Island Hame Crafts

Harrington and Hannah

2012-02-07T22:10:00.000Z

You can tell I was really taken with the Raspbery Rabbit BOM that I talked about in my last post. I got all the pieces cut out of the lovely wool my nice friend sent from Canada. I do not usually follow a pattern exactly, and this project was no exception. I buttonhole stitched the pieces down, using my Bernina, embroidered a whipped backstitch for the arms and made sure I stitched crookedly on his nose - whoever heard of a snowman with a straight carrot nose? I added red beads to the French knots for the Holly, more red beads on top of the snowman's heart and bright blue french knots for my rabbits. I really enjoyed this block.

We have had a couple of really nice days, quite cool, but the sun is shining!! I went for a walk yesterday along the track to another beach. Here is what I saw, when I got to the top of the dunes -

Usually this beach does not have any seaweed on it (or people). There must have been a storm out at sea.
Till next time.
tich

Lookie, Lookie!!

2012-02-05T11:10:00.000Z

I have often said how wonderful the worldwide blogging community is. I have made such wonderful friends, loving supportive and funny. Look what I got from two such lovely friends, one in Canada and the other in America -

These are pieces of wool to help me make the first block of the BOM from the Raspberry Rabbits It is a really cute block and I can't wait to get going.

My next parcel contained this little beauty with a card about friendship (it is up on my mantelpiece, so no picture!)

Isn't this absolutely gorgeous!! The crochet is so neat, and the colour is just right for my lounge. It is too nice to be hidden under a mug, so it is on proud display, where everyone will see it, along with another one I received a wee while ago. I am really blessed to have two such nice friends. They are always there.

We had torrential rain,yesterday, but I mustn't complain, because the rest of Britain is under inches of snow. The sun is actually shining, between the showers. The picture below was taken two days ago. I rushed out to get it, as we seem to have had rain for months, with the island having flooding in places never flooded before.

Sunrise on the Peedie Sea - tide out.

I am away to cut out a block .
Till next time.
tich

Catching Up and Burns

2012-01-30T20:41:00.006Z

I still have a bit of catching up to do from my blog break.

In December we always have a Christmas Sale here on the island. It is supposed to be for things that are made in Sanday, so we have handmade chocolates, knitted items, baking, freshly butchered meat and lots and lots of crafts. I decided I was going to take part for the first time since we moved here. I have always taken part in Craft shows, wherever I have lived, so I knew what it entailed. I wanted to make a lot of shopping bags and back packs with a fancy embroidery sign on it and the name of our island and some other miscellaneous crafts.

These are my two tables, before I started setting up in the Community Hall. There were a lot of stall holders.

I did not get a chance to take a photo of the stall, before the sale started, because people started asking to buy things, as I was getting them on the stall. All these photos have been taken about half way through the sale, when the initial rush had died down. You can see my husband having a rest. He always helps me out with my sales. He is great!!

I not only made lots of bags, but I dyed silk scarves, knitted beadie bags, made wire jewellery, loads of earrings, aromatherapy material crackers, dyed wool packs, embroidered coasters (thanks!) and Christmas tree ornaments.

I sold a lot of things and had great fun.

I was very quiet last week. I was asked to address the haggis at the Burns Supper. We usually have a meal and a dance, but this year we had a funeral on the day of the dance, so the supper was put forward a week, with no dance afterwards. I thought I would read the poem, but my husband persuaded me to learn it off by heart! I have real problems learning anything by rote, so I downloaded the free software, Audacity, to help me. You can record things easily using this software. I used to record the course material for the different exam subjects and export them as mp3s, when I was still working. The pupils could then revise their subjects using their Ipods. Much cooler than studying from a book! I used this software to record the individual verses of the poem, and gradually learned all eight verses. I practised in front of the mirror, and my husband kept on thinking we had unexpected guests, when he heard me talking to myself! I was really nervous on the night, but when I got to my feet, and saw the lovely haggis 'fillin' the groanin' trencher', I just let rip and had a good time. I have a West Coast accent, and as Burns was born on the West Coast, I had no problems with the pronunciation. I love Burns. He was such a perceptive poet, and had a naughty sense of humour! No wonder the lassies loved him!

On the tables, someone had thoughtfully provided a napkin with a translation of good old Scots words. They are not so old, as I was brought up with these words! Perhaps they were provided because there were so many English in the hall !

Here they are, with pronunciation in the brackets-

stotter (stoat-er) - excellent example

numpty (num-p-tee) - idiot, intellectually challenged

braw (br-AWW) - beautiful

skiver (sky-ver) - lazy person, shirker

cludgie (clud-gee) - toilet

wabbit (wah-bit) - exhausted, under the weather

crabbit (cra-bit) - bad tempered, out of humour

laldie (lall-dy) - to do vigorously, get stuck in

besom (biz-um) -hussy, female upstart

blether (ble-ther) - gossip, incessant chatter

clype (klipe) - informer, tell-tale

drouth (dro-oth) post dram thirst

wheesht (whee-sht) - quiet

eejit (ee-jit) -idiot, not the full shilling

clarty (cla-rty) - mucky, boggin'

scunner (scun-ner) - feeling of disgust or loathing

canny (can-y) -thrifty, wise

drookit (droo-kit) - drenched, soaked through

glaikit (glai-kit) - foolish, not very bright

fouter (foo-tir) - dither, to not get on with

mauchit (maw-kit) - dirty, filthy

haiver (hay-ver) - to talk rubbish

dreich (dreech) - dull, bleak, miserable

gallus (ga-luss) - bold, cocky, cheeky

Anyway, I think I have haivered enough! It is a right dreich night, enough to make you scunnered. I have got a drouth, so I will go and make a cup of tea and stop bletherin', in case I make you crabbit!

Till next time.

tich

Procrastination and a Recipe

2012-01-19T12:48:00.002Z

My New Year resolution of trying to blog more often has not been too successful. Trouble is I am a born procrastinator, so I have decided to take Marianna's (of Craftluver Marianna) pledge. Now it took me ages to make up my mind to pledge, and even longer to blog about it, but I am getting there . So far I have-

cut out material for a Dear Jane block,
made templates for another one,
made two cushions,
have two more cut out
experimented with baking with quail's eggs
soaked postage stamps from paper and dried them for my husband's stamp collection.

I now have to think of -

unpacking some more boxes from the shed,
finishing the cushions
blogging more regularly
paperwork
learning a poem!
sewing a cushion for a friend!
dyeing wool with natural dyes.

This list could go on and on, but I don't want to put myself completely off. If I could get two off the list I would be happy.

I love baking, but never usually find time to make a Christmas cake. This year I found a really quick recipe. I used some of the mix to make individual little cakes. I cut out the marzipan and the royal icing and put them on with apricot jam, but stepped them, so that you could see both.

The individual cakes were finished off with a cherry, and they looked really cute and tasted great. I used the rest of the mix in two x 2lb loaf tins, to make two rectangular cakes, which were decorated with marzipan and royal icing and then sliced. The recipe is below. I did not use currants, but divided the fruit between raisins and sultanas and used ground almonds instead of whole ones. Next time, I would add cherries as well, but it is yummy as it is. This recipe is from the UKTV site.

Quick Christmas Cake

Ingredients

225 g lightlight muscovado sugar
225 g butter, or margarine
225 g plain flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
large pinches salt
4 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp black treacle
1 apple
1 orange, grated rind
275 g raisins
275 g currants
275 g sultanas
65 g almonds
5 tbsp brandy
Method
1. Turn the oven onto 140C/gas mark 1 and put a shelf onto the centre runner.

2. Grease 10 x 10cm tins using a little of the butter and line with baking parchment.

3. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, sieve in the flour with the spices, bicarbonate of soda and salt and add the beaten eggs, treacle, apple and orange rind.

4. Add the fruit and almonds to the bowl, mix together.

5. Finally add in the brandy and mix together thoroughly.

6. Spoon the mixture evenly between the tins and press down gently with the back of a spoon to even it out.

7. Bake for around 1 hour or until cooked. Check if it's cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre - if the skewer comes out gooey then leave the cake in the oven for another 10 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.

This cake can be enjoyed anytime, not just at Christmas!
Enjoy!
Till next time.
tich

Hello Again!!

2012-01-06T20:55:00.006Z

Now I know I have taken a very long, extended break, but I am back!! There were a lot of reasons I have not been blogging, but hopefully they are long gone, and I can get back into the habit of sharing some of my thoughts and things I make with you.

We have had lousy weather for ages. We had the first gales in October, which was very early for us and since then we have had high winds on and off, and loads of rain. On the night of December 8th we had terrible gales, with winds gusting to over 136mph and no power. One of the larger fishing boats, tied up at the harbour, was swamped by a 20ft wave, and sank! This is a picture of the boat a few days later.

The boat had been pumped out and dragged further into the harbour.

It looks as if there is not a lot wrong with it. The insurers, however, say it is a write off. The people who own the boat are heart-broken, as it has been in the family for three generations.

The harbour looks very calm, but when I was taking these pictures I was being buffeted by a high wind, and had to be careful I didn't end up in the harbour too! It was very difficult to take pictures without them being affected by the wind - see picture below -

Usually I just stay indoors, when the weather is bad, but I am getting quite fed up of wind and rain. We have had a few good days -

- but they have been few and far between. This is a picture of our bay at sunrise, with the tide out. The following was taken at the same time, turning the camera to the right, towards our neighbours. Although it does not look it, they are about four or five fields away,past the bridge -

When the wind is in a certain direction, and over 70mph, it lifts the water off the top of the sea, forming a mist called spindrift. I tried to get photos of it, but, what with the wind buffeting me and trying to get a steady photo, I did not succeed very well. The pictures look unclear, but that is the spindrift on our bay -

Now the waves don't look too bad in these pictures, but I was nearly blown off the path, taking these! Just after I went back in, the wind got worse!!

It sounds all doom and gloom, but we are just having an exceptional winter this year. The previous winters were fine, so we just have to think that we are now in the new year, and Spring is on its way!!

I know it is a bit late, but one of my friends sent me this, so enjoy the beautiful scenery! Double click it to get the benefit of the complete screen and turn your sound on!

Happy New Year!
Till next time,
tich

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2011-12-31T17:49:00.001Z

Happy New Year Graphics provided by MUDTRAP.COM

Wonder what 2012 will have in store? Lots of fun and creative energy, I hope! For all my readers - I hope you have a fulfilling New Year, with lots of health, wealth and happiness!

till next time

tich

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2011-12-24T23:53:00.001Z

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a joyous New Year!!
Hope Santa is good to you all.
tich

Digital Photography Class

2011-09-27T15:05:00.001+01:00

I have got a good digital camera, but I must admit that, most of the time, I point and shoot, keeping my fingers crossed that the pictures turn out. Most of the time I am lucky, but sometimes I could wish for more. When I heard that there was to be a photography class held in the Community school, I signed up and just hoped I would not make too much of a fool of myself.

