Feeling Chipper Again

I'm sitting here drinking my morning coffee and feeling so grateful that I'm back to my normal self. Ready for the world and all it has in store for me. I can't believe January is nearly over already though. The spring quilt is coming on nicely.  It took a while for it to develop in my head but it's there now.

This is a quarter of it done with some more blocks at the cutting stage. More vines and flowers to add too - a gentle evening job I think.

This is a screen shot of the first eight blocks.  I'll be getting down to cutting some more later. I get up far earlier than I need to but I love to spend quiet time making instructions after I've showered and had breakfast and before I leave for work.

Later in the day......

Having more energy has made me feel more energised if that makes sense. The fridge was a bit of a disgrace so I had a big sort and clean - not too much in the way of unrecognisable I'm pleased to say. There were some vegetables a bit past their best so I made some soup, Sweet potato, red peppers, onion, carrots and chilli - quite sweet but the chilli gives it a nice warm kick - two bowls for our tea and a pot to take to work tomorrow.

I'd planned some lasagne and chicken fajitas so I set that all away too.

I use chicken thighs which are much juicer than breast meat - cut into strips they cook really fast.

What better thing in life is there than golden bubbling cheese? With the left over bolognese mixture I added spinach and some pasta for some more 'Will Boxes'.  He can heat the chicken and put them in some wraps for his lunch.

A little sprinkle of parmesan only adds a few calories but makes all the difference. Oh and whilst the oven was on,  I roasted a joint of lamb I bought last night.

I'm not that keen on lamb but Will loves it so I thought I'd slice it up so that he can use it for sandwiches or I can make the Sunday Lunch without having loads of pans to wash. I'll make some gravy with the juices and then there will be just the vegetables to cook fresh.

So now, just after 4pm I'm just having a cup of tea and then I'll get going with some lemon curd which I need for the little viennese whirls I'm going to make for the class tomorrow.  Then I think I will settle down with some sewing. The ironing may or may not get done.

It has suddenly gone very dark - I'll just go and check to see if the sheets are dry yet.  Its been a marvellous drying day today - bright sunshine and very windy. Double pegs required!

Phew it's a bit nippy out there! They weren't quite dry but there's no warmth out there now - the sun is just dipping behind the trees.

The weather has been strange this past week with all sorts - snow, wind, rain and bright sunny - even 'warm' days all the the space of a week. Some of the sunsets have been spectacular - this is over the course of twenty minutes one evening
                                      

Light is a wonderful thing!

John has been poorly and finally had to give in and take a day off work this week.  He's been nursing a virus for more than a week but I got a call on Sunday to ask if I'd have Max who had kept him up for hours on Saturday night. I collected him and we helped Will feed the hens and kick a ball around the garden. Max is a terrible sleeper and they often   nearly always have broken nights - not good for their own health as bodies repair and renew during the night. I said I would have him every Saturday night until they get a bit pulled round.  John works far too hard and I think he is beginning to realise that it can't be sustained.

Max is two and a half and is in the process of being diagnosed for autism. I don't think they have any doubts, they are just working out the level. He is charming, loving and extremely hard work. We just need to share it out more! Of course the work comes with plenty of cuddles.

 He's got lovely wavy blond hair and I hate it when he has just been cut!

He's playing tickle tickle with Will, who grabs his hand and he goes into peals of laughter. He doesn't have as many melt-downs as he used to have - long may that continue, especially when Steph takes him out to the park and he doesn't want to come home! He goes to nursery three mornings a week and Steph takes him to a little group another morning.  He could easily sit in his own little world for hours but I think the social contact has helped him a lot. He doesn't make much eye-contact but when he does it is such a joyful moment.

So I better get going or the lemon curd will be courtesy of Sainsbury's and I'll have a big pile of unused lemons.....

