Thankful Tuesday.

Can you believe that baby Jackson is already 2 weeks old?   I lay in bed last night thinking about the last 2 weeks and how much we have to be thankful for in our family. You may recall that I used to regularly do a kind of gratitude blog. Haven't done that in a while.  It is good to remind ourselves of just how much we have and how lucky we are and to remind ourselves to be grateful.

So Thankful Tuesday.  Ten things that I have been thankful for this last week.

1. The safe arrival of baby Jackson and his continuing good progress.
2. The fact that we live in a time and a place that means babies born as early as Jackson are not only able to survive but also to thrive.
3. The prayers, good wishes, positive vibes etc.. that have been sent our way by so many friends and family.
4. I am thankful for the excellent medical care that Verity received which will hopefully result in a swift and full recovery from what was a very traumatic birth experience.
5. I am very thankful that despite a bit more snow on Friday night the weather was OK on Saturday and we were able to go to the baby shower.
6.  We have a warm and cosy house.  As a person who feels the cold dreadfully, I cannot imagine what it must be like to have no heat and to be constantly cold.  Not long now until spring...hopefully.
7. I am amazingly lucky to be able to spend my days at home doing what ever pleases me.  That is usually sewing of some kind at the moment
8.  Denise.  Without Denise and her continuing efforts to teach both me and Coralie I would never have learned to sew.
9. I am thankful that Alfie seems to be on the mend.  The very expensive prescription diet seems to be working.  He will have another scan in a week to see if the bladder stone is breaking down.
10. I am also extremely thankful that we can afford the dog insurance which is paying for Alfie's new food.

Lots more to be thankful for of course but those are the things that come to mind right now this morning.

Catching up......yet again.

Oh dear all my good intentions of daily blogging have gone out the window once again.  It is a week since I have been here.  Well a week since my last blog.  I have been here, late at night, reading and occasionally, when I have been able to engage my brain, I have even left a comment.  How on earth did I find time to work years ago?  There is just not enough hours in my day. I need double length days. 

In my last blog I said I would tell you about my weekend.  That is not this weekend just gone but the one before!   We had a busy, busy time.  Saturday was our wedding anniversary.  33 years and counting.  I am proud of that.  I still love him just as much as I did on that day 33 years ago....most of the time!  Some days I could quite cheerfully strangle him! I guess that is a marriage.

Anyway, Saturday was a busy day.  The Christmas lights were being turned on in our nearest town of Bourne and it is quite a big event for a small market town.  They have a fair (albeit a small one!) and lots of stalls and the like.  The Three Counties dog rescue had a charity stall selling bric a brac  and the new calender for 2013 plus the Christmas cards.  They also had a tombola.  As well as the stall they had tin collectors out all day too.

Simon took me to the kennels first thing as normal.  It was a bitterly cold day.  He then went off to help the ladies set up the stall.  There was a need for man power!  Once that was done he came back to the kennels to collect Molly the Beagle who was doing 2 hours of tin collecting with him.  He returned at lunch time looking very, very cold.  I changed my coat and boots in the car as there wasn't time to go home.  Simon and I were manning the stall from 2pm to 4pm.  The stall was on the corner of the arcade and the wind whistles down there.  We were absolutely frozen.  We ended up staying until nearly half four as the people taking over from us were late.  

Our plan had been to go home and get washed and changed to go out for an anniversary meal.  We didn't.  We were both so cold we just couldn't face going out again.  We ended up having sausages and mash in front of the fire!  I seem to remember a few glasses of the red stuff too.  We agreed to go out the next day........Sunday.

Sunday was a nice lazy kind of day with Simon in his garage and me sewing.  I had a nice bath, put on my make up and glad rags and we set off at 6pm heading to our favourite local pub, the Bull at Rippingale a nearby village.  I had already planned what I was going to have.  A dish called drunken chicken.  I LOVE it.  Guess what?  They were closed!!!  WTH?  Never seen them closed before.  We decided to come back to Morton and go to our own local pub called the Five Bells.  We haven't been there yet despite trying out the pubs in other villages.  Not sure why we haven't yet tried out own as it has a good reputation.  Guess what?  they were open but they do not serve food on a Sunday night, only lunch time!  WTH?

