Quilted to within an inch of its life

I've had my nose to the stitching grindstone this bank holiday weekend

Well to be honest although it's not rained too much the weather really hasn't been that great so what's a girl to do but stitch

I'm acutely aware that my Miniature Booty quilt needs to be in the post by the end of August so I've been busy on that - almost completing the quilting

This is what I mean by being quilted to within an inch of its life

It does make it quite stiff being this heavily machine quilted but as it's meant to be a wall hanging or a table topper I think that won't matter too much

Just got a little more of the cream microstippling to do on the churndashes and it'll be ready to bind in a nice blue check

Nice to get another one on the finished list

However before I sat down to quilt this I remembered I'd intended to make a baby quilt for one of the teachers at work who will finish to go on maternity leave a couple of weeks into the new term.

No amount of quizzing her would glean any colour clues - all she could say was 'Oh just do something with your scraps'

Anyway I fancied something clean and fresh and citrussy - I think green and yellow always work for a new baby

I even added little stars in the overall quilting pattern.............

.............because a starry little number is the quick and easy design I settled on

It just needs a label on the back and it's done!

Finally my own Miniature Booty arrived from Jeanette - a lovely quilt, my favourite mini swap quilt so far - but then each one has held that place in my affections when I've received it. I love the combination of the deep purple and the teal

We have a fair amount of wall space in the stairwell in this house which will be perfect for hanging lots of my swap mini quilts - it gets very little natural light so they won't be likely to fade. However at present the artificial lighting isn't great either but yesterday Nigel bought a set of spotlights to boost up the lighting on the landing - once fitted they will give my new quilt wall a great display capacity. What a hero!

Right back to that cream stippling - I must be a glutton for punishment!

Don't you just love English summers?

Well as you can imagine with the glorious weather (not!) that we've been 'enjoying' in the UK this summer our holiday was somewhat mixed


However amongst the sleepless nights hoping and praying that the trailer tent, complete with us in it wouldn't be washed or blown away (or both!) we did fit in some fun :o)


Some beach time - where did this turtle spring from?


Studland beach is National Trust - I guess this is why all the beach huts were somewhat restrained in colour - shame really, the brightly coloured ones you usually associate with the English seaside are much more fun - however at £14 per day to hire on top of the £8 parking fee we thought these were a bit steep and decided against it


The ice-cream boat came round playing the 'Blue Peter' theme tune - very apt, but also very expensive - sign of a captive audience I guess!


And we even managed to catch a military display with a Chinook helicopter picking up a boat from the water, carrying it round in a circle and then placing it gently back again - very impressive


Quite a bit of canoeing - mainly in the evenings - we even managed to get Nigel's 7 yr old nephew to have a ride in the middle luggage hold of the double canoe with Louise and then the other two paddling


He enjoyed it so much that he wanted to have a go at paddling himself


Here he is with Nigel holding a safety rope at the front of the boat and Sarah giving useful intruction - he did very well and came out feeling about 10 foot tall - another convert!


Louise and Nick thought that swimming after 8'o'clock at night was a good idea too - here's Lou about to take the plunge - they did have wetsuits on thank goodness!


Plenty of trains to keep his Lordship happy!


Some museum visits on the wet days - how many different variations on the theme of a tank can you dream up? To be honest I was glad I'd taken my book with me this particular day - but the others enjoyed it


However if you look carefully at the poster in the background (of a mocked up wartime kitchen) you'll find the instructions for making a pair of slippers from a felt hat - maybe I should have taken more notice of this - who knows where we all may have to economise if the credit crunch pinches any more :o) The kids took this photo for me because it had a sewing machine in it - to be honest it's the nearest I got to fabric or stitching anything all holiday :o(

We visited Poole on one of the wet days - some very pretty areas in the old town


And managed to spot a slightly larger boat or two for me (only kidding - that'll have to be when we win the lottery but if it's good enough for James Bond it's good enough for me!) at least I'd be able to fit my behind into this one - unlike the canoes :o)


There were lots of children (big and small) fishing for crabs from the harbour edge - my kids begged me to let them have a go. However quaysides are my one seriously terrifying major fear and I was 'mean mummy' that day and refused. Nigel joked about our kids being the only kids in the world crab fishing with life jackets on but watching these children so near the edge almost made me physically sick


However some of the people were successful and my three didn't hold it against me for too long


We did manage a few sunny days in and amongst the rain and wind


Lulworth Cove with its pretty chocolate box cottages was a must


We even managed a whole family shot - thanks to a very kind family for whom I returned the favour - I know we were standing on a bit of a slope but I'm in serious danger of becoming the shortest in the house in the not too distant future!



