By Gillian

Seashells, seashells on the wall

2011-01-25T21:53:00.000Z

The last two months did not leave a lot of time for sewing, but I did start and finish these three pictures for our bedroom:

December and January

2011-01-24T22:48:00.000Z

I did not plan on taking a break from blogging but somehow it just happened.

We've had snow galore, I've had a couple of illnesses and I had to work over the Christmas holidays (boooo). This year the family gathered at my mum and dad's house for Christmas, and for that I was grateful. My nieces turned three years old. Did I mention we saw Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hansen in a local pub? They are two of the great British footballers, my male friends were very impressed.

P.S. I wish this was my garden,
the photo was taken at my parents house on Boxing Day.

The boy and I finished off those annoying little jobs around the house that we kept on putting off. We decluttered, moved around furniture, took up curtains, repainted our bedroom, touched up the woodwork, painted the fence panels, fitted an upstand in the kitchen - why did we never fit an upstand before? It looks like a show house.

'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' book trilogy took over my life. They are fantastic. It seems like EVERYONE has read them. How did I miss these books, or the films coming out? It makes me wonder if this will be the future of literature, books become a worldwide success and if we miss the buzz it feels like we are not part of the club. Is it just me that feels this way?

- - - - - 101 in 1001 - - - - -

I have 3 more items to tick off my 101 list, here they are:

57. Donate blood. I've tried to donate blood 3 times on the last 2 years, and finally I did.

71. Take lunch to work everyday for a week (3/3). This is one action I did not think I would finish, I hope to keep it going.

99. Transfer files from my old computer and floppy discs.

A is for Adorable

2010-12-09T23:12:00.000Z

I want to share something a little different with you today.

Chris is one of the boys best friends (in fact he did a reading at our wedding) and his bride-to-be Helen have started a new business - Alpha Beta Canvas, handmaking artwork for little people, and their canvases are fantastic. This is one of my favourites

and this one is pretty darn cute too.

Both Helen and Chris are very artistic, and started to make their canvases after decorating their daughter's bedroom. Now Helen paints and crafts when Pixie sleeps.

If you would like to see more of their work, please visit their website.

One last thing, Helen and Chris are getting married on Saturday. The boy and I wish you both a lifetime of happiness together.

We will see you soon.

G&P.

Mirror, mirror in the attic

2010-11-27T20:35:00.000Z

Every so often it's good to have a clear out. For the last month Whilst sorting through the cr*p in the attic to put in more ~~junk~~ treasures, we found a mirror the last owners left behind. And the style is back in fashion.

It's a bit damaged around the edges. What do you think, is it good enough to use?

- - - - - 101 in 1001 - - - - -

I have 11 months remaining to finish my list of 101 (now 110) things I want to do in 1001 days. Here's a few more finished items:

34. Have a girls night in. We had a great night in for Laura M's birthday, wine, good food and fantastic company.

39. Go away for a weekend with friends. Going to Italy for a close friend's wedding and visiting Phil - twice.

85. Get a totally new hairstyle. In high school I really wanted a perm, it was the fashion at the time and as some friends had cork screw perms I really can't blame my mum for not allowing me to have one.
I told myself after the wedding I would get a totally new hairstyle, and it was going to be a perm. I only told the boy of my plans the day before, and no-one else. He was a bit surprised, I think he though it would be a big 1980s thing. You know what, I like it. And I am happy no-one got a chance to talk me out of it. I have to admit, I hoped my hair would magically dry into beautiful big curls, but oh no.

Getting cosy for winter - part one cat flaps

2010-11-22T23:45:00.000Z

In the rainy north-west of England it gets cold, bone chilling cold.

We have made a couple of 'different' adjustments at home that think will save us money, energy and will reduce our carbon dioxide emissions. I hope you will find this interruption to normal broadcasting interesting if not useful.

The boy and I are proud parents to two little fluffy monsters, other people call them cats. To give them the freedom they deserve, we knocked a hole though our external wall and installed a cat flap and a tunnel. In this years bad weather the cold wind flowed through the flap, chilling the house.

Whilst the most energy saving solution would be to remove the cat flap and brick up the hole, it was not the solution for us. We decided to reduce the heat loss by stuffing the cavity with insulation, wound duct tape around the tunnel to keep the pieces in place, and added a second flap to the outside of the house as an extra barrier.

And yes, we do have a step outside to help Brambles (the stripey cat) get in and out of the house.

The improvement cost around £18 for the second cat flap off ebay (we had to match the make of the first) and around £1 for the insulation.

Do you have any tips to share?

Catching up

2010-10-27T22:21:00.000+01:00

I've just had my birthday, yep, I am one year older. A friend baked a huge chocolate cake filled with fresh cream and homemade blackcurrant jam. It was so yummy I had 2 slices. Thanks Paula. Even though I was so full I still managed to eat an Indian takeaway.

In fact this time of year is birthday season for our families and for many of our friends, and we've had a few births as well.

My cousin and her partner had a little boy the day before our wedding and she and baby James still came! His first social engagement at 1 day old. It was lovely of her to come but she had the best reason not to. I sewed James these shoes:

The pattern is from Anna Maria Horners book - Handmade Beginnings: 24 Sewing Projects to Welcome Baby. They are my 1st attempt at sewing shoes and in comparison to quilting they are fiddily to make.

Also, my friend from University gave birth to her 1st child last week. They called her Felicity, I love that name. Congratulations you two.

