Two Tired Teachers

The last 2 days have been great fun, with Lynn teaching her Patchwork Math class on Wednesday and me teaching 3D Noughts and Crosses yesterday at Quilting in the Garden.  You can see Lynn's post about her class on her blog, here.

I'm not going to chunter on about the class, I'm going to let the pictures tell you all about it. 

After a bit of chatter from me, everyone was keen to get started.  Just look at this cutter moving.

 

Did you notice the lovely quilts that had been hung around the classroom as part of the quilt show?  They made a very colourful backdrop for us.  Speaking of colour, this is an example of what was surrounding us

 

By lunchtime we had some lovely blocks made, as you can see here.

 

Lunch was wonderful, served outside on the terrace in glorious weather

Funny how I didn't manage to get a picture of the lunches that were provided by Alden Lane Nursery for us, so you'll just have to take my word for it that it was fantastic.

 

Then it was back to the grindstone

 

This picture should be captioned "Follow me chaps, I've had an idea"

 







And this was the idea.  A picture of the students with the start of their great quilts

 

I just love each and every one of those quilts, and look at how different they all are.

 

I think some of the students may have been happy that the class was over, don't you?

Thank you to Lynn and to Cyndee at Alden Lane Nursery for ensuring that everything ran so smoothly and thanks to everyone for making me so welcome and for making the day such fun.

        

I'm ready ...

... It's now 10 am and I'm ready.  Packing all done and there's still an hour and a half before I need to leave for the airport.

I should be packing ...

... for my trip to stay with Lovely Lynn.  I leave home tomorrow and fly to Heathrow, then I fly from Heathrow to Vancouver and Vancouver to San Francisco on Tuesday.  In my usual fashion though, I will leave my packing until the last minute and do it tomorrow.

Yesterday I went to an all day meeting of the Yorkshire Modern Quilt Guild, where I finished off Red Sprinkles, so here is a photo of it

and a close-up of the bubbly quilting design I chose.

I've never used this pattern before, but I love it and also I used a rayon thread which Big Bertha loved -no skips or tension issues at all.

PS  Thanks Paula B for your lovely comment about my trip.  I'm sorry I couldn't reply as you are a no-reply blogger.

Christmas QAL - a day late

I know I said on Saturday that tomorrow (ie yesterday) I'd be sorting out my sewing room.  Did you notice how quiet I was?  Well that's cos we went out for lunch, and I just didn't feel like doing it when we got home.  I was going to blob in front of the TV with a good old black and white film instead, but then I realised I still had about half of the last series of Dallas to watch, so I watched a couple of those instead.  OK, there may have been a little inspection of the insides of my eyelids too.

So today I set to work.  I didn't take a picture of the before, but here are some in progress photos

After a couple of hours it looked like this:

Then I sorted out some "stuff" for Scrappy:

and started putting things back in the cupboard

Then I ran out of steam so I've stopped for today.

Christmas QAL, part 2

... I've done some sewing, look

and that's all I'm showing of these "things" for now.

I have had a visit from Mrs Nomad and we had a lovely chat.

I've prepared dinner. In fact, I had to laugh at myself about dinner.  Last month on QAL Saturday I made Boozy Beef in Beaujolais, today I'm doing pork in cider. What's with all the alcohol I wonder?

I've also spent far too long looking for a recipe online that I have used before for cinnamon rolls.  It was a simple recipe, which did not use yeast and which had a nice icing on top, but I seem to have deleted the bookmark!  Grr.

It's Christmas ...

... well actually, it isn't, but it IS Christmas QAL weekend, being hosted this month by Hazel.  What's more, she's promised biscuits, so hurry on over there to join the party.

I will not be working on my Christmas challenge quilt this weekend, cos after my disastrous efforts at free motion quilting, and all the whinging I did, which you could read about here if you really wanted to,  my wonderful friend Bilbo just rang me up and said "stick it in an envelope and send it to me".  Needless to say, I did just that.  Bilbo is a fantastic quilter and will work absolute wonders with my entry.

So, what will I be up to?  I will do a little sewing, but the main part of this weekend is going to be spent on giving myself an early Christmas present.  I am planning to tip everything out of the cupboards, drawers and shelves in my sewing studio (in other words the conservatory) and have a good clean up and tidy up.  After all, I have some Very Important Friends visiting me not long after my holiday, so I must be neat and tidy out there ready for them, as that's where we spend most of our time.   I am sure that my friend Scrappy will be very excited to hear about my spring-cleaning, cos guess where all my odd "bits" go? Speaking of Scrappy, she's away this weekend, so won't be joining us to show her progress on her challenge entry.

