Friday Smile is a New Arrival

I'm doing the happy dance as this little 7lb 8ox wonder of nature arrived on Wednesday, born to DD2, earlier than expected but all safe and well. 

A precious boy to join his beautiful little sister.

All our love and good wishes to him, his parents and sister.

Our first grandson to join our three curly girlies.

I'm adding him to Annie's Friday Smile 

as I've been smiling for a couple of days and I know they are.

CHEERS!

We've popped the champagne cork and enjoyed a toast to our new arrival!

They'll all be home together today and that certainly starts the weekend well.

Pop over to Annie's to add your smile or just see some more. 

WOYWW 224

After being AWOL for a few mad busy weeks I am back in the midst of the WOYWW family.

This week I eclipse Helen's own up mess of last week! Sorry H!

I am doing my best to clear out my workroom and the garage with the hope of getting a downstairs loo, in a little ante room, off my workroom. As I have cupboards blocking access I have to clear everything away so the builders can give us an estimate for the job. My crafty stuff will have to take a hike to the garage but I will need to organise it so I can access the items I need.

Here is my desk before I started...........all together now UGH!! and EEEK!

 I agree but I haven't used this for many weeks so it has become a dumping ground.

It took ages to get to this.......

and No! it's not all under the table as I painstakingly put every little fiddly item I came across AWAY in it's rightful place. I even cleared cupboards and drawers to make more space.

I just hate throwing out anything that might be useful. I think it's due to growing up in post World War 2 England 

with rationing and a make do and mend society. 

This means I walk around with tiny odds and ends which just could be treasures, that odd button, 6 inches of ribbon, a feather, etc., but it takes ages to put them all away in their proper homes. I have, however, filled the paper recycling bin and Shhhh, I've started borrowing space in my neighbour's whilst she is away. She never minds as she never ever needs as much recycling space as I do.

I completed the mammoth task of sorting out my envelope drawer and I really don't think I'll ever need to buy another envie.... or do you know better? 

This below has yet to be tackled in the garage. 

I put all the UM stamps in my workroom into baskets and also filled a file box, all waiting in the garage to be filed but probably half of them first need cleaning.

I've not finished over by the window either. There are so many card samples from workshops and dems to be filed away.

If, by now, you are wondering why I'm showing all this then you've obviously never seen What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday... or you would know that each Wednesday over a hundred creative souls own up to the state they are in. If you'd like a snoop on the rest just pop over to our illustrious leader,

Julia's blog....Stamping Ground

It hasn't been all "tidy upping" this week as I made a few more bags to hold the Bravery Beads which are awarded to the children as they progress through their treatments for cancer.

Shock horror! I also finished off the Ch*****s decorations I made for the instore dem days I've just finished at Abakhan. It is so spooky for me to get C things done before December but I had to!

Whilst I've made these with patchwork techniques they can be easily made with decorated card. 

The unfinished one, still open before assembling, shows the lay out of the eight, 2 inch, equilateral triangles. They can be scaled up or down to the size you prefer and take very little fabric to make the patchwork ones.

It may be late before I get around visiting as I will be out most of the day but I'll do my best when I return home and will get up early to catch some of you in your PJs too. Good to have time to come back to the fold and I hope Miss Julia doesn't give me and lines or detention!

Alice in a Tin

I've not been very creative of late with paper and ink so I thought I'd show something I made and never posted.

This pop out, book in a tin, from simply ages ago was a show sample I made for Stampattack from their wide range of Alice in Wonderland Stamps but for some unknown reason it has been lurking in my drafts file.

So here it is at long last and maybe you'll get an idea or two from the details within.

Stampattack have around half a dozen Alice plates of stamps and now the also have Alice stencils and masks.

I love the tiny bottle with a "Drink Me" label!

Annie Wipso will recognise this tin as one of the many she sent me. She knew I'd put them to good use. 

Thanks Annie! I'll leave her to tell you what was previously within those tins!!

On the left you'll see the "Mouse's Tale" or should that be Tail? I can't remember.

Tilly's Surprise Visit to Abakhan

Today I completed my last session of eight weeks at Abakhan where I demonstrated patchwork techniques one day per week. It introduced so many people to the craft and also brought some more quilt makers to help boost stocks for LillyBo Quilts. I've had visits from a few quilting groups, and some other lovely individual ladies, who are going make some quilts for the children.

I have been sponsored by Abakhan Stores who have been very generous and whilst the quilts will go directly to children undergoing treatment for cancer, all my examples and smaller items I have made will raise funds for CHICS, the children's cancer care group.

The staff in the store have been so welcoming, friendly and helpful and I'll miss them all but I do go into the store frequently so I'll still see them quite often and I've been invited to do a similar series of sessions next Spring.

I had such a surprise today when a lovely smiling lady sat down at my dem table..... it was one of my  blogging buddies Tilly, who is a Super Star Stitcher and has already made 9 quilts for LillyBo. She had decided to visit me but got lost in Liverpool City Centre and couldn't find the store. It's just on the edge of town and after 3 hours wandering around she discovered where to find it and I'm so glad she did. Sorry you had to go to so much trouble Tilly, but thanks so much for making my day.

