Busy times

I can hardly believe how quickly the last 6 weeks have passed.  The days have been full - some good, some not so good.  But mainly filled with family joy with some stress thrown in for good measure. The same for most of us I am sure.  And somewhere in-between I have managed a bit of sewing!
This is my latest quilt:  Liberty fabrics and shirts!:

This will either be a wedding gift, or a 65th birthday gift:  not sure yet!
I had a fun-filled few days in the middle of September helping Jo from Cowslip at the Kirstie Allsopp Homemade Show:

Jo had a stand in the marquee - the weather was glorious (it reached over 90 degrees one afternoon!) - and the weekend was a huge success.  We were tired but Jo was so pleased with how well Cowslip was received.
I also managed some time in London visiting my grand-daughter Minnie:

So all was good - and then things changed:  our beautiful 12 year old Golden retriever Ben had been going "down hill" for a few weeks, and then suddenly the cancer was really bad:  the Vet was called and sadly he is now buried under the fir tree - along with our last cat Bosun whom we lost at the end of August. To loose two much loved pets in a month has been heartbreaking and it is just under a year since we lost Reg our other adored cat.  The house feels very empty without any pets.

This was where Reg and Bosum loved to be - in my warm sewing studio helping me - bless them. I miss them so much.
Then my dear old Mum had a really bad fall - and she has now been in hospital for over 3 weeks.
She was very badly shaken and her faced so so bruised - she slipped on her front doorstep whilst reaching down for the milk bottle early one morning, and fell head first onto concrete.  Not good at any age, but a disaster at 94.
We are not sure what will happen next, but it is looking unlikely that she can ever go home.  She hasn't walked since the fall and is constantly dizzy and very frail.  It is so very very sad.  So I have been up and down to Nottingham twice in 3 weeks too.  Off again at the end of this week.
This photo was taken back in the early summer - she was doing so well.

I have been staying in Mansfield with my sister Helena and b-in-law Dennis whilst visiting Mum in hospital:  they have 2 dogs: here is Helena plus dogs having a Sunday afternoon snooze (on a patchwork quilt of course!)!:

I will finish off now with some more pictures of Minnie, with Dot too - and shall update with the latest pictures in my next post.

I am sorry it has been so long since I updated, but as you can probably tell life has been rather full on.
I hope all of you are keeping well, and have enjoyed the glorious Autumn weather we have had over the past 6 weeks.  Looks like change is on the way - but always a good excuse to light a log fire and sew - and sew some more!