Well Hello There..............

Get me two blog posts in one week! I bought myself a wall planner and I'm getting organised now with myself! I have found since leaving nursing and working for myself I need to plan my day even more. Seeing what I need to do everyday is helping and I am trying to have fixed times working and leisure time, or should I say catching up on the housework!


It's the end of the Easter holiday's and two of my lovely nieces came to stay for a few days last week.
Lobster had a sewing machine for christmas and is getting more confident using it. Here she is making a lovely simple cushion cover.

Squidge is growing up so quickly, she was revising for her GCSE's in the mornings and in the afternoon she kindly made a beautiful cake for book club as it was my turn to host it.

We discussed my book choice which was A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman. Everyone loved the story which was  so original and I loved all the characters and the setting. We find we talk more about books we don't like rather than the ones we love! The author Sarah also  wrote When God was a Rabbit which I haven't read but want to, as I have heard lots of positive comments about it.

 My lovely friend Nikki lent me Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey. It is a story about a Maud a lady who has Alzheimer's. I didn't know if I would be able to read this novel as having lost my MIL to this just over a year ago I was worried it would be to close to home, however I was wrong it was a really good read, The characters were so believable and the story kept me gripped to the end.

This is the next book to read for book club, we take it in turns to choose a book, I love it as it gets me reading books I wouldn't always pick out. Has anyone read this?

I love reading and I do have a "thing " for a good old fashioned who done it! Agatha Christie is a firm favourite of mine. I also am addicted to buying craft and sewing books, so much that I have decided that in order to keep buying books I must make something from them all! That couple of weeks I seem to have found these books falling into my shopping basket!

I love knitting and crochet especially in the evening while watching TV and this book really appealed to me, The patterns are so fresh and pretty.

I follow the blogs of both of these authors and again love their style so they were just a must for me too!

This week has been exciting with ordering new fabrics, notions and threads for You me and Mabel. I'm so giddy about the new threads I could burst! Aurifil threads are now being stocked here. I am waiting for them to arrive any day now. I will let you know as soon as they come through the door. Yippeeeee. I first used Aurifil thread when I got sent one with the Snapshot quilt I did last year and I love them.

I needed to baste some quilts this week, they have been finished ages and I really needed to start quilting them. Basting quilts is my pet hate and I found I put it off for ages, however Stu helped me baste them with Mabel watching on from the garden! I have to move the kitchen table out of the dining area and then I can tape the bottom of the quilt to the floor before adding the wadding and quilt top. I cheat and always use spray adhesive as I hate adding safety pins into my work. I do need to invest into some knee pads as my poor knees take a battering!

Mabel is checking it to see if it is okay!

I now have started to quilt them, I am taking a different approach and have decided to quilt a little bit at a time, it's easier on my back, shoulders and my hands.

I am saving up for a new machine with a bigger throat to make life easier when having to manoeuvre it!

I have started to make something from all my craft books so here is my three Easter makes.

A lovely wreath which was a freebie from the very talent Mandy Shaw

Two Tilda bunnies made with Woodland Spring fabric, I had some spare left over from a skirt I have made which I will show you soon. They were made from one of my many Tilda books so that's a big tick!

This is a table runner made with Calico Days and the pattern is from Lori's fab book Quilty Fun so yippee another tick, two books down only about another fifty to go!

Well that's me for now, I'm going to have a little lie down, two blog posts in one week has worn me out!!!!

Sally xx

Well hello there...............................................

I did not mean to be away for so long but life just got busy and sitting down to blog just never happened. Whoops!
I can not believe we are at the beginning of April and Easter has been and gone and our home is full of Easter eggs. We always put up a little Easter tree and some cute decorations. I love Easter it always seems more relaxed and brighter than Christmas and not so stressed! The nights are lighter which always cheers me up and I seem to have far more energy.

It's been busy at You me and Mabel, at the end of February Stu and I went off to the NEC to the trade show Stitches where we got to meet lots of lovely new suppliers. I was really nervous at first, I kept thinking someone would turn round and say "Stop" you can't come in here, you are just playing at this small business lark! Fortunately that didn't happen and we are waiting for lots of new lovely kits, patterns, threads and fabrics to arrive. Exciting.

Has anyone else participating in Riley Blake Designs and Lori Holt's Bloom Sew Along? Lori is using her lovely fabric collection Calico Days but I decided to use Bloom and Bliss designed by Ellis and Higgs for Riley Blake. Lori has designed templates that really make the blocks easy to sew. I have gone slightly off piste and appliqued using my very favourite stitch Blanket stitch and my lovely sewing machine instead of needle turn applique which is hand stitched. I do want to practice needle turn applique but I have so many projects to finish I needed to crack on with this sewalong. I will blog and show you all my blocks so far soon, I have been posting them on Instagram too!







Talking of sewalongs last year I joined in with The Fat Quarter Shop Sail away quilt. I sent off to America for the fabric as I couldn't wait to get started on it. It was for a really good cause too so that's how I justified buying fabric from another quilting shop!

I finished the top just after Christmas and it is now on top of the ever increasing pile of quilts waiting to be basted and then quilted. I love it and we have decided to have it hanging on one of our walls.

I was back again at the NEC in March for the sewing for pleasure show and I must admit I had a little spend! I was fairly good and only got things I really needed until the last half an hour when I went and brought some kits! I really do have so much to make I need to get a wriggle on and make! Am I the only one who does this or do you do this too?

Mabel has been her usual happy self and has had lots of walks mostly coming back all muddy! Last week when the sun was shining we went to Beacon Hill a beautiful park which has the most amazing wood carvings placed all around the park. It has a lovely natural play ground ideal for little people to run of steam!

Well that's my little dip back into blogging I promise I will not leave it so long next time. Happy Sewing

Sally xx