Lazy Easter Monday

As promised some photos of the finished wallhanging - it was a mystery quilt for my Thursday Night Ladies at High Street Quilting.

There are more - not quite finished - Ann is on her second one!  I really love the different colour choices and the decorations and embroidery which make each quilt unique.  From beginners to experienced, each quilt has a special quality. I'll be gathering the the six sheets of pattern together into one over the next week.  I already have the next one in my head and partly on to paper. Designing ~ I love it!

I've been washing - here are some more quilts on the line and the first one is my all time favourite- Flying Geese:

 I love the bright sunlight filtering through the Lady of the Lake quilt.

The sunshine has been glorious again today - Scott (next door but one) has brought his self built car out for a run - seen here with Will. Scott is very sad as he will be selling the Westfield to pay for his wedding. Boys and their toys eh?

John is spending the day in bed with a virus. We need some good weather, solid rest time and some fresh fruit and vegetables I think. Although I have to say John is very good with his diet. He always prepares everything from fresh ingredients - he won't eat ready meals. I think his problem is the lack of sleep and the long working hours.  Balance - my father used to say. Perhaps we should pay more heed to his words.

I've been watching 'Kew on a Plate' with Raymond Blanc (his accent and passion make my knees go weak but that's another story). It's inspiring me to get out in the garden. Will dug over my veggie beds bless him. They have been getting a bit of chicken manure over the winter thanks to his moveable hen-pen. Steph and I will be going to the garden centre tomorrow (avoiding the main Easter rush) to stock up on plants and maybe have a little coffee. The hens are back to full laying after the winter lull. Loving the fresh bright golden egg yolks. 

Talking about weak knees I have just watched the latest episode of Poldark. How handsome is Aiden Turner? Makes an old woman very happy and of course I am a sucker for a love story. Sigh.

Please excuse me now as I am about to watch Raymond Blanc massage some tomatoes with olive oil. Oh my.

Easter at the Strawberry Patch

A peek at the week in pictures:

 Ben in his work gear - he won't have help to get his goggles on!

I decided to unpick the yellow hexagon - it looks ok here but the yarn is different and shines too much - it stands out like a sore thumb.

 Making Easter Egg Coasters for the class on Thursday

 Special request from Will - his favourite cake - plain old Victoria Sandwich.

 Did I really choose to make broth on the hottest day of the year so far?

Yay! I made macarons that worked (thank you Edd Kimber) Raspberry and White Chocolate - but they take ages to make.....

Putting the final touches to the wallhanging.

School broke up just over a week ago. Why is it that I often get ill at this time?  Does this happen to other people - it's as though your body says "okay this is pay-back". I started feeling poorly last Saturday, sore throat headache etc. By Monday I was feeling really low but still had three days at work.  Luckily hardly anyone was there so I could be get on quietly and not pass too many germs. Thank you whoever invented Paracetemol.  I just crawled into bed each day when I got back home. By Thursday I felt a bit brighter so I made some tiffin for the class at High Street Quilting and prepped some little gift packs of Easter Coasters for the ladies,

On Friday morning I woke up with not one, but two cold sores.  Time to slow right down, really really. I had enough shopping to last the weekend. So slow down I did. We had Easter Lunch at John's   (delicious - pulled pork, asparagus and dauphinois potatoes with a lovely pea-shoot salad) but  I'm ashamed to say I had an easter egg for my tea - no wonder I can't fight germs! I'm feeling much better now and ready to do a bit of Spring Cleaning. I'll start slowly today with some curtain washing and then get going properly tomorrow with cupboard clearing.

Today is Easter Monday- my pottering day.  I'll be marking up a quilt top which I did ages ago for Quilts for Comfort. Tonight I will have a few more pix of the finished wall hanging and some of the ones that the ladies have done.

Off my needles this week

I seem to have done a lot more with knitting and crochet over the winter months than normal and I'm asking myself why.  I love all the media I work with, patchworking, crocheting, painting, knitting (gardening too) but the yarn has won out spectacularly these past few months. My hexagon blanket is an absolute joy to work on - the colours make my heart sing:

 I finished the Christmas Scarf

 And the blanket for the new baby

I have patterns for the new baby too but none of the yarn I have matches the tension (boo hoo)

How cute??

Well the school has broken up for Easter. I'll be working the first three days of next week and then off until 13th April. I'm so looking forward to the break - it has been a mighty couple of months. I have been lolling about all weekend nursing a sore throat and stinky headache. Roll on the fresh air and light nights in the garden. I need some exercise badly.   Especially when I eat things like this for my lunch.

