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