Celtic Knots for Christmas

Well I did get quite a bit of stitching done today - MIL and FIL's Christmas cushions are well underway - okay the centres are done. I mentioned before about using the striped fabric for the bias tubing. I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out. It does make it a little more difficult to see the unders and overs but you can tell if you look closely. I shall put a 1/4" strip in the infill green round these and then a two inch border in the yellow space dyed fabric.

The furnishings in their conservatory are in a pale buttery yellow so they should go quite well.

I'm going to do a couple of cushions for my brother and SIL next in natural neutrals. Same format, same celtic knotwork but possibly piecing the background as I have a whole bunch of FQ's in the same shade of stone with a different cream pattern on each. The pattern is a bit too pronounced on the front but will work well using the reverse side of the fabric - I often prefer the reverse of fabrics and use them often - in fact the green infills on the photos here use the back of some Sprayway I had which wasn't subtle enough for this project.

Wonder if little girlie will be well enough to go back to school tomorrow - who knows I might get some more bonus stitching time - really need to go to work and clear the pile on my desk - but we'll see what the morning brings.

Tidings of Fairies and Joy!

Well as you can see I've been a busy little bee - no shirking here.

All blocks completed and stitched together on the Christmas Fairy Table Runner. Plus the appliqued holly leaves and berries done on the centre block and the ends. I'm pretty pleased with how it's come out - mind you I'll bet it will look a whole lot better against a newly pressed snow white cloth than my tatty old waterproof table cloth we use for everyday to stop the kids wrecking the table surface, even if the colour matches with the runner.

Now I have to do my least favourite bit - sandwiching - hate it even on manageable sized pieces of work but hey-ho I'll just have to grit my teeth and get on with it because I certainly can't wrap up the runner as it is :o) I think I will probably just machine quilt all over with a large holly leaf design and then bind it in the dark green of the geese backgrounds. I also intend to make them a couple of cushion covers similar to the burgundy and cream ones I did for my sister's birthday but this time on a subtle beige/mushroom shade with cream bias celtic knotwork to go with the mucky light brown colour scheme (my mother's less than complimentary description not mine) in their lounge. I would have been a little more descriptive using words like driftwood, mocha, cafe au lait etc etc :o) On a different note my sister was so delighted with her birthday cushions she dropped a great big hint on the phone the other night for a couple more to accompany them - they won't get done for Christmas but she might have a surprise new year present in the post.


I also had a bit of a play with the first of the three 'Joy' hangings - didn't quite judge the positioning of the appliqued bells so had to continue the sides of the hanging down into the red fabric - but never mind the recipient won't have any idea that I didn't intend it that way in the beginning. Another thing to sandwich. I sure wish those Christmas fairies would wave their magic wands and miraculously have everything in the house that needs it sandwiched - after all I have several bigger tops in the house they could do while they're at it!

In addition to these items I've also made a start on MIL and FIL's cushion covers which are in a space dyed yellow to match the furnishings in their conservatory but with the celtic knotwork in a candy striped fabric which cut on the bias is giving a lovely effect as it twists over and under itself - I'll show more of that as it progresses into something a little more photogenic.

I have some unexpected stitching time come my way today - some of you may be thinking why is she blogging when she should be at work.

I headed into the office early this morning, as I was expecting a visit from my area finance officer to hand-hold me through some month end reconciliation stuff, only to receive a call from the children's school asking me to collect Louise - tummy pain again.

Amazingly I managed to get a short notice doctor's appointment and whipped her in there straight from school.

Doc reckons she has inflammation of the the lymph glands in her abdomen - I never even realised you had them there - not a major worry - liquid paracetamol, warm quilt on the sofa and a bit of TLC til they go down - possibly a few days. So mum will be watching over her whilst stitching.

Heaven only knows when I'll get the paid work done though!

A little more Christmas progress

Having Louise at home yesterday gave me the perfect excuse to stitch away to my heart's content. She's better this morning which means that sadly I'll have to go in to work at 10.30 :o(

My SIL (brother's wife) loves fairies - she's never a problem to buy for as this is her main love plus she makes handmade cards so I can always get her supplies for that too.

I picked up some Christmas Flower Fairies fabric earlier in the year specifically with her in mind.

Here you can see it forming the centre of these stars. The corner squares are a different fabric than the geese as I only had a FQ of the geese fabric but I think it looks ok.

Once I've got 8 of them completed they'll go together in a long line to make a long Christmas table runner - the type that goes the full length of the table and hangs down over each end. The burgundy fabric they're sitting on will form the sashing. I shall probably put an applique block in the middle with holly leaves and berries on a cream background and maybe even similar applique triangles at each end to make it finish in a 'V' shape.

Talking to my sister last night and gleaning the fact that my niece loves Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh gave me the idea of making her a quillow with an Eeyore on the front of the cushion. I've never made a quillow before but have some printed off instructions somewhere so I guess I'd better dig them out and give them a good read.

I know I'm a quick worker but I shall have my work cut out completing all the things I want to finish before Christmas - no pressure then!

Birthday Boy!

Well the other man in my life has reached the ripe old age of 11 today. He was delighted to find, among his presents,- the Liverpool Champions League away strip - he's modelling the shirt in the photo - over the top of his clothes - what a wally! Bless!

It's difficult to believe that it's eleven years ago as I write this that I was laid on the operating table in theatre undergoing an elective caesarian.

