Christmas is coming , this Quilters getting fat...( or Let the Moose Fest Begin )

 

Chop chop busy busy... things to do , places to go and all that. Like all you lovely readers I've been on the go non stop for the past few weeks but do you know, its finally all coming together. Seasonal over eating and imbibing has begun and will continue apace as all the gang arrive home over the coming days and weeks. Of course in this house it is the annual Moose fest, when every nook and cranny is packed with Mooses of every shape and size. I love these beasts, small or large and my long suffering family humour me, I am pleased to say, with new additions each year to my growing heard. My favourite is probably "Reggie" a small and neat little Moose, who sports a natty pair of blue trousers with braces and a little bow tie. He is so named because he reminds me of my Dad for some obscure reason. And I think he is quite splendid.  

 

Despite inclement weather I managed the annual run out to the Trossachs ( sounds like a dodgy disease doesn't- ooo I've got  a touch of the Trossachs!) to collect our Christmas tree. This is now a well established part our Christmas ritual here in QD land, with the purchase of a lovely, beautifully smelling fresh tree from the Forestry Commission out in the Queen Elizabeth Forrest. Transportation was a bit of an issue this year though as the beloved JB was away working and so I only had access to my tiny little car but I had a cunning plan and  the rain held off.

probably not what they had in mind when they designed the retracting roof

Next thing was to get little Zoe over to decorate it for me, with a little help from Mum and Dad. This of course meant a little bit of festive sustenance, so I knocked up these scrummy little Rudolph buns.

 

I cannot take the credit for their inventiveness, as I actually found them on the BBC website. They are so easy to make and really really effective so do give them a go. I bought Smarties for Rudolph's nose, but M&M's would have been better ( and presumably easier to find if you are over the pond?) as they are a much better bright nosey red colour. As you will also see I cheated by buying buns for this batch rather than making the buns from scratch as I was in a complete rush.  Zoe worked hard  decorating Nan's tree (well the bottom part anyway) and it was fun watching her little face with all our treasured nic nacs coming out of the boxes

Anyway, probably like most of my blogging buddies, there's not to much time for sewing at the moment with all the preparations, but I did have a wee bit of time to stitch these stockings for a friend's twin girlies, Kiki and Amelia. I had to match them to a pair of shop bought stockings their big brothers already owned which I thought had a bit of a Scandinavian feel about them. Hence the red and white gingham, with the blue trimmings. Apart from the applique, the tops are machine embroidered in red and white stitching. Let's hope Santa fills them to the brim next week.

 

I reckon this may be my last blog before the festivities, so just want to say Happy Christmas to you all and may the world be the place we all wish it to be in the New Year. Take care and thanks for dropping by...

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun

I cannot believe it is over a month since my last post. It is not for want of trying. Its just that every day that I have planned to sit down to write an update life has conspired against me and I have crumbled and failed. To prove my point I am writing this blog whilst sitting in the departure lounge at Bristol Airport, after  a weekend with Ma and Pa in sunny Wiltshire. As I knew this was going to be  a quiet affair I had great plans to a) update my blog b) post lots of pictures of makes and swaps and c) draw up my Christmas menus in advance of the arrival of the hungry hordes. I think I will get a B+ for effort but a C- for achievement as all I managed was half a menu for Christmas Eve, no photos of swaps and am now only just starting to write this because I got the airport 2 hours too early. Pretty poor all round I am sure you will agree.

 

Anyway for fear of boring you with the too much detail of the past month, plus I can confirm that

1. two swaps were completed
2. one Country Living Fair was attended and a prize was one ( Hurrah and well done Emily)
3. we rocked to 3 gigs
4. Santa arrived in Edinburgh and last but not least

On point number 1, I wish I could post some pictures but I have had a few IT issues with cameras and the like so am going to have to rely on picture links from Flickr. First of all I made an ipad case as part of the Scrappy Swap, which was great great fun and I posted this off to my name sake Jo, from "Dont drink and Sew"  down in lovely Sussex and I think she has enjoyed it. I managed to sneak in a little piece of the Japanese "Laboratory" fabric which I had been dying to use since buying. I thought was an ideal opportunity, given the loosely scientific nature of an ipad (tenuous I know).

Chemistry lab - Pushpin by kokka

Jo managed to post a picture of it with some of the fabrics which made up the swap but the accompanying Tunnocks Teacakes (we had to add a small local gift so I couldn't resist) didn't make it to the photo shoot as I understand her Mum got to them first!!! In return Jo made me a brilliant little pouch and two lavender bags which I adore. The pouch has been really handy and I used it this weekend to transport a pin cussion, scissors and thread so that I could do a wee bit of EPP whilst at Ma and Pa's. It was the perfect size for my bag but due to good old airport security it had to go in the suitcase other wise I would be hexxy-ing at this moment in time and not writing this drivel. Jo took a great couple of pictures before posting to me with my gift of a Simon Drew Coaster. A great choice as I am fan of thei clever clever man. So thanks again Jo, a really lovely swap. The other completed swap was the Addicted to Text Swap, in which I managed to not be able to count. The poor old  swap mama had to chase me for 4 extra squares when she started counting them out so this is probably not the time to confess to being an accountant is it?

On the Country Living Show front, Emily and I had a great but exhausting time there. The clever girl won Most festive Stand so we will be definitely be back next year.

It was also lovely to meet some of my blog friends and have to give special mention to Jo from the Avery Homestore in Edinburgh. She very bravely put together a Craft demonstration making little fat felt robins which was very well attended and proved to be very popular by the look on the participants faces. So much so that I watched her cleverly do her stuff whilst my ample bottom was precariously balanced on the edge of a planter bearing a particularly prickly Christmas tree. Well done Jo ( this seems to be the Jo tribute blog today doesn't it-  we must stick together eh girls) and I hope to get through to the shop very soon.

Third on my list there you will have seen mention of 3 gigs this month. Well do you know it may even be 4? Last weekend the beloved JB and I ventured to Manchester and the MEN to see the stunningly brilliant Elbow. We have been fans for many a year, but after we first saw them live at T in the Park 3 years ago, (much to the amusement of my work colleagues I might add), I  became even more hooked. "The Seldom Seen Kid" is a brilliant piece of writing and I have to state that the line " You are the only thing in any room that you are in " as being the greatest Love song lyric ever written. If you are not familiar with these guys you must check them out. Our other little soiree's were Keane, at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, again excellent, a very amusing evening with Adrian Edmonson in Glasgow with his chums the Idiot Bastard Band (aka Roland Rivron, Phil Jupitus and Neil Innes) and finally and most bizarrely a night in Bury watching a very odd little ensemble called IQ, care of the beloved JB's taste for Prog rock, God bless 'im . You may have deduced this to be my least favourite, and I should add that I spent most of the evening on a comfy couch in the bar but hey ho, that's married bliss for you.

Well this was supposed to be quite brief post but the descriptive juices started flowing and my flight has been delayed so I have droned on a a bit. I have not talked about the fun of the make for Emily's stand, nor the brilliant time we had at the Christmas Market with Zoe and all the gang but you may have deduced that from the photo on the Carousel. I am dreading the year she thinks she is grown up enough to go on there on her own and poor old Nan gets left standing watching with everyone else. How else will I get to have a ride without looking a complete numpty? Anyone got a small person I could borrow as a spare perhaps, or can someone else in the family muster one up for me in due course....  Only joking by the way if any of you get to reading this. 

Anyway , I am off to berate the EasyJet desk to get an update, but in the meantime I hope your Christmas preparations are going well and I look forward to  you popping by again soon.