WOYWW 391

YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE FRIENDS.....

And I do!  It amazes me that lovely deskers are willing to drive such long distances to come and eat cake and chat basically!  It was so lovely to meet a few new faces as well as welcoming old favourites :-D

The whole day was wonderful - it was great catching up with everyone. Especial welcome to Kathy K, Margaret (Glitter and Glue) and Erika whose first meeting it was. There are a whole load more pics on my previous post...click here if you want to see them.

Because such a lot of time was taken up cooking (!) I haven't been that prolific when it comes to crafting.  I needed to make one more doggy bandana for Reg, a labrador:

And so you find me cutting out yet more Christmassy fabric.  There's a mug of ginger tea, my mobile cos I'd just texted a friend and the feather stamped images that Helen did for me at the Crop.  My sewing machine had been dumped there because I had to clear the dining room table in order to feed my guests!

I wonder if Reg will like this combo?! Lol.

I'm constructing a grotto today in the school where I used to work and decided to run up a quick string of bunting...

I'm just cutting the triangles out with pinking shears and am not going to line them - it's just to hang up in the room where Santa and his Elf helper will see the little ones. That's a quick job to do this morning before I head off.

Margaret (Glitter and Glue) came for tea on Friday evening and brought me this gorgeous little cottage with a battery tea light inside - it's so sweet!

I haven't fixed the ridge tiles back down but you get the idea - thanks Margaret, I love it!

Hope you're all keeping safe and warm in this very chilly snap, it was -5 this morning!
Have a great week :-D xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

WOYWW CROP Nov 2016

Sub Heading: Meeting Strangers off the Internet!

I think there were times in this very tough year that neither Julia or myself thought a crop would happen. But we managed to get a new venue and a date and it all happened yesterday - many familiar faces, a few new and the same wonderful feeling of friendship :-)

The new hall worked well, it was lovely and warm and there was plenty of space to spread out - just like Hamish did (he's the huge and gorgeous dog that belongs to Morti and family)

Helen was looking amazing! She really rocked those long suede boots :-D
This man rocks! Doug (hubby of Shaz Silverwolf) worked non stop all day, helping to set up, clean tables, cake waiter and general factotum. THANK YOU Doug, you were such a support xxxxxxx

The gorgeous Shaz Silverwolf used the time to put inserts into all her Christmas cards and pair them up with matching envelopes....

Helen was colouring her stamped images (She bought a suitcase full of stuff again!)

And Margaret (Glitter and Glue) drove all the way from North Wales - it was so wonderful to meet her in person after knowing her (virtually) for quite a while!

Margaret's crafting pile.....

And here's one of the new faces (well, the top half anyway!)  Kathy K joined us for the first time - what a lovely lady she is and very funny too :-D

She soon managed to cover up the table with stash!

Kyla was looking wonderful - it was great to catch up again. She and Peter (Bishopmate's hubby) look as if they're cracking jokes!

And speaking of Bishopmate, it was great to see her again too!

Erika was a new face but she already knew Shaz off a stamping website but used to be Julia's neighbour years ago - it's a small world sometimes!  Erika brought an even bigger case and trolley than Helen and was soon in full flow :-)

The cutting/embossing/die table was in use all day....

Fiona (Queen of the Lemon Drizzle cake!!) was making some really gorgeous origami items using her Stamping Up stuff.....

Dolores, Julia and Mary Anne deep in conversation.....

Livvy was doing the most exquisite cross stitch of a bee with Celtic knotwork. She gets more beautiful each time we meet.....

I love these guys.....

Morti was looking good too - lovely lady :-)

Dolores was making these yoyo puffs with a very clever ring gadget (it's blue, you can just see it in front of her) Mary Anne made commemorative hanging stars for everyone.

Here it is together with ATCs from Dolores, Erika and Christine - thanks girls!

Lovely pic of Dolores - she'd bought lots of fabric for me to have a good rummage through!

The usual motley crew! Back L-R Peter, Dolores, Fiona, Mary Anne, Christine, LLJ, Kyla, Livvy, Morti, Chris, Doug, Shaz, Julia, Erika  Front L-R Kathy, Margaret and Helen

There's always one....... :-D

See, quite a lot of crafting went on - it wasn't all about the cakes and chat!

Hamish was so well behaved all day - I gave him a bandana (super-sized!)



David (Morti's hubby) and Tony (Pear shaped Chris' hubby) were stars and did all the washing up and clearing after lunch - so very much appreciated, thank you gents!

Dolores' Christmas fabric stash - I was very envious, there were some real beauties there!

Now, you know I don't really do papercrafting but Helen's new stamp really caught my eye and she very kindly stamped some images for me to colour...

Kathy was adding some details to her LO...

I love this photo!

And this!

And this! (Two 'virtual' friends meeting in reality!)

And this - lol!!!  Should be on the front page of a craft magazine (or Page 3!)

Nutters one and all :-D

The monies left over from the subs and the sales table raised £101.20, which will go to the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal for Homeless people, thank you for your generosity!

It was a wonderful day, I love meeting up with these fantastic people - and we did think of the folk who couldn't attend as well. Maybe next time.....