Thankfully work is a little bit less crazy. Every year the system I manage for the organisation is externally audited over 3 days. And a lot of preparation is required in advance. That means practically everything else is pushed to the side while I try to keep sane, including this blog. But that was a week and a half ago, so hopefully I'll be back writing regularly until next year.

And finally, two years ago the boy and I bought a storage until and smaller containers for my sewing projects and fabric scraps. In return for buying them he made me promise to take up the curtains in ~~the office~~ my sewing room. Last week I finally fulfilled my promise.

Is there anything you have been putting off?

- - - - - 101 in 1001 - - - - -

I have 12 months to complete as many items as I can from my list of 101 (now 110) in 1001 days. Here's a few more finished items:

4. Paint an original picture. I will share the painting soon.

32. Go kayaking or canoeing. Kayaked on our honeymoon.

40. Go to a spa. Again on our honeymoon. There is a story about my visit, but that's for another post.

41. Visit 3 new UK cities or regions. (3/3) We visited Northumberland, Bath and Exmouth.

76. Take a family photo. We have quite a few from our wedding.

84. Watch a sunrise. On our honeymoon.
97. Update home insurance. This is a bit of a boring one, but at least it got done.

102. Get married. Wahoo. More on that another time.

84. Watch a sunrise.

The list of my completed tasks has been moved to its very own 101 in 1001 page. Alternatively, the link is on the top left below the By Gillian banner.

Something special

2010-09-20T21:58:00.002+01:00

Before our wedding I went to my quilt group knowing we would be eating cake and have a couple of drinks to celebrate my impending marriage, and I was really looking forward to it.

They gave me this

and sprinkled confetti all over me and my machine.

Each member of the group pieced a square, isn't it wonderful. I was surprised, shocked, lost for words and loved their generosity. I found out they had been having secret conversations and always without me knowing.

On my last day of work in came into the office to find this (taken with my phone)

Did you notice the little Green & Blacks chocolates stuck to each of the hearts? They would be great favours (G&B 'Groom & Bride', get it?), why did I not think of it?

Here's a close up

I'm still finding confetti and chocolates in my shoes, drawers, documents and who knows where else I'll find it.

I love how much thought and creativity went into each of surprises, they will always be two of my favourite presents.

Thank you,

P.S. Brambles enjoyed my quilt too (she was on it for the five seconds it took me to take this photo with my phone)

Something borrowed

2010-09-04T09:58:00.000+01:00

Our wedding photographer, Jeff Ascough has posted some of his favourite photographs of our wedding on his blog, < click on the link to see them. We love the photos he has chosen to share.

As ever, I needed an image for this post and I have 'borrowed' a beautiful photograph of my niece in her bridesmaid dress. This photograph was taken by my new sister-in-law, thanks Mel.

Just married

2010-08-22T22:46:00.000+01:00

Something transformed

2010-08-18T23:06:00.000+01:00

Once upon a time a visitor from the south of the land brought a box of sweets to bring Christmas cheer.

The hospitable hosts were very grateful for the sweets and viewed the box with interest and untold possibilities. After Christmas it was placed on the top shelf of a very, very tall cupboard and forgotten about.

Time moved on.

One day she cleared the cupboard and with great delight pulled out the box. They viewed it curiously and suddenly an idea popped into her head, "Do you think it's possible?" she asked.

"Yes, I think it is", replied he.

A flurry of painting ensued.

He traded some beans with a wizard who taught him to spin crowns and letters from gold and magically placed them onto the box.

They looked down with joy and no-longer saw a plain sweet box, it had been transformed into a post box, and it shall go to the party.

The End.

Something to do with a hen and a stag

2010-08-15T23:51:00.000+01:00

Sorry about the title, I had to keep the 'Something ...' wedding post theme going somehow.

Our hen and stag parties were full of activities.

I went to my very first ice skating lesson. I have skated before but have never been on a lesson - something I wanted to do for years. We learnt to skate backwards, in a circle, do small jumps and to skate on one foot. It was brilliant, I recommend you try it.

On the train to the ice rink Helen passed me a package and said "Before you open this do you promise to do whatever is in it?" After some deliberation and making her promise it was not dares or a tacky veil with L plates or other 'things' on it (you can guess what), I said yes.

I had to wear a bright yellow tutu, bright pink fingerless gloves and bright yellow ankle warmers.

Then they made me wear this outfit on the tram back to Manchester and as I walked through Manchester city centre, always walking a few steps behind me. Strangely, hardly anyone batted an eye-lid, ha har.

We met the others at The Modern restaurant above the Urbis museum for a fantastic meal (I recommend the golden syrup pudding with vanilla custard) and more dressing up items.

In the evening we watched 'Charlies Aunt' at the Royal Exchange Theatre. The play has been running since 1892, making it one of the most successful farces.

For the boys stag party his brother took him for a helicopter flying lesson as a surprise. In the evening they met the others to watch comedian Al Pitcher and for a night in Liverpool.

We both had great days.

Lancashire living

2010-08-10T14:43:00.002+01:00

A few weeks ago we went on a lovely summer walk near our home in Lancashire, past fields of cows,

by canals with ornate boats

and by embankments framed by reeds.

If you want to see more photographs of the north west of England then visit JellyBeanAngels blog, the lady should be paid by the English tourist board. Her photographs remind me the little part of the world I live in ain't half bad.