OK now what to do?  We sat in the car park pondering and finally settled on the Three Bells at Edenham which is a village about 7 miles away.   We have been there twice in the summer and it was really good.  We were getting hungry by now so we made haste through the lanes.  Guess what?  We couldn't freakin believe it.......It was closed.  What is it out here in the Fens?  Does no one go out to eat on a Sunday night? 

We decided to cut our losses and just go home.  We came home through Bourne and as we were coming down to the main roundabout we both remembered that the new pub on the corner was due to open on the 2nd of December........  TODAY!  YES, lets go there.  NO.  It actually was opening on the third, the following day!   We went home.  I can't remember now what we ate but I think there were a few more glasses of the red stuff!

We finally went out on Tuesday evening as it is Simon's day off. We went to the new pub which is called the Sugar Mill.  It was very nice and I think we will go there again.  Just remind us not to try going out to eat on a Sunday.   Village life is very different!

On Wednesday I went up to Stevenage to pick up my Dad who was coming to stay for a few days.  I ended up going much later than I had planned as they had snow and Dad was concerned as he had heard on the radio that there was a 2 hour delay on the A1.  After speaking to my brother in law who said that it was fine I finally set off at midday.  You wouldn't believe that I actually did the journey the quickest ever.  Dad and I were back home here by 5pm.  

Dad stayed with us until Saturday.  We had a lovely, lazy time.  Lots of talking and reminiscing.  I gave him Mum's scrap book and he was very pleased with it.  On Friday Coralie and Denise came over for sewing.  My Dad and Denise had never met before so there was a lot of chatting and no sewing got done.  It was nice though and Dad did ask Denise about a few things he is having trouble with.  He has got himself a sewing machine and is getting into quilting.

On Saturday we had a  family dinner for him at a pub in Peterborough.  His 86th birthday is this Thursday so we wanted a family celebration.  My sister and her husband came too.  Unfortunately her children were not able to be there and neither was Saskia as she is currently performing every weekend.  The rest of us had a great time and I think he enjoyed it.   My sister  took him home.  We are a bit concerned that he is insisting on spending Christmas at home on his own.  He says that he will not be alone he will be with Mum....she is buried in the garden.  Well, her ashes are buried in the garden.  I wish he would change his mind but I have to respect his right to do as he wants.  I just keep thinking that this could be his last Christmas and we will have to look back knowing he was alone. 

Yesterday and Sunday were fairly normal weekend days with Simon at home.  He was working in the garage. He is slowly moving stuff over from the barn now. He had to take Alfie to the vet on Sunday as we had noticed that he didn't seem well and was having trouble peeing.  The vet has diagnosed a urine infection and he is on antibiotics and pain  killers.  If he is no better by Saturday he has to go back for a scan of his bladder.  He is not any better so far.   I did some sewing.  I also did all my Christmas cards yesterday  and wrapped a few presents.  Did I mention that I am taking part in a secret Santa thing with my blog friend Kathy?  She is in the Orzaks in Merika.  Basically we each make something and swap with each other.  The idea is to use what you have.  I can't tell you yet what I made as it will spoil it for Kathy but I can confirm that it is right now winging its way over the pond.  I hope she is pleased.

Today is a housework day.  I didn't do much while my Dad was here and of course over the weekend with Simon at home for 3 days I still didn't do much.  I have a massive amount of washing and ironing to catch up on including towels and bed linen.  There is also dog bedding waiting to be done. I have lost count of how many times I have mopped the kitchen floor so far today.  Alfie is "dribbling"!  The mop is out constantly and I am having to disinfect it.   I did make a banana  loaf cake this morning  though so at least that is one good thing done.  Right now I am taking a bit of a break.  It is 2.20pm  and I still have to hoover upstairs. After that I will be nearly done, just ironing as each load of washing comes out of the tumbler.

Simon has a parents evening tonight and won't be in until 7.30pm so I have a bit of extra time before I need to start on dinner.  Think I shall do some sewing when I have finished all my jobs.  I am half way through another bum bag. Must do the binding on Verity's baby quilt too.  

