Baltic!!

We had a lovey dinner last night - not very SW friendly but, hey, its good to loosen the corset sometimes now isn't it?  We sapped our presents and, coincidentally, my present came from my next door neighbour!  It was a  lovely Cath Kidston pen - just right to put in my pen case when it's finished Sewingbuddy!  I also woke up this morning with a dim recollection of having agreed to join the WI walking group and going on its first weekly walk on Tuesday - how did that happen?  Help!!

This morning I woke up to thick frost which, as the day has passed, has turned to a cold rain.  It was therefore incredibly stupid of me to take the dogs up to the beach - my hands were red raw just driving the car there (the heater hadn't had time to warm up) and, although I was bundled up, my face hurt with the stinging rain.  Suffice to say that the cup of hot (sugar free) vimto and water bottle was gratefully received when I got back.  Meanwhile the dogs must have been cold as well - they rarely snuggle up to each other like this!!However I was gutted to find that Mum and Dad had tried to phone whilst I was out to invite me out for coffee - when I wasn't in they just went home!  However we then arranged to meet up for a late lunch so all was not lost!




An early dog walk meant that I could get down to some sewing tasks - starting with assembling and preparing kit number 3 for our sewing retreat next month, followed by sorting out some sewing for a Scamblesby sewing day tomorrow.  Last year I spent a very enjoyable day sewing over at Sewingbuddy's where we were both making a beautiful case to store pens etc.  It was a complicated (aren't they ever?) case with multiple zips and, although Sewingbuddy finished hers, mine has sat unloved in its box ever since then.  Tomorrow I aim to get somewhere near to finishing it!


However the main event of the day was my attempt to get the Gail Pan wall hanging quilted.  That would just leave me with the binding and then the Suffolk puffs to make and sew on (truthfully I have a sneaky feeling that I may have made the puffs but would need to find them!!!!).  I decided to go with a traditional "Stitch in the ditch" for the cream rectangles and then some free motion work in the squares which will form the background for the Suffolk puffs.  I thought that a dense quilting may make the puffs stand out even more.  Having said that - the machine didn't want to play ball with the free motion so I de-fluffed it and have left that part of the quilting until tomorrow - I can then use the simpler machine!

After a trip out for a late lunch at a local tea room - where I filled Mum and Dad in on some family tree research that I had been doing (the war records are so interesting in their description of our relatives and I am extremely grateful to whoever has spent time scanning documents in) - it was then back home to get ready for my monthly volunteering at the theatre.

Merry Christmas Everyone x

Well - clearly I am 318 days early (yes I did check that one out!) - but tonight is our WI Christmas meal.  Last year it was held in our local pub but the WI has outgrown that venue and so we are going to a local golf club.  We each take a present and it is swapped via a raffle ticket system - hence the blog title and my first task of the day - to wrap the present up and find a gift bag for it.




After all the excitement of the past few days, it is natural to have a few "down days" to recover and it is really nice to have time to get back on top of washing, housework etc.  That being said my morning was interrupted by a church meeting to discuss what we needed to send to the local village magazine.  Every month "Communication" is delivered to every house in the village telling them about different events etc.  We meet to ensure that the services / fund raising events etc are sent for printing in good time.




After lunch I set to cutting out fabric pieces for my quilt - do you remember?  I am trying to design my own quilt - and it's harder than you might think.  Already I have had to change the sizes of some pieces and then re cut!!  Ah well - at least I have remembered to make a note of the sizes so, if I ever do decided to release the pattern, I will have the correct sizes!!


After, er, an extended snooze, I suddenly found that it was getting gloomy outside - on the grounds that this face needs a lot of work, I suppose that it's time to start getting ready and glammed up eh?

Entering a brave new world!

Yesterday I was in a Strictly bubble - which is why I didn't post.  I drove to Nottingham to watch the Strictly Come Dancing live tour and, wow!  From the opening routine of Top Hat to the finishing dance routine from La La Land - the whole afternoon was simply a dazzling delight of dancing, live music and good humour.  I met up with Trisha at the Saltbox restaurant -which she had booked - just as well - it was right outside the arena and so a popular destination.  I tried to be SW friendly and had scoured the menu online - but then they changed it and it threw me.  In the end I opted for grilled sea bass, new potatoes and green beans - asking for no butter and no sauce.  Didn't I do well?


