Week 42 - More Gingers and other stuff

The sweatshirts to be embroidered still haven't been delivered, the sew-it-together-then-cut-it-up-and-sew-it-again quilt (aka Square Dance) has been, you guessed, cut up and sewing back together (now waiting for wadding and 505 spray)

The gorgeous baby brights have been stitched together, also waiting for wadding and spray

My poor crochet circle was looking OKish but then I folded it in half and realised no amount of blocking could cure this

so it has been frogged again, and started again - this time actually following a pattern but still isn't flat - groan!  

I  am amassing the world's largest collection of circular and kind-of-circular crochet patterns on Pinterest but not being able to read a crochet pattern is a minor hindrance!  If anyone wants to step in with instructions (or to tell me I clearly don't have the skills so go back to a square) I'm very happy to listen!

One of my favourites in the two villages was delighted to be made Head Prefect at the village school, and her little sister came out of school with "look mummy I got a badge too" (so cute!) so I wanted to make them both a ginger (can you tell, Lizzie was getting bored!)  

Their best friend (another favourite) is mad about owls  so I made her one too

Then a bit of doubling up - these two window Gingers for Halloween and Remembrance Day are 8" tall rather than the usual 4

Still no sweatshirts!  I like to have something to do with Lizzie as at least it gives me a short break from the computer and a chance to stretch my legs going round the workbench to do the next stage

The amazing Sue who sells embroidery designs at Memories in Threads launched a new design - I resisted for a short while but knew I'd give in in the end.  These are not evidence from a CSI crime scene (thank you Tara for that image) but rather the beginning of my Yule Nisse!

This is the next stage - this looks like Harry Houdini getting into a box (admittedly he had his head with him!)

So finally my Yule Nisse (Norwegian name for the Swedish Tomte that is everywhere this year) is finished

I had a bit of beard left over so thought I'd play at making 2D versions - they still need some design tweaking but they knock up much quicker than their 3D cousin - oh dear, I need to buy some more beard fur!!!!

I hope life is being kind to you xxx

2020 Wk 40 - One thing at a time???

 I really should work on one thing at a time . . .  but that's no challenge!!!

I've got a delivery of 80 sweatshirts due next week to embroider for my friend's pre-school so anything 'fun' that needs embroidering needs to be done now . . .

The Halloween quilt has been finished and delivered to a very happy aunty

There was febric left over, so now I've got a few Happy Halloween banners / flags on the go: so far I've forgotten to trim the ginger off the bottom half of one before adding the lettering, forgotten to change to orange thread for the pumpkin, put the black and the orange felt in the wrong place so there are missing bits, and run out of glow in the dark thread (the one I bought last week!) - that's going well LOL

Because they aren't stressful enough I'm also making a baby quilt from a hoard of fab brights (which only had 40 in the back not the 42 promised so I've added from stash)

And I ordered some Alison Glass sun prints fabric and spent ages auditioning them before I stitched them all together . . . wrong!  I have unpicked and re-sewn the dodgy blocks 

And I am now cutting them up to make a square dance / Lil twister quilt (like these) but forgot that I should add the border first (doh!) so am trying to that at the same time AND cope with questionable spatial awareness!

(just whisper it, but so far so good!)

Anyway, on the positive front, this insipid Trip Around the World (honest) is finished and in the Linus Quilt pile

The EPP triangles flimsy is growing

Lisa and Jim finally moved into their house (this was the stuff we couldn't find room for elsewhere!  I think this will be my favourite room when it's all cleared)

The Plus Quilt is also finished.  As it's hand pieced it's probably a bit fragile for a Linus Quilt, so it's waiting for a good home

I finally finished some little bowls that Jackie and I started years ago - they were possibly meant to have zipped tops but finished was better than perfect so no zip

And finally I've changed my Google profile picture . . . this sticker came with a McDonald's Happy Meal, and the whole family said it looks like me!!!!

