A quick visit about a quilt swap ....



Dear Lacey over at Lace Hearts is organising a lovely quilt swap ..... it is quite a simple one with plenty of time to get organised so please follow the link and popover to Lacey's to read more and sign up if you can.

A lovely way to ease out of winter into spring !!

Another scorcher and more booty bargains

What a glorious day again today and I wanted some shade to sit in to read the paper and then do some sewing.  I have to wear prescription sunglasses but they are for distance & light sensitivity so I can't see to do close up work when wearing them and can't risk a migraine if I take them off.  So up went the new gazebo this morning ..... I felt like lady muck sitting there with my feet up just listening to the birds and finishing off the latest quilt.  I hope to update my webshop at some point this week and I will be taking my work to this event on Saturday 5th June .... I visited a few weeks ago and decided that it would be worth giving it a go.

This one has Laura Ashley blue polkadot & ditsy rose, Cath Kidston classic rose, some CKesque floral, blue striped ticking with a pale blue cotton backing.

I then spent some time cutting up the last of my vintage chintz in readiness to make some more string blocks.  I was going to start machining them this evening but I've just got back from DD2s house ... she recorded the last episode of Lost this morning and I couldn't wait till tomorrow to watch in on normal TV.  I am not usually a fan of American series and can't stand Friends, SATC or Desperate Housewives but this one got me hooked.  In fact we even went so far as to purchase some DVDs of Season 3 off the internet before it was screened over here and spent the whole night watching the lot.  Not sure if I can explain what the attraction was (apart from Jack and Sawyer that is!) but I just had to watch .... what am I going to do at 9pm on a Friday evening now????  Ashes to Ashes finished too ... I never watched Life on Mars or the previous Ashes series but again got hooked onto the last one.  Maybe it was because of the music and the 80s atmosphere was so authentic (you really had to be around then to appreciate the humour and I was ... the 80s was my most productive time in the biggest sense as it was when I had my four children).

The sewing will have to wait till later tomorrow as I have to take my mum to hospital for a scan and the poor thing has to drink a load of water before she goes so she will be fit to burst.

Despite the searing heat yesterday I just couldn't stay away from the car boot .... DD2 was selling so I took the children.  Ellie is becoming a fantastic little bargain hunter and takes her own purse to buy things ... it is a great way of introducing littlies to the value of money and also handling it thru working out which coins she will need to pay with.  She was really lucky yesterday and found some brand new floor puzzles including The Gruffalo, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Giant ELC Farm Puzzle and her current favourite The Care Bears.  Baby Annabell clothes are a favourite also and she can spot anything Annabell from a mile off!

I didn't do too bad myself either and came home with two BNIP Sanderson Double Duvet & Pillowcase sets and matching curtains for the grand total of £10 .... I couldn't believe my luck!  Also a pair of brand new L K Bennett mules and a Zara Sport Linen top which were only a pound each ..... lovely jubbly.

Finally is it just me or is anyone else experiencing difficulties when posting .... the photo positioning seems to have gone backwards to how it was months ago and it has taken me ages to get them in the right order.  Very frustrating !

No Strings Challenge ..... first project finished !!!

I was beginning to think that I would never get this finished ..... it has been sitting in my room waiting for the final machining of the layers which I have finally got round to this afternoon.  So now I am pleased to present my No Strings Challenge Quilt

It is single size and the blocks have strips of Laura Ashley fabrics old and new, Cath Kidston florals, pretty ditsy cottons, some fabrics from swaps with the lovely ladies on the SCC forum, the dark green was an M & S shirt that my husband has never worn and the red gingham is from school dresses acquired from charity shops.

The border is Laura Ashley pink gingham check and it is backed with a lovely Egyptian Cotton in white with pale green stripes .... this is part of a Caroline Charles duvet cover which I purchased at a car boot last year (it was unused and still in original packaging).  I am saving the gorgeous floral side for another project.

This was a fantastic way to use up scraps and as somebody who finds it difficult to throw anything away (I had to force myself to bin the scraps from the edges when I trimmed the blocks!!) I must have known deep inside that they would come in useful one day ;-)

I still have loads more strips in other colours waiting to be sewn together and hope to have some more finished items to share soon.

I hope everyone else has enjoyed this challenge as much as I have .... a big thank you to Loft Creations for the inspiration x

Sore Finger !!

Oh my poor pinkie!! Have finally finished another project - a Laura Ashley fabric patchwork quilt and I have hand sewn all the hexagons together - lost count of the number of times I have stabbed myself or attached myself to the thread and now have a very crusty middle finger to show for it. However I do feel that it was worth the effort and the finished article is now available at www.lalabibaby.com.

I have been looking at many blogs of fellow crafty people and am gobsmacked at the number of beautiful pictures of all things vintage. So have now decided to dedicate this weekend to sorting out my clutter and begin putting together an organised work area in my box room. I currently work in the organised chaos way and must mend my ways.

Last year saw my first forays into local Craft Fairs - they were great fun and met some very nice people and obviously spent all that I made on buying other people's handmades. What a great way of recycling and supporting each other. I am so pleased to have been asked to take part in the Delapre Abbey event in Northampton at the end of April and must get my head around formulating a theme and new ideas. Easier said than done !!