Happy Easter!

After a lovely sunny start to this wonderful day, let me begin this blog by wishing everyone a Happy Easter xx

After a lovely service at church, it was time to pop over to Sewingbuddy's for the sewing bee - day 2.  Jean was continuing with her sew together bag whilst Sewingbuddy and I were attempting to make a Luna Lapin felt rabbit!  However we started with a lovely lunch - boy have I got my own support team with this weight loss venture.  Sewingbuddy had cooked a lovely roast chicken dinner - stuffing my breast with low fat cheese and wrapping with back bacon - fat removed.  Even the vegetables were dry roasted with just a minimal amount of oil.  Jean had then prepared a lovely fruit salad and I brought some lemon muller light yoghurt for afters - I have even got the fruit salad to bring home!  If I don't lose tomorrow then its not for the want of trying.



The rest of the afternoon was spent sewing - or rather trying to!  As you can see we managed two heads whilst Jean achieved some pockets in her bag - its all progress!

Tonight, after a tea of Pea and mint soup followed by fruit salad, I am continuing to embroider the Lynette Anderson block 10 - about a thousand or so leaves to do then!  It's been a lovely weekend but I guess that its now time to return to reality!

A sewing bee!

Today Sewingbuddy, Jean and Wendy all came round for a sewing fest.  Sewingbuddy and I had found a lunch tote to make, Wendy brought some handsewing and Jean brought her fabric to make a Sew Together bag.  Cue lots of laughter and cups of coffee!






The dogs, meanwhile, relished all of the attention that they were given but quickly settled down - well, nearly all of them at least!









After a lovely lunch of shepherds pie and veg - the pies were made by Sewingbuddy's fair hands but I forgot to take a photo - sorry, talk came around to what Jean had had for lunch the day before.  It seems that it was a childhood favourite which we had never heard of - put some milk onto a plate, slice some cheese and put sliced onion on one side and then crack an egg onto the other.  Finally put the late into the oven until it is cooked.  This seemed just too strange so, of course, we had to see for ourselves and Jean rustled a plate full up.  It did taste nice, I will concede, but I am not sure that I would make it again myself - the egg is too well done for my liking!

By the end of the day, the lunch bags were made.  I think that the seams need some finishing off inside, but they are perfectly serviceable and will fulfil their roles - another coordinated bag to add to the range!  the only problem we now have is that we didn't eat the lovely fruit salad that Jean made - I guess that we will have to meet up again tomorrow to do so then!

Tonight its my turn to serve Ice Creams again - doesn't it come round quickly?  I will take some handsewing to do but don't know yet whether I will get round to doing it.

Precious Cargo

My parents are spending a few days over Easter with one of my brothers.  Since his puppy is becoming too noisy when other dogs are around, I met my parents in Nottingham's IKEA today to take their dog for a few days.  You will also be aware that my parents are moving in (hopefully) 6 weeks or so and so mum had brought up some precious items that she didn't want to trust to the removal men.  It made me think - what would your precious cargo be?






Would it be your great granddads pocket watches or the tobacco jar that your great grandmother made?












Would it be the chipped but still intact soap model in its original boots bag that Dad gave to Mum many many years ago?









Would it be the Devonshire primrose that Mum has tended over the years or the poppy cushion that I made her several years ago?



All I know is that the two items Mum has checked the survival of, by text, is their dog and the primrose.  I know my place!!

Those little things in life that bring you pleasure.

What a wonderful, warm sunny morning it was - a real change from yesterday and a sign of things to come.  Somehow, even the housework seems easier in the sunshine!  So, that was how I spent the morning - sorting and tidying - ready from some friends to come round on Saturday and sew (well, what would you expect?)

The dog walk at lunchtime brought an unexpected surprise - the environmental agency were filling in all the ruts in the car park - it was getting really bad so this was a real treat (I know - little things and all that!).



Once back home, and lunch watching the last episode in Line of Duty series 1, it was time for 40 winks before tackling the mountain of ironing that seems to have accumulated.  Ironing also gave me the opportunity to iron the fabric for the outer of the Lynette Anderson bag (well it has been folded for over a year).  Oh - did I tell you that I had finished sewing the hexagons - cough, cough.  I am certainly not sad to see that particular task finished but now I have to do something with them.




Tonight's craft will focus on the handsewing required to finish the two outstanding BGB's. It will be nice to see some projects being finished for a change.

