WOYWW 117

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE AINTREE IRON,
Thank you very much, thank you very, very, very much,
Thank you very much for the Aintree Iron,
Thank you very, very much, very, very . very, very,
Very, very, very, very.....MUCH!!!!!


Those of you of a 'certain vintage' may remember this song by The Scaffold, a group from Liverpool, which included Paul McCartney's brother, Mike McGear and the poet, Roger McGough.  It was a bonkers song, but catchy, and we still sing it in our family if indeed we are extremely grateful for someone or something.
And I am VERY grateful to JoZart for all her technical knowhow and sewing machine wizardry!! My DH took the machine apart following Jo's instructions, oiled all the little persnickety twiddly corners and...dare I say it.. the tension is fine once more.  Hallelujah!!


So, on my workdesk this morning is my new, improved, ready-to-go, lean, mean, sewing machine... I'm just finishing off a handle in this shot for Mrs Dunnit's oilcloth bag, which you can just see shyly peeking out!



The oilcloth was easier to sew than I'd thought, but it isn't very thick.  The heavy duty needle coped fine, even when there were a few layers to sew through. 

Here's the finished bag, complete with reinforced seams down the sides and top corners, as the bag seemed quite floppy before.  Now it manages to stand up by itself - I'm quite pleased with it, hope Herself likes it!!  She chose the gingham lining, in the end....


It's a Bag-tastic Blog this week, as I also finished off Lynne's book bag.  Must get it in the post tomorrow.  The black lining material is slightly corded and gives a good grip, so hopefully the bag won't be forever slipping off Lynne's shoulders!!  More by luck than judgement, that was!


I finished off my birthday celebrations last weekend with a Mates BBQ.  Various friends from different parts of my life came, having not previously met but everyone got on like a house on fire!  It dawned on me that my female friends are all:

* loud
* are..um..well.. opinionated - sorry, but you all are!!
* hilarious
* so, so generous in many ways
* completely and utterly fabulous!!

I looked around the room at everyone laughing and thought how lucky I am.  A truly wonderful moment.

Have a great week!


WOYWW 116

ROUND AND ROUND GO THE SEASONS....
It's definitely getting autumnal out there.  Oh, the leaves on the trees may still be green but the air is different.  Even when it was warm yesterday, it wasn't the same as high summer heat - onwards then, into my favourite time of the year.  Conkers, crunchy leaves on walks, bramble jelly making - these are a few of my favourite things - tra la la :)


Ok, things desk-wise have been somewhat fraught.  The tension on my machine went belly-up, especially from the bobbin.  So the innards were taken apart, a disgusting amount of fluff and gunk was removed from underneath, a little light oil was massaged into the important bits and... it's still not quite right. Damn. I'm going to have to play around until the upper and lower tensions are happy again.  Any tips???


During the recent trip to Winchester avec Madame Dunnit, she spotted this red and white floral oilcloth which she rather liked.  Having seen the prices of oilcloth bags in Cath Kidston (faint....) I rashly offered to have a go.  I worked out a rough pattern/measurements as Julia didn't want the bag to be too big and am basically going to make it up as I go along!  Story of my life really....I either end up with amazing successes or glorious failures :D



I'm undecided whether to use the spots or gingham as the lining...  herself has yet to see either.  I had to buy some heavy duty machine needles to cope with the oilcloth - hopefully my machine will be tamed again by then!  I also invested in a bias binding maker - yahoo!!  Thanks for all your tips on this little beauty - (Elizabeth, I had a look at the automatic Singer one but couldn't justify £70!!)


And as many of the desks are featuring Christmas ideas - I had to show you some fabric I found in The Cotton Angel in Monmouth (thanks for the info Sam!).  I know it's too early yet, but have found through bitter experience that if you don't buy it when you see it.....well, you all know the rest!!  Anyway, these will make some fine Christmas bunting a little further down the line!


PROUD MUM WARNING........

Here's a pic of The Big O, taken on holiday a couple of weeks ago.  He did really well in his A Levels and is off to Cardiff University in September to read Computer Systems Engineering.  I'm proud of my boy - it's the next chapter in his life (and mine..).  I'm so happy for him, but shall miss him like crazy.



And finally, here is the latest shot in the Mad Moggy Moments.  Ron is in love with the net on our ping-pong table - I mean, WHY??????


But whatever the attraction, he just can't leave it alone...!!


Do we get a 'let' if we hit the cat during the game, do you think??  

Have a great week!!







WOYWW - 17.08.2011


BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY....

Except it hasn't been THAT normal this week.  Picture if you will....a scenic campsite by the River Avon in Wiltshire. It's a calm evening, the sun is setting, all is peaceful.  But hark, what's that loud noise in the distance.  Oh, it's only Morti, Julia Dunnit and Yours Truly having a plum stone spitting contest....I tell you, that Morti can sure spit a distance, very impressive shooting!! *grin*  She won, by the way :D  Lil Miss B and Son No 2 had a great time playing frisbee in the dark with what looked like a flying saucer made out of glow-in-the-dark sticks joined together. Impressive work, Lil Miss B - it looked fantastic.  The beer was cold, the tent was amazing and the company was excellent - thanks for a great evening, guys!!

