Pile up

Its 10 past nine on thursday night.
There's no getting round it..it has to be done.
I've put it off since September.
Its the IRONING
A huge great mountain that became a roomful.
I have decided to bring it all downstairs, put the telly on and iron.
Its not as if I am particularly well groomed or smartly turned out . I just have a lot of tee shirts from my hot flush days.

I have been wondering whether to show you this.
Go on then.
Picture 5.
Me sewing behind my stall.
I am shocked that in the picture my mouth bears a strong resemblance to Wallace when he says 'No Crackers Gromit' and my hands look like hams. And in general I look like the sort of anonymous 'lady' mentioned.
I'm sorry your dreams of a tall elegant stylish dogdaisy are now in pieces.
I felt quite old and untrendy that day but still enjoyed it.

Back to the pile up.
As I carried the pile downstairs I gathered other piles of washing from around the house, it was like a huge juggernaut progressing towards the ironing board and it now sits next to me as I procrastinate further.
I am not going to bed till its done.
As I stepped off the bottom step into the hall I realise that the piece of burnt toast I had given to Willow had at that very moment been dropped on the hall floor just where I was about to put my foot.
Oh Joy.

A Change is as Good as a Rest

We have lived in our house for 23 years.
All the rooms have been redecorated over this period and I don't just mean wallpaper and paint..I mean re-wired, sometimes new windows, re-plastering and so on.

The bedroom was the last thing to be done.
In 2005 it was completely stripped out..this is what it looked like then and we were still sleeping in it.



So you will understand that I may have gone a bit over the top when choosing the new things.


I indulged myself. I make no excuses. 20 years was a long time to wait.
400 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. Lace pillowcases. New feather pillows and duvets, a mattress cover and a cover for the mattress cover.


All topped off with a one hundred year old hand quilted white and cream quilt from the Antique Textile Fair.

A lovely cream carpet with a big unnecessary extravagant rug on it.

And, after the first dog sick event, animals are banned from it.

I love my bed.

After 3 years I am still very grateful that I have such a lovely bedroom.

But I happy to report that , we will be spending a few nights in another bed.

In another place, where there is a lot of this.

And I shall be getting into it.

Very cheap middle-of-the-night flights have been booked. A little Greek house has been reserved.

House sitting friends have been organised.

Now I just need to lose three stone.

Or take my big wrap.

Don't forget I will be making the draw for the brooch tomorrow, Saturday. Leave a comment on the previous post if you want to be in it. (And you can leave one here as well if you like)

Mathematics

Small dogs + deep mud + walk =


Dog sitting again. They are a real pleasure.


(Owing to lovely comments, miserableness has been deleted here! Thanks)
Kim of oakmoon left me a lovely comment and gave me this.

Thank you Kim it cheered me up a lot and I must think about passing it on.
There are so many really lovely blogs out there and I am going to choose a couple .

Here are blogs that I find very entertaining and lovely to look at, so I invite them to receive the award.

Beading at the Beach is full of colour and lovely projects,
and if you want to dream of a rural idyll in the USA with exquisite miniature patchwork, look no further than The Shady Grove
I am being very throrough with this award and I am also going to add Margarets blog because I think it looks so beautiful and its quite new so I think she's done very well!
The award also goes to Viv who is a dear and supportive friend and her Hens Teeth is full of gorgeous and unique embroidery.
Sesga has a beautiful blog with lots of cute dolls, both human and handmade! She has probably already has this but I am awrding it to her anyway.
And finally I choose Charlotte from Fancy Picnic. She's having a break at the moment but will be back.
I think I have to choose 6. These awards go round and round and there are so many deserving blogs its difficult to choose. Its worth it because it keeps us all looking at each other for support and inspiration and friendship.

Ups and Downs

Guess where I was yesterday?

The Festival of Quilts in Birmingham.
Two hours drive, a lot of walking and 'oohing' and 'aahing,' and a two and a half hour drive back in heavy traffic so no wonder I am tired out today. (Nothing to do with the fact that I called at M&S at the M6 services and bought the components of a meal and ate them too late last night)

I am not comfortable with putting pictures of other's work on my blog but this is just a detail of work by Dorothy Caldwell. I was bowled over by all her work. And she was so generous allowing photography for personal use. I don't know if this counts as personal use.


I confirmed yesterday that the people I have met in cyberspace do exist in real space, and are very nice indeed. First I met a lady from belgium who had bought something from my ETSY shop.
Then I met Viv of Hen's Teeth an absolutely delightful person

who gave me a little package to open at home...just look at this gorgeous pincushion..


I am so lucky to own this little beauty. Thank you Viv. I won't be sticking pins in it..too nice.

Then I bumped into Gina of Fan MyFlame..I recognised the brooch she was wearing! She was talking to Maggie Grey of Magstitch and Workshop on the Web so it was nice to say Hello.
After a bit more walking round I met up with Maureen from Maureens Mixture and she gave me two of her lovely ATCs.

I realised having met all these lovely people, that a photo is only the tip of the iceberg.

