoat (made by me, not very thick but warm).
The presenters then went on to say that "recommended" guidelines state that the minimum temperature for your home is 18c, I would be wearing shorts and a vest top at that level, I am comfortable at 13-15c, just depending on what I am doing. If I am cleaning (boo, hiss) I turn the heating off, otherwise I would spontaneously combust. If I am sewing I turn it down to around 11c as I have the iron on, my sewing machine with its lights and a daylight lamp all putting heat out.
O.M.W. that is wordy, but I am sure that you get my drift, if there is somebody at home frail, ill or very young or old then requirements will be different. I can only comment from my own needs and point of view. If I feel a chill I put a scarf round my neck or pop my shawl round my shoulders, ( do you remember the blue one I made for Wales?). I am out at regular intervals to walk Ben and find it nigh on impossible to sit still for long periods.
I am done with this, it has rather run away with itself, and me.

I have a few photos to share, there should be some more but my camera batteries need recharging.

 

 

Some more of the knitting bags made to the book size, I want to make another 8 of these. I told you that I have joined a knitting and crochet group, I am not sure whether they exchange Christmas gifts so decided to make some of these just in case. once the fabric is cut they only take 20 minutes to make. The longest part is choosing the colours and patterns ( and clearing the fabric away 2 days later). I will wrap them in pretty paper and give them out regardless, I have told them all that I am still trying to sew my way through as much fabric as I can.

 



 

This is the same pattern but made 1 1/2 times the size, it is now my knitting bag for small projects. I have been using this Bonnie & Camille fabric for what seems like eons now, I bought it really cheap from America before the postal costs went sky high, although I love it I will be glad to use the last piece.

 



 

My last photo is the new cover for my big Janome, much nicer than the oddment of fabric that was thrown over it. It is a bit baggy as I wanted it loose, I leave my pins, stitch ripper, tape measure and snips in the harp space and did not want to send them flying whenever I lifted the cover off. Now all I have to do is make a cover for the overlocker and all will be neat and tidy.

 

I managed to walk Ben in the dry yesterday until the last one when the heavens opened just as we were getting ready, it was still hammering down for the first walk this morning but has just about stopped now. His 12.00 walk will be early.

 

It annoyed me to have to throw food away yesterday, I have not baked for a while in the interest of my waistline. I went through the cupboards and found a tub of SR Flour, the lid was off on one corner and the flour smelled iffy so out it went. Around half a bag so cost 23p, not much but still a waste. This morning I have emptied another box from the move and unearthed my lock and lock containers from Lakeland. They are washed, dried and filled with my flours, sugars and other baking sundries. The cheaper versions will now hold other odds and ends, 1 has swallowed all the various stock cubes nicely, 1 has now become an under sink tidy, the rest will be put to good use.

 

 

Reasons to be grateful.

 

1.  My sewing room is tidy.

 

2.  I have 4 more projects cut and stacked ready to sew.

 

3.  My wool for my Aran Cardigan is here.

 

4.  Pulled Pork from Lidl for dinner, half price and not half tasty.

 

5.  Debbie Shore has a new book coming out soon.

 

I have to tell a tale on Ben. I take Maggie shopping every week and yesterday she bought a bag of treats for Ben. He had 1 after his walk last night once I had towelled him dry. This morning I heard rustling in the sitting room so put my head round the door to have a look. Ben had taken the treat bag off the coffee table and was sitting on his bed looking at it, trying to pluck up the courage to try and open it, it is a resealable bag. This is the first time that he has ever done anything like this, those treats must be tasty.

When he saw me, he brought the bag to me and placed it at my feet then sat and waited and yes of course I gave him one, maybe two.

 

That's all for now, the sun is gleaming through and I do not want to miss it.

 

                TTFN                                               Pam 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Nearly There

I have been playing with the laptop and am almost there, I still have to check that the printer will respond, but the rest can wait a while.

I have mentioned that I was planning on something new, here is a little taster, the plans have been put off for a while.

 

 

 

These bobbly strands were the devil to wind into balls, they had been twisted into very tight skeins.

