Tea Pot

Hi Everybody, do you like this little teapot that was in my Christmas Sack it was a pressent from my son and I will certainly enjoy having a cup of tea from this pot. I hope you all had a great Christmas and that the coming year is a good one for you all. I am gearing myself up for my daughters wedding in August we are all very excited and looking forward to Kate and Steve's special day. I am full of food I should not have eaten and my new year resolution is to lose a LOT of weight for The Wedding whilst doing this I hope to get fit too. I am going to sew this afternoon we have been so busy I have'nt had time to sew and I really miss it. Have a happy day.

Mince Pies

Hello Everyone, sorry I have'nt posted for a while but I am so busy getting ready for christmas as I am sure so are you all. Today has been mince pie baking day and I have just finished icing some of them. The weather here is really wintry, it's very cold but the sun seems to come out every day and that always makes things seem brighter. I have lots of birds in my garden and we have put lots out for them to eat because everything is frozen and I have to keep defrosting their water. Thank goodness I have finished pressy shopping, all I have to do now is get fresh veggies and pick up my Turkey from the butchers. It is big cleanup day tomorrow so that everything is clean and ready to receive my lovely family. If I don't get time to come back before Christmas, I wish all of you a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year God Bless you all.

Forgot The Goose

Hi Everyone, I forgot to put my little goose on my last post so here he is, bought from the christmas shop in Provincetown on Cape Cod, I Love him.
Just after we bought him we went on a boat Whale Watching and I will never forget that What an experience!! the whales all came out to play and there were at least 20 to 30 around the boat doing their stuff it was magic!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Today we went to get our Christmas Tree from the farm, it has been a lovely day the sun was shining and there were lots of people doing the same as us. As predicted we walked across many fields before we found the right tree but it was worth it. The little glass ornament with the lighthouse I bought from Chatham on Cape cod and the other glass one is Murano Glass we bought in Rome it is the Nativity Scene, the little goose came from Provincetown on Cape Cod we also have some from Australia too they were hand blown and are lovely I will put those on next post. The little Swiss type chalet you see is a lovely little shop selling all things christmas and they also have mince pies you can eat there and then the man pointing at the tree is my husband Tony he did a little pose for you. We have just finished a lovely roast dinner so now I am going to relax and watch television with my feet up.

Shopping, shopping and more shopping.

Hi everybody, are you all still doing as much shopping as me, I am nearly done all thats left now is to make sure we have all the food then I can relax and start to enjoy myself.
Tony and I always go to a farm to choose our tree, my husband is very choosy and we have to find the perfect tree so we slog around several fields before he is satisfied that we have the perfect tree and then we take it to the barn to be netted, and we bring it home we usually struggle to get it through the door but manage it, we sometimes have to trim a bit from the top to stop it touching the ceiling and then my favourite bit getting out the decorations and bringing our tree to life making it a tree of memories, this is when I usually feel that christmas is really nearly here Magic!

Dressing My Dresser

Hello Everybody, I have been having a lovely time dressing my dresser for Christmas, it looks so pretty with all my snowmen and father Christmas's. I get quite excited when I start getting out all my things some things you have forgotten about some are new and you have forgotten you have bought them and some are really old friends. Kathleen (cottonreel) and I spent a day just strolling around the shops in Leicester City today we had a lovely time, we were not looking for presents or anything we just browsed, there are some lovely things about and Kathleen bought herself some new clothes which she was'nt looking for but just came upon them that really is the best way to shop. I am off now to pack some more parcels.

The Twins Have Arrived

Hello Everybody, sorry it's been a while but all I seem to do at the moment is Shop, my feet hurt, my bank account hurts and now I have to wrap all the things I have bought, I'm not really grouchy I love Christmas but it is hard work.
Anyway thats the moaning over The twins I have been doing the quilts for have arrived safe and sound, they were good weights 6lbs 4ozs and 6lbs 3ozs poor Christy carrying that weight around the little girl is Sofia Andrea and the little boy is Harris Stephen, my daughter Kate is absolutely besotted with them. This is Harris's quilt which I have just finished, the little Bee came from Cottonreels she found me 3 lovely baby patches and I thought this one was perfect for this quilt. To day I am dressing my dresser with christmas things I will show you when I have finished.