Speaking of Verity...she is still off work.  I can't see her going back to be honest.  She is really suffering.  The flu that she had they have now said is whooping cough and will still be some weeks before it goes away.  It is not that which is keeping her from working though.  She has SPD  (symphysis pubis dysfunction) This is a condition of pregnancy where the pubic bones pull apart.  It is incredibly painful  Coralie had this too.  Verity is currently on crutches and really suffering.  They are saying she could need a wheel chair for the final months. 

OK, time to get back to the grind stone.  Hopefully will try to get back and blog tomorrow.  I am going to Ellie's school carol concert in the morning and I am looking forward to that.

Stupid Friday

Oh dear daily blogging has been messed up again as I have been missing in action since Thursday.  I have had a few busy days.

Friday was a real mess up day. Remember that I said I was going to Coralie's for sewing? Well there was no sewing.  Basically I had got the date round my neck.  I set off at half past eight in the morning.  Caught the bus and was put out to find the return bus fare had gone up from £3.85 to £4.60.  I got off as usual at the Paul Pry pub just before you get into Peterborough city centre.  Denise picks me up from there but she wasn't there.  Unusual.  It was 9.35am.  At 10am I concluded that she wasn't coming!  I couldn't phone either her or Coralie because I had no mobile.  I had checked my bag for my mobile before I left the house.  Hadn't noticed that the case was empty!

I decided to get on the next bus which luckily was a Bretton Centre bus.  Coralie lives in Bretton.  It cost me £1.60.  When I finally got to Coralie's she was very surprised to see me. Seems that sewing is this coming Friday!  How was I supposed to know that when her email on Monday had just said sewing on Friday?  It was lucky she was in.  Another 5 minutes and she wouldn't have been.

I had a couple of hours with her, just having coffee and a bit of a catch up.  I left at midday to catch the bus to the city centre so that I could get the 1pm bus back out here to the sticks. That cost me another £2 from Bretton to the city.  When I got there I had to ask a member of staff which bus stop the Delaine buses go from as I couldn't remember. I have only got the bus from there a few times. He told me bus stop 9.  Little did I realise at that point that I had made a grave mistake in saying the Delaine buses and not being more specific.  I wonder why he didn't ask me which one?.

I thought it a little odd that the only timetable was for the 202 to Stamford so asked another woman there if the 101 to Bourne goes from here?  She said it did.  We got chatting.  1pm the Stamford bus arrived.  A few minutes later the 101 went sailing past.... WTH?   It would seem that the 101 does not go from stop 9 but stop 4!  I was so cross.  They only go every hour so I had a whole load of time to kill and I was going to be much later back than I wanted.

I went and had a wander around the Queensgate shopping centre.  Then I made sure that I was back at the correct bus stop at a quarter to two.  I didn't want anything else going wrong. Needless to say it did.... when the bus came in and I boarded, I couldn't find my return ticket!  The ticket that I had in my hand an hour before.  I had to purchase a single which cost me £3.75.  That made a grand total of £11.95 for the day! By the time I finally reached home at just gone 3pm I was well and truly fed up. I had spent over 3 hours on buses, 4o minutes standing in the freezing cold and it had cost me a fortune as well.

When Simon got home an hour after me and asked how sewing had gone I could quite cheerfully have throttled him!  We have now changed the plans for this week and Coralie and Denise are going to come to me.  My dad will be here so it should be quite nice.  Who knows I might even get some sewing done.

I'll be back tomorrow to report on my weekend.

The curtain saga

As well as making all the stuff that I have been showing you in my "Show and Tell" blogs; I have also been making curtains.

It started out so well.  I have made curtains once before.  I made these for my hall landing.  Thin fabric, no lining.  They are purely decorative.  They were quite easy.

My second attempt was my kitchen curtains. Once again they are made from a relatively thin cotton and are unlined. Denise came over a month or so back and we did them together just to get them done quicker.  I made all the tie backs myself. There are 8 of them in total so it took a while but it wasn't too bad or too difficult.  These are just decorative too.

One mistake that I made with them was that I got fabric with the  stripe going across from selvedge to selvedge.  I had pictured my curtains with the stripe going vertically.  Well "turn the fabric around", I can hear my non sewing friends saying.  It doesn't work like that.  You can't just turn it round.  They wouldn't fit.  Don't laugh but it took me ages to get my head around that one.

