Jammin 'n sewin through my day

I am pleased to tell you that I found enough blackberries and crab apples within reach to make 3 jars of jelly this morning. A lovely way to start the day, even if Ben though that his breakfast should have taken priority.

They have Francesca's name on them, she gets the first batch of every jelly that I make, a little spoiling goes a long way.

I have made a curry for the freezer and a Lamb Pastie for dinner, the rest will be fine cold tomorrow.

 Ben has been walked, fed, played with and walked and fed again. He has one more walk to come.

On the sewing front I have killed 2 birds with 1 stone, so to speak. Not only have I raided the stash and made a lined skirt but I used the overlocker for the first time.

A line with pockets, not as full skirted as the last ones that I made, and I really wanted to squeeze the Russian Doll fabric into something, it was a small remnant from Button up and Stitch in Wisbech. I have lined the waistband with it, no one will see but Fran, I just thought it was cute.

Here is the lining, showing my (none too skillful) use of the overlocker.

My tight side came out when I saw how much thread was wasted running off at the end of a seam so I chain sewed, just as I do when piecing patchwork. Result.

The sharp eyed among you will have seen that there are pins in the waistband. I have not quite finished, I just have to slip stitch the lining down and put a hook and eye in. I will show and tell tomorrow, and claim as my next finish in my challenge.

Reasons to be Grateful.

1.  More sun, ripening the berries.

2.  My first batch of jelly for the year.

3.  A present for Fran almost done.

4.  An email from Australia this morning.

5.  The grass was cut for me today.

I do love the sunshine, and at this time of the year I love it even more, seeing the berries ripen and getting ready to jam or jelly them fills me with glee. I do make jelly mostly as Fran does not like pips. the exception is gooseberry, it has to be jam and it should be pink.

Fran has no idea that I am making that skirt, she knows that there are 2 on the way but this is a surprise, she does not read the blog so no danger in showing it.

I had an email this morning from a follower in Australia, she would like to send me some fabric, in exchange she would like a roomy tote bag with lots of pockets to take travelling. I am ready and waiting.

Michael cut the grass this afternoon, it was burning hot and Ben only had a quick whizz out, I did not count it as a walk we were only gone 5 minutes. That was more than enough for both of us.

I am off to tidy the kitchen before settling down with my hand sewing.

       TTFN                                                                Pam

A win win and a disappointment.

Remember this from yesterday, I know it has been less than 24 hours but I forget things all the time.

The blue will become the back of several things and will end up in my scrappy patchwork but the over the top blowsy pink is a horse of a different colour my friends.

To console myself and soothe my psyche after 2 days of mind numbing sorting and tidying I took half an hour to play.

The pink is now this.

This is waste.

This is not.

Well what is it then I hear you thinking, the woman has finally lost it.

In the cooler months I lurve my soft snugly duvet as much as the next person, more than some as my window is only shut if the wind is blowing the curtains in on the horizontal or rain is driving in.

In the warm months I love my cotton sheets and a patchwork quilt, I keep a thick throw across the bottom of the bed just in case it turns chilly. I do have crisp white cotton sheets and I have a few patterned ones because, as you may have noticed, I likes a bit of colour.

TAH DAH

I know have a blowsy sheet, a bit of trimming, some super fast steamy time with the iron and a quick blast on the Janome et voila!

Some of you may have seen the log cabin quilt before, I have made several versions of it. This one is mainly Bonnie and Camille fabric left over from other quilts. In the spirit of living in a rainbow I have a deepish mauve throw on the bed this week.

I claim this as number 21 in my challenge, I do not think it is a cheat as I have made it over from my stash, and besides that its mine and I love it.

While upstairs I thought I would show you my "new" bathroom cabinet, I have stacks of towels, Ben goes through several each day when it rains, and have to keep them somewhere.