I had a difficult and prolongued labour with Sarah three and a half years earlier which resulted in an emergency C section under epidural. This time I was hoping to go for a trial of labour. The obstetrician had said he would permit me to go to a certain date and if babe didn't arrive by that time I must have another caesar.

Friday 17th November 1995 came and with it a visit to the ante-natal clinic at Gloucester Royal Hospital to do all the prep work, bloods etc for my caesar on the Monday morning - no sign of baby arriving under his own steam.

However what none of us bargained for was the fact that the little imp had been creating his own veritable swimming pool in there and hence he was actually a transverse lie. No wonder in the few weeks leading up to then nobody could be quite sure which way he was laid - he'd been whizzing around for weeks with all that room and liquid to play in. More to the point no wonder my ribs were so incredibly sore at each side - at times he'd been laid across me stretching out for all he was worth. Even today, all this time on, my ribs are still tender if I press strongly where he was pushing.

By this time we'd passed the 39 week mark and the hospital, fearful of spontaneous labour decided I must stay in over the weekend up to his scheduled arrival on the Monday morning just in case he arrived under his own steam and trapped the cord killing himself and quite possibly me.

Serious stuff and more than a bit disappointing as it was DH's birthday on the 19th and I wasn't allowed out even for a quick meal down the local pub :o(

However Monday morning dawned bright and sunny and DH, my local midwife and I had a gentle stroll down to the labour ward for them to prep me up for his arrival.

Epidural in place and there he was a bouncing baby boy weighing in at 8lb 12ozs with a shock of red hair and a face covered in vernix - he certainly wasn't quite cooked enough to come out under his own direction.

When Sarah was born, Nigel secretly hoped all along for a boy - of course, once she was safely here especially after such a long labour, he was delighted that she was with us alive and well with all the right number of fingers, toes etc.

As I was awake for each delivery Nigel was able to watch their arrival and the moment he heard the surgeon announce that baby number 2 was a little boy his delight was absolutely electric - it was like one of those children's helium filled balloons bouncing to the ceiling.

My reaction was grateful tears and the thought 'Thank goodness he's got his boy I never have to go throught this again'

It took me precisely one week - yes just one week - before I thought 'Mmm another one might be nice'

And of course Louise came along fourteen and a half months later :o) to complete the family. All three of them out of the sunroof - I never got that natural delivery I hoped for.

Looking at the three of them now it's really hard to remember they were ever that young and that small.

Sarah, at fourteen and a half, has just started going out with her very first boyfriend - you can see them in a huddle over the computer - where has my first baby gone.

I suppose this is nothing in comparison to what my mother-in-law must have felt yesterday on realising her first baby had reached his 46th birthday.

The third photo shows the bag I made earlier now complete with handles all ready for wrapping and posting off to its secret santa recipient - hope she likes it.

Other than that I've done virtually no stitching this weekend - birthday shopping, rugby and a general feeling of total malaise have meant I've had little time and even less enthusiasm to pick up any fabric over the past few days. Coupled with the fact that my sewing table is piled about a foot high with fabric preventing me from getting anywhere near the machine means that I've only just returned to it this morning to put those handles on.

Monday is usually my day off and I get to play out with the girls at my quilting group - lovely but it does eat up most of my day before the kids return from school and the peace is shattered once more. However today Louise is complaining of feeling sick and stomach cramps so has stayed home with me. Hence no playing out but more time to put away all that fabric and crack on with more Christmas gifts.

A little bit of festive spirit

Yesterday was sadly a fabric free day - the old fabric itch was no way going to get scratched - work and, in a very long way second place, the kids took up all my time. As you can imagine I'm suffering severe withdrawal symptoms today - seldom go a single day without some kind of fabric contact.

I started the day walking the kids to school and received a phone call on my mobile half way to school from my colleague in the office. Could I go into work early as we already knew she wouldn't be in the office for most of the day but both her and the head had forgotten that neither of them would be there before 11.30.

So I walked home from school, got changed into work clothes and headed straight for work - bang went my plan to sandwich the 'stars' baby quilt. Best laid plans eh?

My usual hours are 10.30 to 2.30 four days a week but as I was clerking my first governors meeting in post last night I was still at school finishing off the paperwork at 2.55 and dashed off just in time to collect the kids.

A very swift tea and help with times tables etc etc and then I returned to work at 6.15 until almost 10pm.

As you can imagine with concentrating so hard to make sure I noted all the relevant details in the minutes my mind had turned to midway between scrambled egg and mashed potato by the time I got home just after 10 o'clock.

A quick 15 minute update on the day with DH and I was ready for the journey up those stairs to my snuggly warm bed and off to the land of nod. I hadn't actually seen Nigel previously that day as he'd been in Essex the night before and hadn't even arrived home before I left for the governors meeting - a bit like ships that pass in the night but with frantic telephone calls en route to make sure he would be home in time to take DD1 to her rugby training. Mercifully the gods and the traffic were with him and he returned home in one piece on time - just!

So I thought I'd show you what I was working on at our quilting group earlier in the week.

Browsing round blogland a little while ago I came across a lovely Christmas wallhanging on Norma's blog. A lovely simple yet effective design that appealed to me particularly.

Oddly in our family my sister, my elder daughter and most unusually my father share the same middle name - JOY - what a cross to bear for my dad for all those years, especially as his first name is Basil which might not be a person's first choice either.

Apparently the reason for him being given such an unusual handle is when he was born in 1930 he was almost a 10 month gestation, his mother had a terrible labour with a brutal forceps delivery from which he still sports various dents in his forehead 76 years later and they both nearly died. In gratitude he was named after the midwife who brought him safely into the world and her surname just happened to be Joy.