And Durdle Door was as spectacular as ever too - there were several young lads jumping off the outside of the arch from about half way up - rather them than me



Here's a close up of a beautiful dragonfly we spotted on a fence when playing a 6 hole mini-putting match at the Model Village in Wimborne - I'm happy to announce that Mother was victorious! Sadly that's about the limit of my own personal sporting prowess!


We also managed to catch up with Nigel's godmother who lives in Bournemouth - a photo of us all here along with Nigel's dad in the back garden of their holiday cottage, they weren't roughing it camping like us - his mum was in charge of the camera for this shot

From the almost 900 photos (yes you did read that correctly!) we took with our camera and this figure doesn't include the 200+ Sarah took with hers (mainly the kids using ours I hasten to add) probably at least 150-200 were of monkeys at Monkey World - Nick had the David Bailey hat on that day - at least that's the beauty of digital cameras you can just keep snapping away

I certainly won't bore you with many of them


But my favourites were a toss up between the Madagascan Ring Tailed Lemurs

These four girls taking in the sun were in a separate enclosure from the rest of their peers as they'd been given ASBO's (Anti-Social-Behaviour-Orders) and separated out for causing trouble in their species group - I had to smile with my imagination running riot about them picking fights at closing time outside the club on a Saturday night :o) Strains of the theme tune from 'Animal Magic' are ringing in my ears and probably the ears of all those of you of a similar age to myself who grew up in England watching this enchanting tv programme - why don't they make television programmes like that anymore?


Or the Orangutans - I could've stood and watched these chaps all day - so sweet! But what a 'bad-hair-day!'


The countryside on the Purbecks is very picturesque - lots of heathland and wildlife galore


We spotted these roe deer minding their own business, blissfully unaware of us as they chomped away at the grass in a field in the middle of the afternoon


Living as we do in the aptly named West Country it's a long time since we've holidayed anywhere near a beach which doesn't actually face west. Watching the sun go down over the sea is one of our must-do things we usually include in each holiday, often with a barbecue and a beer or two (well for the adults at least)

Because of Swanage facing east I've had to forego any artistic sunset shots - I was just too bone idle to get up early enough to catch a sunrise (well it was my holiday) so you'll just have to make do with a moonlit shot over the bay instead :o)


Having done absolutely no stitching at all during the holidays - I did manage to read four books though - I came home to some lovely stitchy post


Here's my summer Four Seasons quilt from Alison


And the first of my birthday blocks from Helen - I have another ten blocks on this theme to come, how exciting!


And I've managed a little stitching before and after the holidays


A sneak peak at my Spring Fling 2 centre sent out before we left


And on my return I've beavered away to complete the round one allotted to me


Next task - to quilt my Miniature Booty quilt ready for posting by the end of the month - no rest for the wicked!

Tomorrow is GCSE results day here in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - Sarah is on tenter hooks and very irritable with it - keep your fingers crossed for the morning. I'm sure she will get the results she hopes for but boy has she been difficult to live with this past few days!

The morning will tell the true story!

EDITORS NOTE

Have been into school this morning for the results

Sarah had got 5 As (Food Technology, PE, RE, French and Additional Science) and 9 Bs including the Maths she took last year (Maths, Statistics, English Language, English Literature, ICT, Basic Science - the other half of the dual award - plus Physics, Chemistry and Biology which she took as additional subjects in her own time)

She and we are absolutely delighted and she can't wait to start 6th Form College the week after next!

And just for the record she's back to my lovely, good-humoured, smiley, bouncy daughter - thank you God!

See you in a fortnight or so...............

Tomorrow morning we'll head off with our trailer tent for almost two weeks holiday to Swanage in Dorset.

The beauty of living at the start of the West Country is we can be at most seaside locations within a couple of hours or so and many of them without having to touch a motorway

I've not been to Swanage before although I have visited quite a bit of the surrounding area in the dim and distant past

I understand it's a family orientated place with safe sandy beaches

Nigel is delighted that a preserved steam railway runs directly behind the campsite

The kids are getting excited about doing a bit of sea kayaking

And as for me...........................

well park me up in one of these with a bit of handstitching or a good book and I'll keep myself occupied for ever :o)

See you all in two weeks then.........................

Just starting to chill

Having been off work since last Wednesday teatime I'm finally starting to unwind.

Not that life is quiet here - with three teenagers (well almost as Nick won't be 13 until November and Lou is still 11 but is currently acting like a total Kevin!) there's always lots to do.

