A Monthly Make March 2012, and a few buys...

Well I'm gonna come running in at the very end of the month and skid to a flustered halt to present my March 2012 monthly make.  This is pretty much the only thing I have completed this month, my Christmas Quilt Stitchery.

I obviously have to turn it into a quilt at some stage but that will be sometime towards the end of the year.

Following my visit to Sewing for pleasure last week at the NEC I attended Pins and Needles today with my friend Nic.  This year it was held at the Newcastle Racecourse which was a much better venue than the aircraft hanger style arena where it usually is.

(I did take some nice photos of the venue and the knitted underwater display which was amazing, I will blog these another time as this post is rather photo heavy already.)

We had fun and I stocked up on some gorgeous fabrics, this little lot were from Just Quilting

This little (*cough*) pile was from Images of Egypt

and here is an array of other bits and bobs, including some quilting gloves, buttons, threads, patterns and hoops. 

Check out my giant button, I love it, bought from Button's Boutique.

This is my favourite buy of the day, it's a cross stitch pattern in the shape of a sewing machine.  I did see this at Birmingham and hummed and harred, but I snapped it up today.  I'm thinking of sewing it in various shades of dusky pinks and greys but I've not decided yet. 

Well all shopped out I came home to a lovely parcel from Emma Bear Forever in the form of these two lovely grey squares.  Thanks again Emma.

Next weekend will be my two year blogiversary, and so I am planning a little giveaway, stay tuned!

Crafting on hold ...

Well it's time for a quick catch up, I have had a mental busy few weeks with work which has left me precious little time to make anything.  I did book a sneaky day's holiday last week though and spent a fabulous day at Birmingham NEC with my friend Lynda, nattering, shopping and generally putting the world to rights! 

This time I didn't spend a kings ransom and only really bought a few bits, a couple of them are for gifts so I can't show them here, but I did get a nice bargain from the Historical Sampler Company this sweet cross stitch, which was in the sale box:

 Lynda and I were lucky enough to meet the lovely Mandy Shaw of Dandelion Designs and we both pre ordered her new book Stitch at Home which I can't wait to get my hands on.

image from Dandelion Designs website 

I have yet another crafty event this weekend in the form of Pins and Needles, at Newcastle Race Course, it's an event that my lovely friend Nic and I never miss.  There will be lots of fab stalls and I think I was a little reserved in Birmingham so that I had enough cash left for Pins & Needles!  

I have fabric in mind and a few gifts... fingers crossed that the crazy grannies with their shopping trolleys, bad attitudes and sharp elbows are going on a different day to me!

In other crafty news more squares have arrived for the blanket swap and I now have quite a little pile gathering up.

The only craft I have been partaking in recently is my stitcheries for my Lynette Anderson Christmas Quilt. I have made a good start on the second big stitchery and only need to complete the border now.

 This is a nice project to pick up and put down when I have the odd 10 mins spare.

 Well, now that my back is no longer sore all day every day (just most days, for a good part of the day) I have started to get the spring cleaning bug.  As I looked around though I realised that it was more than that, spring cleaning just won't cut it, my home needs decorating badly.

I think as I knew I was not able to do it I have chosen not to see it, but it is definitely more shabby than chic at the moment and I am going to put that right soon.

As a consequence my crafting will have to be put on the back burner for a while while I whip this place into shape.  

My beloved, although wonderful in many hundreds of ways, is useless when it comes to decorating and DIY so it's all up to me!  I will use him for any heavy lifting, fetching and carrying and such though, he is good at that.

One of the first things I need to tackle is my kitchen, it just needs a lick of paint and a general clear out and deep clean.  It is so shabby and messy that I can't bear to put photos here just yet, but I will, I must document it for shame's sake.

I'm off to wallow in my squalor :0(

Back Soon

A Few Little Updates

 More squares arrived this week for the blanket swap, to date I have one large and six smaller squares that are itching to be joined together, thanks ladies. 