My parents then named my younger sister Lorna Joy - my middle name is Patricia after my paternal aunt, Anne Joy would've sounded just too silly! - and Nigel and I then went on to give Sarah the same middle name - almost a family tradition in infancy here.

So when I spotted Norma's 'JOY' wallhanging I thought I'd make three of them - one for each Joy in our family. I particularly like the heart shaped 'O'

I decided I'd quite like the banners to have a 'V' shaped bottom so will add a red triangle to the base once the squares are in place and the bells will be the focal point of that.

Another few items on my home-made christmas present list underway :o)

The stars have it!

Well the first star is our builder Neil. Yesterday he completed the bottom half of our conservatory and with a little bit of imagination you can start to picture what it will be like with its top half on (Please ignore the light blue dust sheets draped artfully over the airer through the dining room patio doors). We now have two weeks to wait for the second half of the proceedings when the men with the uPVC framework and glass will arrive on Monday 27th November. They should take the first three days of that week to complete the outer shell and then the balance of two days will involve the internals, plastering, floor etc. Nigel has booked that entire week off work to be around for supervision purposes and of course to put in the electrics and, with our neighbour's help, the heating radiators. God willing and with a following wind things should be near completion for the beginning of December :o)

It is wonderfully exciting and hopefully the second phase will go as smoothly as the first - fingers crossed.

The baby quilt is now to 'finished top' stage - I loved ForestJane's ideas of appliqueing little cars and trucks but had already made a start on the stars so stuck with them. As you can imagine, as I'm heading for bed shortly, it won't be completed for the kids to take in for their teacher's return to school tomorrow. However as he doesn't even know he will be on the receiving end of it, on behalf of his new son, it won't matter if it waits a couple of days because tomorrow will be virtually totally unproductive for me on the stitching front. This is because I have to clerk a Governors meeting at the school where I work. Clerk to Governors is my other role along with Finance Officer. In real terms I will work tomorrow between 10.30 and 2.30, come home to feed and sort out the kids and then return to work from 6.00 til probably around 10.00 pm for this meeting - no rest for the wicked eh?

Nigel (the lucky dog!) has pencilled in a work trip to Madrid for the last three days of next week - I am very jealous! - the farthest I shall go is work, the supermarket and playing taxi driver for the kids - there's no justice in this world! :o)

The border's on

Well after going to quilting group this morning, where I sat and hand stitched a little bit of a Christmas project I'll maybe show you in a day or two once I've done a bit more on it, and popping into the bank whilst in town with some school paying-in (in my own time I might add!) I came home to stitch and cook.

Cooking will be for tea tonight - Chicken and White Bean Casserole.

This comprises of browned chopped chicken breast cooked in a 'gravy/sauce' of chicken stock, chicken gravy thickening combined with three tins of various soups lurking in the back of the cupboard - ie pea, lentil and mixed vegetable. Then to all this I added tinned cannellini and flageolet beans, chick peas and green lentils. The final top secret ingredient is white turnip and butternut squash boiled up in chicken stock and mashed to obscurity prior to adding it to the casserole complete with cooking water in the vain hope that my almost totally veggie-phobic son won't twig that it's in there. At least this way he'll get some of the vitamins from them because the ONLY veg I can get past his lips is garden peas - pain in the rear little chap he can be!

Then onto stitching and as you can see from the photo the border's on the baby quilt - I'm not sure - I think it looks a little bland and might just hand applique some light and dark blue largish stars in two opposite corners to lift that boring border up out of the doldrums. Then to sandwich, large meander quilt and bind with the duller light blue - just like that!

Zig-zag baby quilt

Well after watching DS play football on Saturday - they won 8-1 against one of the strongest teams in the league, YIPPEE! - I thought I'd better make some progress on the baby quilt for their teacher's new baby son.

I fancied working with blues and naturals as I said before and had a reasonable amount of sandy shades downstairs as I'd been using them on my ostrich row quilt but as I'd had a major 'put-away' session a few weeks ago there weren't many blues downstairs.

As DH was busy outside I didn't think he'd appreciate being dragged back in to play 'fabric-shuffle' with the blue boxes in the loft so I went with what was to hand. I wanted it to look a little scrappy but only had two fabrics in each colour to play with. This is the result. It's okay, not as scrappy as I'd have liked and I think the 2" wide stripes might be a bit on the big side for a baby quilt but it's done now and I'm not changing it. I've always loved rail fence and the zig-zag effect you get.

I only have enough of the starry sand to put a border round so will add a 4" plain one in that all round - a step away from the norm for me as I usually do multiple borders and my gut feeling would have been thin sand, thin navy and then thick sand but I didn't have enough of the fabrics to do that and didn't really want to introduce another into the equation.

I'll then bind it in the duller of the two light blues for the same reason - I feel the navy check would have looked better especially as I always do a bias double binding so would get the checks on the cross but as the fabric came from a charity shop pair of men's pyjamas and I've not got much left that's not an option - shame :o( Need to get it finished for the middle of the week so it'll be another large meander pattern.