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WOYWW 390

WHERE DID YOU COME FROM, WHERE DID YOU GO?
WHERE DID YOU COME FROM COTTON EYED JOE?

This song takes me back, it was a big hit in the UK a few years ago and when I hear it, I go straight back to when my boys were about 8 and 11, bouncing like loons around the room cos they loved it so much! Sigh...happy days....

Anyway, it came to mind as I was in a ....wait for it.....fabric shop a couple of days ago. What me? After I said about clearing my stash...cough. But I had a reason, honest! I'd been commissioned to make a tote bag for someone to give as a Christmas prezzy and it had been specified that the pattern had to be cherries! And I didn't have any cherry prints so I HAD to go searching for some. 

Don't you find that when you're looking for something specific, it never turns up? Well, the sewing gods must have been on my side because in the very first shop I found this...
Ha, the perfect print! And there was a spotty fabric that was, well, spot on for the lining!

Well I like it!  I only hope the recipient does too :-D

And while I was in the fabric shop, I looked up and saw this:

The thickest, most luxurious furnishing fabric you ever did see! I fell in love with it and thought it would make an awesome messenger type bag for my future DiL, whose birthday is fast approaching.  It was figured cotton velveteen, £25 per metre (!!) so I bought half and cut very carefully.  It had amazing selvedges which I was loath to throw away...so I didn't.

I zigzagged them onto the patch pocket for the front. And unusually for me, all seams were on show and I didn't even do lining because the reverse of the fabric was as gorgeous as the front. In fact, that pocket has the reverse facing out as it made it slightly different from the rest of the bag.

I even sewed the handle up with the seam on the outside which I then positioned in the middle and topstitched the edges to keep it in place. It looked rather like a dragon's back.

Et voila - I know it's only a simple bag but it all went together amazingly considering I winged the whole thing. Isn't it odd how some projects just fall in place, while others are like trying to get blood out of a stone.  My DiL-to-be loved it!

I've got a remnant left, just about big enough to cover an A4 book...oooh, now there's an idea......

Crop day on Saturday - woohoo, my kitchen will be a hive of industry before then. I'm really looking forward to catching up with everyone again!!  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

WOYWW 389

COME BACK AND FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED....

Well, the doggy bandanas have gone down a storm with the woofers (and owners!) so it's a case of same old again this week...
...so much so that I had to buy some more Christmassy fabric!  I tend to have mammoth cutting out sessions in the daylight and then sew like crazy when the lights are on (my machine is in the dining room as the conservatory is blooming freezing)

I chose fabrics with patterns that you can cut both both ways - yep, let's tessellate those bandana templates!!

I do like the stars and grey combo - very classy!!

And now that I've finished the beanie hat/greyhound snoods, I'm back to using up yarn for a crochet blanket...this is the TV watching project!



That's it for me this week, short and sweet.  I don't know if any of the Crop attendees saw Julia's updated post on Monday, but I am doing the lunch again this time, so you don't have to bother bringing anything with you (unless you want to of course!).  I am really looking forward to seeing everyone and catching up with all the news :-D

Have a good week!!

WOYWW 388

WHO PUT THE COLOURS IN THE RAINBOW?

It's all about the colour today!
I bought a couple of half metres' worth of Christmas polycottons - honestly, it cost less than some magazines you can buy!  I was running out of suitable fabrics for the reversible doggy bandanas which have been such a hit!
This is Bruce!  He's the cute little dog of Caroline, my friend in band and doesn't he rock the bandana?! I couldn't ask for a better model huh?!  Anyway, I've been making a few more for various charity groups and presents as they've been very successful. That's pleasing :-D

Some ready for packaging - I used up some of the final scraps of the Scandi fabrics to make a patchwork one too.
I thought these were lovely but will put them away until the Spring....

The Greyhound Trust ladies requested some more hats and doggy snoods. My hubby has been a complete star and made the pom poms for me (I think he likes using the Clover pom pom maker, nice bit of technology you see!) I do love this chunky wool (James C Brett) it knits up really quickly and is the perfect thing to make whilst watching the telly :-)

But it hasn't all been about the crafting this week - G and I have bought a house!! Not in Wiltshire but back in our home town in Wales...it's been a bit of a shock to our family and friends but is a good decision. I can't wait to be back by the sea - though I think it's just as well that we'll have a guest room because everyone has said they're coming to visit. Julia and I have been brave and will be back and forth because she's too good a mate to not see frequently. Telling my friends in band was the hardest thing - it's been a big part of my life and I shall miss them all terribly. What other hobby could see you doing this for example:
We did a whole day of playing marches and other music in Tesco at Tidworth. As it's a garrison town, there's lots of military personnel in and out. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the music - it's a bit different eh?  We shall be back there twice (again at Tesco's request) to play Christmas carols and music in December.  

So, there you have it - my week in a nutshell: sewing, knitting, parping and house buying. You can't say I don't live a busy life!!

xxxxxx

WOYWW 769

 WE'LL MEET AGAIN.... I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while - please don't worry, all is ok! - think I just need a...