Unpicked And Restitched!!!

The new quilt block I have learned to do is finished and I absolutely adore it..........

This is made from five ten inch squares. One is folded in half and sewn into the seams of the other four and when you open it out there is a square in the centre which can either be top stitched down as it is or you can roll the edges to create a kind of cathedral window effect.
My machine stitching of the curved edges was dreadful so it was unpicked and redone using the method I use for hand stitching the back of quilt binding and I think it looks so much neater..........

My only issue with this is that the squares aren't where I wanted them to be. I think in construction they get twisted round which wouldn't matter with non directional prints but these prints definitely need to be the right way up.
I'm going to make another one of these blocks and then two of another one I want to learn and then I will make them up into cushion covers.
The next thing on my list to master is free motion quilting.
Fabric used for this block is Morris Earthly Paradise from Moda.

When I got up this morning I was all hot and bothered and sat with the back door open while I had breakfast. It must have been my own personal weather front as I am now freezing cold and need to find my cardigan.

Looking forward to seeing me Ruby this afternoon. I've not seen her for two weeks and have really missed her. I also get to have her for the weekend this week. DD and I are are taking her on a shopping spree with some money for her birthday which is next Sunday. I'll keep a little back and buy her a present to unwrap on the day when we go to Doodle Mansion for birthday breakfast.
We seem to have started a new tradition in our family in getting together for breakfast on birthdays and anniversaries and I love it.

Andy is just on his way back from the hospital where he has been for a check up so I am waiting for him to get home before I put the kettle on for coffee. After that I will have a quick whizz round with the hoover to clear up after Smudge's messy breakfast. Nothing much else to do so I might prepare some fabric for my next block.

Hope you are all having a good day.
Sheila-x-

Dithering!!!

I have decided that I am a ditherer.
There is no shortage of fabric here so why could I not settle on what I wanted to use for Marlowe's dress. I don't know but anyway I couldn't so no dressmaking got done yesterday.
I spent the whole day just faffing about and didn't really achieve much until about 11pm when I decided I was going to have a go at one of the ten minute blocks from my new book. I shouldn't have used fabric with a definite directional print....which I will know for next time.....and I have found that I am not very good at sewing along curves.
There is some unpicking going on today......lol.

Having a bit of a using up session for meals this week. Yesterday was meatballs in gravy pulled out of the freezer and today will be leftover beef from Sunday with some salad and pickles. Any salad leftover from today will be used tomorrow to fill some wraps along with some chicken strips and sweet chilli sauce. I'll serve those with corn on the cob and Ruby will be a very happy little girl indeed.

Not much to do in the house until Andy gets up. I need to run the shampooer over the kitchen and lounge carpets yet again but it's way too noisy to use while he is in bed trying to sleep. There is already enough noise from the neighbour down the road who is tinkering with his car and playing the most godawful thumping music while he is doing it.

I guess I'll carry on unpicking then.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Wild!!!

I didn't like the sound of the wild wind or the thrashing down rain when I woke this morning. I just wanted to refill my hot water bottle and stay where I was but that wasn't happening as I knew there were jobs waiting to be done.
Not feeling 100% but all the jobs are now done and all I have to do is have a ferret in the fridge and store cupboard to see if I have everything we need for this week and the DD and I will go and do a top up shop tonight.

I've decided on a pattern for Marlowe's dress and now I just need to choose the fabric from my stash....or I may instead make her a couple of skirts to use some smaller pieces of fabric. I don't know yet.....but that would make room in my stash for new fabric if I see any I like when we go to Derby on Saturday.....yay....I like my way of thinking.

Desperate for a coffee now so the kettle is going on.

Hang on to your hats if you are going out today.
Sheila-x-

Horses In Lead Boots!!!

Well I think most of the horses I backed yesterday were wearing their heavy duty winter boots which stopped them running fast enough to win. One though did me proud and I won the princely sum of £5 which will be going into Ruby and Marlowe's money box as the money I used for the bet was from their Daddy. 
As I know nothing about betting I was quite thrilled.
Andy and I are planning to go back in March for the Midlands Grand National as I rather enjoyed myself.

No meal out last night as The Harvester weren't taking walk ins by the time we got there at 5:30pm. We couldn't be bothered to drive round looking for anywhere so came home, fetched a Chinese and snuggled in for the night.

