The best laid plans.

Nothing has gone according to plan these last couple of days! More of that later, I still don't have the knack of getting my pictures uploaded in the right order, so I'll start with last nights dinner.

Hunney says he'd never had sausage and mash served to him like this until I did it! I'm amazed! Is it just a Manx thing? Or a British thing? LOL My boys would think I was ill if I didn't play with their food and find a fun way to serve it.

When I was little my mother served everything onto the plate as it came, no fuss and no frills, certainly no UFO sausages! Everything had to be eaten with a knife and fork, even pizza! I learned about fun food at my friends houses. I vowed my kids would have fun food. Sausage mash and onion gravy with green space balls of gas (LOL Sprouts!) just wouldn't be the same any other way! And pizza with stretchy gooey cheese just has to be eaten with your hands. Do you have special ways of serving up certain dishes?

Hunney and I have been working on this puzzle for about 3 weeks now, we finally finished it up last night. Sorry it's not the greatest picture. It's a 1000 piecer.
Now it's done we'll break it up and pass it on to number one sister, (have I told you I'm the oldest of four girls? After me is Kirsty, the puzzler, then Moya, she's crafty like us and Nerine, the baby, she's the scientist.) We have nowhere to keep it not even for a while, so today it goes back into the box.

Finally my aborted plans. On Friday I had intended to spend the morning at my studies, then the afternoon at my quilting, I'm all geared up to get to that table runner! Well, I was just going to jump in the shower when I saw that Hunney had put all the towels into the wash basket, so I went to our walk in to get some more, I've been on at Hunney for weeks now to help me turf out in there, you know whats coming don't you! The words untidy mess just don't do it. I turned the shower off, rolled up my pyjama sleeves and got stuck in. I got finished in time to have a very late lunch. I rewarded myself by stitching this little fellow before dinner. Still no study done!


He's got a rather odd expression on his face. LOL I found him at another childrens activity site

Today we're off out for dinner, Yay! I don't have to cook a roast! We're going to meet up with some friends and have a christmas dinner in Peel a town on the west coast of the island. Then later if I can get him into gear Hunney and I will re arrange the furniture and put up our tree.

More Stitcheries.

I really enjoy these little stitcheries, they are so quick to work. I've been hunting around the net looking for complimentary patterns.

I found this little guy here. Isn't he a sweetie. I'll be making him into a christmas card for my Mum, she has a little Scottie dog and will appreciate something handmade.


I haven't pressed either of these two pieces yet, as if you can't tell! I'm going to make two of these second pieces. I'll put them with the redwork bell and make a table runner.


As usual I've changed my mind, you may remember I was going to make a table runner similar to this one Julia made, using just the bell, but then I saw this and had to stitch it too. I found this one at a childrens activity site.
I remembered reading somewhere that childrens colouring books are ideal places to find stitcheries so I went looking and found a whole host of little images I'd love to stitch.

Finally, last but most certainly not least.....Hunneys Christmas card. (Edited to say, I originally thought this was a Pam Kellogg piece, however she assures me it is not. So I don't know where I found it, I'm sorry but if you have any ideas or if it's your design, please let me know so I can add the proper credit.) The pattern is actually for a piece of blackwork, but I left out all of the fancy filligree stitching, I think they look just fine as they are.



To make the stitching up into a card, I put an off cut of wadding onto a piece of card, then wrapped the critters around that, securing them at the back with double sided tape, then the whole thing was secured to the red card with more double sided tape. I added stickies and now need only write a little poem for inside.

Any ideas?

When I first started this blog I looked about and applied to join the 'quilting for pleasure' ring, but as you know, thats gone now. So I've been looking about again and I see many of you are members of the 'stashbusters' ring, but I have no stash, so thats not for me. LOL I also see a ring called 'Mavericks' am I maverick enough to join you guys? There are several rings for crazy quilters and embellishers, still not me, in fact there are dozens of rings out there and I'm confused!

Do I need to be in a ring? I know that some of you link to me from your own blogs and some are regular readers and post comments, do you think I'd get more feedback if I were to join another ring?

If you were to reccomend a ring for a relative newbie who does mostly straight forward patchwork and quilting which ring would it be? Or should I just plod on as I am?

Take care

Trip around the Christmas Tree.

Remember that tree skirt I was talking about yesterday?

Well I abandoned the stitchery idea, I'll make some more for something else, I promise.

So today was another day off work. This morning I selected and cut 4 fat quarters, I played about on the floor for a while and came up with this trip around the world.


Then I went out to lunch, called in to buy wadding then milk on the way home. This afternoon I put it all together, with 4 more fat quarters for the back and finished quilting it just as Hunney came through the door. I took a break to cook dinner.


This evening, after dinner I attached and closed the binding (Scrappy... ish of course). So before bedtime I have one completed Christmas Tree Skirt.

Wow!

Instant satisfaction! I could get used to this. LOL

Now all I need is a tree, but it never goes up before Joes birthday on 10th, so it will have to wait a couple of weeks.

My long weekend off work is over and tomorrow I'm back to it. Soon I'll do the cutting for the table topper but I really do have to get on and do some school work too. Oh! Last nights exam, a doddle, a breeze! I'll get the results in about 6 weeks though and I shouldn't count my chickens.

Take care all.

Stitchery.

First things first, here's my first ever presentable stitchery. It's not the best ever, but it is the best I've ever done. As I said last time this is one of Pam Kelloggs complimentary patterns. Thank you Pam.


I've been sorting through my mini stash in order to find some fabrics to use with my little bell and came up with these two lovelies, some of you may remember my friend Janet sent these to me. I said at the time they felt christmassy and here they are. I plan to use these with the stitchery as the centre panel for this table runner, which Julia showed us.



While I was playing in my fabric box I also found these, hmm, not very cheerful, a bit disappointing to be honest,


So I got hunney to take me shopping. We do have some quilty shops here on the island, but they are limited by space so don't carry much. I did manage to gather up these little beauties though.


Hunney picked the one with the penguins, he said we had to have it. So now I want to have a bash at making a little tree skirt, I want to include a bit more stitchery in there too. That piece of fabric with the baubles on gave me an idea.
I'm off, two whole days off work, I have an exam tonight, so today I must do some study, but tomorrow, my time is my own.

Take care.