Lost weeks

I felt a bit duff on New Year's Day - just put it down to the to and fro of the Christmas season. But Oh boy was I wrong. The Flu - first time since I was a teenager and that was some decades ago! I felt so poorly I could have literally given up the ghost.  Here we are three weeks into the New Year and I feel as weak as a kitten. Still coughing but so much better. So much better.  It has given me a real fright.  I've always had good health and could shake off minor ailments without a thought. Not that I really suffered with anything apart from the odd dicky tummy or runny nose. Now I realise how lucky I have been with my health.  Not that I didn't appreciate it before but I don't want to feel like that again - ever!

I've picked up things listlessly and put them down again. A couple of rows of crochet. A few stitches on the quilt. But now I am ready to face the world and want to catch up with what I've missed. Although I am still lacking in energy, I want to get going and put the beginning of 2018 into the bin. Consequently I have very little to tell you since the last post. But onward and upward Biggles!

So I've been working on the first block of our new Spring Quilt as You Go. This is called Grape Basket.

 

The quilt will be four blocks of four separated by appliquéd vines and leaves. I'm still undecided about whether to use pastel spring colours or raid my stash of richer colours.  I know I have enough of the richer colours (ha! slight understatement) but I think I have enough of the spring colours too. Actually come to think of it I have another plan for the richer colours, so there - that's the decision made.

Another block added today - Hole in the Barn Door. So this is the basis of the new quilt.  With the turquoise sashing. I'm not doing Quilt as you Go for this although it's designed to be done that way as the ladies requested.  I personally don't like the back of QAYG designs or the drape with its tendency  to fall into the component squares and shapes. Obviously it's a bit more difficult to handle, especially if you don't use a hoop to quilt.

We had chocolate caramel core cupcakes at the class this week. Very sweet!

Will has been cooking too - in batches which go in the freezer.

I've got some broth and some Boeuf Bourguignon on the go at the moment.  Will is  at Alex's (and has been to Alex's Dad's house in Southampton this weekend.)  They are back in Lancashire but he has to make the trip over the A66 tonight and it has been snowing here this afternoon for about an hour (maybe an inch or so) but seems to have stopped. I'll be keeping an eye on the travel sites to make sure his route is open.

John and Steph went out for a meal last night so I was baby-sitting.  They are so good that it is never a chore. Ben was happily playing on the iPad and Max was running round in circles when I got there.  I get loads of cuddles because they are so affectionate. We all went up to bed at the same time (although I wasn't staying) Max wasn't sleepy but Ben went straight off.  Daddy and Mammy got back at 10pm and Daddy carried him back to his own bed. Bad planning there as I had a bagful of crochet which was not touched,  but then I can crochet when they're all grown can't I? I left him cuddling Max down.  They weren't very impressed with the restaurant but appreciated the time out.

So now I am going to appliqué the leaves and stems and maybe prepare a few little flowers.  There's not much ironing to do, for which I'm grateful!  I'll put the hens to bed for the night as soon as it is dark and then cuddle down with some crochet in front of the fire.  The satellite signal is going a bit haywire so I'm glad I've got stuff recorded.  Until next time - much love to you all.

Kicking back - looking forward

I had a lovely day on Saturday quilting at the Sit and Sew at High Street Quilting.  I took my first UFO which will be going as a Quilts for Comfort Quilt.  Love this quilt design. But then I love rainbow things.

We had a quick tour of the new shop - a bit of a wreck at the moment but sooo much potential. It's very exciting.  There are some 'before' pictures on the link above.  Hilary thinks she should be in sometime in February.

I have completed six of the ten rows of the hourglass quilt and hoped to get a bit more done yesterday but Ben came for New Year's Eve and New Year's Night as his Mammy is poorly.  Max has a chest infection and his Daddy is busy making sure they are both ok. Ben is playing with Will at the moment.   We were going for a walk to the local woods yesterday to do some bug hunting as the weather was bright, cold and sunny, but I think the lure of Will's computer was more appealing. We made pizza last night - Cheetzo flavour (Chorizo)

I've been busy sorting out a design for a Spring Quilt as You Go for my Thursday night quilt class

I start off compiling the main size of the quilt and then work on individual parts of the design.  Then I go on to drawing out the different elements and making initial measurements and fabric requirements.  The pattern is written last and if I haven't already made the quilt I try to keep one step ahead of the class to test for errors!  This will have 15 blocks separated by panels of flower and leaf vines.  The class will quilt each block and each vine panel separately and then join them all together at the end.  It's a long task for them so I'll need to intersperse a few other projects.  I have a bag and wall hanging in mind at the moment.  I'm not sure whether to do different pieced blocks (they are just coloured on the diagram at the moment) or a mixture of pieced and appliquéd blocks or a single design. - Might leave it up to them, but as I am making it myself as well I'll have to sort something out!  I think the design will change a few times before it reaches the class.