This morning the kitchen is full of the smell of roasting beef and I am just about to whip up some batter for the yorkies.
Once lunch is done I will be settling down with my box of dressmaking patterns to see what I want to make this week. I can't finish the Bali Pops quilt until I have some black fabric which I won't be able to get now until next weekend so I'll make something for one of the girls.

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday.
Sheila-x-

Gee Up!!!

Andy and I will be off to the races shortly and you should see the weather.......absolutely bucketing down with rain...lovely.
I never win anything so I doubt I will be making my fortune....lol....I will more than likely come back with pneumonia than a bagful of winnings.
Well at least it's something different for the weekend.

Once we are done there we'll come home to get dry and warm, change our clothes and then back out again for our tea which DD is treating us to.
Tonight we will light the candles and snuggle up to finish watching Vikings and that will be Saturday done and dusted.

We've decided against going out for lunch tomorrow as it looks like the weather is set for the weekend so I will be cooking roast beef at home.

Hope you are all keeping warm and dry.
Sheila-x-

A Pootling Kind Of Day!!!

Thank you all so much for your kind get well wishes.
I am feeling quite a bit better today....not enough to be throwing myself around doing big jobs though.
I'm having another fairly quiet day and sorting out my machine bobbins, emptying them of small amounts of thread I won't use again and refilling them with the colours I use a lot. It is really soothing.

DS will be dropping by later with our tickets for the races tomorrow. I hope he comes after he has done the school run so that I can have a quick cuddle with Ruby and Marlowe. I have not seen them this week and have really missed them.

DD and I never did get out for our tea this week so she is treating Andy and to tea out when we get back tomorrow which will be lovely and then Andy feels like blowing away some cobwebs so on Sunday we are going for a ride to The Knockerdown Inn for lunch and a walk at Carsington after.
I don't want us to be out too long though as I don't like leaving Smudge on his own now. He really isn't well. The Cushings is under control but he now seems to have one thing after another.....the latest being a chest infection for which he is taking antibiotics....and we think he may have something wrong with his stomach. Back to the vets then to see what that could be. My poor little boy.

Right I will go and wind a few more bobbins.

Have a lovely weekend.
Sheila-x-

A Gentle Day!!!

I thought things were going a bit too well. 24 days without a migraine and one started last night. I knew it was coming but hoped it wouldn't.
So today I am feeling a little delicate and washed out.
I did try to go out and clean the windows but the light is rather sharp out there and was making my eyes hurt so I am back inside with the curtains closed. Being rather stubborn I do try to work through them when I get them but this one has me beat so I don't think I'll be getting a lot done today.

I'll be back tomorrow....hopefully feeling much better.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Bali Popping Here Today!!!

Well stir crazy or not when it came to it last night I just couldn't be bothered to go out. I had been cold all day and just wanted to snuggle under a blanket and watch Vikings which DD and I are watching for the second time.
Once we had finished watching and I had warmed up a bit I was into the sewing room to decide on my next project and sort out the fabric for it.
I ended up choosing this project from Jenny Doan at The Missouri Star Quilt Company......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVyDn6kD0_c

.....and I  chose these fabrics.......

Bali Pops by Hoffman in the Tidepool colourway.
For the moment I am just sewing the strips ready to cut into blocks and I need to pick up some black fabric to finish the quilt.

There is a huge pan of beef chilli simmering away on the stove. Tea for DD and I today, lunch for Andy tomorrow and then several individual portions for the freezer.
I have also cooked lunch for Andy today so I think my duties are done in the kitchen....well apart from mopping the floor.

Wet and windy here today but not as cold as yesterday thank goodness. I had so many clothes on that I could barely move...lol.

I've been so busy this morning that I have not read my papers yet. I think I'll make myself a nice cuppa and put that right before I tackle that floor.

Hope you are all having a good day.
Sheila-x-

A Quilt For Miss Moo!!!

The hand sewing of the binding was finished last night and here is Miss Moo's quilt........

The light here is awful today....anyhoo.....it's just a small quilt for her to drag around with her while she is playing. She can sit on it to look at her books, play picnics with Daisy, Eguy and Pippa...her dolls or just lie on it and contemplate her navel....lol.

