Finally a little smile

Finally just a little smile for this Monday morning

A young businessman had just started his own firm. He rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting there, he saw a man come into the outer office. Wishing to appear the hot shot, the businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working.

He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments. Finally he hung up and asked the visitor, "Can I help you?"

The man said, "Yeah, I've come to activate your phone lines."

Update on Machine

It is on the high seas and should arrive in New Zealand tomorrow or wednesday

I have come to the conclusion I am not a patient person, things have to happen now or even yesterday for me.... but I am trying to be patient have only called him 4 times in just over 2 weeks...he is lucky could have been every day.

Stitching and things

On the stitching front I have just been fiddling around, while I still wait for my new machine, I am just about to call the retailer and say a few nice words to start with but may be a few harsh ones if I get no joy with delivery date.

In the meantime I am playing with this pattern

Have done some of the stitching ready

Now the call to the retailers wish me luck.

A walk around the Garden

The  weather has been lovely over the last week, it almost makes you think summer is here, so here are some pictures from my garden.

My bike appeared from the garage ready for the road, Iain pumped up the tires and made sure it was okay, I did take a ride yesterday was a good feeling, must do more.

Now that the woodburning stove has gone I have a galvanised bucket now obsolete

so next good thing plant it with flowers, talk about recycling

The the giant teacup and saucer Kathryn gave me for Christmas a few years ago

 has the  new seasons plants doing well

It is Monday again

Well ! it is Monday again the time seems to fly by with out me noticing lately, I found this picture I think it sums it up very well for me.

I must not complain about my diary being full but sometimes I feel I am may be doing to much, or is it just the season of over load. I have a list as long as my arm of jobs around the house a lot of them are painting and I really must get to it...I don't want to say around to it or I will get all the bad jokes on that saying.

Just to top the lot I have taken on something else our local Anglican Church needs a body to vacuum for them once a week... now this is not as onerous as it sounds the church is just a tiny little wooden church holding about 40 people and is all nice new carpets, this makes me feel good like giving something back to the community... it also has a small remuneration that goes with it, will pay the petrol.

But this has bought another thing along with it... While talking to a young neighbour about this "little cleaning job" The neighbour said she would love to have someone clean for her, she is a single Mum and has a full time job at the college teaching hairdressing, and finding it hard to keep up with house work and spending time cooking for and caring for her children, so yes! Bet you have guessed ...I am going to do some of her house work for her, just an hour or so a week, I have that time no problem... I will have a real feel good factor that she will not be so stressed. Plus the small remuneration it will bring will help with the rest of the petrol.

Friends and Followers

I have added the followers / friends gadget to my blog, if you follow my blog please add yourself to it you will be very welcome

A Friday Giggle

It has been a bit of a busy week no time to spend on a post...still don't really have the time but thought you may like to read this......a Friday giggle

My Advent parcel has arrived

My Advent parcel arrived yesterday  from Bell in Tasmania and I have opened it and put all the 25 parcels into a basket ready for 1st December, this is going to be exciting...

I have one confession to make, I actually opened the main parcel on the work surface beside the sink in the kitchen and would you believe a small parcel that was loose inside the main package dropped out straight into the sink and into the fresh hot washing up water, I dived in quickly and retrieved it soaking wet,  so had to quickly remove the wrapping paper, but it came to no harm at all, I am sure you can see which one it was Bell, in the picture......

Thank you so much it is the first Advent countdown I have had for many a year.

Things I am and have been doing

I seem to have been really busy in the last couple of weeks... Christmas has already started I have done my second  seasonal lunch and it only November 20th.
Besides eating lunch I have a birthday supper this evening for my very good and lovely friend Mhairi

I have been making her a gift a " project pouch" when you do embroidery sometimes the project is quite small and it is always useful to have a pouch to keep it in and all the threads tidy,  when you go out you can just pick up the pouch and "hey presto" it is complete and all together.

