"Can You just.......?"

When I was a child, Mum made most of my sister's and my clothes.....whether it was by sitting at the sewing machine, knitting machine, or on the sofa with needles in hand. She also made all of the curtains in the house....in fact most of the soft furnishings. On top of all this, she also made all of the MANY costumes I needed for the gazillions of dance festivals I did whilst growing up. She often also made them for friends, too.
I can quite clearly remember several occasions, when I said " Can you just....make this skirt/make this top/shorten my dress/make a roman blind/make a matching duvet set....?" (Delete where applicable!) And her answer was always the same: "Kirstie, you can't `just` anything when it comes to needlework......" However, as nine times out of ten, I ended up with whatever it was I'd asked for, I just thought it was Mum making a bit of a fuss.
So, now fast forward to the present day. I don't make dresses. Ever. I stopped knitting when my children grew faster than I could make the jumpers. I do crochet. I love embroidery. I quilt a lot. And what did I hear the day before yesterday? " Mum, my friend's baby is due next month.....can you just...?"
Well, let me tell you, Daughter No.1, Grandma was perfectly correct. Six hours, over three evenings, and I've just finished the central panel, of what will become your friend's baby quilt.....

.....borders still need to be cut and sewn, batting and backing pinned into place, quilting done, binding sewn on, and of course hand finished.....Hmmmm...It'll be interesting to see exactly how long a "Can-You-Just" takes!
Thanks for popping by. xx

What A Numpty........

That'd be me, then. Remember I showed you a glimpse of this......

........? Well, I worked on it manically, up to and including the 11th hour, and managed to finish it JUST in time for my sister's birthday. You're going to have to take my word on it, that it's a table runner....as I completely forgot to take a photo of the finished article. And it's now residing near Hungerford. Like I said "What a numpty".
I've also been working on these.....

I follow a lovely American blog, www.happierthanabirdquilts.com , and a short while ago, a beautiful quilt was featured called "The Queen's Floor", and Lindsey said that she'd love for someone to test the pattern, so she'd send the PDF pattern to the first three people who left a comment on her post.....And for once I was in the right place, at the right time! Hooray! Her pattern is lovely and clear, and very easy to follow-perfect for all quilters, old and new alike. The pattern is available from her Etsy shop, so I'd highly recommend you pop along and take a look.
Other than that, the only news I have is football related, including a long trip north to watch the MIGHTY AFC Bournemouth play their last game of the season, against Tranmere Rovers. We booked the tickets, initially thinking it could be the game which clinched our move up to the Championship, but because The Cherries are indeed fabulous, we'd already achieved promotion. However, The Son was delighted with a special "Happy 9th Birthday" treat, and the atmosphere was electric, so a good time was had by all.
And now I have to love you and leave you, and go and prepare for my Under 9 team's last game of the season.....Team sheets to fill in....subs bench to organise.....water bottles to fill......
See you soon. xx

Really???????

I'm so sorry that I've not been around for a while. I've just been busy, busy, busy. And not particularly with anything interesting.....just life doing what life does best.
Obviously, as with most days with me, football has featured heavily. (It's actually the reason for me blogging today...I need to vent....but more on that in a moment...) My local team that I manage, has been playing catch-up with all the water-logged pitches, and rained off matches, which means mid-week fixtures as well as weekend ones. Terrific. Though I must admit that the 40 minutes spent on the side-lines are far more enjoyable, when the sun is shining and it's dry underfoot!
Then, the team we support as a family (I use the term "family" loosely, as obviously Daughters Nos. 1 & 2 are not in the least bit interested), AFC Bournemouth, have at last made promotion to the Championship! And we were there! The atmosphere was electric. Those of you who know me, will know just how very odd it is, that I'm SSSSOOOO hooked into a team....what can I say??? If you can't beat them, join them...that, and they probably put something in the water! Anyway...FABULOUS news. Well done The Cherries!
Which brings me to the flip side of the coin....and the reason why I need to vent......
WHAT ON EARTH WAS LUIS SUAREZ THINKING????? As a role model for thousands of youngsters, he should be THOROUGHLY ashamed of himself. Why would anyone, over the age of 3 years old, believe that biting someone is the right way foward? And then try to pretend that it hadn't happened, when surely the fact that the match is being televised, MUST register on some level....But, what really makes my blood boil, is that the FA have spent so much time, energy and money rolling out the Respect Campaign at grass roots level......and yet seem to have very little effect on the "stars" that our youngsters look up to. Where is the sense in that? I shall watch, with interest, how this latest fraccas evolves.....but I'm not holding out much hope that the punishment will fit the crime....or send a strong enough message to the "stars" of today's football....... And breath....Vent over.....
Thank goodness I've got some more of this, this evening, to calm me......

I'm afraid I can only give you this small glimpse, as it's part of yet another birthday present, so until Happy Birthdays have been celebrated, you'll need to have a little more patience....
Thank you for letting me have a stomp....I'll be calmer next time - promise.
See you soon. xx

Confused Dot Com

A while ago I signed up for a Charm Swap, that was being organised by Cindy at fluffysheepquilting.blogspot.com. Now, before you Non-Quilters get the wrong end of the stick, Cindy is not making judgement calls on our personalities....Obviously not - we quilters are already as charming as charming things can be. No. A Charm is a 5" square piece of fabric. A Charm Pack is a group of 5" squares of fabric. And a Charm Swap is where a group of people swap their charm squares around. Clear now?
Well, the lovely Cindy decided to open up a charm swap, and sorted 56 of us into colour groups. I was allocated purple. The idea then, was to find some modern fabric in your colourway, and post a photo of it onto the Flickr group. The others in the group would then vote on it, and then you could either order your fabric....or keep searching.
After a couple of false starts, I came up with this........