What a difference a day makes :o)

I never seem to get the hang of which order to load photos onto this thing - I add them in the order I'd like them to appear - sometimes they come out like that, other times they wiggle around and sit where they feel like. Sorry girls you'll just have to do a bit of creative viewing :o)

I said yesterday morning that the builder had got the base slab of concrete down (the darker photo before it got properly light yesterday morning) - well just look how much he got done yesterday. The outside half of the dwarf walls all up and looking very smart indeed. He will be back on Monday to do the inner blockwork and finish off the step - boy is this whizzing along nicely :o)

Dad has settled in back at home and is feeling much better than before the angioplasty - he did admit to me on the phone last night, that the night before he came home he had another fainting fit in the hospital, which I feel confirms my suspicions that they may well have dramatically improved the blood supply to his heart but haven't actually completely tackled the problem he was originally admitted for. I have this deep misgiving that things will continue as before once he gets up and moving about normally. We will see! Mum knows to dial 999 as soon as anything happens and at least if it does and he's back at the hospital they might sort it out this time. Only time will tell, but it has made Mum very nervous and she's loath to leave him for any length of time for shopping and errands etc.

Well in the hour and a half before heading off to work yesterday morning I was as busy as our builder and whizzed along with my sister's birthday cushion covers. I'm very pleased with the result and hope she likes them too. I can't believe they're all completed, wrapped and ready for posting this morning before I go to watch DS play football. Her birthday isn't until Tuesday so, Post Office willing, she should get them a day early - a minor miracle for me who is usually right on the wire.

Sarah had a letter this week saying unfortunately she hadn't got through to the next stage on from the rugby talent identification day she participated in during the half term holiday. She was quite pragmatic about it on opening the letter consoling herself with the fact that she is only just 14 and there will be plenty of other opportunities in the years to come. It was a different story later on in the evening when she learned that a friend of similar age from Cornwall had been selected, the flood gates opened then. But now that a couple of days have passed she seems okay with the whole thing and did admit that Lucy had been playing since she was 7yrs old which might have had some bearing on it. This weekend there's no match but she has County training in Wells (just under an hour from here) starting at 10.30am so no lie-in for me tomorrow.

I've spent a little time this morning cutting 2.5" strips from my dark and light blues and sands to make a very quick triple rail fence for the new baby of Nick and Lou's teacher. I pinched the basic idea from Siobhan - it should come together nice and quickly ready for them to take in to him when he returns to work on Wednesday.

Progress in several directions

Well the conservatory moves on a pace - you can see the footings are well and truly coming on - these photos were taken first thing yesterday morning and in fact he spent his time during the day putting down the damp proof membrane and then putting in the concrete floor slab. You can see DH in the background still in shorts in one photo - the weather has been pretty mild again after last week's cold snap. Probably just as well with concrete setting here and there.

Dad is home from hospital. It appears from the experts that they have sorted out his angiopathy and the fainting fits should be controlled with changed medication. They seem more concerned with his post heart attack care - I guess we just have to trust their judgement and hope they've got it right. Maybe it's just me being suspicious but I can't understand why they even mentioned the defibrillator when they'd already changed the medication but then I'm not a doctor - merely a very nosy lay person who likes to ask lots of questions and get good honest answers - after all how do you know what you're dealing with if they won't let you 'into the club' ?

He was very, very weary at home last night and didn't even want to talk on the phone which is quite understandable - however he did tell mum that his chest feels 100% better than it has been for some time so they've obviously sorted something out. Only time will tell if they've covered the whole picture. I truly hope so!

The applique I showed you last time has miraculously developed into a bucket bag but minus the handles - they will go on next. The more I look at it and see other people's creations in blues and naturals, the more I really like the colour combination. Nick and Lou's teacher's wife had a baby boy on Tuesday night. None of us even knew she was expecting as he's kept the information out of the children's radar screen. However I may try and cobble together a baby quilt for them this weekend and as it's a little Lloyd I think blues and naturals would be rather nice - we'll see, still got to finish my sister's cushions to post on Monday.

OK lets see if I can get the photo to come up here then!

Yup - there we go.

For the accompanying text read on down please :o)

The builder arrives

OK Guys I'll apologise in advance for no photo and try and publish it on the next posting on its own! Typical of today really!!!!!

Well at 7.30am on the dot a man with a van arrived at our house - he merrily squirrelled away digging holes, taking deliveries of skips and building supplies and then filling the aforesaid hole with concrete and left again at 4.20pm

Doesn't sound much but a real start has been made on the foundations of the conservatory.

I would pop in a picture of this concrete except I'm not quite that sad and of course it's dark out there now so I can't :o)

Nigel has decided to have tomorrow and Thursday off to supervise so things are moving along nicely now

Neil (that's the builder) should have the dwarf wall completed on either Friday or next Monday. We then have a weeks gap before the men with the glass arrive and please God the top fits on the bottom. Nigel has been out there tonight already with the measure tape to check everything looks about the right size.

Then the week after the glass men the final fit men come along to do the internals, plastering, finishing the floor etc

Whilst he was off over half term Nigel got all the electrical works sorted out ready for them so we're all on schedule

God willing, with a following wind we should be finished by 1st December but I'm counting no chickens until we're a bit nearer.

Someone asked me about mitring the corners on my celtic knotwork. It's a little difficult to explain in words but I'll have a go.

When I get to a corner I tack nearly up to where the mitre will be. Then I fold the tubing back on itseld exactly on the line that the outside edge of the following bit of tape will take. I then fold back the tape over this and tuck any excess in under itself and tack it down quickly before it has chance to slip. Sounds a bit fiddly and I suppose it probably is until you've practiced a lot (which I have) but it works for me. Then as you hand-stitch the two sides of the tape down you secure across the mitre line in ladder stitch making any final adjustments with the needle turn edge of your needle as you go along. I have to say if I get any choice (and obviously with the twist and turn of a celtic pattern it isn't always possible) I always endeavour to stitch the outer edge first thus securing the point of the turn before having to faff about with the mitred bit. Hope this is a bit clearer than the mud on our building site :o)

A few developments with my father this week.

