Sounding techie!

With the end of the year approaching I was checking up on my progress of Rhonda finish along. I haven't done too badly and have another item to add from my list

I love how this has turned out. Its a biggie too, about 26x26". I backed it with a pale grey light coudroy type material, that was intended for the rocking chair.

I took this picture on my phone, and I am typing this post on my tablet (sounds very techie!)  I have discovered that I can email photos on my phone to my flicker account, it was really easy. Also now that I have the flicker app on my phone, I can put them straight on. I have also discovered, in writing this post, that when I am uploading a photo for my blog post on my tablet, I can upload photos from my phone: how does that work: how does this tablet know what photos are on my phone? Wow, it opens up a whole new world of blog posts!

We are off to London tomorrow, meeting my dad and step mum for lunch (it is her 70th birthday) they are then coming back home with us gorva few days. Wish us luck: London on New Years Eve :-(

Hello!

I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas, with friends and family.  Ours was lovely and relaxing

We made truffles for neighbours and decorated the cake

The table was all ready for lunch 

 and we spent the day together as family 

And there has been time for sewing: some feathers for Lucy for Bee a brit stingy

 and I made a start on a quilt for a friend who is about to start chemotherapy for breast cancer on 8th January: something for her to snuggle under when she isn't feeling so great.  I have more purple to sew around as a border to make it a little bigger

I'm sure everyone will know what I mean, when I say that I have eaten and dtunk  too much!  But I have also done some serious relaxing and that has been fantastic

Two more sleeps

So, I appear to be all done and ready for the big day. It was such a relief to finish work non Friday, especially after the last few weeks we have had at work!

I finally cut in to the jelly roll that I won at the retreat last year

I have four big eight point stars to make: everything is cut out, it's now the putting together

I have wanted to do this pattern for ages, but boy is it fiddly: matching all those points up!! 

But its going to look amazing when its done: which is what I will be doing over the : hope it is peaceful and relaxing spent with people you want to be with

Progress

I have been sewing away at my double wedding ring quilt and have got 9 rings all sewn together - I love the scrappiness of it all.  I think though, that 9 rings is going to make it a fairly small quilt, so I have decided to make another 6 and do it 4x4

I have received some fabulous scraps from the scrappy swap recently and also Emily sent me some with my secret santa basket, so it will be great to incorporate those. And I have two weeks off over Christmas, so why not!

 When I was taking the above photo I realised that I never did show the 'after' of the £15 car boot rocking chair.  It is easily the most used bit of furniture in the house



Before



After - it is sitting in a rather random place at the moment as it has been misplaced due to the Christmas tree

 We repainted it and those blue bits are the new foam pieces - which rather disheartingly cost more that the rocking chair!!!  The blue foam will be covered properly at some point but as there is always a quilt thrown over it, I have never got to doing that yet!  Probably another Christmas job

Construction Round 2



Today we had round two of the gingerbread houses, with the 19 year olds!   

 I was up early making the gingerbread: I wanted to make sure the pieces were cooked and cooled before construction. 

This time there were three succesful finishes:

And it seems luck is really on my side..... I have won Amanda's giveaway!  I got to choose two of these charm packs: I chose the two 2nd row down.  How fabulous is that! Thank you Amanda



Construction

Today has all been about building gingerbread houses.  Beccy had her two 'besties' over to create.  This is not a cheap past time!!  Loads of sweets, 3 bags of icing sugar (yes really) and a crazy amount of ingedients:  but soooo much giggling and laughter

Unfortunately only two houses were completed. Laurens house kept collapsing inwards and then the gingerbread couldn't take the strain and started to bend and crack - I have advised her not to go into structrual engineering when she is older.  I felt so bad for her, but instead she got on with these 

And these were the final creations of Beccy and Beth

Defintely an afternoon well spent.  And tomorrow I get to do it all again with Jenny and two of her friends! 

My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the dreadful events in Conneticut.

Its all over

Well, that's it: I have done my final exam (bar any re-sit!!)  It has taken 3 and half years, but I have finally got there.  I would say the exam result is 50/50, but I actually don't even care right now!!

