i love you from....

the bottom of my scrappy stash. Apologies to The Beautiful South, such a shame that they are no more.

Thank you all so much for my happy birthday wishes and I am trying not to let all the praise go to my head. If it grows my hair will look too short.

I have seized "the bull by the horns" and started another scrappy project. I had 6 large log cabin blocks left from a recent make and a humungous fairly large pile of scraps, precuts and bits of yardage.
So I used a freebie Candy square pack, from my trip to the Festival of Quilts, a strip of white on white and started some small log cabin blocks. I have pulled 4 small remnants from the "large bits" stash box and cut into strips.
These will become a row of blocks along the middle of the whatever it becomes that I can see in my head. I am being fairly meticulous about measuring and trimming each block. BUT I am not working out the final measurements as I am "flying by touch".
I do not want to over think this, I just want to enjoy the process. If I end up with too many, well that's the start of something new. If there is not enough I will simply sash them or make them bigger.

One of the blocks, a bit rumpled but about to be pressed.

The part made new blocks, 22 of them, most have cream on red for the middle but a few have red on cream. They are from "Crazy for Red" by Minick & Simpson for Moda. I would never have bought them as the red is not vibrant enough for me really, but as part of the stash they have to be used.

I have 2 more rounds to add and will then have a measure up.

It is a glorious morning here, blue sky and sunshine with a lovely breeze to make the washing billow out on the whirly thingamabob.

I am off to Spinning group tomorrow, not for spinning though. It is going to be a dyeing day, mostly using natural dies. My mentor, the wonderful T and his wife are taking me along. All I have to do is be at theirs by 9:30 and bring a packed lunch and a folding chair. I can manage that, no probs.

The SO will keep the dogs happy, if not himself. He has an upset tum, probably from working in all that stagnant water. I am keeping well away just in case it is a bug.

The moaning and groaning has been, and still is, worthy of an award. An Emmy if not an Oscar.

Now I am off to my pressing and trimming and then another round of sewing. 

Happy? that doesn't begin to cover it.

                   TTFN                                                    Pam

What is it?

Is it a Counterpane?
Is it a Throw?
Is it a Bedspread?
Who knows?
Who cares?
Not I.
For what it is is Finished. Tah Dah, Woo Hoo and general all round jubilation.
It is quite big, some might say mahoosive.
I can tell you that it took 690 charm squares plus yardage that I did not bother to measure but probably over 2 mtrs.
while I chain pieced I sewed 108 charms, as leaders and enders, into pairs, ready for a future project AND a further 72 charms into 4 patch blocks ready to make cushion covers.
I believe that makes a grand total of 870 charm squares. 
Mostly from scrap boxes, I did cut a few from stash fabric, mainly the solids/read as solids.
I am  happy bunny.
The top is completely wonky, the very first time that I have not sliver trimmed my work. Most of those charms were given to me and were either just over or just under the 5". I just sewed and eased and let it go.

It reaches the carpet both sides and bottom.

The back, well that is a horse of a different colour. I did trim and square up. I had thought of making it into another quilt top but decided to bite the bullet and make a reversible whatever.

Lots of cream not beige, defo not beige, makes it look even bigger.

There is a wide range of both colours and prints, very scrappy, lovely.

There is no wadding in this, it is a summer thingy and with a top sheet will be perfectly adequate.
I have made 2 of these previously and use them in the hot weather.
This one though is destined to be a sort of dust cover for Francesca's bed. She is not here nearly as often as we would both like and when she leaves after a visit I change her bed. I like it to be made ready, the window is open most of the time and dust does filter through the nets. This thing will cover her bed and keep it fresh.
In the words of Pa Larkin, just perfick.
No, not perfect in construction, all done flying blind and planning nothing.
I am trying to ease up on the controlling part of me, it is not easy though.
All that matters to me is that Francesca likes it, I like it and it has gobbled up an amazing amount of stash.

