PIF

Since I've listed my PIF gifts as finished in my side bar I thought I'd tease you with a glimpse of them. They'll be winging their way to Candace (Wraggedypatches) Lynn (Diary of a Mad Quilter) and Kate (Stitched withLove). I wonder which one will be going where? All will be revealed once they arrive.

Another little gift finished in plenty of time is a wall hanging for my niece who will be 9 at the end of July. I used the free pattern that Lynette Anderson designed, originally for punchneedle but I stitched it as I haven't yet discovered how to do punchneedle.

I've not achieved a great deal today, mostly resting as the 'lurgy' has decided to make itself felt today. I have made a very quick fly screen for the kitchen door and finished off the sewing basket I'm making to keep in the motorhome.

Ups and Downs.

Well, to be fair, there have been far more ups than downs. On Tuesday, when I was driving Christopher to the station at Bath one of our shock absorbers broke. So when I got back I had to find a garage to take it to, which turned out to be about half an hour's walk from the centre of Wells. Then, by the time I'd walked there I was shaking with hunger and had to find something to eat before I caught the bus home. Of course, with all my food intolerances I couldn't find anything and ended up eating something that I knew would upset me - and of course it did, so that was Tuesday evening wiped out.

Wednesday was a very pleasant day though. Gina, from Quilting in the Valleys, came to visit and stayed for lunch. It was lovely to actually put a face to someone I've got to know a bit through her blog and the odd email. She brought me a beautiful rose bush for the garden and a pot of lavender.

Yesterday I woke up with what I think is probably a cold. If that sounds a bit odd and indecisive, that's exactly how my colds are. I get a bit of a sore throat and get a bit bunged up and sore eyes, and that's how it stays for days, until eventually it either goes away or turns into a proper cold. So I'm now in the in-between stage of feeling a bit under the weather and waiting to see what happens.

I've been busy sorting out bedding for the new motorhome, cutting down some old king size duvet covers to fit the smaller duvets we need, but I did find time to make a hot water bottle cover. I use a hot pad heated in the microwave most nights when I go to bed, unless it's really warm; I find them soothing and comforting, especially if my tummy's feeling a bit delicate as it so often does. We don't have a microwave in the motorhome, hence the need for the hot water bottle.

Give-away

Helen, from Hugs from Helen, has released a new BOM pattern and is having a giving away a copy of the pattern to celebrate. I'm not keen to send you over there as this is something I'd love to win, but if you really feel you must then go on, go and have a look.

Chair covers

I've finally made the covers for our two kitchen chairs. The chairs are really old, solid mahogany that I remember were old when I was a child. I've painted them buttermilk and then just 'winged' the pattern for the covers. I'm pretty pleased with them though. We picked the table up a few weeks ago in the Wells Emporium, an antique shop in the city. We do have three more of these chairs in the garage, but I don't know if I'll ever get round to painting and covering them since we don't have any need for them at the moment; and we do have another set of chairs out there which need sorting out and which will then go into the bedrooms.

From June 2009

Strawberry Jam

No, not a variation on the Strawberry Crush quilt I made last year, but real strawberry jam, made with strawberries from my garden. When we moved in we inherited quite a lot of strawberry plants, but they're not the tastiest strawberries I've ever tasted. So, we've had several fruit salads and smoothies and yesterday I made five pots of jam. It looks as if there's already enough fruit ripe to make another five pots too, so I think I'm going to be kept busy. 

There are few things more satisfying than seeing fruit or vegetables from your own garden going into dishes or preserves. We've had loads of radishes this year, but not much else yet as we were quite late planting. But the Swiss Chard is ready, along with some of the carrots and lettuces. And the peas are on their way, along with some of the summer cabbages and the first crop of beetroot. Can you see the big smile on my face?

Tail Feathers

I've signed up to do Tail Feathers as a BOM and my first package arrived this morning. I must say, the beautiful packaging and an unexpected surprise giftie of a couple of herbal tea bags added enormously to the enjoyment when I opened it up. I love the fabric and the colours of the floss and can't wait to get started. This has all the things I love; bondaweb applique, stitchery and patchwork. I wonder if I'll manage to be disciplined and finish off some of the other things I ought to do first?

Quillow Number Seven

This is my first finish for June, a quillow for my nephew who will be 5 on the 20th June. This one was a bit of a cheat, as I used a whole piece of printed fabric, rather than piecing, but I think he'll prefer it. I machine quilted around each block and then tied the larger blocks a couple of times. Next job - some seat covers for the kitchen chairs.