He was transferred to Sheffield by ambulance this morning with a view to them carrying out the angioplasty procedure this afternoon. However best laid plans and all that, unfortunately they had too many emergency procedures to carry out and so he never got as far as the operating procedure. They have assured us he should have it done tomorrow.

We were under the impression that the fainting fits he had been suffering were now thought to be due to his heart beating irregularly - sometimes it races uncontrollably, other times it goes on strike and is too slow to send sufficient oxygen to his brain - hence the faints.

They had led us to believe that the insertion of a 'defibrillator' at the same time as the angioplasty would tackle this problem.

It now seems that, as this little piece of kit costs in the region of £30,000 they can only insert it once the expenditure has been approved by the NHS Trust Finance Body. Accordingly he may well be sent home and put on a waiting list until they've authorised the spending basically!

The real question is what happens if he keeps having faints as before - Mum is not strong enough to keep manhandling him and it could happen as he crosses the road in front of a 40 tonne truck!

So we'll see what tomorrow brings - it sadly all boils down to resources and the NHS is currently very strapped for cash indeed across all departments. There have been some very sad high profile cases of people not being funded for breast cancer drugs, alzheimers drugs and a host of other expensive procedures in the media of late. It must be awful to be a pawn in such a political funding game but that may be exactly where we are about to be.

I've told mum that if they do send him home without one and he keeps fainting that she has to dial 999 for an ambulance each and every time - eventually they'll get so hacked off with carting him in there to the Casualty Department that they might sort it out for him - I do so hope it doesn't come to that.

I went back to work today after the two and a bit weeks half term break - I was not at all keen to go back at all - as expected it was yet again three steps forward and four steps back. I keep hoping that eventually, once I get the job and its procedures under my belt, the forward steps might outnumber the backward ones but at present I'm wading through treacle with my snorkel getting ever longer just to maintain the air supply :o( To quote Winston Churchill 'I'll just have to keep buggering on!'

Lets hope for a better day tomorrow - please!

The photo shows a little bit of hand applique I did for the centre of the Christmas present bag I'm going to make for our Secret Santa group in blues and naturals.

Christmas cometh!

The big day arrives tomorrow!

No you're alright girls - don't panic, not Christmas - the day the builders arrive to start our conservatory.

DH will be home to get them started in the morning, but from then on the supervision will be patchy by me in between working - gulp!

I'm sure they'll be fine - but if I'm not here I can't see that they're getting on with everything according to plan and sort out any problems as they arise.

Never mind DH seems to think this arrangement will work okay so here goes ........... watch this space - the photos show our before photo after DH lifted the existing patio slabs.

The conservatory is a massive financial undertaking for us. (Isn't all building work?) As you look at the back of the house it will stretch from the right hand side of the patio doors along the back of the house for 6.5 metres covering the kitchen window nearly up to the back door out from the utility room and then out from the house 3.5 metres as far as the back line of the garage. It will make a wonderful large extra living space.

When we searched for a house in Taunton a conservatory was a big part of our wish list. Unfortunately none of the houses we viewed ticked every box. The house we bought came closest but didn't have a conservatory so we took the decision to add one ourselves and borrowed extra money to cover the cost.

Not having done our homework quite as thoroughly as we needed to we didn't borrow enough to cover and have taken out additional borrowings for the complete package - after all we'd have looked pretty silly if we couldn't pay for all the glass wouldn't we :o)

So the rest of the household is now on economy drive mode! Belt-tightening is most definitely the order of the day for the foreseeable future

I've taken the decision that everyone will receive homemade presents this year starting with my sister's birthday this month

When Lorna was down in the summer she purloined bits of my old cross stitch fabric etc and started a celtic knotwork design in burgundy on cream to go in her new living room - she loves Scotland and Ireland and is very fond of this type of design

So her birthday present from us will be a couple of cushion covers with the centre pieces of the two knotwork designs you see above which I've merrily stitched this weekend in front of the tv - I shall surround them with a very fine burgundy border (about quarter inch) and then a 2" border of the same cream with fine gold spot

Now I have to decide what to make for the other family members for Christmas - no pressure there then eh!?!

A lovely send-off!

"Somehow in the depths I feel sure that life is continuous through the grave. It is like a stitch of embroidery which appears above the canvas, runs along and is seen, then dips back below out of sight. The thread, the wool is continuous and only appears to disappear. Indeed I had a strong feeling that only humans need starts and finishes, beginnings and endings. In the real spiritual world there are no starts and ends, all space, time and life are boundless and eternal."
Peter Tatton Brown (From Quaker Faith and Practice 22.85)

This was one of the readings at Cicely's celebration service yesterday. A very fitting passage for a lady who spent much of the last third of her life with a needle in her hand. God Bless Her

Looking around other people's blogs I came across a lovely bag on Dawn's blog

I've always wanted to make a bag to take all my bits and pieces to quilting group on Mondays. I've looked at lots of ideas, discarded most of them as I hate following patterns and generally coped with dragging everything along in a supermarket carrier bag - not very stylish!