I'll be back later, but now I must go and do something constructive .... "jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.............."

Who knows what's happening ...

... this weekend?

Well, here's a clue:

Yes, it's Christmas QAL time again.  The partywill last all weekend, and  this month it's at Hazel's place, here.  See you all over there.

The countdown ...

... is really on now.  Only 14 days till I go off to California.  This box left this morning, and contains the quilt and teaching samples, so they'll all be there well before me.  Today I have made appointments for a haircut and a pedicure, so at least the top and toe bit should be looking good, not much can be done with the in-between bits though, sadly.

I'm getting very excited, but I'm sure I'm hiding it well, so you can't tell.

One down ...

... one to go, as they say.  I've completely finished my blue 3D Noughts and Crosses This is the sample quilt for my class at Quilting in the Garden 

I love this quilt,  but it really needs a name.  Any suggestions anyone? I did think of Blueberry Something-or-other, but I'm a bit stuck really.

The other quilt, which will be either be called Raspberry Ruffles or Chocolate Cherries (hmm, funny how many of my quilts seem to have names associated with food isn't it?) is now half made as you can see.

This won't go any further at the moment, as I will be using the rest as examples during the class.  The next time you see this will be when I am back home again and have it completely finished.

The fabrics for both of these quilts have very generously been supplied by Oakshott Fabrics.  They have some gorgeous fabrics, and they also photograph them far better than I do, so you get more of the effect of the colour variations on their website.  Thank you Oakshott Fabrics.

My friend/hostess, Lynn, is also teaching at the show, but her class is very nearly full, so if you are thinking of signing up, don't delay too long or you might miss out all together.

Oh, and just look at this

(I stole the photo from Lynn's blog, hope she doesn't mind).  This bear was spotted out for a stroll very close to her cabin the other day.  I'm going to have to buy some running shoes I think.  Lynn sent me the photo, and I think she could probably hear me screaming all the way across the ocean.  Scary things, big brown bears!

It's time ...

... for the Country Charmer QAL link up.  This quiltalong is being hosted by Lesley over at The Cuddle Quilter, and is just the right sort of QAL for me.  No rules, no deadlines, do as much or as little as you want each month and link up on the 1st of the month to show what we have been up to.  The Country Charmer quilt was designed by the fabulously talented designer, my friend Lynn from Sew'n Wild Oaks.

I see that Lesley has finished her top, (which is now being quilted by Lynn,) so she has decided to start another one, this time in all blues, tans and creams.  I, on the other hand, have not only not finished mine, I haven't done anything to it this month.  Nothing.  Nada.  Nowt.  I'm hanging my head in shame here.  So my quilt still looks like this

What is even worse is that next month I will be on holiday (staying with the fabulously talented designer I mentioned above), so there will be no progress for me to report then either since I won't be able to work on it before I go.

However, a couple of months ago Leader Lesley had a little giveaway for participants of this QAL, and I was the lucky winner of a gift certificate from her.  When I got the email telling me I had won, I had just been window shopping on-line, and seen a fantastic FQ bundle that I put on my wish list.  Well I can tell you that it came off my wish list and jumped into my basket faster than you can say "buy".  This is what I chose, I know just what I am going to make with it too.   Thank you so much Lesley.

To see the progress others have made with their Country Charmers, just go here and scroll down to the Linkies at the bottom of Lesley's post.

I'm still here ...

.... As I mentioned before, I had two quilts to make before I jet off to the US, so I have been quiet.  The first one is made, quilted, bound and I will finish the hanging sleeve this evening.  So tomorrow I should be able to show you a picture of it.  Meanwhile, I have also been making blocks for the other version of the same quilt. This one is being made in ruby red, dark pink, chocolate and cream. Sounds horrible doesn't it?  Well I think it's just gorgeous and here's a picture of some of the blocks (without the cream) for you to see.

This picture actually shows the effect of using shott cottons a bit more specially if you look at the four centre triangles above.  The effect is even better in real life.

Do you remember sweets called Raspberry Ruffles from when you were a child?  That's just what these blocks remind me of, so I have a feeling this quilt might be called Ruffled Raspberries or something similar rather than 3D Noughts and Crosses v3.

