(73)

Yesterday we drove to some of the outlying towns and villages to look around, largely with a view to seeing whether we would like to live there. Although we decided that they weren't for us, for a variety of reasons, by far the prettiest and most interesting place was Bradford-on-Avon. It's built in a steep valley with the River Avon running through it, with many really pretty and ancient buildings. It's also declared itself a Free Trade town, which means that many of the shops and cafes stock and use Free Trade products. 

We had coffee/herbal tea and toasted teacake/flapjack in a tiny cafe which must have been in a very old building, with low ceilings, exposed beams, a rickety staircase. DH spotted some trousers and a top in a shop that sold clothes made from Free Trade Cotton and suggested I try it on. I really don't much care for buying clothes, and it is so rare that I see something that I like, that suits me and isn't extortionately priced. But this fitted the bill and he bought it for me. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but the hotel room has those hangars without hooks, that fit on to a fixed hangar on the wardrobe rail, so I ended up laying the clothes on the floor to take a photograph.

By the time we'd had lunch I was exhausted and we headed back to the hotel so that I could rest. We had planned an early dinner so that we could visit the Roman Baths in the evening, when they would be lit by torchlight, but I was just too whacked. In fact we ended up having our dinner in our room as I just couldn't face the dining room. 

I didn't take any photographs while we were out, but here's a photograph of the fabric I bought in Country Threads yesterday. Three panels to practice quilting on; some red gingham to bind the Christmas panels; the cream and red combo is to make a hanging pocket I spotted in a patchwork magazine; the jelly roll is just because I loved it - and having bought the book Jelly Roll Quilts I really ought to make something from it!

Sorry about the small photographs, but Blogger wouldn't co-operate and I can't see how to make them any larger in Picasa - but I think if you click on them they should take you to a larger version.

This morning the rain is pouring down already (it's 7.00am) and the forecast is for rain all day, so we'll probably go for a drive round Bath and visit the American Museum.

Naughty purchases (67)

Having had yet another visit to the dentist yesterday, to have a broken tooth rebuilt, I think I've seen enough of my dentist - sympathetic and kind though he is - to last me for some months now.

Today I went to Hobbycraft to get some wadding, and ended up buying some fabric too, and some cute cat buttons (they're the quite unrecognisable thing in the middle of the picture) for my niece's quillow that I'm about to make. Well, they were having a half price sale for their fat quarters, which worked out at about £4 per metre. Now, I imagine that sounds like a lot to all you Americans, but take it from me, for the UK that's pretty cheap.  Don't you just love those colours. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, so it was rather a naughty purchase, but I'm sure I'll think of something in due course.

I also managed to get up to date with Bea at Capricorn's BOM. They're very cute stitcheries, and will make a lovely quilt for my sewing/craft room/study when we move. 

We haven't had any firm nibbles from Saturday's open day, but are still hopeful and have three more people coming to view tomorrow. We had a couple of very silly offers, people just trying it on because of the difficulties in the housing market. The weather forecast isn't too good, which is a shame because houses and gardens always look so much better in good weather (and it's better for Wimbledon too), but we shall just keep our fingers crossed.

Nil Points!! (47)

Finally, here's the picture of my fabric store. It might not look as if I have much fabric stored away, but there's enough there to make me feel guilty. I love buying fabric, but feel guilty just buying it without any project in mind. The posters and programmes on the wall are from various amateur dramatic plays that my sons and I have been involved in.

Well, the voting is under way, and going much as expected. All the Balkan countries are voting for each other, all the Baltic countries are voting for each other, the older European countries are a little less political. So far, though, no votes for  Romania, Germany and poor old UK. Greece, Russia and Turkey are sharing the lead. 

Hooray, 6 points for the UK from San Marino (I really should know where it is, but I don't). I'd better sign off now or I'll be giving you a running commentary for the rest of the voting!

Mixed blessings (37)

It was a lovely spring day again yesterday (I'm from the UK, so there's bound to be a lot about the weather on my blog), and DH has taken some holiday from work,so we went to visit Sheffield Park Garden, which is owned by the National Trust. The gardens were glorious, full of rhododenron and azaleas. You wouldn't believe the colours; if you designed a flower with those colours nobody would believe they were possible. And then we saw some goslings which were extremely cute - ducklings are common, but goslings more of a rarity.

Unfortunately, a bit later when we were having a cup of tea I started to feel unwell and we had to make a dash for home. I won't go into graphic details, but I think it was something I ate for lunch!!! 

Luckily I felt okay today, and even better when the postman arrived with a package for me. It was some fabric I had ordered from a UK shop with a sale - not as cheap as in the USA, but brilliantly cheap for the UK. Nothing to show on the sewing front, but I made a real effort to get on with my black and white quilt which has taken a bit of a back seat recently. All being well I will get much further on with it tomorrow.

Thank you postman (32)

I was really excited to get not one but two packages in the post yesterday. AND NO BILLS!!!! The Jelly Roll Quilts book is newly published by my LQS in Dorking,  The Quilt Room. The quilt I made for my husband's birthday was made from jelly rolls, and I'd really like to make another, so I foresee some happy hours reading and planning.

The next package was Popular Patchwork magazine which I have just started subscribing to. It has a good website too. I like this magazine because it's aimed at regular, everyday quilters rather than professional, clever quilters! Unfortunately it's already cost me money, because I found a website for a UK online store with a sale and inevitably spent more than I should. So perhaps the jelly roll with have to wait for a while.