So when I spotted Dawn's bag I thought aha! this is something I could have a go at and here is the result - a bucket style bag with the oval base size and shape determined by a pyrex casserole dish I just happened to have in the cupboard :o)

Of course being the 'dash in and get on with it without thinking it out first' kinda girl I always am I didn't bother to read Dawn's comments that went with her picture til after I'd started stitching - so I made a little extra work for myself having to sandwich and quilt the fabric afterwards instead of adding strips to the wadding and backing as she had done 'quilt as you go' fashion - mental note to remember that for next time.

The sharpest eyed of you might spot the orphan block leftover from my ostrich second row, and of course I already had all the homespun/folk art type fabrics out for that too so I cobbled this together from them over the past couple of days in and amongst lunch out with friends on Thursday and of course Cicely's service yesterday.

It's very simple - no fancy clever pockets or fastenings like Dawn's but it's ideal for keeping whatever I'm working on at present in an easily identifiable holder to just pick up and grab as I go out of the door to quilting

Might even have a go at something similar for a surprise Christmas present I have to make :o)

Funeral Attire :o)

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago our recently departed group leader has requested that all of us who knew her through quilting should wear something depicting patchwork and quilting to her funeral.

A bit of a poser for me as I've made loads of quilts but nothing wearable - no lovely waistcoats or bags or anything.

So what to wear - I did think about wearing my Somerset County Quilters badge as that is where I first met her but felt on its own it wouldn't make the statement she so obviously wanted us all to make

I was pondering in bed last night, during those gentle moments before sleep, about making something at such short notice - the funeral is Friday - and realised that a waistcoat is most definitely out of the question, firstly because of lack of time, secondly because I don't have a decent pattern and thirdly because I couldn't be sure of getting it to fit and would have been really miffed after putting in all that work for it not to fit properly.

I finally decided on a sash to wear over my normal dark funeral outfit and then came the question of what to make it from

It just so happened that I was going to make a wall-hanging for our lounge and had put together a number of 4" blocks in a ziplock bag

Perfect - I'd sash between them, add a backing and Voila! the result you see above :o) pinned together with the afore mentioned badge - absolutely fit for purpose - I think she'd like it :o)

Just as an aside - the church has granted her family permission to hang all her quilts in the church for her funeral - a really fitting tribute

Treats of different kinds

Halloween isn't anything like the big event that American kids delight in on this side of the pond. People seldom bother to decorate their houses or even their front doors and porches.

English kids have only cottoned on to the whole concept of Trick or Treating in the past decade or so.

Sadly in some towns with the older teenagers it degenerates into groups of them paining the life out of any old dears they don't really like with the emphasis most definitely on trick rather than treat.

The main local news story on the tv last night was about Avon and Somerset Police force mobilising every officer they have to counter the nuisance element of gangs of young people marauding round throwing eggs and flour at houses and generally showing anti social behaviour. I'd like to think this is only a minority element but nevertheless it is a real nuisance factor later in the evening in some urban areas. It's a shame that the situation has escalated to this extent - indeed some shops and newspapers have been providing posters for people to display asking 'Please - no trick or treaters at this house' - understandable, but still a damning indictment of the way the generations interact in some parts of our land.

Fortunately for us on our little estate we don't see any of that - we do sometimes get groups of youngsters hanging out in the park behind our house after dark but they're generally un-threatening and don't pose us any problem. As a nation we are appallingly bad at providing fun things for kids to do to keep them out of mischief - people generally agree in principle that there should be more skate parks, youth clubs, activity zones etc but when push comes to shove they don't want them 'in their back yard' and aren't prepared to help with the provision.

It was with my heart in my mouth that I allowed Nick and Lou aged almost 11 and 9 1/2 to go out with two of Nick's 10 year old mates just around our little estate to trick or treat for an hour or so - the first year they've gone on their own. I also had a mixing bowl of goodies on the hall cupboard ready for any little people who might call here. It's always difficult to know how far to allow them a little freedom and independence.

We only probably had a dozen or so kids call on us, plus our own who called in on the way round, but they were all very polite and it was such fun to see them all dressed up

It occurred to me about ten minutes before they were due to go out that the only thing I could find for them to collect their treats in were supermarket carrier bags - I mean, what sort of mother does that make me? So as I had some black starry fabric from another project to hand and a piece of lovely orange space dyed fabric too I rustled up a couple of bags for them - DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT look closely as there are no edges finished off and I used the selvedge strips for handles. They served as a temporary stop-gap for the evening - in fact Lou did tell me she was worried that hers might not hold together once full of goodies (I did say they were thrown together) so I shall make them some proper ones for next year - but they were delighted with them and my elder daughter just shook her head and laughed with incredulity at me just throwing something together in a couple of ticks - she obviously doesn't know me as well as she thinks she does.

As you can see from the other picture the Rugby Baby Quilt is completed for Sarah's Coaches new arrival. Jack Cockayne entered the world last Wednesday at 8pm weighing in at 9lb 9ozs - no small chap there - definitely destined to be in the pack! The irony of him arriving right in the middle of training was not lost on the girls. We did have a quick peek at him on Sunday afternoon when his parents brought him down to the club for his inaugural visit. Jenny (his mum) will be at training tonight so I had a deadline for the quilt - I completed it last night and am very pleased with the result. I decided on a big meander all over in a thin white thread and I think it's worked pretty well. Hope they like it too!

Better news with my Dad - the CT scan of his head showed no abnormalities - and as a bonus they have decided he still does have a head and a brain! :o) Result!!!

