The postman cometh...

I was beginning to panic you know. Every day I have scoured the list to see who hadn't yet had their name crossed out on the Flickr post for the Mouthy Stitches swap, with those sacred words "SENT RECEIVED DELIVERED". You know,  just in case I could figure out who my partner might be. Where was my package coming from? Was it on a slow boat from Timbuktu? Was it marooned half way between Hurricane Sandy and a wet Royal Mail man's postal sack near Leighton Buzzard? Who knew. The list of undelivereds was getting shorter and shorter and my carefully stitched bag had long ago been delivered over the pond in Canada so nail chewing had quickly commenced. I stalked the postie all week and fretted all weekend when I was away from home, just in case my special parcel had been left with a  tardy neighbour who couldn't be bothered to drop it by for me, but instead was holding it ransom in some dark corner of their kitchen. I wasn't sure if I could stand much of all this stress much longer...

 

But Hurrah, fear not dear swappies. It is here. It has arrived. All safe and sound and fresh across the water from Ireland ( I could have actually brought it back with me from my holibobs if only I had known!), all bright and sunny in its spotty envelope.

As you can see the lovely Erin from Billy Button Design has been a very busy girl and made not only a beautiful bag, but also the most cracking label. I was going to be a bit mean and hide the other side so I could be very cheeky and pinch the idea for Christmas but I couldn't really not share its loveliness with you, so thank you so much Erin for the inspiration. I adore the text on the fob tape as well and must find out more from Erin as to not only where it comes from but also the fabrics in the bag as I think a few of us asked when she posted a lovely hint on Flickr. If anyone else knows in the meantime please let us all out of out misery.

sorry for the iphone pics but its too dark to be outside

 

All in all I am a very happy swapper and a lucky Mouthy Stitcher and cannot wait to use this to carry my little "piece" in it to work each day, as they would say in these parts.  Thanks again Erin - and of course thank you Mr Mail Man, wherever you have been.

 

Eek.... its an EPP

Well we are back. You might have noticed the absence of posts over the past couple of weeks and this is because the beloved JB and I have been dashing about a bit . This started off with a visit to Number One Son, which was wonderful, on the eve of his graduation. There had been a school of thought that my dear lad was aiming for the Longest Student Career ever, but that was just an ugly rumour put about by the pubs of Cambridge and we were all pleased to announce his move to "Grownup-hood" at the grand old age of 27. Well done Tom, we all love you to bits and are very proud of you.

 

Next we headed off to the Emerald Isle, a first for JB and we had a blast. Belfast is a must for us to revisit as we found it a bright and vibrant city and our one night stop off was far too short. The essential pint in the Crown Bar ( the only pub owned by the National Trust) was fun and we even manged to grab one of the highly sought after booths. I did make the fatal error of being too polite though and instead of us enjoying some privacy in the pub behind the beautiful oak panelled door of our cubby hole, I invited in what I thought was a French couple, to share the whole "British" experience but they turned into a whole gaggle, pouring into the tiny space, somewhat spoiling the atmosphere. Ho hum. This episode was however brightened when JB tried to impart to them that he worked for French company, only to discover that none of them spoke a word of English. The sight of 8 middle age men and women trying to mime to one another how they earned their living was pretty entertaining and not your average occurrence in a Belfast pub on a Friday night I am pretty sure. And you will never guess - whilst supping my pint of Smithwick's I spotted that the floor tiling was a brilliant example of quilt blocks so couldn't resist a quick snap.

Anyway, Ulster fry consumed, we headed off to the North Coast and then on all around the Donegal coast for a great four day trip.  A hiccough by the booking agency meant we didn't get to stay where we had planned so my itinerary to head off to find the Fluffy Sheep Company  and the Fennel Shed ( owned by a work colleagues family co-incidentally ) was somewhat curtailed, so when I head back to see more of Belfast again I will have another shot at introducing myself down there too. We loved the whole area and had a great break but a highlight has to be the Giant's Causeway. I have wanted to see this phenomenon ever since I was a child and I wasn't disappointed. We struck it lucky with a bright, nippy but stunning day which meant we were both well in our element snapping away with the cameras. Nature is pretty darn clever and I think we forget that all to often.

 

On returning home I was very conscious of being behind with my piece for the Mouthy Stitches Swap and whilst I had chosen the fabrics I thought I was going to use, I still hadn't quite got a plan together for a design.

However, reviewing my photos I found myself fascinated by the hexagons forged by the elements and this has inspired me to put together an EPP design using tiny little hexies, each about one inch in diameter.

 

I hope my partner will like this. Whilst they are small and I have a long way to go, I am home alone again come the weekend so I am pretty confident at making the deadline of the 25th. Fingers crossed, but should you see a small woman hiding in the corner of the 7.31 to Edinburgh, please give me some elbow room and try not to waft too much as these hexies seem to have a life of their own once laid on a flat surface.

 

See you again soon (and hopefully after completion of swap). Oh, and a planned trip to see Brain and Carole at Beechwood is on the horizon as I still have "Autumn Shadows" to quilt, which I haven't shared with you yet so do pop back  .

Fresh Sewing day September confessions

September has been a pretty unproductive month so I feel a bit ashamed of this month's round up.

1. Rejected Swap idea 2.Addicted to Text Swap 3.Finished Halloween mini quilt 4. Happy campers WIP 5. Rescue 6. Addicted to Text missed idea 7. Autumn shadows WIP 8&9. Too much shopping, 10. Denyse Schmidt, 11 Mouthy stitches final ideas for fabrics, 12. Even more shopping, 13. Zig zag border zoo quilt, 14 All shopped out  

It has though been a very productive purchasing month as the huge pile of halves and quarters now filed away in their groups will prove.  Oops ... If I review last month's hoped doings I should hang my head in shame and to be honest I am not sure how this all passed me by. October will be scarce too as we are off away for a while, its quarterly reporting in the office so a few late nights there , burning the candle at both ends and last and definitely not least I will need to address the usual costume challenge for young Zoe. To add to all this I need to make my bag for Mouthy Stitches, so all a bit chop chop busy busy really. No pressure then!