- - - - - 101 in 1001 - - - - -

I have 15 months remaining to finish my list of 101 (now 110) things I want to do in 1001 days. Here's a few more finished items:

28. Watch a play.

31. Go ice-skating.

42. Go somewhere new in Europe.

70. Try 3 new recipes. (3/3)

72. Get all family phone numbers.

73. Get all family addresses.

75. Take a good photo of Andrea (my sister) and me.

109. Design invites etc.

110. Choose flowers.

The list of my completed tasks has been moved to its very own page, the link is on the top left below the By Gillian banner.

Something sewn

2010-08-02T20:39:00.000+01:00

Last week was very productive.

I had my first wedding dress fitting and with my shoes I look very very tall, ordered my veil and my replacement engagement ring, we met with the registrar and had our last meeting with our reception venue co-ordinator.

The never ending rain made me finally finish sewing 3 new sashes for my flower girls dresses. Their dresses are white and even though the white sashes were pretty, they were lost against the dress, so I made green sashes to link the colour between the adults bridesmaid dresses and the childrens.

My oldest niece Holly will carry our wedding rings on a cushion inspired by the ring cushions on the Martha Stewart Weddings website.

And because I thought the backed looked plain in comparison to the front I added some ribbon and my late grandmother's brooch.

For both the sashes and the ring cushion I used a green lining fabric, although the lining fabric is fine for the sashes I thought it would fray easily under pressure and show every lump and bump of the cushion stuffing. So I added an extra row of stitches close to the edges and lined the lining fabric with a light weight white cotton fabric.

There's still a couple of items I want to make... maybe if there's enough time.

Coming soon, our hen and stag parties.

Twice baked cheesy potatoes recipe

2010-07-26T23:04:00.000+01:00

When you are having a party it's great to have some hot food the guests love, it can be made in advance and reheated. They're so good your guests will want more.

The instructions below make 4 cheesy baked potatoes.

Ingredients

2 baking potatoes - we normally bake 1 potato per person

150g grated cheddar cheese

Milk

Butter or margarine

Instructions

Wash the baking potatoes and stab them with a sharp knife 8 times.
Place in the centre of a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees Celsius, cook for an hour turning once, when the centers are soft they are ready.
Cut the potatoes in half and using a large spoon scoop out the centre into a pan (be careful, they are HOT), place the skins back on a baking tray.
Add into the pan of potato a knob of butter or margarine and a splash of milk. Using a potato masher, mash until creamy.
Add into the pan 4/6ths of the cheese and fold in well.
Using a spoon, scoop the cheesy mash potato back into the skins.
Sprinkle the top of the potatoes with the remaining cheese.
When cool, cover and keep in the fridge until needed. I have kept the potatoes for up to 2 days before re-heating.
Heat the potatoes at 200 degrees Celsius for 20-25 minutes, until the top is golden and the centre is hot.

Eat and enjoy.

Something new

2010-07-05T23:36:00.000+01:00

Our wedding is only a month and a half away - eeek.

The boy and I decided to make a few handmade items for the wedding, I still have to make the sashes for the flower girls dresses, but I have been making the ladies favours on and off for the last few months.

We have designed, made and posted the invitations, the boy even managed to source some FSC sustainable card, and I think they are great.

A wedding magazine said if a bride normally wears her hair down like I do then she should wear it down on her wedding day. Well, I am ignoring that little piece of advice, I want to look different, polished and elegant like Reese Witherspoon, Kate Beckinsale and Angelina Jolie. My hairdresser tried out 2 different styles, sorry, no pictures until after the wedding.

These are my shoes for the big day, aren't they pretty! I visited them for a good year before purchasing them, you see, I normally wear flat shoes, like, everywhere... and they add a good three inches to my height, so I really need to a. learn to walk in them, and b. break them in.

I do have a plan b for the evening - bare feet, perfect for dancing.

Sorry I can't share photos of everything I have made yet, many of my guests read this blog and I want a few things to be a surprise.

Gx

Applique baby bodysuit (onesie) & free patterns

2010-06-27T20:45:00.001+01:00

My cousin and his wife had their first child in May, a beautiful little girl.

Every sewer knows each baby should receive a gift, one made with love and thought in each stitch. For Freya's gift I embellished some shop bought bodysuits (onesies) as each newborn needs some cute bodysuits to wear with a skirt or trousers and a little cardigan.

Both the apple and bird are attached using raw edge applique to allow the edges to fray slightly when washed, and the apple stem, bird's beak, feet and eyes are sewn with co-ordinating thread. The bow is 3D, it was fashioned into shape and lightly sewn onto the suit.

Welcome to the world Freya.

---------- Bloganniversary ----------

This month is my one year blog anniversary and to celebrate I am sharing the apple and bird patterns, here they are:

Click on the image to open a larger version.

I used the pattern on a bodysuit for a baby aged 3-6 months, and the pattern can easily be increased. A new mum gets so many clothes for a newborn I like to give something the little one can grow into.

Gx

Like the Twilight Saga?

2010-06-12T21:04:00.000+01:00

If like me you became OBSESSED with the Twilight Saga books then you may have heard Stephanie Mayer has published an Eclipse novella called 'The short second life of Bree Tanner'.

Here's the good news - as a gift from Stephanie it is available to read online and for free at www.breetanner.com/ until the 5th July 2010.

What are you waiting for?

Bleaching fabric

2010-05-28T23:16:00.001+01:00

Sometimes does not work.

