Holidays

We have had our grandchildren for two weeks for the Easter holidays, and we have had FUN! Never mind the getting up at the crack of dawn, or the occasional mishap, look at the joy in the little one's face, as she races to beat the incoming waves. Look at the trust of the older one, walking out in the sea with Granddad. Who could want more? A lovely day,walking in the waves, playing with Granny and Granddad and to cap it all, a dog that follows you around and thinks you are the bees' knees! We had a wonderful fortnight, and the house seems awfully quiet now!

I spoke about the mini quilt swap in this post here. I was sewing out a practice piece, when the children saw me doing it. They wanted to do it too, so I traced out a daisy for each of them on a piece of white cotton, using a water-erasable pen. Here we all are sitting doing our sewing. The girls used tiny picture hoops to embroider.

They wanted to make little quilts for the teddy bear baskets they got for Christmas. They added borders and a backing, but there is no wadding (batting). Here they are with the completed blankets and a close-up. The older girl is seven and the younger one is five.

Thankful Thoughts

I keep on looking at all the people stranded around the world, because of the eruption in Iceland. The son of one of my friends is stranded in Australia and cannot get a flight till 7th May. Imagine how frustrated you would feel, not being able to get home. I do like travelling, but I LOVE coming home!!

Till next time,

tich

I Won! I Won! I Won! I Won! I Won!

I wrote about a great Giveaway in my last post, here. More than thirty days of great gifts (and also great posts) from 'I Have a Notion (IHAN)'. The amount of work that went in to organise this event is mind-boggling ... But would you believe it - I won a prize!!! ME!! I WON!! I never win anything, so I am really excited!! I do love rulers, so I am going to have great fun using this. I would like to thank Kelly from IHAN for celebrating her one year celebration of her business in such a fun way, and also Simplicity Studio for being so generous with their great prizes. I had a ball!

I will be off island tomorrow for one day, as my grandchildren are returning home. We have had so much fun with them this holiday, and I will tell you about it next time.

tich

Unbelievable Giveaway!!

Oh, it really is unbelievable!! For 30 days - yes! - 30 days, I Have A Notion is celebrating, as it turns a year old, by giving away different goodies, and what goodies!! The choice is amazing. What to choose?? You can sign up to have the choice to win any of the goodies, by scrolling back to see all the different products and also wonderful ideas on how these products can be used. That in itself is worth viewing. There are just so many cute things from which to choose. Look at these pins -

- and I also really fancy one of these -

- but the jewel in the crown, as far as I am concerned is this -

Yes - don't rub your eyes! It is an AccuQuilt Go Fabric Cutter! Bet you thought I put the picture of the AccuQuilt Go Fabric Cutter at the beginning of this post, just to make you read on. It worked, didn't it? Can you imagine winning one of them? I would love one, but I never win anything. No!! Positive thinking!! To (when I) win, I must include a link to the IHAN blog and Store, so here goes

Blog Link - http://www.ihaveanotion.blogspot.com

Website Link - http://ihavea-notion.com/store/

I have been typing this with my fingers crossed. It is really difficult!! Go and sign up, but if you win, remember who told you about the Giveaway.

Good Luck!

tich

Mini Quilt Swap

I have just found these swap details on Quilting Gallery (check link down the page). Isn't this pattern adorable? Lenna Green from the Stitching Cow has created this super cute embroidery pattern for this swap. You can stitch it in redwork, like Lenna’s sample, or with coloured embroidery floss. You can bet I have registered for this swap. This is the first time have ever done a swap, but the pattern was so cute!! My granddaughters are here at the moment, so no sewing being done, but they want to sew a daisy as well. They have done a bit of sewing each time they come, so hopefully, they will enjoy this. I definitely am going to love this.

Enjoy!

tich

New Buys

If you have been reading my blog recently, you will know I am on a 'mini' drive (no pun meant) just now. I bought this little ruler to help me. It is so cute. It is 2 1/2 inches square. I got it from Creative Grids Their service is really good, and they have a lot of new videos on their site, showing how to use their rulers. You also get a 10% discount card, if you spend over £30 (I think).
I also bought this plastic container from Ikea. I broke my Bernina Accessory box, not long after I bought my Artista 630E. It fell off the table, and I was so upset. It seems I am not the only one that this has happened to. I read the Bernina Yahoo Groups, and a few members have said that the boxes have broken. I bought the above box to hold all the Bernina feet and bobbins. It is great. I also have room for the thread I am using, scissors, pencils, rulers etc. It also bounces!!

Thankful Thoughts

We went over to Kirkwall on Monday, to pick up our granddaughters. It was a dreadful day, and the journey was awful on the ferry. I am not a good sailor, but usually I do not turn a hair on the local ferry. This time even the locals were lying down. That is the trick. If you are feeling sick, lie down. Fortunately there is loads of room, so I got there without mishap. Thank goodness. It is a glorious day, so we may go over the bay to have a walk, later.