Ive Been Learning some Good Stuff

Hi everybody, it's me again, I have been on a two day Heirloom Quilting course and I haved loved every minute. I have learn't so much about my sewing machine and what it can do and I have produced some lovely blocks, I still have to finish some of them but I will show them to you soon they are really beautiful.
Do you all know what a Bread Pudding is, my Mom used to make it for us when we were kids, if she had stale bread it was never wasted she would soak it in milk for half an hour and then add butter, mixed spice, an egg brown sugar and any sort of dried fruit she had in the pantry I also put in any glace cherries and candied peel and if I have any nuts I add them too, you then mix it all together and put into a greased tin and cook in a medium oven for one and a quarter hours, it is really delicious, you cut it into slices and eat like fruit cake, my family still love it and my husband and son have just been fighting over the last piece. I am off christmas shopping to-morrow. Speak to you soon.

Busy, Busy, Busy.

Hello everyone sorry I am not posting too much at the moment but I am so busy with shopping, sewing and helping Kathleen (Cottonreel) set up her bt. Vision. I do not know where the time is going at the moment but I am sure lots of you are also very busy it is that time of year. We are all looking forward to the christmas season it is lovely to see family but it is also hard work. It is truly horrible weather here at the moment and the poor people in Cumbria are really suffering with flooding there has been lots of damage and goodness knows when the poor souls will get back into their homes, it must be a nightmare when everything you own is lost, lets hope the worst of the storms are over. Have a great weekend.

Baby Quilt Finished

Here is the first of my two baby quilts this one is for the girl twin who is yet to be born, this quilt is called Sophie's Bears it has been lovely to do the little bears are so cute I love the pretty colours. The other quilt is mainly blue, it's lovely to do something so small and finish it quickly. I have quilted this by hand. I will show you the blue one when it,s finished. Hope you all had a good weekend. I have been Christmas shopping with Kate (my daughter) she is always fun to be with we had a lovely time and got lots of presents sorted. Speak to you all soon.

Rememberance Day

Today is Rememberance Day when all our war dead are remembered and thanked we always have a minutes silence at 11-o-clock wherever we are, all the shops stop what they are doing and everyone bows their head, not a lot to ask when you remember what these people did for us. I was watching the service in London on T.V. and they were explaining about the tomb of the unknown warrior. The body in this tomb was brought back from France after the first World War, there were so many unidentified bodies that they decided to bury this one with all the honours, he is buried amongst Kings and Queens. What comfort this must have given hundreds of parents and wives whose loved one's did not return, they could think maybe this was their relative and take some solace from that. It's a sad world at the moment and we are still losing loved one's to awful wars, God Bless them All and thankyou.

Sorry it's been a while.

Hello everybody, sorry it has been a while since I posted but I have been busy finishing a quilt and making curtains and Christmas shopping and lots of other things too. All the shops are now decorated ready for the christmas season I really cannot believe it is that time of year again.
All our family will be with us this year so it will be a busy one I am going to soak my dried fruit in brandy overnight tonight so that I can make my christmas cakes, I always make one for my mother and father-in-law and Dad likes a tin of mince pies too. The weather her is awful today very damp but some flowers are still bravely putting on a show. I have just completed a baby quilt top I will post it soon I want to make another baby one as Kates future sister in law is having twins a boy and a girl they are due in December so I will have to get a move on. I am off now to make a quilt sandwich with my baby quilt, speak to you all soon.