It's the first time I have tried to lighten fabric and decided to use the bleach. Before starting I read some instructions on the internet, placed each fabric colour in a separate mixture of warm water and bleach for several minutes.

Here they are, can you tell the difference?

No. Neither can I.

Do you have any suggestions for future attempts?

Do sewing machines have their own quilts?

2010-05-22T08:27:00.010+01:00

In my house they do.

This sewing machine quilt has been on my UFO list for sometime. Over a year ago I woke one Sunday morning eager to try something new, made a sketch, worked out the dimensions and grabbed some old shirt fabric that I'd purchased 2 or so years ago from the NEC quilt show.

The quilt is to go under my sewing machine to stop it from damaging my kitchen table. Some of the shirt fabric I really don't like is hidden under the machine and one of the very first fat quarters I purchased around the edge. I have backed the quilt with more shirt fabric, and it's actually my favourite part. This time I decided to go with white binding, it was probably a bad idea but I think it balances the colours in the quilt top.

I'm tried out a different type of wadding for this project, I usually use Warm and Natural for bed quilts, but for a machine quilt cheap wadding will do.

In Liverpool's new shopping area two new shops opened recently and yours truely just happened to pop by. I'm not accustomed to shop openings and so why not take a moment to enjoy a glass of champaign and ord'erves. Who am I to question their marketing techniques???

- - - - - 101 in 1001 - - - - -

33. Go to a new country. Mexico

62. Read 20 new books (20+/20).
70. Try 3 new recipes (3/3).

92. Give 2 bin bags of clothes to charity (2/2).

108. Choose bridesmaid dresses.

81. No TV for 48 hours. For some people this would be easy, but I am addicted to TV. The task was completed over a weekend and with only a few hours to go I opened a video podcast and watched a few seconds by mistake - nooooo. A so-called friend told me I should do the whole 48 hours again. I opted for the don't be so hard on yourself school of thought and added on an evening instead.

Hen party gifts

2010-05-02T08:56:00.002+01:00

My friends Lauren and Jon are getting married in June and this bank holiday weekend is Lauren's hen party in London. As I cannot go I put together a gift bag as a surprise and gave it to her on Friday night.

Hen parties usually include an alcoholic drink or two so I included a bottle of Italian wine (they are getting married in Italy), goblets, a pack of hangover tablets, a tube map of London, and Mr and Mrs Questions (with forfeits).

To tie in with the love theme the hen and each chick will receive packet of Love Heart sweets and a heart shaped biscuit made using this recipe. Each biscuit was packaged in a bag and with a label designed by the boy.

It is common for hens parties to have a clothing theme and for Lauren's each chick will receive a fabric flower that can be worn as a corsage or in the hair, and as every bride to-be needs a veil I made Lauren's using a head band, a flower and some netting from my stash.

Lauren, I hope you have a great weekend.

Mexico by numbers

2010-04-29T22:05:00.000+01:00

1 lost engagement ring (mine)

1 engagement

2 hospital visits

4 extra days on holiday (thanks volcano)

6 days with heavy rain

7 activities I participated in - aqua aerobics, yoga on the beach, stretching class, salsa dancing, beginner tennis lesson, face mask workshop and a scuba dive taster

12 full days of sunshine

13 bouts of food poisoning

18 days on holiday

22 members of the party

648 cocktails drank

It was an eventful holiday.

I would like to thank June my mother-in-law for feeding our two little fluffy monsters while we were away.

It never happens to me

2010-04-28T23:26:00.000+01:00

but it did this time.

You may have heard a little something about an Icelandic volcanic eruption and its ash grounding flights to and from Europe. Well, yep, I was one of those thousands and thousands of people stuck in another country.

3 weeks ago I flew to Mexico with 21 other people for my sisters wedding. With only a few days of the holiday remaining the wind changed direction, luckily for us we were in a great all inclusive resort and the holiday company covered the costs for the extra 4 days.

The boy's brother was not so lucky, it took him and his girlfriend 4 days to travel home from southern Spain.

It's good to be back.

And happy St Georges Day, OK so it was on Friday but I was flying.

Gx

Eggtastic

2010-04-02T12:21:00.000+01:00

Happy Easter.

What next?

2010-03-27T21:34:00.001Z

Warning, this is a random post.

I'm going on holiday to Mexico for my sisters wedding and I want to take some sewing with me but what do I take? Everything I can think of is either nearly finished, is something for my wedding so I don't want all of my relatives to see it, or involves a cutting mat and a sewing machine. Suggestions on a postcard please.

You may have noticed my 101 on 1001 listings below my posts and they are going OK, thank you for asking but I'm a little bit stuck on number 60 'Watch 10 classic films'. So far I have seen:

Sunset Boulevard.
Some Like It Hot.
Taxi Driver.
The Great Escape. I can't believe I have never watched this before.

Here's the thing, I need 6 more classic films to watch, I must not have watched them before and they cannot be horror films. Please help?

And just because I have to add a picture to my posts, here's a photo of Formby Point.

Thanks,

Diversity is good.

2010-03-24T23:55:00.001Z

Last year my quilting group entered The Great Northern Quilt show, and guess what, we came second in the group quilt category! It's the first time we're entered and we were so happy when we heard the results. The wall hanging is now on display in our meeting room and this is the first chance I've had to take a photo.

Each hanging is very different and reflects the work of each quilter.