I have also been making other crafty things, Hetty a lovely Dutch Lady who also is an Embroidery Guild member showed us a beautiful box she had made.  It had three tiers and opened along the side, difficult to discribe. ,
Now she has a sheet with some instructions on, it was also with out a few of the measurements for the small box sides and had  no picture.  I took a few measurements and left the rest to memory....so now I am blindly trying to remember how it goes together...here is the start
So watch this space as the saying goes....

On our Friday evening get togethers we often do a project...

Sugi came with this one 2 weeks ago,  she had cut out all the pieces for each of us,  told us to bring our sewing kits and threads...and here is mine finished.  An embroidered white mouse he is about  4 inches long, he is made of felt and has bullion knot roses and bead decoration. I could not decide on which picture to publish so you have them both.

Back on the subject of food ...

tomorrow is Kathryn's birthday BBQ

I was speaking to her this morning on her the mobile phone, the conversation went on the lines of

" Mum have you had chicken pox?" my reply was "yes,  years ago" she continued  " Oh! good because Holly the daughter of the host of her BBQ  has developed them today"

...there was some noise in the back ground so I asked   "So where are you now Kathryn?"

"Oh! I am at the Hospital emergency department with the neice of the same friend Lisa   because she has had her  fingers trapped  in a door, Oh! and by the way Mum, Gary the Dad of the neice is hobbling , because he has just had his Knee operated on"

Believe it or not the friend is still hosting the BBQ tomorrow

Some people are made of very stern stuff.

Happy Birthday

This is my first baby all grown up

Happy 39th Birthday  Kathryn

love Mum x

On the subject of food

One of the items I make that is always successful is Sushi.
For some reason unbeknown to me I have always been able to make it, I can roll it with no problems ...

But I now cheat a little and have bought a sushi maker, it is just great and makes it so quickly. I recommend it, they are available from kitchen shops, so if you fancy making your own sushi ( at fraction of the cost of buying it) treat yourself to a maker...approx $40 ( 20 GBPounds). the picture is of chicken sushi with avacardo unfortunately it does not show up to well as there is not a lot of colour in it.

Christmas Cake

For some reason I have not made a Christmas cake for years now.
This morning I had a bit of a brainwave and thought I should make one.
So I collected all most all the ingredients together, what I did not have it went with out, but had all the essentials.
So for the last hour or so there has been this wonderful smell around the house bringing back allsorts of memories from my childhood.

I remember my mother cooking the Christmas cake, it was a family affair we all stirred and ate the mixture as she added to it, I can not understand how she had enough of the mixture by the time 4 of us had had our fill of the uncooked mixture... I guess she made more than required to allow for this.
She also made a cake for my Grandma and Grandad as it was economical to do it together as they only required a small one.
This also reminds me of the Christmas puddings.
We had a gas copper (boiler) for the laundry which she would fill with water, then mum used to make an enormous mix of fruit pudding batter and fill sometimes 10 or 12 pudding basins, tyeing them up with greaseproof paper and a pudding cloth, the placing them into the boiling copper for  5 or 6 hours to cook.
These were then passed around the family to her sisters and brothers... Mum would make them and every one would pay for their share of the ingredients and gas to cook them. This must have come about because of the depression times after the WW2.

Well with luck my cake will look like this when it is iced in a few weeks, but firstly I have to feed it once or twice a week with sherry. I also made a small one to eat now un-iced

Ann asked me where to shop in Dubai

Ann B asked me today on a comment where to shop in Dubai... for ribbons and notions for sewing.
for some reason the blog comment did not publish and I have lost it.
So incase you read this Ann :

You need to go to  SATWA  district.
Opposite the Health Clinic and Mosque there are a whole line of shops that sell fabric and notions

Any taxi will take you there

My Quilting / Sewing Machine

Yesterday I travelled to Hamilton  about an hour and half drive to the machine repairers.

