All over for another year!

This is my Mum enjoying Boxing Day lunch with us and a couple of friends. It's amazing to think she will be 90 this coming year! It was a lovely relaxed affair after the rush of Christmas Day! Even with just me, Martin and Mum, Christmas Day seemed very fraught though lovely. In fact this Christmas has been one of the best for me. I was spoilt rotten and had a great time. As I hope did everyone else at our house!


On Christmas Day we had a chicken, leek and cheese sauce pie which I decorated with the words 'Happy Christmas'. It was delicious (I don't suffer from false modesty!) and was so easy to do compared with turkey and all the trimmings and to follow the main course we had Christmas pudding which I'm afraid I bought this year and trifle. The best trifle I've ever made for some reason. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the trifle! So all in all a fantastic two days.


I tried to show the brandy alight in this picture but it just didn't take. But the pudding was delicious. In fact I don't think I have ever been successful in taking a picture of a flaming pudding!


This is one of the fruit appliqués that I have been doing. Just so you know it is a stem with gooseberries. The sweet dessert kind! I used 'twinkle' over the green to show the undersides of the leaves and it worked really well. I have really had fun doing these and have another two or three still to do to complete the set. I'm thinking of doing blackberries and perhaps melons or bananas.
-
Today I went into Falmouth with my friend Sue and we had a great time at the Marks and Spencer's sale. I was able to find several things to augment my wardrobe. It was sad going into Woolworth's for the last time. Our branch closes on Tuesday. The end of an era. When I was a child I used to buy printed table linens and embroidery silks and embroider items for the great aunts and the grandparents! Ah those were the days. All my presents for ten bob! Amazing! I can only have been about six or seven but some of the embroideries were quite complicated I remember. Do children still embroider at that age? Anyway today I was able to buy six screwdrivers for a £1 and two candles in glass containers for another £1. Still good value! A pity it couldn't make it's centenary!

Happy Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous and Peaceful New Year. I hope you all have the best of times and that your lives unfold in the New Year in the way that you want them to!
-
Thank you to all who have left kind and inspiring comments on my blog. They have always made me feel good! I hope that reading the blog has been as much fun for you as it has been for me writing it. Next year I'll try to write more regularly and share more of my projects. Until then let the merriment commence! (I'm already ahead on the chocolate!)

Time Wasting!

I saw this on Lisa Call's blog and thought it looked fun. Another way to waste time and put off doing anything serious!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - doesn't take money for this to happen so Yes
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favourite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury!
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Christmas lunch!

Today we had our work Christmas lunch at the Falmouth Hotel. This was Falmouth's first hotel and was built in 1863. "In 1850, the Post Office Station at Falmouth had closed down and the loss of a substantial source of trade and income had an adverse effect on the life of the town. Facing a bleak future, local businessmen set about exploring new avenues to restore prosperity. With Falmouth's magnificent harbour and its geographical position as the first port in the kingdom, they decided to form a company to build and operate a dockyard complex. Together with other influential people they had already created the Cornwall Railway Company and were building a line that would eventually link up with the Great Western Railway at Plymouth and thus the national network. They formed yet another company to build a large hotel. On August 6 1863, the foundation stone of The Falmouth Hotel was laid by Robert Tweedy, the first Chairman of The Falmouth Hotel Company Limited. Twenty-one months later, he was joined by 70 distinguished guests at a grand dinner to celebrate the opening of Falmouth's very first hotel."
-
History is fascinating! I remember as a child that the railway line ran straight through from Paddington, London to Falmouth and it was exciting to come down by train in those days. Now the line stops at Truro and one has to change to a small branch line. Thank you Dr Beeching!
-
It is still an imposing hotel and the ballroom where we had our meal was festively decorated. We had our works do here last year as well because it is one of the few places that has a room large enough to accommodate us all!

The food was good and I was pleased with my choices. I started with a prawn concoction which was delicious.


Followed by a typical Christmas main course of turkey with all the trimmings. The roast potatoes were superb! Between the starter and the main course we had a small pot of gooseberry sorbet which was lovely. I could have eaten a lot more of it! I did think that it would have been better between the main course and the dessert to refresh the palate but it was good anyway.


And the dessert was so much better than it looked. It was raspberry cream brulee with a shortbread biscuit and it was out of this world wonderful. Very creamy! I didn't eat the fruit garnish as eating one of these while holidaying in Bath I spent the rest of my holiday getting to know all the loos intimately! I was sooooo sick! So it has put me off these fruits for ever!



