My latest sewing success.

I bought my supa dupa sewing machine just over six years ago and apart from curtains I hadn't sewn a lot on it till this last year! Going to a quilting class  once a week has spurred me on to sew lots of things. These are the place mats which are my latest project.

Here are all eight made from a bundle of six fat quarters bought in Hobby Craft from one of their boxes of reduced things, the binding I bought from where I go for my class and it matches perfectly.

They are just unequal strips of the different coloured fabrics and then criss-cross top stitching to keep the layers together.
I am rather pleased with them and the sewing is all practice, so my quarter inch seams are more accurate, and also all those corners in the binding has improved my corners and I loved sewing them.  I think I have the sewing bug!
Can't wait to use them now!
Happy Days all, the sun is shining here, it's a beautiful day.
Hope yours is a good one too.

Chris xx

WIPocalyse for August

My August show for the WIPocalyse is rather small.

But I have been busy doing other things. This is the first of AotH.. not too good a photo. It didn't take that long but I made a mistake and frogs arrived so that held me up. I have definitely decided that I am not doing all 12 on one piece of fabric, but four rows of three..so not so big.

And this is my July Christmas ornie, not made up, too much to do and so little time and we have been away. Dh's daughters are now BA's so we went to their Degree Ceremonies and had a lovely few days away, first in Bradford and then Lancaster and the sun shone!

I have been busy doing other sewing and my DGD's quilt is nearly finished

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Thank you to all of you that wished us a happy anniversary. DH and I are very blessed and love our lives here in Essex, Each day is a happy one! At the moment we have a very, very tidy and clean house as Dh's parents are coming the stay, so we have had a late spring clean! We should have visitors more often as it would push us to put things away when we have finished with them!
Happy Days All and enjoy what ever you're doing.

Chris xx

Wedding Anniversary

We have had a very pleasant day as today is our 6th Wedding Anniversary. We bought a Laura Ashley triple cake stand, its very pretty although it is still in the box at the moment!

We went for a meal in the restaurant where we had a wedding reception and it was no where as good as we have had in the past, so I told them. The manager was very nice about it and we have been offered another meal free, some time when it suits us. 
We had cards from relatives and friends so we have had a nice day.. we came home from the restaurant and enjoyed a lovely coffee and a coffee biscuit, and relaxed.
We have had a busy week.
However as we got in the house DH asked me to check my phone, which I had left at home. He had his on silent.. and there were three messages on both our phones all within minutes..  Our house alarm had gone off when we were out so there must have been some lightening to set it off. But as it only rings for 8 minutes, it wasn't too bad for our neighbours.  I am glad I left mine at home as I would have panicked if I had had the call in the restaurant. When DH was disarming the alarm, he asked me for the code, which he does every time! LOL
In spite of the meal being disappointing, we have enjoyed our day!

Chris xx

The Film... Cherry Blossoms for those who asked,, what was the film?

Cherry Blossoms Trailer - YouTube
► 2:12► 2:12	www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrgC9VfD8tc23 Apr 2009 - 2 min - Uploaded by dogwoofStream the full film by visiting Dogwoof TV at http://dogwoof.tv/watch/cherry- blossoms. You can also make ... I hope this link for the trailer will work.. it is a film with sadness but beautiful. If you like Hollywood big films you won't find this to your taste.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrgC9VfD8tc23

Yesterday on someone's  recommendation I got a DVD from the library.

But it was in German with English sub-titles (No it wasn't naughty!) A sweet little story about an aging married couple.. anyway I digress. How can you cross stitch and watch sub-titles. I couldn't so decided to crochet this little crochet hook holder.

It came from the book in the photo and was quite easy to do.

The lining I tacked and sewed at 11pm I wanted it finished. This morning I hand sewed it on to the crochet back and ta-da a crochet hook holder!

Chris

A little Pennie Pocket.

I have wanted to make one of these for an age and I just couldn't understand the intructions. Then I found some step by step instructions with pictures to explain.
And here it is a Pennie Pocket by Monica Solorio-Snow.(Sorry can't find the link)I can see me making more of these now I know how to!

I can't make up my mind what I shall put in it, chocs, sweets, sewing bits, pencils or what ever.
A super afternoon playing sewing! Now I have to pick up the pins and sweep up the cottons, arg!!
 I need a craft room! Yeh!

Happy Days.
Chris xx

PS We have had a beautiful day today and it's St Swithins day so are we now going to get 40 days of sun???LOL

I saw the Flame!!

Yesterday in Basildon we went to see the torch bearer, Holly Worthington and the Olympic Flame.

There were hundreds of people there but we managed to get a good kerb side view and doesn't she look fantastic?

I had to have a flag, yes there were men there selling them, but you can't go to something like this without one!

Wonderful to see so many people shouting and waving their flags too!

A day to remember.

We couldn't get tickets for the Olympics but we did for the Para-Olympics.

We have tickets for the swimming, cycling, athletics with medal ceremonies and the closing ceremony.

So we were delighted to get them.. it is a once in  a lifetime experience!

Yesterday was an amazing day and we aren't even there yet!

