Yoo-hoo......I'm back!

Did you miss me (just a little bit)?   I missed all of you... loads.

It's been a strange old summer here.   Life has been taking so many pot shots at me this last few weeks I'm worn out from dodging bullets.   More about that later (maybe).   

I can hardly wait to show you this....

the dastardly quilt frame has a new home in the conservatory.    Perfect place for it don't you think.  Lots of light and plenty of room to wrestle with quilts.   Now all it needs is a quilt on it.......

It took all of my negotiating skills (and one or two threats of violence) before Mac finally agreed that the dining table and chairs could go to make room for the frame.    I would have preferred them to go far away to a new home where someone would love them again but Mac (the pack rat) wasn't having any of that. They are now stashed in the caravan (mobile shed).   Don't you just love a compromise.... better than murder and much less messy!

Now I've something else to show you. Something that I'm thrilled to bits with.....

my first piece of hand painted (by me) furniture.    Amazing what you can so with a can of Laura Ashley Pale Duck Egg paint and a few knobs!   I dismantled all the door furniture,  cleaned and oiled the hinges,   fitted new magnetic catches and put the whole lot back together again all by myself too.   Now I'm on the hunt for more things to paint .... my pine bed perhaps.... I'm thinking big!

Picked up a new lampshade for the standard lamp on a trip to Ikea.   Love the stitching on it and loved the price too.    Oh... and I painted the lamp stand with leftover duck egg paint too.   Waste not... want not  ;o)

Now I have a confession...... I signed up for both FNWF and FNSI this month and didn't post after either of them!   A crime worthy of being put in the stocks and pelted with rotten eggs for and one for which I am shamefaced and sorry.    No excuses.... when push came to shove.... I lost the ability to communicate.   No words would come however hard I tried to write.    Like I said.... it's been a strange old summer here.

I did work on FNWF.    Kitty was here visiting so she joined in too......

    

get a load of those blue fingernails.... they match her car!!   Honest. 

I thought starting a new project would be just the tonic I needed....

I'm hiding behind the pattern because I look as rough as a Badgers behind (being polite here).   Now... because my fingers were still misbehaving  I decided to prep the applique using the  Apliquick tools I bought at the Quilt Festival last year..... 

I cut out shapes in lightweight fusible Vilene (medium weight is recommended but... you know me).   Yes... that is a glass of Chardonnay sitting next to me.   I make no apology for being tipsy in charge of  an iron when I fused the shapes onto the back of the fabric.   Luck was on my side and I didn't mess up.   Next I took up my tools (they look like metal chopsticks don't they) and with a little bit of fabric glue on the seam allowance I started shaping.

The tool in my left hand is a little heavier than the right and has a forked end to help hold and steady the applique shape.  The right hand tool has both a point and a shaped wedge  to smooth over the seam.  It's amazingly easy!   Makes small pieces so much easier to handle... especially if you are feeling all fingers and thumbs.     

I managed to prep this block while Kitty stitched

Flushed with success I prepped this one too.....

So....why didn't I post about it?     Hummmmm......

Followed through with the same project on FNSI  when I prepped these......

those of you who are observant will no doubt notice that my fountain block is facing the wrong way!  Oh well... I never claimed to be perfect! :o)  Now I have four mini blocks waiting till I can stitch again.

So why didn't I post about these either?   Hummmmm........

I give in.  I'll tell you.  I might be about to indulge in a bit of a whinge so I'll apologise now just in case.  

I've been depressed!  There... now you know.     Hurting all over and feeling constantly exhausted will to that to a gal.     

After a lot of blood tests and visits to 2 doctors so far I've been referred to a third  GP... to check for ME.   That's the chronic fatigue ME not the me...me!    Are you with me?   Reckon I'm the surgery's 'hot potato' right now.    So far they've diagnosed Diabetes and a dodgy thyroid!  Do I win a goldfish?   Nah... just more tests!   Luckily my blood sugars are normal I just failed the glucose tolerance test.  Seemingly it's genetic..... Dr said I should have taken more care when selecting my parents!   I really must speak to my mum about the milkman!   Dodgy thyroid could be caused by an infection and might clear up on it's own.... fingers crossed.   See what I mean about dodging bullets!     

But......I'm writing again..... yippee...... things are looking up!  

I can see a lot of blog visiting happening soon ..... something else I've been unable to do recently.  Boy does it feel good to be getting back to normal (!).   

