Apology Monday
I have to start with an apology. One of my lovely readers emailed me to point out that a comment I made yesterday could be considered offensive. I would like to say sorry to any American readers who were annoyed or offended by my post.
**edited to add: I do understand, and there was further reasoning, why this caused offense. I am happy it was pointed out and would rather write this post to make my point clearer than to have confusion. If you weren't offended then I'm glad but this is for those who were or might have been. Everyone has an opinion and all are valid.
To clarify I have to state that neither me or my Nan are Anti-American. For me the complete opposite would be true; I've spent most of my life wishing I lived there, after living in CO when I was younger and family living in beautiful CA. I wasn't trying to debate the meaning / religious heritage / cultural meaning of Mother's Day or Mothering Sunday either, just reminding myself of the fact that my Nan prefers the later term. She dislikes the change in our style of speaking, in part influenced by the American language (which is what I meant by Americanism) but also no doubt many other factors of our globalised world, the internet and technology included. For a 96 year old she is incredibly open minded (and seriously smart, she did a politics degree in her 60s) but she can be very particular about linguistics. I am not making excuses, I hope that all makes sense and I'm very sorry if I unintentionally offended you.
**edited to add: I do understand, and there was further reasoning, why this caused offense. I am happy it was pointed out and would rather write this post to make my point clearer than to have confusion. If you weren't offended then I'm glad but this is for those who were or might have been. Everyone has an opinion and all are valid.
To clarify I have to state that neither me or my Nan are Anti-American. For me the complete opposite would be true; I've spent most of my life wishing I lived there, after living in CO when I was younger and family living in beautiful CA. I wasn't trying to debate the meaning / religious heritage / cultural meaning of Mother's Day or Mothering Sunday either, just reminding myself of the fact that my Nan prefers the later term. She dislikes the change in our style of speaking, in part influenced by the American language (which is what I meant by Americanism) but also no doubt many other factors of our globalised world, the internet and technology included. For a 96 year old she is incredibly open minded (and seriously smart, she did a politics degree in her 60s) but she can be very particular about linguistics. I am not making excuses, I hope that all makes sense and I'm very sorry if I unintentionally offended you.
Regardless of where we live, what language we speak, our religion or traditions I know we can all agree how special Mothers are and they deserve to be celebrated. Yesterday Joan gave me this lovely card:
I do carry my heart around and it hurts to think I've upset anyone. Love to you all.
(just in case you were wondering, that pink bit is my skirt!!)
corrected by my Nan
I hope those of you in the UK have enjoyed Mothering Sunday! I called my Nan earlier and the kids wished her a 'Happy Mother's Day', she was of course delighted but later in the conversation admitted to being annoyed at receiving cards saying 'Happy Mother's Day' when it is traditionally called Mothering Sunday. I suspect it is another of those Americanisms that she hates regards with disdain. So this is a note to self to remember to always wish her a joyful Mothering Sunday! We had a lovely chat and I was laughing with her so much that when I put the phone down I cried. In sadness, at the loss of my Grandad (she reminded me of some very funny stories about him - they were married for over 60 years), but also in joy at how close we are.
A gorgeous bundle of fabric arrived for me on Friday, the very talented Kelly had a giveaway from The Village Haberdashery (Annie sure is fast at getting parcels sent out!). Thank you Kelly and Annie!
I'm absolutely in love with it but have yet to decide what will become of it, triangles maybe? My next EPP quilt?
I couldn't resist getting this FQ from work to add to my rose star quilt and I've been eyeing up a lot of fabric but need to crack on with my WIPs for now rather than adding more to my stash!
On another note I have over 600 unread emails in my inbox and as much as I want to read through them all and reply I have to admit defeat and that's just not going to happen. So if you've emailed me a question or something and I've not got back to you please try again and I will try to keep on top of them better from now on (but can't promise)!
I am now one of those bloggers...
who works part time at the local quilt shop!
Tomorrow is SALE DAY! So that's a good reason to come along!
You will occasionally find me here! Patchfinders is a specialist quilt shop that has two floors filled with gorgeous fabric and everything that a quilter needs. It also has a great teaching space where workshops are held and I hope to be able to teach some classes in the future.
Upstairs there is more space that you can hire for just £3 per person per half day (£6 per day) and that includes tea and coffee. A fabulous place to come and work on your projects, alone or with friends!
Patchfinders don't sell online but if you are in the Cheshire / Manchester area it is well worth a visit! And you can always call to place an order.
Tomorrow is SALE DAY! So that's a good reason to come along!
SALE DAY Saturday 29th March 15% off Everything!!
I know not all of you are near the shop so please be nice followers and like the Patchfinders facebook page, where you'll find more info and sneak peeks! :)
bunch of pictures of custom orders
It does seem that people like to have kids names on stuff and I love doing it! Appliqué is the fastest way but I do love to do some stitching...
I'm working on finishing another custom order and this will be turned into a cushion by the end of the week.
I'm snatching whatever time I have to sew but what with teachers striking (rightly) today, my son now on antibiotics for infected chickenpox spots and a very inquisitive 14 month old, I have three little ones keeping me very busy. I also have two helpers to sort out a huge pile of recycling and chuck it into the bins so that's the rest of my afternoon sorted!
Kids in a sweet shop!
This weekend was a lot of fun. My son was so thrilled to have his 6th birthday in a sweet shop! You should have heard the gasps of excitement as we entered the shop, he had a look around and proclaimed that he wanted to move in.
I don't have much of a sweet tooth but I wanted to move in as well. Nostalgia for the parents, fun for the kids and everyone took lots of sweeties home!
They decorated chocolate bars, played fun traditional party games (musical statues etc) and follow the leader running around the shop! Despite that sounding like it would be total chaos, it wasn't. The party was so well organised, nicely timed and it really is the best sweet shop I've ever been to.
