Cake Was Most Definately Eaten....

Hello! Well I think our Macmillan Coffee Morning was a success! Before we opened the doors, to let the mummies and daddies in, we made bunting....

....that had thoughtfully arrived with the Coffee Morning Pack, each child happily having a go with the stapler.
There was quite a spread.....

...and lots of people came, and shared this time with us.
I'm really so very lucky to front up a Preschool, where the parents are SSSSOOOOO supportive, and actively take the time to share in moments such as these. Everyones' generosity meant that we raised almost £60 for an extremely worthy cause. Thank you all so much!
And what did I do in return? I sent all their children home, at the end of the session, chock full of cake, happily ready to bounce and buzz their way through the afternoon!! Hmmm....
Hope you all have a lovely weekend. xx

Cake... I think...

Tomorrow, at work, we're joining the MacMillan Coffee Morning. Most of the staff have been touched, in some way, by cancer, and it's a good time (new school year), to have a social get-together for the new parents, so I felt it was one of those serendipitous moments.
Unfortunately, I had one of my not-so-good moments at the same time, and got a bit carried away. In all the enthusiasm of organising the party, Big Mouth here, opened said big mouth, and declared that the staff would each bake a cake. Terrific. I don't bake.
Actually, that's not strictly true. I have, every now and again, convinced myself that I am very closely related to Nigella....or Delia....possibly both. Out come all the ingredients (when I say "out come", I mean "off I trot to the supermarket", as I never have even so much as the basic ingredients in my cupboard!) and I attempt the next Great Bake Off.
Now, if I were to bake a selection of, say, rock cakes, cookies, a victoria sponge and a cheese cake, blindfold you, and then ask you to take a bite of each, in order to identify them.....you'd be VERY hard put to tell one from another. I kid you not.
However, I DO have an ace up my sleeve. My Chocolate Fridge Cake. Brilliant. No baking required. Only bashing and melting, and I'm a dab hand at both.
Ta-Da.....

Admittedly, it doesn't look too clever at the moment, but trust me, all sliced up tomorrow, on a pretty plate, and it'll disappear like hot cakes.....just not MY hot cakes!
See you soon. xx

Still Sorting Out The Geese....

Last night I started to quilt the Flying Geese quilt, and decided to use a vintage blanket that I'd managed to buy, a short time ago, as the wadding. I wasn't sure how this would get on with my trusted sewing machine, as it is quite heavy, but I needn't have worried, as The Machine coped beautifully.
And I have to say, I'm LOVING the blanket! It's stitching along very smoothly, and it's given the quilt a really fabulous heavy feel. The shame is, that good quality, vintage wool blankets are quite hard to come by, and when you do get your hands on one, you need to take out a second mortgage! I shall just have to be very precious about the remaining blanket piece....
I'd like to be able to say that I'll get it finished tonight, so that I can show you photos tomorrow....however...that pesky, blinking, flipping, FLIPPING, stupid (un)downloadable STUPID programme, that I was locking horns with yesterday, needs me to go back again today, and fight some more. Oh good.
So watch this space.... You'll either get photos of a smashed to death computer, or a finished quilt, in the not too distant future.....xx

I'm sure it's not right.....

WARNING!!! Step away from this blog! I'm pulling my soapbox out from under the stairs, even as I type. I use the word "type", with lots of poetic license, as I'm not sure the use of just two fingers, constitutes "typing"!
Here goes....
I'm sure it's not right....that my two metre square living room is constantly used as a football training camp.
I'm sure it's not right....that Daughter No 1 enlists the help of The Son and The Partner, to critisise my culinary skills (I've successfully fed her for the past 21 years after all! Actually, The Son was quickly won back over, with the promise of sausages, baked beans and mash potatoes for tea tommorrow. Hah! Who says I'm not a whizz in the kitchen??)
I'm sure it's not right...that The Partner does not like my latest Flying Geese Quilt.
I'm sure it's not right....that I still haven't had my turn at winning the lottery.
ABOVE ALL, I'm sure it's not right....that the Little Man Sitting In His Little Office At The Back Of Whitehall, inventing yet new Methods Of Torture To Plot The Learning Capacity Of Two Year Olds, should make it so BLINKING difficult to download his latest idea....AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!
Bunting......I need bunting......

Could't find any bunting. Making do with a dragonfly.... xx

Flying Geese....