Now I really must put down the laptop, ignore the quilting magazine that dropped through my letterbox a short while ago, and go sew ......

Aah, that's better ...

... This is a follow-up from my last post about the manly quilt with flowery quilting.   I finished the unpicking (but not the audio book) and then started again yesterday on this quilt.  I did the final row this morning , and here it is.  I was too impatient to wait until I'd added the binding, but I am now very happy with it.

This is the quilt I will be teaching at Quilting in The Garden while I am on holiday staying with Lynn from Sew'n Wild Oaks.

I used fabrics very generously supplied by Oakshott Fabrics, and have tried to get a photo that shows the colour variations in the fabrics, but I failed miserably.The dark fabric could be anything from jade through peacock to emerald or even purple and the light varies from light grey through olive to mid-blue, all depending on the angle the light hits them.  Quite amazing.  The thread was a variegated purple which I fell in love with when I saw it.  I usually use a very neutral colour for the thread so it doesn't show very much, but I felt that it would work here.

Doh!......

...... I wanted to make a quilt that would be suitable for a guy, so I chose my fabrics carefully, made the top, got Big Bertha out to work her magic on it and quilted about half of it.  All the time I was quilting, I knew I did not like it, there was something wrong.  So I stopped for the day (this was on Sunday) and walked away.  I went back later and had a look at what I had done and that's when I realised the problem.  Here is a photo taken from the back

Now what on earth made me choose a pattern for the blocks that is distinctly floral-looking?

So I spent yesterday and this morning in the company of Mr Seam-ripper and a good audio book, un-sewing everything.  Now I'm off to start again, this time I am doing an all-over pattern that is a favourite of mine, called Double Bubble Trouble.  I have used it before several times and I am quite sure I will be much happier with it this time.  I'll be back in a couple of days with a photo.

Christmas QAL - Day 2, post 2

My friend J, who is going to be called Scrappy in future, on account of the fact that she always goes for scrappy quilts, has decided to enter our Christmas Challenge.  Because she does not have a blog, I have said that I will post her progress reports here.

Scrappy is trying to restrict herself to four fabrics (bet she can't stick to that!), so here are the fabrics she's chosen

Her design involves a box, which will be the dark blue and the gold, the light blue is for the background and the other blue may be the borders.  I've seen a drawing of her idea, and can tell you all it's going to be a wonderful quilt.

Don't forget you can go to Jolly Jo's here to see what other people are up to during this quiltalong weekend.

Christmas QAL - Day 2

Yesterday I mentioned that I had a lovely dinner cooking away in the slow cooker while I attempted to do some FMQ-ing, and SewCalGal and several other people have asked me for the recipe, so here it is.

Boozy Beef in Beajolais:

1. Cut 2 sticks of celery, 2 carrots and 1 onion into roughly 1/4" dice and put them in the slow-cooker
2. Mix 1/2 tsp garlic flakes, 1 tbsp tomato puree, and 1 tbsp Dijon mustard into the vegetables
3. Season with salt and pepper
4. Pour in 1 bottle of Beaujolais and 250 ml (9 fl oz) of cold water
5. Sit the rolled and tied brisket joint on top
6. Put the lid on and cook on high until it's bubbling, then turn it down to low.  I have cooked this for anything between 5 and 8 hours.
7. Just before serving stir in 25 g chilled butter and 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly.

Notes: 

• the original recipe says to cook on low for 8 hours, it does not mention starting off on high
• I have used various light red wines in place of the Beaujolais, just go to the supermarket and get a cheap bottle
• the redcurrant jelly is optional
• if the sauce seems too thin, I just thicken it with a little cornflour
• I have added other things like chopped tomatoes and also I sometimes peel and dice potatoes and cook them in the pot too.

It's really quick to prepare, easy to do and yummy to eat.  When I take the joint out to serve it, I could carve it with a spoon it is so tender.  It makes the house smell lovely too.

There is no picture of it cos we ate it before I thought of that so here's a picture of my slow-cooker reheating some for today:

Now I'm off to have a rethink about my Christmas QAL challenge entry.  Don't forget to pop into Jolly Jo's, here, to see what everyone else is getting up to this weekend.

Houston, we have a problem ...

or Christmas QAL post 2.

What's the problem?  Well let me show you:

this is my attempt at FMQ.  Cos I know I can't do it, I thought I'd draw something first and just sew along the lines.  Sounds easy like that, doesn't it?  Well, let me tell you, I did NOT find it easy at all.  This was not my first effort, I'm not even going to show the earlier ones.  It's a good job this isn't a police test to check if I'm driving while under the influence isn't it?