I got home to the news that one of the pieces from this post has been accepted for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Open Textile Exhibition at The Platform Gallery. Naturally, being a glass half empty type of girl I am dejected at the rejection of the other two.

I didn't get round to checking the nest yesterday, but went up the ladder this morning and guess what?
While I was looking at Quilts, my little Goldfinch Family was fledging..and I missed it.
Today, the nest is empty.
So good luck little birds, fly well and far..and keep away from Jools...
If you look carefully you just might see the mother in this short clip. (The voice is radio 4)

Natural and not natural.

Yetserday we had a meeting of the felt group where we reviewed the results of the natural dyeing day in July.
It was made possible by Fiona who spent hours boiling up noxious -but natural-substances in order that we could dye our wools, silks, felts, and threads.
Joan's,



Fiona's, shibori and with fabulous stitching,

Elaine's threads and fabrics,


Christina's wonderful academic record,



my own haphazard selection,


and Lesley's beautiful laminated scarf.

Here they are all together.

Lovely natural subtle shades.


Like these, wild flowers in the field I walk.
They've grown high now, its late summer but it doesn't feel as though we are in August.


Here's the next field.
In the far corner over to the right is a beautiful cottage that was coveted by many and has just changed hands.
Some lucky person with a lot of money is now in this 'Country Living' dream home.

And just look how its been improved, with a feature quite probably visible from outer space.

They've also chopped down half the trees along a very old and beautiful wall.
Oh well. Never mind. I can always walk the other way.
Now talking of gardens....
TA daaa!
A nasturtium at last.
The height, the pinnacle the very zenith of my gardening for this year.

Blog love and old jeans. EDITED.. LOOK AGAIN!

Charlotte at fancypicnic has made my week with her post about machine embroidery.
When I wrote the tutorial I didn't know if it would really help anyone but it seems it did. I'm so pleased.

Look what I got this evening from Daisie.
I am supposed to choose 7 other blogs to give it to but how can I? I love you all!
Thank you Daisie.
I've collected a list of 'Daisy ' blogs and called it 'The Daisy Chain'. We've got to stick together.

On the dressmaking front I got a full refund from the online shop where I bought the pattern. They were most apologetic. I have located a similar one in the Vogue Pattern book but its £13.50 so I have to think about it.
Meanwhile I will show you a dressmaking activity I engaged in some time ago for a 'Deconstruct/reconstruct' project in a Group I was in. I used my sons old jeans.
Its modelled by my friend Denise.
























While the eyes of the world are on the Beijing Birds nest ours are on the nest hanging from the clematis just inches from our front door. Our front 'vestibule' is now a 'hide' with stepladders so that we can view the 4 Goldfinch babies through the arched window above. There is much preening and fluttering and gaping beaks. I watched on Sunday as Mother and Father goldfinch visited at the same time with food. I can't swear to it but I think Mother fed two of the babes, then Father 're-filled' mother then mother fed the other two. Most of the time on Saturday Mother G sat and watched the rain . So did I.


I stand, at the top of a ladder looking through the fanlight, and here is the nest. Click on the picture to view the little sweeties..or should I say 'Tweeties'? There are 5 of them and they are just sitting up, all blinking at different times, and when a bus goes past they watch it...

Now for a grump.
What is it with FEET?
Every blog I look at these days has toes in it.
The first time I noticed toes was here where I thought they were very sweet, but now they're everywhere.
ENOUGH FEET!!!
I'm jealous. I have problems in the feet department. They work, I walk but thats about it.
You will never see my feet in Manolos.
Or a blog post.
Be grateful.

Unlike Edith Piaf

I do have regrets.

Not serious ones but more 'What a daft thing to do..but move on' type of regrets.

2 years ago I sold this on ebay for a 'practice', 2 and a half metres of Heals fabric by designer Jyoti Bhomik that I found in a rag bag from someone who was having a chuck out>

How I wish I still had it.
Then I sold 2 of these on Ebay to make money..

They didn't make much.
More than I paid but not all that much. I'd bought them 5 years ago from the 50p box outside an antique shop...they weren't 50p and I had a bit of a 'do' with the owner who said they shouldn't have been in that box, and I ended up paying out £2.50 because I could see their potential.
And I really like them now.

Finally...on holiday on the (now) 'Mamma Mia' Island of Skopelos I bought this ring for a large amount of money (in my world anyway).

I saw it in the window surrounded by its beautiful companions..'Come in come in' the proprieter said. 'Try Try'

I said it was too expensive, she said 'I make you better price'.
I said 'Its too big for my small hands'

she said 'No I wear big..my hands are small'

On our last evening having passed by many times, I went in determined to buy. 'Better price' was struck. Credit card was shown..distressed look on owners face. Visa charge so profits eroded even more...I should have stopped there, but no ..I remembered how difficult it had been to track down a ring I didn't buy on holiday before so I bought it.