Hooray!! My parcel that I was waiting for arrived from Creative Quilting. I absolutely love this shop....they are SSSOOO quick at getting your orders out to you. You can find them here www.creativequilting.co.uk , but I'm warning you now, it's quite addictive!!
If you remember, I'd made a Flying Geese panel from some Christmastime (Annie Downs) and Tilda charm squares? Well, my method of making a quilt (as those of you who know me well, probably suspect, and certainly won't be surprised by) is never preordained, and is usually hit and miss, at best. I sort of do a bit, tweak a bit, sleep on it a bit, pile new fabrics round it, take them away again, and so on. Sometimes this can be a long, drawn out affair, sometimes it all clicks into place very quickly. Happily, my little flock of geese flew straight into my Fast Forward Department, and I knew that what I needed, was more of the brown with little blue stars fabric, from the Christmastime range.
A few clicks later, and all that was required was a bit of patience, while Royal Mail did what Royal Mail does best......
And when I got in from work today, there was the said parcel, and after a quick-but MUCH needed-hoovering and dusting (pesky little Housework Fairies have lost my address. Again.) I set to work......and TA-DA......

....a quilt top came together.
I think I'm going to do a little hand quilting on the central panel, before machine quilting the borders. And I'm also keen to use a vintage blanket, that I bought, for the wadding.....Oooo...decisions....decisions.....
A bit more thinking, I think! Thanks for popping by. xx

Lumps and Bumps....

I'm sorry I didn't blog yesterday...the schedule was very full, and I also thought that my plans for the evening might be worth telling you about...
I spent the evening, in part, talking about lumps and bumps. But that is as flip as I can be about what was one of the most inspirational and humbling evenings I have EVER had.....
A mum at The Son's school, a lady I've not met before, organised an evening to raise awareness of breast cancer. She, herself, had fallen victim to this indescriminate disease and had somehow found the strength to share her experience.
With the idea of getting a group of women together, to form a quilting bee, in order to piece a quilt that could later be auctioned for cancer charities, Claire Booth achieved so very much more. Nail technicians were on hand ( no pun intended!) to give pretty manicures, delicious cakes and cuppas were in copious supply, raffle prizes that were actually worth winning tempted, and some lovely bits and pieces were for sale, and of course, squares and squares of fabric waited patiently to be stitched together, by some very eager fingers.
The hall was packed. We stitched. We ate and drank. We chatted. We were pampered. But above all, we listened to Claire's story. Without drama, without hystrionics, she told her story simply and truthfully. You could have heard a pin drop, and I truly thought I might have to leave the hall.......I am not a quiet crier.
But not for one moment, in the whole 3 hours, was there a negative vibe. It was fun, positive and above all informative.
At the end of the evening, we were given goody bags, which contained relevant leaflets about how to check yourself for those horrible lumps and bumps, and how to deal with what you might find. The bags also contained little cushions, that Claire had made herself. She asked that we hang these on the back of bathroom doors, in wardrobes...anywhere that would remind us to be aware.
Claire also asked that we spread the word to our loved ones, to others that our lives might touch. This is my way of trying to spead the message of this strong lady. I'm so happy that I paid my £5, and went along. So humbled by what I heard. So thankful that Claire is well and truly on the mend.

Claire Booth can be contacted at claireanddavid07@gmail.com xx

Happy Bithday to You!!

Happy Birthday Lucy!! And if it's anyone elses' birthday today, happy birthday to you, too! I do so love bithdays. It's the one day of the year that belongs solely to you. You don't have to share it with anyone else (thank goodness I'm not a twin!) unlike Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day.... I'm not really a selfish person (or maybe I am, and no-one has had the heart to tell me?), but I really relish the whole affair being just mine.
I love celebrations of any kind-any excuse to break out the bunting! I lived in America for a while, and found a whole nation of kindred spirits, when it came to festivities....bunting, fairy lights, banners, balloons....well, ok...not balloons...if I live to be 278, I'm still never going to like balloons... but you get the idea.
My own birthday is in February, and I taught my children very early on, to help me count down the sleeps, until the great day dawned......from 1st January! And I also LOVE the idea that my birthday is in February, which is such a special month-Valentine's Day, Pancake Day, and the only month of the year with 28 days and a Leap Year possibility. Need I say more??
But today is my friend Lucy's birthday, and so I can finally show you the WIP that I managed to finish just in time for the deadline....

Happy Birthday Lucy! With lots of love from Kirstie and Sarah xx

Go Fish...