Just to give you a laugh, I thought I'd give you a close up, so you can see just how bad it is.  I'm not even going to show you the back which is even worse.

I have to come to the conclusion that I just can not do FMQ-ing.  Come to think of it, I already knew that, that's why I have Big Bertha to do my quilting for me, so why did I ever think I might be able to do it now?

So, It looks as though I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board regarding my Christmas Challenge entry, cos the quilting is an essential part of it.

Then, just to console myself, I decided to play with all the hexie pieces I cut out yesterday.  What a shame the challenge says no red (amongst other stupid restrictions), cos I'm loving these, although I have no idea what they're going to be when they get older.

Ho, ho, ho ...

... Happy Christmas everyone.

Yes, it's time for our Christmas party weekend again, and this time it's over at Jolly Jo's place.  Everyone is welcome and if you're joining in and sewing something Christmassy, then you can link up here.  I'm going to do some more work on my entry for our Christmas challenge.  It's going to need some free-motion quilting, which is not something I do, so will need a lot of practice first.

Now I've done my housework, I have a joint of beef cooking in red wine in the slow cooker, and it smells gorgeous, so I'm going to have a cup of coffee and go visit all the other party-goers before I start on my practice.

If you want a quick trip around the world to see what everyone's doing, then just go to Jolly Jo's Christmas QAL page and click on all the Linkies.

It was a busy day ...

... for some!  A couple of days ago, as I told you yesterday, my friends J & F came over for a day of sewing, eating and chatting (and not necessarily in that order) and this is what they did.

F is hand-sewing a clutch-bag, complete with a zip (I can't do zips, so I'm always impressed when someone can) using a charm square pack that she fell in love with and just had to buy. I think we can all relate to that, can't we?

J started by making a needlecase after I showed her one that I had made a few days before.

Then she used my Go! Cutter to cut out loads of hexagons, and laid them out like this to see what they would look like as a table topper,

and, as if that wasn't enough, she then started on a mug rug.  This is going to have a little pocket to hold a serviette.  I just loved the fabric she is using for it.






As for me, I bet you're all wondering what I did, aren't you?  Well, after a very bad night (less than 2 hours sleep) and an early morning visit to the doctor for my annual diabetes blood test, where the nurse tried and failed five times to get any blood, I was tired and so the sum total of what I did was  ... nothing.  Zilch.  Nada. I did manage to do lots of talking and eating though and had a great day.  So that's why I said it was a busy day for some!

You're never too old ...

... to learn something new.  I proved that yesterday.  My friends J and F were over for the day, and J was using Big Brother, one of my machines and she was using the thread cutter, see that handy little "bit" on the side of the machine, next to the label? 

"So what?" you're all thinking. Well I'll tell you "so what".  I have had Big Brother for over 7 years, and always wished he had one of those!  I had honestly never realised.  I was so happy, until I told Mr Fixit that I had this handy-dandy little device and he simply looked at me a bit pityingly, and said "yes, I know, and I thought you did too"  J and F (OK and me too) thought that was so funny.

Tomorrow I'll tell you all about our day together and show you the great things that J & F both made.  Oh, and don't forget, Saturday is party day - yes, it's time to hop over to Jolly Jo's for the next Christmas QAL day.

Country Charmer ...

... check-in day.

Yes, it's the first day of the month, so it's time to check in with all the other Country Charmers around the world.  We're all making this great quilt, designed by Lovely Lynn, as a quiltalong which is being hosted by our Leader Lesley. This quiltalong is a bit different from most, as we are really all working at our own pace each month, doing as much or as little as we want and then on the first of each month, we show our progress, and link up at Lesley's place.

If you read my blog regularly, you will know that I am now the proud owner of a design wall (of sorts). and it has proved invaluable this month while I have been sewing the blocks and sashing together.  this is where I finished up my last report, all the blocks, sashings and corner posts laid out on the "wall"

 so the next step was to sew everything together.  Easy-peasy yes?

NO!

I sewed sashing to rows, I sewed rows to sashing, then I was going to sew the top half to the bottom and this is what I had.

Whaaattt???

How did that happen?  I thought the "wall" was supposed to stop things like that happening?  Oh well, I got out my trusty friend the very blunt (I really must treat myself to a new one) stitch-ripper, and soon put it right.