It came from the shop in Crosshands and was the princely sum of £10, I have seen the mirrors on Ebay for 3 times that. Of course it has the odd scrape and scratch, but none so bad that I feel the need to do anything about them. It was very grubby but cleaned up easily and all the bits are intact, it reminds me of my Granny, she had a bedroom suite very much like it. Much nicer than an expensive bit of MDF from a big store for How Bluddy Much. All the joints are dovetailed and it is as sound as new.

The disappointment was in the garden, or rather it was not in the garden. I went up to pick my courgettes that had had appeared after so long only to find them gone, disappeared, not there. I saw no snail trail and they should have been at least 6" long each. I have no clue as to what may have eaten them, but I better not catch it in the act. 'Nuff said.

On a happy happy note my new Sew Magazine arrived today.

The free pattern is for Knit fabric and I will not use it, so if anyone wants it let me know, first one gets it.

One of my go to quilt blocks, in some scrummy colours from  a new fabric collection. Don't panic, I am not about to rush out and spend, I may however be cherry picking through my stash later ( once I have sewed the 4 aprons together)

The I spotted this, and with a quick glance thought ooh a bag made from pyjamas, how thrifty. Then I had another look, it is a bag made for pyjamas, how old fashioned I had one of those at school. But I need a pair of dirty laundry bags, dark and light, and PJ,s are cheap as chips in the CS. But wait I have a load of HST blocks in pale colours and some squares in dark colours somewhere. They are on my To Do list.

This is the Tease page, what is in next months issue. I am so going to make that dress, without 6" of net peeping out, in fact I will probably make 2 as I am sure that Francesca will want one. I apologise for the Seasonal page but I quite like all things Scandi as does Fran.

O M G just look at the time, I must dash. Library will be open soon and Ben needs a walk first.

                 TTFN                                                 Pam

Meet Doris and look what I found.

Another busy day, emptying cases and boxes, moving things around and filling a bag for leukaemia research to be collected tomorrow. I also have a bag for the first CS I come to in Ammanford  on my next visit.
Hiding in the bottom of a very large case full of winter clothes I found treasure.

Two duvet covers with a single pillowcase each, I will get lots of squares and strips out of these.

5 Solid colour pillowcases, always good for borders and sashing and 6 patterned ones.

A pillowcase that has a medallion center, the other side is the same so this will become a pair of something.

The last 2 are very similar in pattern and colour so I will have to be careful where I place them, probably 2 different projects.

I had a delivery this afternoon, let me introduce you to Doris.

I put an old dress on her just to check the measurements, perfect, it fits her just as it does me, the zip will not close for the last 3 inches. 

I look forward to spending lots of productive time in her company, as far as I can see there is only one fault. She can not make tea.

 I now have more or less finished upstairs, just a few things to find a permanent home for.

All this work in the house means another no sewing day, I will have to make up for lost time in the remainder of the week.

On the upside, in between the down pours I got 2 loads of washing done, dried and ironed.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  Laundry done for a few days.

2.  Tidy bedrooms with no cases or boxes looming out of the corners.

3.  A pile of rediscovered vintage linen.

4.  Ben has continued to have a positive response to his meds.

5.  I found 3 books on Amazon today second hand for 1p each plus postage.

I also found the library in the next village and will be going tomorrow afternoon. 

If the weather is good I must get the grass cut or I will find myself hay making rather than mowing.

I am watching Kirstie on the telly, her show "fill your house for free" is very entertaining. People do throw some lovely things away, I picked up a repro mahogany dining table with 2 carvers, 2 chairs and a long display unit a few years ago, when I sold the house I sold the furniture as well. I have Sanderson material curtains that cost less than £5 from the CS when the fabric is more than 4 times that for a yard.

We have just had a downpour so I am off to get Ben out for a quick walk.

      TTFN                                                  Pam

Order out of Chaos and a happy find.

It's been a busy old day, I woke up full of "get up and go" and did not want to waste a crumb of it. It was glorious and sunny although by the time I had 2 loads of washing pegged out it decided to go black and rain. Oh well the soft water will make it all lovely and soft.
I decided that Today was THE DAY, the day the utility and under the stairs get blitzed.

