Still Stitching.......and smiling!

Christmas has been and gone and so has 2012 (nearly). I think I might have said a year ago how hard I find Christmas now that I am on my own, but on the other hand it does make you realise it's all about the children. So you put your misgivings etc to one side and you get together with your families and the kids have a great time opening presents together and the general excitement of the day. Well that's what happened in my family anyway.

 

This past year I have tried to be more productive in my quilt-making and I think that's true to some extent. I definitely make more quilts to display my fabrics, although I never have the time to quilt them.........which reminds me I need to get back to my machine quilting!

 

There is one thing for certain............I have developed an addiction for pre-cuts! I love Bali Pops and now they are available in 5" and 10" squares too there are even more design possibilites. The hardest part is actually opening the packet and even now it takes me a while to do it, but I have played with all of them this year and am thinking I might turn my designs into patterns...........once I have quilted the quilts I've made of course!

 

So what does 2013 hold? I think I need to concentrate on using my time more productively (ie stay off Facebook etc) and work on my own quilts as well as display quilts.

Getting ahead of myself, I've already picked up the Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilts again and have almost completed row C on both quilts, I have a couple of red and white quilts to make and then there is my Kaleidoscope quilt that I need to keep working on.

 

Wow that sounds a lot already!!

 

Best get on with it then............

Free Motion Project Quiltalong

So here it is! My first attempt at free motion quilting.

I am following the Free Motion Quilting Project Quiltalong, just to give me some tips and guidance. This was created by Leah Day who originally started her blog to design a different type of free motion filler quilting for every day of the year; the Free Motion Quilting Project.
You can visit her blog here. It’s such a useful tool!
I've watched the first couple of videos and am running a little before I can walk by combining the two at the same time.....

As I started, it was a bit jagged and my stitches very short as I had trouble moving the quilt sandwich around. Started to wish I had waited and bought some grippy gloves or something. I was having problems even doing the simple 'U' shapes......

It all looks rather amateurish doesn't it? But hey everyone has to start somewhere!

The next image is of me jumping ahead a bit adding a few extra wiggles before I was any good at doing the basic U's.

I reached the bottom of my ‘quilt’ at this point. So started again at the top practising some simple U’s which were a bit better this time.

This last picture shows me being a bit more adventurous again before I was ready, but I think I can already see some progress!

I was able to move the quilt around a lot better at this stage too. I’ve put my little 1” x 6” ruler in the images so you can see the scale of  the quilting.

I have taken a break as I finished stitching the fabric square I had sandwiched together and thought I would do a quick blog post before going to get some more calico.
I’ve kept my pieces quite small not only to keep them manageable but also because I am using up some wadding scraps. The wadding is Hobbs Polydown which is a 2oz wadding. I will also play around with some thinner wadding like Hobbs 80/20.

The main thing, as Leah says, is to practice as practice makes perfect!

Here we go again......

Wow! How can it be that over two months have gone by since I last wrote a blog post? I really am going to have to try harder! It's not like they have to be long mega essays after all is it?

I have actually done very little sewing recently. I do actually intend to do some hand sewing every evening but somehow I manage to fritter away what free time I have without even holding a needle. Even if I try not to touch that big time sucker, aka my computer, I seem to be catching up on twitter on my phone instead.
I do like twitter at the moment though!

I have been playing with the new Bali Pops, Crackers and Snaps that I had in stock. One quilt top I want to keep under wraps a little as I might turn it into a pattern, I made that from an old Pop pack.

The other quilt I have created is so basic and likely already to have been made before so I don't mind sharing that, although most of the images for it are on my phone, so I have pinched one from there for now.

 

It's made with one Tiramisu Pop and one Tiramisu Snap which is a 5" square pack. When I made the quilt I used the left over Pop strips in the borders and thought I had enough bits left to mitre the corners......... but I didn't so I had to unpick one mega long seam and insert a couple more border bits and redo the border.
I was right to do so though and it would have bugged me if I had done straight border corners!

 

Ages ago I promised a picture of my completed layer cake quilt that I was making for the magazine. It was featured in the Sept 2012 issue and was also on the front cover. So here it is!