 

The balls are looking sparkly, that is just the light bouncing about. The yarn is Sari Silk, what is left at the end of a run is cut into long strips that then roll up from the sides to form a yarn like texture. It is not at all even and I am intrigued as to how it will crochet and knit up.

I saw it on a TV channel when visiting Maggie, I did a search online but could not find a better price so ordered 2 skeins of each colour. This is destined to become a scarf, I will knit and crochet a small amount to see which I prefer.

 

 

 

My bargain CS door curtain is now up and doing a grand job.

 

 

The small Ripple has become a cushion cover and Ben has claimed it as his own, although at the moment he is stretched out over half the sofa and 3 cushions.

 

 

The quality of this photo is dreadful but I had several attempts and each got progressively worse. I treated myself to this, I am a fan of Debbie Shore and it was well worth buying.

 

As part of my aim of sewing through my stash I am hoping to work my way through the book, this little bag caught my eye.

 

 

I have made several now but only captured these 2 so far. The pink bag is to the size from the book and was a gift for Maggie to store her crochet in. The large one is twice the pattern size and holds a sweater or cardigans worth of yarn, the pattern, knitting pins and all the bits required with ease. It will also hold a well rolled double bed quilt so there is one in Christmas (there, I said it at last) fabric on it's way for Fran. The quilt blocks are done and waiting to be sewn together.

The weather forecast is rain till Sunday, I really do not mind. Ben and I both have coats and are not scared of getting a little wet. I have more bags cut out ready to sew, a few quilt tops to layer and Fran's Christmas Quilt to finish. Then there is the sweater to finish, the big Ripple blanket, enough yarn for another and some Aran Yarn on the way for a Cardie for me.

 

You may have noticed that I have not mentioned the unpleasant stuff, laundry, dusting, polishing et al. It will all happen I just do not like to dwell upon it.

 

I had a spendy day on Tuesday, I checked with Which and bought a tumble dryer, the running cost for a year is £65, based on an average of 3 loads of cotton per week. That is not likely so it will be easily affordable, if I had the luxury of an open fire I would not have considered it.

 I have found in the last few weeks that it is too warm to have the heating on and too cool/damp to dry the laundry so bit the bullet and coughed up the money.

 

I also replaced my microwave, also with a Which best buy, and my kettle decided to leak so a new one of those, again a Which best buy. Both of these were from Tesco and were almost covered by my club card, mainly from petrol, thanks to boost. The microwave is a combi and works wonderfully, 2 large jacket potatoes in 12 minutes with crispy skins......Yum.

 

I have just looked out at the rain and Ben and I will have to don our waterproofs for the 1.00 walk, not to worry.

 

Reasons to be grateful.

 

1.  A well stocked craft room to keep my hands busy.

 

2.  My new book for inspiration.

 

3.  Rain to stop me feeling guilty about crafting.

 

4.  My new appliances to make life easier.

 

5.  All the lovely blogs on my list to keep me entertained, and in touch with the outside world.

 

On that note I think that a cup of tea and a half hours light reading is called for, I hope that you will all enjoy your day as much as I will.

 

     TTFN                                                                             Pam



Rippled Away by a Little Tin Bird.

It is naughty of me to blame her but I was tempted and succumbed.
I follow Heather at Little Tin Bird via Bloglovin and yesterdays  post was about her baby seaside ripple blanket, btw it is dreamy. She also showed a diagram with a photo of a method of starting a ripple with a straight edge, just think no tedious filling in at the end. The invitation was there to try it and I did, I found 3 new balls of yarn in the bottom of my box of odds and ends. Now who hid them in there I wonder? Made a 56 chain and did a row of treble crochet, then just copied the diagram, Woo Hoo, it worked. Then decided to add in some random stripes to use up the ends of a few balls of yarn. This is serendipitous  as I was asked yesterday if I would take my crochet with me next time I go visiting and my blanket is just too big to carry around.

This will be a scarf for me, not that I have a shortage but once started I could not bear to frog it out.

To make matters worse, Bunny Mummy has posted more about Yarndale and showed a picture of Lucy's new Ripple, I Want One.
There will be a pack for sale soon..... it is on my wish list.
I am determined that if I am well I will be there next year. 

