Squaring up!..

At last my caravan quilt is coming to the end- I am in the process of squaring it off! 

It looks quite nice as a tablecloth! 

Had an outing for my latest Vera Bradley bag recently purchased on my trip stateside. I love her bags, they are  are so functional and practical. 

Well my suitcase is nearly packed and I am ready for the off on Wednesday- here are a couple of clues as to my destination:

I feel quite yen rich but it doesnt add up to that much!

Background reading !

Yes it is Japan, just in time for cherry blossom time! I am off to see my son who is at uni for a year in Osaka , studying Japanese. Sooooo excited !!

Hope you are all enjoying this glorious weather. 

H.xx

Olympian Day Out...

Just got back after a great day at the Stich and Craft show at Olympia, London. My daughter got us tickets for my mothers day gift but she was unwell and had to stay at home!
I did indulge just a wee bit as you can see by these photos- again, a bit if a mixed bag but I could not resist!

This patriotic assortment will be great for hearts methinks!

 A single fat quarter of this divine Liberty lawn refused to be left behind!

What with the Olympics and the jubilee this year, London featured big at the show and this is perfect for a tote or messenger bag. 

As is this!

The best part of the show for me was the wonderful display of quilts that have been made for each team at the Olymics and Paralympics- called a Gift of Quilts. A few of my favourites were the following, and I apologise for having no details of the makers nor which country they are for.

Fabulous work , lots of ideas to be stored and used in the future!

Ps - I have been tagged , and my reply is at this moment in time a work in progress.....

H.xx

Getting aHead-er!!

Wow, thanks to Anne of marmalade and catmint, and Joy of a vintage life, I have carefully followed instructions and managed to produce a great new header for my blog. What a shame picnik.com  is going in April-  I think I may make a few spares to keep in reserve!

I decided to have a card making afternoon with my daughter Sarah- I got the stamps and stuff a little while back at a Stampin up party, and added a few cheapies frm my trip to the States. We had a very industrious afternoon, I made a brithday card for my mum, and a mothers day card. 

Not a bad attempt for a complete beginner, however my daughters ( she is a teacher after all) are gorgeous. You can see them over at goldfinch and eagle when she has uploaded them. 

H.x

WIP Weds....

               

                                                       Its getting bgger all the time...

H.xx

Day tripper.....

I am a creature of impulse, so on a whim I joined the Friends of the Royal Academy on Friday night online, so that I could go up first thing Saturday and see the David Hockney Exhibition! No queues for me- I met my friend Laura and we went straight in past the long line of wet visitors and had a lovely time!

Here is a picture from a postcard of my favourite picture in there, created on ipad and painted on multiple canvases. I have bought the Brushes app for my ipad but i am not at all sure I am going to get results like this!

After a coffee and a stroll round Covent garden, where there were a lot of big eggs on display as part of the Faberge Big egg Hunt, I took the tube up to Islington.

I have been trying to get to Raystitch for a while , but managed to go when it was closed. It is a lovely shop, lots of great fabrics and a coffee bar. I first came across them at the Knitting and stitching show, and the shop is becoming more widely known now. The japanese fabrics they carry are quite hard to find where I live. 

It was a beautiful day in London, so I took a stroll round to The Make Lounge, another little gem for crafters and stitchers, with some lovely fabrics and books and some great classes. 

My indulgences in the way of purchases were a little abstract, but I have a terrible habit of getting fabric I like when I see it and putting it in the stash for the future.....

A couple of Kaffe Fasset and a couple of Michael Miller!

This japanese kokka and ribbon are so sweet- I have an embroidery ring in mind for making a picture with these. 

Another great day out- must do some more stitching tonight- the caravan quilt is growing.............will post another picture soon

H.xx

Country roads.....

Well, I am back from my road trip stateside and am happyto report that most of my agenda was fulfilled!
I flew to Washington and picked up a Jeep Liberty- it is so good to drive a big car , although gas is at an all time high over there at the moment-$3.79 a gallon!