When they were little they needed supervision - for example Nick and Lou at the ages of 30 months and 16 months respectively managed to get hold of a bottle of typists correction fluid and within minutes, when I was in the kitchen making tea, had painted each other, several toys and, worst of all, my beautiful leather sofa! Thankfully Nigel was a real hero - he rushed home from work and somehow managed to get it all off with thinners I think

Nowadays they need much less supervision but lots of ferrying around - Nick has just done three days of a five day cricket school at the Somerset County ground in town and needs taking there and back each day - the girls have haircuts booked for this afternoon - it's general catch up time for things like dental appointments etc and we go away on Sunday for almost two weeks so I really should get rid of that ironing pile too.

I guess it won't be that long until they're all driving themselves and I'll spend my time worrying and waiting for them to get home safe instead - nobody tells you about all this at ante-natal classes.

This Saturday we had a gathering of Nick's football team and all the boys' families. The parents of one of the boys had arranged a pig roast in their field - they live in a wonderful house on the Somerset levels with lots of garden.

I offered to take a pasta salad and a pudding

I'll spare you the picture of the pasta salad - no matter how delicious it might have been there's little visual stimulation from a bowl of pasta and accompaniments liberally lathered in a mayo and yoghurt combination - always looks ever so slightly regurgitated to me as much as I love it

However I thought I'd share this incredibly easy dessert

All you need is some whipped cream, some sherry and some Ginger Nuts - for those not familiar with these they are very hard and crunchy ginger biscuits

The method is simplicity itself

Crush one biscuit and put aside for later

Spread a layer of cream in the bottom of the dish

Dip one of the biscuits in the sherry on both sides and stand it up in the cream at one end of the dish

Follow with as many other dipped biscuits as you need sandwiching each of them with the whipped cream as you go along

Once you've filled your dish spread more cream liberally all over the top and down the sides

Finally sprinkle the top with that crushed biscuit you saved at the start - as one who has often come to the end and used all the biscuits up I now make sure I crush my initial biscuit before I start :o)

Try to make this a few hours in advance as the biscuits soften and the flavours combine well over a little time

A very simple and delicious pudding which met with lots of oohs and aahs on consumption and great incredulity on subsequently being informed just how easy it was to make!

Yesterday I did manage to get some sewing in.

I spent a good part of the afternoon making a oval shaped cover for the central locker on Nigel's double canoe - the fabric is waterproof and slightly stretchy which initially seemed like it would be a total pig to sew but once I changed to the walking foot it made short work of the job - I didn't get a photo but I still have another to make as he has two of these canoes so once I've done that I'll share it with you

And then onto nicer stitching...

I cut the binding for the summer quilt

Machined it all round the edge

And finally hand stitched it down to give the finished result

A quick label this morning and it'll be in the post later today!

I'm powfagged.............

.............I'm powfagged, I'm jiggered, I'm tired!

When I was a teenager my parents had a tape of a folk music group called the Fivepenny Piece. This was the first line of one of their songs. I've hunted on YouTube for a recording of it but can only find some of their other songs so short of inviting you all round for a rendition and a coffee I can't actually share the musical version with you.

However this is exactly how I feel now that we've broken up for the summer break - totally drained and exhausted.

Never mind - at least I don't have to go back to work until the 9th of September, a few days after the kids - hopefully this will give me the chance to recharge my batteries

I've been doing a little stitching but not my usual output - I feel very much like I'm not firing on all cylinders at the moment, hopefully a few more days chilling might rectify that

This is the completed top for my secret partner in the Miniature Booty Swap - I shall quilt it and then bind it in a blue plaid - it will be just a tad oversize, I had it planned to be spot on and then realised that all those greens together looked very drab and some skinny sashing was just what the quilt needed - hopefully my partner won't mind too much it is only a teeny bit over the top size guideline

And here is my Summer offering for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap - quilted and ready for the binding - I found my piece of the green I used for the stalks this morning, in and amongst the melee that is my sewing area, and I will endeavour to get the binding cut and on, possibly tonight, as it needs posting before the end of the month

Finally today the quilt I received for the Another Little Quilt Swap from Lisa-Jo in Colorado - the postcard she sent with it was of such awesome mountain scenery that I've put Colorado on my 'Must visit' list - sometime whenever :o)

I love this lilac triangle quilt - so unlike anything I'd do myself - you all know my aversion to triangles!

I should have also taken a picture of the pincushion I received from Lynda's swap - I'll save that one for next time, I've signed up for her bag and bucket swap too - a definite glutton for punishment!

I started last night to do a little bit of the applique for my centre of the next Spring Fling round robin - I'd like it to turn out a little like Dutch Delft Ware - I'll share a sneak peak of that with you next time :o)

Just grabbing a few minutes........

