Viv in the UK is making some wonderful wonky houses for a quilt for her son.
Click here to see them.
Monday, 29 March 2010
Another Liberated Quilter
We have a new Liberated Quilter in our midst.
Viv in the UK is making some wonderful wonky houses for a quilt for her son.
Click here to see them.
Viv in the UK is making some wonderful wonky houses for a quilt for her son.
Click here to see them.
Sunday, 28 March 2010
S is for ....
Spring.
BritiSh Summer Time (ha!).
(copyright BBC)
Spring forward (Daylight Saving Time).
Sun.
Swimming Pool
(waiting for the rain to stop so it can be uncovered)
and most importantly
Stripes or Strings
This is going to be the back of my Liberated Amish quilt.
The Old One actually participated in this. We had fun yesterday afternoon playing with the letters and juggling the words about. He enjoyed the process of sorting through the solids bin finding the right colour for the background and watching it all come together.
I was going to piece "Stripes" together in a block, but on looking at the layout as it stands, I rather like the look of it. I think I'll leave it as it is.
Now all I've got to do is put the whole lot together and probably add some more fabric to make a border.
Anyone up for a challenge?
A few of us on the Liberated Quilters group have decided to try to finish what we've started and not to start anything new until the 1st May.
One person has decided to quilt only to try and finish her UFO's
I've decided to try to get Blueberry Fool fiinshed, finish the quilting on the Halloween quilt and make a start on Family Trees (that is the only link I can find to it. Don't know where the final photo of it is).
Anyone fancy joining us? It's not a proper challenge, just a bit of fun.
If you do join in try to link back to this post so we know how many of you there are.
I'm off to try and get some more sewing done.
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
A Geeky Moment
I spotted Paula's post about blogging templates so I had to take a look.
What do you think of the new look?
Hop over to Blogger in Draft and take a peek at all the fun things you can now do with your blog.
What do you think of the new look?
Hop over to Blogger in Draft and take a peek at all the fun things you can now do with your blog.
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Liberated Quilters Retreat
To celebrate International Quilting Day, the Liberated Quilters Yahoo! group held a virtual online retreat.
Funnily enough, we all trouble kick starting ourselves and most of us, including me, spent a lot of time ripping and sewing and ripping again. Have you ever sewn an S together upside down, ripped it and then done it again!
I sewed constantly for 6 hours, interspersed with large mugs of tea and The Young One keeping me company while she mucked about on the computer.
I didn't get as much achieved as I wanted to, but I did get 50% of the back done for my Liberated Amish 2010 Get Together quilt.
Apart from the "is", the letters are about 8 inches high. The biggest ones I've ever done. Once I got into my stride it felt good cutting really large strips, rather than itty bitty ones.
Two more words to do - "or" and "stripes", but they'll have to wait as the sun is shining and I've got chores to do.
Funnily enough, we all trouble kick starting ourselves and most of us, including me, spent a lot of time ripping and sewing and ripping again. Have you ever sewn an S together upside down, ripped it and then done it again!
I sewed constantly for 6 hours, interspersed with large mugs of tea and The Young One keeping me company while she mucked about on the computer.
I didn't get as much achieved as I wanted to, but I did get 50% of the back done for my Liberated Amish 2010 Get Together quilt.
Apart from the "is", the letters are about 8 inches high. The biggest ones I've ever done. Once I got into my stride it felt good cutting really large strips, rather than itty bitty ones.
Two more words to do - "or" and "stripes", but they'll have to wait as the sun is shining and I've got chores to do.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Monday, 15 March 2010
Why why why?
I am constantly being asked "Why did you move to France?", "Why did you leave the UK?", "What made you leave the UK?".
So I thought it was about time I revealed all, but first of all a word of warning. This post will be long!
Many years ago The Old One, The Middle One and I went on a long awaited for holiday to Cannes on the Cote d'Azur. Friends had a very small apartment there which they rented out to friends. It was my first holiday in this wonderful country and I fell in love with the lifestyle and relaxed way of living. Yes, even in Cannes, which is not expensive if you know where to shop and avoid the expensive restaus and shops on La Croissette.