 

 

And I'm really excited to see it's being used in the publicity for the new Uttoxeter quilt show, the British Quilt & Stitch Village!

 

Happy happy!

I did some hand applique last night for the first time in ages. And it was so lovely I can't wait to get back to it this morning.

Its something I planned and first started years ago. It's been so long since I worked on this project, that I can't remember how long it has been! It must be at least two years if not more......

It all started possibly five years ago or more when I went to Hever Castle for the annual Quilters' Guild region's exhibition that is held there about this time of year. In one of the gardens there was a beautiful display of dahlias; so many colours and shapes. I was inspired! So I took lots of photos.

I then bought some of Heidi Stoll-Weber's wonderful dyed cotton sateens and my quilt design was born.

Working on my first block again last night, I fell in love with these fabrics all over again. They are so lovely to work with.

So here are a couple of pics of what I have done so far

For some reason Blogger has decided to rotate the second image!
It will go to a reddy pink in the centre with some yellow/orange detail on top.
Well that's the plan!

And right now I want to get back to it...............
 

I have done some sewing................honest!

It's been an incredibly busy couple of months. If I thought I was busy before, that was nothing compared to the last six weeks or so!
I have been wanting to post something for ages, but then life gets in the way and the moment has gone.

So not a lot of sewing has gone on.

I have made some quilt samples though! The first I am really pleased with and which uses fabrics from the Magic Garden collection from Blend Fabrics.

 

It went together really quickly, in a matter of hours!

Then I made what I feel is my first modern quilt! It uses the stripe from the Retro Mix collection from Robert Kaufman. It just needs some great straight line quilting...........

Next up was a delft inspired quilt featuring fabrics from the Dutch Cottage collection from Robert Kaufman. I'm really pleased with this one too. I love using stripes as sashings and bindings.

 

Wow! Looking at those quilts I feel like I have actually been quite productive! Maybe it's because I haven't done much hand sewing recently. I've just finished blocks C9 of our SBS quilts this evening so will post some pics soon.

Oh and I can now post a pic of the layer cake quilt I was working on seeing as it's on the front cover of P&Q magazine!

Confession Time

I have a terrible thing to confess!

I have hardly done any sewing for several weeks now, possibly not since my son went on his school residential trip in mid June.
That really is terrible isn't it?
I have no idea why.
I did have a quilt show a couple of weeks ago but that's no excuse.

Actually, come to think of it I did put a binding and hanging sleeve on my layer cake quilt a week or so ago. Ferret quilted it for me as I just wouldn't have been able to quilt it in time for it to go into the September issue of British Patchwork & Quilting which is being worked on now.

And that's about it.

I think I have a creative block at the moment, kind of. That and not getting around to thinking about doing some sewing until its late in the evening. And then I am too tired to start anything new (thanks to the cat waking me up before 5am most days).

I want to teach myself to machine quilt and thought I would have a go at following the Free Motion Quilting Quilt Along except I can't really get started as I don't have a darning foot for my machine yet.
#doh!

I have a couple of display quilts I want to get started on. One of them needs a bit of thought still so maybe that's why I am stalling?

And then I have a modern quilt I want to make......

And there's my red and white quilt.........

And I have my kaleidoscope quilt to quilt.......

So I have no idea what I am waiting for!

A few days to myself!

I have a few days to myself this weekend as TK has gone on a residential trip with his school. I was glad to hear that they had arrived ok as there is a storm coming which only hits these shores every 50 years or so!
They have a wonderful time on these trips doing all kinds of exciting things as well as the fun of being away from home. Its an important step for them. Although its quite emotional seeing the kids leave on their coach, its also a wonderful moment as the rest of the school come out to wave them off on their adventure.
This year we had the fun of an absolute downpour just as the kids were getting on their coach. They of course managed not to get too wet, but pity the poor parents who got absolutely soaked! Still I suspect the kids will get a little wet and muddy over the next few days. I am sooo not looking forward to see his dirty washing when he comes back on Monday!

So while I have these days to myself I have decided to try and be productive. I do try and set myself goals when I am on my own but somehow, as I don't have my usual routine, I manage not to get much done.

Today has been good though!

A few months ago, I worked on a modern quilt design inspired by the tiles in my bathroom.