........to let you know that, although I've been chasing my tail at an alarming rate of knots, I have managed a teeny weeny little bit of creativity amongst the mayhem that is chez bebbs at this particular portion of my life.

I've been making little churn dash blocks for the miniature booty swap quilt - they will all be set on the slant like the completed one in the middle pinned very unceremoniously to the lovely mini-quilt that Suzie sent me (sorry Suzie, I'm sure when you put in all those hours of dedicated hard work you didn't anticipate it being used as a design board) - but I really needed to pin them up out of the way so I didn't lose them as they're only 4.5" square and the pile underneath them in the photo is at least 18" tall, which is what happens to my sewing area when I don't sew regularly but people still keep dumping things there!

I've also got my summer Four Seasons effort quilted - photo to follow - and hope in and among today's family commitments to get the bindng made and machined on ready to take it to my quilting group tomorrow morning.

I'm afraid I still have so much to do at work before we break up on Wednesday (of course some lucky people finished last Friday, but it wasn't to be for me) that I shall have to go straight into work after quilting on my day off. However no matter what stuff still needs to be done I refuse to miss the final quilting session for the summer - how else will I hope to maintain my sanity this week?

Nick has had 'Activities week' at school this past week - a pretty standard thing across the board at most English senior schools - a week of doing lots of different and often fun things

He had plumped for 'Craft activities' on the Wednesday and Friday - best of a bad list of choices in his opinion I feel, but we don't need to go into that. The offshoot of it was he came home on Wednesday with a decorated t-shirt - usual stuff, lots of writing in fabric pens about his favourite football team etc. However he did let slip that he could have tie-dyed this particular t-shirt. So always with an eye for the main chance I sent him into school on the Friday with a largish strip of white sheeting and told him if he got the chance to have a go at dyeing it for me.

Here are his results - not bad eh? I'm loathe to cut them down too much, especially the 'snail trail' effect ones, so I'm thinking up some sort of quilt to use them in without cutting them up too far.

Maybe my boy has hidden talents in the craft department after all :o) - but don't hold your breath, this afternoon it's back to lively outdoor things again with the Scouts raft race - thank goodness it's warm and sunny here today!

I am still here........ honest.......

Sorry guys - so busy with work and trying to get everything finished before the end of term that I haven't even had time to download the photos from the camera from the weekend's trip - my parents' golden wedding and our visit on the way home to Karol-Ann's house

Can't do a post without a photo so here are a couple I took from our trip up north this time last year

The river Wharfe flowing through the woods at Bolton Abbey

And a sheep wandering over to us on the top of Embsay moor to see if we had anything interesting to eat

Normal service will be resumed soon - just as soon as I can extricate myself from under this pressing pile of paperwork!

All done and dusted

Strange expression that........

'all done and dusted'

It's one I use all the time, I suppose my mum must say it too - I'll have to ask her this weekend.

I presume it comes from someone completing the housework - all done and dusted.

Not much time for dusting here over the past few days. When I've not been playing taxi driver for Nick's cricket and collecting Sarah from the station after visiting a friend near Bristol I've been stitching.

Et voila - a finish:

The triangles were a pig to do - don't you just hate quilting in the ditch - don't look too closely my lines are a tad wobbly. But it was fun doing the feathers and the petals on the flowers

And finally a green checked shirting for the binding completes the job.

It seems a while since I finished something which didn't have hearts on it! :o)

You have to eat the yuck to get the yum!

Thinking of childhood memories, especially mealtimes, a friend of mine always quoted her own mother from her childhood mealtimes.......

"You have to eat the yuck to get the yum!'

Of course roughly translated this means you have to clear your plate of the savoury course - including those brussel sprouts you've surreptitiously hidden under some leftover mashed potato - before you can have your pudding.

That's what my own little corner of the world feels like at the moment.

Not from a home point of view - but work is 'pants' at present so patchwork and quilting is balancing the equation somewhat.

However this morning as the kids left the house at 8.05am and I don't have to be at work until 9.30 I thought I'd grab a bit of yum before I tackled today's particular brand of yuck

I got the four plaid blocks together with sawtooth sashings over the weekend - lots of sitting in front of the tv watching Glastonbury gave me a home run on the hand applique

Then yesterday I put the borders on and appliqued the corner blocks in front of the tv last night

After nearly crucifying myself scrabbling about on the lounge floor this morning to get it sandwiched I thought tha,t after I'd put in some 'in the ditch' stabilising lines, I'd indulge myself with a free form feather down at least one border before I head off to the mad house! One border down, three to go - then to decide what to do in the middle - watch this space.........................