I'll have to pace myself to make sure I do some UFO work too. So little time! It's very frustrating because I never really feel like sewing after a long day at work but I can't afford not to work.  Apart from running out of backing fabric and wadding I've got enough fabric to last a hundred years or so. Not to mention wool and craft paint...... Trouble is I'm still in Christmas design mode - it's not the same when you do things out of season.

However it's New Year's Day and I'm looking forward to all the lovely things 2018 has to offer.  I wish you all a good year.

xxxxx

No Spring Chicken

Most people, when they hurt their back, apply heat, Deep Heat, wheat packs, warm baths etc, but although that gives temporary relief it is entirely the wrong thing to do.  ICE ICE ICE.

At the beginning of December I repainted my kitchen. I could get a decorator in. Yes I should get a decorator in, but I don't. Last time I had a decorator in, and any time before that I am disappointed with the results. Paint splashed, surfaces not prepared, shock/horror bubbles in the wallpaper.  So up and down the ladders I went, taking down and washing venetian blinds, washing ceilings, prepping, glossing, rollering.    To cut a long story short after four days of slog I have a lovely bright fresh kitchen. And a bad back. I can't remember a specific incident where I felt something go, but for three weeks I have been suffering, cursing my lack of healing, popping pills, wearing ice-packs and having treatment for a trapped sciatic nerve.  John reckons I did too much, I think I did twist something at some point, but whatever caused the pain,  I am no spring chicken and I don't recover as quickly.  It's quite (very) depressing knowing that you are probably past doing some things but I can't give in gracefully.  Luckily I work in a back pain clinic - treatments, proper chairs with support, plentiful supplies of ice. Apart from extending my holiday by two days, I haven't lost any time at work.

These past few days over Christmas have been great.  I operate a no-fuss Christmas. Everything was prepared on Sunday. No over the top, just in case a hoard of locusts descends, purchases. Just what we needed for three days. Not sure if my plate proportions match the perfect proportion of vegetables to meat on this one....

It's taken some years to learn this approach but it works.  I have nothing to throw away at the end of it. I boned a turkey and stuffed and rolled it,  so a perfect carving joint. Lovely cold turkey sandwiches and bubble and squeak for Boxing Day. It's all gone now, apart from some Christmas pud, which, martyr that I am, I will finish.

We went to John's on Christmas morning to deliver the presents. I gave money this year for their savings.  They have so many toys. I can feel a soap-box moment coming on so I'll stop there.  Suffice it to say it was nice to get back to the calm of my little house! I loved my time with young children and the excitement of Christmas but I get very frustrated with the Spendfest that Christmas has become.

I spent Christmas night preparing and stitching a lovely heart ornament from a kit that I bought at Harrogate in November.  Its about 7" high and part of a series of wonderful designs from Mandy Shaw

 It has inspired me for all sorts of designs.

I finished it on Boxing Day, listening to the start of the Stephen Fry's 79 hour reading of the complete tales of Sherlock Holmes. That won't be a binge-listen though! Audible.com is really good value for me. I read about 40-50 books on my Kindle every year and some paperbacks that people lend me. The audible books are for car journeys to work and when I'm stitching and want something other than silence.

This is from Alex, who has similar reading tastes. It's about Rene Descartes, bit sad though. Paperbacks tend to come from Alex or Karin. On my Kindle I'm reading Dark Skies by LJ Ross

This has kept me going through some of the sleepless nights I've had because of the back problem. Gosh I do so hate not being a spring chicken. Did I mention that already?

