Sunny Weekend Starts on Friday ..Yeah!!!

On Friday we woke to a really thick foggy morning, but you just knew that if the sun would wake itself up, it would burn off the fog and we would have a nice day, and that is exactly what happened.  Our plan was to go the the Antique Fair at the Peterborough Show Grounds, to have a look at all the lovelies, not that we are likely to buy, but nice to see what's up for grabs.  By the time we got there, the sun was shining, and we think every man and his dog had the same idea of wandering in the sun, I have never seen the car park so full.  Luckily the fair is so big having so many people wasn't really a problem.  I wanted to look for some pretty cups and saucers to make into pin cushions, and I soon found one I liked that was not too expensive and bought it.  The problem is that as you walk around you see more and more, so I ended up with these.

Pretty aren't they

My friend had a birthday on Saturday, and as she sews a bit, I thought I would give her one of these little cups so I sat and played and this is how it turned out.

Cute don't you think!

Saturday was another very foggy start, but ended up a sunny day, so the garden got a bit of a tidy, and we took out a row of Lavender bushes that had been looking a little past their best, and goodness how its opened up the garden! I am sure I will miss the fragrance, but the garden does look much cleaner and fresher now.  Maybe at a later date we will  replant one or two more who knows!  

The clocks were put forward an hour this weekend, so we are now in 'British Summer Time', and this was what Sunday morning brought us.

The mist is lifting, and the sun is already shining

When we wake to the scene above it makes you want to get up and make the most of the day, and  that is exactly what happened.  We know that we will be on a hose pipe ban from the end of this month, so my first thoughts were  to get the patio in the garden cleaned and jet washed (obviously using the hose before the deadline).  Mr D decided we needed another water butt to collect rain water from the shed so we set about our respective jobs.  Mine was a piece of cake, but Mr D's did not go so well.  He had bought some small guttering for the shed, but it would not work with the water butt, so a quick trip to the D.I.Y. store to change the bits he had already purchased.  The water butt is still not quite there, but we are well on the way to being a bit more water efficient.

Phew! lots to tell and show

I think I perhaps should write a bit more often when I have been busy sewing, so you may get a shortened version of everything today...but that may be a blessing in disguise.

Since last Wednesday I have been quite busy.  On Thursday I went to my L.Q.S. to do a bit of sewing and chatting, and managed to finish my Spicy Spiral Table Runner.  The fabric for the quilt was given to me by one of my very best friends V.  She bought me the fabric for a birthday in 2007, and it was wrapped so nicely, that for a long while I have been very happy just looking at it, but time (and design) had come into my life and the runner began.

Spicy Spiral Table Runner

It looks more complicated than it really is, but you do need a 9 (or 10) deg. ruler, and when it comes to the first cut I did get a bit jittery, but as you can see it all turned out fine.

I then had a go at the challenge that was given here and that was a bit of a breeze after some of the things I have been attempting, after all I do have all of the pattern pieces of this.

New York Beauty 

 This is the first one I have made, but I will have to get cracking as the challenge is one a week, so watch this space to see how I get on.


Now you may remember I was having trouble with the Sunshine Rose Garden block. In the end I emailed the editor of Quilter News letter and explained my problem,  she very kindly emailed me the other parts of the pattern, and this is how its going.

This seems to be going together

Oh yes it is working.

I am not sure which took the most time, sewing or sorting through my scrap bag looking for fabrics that would  work.  I love using scraps, as there are bits from all my friends in these blocks.  I have now completed all of the sections for the whole sunburst, just got to find a few mins to get them together... might have a go at that this afternoon.

I think its fair to say that flickr is the main reason for my patchwork and quilting.  I started with an on line quilt back in 2009, and since then have joined some really fun swaps.  At the moment, I am in two swaps.  One is a round robin swap where we started with the centre block, it is then sent across the country/ across the pond to America for someone to add a border.  This was my block, again I have used scraps.

