Tuesday 27 November 2012

Oops - I seem to have left my blogging mojo on holiday.





Soooo, we went on holiday.

It was warm.... do you fellow Brits remember warm? I know, its a stretch, but give it a go.
I can't blog about it because it was two weeks of hectic wonderfulness, and frankly you would be bored. Suffice it to say, amongst other things, I now terribly miss being able to go to Walmart and buy Butterfingers and Starbucks ground coffee with vanilla which YOU CAN'T BUY IN THE UK. Why did I not fill my suitcase??

Before we went away - about the same time as both my sewing machines went in for repair and I took to pacing in my sewing room, I received my order of Bloomsbury Gardens by Liberty of London. I ordered it in three of the colourways, and couldn't decide whether to mix it together or stick rigidly to each scheme. More importantly, I couldn't decide what overall quilt design to do with it.
The colourways are all saturated with colour, and I'd already decided to pair it with white as a frame to bring the colours out- so in the end I picked a simple block, and threw all the prints in.
I did have a moment of doubt, that there was too much white and not enough fabric in each block, but as the blocks multiply, it seems to be working. Plus, I decided that if the white overwhelmed the blocks, I could make the overall quilt narrower and add a bold border. The jury will decide on that one when I start to sew the rows together.
Please excuse the terrible photography - my digital SLR is playing up and I used my point and click for these. Urgh. I'm hoping to get the blocks finished each evening this week so that I can put the whole top together this weekend, Christmas tree and husbands birthday allowing. 
 
 Out of the sewing room, two of our three chickens have gone into full moult and have stopped laying. Don't they know that winter is here? I made a hen - jacket fot Violet (pictured below) when she went in to moult last winter - after i'd velcro'd it on her, she ran round the garden backwards - yes, backwards, trying to back out of it, then keeled over sideways on the lawn. I decided then and there that chickens have evolved not one jot from their ancestors the T-rex.
Moulting - not a self - plucking chicken!

 
I also made Delia's mincemeat this week, for the very first time as it happens - why haven't I made it before?? It smells amazing and was so easy - with the dry ingredients now bought, I've got enough dry mix to make up 2 more batches - that'd be 9 lb of mincemeat. That's a whole lotta mince pies, people. Roll on Christmas!!
If only I could add smell-a-vision!




2 comments:

  1. I love your quilt! A coincidence that I just pulled my Liberty out of the closet and ready to start a new quilt! If you ever get desperate for Starbucks or Butterfingers, I'll be happy to send some to you....really! I mean it!

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  2. I think your quilt looks stunning! All that white is a great opportunity to fill it with some beautiful FMQ, too :-).

    I must know.... can you buy ANY ground Starbucks in the UK? Or just not the one with vanilla? I'm laughing a little that Butterfingers are what you crave... after that amazing chocolate you sent to me, I may never eat "American" chocolate again! LOL

    I'd like to see a photo of Violet wearing her hen-jacket. Perhaps a video of her trying to back out of it? That made my day, imagining the sight!

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