I Don't Believe It!!

If Victor Meldrew had been in my house, he would have projected this statement more than once today!

It's been one of those days!

The edited version is that Boiler Man no.4 will be coming tomorrow (sometime!) to maybe hopefully fix the boiler.  I sent the kids down to a friends house this afternoon to get showered! 

Sorting the boiler issues took up much of the day.  When I finally snatched half an hour to sew in my ice-box sewing room, my iron kept throwing the electrical trip switch.

So after tea, I nipped down to church to pick up one of my other irons (that I store down there for classes), brought it back, plugged it in, and ..................

NOTHING!

It didn't work, at all!   Aaaarggghhh!

What makes this even more frustrating is that I'm tantilisingly close to finishing Sophie!  Baby is due any day now and I just need to get the binding ironed and attached and I'm done!

So tomorrow it will be off down to Tescos again to quickly get a new iron before the Boiler man decides to call/not call.

The only other thing I managed to get done today was a quick mugrug present for a male relative.

So I'm off now to wash in cold water, before filling my hot water bottle & layering up for bed (and a wee hot port might just make an appearance too!).

Hope you've had a more productive day!

Judith xo

Man Quilt Delivered

Yesterday was the Christmas gathering of Bee Blessed!

I forgot to take photos of the hive of activity, as we sewed along to Neil Diamond's Christmas songs and ate mince pies!

But I can show you the finished man quilt.

Front

Back

I delivered this today to the family for whom it was made, and it was an emotional exchange!  I said 'it's a small gift', in light of the situation the family are currently in, but the lady said this was no small thing - it was a huge blessing to them all, especially to her ill husband.  

And that's just what Bee Blessed is about - small gifts with huge impact!

Some of you have been eager to know the next block we'll be doing in Bee Blessed.  For the next few months, we've decided to make sampler quilts, which means all you lovely donators and supporters get to make a block of your choosing, in the colours/fabrics of your choosing!  How cool is that!  The only requirement is that the block should be 12.5" unfinished.  

So do you fancy having a go?

There's a fab list of tutes available on Modify Tradition (see down right hand side of screen) but if you know of other great block tutes, I'm starting a thread in our flickr group where you can post the links of any great block tutes you've come across.  This is a great way to share ideas, and I for one am really looking forward to trying out some new block patterns.

And just to keep you up-to-date, we now have approx. 60 log cabin blocks, so when we next get together in January we will be making up 3 quilt tops!  Can't wait to show you!

One source of inspiration for block patterns is this:

My Christmas present to myself arrived last week and I have to say I wasn't disappointed!  It's a really well laid out book, and most of the block designs are ones I would like to try.  My personal view is that a chunk of the blocks would be a challenge for a beginner, but all in all I think it's a fabulous book.

And last but not least, I've taken the bull by the horns and bought my ticket for the Fat Quarterly Community Retreat in June.

This will be a special weekend for me, because I get to meet up with most of my amazing Brit Bee buddies!  I even got to speak to the lovely Sarah on the phone!  Surreal!!  We are all so excited that we are getting on like giddy teenagers (what on earth will we be like when we finally meet in June!).

Well that's about it from me for this weekend.  

Not as much sewing done as I'd like, but the boiler packing up this morning meant lots of snuggles under quilts, in front of a log fire, drinking homemade mulled wine and watching Nativity with the kids.  So not all bad!

Judith xo

A Laptop Sleeve Conquered!

Phew!  is all I can say to this finish!

Front

Back

This is a laptop sleeve for my 17 year old nephew, for Christmas.  Despite the 'simple' vision I had of this in my mind (I should have been worried right then!) this project turned into quite a challenge.

As mentioned previously, my foundation piecing with lined fabric made full use of the word 'wonky'!

I'm deliberately NOT showing a close up of the wonky bits!

Then came something that would have rivalled an episode of The Krypton Factor (I'm showing my age now!).  

I know enough from bag making to know that there is a sequence when constructing a bag.  As this laptop sleeve is essentially a bag (don't tell my nephew that!) I thought I'd be able to work it out!

Unfortunately for me, I don't have a degree in Construction Engineering or Quantum Physics (or anything else for that matter!) & I realised too late that I'd never made a gussetted/zippered/lined bag.

I couldn't for the life of me work out how to get the gussets, zips and linings together without any raw edges!  World Wide Web - you were no help to me at all!!

When I finally, somehow, managed to get the thing together with no holes or raw edges, I couldn't get my husband's laptop (same model as nephew's) to fit in through the zipper opening!  

Aaaaarrrggghhhh!

And my zipper ends were so lovely too!

So out came the stitch ripper (again!), off came the zip (again!).

Never mind, I battled on (I even dreamt about fixing it last night), persevered and I now have a satisfying finish & a very sore back!