I am quite pleased with them but still wish the stripes were the other way.  I have also made some of the tie backs too large so I need to adjust them. They clash a bit with the peach and orange paint work in my kitchen but we will be repainting it in the new year. Going to have a more neutral colour with lots of red accessories for brightness.

The front window with blinds closed

The side window that looks out onto the drive.

The window over the sink that looks out to the back garden. You can see the front of the garage through the window.

The 2 windows in the utility room.

So, with 10 lots of curtains for 2 rooms under my belt you would think that the next lot would be a doddle. NO.  You would be SO wrong.  The next lot are my living room ones.  Yes, finally.  After months and months with no curtains we finally found a plain fabric that we liked in the exact right colour to match the furniture.

The fabric is a kind of mock silk with a slight slubbed effect.  It is fairly thin so although they will mainly be decorative, after discussion with Denise it was decided that they needed to be lined.  You never know, even though we have the blinds we may wish on a very cold night to draw them and without lining they wouldn't hang nicely.....apparently!  So at  great expense I went ahead and purchased not only the fabric but the lining fabric as well.  Can you believe that stuff is £5 a yard?  Ooops, I mean metre not yard.  Still can't get my head around that.  Anyway, why is it that places that cater mainly to the patchwork and quilting  people still sell in yards?  The Fabric guild sells in yards.  All quilting measurements are imperial.   The quarter inch is the Holy Grail in quilting.

Where was I? Oh yeah the price.  These curtains have cost me an absolute arm and leg. I did save on the ruffelette tape though as I unpicked it all off the horrid old curtains that were here when we moved in.  It looked a bit grotty, dusty and thunder flies galore!  However it came out as new after a whizz through the washing machine.

So a few weeks ago Denise came over to give me a quick lesson in how to make lined curtains.  She assured me it was easy. Never believe an X teacher when they say something is easy!  She lied to me!  While she was here we actually cut the fabric for the 4 curtains and 1 lot of lining.  After making sure that I knew what I was doing Denise went home.  It was around 11am and I foolishly thought that if I spent the day working on them I could have them hanging by the time Simon got home from work.  STUPID GIRL!

That was Tuesday.  They were finally finished and hung on the Saturday!  Yes, they really did take me that long.  Let me tell you something..... making lined curtains is a huge faff.  A really HUGE faff.   I'm not entirely sure what the problem was.  I mean I started out OK until I decided on the first one that I had pinned the wrong side of the silky, bloody slippery fabric to the lining so had to unpick it.  Once unpicked and examined, I simply could not decide which was the right side so had to wait for Simon to get home.  He didn't know either.  After phoning Denise it would seem that many modern fabrics do not have a right side.  Both sides are the same.  Great.

So the next day I started out again, still thinking I would get them done in no time at all. Well it took forever even to just cut the rest of the lining fabric.  The pinning up was a nightmare.  Everything must be measured exactly and then pinned exactly.  Both layers must be flat and smooth.  Don't want the lining to be hanging down do we?  The only place big enough to lay them out flat for pinning was my bedroom floor.  Let me tell you how it kills the knees to spend hours crawling around on the floor because it does.  I will not tell you the expletives that came out of my mouth when a dog came in to see what I was up to and walked all over it.  Thank goodness they were not floor length.

Once pinned the sewing starts and that was just awkward.  Yes, I know, to quote Denise "it is just simple straight stitching"  but it's heavy and awkward and I was ready to chuck the whole flipping lot in the bin. The header tape also takes FOREVER to get pinned on.  Then the sewing is awkward because they are large. When they are finally sewn you still have to hand sew the hems.  That is the hem on the lining and then the hem on the actual curtain. I needed a fine needle for the silky fabric and the so called blunt end of it kept sticking into my finger as I was pushing it through. I ended up with a nasty sore there.

On the Friday I finally got 2 of them hung.  My goodness was I  sweating or what?  You see I am not tall enough. I have to stand on something.  Well one end was OK because I could stand on a chair.  Although, I am still not really tall enough so have to stretch.  The other end I cannot get a chair there because of the sofa which I cannot move.  So, there I am balancing on the arm of said sofa which means I really have to stretch. Feckin stupid curtains as my friend Sue would say.  Sue says "Feckin" isn't a swear word in Ireland. Let me tell you that I was using real swear words at the time.

