A lovely day!

Well, I had a lovely, lovely day yesterday celebrating my birthday ........ OK, my 50th birthday!!! As I told you in yesterday’s post, I went off to my favourite fabric shop and had probably only been in the shop about 5 minutes before I had been conned, sorry, persuaded into buying a jelly roll; to which I added a few fat quarters. I didn’t stay too long though, in case I lost all control. It wasn’t random buying though (well OK, two of the fat quarters were!!). I was after fabric that would match a quilt top that I’m half way through. Rather dimly, when I bought the quilt pattern and fabric, I didn’t check the finished size – I assumed it would be full double-bed size, whereas it is really only a bed-topper size, so I’m going to extend it with extra borders and applique (eventually!) ........ so that is my one and only excuse for buying fabric – do I need one though!!?? Not when it’s your 50th birthday you don’t!!!

Yesterday evening I spent with my family and one of my friends at my brother’s house, where we had a lovely big Chinese takeaway – yum! Followed by the piece de resistance (have I spelt that right!!) ............. a drum roll please for my beautiful birthday cake made by my wonderfully talented and very kind auntie – take a look at this ..............



... and this is a only a small sample of my aunt’s talent. Sugar craft has been her hobby for a long time and she has made many, many wedding and birthday cakes over the years, and each one is to an extremely high standard – a missed business opportunity I think.

Now this is very brave of me I think, because the next one is of ME with the cake, plus my talented aunt, my brother and my friend.



.... now I know they say that photographs add about 10 lb to your weight, but what the heck accounts for the other 40 lb of mine – perhaps it’s to do with my age eh?? Not convinced – no, me neither. Just way too much cake and chocolate .... but you have to agree that it would be churlish of me not to eat my birthday cake – I will share a bit of it though, don’t worry.

I received mostly money and garden vouchers for presents. My big present I’ve already had in April of course – that was my trip to Ireland with my brother and sister-in-law. I also had some lovely willow vegetable planters as I’m attempting to grow a few vegetables this year and I think these wicker planters look so much nicer than plastic tubs, and I can use them again next year, so ‘Green’ too.



And I took this one just before I went to bed last night of some of my birthday cards.



Back to normal now I suppose – excitement over. I’d go and switch the TV on, but there’s nothing but the news about our ‘hung parliament' – when will that ever get sorted!!!!

Till next time!

My second 25th!!!!

................... birthday that is. Well, 50 is such a high number when we’re talking birthdays, which we are, so I prefer to call it my second 25th!! Anyway, one of my birthday cards confirmed that 50 IS the new 40 – and I believe them!!! And as with any 50-year old (or should that read 5-year old) I woke up several times in the night eager to open the cards I had already received. But then again it could just be my 50-year old bladder getting me up several times a night!!! LOL

Well, it’s been a good day so far. NOT going to work was a great start, followed by a lovely mug of coffee in bed whilst I opened my cards, and then the next good bit was browsing through the current issue of ‘Inspirations’ magazine, which came out just in time for my birthday – Thank you!!




I discovered ‘Inspirations’ magazine (by accident) about a year ago or so and each issue really does ‘Inspire’. It only comes out four times a year, but each issue is packed with beautiful projects – mostly long-term projects that will turn into real heirlooms.

Katarina sent me these lovely pressies from Sweden:



A lovely bookmark, a little needlecase, a gorgeous delicate necklace (sorry the photo doesn't show the lovely purple colour) and a really pretty, very soft knitted/crotchet brooch .... and a lovely card – all made (I believe) by Katarina, a very multi-talented YOUNG lady! Thanks again Katarina, I really appreciate them.

At work yesterday, one of the girls had arranged one of these in the office for me:



....... a chocolate fountain with strawberries and marshmallows for dipping – how gorgeous, and a lovely surprise too – I am a chocoholic you know!!! And just to prove it, I also received this ‘Chocoholic’ mug from the same lady



plus flowers, smellies and chocolates from other friends at work. I had money from the whole office to put towards an Ipod – a bit trendy eh for a 50-year old!!

I shall be getting together with my family later tonight for a big Chinese takeaway, followed by birthday cake.

Well ladies, you must excuse me ...... I can resist no longer – I’m off to my favourite fabric shop. Resistance is futile I’m afraid, so why bother trying ....... what else is a GIRL to do on a Special birthday???!!!!

Just remembered – I’d better go and vote too on the way – it’s General Election day here in the UK. Thank you Gordon Brown for holding an Election on my big day – upstaged again!!

Catch you later ...........

My 50th birthday celebrations begin!!

It’s been quite a while again I know!! I’ve been doing as much overtime at work as I can (needs must!!), so by the time I’ve caught up with household chores, shopping etc. I’m often too tired to do much sewing. Having said that, I have done a bit, but I can’t showcase my work yet, as what I have done is a pressie for somebody who may well read this, so that will have to wait!!

