Furtling in January

So, when Helen and I happened to each publish a recent blog post for the first time in a long time we were bemoaning to each other how so many blogs have fallen by the wayside.
Helen decided to take the bull by the horns, approached a few other bloggers and from today we are hoping to refresh our blogging habit.

And furtling? It's a word that tickled us all, it means having a rummage, a delve, a look at the contents of something. For example, 'Have a furtle in that cupboard and see if you can find it.

I have furtled a good bit in January working on a few little projects. I also have a few outstanding bigger projects too but won't load them all onto here, baby steps.

My main focus has been to work on the quilt I planned for my expected Grandson. He will be a baby brother for Ava and due just a couple of days after her 7th birthday in March.
Meanwhile, we welcomed baby Macie into the family in November, a first baby for my son & his wife. It's amazing increasing from one to three grandchildren in such a short time, we are so fortunate.

Baby Max ( not his real name but the bump's name) has a daddy who passes on his shirts to me for patchwork. He tends to wear rather nice quality shirts and so I thought perhaps a quilt made from daddy's shirts might be cute, even including one of his pink shirts. I spent one session at the Ayr Modern Quilters' Guild stripping down a few shirts to useable chunks.
A further session had me cutting a number of 5" squares and 2.5" squares and then I got going with the quilt itself.
I am sorry but can't recall where the pattern came from but definitely found it free online.
One of the joys of using old shirts is how soft the finished top is, the shirts having been washed numerous times, I must remember to pre-wash the backing fabric.

Why don't you go have a look at some of the other Furtling blogs, just press the button below.

To Sir (s) with Love

This week has been most thought provoking as I contemplate the lives of two of my favourite well known Scots.

On Thursday we caught up with part 2 of the recent Made in Scotland programmes featuring my favourite ever comedian.
Billy Connolly has been reducing me to tears since probably my late teens.
These programmes included many TV clips of his shows through the years and with celebrity comments along the way we were reminded of so much of his particular humour. Being born only a decade later , many of his observational stories really resonate with me and I consider Sir Billy as a real National treasure.
As he brought the programme to a close he reflected on his condition and admitted that due to his Parkinson's disease he felt his life was slipping away slowly.
Once more, he reduced me to tears, but sad ones, as I realised we are unlikely to see him on our screens much more, but happy for him to have been able to bow out to all his fans on his own terms.

Next morning I awoke to the news that Andy Murray had decided that enough was enough and with luck he might make Wimbledon in July but there was a very real possibility that his match in Melbourne on Monday might be his last due to the constant pain he lives with.

I first heard of Murray when he won the Junior US Open at the age of 17 and have been a fan since.
There have been dozens,maybe hundreds of tributes paid to him in todays papers, on social media and of course, TV, and I cannot better any of them but I do feel privileged to have been able to watch him rise to the very height of his game and enjoy the many matches I have been able to see, including some heart wrenching hide behind the settee moments too!
I realise how special it is to have felt such National pride in a sportsman of his calibre.

So, Sir Andy Murray, unlike Connolly, is unable to bow out on his own terms, but when the dust settles and he has his pain under control this young man will be able to look forward to a long and happy life with his lovely family and I am sure we haven't seen the last of him on our screens.

As I reflect on their lives and careers I have come to the conclusion that like our National drink, these two fine men must indeed have been "Made in Scotland from girders".

I wish them both, a' the best!