As soon as I got home I realised what a mistake I'd made. It just doesn't suit my hands, my fingers had been hot and bigger in Greece so its actually too big, and as its Greek it doesn't have any hallmarks except 75% (which means its 18 carat gold) so I can't sell it.

I still think its beautiful but not on me.

Talking of beautiful I came across this on flickr. I'm in love. I urge you to have look through her photostream. I've never seen such fabulous cakes. Its a good job there's an ocean between us.

Not the best food for a type 2 diabetic. Another regret..and a warning: exercise more and eat less. (If you don't already)

I do now but its too late.

PS This post is not meant to be sad (See comments) just a list of lessons learnt! Thank you lovely daisie for your kind words.

Here's another blog link for you Kayla coo has been a flickr contact for a long time and now has a lovely blog and I am also indebted to Elaine at red thread studios who gave me a real boost on her blog recently, with this nice article.

A year for every heinz.

Guess what yesterday was?

I was 57....(Hoo b***** ray!)
Oh well.
I had an absolutely lovely day. Lots of cards, flowers and gifts, and,as you can see, even a card from Porky and Blodwen. I wonder who lifted them up to the letter box?

I got a new chair for my sewing room from my husband, and this amazing book, which was a complete surprise. One of the advantages of leaving the 'Embroidery' magazine in the bathroom.
A big bag of goodies from my friend Denise and some lovely Kit Heath earrings from my friend Anne
I had a visit and another beautiful book from my favourite cousin.
My sons bought me this..and I'm sure one day they'll come and show me how to use it!
This was from my lovely Mum, who knows how much I like fine dining!
We had booked a meal at that particular restaurant for my Birthday treat by coincidence, so the vouchers came in handy. It was a shame my Mum couldn't come.

But the best bit of my Birthday was being with my nearest and dearest. I apologise for the atrocious photo, and for chopping my husband out altogether. I blame the wine and the lovely food. And I was overcome with emotion at the goings on at the next table ...a proposal with a ring in the dessert and everything.

The 'This is' game this week is 'what makes me happy'
Lots of things make me happy.
This fits the bill exactly.
Thank you friends and family for giving me a lovely, happy, birthday.

Space invaders

I didn't manage to get a good sharp picture of this before I sold it, so this will have to do. Its dyed silk velvet on a background of handmade silk paper, I lay the velvet on, cover it with sheer fabric, machine around it and cut the top of the chiffon away, then draw patterns with the machine.

I did the same with this.

These are not the 'Space Invaders' of the title but I suppose its an easy mistake to make. Right, thats the sewing over with, now for 2 horror stories, well, one horror and the other not too bad if you like mice.

The First Horror story.
The other night at half past midnight I was in the kitchen playing 'blogging' when I heard a teeny weeny little noise coming from somewhere. It was a regular noise which I can't spell, the nearest I can get is 'tchchchc tchchcch tchchchc'
I called in my Husband but, as you probably remember from the end of this post his hearing is not the best and he said I was imagining it.
But no, there it was, 'tchchch tchchc thchch' and it seemed to be coming from behind the cooker.
I got a torch.
I got a stepladder.
I climbed up and leaned over to peer behind the cooker.
BEHOLD!
A SLUG!
A yellow slug eating the yellow expanding foam we had put in the gaps to stop the slugs getting in. The builder who damproofed our kitchen left the holes on the inside wall and there are ornate Victorian airbricks on the outside wall.
Work it out.
(How much do you think it would cost to rip all the units out and replaster? I need more ETSY sales)
The 'tcchchc' sound coincided with it slimy little head moving from side to side.......I am distraught.
(But I must have bloomin good ears)
Please don't ask what happened next.

Interlude-A Summers day in Brinscall

The second not-quite-so-horror-and-a-little-bit-funny story

Another night at half past midnight when I was playing 'blogging' , our bad boy cat, Jools, came hurtling through the flap with four pink legs and a tail hanging from his mouth. I could see a definite wriggle so decided on a rescue mission. (Sometimes its just better not to)

I grabbed badboy by the scruff of the neck at which point he sank to the floor and dropped the dear little mouse which ran under him and was trapped with just his tail sticking out.

I held him down with both hands and shouted for my husband to come and grab the mouse. It took him ages but he eventually arrived , and made an unsuccessful grab for mousey, who shot off somewhere. We spent quite a few minutes looking under, behind, inside things, he'd just disappeared into thin air.

I had done a talk the night before and all the bags and boxes were in the hall so I assumed he had run in there.

H decided to make a cup of coffee, he filled the kettle, walked to the fridge, back to the kettle then next minute he was bending down squeezing his trouser leg like you squeeze a tube of ointment but instead of ointment it was a mouse, coming head first from the bottom of his trousers.

We couldn't catch it this time because we couldn't stop laughing.

Its under the kitchen units...somewhere.

Jools has lost interest.

I haven't.

Sometimes I'm ashamed of this blog. Other people write about deep things..philosophies, religion, family history, illness. Mine's just rodents and molluscs.

(By the way, does everyone know how to do machine embroidery? Would a post on tips and hints be of any use to anyone?)