Saturday 25 August 2012

Home Sweet Home

We're safely home from our holiday now and it looks like we timed it just right for the weather, which was lovely the whole time we were away until late yesterday afternoon! It lashed down the whole drive home, but I kinda like driving in the rain oddly, so I wasn't too bothered :)

We had such a lovely week together and I've been blown away by how good my health has been and how much I've managed to do!! It's all very exciting and so wonderful to share so many "first time in over a decade" moments with Stu & Abs :)

Part of me wishes it didn't have to end, but part of me is happy to be home...I guess everyone feels that way after a holiday though!

I'm looking forward to getting back to my sewing :) but first I'm looking forward to having a nice long sleep in our own (much more comfortable!!!) bed and a very lazy day tomorrow :)

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Happy Holidays...

We've had a lovely couple of days since I last wrote here and seem to have crammed loads in :)

Yesterday Abs did Archery with her Dad in the afternoon and then we did the Roller Disco together in the evening - so much fun!!! Abs is wicked on those funny inline skates (I never could get the hang of them!) and I remembered how to skate (on my nice traditional roller boots lol) without falling over :)

Today we did Crazy Golf down on Hastings seafront, which was a lot of fun :) and had our lunch sitting by the sea. Unfortunately it was rather windy (and cold brr!!) and the life guards put the red flag out, so we couldn't go in the sea.

We headed back and went in the swimming pool here instead, which was actually a lot of fun :) and tonight we did Target Shooting which was brilliant!!! I've only shot an air rifle once before and that was when I was 16, so I wasn't expecting to be any good lol but I got three of my five shots on the target whoop whoop :)

We've done so much already this week and are having such a lovely time :)

Monday 20 August 2012

Fun in the sun :)

I'm writing this sitting in the sun on the beach at Hastings - bliss!!! I've been paddling with Abs (and got wetter than intended oops hehe) and now she's splashing around with her Dad...and their soaked haha, we should have brought swimming costumes...

Earlier on we visited the Blue Reef Aquarium :) We loved seeing all the fishies and stroked a bearded dragon! Very cool :)

Sunday 19 August 2012

Owlie Mugs!!

We didn't like the mugs in our caravan, so bought these *wicked* owlie mugs at Tesco hehe ;) Everyone should have funky owlie mugs :)

I also love, love, love the Tesco at Bexhill - they stock the new 'free from' range of cheese/yoghurts that I've been wanting to try for aaages nom nom nom I'm a happy kitty :)

We had a lovely day today :)

Saturday 18 August 2012

Summer Holiday :)

Down in Hastings for the week - lovely sunny day, lovely drive and the best company :) Our first holiday together, just the three of us, and also our honeymoon finally :) Gonna be a good week!!!

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Another Pin Cushion ;)

I've not had as much time for sewing as I'd like this week, as we're off for a week away on Saturday and I've been trying to gradually get things together.

I've been continuing to play around with my patchwork squares though and made myself another pin cushion today. Nothing fancy this time, but quite pretty :) and now I can leave one by my sewing machine :)

Sunday 12 August 2012

Patchwork Squares & The Olympics

I've started sewing patchwork squares together this afternoon - I'm not entirely sure what I'm making, a small cushion probably, but I just felt like sewing something simple while watching the last of the Olympic television!

I've loved the Olympics so much this time, we all have in this house :)  We've found ourselves totally hooked on events/sports that we wouldn't previously have imagined would interest us at all and have watched nothing else since it started :)

Team GB have done so well, competitors and organisers, and I feel very proud to be British :)

Paralympics next!! :)

My Lovely Step-Daughter

I spent some time helping Abigail (my step daughter) make her mini owlies this weekend :)  She really enjoyed making them and did such a brilliant job - they're adorable :)

Then I woke up this morning to find she'd made a lovely card thanking me for the owl I made her and for helping her with her little owlies, and she'd sewn me a cute little heart with 'thank you' stitched onto it!  What a sweetheart, I feel totally blessed to have her in my life :)

 


Saturday 11 August 2012

I Finished my Owlie :)

I finished my owlie this evening and I'm really pleased with him :) ..and so is my step-daughter who he now belongs to :)

Friday 10 August 2012

Owlie :)

I did some more zigzagging on my owlie this afternoon and he's nearly finished now :) He just needs stuffing and then the bottom sewing up!

I think I'm slowly getting used to using zigzag stitch and don't think my first attempt is actually at all bad :)

I have a feeling my step-daughter may like this one :)

My First Attempt at ZigZag Stitch

I started making another owlie cushion this week and made my first attempt at zigzag stitch on my sewing machine last night...eeek it's haaard lol

I got in a bit of a pickle at first, trying to turn the circle I was sewing round, but finally got the hang of doing a few stitches, then stopping and turning the fabric. It wasn't as nice as I'd have hoped, but not at all bad for my first try :)

I really need a foot that gives better visibility though!!!!

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Mini Owlie :)

I spent today hand-sewing this cute little mini owlie for a friend's Birthday present :)  I adapted a pattern from a kit I bought my step-daughter (Buttonbag Craft Kit - Owl House), giving him little wings and using my own pretty fabrics :)


I really must master zigzag stitch on my sewing machine before I make anything else like this - I do love how cross-stitch looks, but it's sooo time-consuming!  I enjoyed sewing this little guy though :)

Monday 6 August 2012

Pin Cushion :)

I haven't felt too good today, so spent the day curled up on the settee sewing myself this bright and cheery pin cushion :)



It's from a book a bought recently called Quilting In No Time, which is full of small projects...although the timing estimates seem a bit off to me!!  It reckoned I could finish this in an hour, but it's taken me all afternoon/evening lol I know I'm slow, but I'm not *that* slow ;)

Sunday 5 August 2012

My Owlie Cushion!!!

I finally finished sewing my Owlie cushion tonight!  It's taken me about a month and there was a week or so where I got so fed up with it that I thought it might never get finished ;) but I found renewed enthusiasm this week and managed to get him finished this weekend :)

All the panels are hand-stitched on with cross-stitch, I only used the machine to put the front and back panels together...next time I'm going to try doing it all on the machine!


Thursday 2 August 2012

Celestial Cushions :)

I've been getting into sewing recently, both by hand and with my sewing machine, so I thought I'd post a few photos of my first completed project!  I'd forgotten quite how much I love my sewing machine and I'm very excited about future projects to come :)

I had some pretty celestial patterned fabric kicking around, so I thought I'd make a couple of 18" square cushions for my step-daughter :)  I found a fab tutorial on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhZnHhbcN-Q) to give me some guidance and got stuck in!

I'm really pleased with how they turned out and how easy I actually found the whole process in the end, it was thoroughly enjoyable and I'm looking forward to starting my next project :)

Both Cushions Together
They're 18" square, with an overlap on the back for taking the
cushion pad in and out, for when the covers need washing :)

Cushion 1 - Front & Back
 

Cushion 2 - Front & Back

 

I'm also in the middle of sewing an owlie cushion by hand and have been taking photos of my progress, which I will hopefully upload at some point :)