The Old One and I had another holiday at the apartment 2 years later and I fell head over heels again. As we were on our own we explored a bit more of the country, driving up into the hills behind Grasse and exploring the Luberon, which had just become "Peter Mayle Country".
House prices, even then, were well beyond our reach. We were told that bargains could still be picked up in the Var, but somehow Provence and all that it brings with it - harsh winters, hot summers and the dreaded Mistral - didn't really appeal to me from a "living here permanently" point of view. Great for holidays and seeing how the other half lives, but not for living.
Nope! Definitely not! Let's try further north. Where? Burgundy! Yes lets! We did and, yet again, it didn't really appeal. Lovely villages. Beautiful rolling hills covered in vines. It's bound to have great weather as it's one of the most famous wine regions in the world.
What? Cold winters? The wind whistles down through the valleys to help create the Mistral? Oh gawd! OK let's try further west, but NOT the Dordogne. That's Little Britain.
We did the Champagne region (hmm - good idea but we don't think so), we did the Loire (too far north and way way too expensive - commuter land). We did Annecy in the Alps where it rained solidly for what seemed like weeks, we were camping and I was 3 months pregnant. That ruled that out!
2 years later we took off for a month in a van with The Young One strapped into her car seat and an even bigger tent in the back. It rained and it rained and we drove further and further south to escape it. We started in the Loire again and actually started viewing houses, but the prices were even more horrendous than last time and the rain put us off.
We chased the sun down to Montpellier and La Grand Motte, the Camargue, sun, sea, sand, white horses and sea salt. Yes, there is a certain something, but I really do not like the spartanness which is similar to Provence.
10 days later we started north because it had started to rain (again). We stumbled upon a camp site on the banks of the Ardeche near the Gorge. This is more like it! Rolling hills, trees, far enough south to get the good summers, but not as hot as further south. Oh Gawd! Look at those prices!
House prices were beginning to rise. We were buying all those English "French lifestyle" magazines and knew it was going to be now or never. The Young One was 2 years old. We had another year of kindergarten before we had to make up our minds to get her into the local primary school, or spend a fortune and register her for the Reception class at the expensive, but very good, prep school where she was already in the kindergarten. This would mean us working flat out for the rest of our lives. Definitely not what we envisaged.
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Oh well, let's go to the French Property Exhibition at Hammersmith again, start making serious enquiries and see what happens.
Which we did.
And this is what we found.
The self same picture.
That's it. That's the one! And look at the price. We can afford that. And it's huge.
Lets book an RDV and drive out and see it. We're going ski-ing with friends at Easter, we could see it then, after the ski trip.
Where is it? Aarrghhhh. The Dordogne! Oh pffff. Let's chance it.
We did. April 1998 saw us driving in a snow storm from Bourg St Maurice in the Savoie , across the Massif Centrale, towards Périgueux and a part of France as yet unchartered.
We saw the house in a hail storm, with hail stones the size of golf balls. We fell in love.
Main house habitable? Check. Lots of storage space? Check. Big enough to run the dreamed of B&B? Check (look at those bathrooms). Land? Check. Swimming Pool? CHECK! And it's got a cottage to restore. Definitely check!
We signed the Compromis de Vente (the contract between us and the sellers saying we wouldn't pull out) and drove back to the UK whooping like school kids.
We put our house on the market, told the school TYO would not be returning in September, The Old One was already semi-retired so he didn't have to do much and I forewarned my boss that I would be going on holiday in August and not coming back!
We sold our 2 up 2 down with a postage stamp garden in West Sussex for a good price, the removal van appeared, we packed up, and the rest, as they say, is history.
11 years on life is still good, The Young One is more French than English and we have never ever regretted the decision.
I did do B&B for about 4 years, but juggling summer with guests and friends was exhausting and we stopped doing it. I now look after a gite across the lane for friends and that suits me just fine.
