Grey October Day.....

So once the football was over, lunch served and eaten and The Son bullied into finishing his homework, there was only one thing for it....English Paper Piecing.

I'm making progress on my Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt, and really enjoying it. This is the latest addition.......

Then I worked on a mug mat, for a beginners EPP class next Saturday. I needed to find a simple pattern, but had no particular wish to do anything too traditional, so adapted a Nine Patch. What do you think?

The trickiest bit is to remember to time myself, as obviously the pupils will want to take a finished article home with them at the end of the class, and not just a few scraps of material sewn together. This 7" block has taken me an hour and ten minutes from cutting out the paper templates to finishing the last stitches. Now I've got to sandwich, baste, quilt and bind. I've got another 5 hours available to me, but an hour of that is allocated for lunch. I'll see how I get on. The idea is that the class is completely hand sewn, but I may cheat a little and take my sewing machine along for company....and to attach the binding. A lot will depend on time. Watch this space, and I'll try and remember to show you the finished mat.
And if you're having a bit of a dreary day, look at these.......

...aren't they just lovely? I got them from here.....

I'm positively ITCHING to make something with them....I'm thinking of a Giant Star that I've seen over at judith-justjude.blogspot.com but need to find some solids to go with them. In the meantime, I shall content myself with patting!
But the best news of the day, is that this little lady.......

....REALLY doesn't like walks in the rain! Which means even more excuses to stay snuggled in the warm and dry, stitching happily away......
Thanks for dropping by. See you soon. xx

Just In The Nick Of Time........

I've been so busy, doing nothing much in particular, but lots of little things strung together....you know how it is.....Added to that The Son being off school for 10 days with shingles (bad mother that I am, thought it was just some mosquito bites to start with, and told him to "man up, Princess"!....Hmmm! Not winning Mother Of The Year Award this year, then.....) Also add to the mix severe sleep deprivation, on account of new "puppy" with separation issues, and hopefully you'll understand my lack of blogs recently.....
Anyway...onto what I HAVE been doing. Friends got married yesterday....

......it was a lovely day....a true celebration of love, laughter, families and friendships, and for it another friend, Emma, and I decided on a quilt/picnic rug/throw as a gift. I set to work, but in typical Kirstie style, left it a bit close to the wire.
I hadn't factored in being ssssoooo tired that I couldn't see straight enough to stitch. Traditionally, I stitch late in the evening until the early hours, but Belle has scuppered that routine for a while. I actually managed to sew down the binding about 3/4's of an hour before we were due to leave for the church.
Then came the worry of whether to take the time to wash it or not....but I really love a crinkled quilt, and also live in horror of it running on it's first wash, so it was bundled into my machine on a quick wash with the colour catcher. "Quick wash" my foot! NEVER in the history of man has 1/2 an hour taken sssssoooooo flippin long! And then it needed tumble drying. Even by my standards it was touch and go. I was pulling it from the dryer as The Husband was reversing off the drive!
As the song sort of goes "we got to the church on time", with just enough time to show Emma the finished gift, before popping it in the gift bag.......and B-R-E-A-T-H-E....
So here is the finished article.....

 

 

With feet, apparently!

 

 

 I love this material from Ikea that I used for the back- a real outdoors-y picnic feel to it.
And just because I can, here's a photo of The Sleep Depriver, Belle. It would appear that she is a sun worshipper.....though how she can be comfortable on the bottom stair like that, beats me. Perhaps if she slept a bit more AT NIGHT.......

Thanks for popping by. See you soon. xx

It's Been A While.....

......and I'm sorry about my lack of posts. Sadly, while I was recuperating from my operation, I had to say goodbye to my loyal companion of 11 years, George.......

He was absolutely fine one moment, and paralyzed in his hind quarters the next. As you can imagine, heartbreak put paid to my blogging mojo for a while.
Until today...... Meet Belle.....

Here she is on the journey home from our local RSPCA Centre....a very relaxed young lady! She is a 5 month old Lurcher, and as I type she's doing battle with an antler bone.....The start of a new relationship....and a lot of time-wasting cuddles while she settles in!
But, just in case you think that this has turned into a doggy-blog, let me assure you that I HAVE been doing SOME needlework...even though what I've been working on is secret and I can't really show you yet.....I can at least, show you these.....

Can you see them? They're pins from Clover, for those of us who like to press our seams open. Yay!! I have been using them on my last project, and I can THOROUGHLY recommend them.
Well, I'm really sorry, but I need to go and work on a few more cuddles now. Thanks for popping by.
See you soon. xx

Enforced Rest.......