OK..... I'm going to shut up now before I bore you all to bits.    It's time for a glass of wine and an hour of mindless TV before I turn in for the night.    

Hope you've all been having a great summer.....  

See ya soon 

Hugs

Josie

Phew!!

Honestly..... I didn't mean to be away so long.  Didn't  mean to loose track of all things bloggy and certainly didn't mean to get so far behind with reading what you've all been doing.   So... where have I been and what have I been up to.   Hummmm......would you believe me if I told you I'd been abducted by aliens?

No?

Not even if I showed you a photo of one....

OK... I give in.   It's a pic of Chris modelling her latest innovation.....  Kanzashi flower sleep masks for more attractive Nana Naps!  Somehow I don't think they're going to catch on.

To be fair.... Chris deserves a medal.  She's the first one of us to crack those dastardly Kanzashi flower makers from Clover.  You wouldn't believe the trouble I had trying to make one.....

I read the instructions.....

Licky Lou came to offer some moral support.... I was getting frustrated because my hands hurt so much it was hard to fiddle with the template

She thought kissing me better was the way to go!   It worked!   I love her to bits!  Sorry I can't show you the flower(!) I made... it went straight into the bin.

As I said.... Chris has making them down to a fine art....

Sally and I are going to pick her brains.... assuming we can find them!

I did manage a little applique.....  

my stash of baskets is growing..... ever so slowly but steadily.   I found some more lovely background fabrics .....

so I'm all set to keep plugging away.

Took time out to play with some little half inch hexies.....

don't know what they're going to be yet but they are so addictive.  I can see a lot more of them in my future.  Did I mention I have some quarter inch hexies papers!    I'm wondering if anyone ever tried them and didn't end up in rehab.

What else.   Sally brought her latest 'flimsy' over to show and tell....

Isn't it gorgeous!   Both she and I cut the pieces for this one while we were away on retreat.   Mine is still a WIP... well I never!    The pattern is Seville by Cluck Cluck Sew  and the fabric is 'Etchings' from Moda.   One day I'll show you mine.... just don't hold your breath.

Tina visited and showed off the progress on her hexie quilt..... she is behind there holding it... unless it is really levitating....

Remember she's sewing this with 'invisible' thread!    Personally I think the fact that she works in an operating theatre and guddles about in peoples innards beside the surgeon gives her an edge.  She knows all there is to know about suturing tricky stuff together.

What else?

One of my greatest wishes came true......

Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits has for sale patterns (and they are downloadable) to make her fabulous... wait for it... Little Cotton Rabbits.  If you've never visited her blog get on over there right now.... her bunnies and other knitted stuffies are totally gorgeous.   There's a pic of  the most gorgeous little bunny dresses you ever saw pegged on a line.   Takes 'cute' to a whole new level!  I've got my fingers crossed for an elephant pattern in the future.   

That's about it for crafty stuff.   Not a lot of progress for such a long break.

Outdoors things are progressing.....

yesterday I unearthed the caravans hard standing from under both grass and weed.  Honestly... it's been buried so long I forgot it was there!  Took me all day to dig it out.... don't tell my mum... I'm not supposed to be doing anything.  

Remember I told you she didn't like the caravan because it was 'green' (covered in algae)... well

I cleaned the front half... can you tell the difference (ha)  The rest will have to wait until my buttocks unclench. Honestly.... of all the muscles to stiffen up from overworking it had to be my  Gluteus Maximus and very maximus they are indeed.  (note to self:   must diet.... again).

This arrived today.....

it's a huge bag of Bark Mulch.  Something tells me it's not going to go very far in this garden.  Still.. I'm ever hopeful that it (along with some ground membrane) is going to go a long way towards stopping the annual invasion of the field next door into my flower bed.   Maintenance Man is coming tomorrow (along with his 13 year old son who shall be named  Mini Maintenance Man)  to spread the stuff as far as it will go.

What else?

Our staircase is now sporting this contraption......

It's a stairlift to transport Mac between floors.   He wanted one with go faster stripes... I wanted one with an ejector seat aligned with the landing window!   OK.... don't get your knickers in a twist... I'm only joking.  Besides... I'd be the one who had to climb the ladder to retrieve him from the conservatory roof! :o))  I love him really.

