Organisation

My main aim at the moment is to be more organised.  In many areas of my life - kids, housework, crafting, eating, work, you name it I reckon it needs to be better organised. 

So to begin this month is my first time at being a Bee Mama!  I mentioned a bit in my last post so I've given out instructions on the blocks I would like other lovely, generous ladies in our Sibling Together Bee to make and they then make their version of my blocks and send them to me.  I've already started to receive some and they are gorgeous.  Can't wait to receive them all and get the quilt all made up. 

Another thing which needed to be organised is some cushions for the kids rooms.  When they are lying in bed getting their bedtime stories, me and hubby end up sitting on the floor next and after a couple of minutes it tends to get really uncomfortable.  We aren't getting any younger so the cushions are mainly for us to sit/lean on, but also to look good in their rooms.

The big mega cushion top is for the Dude's room

 and this smaller one, which involved some pretty cool paper piecing is for Little Miss's room.  Next is some hand quilting I think for both them.  Another first for me! (so getting organised in the way of extending my skills)

The other thing we have been up to this week or so is trying to remove an ugly decking/planter which took up a large corner of our back garden, inherited from the previous owners.  When we first moved, we had ideas of planting potatoes and stuff (there was nothing in it, just a load of soil) but then over the winter and trying to negotiate past the tiny space between the decking and the grass (which was sodden all winter and still is!) we decided it had to go. 

So the mountain of wood has been removed (how many screw/nails are needed to hold decking together?) and now we are gradually removing the mountain of soil.  Which is a slow process.  We thought we'd hit jackpot and there was going to a slabbed area underneath all of this but no, optimistic hopes dashed when we started actually lifting the wood and just more bloody soil.  So the jury is still out on the final use for this corner but lots of options being thrown about.  I'm just pleased to have some more useable space. 

So slowly things are becoming more organised in some areas, not all but hey I can't manage everything at once!

Round Up

2 months since I last blogged!  I really am dreadful at blogging/remembering/doing stuff in general! (and I use exclaimation marks way too often)

It's not like life hasn't been busy over since January, it has, which is probably more to do with the lack of blogging.  I do have a tendency to get to a point of feeling overloaded and then procrastination sets in which in turns means nothing gets done.

So what has happened (bit further back than start of January but my blog so my rules), there were some Christmas parties

   

We then had a visit from Santa

I bought some of Katy Jones' Priory Square (with a particular reason in mind but it's not right, however I hopefully have another use for it for the same project so it's all good)

Then it was all back to work/school so the normal mundane essentials of everyday took over and lots of this happened

The husband had to go and this cut out - benign tumour, it's harmless but still a 'thing' to get my head round (for a while it looked as yuk as that sounds, but it all good now)

I have even done some sewing believe it or not..... another bee block, which I based on a design I found in Katy Jones' book, 25 Patchwork Quilt block, which it a really good book.

And we've also been doing a fair bit of exploring our new neighbourhood, we have this path literally on our doorstep which takes you to some farmland which feels miles away from traffic but isn't at all!

So life has been trundling along quite nicely lately, not massively productive sewing wise but lots of other stuff (i.e. 2 small people) keeping me occupied.

Sunday Morning ...

... up with the larks!  Well sort of, it's 8am and I'm sitting in blissful quietness having a cup of tea before the rest of the household descends for breakfast.  The song does go on to say, 'think I'll take a walk in the park' but it's chucking it down outside so I'll give that part a miss.  But I am watching the birds on our feeder having their breakfast so I'm 'at one with nature' in a sense!!

Part of the reason I'm sitting here myself is to have a wee wander through the web without little people pestering me.  Recently I've come across a quilter called Cristy Fincher, initially on IG, but I'm checking out her blog, Sew Much Like Mom, where she talks about paperless paper piecing.  She also glue bastes and I'm intrigued about that.  So Sunday morning is about learning stuff :)

And learning new stuff is good.  It distracts me from the fact that life is hectic just now.  I've been stressed the last week, quite a bit, which I'm putting down to dealing with a lot this year - apply for the dude to get into primary, selling & moving house, dude starting primary school, working extra hours, general craziness at work, car hassles on top of starting the year being ill - it's kind of all come to a head this week and to be honest I've been a right moaning minnie, I've been doing my own head in, and I need to stop.  Everyone one has hard times, I'm no different.  Whining does change things, it just makes me irritating - to other people and myself. Pedro tells me I haven't really, but then I do suspect he's only saying that to stop me moaning lol!!!

Anyhoo, to attempt to stop myself from tipping right over the edge into complete crazy looney-ness I made stuff!  I've been playing with the halloween fabric I've got to try and decide what to do but at the moment indecisiveness and procrastination are my constant companions, so the other night I just sat down and started cutting and sewing.  Just to do SOMETHING and this is what I ended up with

I'm pretty pleased with them, although as ever I can see where they should be better, but they are a hit with the children so yay!  It's all good. 

Run out .....

Finally got a chance to do some of my mystery quilt again tonight

Some of an infill strip, not quite finished.  But nearly

Until this happened

I've run out of thread.  No probs I think, got some more in my little box.............oh no, actually I don't.  Flip! 

Ooops!!!