Hello. I've had such a lovely day! Work was calm, with all the children getting along beautifully, and we welcomed back a teacher who had moved on a little while ago, and has now seen the error of her ways (looking after feet! Really? Children or feet? Hmmm....) and returned to us part-time.
In the afternoon, I borrowed a friend's little boy (she'd asked me to have him for a couple of hours, while she was at work, but he's such a dream to look after, it feels more like I'm getting the favour), and off we toddled to the local Water Gardens.
Now, I've lived in this area for several years, and have been visiting it for many, many more before that, and yet I've never visited these gardens, which are literally two minutes down the road. Hey ho. Well let me tell you, they were great! For the grand sum of £2 per adult, we got to wander round some very pretty ponds, trip-trapping over many little bridges, and for a further 50p we had a bag of fish food to feed the fish....

.....which were HUGE! The ducks got a good look in too, as did the doves..........

.....I hasten to add, that this is a photo of The Partner, and not my friend's son! And as you can see, the sun shone for us.
Obviously, after such a lovely time, there was nothing for it, but to hit the local coffee shop for a nice cuppa and slice of cake.....it would have been a crime not to!
And now it's time for me to go and teach my Patchwork Workshop. I think I have everything I need, but as we all know what thought did (followed a mud cart, THOUGHT it was a wedding), I'd better go and check just one last time....
See you soon. xx

Not Quite What I expected!

Well....It's all in the title really. And if you look closely at the photo below, you'll see exactly what I mean.

That's right.....not a spot, dot or flower of Cath in sight. And I truly had every good intention of cutting into those lovely Fat Quarters today. However, it would seem that my stash and rotary cutter had other ideas. I've had the Christmastime (by Anni Downs) fabric for a couple of weeks now, and a few other bits of Tilda in complimentary colours in my stash, and I was quite itchy to see what might become of them. Flying Geese is such an easy pattern to come together, with half square triangles, so before I knew it, here I was.
I just need to buy a bit more of the Christmastime fabric (such a hardship!!) with which to make up the borders, to this central panel, and it'll be chocks away. If geese have chocks.
And speaking of which, mine will have to be on their way too, as I'm now late for The Son's swimming lesson. Again.
See you soon. xx

Something for me?

Hi! Did you all have a lovely weekend? Mine was a bit squiffy. My son's team lost their football match (try telling a group of 8-9 year olds that winning isn't everything, that it's the taking part that matters!). And then I had to take Daughter No 2 back to Uni in London, which I'm STILL not very grown up about!! Suffice to say I cry. A lot!
But, the high point is I finally finished my WIP, and just scraped in on the deadline. YAY! Which means just one thing....I'm free to start another project! Hooray! And I think this one might just be for me...

If you remember, at the end of the last school year, my fabulous parents treated me to some Cath Kidston gift vouchers. Actually, when I say "my parents" I don't mean Mum and Dad......I mean the parents of the children who attended the Pre-school where I work....That's not to say that Mum and Dad weren't fabulous...they just didn't buy me Cath Kidston vouchers.......Hmmm....Does that constitute a deprived childhood??
Anyway, with said vouchers, I treated myself to this bundle of Fat Quarters, which un-bundled into these....

Aren't they lovely? So surely to goodness, it's time to make a quilt for me? I'm not sure I'll use the cowboy print in it, as I grew out of my John Wayne crush a while back now, but the rest have definately got my name on them! Now it's just a question of finding the time to spend on me....perhaps between 3am and 4am? Who needs beauty sleep anymore, anyway? It'll certainly take surgical skill to help improve any beauty I may once have possessed.....sleep just won't cut the mustard nowadays! So watch this space, and let's see what early morning stitching can achieve...
Thanks for popping by. xx

I'm still here!!

I am! Promise! It's just that it's been one of THOSE weeks (you all know the sort!). I'm desperately trying to finish my one remaining WIP, with a big, fat deadline looming fast.....You will get to see the photos-just that it'd be better if I finished first.
On top of that, I'm preparing for my patchwork workshop, which will be my first in my new venue....well I say "my" new venue....it's actually a friend's new shop, but it'll be the first time I do a workshop there......you get the gist....
And I have to say, if there is one job I REALLY don't like (other than emptying the bins, emptying the dishwasher etc) it's cutting out fabric for patchwork! I use a rotary cutter, but am saving hard for an AccuQuilt. At the rate I'm saving, I should be able to treat myself for Christmas.......in the year 2027!!
But the major crisis of the week, and the REAL reason why I've been so quiet on the blog front, is that The Faithful Laptop finally died. It has been poorly for quite a while now, but was bravely struggling on, amidst quite heated discussions between The Partner and me. However, on Tuesday evening it gasped it's last, and no amount of cable wiggling was going to persuade it otherwise.
So, I'm sitting typing this on quite a swish, spanking new, electric blue model. I have had to wrestle it from The Partner's protective grip, and stretch the umbilical cord over to this side of the table, and let me tell you, The Anxious Partner has been hoverring ever since. And as I can only type with two fingers, he is now having to practise his breathing control techniques.....You can only BEGIN to imagine....
I'd better go now, as, if I take much longer, there could very possibly be a rather uncomfortable outbreak of hives. Hope you all have a lovely weekend. xx

