Tuesday morning Pitch and Stitch - 10.00am to 1.00pm

Tuesday morning Pitch and Stitch - 10.00am to 1.00pm
This hanging from Annie Downs' Hatched and Patched book should be in every caravan as a cushion or decoration!

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Reuben's come to Lorne Hill Farm

Last night we went to Radley farm and came home with Reuben.  Mattie and Bo have been very good so, hopefully, all will be fine!









George was thrilled to come home and find Reuben waiting for him:



Oh - and, by the way - a couple more elves have been completed - you can see them on the previous post!

Saturday 23 November 2013

Advent Calendars

Today was Advent Calendar Day - no elves, but calendars made from panels.  I had a feeling this might be a workshop with a difference when the general response from the requirements list was "I don't have a sewing machine" - but then three of the four ladies decided they did have machines.  The fourth borrowed my Toyota.

When they arrived, Micki had an antique hand machine, and Sophie had (with all due respect) what was really a toy machine.  Fine, Jacqui T and I will never forget turning up for our first workshop all those years ago.  I lugged in my ancient Singer and Jacqui her hand machine, only for us to look around and see all the ladies with state of the art computerised machines we didn't even know existed!  Anyway, the real surprise for me was when Sophie and Linda said they'd NEVER used sewing machines before!!  Still, one quick, mini-tutorial later, and they were off:


See the tiny machine at the back?

They worked and worked - and were thrilled with the results:



Just goes to show - where there's a will, there's a way!!


Wednesday 20 November 2013

Fairy Stories

We had a very busy workshop today - heads down, machines clattering (well, one was - Helen's sounded like someone was shaking a jar of safety pins but it did as it was told), scissors flying through fabric, and only half an hour for lunch because everyone wanted to get on, because......today was Elf Day!


When I was little one of my favourite fairy stories was The Elves and the Shoemaker.  Over the years, whenever homework, housework or tricky UFOs (unfinished objects) were praying on my mind,  a part of me would yearn for those elves to get to work while I had a snooze.  It's never happened, but today I got closer than I ever have - there were elves popping up all over the workshop!







 
And here is Elfspeth - all finished!
 
and another!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday 14 November 2013

Sewing and Puppies

Had a really good day yesterday in the workshop.  We did quilt as you go double-sided quilts and although it was a bit tricky at first, by the end of the day everyone had completed four blocks and sashed one to another:





I think they're brilliant - and they all look so different.

And then there was Jo, who naturally is working on a completely different quilt so wanted to know the quilt as you go method but wasn't interested in the double-sided bit:

She used the Janet Bolton pictures but, as usual, personalised them.  Can't wait to see the whole quilt!

Then today George and I went to see our 6 week old puppy - we can have him at 8 weeks so we have time to prepare.  The puppies have been moved out into the barn now (8 puppies running around a kitchen floor is as bad as 8 lambs!) and were all snug in the straw.  Mum has been really great but has lost interest a bit now.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera so the pictures aren't that great:


This is Mum and Dad:

And that cute little thing between them is Pop, or Ned, or Alan, or whatever we finally decide to call him!

Can't wait!!





Wednesday 6 November 2013

Quilters Gallery

I have joined the Quilters Gallery, and am supposed to upload the logo - well, I tried, and now if you look at 'Blogs I follow' you'll find about a million links to it!  Oh well.

Whilst everyone I know seems to be travelling the globe at the moment, eg, Sandra in Iceland, Jackie in New Zealand to mention two, I have been busy sewing and have finally got my Beginner's Sampler Quilt top together (we have just finished the third of these courses, so I am waaaay behind:


Not a very good picture......anyone who has been to the workshop will be able to see that mine has been put together differently to Sandra's.  Not me being clever (quite the opposite actually, as Sandra and Sally know, I spent the whole morning counting squares and doing maths) - it just turned out that way.

Also Maureen sent me a photo of her quilt which she started at our weekend workshop with Helene and which I'd love to put up here but can't open it, so, instead, I'll show you what I'm doing with mine:


I bought some mini hexagon templates from Foltvilag at the NEC (www.foltvilag.hu) and am making a hexagon border all round.  Haven't got very far.  Lynne managed to sew about 20 in an hour last week - I max out at about 4 a night!

We took some straw round to Upper Denford this afternoon and on the way home called in at friends at a farm round there.  Their collie Mog has had 8 pups - so sweet.  There was a lovely one I'm calling Pop Pop in my head............watch this space.