A bit more on the sewing front.

I used some of my treasured fabric as a border, I have to get some Black silk to embroider the eyes, nose and whiskers, then decide on what fabric to use for the backs. I rather fancy a fleecy feel but have struggled with quilting it in the past so maybe a flannel would be better, I have some in the stash, somewhere.

I read Ilona,s post about the TV series Cilla, I had a look round and found it on one of the catch up channels. I sat and watched the whole lot while I Rippled away with Lucy. Sheridan made a very good Cilla, I was not that big a fan of hers but enjoyed the trip down memory lane.

That is the sum of my telly viewing until I find something else that catches my attention. I am waiting for the new series of Bones which will probably be next year, in the meantime I will read.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  More glorious sunshine.

2.  A coffee date with Maggie.

3.  Michael cooked a delicious meal yesterday.

4.  Ben was much livelier yesterday.

5.  The film" What we did on our holiday" is being screened in our local cinema, and I am going tonight.

I will have to buy popcorn, I can not go to the pictures without popcorn, I am sure that it is the law.

Now I have to go in search of black embroidery thread.

     TTFN                                                          Pam.

Stitching through the rain.

Well, the weather girl got that wrong, bright sun, temperatures in the 20's. Hmm, she must have been talking about Vegas. I sat down to do a little sewing once Ben had been out for a little walk and had his breakfast. There were 3 pillowcase beds ready to sew, done.

I will be in Ammanford this afternoon and must scoot round the Charity Shops and search out some more, so easy and quick to make.

When I went to visit Maggie on Tuesday she gave me this skirt for my scrappy patchwork.

I love the vibrant colour and the embroidery print but not for patchwork.

I have a new idea up my sleeve and this will fit right in, I hope, all will be revealed in due course. I have bought some materials on line and should hope to have them by the weekend.

I was blog hopping yesterday morning and found a pattern for a Cat and Kitten, along the style of the doggy cushions, for sale!!! Who would need to have a pattern to make something as simple as these.

I just drew a little sketch and laid out my squares ready to chain together.

Mum, on a blue background. I will add another band and then a border and a quilt will be born.

Kitten, so cute, she has not had the background strips added yet, I have to cut more of the blue and the light is going and I am off to the library. On both of these the buttons and whiskers are just positioned to show the idea, I will be embroidering the features, I do not want buttons and thread ending up in any tummy. I will turn them into little quilts suitable for either a small child or a pet. These will be going to Many Tears along with the beds, they do have cats there, and will be on the craft stall.

I really want to make both of these and the Scotty Dog with 5" charm squares I think they will be an ideal way to work through my scrap boxes. I have pulled 3 of the  boxes from the top of my bookcases and must go through them this week. It is not in the interest of sorting them out, there is a large piece of organza that I want to give to Maggie somewhere in the stash. All I have to do is find it, ALL, who am I kidding, It will be like mounting a serious attempt to climb the Matterhorn.

I popped out for an hour yesterday afternoon, Ben had a little walk and I took him to have a play with some of his pals. There were 5 of us and 4 dogs, the sun rolled out for us and we managed to sit in the garden. Ben was very funny, he managed to sit on everyone's lap and get a cwtch, but as soon as one of the other dogs came to me he was there in a flash letting them know that I was HIS person and not for sharing. This is the first time that he has done this. I let it go for one time as he is normally not bothered at all, if it happens again he will be gently put in his place.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  Good times with friends.