(.....thought I'd give those of you who know me a little giggle!) For those of you out there, still to make my (dubious?) acquaintance, you should understand that there is NOTHING "enforced" about me resting. Other than the fact that A Medical Person has written it down officially that I must have 2 further weeks off work, to take things easy and not to carry anything for 6 weeks, you should know that "resting" is something I do particularly well.
Now, I was raised to not blow my own trumpet (much!), but I must admit to a fabulous talent in the Procrastination, Watch The World Go By and Sitting Quietly Departments. Seriously. I am probably Olympic Gold Medal Standard. Scarlett O'Hara's line that she'll "think about it tomorrow" rang a very early bell in my heart.....I was possibly 8 years old when I first watched "Gone With The Wind", and it has been one of my mantras ever since.
So. Here I am. Resting. Such hardship. (Actually, if truth be told, I COULD do without the very real, acute pain that appears to be living rather permanently in my pelvic area at the moment. Just saying.) And look what I'm getting done.......

......6 down, 105 still to go.......

Thanks for popping by. See you soon. xx

Not Quite The Adventure I'd Signed Up For........

Yesterday saw me back at the hospital, for yet another hernia repair. It would appear that in the Battle of The Bulge, whereby the Bulge is supposed to be kept at bay by Stomach Muscles, said Stomach Muscles are losing. Pathetically. That or I have Herculean Strength Bulges.....Hmmmmm.....
So there I sat....

....attractively doing what I do best. I got all of these basted......

.....and even managed to get some of them sewn together, before I was called for my operation.....

......and that's where the sewing stopped, and The Adventure began.

Apparently, Hernia quite liked it on the "outside" world, and was quite loath to be pushed and pulled back from whence it came and held there, against it's will, by surgical gauze, which meant that Mr Surgeon had a tougher fight than he'd expected, which in turn lead to a longer operation than anyone had anticipated. And that's where the real excitement started.
For those of you who don't know me, you won't know about my funny heart. When I say "funny", I mean that I have very low blood pressure, and a low pulse rate, which is erratically erratic. For the most part it doesn't bother me, and I don't bother it, though one day I may well need a pace maker, I'll cross that particular bridge when I get to it.
However, yesterday, My Darling Heart decided it didn't want to play ball with the anaesthetic. When I came round from the surgery, all was not well in my world. My pulse decided to slow right down to 40......I could have tried my hand at that very, VERY deep sea diving, where you descend to where the wild things are, had I not been feeling quite so rough. Coupled with that, my blood pressure couldn't be bothered to get up from the floor. The doctors and nurses were having a party, tipping my bed so that my feet were waving down at the rest of me, taking blood pressures and ECG Readings as if they were going out of fashion. Suffice to say, that I was not let out yesterday for good behaviour.
Today dawned brightly at 5.00am, when they decided to remove my catheter.....always a joy, and SO glamorous.....and hoo and haa a little more over various readings. Until finally it was decided that my lack of blood pressure wasn't that exciting after all, and I was sent packing.
Very, VERY sorely, I arrived home to find a beautifully wrapped present waiting for me.....

Thank you, a thousand times thank you, Jane! It was JUST what the doctor ordered.
See you all soon. xx

Of Farmer's Wives and Throwing In The Towel........

Have you ever been working on a project, and the more you worked on it, the less you liked it? I'm afraid to say that that is exactly what has been happening on a Secret Quilt Project that I've been spending every spare minute on, recently. I've tried to like it. Truly I have. I'm not even sure what it is that I don't like about it. Everything started nicely. For a while, things even rolled along swimmingly. And then the rot set in, when I started working on the borders......
It's an EPP project, so progress is understandably slow. I don't mind that. I love EPP. It does, however, lull you into a false sense of security. Because I enjoy the process, I can sit all evening, sewing happily away, convincing myself that all is well with the world. Also, due to the lack of speed, you need quite a while before you see the full effect of the bit you're working on. Anyway...you get the idea....lot's of work, becoming less and less sure that I'm happy with said work.
Finally, last night I Threw In The Towel. I can't show you the thrown article, as I may one day resurrect it, and as I said earlier, it's supposed to be a surprise.
It was inevitable, really, as this has been waiting in the wings, softly calling my name.....

I've wanted to make a Sampler Quilt for a while now, and loved the history linked to this book. I then thought I could make it predominately in blues and creams, with small red accents, as a nod to it's ancestry. Once I'd put the Offending Piece Of Work out of sight (and mind!), I eagerly set to printing off templates and cutting out fabrics. (There are 111 x 6" blocks, so I'm fairly confident that my stash will take quite a beating)
I finished Block No.1 last night......

(It's not really wonky, just a little camera shy, and nervous about lying flat.)

Today I managed to find a quiet 10 minutes, and cut out Block No.2......

I'll give you a wild guess as to what I'll be doing later.....

Thanks for popping by. See you soon. xx

Oooo....Errrrr......Mrs.......

Well, that's that, then. The Partner has been promoted, and from now on shall be known as Husband Dearest.... He's thrilled. As you can imagine.
I'm afraid I have nothing to show you, needlework wise, because of these.....

Daughter No.1 did an amazing job with a French Polish on my nails, for the wedding. (My nails, her talent!). They still look great, so there is NO chance of me wearing a thimble just yet, and risk scratching it. (Them?)
So instead, I'll leave you with a photo of my flowers, that the FABULOUS Jane did for my special day.......

See you soon. xx