A little impromptu eBay win this week is this Trapunto Italian Quilting Cushion Kit.  The instructions are dated 1980 and they are typed (as in from a typewriter).  I've not attempted anything like this but I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

I have had the odd hour this week to craft and I have made a bit of progress with my first block for the Lynette Anderson Christmas Quilt.

 It's a bit shabby and creased but it's almost there!

Remember my cosy blanket I blogged about last time, well I popped back in to pick up another one for a friend and I spied the Orla ish one had been reduced by 50%, so for £4.50 I snapped it up too!

 And last but not least, I was the lucky winner of this sweet little Make Your Own Mouse Kit by Bustle and Sew.  I won this over at Annies blog, thanks again honey!

Well I'm planning on making a bit of progress with my Christmas Quilt this week, I will be back with an update soon.

Cosy New Blankie

Just wanted to pop in and share a little love I found this week.  

Super soft 'Vintage' style throw - very CK ish.  It's soooo very soft and it's my new TV blankie, you know when it's a bit chilly or you are a bit poorly and you just want to curl up on the couch.

I have shown it here on my bed just to give you an idea of the size of it, my bed is king size and it almost covers it.  For £8.99 I was rather pleased with it.  There is a stem print one in the same store which is very Orla Kiely - same price.  B&M Bargains again, one of the better cheap stores for neat finds.

In other news I have been busy with my crochet hook as I finished off all of my squares for the blanket swap last night.  I have posted most of these out this morning and the rest will be on their way on Monday. 

 

I really enjoyed making these but kind of glad I've finished now as I have another project that I'm itching to get on with, a Christmas Quilt of all things, in March!

A wonderful Lynette Anderson gift from a good friend and I am itching to make a start on it, I will keep you up to date with my progress on this.

My Slovenly Ways

Well this past week I've been loaded with cold and generally feeling under the weather.  I have not been able to make much as I have been literally sneezing and coughing all over everything.  I need to make more crochet squares for the blanket swap but I don't want to send squares filled with germs so that has been on hold this week.

On Friday I was looking for my phone in my handbag and it took me ages so I bit the bullet and tidied my handbag out!  

Wow, it was so bad I thought I would document it in an effort not to let it get in that state again.

I like to be prepared and I carry loads of crap around with me all day every day (no wonder I have a bad back!) but this is just insane!

The contents of my handbag on Friday...

 Medication for most known illnesses, I am not a hypochondriac honest!

 makeup bag, camera, purse and usb sticks

 diary, notebook, numerous receipts and 4 letters from the taxman (boo hiss!) I need to call them about.

 hairspray, deodorant, perfume, two hand creams, two anti bacterial hand wash bottles, two lip balms and two lip glosses

  A coffee cosy, a strawberry bag, a sewing kit and a pack of mini pegs (WTF!)

 Business cards, 4 pens, a set of post it notes, numerous loyalty cards and a scale rule

 orange raisins, a chocolate bar from Christmas, a complementary chocolate from the takeaway, 5 open packets of chewing gum and three loose midget gems!

 eight nail files, a comb, two hair bobbles and a clip

 a brolly, leather gloves, my beloved iphone and headphones, 3p and a broken bracelet (now fixed!)

 three open packets of tissues, some wet wipes and a cotton hankerchief

 Believe it or not this is is all rationalised and tidy! 

I just can't let it get in that state again and I need to remember one of everything is fine, honestly! 

In other news I have been tempted into the world of Kindles!  Since I have been crafting these last couple of years my reading had dried up.  I just looked at time reading as time away from crafting, but since I have been unable to make much I have found myself reading more and more.  Two of my friends have been tempting me into the world of kindles and I rather quickly gave in and bought myself one (thanks Judith & Beki!).

I LOVE IT!

image from Amazon 

Besides it's technical qualities and the fact that I can take thousands of books with me anywhere, I get the chance to look into suitable kindle covers I can make!

Well, if nothing else it's something else to cart around in my massive bag with me every day! :0)