It was a very grey day and I think we are probably in for some high winds as there were a number of boats sheltering in the bay including a small tug which was all lit up like a Christmas tree. (the boat to the left in the picture)


All in all a lovely outing and great fun with lots of laughs! I actually one a prize in the raffle. I don't think I have ever won a prize before in a raffle so this was a first!
-
There are no pictures of quilty stuff as everything I've been doing has been for presents but after Christmas I will put some pictures up. I have finished everything and it has all been wrapped and posted. I am feeling very virtuous and after the manic activity of the past few weeks it's a real anti-climax but at least I can now read some books. I had ten books out of the library and it was a real effort not to read them! But I restrained myself and got stuck in to the sewing! I'm good at working under pressure and I managed to stick to the time-table lists of things to do exactly which was very pleasing. It's always good to be able to tick things off. Such a sense of achievement!

Quilty Christmas Dinner

Last night my quilting class and I went for our Christmas dinner at the Norway Inn in Falmouth. This is a very old inn (around 350 years old) on the banks of what was once a very busy river but is now a slow, silted up back water. The food was delicious and a great time was had by all.


This was my choice. Salmon in a filo pastry parcel which was delicious, with a parsley sauce and selection of vegetables. I am not a sprout person so there is a decided absence of green on this plate. And I thought the white puddingy stuff in a bowl was bread sauce which I adore but it turned out to be horseradish sauce. Hot! But interesting with salmon!

Dessert was a raspberry gateaux. Very light and sinful! But tasty! The other choices were chocolate cheese cake or lemon mousse. I was tempted by the lemon mousse and to my disappointment no one else ordered it so I couldn't see what I'd missed. Perhaps this was just as well. All in all it was a very good evening and a lot of fun was had by all. I had prepared small gifts for the two ladies who supply us with tea or coffee and biscuits on a Friday morning. This is a real treat. We never had this in Adult Education. It was coffee from the machine in a styrofoam cup and tasted vile! So very deserving of recognition! And then to my surprise I got a card signed by all and a voucher for Creative Grids. I shall go mad after Christmas choosing stuff! You can never have too much. They are a lovely bunch of students and they are all coming back next term!
=
Next Friday is our last class before Christmas and the last of my fabric! I have not had a lot of joy in finding a new supplier yet. Anne Wigfull of the blog Grains in the Wind gave me the name of a supplier (JMM Marketing 01428 717357) and they had some nice cotton which I am test dyeing today but no poplin. They are hoping to get some for me but not until after Christmas. Nothing as cheap as I was getting! The cotton looks nice but is thicker than my previous fabric and I'm not certain it is mercerised.Oh to be in the States where they have access to wonderful cottons. Their Pima cotton is superb.

The End of the World

Well it really does seem like the end of the world. I went to order more fabric for dyeing today and found that my supplier has given up trading! And I have no idea where the fabric came from originally. I know he used to go and pick it up for me so it can't have been too far away but I'm here in Cornwall and he was up there in Colne or there abouts. I am gutted as it was such lovely cotton poplin, 60 inches wide, mercerised and cheap! The nearest I can find is twice as expensive! Oh woe is me! If anyone can give me the address of a good supplier of fabric for dyeing then I shall be eternally in their debt. I know about Whaleys and will probably end up using them if I don't find anyone else. Wolfin textiles are good also but again more expensive.

This is a picture to cheer myself up! It is of my Christmas Cactus which sits on our bathroom windowsill. It is an absolute picture and matches the paint on the walls. The leaves have such interesting colour variations too.

Little Boxes

These little boxes are so easy and quick to make. Each box takes a square of fabric bondawebbed to paper. An eight and a half inch square makes a 3" box. The size to cut for the lid is always 1/4" larger than the base. The little box above was made from 5.5 and 5.75 inch squares. Start by marking the centre by folding the sides together. Then fold each corner into the centre as shown in the diagram below.


When all the corners have been folded into the middle fold each corner up again to the crease mark already formed as shown in the picture below.


Now open up the square and cut as shown below stopping at the centre square. Only cut on one set of opposite corners.


Now fold the corner in and then fold it again. Make sure that each fold is creased well. Do this on the two sides that weren't cut.


Unfold this second fold to the first fold and crease back the edges on each side as shown in the picture below. Then fold these 'flaps' in towards each other.

Now fold the end over and crease the tip flat onto the base of the box. A dab of glue can be put under this flap to hold it in place or a square of plain paper can be placed onto the bottom of the box and glued to hold all the flaps down and make it look neat.