We've had our run in's with the French health system, the tax system and various other bureaucrats, but who hasn't. The French have their way of doing things, as do the English. When in Rome do as the Roman's do (and don't whinge in public if you don't like it. There are ferries back to the UK every day).
We have built up a great circle of friends - some have crossed our path, some via the internet. We mix with the French and the English, go to the soirées at the salle de fêtes and have helped with the vendange.
I taught English for 3 years at the local primaire when The Young One was there, but gave it up when she moved up to collége.
I've somehow managed to get myself on to a sort of Committee for the collége, set up to welcome English parents and their children to the area and to provide a helping hand. Goodness only knows why, but I felt that everyone was so supportive to us, especially the French, that it is a way of putting back into the community.
And in between all of that, I quilt, The Old One does his DIY (the cottage is still not restored) and we spend our summers mowing the lawn, entertaining friends and swimming. Who could ask for more!
Oh. Just one more thing. Why did we move? Well - wouldn't you if you were worried about the education system in the UK, were sick to death of working just to keep the child minder in chocolate biscuits and wanted a better life for your daughter?
Just think - if we hadn't moved I wouldn't have started quilting (no time), would probably bewhinging blogging about life and the education system in the UK and wouldn't have "met" any of you lot.
So that's why we moved to France. Hope it's answered some of your questions.
Now if you'll excuse me I've got a garden to tend to.
By the way - if you have a spare 5 minutes, can you cross your fingers. TYO has got her Brevet Blanc (Mock GSCE's) today and tomorrow. As I type this she has just finished her French Dictée. It's also her 15th birthday. 15! I can't believe it.
So I thought it was about time I revealed all, but first of all a word of warning. This post will be long!
Many years ago The Old One, The Middle One and I went on a long awaited for holiday to Cannes on the Cote d'Azur. Friends had a very small apartment there which they rented out to friends. It was my first holiday in this wonderful country and I fell in love with the lifestyle and relaxed way of living. Yes, even in Cannes, which is not expensive if you know where to shop and avoid the expensive restaus and shops on La Croissette.
The Old One and I had another holiday at the apartment 2 years later and I fell head over heels again. As we were on our own we explored a bit more of the country, driving up into the hills behind Grasse and exploring the Luberon, which had just become "Peter Mayle Country".
House prices, even then, were well beyond our reach. We were told that bargains could still be picked up in the Var, but somehow Provence and all that it brings with it - harsh winters, hot summers and the dreaded Mistral - didn't really appeal to me from a "living here permanently" point of view. Great for holidays and seeing how the other half lives, but not for living.
Nope! Definitely not! Let's try further north. Where? Burgundy! Yes lets! We did and, yet again, it didn't really appeal. Lovely villages. Beautiful rolling hills covered in vines. It's bound to have great weather as it's one of the most famous wine regions in the world.
What? Cold winters? The wind whistles down through the valleys to help create the Mistral? Oh gawd! OK let's try further west, but NOT the Dordogne. That's Little Britain.
We did the Champagne region (hmm - good idea but we don't think so), we did the Loire (too far north and way way too expensive - commuter land). We did Annecy in the Alps where it rained solidly for what seemed like weeks, we were camping and I was 3 months pregnant. That ruled that out!
2 years later we took off for a month in a van with The Young One strapped into her car seat and an even bigger tent in the back. It rained and it rained and we drove further and further south to escape it. We started in the Loire again and actually started viewing houses, but the prices were even more horrendous than last time and the rain put us off.
We chased the sun down to Montpellier and La Grand Motte, the Camargue, sun, sea, sand, white horses and sea salt. Yes, there is a certain something, but I really do not like the spartanness which is similar to Provence.
10 days later we started north because it had started to rain (again). We stumbled upon a camp site on the banks of the Ardeche near the Gorge. This is more like it! Rolling hills, trees, far enough south to get the good summers, but not as hot as further south. Oh Gawd! Look at those prices!
