Little cushions

Abigail's

Eleanor's

Some years ago before Eleanor was born a friend made Abigail a little cushion, so yesterday I made Eleanor one, both are 8 inch square.

Side panels added

Due to the bad weather we are having, I stayed home all day and managed to sew the side panels to my 2012 BOM, The photo is not very good as it had to be taken in the lounge as it's too cold to go outside. Today I want to work on the backing, quilting and then the side borders. I think it will end up suitable for a single bed, but not sure yet.

BOM 2013 Cushion #1





This is the first of a series of cushions I intend making. It was hard finding the right colours to go with my suite but I am now pleased with the final choice.

2012 BOM

Started to put the blocks of my 2012 BOM quilt together. Started by cutting the middle block wrongly and having to make a new one, but I changed my colours and prefer the new one. The maths test to get the middle in place caused me a headache but Chris came to the rescue and everything worked fine. I now have to put the four blocks and sashing to each side and then decided on my borders.   The blocks are 15 inch square and the middle 33 inch square with 3 inch sashing.

Blueberry muffins

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/01/15/blueberry-muffins/    Fancied something sweet today and although I rarely do any cooking I found this recipe on Judy Laquidara's blog and thought I'd have a go. Being an American recipe I was not sure of my sizes, but luckily I had a set of USA "cups" and was only stumped when the oven temperature said 400 and my oven only goes upto about 250 ! I guessed at 220 and it seemed to work OK. In fact they taste great, love the crunchy topping.

Snow



Back garden


The last couple of days have seen a lot of snow falling. This has made the roads and paths terrible as the snow has fallen on top of ice in this really cold spell we seem to be having.

Only good thing is its good sewing weather.

Birthday Postcard swap






 

Having joined a Postcard swap for this year with BQLPC yahoo group, these are the first three birthday postcards that I have sent.

I used Rufflette pelmet vilene which is very sticky on both sides and enjoyed making them for Janet, Lesley and Pascale.

I've gone bag crazy

Yesterday I made 7 of these bags.. no idea what they will be used for, but I think they will come in very handy to use instead of wrapping paper for giving little gifts.

A clean house

Just love this sign...No idea where it came from to give credit to the designer.

Out with the old / in with the new

What a busy few days Chris and I have had. Decided to make the larger spare room into a twin room for the girls when they come to stay. The first thing was a new bed, and luckily I managed to match the one we already had. A trip to Ikea for new cupboards, and a lot of sorting out has made the room look really nice.

Today was a trip to Emmaus with a car FULL of recyclable items.  This is such a worthwhile charity.  http://www.emmausvillagecarlton.org.uk/
Emmaus Village Carlton is a homeless charity based in North Bedfordshire offering active support to formerly homeless people and we provide what we think of as a real workable alternative to homelessness. Our site is located in Carlton, Bedfordshire ten miles from Bedford and also right on the border of Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, less than 20 miles from Milton Keynes.


We Offer a Home. At Emmaus, homeless people find a place where they can enjoy companionship and support. Each person has their own room whilst living in the Community. When a Companion wants to move on, he or she will be assisted to find accommodation and work.

We Offer Work. All Companions (residents) work full-time and there is work for everyone. The Shops and Bistro provide a commercial setting where skills can be learnt in a friendly atmosphere.

We Offer a New Beginning. Emmaus offers homeless people a fresh start in life with the support of the community around them. They can stay as long as they wish and are offered opportunities to acquire skills. When a Companion wants to move on, he or she will be assisted to find accommodation and work.

Mini IAM

Dress up fun

Mini IAM



Olivia, Abigail, Eleanor Jenny & Penny



The results

The girls have been staying with me for three days, and yesterday we had a sewing day [Mini IAM ]. It was a busy day with lots of bag making and quite a selection of Owl hand warmers.. a brilliant but tiring day.
For Eleanor age 5 it was only the 2nd time she had used a sewing machine, but she managed two bags and one owl, while Abigail 9 hand sewing for the first time made three owl handwarmers and a bag. Needless to say I didn't make anything just gave lots of help.

Happy New Year

Happy Room in a mess

Three wheels on my wagon!

Happy New Year Everyone. How are you spending your New Years Day?

Mine is in my Happy Room which needs a big tidying up ready for the grandchildren to arrive tomorrow and a workshop with 6 of us on Thursday.

Chris is making the most of a dry day and under his Land Rover sorting something out!