The Official Unveiling....

Ta- Da!!

I'm not at all sure what the green tinge is, on the middle photo! It's not on the real thing, so can only blame the camera (it couldn't POSSIBLY be MY fault!!).
And, yes, I'm still squiffy about it. It's not horrible.....it just isn't doing it for me!!
Since finishing The Squiffy Quilt, I have been trying a slightly different method of free-motion quilting, which was a bit stressful as I just COULD'NT get the tension right, and then JUST as I was getting there, I had to stop in order to collect The Son from school. Very inconsiderate of school, if you ask me.....all they had to do was find him a football, and he'd have entertained himself quite happily, until I had conquered the tension and was ready to get him! Anyway, I finally managed it (Hallelujah!!)......even if we did cut it a bit fine getting to the swimming lesson. I think that this new method will - ironically - cause less tension in my shoulders and arms, and also enable me to quilt a little faster. Yay! Double whammy! Time will tell....
That's about it for now. I'm working on another project at the moment, which I can't show just yet, so I'm afraid you'll just have to contain the excitement....Steady now...
I'll try and find something a bit more entertaining for you tomorrow. Thanks for popping by. xx

Almost there....

Still no photo of the latest quilt, I'm afraid. This is partly because it's not quite finished (just a bit of binding to hand finish), and partly because I'm not sure if I like it or not. I realise that when it IS finished, I WILL post a photo. Maybe even two. And that the posting of said photos won't actually change my view on it, but by not posting the photos yet, it's like I can make things ok!
And I'm not even really sure why I'm not sure about it! The size is ok for crib size......but could possibly be a fraction wider. The new wadding I've tried out is ok....but could possibly be a little less puffy. The colours are ok.....but could possibly zing a little better......You see? That's the problem! It's an Almost Quilt!!
Still I expect someone, somewhere will like it, so all will possibly end well. Watch this space!!
xx

In Denial.....

I am. Totally. In denial. I do not have to go back to work tomorrow. I have not just had a 6 week holiday. I do not need to be dressed and out of the house by 8.15am tomorrow. The list goes on....
In fact, I'm sssoooo much in denial of being forced back into routine, that I was a whisker away from forgetting to pick The Son up from his first day back at school. Fortunately, they were all late getting back to their classrooms after assembly, so no-one was any the wiser. Or they wouldn't have been, had I been waiting outside the right classroom.....
I'm off now to try and find a bucket of sand (possibly should have sourced this sooner!) in which to bury my head......
xx

I went...I saw.....I conquered....er....nothing...

I have literally just arrived home, after attending my very first New Forest Quilt Group meeting! You know...the one that I was sssooooo excited about, but then had my bubble popped by that fateful word....football...
Well, I was granted a night off for good behaviour, and this particular Cinders went to that particular ball. And it was everything I'd hoped it would be and more! I was surrounded by like minded women of all ages, shapes and sizes, all bound together by a common love of cutting up bits of material, only to sew them all back together again!! Heaven.
The speaker for the evening was Sue Dawson, and if anyone ever deserved the title of Master Craftsman (I'm guessing that should be Craftswoman, or Craftersperson....or possibly just Crafter....if I'm going to be politically correct) this was her. She took your basic homespun needlework and transformed it into pure artwork. I actually don't possess the vocabulary to even begin to do her work justice. It was a case of seeing is believing........which has now left me in a sorry state. If I were to live FOREVER I'd still not manage one iota of her level of work.
I completely understand that everyone works to his or her ability and enjoyment. That if a quilt makes you happy, then you've made something to be proud of. But even so.....AAARRRRGGHHH!
I shall leave you , while I go and soothe my frustrations with LASHINGS of chocolate, with my latest quilt top offering....

Thanks for popping by. xx