Excuse me while I lick my lips. Bad girl, but I needed the sugar after today's Grand Prix. Well I think I will check on our tea and then maybe squeak another couple of hexagons in. Oh yes I have realised why the yarn has won out recently. It's the getting out and putting away factor. I just pick up a ball of wool and a hook and go for it. No digging out stuff or cleaning up and putting away.  My kind of craft - I'm getting lazy in my old age.

Maybe the Easter Bunny will give me a kick up the whatever.

Whatever.

Just breathing

I'm just breathing - basking in the peace and quiet.  The weather is lovely, the chores are done and now I'm going to settle down to a bit of something yarny.  A few weeks ago I lent my camera to John and it came back with the wrong cable so I'm not able to upload any pictures.  My phone camera is ok but not that great so apologies for the quality. Hopefully the cable will turn up soon.

Ben made me some crispy cakes for Mother's Day.  He did, however, save me some calories by eating the chocolate eggs off the top of every cake. Such a considerate boy. He's had a really nasty cold this past week, with a racking cough,  and hasn't been his normal jolly little self. It breaks your heart when they are just floppy and wan. Even a cuddle from Flossie couldn't restore his spirits.

I made a little hexagon lavender bag this morning when I was having a cuppa. The fabric is some linen I bought at The National Quilt Championships a couple of years ago.  

I think I'll make some more - it only took a few minutes and it's lovely to secrete these little fragrant bags in amongst the yarn, or in my wardrobe.  I have an orange studded with cloves in with my Christmas decorations.  It's about 8 or 9 years old but still releases a lovely Christmassy scent when I open the box.

Well there is much more to tell but it would be boring without pictures - I have finished the Mystery Quilt and many of the ladies at the class are just about finished - there are some absolutely stunning interpretations of this simple little pattern.  I'll take some pictures to show you when they're done.

Steph has just past the six month stage now so I need to get going with a crib quilt.  I've seen a simple design but I have to let it call to me first!  We are having a baby shower in a month so let's hope the call comes soon.

A little quilting, some happy hooking and cooking a shoulder of lamb are the 'tasks' for the rest of the day but at the moment I am just sitting quietly just breathing. 

Til we meet again.

Grumpy Old Woman

Today in the supermarket I was approached by a young woman who said,

"Do you mind if I ask you, do you collect nectar points?"
"Yes, I  replied,
"What do you use them for? she continued,
"The yes was to your first question" I said.

She smiled in a slightly embarrassed way and just said "oh, ok".  Do I feel guilty about cutting her off? No I don't actually.  That's how I know it's official, I am a Grumpy Old Woman.  You know what - it feels good. I hate being accosted by market researchers, or people trying to sell me a new kitchen, or wondering if I wanted to sue anyone.

I've had a horrible week at work and I just want to be with my lovely family, bask in the gorgeous colours of my hexagon blanket and sleep!

I've had to make do with the hexagons though - John is on a course at a Harley Street Clinic for the next three weekends so I'm not going to see much of him. Will is very like me - just likes to have his own company and comes out every now and then for something to eat!

I'm going to make some fig rolls for the class this week - or attempt to make them, I've never done it before, but I'm looking forward to trying.

There's lots to do at work with the new budget in. I'm trying to get a quart out of a pint pot - does that make sense?

Next Friday is Red Nose day and we are having an all night football tournament- ooo I might take my Angel quilt to embroider. The kids don't usually get tired until about 4am. I was on quiet room duty last year (loose definition of quiet there).

The hens are laying more eggs as the days get longer and Will has finished another run for the (very spoiled) rabbit.  Flossie by name Godzilla by nature.

So I'll pour a stiff shandy and get my crochet hook out - 39 made and they barely cover the front of a cushion.

Have a good week everyone xxxx

Unravelled

Half term is not always a holiday for me but I did book Monday and Friday off.  On Monday Ben and I spent the day together while John and Steph were at work. and on Friday I set off early to Surrey to stay with my friend. The week is over - as always so quickly and now I'm sitting in my 'nest' drinking a lovely cup of tea made with delicious water from Northumberland - Kielder to be precise.  It makes the most fragrant and clean tasting tea. The water in Surrey is very hard.  It's not good for hair washing or making refreshing tea. Having said that I've had a lovely weekend being pampered by my best friend.  From delicious cooking, flowers in my room, to scraping the ice off my windscreen, before I left this morning she has looked after me royally this weekend. We always have a good laugh but I have also had a very productive weekend. We went to 'Unravel' at  Farnham Maltingswhere we were overwhelmed by the amount of yarn and goodies on display.  I had planned to spend some money at the Natural Dye Studio's last exhibition before they mothball the business (big boo hoo).  I came away with some lovely yarn which will keep me going for absolutely ages.

