A long story . . .

 Recently I came into possession of these lovely pieces of fabric.
Well, the colours are bright, but because they are quite old - we estimated 50 years - the smell is of musty fusty dampness.
But I was determined to use them . . .

I tried washing them in Persil and vinegar . . . no change.
Our neighbour offered some Febreze - I used so much that I finished his bottle.














What actually did the trick was the Ariel powder that this same neighbour contributed.
Now a piece of the pink fabric is well on the way to being the piping round a new cushion cover I am making.









However when we went to Sainsbury's this morning I got some more Febreze to return to him. I chose this particular perfume as I have just finished reading a book about New Zealand - The Colour by Rose Tremain (a good read).
Unfortunately the lid wasn't screwed on tightly enough and it leaked all over our shopping on the conveyor belt!  The customer service was great - one of them mopped it all up, another dashed round the store replacing all our damaged purchases . . . then they apologised for keeping us waiting!
I tell you, we were glad of our coffee after all that, especially as I'd had another early breakfast with Evie!

Another way of looking . . .

I have never liked books where animals speak. Don't ask me why, I don't know why. But recently my daughter, Heather, told me how much she and the children had been enjoying The Wind in the Willows. She mentioned how Toad reminded her of someone . . . Maybe I should try reading it again, I thought.
I was further encouraged when I realised I could download it for free on to my Kindle.

This afternoon I went into central London to buy a map for the Mission Partners notice board at church. The map shop has a small café at the back and since I hadn't had my daily cup of coffee, I sat down.

I was slightly annoyed that at the central table in this small space, four people were having a business meeting. The man had a loud voice as he made his presentation. Even so, I couldn't make out what their line of business was. Even more annoying.
If I am having a relaxing cup of coffee I don't want other people's work life intruding. But when I was working, I'd have loved to have meetings in coffee bars.

Trying to ignore them, I got out my Kindle and decided to make a start on The Wind in the Willows.  I got as far as page 4 when I read,' After all, the best part of a holiday (being retired) is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working.'

As I said, there is always another way of looking at a situation.

Snow

I had no idea the hens had such big feet! These prints were 3 or 4 inches across. Next time I'll get the ruler out and measure them!















Joel spent his outdoors time whacking and demolishing a snowman with his sword.
so I told him the story of Excalibur - and he realised he could be the king!









This is the garden of a house opposite our church. A church member used to live here and planted this lovely box hedge in a spiral.

Tales from Grandma's Attic.

 This last year my grandchildren have been reading a series of books by Arleta Richardson. They are based around the grandmother recounting stories from her young days to her granddaughter. Very readable, often hilarious. Realising that we all have stories to tell, Alyssa and I decided to start our own book.

We are using this lovely notebook that my dear friend Marion brought back from a visit to her family in Hong Kong.
Alyssa tells me what happened and I write it down.
Sometimes the story is something that happened to me as a child, sometimes its something that has happened to Alyssa and her family. You can read Heather's blog here http://beautysglance.wordpress.com/

The beginnings of a quilt

 The day finally arrived when her legs were long enough to use the foot pedal!
First you have to practise, to get the feel of the machine . . .










Then on to sewing the real thing . . .
We cut these strips a few weeks ago, but because of the necessity of concentrating we forgot to take photos!
Since neither of us has ever made a quilt before, we chose a very simple pattern.






 The first strip is completed!
The idea is that the completed quilt will look like a garden - in an impressionistic way . . . the blue is a stream running through the garden and the flowers and grass you can see. There will even be hens pecking around the garden!
After lots of practice on the short seams the long strips will be sewn together.
We were both proud of our work!

My Diary for 2013

It started off as a plain notebook from Paperchase. The first task was to count the pages and give an equal number to each month, marked by a foam tab.












Then I decorated the January pages.


















After that I removed the card covers, and because I couldn't think how to make all these holes in the cover fabric, I painted them! (with acrylic paint)









I added some foam padding on the front. Another time I wouldn't use foam - the edges are too sharp. Blanket or similar would be better.












Lots of glue and on goes the fabric.
I bought the fabric at The Stitch and Knit Show at Alexandra Palace - from an Indian stall. They operate in Bradford, importing fabrics.
It reminds me of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The Kashmir Shawl - both great stories!


The finished product. Sorry about the Chinese type writing - I'll need to practice some Indian script sometime!

Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt - 14

A Person Playing with a Ball.

At four and a half my grandson is really getting into practising football skills.