Sorry for lack of posts but DH’s Aunt, who was honorary Grandmother to our Boys, as theirs had all passed, passed away last week. She was 88 and had had some health issues but was still living at home and very much with the world, looked after by her three daughters, Katherine, Judy and Elaine. Margaret’s husband, Uncle Walt, was brother to DH’s mother. The funeral is next Tuesday.
The above picture is of Margaret and Walt holding Eldest when he was just born.
We all saw her just before Christmas, with Judy and Elaine, and fortunately Eldest had made it to see her too which we are now very thankful for. We had a lovely evening catching up on everyone’s news and Eldest was showing her a picture on his phone. Whilst she had it and finished looking at the picture she started swiping the phone to look at his other pictures!!!!! This is someone who was not used to new technology, Eldest was amazed and jumped up to retrieve his phone before she could see something she shouldn’t!!!!!!!!!!
I have been doing some quilting, but not a lot just trying to keep busy. Work, of course, is always there!
I can’t believe it is Wednesday already and I really have not done much since last Wednesday, except eat and sleep and play!!!!! The weather is not good either as it is very, very cold, so I have been making the most of my basket!
Sorry Mom I am too tired to write anymore today!
Alright for some Treacle, the rest of us have to work for a living!!!!!!
I have my first commission! To make a quilt for DH’s cousin’s first Grandchild, a little girl! The baby is due at the end of May so I have plenty of time to get organised. Granddad is from Sweden so their only request was to incorporate some fabric from the Moomin range, which their girls grew up with.
I managed to find some on Etsy and have ordered it and when it arrives I am going to take it to the quilt store to match some of the colours! I think I may be doing the pattern above as it lends itself to having the Moomin fabric as the central piece and to make a feature of it. Well that’s the plan at the moment!!!!!
Needless to say I didn’t get anything done in Eldest’s/Quilt Room 🙁 nor did I get the quilts basted as I was busy catching up on house jobs and two basket loads of ironing! I am hoping to some things done in the evenings this week.
We had a little flurry of snow on Sunday but not enough for Treacle to play in, and it didn’t last and was gone by the evening!
We took Youngest go-karting for his Birthday before Christmas but unfortunately it was cut short as the track was becoming slippy, so on Friday we took him and seven friends for a return match, especially as they had all finished their mock exams. They had a great evening and Youngest came third in the race they had between them! We ended up at McDonalds for tea, which they all enjoyed too!
DH’s cousins are coming tomorrow and I have been wading through my cook books to find something everyone likes and I can leave happily cooking away during the day and have decided to use Delia Smith’s Sirloin Beef in Red Wine, it has a lovely melt in the mouth flavour with a rich sauce. I have had to make some adjustments as one of his cousins is wheat/gluten/dairy free but it has been quite easy, also with the dessert, an apple and blackberry crumble.
Youngest has been off all day today revising but we did have to go to the dentist and pick up his new retainer as the old top one split in half (!) so he had to have a new one made! He is also off tomorrow all day again so he will be able to help get ready for our visitors. Eldest is also coming.
Youngest has swimming tonight but I am then hoping to get some more tidying done in Eldest’s room/my sewing room!!!! and get some things laid out, well that’s the plan!!!! It is not quite as bad as this picture but………..!
I have also come up with a plan which I am hoping to get going during the summer, but that depends on how much gets done between now and Easter! I will keep you informed.
I hope you are having a Terrific Tuesday, it has been raining again (!) here today but it is supposed to be getting colder by the end of the week with the possibility of snow!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh joy, at least Treacle will be pleased!
It was a busy weekend but Saturday I did get some time to do a bit of something quilty like! Remember this?
With the help of DH it became this! And what might it be you ask?
