Comments and Templates

Thanks to everyone for the lovely comments regarding the Family Quilt. I loved doing it, but am glad it's finished. Fiona - no I haven't done a label. Really must do one before it is handed over, or at least sew the name and date onto the back. I have been testing out templates on Beta Blogger just in case Blogger decides I can transfer over. Unfortunately this template and the one on Quilts4Leukaemia don't work. It looks as if Pannasmontata who design these templates is working on the problem so I hope that, if and when I transfer over, it won't be too long before I get my Cherries back!

We Have a Finish!

Step Father's name at the top. Mum's at the bottom. Us girls' names are on the roofs of the houses. Names down the left hand side are various horses and dogs that the family has owned (there are loads more - ran out of space!), Rex and Matt's (Floyd) names are on the blue sashing, Elmsted is the family home and the rest are terms of endearment.

For Tonya

Like Sassenach over at Force Majeure, I too have been thinking about our Lazy Gal and wondering how she is. Get well soon Ton - we miss you.

French Food

Jane Anne has been talking about French shopping and chickens. geese and turkeys being sold in French markets "intact". This photo is typical of large markets at the moment - an enormous marquee full of trestle tables with beautiful white table cloths and piles of duck carcasses, magrets, duck and goose fat et fois gras, naturally! Just to make your stomachs turn even more before you tuck into your Thanksgiving Turkeys (have a great time all), we are in the middle of the Foire au Gras season when the supermarkets and markets are stocked to capacity with duck, goose and pork. Magrets (duck breast) are my all time favourite - huge slabs of meat and when the flat is melted down and they are flash fried, they are gorgeous! Then there are the carcasses which still have meat on them, can be boiled down for stock and cost about 2 Euros. Then there is the duck itself. Sold with its head still on (and sometimes the feet are still attached). Cut the head off, and boil the neck up for stock with the bones. And then there are the aigulettes (don't ask), the geziers (warm Perigordian Salade with geziers, foie gras, chopped walnuts and lettuce - yum!), the hearts, etc, etc. As for the fois gras - need I say more. Duck fat? Brilliant for roasting potatoes in with garlic and rosemary, although don't use too much as the potatoes will go soggy. However, when it comes to the pork that's when I draw the line! I will not buy a whole piglet (for some reason these are popular at Christmas time) and nor will I buy "la tete". However I do fill the freezer up with chops, loin of pork, potrine of pork and pork for cooking on the rotisserie. At roughly 4 Euros a kilo it is a bargain. The French "recycle" as much of the animal/duck as they can. Pates, rillettes (gorgeous), confit (mouth watering), boudin noir (black pudding) the list is endless. Sorry I can't add any more photos, but I will try to take some at Brantome market on Friday if we go down (and if it is sunny). To get back to the normal topic, I finished Family Quilt last night. I am just about to bind it. Went to fabric shop this morning and got batting and backing for the Leukaemia quilt so must stop chatting to you and get some sewing done.

Wednesday WiP

Well, I'm sitting here going through Bloglines, unsubscribing from the feeds that aren't working and transferring them to Fizzle. Computer is running really slowly, my mails aren't getting through and it has been raining all day! So, WiP. I'm hand quilting the top row of Family Quilt and have machined two rows of the first Leukaemia Quilt. Really great to be machining again after so long. Sunburst has come to a grinding halt after cutting loads of yellow, pink and red squares. Still got 50 odd to do! This picture was taken last Saturday at Nontron.

Debbi's Blocks

And you guys on Beta think you've got problems! Debbi sent these to me by Express Mail some 2 weeks ago. Bless her heart, she then sent me the pics which were huge and it took me half a day to download them. It has taken me all this time to reduce them to a size that Blogger would accept. Et voila!

Sophie's Diary

I came across this blog whilst searching for something else. I can't read much of it as I keep on getting a lump in my throat! I'd like to send her one of our quilts. If you all agree, I'll get started on Quilt No.1 as soon as possible.

Four Things About Me

Things you may not have known about me... Four jobs I have had in my life: 1. Senior PA (secretary) 2. Secretary 3. B&B Owner (for a short time) 4. Saturday Job at Littlewoods' Restaurant (yuk) Four Movies you would watch over and over: 1. Gone with the Wind 2. Four Weddings and a Funeral 3. Notting Hill 4. The Godfather Four places you have lived: 1. London (loads of places) 2. West Sussex (loads of places) 3. Surrey (loads of places) 4. France! Four TV Shows you love to watch 1. The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (though I think it has finished now) 2. The repeats of Pie in the Sky on ITV3 (sad I know) 3. Eastenders cos its getting soooo awful! 4. The repeats of Brideshead Revisited on ITV3 Four places you have been on vacation: 1. France 2. France 3. France 4. Spain and Italy (which counts as 5!) Four of My Favorite foods 1. Garlic king prawns 2. all pasta 3. Steak 4. Fresh fish Four places I would rather be right now: 1. Happy here thank you. 2. 3. 4.