This little box opens off the kitchen and I used to avert my eyes when washing up. It was a dumping ground and I had a clear path to the washing machine, the rest was full. A trip to Ponty to pick up storage shelving and an hours sweating and swearing and all is nearly well. I just want to put some hooks up to hold the broom, mop and brush and dustpan, and find some little shelves to stand on the deep shelf at the back, all Ben's stuff is there and my cleaning kit and so on. 

(An hour later and the bottom 2 shelves now hold my boxes of jam jars and my stock of new lids for them, they had been hidden right at the back of the understairs cupboard.)

I then took my life in my hands and emptied the cupboard under the stairs, it is deep and narrow. There are some coat hooks on the wall behind the door and my Drizabone will live there with some umbrellas to keep it company, I will need to have some wellies also.

This is where all the clutter went to be sorted, the sewing/dining room, needless to say I have done no sewing today. Also the weather did a U turn and my washing is dry so I have an overflowing ironing basket.

This is the result, all electric tools on shelves, big bits of kit stacked right at the back and I managed to empty 3 suitcases and stow them away, result.

I will not be showing you the sewing room as there is still a pile of things to go through before it is presentable. My ironing will have to be done today, I hate hanging it over to the next day, it seems to take twice as long. 

There is a chicken in the oven that will go nicely with roasties, cabbage, broccoli and some swede and carrot mash. I did not cook dinner yesterday, I just cut some raw veg sticks, opened some cheesy snacky things and made some dips, lovely.

Tomorrow I will make a Lamb Curry for the freezer and huge, as opposed to tiddy, Oggies using some lamb, potato. swede and peas in a minty gravy.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  A much tidier house.

2.  Room to move in the utility.

3.  Laundry done and dried outside.

4.  As always the Sunshine.

5.  Lots of help of the muscle variety.

There is no way that I could have moved all that stuff by myself. My 2 outside storage units have been assembled, 1 is in its designated place and the other is ready to be sited once the area chosen is ready ( a job for tomorrow maybe)

I have Michael to thank for all this achievement, he has worked hard for 3 days getting everything assembled and in place.

I ordered some storage units for James and Carys from Argos, they were out of stock and I was promised an E mail once they were available......Nada, zilch, a big fat nothing. So I looked on line a little while ago. Oh Yes they are in stock but the price has gone up quite considerably. I had a pootle round on the web but could find nothing else. Then I thought about Ikea. My nearest branch is in Cardiff, a 100 mile round trip which if you count the cost of petrol and time will effect the cost. I am going to have a look at their site later and see if I can get what I want and if they deliver. If the stars are in alignment and with a back wind James may get his storage soon and Michael will be putting yet more stuff together. Fingers crossed everybody.

I have still managed to get Ben out and walked and this afternoon I made a wonderful discovery. Peeping out of an overgrown bank of shrubs and blackberries was a beautiful crab apple tree, it is not laden with fruit but there will be enough for at least 2 batches of blackberry and apple jelly, and the berries will be ready to pick in a couple of days.

I must go and check up on the one and only Elder tree that I have found. I will be extremely peeved if I am beaten to the fruit.

The chicken smells wonderful and the roasties have to go in shortly, all the veg is in the steamer and I am really looking forward to it, I am rumbling.

  I have tea to drink so I will see you all tomorrow.

                          TTFN                                               Pam

Dots Before My Eyes

I started my day in my favourite manner, tea lots of tea and blog reading. One of the ones that I started with was Lazy Daisy Jones, she wrote about a crochet cover for a wooden coat hanger. I saw that pattern and fell in love, it is so cute, then I read the pattern and realised that all those tiny shapes, all that counting and my big hands did not go together.

Time passed, Ben was walked, tea was made, sewing machine cleaning took place, Ben was walked again. I had a trip into Swansea, my mission failed and I groaned about wasted time. Then I spotted Matalan and sale signs, I am in dire need of some mid weight cardigans or sweaters. Success, 3 cardies and a sweater later ( for the very nice sum of £15) I went home smirking.

