June Sew sampler Box

Dorn joined me for a sewing day in the week, it was so nice to catch up with all the news. She had a basket full of crochet squares all needing their ends sewing in, a long job. I worked on my Tulip quilt blocks and managed to make 8 or 9 tulip heads !

Today my June Sew Sampler box arrived from the Fat Quarter shop in Texas, I absolutely love 

TWO packs of Charm squares with a pattern, heat resistant thimbles, fancy needle threader and a 

Flamingo Stiletto Turning tool, plus the next part of the Brightside quilt along.

Clare joined me for a sewing day

It has been a busy week, plus I am suffering with heat!

Thank goodness for the aircon in my Happy Room.

Tuesday Clare joined me for a sewing day , she was making bunting for her new summer house, miles if it!

No Photos, we were too busy talking.

I did however manage to catch up with my BOM and BOW.

The top blocks are the monthly Brightside quilt blocks, the programme lasts for 12 months.

The blocks below are the latest blocks of the week, Summer Soirée by Pat Sloan. I love how she tells a story to go with each block.

Yesterday I attended a funeral for a friend from church, she was such a nice lady. RIP Judy.

My longarm quilter rang late afternoon that she had completed my Sewcialites quilt, so I hurried to collect it. Now need to decide on the binding and trim it up.

Other news, the old Range Rover was sold on Monday to a neighbour, it seems strange to see the new-to-us Range Rover next to it on the drive!

Sewcialites ready for quilting

Before we left for holiday I had most of the Sewcialites quilt completed and just needed to join the sections together, find something to back it with and the batting ready for it to be Long Arm Quilted.

75 x 75 inches meant it was hard to get a good photo, so had to hang it on my clothes line.

This has been a great weekly sewalong and I used as many different Dimples fabric as I had, only a few are duplicates.

Thank you the Fat Quarter Shop for offering these patterns and Pat Sloan keeping me going.

Caravan Cl and the new awning

We were very impressed with Carol and Kens awning, so much more room than our little porch awning. A Kampa Air Ace 300.

As we said goodbye to them, their awning is in the background.

We had a really nice time with Chris’s sister Carol and husband Ken, enjoying evening chats and get togethers.

The journey home was not the best as something meant we lost all acceleration and we limped home at less than 30 miles an hour.

We decided to see if we could find an awning similar to theirs, which because of the ‘bow window’ shape gave so much room.

I found one on Marketplace not far from home,

Seeing if it fits before blowing it up.

Chris had to use the hand pump as the seller could not find the electric pump [he has since found it].

The tree in our front garden was a little in the way !

We look forward to using it on our next holiday.

The TV aerial

We have been without TV since we arrived, the aerial lead, which is a fixed until broke. Normally it would not bother me, but I have been watching the tennis at Wimbledon and the final was yesterday.

We made a visit to a caravan spares shop and bought a new aerial, but how to get o the roof of the caravan to fix it!

My Mr Fix It husband came up with a solution.

First read the instructions

Then use the step and reach through the sky light, arms were just long enough!

Sock knitting and the Wimbledon final, well done Chris.

BBQ’s and the seaside

We’ve been enjoying a few BBQ’s, although the weather could have been kinder.

The BBQ must be 24 years old!

This afternoon we went for a drive to Christchurch.

In the distance the Needles.

Not many chalets being used, but lots of people on the beach, and some in the sea.

Opps my thumb !

Love this traditional thatched roof with a cat and a bird made as the thatchers trade mark.

Upper Kingston Farm Caravan Site

We arrived at Upper Kingston CL yesterday to spend a week in the New Forest. Chris’s Sister and her husband decided to join us in their caravan. We had not seen them for probably ten years, so it was nice catching up on the news.

Flags flying as we approached.

Carol and Ken’s van to the right ours next to our car.

We spend a few hours driving around the New Forest to see the many horses and for a short wander.

Sheltering under a railway bridge blocking the road

Such a lovely sight

Every colour possible

Chris cannot resist a ‘Ford’ to splash through.

Oddment socks

A new pair of socks for me, made from oddments of wool.  It was fun trying to make them look the same.

So it’s feet up and watching the Quarter Finals of Wimbledon.

I have immediately cast on anther pair this time using Schachenmayr Regia yarn,

Boys toys

Chris decided he wanted to change the car, so the hunt started to look for one. The first one we went to look at was a 220 mile trip away, I asked if he could please find one closer ! Saturday we went to look at another car in Leicester and it was just what he wanted, with a great track record of Land Rover servicing. Monday I dropped him off to collect it. 

We are now officially a two Range Rover family!!

The ‘fun’ now started to transfer the towbar to the new car, of course nothing goes smoothly, as the electrics are different. A mad dash to get the parts and hopefully in the next couple of days it will be sorted as we need one of them to tow the caravan !  

A friend from church asked me to machine embroider four lessons from the Harry Potter books for a quilt she is making. 

It would be handy if I could use one of the magic spells to move the towbar from car to car!

Ps One of the Range Rovers is for sale!

End of June catch up

At the start of the month I made a HOPE list, and I have succeeded with some things and not others.

1: Complete the Star quilt ready for quilting.

Result: I completed the quilt including quilting and binding.

2: Knit a pair of socks.

Result, using oddment of leftover wools I have passed the heel on both of them

3: Continue making the Sewcialites blocks

Result: I have made all 36 blocks and 16 setting blocks, now need to get them put together 

4: Tulip Quilt cut out

Result: I managed to cut out all the fabric, and make one tulip sample block.

5: Brightside monthly quilt along started

Result: The first block is made, waiting for the next instructions 

6: Machine Embroider the caravan blocks

7: Join the June Sweetpea Sewalong

Both 6 or 7 were abandoned.

I did however manage to send 5 bags of stuff to the Charity shop all from my Happy Room.

I keep telling myself it must have made a little difference.

I now need to decide what to put on my HOPE list for July, while Chris does this…

Cleaning out the pond pumps and filters!

I also have to mention he decided to take a look at a Ranger Rover that turned out to be a 220 mile round trip down south.

He bribed me with lunch out in a river side pub, but did not buy the car, so I was not needed to drive home.

We walked along the river bank after the meal.