Yippee ...

... Saturday is Lone Star day

I can't wait cos I have, at long last, finally, definitely, for certain, decided on my pieced border.  I will be hosting the day this month, so please join Jayne and I then, and I'll show you what I've decided on - unless, of course, I change my mind between now and then, which of course, won't happen - I don't think!

Calling Nancy ....

... last night I received an email from someone called Nancy who wanted clarification of the cutting instructions for Rick Rack.  I replied, but the email bounced as undeliverable. I did try several times.  So

Nancy

http://www.clipartheaven.com/

if you are reading this, please could you contact me again with a different email address as I hate the thought of you feeling that I could not be bothered to reply.  Also, if any one else thinks they know who Nancy is, please could they contact her on my behalf?

Thanks everyone.

Saving money ...

... can be expensive, as I have discovered.

We had a holiday booked during September, so, being the clever-clogs that I am (?) I decided to book our train fares to and from the starting point of our tour, plus hotel rooms for the nights at either end of the holiday well ahead.  If you book these things early enough, you can save quite a lot of money,after all.

So why do I say it cost us money?  Because the holiday has been cancelled, and I can't get the money back for the fares and the hotel.

I had travel insurance, which included cancellation cover, so I promptly phoned the insurers for a claim form only to find that we're not covered.  It seems that the cancellation was for if we cancelled due to ill health, etc, not if the holiday organisers pulled the plug. They said that the holiday organisers were liable, so then I checedk the small print on the booking  form.  Guess what?  They say that if they have to cancel due to being let down by a 3rd-party supplier, (which is what happened) they're not liable either.

So I'm not going on holiday in 3 weeks and I'm out of pocket by about £300 because I wanted to save money..  

The morning after ...

... the night before.  In other words, the day after the Christmas QAL.

Well, as I said, Mr Fixit fixed Big Bertha, and I finished off the quilt that was on the frame.  My intention for today was to put Festive Mystery on and start quilting it, but I managed to divert myself.  so now I have a beautifully trimmed, scallop edged quilt, ready for it's binding.  Because of the scallops, I will need to use bias binding, so I have made that and it's all ready to be attached.  Wish me luck.

Meanwhile, I also want to thank Cathi for being such a welcoming hostess yesterday.  Have you seen her beautiful cherry and chocolate biccies?  They really had me dribbling over my keyboard.  Cathi also showed us some of her previous Christmas quilts, including a gorgeous snowman quilt.  Thank you for having us over Cathi.

Sort of Ho, Ho again. Christmas QAL post 3

So Mr Fixit comes home, I start cooking the potatoes whilst whingeing for England (and wee're talking gold medal standard moaning here).  I walked past Bertha to go and bring some washing in, and try turning the wheel on my way past, still with no luck.  By the time I've got the washing off the line, Mr F has gone to Bertha, turned the wheel, and guess what?  Yep, it turned.  So we ate dinner, then I went to try Bertha, and she purred away like a very contented machine.  I have therefore managed to finish the quilt I had on the frame this morning, and taken it off, so now I'm ready to put the Festive Mystery on tomorrow.  I can't do it tonight, Mo Farrah and Tom Daley need my help!

Not so Ho, Ho, Ho! - Christmas QAL Post 2

Before I could start quilting my Festive Mystery, I just needed to finish quilting another quilt and take it off the frame.  I reckon I had 30 mins work to do on it.  Now look at this photo.  Yep, the front plate is off, the paintbrush I use for dusting is out, the screwdriver is there, you can't see it, but the oil thingy is out too.  Why?  Cos Bertha was merrily sewing along, and suddenly made a horrid noise, and has seized up completely.  Wheel won't turn, needle won't go up or down, nothing.  I am quite good at cleaning and oiling my machines, but thought I'd better do it all again.  No difference.  Aaaghhh.  Of course, Mr Fixit is out for the day.  So now I'm at a complete standstill.  I hadn't got anything else planned to do.  I'm not happy.  Ho, flipping Ho!

Ho, ho, ho. Christmas QAL post 1

... Happy Christmas everyone.

No you're not going mad, and nor am I really, although there are many would question that last bit!  Today is Christmas QAL day.  I even know what I am going to work on today.  I am planning to quilt my Festive Mystery quilt, and then get to work on a secret. To see who else is sewing along today, pop over to our hostess, Cathi, here.

Oh wait though, there's just one thing before you rush off to the party.  Do you remember the quilt I designed for the Pets on Quilts show?  Just to remind you, it's this one

Well, the voting is open until tomorrow for your favourite quilt in various categories.  If you vote, you might win one of many great prizes, and if my quilt wins, I will win a prize too. Here's a subtle hint:  my quilt is number 85, and is in the EQ7 designs category. You can go here to place your vote.

