my blethering blog

sunrise ~ sunset 13 February

2012-02-13T22:52:00.000Z

Today's figures are: dawn to dusk = 10 hours and 46 minutes (28 minutes more than last week) sunrise to sunset = 9 hours and 28 minutes (31 minutes more than last week)

sewing room makeover

2012-02-11T20:19:00.000Z

Douglas and I headed to Ikea yesterday where, amongst other things, we bought some Billy bookcases for my sewing room. Let me take you through the process so you can see how it all looks.Here's how the sewing room looked before:First of all I moved the chest of drawers over to the window.Which left this gap over by the door.Whilst Douglas got to work building up the bookcases in our bedroom .....

the sleeves, a skirt, a wee bag and a cake

2012-02-07T22:06:00.000Z

Well, I've finished the blouse and, thankfully, managed to get the sleeves to fit me. It took some amount of jiggery-pokery but at least it worked. First of all, here's the original sleeve showing that it really didn't fit me.And, here's the finished blouse on the dummy. You'll just have to take my word for it that the sleeves fit me. (I really need to pad her out a bit in the boobular area.

sunrise ~ sunset 6 February

2012-02-06T21:49:00.000Z

Today's figures are: dawn to dusk = 10 hours and 18 minutes (26 minutes more than last week) sunrise to sunset = 8 hours and 57 minutes (29 minutes more than last week)

drat, drat and double drat

2012-02-03T22:44:00.000Z

Well, as I posted the other day, the body of the blouse fitted really well but ... Yep, you've guessed it. When I put the sleeves in, they were too tight and it just made the whole blouse unwearable.The pattern gave a size chart for biceps and the "average" arm would finish at 17". I measured my biceps - over the top of my cardigan so, therefore, I was actually adding size to my arms - and they

glutton for punishment?

2012-02-01T21:49:00.000Z

Well, yet again, I'm attempting to make myself a blouse that fits. I'm really hopeful with this one because I've read reviews on patternreview.com and they're all pretty favourable. Here's the pattern I'm using:So far, I've got the body sewn together and it does fit me ... so far. Long term readers might remember the black blouse I made last year which fitted me beautifully in the body but, as

sunrise ~ sunset 30 January

2012-01-30T21:20:00.004Z

Today's figures are: dawn to dusk = 9 hours and 52 minutes (25 minutes more than last week) sunrise to sunset = 8 hours and 28 minutes (27 minutes more than last week)

sticky gingerbread

2012-01-27T21:54:00.000Z

I made this on New Year's Day and forgot to blog about it. Needless to say it's long gone. I need to make more because the photos make me want to make it - and eat it - all over again. :o)sticky gingerbread12 oz plain flour 2 level tsp ground ginger 2 level tsp ground cinnamon 8 oz butter 8 oz soft brown sugar 4 oz syrup 4 oz treacle ½ pint warm milk (1 min in m/wave) 2 level tsp bicarb of soda 2

a few finishes to report

2012-01-25T21:22:00.000Z

I realised that I hadn't shown a few things that I've made recently so this post should bring me up to speed on those things. First, here's the lil twister mini quilt which I finally finished the binding of the other day.Next, a couple of pincushions I made for Joanna. One side:The other side:Next I got out the various pieces of ribbon which Joanna had given me for Christmas or I had bought and

sunrise ~ sunset 23 January

2012-01-23T21:29:00.000Z

Today's figures are: dawn to dusk = 9 hours and 27 minutes (20 minutes more than last week) sunrise to sunset = 8 hours and 1 minute (24 minutes more than last week)

gold runner

2012-01-20T21:10:00.001Z

After a week of not getting much done because of my infernal cough - which is, thankfully, getting better - I managed to get the binding sewn on this new gold runner. And here it is in situ - on top of the dresser in the dining room. I might be a wee bit biased here, but I have to say I *LOVE* it! :o)This was all made from scraps out of those plastic drawers I showed in the last post and the

nosey parker post

2012-01-19T15:35:00.002Z

Today I'm linking up with Kat's "nosey parker" post here. I apologise before we go any further for the number of photos I'm about to post. But, on the other hand, you can be grateful that I cut it down from the original 47 I took! Woops! :oDOkay, let's get on with it. 1. How long have you been sewing? Are you a first generation sewer or was the knowledge handed down to you? Basically tell us

