Contented

Coin collecting

 

Coins of the fabric variety, of course!  I don't know about you, but I do tend to buy fabrics just because I love them, rather than having a specific project in mind.  And then I often have trouble deciding exactly what to do with them, what wonderful project could possibly justify cutting into that beautiful material?  And so the fabric sits in my cupboard, patiently waiting.  I sometimes take it out to look at it, have a little think about what I could make with it, try it out against some other fabrics - and then put it back in again.  I know that I will use it eventually.  But the thought that I might use it up and not "have it" any more is always a little bit of a worry.  (How does this happen?  How does someone become so addicted to something so quickly? Is it just me?)

 

But then I kept seeing all these gorgeous coin quilts all over blogland, and had a bit of a lightbulb moment.  I could cut just a tiny piece of fabric and put it into a coin quilt, and that way would always have a little piece of it to remind me, whatever should happen to the rest of it.  So that is what I am doing, collecting coins from my most favourite fabrics.  They are quite small pieces, just 3.5 x 5.5 inches - small enough that I don't feel too bad cutting into the fabric but big enough to show the beautiful patterns and prints.

 

It's been quite an interesting exercise too.  You can REALLY tell what my favourite colours are, can't you?!  But I do like other colours too, like red and green, and darker blues & purples, as well as these sugared almond shades you see here.  So maybe I need to be a bit more mindful of that when buying fabric in the future.  In the meantime, I shall just keep adding to this little collection, until it is ready to be turned into a quilt. 

And I know it will be wonderful!

R x

A perfect day

 

On Friday Peter, myself and my parents spent the day at the beautiful Eastwell Manor, near Ashford in Kent, for the wedding of my lifelong friend, Jenni.  Quite literally lifelong - our mums were friends and we were born just 5 weeks apart.  The day was absolutely perfect - the weather was, thankfully, cooler than it has been recently, but the rain held off and it was still warm and sunny.  (So sunny in fact that I caught the sun quite badly - it had never occured to me to take sunblock, I supposed I'd assumed it would be inside).  The ceremony itself was held outside under a lovely gazebo (I very nearly blubbed but just about managed to contain myself, just as well really as once I start I can't stop!) and then there were drinks out on the terrace while all the photos were being taken. 

 

 

We then had a delicious meal of onion tartlets followed by beef tornadoes and then Kentish strawberries and cream, before moving downstairs to the disco.  Peter & I went for a little walk around the grounds and had a game of boules, then Peter wanted to inspect the golf course, before we headed back to the disco.  I even managed to get Peter up on the dance floor! 

 

Jenni & Lee, the wedding was beautiful, we had a fabulous time and are so happy for you both!

(And when we go to the next wedding in September, I will remember the sunscreen!)

 

R x

Check this out!

 

Free downloadable posters in the August issue of Ideal Home magazine.  I initially thought the middle one would be perfect for the seaside swap, but then I thought there might be a chance of everyone having the same idea, so I thought I'd just share the love instead!  The link is here.

 

(We live nowhere near the sea of course, but I can dream can't I?)

R x

Too darn hot

I know, I know, I shouldn't complain about all the lovely sunshine we're getting, but I'm melting here!  I'm afraid I am one of those people for whom 20C is just about perfect but any warmer and I just wilt.  Luckily, the lavender in my garden is made of sterner stuff and is looking beautiful at the moment, so I picked myself a little posy.

 

Isn't that the most gorgeous purple colour?  And it smells absolutely divine. 

Now that the summer fair is done and out of the way, I really should be getting on with the other things on my to-do list, but the heat has meant very little crafty stuff going on.   I managed to cut out the pieces for another Buttercup bag for a wedding we're going to on Friday, but that's about it.  I really must get that done tomorrow though!

In other news, we had school reports on Friday and then parent/teacher consultations yesterday.  William's was fine as usual so I didn't bother seeing his teacher, although we are still awaiting his SATS results.  As for Joe, well, his marks for effort had gone down and his level for writing is still very low but his levels for reading and maths were really good.  I believe that this is in no small part down to Kate spending the hour a day one to one with him.  I had a meeting with the Senco afterwards - he can't get any more one-to-one time unless he has a statement and they don't want to apply for one until we have a diagnosis of ASD, as this would ensure that we get the right level of statement, relevant to Joe.  But we're going to have another meeting next week to discuss his transition to year two, and hopefully meet his new teacher too.  I'm rather dreading the hols, because I know that he's going to find it incredibly hard to settle back into the school setting and routine after such a long break, no matter how well we try to prepare him.  So I'm very keen to find out who his next teacher will be and what they can suggest to help make it easier for him.

And now I think I need to get myself a nice cold drink and go and lie down in front of the fan!

R x

Summer fair

Yesterday was the long awaited school summer fair.  We had a glorious day for it although, I confess, I found it a bit too hot, even though I was parked under a parasol. 

 

I had lots of lovely comments, but only made a few sales - after paying for my stall I only made about 20 quid so better than nothing but I must admit to being a little disappointed.  People just don't seem to want to actually buy stuff at this kind of event, they just want to play the games, and alot of the older girls that I was hoping would be tempted by my little purses and brooches were notable by their absence too.  

 

I did, at least, win a Body Shop shampoo & conditioner in the tombola though!  And the kids had a great time as always.  William came along to help set up and was also helping to run the human fruit machine stall.  There was also a huge water fight at the end, where they all got completely soaked!  My mum took Joe round the fair which was a little trickier - he had got so excited by the thought of it, but really struggles with the games, not the taking part but the not winning side of it.  Even on a game where there was a prize every time, he got upset because he didn't win the big prize.  But I think he enjoyed himself.  There was a local gym there with some new children's equipment - mini stepper, treadmill and bike etc - which the kids were allowed to try out and Joe absolutely loved it!  He kept going back for another go, so we took a leaflet about the classes and I think we might go along and give it a try.

