May's Last post

Another month bites the dust and as we progress into June we have been basking in glorious sunshine here in Ayrshire.
Now I realise not everyone in the UK is sharing this gorgeous weather - sorry!

Despite the good weather I have managed a bit of work sewing.

I continue to make little things for a Charity table that will be part of an upcoming event in Ayr - it's a fundraiser to be held in the Jennie Campbell School of Dancing on Saturday 18th June from 2.30 - 4.30. The funds raised will be going to Memories are Better than Dreams - this is a new charitable organisation who support the end of life wishes of children and their families and who are currently supporting Beth and her family, who inspired Bluepatchquilters' own fundraiser back in April.
I made a few coin trays - my daughter suggested the wording that happily coincides with upcoming Father's Day here in the UK.

Once I started recycling denim, I went on to make a couple of fabric baskets....

I found some orphans lying about that just needed finishing............

I recently started and quickly gave up making blocks for the Splendid Sampler, a great project but beyond my time availability..........so the blocks made have been turned into mug mats.

And all that this next mat (?) need was a bit of quilting. Can't recall just how old this is but it was made using shot cottons, so lovely to quilt.

I have also managed a bit of my own stitching - I am trying to catch up on my Block of the Month project from Today's Quilter. I am working on last month's block - we have to make 8 of these 12" blocks and I started by making all the centre nine patches. The quilt is designed by Jen Kingwell and up until now I have been throwing all sorts of scraps together in the hope that it will all come together in the end - it worked for My Small World. However, although still using scraps, I decided to be a bit more planned and coordinated and so far I have completed three from eight. here are the eight centres.

And my blocks so far,

I started these eight blocks thinking it was a bit of a chore but now I am really enjoying the process - I am reminded of an article in last month's Today's Quilter by Lynn Edwards. There is so much rushing about trying to make quilts in a weekend that sometimes we forget to slow down and just enjoy the process. I have no deadline for this BOM, if I am a month or two behind, nobody will scold me or condemn me. Worth thinking about sometimes.

And finally, as the Father's Day coin trays seemed very well timed, I thought I'd try a couple out in my shop -

Papa's pennies has already sold but the other is in my shop 

And for all of you who love to use Aurifil thread, I will be adding to my stock very soon.

Have a great week.x

Mid May Madness

I am feeling very happy today as Andy Murray beat Djokovic in Rome. So in a moment of madness I decided to offer a discount coupon across all items in my Shop

Spend £20 or more and receive a 20% discount - just use the coupon code MidMayMadness, one time only, and your discount will be applied. Valid now, until Friday 20th May at Midnight, UK time.

As far as sewing is concerned, I have managed a few tasks this week despite the weather being too good to stay indoors. Hard to believe we are now experiencing the second weekend of sunshine in a row.

I made a second spoon dolly for Ava - I was surprised how much she took to it considering the amount of "proper" Disney dolls she has.............I got the idea to make Merida HERE. And for the Merida purists out there, she has been to the hairdresser as she fancied a colour change - ok!!

Later in the week I set about giving some old director's chairs a facelift. I "inherited" these from my daughter a couple of years ago and have wanted to make them a bit cheerier for a while. I got the fabric from Croft Mill. I used to shop with them years ago when they operated by mail order with a paper catalogue. (Imagine!!) The style of writing always made me chuckle and I recognise it still in the fabric descriptions.

And finally, my daughter asked me last night if I had any little items suitable for a table sale - part of another event that will be held in Ayr soon to raise funds in Beth's name for Glasgow Childeren's Hospital Charity.

I made some of my stand-by coasters - (Tutorial here if you are interested)

I have some other ideas up my sleeve for quick makes.

I treated myself to these this week, from Aldi. Couldn't resist their patchwork look.

And yesterday we had a wee stroll around our local Burns Centre...........MidMayMadness indeed.

Hope you all have a good week - don't forget that coupon code!!

Summer?

Temperatures are soaring here in Ayrshire, not least mine as I battle with the technicalities of Facebook and setting up my wee online store - but I won't be defeated and will get where I want to be even if it takes ridiculous amounts of time.

So, thank you to all my well wishers on the Blog and on FB - I will continue to peddle my wares and when I do have command of all the rules I will offer special deals now and again.......

This morning was our Ayrshire Quilters' Coffee Morning and we continue to see high numbers of like minded ladies turning up to chat and show their beautiful work.