An ironing table! When I am sewing at my desk in our den I have the iron set upon in the utility which is not far but by the time you have walked backwards and forwards thirty times ironing seams and pressing blocks, it is a little tiring so I thought this was a great idea. I cannot claim to have had this idea, there are lots of them around in Blogland and on Pinterest but that’s why I love it, you get some great ideas from it and whoever did it originally, thanks it is a great idea!
It is a TV table which people use while sitting on the sofa watching TV and eating their dinner at. I managed to find it at a local shop reduced in the January sales for £8 and I already had the batting and I have also put some of the special batting you use for hot pads underneath as well and I just love the sewing tree fabric which I bought last year. Treacle, of course, had to get in on the act!!! DH did all the stapling for me underneath the top.
Saturday evening DH and Youngest were out at the new swimming competition and the Club did well coming third and Youngest came second in his two races.
Sunday we spent the whole day, from 6.15am until 7.30pm at the Club’s 43rd Open where we have clubs from around the country come and swim. The meet was full with I think over 500 swimmers and over 1,000 swims but the day was very busy and very long. The venue is great for the swimmers and spectators, but I am in event control where we do all the timings etc which is above the pool in its own room. Because it is very hot in the main area and around the pool this room is air conditioned, but to such an extent that we all about freeze in there! Everyone else was in shirt sleeves and we are all sitting there in jumpers!!!!
We had some issues with the timing system at the start which had a knock on effect on the event and it took us about an hour to sort out, while the swimmers continued with the events but we managed to overcome it and get back on track. All three of us were tired by the end of it and we had dinner when we got home (I had already made it the day before and just had to heat it up) and went straight to bed!
Youngest has another week of exams then he will be back to normal lessons next week (!). Tom’s cousins are coming for dinner on Wednesday evening and it will be great to see them, we didn’t get to see them at Christmas. Next weekend we are in and not doing anything so I am hoping to get the Boys quilts sandwiched. I tried with the basting spray on some scrap pieces and it really worked well so that is my aim at the weekend to get both quilts sandwiched.
I even persuaded Youngest that I can use Eldest’s room, while they all decide what they are doing, as a sewing room and we had just taken my machine and bits up to his room when he arrived to collect some things!!!!!!!!! I told him that his bed will always be there for him no matter what, I just may have to move all my material and batting off it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Treacle did not looked too pleased though as she has also put her claim in to have the room as well!!!! When I have tidied up she is welcome to share!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope your Monday is going well
Hugs, Susie x
RIP David Bowie 1947 – 2016
My favourite memory of him is playing King Jareth in Labyrinth and who didn’t want to be Sarah Williams in that beautiful dress
I have been ordering a few things which are going to help me quilt the Boys big quilts. These will be the biggest quilts I have done so far and know it is going to be a challenge. The above, as I am sure you will know, are quilt clips to hold the big quilts rolled up whilst you are working on a piece. When I have done the smaller ones I have them neatly rolled and then they just slowly undo, so I thought I would give these a go!
Here is the spray baste which I am also going to give a go! Reading around Blogland you find quilters who are all for spray basting and then those which will not touch it with a barge pole! But I always believe in trying something once (within reason of course!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Whilst looking round Blogland at spray basting quilts I found a brilliant idea and I managed to find the thing I needed on sale!!!! So big score. Can you guess what it is going to be?
I also ordered the batting for the Boys quilts and here it is.
This is the backing for Youngest’s quilt! He can’t wait!!!!!
I managed to get a lot of jobs done today and my work, so I may be able to get some quilting done tomorrow, although I am going to have to enlist the help of DH with the quilts as they are so big!!!
I hope your Friday is going well and we made it to the Weekend!!!!! Yeah.
Hugs, Susie x
PS I may take my machine and all the quilts up to Eldest’s room and use his desk, but shush don’t tell him!!!!!!!
Over the Christmas holidays Youngest, DH and I went to see this. Now you all know how old I am and I was 13 when I went with my Mom and Dad to see the original Star Wars in 1977 at the cinema and it was wonderful. Completely different to any other film of the era and brought Sci-Fi to the Big Screen. Dad and I always watched the original Star Trek together on the TV so when Star Wars appeared we had to go see it!
