July 2026

So July has now gone: I always thought August was the hottest month but I really hope not!  I'm happy up to about 25 degrees,  but this over 32 degrees stuff is no fun!

Unfortunately the sewing room is in the loft so has been too hot, but I still have a fair number of crafty photos to send your way!

Chertsey ladies made the Val bowls

I'm drying lavender from the garden for the next Chertsey session

I made Norwegian and English gingers ready for the FIFA semi finals

and a vest for gorgous grandson to wear

I met with Vicky and Plum for a sewing session at Richmond Museum - but had forgotten to bring any sewing.  Vicky very kindly produced a kit for a HouseWife - a sewing kit used by soldiers during WW1 and WW2.  I love it!  Thank you Vicky

I ran a bag making class at the village hall: 9 ladies attended and all made 2 bags, some managed three.  It was a lovely evening

I did some work on an old 1.5 inch squares blocks postage stamp project.  I plan to leave them on the sewing bench and use them as enders and leaders, hopefully it will grow a bit this year

I've prepped some baggies for the kitchen sink hand sewing project, ready for my holidy at the end of August

and made a packable flat needle case / pin cushion

A friend now has a new grandson, so here is Ronnie's I-spy quilt

And a cousin also has a new grandson so I made him a quilt to match his sisters' quilts (search Saga and Theia if you want to see them too)

I helped a friend decorate a school shirt for her youngest's school leavers day

and I updated another friend's scout camp shirt from a cancelled camp (covid) to the replacement camp

I also made gingers for all the kitchen staff at the camp

all 36 of them!

Lisa, Jackie and I went to Festival of Quilts.  We may have done some shopping!  

And we spotted Plum's (not a) clothes moth

August 2025

 I finally seem to have a month where I can show some making

Jackie came over and we went to Festival of Quilts with Lisa and did some sewing

I finished a crocheted scarf for my mum

Lovely Janet at church made some baby sets for the under-construction baby

I did some hand quilting on the mandala quilt, but it looks as if you'll have to take my word for it!  It's been put away until the cooler weather though!

I went on a course doing foil embossing - great fun!

I did a couple of shifts at Windsor Baptist Church: we made Trolls and Rainbow Fish

I did a final few patches for Tara

I made these for the new baby: toys but also for photographs to identify their age in days, weeks, months or years.  There will be another cube with those 4 words on (eventually)

I mad a few Gingers for various international August "Days": Lizard Day

And Bow Day

Dog Lover Day

And Zoo Appreciation Day!

Last year I planted dozens of sunflower seeds, replanted the healthiest looking plants, nurtured them, prepared beds for them and planted them in the garden, watered them regularly . . . Apparently for the benefit of the slugs. The few that weren't decimated only grew to 6" and never flowered. This year I have one sunflower plant - it had seeded itself, has been ignored by me (and the slugs?), I never watered it . . . The blinking thing is happy, healthy and taller than me! 

We went to a family wedding and had a great time

(Niki is starting to look pregnant!)

I got ahead of myself with A September Ginger: Talk like a Pirate day on 19th September!

I have stitched an altar topper for the Lady Chapel at Church.  It needs to be ironed, assembled, quilted and bound, but at the end of July it was just fabric off the roll, so not too bad!

AND have completed an I-Spy quilt for a friends new granddaughter

And exciting news for our monthly Stitch and Crafty Church groups:  We don't pay rent for the hall so when another group wanted to pay rent to use the hall every Saturday and Sunday I couldn't object.  The rea hall was a school room (preschool) until last summer then was an unsuccessful boxing club but it finally empty and clean, so the sewing groups and the Repair Café are moving into the smaller hall.  We should be able to leave stuff out, and advertise the space for other craft groups as a studio space - how exciting!!!

And right at the end of the month I attended a Silversmith class with LaJade and made a solver pendant

2024 August

 Hello again from my corner of the blogiverse

The ladies at Chertsey museum took the idea of mini dwellings as pin cushions and really went for it - aren't these great!

This month we did some crayoned pictures: trace a picture, then crayon to your heart's content, on the back of the picture onto kitchen paper, until the kitchen paper doesn't show any colour, then stitch 

 

 

 

Jackie, Lisa and I went to Festival of quilts for the day: we saw Plums gorgeous Megan's forest mini quilt

And may have done some shopping!

We had a family day out to "scatter mum's ashes".  She had a lovely day!  For anyone who doesn't know, she wants her ashes scattered at sea when she goes, and we thought it would be a shame she wouldn't be there, so we have a picnic and a trial run!

Huge thanks to Rhona and Martin (and their boat) who made it a fabulous day

Blackberries from the village and apples from the garden

So I started this blanket is Texas.  I love the colours but I don't love the shape.  I was quite convinced I needed a chain between each shell, but apparently (and clearly) not.  I fell out of love with the shells too

So with Deb's help at coffee morning it all got frogged and I've started again

This time I managed a chainless foundation (yay, go me)

and I'm much happier with how it's going

I'm trying to get more into the habit or regular haircuts - so this

minus this

became this

I did a few patches for my friends at Windsor Baptist's church's community bakery

I cut a whole load of houses for a QYG village

and then we went on holiday: not too shabby eh?

We met up with family

 

saw beautiful scenery

and wildlife

and wool shops!

(six of these ladies in the public lounge were knitting!)

and we saw the northern lights!

and one off the bucket list: we travelled the Atlantic road

And finally an update: the quilt I made Niki and George for the wedding: totally appreciated by the youngest member of their family!!!!

(if you want more photos from our holiday there are here: https://hickleysonholiday.blogspot.com/2024/09/2024-hurtigruten-norway.html)