I've had a small hiatus!  I knew I hadn't blogged in a while, just slipped my mind the last time I blogged was November.  That was last year! and now we're very nearly, just a kick in the bum away from March.  That's a nearly a quarter into this year.  Flippin 'eck :o

But life has been busy, so it's all good.  The end of last year involved housey stuff (decorating, finishing stuff started ages ago), then it was Christmas and all that malarky, then we had an 'ill house' over the festive period that cleared up for everyone but me (yay!) so the rest of January/early February was dealing with health stuff.  That promptly brings me up to the last 2 weeks, just like that!

I have had a very luxurious 2 weeks off work, luxurious in that work is hectic at the moment and who really takes 2 weeks off in February?  One week for school mid-term but 2 weeks is a bit cheeky :)

In my defence I had annual leave to use up (ain't losing that for nobody) and the week after our mid term was my little pumpkin's first birthday.  Yes it's hard to believe, but our little girl has gone from this (where frankly she looks like a little doll)

Euan trying to look enthusiastic about his baby sister!

To this little person, who is constantly on the go.  She really is the giggliest little munchkin, it's a rare sight to see her upset thankfully.

I'm also massively thankful that her big brother loves her to bits.  I don't know what I'd do if there was any jealousy to deal with.  Parents who have to deal with that must have the patience of a saint.

So the last two weeks have involved 2 birthday cakes (2 separate birthday teas!), lots of attempts at cake pops - not as easy as I thought they'd be! and my first ever attempt to make macaroons (or macaRONs according to the Great British Bake Off!).  They weren't as scary as I'd expected them to be and even seemed to impress my very own Paul Hollywood (ie my dad - fussiest foodie ever!) who asked if I'd bought them ;) 

I've also managed to squeeze in a little bit of sewing

 (granted it doesn't look like much but it will become a revised Mariner's Compass!)

 (playing with hexies)

and even a visit to the Spring Quilt show at Ingliston yesterday where I picked up this fantastic panel - 'Hello Tokyo'

It's a rubbish photo, but you get the idea and I discovered while 'surfing the 'net ' that there are coordinating fabric too.  Yay!!!  This will be made into a quilt for Moo but I'm in 2 minds what to do with it - keep it as a whole panel, or cut it up and do some applique or something.  Needs more planning!

Right off to have a quick cuppa for me but I will be back soon :)

Hello there :)

Today I've decided to link up with Lynne at Lily's Quilts and take part in sort of both the fresh sewing day - because in September I *shock, horror* actually managed to get sat at my sewing machine and achieve some sewing - and also the Small Blog Meet.

Sewing wise I tackled my first ever attempt at cathedral window blocks.  They are very addictive!  I'm really pleased with the results - not sure what I will do with this now however, but I'm contemplating turning it into a cushion cover.

I also managed to complete all my 24 scrappy trip around the world blocks.  I'm still deciding on the final layout so the quilt top is not completely finished but I'm more than impressed that I've finished the blocks considering that I started them shortly after my daughter was born this year - she's nearly 8 months!

And now a little bit about me and my blog.  This is my second blog but my first one Biff's Funky Scrappy blog, never did have a huge amount of followers either so I decided to link up to Lynne's Small Blog Meet.  I've been sewing off and on for a few years - it's in my blood.  Both my grannys were very good with their hands - one pretty much constantly had a pair of knitting needles in her hands and the other had a large sewing table with the ever present sewing machine in her (small) livingroom and after a life working in mills she basically become the go-to mender of clothes/household essentials in the small fishing village where she lived.  My sister carries the 'make do and mend/creative' gene better than me to be fair - she did Home Economics at school and make her own leather jacket at age 17!  But I love messing about with my sewing machine, I will never claim to be fantastic at it or even particularly creative, but I love seeing how things produce and having something tangible in my hands at the end of a few hours in front of my sewing machine.

I'd love to have more time (and money!) to do more sewing but a large chunk of my time is spent at work (boo!) and an even larger chunk is spent tending to/running after/playing with my 2 lovely kiddiewink.  Occasionally I also attempt to spend some time with my husband!

If you've popped over from Lily's Quilts I hope you've enjoyed my blethers and I haven't bored you too much.  Maybe you'll pop by again, you're more than welcome too :)

Scrappy trip

I've had a bit of burst of sewing mojo in the last week!  Don't know what has come over me.  I know what hasn't been done (housework!) but all the blocks for my scrappy trip around the world are complete - 24 blocks all done.  Yay!!!

I should really have been catching up with housework or even playing with my daughter this morning, y'know being like a proper housewife/mummy.  But I decided to play about with the layout of the blocks instead.

There's a lot of yellow and green.  (apologies for the rubbish quality photo - bad combination of rubbish light, phone & fabric colours not coming through properly)  Not sure if I'm entirely happy with this layout, might need to fiddle about with it in a day or two before I'm happy to finish the top off.

Next on my sewing To Do list (I'm a woman of lists, I feel uneasy when I don't have a list!) is to catch up with the Mystery Quilt that Sheila started a couple of years ago.  I got about half way through then it just fell by the way side.  So that NEEDS to be finished and soon.  Actually after a wee trawl through previous blog posts, I found this post which is from 2 years ago and that was pretty much the last time I worked on the quilt.  I had better look out all the instructions and get cracking.  Might even end up as a christmas present, now there's an idea ;)

Right some parenting it called for the dude needs his lunch then it's off to his swimming lesson!