Then an old friend came to stay and commissioned a tote bag.  We had a fine old time comparing fabrics with linings, seeing what matched and what didn't. Other people's ideas on colour are so interesting!  Anyway, Lynne plumped for this combination, which I may say, looks tres chic.  The silvery grey fabric was a curtain sample that I bought from a remnant stand outside a shop in Salisbury; the black and white spot will be the lining with the black making up the handles and interior pockets. All cut out and ready to go!!


I've also been having a go at making one of the little pillowcase dresses (as featured on Wipso and Twiglet's blogs).  I had a go at making my own bias binding, which, although pretty, is time consuming, so I'll probably use ready made for future dresses.  Fun though and a new skill learned!


I read an article recently that indicated that hedgehog numbers are falling dramatically and no-one can work out why.  This little fella was snapped climbing over my compost heap at the bottom of the garden.  It was quite dark and I think he's the Usain Bolt of the hedgehog world because he was blooming quick (hence the blurriness of the shot!)


Anyway, enough waffling, Jan - cut to the chase. girlie.  The results of my first ever giveaway!!  I was so thrilled to get all the fab comments last week - thank you - and quite a few of you entered your names into the draw.  Well, Son No 2 organised it all this afternoon.....

First...we have all the entrants...


They were folded up and put into the bag......


He gave them a good swish around.........



And picked out......





Woohoo - congrats to you, Jennibellie.  If you could please email me your address via the contact at the top of the page, I will send it to you forthwith - with a little something inside as Doone informed me that it was good karma to do that!  Thanks again to everyone who took the time to get involved, it was much appreciated :D

May your crafting be happy and successful - have a good week!! xx


WOYWW

Home again, home again, jiggety jig....

After all the partying and general birthday shenanigans, back to the normality of everyday life - well, as normal as you can get in this household.....

I got back from my hols, checked the calendar and realised I'd better get my act together if I'm to present a half-decent craft stall at the NCT fair on the 12th!  So, I've been cutting out like crazy, smoke pouring off my scissors - now all I've got to do is join 'em all together.... :)

There's the makings of another drawstring bag, an apron/tote/doorstop in the doggy fabric, a little baby sunhat at the back and one of the little pillowcase dresses in the strawberry material.  Ready, steady...GO....!!


Here's a closer shot of the strawberry material, some greeny spots and a red dotty material that I couldn't resist in Doughty's Fabric shop in Hereford (a few little scraps of fabric just happened to fall my way and I couldn't just leave them there...at least, that's what I told my OH!!)


While I was trying not to let my lovely OH see what I was buying *grin* he was busy taking some artistic close-ups of the baskets of fat quarters displayed around the shop.




Aren't they fab??  Love the abstract-ness of it all - in fact, I'd just like the whole basket in my house so I could glorify in the colours - think it would make one heck of a jigsaw!!

Just before I go, here are a couple of shots as a reminder of a great week away.  Here's Julia pouring out some sparkly fizz - she didn't spill a drop - what a steady hand that girl's got :D


And this was how we sat for a couple of nights - feet up on the wall, glass of fizz, watching the sunset - it doesn't get much better than that.



Mates together, sitting under the Indian Parasol that the Dunnits gave me - it's so pretty!!


Finally (thank goodness, I hear you cry...!)

D'you remember this from a couple of weeks ago?  Well, it's going to be a giveaway.  If you would like to have a chance of receiving it, please add the phrase '50 - what an old bag!' to the end of your comment.  The winner will be chosen at random by Son No 2!!


Have a great week!!



WHERE IS YOUR WORKDESK WEDNESDAY??




50 not out.......

Thank you everyone for my birthday wishes - I had the BEST day, was thoroughly spoilt with prezzies and an amazing lunch - it simply could not have been better!!  

I'm posting this from my holiday home...when I say 'my', I have to own up and say we've just rented for the week!!  Although, I would dearly love to own this converted barn, it's been so beautifully done out.  It's near Monmouth, so we've had some great days out exploring this lovely part of the UK.  My family have been staying to help me celebrate my Big Birthday and Mr and Mrs Dunnit are coming over too - hurrah!!
  
Anyhow, I was inspired to knit again after seeing some lovely wool on the blogs, so here is my knitting bag on the doorstep......

And here it is by the gorgeous window in the hall.  If I lived here, I'd have to have window seat cushions and then I'd never move from the spot again !! :D xx


 And here it is by the back field, complete with view over to Llangarron.  There is a brook at the bottom of the field from which my OH and Son No 2 are attempting to remove some trout.  So that'll be a trip to Ross on Wye for our tea then!!  

Thank you, Sam, for the shopping heads-up!!  Doughty's was fabby-licious :) 

Have a good crafting week everyone!!

WOYWW 769

 WE'LL MEET AGAIN.... I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while - please don't worry, all is ok! - think I just need a...