There are five of us in the class. Two members (plus the teacher) have, what I would call, professional cameras, I am in the middle, and the two others have reasonable, but slightly older digital cameras. Our first assignment for the class was -'juxtaposition of circles and lines'. Phew!! I wandered round the school looking for lines and circles, and it was really amazing how many I found. I deleted loads, but was quite happy with these remaining photos.

Window blind cord.

Door handle and lock

Radiator

Screws

Screw

Drawing pin

I enjoyed doing this, but still like my landscapes better. Guess I am not arty enough.

Till next time.

tich

Tana Lawn

2011-09-24T09:19:00.001+01:00

I have definitely lost the impetus to blog regularly. It is not that I have little to share, but that the time just seems to get away from me too easily. Anyway, I am on today!

You will remember, perhaps, that I was given a lot of scraps of Tana Lawn a long time ago - years in fact!

I decided I was going to make a log cabin with foundation piecing, drew out a block I liked and photocopied lots of this design. I only had scraps of the lawn, albeit some of them were a reasonable size. I really enjoyed puttering away at this, and laying out lots of permutations of the log cabin on the floor.

I sewed four of the smaller blocks to make bigger blocks and eventually got this -

Next I had to decide what kind of border I wanted. If I put on ordinary cotton, it would have been too heavy and eventually have made the lawn tear or wear badly. I decided on a piano key design, using the material I had -

The photo below, with my husband's feet sticking out, shows the top completed. It still has the papers behind the border, and these will not be taken out until I get round to sandwiching it, prior to quilting.

I have still got quite a lot of scraps left, so I might make another top in a different design - later!!
Till next time.
tich

Summer's End

2011-09-05T19:32:00.000+01:00

I can't believe it has been a month since I last blogged, but the time has just flown. Our weather has changed radically since this time last month. Our grandchildren were here and having fun on the beach in August.

The dog was on its lead, because the previous day she had taken off over the dunes after a rabbit and disappeared for two hours!! She came home on her own, happy but exhausted!!

Since then the weather has deteriorated. Last weekend we had our first gales, which is really early in the season. We had a weather warning out from the Saturday night, with high winds and torrential rain until late Monday. We woke up on the Sunday morning to no electricity. It was off from 7.30am till 6.20pm. No ferries or planes could get out, as the weather was too rough, so the repairmen had to wait until it calmed down a bit, before they could get out to repair the break. Only ten houses were affected, but we thought it was the whole island. We had just hatched quail from the incubator and had one new one chick, so the woodburner was on high the whole day to keep them warm, whilst my husband and I went round in t-shirts, trying to cool down! The winds were between 55-60mph, so that was not bad. The wild geese are back early and eating the grain, which has still to be harvested. It is going to be a long winter!

Whilst the girls were here, we had our yearly horticultural show. They entered the visitors' section as usual, and the elder girl got three prizes for-
1. Making something from articles found on the beach (she thought the dried seaweed looked like reindeer antlers.)

2. Shellcraft

3. Painting/drawing of a Sanday view. (The Wetlands)

Unfortunately the younger girl did not get anything. There were a large number of visitors this year, so the competition was fierce.

Hopefully we will get an Indian Summer later on in the year, but for now I am going to read, as it has been raining on and off all day!

Till next time,

tich

House Name

2011-08-05T10:36:00.000+01:00

House names can be quite personal, but when we moved here a few years ago, we liked our house name. The only thing was, there was a bit of a mix up with it. The locals called it one thing and the incomers another. The sign on the gate did not help as it was neither one nor the other, as it was not spelled correctly. The sign was very tatty, and I wanted to repaint it, but did not know which version to use.

I rather liked the local version of the name, but when we put it on the computer to order something, we didn't exist! When we looked up the deeds for the house going back to the 1700s, we found the name was not the local version, but the English one, so that settled it. My husband took down the old sign and sanded a bit of wood for me.
I told you that I had been speaking to Prof. Michael Barnes about Viking Runes at one of the Soulka Weekends, but he told me about the Pictish Ogam alphabet, and very kindly sent me a copy of it - thanks Michael!. (the Picts were here before the Vikings)
I decided to paint the original name in large letters, the ogam symbols above the letters and to include the local name in small letters underneath. That way I covered all bases. I also tried to design a Pictish looking symbol. I am really pleased with the results. My husband has to sand the edges and varnish it, and then it can go on display.

Till next time.

tich

Felt Workshop

2011-07-31T19:59:00.001+01:00

As you know I have been using good old Orkney fleece and Kool Aid to dye some wool for felting. My daughter has been running story workshops, with the children making the characters out of felt. I am going to send her down some samples of fleece to play with - these are the latest to come out of the crock pot -

The weather has not been very good the last few days, so the girls and I thought we would take part in a felt workshop. I was really looking forward to it. I had bought the sponge and the felting needles from Ebay, and the sponge was sent in a nice box.The needle were sent in corrugated cardboard, because they are so sharp, and I think this is a good way of storing them. (sorry about the picture - I was rushing!!)

The nice thing about it was we did not have to leave home, because the teacher was staying with me. You've guessed it - it was my eldest granddaughter, who is eight. She had had a lot of felting lessons, so she taught me how to make a 3D toadstool, and my other granddaughter, who is six, made one as well.

It was great fun and she was a very positive teacher, giving lots of praise to both of us. Here are the end results. Mine is at the back. They all have stems on them, but I wasn't taking good pictures today.

As I said previously, the weather is cold and wet today, so I have been looking at the pictures from last week and sighing -

And just to give you a laugh - we are being careful with our ponies, keeping them off the grass, in case they get laminitis, so they are either in the stable or the field shelter. What a long-suffering look on the the pony's face, but he still let the hen stay!

Till next time.
tich

Indigo Dyeing (Photo Heavy)

2011-07-25T23:22:00.004+01:00

I promised last time I would tell you about the indigo dyeing session we had at the house of one of the Sanday Spinners. It has taken me some time to post it, as we have our granddaughters up for a holiday, so very little time is left for sewing.

One of the ladies bought an indigo dye kit years ago, and it was decided we would all be able to dye something, as the kit allowed for 2-3 kg to be dyed. The link for the dyeing instructions are here, and if you scroll down the page you will see how we proceeded.

We met for a short time the night before the session, to make up the stock solution and used a yoghurt flask to maintain the temperature.

The next morning the stock solution was mixed with water and spectralite in a large plastic tub, whilst the fibre was soaked in water, prior to dyeing.

The yarn was tied to a pole, slowly lowered into the mix and very gently agitated. Prevention of oxidization of the water was paramount, so someone had to raise the yarn out the mix, whilst the yarn was squeezed under the liquid, to prevent oxidized drips going back into the tub. This sounds really complicated, but it worked well. We had plenty of opportunities to have tea and cake, when we had to wait to go onto the next stage !

I decided I did not want to dye spun yarn as such, so I washed and carded some fleece and borrowed a dizz, so that I could make some pencil roving. I also brought some commercial thread, silk hankies for spinning, silk throwers waste and a carrier rod. You can also see the rest of the fibre the other ladies dyed, below.

Hope you enjoyed this.

Till next time

tich

Too Pooped to Pop! (photo heavy!)

2011-07-13T23:12:00.005+01:00

I've had a really busy time since I last posted here. I think I told you about the Sanday Soulka Weekends, which have been happening each month. We have just had the Wrecks and Signals Weekend, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. The Sanday Spinners were having an Open studio, at one of the members' conservatories, so I decided to make some things for sale. I dyed a whole lot of fleece with Kool Aid, carded it and made up some bags with fleece and co-ordinating beads. I also machine embroidered some bags.

(Sorry about the quality and I forgot to photograph the other designs!)

Three of the embroidered bags sold, but nobody was interested in the beady fleece bags.

Here you can see my husband having a go at carding. You can see some of the carded fleece in the background, some drying on my ruler shelf and some soaking in the sink. It is great fun to do, and I want to go on to natural dyeing from here.
Back to the Soulka Weekend. We had a talk on shipwrecks then a concert with Frank Keenan and Logan's Well on the Friday. On the Saturday I went spinning and met some visitors to Sanday, who had come over for the Soulka.
We went on a tour of the buildings which were left over from the war. Seemingly the army requisitioned some land and the islanders did not know what was going happening in the camp. It was extremely top secret. The first building we saw was the morgue -

Only two people were killed on the island during the war, and the bodies were brought into this building.

There are still no details about what happened here during the war, but it was supposedly extremely important. This building was enormous, and it was surrounded by mines. The army was supposed to get rid of them after the war, but the farmer had to drag a wheel behind the back of a tractor and set it going, so that he wasn't blown up tilling the ground.

The shaped concrete at the front was where the diesel was housed.

This was a communication shelter, and would have had a huge antenna on top.
After this, we had a lecture on the Rev. M Armour, who sought land reform for the crofters in Sanday.
(The following pictures are not mine. I forgot to take my camera with me!)

The Kirkwall City Pipe Band played (and marched!) in the school playground later, and then we had another concert inside.

It was fantastic!! The pipe band leader was really funny and so enthusiastic!! He said music and learning music should be fun and the concert definitely was!! We then had a dance and at 11.30pm a huge supper was brought out, sandwiches, pizza, sausage rolls, pies and cakes. The next day they played again, but less formally (grin!!)

What a difference!! There was a 7km run in the afternoon, a balloon race and more music from the band. I have only told you about the things we attended, but there were loads of other things on offer, including Open Studios, talks and workshops. What a weekend!!

Last night and this morning the Sanday Spinners did some indigo dyeing. I will tell you about it in the next post. We have had glorious weather recently. We went for a walk on the beach and had a paddle. Then I came home and had a snooze!!

Till next time.

tich

Videos and Apology

2011-07-04T09:57:00.003+01:00

I thought you would like to see one of our sheep and the ram being shorn by one of our friends. Ian is in great demand to shear the sheep on the island. We were given these sheep last year as 'caddy lambs'. A caddy lamb is a lamb that has been rejected by its mother, or the sheep has had a multiple birth and cannot cope with all the mouths to feed. We (or should I say my husband) hand reared the lambs. The ram was supposed to have been 'done', but he grew into an imposing beast and fathered twin lambs this year! One of the twins was rejected, so we started hand feeding again, and got some more caddy lambs for company.

I am sorry I have been off Blogger for so long. My patchwork friend Pat died recently. I have known Pat for more than thirty five years. She was like a second Mum to me and was a great support when my own lovely Mum died. She was great fun, a fantastic sewer, a font of knowledge and I loved her dearly. She will be sadly missed.

