One week on..and some quilting...

Onwards and upwards goes the extension! We are one week on into the build and I've been told that the bricklayers are almost finished their bit and that they will be starting the roof soon....are you enjoying the step-by-step progression?

I've also been working on this little quilt top for Project Linus. I'm so pleased how the feathers have transformed the plain centre. I'm sure it will be well liked by someone.



To create the feathers, I drew one corner of the square on paper and marked the centre point of each side. I then drew a freehanded vine from centre point to centre point. Then using a template I added the feathers on both sides. When I transferred the design onto the top I used my pattern in all four corners making the design continuous. I hope that makes sense..if not I've added a picture of my paper design in hopes to clarify.

TTFN

The latest and the Tardis has landed...

Wow...I'm really surprised how many of you wanted to see the updates of the build. It is going together very quickly and we've been told that it will have a roof on by next week!

Here is Day 5...

Yep, you read right...the tardis...well that's what the port-a-potty is called that arrived with the builders on Tuesday. It's bright bright orange and I'm ever so grateful that they've found a place for it on the SIDE of the house! It made me giggle that I just had to share it with you...the nice thing is I don't have builders using MY toilet! Every builder should have one!

So onto some quilty news...I was the lucky winner on Gail's Blog - Quite Quilted and won these lovely note cards! Thanks Gail.

And Cathi, was kind enough to send me a few goodies in the post. Just look at those stiticheries...they are going to be such fun to sew..especially sitting in the garden in the summer with a glass of ice tea!

'Til next time,

And now, for something completely different...

We're having an extension. It had been in the plans for months, but we weren't really expecting the build to take place until the end of May..as it happens he was able to start early and it is proving to be a healthy distraction.

I thought, as you do when you have a blog, that it would be neat to show you some before pictures and some current pictures..which will make it very clear that we are up to our ears in mud! Don't worry this isn't going to take over the quilty content..in fact it's kinda related to quilting in that this new space will provide a little corner for desk which will hopefully be home to my sewing machine. I may finally graduate from working off of the dining room table!!



This is the view looking back at the house from the garden.



This is the horrible concrete patio that took them a day to remove! It was upwards of 8" thick!! I can't understand why anyone would use THAT much concrete for a patio..not unless they were planning to park a Sherman tank on it!



See those nasty steps on the left...they were one piece of concrete...it took them ages to wrangle that beast out!



Digging the trenches...



So far...the footings. Stay tuned for more updates in the next few days :o)

A few more thank yous...

Over the last couple of weeks I've been the lucky recipient of a three gifts.

Karol-Ann send me a lovely charm pack of some very yummy fabric. I can't wait to plan a special project for these fabrics. I already have a few ideas floating around in my head...which is great news as it means I'm feeling creative again.

Kate sent me one of her signature postcards which now is proudly displayed in my kitchen. I just love how Kate can put together these little masterpieces. I know if I tried it wouldn't look as good!

And on Saturday a squishy package came through the door and it was one of Anne's lovely little heart quilts...in my favourite colour too! It is so sweet and I really love it!

I wanted to thank these three special ladies that sent me these little gifts to say they have been thinking about me. I feel truly blessed to have made such good friends.

A couple of days at the sewing machine...

Everything, as you can imagine, has been put on hold for weeks and once Monday came and went I really wanted to get some things accomplished. Apart from some rather mundane things, like laundry and cleaning, I wanted some time at my sewing machine. Like many of you, I fine sewing very therapeutic and I knew getting a few things made would sooth my soul.

Yesterday, I made my April bag for BQL. I decided to omit the wadding and make it more of a floppy bag that can be added to the collection that make the weekly trip to Sainsbury's. The fabrics I used are a heavier weight than regular cotton and gave the bag some shape. The other nice advantage to this fabric is that my eldest DD really dislikes it...which means she wont steal it from me :o)

Today, I sewed together my star block for my Flutterwheels group using the technique described in Nancy Johnson-Srebro's book Stars by Magic. The technique is very clever, but it is a bit tedious. I've only ever made one or two blocks using her method..not sure if I'd make a whole quilt this way.

While I was at it, I made three little Linus quilts for the neo-natal unit. Two are like the red one and the other is made from the by-products of my star block. There are only small so they went together very fast and I should get them completed easily.

I'm feeling better now that I've done some sewing...more like myself.

Thanks for listening,

As promised...

Here's a quick peek at the 3 Linus quilts that got finished and handed over to Lynda at our Lutterworth Piecemakers meeting last night.

A thousand thank yous

Just a quick post to say a big thank you to everyone that has written over the last week. Each day is getting a little easier and it has definitely been a comfort to read each and every one of your messages. We have had a great amount of support from family and friends both near and far. Many thanks to you all!

We had the burial service on Monday for our little one and it has help to bring closure to what has been a very difficult time. Things are slowly getting back to "normal" with the children back at school and the DH back at work. I'm getting back to more mundane things like grocery shopping and laundry. (Somehow these things have to be done come rain or shine) I've also managed to find time in the evening to complete the binding on three quilts for Linus, which I will photograph and post once they are out of the dryer :o)

Many thanks again for your support.

Returning one step at a time...

This is a really tough post for me to write.

For some writing about their personal life is part of their blogging life, but I have always tried to keep the two separate, but today, it would be very difficult not to share what has happened and carry on blogging like everything is back to normal. I've made so many good cyber friends and you're probably wondering where I have been...so I hope to offer a little explanation, though it will be brief.

I have suffered a miscarriage. As you can imagine the whole family has been affected as we were so excited about having an addition to the family. I feel as though the rug has been pulled from under me and I'm not sure which way is up at the moment. It's going to take a few weeks to get back to normal and to get back to quilting..so if I'm quiet, you'll know why.