All stitched out (16)

I've done nothing but stitch all day. I've been working like stink on my husband's birthday quilt - just a few days to go and I feel reasonably confident that I'll get there now. I'll post a picture once it's completely finished. 

I've also made the new 4patch blocks for my Strawberry Crush, and I'm so much happier with them. They're still pretty scrappy, but the colours will work so much better with the main fabric colours I have chosen. So, I'm ready for Clue 2, but glad it won't turn up until next week, as I need the time to finish off the birthday quilt. Sadly, the colours don't show up too well in the photograph. 

Now, I'm off for a walk to stretch out the kinks before I start getting supper organised.

Cheating (15)

Having completed the 4patch blocks for my Strawberry Crush quilt - and a few over - I really wasn't happy with them. I absolutely LOVE the main fabrics I have chosen, and decided it would be a pity not to be absolutely certain about the rest of it. So I went to my local quilt store this morning and picked up loads of their scrappy bits and couple of FQs that are just the right colours. I made about half of them up this afternoon, and will finish them off in the next couple of days. I'll post a picture once they're all finished. So that leaves me with loads of 4patch blocks to play with - along with the others I have made out of leaders and enders. I can see the beginnings of my first charity donation quilts there.

I made Delia Smith's Cheat version of Pasta Puttanesca for supper and very good it was - long live cheating!

A quiet Sunday afternoon (14)

After the excitement of this morning's snow, I'm having a pleasantly quiet Sunday afternoon. Number One Son came for lunch and is now working on the set-up on DH's new laptop - and there's a tale. DH has been ironing his shirts for next week, and is now having a 'short doze' and I've been doing some cross stitch. I'm making a Mr Men sampler for my nephew's 4th birthday in June - eleven weeks to go and there are ten pictures to work, so that should work out nicely.

Yes, DH's laptop. Well, he did have a rather nice Mac Book, just over a year old. He took it to France on business last week, put it on the floor next to the bed while he had a 'short doze' (something you will have realised he is very fond of!). When he woke up he jumped off the bed and promptly did a clog dance on his laptop, completely wrecking it. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall! On second thoughts, I think the language would have made even a fly blush. So, except for the battery and power cable, the remains lie interred in a French skip. Hence the need for a new laptop. 

Snow, snow and more snow (13)

Well, what a lovely morning! Loads of snow! We get so little snow here in the South East of England that it's always exciting. Not that I particularly want to go out in it these days, but I do love to look at it. It's been snowing all morning, but isn't settling so much now. I bet all the children have had a brilliant time. It's the first time for a couple of years that we've had enough snow for them to be able to get out sledging 

or to make snowmen - and on a Sunday, that's a real bonus. You can see from the picture above that DH wasn't going to be deterred by a little snow from going out for his usual Sunday morning run with the running club. Rosie, on the other hand hasn't so much as stuck her nose through the cat flap. She's got far more sense. 

Cards and blocks (12)

Yesterday I paid a visit to the school I used to teach at until last July. Two of the members of staff were leaving, and I was invited along to the farewell lunch. It was lovely to visit the school - I haven't been since before Christmas - but, oh, the changes! Even in so short a time there have been alterations, decorating and purchases - all for the good, and the school is looking very attractive, but it seemed very strange. It was good to see many old friends and to catch up with what was happening in their lives and in the school.

I made these two cards for the people who were leaving. The top card is for the speech therapy assistant who is retiring, and the 

lower card is for the speech therapist, who is leaving to have a baby.

I didn't do much sewing, but managed to finish the BOM club block, so that makes two plus two filler sections. It's the first time I've done any applique, and they are full of glaring mistakes, but hopefully they won't show so much once the whole thing is done. It's also the first time I've done foundation piecing too. I'm not keen on the colours of these blocks, but if I still don't like it when it's finished it can be my first donation piece. I love learning some

thing new with each quilt, and there seems so much more to learn - it keeps my brain from shrinking or something, now that I'm retired!

I could never get my displays properly vertical when I was teaching, and it looks as if my 

photography suffers from the same problem!

Aaaaagh!!! (11)

I'm having real problems getting my images where I want them, they look fine when I am composing them, then go all over the place when I publish. Any ideas?

Signs of spring (10)

DH came back from his short business trip to France this afternoon and, although I have felt pretty rotten this week, it was lovely to get out for a short drive. He wanted to see how the bluebells are coming along, as he organises a 'Bluebell Run' each year for his running club. It's official - spring is definitely here now. The magnolia trees are terrific this year, and so many pretty daffodils. The bluebells are only just starting to flower, so they should be just perfect for his run in a couple of week's time. We also saw some primroses and two other flowers whose names I have forgotten, and I can't find the wild flower identification book. Perhaps someone will be able to help out here.

This morning I managed to finish my 4 patch blocks for the Orange Crush mystery quilt. I've made them all scrappy as instructed, although most of my lights came from a charity shop shirt, and I'm not convinced they will go well with the rest of my fabric, but we shall just have to wait and see.

Hopefully the sinusitis, plus the bad reaction to the antibiotics will ease soon so that I can get down to finishing some of the other work on hand. I've got two full size quilts to finish, plus a BOM block and I'm starting to get some ideas together for some wall hangings. Can't wait to get down to them.