I headed to Annapolis, where the Presidents Day Weekend Holiday was in full swing with lots of sales on in the shops- Jo Anns had all their cutting equipment at 50% off, so as you can imagine, I had a full basket......

I then went to find the Cotton Seed Quilt shop where I had a very long browse and purchased a few bits but didnt find the colours I needed to finish my Caravan quilt. 

Off to the Annapolis Mall next, where there was great excitement over the appearence of the next teenage heart throb -Cody Simpson, on a tour from Australia. I have to confess that I have never heard of him, but that said, I can now claim that I have seen him in the flesh!

Even more exciting was the Vera Bradey shop - bag heaven! I really cannot understand why this range has never made it over to the uk- that said, I am quite glad that not everybody has it!

My next stop was Tysons corner, but quite frankly the shops there were not inspiring so I went off to Fairfax and sought out the The Quilt Patch - wow, this was a beautiful shop with so much choice of fabric- I managed to get everything I needed in exactly the right colours.

I met 2 lovely ladies who gave me directions to the Fairfax Jo Ann fabrics to see if I could get some dies for my Go Baby, but sadly to no avail. One of the ladies Donna, was so sweet, and a very accomplished quilter, who I hope to keep in touch with. 

The last leg of my trip was a drive out to West Virginia to visit 2 elderly friends who were both in Clarkesburg Hospital They were delighted to see me, and couldnt believe I was there!

I stayed at their house and got up at 6 am in time to see the sunrise, and the deer feeding out on the meadow. It is a beautiful place.

Time to come home, so I took a leisurely drive back to Dulles via Harpers Ferry . Full of civil war history, this historic town sits on the point where the Potomac and the Shenandoah rivers meet!

Another successful road trip under my belt, I cant wait for the next time!

H.x

My very first award!

Well, this is a complete surprise and something I thought would happen to other people and not me!! 

This is going to stretch my skills, but they say if you use your brain it staves of dementia so here goes! 

I would like to say a big thank you to Alix for nominating me and I really hope I get it right! There is going to be plenty of cutting and pasting going on in a minute!

The rules for taking part in the Versatile Blogger are : 

You should pass it on to 15 recently discovered blogs and let the bloggers know they have been nominated. Then you have to share 7 things about yourself. Finally thank the award giver and link back to them.

OK, thats the last bit done first, now I will try and think of 7 things about myself- hy does ones mind go blank when asked these sorts of questions??

1. I have jumped out of a plane to do 2 static line parachute jumps and survived to tell the tale.

Now I cannot even go on a scary ride at a theme park!

2. I have been to America 28 times and Hawaii is my favourite place on earth. Still havent managed to get to grips with the hula hula! 

3. I went to the same school as Janet Sreet Porter, but have straighter teeth !

4. I got 2 great documents when I was 40- one was a first class honours degree ,the other was my divorce !

5. I adore bluegrass music and used to teach cajun dancing for fun. 

6. I worked for Crisis at Christmas again this year and had a great time giving a little bit back.

7. I have 2 amazing kids- my daughter is a brilliant teacher and my son is at uni reading Japanese- I couldnt ask for any more in life. 

I am constantly looking at new blogs - its great to see the talent and skills out there, its so inspiring to see what others are doing, and to be able to interact with it all. This bit of nominating 15 blogs could be a problem as there are so many I like, so please, no one take offence if you are missed out, nor if you are nominated and dont wish to be. 

Here goes:

selfsewn

goldfinch and eagle

I'm a ginger monkey

jumbles and pompoms

lots of pink here

marmalade and catmint

Hollyhock Cottage-a miniature home in the 1940s

the patchwork heart

bubble bay designs

vintage at the corner house

freshly pieced

blue elephant stitches

blooming in Japan

marmaladerose

potter jotter

Phew- I am exhausted now, but it is done and I have had a great time -so thanks again to alix

I am off to the States for 5 days on Saturday, lots of fabric shopping coming on, I can feel it! 

I hope I haven't bored you all with my acceptance speech!!

TTFN