My father-in-law also died two weeks ago. He was suffering with Alzheimer's, and came to live with us before it was properly diagnosed. Unfortunately he did not like living in Orkney, as he had lived in Glasgow for sixty years, and missed the hustle and bustle of city life (if we get two cars in a row, it is a traffic jam!) Dad was an extremely intelligent man, who helped and cared for people throughout his life. He will be sadly missed as well.

Sorry this has been a sad post, but things are definitely more cheerful now. We have new lambs, ducklings and goslings, I have been out in the studio and the sun is shining. What more can you ask for?
Till next time.
tich

Back Again.(Photo Heavy)

2011-05-04T10:35:00.000+01:00

Edit - this is the third time I have tried to post this! You know what they say - third time lucky!!
Sorry I have been so long posting. A great deal has been happening here, and I have not felt like posting worries (as well as losing posts into the ether!).

We went off island recently. We were going down to a joint birthday party for my grandchildren. My husband, who was an entertainer before he retired, said he would do one final party, so we combined that with a lot of other things that needed done.

In the summer, we are able to take the Hamnavoe ferry from Stromness (Orkney Mainland) to Scrabster (Scotland), and sleep on board overnight. We went onboard after 9pm and had a very comfortable cabin with an en suite and a breakfast as well. I get a lovely sleep, but I feel awful as soon as the ferry moves at 6am, and I have yet to manage the cooked breakfast in the dining room.

I was really excited this trip, as I was going to meet one of my new Internet friends. Elly lives in Thurso, and I met her through Rosa, who was such a good support when my sister was ill. Elly was such fun! We met up for coffee and we sat and nattered for an hour. I could have sat there all day, but we needed to get on our way.

The picture above was taken in Inverkeithing. We took our granddaughter to a park, whilst we were waiting for our other GD. There appeared to be a pit dungeon in the foreground and two dungeons dug out of the rock at the rear. I have no info on these, but hope to find out more soon. The weather had just turned a bit warmer, and I managed to catch this butterfly sunning itself.

The party went well, and you can see 'Mr Tubbs' with the party girls - the ones on the left in each picture -

and here is the other granddaughter with Granddad!

The hotel where we stay in Penicuik has such a peaceful lounge I always want to do some applique, when I see the windows.

We brought the two older girls back with us, and they (and we) had a great time. The weather was cold, but that did not damp the enthusiasm. They are back home now, but things have been a bit hectic. Hopefully, things will quieten down soon (and this post will post!!!!)

Till next time,

tich

Disappearing Posts!

2011-04-29T19:44:00.004+01:00

Is anybody else having problems with Blogger? I keep on losing my posts when I publish them.
tich

Ponderings

2011-03-22T22:03:00.005Z

I am sorry I have not been blogging recently. I was all ready to post, when our power went out. Now this is not unusual. We are a small island, and when there is a fault, it can affect a small area, or it can affect the whole island. We have two men on the island, who do the repairs, if they can, and if they can't the power company sends out mechanics from Mainland Orkney, either chartering a plane or a launch, to effect the repairs.

So the power went out. It was nearly 2pm. still daylight. We are all electric. except for a wood burning stove. The fire went on to keep us warm, and then I started having problems. I wanted to use my computer - NO ELECTRICITY! I wanted to use my sewing machine - NO ELECTRICITY! Also my machine was out in my studio -NO HEAT. There was no chance of watching the television, listening to the radio or cd and the light was not good enough to do hand embroidery. I could not do any baking, which I love or do any cooking, but I solved the question of a cup of tea by putting a pan on top of the wood burner, much easier than getting out the small, gas camping stove. I ended up reading a book, and using a torch , when the natural light began to fade.

This failure of power made me think how dependent on power we really are. I need light to see, a cooker to eat, television, radio and cd/dvd to listen to, heaters for comfort. It made me wonder how we managed before I became so dependent on 'gadgets'!! Our island did not get electricity till the 1970s (I think 1972), so it was tilley lamps, aga cookers or individual generators. Suddenly we cannot do without ipads, ipods and mobile phones. Now I may drool at the adverts for ipads, but I hate mobile phones! They are intrusive. Who wants to be phoned when you are walking down the street, or, in my case, walking along a deserted beach, listening to the surf and the seagulls? Yuck!!

From there it was a small step to thinking about the disaster in Japan. Can you imagine what the Japanese are going through just now? It was bad enough that they had a massive earthquake, but then the tsunami arrived, and now they have the radiation from the damaged power plant with which to contend. Just watch this-

It beggars belief. I think one of the most poignant pictures for me was people queuing up in a very orderly fashion, waiting for food. Adults were handed a very small package of rice (maybe about 3oz) for two adults. This is in a country that only the day before had the third largest economy! The Japanese people must be asking themselves, 'Are the government telling us the truth about the radiation?" Imagine what these people are going through? People who are used to the highest types of technology, reduced to nothing.

And to add to all this distressing news, our government has involved us in another war. Where and when will all this madness end? It doesn't bear thinking about!!

To go back to the power failure. The transformer had failed in the field behind our house and about thirty people were still affected, fours hours later. A launch had been chartered from Kirkwall, and the engineers came out to repair it. We went down to the hotel and had a lovely meal and then decided to go to the bingo! We had a great evening, won some money and came home to find the power had just been turned on - seven hours after the initial fault! I have appreciated electricity ever since.
Till next time.
tich

Hexs, DJ, Log Cabin and Applique Tutorial

2011-03-06T19:26:00.007Z

It has been simply ages since I posted. My back was playing up again, and then I had to get a small growth cut from my eyelid. It looked as if someone had socked me good and proper, but the swelling has gone down, the black is gone, and I am back sewing once again. I always thought if you were not feeling well, the natural thing would be to pick up a bit of sewing, but when I am off-colour, it is the last thing I want to do.
Anyway, you do not want to hear my grumps and groans, you want to see some pictures!

I usually sew some of these hexagons, when I go on the ferry, so it is slow going. I want to make this quilt -

I saw this on the Net a long time ago. I do not know who took this picture, or did the sewing, but I thought the design was absolutely gorgeous!! It will take me years to make it, but I like being able to pick up and lay down the pattern, and still know where I am, when I go back to it.

This is the latest Dear Jane block - I 3 - Family Album. It is hand-sewn. It looks wonky, but is just not well pressed.

I started this log cabin last year too, so this has to be finished soon. I am trying to be really good and not start any new projects. I have made a pact with myself that I have to finish two UFOs before I can start anything new this year. I was doing really well. I thought I would pick two small UFOs, trying to be sneaky , and that way I would get two projects finished quickly, and I could get onto something new! Best laid schemes o' mice and men and all that. I lost one part of a table topper and can't find it anywhere, and have run out of material to finish another! Mind you I have had a lot of UFOs, so don't need to worry about sitting around, doing nothing!!

I really love applique, but am always worried I don't get it right. My friend sent me this wonderful link to a tutorial or tutorials on Back Basting at http://appliqueaddict.blogspot.com/
There are three tutorials on Back Basting, and they are really good. I have permission from Marjorie to pass on the links, so enjoy the tutorials here, here and here!
Thanks, Marjorie (and Cyn for telling me about them!)
Till next time.
tich

Eilean Dubh

2011-02-27T20:48:00.010Z

This is my third attempt at putting this up! You
can see the Eilean Dubh book in all its glory, but
Blogger is mucking about with the layout, and I
am not changing the html in case I spoil the pictures.
Enjoy, (if i can get Blogger to behave!)
tich

Eilean Dubh – The Black Isle

2011-02-18T16:42:00.002Z

One of my friends sent me a link to this new book. It is absolutely fabulous! The pictures have been taken in the Black Isle, within the county of Ross and Cromarty in Scotland. You can actually see all the photographs inside the book, by going to this link - HERE Go get a cup of tea and enjoy the pictures, and remember to put the widget up to full screen size. The book goes on sale today, and trust me, the Black Isle looks just like the photos - absolutely beautiful!! (You can tell I am a proud Scot!), so this book will sell fast.

You can see more photos by the photographers, by going to their websites, here, here and here, and more importantly, you can buy the books from the photographers direct. I know this sounds like an advert, and that I am pushing sales, but I have no affiliation with the book, I just think it is amazing, and think it should be shown to as many people as possible. Scotland is beautiful, and this book shows a small part of it in all its glory!! I will now get off my box!!

My back is a lot better, so a little hand sewing has been done. I will show photos in a couple of days.
Till next time.
tich

Oops!!

2011-02-04T13:00:00.000Z

I forgot to give you the link for the videos!

http://www.vimeo.com/15271933

Till next time
tich

Have you seen?

2011-02-04T11:27:00.001Z

We are having awful weather - very bad gales and lashing rain and hailstones. I have hurt my back, so no sewing outside for a few days, therefore I thought you might want to join me watching a few video tutorials. Enjoy!
Till next time,
tich

Frosty Flakes 2 and Burns

2011-02-01T22:01:00.000Z

I am continuing very slowly with the Frosty Flakes BOW. Trouble is I keep on doing other things as well, so progress is slow. I did not like the block below, as the stitches are so big (quite a few are like this in the pattern), so I took it out and did the stitches smaller.

Here are three more blocks.

I know I am very late talking about Burns - how could I forget him - but we had an awful lot on. We had a Burns Supper on the island, and it was great. There were the usual poems and speeches, the dinner - haggis and clapshot (mashed potatoes and turnip mixed together), clootie dumpling (a fruity pudding steamed in a cloth = cloot) and cream, tea or coffee, any nip (shot) to toast Rabbie, shortbread and chocolates and then a dance. We had a great time, all for $11.50. At 11.50pm the soup and sandwiches came out and then the dance continued. A great night!!

A few days later, we had a Burns Supper for WI members. I had to do the address to the haggis. (see below). I found a translation of the poem (also see below), so that non-Scots could understand what I was saying. Again we had haggis and clapshot and trifle. No dance this time, but we had two competitions -
1. a scottish souvenir and
2. design your own tartan.
I got a first for a Scottish brooch - a luckenbooth (This Scottish brooch usually of engraved silver in the shape of a heart or two hearts entwined and is used chiefly as a love token or betrothal brooch. Sometimes there is a crown. The heart (love) and crown (loyalty) both appear on the claddagh ring too. Luckenbooth brooches are of late 19th or early 20th century origin. Sometimes the brooch was pinned to the couple's firstborn's blanket as a good luck charm. Luckenbooths are usually worn by women.) and a third for my tartan design. I had great fun designing it on this site - http://www.house-of-tartan.scotland.net/interactive/weaver/index.html

Hope you enjoy the poem(s).
Till next time.
tich

Address To A Haggis

1786

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the pudding-race! Aboon them a' yet tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o'a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin was help to mend a mill
In time o'need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin', rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive: Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive, Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
Bethankit! hums.

Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad make her spew
Wi' perfect sconner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckles as wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash;
His nieve a nit;
Thro' blody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread. Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs an' arms, an' hands will sned,
Like taps o' trissle.

Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer Gie her a haggis!
Translation

To a Haggis

(Haggis is a wholesome savoury pudding, a mixture of mutton and offal. It is boiled and presented at table in a sheep's stomach)
All hail your honest rounded face,
Great chieftain of the pudding race;
Above them all you take your place,
Beef, tripe, or lamb:
You're worthy of a grace
As long as my arm.

The groaning trencher there you fill,
Your sides are like a distant hill
Your pin would help to mend a mill,
In time of need,
While through your pores the dews distil,
Like amber bead.

His knife the rustic goodman wipes,
To cut you through with all his might,
Revealing your gushing entrails bright,
Like any ditch;
And then, what a glorious sight,
Warm, welcome, rich.

Then plate for plate they stretch and strive,
Devil take the hindmost, on they drive,
Till all the bloated stomachs by and by,
Are tight as drums.
The rustic goodman with a sigh,
His thanks he hums.

Let them that o'er his French ragout,
Or hotchpotch fit only for a sow,
Or fricassee that'll make you spew,
And with no wonder;
Look down with sneering scornful view,
On such a dinner.

Poor devil, see him eat his trash,
As feckless as a withered rush,
His spindly legs and good whip-lash,
His little feet
Through floods or over fields to dash,
O how unfit.

But, mark the rustic, haggis-fed;
The trembling earth resounds his tread,
Grasp in his ample hands a flail
He'll make it whistle,
Stout legs and arms that never fail,
Proud as the thistle.

You powers that make mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill of fare.
Old Scotland wants no stinking ware,
That slops in dishes;
But if you grant her grateful prayer,
Give her a haggis.

Postal Services

2011-01-27T16:23:00.002Z

Caption reads - Falling in love is easy

but staying in love

is something very special (Anon)

I got this card today from my very special friend, Rosa.

She sent it when she read my post about being married for forty years. I did not know she sent it, but I got an email from her on the 17th January, asking if I had moved. The Canadian postal services stated that there was no such address, and the card was returned to her. Rosa asked me to write an email to her, saying where we lived, so that she could take it into the PO. I said that there had been a house on this piece of land since the 1700s and that we had a document to prove it. I also stated that Sanday was well known by the Vikings, and that we even have our own Viking burial! She took my email into the PO, and they agreed they had made a mistake. They would send the card in an Express envelope, costing $57, and that they would pay it. The card would arrive in 5-6 days. The card took 10 days to come. Doesn't say much for Express Delivery .........................BUT....................

the card is beautiful, and I agree with the sentiments completely! Thank you Rosa!!

Till next time

tich

D of E and Plonk!

2011-01-25T14:38:00.004Z

After the last time, making loads of teddies as part of the Duke of Edinburgh scheme (see here), I swore I was not getting involved again. I got my arm twisted, a new participant, who is a sweetie, and this time I am showing her how to make soft toys (but definitely no knitted teddies!) She has done a (very) little sewing, so we are starting off simple and going from there. I thought we would start with this -

I found it on the Net here, - and I made the bunny for next week.

The girl's brothers and sisters will have fun playing with the puppets, and I can pop an Easter egg inside and send them to my granddaughters for Easter.

I have also been busy bottling. Now and again I take a notion to make wine. I fill a demijohn and then forget about it. I found two very dusty demijohns the other day and thought I would see how they were doing. One was made from herb tea bags and was a light, tasty wine. The other one had no label, but had a kick like a mule! I think it is elderberry, but who cares? It tastes good - HIC!!
Till next time.
tich

Flakes and Floods

2011-01-20T13:28:00.004Z

I have been working on the Frosty Flakes BOM from 'As Sweet As Cinnamon' that I talked about in my last post. I have completed sewing the hexagons together and appliqueing them onto a white background.

I used two green materials and three red.

I forgot to photograph the self coloured red, but you can see it below.

I do not like the embroidery on the block below. The stitches are too big, making it look crude. I am going to redo this block. This is a very relaxing BOM, which I sit down at night and do whilst watching the TV.

I have been appalled, watching pictures on TV of the floods in Australia. I find it difficult to contemplate that amount of water, travelling at such speeds. I feel very guilty about complaining when the waves come over onto our road.

Toni from 'Make It Perfect' has compiled a master list of all the blogs in Blogland, holding auctions to help the victims of this awful disaster. Go here to see how you can help.
Thankful ThoughtsAs you have probably guessed by now, I just love where I live. I leave you with a picture of a recent sunset. It doesn't get much better than this.

Till next time.tich

New BOM and Catch Up (Photo Heavy)

2011-01-08T12:27:00.002Z

Well I tried very hard, but I couldn't resist the free BOM on Dawn Hay's blog, 'As Sweet As Cinnamon'. I know the BOM is finished, and the blocks were supposed to be sewn for Christmas, but I have got eleven months to do it, right? I am always behind, 'like the coo's tail!' I love hexagons, especially small ones, and I really enjoy tacking the papers to the material. It is so relaxing. This time, however, I used a different technique. I used a glue stick, to stick the paper to the material and then tiny dots of Roxanne's Glue Baste It, to turn down the material. I did not put any Baste It glue on the paper, only glued the material to itself. The hexagons are made into florettes, these are appliqued to a background fabric and then embroidered. As I knew I would be using a blue washable pen to mark the embroidery design, and the whole thing would have to be washed, I had no reservations about using the glue. I will give you updates, as I progress.

Because I left the post about the giveaway subscription up for so long, to give everybody a chance at winning, I did not show you the pictures of our snow in December. I know some of you will laugh, as it is not very deep, but for our island it lasted way longer than usual. The road men did a wonderful job keeping the roads clear, and one morning I saw the lorry pass just after 6am, so 'Well Done!' to them. Mr D and I went a walk one beautiful day and here are some of the pics.

The beginnings of a beautiful sunrise.

Our house from the side of the bay. There are two walls and a road between us and the front of the bay, so you can't see the snow.

The landscape.

The edges of the bay have frozen, and if it was not tidal, the whole bay would have been frozen over!

That is our house on the left of the picture with the frozen bay in the foreground.

Walking on the headland.

Where the bay met the land. The tide is pulling the ice away. Now I know how the Titanic felt!!

When we got to the top of the headland we saw...

I tried to get better pictures, but the seals kept on putting their heads down, as I clicked!

Hope you enjoyed our snow!!

Till next time.

tich

Free Patterns and BOMs

2011-01-04T20:14:00.001Z

As a pay back for all the good luck I am having, I thought I would list some blogs that have some free patterns or BOMs.

One of my favourite blogs for applique is Erin Russek's One Piece at a Time It is such a good site, with loads of tutorials and videos on how Erin does her beautiful work. She has the patterns for her Floribunda BOM up until tomorrow. Sorry for the short notice . I tried to tell you about this before, but I managed to delete the post! The BOM is absolutely gorgeous, so go over and have a look.

Elly told me about the next site. The Temecula Quilt Co are giving patterns for the Twelve Days of Christmas, one each day. They are now on Day Ten. the patterns were inspired loosely on a quilt from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

At All People Quilt, you can sign up for a weekly newsletter, and get loads of patterns and ideas direct to your desktop. The site is enormous with lots of eye candy.

I love Ellie's Quiltplace, and especially the Cat Quilt BOS. There are also a lot of other free patterns. This site is really inspiring and I like it a lot.

Bunny Hill Designs has the most beautiful designs and there is going to be a new BOM called 'Henrietta Whiskers' coming tomorrow, I think.

There is a new BOM at Little Miss Shabby with embroidery and piecing. It looks really cute!

Dawn, at Sweet As Cinnamon is designing a really wonderful BOM called 'Out of the Box', which will use all sorts of lace, bits and bobs. There are 72 deigns, eight each month. It starts tomorrow, so get over there to get the all the gen!!

Hope you enjoy these sites. I will do this occasionally, as it is fun to pass it on.
Till next time.
tich

Subscription Surprise

2011-01-03T21:53:00.000Z

I told you all about the new Quilt Pattern Magazine in a previous post, with the chance to win a year's subscription. You will never guess what happened? I went on the Blog Tour and left a comment each day, and I won five subscriptions!! I did not know what to do, so I contacted the creator of the magazine, and we used Skype to discuss the problem. I knew the subscriptions were non transferable, and I wanted to share my good fortune with others, so we agreed that I take two subscriptions and return the other three to be redrawn. I would like to thank all the ladies who advertised the Blog Tour, for giving me a chance to read their blogs, get new ideas, make new friends (you know who you are) and to win!! Yipee!! This is going to be a good year!
Till next time.
tich

We Have a Winner

2011-01-03T00:08:00.000Z

We have a winner. Micki from Irish Muses has won the free subscription to the Quilt Pattern Magazine. Micki lives in a small village in Ireland, so she will be able to gets lots of ideas for new projects and stay green at the same time. Well done, Micki. Enjoy!
tich

Happy New Year (when it comes!)

2010-12-30T14:45:00.024Z

Happy New Year and

Lang May Yer Lum Reek!!

40 years!

2010-12-28T14:49:00.000Z

Thank you for 40 happy years!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS (when it comes)!!!

2010-12-24T15:42:00.002Z

I know I will not have time tomorrow to blog, so I want to take this opportunity to wish all my bloggie friends 'A Merry Christmas!' The year did not start very well, and had a very sad middle, but from the sadness I met and made some wonderful bloggie friends, who overwhelmed me with kindness. I have learned so much from this year, I have some wonderful friends, I have tried new techniques and patterns and I have been surrounded by LOVE.

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!

WISHING YOU ALL A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!!

Giveaway Competition

2010-12-20T08:11:00.002Z

As you all know I live in a remote island off the north coast of Scotland. I love living here, and say thanks every day for being so lucky for being here, but, as with anything else, there are drawbacks. I can't nip down to the supermarket, when a recipe asks for an unusual ingredient - nearest supermarket 90 minutes away by ferry and only one return ferry a day. The weather can be severe, but having said that, we have not had the dumps of snow the rest of the country has had, and none of our roads have closed (thanks to our great roadmen!). I buy a lot of goods over the Net, but I think the thing I miss most is going to a Patchwork workshop and seeing and learning how things are made. I have great Webbie friends and I use the Net to increase my knowledge, so I am really excited about what I am going to tell you now.

There is going to be a new Internet magazine for quilters!!

