I haven't left town just been decorating.....

I'm feeling quite guilty because I've not been blogging as much as I feel I should.  Problem is I don't have a lot to show you and there is only so much 'dear diary stuff' that can be tolerated.   The reason for the quiet time is that we've been decorating.   Well at least we've sat around a lot talking about decorating.   Once Sy moved out, his room was to become my workroom but you know what its like as soon as you have an empty room you start to notice the scratches, scrapes, sun bleaching, marks on the carpet etc and you simply have to do something about it.  But before you get around to doing something the room fills up with junk!!!   We decided to decorate the whole house, start with our bedroom and steadily work our way downstairs and out through the front door.

First thing we did was buy ourselves one of those Dulux Paint Pots.  Our reasoning was that as neither of us can bend as easily as we used to it would be a great help and it is, to a point.   It's wonderful for large areas, not a lot of use in small areas and the paint whilst expensive goes a very long way.   For example we bought a5 litre pack (5 litres is the smallest unit they make to go into the posts) and painted our bedroom walls.  After two coats we'd used all of an inch of paint......  Unless we want to paint the whole house Raspberry what do we do with the other 9 inches of paint left in the pot?   Ours is a small house so one pot of white will do all the ceilings for the next three years.  Get the picture..

Next problem is I can't decided whether to leave my 830 downstairs and take my Horn cabinet upstairs or visa versa.   I also want a new shelving put in to hold my stash.   Think this decorating might go on until 2012.

I have done some work ,though not a lot.   I wanted to do a portrain of my Mum for my March contemporary quilt journal page.  Her birthday month was March so I thought it appropriate month to do one.   I used a photo I'd taken on her 93rd birthday last year and alterned it in photoshop then cut out layers of colour to built up the quilt.  This is it.

Now I have a problem with it - how on earth am I going to quilt it?   I've had it up on my wall staring at it but the answer hasn't arrived yet.   I know I want to quilt the lines in her face to give it more contour but I'm not sure I've picked the right photo to do it.   Everyone who has seen it on my wall recognises it immediately as Mum and want to touch it but so far I haven't had the nerve to put needle and thread into it.  

Like everywhere else in the country our daffodils are late this year but my crocus bloomed with the sun we've had this week.

Their bright little faces smile at me from ny kitchen window box.  I believe Spring may have arrived.

Moving Blues

I think I must have the 'leaving the nest' blues.  Sy has finally flown the nest (not that he hasn't done it before but kept coming back) and this time I believe he's actually going to make a go of it.   Buster has gone with them and has settled into his new home extremely well, having taken over the conservatory as his 'nap room'.  Both Sy and Julie have been off work this week to sort out their new home but both are back to work tomorrow.  Sy will drop Buster off on his way to work and pick him up on his way home so we haven't actually lost him.  

It's been a busy couple of weeks and I haven't done much sewing to show you but I have done some.  Julie asked me if I'd make her a linen basket like ours.   Keith made the frame and I sewed the bag, ours was made out of some old silk dresses Keith's aunt had brought back from Thialand but Sy and Julies is plain old black and white sheeting.  I still think it looks okay though.

 I cut a 6.5" strip of both black and white sheeting and proceeded to cut it up into wavy slices.  I ironed them onto iron-on dressmaking interface then put another strip of black sheeting behind the lot and started sewing the strips down onto it.  I had great fun using the fancy stitches that came with the 830.  I used black thread on white and white thread on the black.   The top band of the linen bag is black and the bottom white both inside and out.   Keith made the frame and it was hung onto it by tabs.  It took longer to make than I had anticipated but the new homers were pleased with it.

I have been doing a bit of hand sewing at night I started with a piece of painted bondaweb I'd been given which had already been ironed onto burgandy furnishing fabric (velvet type).  I started out by layering black net over it and embroidering running stitches following some of the paint lines. Then I left it, thought about it and cut out a purple felt tree.  I've got as far as starting to sew bark patterns in stem stitch and its at the stop and think stage again.   I keep thinking of a title for it, so far its been Purple Haze and The Twilight Zone but its still work in progress so keep an eye on it.

Reticlue in Kendal are having a 'Birthday Challenge' for a cancer charity.  It costs £5to enter and you get either a bag of Texere Yarns (mine are pink as you can see) or a fat quarter of fabric, colour of your choice from which you have to make an article for their exhibition.   My muse hasn't told me yet what I'm going to do with this yarn but I'm almost certain it will involve my embellisher.

I feel the need to contribute to this charity, having survived breast and bowel cancer myself.   I've also heard this week from two close friends that both have had a cancer diagnosis.  One with spinal cancer and the other with pancreatic cancer.  As yet we don't know what the prognosis is but its not looking good.

These are the last cards I will receive from the private swap as three of us have now decided we want to do other things.  Sad but its time to move on and we'll all keep in touch as we've become friends by now.

The cards haven't scanned too well but the black one is from Jennifer and I'll say a little more about Jennifer later.  The White one from Doreen who may carry on swapping with new partners.  Blue is Cindy's and the Pink one Christine's.   Cindy spends a lot of time commuting between here and the States so time is a little short for her.  Christine has made teaching commitments and is going onto bigger and better things.   Jennifer bless her went to Chile for three weeks and had a wonderful holiday thre.  On her return however she found her farm house had had a serious fire caused by a rodent eating through a wire.  Not a good homecoming but I believe she is coping well and wish her all thebest. 

I've made a start on my March CQ Journal Page in so much as I have done the computer design work, bought, washed and ironed the fabrics.  All I need now is the Steam a Seam Lite that I ordered from Rainbow Silks nearly two weeks ago.  They have packed it as they rang me about my order so it must be lost somewhere in the mail.   I'm keeping my fingers crossed it turns up tomorrow.

Off to start Sunday lunch as the family are all coming over to eat.