Happy Christmas

Everything that needs to be finished is finished and everything that needs to be posted is posted so  I'm giving myself a holiday from the sewing room and decorating the Christmas tree. It's time to make and eat the odd mince pie and sing carols at every opportunity and loudly too. So I just want to wish everyone who visits my website a very Happy Christmas and to say thank you to my friends and customers for your support this year. Jo gave me this little tea light holder last year. This year I 'm giving her a pair of silver elephant earrings and a festive jar of homemade bramble jelly.....

Glamour

Nettleham Old School craft fair has been a big success. I got lots of compliments about my stall and the things I make. My egg cosies were compared favourably to those of a famous designer! The fabric covered sketch book was bought by an artist from Newcastle and many cards were sold too. Lots of people stopped to chat. Did they want to ask about quilts or was it because of the glamourous blonde behind the stall? Daughter, home from the high seas and far away lands came to help... You can't see me because  I'm hiding behind the quilt stand!

Bullying in the workplace

I am being bullied at work. My tormentor has four large furry feet, soulful brown eyes and no conscience at all. If the entertainment is poor and the lack of a new bone evident, he empties my wastepaper bin. All over the floor. Fabric scraps and threads fall everywhere, paper is shredded and spat out. We have had words about his lack of consideration and general behaviour.... and then I give in...because he looks at me, head on one side, and I'm sure he smiles...and he's so loveable, so bad behaviour is rewarded yet again...a new bone appears...

Winter nights

Its freezing here and last night it was frosty too. I was tempted to wear my socks in bed. Husband bravely offered to warm up my side before I got in. No hottie bottle could be found. An extra quilt was needed by any of us who had chilly toes....and they can be made in all sizes...so there's no need for anyone to shiver in bed...You can see the design of this one on the 'gifts' page.

Hearts and Stars

I sometimes think I should try to make more contemporary art pieces. But then I go to a quilting shop and there I see a  little hanger. American folk art of the log cabin period has a powerful appeal. Is it years of watching Little House On The Prairie, snuggled up on the sofa with  my lovely girls which makes me  secretly love long skirts and frilly petticoats all worn with boots? Maybe, and I can't resist a heart shaped wire hanger either... so look on the smaller gifts page and see my log cabin folk art hangings....now where's my long denim skirt and suede boots!

Berries

The hawthorn bushes are hung with fantastic ruby jewels. Today the berries stood out against the bright blue sky, strung together like like beads on a string. The pheasant as returned from his summer seclusion and he has a new wife. Well actually he has several new ladies in tow, wives, girlfriends, casual relationships...who knows as they all wear the same dress... he is too shy to photograph, but Jane can feed him by hand. Barney finds his Springer instincts are too much for this and will chase him, even if it is very slowly these days!  What a beautiful day on the common after so much rain.

Visitors

We have a rat living in the garden, well very near the back door really. Often we see him in the afternoon, pottering around the bird feeder. We tempted him with jam  spread at the entrance to the humane trap, we would like him to move somewhere else....and in the morning we found we had had a visitor.... husband set  him free the first day, then a few days later he was back...Was it the same visitor, how can we tell? Shyness made him curl up, both wore exactly the same prickly jacket in the same size and colour...who knows how big the family is too!

Leaves

  On our walk this morning Barney and I saw some amazing leaves. They come in all shapes and sizes, but the colours are the most beautiful thing. From the highest point of the common I could see and misty grey of Lincoln cathedral and in front, the flame coloured leaves of a young horse chestnut tree. Every day is different, best of all is seeing the barn owl.... and here's Barney, off on some doggy quest which I as a mere mortal can never understand.....

Owls

Most months we have tawny owls in the garden. One wonderful summer we had baby owls roosting in the willow tree. They squeaked and shouted throughout the day, wouldn't go to sleep and were always hungry. We could visit them by walking under the hanging willow branches and they would look down in surprise. Recently husband and I had a holiday in Ironbridge. We visited the Jackman Tile Museum. Here are some owls we saw. Now I badly want an owl on the roof.....real, pottery, carved , I don't mind, they just have such a presence! 

New Neighbour

Looking out of my kitchen window  I realise I have a new neighbour. She is a most glamourous lady and today wears a very fashionable pair of strippy tights in brown and yellow. Her legs are very long and slim, the kind of legs I'd love to own. Actually she wears four pairs of tights.... and I think she will become a yummy mummy next year...