upper respiratory tract infection

2012-01-17T22:38:00.000Z

I was at the doctor's surgery yesterday to see if I could find out how to cure this infernal cough. The nurse listened to my chest and pronounced my lungs "perfectly clear" so no chest infection or bronchitis in there. Yay!!What she said I had was an "upper respiratory tract infection" and that the only "cure" for it was time. No antibiotics or pills to pop, no cough medicines to glug or any

sunrise ~ sunset 16 January

2012-01-16T09:57:00.002Z

Today's figures are: dawn to dusk = 9 hours and 7 minutes (16 minutes more than last week) sunrise to sunset = 7 hours and 37 minutes (18 minutes more than last week)Just as an aside - I've not been around much because I'm suffering from the most annoying cough. I'm off to the doc today to see if I can get something to help. My ribs hurt so much because of all the exercise they're getting!

new pinnies

2012-01-11T22:26:00.002Z

I made myself some new pinnies today - well, I started them yesterday but finished them off today. (No idea why the first 2 photos are fuzzy and the third one isn't! I might have to start wearing my spex to take photos so I can tell as soon as I've taken them that they need to be taken again!!)In case anyone's interested, the pattern is the one I wrote here.

sunrise ~ sunset 9 January

2012-01-09T21:29:00.001Z

Today's figures are:dawn to dusk = 8 hours and 51 minutes (11 minutes more than last week)sunrise to sunset = 7 hours and 19 minutes (13 minutes more than last week)I know it's light by 5pm by the time we get to Douglas's birthday (6 Feb) but I must admit I was surprised to see how much the length of the day had stretched in just a week. I'm fascinated to see if it stays at this rate or if it

teeny, tiny coin purses

2012-01-08T21:28:00.000Z

I don't know what it's like where you live but, around here, we need a £1 coin to use a supermarket trolley. Or, if it fits, a trolley coin which is basically the size and shape of a £1 coin but you can't spend it. (We get the coins back when we put the trolleys back so it doesn't actually cost us £1 to use the trolley!)Up to now, I've been carrying my £1 coin and a trolley coin in a (free)

lil twister whirylgig ruler

2012-01-06T22:07:00.002Z

I spent some of my Christmas money on a Lil Twister ruler. I'd seen this on the internet a while ago and really liked the pattern it made but then I forgot about it until I saw a pin on Pinterest for a tutorial for it. I did some investigating and found a UK site that sold the ruler so I ordered one and it came yesterday. So, naturally, I had to have a shot of it immediately! First of all, I cut

tumbler table topper

2012-01-04T21:04:00.002Z

Tumbler table topper. Try saying that 5 times quickly! LOLAnyway, today I decided to make a wee topper for the table that sits just to the left and behind me when I sit at my computer. The table is just one of those Ikea tv table jobbies and is only used to hold the cable for my camera, a block or two of paper and, if I'm not paying attention, anything else Douglas manages to dump on it!I used

sunrise ~ sunset 3 January

2012-01-03T22:46:00.000Z

Instead of taking weekly photos of the back garden which, after all, stays pretty much the same year after year, I thought it might be interesting to watch the dawn to dusk chart thingy I have on my dashboard. Here it is for today:So today's figures are:dawn to dusk = 8 hours and 40 minutessunrise to sunset = 7 hours and 6 minutes.I'm fascinated to see how quickly - or slowly - these figures

got the dates covered!

2012-01-02T14:32:00.000Z

I am so excited by this that I couldn't even wait until the evening to post about it! :oDI had intended making Jo a cover for her diary before Christmas but didn't get around to it so I went upstairs this morning to do it.First I cut out the fabric for the cover - a remnant of tweed - and another piece of fabric - a bright yellowy orange cotton - for the lining. I measured the diary using a

Christmas loot - last post!

2012-01-01T21:47:00.001Z

Okay, last post about my amazing Christmas loot - honest! :o)I got some fabric:I knew I'd get money from the grannies so I put it towards some more dies for my Go cutter:Jo got me some notebooks with appropriate covers on them and a few other odds and ends designed to keep my occupied in my sewing room! And then I got some FAB-U-LOUS salts and peppers, a cream and sugar set and a napkin holder to

books read in 2011

2011-12-31T21:54:00.000Z

I read 106 books in 2011! Amazing! re-read whilst on holiday in Canada

Happy Hogmanay!!