My contribution is the wonky squares panel in the centre. When I started to make the panel in January 2009 wonky squares were everywhere in blogland and this project was the perfect opportunity to have a go at a new block.

I practiced free motion quilting in the shape of cinnamon rolls on my panel. I find this pattern a lot easier than stippling but I might have found it even easier if I had lowered my sewing machine's feed dogs! I was told at a later date I was supposed to be afraid of free motion quilting, ignorance is bliss.

Gx

Something old

2010-03-06T00:33:00.020Z

There are many options for every aspect of a wedding day and with so much choice in the last few months I have started for forget my theme. I always knew the theme was going to be vintage, but until two days ago did not have a colour. I was waiting to see what bridesmaid dresses the high street brought out and as I am going to at least three other weddings this year, and a bridesmaid for two of them, trying to find a different colour was becoming a bit of a concern.

Two days ago I settled on green, and it feels right.

To keep my theme on track I have made my own wedding mood board (courtesy of Dessy).

On a different note, if you are reading this post in a reader check out my new banner, they boy did it in about 2 minutes. He's a star. And I have enabled my blogs comments setting, if you want to leave me a message you now can.

- - - - - 101 in 1001 - - - - -

45. Have drinks at Cloud 23 (a bar on the 23rd floor of the Hilton Hotel in Manchester).

104. Choose wedding rings.

Yummy lentil soup

2010-01-16T00:29:00.000Z

This is my all time favourite soup recipe and is really easy to make. My mum made it all the time when my sister and I were little.

Ingredients
2 medium-large carrots
1 onion
1 cup of red split lentils
3 ham stock cubes
1800 ml (3pt) water, additional water is required for soaking and topping up
Crusty bread rolls

Makes 4 portions.

Instructions

Soaks the lentils in hot water for 10 minutes, then rinse.
While the lentils are soaking, boil the water and finely chop the carrots and onion.
Place the water, stock cubes, lentils, carrots and onions in a pressure cooker and bring to the boil.
Use the pressure cooker seal, close the lid and when the pressure is reached add the weight, lower temperature to simmer.
Cook for at least 45 minutes, I usually open the pressure cooker once during this period to stir and add water as necessary.
When the carrots are soft the soup is ready. The lentils thicken the soup quickly, add water to the consistency you like.
Serve in a bowl with crusty bread rolls on the side, now dip.

Perfect winter food.

Looking back at 2009

2010-01-07T23:56:00.001Z

Most years I think about making a resolution, some years I do and most I don't. Last New Year I decided any resolutions had to be fun. I know I'm never going to give up chocolate - EVER, a new year is supposed to be about hope and something to look forward to, so why make it painful.

I achieved 5 of my 6 resolutions:

Try 1 new thing, anything as long as Ihad never done it before. Completed, I went on a dressmaking course.
Finish 3 new books. Completed within the first2 months.
Finish 2 arts or crafts. Completed but Istill have 15 UFOs, something to work on in 2010.
Sew an item of clothing. Made a dress for myniece.
Take 'us' photos. This is the most important and the one I did not achieve.
Go somewhere new in Britain. We went to new areas down south and to Northumberland. To the right is a photo from our weekend away to Oxford, and managed to fit in a trip to Bath, Windsor Castle, and we got see an not-so-old housemate.

This year I'm not making any new resolutions, I still have my 101 list to work through, see the sidebar to see the tasks I have completed so far.

Here's some places we visited in 2009:

Recognise this place? The location was used in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, only a couple of hundred miles north of Nottingham... Robin's ship must have got lost coming back from the Crusades. It's actually Hadien's Wall. It was built in northern England in AD122, spans 150 miles from the west to east coast and was used as a border or customs post.

We spent a weekend with two friends (another not-so-old housemate) in the north-east of England. This sculpture is the Angel of the North by Anthony Gormley.

Ahhhh, the beach. It's not far from where we live but we do not visit enough.

The boy and I spent a weekend in London, click here to see the photos.

Until next time.

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T23:37:00.001Z

I hope you had a happy holiday.

For the third year the boy and I hosted Christmas dinner in our home, there were 7 of us including 2 family members who travelled up from London, and practice must make perfect because it was the easiest Christmas dinner we have made so far.

We did the big food shop on Wednesday at midnight, it was the best time to go - the store was empty, we got everything we wanted and did not have to get up at 7am to find a parking space.

This year we decided to make a fruit platter for the starter and let our guests graze before dinner, for mains we had the traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings, we then opened our presents and finally had Christmas or chocolate cake for desert.

We still made too much food, but my gingerbread biscuits were a success, two days later this is what was left. I baked around 50 gingerbread biscuits on Christmas eve using this recipe: http://www.waitrose.com/recipe/Gingerbread.aspx I added the extra cinnamon and ginger suggested in the comments.

On New Years eve the boy and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. We got together on the eve of the millennium and so to celebrate we went to the same city we were in 10 years ago, had a fantastic meal and at midnight we went back to the waterfront. We brought in the New Year in front of the clock with the horns sounding from the ships and watching the fireworks from the peninsula. I loved it.

Here's a stitchery I made for my quilting groups 2008 challenge, we all had to pick a Christmas card we received for Christmas 2007 and make something using the design, but we were not allowed to talk about it. I chose this little soldier and came up with the border myself.