They are rather styish aren't they?

So I have created a design based on this. Today I re-drew the design on squared paper which is a novelty for me as I ususally draw things out in Quilt Pro. I'm going to put some fabrics together tomorrow and it should be very quick to put together. It will take me a while to quilt it although it is probably only going to be 24" by 30" !!

Talking of quilting, I'm thinking about teaching myself to do FMQ. There are quite a lot of tutorials on the web and like anything practice makes perfect. I just need to get myself a darning foot for my machine. Not sure if I will have any problems getting one though as my machine is probably 20 years old!

Next on my to do list was to work on a design for my red and white fabrics which I blogged about earlier in the year.
I had a eureka kind of moment the other day in the bath and decided I wanted to do a New York Beauty kind of quilt with the fabrics.
So I did a bit of drafting today, both on the pc and actually drawing and have come up with a basic design.
It seems to me that a lot of NYB quilts have lots of different versions of the block in them so I think I will be designing the blocks as I go.
I was so keen to get started as usual and have made the first block already

And yes I know it is all white fabrics!
I want to create a white centre and then gradually introduce the reds. I’m quite excited about it. The arcs are foundation pieced.

 

So all in all it has been a good day today! I was planning on capping it off by doing some quilting but this post has taken me longer to write than it should have done because Blogger is being stupid over the positioning of images and I have transferred over to MS Live Writer.

Let’s hope I be just as productive tomorrow!!

Jubilee Weekend

Its the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this weekend with a double bank holiday today and tomorrow, which makes it a very short week workwise! Yesterday's events were a bit of a washout with the deteroriating weather. I had been looking forward to seeing the Thames River Pageant but it was completely ruined by the absolutely abysmal coverage on the beeb; the images were fine but the inane comments especially by the 'presenters' in the studio made the whole thing really tiresome. The only bits I liked were the Gloriana boat and the 'arts and crafts' bridge where twenty painters were painting the scene. In fact it would have been lovely just have watched them!

This evening is the Jubilee concert being held in front of Buckingham Palace and hopefully this will be as good as it sounds!

Being newish to my street still, I had asked some of my neighbours if they ever held street parties but was met with a resounding "no.......not unless you want to organise it!"
Part of me wishes I had stepped up to the plate and organised a little get together but on other hand I'm on my own for a few days while my son stays with his dad, and really this sort of thing is for the kids isn't it?
At least I have put some bunting up! And I'm tempted to leave it up while we enjoy this wonderful summer (when it arrives) of European football, wimbledon and then of course the London Olympics.
I think there are still some tickets available for Olympic events. The torch relay passes near here in a month's time that I will drag TK out to see and we just found out the Queen is visiting Hitchin in 10 days so will take him to see her drive past too!

And what about my quilting?
Well yesterday was a bit of a washout creativity-wise too. Half of the day has usually gone by the time I have driven to the ex's house and back to drop TK off and I just didn't seem to have any interest in doing anything, although I did manage some piecing of our SBS blocks in the evening.
I have however created a couple of new quick quilts for kits. The first uses fabrics from the Grandeur collection.

I'm quite pleased with how it has come together. The second quilt isn't quite finished yet as I need to add a dark marble border to balance it. Its made with fabrics from the Imperial Collection 8 from Robert Kaufman.

The good news is Ferret has finished quilting my layer cake quilt! I haven't seen what she has done with it yet, but not long to wait as she is handing it back to me at Sandown in a few weeks. 

Little bits, they all add up

I've made a discovery this bank holiday weekend; that you can kid yourself you have accomplished a lot by spending a shorter length of time on more activities.

Yesterday I felt like I had got a lot done.

I cut the grass.

I did some weeding.

I did some sewing.
Hell I even did some ironing before I went to bed!

And even though I maybe only got to spend less than an hour on each activity, when I looked back on my day I felt that I had achieved a lot.
I could have spent most of the day sewing, or spent longer working in the garden but then one of the other things that I wanted to do that day would have remained undone and would have been nagging at me.

So I think this will be my new philosophy.

