Something for everyone ..........

I've interrupted my tennis viewing to just give you a couple of links.

For anyone who is a non-quilter, but thinking about starting, Quilting Tidbits is a wonderful online resource.  It is also great for people interested in quilt history, so go on over and have a browse around. Oh, and if you go here, you may see a quilt design you recognise.  (Hint, the name just might contain the words "leaves", "and "cabins).

On the other hand, if you are an experienced quilter, this video might give you a laugh.  The song is by Cathy Miller and is on youtube, here.

Right, I'm back to the tennis now, see you all later.

Excuse me ............

.......... if I am a bit quiet for the next couple of weeks.  It's Wimbledon fortnight.

and the winner is............

Number 6, Dave, who would wear a red, white and blue hat!

Please contact me so I can tell you what to do next.

I used the random generator thingy, but I cant get it to appear in the right place on this post to prove it. Other people manage, so it's obviously something I'm doing wrong!

Thanks to everyone who entered. I just wish I could have given everyone a prize. I do think if we went to Ascot next year in our hats we'd make a real sight for sore eyes.

Who wants to come to the races?

I've had quite a few emails asking about Ascot and what it's like etc so I thought I'd take you there today. First, the background: traditionally it is one of THE events of the Season, and fits in between the annual exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art and Henley Regatta. Entry to the Royal Enclosure is by special invitation only, but after you have been invited on 4 (or 5) consecutive years, you are able to go in your own right, which is how come I am able to go.

So, to the day itself.  It is some years since I last went, so I am doing this from a hazy sort of memory (well we all know how forgetful I can be don't we?).

Are you ready?  Quick, the chauffeur's here.  I do have a tip for you here. Don't bother to put that big hat on until you arrive - it's a flipping nuisance in the car, (and, of course, it might obscure the public's view of one.)  There is a lot of traffic, so we'll be in the car in traffic jams a bit, so let's hope the chauffeaur remembered to restock the bar. Ahh, we're here....  quick, put your hat on, check we've all got our gloves (ladies and gentlemen) as we won't be allowed in without them.  Out of the car and in through a special gate.  (Yes, you may wave to the onlookers if you wish.)

Right, we're in.  The first thing is to check where our "box" is as that's where we'll have lunch. (It's also the only place where one may be seen without one's hat.)  OK, next is to go for a walk (ie a fashion parade).  See and be seen, that's the main thing.  This is where you realise that those stillettos were not such a good idea after all.  It's difficult to look elegant when you heels keep sinking into the grass!  Oh yes, and hats with very big brims are not too clever either, specially if it's windy, and hats with veils have a problem too - how does one eat elegantly in one? Have a good promenade around, and then we'll go and place our bets for the first race.  It's good to do this early, as we'll probably still be eating our 5-course lunch when it starts.  Placing a bet is easy.  There are special little windows within the Enclosure where we go, and there is no queuing necessary - well, one can't have the Queen having to queue up to place her bet can we?  Now we'll go and have our lunch, which will include strawberries and champagne of course.  Some people take picnics, but I prefer this way.  OK, finished lunch?  Let's go watch a race then shall we? Shall we stay in our box?  Good idea if the weather's nasty, or shall we go out into the stands. Being in the stands is more exciting, and I learnt a lot of interesting language from those who lost their bets. Woohoo, you've had a win too?  Let's go and collect our winnings from the same little windows, and place a bet on another race.  All this activity has made me thirsty, is it time for afternoon tea yet?  Go and have a drink and then do a bit more mingling, repeat until all the races are over.  The last race has been run, so now it's time to go and find your chauffeur.  Shall we stop for dinner on our way home? Yes?  OK, I recommend The Compleat Angler which has lovely surroundings and wonderful food.  Now we're home again, and I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted, so I shall just choose my outfit for tomorrow and then go to bed.

When I think about Ascot, I remember the excitement, the crowds rushing to be in the right place to see the Queen when she walks around, the noise, the quails eggs, the wind one year, the rain another, and the great feeling of winning when a horse I picked totally at random, wins the race (and that did seem to happen a lot to me).  Oh and by the way, cameras were not allowed, so no photos!

I hope you enjoyed a quick trip to Ascot with me. Now you know a bit more about it, don't forget there's still time to enter my giveaway.

Oops ......

... it has dawned on me that I was not very clear in my last post.  The $40 voucher is for anything from the CSN website, not just for the bathroom sink.   They do some great kitchen gadgets and accessories, and I am also eyeing up a great slow cooker (and yes, I know the one I have is fine, but this one looks great and it's DIGITAL!)  So really you could get anything from a wooden spoon up to furnishing your whole house from them.

What's this? Royal Ascot and a Giveaway.

I have had several questions about my last post, so I thought I'd tell you a little more about a "Typical Day at the Races", but first, I have a giveaway for you because .... well, just because really.  It's not my birthday, or my Bloggiversary, it's not to celebrate getting eleventyseven followers, it's just because.