This time I have used a zig zag stitch to do the quilting and I love it. I used pale pink thread and it just goes so well with the funky fabric.

This morning I have made a hot water bottle cover. It's not brilliant and I doubt I will ever make another one. It's made from fleece.....I won't be sewing that again and I have done my first ever applique.....lots of practice needed on that particular technique I think.

Still it will stop me burning myself.

Now I am twiddling my thumbs. I don't have another project planned for the moment so I think probably a tidy up  and another hoover. Then I'll give the machine a clean and have a look through my patterns to see if there is anything that takes my fancy.

I would like to make a Lone Star wall hanging following an easy tutorial from Jordan Fabrics but it would be for DD's room and I would need to buy some fabrics in specific colours to match her room. That will have to wait then until I can get to a fabric shop.

Feeling the need to get out of the house so I think DD and I will go out for tea tonight. We haven't done that for a while.

I could wait until the weekend when Andy and I are going to the races at Uttoxeter Race Course......one of his Christmas gifts from The Doodles......but I am feeling stir crazy now.

Very cold here with a spiteful little wind that seems to be getting through a crack somewhere and creating a draught. The heating will be going on soon so hopefully I shall warm up a bit then.

Hope you are all having a good day.

Sheila-x-

Gone!!!

After a lovely day of snow watching whilst I sewed I was quite disappointed when just before teatime it started raining and by bedtime all signs of the snow were gone.
Our weather is just ridiculous....this morning we have blue skies and sunshine.

Thanks to DD cooking lunch yesterday I managed to get the quilt top quilted, the binding made and attached and now I just have the hand sewing to finish off. Once that's done I'll launder it and tie it up with a pretty bow to be delivered to the gorgeous Miss Moo on Wednesday.

Andy is on afternoon shifts this week so DD and I can have our simple evening meals. Today we have some leftover pork and stuffing which I am going to warm through and serve in cobs with apple sauce.

I have to admit that I am not liking the new series of Dancing on Ice much. I don't know what is missing but something definitely is.

Well I'll go and have a bit of a poddle round and do a few jobs before Andy goes to work and then hopefully I can sit and get that binding finished this afternoon.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Proper Snow!!!

We started with rain and snow again and now it is just pure snow coming down fast and heavy. It's settling and everywhere looks really pretty and clean. I love it.

So the ideal day for quilting Marlowe's quilt top and making a start on the binding....although I do keep getting distracted by the view outside.
I also need to make a cover for my new hot water bottle today if possible.

DD is cooking lunch....roast pork today with all the trimmings and it is smelling really good.
She really has these Sunday lunches down pat now but I still have to get her interested in cooking everyday recipes.

We'll have to miss the end of Dancing on Ice tonight as it won't finish until 8:10pm and I am not missing the beginning of Call The Midwife which starts at 8pm. So annoying.

I just need to have a quick hoover through to get rid of all the cotton threads that seem to have spread themselves across three rooms and then I shall start sewing again and make some more mess....lol.

Stay safe if you have to go out in the snow.
Sheila-x-

Horrible Weather!!!

It is absolutely filthy outside today.
Heavy rain earlier on and now it is thrashing it down with rain and snow at the same time. I am not going out in it.
DD has gone to do the shopping for me and I don't fancy wandering around the outdoor plant area at the garden centre so a day in sewing for me with a quick and easy tea of pizza.

An early night after a hot bath last night didn't do me the good it should have done as Smudge kept waking me up. He is being treated for a possible chest infection and is making the most horrible noises. I hope the medication he is on will get rid of it.

Right well I think a nice cup of coffee and a catch up on blogs is in order before I fire up the sewing machine.

Keep warm and safe.
Sheila-x-

Cold And Tired!!!

I have tossed and turned all night and heard every clunk the clock made as it reached a new hour. First I was freezing cold and then boiling hot and then Smudge started snoring and the noise nearly drove me demented. I finally drifted off at about 8am and woke up at 10:20am feeling like a bag of bits that needed gluing back together.
Not much has been achieved so far today.

The new Lakeland catalogue was drooled over and then put back on the shelf. I do so love all their kitchen gadgets but as much as I love my coffee I don't think I would ever fork out £600 for a coffee maker. It's rather gorgeous but for that money I would want it to do all the housework and the cooking too....lol.

