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

2024 May

 Here comes the usual photo bomb of crafty things from my May:

Chertsey Fun With Fabric group brought show and tell in the shape of these cute rabbits we made in April with Stephanie's help

And for May's class we made pinch pouches for scissors or other treasures

  

I made my sample out of a patchwork orphan block and still have some left over so I used it on a pouch for Niki's Kindle which I was using for holidays

I did some embroidery for customers

and helped Lisa bind this awesome quilt.  She had a vision of adding orange, for a while it might have had orange sashing, but it changed to orange backing . . . 

. . . and a flange on the binding which was a first for me

Brian and I spent half of May in Texas at dad's.  Lisa took advantage of us being there and ordered fabric for us to bring back (this is just part of her haul)

I may have bought some too

I did some hand sewing while I was there, a brick I-Spy quilt

And this "Kawandi" style cowl for the winter, and as a class sample.   Kawandi is a combination of 'plonk applique' and kantha stitching

The edges can be turned under but I went with raw edge.  It's all tacked, I just need to start the final stitching

Lisa used up some of her left over orange fabric to trial a quilt-as-you-go mini quilt while she waited for me to bring back her purchases

And I picked up some wool for a few crochet projects

This started as a blanket but then I decided to see if I can make a cardigan.  I'm sure I don't need instructions????

Eileen also bought some wool and asked me to start her off, I may have got a bit carried away!

See you next month xx

2022 July

Hello lovely people - here are some of the things I've been involved with this month.

My Chertsey Museum class made (or started to make) giant Dorset Buttons: I'm looking forward to see how these turn out

I saw a pinterest idea for "making" a jacket - I bought a huge hoodie on Vinted for £2:50 and cut the seams away, and now I'm adding denim scraps - photo to follow!

In the really hot weather I bought what I planned to be a cool tub - but husband had a Heath Robinson moment (or several of them) and added a solar mat and a pump to recycle the water and heat it

Not quite as cooling as I'd expected - but a great place to spend d a few hours on a hot evening!

I met up with some friends for secondary school (we left school 40 years ago this summer!)  So I made a Ginger wearing our school uniform to thank the organiser of the afternoon

and he's been joined by a Welsh lady as a request from a friend: she's a first draft so version2 should be better

I sent to the hair dressers - actually more accurately, she came to me - I went pink . . .

And I went short!

I spent evenings in the cooling garden cutting up a LOT of denim that I have collected /  been donated: I have some plans!!!

I stitch 6 Forget-me-not hexie flowers for the Facebook swap, and 

and have received most of the incoming flowers

Our Community Coffee Morning has finally been graced with the presence of a Library: venry exciting.  It's only open on a Monday morning . . .

But this is where I found my girls on Saturday morning during our Stitch session - in their happy library den!!!

I had a weekend with girlfriends in York, and had been directed to check out three fabric / button shops: just look at this one!!!  I *may* have spent some money (thanks Tara!!!)

The raspberries and red currents have finished in the garden, and we now have blackberries, so more crumble has been made and eaten!

I've been stitching together some of the denim scraps into blocks

and have been stitching these brown fabrics into a flimsy for mum

Much of the sewing has been ten minutes here, 15 minutes there and ideas are piling up much quicker than I can get things done so the sewing room is a dreadful tip at the moment - I will tidy up sometime in the next 18 days as Jackie will be arriving then and there just might be some sewing happening!!!

Keep cool and keep crafting!