Do you see that dark shadow at the top of the stairs?   First time I saw it I nearly flipped.   I thought I'd caught an 'orb' in the photo.... good grief... the house is haunted!!     Further investigations revealed a blob of melted chocolate on my camera lens.    I obviously watch too many 'Most Haunted' programmes.

What else?

Last week I caved in and went to see the Dr who took no less than 12 phials of blood for testing.  I'm not holding out much hope for a diagnosis.   Mr T (Chris's husband) suggested it might be  Brucellosis  but as I'm not an old cow and haven't aborted a calf recently I think he's barking up the wrong tree.  Still... that's a farmer for you and I do appreciate the concern.

Ok... I'm finally running out of steam.  When I started writing I didn't have much to say... funny that.  I'd better go and find something to nibble before I head on up to bed..   I missed dinner tonight and don't want to wake up with the midnight munchies at 3am!

Hope you are all having fun and doing stuff that makes you happy.   I'll be very happy once I manage to catch up with all your bloggy goings on....

See ya soon

Hugs

Josie

Yet again.....

I'm playing catch up!

Believe it or not  I was there on Friday night sewing along with all you girls.

I wouldn't exactly say I was sewing up a storm but I did enjoy what I was capable of doing.   That amounted to snipping, tacking and then glue basting those little baskets onto their background fabrics.  I have a goodly pile all ready to be appliqued now and I'm feeling much happier for having played with fabric.... beats soil any day of the week.

Couldn't have had a better evening.   Really enjoyed playing with my baskets and watching the practise sessions for the Canadian Grand Prix.  For once the room was light and bright.... see all that sunshine flooding through the windows.   Amazing as it was after 8pm!

I had real live company too....

Mum and her knitting came to stay for the weekend.   There was wool and bear parts everywhere.  Total mayhem too with Bagpuss chasing the wool and mum chasing Bagpuss.   This place is so close to being a nut house it's scary.

Saturday morning and another sunny day... it was beginning to look a lot like summer.   Took my baskets  into the conservatory......

didn't manage to do much though.... it was too darned hot in there!    We  really need to get roof blinds but Mac isn't keen.  He fears that flies and other creepy crawlies will be queueing up to use them as a latrine!   Don't you just love men when they are being stubborn.

Hate to say this but those baskets were the only things sewn since I was last here.    No guessing what's been keeping me busy.....

It's looking better don't you think.

  

The garden maintenance man arrived and boy could he dig.  He reminded me of the Energiser Bunny. 

The veggie bed is ready for planting but as Mac (the green fingered one) isn't at all either well or with it at the moment I can't see a future for it this year.   I suspect a bumper crop of Chickweed is in the offing....

Did you know it's also known as Stitchwort... now you do.   All may not be lost..... I've heard you can make soup with it.

Might get a nice crop of cooking apples this year too......

for once the blossom hasn't been blown off by winds and rain.   Just look at the colour of that sky.... gorgeous isn't it.

Caught my mum trying to pull Sticky Willy out of the flower bed.......

that's not the maintenance man...... it's a weed.  You can Google it if you don't believe me :o)    Unfortunately the real maintenance man only managed to work for a day and a half before succumbing to a kidney stone... ouch!    Think it'll be a while before he can make it back here.

I'll be getting back to normal (whatever that is) sewing and  blogging very soon.   I've been banned from the garden till further notice... by my Mum & Mac!    You know how much I like turbo digging... supersonic weeding... road mending and death defying tree chopping well.....  I've been forbidden to do any of it any more.   

You must know by now I'm not one for using common sense. Once I decide to do something I go at it like a bull at a gate and now I'm paying the price.   This last week I've been suffering from extreme exhaustion... fevers and intense pain in all of the joints in my hands and feet with my shoulders and neck thrown in for good measure.    I've been a right misery guts I can tell you.   I've had episodes like this before but not quite as bad as this one.   So maybe it's time to admit that I'm not superhuman (or the Incredible Hulk in disguise) and tone down the sorts of things I get up to outdoors  (gardening wise that is) ;o)

So with me restricted to ladylike (!) pottering in the garden from now on and the maintenance man out of action this place will be a wilderness soon.   Ces't la vie!

Please accept my apologies if you've mailed me and I haven't replied yet..... I will... I promise.....  hand on heart.   My little fingers can cope with typing again as long as it's in short bursts.     Looking forward to catching up with what you've all been doing......

In the meantime what do you make of this.......

Words fail me!    Does she  think she's rehearsing for Strictly Come Dancing?   Hummmm... her partner looks a bit wooden to me!