2018 is going to be the year of finishing more than I start. (Karin said, yeah right, when I told her - she knows me so well!)  I've lots of ideas buzzing around my head for projects for my classes in 2018, but I must finish some of the UFOs lying around too. I must.

I'm off now to heat up a nutritious lunch of Christmas pudding. Waste not want not, and,  come to think, it's finishing something I've started. Ha!

New stocking designs

I was asked to make two elf stockings for a friend's first grandchild, one for home and one for the said grandparents (the same baby as the rather bright baby quilt I made a little while ago).  They wanted them the same but different.

I enjoyed doing a slightly different design - most of mine have snowmen and trees and Father Christmas designs.  Not sure about the name, but I know that's a matter of personal preference.

However when my Best Friend became a grandmother for the first time on 16th December and sent me a picture of the minutes old baby Harry with his little Christmas Pudding hat,  I knew exactly what design I wanted and spent a happy afternoon drawing out the design and cutting out and fusing the pieces.

I put it in the post straight away in the hope that they will get it in time for Christmas.

He was supposed to be born between Christmas and New Year but she was induced three weeks early because of some problem with her gall bladder. Mother and baby doing well and home safe now.

Talking of snowmen......

Making marshmallow snowmen heads for melted snowman cupcakes.

Vanilla cupcakes with marshmallow and cream cheese frosting and little chocolate twig arms. Last week we had cupcake trees, decorated with little jelly pieces

A little less topping in the New Year will be the order of the day I think.  January - the month of diets and resolutions.

As you do when there is limited time I decided to make some little stockings for people at work, seeing as this is my first Christmas at the Clinic. I love doing these little ones, which are about eight inches high.

People are always very appreciative of the work you put in to these but I am always taken aback by the monetary value they place on these things. (They often say I should sell them).  We are so used to paying Far East prices for inferior goods that we have no real idea of the value of domestically produced items.  For a full sized stocking I use half a metre of fabric, plus the decoration fabric, fusible web, wadding, buttons, thread and ribbon. They take about six hours to make, very often more.  Claire from work thought I could sell one for "at least £10". That is no bad reflection on Claire, it's just what we are used to.  £10 wouldn't even cover the materials!  When you figure in the amount of time for even designing some of the images, selling them doesn't make sense.  (Some of the above designs are from Nancy Halvorsen - a designer that has inspired me for many years)

Talking about value and cost, I bought some cheese for John - Cuddy's Cave from the Cheese Farm at Blagdon in Northumberland.  It's locally made, absolutely delicious and in comparison with supermarkets, pretty expensive. I was indirectly criticised for buying it "you need to take out a mortgage".  We expect to pay so little for our food. We get rubbish - tasteless, uniform mass produced junk. I won't buy it. Period.  With my farming background I get really annoyed that we are content to buy a cheap chicken, or cheap tasteless cheese but are happy to pay the same amount for a sweet, salty, fatty burger with little thought about the production methods, or the effects on our health and the environment.  The chicken I buy costs about £7-8 but tastes gorgeous, makes Sunday lunch, sandwiches, chicken stir fry and broth. I don't waste any of it, I can't afford to and it makes me appreciate it more and I don't need to smother it in salt and other flavourings.  I actually don't spend any more on my weekly shop because of it. My mother's friend had a very apt saying - "I can't afford to buy cheap things"

Off my soap box now.

I've been making little stars for the tree - I love how quickly these come together. 

I made a little kit (enough for two stars) as a gift for the ladies at the quilt class. I enjoy the simplicity of the Scandi colours. Not to climb on my soapbox again - but who thought pink and turquoise represented Christmas?  

I have been sitting typing here, in the morning dark (yippee we have passed the Winter Solstice), watched the sky change from pinks and azure to a bright fresh blue with the sun beaming down on a crisp winter day. I think it's about time I did some wrapping of presents, maybe with a little mince pie and a cup of hot coffee.  Just to leave you with a picture of Ben's first Nativity Play - his class were Stars.