2011-12-31T15:30:00.001Z

It's Hogmanay. That's what we, in Scotland, call the last day of the year. I thought it might be interesting to see how well I did with the "intentions" I set up for myself back on the 1st of January. Here's the list of 11 for 2011: 1. Use of lots of the fabric that is piled in my sewing room. 2. Use up lots of the knitting wool that is in various baskets in various rooms. 3. Take a photo of our

from the sewing room window - all of them!

2011-12-30T16:48:00.000Z

It's a H-U-G-E file but it shows the changes in the back garden throughout the year. Enjoy! :o)

my Christmas books

2011-12-29T21:08:00.000Z

As I said the other day, I got a lot of fabulous presents for Christmas. Here are the books I got. I love each and every one of them. :o)And here are just a teeny tiny sample of some of the things I love inside these books. They're on my "Oh, I *have* to make that" list. Whether they'll all get done, who knows? But I've made a start. I've already got one of the "spokes" of the round cushions

from the sewing room window - 29th December

2011-12-29T21:01:00.000Z

This will be the last photo from the sewing room window for this year. I need to try and put them all together into an animation so we can watch the seasons change. I hope I get that done before the year is over. By the way, those white circles on the grass are (yucky) apples. The blackbirds *love* them!

I must have been really good!

2011-12-27T20:48:00.002Z

I must have been really good this year because Santa left me some amazing stuff for my Christmas! I'll gather the rest of them into another post another day but I just wanted to show this one. If you don't know what that is, it's a Kindle. Wow! I spent a lot of time yesterday putting books on it. And, the most I paid for those books was £1.99. Most of the ones I downloaded were free! Free books?

he's very close!

2011-12-24T23:15:00.000Z

We've been following Santa's progress on norad (noradsanta.org) all day and he's very close to us so it's time I went to bed. Before I go, let me wish everyone reading this a very merry Christmas. See you on the other side. :o)

Auntie Mary's orange juice et al

2011-12-23T21:42:00.000Z

First of all, I cut the Christmas cake this morning so Douglas could take part of it over to his mum. It was a relief that it looked so good inside! :o)Next, I made some orange juice today. This is a standard in our house and has been ever since the girls were wee. We don't drink a lot of it in the winter time but we go through masses of it in the summer. This is it sitting in the bowl ready to

the cake, the marmalade, the card and Pinterest!

2011-12-21T22:39:00.002Z

I decorated the cake today and I have to say I am ex-treeeeeeeme-ly happy with it. I didn't use the icing sugar that came with the pack but instead used a packet of fondant icing I had in the cupboard. Here it is with the cover of fondant icing. (Please ignore the mess around the cake. I'm not a tidy cook/baker but I do tidy it all up well when I'm done! :oD)And here it is with a few wee trees

oven gloves, cake and a few Christmas sweets

2011-12-20T22:01:00.000Z

Here are the oven gloves that I made for the grannies to match the pinnies I showed yesterday. The fabric was a remnant I got a few weeks ago. 2 pinnies, 2 pairs of oven gloves and still some left over? Bargain! I spent the afternoon in the kitchen making marmalade. I didn't take any photos of it today but you can see a past version here.I then put the marzipan on the cake.I'll ice it tomorrow. :

Jo's dress, a pinny, labels and birds

2011-12-19T22:33:00.000Z

I finished Jo's dress at the weekend and persuaded her to try it on. Doesn't she look FAB-U-LOUS?? I think so! :o)And what does a girl do in a dress with a floaty hem? She burls!! :oDNext is one of a pair of pinnies I made today for each of the grannies. (Yes, my dress is still on the dummy but that's okay. Yes, it is! :oPI've also made matching oven gloves but the light had gone by the time I'd

from the sewing room window - 19 December

2011-12-19T22:05:00.000Z

some of our Christmas decorations

2011-12-15T22:30:00.000Z

As promised the other day, here are a few photos of some of our Christmas decorations. This is not them all by any means but they're enough to be going on with for now! :oDOh and I made them all - except for the 2 most fabulous looking snowmen on top of the piano beside the gold on blue "Merry Christmas" cross stitch. Joanna is responsible for the creator of those ones.