New Blogger

Welcome to my fellow Crafter, Dawn, who has just started writing a blog about her weaving adventures at Aquitaine Yarns.

Foggy Friday

Thanks for all the comments about the new template. It was a tough decision to make - there are so many gorgeous ones on the Pannasmontata site. Time to get skates on - due out for a Viveurs' lunch in Perigueux, friends staying tonight so have to tidy their room, make the kitchen look presentable and then we are possibly going back with them tomorrow to stay overnight, coming back Sunday. In the meantime, this is a picture of the first quilt I ever made. It has been taken out of its summer storage and is back on Alex's bed where it belongs (though this picture is our bedroom. If you turn round and face the other way you would be looking at my sewing/computer corner). See you on Monday.

Template find! It is still in the process of being "tweaked" so please excuse the borders. Having been reducing Bloglines today to a readable amount. Have got down to "Q" so still a bit of a way to go. Hair cut tomorrow :-) Wednesday Update - they aren't apples they are cherries! I think I have now sorted the sidebar.

Forgot to say

Am going to remove my Bloglines "blogroll" for the time being. It is taking up too much space and the page is looking messy. I am in the process of trying to find a nice template. Anyone any ideas (not for Beta please!)?

Photo Time!

Not very good I'm afraid as it was late last night when I took them. One more house block to finish and them I am on to the border, then bind it, put the "tube" on the back et voila! You can still see the soap lines on this and my name isn't that clear. Think I may have to outline it in pale green. D.H still hasn't done the rail for BJWH (sniff). Bit of a problem at the moment with the electrics. The whole lot tripped out twice last night when I turned my reading light on. Guess who was wandering round in her P.J's with a torch at midnight!

Doodling

Sitting in the car yesterday waiting for D.H and D.D, notebook and pen in hand, this came into my head. To be continued .................... On the home run on Family Quilt, and Guess What! I've started cutting Sunburst - wooo hooo. Have lost this post once already so won't push my luck. A demain.

Interlude

Is this font size a bit easier to read? I'm trying out different fonts and colours. Our view just before sunset. Look at that sky! The valley was full of mist this morning, but by the time I had opened my eyes properly, made my morning mug of tea and found the camera it had gone.

And these are grus, or cranes, flying over our house last week on their way from Holland to Spain. Our little part of France is slap bang in the middle of their route south to north and north to south. Their arrival in March/April marks the beginning of Spring and in October/November, winter (brrrr - shiver!).

Did a bit more on Family Quilt last night. The Fantabulous Fans are a bit off course, but I like the look of it. If I can get this block finished today you may get piccies tomorrow. In the meantime, D.H has said he will try to get the rail up on the bedroom wall today for Blue Jeans Wall Hanging so I suppose the quilt had better go through the washing machine. A+

160+ down to 50

Hi all. I'm trying to catch up on all the blogs. I down from 160 odd to 50 which ain't bad. I am reading you all, I just haven't got the time to leave a trail of comments and my connection is reallllllllly slooowwww :-( Back onto the quilting - only two more blocks and the border to go and then I can bind it - yea ha! I tried Tonya's Fantabulous Fans on one block. I surprised myself with how well they turned out. Photos will be uploaded as soon as connection speed has gone up a bit!

Bea's Block

Received this morning

Still Here (just)

Have been really really busy over the last few days. Lovely friend Megs from the Pays Basque came up on Wednesday afternoon with her step-son and two of his friends. They stayed until Sunday morning. Thursday we took the kids swimming and then ice skating at Nautilis at Angouleme. In between acting as taxi service Megs and I managed to fit in a few craft shops and I found another fabric shop :-). I didn't buy any, although I was sorely tempted with some black and white fabric. Friday they chilled out in the morning and Megs and I walked round Brantome market (she bought me a gorgeous squishy soft handbag with loads of pockets). Then back to chez moi for lunch and off to Bourdeilles where we dumped the kids for an hour's horse riding. Saturday dragged them into Perigueux where they either went to the cinema or did some retail therapy. Saturday evening the kids were falling asleep over the dining table. So how come they suddenly got their second wind and were playing hide and seek in the dark until about 11.00 p.m! Managed to get a tiny weeny bit of quilting done, but not enough. 169 blogs to read so ....... A bientot Oh - thanks to Kim for the November badge