The main purpose of the visit was to test drive a new machine, after looking at the pros and cons of a couple of machines and sorting out which one did what and how, I then asked a few more questions and the lady asked a few back of me and between us we decided the machine I was looking at was not suitable for all I wanted it to do.

She then suggested that I look at the Brother Innovis QC-100 a Quilting machine. I thought this machine was just a quilter with basic stitches and straight sewing but oh! no I was wrong.

 I was amazed it actually does everything any other machine does with out the embroidery unit...that is okay for I did not particularly want a embroidery unit,  I embroider by hand and would have a dreadful time if I told all the Embroidery guild ladies that I had bought an embroidery machine.

 So here it is

This is not a good picture but best I could find on the internet.

This all sounds as though it is going to be just what I need it comes with:

Knee lift, sissors, double thread ability

 a  large work table area, 517 built in stitches  but actually 127, will make 517 in combinations

Custom stitching and side ways feed, sews side ways left and right.

auto needle threading ( got to be a bonus)

Quilting patterns and stitches, auto stippling this bit is amazing, I can't wait to try it.

Auto continuous pressure system...detects fabric thickness as you sew and corrects the foot pressure

The one thing about it that is different from my old machine is it is double the size
But I have a tote on wheels that will make it transportable.

I have ordered it and it should be here in approx. 10 days ...can't wait.

My Secret Angel

Today the postman deliverd a parcel from my Secret Angel swap all the way

from  Leominster MA USA .

Thank you very much Mary Grace they are delightful things

 especially the pattern, I will make that ASAP.

I love the cute bag with it's pin cushion the fabric is just me,

This pin cushion will be added to my collection.

The sewing Machine Saga

You may remember my sewing machine saga, it kept breaking down and was in and out of the menders, well the last episode was me taking it back to them after it took a tumble from the front seat of the car to the floor, landing on its head....Well after a post mortem by the engineer, the damage to the computer is fatal, and it needs to be replaced, this will cost the price of a new machine.

State Insurance have come to the party and I get a brand new machine to replace it.  The machine that has died was a top of the range computer operated one, so will be replaced with the newest computer one...  I have to go and see the one I want one day next week to give it a trial run and make up my mind it is the right one for me.   You really don't want to know what it is going to cost... but this will be Christmas and Birthdays all in one, or seem like it..       I just can't wait.

                      

Advent Swap

I joined this swap in August

You have to gather 24 small gifts sewing related and pack them for your partner in the swap...she then opened them one each day during December just like an advent calender.

It was fun looking for so many small items, and wrapping them.

Now my parcel is winging it's way to Bell in Tasmania Australia...

I hope she has as much fun opening the gifts as I did making or finding them for her....

I look forward to receiving the same from her.. as in this swap you get to know who you are swapping with.

So I now have a lovely new friend that I have met only on the Internet.

The 25th gift to be opened on Christmas Day is something larger that you have made for your swap friend
So sorry photo's will have to wait as she will be reading this blog and I don't want to spoil her surprise.

A New pattern

Belle of the ball

Over at Hugs from Helen, she has shown us a new quilt pattern she has designed, you can be in to win this pattern by visiting and viewing her blog also by leaving a comment

I just love the delicate colours

Embroidery Exhibition and Open Day

Out came the trusty Campervan again yesterday to transport 8 ladies to Whakatane as

Wednesday was the exhibition and Open day for Whakatane Embroidery Guild

As many Guilds in the county try to attend ....at the exhibition there is always a lunch with a speaker.

The lunch is always home made and usually a large selection of food, yesterday was no exception and was delicious

There was some beautiful work on display and lots to give you inspiration.

The picture above is one such piece it was just a bit different instead of just self coloured pulled threadwork the stitcher had put some decoration on the piece, this has really inspired me to try this for myself.

There was also an inital "L " decorated in stumpwork that I admired.

So, well done and thank you to all the ladies in Whakatane we all had a great day.