Mary Berry and me

2011-12-14T21:29:00.000Z

Well, not really Mary Berry and me but more Mary's cake and me. Her Christmas cake to be precise. I don't usually make Christmas cake as Douglas is the only one who eats it and by the time he gets to the end of it, he's heartily sick of Christmas cake. But this year I decided that I would make one and put a piece in each of the hampers we make for the Grannies and Douglas could have some as

Jo's dress

2011-12-13T20:45:00.002Z

I've started cutting out the pattern for Joanna's new dress.We're doing view C but with the sleeves of B. All that means is I'm not adding in the 7 godets in to make it more flouncy. The hem measures 300cm as it is so there's no need to add 7 more pieces to add to that. (That's the excuse I'm using and I'm sticking to it! Laziness doesn't come into it at all!! :oD)Here are the bits all cut out

from the sewing room window 12 December

2011-12-12T20:35:00.000Z

a few finishes

2011-12-09T21:33:00.001Z

I finished a few things this week. First of all a snowman to hang on our wall. I found the tutorial here. It's meant to be a mug rug but I decided I wanted to add a smile to mine which doesn't leave a lot of room for a mug. But that's okay. I think he'll look fab hanging on the wall.The next thing I made was a dress for myself. Apologies for the fuzzy photo!I love it and will most definitely make

wind

2011-12-08T20:55:00.001Z

Well, what a day we've had today. Hurricane force winds have been blowing in the central belt of Scotland and, boy, it's been scary. Thankfully, Douglas cancelled his journey to Glasgow today because, if he'd gone, I doubt he'd be home yet. The Forth Road Bridge was closed to all traffic - it might still be closed - so, instead of a 25 - 30 minute journey home from Edinburgh, people are taking

hot chocolate ... yum

2011-12-06T21:26:00.001Z

I haven't done much decorating of the house yet - I'm thinking this weekend for the tree - but I did get the Christmas mugs out today. Here are the ones we had our hot chocolate in at lunchtime. Don't they look fab? Mine is the one on the right with the marshmallows *and* the peppermint cane in it. And, just in case I lose the bit of paper with the "recipe" on it, here's the mix I use for the hot

from the sewing room window - 5 December

2011-12-05T22:37:00.001Z

No, it's not snow ... it's ice!

all change!

2011-12-04T21:19:00.001Z

Joanna asked me to help her change the background and header on her blog today which we did. I love the way her blog looks now. Naturally, I had to give my own blog a bit of a do-over too. I can't remember when I last changed it around so it was due for a bit of a tidy up. It's so easy to change things around in blogger these days - no need to go searching in the HTML to change bits here and

Christmas singing's all done - and some photos

2011-12-02T22:20:00.001Z

The choir I sing in held it's second (and last) Christmas concert this evening. It went really well. The fact that the first Christmas concert we did (last Sunday) also went really well means we have an astounded musical director, an "to be honest, I'm amazed" accompanist and a very happy choir. It really does feel good to know that we did a good job. Go us!! Just to finish the week off, I'm

Edinburgh's German Market

2011-11-30T22:41:00.001Z

We took ourselves over to Edinburgh on Monday to see the German Market. It was smaller than I expected it to be but what was there was wonderful. Here are just a few photos of some of the stalls. You can't go to a German Market and not have some strüdel. Very, very yummy!

from the sewing room window - 30 November

2011-11-30T22:33:00.001Z

tutorial - flirty frilly half pinny

2011-11-29T23:00:00.000Z

How to make a flirty frilly half pinny Materials: use cotton fabric. For the main body - one fat quarter or 0.5m/½ yd of 110cm/45" wide or 140cm/54" wide For the contrast frill, waistband and pocket - 0.7m/ ¾ yd of 110cm/45" wide or 140cm/54" wide Body pattern: I did draw it to scale but after scanning it and then messing with it in Photoshop, there are no guarantees that it's still to scale

tutorial - single oven gloves

2011-11-28T22:40:00.000Z

How to make single oven gloves. Please note - I'm repeating some of the steps from the double oven gloves tutorial because I think it's important that the whole tutorial is in one place. I don't want to say things like "go here to see how to test your bump" or "go here for how to make up the pattern". If you've already made the double gloves, you'll be able to miss out these steps. What you

tutorial - double oven gloves

2011-11-26T09:34:00.000Z

How to make double oven gloves. What you need: ½ yard/40cm of 54"/137cm wide curtain fabric (wash before using) ¼ yard/20cm bump* or curtain interlining 6"/15cm ribbon *There are a few things you can use to keep the heat from burning your fingers. I've tried a lot of options and have found that the polyester bump that my local curtain fabric shop sells is by far the best for oven gloves.