Chris xx

WIPOCALYSE for July and Giveaway

Progress on my Celtic Lady 'Summer' has been good, I like stitching this as the fabric is so soft. Bought from Polstitches, it's 28C Jobelan hand dyed Silver Sage.   I have completed all the beading on the left hand side. So not a lot more to do, wo-hooo a finish is near!

And I have stitched quite a bit on my Rosewood Manor 'Quakers and Quilts,'  it's an easy stitch too.

And this little ornie is 'Heart Tree' by JWB, it was for June but because we were away on holiday only just posted it. Having stitched it at the beginning of the month, I had put it to one side and failed to get it made up till today. It looks a bit small but I have another to do , different design and shall have one hanging from the other.

And with a bit of post holiday blues I had to have a new start and this is it, the first of 14 charts all making up 'Anniversaries of the Heart' by Blackbird Designs.

You can't really see it properly as it is ecru type colour on the hand dyed 32C Belfast, colour Country Mocha from Anita's Little Stitches.

I needed a new start, I really did..... although I have been blog hopping and saw all the lovely crocheting going on so I might do something with my hook this month!!

I haven't done anything on my Chatelaine design, as the frogs saw more of it than I did last month!! LOL

 But I have solved the problem of not seeing the chart clearly.

The original document was on our old computer but my clever DH had saved all saved stuff on his extra memory device.. he found the chart. So there it was, our problem was it was pass word protected and could I remember it???? We spent a morning trying all manner of words, then I had a 'light bulb' moment.. what would Martina, the designer have given me as a pass word? Something I would always know? My name? No! My email addy? YES!!  So enlarged on screen with adobe it is so clear, so next time I stitch it will be from my laptop screen!

I am a happy bunny...so I might stitch that this month, maybe just a little as I still find it difficult to stitch!

I also am sewing a patchwork quilt for my GD's 18th so happily busy all the time.

Happy stitching all

I had to include these sweet peas, their perfume fills the house.

I grew them for DH, his favourite flower from seeds planted in February.

Happy Days all

Chris xx

PS...

Wonderful giveaway...

Pop on over to Nancy's blog for the chance of a wonderful giveaway.

My Garden

I love my garden, I spend  a lot of time, effort and money on it, although most of my plants are grown from seed.

It was quite  a challenge

 to get it all planted up before we went on holiday and I did worry about it when we were away. in case it hadn't rained and it all dried up, but as you can see it flourished.

This is my main flower border and faces south so can get very hot and dry

The tree in the middle is a damson tree bought in 2005 from 'Woolies' and it is loaded again this year so another feast of jams and wine, which DH makes.

The little water feature called 'Gladys' works and the trickle of water is a very pleasing sound.

The other side has a small veg plot, we have had courgettes already and a few stawberries.

It's not big, but just enough for us.

The christmas tree looks as though it is growing out of the chimney!

The beans are already flowering so a nice feast is promised there!
We love sitting out in it for our morning coffee, lunch and tea breaks. We even have breakfast some mornings in the sun and loving every minute.
It is our little corner of heaven!

Chris xx

Tuscany, our holiday in Italy

We have just returned from our holiday in Tuscany. Beautiful scenery and wonderful cities.

We have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves but all the walking visiting cities was tiring.

We stayed in the hotel Vittorio in Montecatini... quite a grand hotel. Our room was good and the bed huge and fairly comfortable. The food was tasty but not spectacular but we did have some wonderful lunches in all the different places we visited, which were real Italian food to me.  

Although it had a swimming pool, I only dipped in my feet after a day of walking around!!The spectacular city of Florence was our first place to visit. Just a short train ride from Montecatini. It was so beautiful with wonderful architecture.

Siena is the city where the famous Palio horse race takes place twice a year. During this special occasion, the main square in Siena, the Piazza del Campo, is prepared for the race as the ring around the square is covered with tuff clay.

We had lunch in this piazza and the most delicous ice cream!

Of course you have to visit the famous leaning tower of Pisa.. its amazing how it stays up.

We rested our feet and jumped on the open air bus tour here and it was a lovely way to see all the city.

This amazing tower is in Lucca;every where you looked was the most beautiful buildings

And this is just one of the many little shops in San Gimignano  a very pretty little village with narrow cobbled streets rising up to a centre square. It was very, very hilly!!

Our last day was a visit to a castle, Castelo di Meleto. This castle is a favourite venue for weddings and we met the bride who was to be married there the next day

It was a spectacular place..

This where  we were shown some authentic Italtian cookery. A volunteer was asked for to roll out the home made pasta and my DH had a go. (He was the only one !!)

Not a very good photo because it was me taking it and I pressed the wrong button and took a video! But he loved doing it!!
It was a superb holiday in Italy, which we went to by train across Europe. First stop by Eurostar club class was Paris and then from there first class by TGV to Milan and then onto Florence and from there to Montecatini. The train took us through the Alps and then beautiful Tuscan scenery.
A holiday to remember...we ate an ice cream every day!!  It did however take us a day to catch up with our sleep, as on the last day we were fifteen hours travelling back from Turin,another city to see,  but all in all well worth it.

It has been nice to be home and our own bed is bliss!

Chris xx