House prices were beginning to rise. We were buying all those English "French lifestyle" magazines and knew it was going to be now or never. The Young One was 2 years old. We had another year of kindergarten before we had to make up our minds to get her into the local primary school, or spend a fortune and register her for the Reception class at the expensive, but very good, prep school where she was already in the kindergarten. This would mean us working flat out for the rest of our lives. Definitely not what we envisaged.
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Oh well, let's go to the French Property Exhibition at Hammersmith again, start making serious enquiries and see what happens.
Which we did.
And this is what we found.
The self same picture.
That's it. That's the one! And look at the price. We can afford that. And it's huge.
Lets book an RDV and drive out and see it. We're going ski-ing with friends at Easter, we could see it then, after the ski trip.
Where is it? Aarrghhhh. The Dordogne! Oh pffff. Let's chance it.
We did. April 1998 saw us driving in a snow storm from Bourg St Maurice in the Savoie , across the Massif Centrale, towards Périgueux and a part of France as yet unchartered.
We saw the house in a hail storm, with hail stones the size of golf balls. We fell in love.
Main house habitable? Check. Lots of storage space? Check. Big enough to run the dreamed of B&B? Check (look at those bathrooms). Land? Check. Swimming Pool? CHECK! And it's got a cottage to restore. Definitely check!
We signed the Compromis de Vente (the contract between us and the sellers saying we wouldn't pull out) and drove back to the UK whooping like school kids.
We put our house on the market, told the school TYO would not be returning in September, The Old One was already semi-retired so he didn't have to do much and I forewarned my boss that I would be going on holiday in August and not coming back!
We sold our 2 up 2 down with a postage stamp garden in West Sussex for a good price, the removal van appeared, we packed up, and the rest, as they say, is history.
11 years on life is still good, The Young One is more French than English and we have never ever regretted the decision.
I did do B&B for about 4 years, but juggling summer with guests and friends was exhausting and we stopped doing it. I now look after a gite across the lane for friends and that suits me just fine.
We've had our run in's with the French health system, the tax system and various other bureaucrats, but who hasn't. The French have their way of doing things, as do the English. When in Rome do as the Roman's do (and don't whinge in public if you don't like it. There are ferries back to the UK every day).
We have built up a great circle of friends - some have crossed our path, some via the internet. We mix with the French and the English, go to the soirées at the salle de fêtes and have helped with the vendange.
I taught English for 3 years at the local primaire when The Young One was there, but gave it up when she moved up to collége.
I've somehow managed to get myself on to a sort of Committee for the collége, set up to welcome English parents and their children to the area and to provide a helping hand. Goodness only knows why, but I felt that everyone was so supportive to us, especially the French, that it is a way of putting back into the community.
And in between all of that, I quilt, The Old One does his DIY (the cottage is still not restored) and we spend our summers mowing the lawn, entertaining friends and swimming. Who could ask for more!
Oh. Just one more thing. Why did we move? Well - wouldn't you if you were worried about the education system in the UK, were sick to death of working just to keep the child minder in chocolate biscuits and wanted a better life for your daughter?
Just think - if we hadn't moved I wouldn't have started quilting (no time), would probably be
So that's why we moved to France. Hope it's answered some of your questions.
Now if you'll excuse me I've got a garden to tend to.
By the way - if you have a spare 5 minutes, can you cross your fingers. TYO has got her Brevet Blanc (Mock GSCE's) today and tomorrow. As I type this she has just finished her French Dictée. It's also her 15th birthday. 15! I can't believe it.
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Feeling Very Silly
How could I be so stupid!
Honestly - sometimes I wonder if I have a brain, or just a bit of fluff!
I have quilted the centre as a cobweb (here) and have subsequently done parallel lines in the blue border.
So why on earth I didn't think of continuing the cobweb over to the outer border I don't know.
Sometimes I really can't see the wood for the trees.
Honestly - sometimes I wonder if I have a brain, or just a bit of fluff!