Till next time.

tich

Easter Egg Tutorial

Warning - photo heavy.

I know I am a little late posting this, but perhaps it can be filed for next year.

I usually send my teenage grandsons some money for Easter. If they want to buy a chocolate egg, they can, but if they want something else, at least they will have something to put towards it. I was a little late in getting down to the shop, to get an Easter card. They were all gone, so I came home and made cracked eggs to hold the notes. Here is how to do it.

1. Find a nice picture of an egg on the Net, and print it out.

2. Cut it out roughly and paste it onto card.

3. When dry, cut it out to make a template.

4. Pick out some pretty card for your eggs. (This is Laura Ashley card I got at the Glasgow Exhibition).

5. Fold the card in two, and draw round your template.

6. Cut the eggs out, glue round the inside edge and paste them together, right sides out.

7. From a scrap of the left over card and using the template, draw the top of the egg and some cracks. Use a ruler to help you do this. Cut this out and use as a template to draw on your egg.

8. Cut the egg in two, on the crack. Make a small hole using a punch and hammer in a brad. (my brads were so tough, I had to use pliers. They are a bit squidged as a result.)

9. Join the two parts of the egg with ribbon, through the holes of the brad. Add the money or note. Enjoy!

Happy Easter to Everyone!!

tich

Mini Update

Well, here it is, finished at last! It is a wee bit wonky, but so am I, so it fits in fine! I really enjoyed making it, as I said in yesterday's post. I hope it will be the first of many. Below is a picture of some of the washers my husband picked up, for both of us. When he saw me taking a picture of them, he said, "I wondered where they went. I was looking for them yesterday!"
Thankful Thoughts

The snow (in Scotland) is starting to melt, so hopefully, my granddaughters will get up to see us for Easter.

Till next time.

tich

I'm in Love!!

I said in a previous post, that I had bought this book. It is WONDERFUL! I love it. I have been having great fun with it, and Terrie Sandelin is so nice!! I emailed her to tell her I was going to talk about the book, and she emailed me some tips! I have never had service like that before. What a great person!

I decided to try Trip Around the World. The instructions were good, and I actually enjoyed sewing the tiny patches together. Usually I worry like mad about sewing all the tiny patches together, and getting the corners to meet, but look at below -

My borders were a bit wonky. (Notice the material behind the mini. It is a nice cotton from Ikea.) Back to the mini. I took one of the borders off again, as it was a bit tight, so it looks marginally better, but still a bit wonky.

I marked the mini using a large washer. I sandwiched the mini, and then machine-quilted the centre, 'Trip Around the World'. I then hand-quilted the semi-circles, but when I was finished, I decided I needed a smaller circle within the bigger one. I used a smaller washer. To make all the semi-circles the same size, I mark the washers with black pen and then line them up. (you can see the lines in the picture)

I will show you the finished quilt tomorrow.

Thankful Thoughts

This is the fourth day of British Summertime. Yesterday, Scotland had gales, blizzards and huge amounts of snow. Thousands of homes were without power, and roads were closed, with hundreds of motorists stranded. I am sitting here, nice and cosy, with a cup of tea. The rain, which has been on most of the day, has stopped, and tomorrow it is supposed to be nice. Thank goodness we live here!

Till next time,

tich

Tah-Dah

Completed at last!! I decided I would make a lap quilt for my sister, so that she could cuddle into it, after chemo. I did the simplest pattern I could find - a central square, with borders all round and then joined together. Her favourite colour used to be blue. I just hope she hasn't changed her mind! There was no way I could ask her, without letting the cat out the bag.

I used to make a lot of wall hangings and small samples, for when I was demonstrating a technique, so I used to stipple these examples using what is now called micro stippling. I always hand quilted larger objects. Because I wanted to get this to my sister as quickly as possible (the chemo started last week), I decided to machine stipple it. I always use a large herringbone stitch to baste the sandwich together (you can see a great picture of how it looks on Lynn's blog, 'Nebraska Views' here), but when I have fully basted one way completely, I turn the quilt and baste at right angles. It doubles the work, but ensures the quilt layers will not move during machining. I forgot to take a picture of the quilt, when I had finished basting it. I found the stippling really hard on my neck, when I started. I was tensing up, trying to manoever the quilt, but I bought a pair of machine embroidery gloves, when I was at the Sewing and Hobbycraft Exhibition, and they made life so much easier! They have rubber 'bumps' on the palms of the gloves, and they grip the surface of the quilt, as you lay your hands on top. I was able to quilt for longer periods of time, and my neck did not get so sore. I stippled using a dark blue thread. This is a picture of one of the blocks below. It is not, by any means, perfect, but it got me started again.