2.  Lots of crafting going on.

3.  My pile of sewing donations is growing fast.

4.  The first chill of Autumn is still being held at bay by the sun.

5.  I have enough green tomatoes to make a batch of chutney.

During the past week or so I have been looking back across the years. I was the eldest of 5, and from the moment that my first sibling was born I became a mini carer. a sister, 2 brothers and a final sister spread out over 12 years and my caring skills and instincts were firmly in place.
I married, had a baby with health issues, bronchial issues and some periods in hospital with severe croup. Later he was diagnosed with Renal problems and went on to have 3 Renal transplants. Along the way my siblings spent their school holidays with me as my Mother worked. And so it rolled on, I feel that I have spent the biggest part of my 63 years looking after others. 
Do not misunderstand me, this is not a general "poor me" moaning session, apart from the health scares I loved it all, a house full of my family, a large garden and a dog all in glorious countryside. I baked and sewed, knitted and played to my hearts content. As the children grew and did not need minding I started work and met a new way of life. Still tearing around, filling every minute of the day with activity.
Now that I am looking forward to the last third of my life I feel that it is time to change my perspective. I now feel that this is my time, time to pick and choose what I want to do and when I want to do it.
For instance I have said " No, sorry but I can not help you at the moment" to a couple of people lately, this is because I am helping Many Tears. My choice, to please myself.
I am planning on at least a week with Jeannie before the winter sets in and will be enjoying some quality time with her.
I have made friends with one of the volunteers in the local library and we are planning to spend a little time together. In order to do these things I will be curtailing the time that I spend elsewhere.

Oops, I have started to waffle and ramble. It must be due to my very early morning start, the past few days I have been waking at Stupid O'clock and once I am awake I am up. If I do snuggle down and fall into a sleep I suffer all day for it.

Have a good day, the sun is doing it,s very best here.

    TTFN                                                       Pam

Riding the Ripples.

There are a few ripples in my life but it could be worse, they could be waves. There are some good ripples as well, you will see them a bit further down.

I have not been far from home for a few days but will be out and about tomorrow. I have made a few more pillow case dog beds and have 3 more ready to sew, these will go to Many Tears in the morning.

These are the perfect size for the smaller dogs and being poly-cotton with polyester wadding they wash easily and dry quickly.

The pillowcases were either old ones that I have relegated to the scrap sewing stash or in the case of the pink patterned one picked up for 25p in a charity shop. With the wadding supplied at cost these are as cheap as chips and take minutes to make.

I was sorry to miss Yarndale but am making firm plans to go next year. I have been looking at pictures on some blogs and they are great. I am enjoying hooking away in the evenings, they are pulling in so fast now.

I have made a start on Lucy,s seaside ripple blanket from Attic24. Just for once I am following the pattern completely, a new discipline for me.  

The pattern is simple and repetitive, and I can watch the TV without missing a thing. There is a new version coming out with Cottage Garden colours, that is in my line of sight but I will maybe change some of the colours. It will have to wait until I have looked at the blanket in detail and mull it over.

The most wonderful smells are creeping around the house, I have Frugal Queen,s Sticky Fiery Pork in my mini oven, I have some runner beans and sweetcorn ready to cook and some noodles ready to heat. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Another recipe that I am following exactly, it won,t last.

I spent an hour with Maggie this afternoon, she is a talented artist and has started to work with semi precious gems. We both have a love of colour and some of the materials that she uses have sparked my imagination. I will be playing with lots of new ideas this winter and looking for sources of various materials.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  The weather continues to be lovely for the most part.

2.  I have been given  many plants for my garden.

3.  I seem to have a never ending supply of runner beans, good job that I love them.

4.  My new friends and acquaintances are very supporting.

5.  Ben is in good health although ageing quite obviously now. 

We are curtailing our walks as his hind legs shake if he over does it. I am going to have to put in some swimming time or start walking alone to make up for it. There is a walking group in the village but they take it very seriously and I prefer my exercise to be enjoyable.

My landlord dropped in today, there are a couple of little jobs to be done, he was very complementary on the garden and looks forward to seeing how it develops. He was most impressed with my little apple trees, I imagine that he thought that all apples grew on standard trees 40 ft tall.

Enough now, I have pork to turn and veg to cook, dinner is not too far away.

      TTFN                                                    Pam

Stacks of sewing and some savvy shopping.

Another gloriously sunny day here in Wales, I managed to get some more HST,s sewn, cut and pressed. I think that I have enough now I am only making a small quilt.

All the squares are in sets of 4 and ready for me to lay out and start chain piecing. It takes an age to get them pressed and paired but it makes the next stage go so fast that it is worth it.

I had to do a shop today so I slipped off to Ponty and went to Lidl and Home Bargains.

From Lidl £7.96p comes from the food budget.

