The end of an Era ...

Beautiful Bouquet from Work Mates

That's how is was explained to me today by one of the staff members, and a very good friend of mine, when I left work for the last time.  Today was my final day at Booths in Penrith after three years on the tills.  I have met some wonderful customers and worked with an amazing group of people whom I shall all miss very much.  I'm not sure if it's the end of an era, more like the beginning of the rest of my life in retirement.

This is the lovely arrangement of flowers I received today from the gang at work.  I also received some lovely cards both from work mates and customers.  When I arrived home my husband had a lovely vase full of roses to cheer me up.  I will admit, I'm not sad for leaving as I will always be able to go to the store and shop, and chat, and laugh and visit with all the people who have made the last three years so much fun.

Roses from my husband. 

So now it's time to rethink my days, reschedule my hours, and enjoy my time while the minutes tick by, resting and relaxing to keep this health issue under control.

As they say, so little time, so much to do.  I'm pleased to have been able to finish two baby quilts and get them delivered to the parents to be.  These were for two of my friends at work, Shane and his partner Stephanie, and Annie and her husband Tom.  I wish them all the best.

And last but not least for this evenings entries, a photo of the cards received from my friends at work.  And yes, Natalie, a very appropriate card indeed.

Cards from Work.

So time to get my thinking cap on and get some items made for the first of three craft fairs I will be doing this year.

Take care all my buddies at work, will see you all very soon.  I will eventually run out of potatoes and fresh veggies.  Lots of love to you all.

Good evening all.  It's been a lovely day with a little rain this morning and sunshine for the rest of the time.  I've been doing a bit of sewing today creating items for my first craft fair of the year.  It is being held at St. Andrew's Church in Greystoke, Cumbria on May 23rd, 24th and 25th.

Coffee Table Runner  

Here's a couple of items I've made during the past month.

The coffee table runner is made of all batiks and has Warm and Natural wadding in the centre and a nice batik backing.

It is approximately twelve inches in width and about 34 inches in length.... just the right size to fit a standard size coffee table.  I have another one that is the same size, but I've used different batiks in warm autumnal colours.  They are both very nice and hopefully will sell.

Mug Rugs 

These are just two of the several mug rugs that I've made for the craft fair.

They average in size of about eight inches wide by 12 inches in length.  The central wadding is heat resistant, even though it's not really necessary.

Hopefully, with two weeks still to go, I'll be able to make some other unusual bits and pieces. Now that I'm retiring from work, I'll have more time to sew and create.  Sounds like a plan to me.  Take care all.  Will chat soon.

The times they are a changing ....

We are already into the month of May for this year of 2015, but this year will be different.  I have made the decision to retire from work.  It's not that I'm just wanting more me time (well, it is in a way) but with health issues always causing problems, now is as good a time as any.  Two shifts left at the store then I'll plan my days to suit me, my wonderful husband and my Abbie.  

So for the time being, just want you all to know that I'll probably be blogging more in the days to come.  There are crafts fairs to get ready for, quilts to plan and create, watercolour painting to explore as well as many other day to day activities.  

Happy month of May everyone ! 

Craft fair here I come !

Well, I've decided to have a go at doing my first craft fair.  I don't have a lot of items for sale, but I feel like I need to start somewhere....so I've got my first half table booked at St. Andrews Church in Penrith for the end of this month.  

Here's just a couple of things that will be displayed on my little portion of the table.  

Here is one of my hand made, home made tote bags.  I call it my "Happy Scrappy Tote".  It's fully lined with nice long straps for comfort and strength.  A large black button is used for closure of the bag as well as decoration.  

Also, I have this other bag which I call the "Mosaic Tote".  It is mainly black, red and white and on the front is a mosaic design while on the back it is stitched in a Log Cabin quilt pattern design.  

I'll also be selling blank hasty note cards.  These cards started as a hand painted quilt block pattern done on watercolour paper, then the painting is scanned onto the computer and then printed directly onto the note card.  Here's a couple I have chosen to take to the fair.  One is 'Precious Pinwheel' and the other is  'Muted Maples'.  

So, wish me luck if you are reading the first entry in my blog for some time.  Will update on here later and let everyone know how things went.  Until then, have a good day. 

Finishing Those UFO's ....

It's been a busy few weeks since I last wrote here....but it's been a productive time.  While I was in Canada on holiday I was working on six quilt blocks each one with a Grandmothers Garden set of seven hexagons.  These six blocks are now in a finished quilt top with lovely deep blue sashings and a bright orange Morning Star for the cornerstones. 

