Birthday Girl

Well here she is the 'Birthday Girl' she really enjoyed lunch out on Sunday with the family for her 93rd birthday. She's a tough old bird with still lots of life left in her so here's to next year Mum. The Title is - Indian Summer you are supposed to depict the first thoughts that came into your head when you heard the title. Mine was 1967 the year I went on the hippy trail overland from the UK to Khatmandu in Nepal. We left in September when the weather was hot and warm, an Indian Summer. It truly was an Indian summer for me, visions of the Taj Malhal, The Red Fort, burning bodies on the ghats beside the Gangies, sleeping on the verandahs of Dak bungalows in the foothils. Wonderful warm weather, good company, the trip of a lifetime and all on £76 which was all the cash we were allowed to take out of the country!!

This card I made when I was learning to digitize, its not very good but it reminds me of my Indian Summer.

BQL March challenge calendar was to include a photo print fabric into a checkerboard quilt back. I wanted something to represent the bright colours of the tulips in Holland but the photo I had were mainly blues and I didn't have enough blue fabrics. My photo is of one of my first fabric postcards.

For this month's U3A craft class project we made these small patchwork coin purses. There were more of them but several went home with their designers. They had great fun making them. They are simply a strip of patchwork, layered, quilted, folded into three. You stitch up two of the sides to create the 'purse' the third forms the flap. I took along some left over jelly roll strips from which the ladies chose several strips to make their purses. The black triangle purse is only black on the flat, the rest of the purse is red.

I've been looking around for some more easy projects the ladies could do and came across Helen Birmingham's book "beaded flet jewellery". I thought I'd make some up first to see how easy they actually were to make.

They proved very easy and addictive. I even got my Mum making some of the felt bases for me.

Beading them takes longer than making the bases but still addictive.
This one is finished just got another 14 to make before I can turn them into a bracelet.