The quilting books have arrived this morning.....

I was really quite taken with these blocks after seeing a video on You Tube so I will be having a go at those.
In the background....a sneak peek of Marlowe's quilt. The fabric is Flower Fairies by Fabric Freedom which I bought at The NEC last year. The green spot is Rose and Hubble.
It's going very well although I am having to unpick that right hand panel as three of the strips aren't matching up too well with the left hand panel. They are only the tiniest bit out but it's bugging me.

Andy has requested a Friday feast for our evening meal so I have taken out some leftover beef which I froze in gravy. We'll have that with some mashed potatoes, veg and Yorkshire pudding. It should be nice and tasty.

Nothing much planned for the weekend although DD and I might go for a ride to the garden centre tomorrow just for a look round after we have done the grocery shopping which shouldn't take long as I only need some basics to top up.
Sunday will be a nice quiet at home day with a roast lunch and both Dancing on Ice and Call The Midwife to watch in the evening....fabulous.

What are you all up to this weekend?
Have a good one...whatever you're doing.
Sheila-x-

Make Your Mind Up!!!

There was a phone call from the company that were delivering our oil yesterday.......Hello Mrs Oliver....just to let you know that we will be delivering your oil tomorrow afternoon......lovely says I as we weren't expecting it until tomorrow. It was delivered before I had even got up this morning. A good job Andy had unlocked the tank for me then.
I am now awaiting the arrival of the postman with two new quilting books picked up for a good price on Amazon.

Plenty of sewing time today as despite the cold we are having salad for tea to use up some cold meats from the fridge before they go out of date. I don't particularly feel like doing any batch cooking today and I can't bake a cake as I have run out of eggs......so sewing it is then.

Well the postie has been....no books today and Andy didn't pick up the papers on the way home home this morning as he usually does so all I have to look at while I have my coffee is a Lakeland catalogue which could be very dangerous.....lol.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

We Got White Stuff!!!

We had a right cracker of a snow storm last night.
Howling wind and really heavy snowfall.....it was like being inside a snow globe.
This morning it's all just about gone 😒
A tiny bit on the ground and the rooftops and that's it.
Now it is just very cold and sunny.

I won't be starting on DD's curtains until the weekend so I have pulled out a jelly roll.....for non quilters....a roll of 40 two and a half inches by width of fabric strips......and have drawn a plan for a quilt for Marlowe. A nice change from the blues it is various pinks with a very soft lime green and cream. I'm a bit limited on prints....a jelly roll is usually strips from each fabric in a particular collection but this one only has eight strips each of 5 different designs.....one of which I don't like and won't use but I am happy with what I have planned.

Something tummy warming for tea tonight I think so we are having spaghetti bolognaise. I hope Ruby still likes it but if not she can choose tomato soup.
There will also be pudding which doesn't happen often here but I made the very naughty purchase of a Sticky Toffee Pudding when I went shopping and it needs to be used.

Andy has insisted on having the heating on today as he was cold in bed yesterday and didn't sleep well. I am not complaining as I am in and out to the tumble dryer today with sofa blankets and cushion covers being laundered and that wind is really icy.

Hope you are all keeping warm today.
Sheila-x-

Show And Tell!!!

The quilt is finished....yay!!!
The last stitch was put in at 1am this morning.

The idea for this quilt was to use fabric from a shirt belonging to Andy's brother who passed away suddenly three years ago so I was limited to how much usable fabric there was and had to find other suitable fabrics to go with it.
The dark blue and red check is Martin's shirt, the anchor fabric is from the dreadful pyjamas I made for Andy which we still laugh about now, the cream fabric with branches and berries is from a collection called Downton....Andy loves Downton, the blue stripe and the light blue check are shirts I picked up from a charity shop and the various beige prints and plain are some fat quarters I already had in.

This was my plan.........

.....and this is the quilt......

.......with Mr Smudge getting in on the action....lol.

The backing was cut from an old much loved duvet cover. Perfect to go with all the blues but an absolute pig to work with. Despite several starching sessions it remained very soft.

Still it's done now and Andy loves it so it will now go up to be hung over the bed head and hopefully give Andy good dreams about his brother.