These lovely skeins of 4 ply wool (merino and merino/silk mix) will join my stash of Blue Faced Leicester wool in becoming a hexagon quilt style blanket and an autumn shaded swag of flowers and fruits and leaves (design is still in my head).  There should be enough for another blanket/throw which will be a present for Karin (above mentioned best friend).  I'll need to put my little cedar blocks in to keep any pesky moths away though.

The exhibition was slightly overwhelming though as there was so much on show.  It wasn't super crowded but it was set in lots of different rooms on different levels and it was difficult to keep track of where you had been.  I think you need to build in a lot of coffee breaks and try not to rush round all in one go at something like this.

We had a quiet but industrious Saturday - Karin practising a pattern she bought - quite a lot of cursing and unpicking went on because she never goes for the simple option.  It will be fab when finished - a lovely 1950s inspired top - very lacy and shaped.

I spent the day sewing together the mystery quilt we have been working on in the quilt class.  Can't show you because I haven't given out the last part yet, but here is a little sample.

We had a luscious tea of chilli and salad with a little prosecco to wash it down.  I did a little more on my christmas present scarf, before I got to tiddly to knit!

It's made from alpaca and is not in the slightest bit itchy, which is always a worry. It's an unusual pattern where you just keep knitting until each ball of yarn runs out.

The journey back today was uneventful and suddenly I am nearly ready to go back to work.  Where does the time go?  I'm sitting listening to the sound of the washing machine, contemplating the week ahead which is full of not very nice meetings, wishing I could spend more time on my projects. But if I didn't have a job I wouldn't be able to afford to buy such lovely things. Catch 22. Hey ho, I'm cosy in my nest while the rain outside patters against the window, feeling unravelled in the nicest possible way.

Happy stitching.

Tulip

We had a quiet time for the first week back at the quilt class last Thursday. Let's hope the nasty winter bugs are being beaten back by our lovely antibodies and we're back up to full strength next week - get well soon Karen!  It was lovely to introduce a new Mystery Quilt to the class.  This is Tulip - the first part (well nearly Tulip - I ran out of thread). 

We just had a fairly plain cake with our coffee this week so that I didn't tempt anyone away from possible New Year Resolutions. As usual I forgot to take a picture.

I am a little bereft at the moment, now I have finished my crochet-along project. But not being one to sit with idle hands I have started a new little blankie for the baby. It's cream cotton and is incredibly soft and drapey. It's only little - enough for a pram blanket - because I am not the world's quickest or most accurate knitter.  

We are currently without garage.  Will and his friends demolished the old, rather fragile, garage today and the ground is being prepared for the new model which will be much more secure.  I'll keep you up to date with building progress.

Isn't it nice just to get a cushion and lie down for a little nap when you feel like it. Ahh.

Can you see his little dog getting a cuddle too?

I spent three hours sitting in my car last Friday morning after the motorway was shut.  I tuned in to the local radio to find out what had happened.  A lorry had shed its load - no I misheard - a lorry carrying a shed had shed its load. It looked like a mobile home type of shed.  It had blown off the lorry on the Northbound lane and bounced into the Southbound Lane. I don't think it caused any injury although were some skidmarks on the south bound side. The article isn't that accurate.  It must have just happened when I pulled on to the motorway at 7.25am and I didn't get going again until gone 10.30am. All I will say is I'm pleased I went before I left.

I've spent a lot of time indoors this weekend, the weather has been pretty nasty.  But there are little compensations.  A little knitting and sewing, some nice things to eat. I had an incredibly fresh poached egg  for breakfast yesterday

with thickly buttered toast and a cup of steaming hot coffee,

and a luscious lunch today - avocado and bacon on a little square pitta (Warburton's Thins) and a lovely smoothie, spinach, kale, tomato and pear.  The pear was so sweet and ripe it was the dominant flavour. Yum. 

There's been some nasty things happening this week which I find deeply disturbing - all I will say is "Je suis Charlie"  and that I am grateful to all those incredible people who stand up and speak for freedom.

Keep safe.