He had his angiogram yesterday which shows a couple of vessels in need of angioplasty - this will be carried out probably next week in Sheffield and, as his heart had a funny racing session while they were in there looking, his consultant is also considering putting in a pacemaker at the same time - they feel that the irregular heart rhythm is most probably what is causing his funny turns and the pacemaker will help with all this

When the picture wasn't quite so bright a few days ago I broached the subject of their accommodation with both my mum and my brother (at present they rent his old terraced house complete with steep staircase and no downstairs bath or loo). They are on a waiting list for sheltered accommodation down here near us and have been since they lived in the wilds of West Cumbria before they moved to their present home.

However the good news is that the medical team are of the opinion that once these procedures have been carried out Dad should actually feel considerably better than he has for some time and that the stairs shouldn't pose any problem. Catastrophe averted for the time being

I am of the opinion though that we should still continue investigations for something more suitable eventually, whether it's near me or my brother - my sister is worse than useless and would be of little help or support. So I shall continue with my covert investigations and broach the subject with them at a future more appropriate time.

Ostrich Reaction

Quilting group this morning and a very mixed meeting

You may recall me mentioning our 92 year old group leader Cicely who I said had forgotten more than I'll ever know about quilting.

She has been unwell - becoming progressively more so - all summer since our show, eventually being admitted to hospital

Just over a week ago one of the group rang each of us to let us know that she had undergone a scan where they'd found pancreatic cancer

Sadly she passed away last Friday

Realistically we are all relieved that it wasn't prolonged for her to suffer for any great length of time but she will be greatly missed especially by some of the group who have known her for many years

Her funeral is this Friday and she has asked if those of us from the group who are attending can wear something 'quilty' - as you can imagine that had us all racking our brains

I didn't know her that well but I am free on Friday and have a large 7 seater car - several of the older members of the group can't drive and the church for her thanksgiving service, which follows a private cremation, is in the middle of nowhere a good half an hour from Taunton. So as my tribute to her, and the hand of friendship that she extended to me on arriving in Taunton last year, I shall taxi and accompany these members and consider it an honour to be able to do so.

However it wasn't all sadness this morning we managed to remember her with affection and some laughter and I like to think she would have been pleased at the second part of our Ostrich Challenge that I set them today - she always liked to both undertake and set challenges

The response to 'Circles or any part thereof' was less horrified than I expected thankfully, and bits of discussion has, I hope, sent them all on their way with their thinking caps firmly on - we shall see what they come up with :o)

Later today I decided to have a play with Part 6 - 'Opposites' and the 'Dutchman's Puzzle' ??? is what I came up with - thank goodness for that 'flying geese ruler' again

Then I laid out on the floor what I've got done so far - I'm happy with it :o)

The news on Dad is a little more positive - the unofficial result on his CT scan has showed nothing to be concerned about - they still need to do the ultrasound on his neck vessels. However they have altered his combination of medication and the attacks seem fewer and less severe so maybe we're getting somewhere.

They expect to do the angiogram tomorrow to get a clearer picture on the heart front so the fog is starting to clear

Louise had painted a sweet little picture of her and Grandad (complete with his flat cap and walking stick) standing outside the gates to Vivary Park in Taunton. This arrived with him today and lifted his spirits somewhat - Mum says he spent the entire day pestering the staff to look at it whenever one of them came within a 20 yard radius of him :o)

So we shall keep on hoping and praying for more positives tomorrow - thank you to all of you for your kind wishes and prayers :o)

The flower row for my Ostrich finished

Well that's another row done - hand appliqued flowers formed with english piecing over paper

Next will be 'Opposites'

That'll test their initiative and imagination they can interpret it any way they like

Both my sporty kids did well this weekend

Nick had a football (soccer for you girls over the other side of the pond) match away against Minehead which is a seaside town just over half an hour's drive away so that was a reasonably early start.

Before the match Minehead were #2 in the league and Nick's team, Blackbrook Wolves was #4

We won 6 - 2 and it was a cracking match - Nick plays in defence so doesn't get the same opportunities to score as his sister in rugby but he put in some good defensive play and stopped some hard pushing advances by the opposition definitely keeping their score line down

Today Sarah's team played a derby match away against our closest side geographically - Bridgwater

It was a real grudge match as last year they were a real force to be reckoned with and our last match was a loss with a 50 - Nil scoreline

This year some of Bridgwater's eldest girls have graduated to Ladies and some of our U14's, including Sarah, have moved up to U17s obviously changing the dynamics of both teams. However they were still a hard team to play and the half time score was 15 - 5 against us.

Historically we've not been particularly good at coming back from the underdog position but today the girls did themselves proud with Sarah scoring a try under the posts from a 60 yard dash down the pitch and then converting her own try to put 7 of the 27 points on the board

Next week they have another toughie against Thornbury but at least that one's at home

My dad is much the same in hospital - I had a longish chat with the ward sister when I phoned this morning. It appears that the funny turns he's been having seem very much like text-book TIA's or Mini-Strokes and there is a very real risk of him suffering a biggie in their wake

He still needs the angiogram they talked about first of all post silent heart attack as the Medical team feel they are fighting two problems - one the post heart attack and secondly the strokes on the other hand

The thought of a major stroke will be especially frightening him underneath as his mother died during her second stroke at 51 and he nursed her at the age of 21 for the year after her first one up to her death

I really hope the CT scan and neck scan this next week will show the cause of the problem and indicate something that they can treat

Having said that if a full blown strike is inevitable I hope it's a real biggie as I know he'd hate to be left in the same state as his mother - I desperately don't want to lose him but you wouldn't wish that sort of existence on your worst enemy

We're contemplating a flying visit next weekend after Nick's football and then back later that night for Sarah to sleep at home for her match on the Sunday - I think it would give Dad a real lift to see us all including the kids and put my mind a bit at rest too :o)

A little bit of dyeing for light relief

Nigel and I spent a few hours one day this week sorting out our bedding, table linen and towels. What a romantic way to spend an afternoon I hear you say.