So now everything is looking great again and I need to decide on borders.  I am thinking I may go "off-piste" with the borders, if I have the courage.  I may not have time to work on this wonderful quilt at all during August though, as I have two quilts to make to use for the class I am teaching in September while I am staying with Lovely Lynn, but I will try.

So, to see some lovely eye candy, just go to the bottom of Lesley's post here and click on each of the links.

The joke's on me ...

... if you read Hazel's blog, here you will see that she has been commissioned to make a quilt and she has decided to go for Starstruck, from my book.  The only thing is, she wanted to make 10" blocks rather than  12" as in the original, so I offered to re-work the cutting instructions for her.  When I had done it, I decided to make a test block, just in case my brain had been fried in the heat, so I pulled out 3 ugly fabrics and had a go.  The good news is that my calculations were right, so I put the block on my design wall to take a photo of it to send Hazel, and then realised that I really like the block in these ugly fabrics. What do you think?

The reason the joke's on me?  Having decided I like the block, I don't have enough of the fabrics to make any more!

Winner ....

... actually, that title should really say "Winner, winner" shouldn't it, cos the wonderful people at Oakshott gave me two bundles of their fabrics to give away.

If any of you haven't already visited their website, then do go and have a look round.  Not only do they have gorgeous fabrics and bundles, but they also have kits and free patterns.  I have already put one or two things (yes, OK, it's rather more than one or two things) on my Christmas list.

Now I expect you'd like me to stop chuntering on and announce the names of the winners wouldn't you?

Well, the first number generated by Random.org was ....

Tammy

who wrote

"I've signed up for the newsletter. Thank you so much for the chance to enter. This is gorgeous fabric."

and the second number was ....

Nancy D

who said

"I'm signed up for their newsletter. The fabric is so pretty!"

So, congratulations to both winners, and thanks again to Oakshott for their very generous giveaway.  

Thanks ...

... to everyone who replied to my call for help for my friend Nancie.  She thought it was a sign of real friendship that I did it, but really it was self defence that made me post that SOS.  Cos I was spending so much time on the computer looking for this quilt, the cobwebs were growing all round the house, the dust bunnies were doing what bunnies do, Mr Fixit was wasting away from starvation, and I need new glasses!

Anyway, all's well that ends well, cos thanks to Freda, who replied within minutes of me posting, Nancie had her quilt.  You can see it here, and also thanks to Marj who also told us that the pattern was shown in the latest McCalls magazine.

So, thanks to everyone who tried to help, Nancie has now got her brain back, and another quilt on her to-do list.

PS Don't forget my Oakshott fabric giveaway, here.

Can any one help ....

... my friend Nancie?

She's mislaid her mind and can't remember where she put it.  It seems that about a week or so back, she was whiling away some time on the computer, looking at quilts, like you do, and she saw a quilt that she fell in love with.  Apparently, it had granny square blocks in the centre, with a border of hexie flowers.  Unfortunately, she didn't take note of where she saw this masterpiece, and now can't find it.  Does anyone know where Nancie might find this quilt again, and hopefully find her mind at the same time?

PS Don't forget my fabulous fabrics giveaway, here.

Chatterbox ...

... has had a great couple of weeks.

(Warning:  this is a proud grandmother post.)

Today was his last day at junior school before joining his older brother (The Professor) at High School in September.

A couple of weeks back his year at school put on Bugsy Malone, and he played Fat Sam.  (Apparently he counted the lines one day, and he had more than Bugsy himself!).  The play lasted an hour and a half, and he was on stage for a lot of that time and he did not once forget his lines, or even drop the New York accent (pretty good for a Yorkshire lad I thought).  His parents (the Nomads) were told by several people that he stole the show, and I definitely thought so too.

A few days after that, he got his SATS exam results.  These are national exams, and he got brilliant results almost all subjects at grade 5, which is about as high as he could get.

Then, a few days after that, his football team were playing in some sort of gala, and they drew in the finals so it had to go to penalties.  Chatterbox volunteered to go in goal for that part, and saved 2 penalties, which meant his team won.

Just to top off a brilliant fortnight, he was awarded Student of the Year at school.

Didn't he do well?

PS Don't forget my fabric giveaway, here.

I i i t 's....(the same post but with an update)

... been a long time since I did a giveaway, so I'm about to put that right.

Update:  please see below for the small print I forgot!