more sewing and some crochet

2011-11-24T22:11:00.000Z

I've been busy sewing again this week. First off I made myself a black skirt - yes, it is as shiny as it appears in the photo!It fits me perfectly but the material is really stiff so the flounces all stick out more than I'd like them to. I put the skirt in the washing machine this morning to see if the stiffness might soften a wee bit so I'll just wait and see what I think when I take it out of

a few things to show ...

2011-11-21T16:04:00.001Z

I've got a few things to show today. First of all, the last (for now) of the flirty frilly pinnies for Debbie.Next, the last (again for now) of the double oven gloves for Debbie.Next a sparkly top which I made for myself over the weekend. To be honest, I was a bit wary of sewing this as the fabric is net with silver sequins on it and it could have been a nightmare to sew but it wasn't. I think

from the sewing room window - 21 November

2011-11-21T16:03:00.001Z

been a busy bee!

2011-11-18T21:54:00.001Z

I haven't blogged much this week because I've been busy doing various things. Sewingy things: Double oven gloves:Single oven gloves:A couple of pinnies which will be winging their way across the ocean to Debs soon:Crochety things:A Christmas sock using this pattern. It's much bigger than I thought it would be so, if I make another one, I'll reduce the size a wee bit, I think.I've got a few other

finished - the pieced tree

2011-11-15T23:10:00.001Z

I finished the pieced tree today and, I have to say, I *love* it! I made a silver star out of fabric that I swear has been in my "sparkly fabrics" box for at least 20 years. I'm pretty sure it was left over from a tap costume of Joanna's for a dance concert in 1989!! (Please ignore the yellow thread!!)I used some Gütermann glitter threads to quilt it. They're not the easiest of threads to sew

from the sewing room window 15 November

2011-11-15T23:00:00.001Z

pieced tree and honeycomb

2011-11-11T21:34:00.001Z

After cutting out a few more oven gloves this morning - that's 6 double gloves, 4 single gloves and 3 pinnies all waiting to be sewn now!! - a thought went through my head. I wondered how a tree like the one I showed here would look if it was made with patchwork pieces instead of strips. So I got out some squared paper and started drawing it out. I cut out the squares and triangles on my Go!

lest we forget - 11.11.11

2011-11-11T08:50:00.001Z

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to

new 'do, teeny tree and coming soon

2011-11-09T23:06:00.000Z

I got a haircut yesterday and, for once, the hairdresser actually did what I asked her to do - "cut it as short as you can without making me look stupid". I *LOVE* it!! I did make the teeny tiny tree: It's fab but the size made it a wee bit finicky to make. For example, the tree trunk is ½" square finished size. *gasp* I made some oven gloves today and took lots of photos so I can write

from the sewing room window - 8 November

2011-11-08T22:48:00.000Z

wee trees and reindeer

2011-11-06T21:52:00.000Z

Remember the tree panel I showed in this post? Well, I decided to see how it looked at half that size. I have to say, I love this even more than the big one. It's just over 6" square. So, naturally, I had to make another one. This is my favourite of all the trees I've made - so far! I'm now thinking of trying it even smaller. We'll see how that goes! :oD A few weeks ago, I bought the Dash Away

tutorial - flirty frilly pinny

2011-11-05T20:30:00.000Z

I've at last made the tutorial for the flirty, frilly pinny - aka apron - that I was playing with a few weeks ago. There are a LOT of photos - I hope they're helpful. Materials: use cotton fabric. 1.40m /1½ yds of 110cm/45" wide OR 1m/1yd of 140cm/54" wide curtain fabric Body pattern: NOT to scale! Pocket pattern: I used the tumbler die from my Go cutter but you can use any shape.

