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

2019 Wk 41 - Working with Jackie

Working (ie sewing) with Jackie . . . and shopping with Jackie at the Alexandra Palace Knitting and Stitching show makes for a pretty fab weekend!

We made a couple of 'Fold Up Sewing Folio's from Aneela Hoey's Stitched Sewing Organisers book (we had to put an elastic strap on as we didn't have enough fabric for the fastening strap)

And these Stash and Go drawstring bags

(the mint zippie was a repair for oldest daughter)

The lovely Kathy sent us instructions on how to make her Japanese Eco market tote bag and we made these

These pouches came from this blog and although they took more than the promised ten minutes, they were really quick to make

These Handy Fold-up pouches also came from Aneela's book

and prompted this larger i-pad sized version

And finally we made Emmaline's retreat bag (just one got photographed!)

Not bag for really just a day and a half of sewing as we also spent a day at the Knitting and Stitching show!

I bought some great iron on plastic from Happy Fabric (this is my first test piece)

and some felted sheets to line some tube mittens

Some additional shades of pearle quilting threads, and some Advent calendar ribbons, together with some felt that is a bit more 'gingerbread man' coloured

And a skein of sari scraps with should allow me to make a scarf like this one

2019 Wk 5 - Off to Ireland

Chertsey Museum class was on last Friday and we made triangular purses.  Mostly these were made from leather, pleather / faux leather and fleece so no sewing although some ladies did use fabric.  We used Kam poppers which are really sturdy, and we had fun!

The next day I was up at 3:30am!!!  And off to the airport for the first flight to Ireland.  By the time I would normally be waking up I had been driven to Heathrow, flown to Dublin, been picked up and delivered to Jackie's and we were in the sewing room deciding what to make first!!!

These were the winners - pink penguin's cover lunch bag aka a very useful bag

We then made the first of 4 pay-it-forward gifts I have committed to on facebook.  This is for a niece who had sent a link to an infinity scarf with a zipped pocket for phone or keys.  I took the sent link to be a subtle hint so we made one and it will go in the post tomorrow

 We then made a pair of hobo / project bags fussy cutting some bold Ikea flowers (thank you Sharon)

Jackie has made a few Sew Together pouches, and this time we thought we'd have a go at the mini one.  It was a bit fiddly as were had to use the original instructions with the 'mini' adjustments but we got there in the end

 We made (started!) some storage pods

 and some larger-than-we-expected bowls

And then we went to have cuddles with little Miss Gorgeous

And the slightly boisterous big brothers (I am sooo jealous - isn't Jackie greedy having 3 grandchildren while I have none!  I am lucky that she shares though!!!)

we did our usual gift exchange but most of the goodies I brought home have been put into use (love the mug!) or put away before being photographed, but this has stayed on my wrist - so far it's decorative but who knows when I will need to measure something and will be able to!!!