(there may have to be another using strips)

Now I am off to enjoy my birthday, I will be mainly in the garden just pottering and playing with Herbie. 

Have a lovely weekend, where ever you are.

                             TTFN                                  Pam

Who Dunnit?

Who moved it? Where is it?

I need it NOW.

What on earth? Oh yes, I cannot find my compost riddle.

I know exactly where I put it at the end of last years potting up and so on. It was in the storage bin. 

It is not there now, I have checked both storage bins, I even braved looking in His Shed, Spiders and crawlies and webs, Oh My!

I have just ordered a replacement , which as we all know means that the next time I go up into the garden it will be right under my nose.

No, not literally, that would be a touch awkward and possibly painful.

I went to lidl this morning and bought 2 tiny Camelias and 2 slightly larger Peonies, I have plant supports and will be putting them into the ground later on. They were £6 for the 4 and I cherry picked through to find the sturdiest plants, give them a couple of years and they will have romped away.

I was thinking about putting some arches into one of the raised beds for my pole beans, the cost for anything half decent was around £40 !! so a friend was culling some saplings and I bagged 8 nice tall ones. I now have a rustic arch and no money parted from my purse. 

I would have to grow a whole lot of beans to make up that amount of money.

I plan on putting either a squash or a courgette under the arch. It will suppress the weeds and shade the bean roots and supply some food. 

No sewing today, I am playing catch up with my house and then will be in the garden.

It is very hot here today, Ben has retreated to a cool spot under the bureau and Herbie has found some shade in the yard, both are snoring gently.

I watched a couple of Darlene Michaud You Tube videos this morning, only shorties, she was making a scrappy quilt top. I like her style although I do press every seam as I go, finger pressing is not for me. Once my current sewing projects are done I will be pulling out ALL my scraps and emulating her. That will mean a crumb quilt as well as it would please me immensely to have empty, or almost, scrap bins.

I do have some new fabric to share but that can wait a while, once I am ready to use it I will share.

Now I need to make a move and have a dalliance with some polish and a duster. 

Whilst I have been tapping away Herbie has come in and nudged Ben awake, they are both on the sofa and back to snoring.

My cutting board, these 4 patches may become a quilt back but it is highly likely that they will be another top. just to be perverse I am trimming them all to 9" square.

                           TTFN                        Pam

Hot and bothered

It is hot here.
I have been sewing like a woman possessed.
I do not have to, I just want to.
I am, possibly, making the back of the charm quilt.
The problem is that with each seam that I sew and press I like it more.
And more.
It may have to be the front of a second charm quilt.
Even though there are large areas of cream. 
Definitely cream.
Most certainly not beige.

It is eating through the stash.
Just not quite fast enough.

There will be photo's, once I have a bit more done.
I am constructing it in quarters.
This is to make it easier to handle.
It will be large.

My hip is improving.
I am back walking with Leslie.
And enjoying it.
Much to Herbie's amusement.

The SO has finished one job and gone tearing off to an emergency.
Somebody has a cellar full of water, he has to drill drainage holes and put a pump into get rid of the water asap.
This is a long standing problem and needs remedial building work. The SO says it is just putting a bandage on a broken leg, but the person concerned does not want to pay to have the job done by a builder.
It could become very serious if we have  prolonged rain, and this is Wales after all.
This will be his one and only visit to put in a stopgap, then he will wash his hands of it.

I am planning a little while in the garden a bit later, I need to get some fresh air after all the sewing.

Now it is time to start prepping dinner, Iffits tonight with chips or jacket potato, and salad.

                     TTFN                                              Pam

Apparently

I should start acting my age.
Hmmm
Which age would that be?
The times when I am 5 years old and am determined to finish that sweet treat, even though my tummy says STOP.
The times when I am around 9 - 12 and can not help sniggering at something, smutty.
The times when I am around 20 - 30 and want to work all day and still have energy to go out.
The times when I feel like 100+ and crawl around in a fug of painkillers.