Bathing beauty

She had been in the garden for some time, but husband found  her one sunny afternoon. Her swimsuit needed some attention, but her figure was still shapely. How had she got there and where she had come from is a mystery, her name a secret still.... but the least I could do was find her a New Man with a sports car in racing green.  He looks keen but his legs are a bit stiff, he's more used to driving a tractor, but I hope they will be very happy together....

Fox in park

Louise told me an amazing tale. It was a hot sunny day  so they took their new baby and her big sister to the park. They sat down near a flower bed and as they talked a fox came out of the bushes. It curled up right near the pram and slept as they chatted. I have been reading a book by Janet Bolton, an internationally acclaimed applique artist. She creates pictures of interesting things in fabric and stitch. They are very simple and attractive. So here is my attempt to record Louise's  'Mary Moment'.

New baby

Well, now I am a Great Aunt. Fraser John is my great nephew and he is nearly two weeks old. What does a Great Aunt do? Will I need a very big handbag and wear dresses with a large floral print? Should I supply him with unsuitable sweets when his parents aren't looking and send him strange birthday presents? Its been a difficult time for him and I am really looking forward to meeting him when he is allowed home from the special care baby unit. A new baby is a miracle and a wonderful hope for the future. Still he needs very small socks at the moment!

Reliability

I have been wasting time looking at some old fashion magazines of my mums. I  love the elegant drawings of women with tiny waists. I'm not going to show you , but  from reading the other pages, I know these are due to 'Good Foundations, as important to successful dressing as they are to safe buildings'. So maybe my foundations are too wobbly for my building to be safe...But there is still time to make sure that zips are reliable... must get one of those frilly aprons though...

Housework

We are expecting visitors. Two of them are aged six and three years old. So I have been cleaning the cooker.I enjoyed it so much I thought I would tackle the fridge next. Then it was time for coffee and a friend dropped in.  We rearranged all the furniture to see if it looked better. I love the shaker blue units.I might  clean the bath next followed by a little light dusting in the sitting room.....

Satisfaction

Today we are going to eat the carrots I have grown in my garden.  In Lincolnshire carrots grow  in vast fields  without any fuss. In my garden they only grow in  special tubs, in special compost  and need to be talked to kindly every day.These are pampered carrots.  But satisfaction levels are very high as I stagger up the garden with home grown veg gathered in the corners of an apron and they taste wonderful too. These are the most expensive carrots ever...

Brownies

Yesterday  was a wild, wet and windy day and  during  the dog walk that neither  of us was enthusiastic about , I was suddenly  struck  with the  horrific thought that I had forgotten how to  make Chocolate Brownies.  This  issue  had  to be addressed as soon as we got home . One must face up to these sudden fears.  Also  the brownies needing testing  to  check they still tasted the same. What if they were different at the other end of the tin?  It's hard being a  chocolate brownie  tester...

Bullied by a butterfly

Everyday at around 4pm  a Red Admiral butterfly arrives on our picnic table. Clearly it is HIS picnic table and no one else is allowed to sit at it. He fights off everyone, other butterflies, blackbirds, bumblebees and me. He rushes in, beautiful wings whirling and antennae waggling  fiercely. He lands on my head and on the table in front of me glaring menacingly. Everyday he wins too as angry or not he is so brave I have to admire him! Such conviction that he owns the world!

Youth

Barney our Clumber cross Springer spaniel is 13 years old. We know that's very old for him but he doesn't.  This morning he ran off with one of my trainers, just like he used to years ago.Well really he hobbled off slowly, but  he still gave me that "catch me if you can, come on chase me" look. Of course I did chase him. Very slowly! Hope I feel like that when I am  over a hundred like him!

Mary moments

My lovely friend Jill has introduced me to the  naive paintings of Mary Newcomb. She painted  pictures of  rural life and the secret  world of insects. Her paintings have made me look much harder at the world around me. Now Jill and I swop 'Mary moments' when we have seen something which makes us smile. Last week I found a  huge May bug asleep in the middle of a bright pink rose, yesterday I saw three crows at equal distances chatting on a fence . These are 'Mary moments'. I bet we all see them but don't know what they are....now you know!

Two new things

Today is the first for two things. Today I gave my first interview live on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. I have never been on the radio before. It was about Project Linus UK and the quilts we make for children needing an extra hug in Lincolnshire which are given as a gift to them from  the generous ladies who make them. It felt like two ladies having a chat!  Amazing really.... You can read about Project Linus UK here  The second thing, which is huge for me is that I have started this blog. As it is attached to my website, I hope you enjoy reading my ramblings and looking at the quilts I make too. This a photo of a quilt my friend Margaret has made for Project Linus UK.