Two days ago I started work on designing a new quilt using a layer cake. I've never used a layer cake before. In fact I've only used a pre-cut once when I summoned up the courage to open a Bali Pop to make a Jelly Roll Race quilt, and believe me the hardest part is opening them. Its not that the packaging is difficult to open, its just that........they look so perfect all wrapped up like that!
I really enjoyed doing some design work for a change. Its not a complicated design as it is going to be featured in British Patchwork & Quilting. Judi and I have been challenged to make a quilt using a layer cake which is going to be the subs gift for the magazine.

The layer cake we have been given is Hello Luscious from Moda.

So this was something new for me to tackle first..........working with Moda fabrics which aren't my usual thing.
However it is also quite hard designing something knowing that you have a finite amount of fabric.

Once I came up with a design I made a test block to ensure it worked.....well I couldn't afford to waste any of the fabrics in the layer cake!
I can't show a picture of the block just yet because of it going in the magazine but here's a sneak peak

The plan is to have our quilts on display at the Festival of Quilts in August with one of them appearing as a project in the Sept issue which will be out in time for the show. Seeing as that is only just over three months away, I have been busy piecing this weekend!

So it has been a good weekend

That creative urge........

I think its only other creative people who can understand what it is to have the urge to create something. It almost eats away at you..........this need to create. Its hard to explain.

I have a real urge at the moment to start something new and I know I won't be happy until I do! The problem is.........I need more fabrics before I can start!!
I think my next quilt is going to have to be the red and white quilt that I have been collecting fabrics for but I need more red AND white prints for some mid tones. Luckily Quilts UK in Malvern is only a few weeks away so hopefully I can find some more fabrics there. If not I will either have to wait until the Festival of Quilts in August (not that I have any time to look around there!) or I will have to do a bit on searching online.........
I guess because I have my own fabric store, I haven't felt the need to do that before. Can you believe that?!

As usual I don't have much to show for the last few weeks. I really need to get my arse in gear and stop wasting my evenings on my laptop and spend them sewing instead. And I think the reason for this is because I don't have anything new to work on.

I've done a few more blocks for the SBS quilt and we are up to C9 now but I think because this is just working for a book and not strecthing my creativity that much, that this is just something to pick up and do every now and then. I need to check which blocks I need to photograph and post pics of.

Of course there is my Kaleidoscope quilt that I supposed to be quilting, but I have hit a brick wall with that. Once I break through that, I will be off and running again. Maybe I should make that my priority?

eBay

I've sold items successfully on eBay through my business for several years now mainly on buy it now listings. This weekend I've seen the positive and negative sides to selling by auction listings.

On the positive side I sold two beds. The buyer contacted me about arranging payment and collection before I had the chance to send her a message, within 5 minutes of the listing ending! The beds were collected this morning. Cash was paid. All was good. This is how eBay is supposed to be.

On the negative side, I also sold an American style fridge freezer. It went for quite a good price. I emailed the buyer within a few minutes of them winning the item to arrange collection, but I'm still waiting for them to respond.........and I have a feeling they aren't going to. The buyer had only joined eBay the day before so they had no feedback. It isn't a good start. Something doesn't feel right.
Ordinarily this wouldn't really be a problem, but I needed the freezer to be collected by tomorrow and its now looking that this isn't going to happen. So I have to wait until 4 days have elapsed to open an unpaid item case and then wait a further 4 days before I can close the case.............and then I have to decide either to offer it to the next highest bidder or relist it.............so much for it being collected promptly.

So this is the flip side of eBay...........the time wasters. I've since found out you can stop certain types of buyers bidding on your items which I have now set up and if this person doesn't ever pay they will be going on my blocked bidders list too. I guess before I have only sold items to quilters......and guess what? they are almost always honest decent people.

Its a shame more people aren't like quilters!

But then you read about the recent copyright dispute between a fabric designer and a publisher and you wonder maybe its just the world we live in today...................

Weeding Time!

This unseasonably warm, some might say hot, weather we have been having this week has meant I have had time to get out into the garden a few times.
Today I have been weeding. As I've said before, I am loathe to do too much digging around as I'm not sure what a lot of the things growing in the garden are, but there are definitely a lot of weeds in the flower beds now so I spent a lovely hour or so tidying up one bit in the early evening sunshine. I had a constant companion the whole time I was working and he was right by my side bless him, though of course he disappeared to find some better sun when I came to take a photo!