The final 2 were ready for hanging on the Saturday and I got Simon to do the deed. They hang above the small sofa so he had to stand on that.  Strangely there were some choice words coming from him too! After all that work they were up.  Simon asked where were the tie backs?  I hadn't got that far!  In fact the thought of making tie backs was just too much for me.  I'd had enough. A solution came in the form of metal hold backs which sort of match the curtain rails.   I may eventually use the left over fabric that was for the tie backs for a couple of cushions.

So here they are.......

This is the front window.

These 2 show the smaller window that looks out to the back garden.

Look who was watching me.

I am quite pleased with them now that they are finished. The colour is a fantastic match for the furniture.  They are nice and full so look good when closed. I did not enjoy making them at all.  It was a chore.  Just a few years back I really would have lost patience and thrown them away.

The moral of the story?  If you want lined curtains then go out and buy them or get someone else to make them for you.  If you ever hear me mention making them again can you please just say "DUNELM".

Playing catch up....again.

Goodness, it is ten days since I last did a blog. I think my motivation has gone a bit as I don't have so many readers now.  It is funny that bothers me because I never set out to have readers. This was, and is, my online diary so it really shouldn't matter.  I think I am just missing all my old friends who have scattered across the blogasphere.  Blogger doesn't seem an easy place to find new friends.

So, the last 10 days......... not sure that I can remember that far back!  Actually, I can as 10 days ago I celebrated my 46th birthday, or if you prefer, I celebrated the 7th anniversary of my 46th birthday! It was a quiet day really as Simon had a parents evening after school and wasn't home until 9.30pm.  Coralie came over with Flynn and we had a nice few hours before going out for a pub lunch.

Last Friday evening we went out to dinner as we hadn't been able to do that on my birthday.  We went to a pub in a village about a half hour drive away. We had lunch there a month or so back and it was lovely.  Once a month they do lobster night there so we booked up for it while we were there having lunch.  Unfortunately when we arrived they had no record of our booking.  They eventually fitted us in but we had to have a table in the main part of the pub rather than the restaurant.  It wasn't the best start.  The service was terrible.  We waited nearly an hour for our lobster.  It was very nice but they were much smaller than I had hoped for.  They were very expensive so I expected more.  I do like seafood. We also waited 45 minutes for our desserts.  I forget what we had now so they obviously were not memorable.  Don't think we will go back there which is a shame as it had such promise.

Last Saturday we had the family here for a birthday dinner.  However before they came I had work to do.  The dog rescue people had their stall on Peterborough market and we had collected a car full of stuff from Gyll, the owner, on Friday night which we had to get to Peterborough by 8am.  It was an early start. I had said that I would drop off the stuff but couldn't stay to help this time because of having the family coming in the afternoon.

They were desperate for help so in the end I stayed.  Simon helped unload the car and set up the stall then he went off home to get on with the garage.  I was there until 1pm and I really enjoyed it again. I do not know yet how much they raised.  Verity and Steve picked me up on their way through from Cambridge.  We got to our house just as Simon got back from collecting Saskia from the station.  We were followed shortly after by Sam,Lisa and the girls and then Joshua and Charlotte.  Coralie was away for the weekend so we didn't see her family.  It was lovely to have everyone here and they all cooked the dinner between them. Oh, and Verity had brought cheese, onion and choritzo muffins for lunch too.  She is a great cook.

Sunday was another early start as I was off to London with Denise for the knitting and stitching show at Alexandra Palace.  It is years since I have been to anything there.  We had a great time although the train journey was a bit of a nightmare.  Wrong train going and then cancelled trains coming home which meant we had to get a bus and then the tube just to get back to the mainline station.  We were home later than expected, it was a long day.  I did enjoy it though.  The exhibition of the quilts was superb.  As you entered they had a display entitled "seams of gold".  The entrants had been allowed to interpret that anyway they chose and I envy their imagination as I could not even have come up with the ideas that alone put them together.  The standard was very high.  Here are a few photos. They aren't the best as I had to take them from funny angles and some are through glass.