There are some really nice people at a shop group called CSN Stores, based in the UK and the USA, who have given me the chance to give one of you a $40 gift certificate.  How cool is that?  These really nice people sell everything from a bathroom sink to a swing and from a bath to a barbecue.  I have been thinking of revamping our en-suite (sshh, Mr Fixit doesn't know yet) so I was having a browse round, like you do and I found they have some of the coolest bathroom sinks I've ever seen.

 They even had a red glass one which  would be a real economy actually, cos it would match my bath towels! Just head on over to CSN's website to see the variety of things they have, but don't buy the red sink in case they sell out before I get there!

So I had better stop waffling, and tell you how you could win this $40 certificate. You can have up to 3 chances:

1. Leave me a comment, telling me what colour outfit you would wear to Royal Ascot to meet the Queen.
2. Become a follower of my blog and then leave me another comment to say you have.
3. Post about this giveaway on your blog then leave me a comment to say you've done that.

Don't take too long to decide about your outfit though, and leave your comments by midnight on Saturday 19  June, and I will announce the winner on Sunday.

Now I think I've talked enough for this post, so I'll come back later and tell you about a day at the races.

Tomorrow ...........

............. is the start of Royal Ascot, and I am lucky enough to have the right to not just attend, but to be in the Royal Enclosure.  For those of you who don't know about Ascot, it is considered to be one of the highlights of the "Season" and anyone who is anyone attends.  If you are in the Royal Enclosure there is a strict dress code, although it has relaxed somewhat over recent years.

Ladies were not allowed to have bare arms, or to wear trousers and a hat and gloves were compulsory - well, you couldn't be seen in the company of Her Majesty the Queen without your hat and gloves, could you.  Gentlemen had to wear Morning Suits with a hat, and gloves also.  Just to give you a laugh, here are a couple of photos from those days.

I used to love going, the atmosphere, the champagne, the hats and fashions, oh yes, and the occasional horse race, all made for wonderful days.  I don't go any more, but I did love it while I was going - and not just cos it was a few days off work.

Aahhh, Those Were the Days, as they say.

I don't do circles .............

................. well, not if I can possibly help it.  But this is the quilt that Mr and Mrs Teacher wanted when they werre expecting Little Person, so, how could I not do circles for them?

The pattern was in a magazine (I think it was Fons and Porter?), and I really loved it too, so I was really happy when they chose it.  This was just before I was going to the Amish country on a quilt tour, so I bought loads of FQ's of 1930's style fabrics while I was there, and this is the result.  They are not the colours or the type of fabrics I would normally choose, but I was really happy with the way it turned out so I thought I ought to share it with you.  I hope you like it too.

Does any one else do this? ...............

Way, way back in the dim and distant past, well January actually, I ordered 5 patio clematis plants to put in pots in our new garden. 
All well and good, but January was a long time ago.  In other words, yes, I forgot I had ordered them.
Imagine my surprise then when the post office van pulled up on our drive this morning before 8.30 and in his hand he had a box. 
I wasn't expecting anything, so that was exciting. 
You've all guessed what was in that box haven't you? 
Yes, 5 baby clematis (clematii?). 
Oh heck, what was I planning to do with those? 
Oh yes, put them in pots. 
Which pots?
Aah yes, those pots - the ones I planted summer flowering plants in over the weekend. 
Oops. 
Guess where I went this morning then?  Off to the garden centre, to buy some more pots.
Does anyone else do things like this?
Last Thursday was my sister's birthday, and Friday was Mr QuiltFan's (aka my father's) birthday.  Happy birthday to both of you. 

Since I can't show you .......

........ what I am working on at the moment, I thought I'd show you a couple of small quilts I made in 2006 or thereabouts.

Tulips from Harrogate.
This was adapted from a pattern in a Fons and Porter magazine.  I foundation pieced it, and it was made as a shop sample to show a small project that could be made from a few charm squares.  It would make a lovely table runner, but I don't use it as one in case I spill something on it and spoil it!

Sunset over Yorkshire.
I was given the pattern for this by Mrs PennyPot.  It is by Jenny Rayment- she of the fabric twiddling fame.  Mrs PP went on a course being run by her, and brought this back for me.  I love it, but so did my father, so guess where it lives now?  I think I'm going to have to start calling him Mr QuiltFan.

I'll be back soon, with some more quilts and other ramblings - well, you know me, I can't keep quiet for too long.  Oh yes, and keep checking up on me, soon I'll be able to show you what I've been up to.

Excuses, excuses ...........

Dear Blogland Police

Please excuse QuiltSue for her absence from blogland recently.

This has been due to a combination of unavoidable domestic events.  Firstly, Mr Fixit has been in hospital for his gallbladder op, and secondly her laptop died, totally at the same time.

Mr Fixit is now home, minus his gallbladder, and really, you would not know he has ever had an operation and she has bought a new laptop, so hopefully life can now return to what passes for normal around her.

Thank you from

QuiltSue's Conscience

Bloggers' Quilt Festival

Amy's at it again - she's found a way for me to not do the housework today!  She's now hosting her third Bloggers' Quilt Festival.  To take part, you have to show one of your quilts and then share it's story, then post a link here.  That's also the link to go to to see over 420 (so far) quilts.

