Birthday presents

I forgot to say yesterday that Saturday was my birthday and also Keith's - yes we share a birthday much to the disgust of the boys.   My Tilda book from which I made the dolls was a birthday present from Keith I bought him some woodturning tools.  I promised I'd post a photo of the second Tilda doll, the one for my sister and here it is (well actually its both of them).

I'm really not good with faces definitely need more practise but the real Tilda's only have two eyes and a bit of blusher.  Don't ask me how I managed to get the legs different lengths from the same pattern, I just don't know but it doesn't seem to matter.   I might add shoes but haven't made my mind up.   The instructions for making the dolls and clothes are not sequential and I found I had to jump about a bit to get it together.  You need to read all the instructions for all the dolls before you start to make one.  I didn't and ended up trying to sew the bathing dress onto a doll with arms.  Whereas if I'd followed the instructions for a different doll I would have know to sew the arms on last. I'm more used to making dolls with clothes that come off, these don't they form part of the body or are sewn onto the body.  I didn't find it difficult turning the legs and arms but stuffing them was a challenge.  Still we got there in the end and my sister is delighted with hers.  She is going to sit on top of her cookery books in the kitchen.  Mine will keep me company in my sewing room.

Now as I said earlier it was birthday time on Saturday and the family took Keith and I out to lunch on Sunday.   They took us to a local inn for a carvery the meal was so large none of us could finish it and pud was definitely not even considered.  It took both of us until the next day to feel hungry again.

Keith also bought me from the Quilt Museum these goodies while I was looking at the exhibits and I thought he was sitting in the Members kitchen drinking tea.

 I haven't read the books yet, just browsed through them but I know I'm going to enjoy them.  And look at the lovely threads  I was really surprised and delighted with them especially as we said we weren't going to buy any presents other than those we'd already had.  I too cheated though and bought him a 3D Nintendo.

He also made me this sweet litte vase for a single flower (there is a glass tube inside to hold water).

In addition, because it was a special - one of those big O's birthdays for me, a basket of flowers and more flowers from the family.   These are just some of them I've now ran out of vases to put them in and they are standing in a bucket.   Who was a lucky girl then....