My 50th birthday celebrations have begun early with a 4-day trip to the Republic of Ireland (the south-east area around Cork, and Wexford) and have to say that all these stories one hears about lots of rain in Ireland I have decided are a myth, as we have just had 4 glorious days there – lucky or what!! We were also very lucky that we got back on Thursday morning – just before all of the travel problems that have arisen due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland!! I went with my lovely brother and sister-in-law (Colin & Ruth) – it was their present to me for my birthday – how generous was that? And I had a really lovely time. It was very relaxing (my brother did most of the driving – I did none!!) and Ireland, as foretold, is a very beautiful place ..... and the traditional Irish breakfasts, with black pudding and white pudding, were delicious!! The only downside really was the cost of everything! I already knew from others that it is generally considered more expensive than here, but added to that the terrible exchange rate at the moment – Sterling/Euro – and most things seemed almost double the price!

Anyway, if you’re still reading, here are a few photographs of our holiday



Brother and SIL on the coast at Hook Head – just look at the colour of the sea!!

The coast at Tramore

The harbour at Cork (I think!) – I loved the pastel colours of the houses!

The fantastic view from the farmhouse we stayed in at Ballinhassig, County Cork

.......... and a green post box!!

My favourite part was our trip to Cobh (pronounced ‘Cove’) and an exhibition called the Queenstown Story Exhibition, which is housed in an old Victorian railway station. The exhibition told the story of the Irish/American emigration following the potato famine of the mid 19th century. Part of the exhibition was dedicated to the Titanic, as Cobh was the last calling point before it started its fatal journey in 1912!!

I must just add a funny note (sorry big bro!!). On Sunday (the day we set off for Ireland) we arrived at the dock in Fishguard, South Wales in good time. There was only a ‘Stenaline’ ferry in dock – we were travelling with ‘Irish Ferries’, so my brother started to check the travel documents; whereupon he suddenly dropped the papers, threw the car into reverse and steamed off again cursing “Christ, we’re supposed to be at Pembroke, (also in South Wales for those of you outside the UK) not Fishguard – we’re never going to make it!!” All was well though, as Fishguard and Pembroke are only about 25 miles apart and we arrived there still in good time. Needless to say, my sister-in-law, Ruth, and I didn’t let my brother forget his little mistake .... and I’m sure we’ll find plenty of occasions in the future to remind him of it – aren’t we cruel, but he did make us laugh?!!

Anyway peeps, hope to back soon to show you what I’ve been stitching.

Dear Jane

I’m really getting back into cross-stitch lately and enjoying it, although I am missing my quilting at the same time – if ONLY there were more hours in the day!!!!

What could be better though than a combination of the two! I’ve just bought myself this new chart

(saw it on someone else’s blog as usual!) and couldn’t resist (as usual!!). It’s a cross-stitch pattern based on the ‘Dear Jane’ quilt, but a scaled down version of it. I really love it and can’t wait to get started on it ..... along with many other cross-stitch patterns, some quilting – oh, yes, and I’ve also been having a little go at crocheting lately .... just to add to the pile!!! I just can’t help myself!!!

Valentines and friends!!

Now, as a single person (for the 3rd time now!!), I wasn’t expecting to receive anything in the way of a Valentines treat. However, I was wrong, because when you’re lucky enough to have such wonderful friends as Wendy (The Quiet Room), then you’re not forgotten. When I found a card from the Post Office man the other day saying they had a package for me, I tootled off to collect it assuming it was a couple of DVD’s I had ordered from Amazon. What a surprise to find a big fat envelope from Wendy instead. And here are the contents of that lovely big fat envelope:-



Firstly, lots of lovely Valentines delights – a beautifully stitched ‘February’ pillow, heart-shaped bath treats, choccies (yummie), a very cute little teddy, a reel of ‘East of India’ ribbon (I love ‘East of India’ products), a metal heart ..... and did I mention the choccies ......

here is a close-up of the box of chocolates, but I’m not going to compromise myself by showing you a photograph of the inside of the box – after all, the ‘Sell By’ date is September 2010, so I thought “better to be safe than sorry”, and munched my way through them in about (let me think) 30 seconds – naughty, but oh so nice!!!


and as if that wasn’t enough, Wendy also sent me some belated Christmas gifts. A beautifully stitched ‘Silent Night’ pillow and a lovely ‘Jim Shore’ Father Christmas figurine. Wendy, in her naivety (poor girl) thought I might want to keep the Christmas treats wrapped until next Christmas – ha ha ha – AS IF!!!!



So, all in all, even though I don’t have any romance in my life at the moment, I do feel very cherished and lucky to have such a lovely, lovely friend.

Although I have said it privately to Wendy, I’ll say it here again – THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Random Thoughts!

Although it’s been a while since I posted, it doesn’t mean that I haven’t been crafting! I suppose I could have blogged about life generally instead, but I haven’t really felt like it I suppose – I have been ‘lurking’ though and have been keeping up with all of my favourite blogs!