I am ashamed to say I rarely Show and Tell but today was different and I was able to show and hand over the Twiddle Muff that I knitted.

When my friends and I meet weekly for our Sewing Bee I don't often have hand sewing on the go. My knitting skills don't extend to chatting and following a pattern so this is the perfect project for me - straight knitting. These muffs are destined for patients suffering from dementia - they help keep restless hands busy and  the patients calm. If you want to read more have a look HERE.

I am often asked these days how I am enjoying retirement, what am I doing with my time, etc....well, it is amazing how the days pass in a flurry of normal life.

I did add a new skill to my repertoire last week when I was asked by my son to step in and do a bit of dog sitting as their dog walker was unavailable. Stu & Hawlie have recently moved from a City Centre apartment to a house in the 'burbs and their wee dog, Angus, is loving it. I coped admirably, playing ball with him in the garden - until my daft daughter kicked it over the 6' fence..........poor Angus. Here he is, in the same frame as Ava, on her scooter. Angus has never been happy with small wheeled objects such as suitcases or skateboards but he handled this intrusion very well.

And of course, I also fill in some of my time sewing although I am sure lots of you know that you don't always feel like it just because you have the time. However, one day last week I just wanted to sew! Nothing big, not even to continue on a current project, no, I just needed a wee sewing fix. So I made these Mugmats from some leftovers from another currrent piece of work. I finished them off today, mainly because my sewing room faces North and is the coolest room in the house at the moment - I am NOT complaining about the heat though.

And now, popping on my shopkeeper's hat, I can tell you that these mats are now available to purchase in my shop.

I hope the sun is shining for you too.

Techie Wizard

I have exciting news to share.

For about three years now, I have been retailing AURIFIL thread to my classes and other occasional venues.

Having "hooked" all my lovely ladies on this wonderful thread I have been searching and deliberating over the different, mind blowing ways to sell online now that I will no longer be teaching. And I need something to keep me from Homes Under the Hammer.

So I finally fell upon Ecwid, a platform that allows me to have a shopping cart on my blog and on Facebook too.

So, if you are having AURIFIL withdrawal symptoms just go to the SHOP page at the top of this page and you will be led into my wonderful sweetie thread shop.

Or why don't you follow me on Facebook.

I don't have all my stock listed just yet, so if you don't see what you are after just email me or private message me on FB.

Wish me luck.

April

April was a quick month - although I would normally have finished classes for the summer at this time of year, I am very conscious of the fact that I don't have projects to plan for the Autumn, unless they are personal......it's a bit weird, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

I have spent a lot of time clearing out "stuff" in my sewing room although I must say the novelty of that has worn off a bit and there is much that could still be done, ............later.

I have been doing the BOM in Today's Quilter, by Jen Kingwell - I very much enjoyed making "My Small World", also one of her patterns, and developed quite a love for working with little scraps and pretty much throwing anything together - I know this is not for everybody but I rather like the scrappy, eclectic look.
So I caught up and completed all 8 (!) of April's blocks.

I have made all 8 but don't seem to have photos of them all. The blocks will finish at 6" x 7". I finished just as the May edition of Today's Quilter dropped on my doormat - and I see that there are another 8 blocks for this month.........sigh.

I like April, possibly because it's my birthday month. There was a time when I'd have hated a household item as a gift, but I have changed over the years and my family got together and got me this -

Cakes are possibly the last thing I should have in my life but hey, I don't have to eat them all do I?

I made these first......

and then I might have made myself a birthday cake - oh the time it took me to mould those carrots...(wink). My lovely daughter declared it "coffee shop quality" - I'll take that.

As a lovely finale to April, on Friday, I went with friends to the Knitting and Stitching Show, in Edinburgh, loads and loads of traders offering the usual temptations, not as many exhibits as I expected and lots of mini workshops which we did not realise would be there - next time we'll prepare ahead. I did go with the intentions of buying this kit, from Cool Crafting -

and I look forward to having a go at creating this sweet bunny.

And finally, this week, a friend lent me this book -

I have not read through in detail but I reckon it's a super book full of colour theory with practical projects to explain said theory. Sometimes I find the dedicated books on colour theory a little too much to absorb, but I think this is one you would return to again and again - my friend found it in The Works and told me they have a website - who knew? I always thought of them as the cheap bookshop on the High Street. This book is currently on sale at £4. They have several other quilting books available too. Worth a look.