Watching him sing 'When Santa got stuck up the chimney' took me back a quarter of a century. Ben and John - two of my bright stars. How lucky I am.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Avoiding the Christmas Madness

It's all a bit quiet in Bogland at the moment.  I am no exception of course. Blogging is a matter of habit. You need to remember to take pictures and also to sit down and blog - strangely enough.  I'm convinced it's not about the time you spend - it's about the will to do it and the habit of doing it.  I never start Christmas early enough but I wanted to do some little stitcheries.

The first was a simple star, the second a snow-hug.

That is actually finished as is the third in the series, a ginger Mammy and her children.  The fourth is still on my computer. They are all becoming mini cushions. To put round the tree.  As Hilary observed - a tree needs cushions. Well I think the tree looks a bit bare when all the presents are gone....

It's been busy at work over the past few months so I've not indulged the cooking bug very much, preferring to stick to simple meals

Simple broth with rye bread is one of my favourites. A broth pack from the supermarket.  An added potato, bacon rashers (streaky - no namby-pamby back bacon).  Will bought me a soup maker a while ago (train set syndrome - he loves soup) so, get in from work, chop vegetables. Put in soup maker, 20 minutes later the most comforting soup in the world. Especially when made with homemade stock from the freezer.

A few decadent bikkies have come from the oven

Triple Choc cookies from the Pioneer Woman and Thumbprint cookies with white chocolate drizzle. Last week I made Choc Orange Cupcakes

And the week before it was Caramel Fudge Brownies - no picture. I'll make them again in the interest of fairness. They were gluten free, using coconut flour which you couldn't taste but they were gorgeous - drizzled with home made caramel. Bit of a chocolate theme going here I think.  It's difficult to make healthy cakes! You can make cakes with healthy ingredients but it's not the same is it?  I can have things made with the same ingredients that are delicious but cakes are not designed to be healthy - so we need to get over that and just eat them occasionally I suppose.

As I sit here in a week off work, putting off the "GRAND PAINTING OF THE KITCHEN". There's so much stitching and designing to do I can hardly bear to drag myself away, but the painting must be done.

I'll just leave you with a quick look at what I'd rather be doing,

I know I'll love having a fresh, bright kitchen but I'd rather be stitching....

After dark - after eight

I think I can happily say I've got the black background quilt out of my system. Goodness it was hard going on my poor eyes. I do like the effect but - never again!

The back of the quilt is as bright. 

The trouble is I'm not that keen on quilt as you go blocks. It seems like a good idea at the time but then when you try to match them up it never quite goes to plan, no matter how identical they are when you trim them. This was going to be a four by four quilt but I ran out of the black fabric - probably had enough for twelve blocks but nine was as far as I could bear.  Marilyn at the quilt class felt the same.  The photo doesn't do the quilt justice colour wise - her background is deep rich purple and looks gorgeous.   She is a very neat worker too.

The other lady that is doing the same project is doing twelve blocks - her colour scheme is totally different - I'll  post that when she's done.

I had an urge for after eight mints this week so decided to do some mint choc cupcakes.

It's probably not my favourite combination but I run out of ideas sometimes (well quite a lot of the time really) and I haven't done this before.  I thought I might go on a sweet shop cupcake theme, although the time for pumpkin pie is looming - should it be pumpkin pie flavoured cupcakes or pumpkin pie itself?

I'm trying to make the most of the light as the nights draw in - I know we get an hour of light at the end of October but that eats into my morning time more.  It's time to get the crochet out which is a little easier on the eyes.

Steph is in full wedding planning mode at the moment.  They have booked a villa in Spain in June.  At the moment though my mind is on stitcheries and all things 'seasonal'.  I have so many things floating around in my head that it's a real skill to just choose one or two and do them.  Sometimes I end up doing lots of thinking and no doing.  There's just not enough time is there?  At the moment I just feel exhausted and am looking forward to a week off work at the beginning of November. Apart from the Easter bank holidays and May days I haven't had a day off since Christmas last year. A week will seem like a long time.