It is only $11.99 for the year's subscription, that is twelve issues PLUS an extra issue free! Yes, that's right, a baker's dozen for only $11.99. Oh my Scottish blood is jumping. Imagine getting a magazine for less then $1 an issue and that is not all. The magazine has the following features -

You can print and file the portions of the magazine you wish to keep.
You can easily organize all the articles and patterns in a binder.
You get at least five patterns in the magazine and

You will have instant access to the magazine hot off the press. No waiting for the mail to arrive.

This is too much fun! I've had a sneak peek at the magazine and it is goood!!

Now for the best bit - No 1!

If you want to see the magazine too, go to the following link -
http://www.quiltpatternmagazine.com/
Edit - I missed out a dot. Thanks to all the people who were paying attention!
Best Bit No. 2!
If you would like the chance of a free subscription to the magazine, come back to my blog, after you have looked at the magazine and leave a comment. The winner will be announced in the first week in January. I will use the Random Generator, as I know all my bloggie friends will want to win!!!!
Best Bit No. 3!
Even better! If you want more chances of winning, take part in the Blog Tour See all the participating blogs and leave a comment on their blog too. Not only do you get more chances of winning a subscription, you get to see a whole lot of interesting blogs!!! How good can it get?
Bonne chance!!
Till next time
tich

End Of Journey! (Photo Heavy)

2010-12-05T11:53:00.001Z

We were so pooped when we reached Inverness, we decided to stay the next day and not move on until the following day. Our first port of call was Leakey's Bookshop and cafe. This is an amazing place, an old church converted into a bookshop, with over 100,000 books in it! You can see the history below.

This is taken from the cafe in the gallery, looking down on the stacks.

The sides of the galleries have old maps and Victorian prints for sale. The pulpit is where the owner checks books and does business away from the public.

The building is heated by and absolutely immense wood burning stove. The flue can be seen in some of the photos, going up through the ceiling.

The cloth covered pile and the boxes in this picture are books waiting to be sorted and priced.

The spiral staircase leading to the cafe and galleries. A glimpse of the owner at the cash desk. The service here is so friendly and welcoming (and the cakes are good too!)

We continued our journey the next day. The roads were really good, but we could not get up to the ferry at 1.30pm. We missed it, so we had a break and got the later one at 6.30pm.

Because we missed the lunch time ferry, we had to stay overnight on Orkney Mainland. The Sanday ferry had left at 3.20pm. The roads on OM were really bad. We saw a lorry trapped gong up a hill, and we had one bad skid.We could not go back home on the early ferry. We had one sad task to perform. During our visit away, we got a phonecall from the person who was caring for our animals to say that our cat had broken its leg and had to be sent over to the vet. We spoke to the vet, but she recommended we put the cat down. We saw the vet and paid our bill.

We got home just after five, after a calm crossing. I can honestly say I was never so glad to get home! We have both been sitting, doing nothing, for the past two days and it has been wonderful! Hope you are all warm and cosy wherever you are!
Till next time.
tich

Snow Upon Snow Upon Snow!! (Photo Heavy!!)

2010-12-03T12:20:00.001Z

My new granddaughter, Annabelle, was having her dedication service last Sunday, so we left the island on Thursday amidst weather warnings for the whole of the north of Scotland, going right down the east coast to Edinburgh. This was slap bang in the route we would be taking, but we wanted to be at the service and see the little one and the rest of the family, as we had not seen them in person, apart from Skype, since the summer. There was lots of snow at the side of the road, but the roads were black all the way down, thank goodness.

We went to Glasgow first, to see my father-in-law, who has Alzheimer's. He remembered my name eventually, but could not remember his son at all. It was so sad, as they were really close. We went back over to Penicuik, and despite a bit more snow, we were able to go shopping for party shoes for the girls. The shops were not busy at all, and a lot of them had sales on already. The recession seems to be biting.

Overnight, there was a huge change. When we looked out the hotel window there was at least ten inches of snow, and we did not know if we could get out of the car park! We were supposed to give a lift to my daughter's friends, but we could not get to my daughter's house, so they had to walk down to us. The main roads were not bad, but the side roads were terrible. Seventy people were supposed to attend the dedication, but only fifteen arrived. We had a lovely service and a nice bowl of hot soup and homemade treats afterwards. You can see Annabelle in our heirloom christening gown with the rest of the family. The gown was handsewn by nuns in Madeira and was bought by my grandmother's first husband, who also bought her another gown and her wedding dress there too (I have the skirt of this). Unfortunately he was lost at sea, before they had any children. I am guessing the gowns are about 100 years old.

I went in my jeans and wellies (new ones from my daughter), but I changed into a nice outfit for the ceremony. As usual, I forgot to get a picture, so here you see me below, with the rest of the family, all dressed up to face the elements, with boots, layer upon layer of clothes, body warmer and scarf.

We were warned by the congregation not to go north, but it was just as well be did, because a lot of the roads closed after we left, and Edinburgh had a dump of snow, thereafter!

The next part of the journey was HORRENDOUS!!!! We were trying to reach Inverness, which usually takes about 3-3.5 hours. We finally made it eight hours later, but how we did, I'll never know! Some of the photos are taken just holding the camera out of the window, but for the most part I was too scared to do anything but look at the snow, driving at the windscreen. The first two photos below show the M9 motorway, heading towards Perth. On our side, there was only one lane open, and it had a two inch crust of solid ice on it. When you stopped, which was every two minutes, the car just slid sideways. If you look carefully at the other side, you will see the cars are completely stopped. There was a fourteen mile tailback (including the snow plough!) and people had been in the queue for so long that they had built five feet high snowmen at the side of the carriageway and walking their dogs - on the motorway!!

We waited in the queue for over thirty minutes and decided to take a diversion to Perth. We just got on that road when some cars got stuck. Fortunately, a snow plough came up and we managed to bypass the worst of the traffic.

The rest of the journey was pretty bad, but Inverness was getting closer. Just as we got to Kingussie, we saw loads of flashing lights, and a fire engine blocking the whole of the fly over we were supposed to take. The police were flashing their torches over the fly over, so we wondered if somebody had skidded. We were told to take another diversion, and actually went past this, on the road below. A lorry had skidded off the fly over and rolled down the embankment to the road below. I copied the picture from the BBC website, but as you are allowed to use it on Twitter, Facebook and email, I think it is alll right to use it here -

We had a hairy drive on the diversion through Aviemore. This road closed soon after. When we got to the hotel in Inverness, we both had a strong drink and collapsed into bed.

I will tell you about us getting home safe and sound tomorrow!

Till then.

tich

Oh My!!!

2010-11-15T11:03:00.000Z

I can't quite believe this. A HUGE parcel was delivered to my house, all the way from Victoria, Australia. Jenni sent me a parcel of material, and what a parcel!! There are chunkettes and long quarters, chunks and fat quarters, half yards and yards!! I cannot believe my eyes. Jenni must have emptied her stash into the padded envelope. The colours are wonderful. I keep on thinking what I am going to make!! I have been patting the materail and 'oohing and aahing' ever since it arrived. I can hardly write this, as I am so excited!! What it is to have such wonderfully kind, thoughtful people in the world. I know my sister would be tickled pink, to know this is happening, and I am just overwhelmed with such goodness. I can't say this often enough - 'THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!'
Till next time.
tich

We Remember.

2010-11-14T11:29:00.000Z

More Gales and DJ

2010-11-11T09:48:00.000Z

Well the weather forecasters were correct. The gales and the torrential rain arrived during the night, and it is a grey, dreich day. My husband went out first thing to feed the animals. I have been helping him the last few days, as he tripped over a box on Sunday and has possibly broken his toe. He has managed to hobble about, but yesterday was feeling a lot better, so he told me to stay warm and dry today. I think it is just as well I did. He said he was nearly bowled over with the wind at one point. He is a BIG man, so I probably would have been taking flying lessons!!

Above is A7 - Dad's Plaids. I notice in the DJ book that Jane made the wedge shapes a lot smaller. I do not like them hitting the seam line, as in the pattern and as above, so I think I will redo this one later. By the time I have finished this quilt I am going to have so many reject blocks, I will be able to supply the island with pot holders for the rest of my life!

Thankful Thoughts

Just look what Rosa sent me! Aren't those laces fantastic? I love colourful (!!!!) socks, so the laces colour co-ordinate beautifully! Thanks Rosa!
Till next time.
tich

Thunder and Lightning, Dyeing and DJ!

2010-11-10T21:23:00.000Z

Here's me saying I am going to blog regularly, and we had the mother of all storms last week. The lightning was spectacular, with big balls of light hanging in the sky, and the thunder was tremendous. You can tell I like these kind of storms!! I ran in and switched off the computers and watched from the window. Unfortunately some people on the island were not so speedy, and their computers were fried. The broadband was not affected, but a lot of the phones went dead, including the ones at the Post Office and the surgery. The storm affected everybody differently. I could not get into my emails. The broadband speed seemed to be all right, but downloading anything took all night. It gradually restored itself over a number of days, and now seems back to normal, but it was sooo frustrating not being able to read my emails, and I had so many to read, when it was restored. I have just about caught up.

We have had really bad gales and torrential rain on and off since then. Sunday was particularly bad, with the waves being lashed over the road and into the fields. Orkney weather can be really amazing, with every type of weather in the one day!! I managed to get this picture of a seal swimming near our pole one morning last week.

I did some more KoolAid dyeing and sent some to Rosa for fun.

I also have been sewing some DJ blocks, so I will show them over the next few days - This is M12 -Hopscotch.

This is not a very good picture, a bit out of focus and the lighting is off - will try better next time!

Thankful Thoughts
We are going to have gales again tomorrow. The isobars are so close together, it is going to be wild. Today, on the other hand, was calm, with only a couple of showers. I took this picture this morning. No wonder I love living here!

Till next time.
tich

I'm Back Again!!

2010-11-01T10:37:00.000Z

Sorry I have not been posting lately. Raymond and I got the mother of all colds, three weeks ago, and we have been coughing and spluttering ever since. It does not want to go away, but I am fedup feeling miserable, so today is the day for 'getting going'!

My creative obsession seems to go to sleep, when I am out of tune, but I have managed a few DJ blocks and a few other things, so I will show you them over the next few days.

I got a lovely surprise the other day from one of my Bloggie friends. Mama Pea, sent me a Sunshine Award. You can read all about it here

It was such a lovely surprise and really gave me a boost! Mama Pea is such a nice person, and so talented! She seems to whizz through projects and is a great inspiration to me. Thank you so much for all the kind words. I really appreciate the sentiment. I am going to take my time to think of the people I want to send this onto. I know some people, who could not possibly be missed out, but there are so many blogs I dip in and out of, my list would be endless!! And think of all the people who sent me goodies!

