A busy week leading up to our All Nighter

 Well it has been a lovely week, it has flown by as they always do.  Today is Barbarba's Birthday and I made her this bag and a little bag to match.
I have been enjoying making these bags as you will have seen from previous posts.  The fabric is lovely and the bag just made in two colours came out really well.  it has four pockets inside, as well as the outside pockets.

 I have finished my short sleeved jumper - it is lovely - the first time I have ever used a cable needle and I have to say I am very pleased with my efforts.   It is made from King Cole Bamboo double knitting and is so soft.  it is a good fit and I am feeling justifibly self satisfied with myself!!

Another little bag - this is a fun bag and will be going on holiday with me when I go away later - again put pockets inside for phone etc. etc.

Well tonight is our All Nighter at Art and Stitch - we have a lovely group of ladies in with loads of enthusiasm, music is playing, food is on the table - Angela and I are going to be knitting and trying to keep them all in order.

My favouite place

 We had a lovely day on Sunday at Ickworth House in Suffolk, it is a National Trust Property and I have to say I think it is my favorite place.  The grounds are lovely and there is a tranquility that we find so nice. 

We met with a group of friends "Table 6" we all met on holiday two years ago and formed a bond and we meet a few times a year to catch up and natter.  We were tinged with sadness as one of our party passed away with terminal cancer which was very sudden and very quick - but our thoughts were with her family as we wandered around Ickworth.  She will be missed.

 The Stumpery is an area of the grounds that  Ickworth started to plant out using all the old tree stumps from the Estate that had been blown down or taken down for various reasons.  They are absolutely beautiful - I did post some photos this time last year on our last visit to Ickworth.  But they have been planted out more and extended the area and this is how it is developing.  The tranquilty here is wonderful and the bird song - there was a blackbird warning us to be quiet and behave it was really lovely.

We had a beautiful day  we were lucky with the weather and the food in the restaurant was superb.

just has to show you my Clematis - my Sister gave us this for a housewarming present and it absolutely loves the spot we have put the pot and it is doing so well.

Right best go and see if I can do some sewing.  Till I blog again hope you are all well.

Weekly Catch up

Well here we are almost mid June and the longest day will be with us soon - I did hear some doom and gloom merchant say the days will be drawing in soon - but hopefully we will have lots of summer to come before then.  I read lots of blogs over the days and am always inspired by their ability to make everything they do sound so fantastic.  One lady Lucy the Happy Longarm quilter does a daily blog and her days are always so packed with creativity and inspiration.  I am convinced she cannot sleep - or has some way of making her days go soo much further than mine.

Anyway this week seems to have absolutely flown by - I have been making this bag for Caroline (my daughter) to carry all those essential items a young Mum just has to have.  I am pleased with the way it has turned out - this is my third one of this style now and I am getting quicker yeh!!

We finished a two day workshop this week with a holdall that I was demonstrating and here are two of the ladies - they are such lovely colours and the holdall's themselves are just great.  I had made mine in a mixture of batiks and they all look so different.  We had a great couple of days lovely ladies and lots of chattering!!

Well last Sunday we had a family barbecue which was great - the weather was kind to us - we had soo much food - Dawn bought us some wonderfull curried coleslaw and oh it was a hit - we all loved it.  The cookies were soon devoured - or in some cases taken home in tubs - Caroline took home some strawberries as she loves them.

As ever Leo gave us much pleasure he is now becoming a very confident toddler and walks around really steadily.  he has had to have a second set of shoes as his feet have grown - Caroline and Nic were astounded that they had only lasted two months and the new ones have cost yet another £28.00 !!  The joy of parenthood eh!! 

Here we all are sitting out in the sunshine - Liz and Tom came with Tom's three little girls and they are a pure delight - it was lovely to all be together. A selection of quilts were used as picnic blankets which caused great merriment and I took some teasing about them.  Paul our eldest was a little late as he had done a Triathlon at Grafham Water starting at 8.30 on Sunday and was so pleased with himself it was his best ever and he did really really well.  Mark bought his new young lady - she was so brave facing the lion's den all in one go but she was lovely and survived to live another day - look forward to many more family days.

Well tomorrow we have a Taster Day at Art and Stitch, eight ladies who have never quilted before so it will be lovely to see them all enjoying learning a new skill - two young teenagers who are doing this as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards - which I think is such a fantastic thing for teenagers to become involved in.   We have put together cushion packs and they will all go home with a cushion.  So if you know anyone who would like to learn to quilt we have two more Taster Days planned one on 31st July to make a make-up type bag - and another Cushion day on Saturday 3rd August.  Check out the Art and Stitch website www.artandstitch.co.uk

Oh one other thing on Saturday 22nd June we are making Baby Quilts for the Prem Baby Unit - so if anyone who reads this has a spare hour or two come along and join us - bring your sewing machines but all the fabric will be here cut out (hopefully) for you to just sew.

Another week flown by

 Well another week has flown by - I honestly do not think I have as many hours in my day as other people it is not fair!

I have been busy with my knitting and have now finished the back of the top and have started the front yeh - I think I am the slowest knitter in the world though.  I had never used a cable needle before so it is not perfect but it looks good to me!   The King Cole Bamboo Double Knit is so soft to work with - I am looking forward to finishing it and being able to wear it.

 This is the cable section and it looks really good.

Oh I just had to mention this poinsettia - I am useless totally with keeping these normally and some of you may recall that I made tyvek flowers a couple of years back as I could not keep the plant.  Well by some absolute miracle I have managed to keep this little beauty alive.  My friend Hilary gave it to me on Firework Night last year when her and Frank came to dinner and look at it now.  I did try to kill it last week by overwatering but I realised I had been soo silly - and drained it off and it is still looking good. 

Rob and I had a fabulous day on Sunday tidying up our garden - it was beginning to look like one rose and beds of weeds!!  So we went to the garden centre and got lots of bedding plants and potted out all our tubs and some of the borders and even if I say so myself it looks really good.   Poppy of course was her normal helpful self and sat herself regally on the bags of compost.  Most helpful. At the moment she is in disgrace as she has dug up a begonia - but so far that is the only casualty phew!

Art and Stitch has been lovely and busy keeping me out of mischief - I am still trying to get some UFO's finished and am currently quilting two quilts - so they will be done and dusted soon I hope!!

Although at the moment I am making a bag for Barbara for her birthday in June and my Caroline wants a Beach Bag to take with them on holiday at the beginning of July so had better get working!!!

Thanks to everyone that read my ramblings - please keep doing so.