A Sweet Thought have shops in Bramhall and Didsbury and I honestly couldn't recommend it more as a party location and even just for a visit to stock up on goodies! It was brilliant. I made sure to get some of my favourite rhubarb and custard sweets and they are delicious. I'm fairly sure the grown ups bought more sweets than the kids took home and we've all been impressed by the quality. Well worth a visit if you get a chance.
Obviously the best bit was my very happy kiddos! He was in really good spirits but we could tell he wasn't quite himself... that made sense when he woke up this morning covered in spots of the chickenpox variety. So he'll be off school for a couple of days at least. Thankfully the other kids at the party have all had it already and I'm just hoping the girls don't catch it!
Normal sewing posts will resume shortly, though I've got my hands full at the moment.
Now you are six
Happy Birthday my gorgeous boy!
You are the sweetest boy, with the kindest heart and the best sense of humour. You are creative, thoughtful and sensitive. Every day I am so proud and happy to be your mother. Seeing you grow and gain confidence in yourself is one of my greatest joys.
You love singing along to 'happy' and copying all Pharrell's moves, you like being bigger than your sisters and making them laugh, and you write the best stories and notes.
 |
| 'phone' rhymes with 'Joan' |
You are really looking forward to your birthday party at the sweet shop this weekend !
divide and order - le challenge
This month's theme at le challenge was order. Something that we need lots of around here! I chose to use Noodleheads fabulous Divided Basket pattern to make a basket for all my rose star fabrics and papers (see an update on the quilt here).
For the main part of the basket I used Cactus Calico in Fiesta, Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt; the pocket is Wallflower in Piney Woods, Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt and the binding is Feathers in Grass, Sun Print by Alison Glass; the lining is Dotty curtain fabric in lime and the handles are cotton webbing.
It goes rather nicely with the thread catcher fabric basket I made last month!
So now everything's in order and I can get on with getting the quilt finished. I will try not to make another basket for next months link though I really could use these cute baskets in every room!
Head over to le challenge to see what everyone else made and link up your 'order' projects (anything you've made this month that fits that theme). The new theme will be announced tomorrow.
le challenge housekeeping
Just a reminder that tomorrow the linky for this month's Le Challenge theme ORDER will open. If you have any finished projects that fit in with the theme please link them up - you have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop if you do! Find out all about what to do, what not to do and all your questions about Le Challenge answered HERE.
The blog has lots of inspiration and we aren't judging, just sharing our projects based on the theme! So if you have something you've made that creates order, is in any way ordered or has any kind of tenuous link to order in any way then come and join in - the link opens at 10am GMT on the 14th and stays open until the 16th at 11am GMT.
See you tomorrow with my order finish!
The blog has lots of inspiration and we aren't judging, just sharing our projects based on the theme! So if you have something you've made that creates order, is in any way ordered or has any kind of tenuous link to order in any way then come and join in - the link opens at 10am GMT on the 14th and stays open until the 16th at 11am GMT.
See you tomorrow with my order finish!
my mascot
I started making this for my eldest daughter as a stocking stuffer for Christmas but since it took me about 8 hours to sew together she isn't going to have it!! Not that she doesn't deserve to have something I've spent time on but I can't stand to think what the doll would look like after she's been 'played' with. So instead she's become my sewing mascot. A little buddy to have hanging around while I sew:
She can guard my stash or keep my sewing machine warm
She was designed by Danielle Thompson of Kitschy Digitals and was free with Issue 34 of Mollie Makes. Another check off my FAL list. At this point I have to keep checking what's on there, I really should keep a written copy of the list somewhere so I can see it! At least four of them are going to roll over to Quarter 2 anyway though. I have some commissions and a lot of small things to make in the next few days.
On 22nd March I am going to have a stall at a craft fair with my mum so I am planning on turning all these bits of leftover binding into lanyards to sell. I always make too much binding, since I'm doing it anyway I like making extra for scrappy bindings or small projects. I am going to need to get making quilts though because I won't have any left after this!
it is this big
I've been working away at my rose star quilt. I thought I was done making blocks but I decided to add one more row (I can't help myself). I have 4 blocks left to make and will then start work on the border. It's been a while since you've seen a progress shot of the whole thing and not all sewn up so here you go:
Too busy to bother measuring it so you will just have to trust me when I say it is this big.
Here's the latest 2 blocks to start the last row:
Busy, busy finishing other projects but nothing beats coming back to this one and spending the evening English paper piecing. Ah even basting the shapes brings me joy, especially since I've got faster. I have a plan for the border and I think it might take a while so this will not get done this FAL quarter but I don't care. Loving every laid back stitch.
Linking up to the lovely Hydee:
All the trimmings
Recently I finished making this cushion using vintage trims and you can find the tutorial over on the terry's fabrics 'how to' site - check out Fiona's super cute beachy draught excluder too. I like the vintage but simple modern look of this cushion and it's really quick to sew:
I love lace and ribbon and random decorative trims, I would hoard baskets full of that stuff if I could! Better to put them to use though and they really look pretty against the powder blue dotty fabric.
Another check off my FAL list :)
the cats in the hats
Happy World Book Day!
I took these two cats to school this morning, passing lots of robots, knights and princesses on the way! I used this tutorial to make the hats, made bow brooches, stuffed a couple of black pop socks and sewed them on as tails. Eye liner nose and whiskers complete the look.
Had to share a picture of the gap toothed baby as well.
I'll leave you with a slightly creepy note that Fred wrote, although apparently he was pretending he was an elf, which makes it less spooky!
A slightly boring wordless wednesday*
* though at least I'm putting my pins to good use
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