Talking of nice people, Jenni is going through a hard patch in her life just now. Go over to her blog and say 'Hi'. It is nice to feel there are other people out there thinking of you, and often a 'Hi' is enough to give a bit of comfort.

Thankful Thoughts
The weather has cooled down a lot, and we have had high winds and rain, but today is bright and calm, so far. The fire is laid in the wood burner, all ready for lighting tonight when we settle down, the kettle is filled for a cup of tea and a good book awaits. What more could you ask for?
Till next time.
tich

Organising Work for On The Go.

2010-10-09T18:13:00.001+01:00

I have had a really nice friend for a long time. Pam and I may not write or email each other every week, but I always know she is there for me. She is the type of person of whom you would say, "She has a lovely soul." Pam has just retired, and I am so tickled for her. Her work is a meticulous, no matter what kind of craft she does, and at long last she will have time to settle and do what she wants, without the constraints of work getting in the way. Her husband and his friend have booked up a Caribbean cruise for the two wives, and Pam and her friend are going to have fun relaxing in the sun, whilst knitting, sewing and doing Dear Jane. Yes. Pam has dug out her DJ book, after reading about my exploits, and is going to get going again. I promised I would show her how I organised my blocks for taking on holiday so here goes.

This is the most important thing. A cd case from the cheap shop costing £1.00

The next most important things are my sewing supplies, which I keep in this beautiful huswif, which I told you about, from Petra.

I have very roughly planned out my DJ colours, using the materials I have been given, and I reduced the plan, so that it was easier to fold into the first page. You will notice i have crossed some blocks off. I have now finished nineteen blocks.

I then select the blocks I want to take on holiday. For this, I choose blocks which will be hand pieced and not too difficult. Who wants to be wrestling with a difficult block, when you are supposed to be enjoying yourself in the sun? I scan the block picture from the DJ book, so that I know the placement of colour, and copy the pattern pieces. I pick my material, using the master plan at the beginning of the case. As you can see from the picture below, I have used freezer paper to iron on shapes onto the back of the material, so that I can then applique these pieces into position.

All the material, patterns and pictures are put into the separate sections in the cd case. This is popped with my huswif into my handbag or case, and I am organised.

Hope this helps.

Till next time.

tich

Dyeing (Part 2)

2010-09-30T20:48:00.000+01:00

After dyeing part of the fleece with Kool-Aid (see yesterday), I left it to cool down in the crock overnight and then rinsed it very gently in cold water a few times. I rolled it in a towel to get the excess water out, then left it to air dry.

The fleece was darker coloured in some places, but I rather liked the effect.

I carded the wool on the drum carder, when it was dry. It is gorgeous. It is fluffy and light, with no felting.

I have not made up my mind whether I will spin the wool, or use it for felting. It is so nice, I think I will just pat it for a little while. It is, after all, my first experiment with Kool-Aid.
I did not get any sewing done today, as I was unpacking boxes, which have been stored in a shed, since we came here. Lots of lovely 'finds', but oh how I hate unpacking!!
Till next time.
tich

Dyeing (Part 1), Goodies and DJ Block

2010-09-29T20:29:00.002+01:00

I have been thinking of dyeing some of my fleece with Kool-Aid,for some time. I went online to get instructions, and found some really good ones at this site. I have been unable to contact the owner of the site, to tell her I have linked to her, as there is no email address. I do like to let people know in advance I am talking about, or linking to their site, as it is considerate (netiquette) to do so, but in this case I hope Carol does not mind.

I used Berry Blue Kool-Aid , three packets for just over three ounces of fleece. I mixed up the Kool-Aid(KA) with the vinegar and water (1 cup vinegar to two cups water) and poured it into the crock pot (£5 out of the charity shop!)

Now Carol said to put on rubber gloves, as you might end up with blue nails! I did not do that, as I was not going to handle the dyed wool. I got one tiny drip on the counter, and I wiped it up without thinking! Guess who got a blue thumb and finger and a blue nail, all from one drip. The rubber gloves went on there-after!

Before I mixed up the KA, I soaked my fleece in cold water. I had previously soaked it in detergent, to get rid of some of the muck on it. You can see that there is a slight blue tinge, at the bottom of the picture. That is where I tried to clean my blue fingers!!

When I put the fleece in the crockpot, there was not enough liquid to cover the fleece. I mixed up more vinegar and water in the same ratio(1:2) and poured it gently in. I could not mix it really well, as the fleece is not supposed to be agitated, or it will become felted. I thought that this might give me an interesting result ... you will see tomorrow. The picture below shows the fleece in the Kool-Aid. I do not think I could drink this, but it is a lovely colour!

I cooked the fleece on low in the crockpot until the water was clear and then let it cool overnight. I will show you the results tomorrow. I also started a dyers recipe book, so that I can replicate anything I produce. I used KA at the moment, as I am not sure if commercial dyes will affect my septic tank. Anybody got any info on this? I would like to do some natural dyeing, but I know the chemicals used for mordents can be hard on the enzymes in the tank.

Thankful Thoughts
We were out last night with friends. We were talking about how the actions of one person can not only affect their lives, but the lives of everybody about them. I thought about this when I went home and realised how much Rosa had affected my life. If she had not offered chunks or chunkettes of Civil War fabric as a giveaway, I would not have commented on her blog. She would not have posted about my sister dying on various newsgroups, and I would not have received such a wonderful amount of material, goodies and well wishes from people all over the world. I would not have started a Dear Jane quilt, and my patchwork skill would not be improving so much. I have been in contact with such wonderful people. My sister would have been tickled pink that this has happened. It is just wonderful. I received a lovely, surprise packet from Rosa again, and today she was emailing me, as I had been quiet for a little while. What a wonderful friend!!

Below is the latest DJ block - J4 - Adelaine's Apron Strings - a very easy one, because I am struggling with two others, which refuse to piece together properly. If they think they are going to win, they will have to think again!

Till tomorrow!!

tich

Salt Dough

2010-09-20T13:59:00.000+01:00

I forgot to post about the salt dough ornament I had to make for the WI monthly competition, last month. I went online for the recipe, as I had not used salt dough for a while. I meant to bookmark the recipe I used, but I can't find it. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, drew a rough sketch out on silicone paper(baking parchment) to get a rough size and started off by weaving the basket. I then laid a trellis of fine, overlapping stems on the background, to stabilise the work, and made the flowers and the leaves on top. I let it dry and then painted it using my granddaughter's paint box. After drying it again, I gave it two layers of varnish, to try to preserve it. I know it will not last long here in the damp, salty air, but I thought I would at least make the effort! I had great fun making this, and it is so easy to do. I got first prize.

I have not touched a needle this week. We have had loads of people dropping in, we have been busy getting the place ready for the winter (we have already had a few days of very high winds/gales) and we have been here there and everywhere! Not very productive on the sewing front, but good otherwise.

I am getting my head down this week. Promise!
Till next time.
tich

Afghan and Surprise Parcel

2010-09-07T10:14:00.012+01:00

I have been blog hopping a lot recently, as I am still being careful with my back. I saw a lot of crochet and Granny squares being made, so I thought I would share my afghan with you. I have not completed it, as you can see, as I have run out of the black for the last few rows, but this will be a nice, cosy project to do on a cold, winter night. Here is a close up -

I got a nice surprise packet in the post today. A nice Civil War fat quarter from Susie. I do not have your email, so thank you so much.

I think I have thanked everybody now, but if I haven't - THANK YOU, THANK YOU,THANK YOU! I am slowly getting on with Dear Jane. I am now over ten blocks and attempting L10 - Nan's Naiad. It is a stinker!! I am really enjoying the challenge, and I LOVE the materials. I squirrel each tiny little scrap, so that nothing will be wasted and have plans for these little beauties.

The weather here is changing slowly, but I am not worrying about the shorter days. I will be warm and cosy and have loads of things to do.
Till next time.
tich

Bonnie Leman Tribute

2010-09-07T10:14:00.008+01:00

Bonnie Leman 1991, courtesy LCPQ #74

It is with great sadness I heard of the death of Bonnie Leman. Although she did not know of me, I thought of Bonnie as a close patchwork friend, a friend who was much more talented than I could ever be, but who, unstintingly, passed on her knowledge and gave me great encouragement, via her magazines.

Way back in the early seventies, when I started to do patchwork, there was very little information about it in Scotland. I had taught myself how to do hexagons, using the paper method, but when my sister sent me over a copy of Quilters' Newsletter, I was off. I loved the American way of sewing seam to seam, without having to tack in papers, and I immediately sent off for a subscription, so that I could learn all the techniques. The magazine was wonderful. It told me of all the beautiful materials which were available, notions I had never heard of and gave me wonderful ideas for quilts and projects. I was in seventh heaven.

Because of Mrs Leman, I went on to take the City & Guilds exams in Advanced Embroidery (at that time there was no C & G Patchwork!), started the first patchwork group in Scotland (the Sew and Sews in Glasgow), was a founder member of the Quilters' Guild and went out to California and sat the NQA Teacher Certification exams - all because of Bonnie Leman. The two most wonderful things to result from all this - I got a mini quilt published in the magazine, and I participated in a block competition, also in the magazine, and won! I cannot tell you how I felt, when these events occurred!

Patchwork and Quilting would not be what it is today, without Bonnie. We all owe her a HUGE debt of gratitude. May she rest in peace. Thank you.

With sincere condolences,

Rosemary Dempster

DJ Blocks + Noah's Ark

2010-09-06T15:08:00.001+01:00

G13

These are the latest Dear Jane blocks to be completed. I am having trouble with the disc in my back again, so I have been laid up for a few days. I have been doing a lot of blog hopping, listening to audio books and embroidering.

I had this BOM by Lynnette Anderson Designs. It is a really old BOM, which I had downloaded, and it lay about, waiting to be done for a long time. I started it in December, just before my sister got ill. I put it aside, when things got bad, but I really wanted to complete it, so I got it out again, when I had to sit in the chair. I cannot leave designs in their original state. I have got to add something in, or take something out. I have always been like this!! The original Noah's Ark design is beautiful, but I wanted to make this a welcome wallhanging, when you come to visit, so I added a few words, making the letters random, and made one of the blocks say 'Welcome'. I also added a few fancy stitches and changed some of the colours. I hope Lynette does not mind!! I have checked on her site, but this BOM no longer seems to be there. Please excuse the pictures. I can't get the ironing board out (can't lift anything yet), so you can see the marks where the hoop was, on the block I am finishing. Noah's bald head needs to be redone in a darker colour, as it is receding (no pun intended!) I have another five or six blocks to go. There is a block with birds eating fish. I am going to change the birds to puffins, to make it relate to Orkney. When the blocks are finished, I have then to cut them out and put a thin border round each, in different colours of cotton, and these are then sewn together, to make the wallhanging. These are my favourite blocks so far -

Edit
The Noah's Ark BOM is being offered again for $5Aus, on Lynette's site above.

