WiP Wednesday

Not a lot to report - the gas has run out! Sophie's quilt is being tied and have nearly finished the quilting on Crazy Scraps. So much for finishing by the end of this week.

A Purchase ..................

Went up to Javerlhac yesterday to get some more backing for the Qs4L quilts (loads left so no need to panic - yet) and on the next rack along spotted these colours which called to me. These are going to be for Tamzin's wedding quilt - waddyafink Tonya? The fabric on the top is going to be the border. I am now disappearing off into the land of quilts - I'm running on gas!

Blogs Coming Out of My Ears and the Weather

I'm sorry - I am reading, but I can't get round everyone so am dipping in and out, leaving comments on some and not on others. I've stopped using Bloglines and do like Fizzle for Firefox, but I can only add so many blogs to the list. I apologise to the Owners of the various Rings. Alexandra is at home today. No bus this morning so I drove her into school. No sign of life! All the roller shutters were down and only one teacher made it into school so we turned the car round and came home! Meant to say - has anyone heard from Hedgehog? She is very quiet.

Le Brouillac Wore White

There are icicles everywhere, the snow is powder and no doubt by tonight it will be gone! Snow like this never lasts more than 48 hours here. Last evening the school rang at 4.45 pm to say that all the school buses had left at 4.00 pm. At 5.00 we got a phone call saying the second bus which Alex has to take from Léguillac to here could not get down the hill from Léguillac so could we fetch her. We did get up the hill into Léguillac and back down again, but where the snow had drifted was a tad dangerous.

WiP Wednesday

A good'ish week I think. Nancy's Heartstrings are finished and waiting to start their journey across the pond to Texas. As she is very kindly doing me a 9 patch red and white top for Quilts 4 Leukaemia, she will probably get some more out of me, but not yet as .................... I have started Sophie's Leukaemia quilt. This one has been put together by my Alexandra. We have blocks from Turkey, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the UK and America. I have sashed together the bottom 2 rows and should have this finished, hopefully, by the end of next week. My Crazy Scraps Challenge quilt is nearly there. Hopefully another finish next week.

It's all white!

It was raining this morning when I took Alex to the bus at 7.30 a.m. Now it is snowing. Thanks to all for leaving comments over the last few days and for the nice comments about the new look. The photo in the banner is the view from the front of the house, taken a few years ago by Ian Gillis. Sort of sums up the Périgord Vert. Woo Hoo! Just noticed that Site Meter has shot up to over 6,000. I know that is not a lot compared to those of you whose sites register 5 figures, but it is a lot to me. Thanks to everyone who has visited me since March last year.

HeartStrings Foundation Blocks

With many thanks to Mary for letting me use the Heartstrings link and to Forest Jane for sending me the HTML. In haste!

Templates and a New Blogger

Just popping my head up - this is chores weekend, interspersed with a bit of quilting. Kathy asked about my cherries. They won't work with Blogger Beta (sniff) and I am waiting for Pannasmontata to upgrade her templates to work with Beta. HTML is not my strong point. However, if there is anyone out there who can convert old templates to work with the new Blogger, would you like to try to convert my cherries for me? Anyway, I quite like the green at the moment - a bit rural and countryside'ish and sort of cheers me up when I look at it. It has been so dark and grey here over the last week - really depressing. A big welcome to Blogland for my Alex. She is being supervised by her Mum so if there are any nasties out there waiting to pounce just forget it! She is yet to post, but the blog is set up. Take a look. What do you think of the template? Sums her up beautifully!

What Book are You?

Thanks to Sassenach at Force Majeure Farm for this

You're Watership Down! by Richard Adams Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits. Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

A Boo Hoo

Heigh ho (big sigh). The one on the left - the centre strip is off centre and is not exactly square. The one on the right is too small! Do you know what I did? Put the material onto the cutting mat and cut out what I thought was a 10 inch square. The edge of the fabric was on the 1 inch line and not the 0 inch. Doh! Never mind, I'm hanging onto them (they will be used) and now that I have got the hang of this I am hooked! I am changing my mind about that stupid Sunburst quilt design which I loved designing, but can't seem to get motivated to do it. Despite having cut out most of the squares for HST's, I am going to string it! Got the material, it will help bust the stash and I will get my quilt done. There, 3 birds killed with one stone! Mais quand?