- - - - - 101 in 1001 - - - - -

104. Choose wedding rings.

Cup cosies and coats

2009-12-14T21:19:00.000Z

I'm finally back in the sewing groove. I had some time off sewing when I was really busy at work and decided after sharing so many non-crafty posts the next one had to show something I had made. But then I'd had such a long break from blogging that I thought I had to show you something really good, because taking in tops and repairing clothes is just not interesting enough, right?

Two of my friends (Michelle and Nikki) have started sewing (yay) and they got my itching to make something. But again, I wanted to share something great, and have fantastic photos... Unfortunately in the rainy north west the light is not great in the winter, or even good.

So, I thought just get on with it and finally stopped waiting for daylight, so without further ado... du du dur...

Any idea what this is?

It's the lining from my winter coat.

It's a good quality coat but the the lining fell apart. In my pre-sewing days I went to a few repair shops and they said it would cost about £70 to have it relined! So the coat patiently in my wardrobe for a few years until I would attempt to do it. With some encouragement and the fact it's freezing cold (always a good motivator, and I gave my only other winter coat to a charity shop), I used what was left of the lining and made a new lining using some colourful fabric from Ikea. Here's it finished:

I have also been making brew cosies:

I made them for some friends at work and when I told them, the conversation went something like this:

Me: I'm making a little present for you.

Them: Awww, really, what are you making?

Me: (silence... and turning bright red with embarrassment).

Them: OMG, you're going red, what are you making?

Me: Brew cosies....

Them: Brew cosies... (howls of laughter) what are they?

Me: It's like a tea pot cosy but for your mug, the little quilt will keep your cup of tea warm.

Them: Can't we just drink our tea quicker???

Me: !

They really do like them. I showed them to my quilt group and they loved them too, again there was a lot of laughing.

- - - - - 101 in 1001 - - - - -

My time away has meant I have made some good progress with my 101 list:

13. All of the little people in my life are to have something handmade By Gillian.
25. Go to a comedy show.
26. Visit the ballet.
49. Do 5 things in the Britain Lonely Planet Guide. (5/5)

37. Go away for a weekend with the boy. (2/2)
63. 3 of the above books must be classics. (3/3)
66. Write a list of 25 things I like about myself.

79. Link my 101 list to my present list.
89. Decorate the office.
90. New carpets. (3/3)
111. Choose caterer.

London baby

2009-08-28T17:30:00.013+01:00

At the being of June we went for a long weekend in London. We jumped on the train after work on Thursday and 2 and a half hours later we were in the capital.

Considering I found the apartment I thought we were staying north of the river, but we stayed a couple of minutes walk away from the beautiful Tower Bridge.

It was nice to have a little home away from home for a few days even if the design was a bit strange. The building has offices on the first 3 floors and accommodation on the rest but that's not the strange bit. Look at the 2nd photo blow, the bedrooms face the inside of the building and have floor to ceiling windows, outside the windows there's glass on the walkway floors, the window blinds did not hang properly and with the walkway lights shine through, lets just say if someone wanted to he/she could watch the inhabitants!

The next day we visited the Tower of London, did you know that people still live there? I didn't. The crown jewels are amazing (sorry no photos), the guide said they belonged to the country's citizens, that includes me then, and I want to borrow them - even if it's only for a day.

Front of a house at the Tower of London, I want my house to look like this

In the evening we watched Blur in concert in Hyde Park.

On Saturday we walked through London, past the Houses of Parliament, by Westminster Abbey, through Regents Park to Buckingham Palace to watch the change of guards and finally headed to the Victoria & Albert museum. Did you know the museum have a collection of quilts? Unfortunately they were in storage, but next year from the 20 March to 4 July they are exhibiting quilts dating from 1700-2010. Anyone want to go?

In the evening we watched Wicked. The singing was amazing and the show was funny, I would definitely watch it again. Photos are not allowed during the show so this is the only one I could get.

On Sunday we met the boy's brother and his girlfriend and headed to the second-hand markets and shops around Brick Lane. I'm the one on the right.

I searched the shops for a pre-loved tablecloth to make into a blind but this time I was not in luck. Instead I found this cat in a suitcase and a stall selling tops with pieced hexagons.

We had a great time.

- - - - - - - - - -

One last thing, the designer behind Don't Look Now! is giving away a beautiful quilt to celebrate her 100th post. I love it. You will have to be quick, the giveaway closes on the 2nd September.

Head on over...

2009-08-23T20:52:00.003+01:00

to Trends and Traditions, quilt and fabric designer Heather Patterson's giving away two beautiful quilts and charm packs to celebrate her one year blogiversay. If you have not visited her blog before spend some time reading her posts, not only are her quilts beautiful but her home is stunning, I am jealous.

Good luck,

The Festival of Quilts

2009-08-23T17:27:00.010+01:00

Yesterday I headed to Birmingham with my mum and aunt Megan to The Festival of Quilts. Here are my favourite quilts from the show.

Hundreds of hexagons

This is the back of a quilt, I love the quilting

The lady in this was painted onto the fabric and the contours stitched on top

A group project

One day I want to make a quilt like this (unfortunately half the quilt was in the shade)

And this (the quilt was so big I could not get all of it in one shot without loosing the detail)

And this (the dark fabric is actually blue)

Miniture quilts

The stitches on this quilt are minute

I loved this one, the the pieces were tiny

I was good and only bought a few fat quarters, some backing fabric and quilt wadding.