We have a corner cupboard in our bedroom which is a funny shape as it is tucked in under the eaves of the apex above our front door area. When we moved in last year we earmarked it for a linen closet. The removal men duly stuffed it full of boxes of linen and since then we've merrily pulled out bits and pieces as we needed them with no regard to their order or how we'd get it all back in again.

As you can imagine twelve months later we've now got to the stage that the door won't close due to the tide of linen encroaching on our bedroom

Time for drastic action!

All the linen out - all the linen sorted into sensible quantities to store for day to day usage and balance to store for future supplies (yes that's how much we've accumulated all this time, the kids won't need to buy any for university!) - sensible quantities for day to day usage returned to nice set of roller baskets for ease of access. Balance of linen on our bed to pack up for storage for future supplies

In and amongst all this for some reason it was apparent that all our lovely white fluffy towels are beginning to look decidedly grey and shabby - why is it that children seem incapable of rinsing off dirty suds before acquainting their hands with the lovely white fluffy towel on the rail

So instead of chucking out these towels I decided that as they had loads of fluffy life in them I'd buy some washing machine dyes and give them a new brighter lease of life

Of course being the lover of space dyed fabrics that I am I couldn't resist popping a few bits of white sheeting I gathered about my stash to join them in the washing machine

They are all quite light as I had them in with several towels being given a new brighter life but it was fun to see how they all came out and they will sit happily in my stash for future use

The photo shows the initial results

L to R Green overdye on some turquoise/denim blue I had kicking about

Green over dye on a piece of the pink neighbour

'Burgundy' space dye (told you they'd come out quite light)

As for other non quilty/fabric related things we've had further news on my dad

He's still on the Coronary Care Unit and should have gone for an angiogram today with the intention of possibly moving him to Sheffield in a few days for angioplasty

However he had a couple more of his fainting attacks so they decided to postpone it for a day or two

They've now decided they think these attacks are probably mini strokes so he's now down for a CT scan and a scan of his neck - all a bit scary really

When I spoke to my mum after the ghastly conversation with my sister she insisted I didn't need to rush to go up to see him and that they also don't need the worry of me travelling all that way on top of everything else

I have to say this was the response I expected although it doesn't make the discussions with my sister any less painful

Mum did reassure my by saying she'd tell me if things developed to a situation where I needed to go up and we've been keeping in touch on the telephone several times a day for reassurance and support for each other

It is hard being so far away although my brother has been a brick both with Mum and for me on the phone - as he's nine years younger than me and always been the baby of the family it feels very strange to rely on him now but he's proving more than capable of shouldering the burden and thankfully I haven't needed to talk to my sister again

We're all drawing comfort from the fact that Dad's in the right place and should anything drastic happen he stands the best chance of them dealing with it to the best of their ability rather than laying on the pavement waiting heaven knows how long for an ambulance to arrive

I just hope and pray that he will be okay but if it is his time to go that he can go in peace with dignity

A little more work on the Ostrich

Well the next round for my unsuspecting ladies after the bias applique will be 'Flowers'

They are free to interpret this in any manner they decide - I'm even giving them the option to use a flowery fabric in a different pattern if they can't face doing actual flowers

For mine I decided to applique hexagon pieced flowers and here are the first three - four more to go for the full row

The other photo shows how to keep two primary school aged children and their grandmother occupied on a miserable wet half term afternoon.

Nigel's parents are stopping with us for a couple of nights to see the kids and us of course. Grandad was helping Daddy with the pre-conservatory electrics, I was stitching hexagon flowers sitting on the sofa in 'my spot' and Sarah was catching up with her mates on the internet after a very heavy rugby session earlier in the day - luckily the ankle held up and she had a great time.

Nick and Lou decided to play nicely together ( a rarity in itself I might add) and started the game you can see in the photo - it's based along the same lines as Twister where you have to put the relevant hand or foot onto the continent as selected by Nanna turning the arrow for the relevant instructions. They had great fun and loads of laughs - it made a welcome change from them being glued to the PS2 or the internet

We're in the throws of a family crisis in a different direction at present, my father is in the Coronary Care Unit up in Doncaster, about 240 miles (at least four hours drive) from us having suffered a 'silent heart attack' and subsequent fainting attacks. My dear sister ( sorry the tongue is firmly in the cheek here) is now giving me enormous grief because my mother and brother (who lives very near to Mum) happened to phone me before my sister to give an update of the situation.

She is very childish and loves to play the victim - you might recall her stay here at the end of the summer and the turmoil she managed to stir up then - and to cap it all has phoned me this afternoon to demand when I will be travelling up to visit the hospital

The after effects of the labyrinthitis are limiting the length of drive I can undertake to about an hour and both my husband and children have other commitments all weekend - of course this has given my sister the prime opportunity to impress upon my parents what a dutiful daughter she is and of course by reverse what a neglectful one I am. I don't doubt for a second that neither mum or dad would expect me to dash up there especially as he is in the best possible place and not in immediate danger

Of course the net result of all this is for me to feel wretched at not being able to get there and all the more worried about his welfare for not seeing him

Families! Who'd have them?