Don't you love the little sewing organiser on the front cover? I think that will have to be my first project.

The weather here in the UK continues to be glorious and we should be off to Brighton today - hooray, just the day for going to the seaside.

Other than quilting (29)

Yesterday I felt well enough to walk around our local town. I would have preferred to walk there rather than drive, but it's several weeks since I felt well enough to have a walk round, so better remember to take things one step at a time. I bought some fabric - but not for quilting. I bought some yellow gingham to make curtains for the kitchen, some blue chambray and some black and white patterned cottons to make a couple of dresses and some white linen mix to make a blouse. So, that's next on the agenda. I'm keen to embellish them with some embroidery or applique, but don't know quite what to do yet.

This morning I finished a cute little wallhanging I've been working on for a few days. I really enjoyed making it - felt applique so no tricky needle turning, and a manageable size. And today it was actually warm enough to have lunch out in the garden. The first week of May - that's really early to be able to sit outside. Long may it last - I love this sort of temperature, where you can sit out in shirt sleeves, but not get too hot. DH has been so busy the last couple of days - clearing weeds, cutting back plants, planting up new plants - and our small garden is beginning to look very attractive. The trees and plants everywhere are beginning to look really lush and ex

uberant, and just growing like mad for the next few weeks.

Tomorrow we go to Brighton to visit our younger son, so I'm really looking forward to that - it's been about three weeks since we last saw him. I rather fear that Brighton may be really crowded since it's a Bank Holiday, and if the weather is good loads of people will head to the seaside. Let's hope we can find somewhere to park!

Post-dentist - and Post (28)

Well, the visit to the dentist has been and gone - rather like my tooth! Thank you so much to everybody who wished me well. I don't know why I get so nervous, but I do. I just shook the whole way through. I have a new dentist, and he was so calm and gentle that it helped enormously. Now I have a big hole and a big bruise and have to wait for three weeks before my next appointment - and then the really big expense starts.

But I have saved some money on buying some fabric from America. I just can't believe the difference in price. I bought from the Wish Upon a Quilt sale. I didn't buy anything I really needed this time, just in case it all went wrong and the fabric didn't arrive or was horrible when it got here. But it came in no time at all and was fine. I bought 5 yards and 5 FQs and even with the postage it came to only just over £23 - in the UK the fabric alone would have cost me £58!! So I will certainly buy in that way again. Does that count as saving??

My half triangle patches for Step 3 are finished. I found these pretty easy to put together, although I did count out half and leave them over the other side of the room so as to be sure to make mirror images out of them and not stitch them all the same. The colours look a bit weird here. I've also now cut all the dog ears off from these and my 4patch blocks.

I was pleased with the fact that I managed to finish practically all my jobs for April. The black and white quilt progresses slowly - I have so many other interesting things on the go for hand sewing, and it does get a tad boring quilting the same pattern all the time. But I shall persevere. I am determined that it continue as a WIP and not become a UFO.

Keeping busy to quell the nerves! (28)

I've just been reading Taniwa's latest blog and it's got me thinking. I won't repeat everything she has said - you can follow the link and read it for yourself - but I'd love to know what you think.

I had a preliminary visit to the dentist yesterday - it's been far too long since my last visit due to feeling so poorly for so long, but I really couldn't put it off any longer as I KNEW I had some work to be done. And yes, I've got problems. So I'm visiting him again today to have a crown removed and the tooth underneath which is decaying badly. Oh, I hate visiting the dentist. I had some bad experiences when I was a child - the worst being a power cut in the middle of some treatment and the dentist finishing off with hand tools! I did pretty well when my children were young to hide my fear as much as possible so that they wouldn't have so much of a problem, but the old nerves have re-appeared now. Hence the rather frenetic nature of this blog, typing away to try and keep my mind off my nerves!

On Monday I gave in and visited my LQS. I just didn't have any light scraps for Step 3 of the OC, though I managed to forage enough for the dark scraps. As always - and I bet I'm not alone - I spent far more than I should have done. Mind you, that's easy enough when you see the cost of fabric and books here. I don't have any square rulers, so that should be useful. The two books on machine quilting have already come in handy, and I've been practising for my next quilt. I'm hopeless! The fabric is earmarked for some stitcheries combined with patchwork that I have in mind and the cat wallhanging kit just leapt out at me and refused to be left behind. And right at the last minute, just as I was about to pay, I remembered my reason for visiting and bought some light fabric for step 2!

Well, I can't write any more or you'll all just give up on me. So, off to do some ironing I think to pass away the next 45 minutes until I leave.

Strawberry Crush (5)

Well, the die is cast! I've chosen my fabrics for the Quiltville Mystery. I had to go out and buy most of them as I just don't have a stash yet. Another British quilter told me that English quilters don't have a stash because it's so expensive. I think she's right, I just buy what I need and then have just a few scraps left over. I think we'll be living on bread and jam for the next few weeks after yesterday's shopping trip. I really love the colours though; I've been really brave and gone bright, bright, bright! I've cut some of the 2" strips now, just have to wash the shirts I bought from the charity shop and then cut them up to add to the pile.

I don't know how much I'll get done today as I have a hospital trip this morning, but I hope I can do the next chunk of the quilt I'm making for my husband's birthday. I'm keen to get as much done as possible before the 1st April. I'll post pictures of my various ongoing projects in the next blogs. 

My next challenge is to try to work out how to add this to the Quiltville Web Ring - just too many challenges!