 

So this months scores on the doors are 

Pieces finished 2 - Pieces unfinished 4

Swaps joined 2 - Swaps completed 1

( well my bit anyway)

 

Joining up today with Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day and Small Blog Meet. Hope to see you again soon

 

 

Random purchasing

I have been very remiss with my blog recently. I am not sure why as I have been keen to sit down and write nearly every evening but same old excuse I am afraid. Time has just conspired against me. I had a flying visit down to see Emily at the weekend as she is suffering from a horrible chest infection so as well as a hug  to make her feel better I wanted to give her some moral support in her planning for the Country Living Fair, as I mentioned in my last post. We had a fruitful catch up and I feel a plan is coming together. The two of us and the wonderful Jonathan must have looked like a load of chumps though as we paced out the stand size in the back garden, laying out sticks and cushions to mark the spaces for tables and print holders. Improvisation can be such a hoot if you try hard enough! 

My flying visit was preceded by a quick trip to the "Scottish Quilt Championships" at Inglestone near Edinburgh and the title of this quilt fair always makes me chuckle. Not quite the FA or Ryder Cup but some hard work exhibited by some very clever and talented ladies ( and lads perhaps? who knows). I took along my lovely lofty friend Emma, who is a "quilt virgin" and I hope I didn't bore her too much droning on about fat quarters and the like. Emma is a great supportor of QD land and I love keeping her up to date with the latest news. Who knows she may at some point get the urge to join in, but I have had to warn her how very addictive all this stitching can be. 

one of the few linens I found at the show

 

As you can see I did indulge in some retail therapy and I was shocked at the randomness of my purchases when I surveyed them back at home. No real theme or style here at all, but I think that's a good thing as I like the idea that different styles grab me on different days. Having quilted for over 15 years I have made many traditional pieces but have loved watching all the new styles and colours come through and the change in fabrics available has been so refreshing. I have to say that I actually was a little disappointed at the lack of modern fabrics at the show, with the only real nod to modern quilting coming from the girls at the Avery Homestore in Edinburgh. I had fallen on their website a few weeks ago so it was lovely to meet them and I am itching to get through to see the shop itself soon. The girls were selling a lovely mix of contemporary fabrics, from my favourite Amy Butler, through the jolly Brrr Ice with its great polar bears ready for Christmas, to some great Suzy Ultman Critters. I felt quite rotten actually as I rather inappropriately said that I had just bought some of the fabrics that they were selling from Pink Castle Fabrics and how great they were, but did not mean to be so rude. The girls had the best choice of fabrics at the show by far and I will most definitely be a supporter from now on. I love Pink Castle and their service is great but sometimes you just have to shop locally and avoid the tax too.

One of my plans was to look for fabrics for my Mouthy Stitches swap , with our partners being announced that day  but technology failed me and I couldn't get my emails to work on my phone till that night by which time I was tucked up in my trundle bed in the B&B in Newcastle.  Actually as I say, the fabrics on sale at rhe show were mainly run of the mill, with the exception of the very large pile now laying in the middle of my dining table, so I will be looking online for my partner, or alternatively will be "google mapping" to see if I can leg it to Avery Homestore in my lunch break in the next day or so. ( This time I shall go alone rather than inflict agony on any more friends - see " A Challenging shopping trip" ha ha). As this is my first swap I am very nervous that I will not be able to match up to the amazing work of my fellow Swappers but I will keep you posted- without revealing too much. However I will say , I do have  plan .... wink wink nudge nudge
 

Swappy doings

mosaic10b6d8f788aa3b47cbba1807fb3d25b539a1a50f, a photo by Quilty doings on Flickr.

 MOUTHY STITCHES 2

Not much sewing gone on in the last week or so in QD land as I had the flight to London from hell on business, which wore me out, but more importantly the beloved JB is back home from work.  However much excitement has ensued as not only is the Japanese Charm Swap well under way, but I have also signed up for my first "make " swap.

The lovely Canadianabroad Susan has organised the second round of these mad women ( my goodness you should read the cat , its a hoot) and I am delighted that I made the cut too. As a new "Swapper" I am a  bit daunted not only because of the worry of letting my secret swap partner down by making  something she really doesn't like, but also because there seems to be a lot of techy type malarkey which flies straight over my head. However Susan has been a sweetheart and seems to have the patience of a saint so hopefully I won't go too wrong.
 

The first job of making my mosaic was scary enough as there is so much choice out there, but I hope it gives a wee feel of things which me ( and Emily) like. I am surprised its not just one big montage of moose and chickens to be honest, but then that would be just plain daft. Hold on a minute- oh yes, that would be me then.
 

Anyway I will keep you posted, if you pardon the pun, without letting the cat ( or chicken?) out of the bag to my secret swappy. You must pop by Flickr to see all the other amazing mosaics. These really are not only talented gals, but also have a great deal of taste and there are so many brillinat blogs linked in there. Too many to name but really great fun to read and very inspiartional in their stitching... And whilst your there have a catch up on the Japanese Charm Swap fabrics. We are all madly cutting and posting but the tension is rising as we await the big Shetland post off by Sarah. Boy that post office won't know what has hit them- perhaps we should be sending the postie a parcel of his own as a bribe to care for our precious cargo.

 

See you again soon, by which time I will hopefully have an update on "happy campers"