All about me

I thought I had been sewing all day today, but when I look back at what I have done it appears some hours may have gone missing...... it doesn't look like much.

This is one side of my christmas table runner - each square is an inch.  That was a lot of little trianges and squares that I cut up, sewed and squared up.  I think this on its own took about 90 minutes.  I still have the other side to do

this will go along side the 'christmas tree' side of the table runner.  More very small 1" squares.  The final sqaure is 3". 
Although both of these were time consuming and fiddly, I do really like how they have turned out - just the other side to do now.  Oh, and possibly the big pieced star to do again: I just cant decide if the cream goes with the white.....  :-(

I also ran up this

A little zippered pouch for a friend of mine.

I decided early on today that I was only going to sew - all day.  I really thought I would achieve much more than this.  I guess I didn't factor in all those tiny tiny squares! 
(I did put some washing in, hang it out to dry in this gorgeous weather, and then iron it as well)

On tuesday I have to do a course on how to deliver a course (you would probably oncly do this if you worked for the local authority!!)  I have to do a five minute speech on ME!  Who knew 5 mins was so long, I have really had to dreg the barrel.
Anyway, in case anyone is interested I have put it all below: a great way to introduce myself after blogging for nearly 9 months ( please excuse the // - they are to remind me to take a breath!!)  Please don't feel obliged to read it - there won't be a test next week :-)

Good morning, my name is Catherine Hayward //  I work for education finance support team, which is a traded service //  we assist schools which buy into our service, with anything from a one hour visit to a full bursar service

 I have been doing this job for nearly 3 years and love the work that I do // I love travelling around the county and meeting lots of lovely people //

I have always worked in finance and I am currently studying my final year of AAT // This is hard going as it is home study and I do not get study leave //  it can be hard to come home and do an assignment after a full days work

I live in tiptree with my two girls, aged 15 and 18 // I have lived in tiptree for 10 years// prior to that I consider the Lake District my home, where I spent my late teens, early twenties.

My dad was in the air force so I spent most of my life travelling around England.// I have also lived in Germany and Holland

I went to boarding school for 5 years due to all the travelling //  Enid Blyton, who wrote the malory tower books, clearly did not go to boarding school//  I have also been lucky enough to attend a garden party at Buckingham palace due to my dads job //  I didn’t meet the queen

I learnt to surf a couple of years ago//, I can stand on a surf board and catch a wave// sometimes without falling off at all // I windsurfed for the 1^st time last summer and couldn’t move my arms for days afterwards//

My interests are very varied// I like to be creative and I do a lot of sewing and quilting, ranging from full patchwork quilts to pincushions //  I enjoy working in my garden and grow some vegetables and tomatoes//

I love watching rugby and am fully engrossed in the world cup at the moment// I tend to shout a lot at the television, something which my youngest doesn’t get // apparently the players and ref cant hear me//  I also write a blog with which I connect to the online quilting and sewing community//. There are people from all over the world that I chat to and they are all so creative and talented // it is like having friends round for a cup of tea all of the time //

As a single parent I like to think that my diy skills are acceptable // I have replaced the garden fence panels on my own, painted and wallpapered // built shelving units from ikea & retiled the bathroom//  with some help from my dad,  I have also revamped my kitchen // one day I would make someone a good husband!

I have a full motorbike licence although no bike at the moment//  when my girls have left home, I intend to do my gap year// I would love to take a bike down route 66//

One of the jobs I have had was working for the American air force near Cambridge //  as a ministry of defence employee I got a once in a life time opportunity of flying in a hawk // the aircraft that the red arrows use //  I flew for an hour out of wales and in to the lake district // a journey that in a car would take about 4  hours took about 10 minutes // we flew over the lakes and saw people on hillsides // it was a fantastic experience //

This summer my youngest daughter has been tiptree carnival queen // I have been involved in taking her to these carnivals, something I have never done before // it is a whole twilight world //  the girls wear beautiful dresses and attend queens teas // they stand up and give speeches and learn how to speak socially //  the best carnivals were Southend and Clacton// which were evening carnivals – there were so many people//

I have travelled to some amazing places // My most memorable trip was to America //

My brother is a navigator in the RAF and was stationed in America for nearly 3 years //  his children are very similar in age to mine and his wife is like a sister to me //  We had two amazing holidays in North Carolina where they lived // on our first trip we all piled in to his huge people carrier and drove to Washington //  The summer heat and humidity were unbelievable // from Washington we went to new york //  we stayed on staten island in a B&B run by an English lady // when we pulled up we thought we had found the original adams family house // however, inside it was lovely //  we caught the staten island ferry over to manhatten and walked miles //one of the worst mcdonalds that I have ever been to was in new york //  we went to the empire state building, where I have always wanted to go after watching sleepless in seattle // We also went to the world trade centre //  We stood on the top of the tower:  6 weeks later the world watched the horrors of the world trade centre unfold