I have quilted the centre as a cobweb (here) and have subsequently done parallel lines in the blue border.
So why on earth I didn't think of continuing the cobweb over to the outer border I don't know.
Sometimes I really can't see the wood for the trees.
Friday, 12 March 2010
Quilting Dilemma
I'm on the home stretch on Halloween Houses, or should it be Haunted Houses. Save that little problem until later.
I'm just about to start quilting round the outside borders. The letters are multi-coloured.
I found the fabric ages ago and you can see my dilemma by clicking on this link to see the fabric. It's really curtain fabric, but put through the washing machine a couple of times it washes up beautifully and is great for Wonky Letters.
So how do I quilt it?
I've started stitching the ditch round the letters on the black fabric only and it's taking an age. I've only done two and that took me most of yesterday (sigh).
I then thought about doing Freehand Fans, but if I do those with black thread won't the stitches show up? Or how about clam shells, but still in black? I'm using quilting thread (no floss or perle - they are too thick).
I really want to get this finished. It's been hanging around too long!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I'm just about to start quilting round the outside borders. The letters are multi-coloured.
So how do I quilt it?
I've started stitching the ditch round the letters on the black fabric only and it's taking an age. I've only done two and that took me most of yesterday (sigh).
I then thought about doing Freehand Fans, but if I do those with black thread won't the stitches show up? Or how about clam shells, but still in black? I'm using quilting thread (no floss or perle - they are too thick).
I really want to get this finished. It's been hanging around too long!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Monday, 8 March 2010
Growing Pains
I have decided to make Blueberry Fool bigger.
Someone who shall remain nameless has been badgering me to do it.
Yesterday was far too cold to go outside and play at being lumberjacks (which The Old One and I had been playing at most of last week), so I got the chores done, cut up some more blue strips and got piecing.
Voila
and it is still growing.
The following photos are for Finn who is fed up with winter and the cold and needs cheering up.
Little Miss Violet showing her shy self again.
Madame Daffodil braving the cold and coming out to give some much needed colour
HUGE buds on the cherry tree.
Someone who shall remain nameless has been badgering me to do it.
Yesterday was far too cold to go outside and play at being lumberjacks (which The Old One and I had been playing at most of last week), so I got the chores done, cut up some more blue strips and got piecing.
Voila
and it is still growing.
The following photos are for Finn who is fed up with winter and the cold and needs cheering up.
Little Miss Violet showing her shy self again.
Madame Daffodil braving the cold and coming out to give some much needed colour
and last, but not least. Is this a sign that Spring is really on its way?
HUGE buds on the cherry tree.
I just hope the minus temperatures and bitterly cold north easterly wind we are experiencing at the moment doesn't kill this lot off.
Friday, 5 March 2010
I Heart Jasmine
No, not the flower!
Lovely Jasmine from down under. We met in cyber space sometime ago, became internet buddies on Facebook, we've played Wordscraper together, me trying to beat her hollow, only to fail miserably, and then she started blogging.
Time flies and she is holding a give-away to celebrate blogging for a whole year (boy does time fly). You've got a chance to own a Jasmine special.
So please pop over and take a look, by clicking here, but just remember that this quilt has got my name on it!
Lovely Jasmine from down under. We met in cyber space sometime ago, became internet buddies on Facebook, we've played Wordscraper together, me trying to beat her hollow, only to fail miserably, and then she started blogging.
Time flies and she is holding a give-away to celebrate blogging for a whole year (boy does time fly). You've got a chance to own a Jasmine special.
So please pop over and take a look, by clicking here, but just remember that this quilt has got my name on it!
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Monday, 1 March 2010
I've surprised myself
and I can't stop looking at it.
Crap photo - sorry. The light wasn't very good.
Thank you so much Tonya for your last minute advice. You helped me make my mind up and The Young One says why didn't you say something earlier!!!!
Crap photo - sorry. The light wasn't very good.
Thank you so much Tonya for your last minute advice. You helped me make my mind up and The Young One says why didn't you say something earlier!!!!
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