Think I can fit in a bit more piecing this evening. Yesterday I joined the last blocks on to the rest of the row so tonight I'm cutting out the pieces for C7 :o)

I told you so!

See! I told you I did some sewing the other evening! This is block C6 for my SBS quilt.
When I pick the fabrics for the next block, I lay out all the other blocks so that hopefully I am getting a balance of colours throughout the quilt. Seeing as I hadn't done any piecing for a while, I also hadn't looked at all my blocks for a while either..............for a moment I thought I didn't like any of the colours!!!!!!
This was my problem with my Dear Jane quilt that I started. I had nearly finished the first row when I decided I hated the randomness of the colours and decided I wanted to make it in a more limited palette. Don't worry that has been put definitely to one side while I make this SBS quilt!

So onwards and upwards to the next block :o)

No Posts Equals.........

In my case it equals not a lot going on. Hardly any sewing has been done and I don't seem to have much to moan about either!!
So I guess that means I am quite content with my life at the moment. And I think that I am.
I love my little house and we are now starting to make it our own more. The garden is looking wonderful with daffodils all over the place and little gems keep popping up like a couple of hyacinths and I think some bluebells.

As for sewing, I did actually do some last night and nearly finished piecing the next block in my SBS quilt.
I have a quilter's block with my Kaleidoscope quilt, I think because it needs irregular quilting. Each stage is going to need a different quilting style and at the moment I can't decide what is best for the section I am working on.

I made a nice sample quilt a week or so ago to display some of the fabrics from the Imperial Collection 7 from Robert Kaufman and it does look really smart and stylish...................but then I sold out of one of the fabrics at the Chilford quilt show........
I think I can substitute another similar fabric which will be great as I think the quilt design is a winner! I only have an image of it on my phone at the moment so will try and post a picture of it next time I post.

Spring?

After the snow we had a couple of weeks ago, it suddenly seems like spring has sprung! Very soon the daffodils will be bursting into flower. There are loads of them around the garden and they will look lovely in the front garden bathed in sunshine. Crocuses seem to be sprouting up in the strangest places; and not clumps of them...just one here and there!
I know there a lots of varieties of snowdrop, but this has to be one of the prettiest I have ever seen peeping through lupin leaves

It also looks as if there is either a cowslip or primrose flower starting to grow in the grass in the front garden judging by the leaves that I spotted yesterday.
This spring-like weather means we might take a trip to a garden centre this weekend to buy some garden tools as we don't have any. However I am loathe to do too much digging around as new things seem to be sprouting up around the garden all the time and I don't want to dig up something I might regret later!

As is usual I don't seem to have achieved much sewing-wise this week. I'm trying to get into a routine at weekends of getting housework out the way and then having some creative time. I cut some fabrics last week to make a couple of samples up. Thought I would try and make something from fabrics in a couple of collections that aren't selling as well as others in the same collection.

I started off making a quick pieced Attic Windows wall hanging with some fabrics from La Scala. The blocks went together beautifully but then I rushed adding a thin black sashing  without pinning them properly and of course my seams didn't match horribly! That's what comes from rushing to get something done before going to bed..........never pays off does it?
I was very good and unpicked the offending seams and it has now gone together much better. I just need to add a border before its finished and will post a pic then.

The other fabrics are a couple from the Imperial Collection 7 that are hanging around a little, mainly because I didn't use them in the sample I made using fabrics from this collection. Hopefully I can make a start on this quilt this weekend too.

This, that and the other

The snow has finally gone, well apart from the lump that was TK's snowman and it seems that Spring is trying to burst forth. I spied our first snowdrop in the garden this morning.

I think I might have said before that it is going to be interesting to see what happens in our new garden throughout this first year. I will probably dig up some plants that I don't like. Its still a question of getting used to the fact that if I want to change something...........I can! I want to put some stepping stones down the length of the garden to the shed soon. These will also follow the washing line down the garden so I need to do this sooner rather than later before I tread a path......
We still have a potato planter so we're going to try and plant some seed potatoes and maybe some other veg in pots too.

