Bought a new toy

Woke up on Sunday feeling a bit down, said my usual good morning to Keith and went downstairs for breakfast.  Put on the telly on and what was showing on QVC but the new Brother Cut N Scan machine.  I've wanted one of these for since Maggie Grey blogged about hers.  She has just brought out a new book which includes pieces made using this machine, naturally I've bought that to but it hasn't arrived yet.   It's called Cut, Shape, Stitch.  Keith kept telling me just to go and buy one but the price is a bit heavy so I never got round to it.  I went back upstairs and heard a bang, Keith's photo had jumped off the drawers and onto the floor, how that happened I don't know as all the windows were closed.  I think he was trying to tell me something so I went straight back downstairs and ordered one.  It arrived today.  Here's an overview of my new Brother Scan N Cut.   As it arrived just before dinner tonight I haven't had a lot of time to play.  I made some cupcake papers for Julie, which she has taken home and I didn't take a photo, but hopefully, if I have enough card left, I'm going to make a start on my Xmas cards.

It can also be used with fabric, in fact loads of materials but the main thing I want to do is draw my own designs and use these to make masks and templates to use with my Gelli plates.  This is going to be short blog as I'm now off to play.  Show you tomorrow what I've made, that's if the optician (eye check up) doesn't say I'm going blind with watching all those Brother Scan n Cut videos on YouTube.

Postcard catch up

I've been hanging on to these until I had a full set but then I tidied my sewing room and lost them amongst the tidiness.  So I've decided I'd better show them now unless I lose them again.

 Continuing the year long swap based on Sara Coleridge's poem "The Garden Year" we've reached July, which brings cooling showers, Apricots and Gillyflowers.  The two gillyflowers above are from (top) Inge in Berlin and bottom from Alice in Glasgow

 Helen's depicting the cooling showers (above) as is Pauline's goose below.

I put my cards in the post before I took a scan so you will just have to imagine them.  I created a background of rain using metallic thread and then sewed down flowers I'd burned from sheer fabrics (several layers together) using a different metallic thread.  In the corner I created a sun.  Background was a sky/cloud patterned fabric.

The next card set is "Travel" and again I forgot to take a scan but mine was space travel.

I liked the fact that all of the swappers had used maps as part of their backgrounds but none had duplicated the mode of travel.  From top to bottom, Miriam, Helen and Jan.  I love Jan's chair its the only form of travel I've been doing lately.

I'm finding the house very quiet, even though Keith and I were not a noisy couple.  It's the little things you miss, I often turn to say something to him and he's not there.  But I still talk to him and I'm sure he continues to listen to my pieces of useless information.  

At the moment my hands are full trying to help my sister cope.  She has been signed off work ill for almost a year, diagnosed initially with depression.  Now though the doctors think its a physical problem rather than a psychological one.  Her gait is very strange (she walks like a baby with a full nappy), she has some facial palsy, cognitive problems and her memory is very unreliable, plus she has lost a lot of weight.  The gut feeling of her consultants is that she has muscular sclerosis but they cannot be certain.  Although she has many of the symptoms of MS the numerous blood tests, xrays, MRI/CT scans show very mixed results.  She has now been referred to a neurologist to see whether she has some rare variant of MS but cannot be seen until September.  I just hope they hurry up and find out what is wrong with her.

Finished at last

I finally got my finger out and finished Flynn's Quiet Book, hurray...... So here it is:

Tractor shapes

 The photos have been embedded in a different order than that I selected them in but you still get the idea.

You've seen a few of these before but I've added the any way.  Washing/Dryer and sock matching game.  

Build your own sandcastle

Zipper pocket on back cover to hold loose pieces

What's behind the barn door?

We are....

Family tree, plus their new puppy Pixel and another airplane.

It's me with Mum and Dad (and Pixel)

I've made a small fishing rod (not shown) with a piece of stick and some cord with a magnet on the end. This is one of Flynn's favourite games.  All the fish have magnets in their heads.

Once the fish are caught you can put them in the fish tank.

Flynn likes the song Five Little Monkeys so I had to make him a page with finger puppets.  

Farm yard animals

Not particularly well placed photos but its another of Flynn's favourite rhymes.  Incy Wincy Spider climbs up the water spout.

Hmm you can make a sandcastle upside down if you want to...

Ah caught a fish

What's under here, hmm

Now I'm going to put them in the bucket