Birthday Celebrations

Birthday celebration and much needed respite for all the QQ this month. Caring for others is a stressful occupation. We all do it, in different ways.  As we get older, more time is needed to help our families.  It is therefore even more important to enjoy a few hours in the company of good friends, laugh a little, talk a lot and NOT feel guilty while doing so.  We cannot help other if we don't help ourselves a little sometimes.

 HW making great headway on her Sweet Pea (Circle of Friends) blanket...…

 

CD, felt animals from a kit donated by AB.

Coastal C2C (join as you go) by CB - another blanket for the pile!

CD finishing some hand sewing from a QoS workshop. Looking great - a reminder how wonderful hand sewing is.

 AB starting a crochet beanie hat...

With everyone super busy, lunch was a simple soup but a CB had a go at Soda Bread - an interesting attempt - edible but a 'heavy' bread.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/seeded-wholemeal-soda-bread

We had our first birthday celebration of the year - with Orange drizzle cake (a lesson learnt not to use half-fat crème fraiche!)

And the birthday girl in question …...

Many hours of unwrapping later......

Ta Dah!

Be kind to yourself and take time to enjoy what you love. Those we love and care for will be much better for it.

New Year Resolutions?

We had all been looking forward to the first meeting of the new year. A good start as it was a full house attendance.  We were light on the morning snacks, to be expected this soon after Christmas. Not much show and tell, Christmas got in the way of crafting,.


CB has been working on a C2C baby blanket using two strands of yarn to crochet, and crochet socks. Disappointingly the socks are not very stretchy, so she will be unpicking and trying a larger hook.

This is what we got up to on the day;

CB has been try to make sense of the sewing room, this lead to a 'few' UFO's surfacing. Time to make a TBF list (to be finished). This one was started at the Sandown show in 2010 with the Stitch Witch. Another, I failed to photograph, was from an NEC workshop a couple of years later, EPP with Celia Eddy. Both these and a few others are destined for a quilt using orphan blocks.

CD is making a pair of cushions for her youngest sisters 'OH NO' birthday. The fabric is from Oakshott in silver. This is expensive but gorgeous to work with, ideal for special presents. The design is from a Barbara Chainey book.

AB is crocheting a scarf in some colourful yarn.

HW is making a crochet blanket using the latest Attic24 colour pack, Sweet pea Posy, but with a different pattern, circle in a square motifs. She is using, what seemed like, a complicated process to work out the colour combinations. This is her second circle set.

HT is progressing with a quilt for one of her granddaughters, started at the last meeting. It has cute little bunnies and dainty flowers. She always tells us she doesn't read quilting patterns, but this one is from a book! We are impressed.

We had a great lunch all homemade, sweet potato and butternut squash soup with bread, apple crumble and custard for pudding. Lovely winter fayre.

After lunch we had a chat with EL in Florida. Unfortunately it was not a good connection, but we did get to see her latest woven basket collection. E has really got into this and is producing some very nice pieces. Apparently, Florida was only a couple of degrees warmer than here.

After that it was time for Secret Santa with tea and cake.

For AB table cloth, bunting and oil lamp for summer evenings in the garden.

For CB quilt pattern with sheep, fabric, ribbon and purse.

For CD Yarn and art materials.

For HT garden plants and glasses case(below)

For HW table runner

We finished with a bit more sewing and chat, before heading off home. Another enjoyable day spent with like minded people. Roll on the next one. 

Another Year Over (or nearly)

Goodness where has the time gone - our last meeting of the year. Our lives seem to get busier and more complex as we move into another year. We missed HT who had her nurses outfit on for the day. Meeting dates set for 2019 in the hope that life will allow us the odd day to craft, laugh and eat cake with each other. We very much look forward to the return of our sixth member in 2019, making our group complete once more.

Projects happening during December.... and two were actually finished during the day!!

Bobble Cushion cover by CB

Binding a beautiful quilt for mum HW

Hand sewing by CD

Crocheting a little scarf AB

Lunch was good as always, with naughty snacks both in the morning AND afternoon!!

 

Happy crafting in 2019 girls!

Progress from everyone

Novembers meeting was a full house of members with lots to show. HW had finally got round to deciding what to make with her ball of Angora yarn from Yarndale 2013! A pair of pretty finger-less gloves which are so lovely and soft, as well as non itchy. She has also been struggling with a Brioche knitting project and not finding the online help of much help. Perseverance will pay off in the end.

Angora gloves and Brioche knitting

Note the bee and hexagon stitch markers.

CB has been crocheting a blanket from more yarn bought in Skipton, though not at Yarndale. It has some tactile ripples that are crocheted around the posts of  trebles in an eyelet row. She also brought along a Surrey Life calendar for 2019, as one of her pictures is featured in it, as a result of entering the competition for images. Well done CB.

Ripple blanket and September photo

HT showed a quilt top she has been working on for one of her granddaughters, I did not get a picture of it - slacking! Then started work on another quilt for another of her grand children. The fabrics were very pretty with bunnies and ditzy flowers. Out of her comfort zone a bit, as she was following a pattern from a Missouri Quilt Company book. She got the patches cut and went on to work on a Corner to corner crochet blanket. This is a pattern that has been popular with several of our group.

Star Quilt patches and C2C crochet

AB had brought along the crochet scarf she started last month and had it finished by the end of the day. It was crocheted in V stitch with a chunky yarn and is destined as a present for a friend.

Rainbow coloured scarf

CD had several items for show and tell, one multi coloured scarf from a Yarndale purchase, this one looks like it could glow in the dark, the navy one was from a pattern in a book bought at Yarndale. The dark green/blue one is a kit from Crochet 24/7, bought at a local craft fair recently it took 2 evenings to make. The pink one is a lacy pattern from a crochet book with added metallic thread in dark red. She also downsized a 16 inch T shirt block to 10 inches. This is a good block for using stripes and checks, nice for boys quilts, and can be adapted for football teams.

Selection of crocheted scarves and cowls, a mini T shirt block

We had soup and bread for lunch with fruit flan for dessert, we ate before we thought to take a picture. We spoke to EL in Florida over the ipad and she showed us her latest Josephine basket, we were impressed. We then lit the candles on the cake and sang Happy Birthday to CB, who then opened her presents.

Cake, rainbow yarn and ribbons, purse and beach themed fabric, pamper and shawl, table runner.

We finished off with tea and a slice of that delicious cake. Another enjoyable day spent with like-minded friends.

October: It's all about the wool.....

With a full house this month the day was spent touching, oohing and aaahhing and mainly winding wool!

With gadgets a plenty we started slow but speed was gathered very quickly! Ooooo the colours.....

 

 

We did have a show and tell from CD.

  

  

There were projects being completed by all of us but I got slightly distracted by the wool winding and didn't get pictures! Slap wrist!

Food, of course, to help with the winding in the afternoon. Yum Yum - although we were completely fooled by the weather, with CB serving hearty warm soap when a salad would have been much more appropriate!

 

September 2018

It has been a few months since we were all (I know Ellen but it won't be long before you're back for good) together under one roof. With birthday celebrations for Grandchildren and catching up with life keeping some busy - it was good to see everyone.

HW working on Butterflies for Yarndale community charity project.

  

CB working on sewing all the decorations on her Christmas Wreath

AB starting a beautiful crochet blanket

CD working on a Christmas workshop for the WI, in the morning

And a wonderful scarf in the afternoon

HS completing a cushion cover

which we all thought went well with her completed quilt.

 

A wonderful lunch served by Annie - so good it went to quick for me to get a picture. See you all next month.