Birthday Girls

It's been a while since posting as   their hasn't  been much to post about until this week. We've had quite a lot of snow and the first since moving here to this  house. It was so nice to see the local children out on the sledges and having fun. We now have a new resident in the road . You can't see it but they put stones in his chest in the shape of a heart. Not sure if this guy knows whether it's summer or winter with the sunglasses.

Having lots of snow does give you an excuse to not think about anything else but just hitting the sewing room which is what I have done. Remember these?


 

Well have achieved and awful lot of late and only now have 42  to make before I can put the quilt together. and to date have made 322. Total needed is 364.
I am cracking on with them as I want this finished it has been so long in the making with so many emotions stitched into it.

Now their have been another couple of  events this week. I've had a birthday and look what I got from PIC  Sue. Isn't it just fab- Sue went on a course to the Buggy Barn  with Maggie Bonanomi  a coupe of years back and I got to see her work when we went to The Pour L'Armour dul Fil in Nantes last year. . Guess your all wondering why she has put 2011 - well it;s the year I moved in to this new house . Can you see who is sitting by the house too. It's my Mery. It's is such a fantastic unique gift from my friend and both cushion and friend are  treasured.

Oh no grandma are you really that OLD. Yes! you can talk  its your Birthday too.

Can you believe it it's Abi's 1st Birthday too - where has that year gone. It only seem 5 minutes ago I was sharing the first picture of  her when she wasn't even an hour old.

I'm on a mission so it's back to making those little Klosjes.

Till next time.
Sue






I am really cracking on with them now as I want this finsihed it has been far to long in the making.

The VQF Challenge

Ta Dah

This is the Vermont Quilt Challange. For those of you who don't know Jill no Blog,  Barb, Lori  and myself meet up at the VQF back in June and decided to make a little memento of our meeting.

 

We divided up 1 yard of fabric,  It's the blueish green one. I'm saying that as it came out of the green section at Yankee Pride quilt shop  and it was supposed to be a green challenge as we were in the Green Mountains . Hmm doesn't look green to me back home  in good old blighty-  must have been the sun that got to us.  I bought more of it as I had great ambitions of doing something BIG!
You will see that  didn't  happen but  it's been put to good use on the back. .

So this is the story of mine
Centre block is from Blockbase and called VERMONT .
I wanted the design to  reminded me of  my Welsh ancestors that emigrated to Johnstown PA in 1881 and used Making Welsh Quilts by Clare Claridge and Mary Jenkins for some inspiration.
Then I had to have our names on it hence the corner post's
I used binding for mine but in true welsh tradition I should have used  butted edges.
Size 32in square.

Those of you that know me well know I don't hand quilt and my machine quilting isn't brilliant, but hey practise makes perfect so this was a great little quilt to practise on.

So  you have it, you had  better hop on over to the others blogs to see what they made with theirs.
Hope one of us manages to post Jill's on via an email photo. I have tried without success. Lori. you and Barb are far more Techi than I  and hope you can.
This was such a fun thing to do as we all revealed in the last 1/2  hour by email. Yes we went before scheduled times.I guess we just couldn't wait!
Happy New Year and may yours be  filled with friends,quilts and  fun and anything that makes you happy!
Happy Stitching in 2013

Presents and Rural Life

Look what Santa bought me.

This is a gift from me to me. Well if you want quilty things you just  sometimes have to buy them yourself. This is a lovely book to add to my collection. The bookshelves are groaning  but I really had to have this one.

Santa even bought me this- He was disguised as PIC and as she has treated herself to one too  we can have a nice fun  day  putting our pin keepers together - together.

My Christmas was just lovely with my family here and rather over indulged and partook in too much food and the grape  and was feeling I must walk it off.   My dear friend who looks after Mery when I go away happened to ring up and suggested I head off over to her place for a good  walk with our dogs.

She lives in a small  village in Herefordshire and thought I would show you some photos of this charming unspoilt area of England.
This is the church,  I have know idea how old it is but made completely out of corrugated iron.It was locked so couldn't go in to see what it is like inside. If I  had a tin opener I probably could cut a my way in.  I guess it would be like  stepping back in time 

Then we have the  post box  and bus stop. No buses today .  They probably get one a week. 