Oh, and the other little treat that arrived today was Gail Pan's new Chrsitmas book - I won't say too much more since Wendy hasn't seen it yet - but ................

Modern technology!

This morning, after an early alarm call from Daisy, I settled down to finish the Sunday workshop project.  Having quilted the background, I then added the points - and realised that I am four short.  Two I can cut from my own fabric but I have sent an SOS to Sewingbuddy and, hopefully, she will come through!  Mind you it's quite large - a huge cushion / wall hanging!!  I will make my mind up soon!


Then it was round to Jean's.  She was wanting to book some train tickets for herself and her husband but was getting a tad confused with the many different offers.  I talked her through them and then booked the tickets on the ipad.  I then came back home where Jeremy Vine was talking about the Amazon echo product - one that I am yet to see the point of I must admit.  they then ran a piece that had been recorded earlier about a retired couple trying out "Alexa" for the first time - hilarious!  I don't think that they will be buying one soon!

After a lunch of homemade pea and mint soup, it was time for some general housework before heading off up to the beach.  Boy has the weather changed - I don't know about you but it's been freezing here although it has brightened up this afternoon!

Tonight I am tackling the penultimate row of hexagons (this sure is a labour of love!) and will do my best to cut out the pieces for a lunch bag (Sewingbuddy is coming over here on Saturday for a sewing session!)

Dietingwise all is well again - beans on toast with an egg for breakfast, the afore mentioned soup for lunch and shepherds pie with veg for dinner - with a few planned snacks along the way!  My favourite are the 15g Green and Black chocolate bars - 4 syns (sometimes 3 1/2) for a very "naughty" treat!!

Simply overwhelmed

Today, being a Tuesday, Jean and I decided to go to the senior screen.  they were showing, amongst others, a film called "A Monster Calls".  Aimed at a 12A audience it featured how a 12 year old boy would deal with bullying at school, his father choosing his new family over him and his mother dying over a period of time.  The "monster" in the title visits him and helps him with some coping strategies.  In short I was in bits - the sort of crying where, although you are not sobbing, the back of your throat hurts!  Ouch!  Well worth seeing though - its a lovely film and really well acted by the 12 year old!




After popping into Tesco's for a couple of essentials, and coming out with two bags full, it was back home for a late lunch before walking the dogs in this unexpectedly lovely weather.  Whilst I was out the nice postman brought me the first block in this year's Lynette Anderson Button of the month club.  Ouch - I still need to finish last year's mystery pattern! 

In short I am both overwhelmed by the film and by the quantity of projects awaiting my attention!  Never mind, step by step!




The last task for the day involved a secret project that Sewingbuddy and I are working on (hopefully to be revealed next month) plus some further work on Sunday's workshop project - I needed to get these outside points folded before I forgot how to do them.







On the hexagon front, I must report a minor catastrophe.  It's hardly surprising but, after nearly a year, I seem to have lost misplaced 2 1/2 rows of hexagons and have now sewed all of the others (the white that you can see in the picture is a piece of A4 paper - just to illustrate how small the hexagons are and why it is taking me so long!).  If they don't turn up in the obvious places then, fortunately, I bought another pack last year and so can break into those.



Dietingwise everything is on plan - overnight oats for breakfast, two custard creams at the pictures, salmon for lunch and Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner.  I even have enough syns left for a banana with sugar free jelly and yoghurt for afters - mmm.  I know how to live!

Well, who would have thought?

Today started well, if a little chillier than the previous couple of days (the heating is back on again!)  First up was the Monday Morning Gang - with Paula and I re-joining Slimming world last week his was the last meeting that I will go to and it was lovely to award Carole the "tin" as the person who had lost the most weight - 4.01 %!

Then it was round to Jean's for a cuppa (or two), a good catch up and a sneak preview of her current sewing programme.  Last year I gave her a shopping tote that I bought at the Lynette Anderson workshop and she has started to embroider it - it will look fantastic when it's done!









Jean also showed me her entry for Dobbo's challenge - all made from scrappy offcuts from her sewing projects - very inventive.





Once home, and a catch up of Line of Duty (I am loving the current series but have missed the previous ones - thank goodness for catch up tv!) it was time for the main event - the weigh in at Slimming World!  Yikes, I was nervous - I have really tried this week, yet have not weighed myself so have no idea how it was going.  I really shouldn't have worried - I lost 8lbs which is amazing and has really set me up for the forthcoming week.  Yippee!