I have had fabulous post this week too - and post that I can start to mess around with now that I have free time!!

First up I received my amazing winnings from Hadley - beautifully wrapped

This fantastic drawstring bag with the hexies: I tried so many photos to show you the colour range with the hexies, laying them on their sides, but it didn't work - take my word for it!!  There must be about 100 hexies all there waiting for me

A big thank you to Hadley x

And today I picked up some mail from the post office, one of which was this

my bee a brit stingy secret santa from Emily.  We all made each other a basket and filled it with 'things'

Emily had put all of this in for me

Thank you Emily x


So - a fantastic week for receiving amazing post from generous blogging friends, topped off with NO MORE STUDY OR REVISION!!!!

Sssshhhh : don't tell anyone but....

I got the job!!!!  It is not allowed to be common knowledge until tomorrow, but I figured I could tell my bloggy friends :-)

I don't start in an official capacity until April 1st, so that gives me plenty of time to get my new exam done and under my belt in the New Year

Now, fingers crossed for the exam and Jennys interview

I'm a winner!

I have done zero sewing this week and very little blog hopping, but I did find time to enter a few giveaways on Monday evening .....

........ and look what I won from the wonderful Hadley: her gorgeous pouch and lots of lovely little pre cut hexies, all ready for me to EPP. Lucky, lucky, lucky!!

                             


Her email telling me that I had won made my weekend.  I read it at 6am this morning: the time that I had set my alarm for, so that I could get up and revise.  Last exam on Friday.   And thank you to those of you who left such lovely comments about my win on Hadleys blog - they all gave me a warm glow.

I had my interview for the senior post yesterday and we will find out on Tuesday.  It will be close, as there were 5 of us that applied and we are all more than capable of doing the job.  I am in the enviable position of being happy for the person who gets it if I don't and also knowing that I love my current job so if I'm not successful, it really isn't the end of the world
Also this week, Jenny heard that she has an interview at Southampton (she wants to be a child nurse) The interview is Friday, which means that I can't go with her, but we have relatives who live there, so she will be well looked after.  She is so excited as this was the one uni she didn't think she would get an interview at due to the high grades they want. 
So, I would call that a good week!

Cracking on with it all

Woo hoo, I have another finish for Rhonda's FAL: my scrappy star quilt for Joan

 this is another quilt, where I didn't use any wadding or backing material and instead have used a very soft blanket that has come from Primark for a fiver.
I just need to put a label on the back and then I will package it up and send it off.  I am really pleased with this one

Also, after seeing Hadleys fabulous inifinty scarves that she has been whipping up, I wanted to have a try. Hadley used gorgeous bright colours.  I popped down to my LQS yesterday and bought some cheap voile.  I didn't want to buy anything expensive in case I was no good at these.

 I bought two 1mtr lengths - you can see both of them in the 2nd picture.  Seriously, these are so easy to do, and I have enough material left for at least another two (christmas presents!!).  This one will be perfect for work and I will make some nice bright ones for non-work

And, I finished off my little stockings last night too.  (please excuse the piece of mdf that is  a temporary measure-there's a huge hole in the wall where my back boiler used to be!)
                                   

And, I have been revising too, so am feeling very pleased with myself. 

 I know its been very cold this weekend, but hasn't it been nice to see the sunshine!

It's December!!

I am SO glad it is December - really!!  I have re-applied for my job, plus one at a higher grade, so will hear about that in 10 days time.  I will take my last (I hope) AAT exam, and after 3 and half years, will finally become qualifed: and have LOADS more sewing time

So November wasn't that great on the sewing front: mostly hand sewing in front of the tv in the evening.

I made these for Lucy's new arrival

 I got some bee and some swap things done.  The basket is for my secret santa in the Bee a brit stingy bee and the scrappy case was for the fantastic scrappy swap

 And a bit more hand sewing - these little stockings are going to become bunting, I hope I can get that finished off this evening

I am linking up to Lynnes fresh sewing day - just think, the next one of these will be in 2013!!  And I hope I will have acheived a lot more with all my free sewing time!!