We were all pretty pooped by the time we got home.  I'm not sure that I'll bother doing this again at Christmas, but as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained!  And at least now I have lots of stuff to put in my Folksy shop!

R x

 

Our first crop

Today we picked the first two strawberries from our plants (yes, we, I have Joe at home with me today as he had a slightly upset tum first thing this morning, although he seems fine now!) 

It may have only been two strawberries but this was very exciting for us as they are the first foods we have grown.  Joe insisted that we cut them in half and then we could each have half of the big one and half of the smaller.  And how did they taste?  Delicious!  I can't remember what variety they are, Cambridge something perhaps?  But Joe is looking forward to picking more, and there are plenty still ripening up on the plants.  Yum!  I think we'll definitely grow more next year.

R x

Another random post

* Yesterday I wanted to crack on with the zippy pouches I still needed to make for the summer fair - it did not go well!  First I realised that I had bought the wrong kind of interfacing (for the SECOND time running!) but I carried on, completely f***ed it up anyway and broke a needle in the process.  Grrrr.  Today I had another go, BROKE ANOTHER NEEDLE, but did at least manage to work out where I went wrong yesterday and produced one pouch.  But I'm now so hacked off about it that I've decided not to make any more (just for the time being) - what I've made so far will have to be enough!

* Luckily, just at that moment the postman knocked, and delivered some canvas fabric, which meant I could make a start on the end of term gifts for Joe's teachers.  I've decided to make them a simple tote bag each - I don't think you can ever have too many of those, especially when you have school books and stuff to lug around.

Usually we just make some fudge or brownies for the teachers but I really want to show my appreciation for everything that has been done for Joe, so figured that, hopefully, something handmade will be a bit more meaningful.

* Another lovely thing - in the playground this morning Kate, a TA who's recently been brought into Joe's class to work with him on a one to one basis, came up to me and said how much she loves working with Joe, "he's a little breath of fresh air" she said!  It makes me feel so relieved & happy that the people who are working with him really do seem to care about him (and that he likes them too!) 

* I think I may have spoken too soon - almost as soon as I had written that I would not be starting any more big projects for the summer, than I started to think that I really, REALLY wanted to start on another quilt!!  But I will at least restrain myself until I've checked off all the other things on the list first!

* Speaking of which, I've had a few ideas for word play.  When I think of sugar I think "white" - so I want to use some different white fabrics and then some white on white embroidery.  Which means another trip to the fabric shop as I have no white embroidery thread! 

Sorry for the randomness of this post, my mind seems to be a bit all over the place today!

Enjoy the rest of the week!

R x

Sugar

 

The word chosen for round one of word play is "sugar".   I don't have the foggiest idea yet what I'm going to do with it - but I'm really excited about playing around with some ideas (once I get them that is!!).  I think I should be ok - I think I might have had trouble with some of the other words that were suggested, but they may still come up again in future months!  (The word I suggested was "warm", just in case you were interested)  I can't wait to see what everyone else is going to create. 

Just for the record, this is what my sewing to-do list is looking like at the moment:

1. Finish 4 zippy pouches for the summer fair - deadline 26th June

2. Finish tying Georgina quilt and bind - deadline - whenever!

3. Word play - deadline 14 July

4. Make end of year gifts for teachers - deadline 19th July

5. Seaside swap - deadline 31st July

So not looking too hectic then.  I'm not sure if I shall start any more big projects between the end of school and September - although there are lots of things I want to make, it won't be fair to the kids if I spend their summer hols sewing, so I might have to put the sewing machine away for August.  I have some sock yarn waiting in my knitting bag so maybe that'll be my summer holiday project - it's much easier to squeeze in a few minutes knitting here and there! 

Oh, and before I forget, here's the finished baby/lap quilt, all bound and washed and looking rather lovely, if I do say so myself!

 

 

Have a great week!

R x

Swap partner needed!

I received an email today to let me know that, unfortunately, one of my lovely seaside swap ladies has had to pull out - so that of course means that I now have someone without a partner.  So I just thought I'd put the call out to see if anyone wanted to take another partner (or if someone not currently participating would like to).   She is in the UK and is happy to post internationally so if you would like to step in just let me know (via comments or send me an email).  Many thanks!

And on that same subject, I thought I might share some pics from the latest Country Homes & Interiors magazine, which is particularly full of seasidey inspiration this month!

 

 

 

 

R x

What's in a bloggy name?

 

Tamara at 1/4 of an inchhas asked the question "how did we all come up with our blog names?"  So I thought I'd tell you my little story.  (By the way, you'll notice that I don't have the above badge in the sidebar - I did try following my notes, and it kind of worked but the badge came out too big - so I obviously haven't completely got the hang of it!)  Anyway, here's my story:

When I first discovered craft blogs I had been thinking about buying a sewing machine for some time, and it kind of spurred me into action - I really wanted to join in with this amazing world I had discovered.  When it came to thinking of a name for my blog I didn't want to use my own name, and I also didn't want to name it after any particular kind of craft. I was only just starting out sewing and so didn't really know what I would end up doing - would it turn into a business?  would I end up making something other than bags or quilts?  There were lots of blogs that used, flowers or colours in their names but I wanted a kind of abstract word, one that didn't say anything about what the blog might be about but a word that would mean something to me - so I thought to myself "what word would you use to describe yourself, right now?" and contented is the word that popped straight into my head.  I did think about it for a while, and tried to come up with some alternatives, but that word stuck, and so Contented it was.

How did you come up with your name?

R x