New ventures - part 2

Wow - where do I start?  I woke up early today and saw that there's a new post from Patchwork Allsorts re TAST - try a new stitch Tuesday - once a week a new embroidery stitch is learnt and practised - what on is completely up to you.  Looking at the suggested facebook page the pictures are inspirational and, ahem, I have asked to join in.  I will need to play catch up for a while but it will be a change to do some embroidery each week. (Yes I know - it wasn't on a post it note - blame that on Christine!)

Why was I up early - well, today I went back to school.  I have enrolled on a creative textiles course - initially for one term but it looks as if it will turn into a year's worth.  The tutor started with trying to get us to make marks on different surfaces - cue cutting, sticking and gluing in - along with homework!  The idea is to cut these scrappy squares out and stick into a sketchbook to use as an aide memoire - ah well - I tried!



When I got home the nice postman had been and delivered this lovely Gail Pan kit.  As you may recall Wendy and I did not go to the first workshop - and wished that we had done.  Karen from Patchwork Chicks kindly put two packs together for us and they arrived today - post it-noteworthy me thinks.





Then it was a phone call that I did not want to make - cancelling my Sky subscription.  Although they tried really hard to keep me - knocking £20 a month off in the end - it felt as if pulling teeth out by myself would have been easier.  However I stuck to my guns and lose Sky in 31 days - I guess that I'd better get the planner programmes watched then!

After a quick tidy around, dog walk and tea it will be time for the girls to come round for their sewing session.  I am really hoping that Jean will be able to finish her baby bag - she just needs some help with the handles - pictures will follow tomorrow!

The kitchen starts (or finishes ) here!

So - thanks to Wendy and Nigel - I have booked next year's holiday for Julia, Trisha and I.  We are trying a Warner Holiday and have booked Littlecote House - near Bath and Highclere Castle where Downton Abbey is filmed (guess where we will be visiting then?).  As well as being an historic location, the Country House has its own leisure centre and provides daily and evening activities as part of the package.  The price also includes breakfast and evening meal - sounds almost like a cruise on land!  To get the best price I had to go for one person having a double whilst two share a twin room - we will sort out who has what nearer the time - ironically it was the same price for each person!  Something to look forward to over the winter months and not far from where my parents currently live - now I wonder where the dogs would like to go on holiday - ahem.

Back to today and, frustratingly, I woke up with a massive headache which just wouldn't shift until I had taken two doses of paracetamol.  I am just hoping that this isn't because I reduced the dosage of my prescribed medication  on Saturday - I can't bear the thought of upping them again and therefore prolonging the time spent on them. It also didn't help that workmen have been drilling nearby - it seemed to go on for ever - but probably didn't of course!  However, and with stiff upper lip, the headache didn't get me down.  As I said before, this week my aim is to finish the kitchen and today's task was to sort the blind out.  If you have read this blog before you will recall a catalogue of errors which has, until today, left me with a blind that only works if I stand on a stool and roll it up every morning - I had lost the old "chain".  In the middle of the night, however, I had a flash of brilliance - rather than throwing the old one away I had put it in the washing basket - I know - my mind isn't normal!!  Problem sorted - blind now working.



One of the most commented upon items in recent blogs has been my wardrobe full of post-it notes with people regularly asking me if something is on a post it note.  Well I can report that two post-it notes for September have now been completed and today I finished a third - a Gail Pan Candle Mat from one of her simply Christmas books.  The fourth post it note will be some fridge towels - in green to match the blind.  I'm using this tutorial.




After some lunch, a catch up with the recording of Downton Abbey from Sunday and a dog walk in the lovely autumnal sunshine, it was time to set to and finish scrubbing the Kitchen floor - not the most glamorous of tasks!.  You may recall that the tiles are pitted and hold the dirt - scrubbing the conservatory floor was time well spent and so I wanted to give the kitchen the same treatment.  I also like getting down on ground level and spotting those things that you often miss - look at the bottom of this radiator and the grime that's there - its because there used to be a dog cage in front of the radiator and therefore often got missed - yuk!  anyway - its grime free now - as are the kickboards at the bottom of the units.













Tuesday evening is my Patchwork class where we are attempting the Lone Star quilt - let's just say that I have done my homework but I fear there is worse to come!  I suspect that there are some difficult angles and joints to contend with.

"I'm bored now!"

So - a return to normal in an abnormal world!

For someone who thought that she would need routine but has been revelling in an unstructured world, Monday is rapidly turning into a house cleaning day followed by the new craft group that I have been asked to organise.  As you may recall we met for the first time last week and started on a three week hand stitching project - it was fantastic to see how everyone has done over the week and if anyone has completed any of the 12 pieces.  Although we will continue to meet every week, the meeting at the end of November will focus on putting the banner together - so they have some time!




























I was uber impressed that Michelle had made herself a small bag to put her sewing in - particularly when I found out that she's using a £14.99 really basic machine - go her!!

However the schedule that I have drawn up says that in four weeks time they will be making a table centre piece - I guess that I ought to start thinking about making one then as an example and to help explain what materials they need!  My fault I know but .........  Good job its a post it note job then!

The title - well its something that Tanya would often say when she wanted something to stop and move on - it just seemed right to say it today!

RIP Tanya

 

Thank you for your words of support yesterday.  Wendy and I had gone to visit our good friend Tanya in hospital - you may recall that she was diagnosed with stage 4 Cancer earlier in the year and we had declared then that we were her A team and she could lean on us - we even joked that my retirement couldn't have come at a better time as I would help her when she needed it.  Wendy had been to see her recently and had been shocked to see how poorly she looked but when we arrived at the hospital we had no idea that she would pass away minutes before our visit.