WiP Wednesday

I forgot to thank Debra of The Quilt Studio for letting me join the Quilt Studio ring. Thanks Debra. So, Wednesday's WiP is in the post below. There are a few additions, but I can't show them at the moment as the batteries in the camera are charging, but they do include a block for Nancy's Heartstrings. I am really enjoying making them. I have also been discussing with Tonya making a Wedding Quilt. Tamzin is getting married in July so I thought it would make a nice present. More tomorrow - I think I am coming down with something. All I have done today is slept and quilted!

Crazy Scraps

Just thought you might like to see the progress being made on this. I am about a third of the way through the quilting and hoepfully will have it finished by the end of the month. And this was my birthday treat to myself. She was found in the sale at Maison du Monde. My friend Sue T found them and there were only 3 left. She just had to come home. D.H wanted to light her - Alex and I were furious!

What the .................................

I just have to turn my back for 5 minutes and the Gremlins take over! Eeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk! Dust Buster time I think.

Stash Bustin'

Thanks to Kim at A Peach in Stitches for allowing me to use her Badge again this year. There was a slight weakening when I was back in the UK, but now that I am home and pegging away at Quilts 4 Leukaemia quilts, Crazy Scraps and one or two other bits and pieces, there is no need to buy fabric this month!

Quilts 4 Leukaemia

Another update. Check it out here. Edited 15th January - Thanks Susan for telling me that the link doesn't work. It does now!

What Happened to Yesterday?

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that 11th January is a a special day in a lot of people's lives. Yesterday was my birthday - I think it was also Cynthia's over at Aussi Quilter. To celebrate I went shopping with the girls. Had lunch at a relatively new chinese resto which was brilliant. 12 Euro and as much as you can eat; food was freshly prepared; none of that mush stuff like chinese can get if it is left to its own devices. Didn't buy much as thought this year's Soldes were awful. No fabric either *vbg*. Anyway, Hedgehog over at Life's a Quilt mentioned about how to find out what happened on your birthday by using Wikipedia. Here is my list. 1908 - Grand Canyon National Monument is created. 1922 - First use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient. 1935 - Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly solo from Hawaii to California. 1949 - First recorded case of snowfall in Los Angeles, California. 1973 - Beginning of the Watergate burglars trial. 1992 - Paul Simon is the first major artist to tour South Africa after the end of the cultural boycott. No notable births and the only notable death is Thomas Hardy in 1928! I started hand quilting the Crazy Scraps quilt - its looking good!

More Photos

Taken in the Textile section of The Victoria and Albert Museum. This one is a set of stitch samplers made for the V and A in 1913. I wanted to take pictures of all of them, but I was getting funny looks and the camera batteries were dying on me. Hence the reason why it is slightly off kilter and none too clear.

This next one is beautiful and the photo doesn't do it justice. There was a whole room devoted to Japanese/Chinese materials and even a kimono that could be tried on. I fell in love with this material.

Photos of Christmas Trip

To save me from trying to upload to Blogger, which will probably take forever, some can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/vnyys. I will be uploading some to here at some point, but not the Flickr ones.

Quilts 4 Leukaemia

Please check the update here. We have made one boy very happy.

Back Home

Here we are, back in a horrible, drizzly Perigord Vert, although I have to say the weather here is a lot better than it was in the UK. We had a lovely Christmas and a quiet New Year - lots of food, drink and pressies and Mum loves her Family Quilt wall hanging. Not a lot of material or quilting supplies were brought, though I did compare a lot of prices with France and discovered that the material I buy from the fabric warehouse at Javerlhac is a lot cheaper than the UK, that the cost of FQ's at the LQS in Perigueux is not at all bad, that John Lewis and Liberty have gone way down in my estimation. I had really hoped to pick up some remnants from both stores, but the sales were on and there was nothing, absolutely nothing. My lovely John Lewis has changed beyond recognition. You used to be able to walk through the doors, be greeted with the smell of leather and walk on a lovely blue carpet. Now you are greeted by the overwhelming smell of the perfume/beauty hall and are walking on marble, or an imitation of. Not at all impressed. The best surprise of the holiday was Tamzin asking Alex if she wanted to be chief bridesmaid. We are going back in July !! More later. Busy catching up on the washing, dealing with a few minor crises (no light in the kitchen, no sat tv and DH has flu!) and will try to upload some photos too. TTFN