Youngest, DH and I enjoyed the new film but I am not sure about all the hype about it as to me it was a re-hash of that 1977 original! Of course it didn’t help that all the heroes from the original all look a lot, lot older!!!!
This was the true star of the film, BB-8. He was great and reminded me a lot of Treacle!!!!!!!
I am sure we will go and see the next one in the story but from having watched this I think I could probably write the script of the new one already!!!!!
Talking of watching things, one of my favourite shows, Haven, concluded last night forever as the powers that be have cancelled it! I loved this show, especially as it was based around Stephen King’s book, The Colorado Kid. Did they do justice to the show with the ending? No I don’t think they did, I think they didn’t quite know how to end it and it became confused. This is the second show I watched which had a confused ending, they did the same with Warehouse 13!
I suppose I am thankful that they did get to end it as so many shows these days are ended without a concluding series/episode, like Hannibal and The Following. Such a shame that it is all now driven by viewer numbers which are then linked to advertising. What happened to good programs for the viewers?
Youngest had an exam this morning but I collected him at lunch so he is now busy revising while I am trying to get house jobs done today and I have some errands to run tomorrow and then collect Youngest again at lunch.
I hope your first Thursday of the year is going well.
Hugs, Susie x
They have forecast this over the weekend, so I think we are in for a cold spell after the mild Christmas & New Year.
Did you say it was Wednesday? You mean I need to write a Wednesday Wag? Do I have to?
Treacle all your readers will want to hear from you!
I am just too tired Mom, Christmas took it out of me!
I was very busy opening presents and keeping everyone company and playing with Youngest and of course keeping up the patrols of the garden!
But you missed the squirrel several times!
In fast the squirrel completely emptied the feeder which we had set out for the birds! And you missed him completely Treaks!!!!!!
Well I am sorry but there is only so much I can do in a day and I really have to spend most of it in my basket asleep, I really do need my beauty sleep!
Hmm that’s what you call it is it, beauty sleep. You do snore you know?!
No I don’t I just breathe heavily!
I hope you are having a very Woofy New Year so far!
Having sorted out a sort of quilting plan my first few jobs of this year is going to get Eldest and Youngest’s quilts quilted! I asked a while ago in a post about spray basting and I thank everyone who contacted me and let me know their opinions. However I have decided to spray baste them because to pin them would involve a lot of work and I am honestly sick of getting stuck in the tummy when I am quilting them!!!!!!! Also they are large, so I thought it was worth a go!!!! I still also have two super secret quilts to finish too but they are smaller and I can pin those!
It has been raining and grey again today, so Treacle and I have been in the Den all day with the lights and heat on. I had to go to the Dentist this morning about a tooth which was twinging and he couldn’t find anything wrong but he thinks I might be grinding my teeth at night!!!! He told me I need to stop! Hmm I wonder how he expects me to stop doing something I don’t know I am doing?
I have a basket of ironing to do this evening but tomorrow I am hoping to get some quilting sorted.
Youngest has done his second day of his mock exams and he seems okay so far, I think I am more stressed than he is but I am trying to not let him know I am stressed!!!!!! I think this may be one of the reasons why I am grinding my teeth at night!
I have been catching up on the Blogs I read and it has been lovely seeing how everyone spent their Christmases and what they are aiming to do in the New Year. One Blog said that they see the New Year as a new Journal with 365 pages in it, which is a great analogy. I am still writing down each day three things which have made me happy, but some days I have to look really hard for them!
This made me happy though, DH took me to see the new Snoopy & Peanuts movie over the Holidays and it was great! Well worth a visit. Can’t wait now for the next kids film, The Secret Life of Pets, which is not out here until the summer.
I hope you Tuesday is going well.
Hugs, Susie x
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