Bleaching fabric

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?

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???

Gx

Hen party gifts

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.

Gx

Mexico by numbers

1 wedding
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.

Gx

It never happens to me

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

Happy Easter.

What next?

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:

1. Sunset Boulevard.
2. Some Like It Hot.
3. Taxi Driver.
4. 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,

Gx