Guess Where I Am

This is the only clue.

West Wales WOO HOO

We had a leisurely drive across yesterday via Cardiff just so that we could drive over the suspension bridge, not really,we just fancied a change.

This will be my domain for a week.

very old fashioned but spotlessly clean.

Just in case it rains, well it is wales.

Canoodle Corner.

My corner all pleasure.

Really comfy, I slept for NINE HOURS

Almost 3 nights sleep for me.

But I did not sleep Thursday night, I was too full of fizz.

Today we went to Tenby, I will post photos tomorrow.

We are at a barbeque in Cardigan  tomorrow at James's home and I will have a walk round and take a few photos.

I am making piri piri chicken, sweet chili pork and Eton Mess.

Cerys's Mum will make her wonderful rainbow coleslaw (I hope )

Her dad will supervise the cooking and I will play with Junior and Kaitlyn.

We have left Fran at home, she was hoping to join us but work is manic at her firm although she will be working from home. SAhe has several conference calls to New York and with the time difference travel to and from London would be difficult

Right it is almost 7, the sun is still shining and Junior wants me to play on the trampoline 

so it is     TTFN     Pam

Hyperactive. Me. No just having a yellow day

What a day, sun, rain, hail,sun, cold, rain,wind,rain, more rain, a little sun with rain and wind. Internet coming and going. more going than anything.

On  positive note, I have emptied the laundry basket, I know it has rained but I put it on airers in the corner with the dehumidifier going and the heating is on and it dried.
I then emptied the ironing basket, no I did not hide it I ironed it!

I emptied one of the four cupboards either side of the fireplace, threw some away, sent some to the CS and put the pitiful remains into a box for consideration.

That cupboard now holds:-
1, A container with my latest project.
2. A container full of strips these are destined to be string blocks.
3. My collection of pure cotton threads.
4. A box of small patchwork templates, thimble, stitch ripper, block of beeswax and snips.
5. A bag of scissors and rotary cutters.
6. 2 cutting mats and 3 rulers.

There is still a little room but I have allowed for a larger project than my current one.
I would take a photo but my camera and my phone are in the car and Michael has taken it to work.

Dinner was a casserole from the freezer with dumplings and fresh veg. I was given an armful of rhubarb so that has been diced and open frozen and is now bagged up and in the freezer.

I made a banana loaf cake and a coconut one and 5 pasties, these are for Neville and Marina my neighbours either side.

I have had a productive day and feel good, I hate grey days and usually get the blues but today has been a yellow day. Time for tea and telly I think.     TTFN      Pam

Where Did Today Go?

I can scarcely believe how late it is, we have all been at home today, so although I have done a great deal I have also drunk a lot of tea, chatted a lot and played with my sewing.

I need some simple cotton skirts, no frills, no flounces, no pleats to iron and definitely no peplums.

I had a look at Seasalt , I have some clothes from them that are going strong at 10 years old. ooh err, £49.99, I don't think so.
I had a look at M & S, Next, Matalan, George at Asda and so on, zilch, nada, zero.

I had a cup of tea and looked at the Toyota all freshly cleaned with a shiny new (American}needle,then I looked in the storage box that holds my big cuts of fabric mmmm  promising

I pulled an old skirt out of the rag bag and out with the stitch ripper, and Bingo  3 panels and a waistband. I found scissors and pins and 2 hours later I had these.

You may remember this from a while ago, from Michael Miller, patchwork cotton so a little thicker than dressmaking material, no need for a petticoat.

This has not seen the light of day for 3 years. I bought it in a closing down sale  if I remember right it cost me £2.

Before I cut the fabric I realized that all my zips were too short or too long and all the wrong colours.

I discarded the back panels and cut 2 fronts from each colour and sewed straight up the side seams. I cut a 2 1/2 inch waistband and made it so there were 2 seams at the front,  1 each side of the center. with a gap in each to take a drawstring.

I sewed this to the wrong side of the skirt,making sure to have the drawstring gaps in the right place. I then folded the band to the front, pressed a turning and top stitched it down, I pressed a narrow double folded hem and stitched down. The drawstrings were made from the selvedges, just folded and sewn. It took me almost as long to make and thread the drawstrings as to cut out and sew the skirts.

I am going to run at least 2 more up but will put side seam pockets in those, or maybe patch pockets, just something big enough to hold the car keys and a little purse.

These will be just the job for the summer, I have stacks of little tops in white and cream .It is a long time since I made clothes, but I found it a relaxing way to spend the afternoon. There is still quite a bit of both fabrics left, more for my shoe thingys.

I manages to get 2 loads of  washing done,dried and ironed, I just wish I knew where it all came from, and socks, I have said it before, there are only 3 pairs of sock wearing feet in the cottage so whose socks am I washing!   On that thought I wish you a good evening....TTFN    Pam

Tidy up Tuesday, Episode 1

I have made a good start on tidying  up my fabric, I now have two shoe "thingys" hanging in the wardrobe and both are full, well each compartment is occupied.

As you can see there is plenty of room in some sections, that is such a shame. he he


This shows the top sections with pre cuts on the left.

This is the section that hurts, in the middle section on the right there are two lonely pieces of  Aqua. That along with turquoise and teal feature high on my list of go to colours. I feel that until I stock up I can not start a large project. I have spent a few hours searching the net and have not found what I want at a price I will pay. I will keep looking until I strike gold.