Here are a few of the boxes I've made and decorated. To make a box once the paper and fabric have been bonded takes about 10 minutes. To decorate can take longer as one can get carried away! I hope you have fun!

This year's table runner!

One year I made 13 of these table runners as Christmas presents for various friends and family. They were quick (fairly!) and easy to do and very effective when finished. The one I kept for myself was going to be blue but because my sister changed her colour scheme at the last minute I ended up with a very elegant one in grey and black with lovely pinky red flowers. However this wasn't Christmassy enough to use as a sample for my recent workshop so I made another one. In fact I made two! The one you see above plus one in Christmas fabrics in green and red. The one above is a piece of a Japanese cotton print with sand and rust strips in silk dupion. They catch the light beautifully and look different depending on where they are viewed from. I hadn't made this version of a table runner for a couple of years so brought it out of retirement. I'm glad I did as I've now ended up with one that goes with my colour scheme! There is a silver lining to everything I find.
-
I have become addicted to free machine applique. I spent the whole of yesterday evening machining my lemon block and got quite carried away. My Bernina 180 is a joy to sew with and even manages to work with some of the odd embroidery silks that I have bought in the market which come from the far east somewhere. These threads are in lovely colours but not known for their ease of sewing being liable to fray at the drop of a hat. I find if I use a metallic or top stitch needle they behave themselves.
-
My copy of The Quilting Arts Book arrived last week and it is a wonderful book full of great ideas and techniques. Just the kind of book to sit in front of the fire dipping into and being inspired. Also I had a book on quick makes taken from the Threads magazine. I have always enjoyed the page in the magazine where they showed a quick make and this book has collected many of these together. One that quickly caught my eye was the pattern for a small origami fabric box. So quick to do. I cut out a square of paper and practised in front of the fire while having coffee with Martin and my mum this afternoon and it took all of five minutes! Cool! Obviously this was very basic but once one has bondawebbed some fabric to paper and done some embellishing on the fabric it wouldn't take much longer to create the real thing. And then embellishing the lid would be fun too! The one I did made a 3" box but I shall try other sizes. Pictures when they are done but don't hold your breath as I won't have any time for a few days. And instead of fabric one could bondaweb hand-made paper to a backing instead. Oh the possibilities are endless!

A Prickly Visitor!

Now that it is dark when I come home from work I am not really aware of anything other than putting my key in the front door. I did wonder why someone had left a brush on my step but something made me look more closely and I saw I had a prickly visitor. Usually we have hedgehogs in the back garden and it was quite unusual to see one at the front. I wanted to take him/her round to the back in case of him/her being run over on the road but Martin said that I might be taking him/her away from it's loved ones who might not be in the back garden. This made me feel so sad that I left the little hedgehog where it was and hoped it would be sensible and not wander off to the road. As I didn't see a squashed hedgehog this morning I am assuming that he/she knew where he/she was going! I hoped to get a better photo but I rather felt that if I went up close the hedgehog might roll up into a ball.
-
There are now only about 6 weeks to Christmas and I have at least nine cushions to make and three sets of table mats. Some of these have been started but the faux chenille cushions are still just a thought. First I have to dye some mandela fabric in the right colours and then make the faux chenille squares. It is amazing how long it actually takes to cut the fabric and then wash it and all this before actually making the cushion! So I am going to be very busy especially as I am also working on the fruit applique blocks for class on Fridays. No more reading of books for a while! But I do now have a CD player in my workroom so I could listen to books on disk. What a good idea!

Christmas is over at last!

I feel as if I've been running a marathon. For the last few weeks I've been making Christmassy things as if there were no tomorrow. But today I ran my Christmas workshop which was great fun and I can now relax. As well as the tree decorations shown above I also did table runners, cards, gift boxes,sachets and star hangings. There was something for everyone. The most popular item was the gift box which I had done in several sizes. Also the yo-yo tree decorations. I had sprayed some branches in silver and used those to show case the various items. Why is it that good branches arn't around when one wants them! Now I can relax and get back to the ordinary stuff. But first a grand clear up! And I have to say that my new SewEzi sewing table came into it's own as I was so cramped for space I was able to set it up and use if for cutting out on. Brilliant!

Dyeing Fun!

I had a great afternoon yesterday doing some dyeing. I have to dye nearly every week to keep up with demand and ensure that I have a good supply of fabric at all times. Yesterday I decided to experiment. It was pretty cold but I mixed my soda ash with quite hot water so that the fabric was warm when it went into the dye and I mixed the dyes with a warm salt mix. So warmth all around except in the air!