When we made our way to our seats  (look how central they were - it was a fabulous view) I remembered that there was a cautionary note when I booked them - the seats were not for people who suffered from vertigo or had issues climbing stars.  Imagine my delight when I climbed the equivalent of two flights of stairs with ease and could then hold a conversation without being out of breath - what a result!



I arrived home around 8:30pm - having taken a SW friendly box of food for tea - and went to bed with both happy memories and pride on how I had managed the eating aspects of the day!

Today was therefore a catch up day - popping into Tesco's before picking up the dogs from Mum and Dad's.  Dad seems to have become the dog whisperer in the last few days - apparently Daisy sits on his knee when he watches the tv and then slides in between him and the arm of the chair - before finally falling asleep.  Bless


So - what's the brave new world?  Well, Jean and I have decided to start a Pilates class after half term and so I needed some trainers.  I went in a sports shop and, after some advice, came out with these pair of Reeboks.  Not only was there a strange world of sporting equipment and accessories but there were items in the shop that I had never seen before - such as a protein mars bar - reduced in price to an astonishing £2.50.  Yes you read that right - I even questioned the assistant - it was REDUCED to £2.50!!


I also got a card from my SW consultant - congratulating me on being awarded the highest wight loss award on Monday from all of her groups.  This has been a good couple of days!

What's a girl to do........

.... when she wakes up at 4:15am and can't get back to sleep?  Why, get up of course and clean the dishwasher!  Well, it made sense to me!  The early start also meant that I have made some progress on my Gail Pan wall hanging (yes - that's the one - the one that I was going to finish this Christmas and then got side tracked when I went wrong!  This morning I finished adding the border and am heading towards layering it up ready to quilt.  I had forgotten how big it is!




After my bout of domesticity -which also entailed getting the hoover out - it was off to Carine's to discuss our entry for the Lincolnshire Show.  The theme is "All the fun of the fair" and must include a floral arrangement, a craft item and a cookery item.  I think that we have decided on a theme and I have some bunting (yep, more bunting) to make before we meet again in April.  I know that the show seems a long way away - it's in June - but we have been caught out before and I have had to make a second craft item at the last minute when the scale just wasn't right.



After popping home for lunch and to pick up the dogs, it was then off out again to Mum and Dad's.  We had allocated this afternoon to sort out their travel insurance for my nephew's wedding in the summer.  Mum had also asked if I could buy a fan when I go on holiday in May - so Mr Amazon delivered one to me yesterday!  Mum wants it to go with her wedding outfit!

Back home again and, I must admit, I am wilting now and heading for an early night.  However I need to get my bag packed -and check that I have the tickets in my bag for the hundredth time.  I'm off to see Strictly live tomorrow !!!!  Uber excited!

Daisy has an adventure.

Today is the normal Monday - Textile group, followed by Slimming World - except ............. I needed to take Daisy to the dog groomers in the middle of all the activity.  That meant that Daisy came to the church hall, "helped" me put the tables and chairs out and sort out refreshments.  As the ladies started to arrive, she acted as a hostess and said hello to everyone (well, she barked but we knew what she meant).  Only when she knew that everyone was sorted, did she leave them alone for her "one on one" pampering session.  When she came back, Daisy found a new friend in Auntie Jenny - who still had her nightie on and had just mucked out the horses before popping down to see us all, give me some eggs and hand over her idea for a WI table cloth square.  Daisy even persuaded Auntie Jenny to stay and "pretend" to do some crafts with a cuppa.

Having said all of that, Daisy was happy to get home - she then spent the next couple of hours zonked out in her bed!!  Meanwhile I sorted some housework and then set to trying to sort out one of Jean's UFO's.  She has been de-cluttering and has come across a range of projects - half done and with no clue what to do next.  This one turned out to be a simple pencil case - she didn't want it finishing - just done halfway so that she could see what to do next.

