UFO's: Ending the year how I plan to begin

I made a mini list of my most pressing UFO's (in my sidebar) and last night decided to tackle the borders of my Orange Crush mystery quilt. The border pieces were half done and just needed putting into rows. Then the plain blue inner border and the plain red outer border needed cutting and piecing.

I read the instructions where Bonnie says something like "Now for some Maths...". Uh-oh!!



Well I just decided to wing it with her measurements. (I didn't even measure my quilt to see if I was going to be lucky or not LOL). And it all fit together just fine. Whew!!! My kind of quilting!!!

Now for the back. I plan to piece the back from strips I cut ages ago.



I haven't really got a plan with the strips, I know I had a few ideas, but can't remember which one I had planned to do as I had cut these strips so long ago.... I'm sure I shall think of something. But at least I am tackling those UFO's which is a good thing as an evil temptress has informed me that Bonnie is starting a new mystery called Double Delight on New Year's Day and I just love the sound of it so.... I have pulled fabrics and am thinking I may join in if DH's sewing ban is not put into place!

And while I was sewing last night, the others were doing a puzzle...



I have said if there's a sewing ban, then there will also be a puzzle ban, a tennis ban etc etc...

On another note, I did really well this Christmas. Sharon's gift went everywhere with my Hexagon's in. I have 2 fabulous bags for my WIP's from 2008 (one from Peg and one from Sharon - Thank you both again!) I also joined in the BQL Secret Santa and got a stunning folder cover for the 'Handmade gift"



and some cool notions for my "Purchased Gift"




Our neighbours returned from their holiday in New Zealand and surprised me with some great fabric and some fun panels. My favourite fabric saying was in this picture....




"Me Quilt? No, I just collect fabric!" Umm, well, yes, I guess so LOL

Kate also kindly sent me some blocks from a swap we did together a while back and as I still had some over from when I made my scrapbuster quilt (as seen in my header) I thought I'd like her spares to try something else a bit scrappy again... (Umm, about clearing those UFO's... well, yes, someday!)



The extra pineapple blocks are pretty cute too! Thanks Kate!


Now, it's just left for me to wish everyone a Happy, Hearty, Healthy (and most importantly handcrafty) New Year!!!

Hello again

There I was last Monday, minding my own business when WHAM! I got struck down with the most nasty flu. Today was the first day I have been up and feeling ok pretty much all day. A whole week of coughing, nose-blowing, sick children and definitely no sewing. I managed a very few stitches on my hexagons one evening, but it was too much like hard work LOL

As the whole family was finally well enough to go out today, we braved the masses so that DH could make a start on his Christmas shopping (Men!).

And tonight I made a start (and a finish) on 3 quick adult stockings to go with the boy's Christmas stockings...



And I also photographed the packaging of my BQL Secret Santa...



What a cheek! As if I would open it before the 25th!!! :-)

A year of bags

This is my December BQL Bag Challenge bag. I somehow managed to keep up with the challenge and made 12 very different bags throughout the year. And what a year! Although I have given many bags away, the photos remind me of what a year this has been. Good, bad, sad, fast... and I shall look forward to 2009.


I have put a Flickr badge in my sidebar with all the photos of the bags that I made in the 2008 Bag challenge.


Thank you Kandy (who needs a blog so I can link to it!) I'm not sure what next year's challenge is and whether I'll be able to keep up, but knowing how interesting this challenge was, I imagine I shall be very tempted!

Roses are red and pink and....

I have not been blogging much as I am not permitted (!) to be on the computer too much these days LOL. This does mean that in the evenings I get exposed to a lot of television (!!) and (luckily) quite a bit of hexagon handwork too :-)

Here are my hexagons so far...



I have a ways to go. I still need to border the rose panel with cream roses and attach it. This I will do last. I am sewing the hexagons in sections. The big gap will become a whole new section which I will join later. (At the moment it is still in 3 sections.)

I got a wonderful and very welcome surprise from Guðrún! More gorgeous rose fabrics.



These have already been added to the above sections, but just need to be stitched on. Thanks Guðrún. The sweets were very welcome too :-)

I have finished the tree skirt. I struggled with the tension on the back for ages and in the end thought that for something that will be used once a year for a few weeks and only viewed from the top I am not going to agonise over it. So it's done and already in use.



This week I also received an African block from Kate for our private blockswap.
We have now decided to swap smaller blocks so that we can potentially work on the borders of our very unplanned quilts.



Thanks Kate, this is a really cute block.

Also on an African theme. Mother has finished 2 scarves for Ruth's Scarves for Africa project...



In case I don't get any more computer time between now and Santa's visit, I'd like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and thanks for visiting!

More of the white stuff

Kids (like me) dream of days like this! School closed due to the snow!!



It was wonderful walking in the snow...



feeding the sheep...



And building the boys first ever snowman....



There has been crafting.

I have pieced the top of a tree skirt.



I VERY loosely followed the tutorial on Crazy Mom Quilts's blog for a log cabin tree skirt. Yes, very loosely LOL, but I like it. Now just to quilt it, cut it, bind it... perhaps by Christmas eve (next year!!) as I am having some tension issues with my quilting and it's driving me nuts!


And Mother has knitted me a scarf (from wool I bought to knit myself a scarf LOL).



My mother is an amazing knitter. Now Mom's knitting some charity scarves for Ruth's Scarves for Africa project. She will probaly knit 3 or 4 scarves in the time I would knit that one scarf!!

The Feast of Stephen (A letter to my brother)

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even...

(I remember pounding away at this song on the neighbour's piano! LOL) The snow is not deep, or crisp or even, but it has been snowing and apart from driving in it, it's great!


Outside DS1's school this morning, a classmate plays with the snow


The only way to travel to school...



A snowman seen on the way to DS2's playgroup...


Outside playgroup...



DS2 and friends go for a walk on the fields




Well Stephen, it's snowing! Not sure it will last until Christmas, but Mother is here and she's feeling the cold.

I just wanted to say thank you for your very thoughtful gift (yes, I opened it... no surprises there then LOL)


...beautiful silkscreens, printing ink, fabric and wonderful looking squeegees to print my own labels.

Such a wonderful gift. Thank you dear brother.


ps Just one thing you forgot to include..... some more hours in the day :-) And I know you could use them as well!!!

A touch more frost (and Christmas crafts)

The last time I really experienced frost, ice and snow properly was when I lived in Germany so I am finding this all very novel, cold and beautiful once again...






Our garden...




Last year we spent Christmas in the South African sun. While I was there, I made the boys an Advent calendar from a panel my friend Birgit gave me. I hand stitched EVERY pocket and handquilted it as I didn't trust my skills on my mother's sewing machine!!!



Perhaps I should look for another panel and make another one by machine this year so the boys will have one each next year. (I only finished this one halfway through December last year so I'm running on schedule again LOL)

I also made them stockings...



The nametags came about as a last minute thing (foam letters glued on felt!), but they will do for another year...

I think this year the boys will really be into Christmas. DS1 has already written to Santa. Unfortunatley Santa hasn't done any of her Christmas shopping yet as she hates it, but she, I mean he, will get his skates on soon!