In a few days I will be 68, what is that supposed to feel like?
I still have loads of energy, I find it almost impossible to sit still most of the time.
I am not ready to sit and watch telly for hours on end, and wear beige. ( ha, I am wearing a beige cardigan, although it is called straw).
I like colour and lots of it.
I do have almost white hair and have no intention of colouring it   at the moment anyway.

I think that I will wait until I grow up to act my age, once I have decided what it is.
The number is just for paperwork and is only accidental after all. 

Changing the subject, I have finished the charm square quilt top. There are as many corners that are wide of the mark as there are spot on. I do not mind,this from a (one time) control freak is frankly quite scary. I have named it tipsy, for obvious reasons. Francesca has claimed it for her bed here once finished. The back is under construction, I am having a break from making a run of 4 patch blocks to insert in the back.
I am lunching on carrot sticks and Hummus, back to 5 years old.

We are having Cajun Rice for dinner, requested by the SO.
I had to miss spinning again this week, the thought of perching on a hard chair for 2 hours made my mind up. I hope to go next week as it is a dying session. I have some white Jacob,s tops that I would love to dye and there is some fleece on it's way from Pembrokeshire. If it arrives in time I rather fancy some, if not most, will be in the dye pot as well. I have a stock of dye powder that I will take with me, hopefully someone else will like my rainbow of colours.

The bread machine is chugging away, a wholemeal loaf ready for tomorrow. It is a panasonic and a real workhorse, quite old by some standards and does not have the automatic dispenser. That does not bother me, I add seeds at the start, they get broken up a bit but hey, they get broken when you start to eat it anyway.
With the fancy recipes it beeps when it is time to add whatever, I just make sure to stay within earshot.

Another glorious day here, washing pegged out, chores done and I am about to go and potter in the garden. When I say potter I possibly mean sit in a shady spot, with the dogs, and read a bit or knit a few rows. I have a comfy seat with a squishy cushion so will be fine for an hour.

                               TTFN                              Pam

Sorry, who told me to act my age?

Well, it may have been me. I was having an off moment. 
I may have hurt my hip while playing football. xx

The missing photo.

The laptop decided to get over itself and load my photos.

The lovely things that sue sent me, alas one of the Naked bars has evaporated.

The stacks of charm blocks ready to be sewn into rows. I decided that sashing was not necessary and a 5 by 6 block layout was ample.

I have pottered about this morning, dinner is made and ready to go into the oven. A few changes have been made in the pantry giving me more space. The contents of a cupboard have been moved about, making my mixing bowls more accessible and giving the grater and chopper thingy permanent homes. They have lived where they landed up to now and every time that I wanted them it was a search and rescue mission.

I am off now to walk the Herbie as he is trying to cause mayhem.

                      TTFN                                    Pam

Time for.......

An early tea break.
The postie arrived just a few minutes ago, I was busy beeing round the kitchen preparing tonight's dinner. Pasta, broccoli, cauliflower and cheese bake, and he brought me a little parcel.
We all know that the best things come in small lots.

And these are some of the best.

A beautiful hand made card, hoping that I recover soon.
2 naked bars, that inspired the tea break.
Some lovely hand cream, I get through lakes of that in gardening seasons.
Many packets of seeds, most of my favourites are in there, Nigella, larkspur, Aquilegia, Foxgloves and many more. All it needed was a Mr D'Arcy and my life could not get better. Colin Firth, with that wet shirt... Ooh Err Missus. I may be old but i'm not dead.

I have taken a photo but it will not load, if things change I will update or maybe add another post later today.

I hate techy problems. They get orn my wick.

I will leave you now and enjoy my cuppa, and my Naked Lemon Drizzle.

wus up? 

Who sent it?

Oops, it was the lovely Sue (her indoors).

Um nowagorn.
     
                    TTFN                                        Pam