2021 Week 26

Sorry - photo overload . . . you have been warned!

I know this is mostly a crafty blog - but I did make this gorgeous girl!!!!

#2 daughter is still best friends with three girls she met at school (aged just 5) and two of then are getting married this year . . . and having the other 3 as their bridesmaids.  The first wedding was last Saturday.  

This little minx is the next bride to be in a few weeks time

The bridesmaids and their partners (just the groom missing!)

We found the groom

Niki wanted a photo with "Mumma and Papa P" - the brides' parents.  

He started his speech by thanking the bridesmaids and how they'd been in and out of his house so often throughout their childhood he thought of them as extra daughters - that set them all off sobbing . . . luckily I had made plenty of tissue cases so they could dry their eyes!  (Talk to Me ginger is nothing to do with the wedding, he just wanted to be in the photo!)

I made tissue cases with white embroidery for bride and groom (or may have forgotten the change the thread but keep that under your hat!) which went down well too . . . as did the ginger bride and groom!

I was given one of the table displays and am currently drying all the flowers - I'm experimenting with resin but they need to be dry first - 

I've also got some flowers being pressed, and one bud (hopefully) drying in salt

There was a bit of dress lining and a fair bit of dress fabric left after the (very traumatic) taking up of the dress so I made a rope bowl, maybe to put the resin results in.

2020 Wk 18 - how to find your Mojo

I realised today what had enabled me to start sewing again after last week's slump: look at the computer and see that there is lots to do for the Parish Council (actions from the auditor's report, get quotes for new website and new insurance) the village hall committee (write agenda for and arrange a virtual meeting and finish all my actions from the last meeting), the vicar (safeguarding training and a list by month but not year of the parishioners who have died in the last 3 years, plus write agenda for and arrange a virtual meeting), and start a new post as hub lead for the Parent and Family Hub for the villages' voluntary group. (I cant believe I have never needed a procrastination label before!)

No idea where to start or how to prioritise these jobs (Amo feel free to organise me) so I did some sewing instead!!!

For the lovely Tara who comes to Crafty Church I made this (she is a scene of crime officer!  Hi Tara, thank you - SOCOs are still working and get to dress like this all year round, nothing to do with COVID 9!))

I made this guy in army camouflage, and a Mrs Mop - another two groups who are still working and doing a great job

 But now I'm out of the right shade of brown, so production has halted

I have had to stop making masks as I'm out of elastic too, but I have been giving virtual lessons, and helping out with fabric

I think I've has this 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' fabric for at least 10 years, with no particular purpose for it so happily gifted it to my friend Jane, whose daughter Polly (who you have met before on the blog) is a teacher in, wait for it, Caterpillar class!!!!

I managed to de-stash, to a good cause, and even better I got flowers and some of the world's best flapjack - still warm from Jane's oven!!!

And a lovely FB comment "With B’s guidance and fabric I managed to make these for daughter, a reception class teacher (caterpillar class!) if she has to wear masks when they go back hopefully she won’t scare the little ones any more than normal"

Also from FB: I made the bus Ginger to acknowledge our super 305 bus driver, but he wasn't on the group where I've been posting the photos.  Someone took a screen shot of it for him and this was his comment

"Just when U think life couldn't throw u another surprise u are immortalised as a ginger gingerbread bus driver.  Thank U very touched"

And yes there is more (obviously really struggling with what to start with for work)  Two nesting felt bowls (for useful stuff)

Delicious fluffy scones from plum's recipe

A super post card from Avril "We may be behind our door and windows but we are still connected"

I've started Hexi flowers for the May Hexi Swap Challenge, and have really enjoyed fussy cutting the fabric

And finally have repurposed a too big lining from a wooden crate into a useful big square bag for crochet or other "stuff"

2020 Wk 17 - This Virtual world

"Kay" and I wanted to make a lemon drizzle cake - my friend Carol sent me her m-i-l's recipe, but I had to have a virtual lesson -

We go there in the end

but she had to cover some fairly basic instructions!!!  Like lemon rind?  Is that the same as zest?  Can I use this?

(the answer is no, better to use one of these

Is this enough? (the answer is yes)

Does it matter that the tin looks too big? (the answer is no)

Anyway, we got there in the end and it's delicious!

I attended a virtual 5th birthday party (lovely to see the bunting behind the birthday family (top right))

And Jackie and I did some more shared work on this lovely quilt - adding flying geese and then  border to finish the design - LOVE this!!!

 And a finish!!!!

This has been ongoing for quite a while (looks like the flowers started September 2014), and the finishing was a real pain, but it's done! Hand sewn, hand quilted and hand finished

2019 Wk 30 - some progress

Thanks to the big horizontal surfaces we have at Crafty Church I managed to get three tops spray basted - I don't even think I showed this first one as a completed flimsy!  1767 hexies!!!

It has been spray basted onto a fleece blanket, and tacked around the edges, but quilting (it will be hand quilted inside the flowers!) is a hot task, so that will wait until the cooler months

Same with this one: fewer pieces (270 maybe?), and a smaller result (definitely just a lap quilt as I ran out of Australian fabrics and didn't want too much repetition) ), but spray basted onto fleece and waiting to be quilted

and finally this one has been spray basted onto just a cotton sheet.  It will be machine quilted but will have to wait its turn  (thank you Jackie for the gorgeous FQ pack!)

The reason the sunshine block will have to wait?  There are 4 brick wall i-spy quilts that have been cut and are being pieced, so the machine is threaded with grey until these are done - I have a stall at a village fair at the end of next month so I need to have some stuff to show and hopefully sell!!!

And because there has to be *some* EPP going on . . . I've started piecing this one

2019 Wk 28 Serendipity!

I went for a job interview earlier this week: at a local university (Royal Holloway) which has recently opened a new library, named after Suffragette Emily Davison.  She was probably best known for being killed by a horse at a horse race.  She had attended Royal Holloway University.

The interview seemed to go well, but I have no idea how I did compared to the others who applied - however even if I didn't get the job it was worth the trip as I got to see a fantastic triptiage wall hanging depicting Emily:

and I got a few zoomed in pics of the quilting

I could have spent hours just looking at it!!!

And outside there was a gorgeous patch of wild flowers

I had to leave eventually though!!!  Having been to Richmond and Kew on Monday I had some selvedge edges donated by the lovely Plum, which I sat and added to previous donations

I have enough now to do something with - I just need to be inspired!!!