This piece crumpled and folded and I just dripped the dyes on indiscrimately. I am very pleased with the results which would be good on a piece of faux chenille.


Another randomly dripped piece but what isn't so easy to see is that I sat the fabric on a piece of plastic mesh and the mesh marks are visible if one looks closely. I want to do more with this technique and see what other marks I can make the dye show.


This piece was truly experimental in that I sprinkled the dye powder directly onto soda ash soaked scrumpled fabric. I was a tad heavy handed but I like the effect very much. I shall do this again and try it especially with black and brown dyes which have so many colours in them.




I was truly experimental here as I sprayed soda ash soaked scrumpled fabric with aluminium car spray paint to see what happened. Then I spooned two blues over the fabric which pooled in the hollows and ran off the aluminium. When I came to rinse it out after curing the aluminium stayed fast so I was quite excited to see what would come out of the washing machine. I wash my fabric on a 60 degree wash with extra rinses so it is quite hot and takes nearly two hours. Sadly the heat did for the aluminium and it all washed out - wouldn't have done if it had been on a bit of clothing! However the result is lovely and I will try using aluminium spray paint again as a resist with a bit more planning!


This was another multi-coloured dye piece with a mixture of pleating and scrumpling. As is the piece below which has a look of feathers about it.


This piece was very successful in that I wanted to portray rocks and rocks is what I've got. However can I do it again?


And this last piece was using up left over dyes without any thought as to colour mixing. They were just thrown on as I emptied the jars. The colours I was using were mustard, turquoise, slate blue, tarton green and violet. I also had a Christmas red on the go made from cerise and orange but I don't think any of that went into this mix.

All in all I was pleased with my results and it will be hard to let them all go. I shall want to squirrel a couple away for my own use.

Old stuff revisited!

While tidying up my pictures folder I came across some old stuff that I did several years ago. And not having any new stuff to show I thought I'd put in a few of the old ones.


This is a silk ribbon embroidery that I had great fun doing. I spilt coffee on the silk and had to paint over it which is why it is as it is. The coffee stains actually helped the paving colour! And I can remember that all the while I was painting the gate my tongue was hanging out I was concentrating that hard! But it is one of my favourite pieces even today!

This piece is even older. It must be all of thirty or even forty years old. It is a collage using mainly nets and some velveteen for the sun. It was meant to represent the sun sinking into the horizon with a dark and choppy sea. Very abstract! I wonder how I would tackle this today. Perhaps when I have a moment I'll try it!

This is my favourite piece of crazy patchwork. It is called Autumn Leaves. So original! I had such fun doing it. And I even did some needle tatting to make motifs for it. The sashing is gorgeous silk dupion. The colour is heavenly! I now have it as a throw and the colours are as bright as ever.

And last but not least a more recent unfinished piece. In fact if I'm truthful I will tell you that I had completely forgotten about this series of leaf pictures. There are four of them in all. Two in greeny browns and two in this bluey pink colouring. These are meant to be leaves in the moonlight while the other two are leaves in the day. I really must finish them. It is amazing how many pieces I do that have leaves in them. The leaves here are all hand painted and the backgrounds are woven fabrics overstitched with thread and heavier wools. I am ashamed of myself for not finishing these off years ago. They must have been hidden up for at least two if not three years now. So much to do, so little time. Story of my life!

Bitterly cold!

It is bitterly cold here and I am huddled in front of a roaring log fire. Fires are so warming and cosy. I am determined not to put the central heating on until it is really cold. Like three inches of snow on the ground! One of the joys of having a lap top computer is that it is portable and can be set up wherever one wants. Of course that means no printing or scanning but warmth is more important at the moment.


I have been wicked and bought a supply of fabrics. Mostly Christmas fabrics but some I couldn't resist like the African prints above and the lovely metallic green underneath them. I needed more Christmas fabrics for making samples for my Christmas workshop next week but unfortunately for my bank account there were lots of other delectable fabrics in the shop as well. I have taken this Friday and the following Monday as holidays so that I can have a long weekend in which to achieve stuff. I like to offer the students lots of choice as everyone has different needs when it comes to Christmas decorations, gifts or cards so I try to cater for all. And it's fun!
-
I have treated myself to Marian Barnett's book on using Lutradur. As I have a large roll of this which has been languishing (isn't that a great word!) in my workroom, when I read about her CD book I knew I had to have it. From reading the content's list it sounds most exiting and although I have used Lutrudur and blogged about it in the past I need something to get me going again. This will be it!