This is where I contradict myself. I found these layer cakes tucked away. I have a jelly roll to match the cabbages & Roses and two charm packs to match the Joy Christmas one. There are two quilts without Aqua, teal or turquoise, well maybe, there is some clear blue in the joy range so I would put a solid Aqua to stretch the pattern out and I would use some Teal in with the pinks and reds to give it a boost.

Finally tucked in a corner I found this pack of 3 inch squares, I have no idea how many are in there but they look to be several different patterns. This came free with a big order of fabric and much as I think they are pretty the size  means that I will not use them, I work in multiples of 2 1/2 inches.

So if anyone would like them shout now.

I am off to finish dinner prep, cottage pie, carrots and cauli.   TTFN    Pam

Is Anybody Awake

I am busy sorting out my material, I saw a marvelous thing on a blog awhile ago. I bought one of those canvas she storers that hang in the wardrobe and have filled each section with a different colour, well filled is the wrong word.
I have enough Pink, Yellow and Red to fill 2 sections each, I only have 2 pieces of Aqua left. I have BROWN in large quantities, where did that come from ?
I have a good selection of blues, I found a bundle that I bought very very cheap 2 years ago. But most amazing is that I have stacks of Purple and quite a bit of Orange.
I have taken on board three things,
 1, I need another shoe thingy
 2, I need more Aqua.
 3, I am not so colour restricted as  thought I was.

I just had an email from a work colleague copying me in on a message she received today, One of our boilers is being shut down for necessary work at 2.00 tomorrow morning. This has been planned for some time and an email was sent out 2 weeks ago. In their wisdom the powers that be sent it to all the leaf department, for both shifts, all the logistics department for both shifts and to deli assembly and mixing.
The only people that will be affected are those cooking at 2.30 in the morning, oh that will be me then!

I sometimes wonder about management.

I once told a factory production manager that If every woman ran their homes as he ran his factory there would be nobody at work from Wednesday. When he asked me why I told him that they would have no clean clothes to wear.

It does not get any better, we ran out of tomatoes a few days ago. They go into 60% of our products!

I am off back to my sorting.      TTFN    Pam

A Lazy Sunday Stroll Round the Garden

I am having a very lazy day, last night at work was slow, long cooks of various rices for the deli salads. To keep awake I did lots of tidying and cleaning out of storage containers and various rooms that belong to my department. The consequence was that I came home, went to bed within 30 minutes and slept like a bump on a log.

I pulled a beef casserole out of the freezer and we will have that in large Yorkshire Puddings, the mix has been beaten within an inch of it's life and is now resting.

I felt like a little fresh air so had a meander round the garden.

This is a shady corner I love the way the new ferns slowly unfurl.

These "Granny Bonnets grow with my Espaliered Apples.

This is the only blossom on one of my Apples, and right beside it is this one, OK it was intended to be espaliered but slipped through the net and the apples are superb, it does have the basic framework but has been allowed to reach for the skies, more apples to have and share, see the Elder, that is kept for the blossom and growth is restricted. They seem happy together.

Goodness knows why.

This pear has just started to flower, while it's neighbour has set fruit, I hope that this means that the ripening will also be staggered. Just think of all those crumbles. I like them baked into a loaf cake as well, and don't forget that they go well with pork and duck, just to make a change from apples.

To finish this is the first bud on my Geoff Hamilton. A pretty pink rose with a wonderful perfume. It grows in my little courtyard just outside the kitchen and on hot days the scent fills the house. I bought it on my first visit to Barnsdale, I have returned many times and intend to go many more, each visit reveals new treasures.

It is time to get myself organised for dinner, so once again I say     TTFN    Pam    

Quick Throw and a Thrifty Cushion

First I would like to welcome a new follower from Texas, you can see the little thumbnail of Bluebonnets, very pretty, and a reminder that I have all that scrumptious Bluebonnet fabric to play with.

I really have to use some of my fabric as there are new collections coming out that I have fallen for,I am also nearly finished on a pair of quilts, made to order, which will generate even more scraps. Yum.

Francesca asked for a lightweight throw for the summer, her room faces north and although warm needs colour in it. I had a stack of charm packs from Bonnie & Camille and let her cherry pick through them. I took one colour and bought a fleece throw from Dunelm, only £4.99 and made this.

Then she thought that a cushion would be nice, so I pulled these out of the scrap bin.

I found some decent sized bits and did this

Then this

And carried on stitching and pressing till I got this

I now have 6  of these and will square them up and join them, then quilt them onto some lining material rescued from CS curtains. I will make a simple envelope back and sew the lot together. This will be on her bed with the throw tonight, by the way it is highly unlikely that she will get to put any part of herself on the cushion, there is always at least one of the dogs with her and he will have the cushion, that's just the way it is here.

Dinner tonight is Pork steaks in a barbeque sauce with homemade oven chips  and salad.

I am having a lazy day, i will be at work tonight and Sunday and Monday............then two weeks off Woo Hoo.

This is part holiday and part rest days, boy oh boy am I a happy bunny

I am going to have a coffee and another play with Tom Tom, it is fascinating now but I am sure that the novelty will wear off soon. TTFN    Pam