My mum hits the big 6-0 this November and is retiring, she's still going to work two days a week, look after my nieces a couple of days a week when my sister is working... and with the (little) time she has left she's going to learn to sew. My dad's mum sewed all the time and jokes he was happy when he found a wife that did not sew, now she's going to buy a sewing machine, it was his birthday on Thursday - I should have bought him ear plugs LOL. Happy birthday dad.

It took a while, but I have finally read all 500+ posts - phew.

I'm back

2009-08-16T22:57:00.008+01:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. Well actually I can.

Remember this?

It became this:

It's a present for my friend Alison and her husband Guy, they had a little boy called Rory in December last year and I thought it was about time I made them a quilt for a cot bed. It's called the 'Descendants Quilt' and I designed it so the parents can record the birth of each new child and pass it down through their family. In each white patch they can sew or write the names of their children, the birth dates and the mother and father's names. Each patch has 2 boy and 2 girl colours so it will work for both sexes.

I frantically finished the quilt before I met up with Alison and my other not-so-old university flat mates in the Peak District for a weekend. It was tight but I finished the quilt on the drive to Laura's house, thanks for driving Lauren! On Saturday we celebrated Alison's 31st and on Sunday, Laura's 30th birthday. It was a great weekend, Laura and her mum really looked after us. Here's some photos of Sheen:

We don't get together as often as we used to as Laura now lives in Dubai and Michelle in the Australian outback, thank goodness Lauren, Fiona and Alison still live in England.

When I'm sewing I like to have noise in the background and whilst finishing this quilt I watched Twilight for the first, second and third time... plus the commentary, and all in one week! Lets just say I got slightly obsessed and read all four books in the Twilight series in the next two weeks, missing lunch with friends, leaving work as early as possible, you get the picture. I've now read practically everything on Stephanie Meyer's website and can't wait to see the next film. Thankfully I have a friend who also likes the film as much as I do and we're going to the cinema together and hopefully we won't look like two strange women in their 30s surrounded by hundreds of teenage girls.

Right now I have over 500 posts to catch up on, you have been busy.

- - - - - 101 in 1001 - - - - -

35. Spend a weekend with the girls.

37. Go away for the weekend with the boy.

That's my dress!

2009-07-21T20:07:00.006+01:00

So I'm sat on the sofa reading a post about the principles of fabric selection by oliver + s, and imagine my surprise when I scrolled down to see a photo of the dress I made. Lets just say I have a big smile on my face. In case you missed the photo of the dress from my last post, here it is again:

I especially liked how the designer used the words 'elegant and sophisticated' - I am honoured.

This is the first and only item of clothing I have finished (I have a Gillian sized dress I started to make for St Georges day but it's still not finished). In January I wanted to join an evening class to learn holiday level French, to you and me, that's asking for a bread without the locals muttering under their breath. But all of the French classes started in September and lasted a year so I could not join. I had already decided I wanted to make an item of clothing and so joined a dressmaking class to learn the basics, the group met two hours a week for ten weeks - perfect. I love the oliver + s patterns as the designs allow children to look like children and had looked through the flickr pool quite a few times as it's a great source of fabric inspiration. So as soon as I joined the class I ordered the tea party pattern.

My niece loved her party dress and I would make it again.

101 in 1001

2009-07-19T21:42:00.004+01:00

Late last year I read craftavist's blog and her 101 in 1001 and 31 before 32 lists, and they really inspired me. I wanted to start off small, so for the first time in years I made New Years Resolutions, all 7 of them. I had only one requirement, they had to be fun, 3 months later I had completed 6 of them.

I really wanted to do more and found many people in the blog world with their own 101 in 1001 list. It was started by the Day Zero Project. The idea is to write a list of 101 tasks and goals you want to complete in 1001 days (2.75 years), and for me that's the 28th October 2011.

Over a month I contemplated what should be on list and was happy with its content. Then I went and get engaged, that totally threw me. The list is quite a bit longer (it's the wedding's fault) and as long as I finish about 80 of my 101+, I'll be happy.

I'm not quite ready to put my list out there for all the world so see so I'm going to list the tasks I have completed at the bottom of my posts and add them to the left side bar. Maybe one day I'll post the full list...

But for now, I have completed 13 out of the 111 tasks, they are:

1. Sew an item of clothing.

Here's the tea party sundress, designed by oliver + s, made by me and modelled by my niece.

and a close up

20. Visit an art gallery/museam. V&A

24. Go to a concert. Blur

27. Watch a musical. Chicago and Wicked

30. Skiing. Indoor

59. Take an evening class. Clothes-making

61. Watch a new foreign language film.

93. Plant irises.

94. Plant crocuses.

96. Plant a tree.

103. Choose engagement ring.

105. Choose wedding location.

107. Choose wedding dress.

More fabric

2009-07-12T20:23:00.007+01:00

At the Sticky Fingers quilt show they had fabric samples donated by sales people, magazines and cakes for sale, and all proceeds go to Breakthrough Breastcancer. As it's such a good cause I had to help out by eating homemade cake, and by buying fabric samples I was finally able to get my hands on some of the Farmers Market range by Sandi Henderson, here's a sample

plus another sample

and another

and a sample from another designer, sorry I don't know who

the last one, I promise

I really need to start sewing.

