WiP Wednesday

Not a lot to report. Have made up enough squares for another Sunburst block and made a pot holder for Mum out of the reject Heartstrings blocks. She mentioned on the phone the other day that she is sick of the "two gloved" oven gloves and could do with a pot holder. So she has got one. I whipped it up so quickly and stuffed it in an envelope to catch the post on Monday that I didn't take a photo :(

How Why and When?

Swooze asked me about a week ago where we are originally from and how come we have ended up in France. It is a long story and has been précised in the interview I gave to This French Life. I will go into more detail at some point, but in the meantime have got to go into Brantome to take DD's 9 patch quilt to the cleaners (cat was sick on it!).

Have I broken the jinx?

The quilt for Sophie She hasn't been doing too well recently so this should cheer her up. It will start its journey on Monday. I also managed to do 2 more squares for the string project yesterday so perhaps the jinx has been broken. Thanks for all your lovely comments and for the support and encouragement. You are all a great bunch! Oh my goodness - that photo is awful. Please be patient. I will try to upload a better one tomorrow. That's better!

Memories

Finn posted a few days about how she learnt to sew, her Grandmother's button box and how she, Finn, loved to play with it. I haven't got a picture, yet, of the button box I inherited from my Grandmother, but I did take a photo of all the bits and pieces that were amongst the sewing stuff that she left me. The two girls in the photos are my great aunt Doris on the left and Grandmother on the right. You can also see one of her tape measures (I used to love playing with this one when I was a child which is why I have it today), a wooden needle case which is beautifully made, some poppers, green silk thread (forgot I had that), her embroidery scissors (I know they are the Stork ones, but they were hers and I love using them), two of her thimbles and, the piece de resistance, her needle book. I used to have a pin cushion but it disappeared in a move. Somewhere I have got her writing case with her initials on and her knitting bag. I used to have her knitting needle case complete with needles in all sizes, but that is another thing which got lost in a move.

WiP Wednesday

Zilch, rien, nothing! Going through a bit of a quilting slump at the moment. Even the Strings are lying in a heap on the table untouched.

Template Fiddling and Bloggers

Alex wanted my blog to look like the French flag so we tried dark blue, red and white - yuk! We then went through all the blues in the customise, fonts and colours bit. A dark blue background looked good, but the post font didn't look good in red or white. So, we have come up with this. Goodness only knows why we had to practice on my blog and not hers! When you have a moment go over and say hi to a fellow Viveur, Wendy from the Gard. Also, thanks to Peter at The Languedoc Page and his never ending list of blogs a la française, I have come across a lively blog about life in the Lot et Garonne/Dordogne borders. Take a look if you are interested in reading about how us Expats live our lives in France.

Sunburst - the First 2 Blocks

And yes the sky is really that blue today and it is warm warm warm (so what am I doing sitting here chatting to you lot!). A+

Je suis la

We survived! No, honestly it wasn't that bad. The West coast (Bordeaux, Arcachon, Les Landes and down to Biarritz) got it really bad. We got the tail end of it for about 4 hours. I love Meteo France. They said the Orange Alert would be lifted at 18.00 and would you Adam and Eve it! 18.00 dead on the wind dropped! Today is beautiful so it is, at long last, gardening time. Meant to say - I'm mucking about with templates so please bear with me during the deciding process. I didn't like the 3 column one too much - it looked all squashed up. What do you think of this one? I thought I would do a panaorama of local piccies for the header. Having attempted to garden I have decided it is still a bit too cold out there (the wind has turned to the east and it is brrrrrr). Time to get the sewing stuff out which is a bit of a nuisance and I have been looking at the Wisteria which needs a severe trim and it really is a bit too cold to be up a ladder pruning it.

WiP Wednesday and "The Weather"

WiP - Sophie's quilt is tied and needs to be bound. Sunburst Strings (woooo good name!) is being "strung" and I am enjoying doing it. Je suis getting hung up on strings LOL. Sorry no pictures - batteries have died and I am in a bit of a rush here. The Méteo is forecasting 140 km hour winds for today. Last time we had this we were sans electricie et eau for 2 weeks and no phone for a week. That was the tempete of 1999/2000. Remember when Versailles lost all those trees? That was the same tempete only 24 hours later! Anyway, it has just started raining, has gone rather dark and I don't like this AT ALL.

Decision Made

Thanks to everyone for leaving such lovely comments. The first one it is! I started doing the first block yesterday, in between sewing squares, and I have to say that I am quite pleased with it already.

Qs4L Badge

A great friend of mine, Nick Cliffe, has designed a badge for us. If you want one for your blog, email me and I will send you the HTML code.

DIY Monday

On one side of the kitchen is the kitchen table with all my quilting stuff on it. On the other side is this. To the left of this picture (out of shot) is the dishwasher, still connected to the socket and the drain pipe, in the middle of the floor and top left (out of shot) is the kitchen sink. Anyone got room for me, my sewing machine and my stash boxes for a few months!

Decisions, decisions

Comme ça

or comme ça?

I prefer the first one cos the squares aren't exactly "square" and sashing in between each one will sort of "square" the block up. Do you understand what I am talking about? Comments on a postcard please!

Hedgehog .......

........ is alive and well. She has been hibernating (as Hedgehog's do in the winter) and will be back with us soon.

Stitching Samplers

On 8th January I posted about the stitching samplers in the Textile Room at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Isabelle at Kitty Couture has got some much better photos of the same samplers. Take a look when you have a moment.

Cutting and Sewing

Yesterday saw me cutting and cutting and cutting with Alex beside me cutting out sheets of greaseproof paper. Then last evening I tried to go to bed and not burn the midnight oil as I normally do, but the material kept on asking me to play with it and start stitching. So I had to didn't I!

WiP Wednesday

This is the latest Quilts 4 Leukaemia which I am in the process of tying. I have only the top and bottom strips to do, tie the border and then bind it. I have started cutting strips for the dreaded Sunburst quilt. I have redesigned it and feel a lot happier. The basic colours/material is That's it for the time being. This time next week I hope to show you one finished quilt and the start of the foundation squares for Sunburst.

Real Men Can Do Patchwork

Made for Quilts for Leukaemia by Ian in France

Fabric

There has been a sort of mix up on the fabric purchases the other day (see this post). The fabric at the bottom with the roses on it is not for Tamzin's wedding quilt. It is the backing for the Qs4L quilt, bought in bulk cos I love it so much and just in case they run out!

Blue Jeans

I have been on and on about this quilt which was supposed to be hung on our bedroom wall and doubling up as a headboard. Not any more it isn't. Alex was off school most of last week with some sort of flu bug and spent the whole time on the sofa under the quilt. This quilt is now going to be used for what quilts were originally designed for! BTW the green border showing underneath is part of the sofa throw - not the quilt!

First Finish of 2007

Phew. Do you ever get that feeling of when will I finish it? This seems as if it has gone on forever. Did I mention you had to hand quilt the Crazy Scraps Challenge quilts? You don't have to if you don't want to! BTW has anyone taken up this Challenge?

Merci Mille Fois

A big thank you to Kim for letting me using her February No Fabric Diet badge. The HTML has worked perfectly this time. Another big thank you to Suzette at Stashbusters for letting me join the Stashbusters ring. On that note I am disappearing - guess who added the binding to Crazy Scraps last night!

Changing Countries Might Have Something to do With This!

Thanks to Mama Koch

You've Changed 44% in 10 Years

You've done a good job changing with the times, but deep down, you're still the same person. You're clothes, job, and friends may have changed some - but it hasn't changed you.

How Much Have You Changed in 10 Years?