There were lots and lots of very interesting trade stands  but we didn't buy much.  I got a knitting pattern book and some wool as Denise has very kindly said she will knit some stuff for the new grand baby.  I also got a nice big roll of "heat and bond" which I need for my little Slice machine.  We did come away with lots of ideas though.  Denise thinks she may take up lace making.  Looks way too complicated to me!

After seeing all the lovely quilt projects, particularly the ones for the "seams of gold" we thought what a good idea it would be for us to try next year.  So although we haven't yet told Coralie, we have agreed that in the new year we will pick a theme and then each of us will have a month to do a small  piece,  interpreting the theme in out own individual way.  No discussing, no helping, just come up with our own idea  and get on with it and then when they are done we can compare them to see how we all did and how different they are.  I am quite looking forward to that, should be fun.

This week has been the normal round of house work followed by sewing time. I have finished my scrappy quilt.  However when I put it through the wash to get the frayed, frilly edge some of the squares came away a bit on the back so I had to hand stitch them.  I am reasonably pleased with it.  I wouldn't want it on a bed but that wasn't ever really my intention.  I shall use it as a picnic rug.  Guess that means it will be put away until next year.

I have also worked on a nightdress case which is a Christmas present for Ellie.  It isn't finished yet as I didn't get enough fabric and have had to order more.  From the little that I had left over I made one of those little monster Nini that I made a while back.  The nightdress case is based on that pattern too.  The other thing I have done this week is the 5th row for my row of the month quilt.  Only 7 more rows to go!  I shall do a  "show and tell blog" then you can see.

Yesterday I got the bus down to Bourne as I was doing a 2 hour shift on an information stall that the Three Counties dog rescue were doing.  They also had tin collecting and bric a brac for sale. I was there with another volunteer called Marjory who is a lovely lady.  She gave me a lift home afterwards. It was later than I had hoped as it took forever to load up her car.  As we were the last shift of the day we had to pack everything up.

Today has been a nice day.  I like Fridays.  Simon is home early and the weekend looms ahead.  This is a long weekend too as his day off next week is Monday.  Since he dropped to 4 days a week, he has Monday off one week and Tuesday the next. He has been busy working on his garage.  Mainly inside, screwing up the frame work for the insulation and the boards that will go over it.  The outside is still awaiting guttering but that was delivered today so hopefully that will be done soon. The electric goes in during half term week which is just a week away now.

Tomorrow I shall be helping out at the dog rescue kennels in the morning and then I think I may go into Peterborough in the afternoon as I want to get the fabric for the living room curtains.  I have finally found some that I like and Denise is coming for the day next Wednesday specifically to teach me how to do lined curtains as I have never done that.  We are going to make all the curtains for the kitchen too.

Well, what do you know, I did manage to remember most of  the last 10 days. I was busy!  No wonder there was no time for blogging.   Time goes so quickly.  I never seem to be able to fit in all that I want to.  Did you know that there are only 66 days until Christmas?

I shall  leave you with that thought!

Tuesday 9th October

It is 5 days since my last blogs which is better than I have been managing recently.  I don't know where the time goes. I am still attempting to keep up and read the blogs of my friends who went off to different places.  It is quite a faff  having to log in to different sites.  I have got Google reader set up now and I can  use that to go directly to a blog if I want to comment.  However......... It won't let me do that with Blogster only Ipernity.  What a pain.  Consequently I am not connecting much with the friends that went over to Blogster.  I am really missing Pam and Eileen.

Nothing much is new here. Same old, same old.  The weekend was quite pleasant.  Saturday the sun even came out.  It didn't last though and yesterday and today have been really cold.  We had the fire going in the evening on Sunday.  First time this autumn.  I think it will be a regular thing now.

With the good weather Simon was able to crack on a pace with the garage extension. He worked on it all day Saturday, most of Sunday and Monday until 2pm when we went out.  It now has a roof!  With no holes!  All the ridge pieces are in place.  No rain can get in!!  He has done the cladding on the end pieces, both front and back.  He ran out of time yesterday so there is still one last piece to go on at the front.

 Note that the cladding has not been done in this photo!