So, without further ado, here's my entry for this year.  I started this quilt a few years ago as a mystery quilt.  When I had finished the top, I decided I hated it, so it went in a cupboard and was ignored for some years.  When I got my long-arm machine
(aka Big Bertha), I needed "stuff" to practice on.   That's when this top saw the light of day again.  I spread it out on a bed to work out how I was going to quilt it, and guess what?  I loved it!  It's only trouble was that it wasn't big enough for a bed quilt.  Luckily, I managed to find some marble fabrics that were an almost exact match and I still had some of the original fabrics too, so 3 borders later, I had a quilt top that fitted our queen size bed, and I am really happy with it. The only thing is, it's just dawned on me that this is one of the few quilts I've made that doesn't have a name.  Any suggestions anyone?
Now I am off to look at some more quilts - perhaps I'll meet some of you there?

Wishing and hoping and hoping and praying ............

...... remember that song?  Yes, I know I'm showing my age here but hey you've only got to look at my photo to see I'm not 21 anymore.


What am I wishing for?  Well I probably shouldn't tell you this, but there are a few people who are giving me (yes, OK, and you) the chance to win a copy of EQ7.  How wonderful would that be? So I've entered the draws on these blogs: Quilt Whangarei, Mequilter, Highway Cottage  Cherry House Quilts,and Handcrafting with Love. (There were other blogs too, but they have finished their competitions.)

Just remember though, you musn't enter these giveaways as that will reduce my chances of winning!

It's coming ...............

.......... "What is", you're all wondering.

Electric Quilt 7

that's what.   Now I currently use another software package for wasting time designing quilts, but I've just been looking at the website and reading about EQ7, and I have to say

I want this programme.

The list of features it contains is just completely amazing, and would keep me playing on the computer even more than I do at the moment.  Apparently it's due out in mid-June, but my birthday isn't till January.  Hmm I'm going to have to think about this one............................. 

Look what happens when I go skiing .............

OK, hands up everyone who thought they were going to see a picture of me with a leg in plaster?  No, the sort of skiing I do is Spending the Kids' Inheritance!  (Why anyone should want to do the other sort, with all that horrid snow and falling over and so on is totally beyond me, but this sort is fun.)  As you all know, I collected my new frame from Martha who makes the New English Quilter (you can see it here ), last week.  I could not set it up straight away, but we put it up at the weekend, since when Bertha and I have done 3 quilts on it.

The beauty of this frame is that it is all handmade, and they will happily customise it to your own requirements.  Being tall, I wanted mine to be a bit higher than average.  Being downright fussy, I also wanted to be able to set it up at a length of 6ft, 8ft or 10ft.  Being awkward, I use a PCQuilter, so I needed very specific distances between the runners.  Being very flexible, they were happy to do all this for me.

Here's another view of it.  Doesn't Bertha look comfortable on her new perch?

A lovely day .....

.... today we went and collected my new quilt frame.  It's beautiful.  Tomorrow we'll put it together and then I'll take some pictures.

On the way home we stopped at a pub near Lincoln, and had a fantastic lunch - the steak and the gammon were probably about the best we've ever eaten.  It's a shame it's about 75 miles away, which is too far to go for lunch, although my father is now trying very hard to convince me it's almost like our local pub!

It's finished ........

When I was talking to Bilbo the other day, she pointed out that I had never shown any pictures of the back garden since you saw this, in December. Trust us to decide to have it all dug out in the wettest November and snowiest December for decades!

Anyway, after many delays because of the snow, it was finally finished, and a couple of weeks ago we bought a few plants, and here is what it looks like now.

Of course it still needs a lot of plants, but we'll take our time over that.  I've got some clematis on order and some summer flowering bulbs, but other that those, we haven't decided what else we want to put in yet.

Who knows, perhaps I'll post about some quilting next time?

Hello, is there anyone out there ....

...... who still comes to visit me?  I've been quiet for so long, you've probably all got bored and found new friends.

We had a lovely family Easter but can anyone tell me when your kids grow up?  How did Mrs Nomad end up with yoghurt all over her face, courtesy of her little brother Mr Teacher?  I only turned my back for a moment and that's what happened.

On Saturday we had a lovely dinner of lasagne followed by Lemon and Lime cheesecake, all made by Little Person - OK Mummy helped a bit. 

He also helped Mr Fixit to feed the birds:

In my last post I was struggling to make those rectangles.  I finally did it, BUT... I forgot what would happen when I joined them together - no nice sharp points.  I'm not doing that design now.  I am having dreadful trouble with precision in my piecing at the moment.  I blame my new glasses, but my father has another theory.  He reckons the new specs just mean I can see that my piecing is inaccurate now.  How cruel.  Just wait till he wants another quilt.

How many ........

......... attempts does it take to make one unit like this when you're trying to do it without having to make a template?

Answer?  Quite a lot. I got there in the end though. 

Mind you, I would rather not hear anyone saying they think it would have been quicker with a template.  I know it would, but my middle name is Stubborn.

Have a Happy .........

...... International Quilting Day.  I hope everyone manages to get some time with their fabrics and threads today.

International Quilting Day isn't celebrated much here in the UK, but I think it's quite big in the US and I'd love to hear what other people are doing to mark the day.