Thankful Thoughts

Jeni has come through her operation and is feeling very positive. Thank You.
Till next time.
tich

Look at This!!

2010-09-01T12:37:00.001+01:00

I found this video on YouTube and then saw it on a blog, whilst I was surfing. It seems such an easy technique to make Pineapple blocks.
Enjoy!
tich

Hello!

2010-08-29T16:05:00.005+01:00

I don't know why, but it takes me a wee while before I get back into my routine, once the girls are back home. I dither about, and do not seem to be very productive. I am getting back to Dear jane. I think she thought I was abandoning her, but I actually have produced some blocks (will post pictures later) and I am enjoying the challenge yet again.

Before I went off island to see the family, I received some parcels, about which I omitted to blog. I just ran out of time. The above photos show the wonderful items and the beautiful cards I received, - from embroidery threads, beautiful Civil War and Australian fabrics, a batik, quilt labels and siggie blocks. Thank you Beverly and Katie, Gwen, Julie, Linden, the wonderful Rosa (yet again!!), Carol, Donna, Barbara and especially my mini quilt swap partner Doreen. I am speechless at your generosity! I am sorry I took so long to get back to you all.

A little sad news. Jenni, who wrote about me on the Austalian Yahoo group is not well and is going into hospital on the 31st of August. Please keep her in your prayers.

Thankful Thoughts

I have such a lot to thank Rosa and Jenni for. I received such a wonderful lot of goodies, but more than that, people, whom I did not know, reached out to me in my time of sadness. I have such a wonderful collection of cards and notes, wishing me well, and I don't think I will ever forget how wonderful everybody has been. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!!

tich

Hi! - photo heavy

2010-08-23T13:11:00.009+01:00

No, I have not fallen off the planet!! My husband and I went on a whirlwind visit round the family off island. Twice to my daughter's (and the new granddaughter) near Edinburgh, twice to my father-in-law in Glasgow, who has Alzheimer's, two nights with my son in Leeds and one day just for ourselves, which we spent at the New Lanark Mill in New Lanark. I will do a post on this later on. We went back to my daughter's and picked up my two older granddaughters (five and seven) for the rest of the summer. We had a ball. There was no sewing done, but we played and worked and picnicked. I have included some pictures to show how we spent our time.

Enjoy!!

tich

Huge Apology!

2010-07-18T20:49:00.005+01:00

I won this giveaway from I Have a Notion. Due to the upset of my sister dying, the excitement of receiving so many packages of Civil War material from around the world and my daughter's advanced pregnancy, I did not blog about it. I feel really bad about this. Kelly Jackson from

I Have a Notion is such a nice person. She is such a caring lady, looks after her customers so well and writes a great blog. If you you read a lot of Patchwork blogs, you will notice that more and more bloggers are talking about buying their notions from IHAN and saying how good the service is.

The pattern is wonderful. It is from Aardvark Quilts. The picture below shows Pam Goecke Dinndorf, the designer from Aardvark and Kelly Jackson from IHAN.

The pattern is called 'Paperweight'. and is actually autographed!! Gosh, I am so lucky!! I am going to have fun with this one! To help me out, and so that I don't have to grovel too much to Kelly, please go over to 'I Have a Notion' and have a look at what Kelly is doing. Her business is wonderful and so is Kelly!!)

Thankful Thoughts

How can you not be thankful/grateful/full of wonder, when you see new life coming into the world. Last week I became a Granny again, and I now have a new granddaughter called Annabelle Dorothy. Her Mum and Dad chose these names because -

Annabelle - popular in Scotland in the 12th century.

Anne - Hebrew for 'God has favoured me'

Belle - Beautiful

Dorothy (Doreen, Ron's Mum) Greek - 'Gift of God'. Dorothy is also the the name of both my Mum and my husband's Mum, so all the Mum's are covered.

If you look carefully at the first picture below, you will see new members of the family here. One of our hens went broody, and rather than using the incubator, we put some duck eggs under her, and, so far, we have two wee ducklings. They are shut in, so that the crows and the seagulls can't get at them. Aren't they gorgeous?

Till next time.

tich

DJ G5 + Goodies

2010-07-14T23:10:00.004+01:00

This is the latest DJ block, G5 'Poof'. I machine pieced the base, then hand appliquéd the shape on top.
This is how it actually looks. Do you think I should cut the base material away from behind the appliqué? Need some comments.
These are the goodies, which came today. Two lots of CW material, and some cowboy material and embroidery thread. Thank you so much Rosa, Sarma and Cynthia. I have had so many nice cards and well wishes. What lovely people I am getting to know. I am so lucky. Thank you all again.

Till next time,

tich

2010-07-12T14:36:00.005+01:00

There was panic stations on Saturday, when I discovered my digital camera was not working!! How was I going to live without it? I use my camera every day! I use it for everything! In fact, the other day, I very patiently recorded the new hens taking their first step out into the big, bad world outside the new hen house. BTW the new hen house is standing up to the weather no bother at all. You may wonder why I say that? I did not tell you that it is a Sanday hen house, that is to say it is made in the Sanday style. Here in Sanday, nothing goes to waste. Everything that can be used again, is recycled, so the hen house was built this way. Wood left over from other projects was used. Not bad, eh?

Anyway, back to the camera. I spent part of yesterday trying to sort it, but to no avail. I took out batteries, swapped cards, but it was just being difficult. We were hoping to go on a guided tour of the Sanday lighthouse today, and I wanted to take pictures. As a last resort I phoned up the Wildlife Ranger, who does a lot of photography, went round to his house, and he worked it out within minutes! So I caught up on my goodies photos, and also took a closeup of the emu feathers, especially for Rosa. I must apologise for not thanking the ladies for the goodies in the last photos - Margaret, Rhoda, Marion, Sylvia, Marg, Margaret and Jenni.

The picture at the top shows the lovely things I received from Geraldine, Patricia, Petra and Rosa (again!) The materials are beautiful, and if you look closely there is also a huswif, sewing charms and a patchwork badge. I would also like to thank Petra's husband for the Scout badge. What a nice person!

Below are the emu feathers from Marg.

Till next time.

tich

Late

2010-07-09T10:40:00.007+01:00

Edit - I am sorry the pictures are not coming up bigger, when you click them. Blogger sometimes does this to me and I don't know why!

I am a wee bit behind in my blogging. I was over in Kirkwall, all day Wednesday, and yesterday was a day to recover. The summer ferry time for the Wednesday ferry is 7.30 am, so that meant getting up about 5.45am and rushing around to get down to the terminal at least 20 minutes before departure. We had a lovely morning on the Mainland, which I will blog about later. The afternoon was spent at the physiotherapist and shopping! Yuck! But we managed everything and got home just after six. On the porch I had five parcels waiting for me, all from Australia, and there was one yesterday, again from Down Under! Look what was inside!!

There was all sorts of craft goodies, because Jenni read Rosa's post about me and Jenni then posted about me on an Australian group. I got beautiful material, including aboriginal design material, which I have earmarked for a project in the future, embroidery thread, which I am dying to dive into, buttons (oh, oh, oh!) an embroidery kit and an applique kit (which will both be ideal to do on the ferry), stamps, beautiful cards and sentiments AND ...Emu feathers! I am going to make something special with them, maybe a little bag, but they are too much fun not to use. Every time I pick up a piece of the materials I have received, or use some of the craft goods, I think of how this has happened and of all the wonderful people all over the world. It is unbelievable, but I will have happy memories and a lot of good friends for years to come!

Please excuse the quality of the following pictures. It was near midnight, and I had to hold my arms above my head, which I find very difficult.

We had an unexpected visitor last night -

A peahen!!

We have no idea where it came from -

but it flew about a bit and then disappeared!

Till next time.

tich

New Baby Girl!!

2010-07-08T13:23:00.003+01:00

This is our new granddaughter, (no name yet), born yesterday, 7th July, at 7.45am. She was 8lb 3oz. Isn't she gorgeous (says proud Granny!)? The picture in the middle shows her sister, Holly, and her other Grandfather, who lives nearby. Happy birthday!

Till next time.

tich

Henhouse and Goodies

2010-07-06T21:13:00.007+01:00

We decided we needed some more hens. We have a very posh henhouse for the older hens, but , of course, the old hens and the new hens cannot be mixed, so we had to get a new house. My husband decided he was going to build one, and then got a phone call from the supplier that the hens were going to be delivered in two days. Mr D did a fantastic job. On top is a picture of the henhouse without the nesting boxes attached. Notice the droppings board on the right hand side under the perches. I suggested that it might be a good idea to put in a waterproof membrane on the floor, to make it easier to clean. There is only a 14" space between the dropping board and the floor. Guess who was flat on her face pinning the sheet to the walls!!

But doesn't it look good?

This end has the pop hole, and those boxes containing the hens have just been delivered.

The hens inspecting their new home ...

and the perches.

I thought I would try the Dear Jane block G6. I quite like miniatures, but I did not do well today ...

The seams don't meet, and to add insult to injury, I put the the triangles round the wrong way! Anyway it is good practice.

I would like to thank Marie for this pretty piece of Civil War material, which the postie brought.

Thank you so much. It was really kind of you. I look forward to using it in the quilt.

Till next time.

tich

Dear Jane Blocks

2010-07-02T22:02:00.009+01:00

I was so tired last night, I managed to delete the pictures of the packages I received Yesterday. I decided to start again today. I did, however, manage to sew some blocks. I sewed M9 and M10 of the Dear Jane blocks on the machine. Elly had made an alternative tutorial for making M9 on her blog and Aunt Reen kindly sent me a list of blocks which do not require the book, as shown on That Quilt blog. You've guessed it. I still did not have the book or the rulers. (as of yesterday!)

Today was a different. The Dear Jane book and rulers came at last!! Oh, did I drool! I can at long last pick any pattern I want to sew.

I tried to work out where I would put selected colours, but I think that is going to be difficult. Anyway, I started on the centre block and decided to do it by machine.

As I said above, I deleted the photos of the packets, but I put all the material together, to show you the continuing kindness of patchworkers far and wide. The material on the right is from ladies in Australia! Every time I wash the material, iron it, or cut it to make a Dear Jane block, it reminds me just how fortunate I am to have such wonderful friends. Just look at this gorgeous card I received.

This is an actual mini quilt. The patches are less than 1cm, and sewn together. Gorgeous!!

Thank you so much Rosa (fourth time!!) Anita, Freda , Lynn, Carol, Hope and Trisha. Boy am I lucky.