The quilt top is presently in the hands of a good friend who is doing the machine quilting for me.  This quilt is a gift for a dear friend who is moving away in April, and this will be a little something for her to remember her stay time in Penrith. 

There is in fact one 'humble' block in the quilt top.  Not thinking, I accidentally put a dark green hexagon in one of the centres instead of the light beige I had originally cut for it.  I'll consider this a good luck move. 

My other accomplishment is to finally finish the dartboard.  It turned out quite good and looks rather realistic. 

A competition dartboard is almost 18" in diameter so this is full size and with the background fabric the entire wall hanging is approximately 20" square.  I've put a rod pocket on the back so that my brother in law can hang it where he pleases, and pin his dart badges and pins where he wishes to.

Wanting a new project to work on, (and I'm sure we all get that urge now and again), I dug out the Amy Butler fabrics that I received from my daughter last year for my birthday.  I've decided to create a quilt top using 16" square quilt blocks.  Although these fabrics and colours would not be my first choice, my daughter was genuinely trying to get me to think 'outside the box' so to speak.  So here are the pictures of the first three blocks.


The Garden Block

Crossed Roads

Log Cabin

The photos aren't the best, but all the fabrics do tone in with each other...but I'm always in such a rush to get pictures of things taken that I really do need to be more patient and wait for the sun to come out, but then again....I could be waiting forever....I live in Cumbria. 
I've got the next set of instructions for the fourth block, but it will be waiting in the wings as I've gone back to yet another couple of UFO's and plan on finishing two quilts using my Birthday blocks from all my quilting friends from the last two years.

New Year, New Thoughts ....

Well, I suppose it's about time I did something about showing a few piccies from the holiday in Canada over Christmas.  We flew from Glasgow Airport and took off just in time, as the weather deteriorated very quickly within a couple of hours.   Within a short time we were well above the clouds and the weather up there compared to down below was the difference between chalk and cheese.  Have a look.....Can you see the rainbow just above the engine?  A circle rainbow ! !  Never seen anything like it before.

It's amazing to think that under all that cloud there was a ferocious storm going on.  We were almost eight hours flying time instead of seven due to the strong head winds.  As we landed at Toronto Airport the sun came out and being five hours behind England time, we were certainly ready for a cuppa.  My daughter Kate was there to pick us up and it didn't take long before we were heading back to her home.

That afternoon I had the chance to surprise my grandson, James, by heading over to his school with Grandpa Terry and his mum to pick him up.  It was a lovely opportunity to get first hand hugs. After supper it was Jame's delight to show Nana and Grandpa the lights on the Christmas Tree in the living room.  James and I still needed to decorate his own tree downstairs in the family room which we did another evening.  That tree was the one that was being saved especially for Santa you see. 

Another lovely surprise when we got to Kate's was the new addition to the family going by the name of 'Balero'.  Approximately one year of age, this small, soft calico feline is a really sweet kitten. 
Balero is a rescue kitten from the S.P.C.A and had only been a resident at the Mason housefold for five days when we arrived.  She has settled in quite nicely and enjoyed Christmas with her new family. 
She is a curious little beast and had a few unusual adventures throughout the house during our visit.

Anyone for Darts ?

I had a special request a few days ago from a young man down in Worcester.  Actually, although he's young and lives in Worcester he's also my partners younger brother.  I was asked to create a championship sized dartboard out of fabric, and as I love a challenge I said yes.  I must have been mad or drunk.

So, here is the start of it.  An 18" in diameter circle of black fabric stitched onto a backing fabric with warm and natural wadding behind for stability. 

The wedges are actually a soft beige colour.....more in the shade of what they are on a real dartboard and I need to place 10 of these wedges around the circle to create the illusion that there are 10 black ones in between. 

Here I've got all 10 beige wedges positioned and pinned.  Then I've lifted the outer section of the wedge to place the red inner circle for the triple points.  I've used a double sided adhesive tape for that and will stitch it down permanently later. 

Once that inner red circle was complete, I did the same for the outer circle for the doubles points.   See what I mean when I said I must have been mad. 

A little further along and the red rings are in place, the beige wedges are stitched down, the green pieces are now being overlaid on alternate wedges and I have one very gummed up needle in my machine.  This is the last time I use double sided adhesive tape on fabric if I plan to stitch as well. 

The next step will be to finish the green sections and then start the numbering.

It's the hand stitching of the numbers around the outside of the circle that has really been doing my head in today.  So I decided to put the dartboard to bed for awhile and do something else. 

I need to find a narrow silver cord that looks like thin wire.  When I've accomplished that then I can start hand couching it on around the circles as well as between each wedge.  More pictures to come later.