From Home Bargains £3.36p, giving me a spend of £11.32p, I still have milk to buy which will be another £1. Those Egg Noodles are bought for the store cupboard, 59p a pack, they are over £1.60 in Tesco and almost £2 in the village shop. I have some from a previous shop otherwise i would have bought 4 packs. The cheesy biscuits were also a bargain and have also gone into the stores. 

The greenhouse is almost there, I am waiting for 2 bits to be delivered, hopefully today, then it is an hours work at most.

The polystyrene box has young beetroot plants in it, that I hope will give me some late roots.

There is just some filling in to be done on the right side of my slate steps and I can plant up on the left. I have some ground cover plants, some cyclamen and primroses along with a load of bulbs to put there. We have rain forecast for overnight, if that happens I will get planting tomorrow.

The area behind the greenhouse will be cleared and I hope to have some first early potatoes in there next year, followed by brassicas of some kind.

 I am falling far behind in my self imposed challenge to make 100 items by the end of September, it will not happen. My aim is to use as much fabric from stash as possible and by making the Building Block quilt I will be clearing quite a lot, once that is done I have 3 tops to layer and quilt. This will also use a deal of fabric, I will be starting on Seasonal stuff in October, I do have quite  a bit of That Sort of fabric as well, some of which has been mentally earmarked for some padded trees. I also have the blocks ready made for Fran's Quilt.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  A real gentleman stepped up to the mark in Ponty and stopped a bully from browbeating the checkout girl.

2.  The sun is shining gloriously.

3.  I have had lots of no spend days and today was a Low spend.

4.  My new sourdough starter is so vigorous that I will have to split it again today, I will make a sponge tonight and bread tomorrow.

5.  The smell in my kitchen is earthy, rich and sweet with just a hint of yeast.

I am really full of anticipation about this sourdough, It is only the third starter that I have made and is, so far, the most promising. I will feed it tonight with some organic rye flour which I hope will make it richer and deeper still.

It does take almost 2 days to make a good loaf but it also keeps well so there should be no problem.

I am off now to potter in the garden, more sewing later and a quick flick through my library books, Wednesday is library day, to decide what order I will read them in.

       TTFN                                                            Pam

Just call me clumsy or butterfingers

I am nursing a raw, sore and very scratchy throat, when I speak it sounds like a cross between Marlene Dietrich and Marlon Brando. I am slurping on strepsils, guzzling ice cold water and dreaming of eating my way out of a container lorry of Ben and Jerry's best.

I have had a lazy day, I have sewn some of the blocks together, some of the seam joints are rather thick, I had to put a thicker needle in the machine. All in all I think that I like it.

I had to feed my new batch of sourdough so rather than throw half away I made some rolls. They do not have the flavour yet but are pretty good none the less.

I made a big batch of base tomato sauce this afternoon, some of it had meatballs added and was poured into a dish of pasta, the rest I cooled down in a sink of iced water while I ate dinner.

I went back into the kitchen and took the pan out of the sink, turned to put it on the side ready to decant into freezer containers and dropped it straight onto the floor.
It was like a volcano, the sauce erupted into the air and splattered over half the kitchen, and me.

luckily I was wearing an apron so my clothes were mostly ok, I do have to wash it out of my hair though. I cleaned the floor first, so that I did not walk back and forth through it, the cooker front and hob, the work tops, my trolley, the fridge freezer, you get the picture. I did leave one little bit to share with you.

The absolute worst part is that I had put a stack of clean tea towels and hand towels in earlier and yes they were covered as well. They have been rinsed, soaked in Home Bargains finest oxy clean stuff and are now in the washing machine.

On the bright side my kitchen has had another blitz and is squeaky clean. Plus there was a large pot full of sauce left in the pan, so not all is lost.

The greenhouse is completed all but some glazing as some bits were missing, they have been ordered and will come via courier.

While digging out the ground in and around the base Michael unearthed several Bricks marked Cwmgors, they will all be incorporated somewhere.  I had been told that there used to be a brickworks here and it is nice to have these.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  A sparkling clean kitchen.