The veg and tomato bake I did for tea last night was really lovely and there was enough roast veg to make a pan of soup for DD to take to work for a couple of days. I just added some leftover tomato sauce and some veg stock then blitzed it down and added a little Worcestershire sauce to spice it up a bit......I will be stealing a small bowl of it for my lunch today.

DD and I never did get our bacon and eggs last week so that is what we are having tonight....quick and easy so that I can get on with tidying the sewing room ready for my next project.

Very sunny with gorgeous blue skies today but we have had a prediction for snow this evening. I'm not expecting to get any here as we rarely do but you never know.

Have a lovely day.

Sheila-x-

Mizzly Monday!!!

Ooooh it's wet and windy out there today. I have to say though....it doesn't seem that cold. I don't know if that's because it's not or because I woke up in my own tropical heatwave this morning.....lol.
No fun for DD out there in the thick of it so something nice and warming for tea. I'll maybe do the roasted veg and tomato bake with the crispy topping.....that always goes down well.

Housework to do today before I can finish off the binding on the quilt.....I forgot that Dancing on Ice was on last night or it would have been finished.
This is Andy's first night shift since before Christmas and I can already see that my housework plan is not going to work too well.....at least on a Monday morning when he takes over the kitchen for preparing his packing up and getting his bag ready to go.....at 9pm. Now he is doing himself a tin of soup for his lunch and then he'll take over the sofa and read his newspapers until he feels like going up for a sleep. Once he's gone up I can get some things done but not the hoovering until he gets up....by which time I will be sorting out tea.
I think I am going to have to rethink my Monday routine for every other week.

Out in the garden things are coming back to life. The Hellebores are flowering but I can't see any of my little daffodils yet. They may be there but I don't want to walk on the lawn just now to look as it is so wet and boggy. I am hoping that Andy has it in this year's plans to replace the lawn as it has really had it.
Other garden plans include just maintaining the back garden this year with some gap filling if needed and we will concentrate on the front garden....digging borders and filling them with shrubs and perennials.

I need to start making plans for a certain little girls birthday. Ruby will be eight in less than a month and I am thinking about asking to have for the weekend before her birthday and taking her on a little shopping spree to choose more crafting stuff or whatever she wants. I think she will enjoy that.
After that we have Marlowe turning two in March which I can't quite believe.

Well that's His Nibs gone up for his nap so I'll go and get done what I can before he gets up.

Have a fabulous day.
Sheila-x-

A Quiet Day!!!

DD is cooking Sunday lunch, Andy is reading his papers and I have just caught up with some blogs. All is calm and quiet.
This afternoon will be more of the same as I'll be making and applying the binding to the quilt. It should have been started yesterday but I had to unpick a little on the quilt top and redo it. I'll be glad when it's finished.

Has anyone else started reading their copy of Nigel Slater's Christmas Chronicles? What a gorgeous book.
The best thing is that he gets my love of Winter. No moaning about the cold or the snow. He just embraces the whole season. I love that.

I'm getting on OK with the injections now and I don't know if it's coincidence but I am feeling so much better since I came off the medication I was taking.

It's very still, grey and cold here today but outside someone has a bonfire which smells wonderful on the cold air. I could stand and sniff in that smell all day. I'm the same at night when all the coal fires are lit.......and I wonder why people think I'm weird....lol.

Lunch shouldn't be too long now and I shall do it justice today as I haven't had any breakfast.

Hope you are all having a lovely peaceful Sunday.
Sheila-x-

All Veggied Up!!!

Well if nothing else we will be able to eat vegetables for a good while. I've been out to a very chilly town this morning and stocked up and what I have bought will last a good week or more....apart from carrots which the animals eat like they are going out of fashion.
Butternut squash and sweet potatoes for a roasted veg and tomato bake with a crispy topping, swede, carrots, cabbage, onions and Charlotte potatoes. I just need to pick up some broccoli when I need it as it doesn't seem to keep well for too long.
In to Home Bargains where they are changing all the aisles round and I couldn't find anything and they still have no loo roll.....what is that all about 😕 I ended up wandering which wasn't good as I ended up buying a new pie dish which wasn't on my list...although I do need one.
Barnado's had some lovely furniture in....ripe for redoing with chalk paint but unfortunately I don't have any room to put any of it. I was eyeing up a gorgeous dresser and mentally shifting round in the living room to see if it would fit but it wouldn't...lol.

