A Return to Simplicity.

I have been outside with my camera taking some shots of things in bloom and trying to sort out macro! Still not good at it but have to learn by doing!  Orchids that grow on trees.  Small agave flowers with Weaver (or Green) ants. Orchids that grow in the ground And of course my favourite flower the rose! Can you see the spider on the other flower? I didn't notice it until I was posting the photos! Then there was a lovely surprise left by the postie! It was my fat quarter swap from  Cathy  at Cathy's Sewing Room. I just love the pink colours and especially the variegated thread ! How did she know that I really really love variegated threads of all colours???? Now I have to decide what to use this fabric in! I have also decided to make another album.....well not really an album but a diary. I am using Graphic45 paper called " A Ladies Diary" and doing it along the lines of one of their compositions on their blog sit...

I know I am  recovering more every day.......especially when I have a desire to sew, sew, sew! When I went to hospital recently I realised I really needed a bag for my slippers as I could only put them in a plastic bag and it's just not right when I have been making draw string bags for most of my life for one thing or another. So with that thought..........................................I found the perfect fabric in Spotlight. Now it doesn't have shoes on it but rain boots. I just love every one of those boots and wish I had a couple of  pairs of these beauties! Lucky for me I had some plain pink fabric to make the contrasting pieces and draw string. Surprisingly it didn't take that long to make and I did it while watching last Thursday nights episode of the Royal. I have this fabric in a few different colour ways and there was one with umbrellas on it in the pale blue. The colour is rather brighter than in the photos and is very cute! I can see a few more ...

Late last year Mr B brought me a new camera and instead of reading the manual and really understanding what the camera could do ................ I just got on to the taking of photos.........LOL hence the quality of photos on this blog. When I couldn't sleep this morning I dug out the manual and read it from cover to cover! It was great to learn what all those buttons are for. Later on I went out to garden and took a couple of photos to test out my new knowledge. I did have the manual in my back pocket for reference! The tillandsia is about to flower and there will soon be seeds everywhere on the driveway. They have attachments that allow them to float in the wind and we are constantly surprised where they attach themselves and grow.  This bromeliad is in flower and don't you just love the colours....bright pink stems and purple and green other bits. Very plain plants but lovely flowers that last for quite some time. I could have fabric in those colours. ...

I know I needed to finish my grand-daughter's quilt last Sunday, and I didn't realise why until  I was suddenly admitted to hospital on Tuesday afternoon for emergency Gallbladder surgery. I had been feeling out of sorts for about 4 days before that and things suddenly went from bad to worse almost overnight. Things moved very quickly following that! I spent the last 5 days in hospital feeling very sorry for myself. Have dragged myself onto the computer to post today. They are telling me it will be all easier from here on but I am just not ready to be a believer yet! Not one to dwell on bad things I just wanted to share some small things I made whilst in the grip of a moderate amount of pain. I thought it might take my mind off it for a while.....you know what they say about diversion therapy.......had to wait for the GP appointment. A couple of zippy elephant purses from fabric recently purchased. A few days before going to hospital Tilda's S...

I have just finished the quilt for my granddaughter's birthday on the 17th of September. Thought I was never going to get it done as I kept getting side-tracked and doing other things! But........I was determined to get it done this week-end as I didn't want to have to go shopping for something different when this had been planned for some time. There was only the quilting and binding to finish as the top had been finished for some time now. It is nothing too complicated and I just quilted in the ditch. I watched a DVD (one that I had seen before) while I hand sewed the binding on. I should do a little label saying it was "made by Grandma  for a cherished little girl". I'll  do that tonight! I should have made a card to match the quilt but I made all the cards early so as not to miss any family member's birthdays with a home made card! I thought I would be organised this year and made everyone's card in January when it rains a lot here and yo...

I was thinking of all the things I have made in the past and thought I would do a pictorial of some of  them. Of course there are many things I made without taking a photo of the finished project! Who would have thought there would be something called  a "Blog"? This one is an old one and yes the Suffolk Puff did fall off one end. This is an easy one to grab, throw in your purse and phone and go. I would probably square off the bottom if I made another. Still get compliments about it today. I found the missing puff out near the garage and wondered where it had came from? Who had lost a puff at my place? I gleefully picked it up and thought it was my gain and began to plan where I could use it.............silly me.......it's mine! This is my block keeper, and I found and fell in love with the pattern from one of my craft magazines. It has a ton of blocks in it now from about 3 different quilt projects and a few stitchery's from a couple of o...

Friday saw me going to Spotlight to purchase fabric for my "Lets Exchange" swap Black & White bag. Of course I didn't have any black fabric as it is not really a favourite of mine but I always have plenty of white fabric around. My daughter and I spent the morning shopping for fabric as she has a couple of small projects to make as well, so we had a lovely day together. Shopping and lunch! Of course there was room for cake and coffee. I did get a nice selection of fabric and I think I am beginning to like this black and white stuff. I may just have to use these colours a bit more! Here is a snippet of the almost completed item. I don't even know who my partner is yet!!!!!! Also included in the swap is something scented?  Of course, without even looking we (actually my daughter must take the credit for this) found something scented and what do you know!! it's black and white also! Some days you just can't go wrong. I am just loving this! It ...