Thankful Thoughts

I have a couple of friends, who send me funny emails every day. I must admit I enjoy a good laugh, and I have a quirky sense of humour (a typical Glaswegian!). Occasionally I get an email from one of them that makes me sit up and think. Appropriately enough the email I got today is called 'Think'. I hope you enjoy, if that is the correct word, and I hope it makes you think. (see below)

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, ' If I could only see the world, I will marry you. ' One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend. He asked her, ' Now that you can see the world, will you marry me? ' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn ' t expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: ' Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine. ' This is how the human brain often works - when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations. Life Is a Gift Today before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who ' s crying out to GOD for a companion. Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who went too earl y to heaven.. Before whining about the distance you drive - Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet. And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job. And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and think: you ' re alive and still around. Till next time. tich

New Book

Just a very quick blog tonight. I have been busy binding a quilt today, but will not get it finished, as I am going out tonight.

I bought this book just before I went off island. I read Terrie Sandelin's blog (here), and I do love mini quilts, so that is why I bought the book. I have to finish the quilt I am working on and a baby quilt, and then I am going to get my nose stuck into this book!

Thankful Thoughts

My sister started chemo yesterday and seems to be coping really well. Thank You.

Bernina Machines -Favorite Feature Contest

Two posts in one day - I am excelling myself! Bernina is holding a contest to say what you like best about your machine and also what improvements you would like. Here is the link.

Good Luck.

tich

Bernina Tip

As you all know, I love my Bernina 630E, 'Loopy Locket', shown here with the embroidery module attached. I use it almost every day, sometimes only for a couple of hours, but she and I are getting to know each other a bit better.

I bought a straight stitch plate, a while ago, but when I was changing it, I managed to break off one of the lugs on the back side of the plate. I couldn't believe it, as I am so careful with the machine. I phoned up my dealer, who is 280 miles away, and I received a new lug in the post. I also managed to include a smaller embroidery hoop as well in the order (a very late Christmas present!). It was really easy to put on the new lug. The assistant, who is a marvel on the machine, said she had done the exact thing, and in future, when I am changing plates, I HAVE TO LOWER THE FEED DOGS. It works like a charm. It is much easier to get the plate on, and I no longer worry about breaking anything. Thank you, David Drummond, Edinburgh. You have saved the day again!!

I'm Back!!

We went down to stay with my daughter, last week, and I was not organised enough to have posts ready to be published when I was away. My husband had just come back from a magic convention in Blackpool, so everything had to be washed etc., and then we were off. We wanted to give the grandchildren their Christmas presents, as we could not get off the island together, earlier. The person who looks after our animals, when we are off island, was involved with the murder trial, so we had to wait until that was over. I also wanted to go to the above exhibition in the Scottish Exhibition Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow. It started at 9.30am. My friend, whom I haven't seen for nearly three years, was coming down by bus from Kirriemuir. We met up at 11.45, but by that time I had bought few (cough, cough!) things. We had a great day!! It was so nice to see her again - she is such a nice person!! (I am on the left of the picture.)

I bought lots of material, and odd bits for doing various crafts.

During our stay near Edinburgh, we went to Ikea and various other shops. When we do go off the island, we find that we romp round loads of shops, trying to get things, which are not generally available where we live. This does not make for a relaxing holiday. We also went to see my husband's Dad, who has dementia. He was having a really good day, and he recognised us both. We took him out for a meal and then afternoon tea, and he thoroughly enjoyed himself.It was so nice to see him smiling and laughing.

Thankful Thoughts

It was a nice change to get off the island, have a couple of meals out and shop till we dropped, but there is no place like home. I looked at the tide going out of the bay, this morning, with the waders (birds) looking for food, and the sun glinting on the water and felt myself relax. Our washing is done, the baking is cooling down, so I am away to wash my material and play with the rest of my goodies.

Happy Mother's Day on Sunday!

Rosemary

I haven't been blogging lately, as my husband is off island, and I have been 'in charge'. Sounds very pretentious, but I have not had a lot of time to go online. The hens, ducks and ponies have to be fed and watered twice a day, and of course, as soon as my husband left we got snow, so I have been breaking ice on all the water barrels and trying to get the stand pipe outside to work. The last two days it has been so cold that I have had to haul the water from the house, as everything outside is iced up. This is most unusual, as we are so close to the sea, but the weather forecast does not look good for this coming week, when my husband is coming back up. He is going to get a rough journey, I think. On top of that, I have had a sick dog. Penny had to get an emergency hysterectomy last week. We were really disappointed, as we were going to breed her in May, but we were told, if we did not get the operation done, she might die, so there was no choice. She is fine now. The stitches came out today, and she is running about in the snow, without a care in the world.

The top picture shows the colours I chose for the pinwheel quilt. I was going great guns, but I got sidetracked, and I am now working on a new project (naughty, naughty!) I am not going to show the blocks until it is finished, but it is an easy block to do, so that should not take too long. Here is a sneak peek of some of the blocks.