Malvern Quilt Show

We managed to get to Malvern for the quilt show and we had a brilliant day. It was warm and the autumn leaves were looking magnificent. The Malvern Hills were standing clear and proud, thats cottonreel in front of them. There were some lovely quilts I loved this circular one it was so beautiful and had lots of applique. We bought fabric and other bits and pieces I bought a book for my daughter and some fabric to go with it as a christmas present. There was a wonderful booth there called Rich Pickings and she was selling bags of lace ,satin, embroidery and all sorts of sumptuous bits which are ideal for crazy patchwork, we both went a little over the top here and bought quite a bit. So that we could get closer to the hall to park I explained that Kathleen has a bad knee which she has but it's much better now, consequently she had to limp when she got out of the car because the man was watching her and as in most things she really did a drama production, we giggled a lot. I hopeyou are all having a good Sunday speak to you soon.

Hugging a Tree

Hello, no shopping to do yesterday so instead we went for a lovely walk in Bradgate Park, this really is a magical place and as you can see the trees are magnificent and very very old, the little lady you can see hugging a tree is my friend cottonreel, we wanted to show you how big the trees are so she went and hugged one. We walked through this beautiful park and watched the children riding their bikes and walking with Mums and Dads and Grandma's and Grandpa's having a lovely time some were fedding the ducks there were lots of ducks and the deer were a little bit elusive but they are rutting at the moment and we could hear the males making a lot of noise trying to prove they were the best, we saw a field with lots of females grazing and a huge buck sat in the middle I presume this was his harem. The park also has a ruin of a house and it is where Lady Jane Grey stayed. If you google Bradgate Park Leicestershire England it will tell you the history of this beautiful place.

She's At It Again.

Yesterday I went to get my hair trimmed, I felt very relaxed and content and thought to myself, "I will call in and see Kathleen on the way home"
I did this and we chattted and she admired my hair we had a coffee and then...............
" I think I want to change things around"
"What things"
"I want the white chest of drawers back in my bedroom"
"O.k"
"I,m not sure it will fit, what do you think?"
"I think it will be o.k it was in there before"
Then I caved in and said "Come on then lets do it"
We then proceeded to move half the furniture in Kathleens bugalow so that she could have her chest of drawers back where it was in the first place. This chest of drawers has six drawers and was made in Cyprus and weighs a ton, but we managed it by removing all the drawers and sliding it along and lifting through doors we had to stop at one time because I was grumbling about people who could'nt make their minds up and we started to laugh too much to go on. Kathleen then of course wanted to move her computer table which was full of paper and files and every other thing she could get on there but we managed it, then her bedroom looked too cluttered so we had to move the Linen chest which weighed nearly as much as the chest of drawers. Finally she was happy and I left her filling the drawers and singing to herself because once again she had conned me. But I love her to pieces.

I Need Help

Hi. is there anybody out there who can tell me where to buy cake stand handles, you know the one's I mean that screw into the middle of china plates, I have looked everywhere but I cannot find them Please Help!!!!!!!!!!!

I Think It's Finished

Well here it is my blue and pink quilt, I did a little bit of free motion quilting on it and I like it, but I'm not quite sure that there is enough quilting on it Iwill have to ask my friend and champion quilter Kathleen. The quilt is very pretty and I want to make sure it is finished correctly. It is another lovely day here in Leicestershire we have had some truly lovely weather this week, I want to get my garden tidied up but there are still flowers blooming especially Roses and other stuff too and I love the colour. Well it is ironing time now si I had better finish here, speak soon.

A Pressy from Kathleen

Look what Kathleen made me a Jar full of fabric strawberries, they are so pretty, she id such a great girl with a big big heart. We have been out today for a couple of hours, the weather is simply beautiful. The sun is full on and this afternoon I am going into my garden to do some cutting back and moving around and I also have some plants to find a place for. Before we went out this morning we had a go at getting some of the pond weed from Kathleens pond not a nice job it was all a bit slimy but the fishes did'nt seem to mind when we delved in and pulled out yads od slimy stuff, sh gives me the lovliest jobs. Well I'm off to garden now see you all soon.