Home now and the beef stew for tonight was made yesterday  all I need to do is make some dumplings for Andy and a some mash for DD and me so I can finish the quilting today and make a start on the binding. Hopefully the quilt will be finished this weekend and then I can make a start on DD's curtains and get those out of the way.

It really is cold here today so I hope you are all keeping warm and having a wonderful weekend.
Sheila-x-

Lesson Learned!!!

I have learned my lesson regarding not pinning enough when quilting. Oh my goodness....it took me nearly all day to poke out two lines of stitching and I had to resort to a magnifier and a very bright lamp.
Never again.
There are now more pins in it than you can shake a stick at so I should be able to get on with it today.
I was looking forward to a nice quiet afternoon but next door has someone drilling and banging about right outside the sewing room window so not much chance of that.

After a fairly easy week on the cooking front today will be busier with tea to cook for DD and I when she comes in, then cooking again for Andy when he comes in just after 7pm and a beef stew to cook for tomorrow.
No time to get bored in this house.

Right....I'll go and have a coffee with the hubby before he goes to work and then I had best get chopping some veg.

Hope you are all having a good day.
Sheila-x-

One Down!!!

First injection done. It hurt but only because I got myself a bit worked up about it and Andy says I pulled it out too quickly and lost some of the liquid so I'll have to take a bit more time when I do it tomorrow.

Started quilting the quilt top last night and almost immediately had to unpick a couple of rows due to the stupid mistake of not pinning enough. It's now pinned to within an inch of it's life so I will crack on with that this afternoon.

DD is training today so doesn't know if she will be early, on time or late home. Another simple meal then.....grilled bacon and eggs with grilled tomatoes.

Just a bit of washing up to be done after Andy's lunch, I'll hoover once he's gone and then the afternoon is all mine 😊

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Bloody Blood Sugars!!!

A visit to the doctors this morning to get the results of the blood test I had last week and she has decided that the tablets I am on are just not working for me. From tomorrow I have to start on injections which knowing my hatred of needles she has been trying to avoid. I'm sure I will get used to it at some point and the upside is that taking the injections should kick start my weight loss which stopped when I went onto the new tablets. I've managed to maintain my weight but it will be good to see some positive results on that front for a change.
Never mind the coat I could soon be sewing myself bikinis.....I don't think....lol.

Not much to do in the way of housework today or cooking either for that matter as we are having a salad for tea.
More sewing time for me then 😊and today I'll layer up and start the quilting. After that it will be my most favourite job of making and attaching the binding. I find the hand stitching so soothing.

Well I could do with a coffee so I'll go and make one before I plug the iron in and get started on pressing the quilt top and backing fabric.

Blue skies and sunshine here today so I hope you are getting the same.
Sheila-x-

Day 1-Time Managed Quite Well!!!

I surprised myself yesterday by only over running on the household chores by fifteen minutes and being able to sit down and sew by 1:15pm.
Four strips of blocks were joined together before I had to get up and make tea so I was very pleased and the fifth strip got added after DD had gone upstairs so I now have a finished quilt top.
I won't be able to start the layering and quilting until tonight as we have Miss Doodle coming for her tea and she has requested chicken pie. The chicken is poached so I just have to make the leek sauce, let it cool, then bung it into some puff pastry I have taken out of the freezer and prepare some veg.

My mind is already on my next sewing project...although it's not a project as such but the alteration of some curtains for DD's room. They need shortening which isn't my most favourite job but a necessary one. I'd much rather make a pair from scratch than alter.
After that it will be on to some dressmaking for the girls. I am really looking forward to getting to grips with my overlocker which hasn't yet been used apart from a trial after I threaded it up. Once I can use it properly I have five metres of black jersey which I want to use to make myself a long coat....after practicing on some offcuts of course.
I really want to hone my sewing skills this year and tackle some things I've not done before.

Right....into the kitchen I go.
Hope you are all having a good day.
Sheila-x-

What A Weekend!!!

I have had such a lovely weekend taking care of my girls while Mummy did her work from home. Lots of playing and dancing, cuddling and laughing and then a rather messy crafty session with Ruby on Saturday. I have a feeling Mummy night just kill me for buying Ruby the big pack of jars of loose glitter....lol.