new book

2011-11-02T21:50:00.000Z

I got a nice new shiny Nora Roberts book in the post today. I have a feeling nothing much of anything will be done around here whilst I do some reading. :oD

finishes and loot

2011-11-01T20:46:00.001Z

Here's the promised photo of the Christmas tree panel I finished yesterday. I love this soooo much. :o) And here's the finished matryoshka dolly. I was just saying to Joanna today that these might look good dressed all in white as angels for Christmas. Something else to think about! I had to go for toy stuffing to finish the matryoshka dolly so, as Joanna had a day off today, she and I made a

from the sewing room window 1st November

2011-11-01T20:25:00.000Z

the skirt, the hexagon, the dolly and the Christmas tree

2011-10-31T23:01:00.002Z

The title makes it sound like I'm writing a children's story - but I'm not. They're all things I've been sewing over the weekend and today. :oD First off was the skirt. Joanna had asked me to take in a skirt she had in her wardrobe because it was too big for her. I did take it in - a whole 4½". Yep, you read that right - I had to take her skirt in by 4½ inches! Wow! I forgot to take photos of

the next thing - taken apart

2011-10-28T22:15:00.000+01:00

This morning, when I pressed the hexagon I'd made yesterday, the centre did NOT look good. The wee bits were just too wee to make any sense and the seams at the centre left a lot to be desired. It looked even worse on the back. Yikes!! So I decided it needed to be redone and it's now all unpicked and I'll have another bash at it tomorrow. Hopefully it will turn out better next time! :o)

the last wee squares bag and the next thing

2011-10-27T22:14:00.001+01:00

I finished the 4th - and last (for now) - wee squares make-up bag today. I've enjoyed making them but, enough is enough. I've no doubt I'll make some of these again some time but not right now!! Here's how the last one looks: And the inside: And here's the next thing. It's badly in need of a press but I think I like it. I'm not too sure about the centre - the bits are really awful small in

wee squares bag number 3

2011-10-26T22:23:00.000+01:00

I finished the 3rd bag made with the patchwork squares. With this one I decided I needed/wanted to bind the inside raw edges - not very easy to see in this photo: So, I went back and did the same to the other 2 bags I'd already made - still not too clear in this photo: But it's much easier to see in this photo - or rather it's easier to see that there aren't any raw edges in there. If you

wee squares bag number 2

2011-10-24T21:23:00.002+01:00

I finished off the second wee squares make-up bag to day. Here it is: The side seams match well again! (The first photo's a wee bit fuzzy but you get the idea.)And a glimpse of the inside:Mmmmmm. Maybe I should have cleaned the threads off the mat before I took the photos. Och well, I'm just keeping it real here! LOLAnd here's bag number 3 waiting to be quilted.

from the sewing room window 24 October

2011-10-24T21:17:00.000+01:00

the wee squares make-up bag

2011-10-22T21:57:00.001+01:00

Here's what my first make-up bag made with the wee squares looks like. The inside fabric: And the bag turned out the right way: I must admit, I'm really proud of how well the wee squares all lined up at both sides: And, here's number 2 all patched and quilted and ready to be zipped, side-edged and box-cornered. And, just because she's so cute, here's Rosie. Please note the fuzziness of

1½" squares - 240 of them!!

2011-10-21T22:15:00.000+01:00

I've been busy cutting out 1½" squares this week. 240 of them to be precise. Here's why. I wanted to make this zipped makeup bag: It comes from this book: If you want to see more photos from the book, see this post. (Should I be embarrassed that I haven't used that birdy fabric yet? Naw!! :oD) Anyway, I started cutting out the 80 squares I needed to make the bag and then thought I might make

photos of the dress

2011-10-19T21:18:00.003+01:00

I got Douglas to help me with trying to get photos of the dress today and, whilst they're not particularly good photos, they're much better than the ones I took yesterday. Here it is just hanging on the hanger: And here it is with Douglas holding it out to show off the skirt panels: I'm *really* hoping that when the dress has a body inside it, it will look a lot better because it doesn't

from the sewing room window 18 October

2011-10-18T21:19:00.002+01:00

It's still very windy today - if you look closely, you can see the lighter undersides of the leaves on the trees at the back of the garden. The photos of Debbie's dress which I took today didn't turn out well. The fabric is quite dark so I need to find a better way of photographing it to make it show up better. I'll think about it and, hopefully, have something to show tomorrow. Sorry about

a new dress for Debbie

2011-10-17T22:03:00.000+01:00

When we were in Canada, Debbie passed this pattern on to me asking me to make the dress for her. We bought the fabric out there and I brought it home and thought no more about it until last week when I finally decided that maybe I should get it done. Now, I have been doing dressmaking for a really long time and can follow a pattern well (just don't ask me how to alter one that doesn't fit!!)

