POST! Woohoo!

While going through the mudane motions of the last school day before our summer holidays (gathering up the laundry, packing the dishwasher etc.) the doorbell rang.

It was the postman, much earlier than normal.

He didn't just have one package for me, not two either, but THREE!  Yippee!

The first one I opened was from my Mad Hadder friend Hadley.  

These are the nicest fabric scraps I've ever seen.  And how cute is that mini pincushion!

Some time ago I signed up to Hadley's Pay It Forward project and got all these amazing lovelies!  Thank you Hadders for your great taste and amazing generosity!

Even the greeting card is adorable!

Next I opened a package from Prints to Polka Dots.

I just adore those birdies!  These fqs were all less than £2 ea.

I had ordered some bargain fqs from their website and got 4 of the 5 ordered.  Nice huh?

I specifically chose pinks because I'm making the Kaleidoscope quilt for Bethany's room, which is mainly green with some pink accents.  (More on the Kaleidoscope QAL later, when I get my finger out and get cutting!).

And finally, Miss July Queen Bee from our Brit Bee, Judith, has sent through her fabrics and instructions for the blocks she'd like us to make.  

Her inspiration is a red & white blocks quilt, and we get to choose what blocks we make - hooray!  I think one of my blocks will be Monkey Wrench, which will look really effective in the two colours.  Will keep you posted.

So this was a really lovely postie morning. I have been back at my sewing machine, but I can't show you yet what I've been doing - oh I love being mysterious!

Unfortunately, my machine is making unfamiliar clicking noises and I think I'll check her into Sewing Machine Clinic for a wee MOT before clicks turn into clunks!

Time to Pay It Forward!

I love this concept of making a handmade gift for someone, just because .....

..... because us creative types love receiving handmade gifts & appreciate the time & effort put into them;

..... because it's so lovely getting a wee parcel in the post, maybe even from another country;

and because, we know that the blessing from our gift will be passed on to even more people.

So, for my 3 lovely ladies I have made some gifts for them to enjoy.

I can't show you the full bundle yet, because I know they'll be reading this and won't have received their gifts in the post yet, but here's one of the gifts.

Mmmm .... who gets what?

And here's a glimpse of something else they're going to get.

So Sarah, Reene and Leanne - keep your eyes on that postman (for all the right reasons of course!).

And today, I bought me some of this .....

Basting Spray!

Not cheap, but anything is better than pinning & tacking large quilts (groan!).

In finishing today, I want you to know that I'm having a mini crisis over my Brit Swap Quilt (which is why I haven't posted anything about it lately!).

I promise to reveal more on this tomorrow - beware - it's UGLY!

The Sun is Shining!

It's feels like so long since we've seen blue skies here that I had to take a picture!

Okay so not so much blue sky in this pic, but the sun is definitely shining!

A rather hot 'Poppy'!

And one more thing that made me smile today ...............

This is my 12 year old dressing up as her dad!  

Don't you just love it when kids can still be kids and enjoy things like dressing up.

Not much to report on the sewing front today, although I have been a busy beaver!

Yesterday I launched my Saturday School for Beginners.  I had 6 newbies for the day, and with my 'beautiful assistant' Sarah, we had lots of fun conquering fears of rotary cutters and sewing machines.

Well done girls, you were amazing!

I've also been working on my Pay it Forward gifts for Leanne, Reene & Sarah.  Almost finished girls, not long to wait now!

Anyone want a handmade pressie?

Some of you may have heard of a concept called 'Pay It Forward' via other blogs, or the film a few years ago:

In blogland, this is how it works:

1. I will make a little something for the first 3 people who comment on this post. It will be a surprise and it will arrive when you least expect it.
2. I will have 365 days to do it in. What's the catch? To get a handmade present from me, you have to play too! This means YOU pledge to send a little handmade something to 3 readers of your blog. It doesn't have to be quilty - just handmade.
3. You must have a blog.
4. Once you receive your "little something", you must post about your Pay it Forward on your blog to keep the fun going - be sure to use the Pay It Forward badge.

Well, the lovely Hadley over at Flying Blind on a Rocket Cycle decided to do PIF a few months ago, so I signed up. 

However, with the steady shrinkage of my memory cells over the years, I forgot all about it.  Then the equally lovely Susan, Canadian Abroad was talking about it on her blog.  I mentioned I had signed up one time but couldn't remember who with.  So she very kindly suggested that I become her 3rd PIF person!  How could I refuse? 

Then Hadley reminded me of my first committment!  Thanks H!

So the good news is, I now have 6 people to gift to!  Wooohooo! 

So if you fancy a wee something from me, sometime in the next year, & want the opportunity to spread the love, then sign up here (& DON'T FORGET WHO YOU SIGNED UP WITH!!!!!).