I joined a Facebook group a few weeks ago called Sewing Room Ideas. Some of the rooms on there are jaw droppingly huge and gorgeous but there are lots of storage ideas which can be used in more modest rooms. I have been looking at ways to store my fabric more efficiently. Even though I don't have the hugest collection I still have a fair bit. In the USA it's a big thing now to wrap your fabric onto comic boards which are stiff boards used in a film bag to store comics to keep them in pristine condition. Well I wasn't going to be buying those but I did have a huge box full of A4 cardstock so I picked out all of the white and here is what I have done........

All fat quarters in one box. Individually wrapped around a C6 sized piece of card.

100% cotton fabrics all wrapped around an A4 card folded in half down the length.

More 100% cotton fabrics.

Having the boards inside the fabric makes it really easy to pull pieces out and then pop them back in.

Being next to the kitchen I have to store my fabrics in boxes but you should see some of the the wonderous collections stored on shelving........most of them look like shops....lol.

I currently have $%*^ boxes of fabric not counting the two boxes that hold felt, net and lace but I feel I will use it more now that it is so organised.

The workers are back at work today and boy am I ready to have my house back to myself for a while each day.

This morning I have been doing laundry and tidying things away and then as soon as Andy goes out the door I will be throwing the hoover around and doing whatever I can get done before 1pm and then I shall be grabbing some time to sew more of Andy's quilt until it's time for DD to get in.

We are also back to our quick and simple meals when we are on our own so tonight it will be beans on toast and a nice cup of tea.....absolute bliss......while we watch Gone With The Wind which DD has a hankering to watch having just finished the book.

That should be finished by about 9pm so I may get the layering and pinning of the quilt done before bedtime.

I feel like a whirling dervish today....how is your day going?

Sheila-x-

Friday Already!!!

Friday and January 5th already. It doesn't seem five minutes since we were preparing for Christmas does it?

The only thing left of our decorations now is a very glittery kitchen carpet which will probably take several hooverings to get rid of.

I made a good start on sorting the crafty stuff and now have two shopping bags full of card, paper, punches and equipment for Ruby. Still a way to go though.

Today I need to go out and do a small shop for veg and salad and a few other bits but I am waiting until Andy gets back from his check up at the hospital as I don't want to leave Smudge on his own.....he has already pee'd in the kitchen this morning. I'm not sure this medication he is on is helping matters at all......and he has just done it again while I was out putting washing in the tumble dryer. I despair.

Once back from shopping I am hoping to get the quilt top finished and then I will layer and quilt it early next week seeing as I will be out for most of the weekend.

I wasn't planning on making another quilt for a while but I made the mistake of watching a video from Fat Quarter Shop on You Tube last night. Oh my word the quilt was just delicious and looks a fairly quick make. A 9 1/2 inch ruler has been ordered this morning and I shall be having a sort through my fabrics to see if I have anything suitable to make it with.

Andy has just phoned to say he is on his way back so I'll go and get ready to go out into the nasty weather....more rain and absolutely freezing.

Keep dry and warm.

Sheila-x-

The Lights Are Coming Down!!!

Today is our day for taking down all of the Christmas stuff and putting it all away.
I love it all I really do but now it's been up for over a month I am ready for it all to be gone.

Tomorrow I will have a good clean up and then we'll be back to normal and I can get on with my plans for changes I want to make this year.
I'd like to make new curtains for both the lounge and the kitchen although I will hold off on the lounge ones as at some point this year we are going to have to replace the sofas and I don't really know what we will go for.

I'm off upstairs shortly to have a good sort out of the craft stuff I still have up there to see what I can pass on to Ruby, what can be kept for when she is older and what can be sent to the charity shop or thrown away.
I'm then hoping that whatever is left will fit into underbed storage boxes out of the way.

This year I want to be a better time manager so that I get plenty of time to sew and with that in mind I am doing myself a weekly rota of jobs that will be done on set days to which I will add jobs from the odd job list plus meal prep all to be done by no later than 1pm so that I have at least a couple of hours before I have to start cooking tea.
If I don't feel like sewing I will have a batch cooking day to keep the freezer full of meals ready to whip out on busy sewing days.
Will I manage it? It depends what life chucks at me I suppose but I will try my hardest to stick to my routines.