Last weekend we treked across country to Llangollen in mid Wales for the trading day at Quiltfest. It was nice to be in temperatures above freezing for a change!

I spoiled myself and bought a piece of original quilt art. My friend Ferret had an exhibition of her work at Quiltfest and she was selling pieces of demo work she was making on her longarm at the show.

Ok I actually have two pieces as my parents also bought me one for my upcoming birthday.

This is the piece I bought

I will get them framed by a local lady and then hang them. I'm trying to get things for the house that are unique and not mass produced and made by local craftsmen too.

Not much sewing has gone on still. Work seems to dominate most of my days and I end up chilling with my pc in the evenings rather than doing something creative, oh and doing the washing up :o(

I want to design a quilt that I can kit for the new Grandeur fabrics that were delivered the other week............will try and do that before the quilt show at Chilford next month. In the meantime I think I will do a bit more quilting on the Kaleidoscope quilt

Snow!

The snow started falling about 6pm last night and this morning we woke up to quite a few inches, so much so that we couldn't open the back door to start with due to snow sliding off the conservatory roof and blocking it.
It looks like this is the next bit to fall!

I love the scene when snow if freshly fallen, everything is so smooth and seems really calm and peaceful............must be all that white?

I actually did some quilting the other evening! This blog was supposed to be about my quilts too but I guess its an indication of how much sewing I actually manage to fit in that I don't seem to blog about them much!
I had hit a slight wall with how I wanted to quilt the next tiny section of my kaleidoscope quilt, but I finally bit the bullet and broke through my quilter's block. I have a feeling this will happen quite often with this quilt! I'm pleased with how it is looking so far though

Busy!

Its a sure sign that I have had a busy week as I haven't even thought about posting anything for over a week!

The last seven days have seen me rushing around getting ready for a quilt show as well as have an editors meeting AND the magazine's annual 'do' last night. I've driven quite a few miles the last few days and its not over yet as there is the quilt show to help pack up at tomorrow.

Having suggested a compromise in recalculating my child maintenance with the ex husband several weeks ago, as usual I haven't heard a thing from him. I suspect I will get my answer when its next paid on 1 Feb. Do they EVER stop being bitter and awkward and difficult?
I just keep thinking to the future like a certain son's wedding should he choose to get married, and how we can both stand there on his big day when we have no communication at all.

The work do was fun last  night. I had been quite nervous about going as I haven't been to an office do for nearly 20 years. I'm also still adjusting to going to social events on my own as a single person. It is social occasions like that when I sometimes wish I did have a special someone and when I don't 'meet' any potential mates I start to wonder if I will ever meet anyone again. Whilst beauty is skin deep, I think some kind of weight loss and exercise program might be in order!
I just need to find a bit of spare time..............

Veg of the Month

So we had our first new veg of the month last night....................
we tried celeriac. I baked it thinly sliced in the oven with carrots and potatoes and some stock. It was ok. TK tried it at least which is the deal we have.
We still have some left so will probably mash it or make a dauphinoise with potatoes.

The other choice for January was kale but I'm not sure if I can eat that or not!

I've been busy editing this week but the next few days will be spent getting ready for a quilt show next week including getting new kits together.

 

Hello Winter!

Although it has been milder today, we had a reminder that it is actually winter at the moment. I took the chance to go out into the garden on Saturday and snapped a few frost laden plants.

Even this thistle looked pretty!

Seeing as my garden is new to me, I'm trying to take photos throughout the year so that I can see whats in flower and when. A lot of the plants are new to me. At the moment the hellebores are in flower

Life's Frustrations

Just when you think your divorce is done and dusted, it rears its ugly head again!

Is there ever an end to hassle when you get divorced?

The week didn't start well with the ex husband announcing, by email since we don't talk, that he wanted me to open a cash ISA for our son and wanted to reduce the child maintenance he pays by a third so that he can pay money into the ISA. I started composing an email to my lawyer till I realised how petty it all sounded as at the end of the day its for our son's benefit. Basically the ex wants to ring fence any money he pays me so he ensures its used solely for the benefit of our son. The trouble is that's not how it works; he just doesn't 'get' what maintenance is for.
I hope I have suggested a suitable compromise because I really don't want to have to involve lawyers or the CSA.