Thankful Thoughts

My sister is now back home and waiting to start chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We have been talking on Skype. It is great to have her back talking and laughing with me. She has a great sense of humour. Thank You!

Till next time.

tich

Flower Clasps

I have been having fun making these clasps for my granddaughters. They love pretty things for their hair, so when I saw a tutorial on this site here, I got going. Arlette's blog has a lot of great tutorials, and I am definitely going to have a go at some of the pincushions. I love pincushions, but find that my pins go rusty in them, as we are so close to the sea. Back to the clasps. They are really easy to make. I was not concentrating, when I made the first blue gingham pins, and kept on folding. As you can see below, they are more like daisies than flowers, but they will still be appreciated.

These are more what the clasps should look like. Arlette sent me a nice email, giving permission for me to link to her blog.

I bought this quarter inch foot, or should I say my husband bought this for me, along with another hoop, for Loopy Locket, my 630E Bernina. I have been having a bit of trouble getting my points to meet, and I thought this might help. I now have perfect quarter inch seams, but some of my points are still not perfect. Anybody got any tips? I am a perfectionist, when it comes to patchwork, and try to keep things just so (or sew?)

I realise I have not been indicating when I have updated my 100+ Reading Book Challenge, so I will put a link in the blog, when I have completed more books. (here)

Thankful Thoughts

My sister has come through her operation. They could not get all the tumor, but she starts radiotherapy soon. Thank You! Thank you to all the nice wishes that have also been sent from blogland!

Doesn't the sun make all the difference to how you feel? We have had a period of really lousy weather. Long, dark, murky days, with lots of rain. Then we had a few unexpected days, when the snow fell and actually stayed. But suddenly we woke up one day and the sun was shining. There was no wind, and the bay was absolutely calm, just like a mirror. Glorious!

Till next time.

tich

Jelly Roll Update

You will remember, perhaps, the story of the jelly roll and how I did not like what I made, here. I made a quilt top from the other half of the jelly roll (here), and it is still to be sandwiched and quilted.

I still had a load of the original jelly roll squares, which were going to be made into a rail fence quilt. I did not like it at all, so I cut out some squares, using two different colours of pink, and this is the result. (Sorry about the picture. We have snow storms today, and the light is awful!)

I only did this with half the squares, and last night I had a play with the blocks, to get a pleasing layout. That was when I realised the triangular blocks are, of course, now a different size! DUH! This quilt does not want to be made. I can't resize the strip blocks, as that will make one of the end strips too skinny. I am going to unpick two strips, and replace the centre one with a skinnier, pink strip. If this quilt doesn't start behaving, it will go on the UFO pile!!

It is my own fault. I just didn't think!! I have had a cold since Christmas, and that is my excuse for muddled thinking.

Thankful Thoughts

I did the last walk with Penny , our dog, last night, as Mr D was tired. It was beautiful. I managed to time the walk between the snow/hail showers, and the wind was making the clouds scuttle across the sky. The moon was supposed to be shining really brightly the night before, but as it was, I did not need a torch to see Penny, and when the clouds parted, I could see Mars really close to the moon. Beautiful to be out, but even nicer to get into a nice warm bed!!

EQ6

When I am worried or uptight, I don't seem to be able to enjoy sewing. I do try, but I prefer reading, or doing something else. My sister is ill and will have brain surgery, to remove a tumor within the next two weeks. I have been reading, puttering about and looking at the Electric Quilt 6 software. I bought this last year, but have not opened it since. I thought it was going to be difficult and would need a lot of time to learn it. I have only done the first chapter, but, so far, it is really easy to use. I have done a few patterns and had a nosy where I shouldn't, but it looks great! I should have done it long before!

I also got onto a local patchwork shop to get some fat quarters. When I say local, it is 120 miles away on the Scottish Mainland. I had to give the general idea of what I wanted, as the shop did not have samples. She sent me a lovely variety, but the cost!! I paid the equivalent of $4.36 for a fat quarter! I could get a yard of Kona cotton for less than that in the States! I do like to use local shops if I can, but I think in future I will be trawling the Net more, and buying internationally. I did get some really pretty cottons, but I still have to do something with the squares I made initially from the Moda jelly roll (here), so that comes first. Trouble is I like to flit from one project to another. Butterfly-brain definitely comes to mind.

Thankful Thoughts

I was listening to the radio this morning, and the Equality Commission is going to lobby government, to allow people to work as long as they want. If it goes through, people could work into their eighties, nineties, as long as they were competent at the work they do. I felt tired just listening to the programme. I retired two years early, and I am so glad I did so. It was a big decission, as we were going to change location, lifestyle, everything. But it worked, and it is peaceful. I think that is what I like the most. Peace.