Andy is craving a dinner with gravy today so I have pulled out some pork chops to have with some veg and roast potatoes which should make his tummy happy.

Off to crack on then.
Hope you all have a good day.
Sheila-x-

Happy Birthday My Gorgeous Girl!!!

Today we have a birthday in the house......DD is 38 years old.
We started off the day with a visit to the doctors surgery for my blood test but then went straight off to Derby where we had breakfast and she spent some of her birthday money.
I picked up some wadding and binding for Andy's quilt and a couple of colours of jumbo ric rac braid for the skirts and dresses I will be making for the girls.
We didn't stay long. The shops are full of reduced Christmas tat and not much else and as Ruby is visiting after school today I wanted to get home to tidy up.
DD is off out for tea with friends so we are just having a simple tea of soup (tinned....shock, horror) and crusty bread.
Ruby is allowed pudding when she comes to Ganma's so tonight I am making a layered Black Forest Sundae with chocolate cake, cherry pie filling and ice cream with a whipped cream topping. She'll love that.

Yesterday I did some sewing and it felt so good.
One sock bag made and already in use and some good progress on Andy's quilt. I was hoping to get that finished at the weekend but I have dates on Saturday and Sunday with my girls. I'll be looking after them while DDIL works from home and then I am staying on for a while to have a crafty session with Ruby to teach her how to use all her crafting goodies we bought her.

Very strong winds here today and very dark clouds with the occasional session of blinding sunlight which gave me quite a headache on the way back from Derby.
I hope the winds don't cause any damage where you are.
Sheila-x-

Let's See If It Works Today!!!

Another go with the pictures of my sewing room.
I don't know what was going wrong yesterday but it was just having none of it.

Here goes the before.....

The dining room had become a dumping ground over Christmas and was a real mess.

More mess.

....and even more mess but that unit with the orange boxes is going to help tidy some of it away. A bargain for £20 from the charity shop it's an older style Ikea toy storage unit and the equivalent in a new design is around £60.

.......and after.........

Ok so it won't let me add captions now without moving the photos so............

Top picture is the new SKARSTA table cranked up and ready for cutting out. It's very, very sturdy and really easy to crank up and down. The handle pushes in and clips to the underneath.
The two filing cabinets hide a multitude of sins from sewing equipment to elastic and bias binding and glues and paints to my collection of precuts such as Layer Cakes and Jelly Rolls.

Pic 2...UFO's in the green tray, overlocker threads in the cream basket, scraps, Christmas fabrics, fat quarters and thicker fabrics in the orange boxes.The computer is now off the table so I don't have to move it every time I want to sew.
The handweight is used to hold my rulers down when cutting....a fabulous tip picked up from Jordan Fabrics on You Tube.

Pic 3....Top two boxes store all my dressmaking and crafting patterns and the others hold things like felt, lace and net.

Pic 4....Under table storage holds lots of fabric, batting, fleece and ribbons.

So that is it as it is at the moment. It's not posh but it's mine. There are a few changes I would like to make as I go along but it's a very workable room. Nice and bright with all the windows although I do curse them sometimes as I would love to have room to put a design wall for pinning up quilt layouts.

Today I will be making DD's sock bag and then making a start on sewing together the quilt I have had cut out for Andy for months.

The weather is foul here today....dark, wet and windy so I think I am going to be in the right place. I could have gone out with DD but I declined.

Hope you all have a great day.
Sheila-x-

New Year....New Sewing Room!!!

Well here we go off into 2018. A new year full of hopes and possibilities. I hope it's a good one for everyone.

I am very happy to be starting the new year with a dedicated space for my sewing and crafting.
There are photos to share but I am having trouble adding them this morning.....Blogger won't let me put them in the order I want so I'll leave it and try again tomorrow.

Some gorgeous smells wafting around the kitchen. There is a large piece of beef roasting and we will be having that shortly with all the trimmings and hopefully here will be enough left to freeze in some gravy for future meals.

And that is about it for Tea Towel Mansion today. Nothing exciting going on. The sofa huggers will be sofa hugging all day and I will be in my new room sorting out fabric and maybe doing a bit of tweaking.

Hope you all have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-