Getting Out and About again.

Hello People, I am beginning to feel a lot better and Kathleen and I have managed to get out and about on Thursday and Friday. We went to sewing class on Thursday and it was very busy we laughed and giggled our way through that (Ask Kathleen to tell you about The Prunes) and it was lovely to see everyone and they were all extremely noisy. On Friday we went to The Fabric Guild and they had some lovely fabrics all very pretty I could'nt resist the one with the Teapots on and the floral one was a no brainer, the pale blue striped with sprigs of roses on is for backing my blue and pink quilt and the roll of fat quarters in rich glorious colours was just love at first sight. We had coffee and a chat with different people everyone appears to be buying christmas fabric gearing up for the season, I love christmas but it takes me a while to believe it's really here again so I will get there but it takes me a while. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Free Motion Quilting

Hello everybody, I am still not 100% but fely up to some sewing today.Kathleen is very good at Free Motion Quilting and I am scared stiff to try it and as you can see by my first two efforts I have every reason to be scared. Kathleen phoned me after I had completed these two and asked how I was getting on and I said "I don't like it" that was of course a challenge issued and she arrived at my house 5 minutes later. The first thing she made me realise was my shoulders were so tense they were up past my ears so she made me shake and relax them. My next effort was a little better The flower in the middle is Katherine's and she told me to follow what she had done, I found it incredibly difficult but had two goes whilst she directed me. The next one with lots of flower heads was a little easier and they were definitly getting better. The last two were my best effort and I felt completely drained so I was told to rest, but that I must practice every day even if I had to use my husbands underpants, Thats my girl! Does anyone else find this difficult? I am going to sit and do a little hand sewing now because I can.

Feeling A Little Better.

Hi My Friends, so sorry to be missing but I have been struck down with the Flu, it has been really miserable but I am feeling much better so I have hung a few flags out to let you know. I hav'nt seen my lovely Kathleen for a week I would not let her near me because I did not want to spread my germs but hopefully I will be able to see her on Monday for a good old chat and I need a good Laugh thats been missing from my life over the last week. I will post again soon lots of love to you all.

A Really Lovely Day

What a great day we had, we talked and laughed all the way to Nottingham.
, We were a little early so we walked around the shops and Kathleen was thrilled because she bought the biggest mushroom you have ever seen and was salivating at the thought of her breakfast on Sunday, it was the size of a side plate. I then took Kathleen to the venue of my daughters wedding reception and we sat in the courtyard and had a lovely pot of fresh coffee and listened to the tinkle of water as it left the fish statue mouth and fell into the pond, it is a lovely place called The Country Cottage, Ruddington, Nottingham the hanging baskets were huge and still very colourful. Then it was time to get the show on the road so off we went to St Peters Church Rooms and set up our stall, there were just five stalls and the rest of the hall was taken up with tables for four with vintage crockery and the most amazing selection of vintage cups and saucers to drink your tea from and more cakes than I have ever seen in one place all donated by friends, mothers, aunts, everybody. We were pleased with the selection we had on our stall and our items sold very well Kathleen sold one of her quilts and we both sold cushions and bags and lots of small items too, we made a good amount of money for the charity and for ourselves as well to cover the cost of the fabric and so on. My daughters friend Laura and her small band played lovely music all afternoon Laura has a lovely voice and I think the sound of the music brought the people in from outside. My daughter phoned me last night to say that the money raised came to £500 and that this will be matched by my daughters employers (Boots Chemists) so the Ovarian Cancer charity will get £1.000. Kate is a Jnr buyer at Boots head office in Beeston Nottingham. I am really proud of my daughter and her friend Jills achievement, Well Done you two!!!

I would just like to thank one of our bloggers "Margarets Ramblings" for coming along it was lovely to meet her and she supported us well.

Big Day Tomorrow.