Lovely old timber framed  cottages

WONKY COTTAGE

 I love this converted barn .I was wondering what the ceiling inside was like.

Beautiful stone farmhouse. A real fav of mine . I love houses that look like dolls houses. Oh I could play in this one for hours.

Then as you climb up the road to the top of the hill you get this lovely view.

That Mery is one crazy dog -  I know just  what she's thinking-  It's good to be ALIVE.

Here's the girls just posing before the walk back down from the common. They were so filthy dirty after all the rain we've been having we decided to wash them off in the stream further down the hill.
WELL that was my intention but Mery had a better idea and promptly jumped out of the stream and  pulled me in!!!!!! and yes I was wet up to my knees.

Next post will be the great reveal . The Vermont quilt challenge that Jill, Barb and Lori have been working on. Watches have been synchronised. We are emailing photos to one another first before we blog. My time is 6pm on the 1st January  followed by Barb and Jill at 1pm  and Lori 10am. US of A time.That way we should all see what one and other have created at the same time. It's a kind of show and tell but we are hundreds of miles apart. Kinda fun .

Tell next time.
Sue 

CHRISTMAS DECORATING

Well , count down has begun for the fun and festivities  and this week I received a couple of gifts that are now sitting happily on the Christmas tree.

 The lovely heart arrived this week from Virginia who by then  was on her way back to Melbourne to be with her family for Christmas. If you read this Virginia thank you it is charming  and love it and hope you have a wonderful time. The peg doll was made by one of my lovely quilt group. Thank  you Pam - she loves fiddling about with small things.We call her the fiddler.

I found this Christmas panel left over from when I had the shop and am thrilled to be able to make it into a Santa sack for my little precious . You wouldn't believe it I woke up one night this week at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep so set to making the sack using three layers of batting to make his beard more prounounced and appliqued her name on the back using blanket stitch on the machine.

Job Done .

 Partner in crime called over to see me yesterday and was telling how my house looked so festive and should put photos up for you all to see. This year I have made more of an effort as I am more settled in my new home and in my own mind.

NICE POSE MERY

SANTA'S WAITING TO TAKE OFF !

v

CHRISTMAS QUILTS ON THE RACK

ANOTHER LITTLE CHRISTMAS TABLE

HAD TO HAVE A QUICK CLEAR UP BEFORE I TOOK THIS ONE. LOL

PIC  PAINTED THIS FOR ME SOME YEARS BACK. CUTE!

HALL TABLE

Yeah and look who's coming to Grandmas house this Christmas - This girl likes pearls!
.
I have  had a wonderful year meeting up with old and making new quilting buddies.
So here's wishing you all a VERY HAPPY AND PEACEFUL CHRISTMAS  from my house to yours wherever you are .
Sue

Christmas Nostalgia

Every year when I get the decorations out nostalgia creeps in. Almost every tree ornament tells a story.
We always bought a Christmas decoration back from our trips and when I start to unwrap them I think about where and how we came by them and find it so nice to have these memories.
It's a tradition I'm keeping up and this year have a couple more to add to the tree.

Here's this years addition. A boat from Boothbay Harbor.
Is the skipper a lobster, yes I think so. That's one that escaped the pot.

This little collection is a tin soldier from Williamsburg bought in 2002.
Pinoccio - bought at a little toy shop in the Piazza Navona in Rome in 2005.
Then we had a wool ornament and that little treasure was sent to me by Francis at http://quiltingowl.blogspot.co.uk/.

Yeah. Can you guess where?
Then New Hampshire and the Red Cardinal was bought at the American Folk Art museum in 2011 when I was their for the Infinite Variety of Red and White Quilts. Well I did have to have something red !
I have several of these little guys. They are made by Gary Starr of Starr decoys in VT and he writes on the back the year that they are carved.

My Dalana horse from one of my trips to see my friend in Sweden

We could be here all night at this rate so will finish with these last few a Vermont snowman bought in 2007 . The Texas longhorn from Houston 2011 and I always have to have something with a pumpkin on and cannot tell me where that one was picked up.

I leave you today with my latest addition to the Christmas scene my lovely red and green quilt I purchased at the Brimfield show in July and of course my Williraye nativity scene adorns the top.
Hope your all getting prepped for Christmas.