Have you heard of Oakshott Fabrics?  No?  Well, you are missing a treat.  These are fabulous shot cottons handwoven in India specially for Oakshott Fabrics.  Go ahead and pop over there to have a look, I'll wait here for you.

See, aren't they gorgeous?  They are wonderfully soft to touch, in lovely colours and they all shimmer with a silky lustre. (Did you like that last phrase?  I stole it straight from their website cos I thought it described the effect so much better than I could!) It's hard to describe the appearance of the fabrics, and even harder to photograph them - and believe me, I tried - but thanks to the generosity of Michael (Mr Oakshott Fabrics himself) I can offer two of you the chance to see for yourselves.  I have two packs to giveaway today, each one consisting of 12 Fat 8ths.

The pack on the left is called Italy, and the one on the right is Lakes. These are so new, they are not even on their website yet.  Now it's confession time.  I wanted to see them close up, so I undid each pack.  I justified it by taking photos of the fabrics spread out so you could see them better, so here are the fabrics from the Italy pack

and here are the Lakes

They are all gorgeous, but my photos are not doing them justice.  I tried taking these pictures outside, but it is so bright that they looked totally washed out.  In reality, the colours are much deeper than they look here.

Anyway, enough of my wittering on, I should think you want to know how you can get your hands on one of these packs don't you? It's very simple.  All you have to do is visit Oakshott's website, have a good look round, and then click on the "contact us" tab to send an email to Michael asking to be registered for their newsletter.  (Don't worry, they do not share your details with anyone else) Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me you've done that.

Here's the small print:

• this giveaway is open to anyone, wherever you live
• I will need an email address to contact you if you are a winner, so, if you are a no-reply blogger, please leave an email address in your comment
• the giveaway is open for one week, and will close at midnight on Saturday 27 July.  I will use Random.org to draw the winners, and notify them by email and announce them here on Sunday 28 July.   
• Update:  the first name drawn will have the 1st choice of the packs and the second winner will receive the other pack.

 If you're not lucky enough to win this time, just go visit your LQS and ask for them.  (If they don't stock them yet, I am sure Michael would love to hear from them, so he can put that right!)

Oh yes, and one more thing.  If you are planning to go to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham (UK) and would like some vouchers from Oakshott to help your pocket money go a bit further, then all you have to do is email Michael and ask for some.  You have until the end of this month to do that.

Right, I  think you're probably all fed up with the sound of my voice by now, so I'll just say good luck to you all, and thank you very much to Oakshott Fabrics.

It's a challenge ...

... Who's bright idea was this?  A quilt on the theme of Christmas without using red or green fabric?  Ridiculous.  Still it wouldn't be a challenge if it wasn't challenging would it?  This is mine so far.

That's the easy bit done.  Now I've got to do scary free-motion quilting without the aid of a robot.  Eeek.  Actually, I don't think Big Brother is all that keen either.  Yesterday it had a total meltdown in the heat and started making a horrid noise, running on after I took my foot off the pedal and refusing to reverse. I took it apart, cleaned it, oiled it and left it overnight.  It didn't need cleaning or oiling, so I was a bit worried that I might have drowned it, but it ran OK-ish this morning.  So, as I said, next thing is that we're going to play at FMQ.  Wish us luck.

It's Christmas ...

... now I know it's only July, but it must be Christmas cos look what arrived all the way from Australia one day last week

 and inside were these absolutely GORGEOUS fabrics from OzSue.   Aren't they just so "my" colours?

I can't wait to do something with them, but first I've got to decide what to make that will do them justice.  Meanwhile, I can stroke them!

Thank you so, sew much Susan, I absolutely love them.

Christmas QAL (Monday) ...

... is over again for another month, but I wanted to thank Happy Hazel for being such a wonderful hostess, and Grumpy George for doing his bit too.  By the way, I think I know why he looked so grumpy.  I reckon that Hazel really did make some eggnog, and then made George drink it!

Next month our hostess will be Joanna, so don't forget to visit her on the second weekend of August.  I know I've already marked it on my calender.



Also, I have a message for Elaine S, who left a lovely message on this post on my blog and also left me a message on Lynn's blog yesterday.  Elaine, I can't reply to you as you are a no-reply commenter and I don't have an email address for you, but thank you so very much for your welcoming comments, they are very much appreciated.

Now I'm off to work on my Christmas challenge (you know, the one that someone said could not include red or green fabric?) for an hour.