I didn't forget FNSI........

I was there sewing along with you all and feeling very content.   Made some progress albeit not very much but I did have an relaxing evening in good company and that's what counts.

No prizes for guessing what I was working on... you've been seeing a lot of it lately and I've become very attached to it.....

for the umpteenth time on Friday I appliqued my finger to the block.  It gets painful after a while.  Had to take the thread out of the needle to unpick this stitch... it was one of my better ones.    I might have been slow... I might have been inept but I did come very close to finishing the last piece of Block 4.....

I need to trim off fabric on the left side and add a pieced strip before I can applique the berries (big aren't they) onto the remaining branches... they overlap the border.    Maybe tomorrow......

That's all for the evening stitching but I was busy earlier in the day.    I'd just completed a coat of paint on the mirror frame when I got my beady eye on this.....

It didn't look  like this when I brought it downstairs... I've already been working on getting the really boring upholstery fabric off the seat.   Here's stripped back stool waiting it's turn to be painted.....

Handy little things those microwave pudding containers... they're perfect for 'jacking up' the frame while I paint.    I still haven't decided how I want the seat cover to look.    A fancy pieced block design?  Plain and simple patchwork squares?  Single fabric?     Any ideas?    The legs will be painted with Laura Ashley Ivory eggshell.... like the mirror frame.  At least two things will match up!    

I'm a bit challenged in the 'style' department.   I can't decide on the look I want for any room in this house.   One day it's going to be Shabby Chic the next Country.  Perhaps Primative or maybe America Folk Art... I know this is Scotland but I like the style!     The problem is I like everything and as the house is a muddle of everything I guess my current style is eclectic... posh name for a mess eh!    Any tips on styling a room would be gratefully received...... :o)

Before I go.... I meant to show you this photo a while back.   Foxes investigating the field behind the house.   Parent and child out of a sniff about......

and there's more.....

the other parent and two more cubs checking out the boundaries.       Poor Maisie found herself kept indoors for a while.... she wasn't happy but she was safe.    The fox den is at the very end of the secret garden. There's entries into a badger set up there too.  Don't see many badgers out in daylight though.   Anyway... the fox family have moved on and Maisie has her territory to herself again... happy days.

I'd better go now.    Bedtime is getting closer by the minute and I have things to do... I need to do a bit of blog visiting for sure.    I'm running a bit late this sew in.  There is a good reason for that which I can't show you until I figure out how to get photos from my very basic mobile phone onto this laptop.  Rest assured.. in the next day or two.. I'll be visiting you all you lovely girls who kept my company on Friday evening ... so watch out. :o)   See you soon....

Thanks again  Wendy for hosting another lovely sew in.   Roll on the next one.....

OK... hope you are all healthy... happy and ready to tackle the week ahead.  
Have fun
Hugs
Josie   xxxxx

Sew neglected.......

 Thought I'd start off by showing you a photo of a corner of my sewing room that I love

before I show you the 'working' end of the room which hasn't seen much in the way of action this past week.

Before Chris gets in a snit with me I'd better tell you she came over on Monday and she was busy.  Me... I was useless.   My Sloth genes kicked in again on Saturday making it almost impossible to remain conscious for more than two minutes at a time.    At one point I couldn't even form a sentence and according to Chris was talking in a language that made gobbledygook sound intelligent!    Hey ho....

Now.... the more observant of you might have noticed the absence of the very large bag of bark mulch that was blocking the view from the sewing room window.    I moved it......

the entire bag is now spread over the newly weeded fruit bed.   I did get to play with fabric though... weed control fabric.   You just never know when your cutting and fitting skills will come in handy do you.   I finished the job on Saturday morning.... racing the rain!   I worked like a maniac to get the last wheelbarrow of bark laid just seconds before the heavens opened.   I ended up drenched with sweat,  perspiration or glow whatever you care to call it.  Hair sticking to my head and  face the colour of  an over ripe tomato.  Not attractive!

I did make a little progress on In My Garden......

four of the five applique blocks are finished.   Amazing how much can be done in stolen moments here and there.   Loved stitching that little row of plant pots and those bugs are so cute.  Mum thinks I'm nuts!

I cut some fabrics for Economy Blue.   Still having trouble with lights and darks.   There just doesn't seem to be enough contrast in the fabrics I've managed to collect.    Can't get my hands on enough Kaffe light blues. Maybe I'll get lucky and find some at the Quilt Festival in Birmingham...  ....

 

Then is was back to the land... again.      This photo might not look like much to you but believe me a lot of hard work went into clearing this piece of ground.   The picture doesn't show the real gradient of the slope to the right either.  