So the structure is built.  There is still work to complete on the outside. Just under the roof there is a gap of 6 inches or so which is awaiting boards to which the guttering will be fixed.  There is still some trim to go on some windows too.  Basically the outside work is done.  The next job is the electrical work which will be done by an electrician.  Simon has to dig a trench across the edge of the front garden and drive to accommodate the cables which need to be taken from the front right around to the back.  More mess.  I am still waiting for the drive to be redone.  It was wrecked when we had the skips on it. Once that is done he will add insulation and board out the whole of the inside.  At that point it will be complete and he can move his stuff over from his barn.

Then we can start work on the garden.  We still need to get the fence at the far end of the garden moved.  We are missing 6 feet of garden there as the fence has been put in the wrong place.  Given the width of the garden, that 6 foot is quite a chunk.  That area all needs clearing and rotovating as it will be my veggie patch.  We need to fence it in too so dogs cannot trample it.  Now all the building materials have been moved from the side of the house we need to pave that whole area.  We have the slabs ready and waiting.  Then there is the drive way, not to mention the fence at the front too.  There is loads to do.

Yesterday afternoon we went for a drive to Spalding where there is a factory outlet shopping place. I wanted to go to the craft place where they sell paper crafting stuff.  I needed more pages for the scrap book I am doing of my Mum's life.  I got about 20 pages which I was pleased with.  I also got some doggie themed pages too for my Rosie's scrap book.  While we were there we wandered around the other shops.  Marks and Spencer yielded some good bargains.  Three white shirts for Simon for school and a very nice silk tie, black with purple and pink flowers!  I got a pair of slouchy boots which I love because they are warm and comfy.  They are fashion boots though so no good in wet weather.  I have other boots for that.

Today I have been to Coralie's where we had a sewing session with Denise.  I went in with Simon in the car and he dropped me at Denise's house at 8am.  We had breakfast together which was nice but I really do not do being up and out that early!  Denise and I then drove over to Coralie's and Denise dropped me off at the bus stop after lunch.  I caught the bus home and got in just after 2pm.  We had a good sewing session.  We worked on our teddies.  We got the feet sewn on and then got all the joints in place and stuffed them.  The joints were fiddly and I had a struggle to bend the cotter pins.

Once I was home and had done a few quick jobs I worked on getting my teddy all sewn up. It is not that easy as you are trying not to catch in the fur.  Don't want her seams to show!  Then it was on with her ears and ......... I have made a teddy bear!!!  I am dead chuffed with myself.  If you had asked me a year and a half ago if I would ever be able to make a teddy I would have said "no way". I am really pleased, She looks good.  She is called Elsie.  I have got some fur left so I am going to have a go at making another one for Jessica's birthday.  I am keeping Elsie for myself as she is the first one I have made.

A quick "Show and Tell" for you.  Here is my finished purple wall hanging which I forgot to post last week. Simon might get round to hanging it for me soon!

It doesn't really bend in the middle, it is the way I have taken the photo!

This is a cushion, totally made from scraps.  It is for my Aunt Jean, my Dad's sister.  She saw the one that I made for my Uncle Derek and wanted to know why she hadn't got one!

I made another 23 denim squares for my scrappy quilt. That gave me a total of 96.

I laid them all out on the bedroom floor so that I could get a good arrangement of colours and patterns.  Once I was happy, I stacked them up in rows.  I have begun the process of sewing them together now.  So far I have one row done.  It takes a while as you have to clip all along each seam to achieve the frilly frayed look once it is washed.  (Hopefully)!

You will notice that I am still 9 short.... so I had to make more!

I am going to work on this tomorrow.   It is my birthday tomorrow so I intend having a housework free day!  It will be a long day as Simon has a school open evening for 6th form students which he cannot get out of as he is head of upper school.  He will not be in until about 9.45pm so I am not best happy about that.  Not just because it is my birthday but because 16 hour days are not good for him.  He will be so tired and wiped out.  Good for nothing.

Right, I think it is time for me to finish this.  I want to search for some fabric on eBay and it is getting late now.

Tuesday 25th September

Well there is another week gone.  I have such good intentions to get back to daily blogging but it just isn't happening.  I seem to be busy, busy  busy!  Happily busy.  My time is taken up with all the normal housework stuff and a gazillion and one hobbies.  Sewing is all consuming right now.  It is as well that I have lots of indoor hobbies as the weather is just horrid right now.  Autumn is well and truly here.  We have had rain and wind and more rain and.......  let me think...   oh yeah, more rain!  It is cold.  I so hate the cold.