Around the Bend and Across the Pond

Bearpawandbearpaw (in Scotland) has added her bit Click here to see it and its in America now waiting for more rounds.  I have done one round for DeeRoo and that has been passed along, and this month G's quilt turned up.  I have had it finished for ages, but decided to send it on to 'Bearpaw' yesterday and then post a pic. on flickr.  Guess what, I have added one of the borders the wrong way around.... dash and blast, if I had posted the pic  before I sent it off I would have seen it....... big discussions now as to what will be done with it.... think  'Bearpaw' might have the last word on it.

What a boob to make. 

The other swap I am in is the Fab Little Quilt Swap that I mentioned in an earlier blog, well today my quilt arrived.  I knew as soon as I saw the return address on the box which quilt was inside, and I could not believe it had come to me.  FlossieBlossoms was the sender.

Fab Little Quilt Swap

Fab Little Quilt Swap and all my goodies

My dear friend flossie had sent lots of treasures as well, but the quilt the quilt.... oh my goodness!!!!!   it really is beautiful, and I am not sure my photos do it justice.  I really feel that flossie and I are old friends, we have been in a couple of swaps together, and I have joined her in the 'Bitty block committee' swaps  and some of her extra 3.5" blocks were also in the treasure box, so that is another project for me to get around to.  

Goodness I wanted to tell you all about yesterday, but I have had to go food shopping this morning, and I this is one of my least favourite jobs.  Firstly you have to wander around the supermarket finding the items you want to buy, and it always costs much more than you expect.  You  travel home and find room in the cupboards to put it,  later you have to get it out again and turn it into some delicious meal which is eaten and you have to start again..... what a waste of sewing time.

My first thing yesterday was to try to make a 'button' for my blog so others could just grab it if they so desired.  I found a tutorial here and I spent about 3 hours trying my best, but that was obviously not good enough and I still don't have a button.  I then decided to go back to my Sunshine Rose Garden block.  The pattern I downloaded seemed to be missing a section, but after talking to my friends on Monday we thought we had solved the problem so I decided to play.

Fist two sections together.

Now that bit went easy enough, so on to the next bit.

Seems alright so far

On this bit I extended the bit numbered 7 and it seems to work.

Added the next section

I then repeated the first section and thought it would just add on to the bits already made...but

Can you see what's going wrong

Close up of the bottom

See, it just doesn't fit together nicely.  Jen, did leave me a comment and told me the missing pattern piece is in the magazine.  Its the July/August 2007 magazine and although I have looked on line it seems to be out of print now......not surprising really, I mean it is 5 years old.  So I am going to go back to the drawing board on this one, bit of a challenge and all that stuff.  I would have a go today, but I have another challenge that I need to attend to.  My friends have decided to join this so I thought I would join them, and make a few.  Now I am not saying I am going to make them all, but I might have a go at a couple.  I am going to try to use scraps, but I find 'random' a bit of a challenged in itself so we will see how I get on.

Believe it or not, it's now time to eat........ good job I have already prepared some salad, just get it down my throat, and then off to sew.  

First Post

Well today no sewing went on in this house. We have had a wonderful Spring day and I just had to spend some time in the garden.  There is always a lot of tidying up at this time of year, but today Mr D and I spent our time cleaning our drive.  The first couple of hours was spent on our hands and knees cleaning out the moss from the brick joints, and once that was done out came the jet washer.  What fun it is to use the washer.  You certainly have to dress for it, otherwise you are absolutely soaked (well I am).  While we were cleaning the bricks, the little boy J from across the way came to visit.  We haven't met before, but he made himself at home and brought his scraper to help us.  Once we got onto sweeping he went home to collect his very own ash pan and brush, such a cute little boy, I hope we stay friends for a long while.

Although I have not been sewing, I am trying to get a pattern for (think its called) Sunburst Rose pattern, so I have been combing the net and found a pattern, but I can't seem to make it work.  I am going to my sewing group tomorrow, so I am hoping my friends can help me.  You may be able to see by looking here .  I should not be even looking at this, as I do have a few things to finish, but one of my finished minis went in the post on Thursday.  I belong to a flickr group, and we are doing a swap, and this is the mini that I have just sent to my partner.

I hope my partner likes it.

Well, I am now going to sign off to see if this works or if I have to go back to the drawing board.