On a more positive note I have finished block B5 of our SBS quilts and will try and remember to take a photo in the daylight tomorrow. I think I need to alternate between piecing and quilting each evening so that I make progress on each project.
When I got the quilt out to do some quilting the other night, the cat decided for the first time for ages to sit in the lounge with us..............under the quilt of course!

Funny that!

Time

Life is so frustrating sometimes.

I have so many ideas buzzing around my head all the time; projects, class ideas, business ideas and that's not including all the thoughts I have about things to do in my new house.

And yet each day goes by and I don't seem to accomplish anything!

How do people manage to be productive and achieve things?

Is it just down to my inability to be decisive? I probably spend too much time sitting at my computer wasting time when I could be actually doing the things I want to achieve but I think its also to do with being the only adult in a household and having to do certain chores and other things at certain times. We'll ignore housework because I'm not big on doing housework, but someone has to cook each evening and then there's washing up to be done..........and all of a sudden the evening has gone!

Maybe I just need to be a bit more organised and allocate a small amount of time each day to various tasks and that way I will achieve several things over a period of time rather than spending a whole day working on one task and then feeling guilty about neglecting another task.........and I'm including the pile of ironing I have in this!

Maybe I need to make a list..............

Back to Reality

So its back to reality as the new school term started today and back to the old routine of dealing with mail order first and then making a start on editing.............yep as the Feb issue goes to print I am working on the March issue and we are still in the first week of the new year!

Its funny how your kids constantly surprise you. Whether its a new-found confidence or he just feels safer, but all of a sudden my son has decided he's ok for me to leave him at home for a short time while I go to the post office or the local supermarket. Only a few months ago, he didn't like me leaving him in the car while I popped into the post office and even though he could see me from the car........
I think he realises that its only a matter of months now before he has to walk to and from secondary school on his own, so its something he needs to get used to. Jeez I'll have to give him his own key to the front door soon!

He also surprised me by tucking into dough balls dipped in garlic butter at Pizza Express the other day when he has avoided all contact with garlic bread up to now!

We have a sort of new year's resolution that we will try a new vegetable each month to try and widen our vegetable tastes. Neither of us is a big fan of veg but one of my Xmas gifts was Hugh Fearnley Whatsit's Veg book. I think we will see which veg is in season each month and see what we can rustle up.

Now that my working week is fully restored, my sewing will be restricted to evenings. Last night I was playing with a bias applique design for a quick quilt pattern that I have been working on using the new Patternista fabrics

You probably can't see much of the design from this picture I'm afraid. It needs a little bit of work still but its almost there. I may continue with TK's SBS block this evening though........

New Projects

I always feel like starting a new project in the week after Christmas. I have no idea why but the urge to do so is always strong at this time.

But I have been good this year and carried on with my SBS blocks.

Its not like I don't have any fabrics to start something new with, hell I have a whole cupboard full of various collections of fabrics just waiting for inspiration to strike.........
My new collection of fabrics is a selection of red and whites.

My mum started me off with them after we were both inspired by that wonderful display of red and white quilts in NYC last year; Infinite Variety. (if only it could come to the UK...........)
As you can see I have plenty of reds and quite a few white on white prints, but harder to come by are the medium tones of red on white so my collection is not quite complete yet and not ready for a quilt.
I have had some thoughts about design though and have in mind a pieced background with floral applique.

As part of a (kind of) new year's resolution about walking more and doing more geocaches, TK and I went out for a walk yesterday in Baldock to try and find the remaining clues for the geocache that takes you around the town. One of our co-ordinates is still way out for some reason but we luckily found where we were supposed to be so we managed to get  a little bit further with the clues. Unfortunately it started to rain before we could get the last couple of clues so we will have to try for a third time another day!

I want to try and go out every weekend but for some reason its really hard to get TK go out sometimes; he seems to be in teenager mode already even though he's only 10! Geocaching lets you find places on your doorstep you didn't know existed and its kind of cool knowing that hundreds of people (muggles) pass by the locations where caches are hidden not knowing that they are there.........