See you soon

Take it easy on yourselves and remember to have fun whenever the opportunity arises

Hugs

Josie

Watch out.....

my Mum's about.

Here she is in the craft room (which she still insists on calling the dining room...she's trying to wear me down) sewing a scarf to the back of a knitted bears neck.....    

Looks like she's enjoying stabbing that little toy a bit too much for my liking.   Reminds me why I won't let her anywhere near if I have a splinter in my finger.  Or a boil on my head for that matter (I'll tell you about that later).

Success!!

After years of trying I finally persuaded my Mum to knit a toy.   I don't know who's more pleased... Mum or the bear!   It wasn't long before it had a little friend to play with....

actually bears are multiplying like rabbits over at her house right now.... what have I started!

Mac popped in curious to see what was going on.....

Him..... "Is that camera on?"

Me......."Yes"

Can't help but think I married Micky Mouse!

What about the sewing I can here you think...... well.....

Sweet Menagerie is almost done (not in the photo... that was earlier).   Only got one more white border to attach and it will be officially a flimsy.    As luck would have it I remembered I'd been working on a pinwheel quilt around the time I started SW.  After a bit of rummaging I found that project stashed along with no less than 2 metres of the exact same white fabric I'd run out of for SW.     How lucky can I get!

The pin wheel WIP was not so lucky though..... 

it's getting the chop... literally .    Decided what I didn't like about it (apart from the dodgy points) was that the pin wheels were just too big.   Seems I prefer them small.   As they were already sewn into rows (almost a flimsy) I took my trusty rotary cutter and got to work slicing and dicing them down from  8 1/2" inches to 6 1/2..... liking them much better now.... fortunately.

Bet you are thinking what I've done doesn't amount to much considering I've been AWOL for more than two weeks.   Well... I've had problems.....

the wheel fell off my barrow for one.   Right in the middle of me shovelling and hauling a ton of hardcore down the drive to fill in the worst of this winters pot holes.  I was not happy.

Was even less impressed by the state of the greenhouses.....

I've normally scrubbed and disinfected them way before now.  This year I'm so late the vines are in leaf and the strawberries already have their flowers on.   I'd like to point out.... it's not my fault... honest!    We've had so many months of torrential rain I was thinking about turning the whole place into a bog garden with the greenhouse as an aquarium feature.

The big (86 feet) flower bed looks like this.....

the field next door has moved in further than ever before.   As for the smaller flower bed.....

can you see it?   I'm having trouble and I know where it is... or is supposed to be.  As for the veggie bed....

perhaps this would be a good year to try out rice as a crop.

I've been forced to admit defeat!  I'm calling in a man do do the heavy digging for me.  Chris and Sally are having a real good gloat about it.   They've spent all winter telling me I'm getting too old for my turbo digging antics.  If they mention I'm 60 in December once  more I'll  be digging one big hole and planting both of them in it!

Apart from all that the caravan looks like a mobile Petrie Dish it's covered in so much Algae.  Mum wouldn't let me take a photo of it to show you.   To Mac and me it's a reminder of happy times gone by to my Mum it's an eyesore..... a very big... very green in your face one.    She's not a happy bunny.

This is though......

He/she (does anyone know how to tell the difference... apart from the obvious which I can't get close enough to see) has just feasted on the flower border.   What's the betting he/she didn't eat the weeds or field grass. Would you eat burger if there was steak on the menu!  Before you correct me... I know this is a hare not a bunny..... the long legs and big ears are a dead give-a-way.

Now... I said I'd tell you about my Mum and a boil I once had on my head.

I was about 10 years old when I developed a monster boil on my temple. In fact I remember my Mum and Nana discussing (at great length)  the possibility of it being a carbuncle.  Now...I was too young to have encountered a carbuncle but judging by the horrified look on their faces I knew it was nothing to brag about at school.   Whatever it was.... it was closely monitored till the day came when my Mum announced (with great zeal) that  it was finally  'ripe'!   If I'd know what was coming next you wouldn't have seen me for dust.

I was sat on a dining chair in the middle of the lounge and Mum began the Boilectomy.  She heated a glass tumbler... placed it over the boil and held it there.   When it was deemed to have been there long enough she tried to remove it.  I screamed loud enough to wake the dead.   Mum  let go of the glass and it stayed put on my head.  To give here the benefit of the doubt I think she'd underestimated the power of a vacuum!    Didn't do me any good though.... I was the one wearing the glass fascinator.