Anyway, just to prove (if I need to!) that I have been busy, here’s what I’m working on the moment.

It’s a cross-stitch called ‘Random Thoughts’ and it’s by ‘The Drawn Thread’ Company. I’d been on the look-out for a sampler for a while, and as soon as I saw this one on Andrea's blog, I knew that it was the one for me. Of course, there’s always a lot more work involved than you originally think isn’t there?!!! I started it just after Christmas and I’m nearly a third of the way through it.

It’s so hard on the old eye sight that I rarely feel like working on it after work under electric light, so it’s sort of become a weekend thing. By the way, had I mentioned that I’ll be 50 this year? Oh heck ..... it comes to us all!! Anyway, don’t worry, I'll remind you all nearer the time!! It would have been harder still had I stitched it on the suggested 32 count linen, rather than the 28 count that I chose instead!! I am enjoying watching it come together though and hope that I manage to finish it ..... let’s say, by the summer – there’s my challenge!!!!!!

Keep me to it!!

Don’t you just love my new scissors too? I bought them from Yuko in Japan. I see lovely antique looking scissors on lots of other blogs, but hadn’t seen anywhere I could buy them from until I came across Yuko’s blog – thanks Yuko!

Later!!

Christmas Belle

I did start ‘Christmas Belle’ rag doll before Christmas, but got a bit delayed in finishing her ..... but here she is finally – better late than never!! I also made her a warm muffler to help keep her hands nice and toastie in all this snow we’re getting here at the moment – anyone want to swap their sunshine for a bit of snow? Well, a lot of snow actually!!!!

Mary Little

......... now has a new home - mine!!!

My ‘Mary Little’ prize arrived today and I am so pleased with it. As I said to Patti in an email to her, she must have the most amazing eyesight to have stitched something so small – it is tiny, which makes it all the more beautiful. I have tried to take a photograph that shows how small it is. But you really need to do a close-up of the photograph to really appreciate how minute the stitches are!!



..... and this is the back

I am so lucky to have won this fantastic prize – thank you Patti – you’re a gem!!!

Christmas Presents!!

Just thought I’d do a quick post to show everyone the sewing themed pressies I had for Christmas!! And particularly to say thank you to Deb for the lovely wool felt mat she sent me – this is (I think) Deb’s first venture into working with wool felt and, you know, I think she’s got the hang of it very well – thanks so much Deb, it’s lovely.

I also had two books I wanted. ‘Creative Tucks and Textures for Quilts and Embroidery’, which is a book that a friend of mine has. The book was originally published in 2004, but it has some lovely ideas in it. And secondly, a book that I’ve been itching to have for months – ‘William Morris in Applique’. I’m very keen to have a go at something from this book. Appliqué is a technique that I want to learn a lot more about: add to that the fact that I have admired the work of William Morris since I studied him through my craft/design ‘A’ level when I was at school, and it's the perfect combination as far as I’m concerned!!

I hope you all had a good Christmas and received lots of nice stuff too!!

So I was wrong!!!!

I'm really glad to say!!!

I've just received an email from Patti to say that I DID win her beautiful 'Mary Little' pinkeep - ain't I the lucky one?!! I think my luck is changing, so I'll carry on doing the lottery 'cause you never know!!

I've also received this lovely embroidered Christmas tree deco from Deb - thanks Deb, it's really lovely and it's going straight on to the tree!

And finally, now that Wendy has received it, I can show a little cross-stitch tree deco I made for her (Gingerbreadman of course!!)!

Bye for now!

I can't resist!!

..........another giveaway, even though I have as much luck with giveaways as I do with the National Lottery!!

No matter - "gotta be in it to win it" as they say!!

Pop over to Patti's blog to be in with a chance of winning this lovely little pinkeep! Pick me though please Patti - pretty please!!!

Cross-Stitch Needle Case

I’ve just finished my latest cross-stitch project ..... and it’s my first attempt at a needle case. It’s based on this ‘Bent Creek’ sampler

I liked the style of the alphabet and the vines, but I wanted to do it in nicer colours that would match the fabric I wanted to use, which is ‘Blackbird Design’ fabrics. This is at the construction stage

And this is the finished needle case - front and back!


I wanted it more oblong in shape rather than the square ‘Bent Creek’ design, so I extended the pattern and then added my initials.

Quite a nice finish, even if I say so myself!!

Nina's Giveaway!

I've just joined another giveaway - I've been meaning to do it for ages, but hadn't got around to it!! "Gotta be in it to win it" as they say!! Anyway, if you pop over to Nina's ‘Between Crosses’ blog here, you too can be in with a chance of winning, not only this beautiful stitched Christmas ornament, but other lovely goodies too. Nina does some really terrific work and it's worth having a good old gander back through some of her posts if you're not already a visiter to her blog.