sewing scraps

2011-10-11T21:34:00.001+01:00

We had another day without internet for the vast majority of the day today. I don't mind being without internet if I've chosen to be that way - like when we were away last week in Harrogate (note to self: post some of those pics!!) but I don't like it so much when it's not my choice! Never mind, I got some more sewing done. First - what do you do with the scraps left from sewing the tumbler

the flirty frilly pinny - versions 2 and 3

2011-10-10T21:33:00.000+01:00

We had no internet today. Douglas phoned our internet provider this morning at 8.30am and was told it would be off for about 2 hours. It finally came back at 6.25pm!! 10 hours is just a smidge longer than 2 hours in my book! So, what to do when you can't get online? You do as little housework as you can get away with (nothing new there then! :oD) and then you spend time in the sewing room

from the sewing room window - 10th October

2011-10-10T21:18:00.000+01:00

The sunflowers look a wee bit the worse for wear now. All the wind and rain we've had recently isn't doing them any favours! Whilst I was taking the SRW photo, I spotted a bunny over in the school playing fields. If you notice the seagull just to the left of the bunny, you can see how small the bunny is - or maybe it's how big the seagull is! :oO

what I was making up - and some smiley faces

2011-10-08T20:29:00.001+01:00

Here's what I was making the pattern up for yesterday - a flirty frilled pinny (apron). A side view: And, if you look closely, you'll see the tumbler shaped pocket - I want to change the cutting line of the sides just slightly as it sticks out just a wee bit at the bottom corners - you can see the sticky-out-ness really well in the top photo. Other than that, I'm really pleased with the

making it up as I go along

2011-10-07T22:43:00.001+01:00

I'm making this pattern up as I go along. Lots of workings out . . . When I was happy with it, I cut out all the bits . . . . . . and made the pocket using the tumbler die of my Go cutter. I'm hoping to get it finished tomorrow and I'll show it off in all its glory when I do. :o)

from the sewing room window - 7th October

2011-10-07T22:39:00.000+01:00

It's late this week as we were away on Monday. It was a really sunny afternoon today. Not warm but very sunny. :o)

the world has lost an amazing man

2011-10-06T14:11:00.000+01:00

We are, and always have been, Apple people. Our computers are all Macs. We all have iPhones. Douglas has an iPad - and the girls are waiting for him to upgrade to the new version so they can have the old one. I might just fight them for it! Today, we heard that Steve Jobs has died. I know that Apple will go on but, even to me, who never watched those talks he gave where he showed the world what

off to Harrogate

2011-10-01T19:33:00.000+01:00

We're heading off to Harrogate for a few days starting tomorrow. That's Douglas, Joanna, Rosie and me. Yep, we're taking Joanna and the dog with us. Should be fun. I'll be back on Thursday. :o)

Christmas table runners - finished

2011-09-30T15:42:00.000+01:00

I finished the table runners yesterday and I am inordinately pleased with them all. And the backs - all the same. I'm still thinking about sorting the sleeves on the black blouse. I've had help from Nenu, my friend in France, and her advice is similar to what I read in one of my books. So I think I know how I'm going to tackle it - when I'm going to tackle it is another thing

Christmas table runners - a new arrangement

2011-09-27T22:31:00.000+01:00

This was the layout of the Christmas table runners last time I showed them. I changed my mind about doing them that way for one main reason. Look at all those corners I'd have to put binding around. Yikes! So, I played around with the tumblers, cut 6 more and now have enough to make 3 runners like this: This one is quilted - I just sewed 1/8" away from all the seam lines - and ready for

from the sewing room window - 26th September

2011-09-26T16:37:00.001+01:00

And the progress of the sunflowers: Martha - I'm not sure which of our garden birds will go for the sunflower seeds but, if I see any birds at them, I'll be sure to tell you which ones they were! :o)