One day last week it was so windy that the washing on the line was blowing horizontal.  This is dog bedding.

Do you remember some months back when we had an outdoor mud bath / paddling pool?  Well we now have an undercover pool!  The garage extension is progressing well but as it only has half a roof we can't stop the rain getting in.  Yesterday it had about an inch of water inside and it was flowing like a river into the existing garage.  Simon had to move a lot of stuff to protect it. Hopefully he will be able to get the roof finished soon so it will be water tight. I shall do a progress blog soon.

So what have I been up to this last week?  Well I went to see my Dad last Wednesday. I took Flynn with me and we had a lovely day he was so good.  It is so nice to see my Dad playing with him.

On Friday I went to help out on the Three Counties charity stall at Peterborough market. They have a secondhand stall there once a month.  It is run by a volunteer called Marion and 2 other ladies, Nita and Mary.  They were very friendly and made me welcome.  I didn't know what to expect really as I have never done anything like it before.  I loved it!  It was really fun.  My feet were killing me by the time I finished but it was worth it as we made £416 for the doggies.   I was so pleased.  I shall do it every month now.

I was also really thrilled to get 5 pairs of jeans for £2!  You may recall I have been trying to get some old jeans for ages so I can progress with my scrappy denim quilt.  These jeans were old fashioned and very large.  The other ladies said they wouldn't sell so put them aside for a man who buys unwanted clothing from them for 50p a kilo.  I said I would buy them and they let me have them for what he would have paid.  Bargain!

Since Sunday I have been busy cutting them all up into 6 inch squares and I have made fantastic progress with  my quilt.  Well it isn't a quilt yet but I have now doubled the amount of squares that I have ready.  I had 40 and as of tonight I have 96!  I did 30 on Sunday and Monday and another 26 today.  I think I have about another 40 to go to make it the size I want.  It isn't for a bed;  I think I shall use it as a picnic rug.  I have got enough denim now to make all the squares I will need.

On Saturday I went to help at the dog rescue kennels again.  They had 2 Labradors brought in and one of them was in such a bad state.  Really emaciated and some nasty skin condition too.  They looked so sad.  It really upset me.  It was the first time that I had been right there when people signed them over. They didn't seem to care.  They weren't upset and didn't say goodbye.  I cried buckets and felt stupid but the others all understood.  I keep telling myself that at least they hadn't just dumped them.  At least they had taken them to the rescue where they will be cared for. I hope I  can continue with this and that I don't get too upset.

I did enjoy playing with some of the dogs.  A Staffie cross called Harrison was lovely.  He really enjoyed playing ball. That is what I really want to do, get them out and play with them and give them some love and affection.

Yesterday I was at Coralie's house for sewing with Denise.  We are each making a teddy bear.  Denise thought it would be a fun way for us to try working with a different kind of fabric.  I have chosen grey fur and pink suede for his pads.  I got him cut out which is quite tricky and time consuming as you have to just cut through the backing and then tease the fur apart.  Denise has shown us how to get them pinned together and we have to sew the seams on the body, head and limbs ready for our next get together.  You have to take your time with the pinning as you have to brush the fur inwards so it doesnt get caught in the seam.  I think I will work on him tomorrow.

I have quite a busy day tomorrow as I am going to do 2 hours from 11am - 1pm outside Tesco in Bourne with a collection tin for the dog rescue.  They have an information stall there on Wednesday and Thursday  and there will also be a dog.  They collect more money when they have a dog there as people are more inclined to stop.  I am doing 2 hours on Thursday too. There is another volunteer lady called Judy who lives in my village so she is going to give me a lift.  They do these collection days several times a year.

If I get my housework done before I go out then I will be able to do lots of sewing once I get home.  I will have a long day as Simon won't be in until 8.30pm because he has a parents evening.  I hate that as it means dinner is really late and I hate cooking late.

Talking of late...it is quite late now so I suppose this is a good place to stop my rambling. I shall try to get back soon.  I still haven't posted photos from the summer holidays.