Hands up if you know ...

... what day it is tomorrow?

Yes! It's Christmas Quiltalong Day, and Cathi is our hostess.  If you remember, Cathi was my co-host last year for the QAL, but this year, her business has really kept her busy, so she hasn't been able to come to our parties, but she will be at her place, over at Shakerwood Quilts, waiting to greet us all.  I'll be there and I hope to see you all there too.

and the winner is ....

.... OK, I know I'm late, I am so sorry, but I just completely forgot to post the name of the winner of my Think Christmas blog hop giveaway.  I really don't have any excuse, except to say that I forgot to do the Random.org thing.  So, without further ado, the winner is

Thearica

who will shortly be receiving four fat quarters of Christmas fabric.  Congratulations Thearica, and thank you to everyone who took the time to visit me and leave a comment.

PS Thearica has a friend who has recently lost her home and everything in it, in a fire.  As a result Thearica is asking if anyone could help restock her friend's sewing supplies by donating an unwanted quilting item, be it fabric/notion/tool/etc.  Please go here to read about it.

Pets on Quilts show

Last year when I entered this show  I had Princess Dorothy staying with me while the people she owned (the Nomads) were renovating their new home.  This year I do not have a pet living here at all, so I wasn't going to enter, then I suddenly realised that I could still do so by designing a pet themed quilt in EQ7.  So, without further ado, here is my entry

I decided that poor Padsworth, who lives with his owner, Snoodles, over at Lily Pad Quilting, is doing all the hard work in organising this show for us all, and really should have a quilt of his own.

This would be a paper pieced project, using my current favourite block, and would measure about 50" x 20".  I think it would make a fantastic wall-hanging for any child with maybe their name, and some of their favourite things on the blocks.

If you hop on over to visit Padsworth, here, you will see first, a list of all the wonderful sponsors who are providing prizes for the show, and then you will find the Linky party where all the entries are shown, so you can then have a great time visiting all the entries and choosing your favourite quilts and voting for them.  (Hint, mine will be entered in the Quilts designed in EQ7 category!)

Happy Hopping everyone ....

Lone Star day - whoops...

When I got up this morning, there was an email waiting for me from Jayne, my co-host of the Lone Star days.  Jayne is obviously far more efficient than me, as she had remembered something that I had completely forgotten.  Today is Lone Star day.

Now for my other confession.  I have done nothing to my quilt this month.  Actually, that's not quite true.  I have spent some time on the computer deciding on a pieced border, which is what will come next.

Only trouble is, I like them both, and don't know which one to choose.

My final confession for the day is that I will not be doing anything on the quilt today.  I'll try and post something relevant a bit later though.

Think Christmas ...

It's now Day 3 of the Think Christmas blog hop, which was the brainwave of Mme Samm, and is being hosted by Lesley, over at The Cuddle Quilter, who loves all things Christmas, especially Santa.

In honour of our lovely host, I decided to make a block showing Santa as he might look in a Hall of Mirrors.

Remember this? This was my prototype block, which I then "adjusted" in Paint Shop Pro.

Unfortunately, Santa is furious with me, as he thinks I've made him look silly, so he is hiding.  While I am looking for him, I will have my camera with me, in case I spot him.

Is that him, hiding under my coffee cup?

He's gone again.

No, there he is, with his friends the gingerbread men.

Now he's sitting under one of my crystal Christmas Trees, look.

I know what to do.  I'll just show you a picture of another block I've made, instead.

The idea for this block was a child's building block with pictures of Christmas things on each side.  I really made this as a check that I could successfully sew an inset seam, before I started trying to do them on my Lone Star quilt.  The candle and the tree were paper pieced from patterns I found in EQ7 and the Santa was my own design, also paper pieced.

Oh look, what a surprise!  The Hall of Mirrors Santa is jealous now cos I'm showing other photos, so he's come out of hiding, and agreed to keep still for long enough for you all to see him.

Now, to celebrate Santa coming out of hiding, I am having a giveaway.  The prize will be 4 FQs of Christmas fabric.  I can't show you a picture of them, cos I haven't bought them yet.  This is open to anyone, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and make sure I have a way of contacting you if you are a no-reply blogger.  I will use Random.org to pick a winner on 6 August, when the Think Christmas hop ends.

I hope you are all enjoying Thinking about Christmas as much as I am?  The other blogs you can visit today for some fun and inspiration are

Sheila's Quilt World

A Passion for Applique

Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio

Jane's Quilting

Sew Me Something Good

A Stitch in Time

Aurea

Marcia's Crafty Sewing and Quilting

Patchouli Moon Studio

Quilting by the River