SewEzi Sewing Table!

I really love this sewing table. The picture above is of it folded up having just come out of it's carrying case. It is so easy to put up!


This is it up with my Husqvarna 1100 in it. I had it made to take both my Husqvarna and my Bernina 180. The Bernina being the bigger of the two machines I have to put in small disks to raise up the Husqvarna. Very simple to do.


This is a close up.


You can see from this picture that when the Bernina is in it there will be plenty of room for the knee lift to operate. This was an important point for me as I use the knee lift all the time and really miss it when I'm using the 1100. A point to note is that if one rolls the table in wet weather it would be necessary to wipe the wheels as they are in close proximity to the sewing area. Just a thought!


This view is with the clear insert so that the table can be used as a light box. I really like this idea and it will be so useful when I'm taking a class.


This is the insert that turns it into a table. In this mode it would be useful for rotary cutting, ironing using a pressing cloth or even as a spare table for a buffet or whatever,as well as taking the machine so that the free arm can be used.


And here it is ready to roll all packed up in it's carrying bag. It has a handle at the top and also at the side (on the right in the picture above). It is very simple to pack up and cover and it stands on it's own too. There is a large pocket at the front for all the inserts and a smaller pocket at the back for the disks. All in all I think it is wonderful and even my husband was impressed. Two of my friends have seen it and are keen to have one. It is ideal for anyone with a lack of space as it takes up so little room. I'm in love!

Exhaustion!

I spent Thursday morning searching for some beads that I knew I had somewhere and felt that I'd seen them recently while searching for something else! Of course I didn't remember where! By the time I had to go to work I was totally frustrated so I spent some time re-designing my workroom so that I could go through EVERYTHING! I came home, fed my husband and then started stripping out everything in the room, furniture and all. It all got piled on the spareroom bed and at one stage I completely marooned myself in the room not being able to get out! Then I started to putting the furniture all back in the new arrangement and wonder of wonders my plan actually worked! Stand back in amazement! But then I had to bring back all the bits and pieces and sewing paraphenalia. By the time I cleared half the bed I was beginning to feel like an old woman of 100! The next evening I finished it all off. I didn't think everything was going to go back but with a bit of organisation there were only a couple of things that ended up in the attic or under the spare room bed. Well if those things had gone in the attic I would never have used them again! Things like the frame for doing large machine embroideries on the Bernina. The pictures above are of the new layout. A very strange one but it does work. The views work round the room looking in from the door; then the left wall; window; right wall; and then looking at the back wall with the bookcase; and finally underneath the workbench and table. Not an inch of space is wasted. Oh, did I tell you this room is 7 foot by 7 foot 6 inches. Not overly big! But with this arrangement I have my ironing pad AND cutting board out next to each other.AND I can get at everything without having to move things. So useful! Of course my husband reckons I've got to much stuff! Of course I haven't!
-
Oh yes and I've bought the SewEzi sewing table and I'm in love! It is wonderful. I have already thought of five uses for it. But more of that tomorrow when I've taken some pictures.

Finished Place Mats

This is a mixed 9-patch piece with appliqued holly leaves across it. I had some left over from the leaf mats. These will be place mats as they are too wide for the tray. The lighting isn't very good I'm afraid. Sorry!

This is the piece that I put up a few days ago but now it is finished. I decided to do applique on this one as well with the last remaining holly leaf. This fits as the mustardy tan fabric has a pattern of swirling holly leaves. And I've been able to find more of this fabric so I'll be able to make a complete set! I like them even if no one else does! Obviously they look better in the flesh!
-
I am feeling very cheerful as I've had good results back from my chest X-rays so I'm going to live to fight another day or two! I have to take care not to get stressed, not to over do it and not to get any chest infections in the near future. As there are at least two people in my place of work with streaming colds this could be hard but I'll do my best.
-
It has been a lovely sunny day here and I've just picked a handful of baby courgettes with more to come. Plus a couple of dozen round carrots. Very late in the season but they have taken that long to grow. If the weather is nice at the weekend I want to do some sun printing as the sun is surprisingly still quite hot. Well when out of the wind. Today was as still as a mill pond so hopefully it will remain that way.
-
I still can't make my mind up about the Sew-Ezi sewing table. Do I want to spend all that money when we are on the edge of a recession. Hard decision to make! I could buy loads of yummy fabric or even a new mattress for the spare room bed. Not easy!