Lovely Kona Ash on the inside!

I hope your week has been more productive and stress-free than mine!

Chat soon,  

Judith xo

We will conquer!

Yesterday my hubbie & I got the Christmas shopping done!  Phew!

I loathe shopping, and especially Christmas shopping, but it was so nice having a few hours together.

Shopping tires me out, and I shouldn't really have attempted my nephew's laptop sleeve last night!

Trying to decide on which colour thread to quilt with!

I've used the 4 Twin Sisters pattern on numerous occasions before, but for some reason, it just wasn't behaving last night!

But the preverbial 'blind man on a galloping horse' won't notice the wonky seams (fingers crossed), and time limitations mean this will have to be acceptable!

I also got a crochet mat finished, as a wee pressie for a friend.

And because they're so quick to make, I ran up another 7 hexies last night, another pressie for a friend!

And one final pic which my lovely Brit Bee gals will appreciate!

How are your cupcakes Terri?

Happy Tuesday!

Judith xo

The F.U.N.C is coming to a city near you!

Well in true blogger (over the top imagination) style, Rhonda's ugly needle case now has 

a name: FUNC (Fugly Ugly Needle Case) 

a blog page (Quilter in the Gap F.U.N.C) complete with a map of its travels around the world 

and its own blog button!!

If you have had the privilege of receiving F.U.N.C. we would like you to display the button, and link back to Rhonda's blog so she can map its travels.

Including postcards from the various destinations F.U.N.C visits is entirely optional.

I wonder where F.U.N.C. will end up next????

That's the Desk Tidied!!

As you know I've been in a quandry over what to make big bro for Christmas.  

Thanks so much for all your wonderful & creative suggestions, most of which I will mostly definitely be putting in the 'Things to Try' bank!

I was just about to go with Trudi's idea of a scarf backed with polar fleece, and start running around shops looking for soft fleece, when I had an epiphany (no, it didn't hurt)!!

I was walking round Tescos the other day when I suddenly thought of change trays/desk tidies.  Unbeknown to me, my lovely bloggy friend Helen was thinking exactly the same thing, and emailed me the same idea!!  Talk about being of one creative mind!  Brilliant!

So here they are:

Fabric - Indigo Berries from River Fabrics

They were quite difficult to photograph as the fabrics are dark and rich, but I think they will be perfect for my brother's office desk.  

I downsized the hostess box pattern (which I'm also using for my Christmas mugrug sets) twice to get a little family of desk tidies.  Isn't baby box so cute?

And if he doesn't want to use them for stationary, he can always fill them with sweets (like me, he has an incureable sweet tooth!).

After considerable tweaking, resizing, unpicking & resewing, I conquered the journal cover pattern.

This one is for my friend's daughter who loves to read and journal, and while she is v.feminine, isn't overly girly, and a little bit Gothy.  So I hope these less girly fabrics from Sophie will please (the Sophie cot quilt will be for this teenager's new little sister when she arrives!).

 

This one is for my neice, who is 13.  She likes all things girly!

The crochet hearts pattern is by Attic 24, found here.

Well that's it for today.  I'm off to make more presents!


Have a fab Saturday!


Judith xo

Don't Forget The Lonely!

The 5 completed Bee Blessed quilts were handed over today, for donation to needy local families.  These were 4 cot quilts and a single bed size D9P quilt all made by wonderful virtual and blogging friends! 

My prayer is that as these quilts are received into homes, with them comes the blessing of comfort and peace, especially at this time of year.  

I often forget that Christmas is not always a season of joy and pleasure for some, and in fact can be one of the most difficult events in their year.  I hope that the time, effort and talent invested in each of these quilts will be translated into a 'spoonful of sugar' in an otherwise sorrowful & difficult time.

                                        ********************************************

In the post today I received something most unusual!

This is a needle book case made (& subsequently hated!) by the lovely Rhonda.  This poor wee case is now destined for a life of pilgrimage as it travels around the world, blogger to blogger .....

lonely

purposeless

aimless

needleless

unwanted

(am I making you cry yet?!)

Okay, cut the violins!  This is really just a bit of fun, and the lovely Susan passed Ugly Needle Case (UNC) to me (with a few little treats - thanks chick!).

I now have the onerous position of deciding who to pass UNC onto next (not before I give it a wee stroke and try to raise it's self-esteem a little!).  

Who will be next?

And before I get even more ridiculous (you can tell it's Friday!) just a few pics of this afternoon's quick makes for the 'Mummy I'm going to a birthday party tomorrow & I need a present!' request.

Pencil case & tissue pouch.

I'm reliably informed this cool chick is a Goth in the making but whose mum insists she still wears pink!  Hope I got the balance right!

Have a wonderful end to your week, relax, put your feet up and watch mindless telly!

Judith xo