Shock horror, don't be too amazed, but I know most of you know that I don't "DO" Chr*****as until December and YES! here you can see us with samples of some of the items I was demming so I'm caught red & green handed. 

I saw a similar hanging at the Harrogate Quilt Show so I thought I'd have a go making one. I'm not sure if it is the same or as good as their's but I found it was so easily made from scraps. 

I cut 4 1/4 " triangles and sewed them up, leaving a gap to tun inside out, before stuffing them and stitching them together at the points, as in the photo.

I inserted a narrow garden cane in the green casing at the bottom to weights the hanging and helps it sit well.

 

Here's another of my easy to make display items.

This is a patchwork padded pin board similar to the ones I gave to Annie & Jo recently. Luckily I had made made another one and so I was pleased to be able to give this one to Tilly.

This dragon is a sample in progress to demonstrate appliqué. Originally I thought it might make a cushion but it will probably end up as a hanging. I am going to machine and hand embroider it.

Here's something I made in the car on my travels. My DD2's friend loved the one I made for my granddaughter so now her little girl can have one too and I have now embroidered her name on the four central pennants.

These close up pics might be helpful to follow if anyone wants to make some. I started at the bottom and added and extra treble at each end of every row. When the pennant was long enough I worked 2 rows of doubles around each side then one row of 5 trebles scallops. 

I love the floral bias for joining them together.

Central Library, A New Gem for Liverpool

I prepared and filed this post a good while ago and forgot about it.

 It is especially for my good friends Dolores and Neet and for my family who live far away from the city.

 Dolores is a librarian in Slovenia and will love to see this.

 Neet will love to show her son all the Everton Memorabilia as he is an avid fan of this great football team.

I hope one day they will all be able to pay a visit here to see it for themselves.

Here's the glory of our recently opened new Central Library which encompasses old and new architecture so successfully. 

It is a wonderful worthwhile place to visit.

How impressive to walk into this.....

The old Picton Reading Room of the library renovated to all it's Victorian grandeur.

 It was built around 1879 and now links in so seamlessly to the new building.

I wanted to say "Sssshhhhhh!!!"

The new atrium leading on to a public observation piazza.

The view towards St George's Hall

Amongst some of the archives on display, a prize winning essay by Sir Paul McCartney when he was only 10 years old.

Who would have dreamed the future of this young lad on the left?

Everton Memorabilia

The library has a good cafe and excellent facilities for tracing family history.

Big Friday Smile

What a Wednesday I had! 

I'm still smiling even though it's now Friday so I'm linking in to 

Annie's Friday Smile 

 I had the most wonderful surprise when I was "pounced" on by blogging buddies, Jo Twiglet and Annie Wipso whilst I was demming patchwork in the Abakhan Store in Liverpool. What a wonderful surprise and how lovely they are in real life and not just through cyber space. 
Annie's super DH drove them all the way from Shropshire to enable us to meet up at long last. We felt as though we'd known each other for years, (well we have known each other for years in blogland) and now I'm sure we will meet again and again in the future. 

This photo below, is courtesy of Annie as, darn it!, I didn't have my camera with me and as I still haven't found it (hoping it's not lost), I am not yet able to show the many more reasons for me to be smiling. I received bags full of gifts from these two amazingly generous stars, some for me, some to help raise funds for CHICS the Children's Cancer Care Support Group and two more beautiful quilts for the LillyBo Project. THANKS so much for everything but most  of all for being such lovely, precious, friends.

 Go over to Annie's blog for more Friday Smiles and you'll also be able to see more pics and her report of our fabulous day.

I hope to get back to regular blogging pretty soon but I've been so busy doing so much and going to so many places of late that something had just to give. Apologies for worrying some of you lovely blogging friends out there and thanks for the emails asking if I was OK. I really am fine, just bogged down with too much going on.

Fragrant Friday Smile

We recently visited Inglenook Farm to see the fields of lavender.                    (Note that the lavender was harvested a few days after our visit.)

 Be sure to check it out HERE, and it's worth a short visit if you are in the area.

We go occasionally just to look around the craft barns, to buy plants and to have our lunch in their excellent cafe but it's a must to go there before the lavender is harvested. It really brings a dose of happiness and contentment.

This week, after a dab of their excellent lavender oil,.... (bet you can smell it)....it is part of my Friday Smile, especially for Annie, and if you pop over to her blog, HERE, you'll be smiling for the weekend when you share several other smiles. 

Why not add your own bit of happiness too.

As the lavender oil produced is organic, all the fields have to be weeded by hand and there are plenty of huge thistles amongst the weeds.

I have a few of their plants in my garden and Hidcote is the variety I love the best.

The Peter Pan variety is darker in colour but not so rich in fragrance.

There are chucks roaming free around the outside area of the cafe and it's quite amusing to watch their antics.

What a treat to see some day old chicks.

 I'm also smiling this week because my two DD's and their families are all together in Germany. A rare treat and not long before this little fraulein, .....peeping over her Mama's bump with her special ted,... has a little brother.

A very special smile!