Friday 22 January 2010

Stripping!

No -  not quite what is sounds like,  and if it was it would certainly be something you wouldn't want to look  at unless you'd like a good
laugh !!


What I have done is joined  Stephanie's  No Strings Attached challenge


....... and have been busy stripping these 1930s fabrics, which have been lurking in the stash for ages...




...... and turning them into strings of these....






......which hopefully will eventually become something like this !    Well, that's the theory, so watch this space!!

Last I heard there are over 150 'strippers' loose in Blogland  at the moment thanks to Stephanie, so check out the link in the side bar and have a look at some of the creations already on show.

Sunday 17 January 2010

What A Difference .....

... a few days make !  From sub-zero temperatures to 13 degrees C in 4 days - confirmation indeed that the weather is getting more and more erratic!  No complaints here though as we've not only managed to get some food in house at last, but also a  good walk along the canal today in glorious sunshine



 



Don't things seem so much better when the sun shines ??

Tuesday 12 January 2010

Global Warming - Part 2

Our snow is still with us, and is really wearing out its welcome now.  All the Ooohs! & Aaahs! are giving way to the inconveniences like running out of bread,potatoes and other little 'luxuries' necessary to everyday life.

One of the downsides of living in the country is that, whilst all major roads are clear for traffic, our little country lanes remain blocked, so there was great excitement this morning when it started raining!

I never, ever  thought that I would be glad to see rain after the deluge we suffered in November and early December, but at least I thought it would clear our lane and we could escape for a couple of hours- no chance.  As well as the rain we have bitingly cold east winds and instead of thawing the snow, the rain is freezing on top of it and the whole surface is now like a big ice rink.

 This is the glass on the porch door, and you can see where the rain has frozen before it's had a chance to run down.





Ah Well -at least we've still got some rice left , and I guess I'll just have to keep busy with some more sewing :-)

Thursday 7 January 2010

Global Warming ??

Yes, the white stuff is back again!!  Not that much in comparison with a lot of places, but for an area that sees snow  every 10 years or so, twice in a month is a big event!!                                                                        



                                                                

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Not A Good Start!

Well, the old year ended miserably and the New Year arrived in the same way, as,  like many in Blogland ,  Boxing Day saw me coming down with the dreaded 'flu !  Don't really know what kind of bug I managed to pick up but I can tell you I certainly do not want it again!!  Today is the first time that I have managed to stay upright for any length of time, and to be honest I still feel very wobbly, but maybe that's because I've not be able to eat anything for days.


DH has been taking really good care of me, sometimes too good as often all you want to do is  curl up in a corner and be left alone! However - I am feeling a lot better so I guess it's time to stop feeling sorry for myself and get 2010 started, and what better way to start the year than with a finished quilt!

I've long been a fan of Mary Johnson 's scrappy quilts, so  thought it was time to try one of her patterns and decided on this one.

Maybe not the prettiest of quilts, but so easy & quick to make and it certainly got rid of a lot more of those 'why did I buy that!' fabrics. 





The quilt finished at 4 ' 6" x 6' O", not a bad size for a soon to be teenage granddaughter who tells me her toes stick out of the last one I made her!!!  Thank you Mary for a great tutorial!!




I even went mad and tried the  'Loop de Loop' quilting as a change from stippling.  I'm no sure if that was the right thing to do as I ended up quilting on the diagonals to keep the threads 'colour controlled' which wasn't too easy !  I also think I need a lot more practice with this designs :-)