It's hot...hot...hot

Summer has finally arrived in Scotland.    Now we all get to complain about the heat...  that makes a change.    I'm melting as we speak and believe me that's not a pretty sight.

I've been working myself to a frazzle in the wilderness garden from dawn till dusk ever since the good weather showed up.  It's essential to do that here coz you never know if it'll start raining again tomorrow.   Make hay while the sun shines... and that's never for long around here.

I did manage to sew my Libby bag before the good weather arrived.....

Remember I got the pattern from Clover and Violet.     Have to tell you this bag is a great size.    It would be fabulous as a beach bag... for those of you lucky enough to be going to a beach.

There are three great pockets along the front... perfect for your book... sunglasses... lotion... drink etc.   Masses of room inside for a towel and an itsy bitsy polka dot bikini if you happen to have one or.... if you are anything like me.... a full body camouflage suit.

I've spotted another gorgeous bag pattern too..... Sophie....  resistance is futile! 

Anyhow... here's another shot of Libby hanging from a fence post in the garden

And a back view.....

I used a Moda charm pack of Verna by Kate Spain...... glad I've got a jelly roll of this fabric stashed too... I just love it.  Methinks I'll have to make a matching quilt soon.   Hey... then I'd have the perfect picnic combo.    If ever I finish cutting grass I might just be able to picnic on it.... if it isn't raining by then! 

A few more hexies joined the pile of blooms too.....

Not a lot but some is better than none....right!

One of the reasons I'm working the land like a woman possessed is that Kitty arrives this weekend to spend a whole week here.   Now if I can just get ahead on the grass/weed/tree work before she gets here I can relax in good company and stitch till my hearts content.   I will do it or compost myself in the attempt!

In the meantine here's a random photo......

of a Thistle.  Well this is Scotland after all.     Sadly it is no more.... I strimmed it down this morning!   A sad case of wrong place... wrong woman to prickle!

Till next time.....

Josie X

Take two fillets......

add them to each end of a slightly short Vignette border stitchery.....

Add some pretty piecing..... then stand back and check out the result......

it looks fine..... thank goodness.

I was getting all hot under the collar thinking of ever more complicated ways to fix my Vignette faux pas until reading  Rose Marie's comment on my last post.   Nothing like a good dose of common sense to bring a panic stricken stitcher back down to ground level is there.

Didn't waste any time getting to work on the 'fix'.   Doing it with two small inserts means the balance of the original design won't be effected..... big sigh of relief here!  Once I stitch a couple of flowers over the 'gap' I think it'll be very hard to see the error of my ways.

Now.... I've been so busy this week I just realised I forgot to post a photo of this....

It's the Poppy wall hanging Tilly made while she was here.   It's another kit from Pat Archibald and it's really gorgeous.   She finished this too....

No prizes for guessing where this came from.....Cinderberry Stitches book Cotton Floss of course.  We both had a good giggle while she was making it.  The shrooms are so cute.

I did manage a bit of stitching on the comic strips for the boat block of Boys Story too but taming the garden took up most of my spare time during the week.

Had to do battle with this.......



By the time I remembered to take a photo I'd already lopped the lower branches of the larches and dragged them off to my hidden 'dump'.    OK... that means I throw them down a hill behind some trees in the back of the garden.  Been throwing them there for so many years I've created a High Rise wildlife housing project!

Now this slope is deceptively steep.  Strimming it meant I had to wear crampons on my boots in order to stand up.   That was fun.    What you see is just a small section of bank to be cut..... I did it all and I'm proud.   Sisters are doing it for themselves in Scotland!!  Yeh!! 

Kitty is with me right now.  She arrived yesterday for a long weekend of sewing.   Just for the record.... I'm doing something different.  I just felt like a little break from BOM's for a couple of days.  Sorry but you'll have to wait till next time to find out what I'm up to.

I'll leave you with these.....



This years swallow babies secure in their nest above the kitchen door.   Bagpuss and Licky can't wait for them to leave.  They are sick and tired of being  'poo bombed' every time they set paw outside the back door!

Till next time....

Josie X

I'm a bit short.....

and I don't mean I'm vertically challenged!

I'm certainly short on brains.... I know that for a fact and you will know it too when I tell you what I've done.

You know the saying measure twice cut once.... you do.... well whatever else you do in your quilting life heed that warning.   I didn't and now I'm up Vignette Creek without a paddle!