Having spoken to her partner Alan, it is clear that Tanya was in a lot of pain and became very distressed - he was having lunch with us when she passed away and the nurses were convinced that she had waited until he left to spare him - just like Tanya!  We also feel strongly that we were meant to be there yesterday to support Alan - we had promised to be there until the end after all!

Tanya was a bright, bubbly person with strong opinions.  Cancer is a dreadful disease which has taken her far too soon.  However she truly looked at peace and, I am sure, is now in a much better place.

I wasn't ready to write this yesterday - if only for the fact that her adult children were still driving up from Kent and did not know - whilst, I am sure, they do not read this blog I did not want to take that chance.

Friendship

 

When I saw this picture I just had to include it in today's blog.  One thing that retirement has taught me is to make time for your real friends and be there when they need you - I am certainly blessed with friends that support me!

 

Last night I spent a lovely evening with my oldest friends - Julia and Trisha.  we met at teacher training college in 1978, holiday together and see each other every 6 weeks or so - even though I live 80 miles away from them.  As you may recall the intention was to go and watch a film - but one look at Trisha and we decided to opt for Pizza Express and a good natter instead.  Trisha wasn't feeling well and had to be up early this morning to go to the airport to pick her daughter up - so could do with an early night.  But work has been extremely stressful recently and I hope that it helped to share the problems - we certainly tried to support her.  One of her concerns is that she is expected to use a seed find of £203 to run a mini business with her class of 9 year olds and turn a profit - all by the end of next month.  Given the amount of work that she has to do for her job we were trying to suggest products to sell which would require minimum supervision - so far we have come up with planted bulbs, sets of colouring books and pencils and cookies in a jar - any other ideas to share?  She does read the blog and would be grateful!

 

Today has been a difficult day and one that I am not ready to talk about just yet - but, yet again, has been an example of fantastic friendship and the support that friends can offer - even down to the Roast Dinner that Wendy and Nigel have just invited me to!

 



Onwards and upwards ..

So - last night I started my Gail Pan candle mat - what a delight to sew and so much easier using a hoop as she recommended.  With any luck the hand sewing for this can be finished and the mat made up by the weekend.














This morning started with a visit to the doctors - I know that we used to joke that old people lived at the doctors but I am beginning to feel as if a visit is part of my social life!  Nothing serious, I hope, but I have been having a foul taste in my mouth for a couple of months and it is getting worse.  Apparently its a possible side effect to all the medication that I have to take and they think that I have a mouth infection - cue medication to swirl around in your mouth before swallowing - just to add to all the other pills!  Anyway it was a good opportunity to fill the car up - I am off over to Sheffield tomorrow for a flying visit and would have to drive on fumes otherwise.

Of course all of this meant that I didn't get home much before lunch so took the opportunity to get the house straight and hovered before settling down to an afternoon's worth of sewing.  I really wanted to show you the completed outside of the bag at least!  (Ssh - don't tell anyone - it could be / just might be finished tomorrow - oops I said that out loud!)









Finally - after looking through the book that came yesterday I fell in love with this Christmas quilt (Mum - it matches your Christmas trees!  Just saying x).  What with the Snow Happy Hearts quilt, the Gail Pan quilt and this one life is sure going to be busy next year!










By the way - it did rain yesterday after all - a light shower just when I took the green bin out at 10pm.  Today?  Glorious sunshine again.  Lovely!

The best laid plans ........

I confess - I like to write lists.  There, it's out there, I am a list maker.  A day just doesn't feel right if I haven't written a list, including an easy task that can quickly be crossed off, and then crossed at least half of them off.  Now that I am home more I find myself listening to the weather forecast more.  I don't necessarily not do something according to the weather but I might do things in a different order.  Last night the forecast was so bad for this afternoon that they gave the weekend's forecast first so that we would see the light at the end of this tunnel.  Anticipating horrendous rain, storms and gale force winds I decided to pop into Louth this morning and buy the much wanted fireguard.  Arriving home I filled the garden refuse bin - ready for the collection tomorrow - filled the coal bunker, bought some kindling and walked the dogs.  By noon I was ready for the tempest and looked upwards - to see bright blue skies and sunshine - oops!  Ah well!


After some light housework and lunch (and a rest to look at this scrummy book which had just arrived!) I started on the first craft project of the day.  Last night we spent two hours sorting and cutting jelly roll strips ready for our lone star quilt.  Today I wanted to sew them together in the particular order that the pattern decrees before I forgot the instructions(there were only 12 sets of 3 strips!).  Last night we were also shown these coasters that Sandra bought at Harrogate in August.  My personal challenge this week is to find out how these coasters are made and come up with some form of pattern!






Next on the agenda was the GP bag.  The next step was to attach the different outer fabrics and quilt the two panels.  It can be difficult to see progress but the quilting is essential to give structure to the project.






Finally, and this will be this evening's project, I have started to sew this small candle mat from Gail Pan's Simply Christmas book.  The Tuesday evening class has a Christmas party where you take a present (not necessarily sewn) and they are given out at random and then swapped several times - its far too complex to go into here but suffice it to say that you pick more because of the wrapping than the content.  I feel strongly that a quilting group should have a quilted project and loved this cute candle mat when I saw it in the flesh at Gail's workshop.