Hello everybody, sorry I hav'nt posted for a while, I have been so busy with the charity event, it is nearly here and tomorrow Kathleen and I set off for a Small village in Nottingham to sell our wares for this very worthwhile charity, so please forgive me I will post something interesteing as sson as this is all over.

A Day at Ikea

We went to Ikea yesterday my friend Kathleen and I. First we had coffee, Kathleen had a breakfast and I had a pastry, them we walked and walked we looked at everthing, then Kathleen needed the Loo so back we walked, around in circles we went but we eventually found the Loo. Then off we went again past the same places until we reached a new bit that we had'nt seen, the Kathleen wanted some Lunch so back we went over the same old ground until we found the restaurant which luckily has a Loo as Kathleen now needed another visit, then we settled for Peshwari Chicken with rice which was delicious, Kathleen had Two glasses of Lingonberry so you can guess where we went next,then we walked and walked past the same things again. We paid for our goods and Kathleen wanted to pop over to Laura Ashley so we did, by this time we were both so tired I don't know how we got to the other shops but we did but we had eaten too much and both had indigestion, which made us laugh (I don't know why). We finally got back in the car to come home and we were so tired we got really silly and had fits of giggles. We finally got home after a smashing day and fell asleep.

Library

Here it is the place I go to for all my lovely books which take me on a magic journey through other countries and tell me wonderful stories, Lovely places! There is a line in a song my Son Andrew is always playing and it goes "Libraries Gave Us Power" how true that is once the ordinary working man and woman started reading it gave them the power to better themselves and have decent lives it was a long hard road but we all got there and now education belongs to everyone.

More Bags

Here are some more bags I have made for The Eve Appeal, I love the little gift bags I would think anyone would be delighted to receive a gift in one of these. I have lots more ideas for this type of bag they are lovely to do. I have been to the Library today and picked up a positive cornucopia of books I am really looking forward to starting them. Kathleen and I went shopping yesterday for the weekly food shop but tomorrow we are going to Ikea, we hav'nt been for a while so we are looking forward to it. One time I went with Kathleen we went early in the morning but, it was dark when we came out.

Where Oxford University Started

This lovely old church is St Mary The Virgin church and is Oxfords central parish church it was built around about 1086 and in the 13th century it became the University church and remains so today.
In the 13th century St Mary's was the University it was here that lectures were held and they had great debates.
In 1556 in the nave of the church Sir Thomas Cranmer was tried and condemned for treason, Cranmer was the author of The Common Book of Prayer. He was burned to death in front of Balliol College.
Now there's a cheery story for you, this church is very beautiful and the choir stalls fascinated me the wood was so pitted and just running your hand along them made you almost hear the stories they were trying to tell.

Back Home

Hello Everyone, we are back from our caravanning to the Cotswolds. It has been a lovely few days the weather was really kind to us and the sun shone and shone. The picture shows one of the lakes that Tony fished from there were five and we were right in the midddle of them, it was so quiet the only things you could hear were the birds singing it truly was a little piece of paradise. I will post more pictures some of them are of Oxford, I had never been there, it is a lovely city, very busy and the university buildings are beautiful. When you start to look around England is a beautiful place.

Off Caravanning Again

Hi Everybody, we are off in the caravan again until Saturday, we are going to the Cotswolds a really lovely part of the country. I am taking lots of books and sewing and Tony is looking forward to a few days fishing. The weather looks set fair for a few days I will take photo's and post when I get back. See you soon.

The Last few flowers

These Marigolds have given us so much pleasure this year I have filled lots of pots with them and they have been a continuous splash of colour all summer but, they are just beginning to look a little tired. The Penstemon are still giving little pockets of colour and I have white phlox which smell wonderful but I am afraid it will soon be time to pull out and cut back ready for the winter. I really do not like the cold and I do not look forward to it but, I love winter nights when I can stay at home and cuddle up with a good book or some sewing, with the curtains drawn and a cup of Hot chocolate what could be better.