I was getting on so well too.....

I trimmed my yard of daisies to the correct width and alignment.  Went blue in the face coz I held my breath the whole time.   So far so good.   Then I trimmed the ends 1/4" away from the end of the stitching line for the grass... perfect.... or so I thought!

It wasn't until I started to arrange the shoo fly blocks ready to join to the daisies that the disaster became apparent.  My daisy chain is 3/4" short!!!!!     OH NO!!    I've measured it a hundred times hoping the tape was wrong but it ain't getting any longer. 

I know for a fact it was the right length when I started out..... all four sections of the stitchery were perfectly matched.   Everything was hunky dory.  So what went wrong? 

Tilly said my stitching might be responsible.... I could be a little 'tight'.     TIGHT.... me!  Anal and Tight!    To say I was not amused is an understatement!   You'd be surprised how fast she can run.

There seems to be only one solution.  I'll have to piece blocks 2...3 and 4 as one unit.  That way I'll be able to add the missing 3/4" to the daisy chain for block 4...... slip in a couple of extra filler flowers and hope no one notices!

If only I'd checked the measurement before I trimmed and not relied on the traced line I could have added a little flower to each end and saved a few brain cells.  They are bound to be dropping like flies once I start working 3 blocks as one!

If Tilly sprinted so far she can't be found do you think I could lay claim to this......

Somehow I think she'll risk coming back for it...... I would if I was her.

It's more gorgeous in real life that in the photo.    Leannes Stitchers Keeper has been slightly Tillyfied.... but the end result is just as lovely as the original.    Tilly is always mucking about with designs... she's much braver than I am... except when being chased by a very cross quilter brandishing  a rotary cutter that is!

I'm off to think about starting Vignette Block 4 before I forget what I'm supposed to be doing with it.  Wish me luck.....

Till next time....

Josie X 



Whip-crack- away!

Oh! The Deadwood Stage is a-rollin' on over the plains,

with the curtains flappin' and the driver slappin' the reins.

Beautiful sky! A wonderful day!

Whip crack-away!, Whip crack-away!, Whip crack-away!

Bet you are singing along right now.....

Yup..... mention cracking the whip and I launch into my best Doris Day impression.   Good job Tilly hasn't got a gun in her sewing kit or I'd be dead meat by now for sure!   Someone once said to my dad I should be on the stage.  My dad agreed.... the first one out of town!   Shucks!!

It's been a funny old few days in Deadwood.   A bit of work... a bit of rest and of course more than a bit of play.    I did make a start on the re-make of Block 1 of My Town....

I'm getting there..... slowly but surely.    I got my measurements a bit wrong when I made the little quilt for the block.  Guess I could say it shrunk in the wash!

Did a tiny bit of stitching on this too......

Not a lot but some progress is better than none eh!

I'm turning my attention to Vignette today and I'm really looking forward to a day of piecing.  There's been so much hand sewing lately Pfanny (my sewing machine... Pfanny Pfaff) is feeling neglected.  I need to earn my 'go faster' stripes again. 

Tilly has been busy working on this......



She finished it last night.   The photo really doesn't do it justice... it's lovely.  The moon is actually silver foil it's a trick of the light in here that it looks gold.  There is foiling on the reflection in the water too.  The ship is layers of net with couched threads.  Click a couple of times for a real close up... you'll see the little silver stars in the sky then too. 

The pattern kit is called "Sailing Home" and it's from designer Pat Archibald.    I know she's going to have a booth at Birmingham Quilt Festival and she's teaching there too.  Bet you can't look without buying!   Bet ya! 

Another Tilly Triumph......

She finished off another stitchery for her Life is Beautiful quilt.   I love the fabric and threads she's using.  She's already pieced the fabric blocks using some mouth watering Batiks.  I can't wait to see the finished quilt... it's going to be gorgeous.    Maybe I should crack the whip over her...... makes a change!

We've had a couple of shopping expeditions too.   I couldn't resist this.....

It's a little lunch bag that is just perfect for carrying small sewing projects.  Can't look at it without smiling.

Then I found this.....

The prettiest case for my specs that I've ever seen.

Heck..... it's 9:30am and Tilly is still in bed!!!    Some whip cracker she is eh!   More shirker than worker.... (shhhh... don't tell her I said that) 

Well.... at least one of us is ready to make a start.....

Till next time

Josie X