2.  Some more goodies in the freezer.

3.  My sewing is looking very effective, it will be a gift.

4.  The sun has shone all day again.

5.  I have been given a load of young plants and cuttings for my garden.

I am so lucky with the people who live around me, they are kindness itself. If I am not careful I will have more plants than Kew Gardens.

Ben is sleepy tonight, our last walk was quite long and he was in a hurry to get back, I was nearly trotting on the way home. he will be going out again soon though otherwise he will be waking me up at goodness knows what time in the night.

Now I think there is time for a quick cuppa before that last walk  then it will be bed and a book.

     TTFN                                                                   Pam

A sociable sort of day

I have had a very sociable day today and a productive one. I walked Ben this morning and joined up with another woman walking 2 little dogs, Ben was so happy playing with them. On the way back I met Jill who lives a few houses from me, she invited me back for tea this afternoon and gave me a bag of runner beans. I also picked up a good bag of Hazelnuts, I am going to try roasting and skinning some, then I will grind them and see if I can use them in place of ground almonds.

My frugal dinner was delicious last night and very colourful.

The Bulgar wheat was creamy and the hint of balsamic in the roast veg gave it a taste boost, I did have a little more on my salad, I use balsamic in lots of things. I am told that it is wonderful with strawberries, I may try it one day but I am certain that it will not beat clotted cream.

I did some shopping today, Lidl for all the main things, their bread flour is 75p against 96p in Tesco.

I did go into Tesco as well and added 2 jars of crunchy peanut butter, milk, some RTC cheese (safely grated and frozen), a bag of frozen chips to use in my air fryer and some salad that was cheaper than Lidl. My total spend was £19.92 and I am happy, all I will need at the weekend is more fresh veg and milk.

The 3 bags of sugar are for Rose Hip Jelly and some more fridge jam.

The 6 place mats are done, simple and colourful without being too bold, my old ones were stained here and there with tomato sauce and beetroot, and had been washed till they were thin, so will become cleaning cloths

No garden work today it has been very hot but the greenhouse has been bought and should be delivered tomorrow. I am off to see Maggie first thing, she wants me to alter some curtains for her. I will measure and pin then bring them home to sew.

My Sew magazine came today and I have not had a minute to open it, that is next on my list.

Time for tea, a last walk for Ben and bed I think.

              TTFN                                                Pam

Oh, Where did the weekend go?

I think that the last 2 days have shrunk somehow, and i can scarcely believe that it is 7 o'clock already.

On Saturday I went off to Isabeau Inspirations to indulge in a day of sewing and chat, with no phone to interrupt me. I arrived at 10 ish and started with a brew before emptying my sewing kit on to the work table. There should have been 2 others but (lucky for me) they were no shows. The idea was a tutorial on making a basic tunic top, I made mine longer and will wear it with thick tights and a polo neck sweater underneath. I have just realised that I did not take a photo, rats.

It did not take long even with chatting almost non stop with Iris, it was her class.
Iris made this and I am going to make a few myself.

A few bells and some gold beads will dress it up nicely.

That,s more like it, another handful of scraps used up. I had about 24 5" charm squares in there from somewhere and thought that I would attempt a dog, I have seen variations of this in lots of places, and never got round to trying it.

My stuffing is uneven but as it is destined for Junior I will not worry over it.

I am going to skip Sunday for a moment and show what I have been doing today.

A load of 2 1/2" squares, it took me quite a while to cut these as I like to be as accurate as possible. The charms that I used on Saturday were not very accurate and I had to do quite a lot of easing as I sewed it all together.

There are 2 dogs here ready to sew, I have since sewn 2 halves together and made a start on the next half, I have yet to cut the strips for the gusset.

The garden make over is going strong, I half expect Alan, Tommy and Charlie to come in for a cuppa on Sunday.

The ground is being prepared for a small greenhouse, it has to be levelled and some steps put down to deal with the slope.

The basic shape is there and the steps are being manhandled into submission. The soil is soft and free draining, good job really. When I think how much all that slate would have cost in Tydd I shudder, it was all in the garden waiting to be used.

This narrow bed will run the length of the fence and will be full of garlic.

Blogger  has been taking ages and it is now 8:00 so I am off for a soak in the bath.

TTFN                                                      Pam