When she finally regained her composure  Mum scolded me for being a sissy and had another go at pulling  the glass (and hopefully the contents of the boil) off my head.   No way was that glass going anywhere without taking my entire brain with it.    Enter my Dad.    He took one look at me and my strange headgear muttered an expletive and headed off into his workshop at warp speed returning with a tea towel and a hammer!   I almost feinted on the spot!   

It all turned out well in the end.  Dad covered the glass with the tea towel then hit it with the hammer to break the glass and subsequently the vacuum.   He was my hero.   He saved me from having to go to school next day with a tumbler on my head.    Mum stopped trying to 'fix' me herself and took me to the local pharmacy where a nice man mixed up a glob of pink paste to put on my boil (with hindsight I think the tumbler was more attractive) and all was well in my world.

If you think that was bad.... my Nana used the same technique to cure constipation.  Being sat on a bucket with boiling water in the bottom was bad enough......trying to get up without taking the bucket with you or scalding your posterior in the process was something else entirely.  Besides.... it didn't work......  ever!

That I survived childhood never ceases to amaze me.    Don't you just miss the 'good old days'..... nah!!

OK.... I'm off.    I've rabbited on way too long and I have to be up early in the morning... hairdresser appointment.

Hope you are all enjoying whatever season it is in your corner of the world.

See ya soon....

Have fun...

Josie

You were right!

It does look better with the borders are on.......

I never would have thought I'd have to eat my derogatory words but Spam Fritters are on the menu tonight for sure.

I fancied an outdoor photo shoot (cool eh) to show off my latest finish but as it's been raining cats and dogs out there most of the year and I didn't fancy scraping mud and sheep doddles off my new flimsy (even if it was a freebie)  I opted for some conservatory pics instead.   It's a good job I did manage to get the decorating done in there before going on retreat...eh!

Took this aerial shot by balancing on the back of the sofa..... apologies if it's a bit blurry.  I was having trouble with my centre of gravity.... turns out it's lower than I thought!

There's someone else taking over working in my little room right now.........

 Tilly is here having a little 'creative' break.    It's true what they say... creative people are messy!   We've had everything but the kitchen sink dragged out in in search of  "inspiration".   Personally I'm hoping she's inspired to run the vacuum around  before she leaves!

It's looking good so far.   Actually it's looking even better now that it's finished.... I'll show you the end product next time.  

Me..... I'm working on another WIP that's been hanging around a bit too long...

I made a great start with this one a while back.   Managed to make all of the blocks before something else bright and shiny caught my eye.    Been busy adding  sashing and joining rows.  All is not well though.... I have a problem.    I haven't enough white fabric to finish!   The white I used came from stash and now I don't know where I bought it from or who the manufacturer is.   Before you say it..... I've cut off the selvedges.    If ever you needed proof I'm an idiot........

This is the pattern.....

 
 you can download it here if you love it as much as I do.

Back to my dilemma.    I have enough fabric for the centre sashing and first white border.  Enough white to complete the chequerboard border to which would  leave me two white borders short.   Rats!

First option...I could buy another white fabric and use that to piece everything from the blue border outwards. Hopefully the blue dividing strip would hide any shade difference.

Second option...... I could try to  re design the border.  With luck I could maybe squeeze two chequerboard rows out of the white I have and use those to replace the three border rows in the pattern.

But... I love the pattern just as it is!  (whinge....whinge)

Third option...... shoot myself now and save myself some angst!

If you were me..... what would you do?

So.... I'm not going to finish this quilt top this weekend as planned   Grrrrrrrrrrr!    Still.... I have other quilts in the WIP pile that I can work on so the rest of the  weekend won't be wasted.

On the home front Licky Lou and Bagpuss have both joined Mac on the sick list.   The vet treated them with an injection of long acting antibiotics (the cats that is....... much as I'd like to I can't get Mac to the vets).
The injection had a rather unfortunate effect on their little tummies.   I've been on Poo Patrol for so long now I'm beginning to see my yellow rubber household  gloves as a fashion accessory along with my new Eau de Disinfectant perfume.  Lovely eh!   Wish you were here?   Guess not!

Well.... that's all folks!    Nothing much else is happening here so I'll get out of here and leave you to enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Don't forget to have fun... it's compulsory
See ya soon
Hugs
Josie