My first death defying feat was to lop as many of the lower branches off the three pine trees as I could.   A job which at one stage involved me hanging onto a branch stump with one hand... one foot on the slope the other leg wrapped around the trunk and my spare arm/hand wielding a saw trying to persuade the thickest of the branches to part company with the trunk.   All this without the aid of a harness or safety net.......   first person to call me stupid gets a black eye!  :o)

This steep hill (this is just the top.... it's a long way down to the bottom)  is at the back of the garden and leads down to the 'Secret Garden' which needs some serious clearing out to make it accessible again.  There are some concrete steps but I need to clear them before they are safe to use.   This is a job that's going to take a while.......

Now... bet you can't guess what this is a photo of....

it's a shot looking down into a drainage channel that runs round two sides of Mac's workshop.  It's about 14 inches wide and four and a half feet deep.   I'm showing you this because Mac fell into it last Tuesday.   That's why there's a bit of broken wood and some torn mesh (it keeps out leaves).   This goes to  prove that
there are downsides to being slim.... I'd never have managed to fall in there!

Still.... we did get to spend a 'night' out together courtesy of his nose dive.... in the A& E department of the regional hospital.   Mac injured a knee and foot (same leg) in the fall.   He was hoping for a plaster cast or at least some strapping and a brace but the X-rays showed no broken bones at all.   He left disgruntled at midnight with a bad sprain and some paracetamol!

The was a touch of Deja Vue about the evening.   When Mac asked me out on a first date he suggested we go out for a meal.   Lovely.   Well....imagine how stupid I felt dolled up to the nines eating fish and chips in a hospital canteen.   As a policeman he assured me his knowledge of  gourmet hospital eateries was beyond compare.    I should have known then ......

OK... today I put the first paint undercoat on this.....

the mirror I bought for £20 in the antique junk shop last year.    I've removed the mirror... it's on the floor... just in case you are thinking there is something strange about the photo.

I'm also stitching happily on this.....

I know it looks lop sided but trust me... it's all part of the plan.

Before I go I wanted to remind you that this Friday is FNSI..... amazing how quickly these sew in's come around isn't it.    You know what I'm going to say next don't you...... SIGN UP... it's fun!    What's not to like about a totally self indulgent evening doing what makes you happy.   I'm assuming that will be something to do with fabric or yarn....... if not... keep it to yourself! ;o)

Look for this button on my side bar.... click on it... then sign up.   Easy!  

OK... I'm going.   I've just taken a roast chicken out of the oven and Maisie is going bonkers trying to get her paws on it.    Better rescue dinner before she succeeds...

Have fun.... see you at the weekend
Hugs
Josie
xxx

Friday Night With Friends......

I had a really calm... happy... and productive FNWF.... for a change!    Probably because I decided to chose just one project to work on and stick to my decision.  No mind changing allowed.     Can you believe I managed to do that?  Well....I did!        

I chose this......

One of the stitchery panels for my Vignette In Stitches quilt.      It started out in 2011 as a Mystery Quilt in Vignette magazine but obviously it's not a mystery any longer.   What is a mystery is how I got the idea I could keep up with the bi-monthly challenge.     Anyhow..... above is where I was at with the stitching before FNWF.

Here's how it looked the morning after FNWF...... 

Before you say anything.... I know I'm not the worlds fastest stitcher.   I'm a 'stabber' and that seems to slow me down.   I'm only a couple of flowers away from the end.....

of this border at least.    Never thought I'd be stitching flowers by the yard!    

I'm so happy I chose to work on this last night..... I've fallen in love with it all over again!    I feel I owe it an apology for ignoring it for so long.   It's officially out of the UFO pile and back on the work sheet... if I had a work sheet.   That's too much like planning for me.

Hope you enjoyed last night as much as I did.... I'll be coming round to find out!

This morning wasn't bad either........

A new issue of either  Quiiltmania or Simply Vintage is the perfect excuse to sit down with a cup of tea.   Love this little framed quilt.....

isn't it gorgeous!   I love quilts in frames.   I need to make more.

The two small projects above will be perfect for practising hand quilting.   Oddly enough.... I'm avoiding jumping in at the deep end with a full size quilt.  

I 'played out' in the garden with Maisie for a while......

she assisted with the photography earlier so I owed her a walk around the garden.  It's our little ritual.  I walk she charges about showing off her new skills.... tree climbing and poking mice out of holes to name but two. She's totally gorgeous.... and I'm totally biased!

Now... can you guess what this is?

Isn't it obvious?    It's Mac's Bonsai Tree!!     Now you might agree with me that a tiny shoot from a 30' pine tree poked into a saucer of driveway gravel doesn't even come close to being an artful Japanese Topiary... but try telling that to Mac.   I can't even get him to admit that.... it's dead!!    Something tells me it'll be gracing the conservatory windowsill for a long time to come.  

Well... that's all for tonight.    Mum is waiting for me to start up Netflix and put on the next episode of The Good Wife.   I know better than to make her wait too long.... she's learnt enough to sue me!!

See you all sooner than you think
Have fun...
Josie