A quick winning announcement

I have to be quick - Mark has taken the children out so I could meet with my mentor about my catering qualification for the Brownies, and she's just left, so I have a spare minute ...... but if he comes back and finds me blogging he will think I have been skiving!!

So here goes, we have a winner........

picked randomly by two able helpers

Yes it's Jamie......... (Jamie Lee from Busy Bee Quilts) so send me a message with your address and I will make you up a fifty followers celebration parcel.  Well done.

They're not back yet, so quickly I have to tell you that i was also a winner this week - check out this wonderful blog by Jodi at Tickle and Hide.  She makes the most beautiful stuff, and has some new stuff in her shop.  I was the lucky winner of her drawer string quilt pattern and also a jelly roll of fabric......  (need to hunt in my books for jelly roll quilts!)

They're back.......

Nifty at Fifty

OK - so it's not me who's fifty!  (not yet anyway)

But I have 50 followers - hoorah - who would have thought it?

And to celebrate I am having a give away.  It's simple - just leave a comment telling me a joke, and I will pick a random winner, not based on the quality of the joke - don't worry, by this time next week (Thursday 19th Jan).  The prize will be a hand made item, with some scraps and chocolate in it!

While I'm here, I want to show you some photos I've taken of my brilliant Christmas present from my Mum.....

This photo doesn't do the basket justice - it's quite lovely, and unusual being round shaped.

 And inside it was crammed with vintage sewing goodies, some things which I have no idea what to do with. (she got it from the second hand shop in her village -I wonder who it used to belong to?)

I am going to replace the dodgy lining with some bright patterned fabric, and use it to store all my cottons in.  It's right up my street as it's full of second hand cottons and lace and buttons and wool and ribbons and unusual vintage things that will make their way into my sewing projects.

And, as I'm on a roll now - I have taught myself how to do mosaics with my photos (thanks Flutter Kat for the tutorial)

Here is my mosaic of pouches for the mouthy stitches swap

I am getting quite excited about this swap - as it is making me learn to use flickr and groups over there etc.  Can't wait to see who my partner is.



 

Random Tuesday

Just a few quick random bits......

My Kona white material arrived at last, so I was able to get cracking on my first square for my stash bee....

I am getting quite inspired by some of the other bee members squares, so might have a go at another one (I had not put any pressure on myself to do more than one block).

I finished a few little birthday presents (there seem to be a lot of birthdays in January) - three little elephants (need to find a new pattern for little stuffies, I am getting fed up of making these),

two little dumplings - still love these,

and a scrappy tote.

Sorry about the poor quality photos - camera (and me) running out of charge!

I suddenly realised I have nearly got 50 followers.... and so plan to do a give away when I hit the half century.  So, what do people like to get best in a give away??  Material or something that has been made, or mystery items?  Let me know, then I can get planning.

Happy Days

Yesterday I had the most wonderful surprise.

There was a note through the door from the postman to go and collect a parcel for my partner.  (He had ordered some dull techy thing - well dull to me, he was ecstatic about it!), so I marched off to the post office.... and actually there were 2 parcels, and one was for me.  Now parcels always make me excited, and so it was high excitement at lunch time when we finally had the chance to sit down and savour the moment of opening it.

It was well wrapped up, and took some opening, and as I was opening it began to smell lovely!

Inside were these beautiful postcards, with some lovely messages to cheer me up before returning to work next week (2 sleeps to go - arrgggh)

And then inside the parcel was the most adorable little pouch, with giraffes on, and I am going to use this as a pencil case I have decided.  Also, a fab book about Oxford, my home town, and so i am going to really love reading this.  And then..... the biggest bundle of the most incredible scraps I have ever seen.  The reason the parcel smelt so lovely was that there was the tiniest bottle of wonderful perfume in there - can you spot it in the photo??  And these ribbons (I am on the hunt now for tutorials which can encorporate these ribbons into something cute - tips anyone?).  Plus the cutest pin with beads on it....

Before I say anymore many of you will know who this came from... it's my school friend Jan (Isisjem), who got me into blogging in the first place (and to whom I am greatly indebted for this).  If you haven't already, check out her fantastic blog here. 

So, thank you Jan, so very much......

And, my sewing maching came back from being serviced today - and it is much quieter when sewing now!

Happy Days

x

Bee gone!!

Hopefully the reason for the name for this post will become clear.......

Another wonderful winning came today...

A gorgeous hot plate from the scrapbucket quilter.  I love it.


If you look back to my previous post, I set out some of my new years sewing tasks.

3) was to work out what a sewing bee is.

And I had a message from Jamie (check out her great blog here), who suggested the stash bee had a place.  Now I began to panic, still not really knowing what this entailed, but decided to jump in with 2 feet (I usually find that people point out my mistakes as I go along and then I work out what I should be doing along the way - so figured that will probably be the case here!)  Before I knew it Sunni had signed me up.

All this when my sewing machine has just broken.

so number 5) was put into action, an advert for 'servicing sewing machines' led to Keith coming to collect my sewing machine and promising to have it back working again by the weekend. (Keith, by the way, was not as I had imagined him to be..... he looked like he should be sitting behind a piano or an organ at a holiday camp evening entertainment, he had slick grey hair, and the shiny patent black shoes).  So my machine has disappeared in the back of his car.

But, today has not been wasted, I have planned and cut, and drawn and planned and cut again....

These will be going to make up my tree square for the stash bee (will it be up to scratch of these here?).

It was all going so well, and then............

There was lots of good news to be included in this post.

1) One of my winnings from the sew mama sew give away arrived.

 Look, it came from Poland, what fab stamps.

And inside were two little bundles of pretty fat quarters....

So that made me very happy.

And, (drumroll) I have got a new laptop in the sales

 Here is everything being set up and transferred over, so I have my own files and systems now.

Please ignore the stains on the carpet!

So, there was a lot to celebrate.

And then I actually got down to some sewing after a fortnight off for Christmas..... and my machine is not happy.  (perhaps it feels replaced by the laptop?) The tension just wouldn't go right and I kept getting clumps of cotton knotted as I sewed.  So, it's going to be a phone call to find someone to service it tomorrow, and those handmade January birthday presents might be a bit last minute. 

Happy New Year

Happy 2012 to everyone who reads my blog.

None of us know what the year ahead will bring.  All I ask is that each of us is given the ability to relax and enjoy the best bits, and the strength and sense of humour to make it through the tough bits.

I return to work next week, having not worked at all in 2011, so that is currently pre-occupying my mind. 

But, I intend to keep a sense of balance, and to use my creative side, and my sewing as a way of keeping sane!


Here is my list of new sewing things I would like to do in 2012:-

1) Participate in a sewing swap - any good (and not too difficult ones) that anyone could recommend would be good.

2) Do another Sew Mama Sew give away

3) Work out what exactly a 'bee' is, and hopefully make some squares to go towards a bee or charity quilt.

4) Make a small quilt

5) Get my sewing machine serviced!

But...... huge excitement for me in 2012 - with trepidation I have booked a one day ticket for the Fat Quarterly Sewing Retreat in London.  I will be the bewildered quiet one in the corner (if anyone else is going let me know).

I look forward to hearing and seeing what you all get up to in the coming year

x