a disappointment and a huge excitement

2011-09-23T21:06:00.001+01:00

I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. Why I keep trying to make myself things from commercial sewing patterns and expecting them to fit me. Will I never learn? Heck, how many times have I blogged about making things that just don't fit or look right on me? Well, here's another to add to that pile. I tried the blouse on when it was just the body part and it fit me beautifully. It

basic linking codes

2011-09-21T15:00:00.000+01:00

I've read a couple of blogs recently where the writer wanted to put up codes for buttons but couldn't get them to work. I'm no expert in HTML by any means, but I thought I'd post the codes I know here. The most basic code is this: URL you're linking to This is the web address of the page you want people to land on. It will *

from the sewing room window - 20th September

2011-09-20T14:56:00.000+01:00

And, in case you didn't spot the fact that the sunflowers over on the right are *finally* showing their faces, here they are from the spare room window - zoomed in as close as the camera would allow.

odd photos

2011-09-15T22:56:00.000+01:00

I loaded some photos from my camera today and found a few odd ones that I hadn't blogged about so here we go. I made (ugly) bagels - I made them half-size but that turned out to be a mistake because we just ate 2 of them! And some of them had no holes!! but, oh my goodness they were gooooooood! :o) Rosie got a haircut: And I bought half a metre of this fabric As the girl was cutting

got a reply

2011-09-14T15:54:00.001+01:00

Well, this will be my last blog post about the nonsense happening at that forum. I just had a reply from one of the people in charge of the people in charge. Here's what she wrote to me: Hello Anne, Thank you for your recent letter regarding issues that have arisen on the XXXXX boards. I understand that you have had some frustrations communicating with others within the organization, and while

from the sewing room window - 12th September

2011-09-12T19:57:00.007+01:00

Very high winds due to the tail end of Hurricane Katia hitting the UK. Look at the trees at the back of the garden - you can see the underside of their leaves - not a good sign!

it just gets worse

2011-09-12T10:31:00.000+01:00

Not only did that forum (blogged about here, here) get rid of 4 long-serving community leaders but 2 even longer-serving community moderators have left now too. There's no way anybody is going to tell me that these 2 mods have left under their own steam. They've been mods for years at that place and know the ins and outs of the place far better than any of the others. I'd lay bets they were "

10 years on

2011-09-11T22:54:00.000+01:00

Picasso and me

2011-09-10T09:43:00.001+01:00

I blogged here, here and here about the tartan jeans bags I made for Debbie and Jason to sell in their wonderfully fabulous store, the One Stop Wood Shop in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I'm not being biased! The stuff that Jason makes from pieces of wood just blows my mind. Check out their website if you don't believe me! He's a clever laddie! :o) In their store they also have the Coal Wynd

I have the power!

2011-09-08T15:32:00.000+01:00

I took myself on to another forum and set up my own sig-making group. The group is private so people have to ask (me) to join. I will probably let most people in but, the odd few who caused bother on my previous board will definitely not be allowed to join. *I have the power!* Also, in my group on the new forum, *I* am in charge. If someone posts in the wrong folder, *I* move it. If someone

a few things I've been making

2011-09-07T20:16:00.001+01:00

I mentioned in the post about Douglas's new phone box jammies, that I'd used one of the phone boxes in another project which I'd forgotten to photograph. I can now show you a photograph of that project because Kat has posted it on her blog and I've stolen borrowed it from her. (I'm not hot-linking it, it's in my own Photobucket!) She calls it her cheeky quilt because she asked for her blog

from the sewing room window - 5th September

2011-09-05T21:09:00.000+01:00

Especially for Nenu - here's what my washing looked like out on the washing line today! :oD

thank you!

2011-09-03T18:44:00.000+01:00

To all the friends who posted comments on my last post, thank you. It really means a lot to me to know that you "get it". I have e-mailed the links to that post (and to the posts on my board and another board) to Jodi Kahn and Angela Matusik. I especially asked them to read the comments on the blog post as I really think they'll find them "enlightening". I don't know if anything will come of

the hardest post

2011-09-02T15:57:00.001+01:00

Today I posted what, to me, was the hardest post I've ever written. Oh not on my blog. On a forum where I was, until today, a community leader. I've been on that forum for over 7 years and became a CL very early in my forum life. I led boards where we just blethered - I'm very good at that. Boards about sewing - I'm also good at that. And boards about signature making - I'm also good at that.