Sticky Fingers quilt show

2009-07-10T22:15:00.016+01:00

Wife and husband team Wendy and David own Sticky Fingers, a little craft and quilt shop in the village of Coppull in Lancashire. Wendy runs piecing and quilting classes in their building 'Next Door but One', isn't it a great name! And yesterday they held their first quilt show, supporting Breakthrough BreastCancer, they displayed quilts and wall hangings all made at some point at Next Door but One. They also had items made for City and Guilds and a Clutch of Cushions entries. Here are my favourite quilts:

The quilts in the photo below were both hand pieced.

The fabric in this quilt is a lot lighter in real life.

Over 50 cushions were made for a 'Clutch of Cushions', all participants purchased a fat quarter of the beautiful dark pink fabric (donated by Makower) and had to incorporate it into their cushion. This is the cushion I voted for, I do not know who made it but I suspect it's by a lady in my quilting group. I'll find out on Tuesday.

I have just realised the boy and I have made plans for the same weekend as the Festival of Quilts in August - argh!!!! I did not go last year and really wanted to go, let's hope I can do both.

My First Quilt

2009-07-07T21:38:00.013+01:00

I am taking part in Camille and Carrie's Parade of Quilts, each participant shows their first and most recent quilt.

I can't quite decide if the first quilt I started is the first or third quilt I finished. In the middle of making the one below I started to design and make two quilts for the twin girls my sister was expecting, so it was finished after quilts 2 and 3.

I attend Croston Quilters in Lancashire and the amazing ladies Anne and Janet patiently and painstakingly talked me through each stage of making this quilt. When I first talked to Anne she said it would take six meetings to finish the quilt - but she did not know me! I can't just make one thing at a time and so it took me around a year to finally finish it. Anne is the reason I am precise when cutting and sewing, if my sewing was not straight enough or the seam allowance was wrong it was ripped out and I started over again. It's the best teaching I could have had. But alas I no longer have it, my mum loved the lap quilt so much I gave it to her as a present.

My most recent quilt was a present for my cousin's son for his first birthday and it is based on the Melly & Me Scrappy Cabin Quilt Challenge. For this quilt I decided any colour could be used except pink, but I did manage to sneak a little bit in. It's 52x42" and is for a cot bed.

The top is pieced from pre-loved fabric, scraps and fabric from my stash. It's the second time I have quilted free-motion, I found the quilting pattern in the amazing book Simple Traditions, author Kim Diehl calls the pattern cinnamon rolls and I found it a lot easier to quilt than stippling and more fun than quilting in the ditch. The label is pieced into the back and that's another first for me.

Have a good week.

Present

2009-06-24T21:24:00.009+01:00

Over the last few days I have been receiving presents. OK, so they may have been ordered and paid for by me, but I'm still happy.

Here's the biggest parcel.

And inside it was a new wide table for my sewing machine. It will make quilting so much easier.

New fabric. ALOT of cream and some beautiful corals from the Gypsy Rose Collection by Fig Tree Quilts. I purchased all of this fabric because I wanted the cream fabric (at the bottom of the photo, it's from the Aviary collection by 3 Sisters) and when I eventually decided to order it Quilters Cloth had just sold out. I had already put in my basket all of the other fabric, so I had to buy it. Right?

Luckily I managed to find it at The Bramble Patch, thanks ladies.

Is it strange that I have a big smile on my face?

Finally, here's a sneaky peak at one of the many projects I am currently working on.

Have a great week,

Your Planet Needs You

2009-06-05T19:59:00.007+01:00

Today is World Environment Day, the UN started the day in 1972 and since awareness about the day and our impact on the planet has continued to grow. This year they are stimulating awareness of climate change and the need for action. In our private lives and in work there are many simple things we can all do to cut our energy use, here are a few energy saving tips:

When making a hot drink only fill the kettle for the amount of water you need, and use the water straight away, boiling the same water over and over again wastes a lot of energy, and money.
Turn down the thermostat by 1 degree to cut up to 8% off you heating bill.
When you need new white goods like a washing machine or fridge freezer, choose ones with at least an A rating. The purchasing cost will be paid back over the life of the product.
Change your light bulbs to energy saving bulbs. They are so cheap these days and you save money as well.
For journeys less than 2 miles, make a smart choice and walk, use a bike, jump on public transport and if these are not possible for health reasons - car share. It goes without saying the alternatives to the car are great for your health, I was at my fittest and thinnest when I walked to and from the bus stop each work day. Plus, pollutants inside a car are at least 3 times worse than levels on the pavement next to the road.
Swtich off items on stand-by and unplug charged electrical goods.

What am I going to do? Tomorrow I'm spending the day in Chester and I'm going by train.

But if you only do one thing... switch off your SuperLambBanana...

The statues nose has been cropped off by blogger, if you have any tips to stop this from happening, let me know.

I did say this blog would be about crafts and it will be, I suppose this comes under the banner of other things going on in my life and what I'm interested in.

Until next time.

A day to vote

2009-06-04T21:01:00.002+01:00

Today and over the next few days the citizens of Europe will vote for who they want to represent them in the European elections, it's the biggest trans-national election in history - something I'm kinda proud of. Earlier this evening I voted for the person I want to represent me in Europe, and in the local elections. I'm not going to share who I voted for, but if you are able to vote in these elections - I hope you use your right and make your voice heard.

My first post

2009-06-02T21:30:00.002+01:00

I have been toying with the idea of having a blog for some time... and I have finally jumped aboard. For the last 2 years I have been reading so many quilting blogs which have left me inspired to design and stitch. I plan to mainly blog about my sewing, but I will also throw in some of things going on in my life. But that's another post.