It was approved of, ordered and duly arrived. And there it sat, for nearly the whole of the Easter Holidays, waiting for me to cut it into 112, 5" squares.....
This is where the "Confused Dot Com" comes into play. The Partner. The whole concept is COMPLETELY beyond him. Why would you buy fabric, cut it into all those squares, send it off to Ireland, where some poor soul gets to sort through everyone else's fabric, divide it all out, only to send it all back to us?????? I have tried to explain the fun of it. I have tried to explain that it links the quilting community. I have tried to explain the excitement of receiving a rainbow of a Charm Pack back in the mail. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. All I'm getting from The Partner is, at best, a confused frown, at worst, a glazed over expression......Welcome to my Football World, boy-o!!
Anyway. I digress. Today was The Day. Out came my cutting board, rotary cutter, ruler, courage and concentration......And I nailed it!
Ta-Daa!......

.....112 squares ready for their trip to The Emerald Isle. Hooray!
If you get the chance, pop over and visit Cindy's blog...it's SSSSOOO worth a visit, if for no other reason than to oooo and aaaaah over her new Golden Retriever puppy!
See you soon. xx

A Little Bit of Stitchery.......

I'm pleased to be able to report that a little bit of stitchery has been going on! Hooray! Ten days of holidays, and I've managed to finish a birthday present....not that I can show you proof yet, as I'm not sure if the recipient peeks in here every now and then; you'll just have to trust me, and wait a few more days for visual evidence!!
And then there's this.....

........which in turn has resulted in this........

............which means there has been Sewing Machine Action!! And at this point I must thank a friend, Katie, for being The Football Taxi today, and giving me my sewing time, AND for then having The Son stay for tea, which gave me even MORE sewing time! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Unfortunately, I can't show you photos of this particular WIP either, as it too, is a future birthday present......
Thanks for popping by. Hope to see you again soon. xx

Pie In The Sky Dreamy Day.......

I've been shop hunting! It's been a long held dream of mine, to open a sewing cafe type of shop. Even before they started popping up in other places, it was an idea I felt could work.
You have to remember that I've crafted my whole life....spent donkeys years being considered unfashionable or granny-like, until the fabulous Kirstie Allsopp made me (and all those countless like me) trendy, with her programmes telling the nation what my dear Nan and Gran had never doubted.....homemade is really something special!
Suddenly, celebrities were learning to knit....and talking about it as though someone had discovered something new! Talk about re-inventing the wheel! Tie this in with the nationwide (if not global) financial depression, and (start singing girls)...sisters are doing it for themselves.
So....with The Son safely delivered to Football School, The Partner allowed himself to be dragged along our local High Street, visiting a few possible outlets for My Dream. It should be made clear, in the interest of complete honesty, that The Partner doesn't really GET this idea of mine. He deals better with pounds, shillings and pence....and less well with the idea of selling experience, in the form of workshops.......
And, long story short, I've found somewhere that could work. Properly, PROPERLY work.....

....and it's left me itchy-scratchy-grumpy. Because I want it NOW. Actually, I want it YESTERDAY, but even I can be practical. And therein lies the problem. As much as I adore The Partner, Speed In Decision Making is NOT his forte. (Did I tell you about the time I was left waiting at a supermarket checkout, for three-quarters of an hour, while he tried to decide between two near identical breakfast cereals? The checkout lady probably still gives after-dinner speeches about it!!)
Obviously, the longer we wait, the bigger the risk that someone else will whizz in and grab my dream. And I'm warning you all now, if that happens, The Sulk will be MONUMENTAL....
Ok. I need to go and dream some more.....decide where the sewing tables will go.....work out how much shelf space I'll need......would a couple of really comfy, squidgy sofas fit in that corner....
See you soon. xx

A Mixed Bag Of A Day....

I've had a lovely Easter Monday (and hope you have too)......but it's been a higgeldy-piggeldy sort of day.
Firstly, after yesterday, I had to seriously consider having the doors widened (or at the very least, buying new jeans), but then common sense prevailed. It's not worth paying out just yet, when there is SSSSOOOOO much chocolate still in the house.
So then it was running a few chores.Well....running is perhaps not the correct verb. Especially not after yesterday. Daughter No1 came with me, which was lovely, and so required stopping off for a little light refreshment in Waitrose's coffee shop. Which is where I discovered something new.

Anyone seen this yet?........

It was worth the rather hefty price tag, just for the free calico that came with it. I've only had chance to have a quick glance through, and it looks nice, but to be honest, it's probably much of a muchness with all the other craft magazines that are out there at the moment. Still, it's the hols, so I have high hopes of being able to shut myself away for half an hour or so, armed with a cuppa and the mag.
Next, after getting lunch for the five thousand- which is what it feels like when The Ever Hungry Son and The Partner return from "knocking a ball around"- I actually had time for a spot of this......

Not for very long though, as I had to go in search of these....

"Our" team was playing this afternoon, and The Son wouldn't be a proper supporter if not wearing the correct garb, now would he?? We absolutely froze, but the atmosphere was warm, and AFC Bournemouth won....which does wonders for warming the cockles of your heart.
And that brings me to this moment in time, typing away at this post. Tomorrow sees the start of a four day football course for The Son, which means SEWING TIME!! Yay!!!!!!
Thanks for popping by. Catch up soon. xx