 

Next up was, of course, Slimming World.  I needed to lose one pound to get my 4 1/2 stone award (5 stone in total) and was optimistic -I had had my first 100% week in a while and so deserved to lose that pound at least! In the end I lost a whopping four pounds and gained my shiny certificate!!  Yay - onto the next one then!!  I also took Paul's wash bag and everyone started to sign it.  I've left it with the consultant to finish gathering signatures and then to present it to him before he goes into hospital.

Home on a Monday afternoon is always late so it's tea and then hand sewing in front of the tv -what's new then eh?

Finally finishing some of those irritating tasks

We all have them - don't we?  (or maybe its just me?)  Tasks which have been nearly completed but need that final stage.  For example - I mentioned, a couple of weeks ago, the new Gail Pan Stitchery Club - I sat down the night that January's was issued and sewed the three stitcheries.  However they then needed to be appliqued to a back ground - so that was the first job this morning.

Not being able to craft all day (why not I hear you ask) - the next job was the huge pile or ironing.  It's okay completing loads of washing - but most of it then has to be ironed doesn't it?  Whilst I was putting it away, I tried on a pair of trousers the next size down that has been lurking in my wardrobe - and they did up!!!!!  Rather tight but it's progress yes?

As a treat I sat down with Trisha's jigsaw.  I am seeing her twice in the next couple of weeks (Strictly Come Dancing tour next week!!!!!) and so want to try and finish it.  The subject is a lovely quilting shop - but the range of fabrics and colours are rather challenging!  There are also rather awkward shaped pieces just to make life difficult.



The dog walk was curtailed - we had just set off when Daisy went rummaging in a bush and came out chasing some poor chickens who had decided to roam far from their house.  When she came back it was evident that she had fallen into a dyke and was thick with gunge - cue a bath in the sink and a desperate plea to the dog groomer to see if she has a spare spot!!  Fortunately she is washing her again tomorrow morning - phew!


To continue with the finishing theme there was also more work to be done on the Christmas presents (don't go there - I ironed something, it left a mark, I washed it out, the ironing board left a mark, I washed it out again - now its okay - phew!!) and a slight alteration to a mystery project for or forthcoming sewing retreat.  Terry and I have organised some mystery projects and, when I tried my idea out, I made do with what I had.  Now I have the proper item and so have switched it over.  All very mysterious I know - but a mystery is a mystery and I don't want to reveal anything before the retreat.




The last task was to book some ticket for one of my favourite musicals - "Hairspray" is coming to Hull in April.  It would be rude not to go now wouldn't it?

Preparation is the key - don't they say?

After a really good night's sleep (I went to bed early as I was falling asleep on the sofa and didn't wake up until gone 8am), I was "up and at 'em" this morning.  I had a whole weekend to myself and so could tackle those jobs that kept appearing on my "to do" lists but were never done!  Jobs such as stripping the bed, booking my ticket for the up coming RSC live showing of Twelfth Night starring Ade Edmonson, sorting out my travel insurance for my forthcoming holidays and preparing a kit for the sewing retreat.  All exciting I know!........ but needs doing!




Of course, the main event of the day was to make the wash bag for the young man at Slimming World.  Anyone who has made this bag knows that it comes together quickly - but the cutting out and preparation of pockets and zipper tabs takes time!  Therefore I managed to sort the preparation out before lunch so that I could focus on the task - after walking the dogs (freezing cold / red face again), clearing out the fire place so that I can light it this evening and making a cooked lunch.  Even reading that sentence back sounds like procrastination to me!  However the wash bag has now been completed and I will take it, along with some different coloured fabric pens, to class on Monday - it should look bright and cheerful when its finished!  I used some left over Lego fabric (from several projects for my nephew) for the zipper tabs.  It's a nod to the trip that the young man took his young son to Legoland and could fit into the seats of the rides for the first time.


With just a few tweeks to do on the ongoing Christmas presents, and the afore mentioned fire to light - not to mention the bed to be remade of course -I can breathe a sigh of relief.  As I said at the beginning of this post - some of these jobs have been hanging over my head so I am glad that they are now sorted.