Till next time.

tich

Dining Out

2010-07-01T22:39:00.005+01:00

I wrote yesterday about the Lunch Club, we have on the island. There are about forty members, who are over fifty years old. We meet fortnightly, in the community room in the school. There we are served a two course meal and then we either get a speaker or play games like scrabble, or cards. The club also serves another purpose. A lot of the older residents do not go out a lot, but here they can meet friends,have a good meal and a good natter (gossip).

I did not get my book, (sigh), but I got two boxes and five packets in the post. Jeni, the lady who sent me goodies yesterday, wrote about me on one of the Australian newsgroups, so the two boxes were from people who read that post. There was some really cute Australian material and the other box held felt material and a huge amount of really wonderful craft goodies. And stamps!! I also got my first siggie block sent to me. Oh my! Something else to get involved in. There are definitely not enough hours in the day! Thanks go to Froma, Coral, RV, Carol B, Carol C, Edna and Mary Alice.

Till next time.

tich

Little Happy Dance!!

2010-06-30T21:02:00.006+01:00

Would you look at this !! My first Dear Jane block. I still have not got my book from America, but dear Rosa told me to cut out three squares, and I made my first siggie block. I have never made or seen siggie blocks either (haven't I led a sheltered life?), so I think life is going to get really busy in the future! I know it is a really simple block, but I feel as if I have made something really difficult. Daft, isn't it?

I have got really organised. I have my folder ready to hold all my finished blocks, and Rosa suggested I write a journal, not only about DJ, but also what is happening, whilst I am doing this. I am going to put in the little address labels from the packets I have been receiving, some of the nice letters, photos and cards. In future years I will be able to read it, and think of all the lovely people who have made this possible. I have had so many nice letters and cards of encouragement. Rosa has also got us organised with our Dear Jane Pages, so if you click on the button at the side, you will see my progress. There is not a lot to see so far. Hurry up book!!

You will notice I have not been putting 'Thankful Thoughts' on the blog. I am so thankful I met Rosa on the Net. I now have Elly, just a few miles away by (two) ferries. I also have three other ladies, Cyn, Frummie and Elaine who are part of the group. And then there are all the ladies who read Rosa's post about me. I have had parcels from all over the world, and they are still arriving. Look what the postie brought (our usual postie is so tired he is on holiday this week!!)

Just look at those lovely stamps, even before the packets are opened. During the long, dark winter evenings, my husband and I often get the stamp albums out. We are going to be really busy this winter with stamps from all over.

The experiences of the last few weeks have been made up of a lot of 'firsts'. First time of seeing Civil War material, first siggie block, first time of having overwhelming kindness from ladies I do not know. And now I have my first Australian magazine. Jeni saw Rosa's post and sent me the magazine and also some material from Australia. I would also like to thank Beth for the pretty material and card.

The weather here is lovely. As the school is closed for the holidays, we had our meal for the Lunch Club at the local hotel. It was really tasty, and I was stuffed! I spent some time in the garden tackling the nettles and dokens, working it off.

We are supposed to get rain tomorrow, so I took advantage of the good weather.

Till next time.

tich

Yipee!! Baby quilt and Goodies!

2010-06-29T20:35:00.006+01:00

I got the baby quilt finished a couple of days ago and only have to put on the label, when the wee one arrives. I added a plain border, so decided to add both yellow and blue bindings to jazz the edge up a bit (see below!) I had not even taken the tacking out, when I took these pictures. Quilting is in the ditch.

I found this cute cheater material in the attic. Goodness knows how old it is, but it went together very quickly, and I found some equally old material for the binding in the same box.

Just look at the goodies I got today. I try to be very careful to keep the addresses private, so that is why some of the packets are at a funny angle.

People are so kind. Look at the trouble one lady went to parcel this up . It was so pretty.

And just look at the chunks, chunkettes, sixteenths, eighths, and quarters! They are gorgeous!! One lady sent me the most wonderful poem, which she had written herself, and the material underneath is printed with ten blocks on what you do when making a quilt, all the way from Australia!! I would like to thank Joyce, Sibyl, Lynda, Judith, Rita, Cindy, Sandy and Jeannie. I am running out of words to express my gratitude. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Till next time.

tich

Treats Galore

2010-06-25T20:54:00.005+01:00

Edit - I was supposed to post this last night, but did not get it completed. As I am going out tonight, I will post this now.

The last few days seem to have been busy, busy ,busy. I have managed to get the baby quilt finished, the mat done and I have completed a few bibs and burp mats, but the cardigan is still languishing in the bag, without a collar, buttonhole bands and unsewn. What is it about knitting?

We had our monthly meeting of the Women's Institute last night. We have a new coffee house and bistro on the island, so we had the meeting there. The owner has a wonderful flair for interior design and the place was beautiful, with our table having a clear view of North Ronaldsay. The competitions this month were a buttonhole of fresh garden flowers and a Sanday sea view. For some reason my printer decided to play up. I had three photos I wanted to check, but I only got the above photo of our bay before sunrise printed, before the printer decided it wasn't playing anymore. I was in such a rush out the door, I forgot to photograph the nosegay, but I came third in both categories. The flowers were absolutely beautiful, and

I would have been hard pressed to pick a winner. The food was extremely good, with homemade soup, sandwiches and home baking. I went home stuffed - but it was GREAT!!

My Civil War fabric goodies are continuing. There are so many nice people out there.These are the ones that the postie brought, and I would like to thank Judy, Ava and Katie for their thoughtfulness. I would especially like to thank Katy, as she is nine years old, has been on the DJ forum for almost three years and she sews with her Grandma. The material she sent me was from her own stash. Isn't she wonderful?!! Thank you so much again.

Full of thankful thoughts.

tich

IJCBI2!

2010-06-23T20:23:00.004+01:00

My husband came in this morning with a HUGE grin on his face, and look what I got. Five packets and a box!! What did I do to deserve this? I must have been really good in another life!! And do you see what was in the mail?

Oh, the material is so beautiful, just exactly what I like, and I got more photos of the people who are being so kind, home made cards and little notes. I would like to thank Mardeele (for two packets!), Mary, Rosa (number two!), Brigitte and Susan (for loads of goodies!)

I am running out of words to express what this means to me. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Till next time.

tich

I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!

2010-06-22T19:12:00.003+01:00

'What is this? What is she up to now?', I can hear you asking. I just can't believe it (IJCBI)!! Let me explain. I love blog hopping, and I also can't resist a Giveaway. I am usually not very lucky, but recently my luck has turned and I have won two Giveaways (see recent posts). When I saw a Giveaway at Rosa's World for 'chunks' of Civil War material, I was really intrigued. I have read about the Civil War reproduction fabric, but I have never actually seen any in real life. I entered the Giveaway, did not win, but Rosa contacted me and asked if I would like a bit, as I had never seen any. I was absolutely delighted! As well as doing this Rosa got me in touch with a delightful lady called Elly, who lives in the north of Scotland. She filled me in on all the patchy things, which were going on in the area. This was great, because I had been struggling to find any people who were as fanatical as I was about patchwork, and who lived relatively near. I was tickled pink. Then I got three parcels with Civil War material in them at the weekend. But what I couldn't understand was how these people had got my address? The next day I got some more, and to date I have had eleven letters/parcels with CW material, notes, letters and pictures!! I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!
The wonderful Rosa put my name on one of the newsgroups of which she is a member, and told them I had no CW material. When I got Elly's letter, I told Rosa and Elly that I was thinking of using the material for a doll's quilt. I think they must have burst out laughing! Rosa suggested I might want to think about a Dear Jane quilt. Last year I looked at the DJ quilt online and thought that anybody tackling 225, four and a half inch blocks must be mad. I must be mad, or Rosa must be very persuasive, because I have ordered the book, and Rosa is going to do a SECOND DJ quilt along with me.

I just can't believe that people have been so kind. Imagine! I have had letters from all over the world. The kindness has been overwhelming, and I am so touched. I would like to say a HUGE 'thank you' to Rosa, who has been the initial instigator, and has emailed me at least once every day with lots of info. I would also like to thank the following people for letters/parcels with CW material, notes, letters and pictures and especially all the good wishes - Elly, Diane, Caroline, Wenche, Beverly, Martha, PJ (no full name), Sandy, Mary and Dee. I can't thank you enough! I am having such fun looking at where the the letters come from, and even more fun patting the material, plus the bonus of stamps for my stamp collection! I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!

Till next time.

From a very humble and thankful tich

Welsh Quilt Winner!!

2010-06-18T13:53:00.011+01:00

I have read the Welsh Quilter's blog for a long time. Andrea's work is beautiful, and her blog is a delight to read. She is so calm, and she never seems to get frazzled. When her daughter, Jess went on a college trip to Africa, I was really interested, because I have been involved for a number of years with the Mercy Ships, and our local school had just come back from a trip to Malawi. Andrea had a Giveaway to celebrate three years of blogging - and guess what? I WON!!!!

I got this lovely 3D card from Andrea. And do you notice what is beside it?

She had recently bought a book on Welsh quilts, and decided to buy an extra one for her Giveaway. It is gorgeous. Do you see the quilt on the lower right corner...?

Well Andrea decided to make the quilt top and add that to the Giveaway. It is absolutely beautiful, and the stitching is perfect!! The book has the history of Welsh quilts, and is full of pictures of old quilts -

The one on the right is early 20th century - doesn't it look right up to date?

It gives you yardage, shows you how to make the quilt and even gives you tips to help you on your way.

It gives you suggestions on how you can quilt your top, to make it look like an authentic Welsh quilt.

And if you want to design your own patterns, there are loads of ideas and how tos at the back of the book, to get you started. I have already changed my mind twice on how I am going to quilt my top.This is a fantastic book, and I am overwhelmed by Andrea's generosity. Thank you so much , and I love the idea that there will be two of these quilt tops, because Andrea is going to make one as well.

Till next time.

tich

Thank You!

2010-06-08T13:49:00.003+01:00

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have contacted me, both privately and through this blog, to commiserate over the death of my sister. I have been overwhelmed by your good wishes.

My sister was a wonderful person, who was a gifted artist and calligrapher. She will be sadly missed.

I will be back in a few days.

tich

My Sister

2010-06-03T08:42:00.001+01:00

I am taking a short blogging break. My sister died yesterday. She was dearly loved and will be sadly missed.

Rosemary

AccuQuilt Giveaway!!

2010-06-01T22:16:00.003+01:00

Just a quick note to let you know that there is another opportunity to win an AccuQuilt Go cutting machine. Go quickly to http://www.bejeweledquilts.blogspot.com/ to see how you can enter this wonderful Giveaway, and also see what Barb has done with her machine. It is fantastic!! I want one!! I forgot to say, if you do enter, tell Barb where you got the info (from tich) and I will get another entry.

Till next time.

tich