Food was prepped and eaten, washing up happened, Ben was walked, tea was made and Tiramisu was eaten, slowly, very slowly with much pleasure. The garden was sat in and sunshine was enjoyed. 

Then while my brain was on idle I had a thought, I have boring wooden coat hangers, I have a small mountain of fabric, there is no way on this Earth that I will ever crochet a cover for a coat hanger.

I nipped upstairs and found a hanger then dipped into my box of  Fuglies. These are bits of fabric that came free with something or were in the remnant bin for next to nothing, one or two were the result of Fat Quarter swaps where my partner has totally ignored the swap rules and bought the cheapest and tackiest bit of tat there was. I waste nothing, these become tiny gap fillers in my crazy patchwork or foundation squares or lining for things. 
I fished one out and found a small bit of lining , from a CS curtain and whipped this up in about 15 minutes.

It is not perfect, I did not stop to draw a pattern, just layered the fabric and lining and cut round a coat hanger. But with a bit of refinement and some batting and quilting with good fabric and some embellishment they will make good presents. It is Cerys,s birthday on the 12th I think that a set of these will be just the job.

Here it is with one of my super cheap cardies, I love Polka Dots and this is lovely and bright. It looks baggy and it is a few sizes bigger than I wear but it will go over a sweater and will be almost a jacket for Autumn.

I am going to draw up a pattern and try one with some basic quilting, once I am happy with it I will make some for Cerys, Francesca and myself, and they will be a nice Seasonal gift for my new friend Maggie.

I am claiming this as number 20 for my challenge.

 I do have 4 more of the small aprons from yesterdays post cut out, slightly longer with 2 layers of pockets, one of those is for Maggie.

Reasons to be Grateful.

1 . Lots of sunshine again.

2.  My pretty bargains from Swansea.

3.  The blackberries are finally starting to ripen.

4.  I have a dressmakers dummy on it,s way.

5.  One of my courgette plants has decided to bear fruit.

I have 2 courgette plants and usually that is enough, this year the only flowers that they produced were male. The yellow plant is not looking happy, if it does nothing this week it is gone, the other has 3 fruits and several more female flowers on it. My 3 French bean plants have flowers and I have 2 more sowings that look promising. The herbs from cuttings look good and my radishes are  continuing to grow , some I have let flower as the seed pods are brilliant in salads and stir fries.

I have been humming and hahing as to whether I really need a dressmakers dummy for ages, today I found one on E bay and got it for a very good price, it should be here mid week.

In Lincolnshire the blackberries will be nearly over, they are further forward nearer the coast here and tomorrow, weather permitting, I am off to find some ripe ones now. I want to make some jelly ready for Francesca to take back to London with her after her next visit., and I quite like it on scones.

On that thought I feel that tea is in order, I hope that you have all enjoyed your weekend.

                            TTFN                                          Pam

  

16 to 19 done and dusted'

I had a very late night last night followed by a very early morning, I think I managed 3 hours sleep and another half hour squirming around before throwing in the towel and getting up.

I did not waste the time though, I completed 2 started projects and made 2 more from scratch.

My scrappy quarter square triangles are now a cushion, with a border from the Bloomsbury Collection and backed with some Chicopee from Denyse Schmidt.

The Half Square Triangles are now a child size quilt, I forgot to take a picture of the backing, it is a creamy yellow and very soft.

I was drinking tea, much, much earlier this morning and reading a few blogs, one of which was Chrissie Crafts. She has made an apron for a teachers gift using a tutorial from Sandra at Cherry Heart. Well I had to pop over and have a look see, it would have been rude not to. Once I got there I liked it so much that I am now following.

I had a light bulb moment and thought, I need one of those for when I am doing the housework, I am constantly finding random things that have wandered away from their allotted place. This little apron has 3 pockets and is not flouncy or gathery to get in the way.

I made this in less than an hour, and I love it BUT....... it is a touch small.

So out came some more fabric, and another bit of ribbon.

20" wide, much better, there are still 3 pockets but wider. I am now thinking of a longer one with 2 layers of pockets.