2020 Week 39 - Gingers Galore

 Halloween is approaching!  The friend who organised the "We're all in this together" Facebook events in the two villages (that fueled the Gingers sensation) is now planning a Pumpkin Trail.  It's obviously not safe for the kids to be accepting sweets from residents who may be inadvertently passing on the virus so we are at least hoping to give them all a number of displays to visit.

Of course this means Pumpkin and Halloween Gingers!!!

About the same time I was commissioned to make a Halloween quilt, so I might have made some more Gingers but as applique rather than hanging ones

What you cant see is that for the spider's eyes and around the letters in the name I have used glow in the dark thread!!!  I couldn't do more as this was the last few foot of precious glow thread that I've had for ages, but it was such fun to use I've given in and bought other spool

The quilt is looking good, just need to finish the binding.

But it's not the only one!  There are three waiting to be done!

Continuing the ginger theme . . .  yesterday was my birthday - I got two hand drawn Ginger cards from little fans in the village, and 5 Ginger Birthday themed images and GIFs from friends on Facebook!!!

I've clearly got myself a reputation!!!

Other birthday pressies included a painting by numbers kit (and a promise of a painting session with the girls one afternoon as they have one each too), a note book with a hand made hexie themed cover from Plum, a rock with an ammonite fossil in it (found and gifted by paleontologist God Daughter) and a beautiful carved wooden candle stick from a 'pre-loved' furniture barn near Lisa's new house

And a gorgeous bunch of flowers from Jackie!

2020 Week 38

Going away for a short break means packing hand sewing stuff!!! 

I tacked a whole load of EPP triangles and managed to join some together

I've started a cross stitch (a bit boring so far but it will grow)

We did a family jigsaw - none of us really enjoyed it!!

And admired Lisa's Persian tiles crochet as she added the cream border

Whe we got home again Lisa and Jim had finally exchanged contracts!  So in a few weeks the kitties will be goinmg to live with them - I made them each a little quilt to take with them!

They seem to have been approved!

Also receiving a feline seal of approval is the Plus Quilt which I though was there waiting for the biding to be stitched down in front of the TV - but clearly it was there for a different reason!!!

There has been some embracing of one's inner Hippy!

Hair might have been dyed

And clothes might have been tie dyed (not so much of the tying though)  Double Dye isn't too much is it????

And finally for today - *another* friend has become a granny!  So another quilt has gone int the post!  This one is from Jackie and me to a lovely friend of ours

2020 Wk 36

 I seem to be better at taking photos that I am at blogging - so to create a blog post I look at the photos I took recently: and here they are

I sent a niece in America a quilt when she had number 1, but a year later when number 2 arrived I didn't even think of it!  Anyway I got my act together during lock down and made and posted off the second one - she sent me this lovely pic of they have a fort movie night!

The embroidery of Lisa' new house has been finished - she wanted it as a gift for the vendors!

This plus quilt has finally been fully quilted in spirals on alternate plus blocks.  The lovely Karen from Richmond and Kew quilters occassionally works in a quilt shop so she is going to find me some fabric suitable for binding

I hand quilted a Mickey Mouse block quilt . . .

. . . and appear to have quality control approval for it

I did some babygro / onesie embroidery for a customer (and about 100 Pumpkins t shirts but that's too boring to photograph!!!)

My spiral crochet is growing - I still haven't found the optimum count for increasing so it alternates between being too many (a bit wavy) and too few (the edges curl up) but I'm hoping that when I've finished / got fed up blocking will make it lay perfectly

This insipid quilt got pieced and quilted - it's almost impossible to see the different fabrics but if you look closely there is a round-the-world effect around where the button mirror is placed.  It's been quilted to show the ever increasing diamonds and will be bound and sent off to Linus Quilts sometime.  I really don't love it but it used up some unwanted stash

I got two amazing cards in the post yesterday: This one which even husband and daughters could immediate name show three work colleagues

And this one which arrived just 24 hours after a quilt for baby Oliver arrived in Canada - aint progress wonderful!!!!