So there we are, numbers 16, 17, 18 and 19 crossed off. I told Francesca about the aprons and she would like one in Seasonal fabrics (still too early for the C word) I will fill the pockets with dusters and polish and so on.

I have had an Email from Myra in Winnipeg, Canada. She is unable to comment unless she does is under Anonymous, ideas anybody?

Ben's skin condition is an unknown quantity, partly it is because he has been growing too much skin. This becomes flaky, hard in places quite wet in others, he had managed to get a yeast infection and grow some bacteria. The new medications are helping with this and to further help I have put him on an additive free diet.

Veeknits19 expressed an interest in my new snips, I have a pair for you, just email me your snail mail address and I will get them off to you. They are the last pair in the shop and there may not be any more.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  A mostly dry and sunny day.

2.  4 more projects completed.

3.  Homemade Pizza for dinner and 2 for the freezer.

4.  I found a small pile of fat quarters this morning.

5.  I had tea with Maggie this afternoon, complete with a lap full of tortoiseshell cat.

Tomorrow I will clean the new machine and put a new needle in, I have done so much sewing this is the third time I will have done this. I still have to try out the overlocker, possibly tomorrow while dinner cooks.

Ben is ready for another short walk, I look forward to long walks sometime, sooner rather than later. Then it will be time for tea.

                TTFN                                       Pam

Just Trimming in the Rain

Not just trimming, cutting, sewing, pressing and drinking tea, of course.

This is the trimming, only 1/8" slivers, not much waste just a tedious but essential stage.

 

These are what I was trimming, I have almost finished and will share tomorrow. I do have several HSTs left towards another project.

I made these by a new method, I cut 5" wide WOF strips and paired pattern with solid white, right sides together and joined with a 1/4" seam down both long edges. Then using a triangle 90 degree ruler and fipping it from edge to edge, I cut into triangles. opened out they were perfect HSTs and squared up to 6" unfinished.

Of course there was a small half sized piece at each end and with a bit of pressing and trimming they became these.

A bit of sewing and this happened.

The block is 15 1/2" unfinished and will become something over the weekend.

Of course I was using up scraps as leaders and enders, I am getting  a nice stack of these and will use them to make another cushion cover. I want to make a set of four to go to James and Cerys as spares for when the original set need washing.

It has been raining most of the day here, at times it has hammered down and at times just a haze in the air. I have managed to get Ben out in the dry 3 times.

He went to the Vet again this morning and I picked up a months supply of his medication. Fingers crossed they seem to be doing the trick, I have also put him on an additive free diet, I will try anything to get him some relief from the itching.

I will have to shop sometime over the weekend, I need some fruit and veg. I will also have to make bread, but not cake. I made a simple tray bake today while the oven was on, I spread jam in the base of a pyrex oblong dish, sprinkled it with a generous layer of coconut and tipped a 2 egg cake mix over. I own up to having some warm with custard, the rest will be cut and frozen in squares. I will just defrost when I want cake, I will not be putting it in the ding oven as I no longer have one. Mine died just before the move and I have yet to need one, if the day comes when I do it is just a 10 minute drive out to get one.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  No need to water my growing collection of pots today.

2.  The Basil and Sage grown from cuttings are romping away.

3.  I have had a good day playing in the sewing room.

4.  The white solid in my sewing was found hiding between some vintage pillowcases and I have 3 yards of it.

5.  I have accrued £72 in Tesco vouchers, goodness knows how. 

I have used the vouchers to buy some outside storage by Keter. I plan on sewing tomorrow as the forecast is for more rain and I have a few things planned.

The grass is growing so fast, thanks to this rain, that I can practically hear it, good job that I don't mind pushing the mower around. I live in hope that it will encourage my courgette plants to have some female flowers at last. I also hope that the blackberries will swell nicely before they ripen.

I have started watching the Bones dvd,s from series 1, I did not start watching them on tv until series 6. I am loving it and have to be careful not to sit and watch end to end episodes.

On that note I may just watch one before bed.

                          TTFN                                       Pam