A London Trip

Rod and I set off from Devon bright and early Wednesday morning in a Transit Van loaded with "stuff" that Dot and Maarten, and Robbie and Nisha wanted from home for their respective new flats.  And we have had such a fun time.
For a start in Dot's flat I had forgotten about two quilts which I made for her quite a few years ago:

and in Robbie's flat is was also lovely to see the quilt I had made for Nisha some years back too:

We hadn't seen Robbie and Nisha since they became engaged and it was lovely to see them in their flat looking so happy:

As Thursday morning was bright and sunny Dot suggested we walked to Greenwich which took only about 10 minutes from Dot and Maarten's new home. We passed a statue of Peter the Great:

and then on to the Cutty Sark:

We had such an interesting time and learned so much:  the restoration after the fire back in 2007 is quite amazing.

We then went to National Maritime Museum for the Turner Paintings Exhibition:  he painted so many masterpieces, and it was truly wonderful to see all these works of art.

Dot and Maarten have worked so hard getting their new home looking good, and on Thursday evening we met Maarten's parents and had a really fun evening:

We left London just before 8 am this morning and arrived back home in Devon at 1pm, so a really good easy drive.  Returned the Van, picked up Ben from the kennels, lit the fire - home sweet home.  It has been such an interesting trip and so good to catch up with them all.  Sadly we didn't get to see Fran - but we will be up in London again before too long and will ensure a get together with her and Angelo next time.

Next weekend I will be on a quilting retreat in Eastbourne, and then into London again on the 11th to meet up with Nicola (Scarlet Letter Years) and some other fellow SL stitchers in order to visit the V&A and view the antique samplers they have hidden away. So another Blog soon ....!
Have a great weekend everyone and thank you visiting My Quilting Life!

February Update

With the dreadful weather we have been experiencing in  the UK I have not spent much time in my Studio - instead I have sat by the fire cross-stitching, especially whilst the Winter Olympic Games have been on TV. I have loved watching the skill and bravery of these sports - what a marvellous 2 weeks.  I feel quite lost this morning now that they are over.  I have also made 94 jars of Marmalade so the larder shelves are looking good!
And during this time I have sewn this gorgeous Afghan Blanket:

and this is Extra Special as it is for my first Grandchild!  My youngest daughter Dot and her partner Maarten are expecting a baby in August.

I am so very excited - after the very stressful past 3 years which we have had it is wonderful to have something so positive to look forward to.. They have just moved into their new flat this past week and luckily it has 2 bedrooms!
And to add to this news, my son Robbie and lovely girlfriend Nisha got engaged last weekend:

I am so happy for them:  and they too have moved in together this past week.  So I feel that we have started 2014 on a very positive note.

I am going up to London this week and taking various bits of furniture etc. that Dot wants for her flat, and other bits like pictures for Robbie and Nisha too.  So it will be fun to see them and their new homes. Hopefully I will be able to catch up with Fran too - she is in Milan for Fashion Week at the moment, but home for a couple of days before going to Paris for their Fashion Week. Hopefully we can get together, and I really want to meet her gorgeous cat MiuMiu!

I have also sewn the bindings on these two quilts which I finished towards the end of last year, but have only just had them long-arm quilted:  I am thrilled with them both, lovely backings too.

My list of quilts to make this year has already grown:  I now have 5 x baby quilts, 4 x toddler/under 10 years old quilts, 2 x 60th birthday quilts and 2 quilts for other young friends on my list:  and we are only 2 months into the year. All good.  Busy busy.

I have just come back from spending some time with my dear Mother, she was 94 last week and is really quite remarkable.

It was nice to be able to cook her some good wholesome food and be there as company for her, and to make her a cup of tea every time she woke up from a snooze - there were lots of cups of tea bless her, but at 94 who is counting!

I am off on a Quilting Retreat with my friends Lise and Lyn on the 7th/8th/9th March - this is down in Eastbourne so should be fun and will get me back into my patchwork.  And then I am in London on the 11th March with Nicola (some of you will know her through her wonderful Blog Scarlet Letter Years) as we are viewing antique samplers at the V&A.  All very exciting.  There should be much to tell you in my next Blog.

And I can now get more done on my Noah's Ark sampler.  And as the weather improves I shall be back in my Studio cutting up fabric and then can make a start on my "Quilts to make" list. No peace for the wicked!
I hope everyone has managed to survive this difficult winter without too many problems - dreadful floods in the UK and huge amounts of snow in the USA   -  it is an ongoing challenge for so many.  The snowdrops are out here at home and some daffodils so let us hope spring is on the way.

Thank you for popping by and catching up on "My Quilting Life".

Better late than never.....!

I suddenly realised it has been 2 months since I updated my Blog - what is wrong with me??!!  My intention is to update at least every 2 weeks, not every 2 months!  Oh well - Christmas came and went and was fun and now January is nearly over!
Here is just a quick resume to bring you up to date:  this also helps me to remember what I have made, and when!
I cross stitched these:

I made this Christmas quilt for Otto and his family:

And I made this little quilt for baby Sarah is Holland - my cousin Margi's grand-daughter.  This was also a big hit.

I had a wonderful time at my God-daughter's wedding in December - here is a photo of Maggie and Finn cutting their layered cheese wedding cake!:

As always Father Christmas called in for a cuddle on Christmas Eve:  here he is with Dot and Maarten:

Now I am up-to-date!
I am planning all that I need to make this year:  so far there are two 60th  birthday quilts for close girlfriends, three baby quilts and samplers, and anything else I can sew in the meantime!
I am enjoying cross-stitching this baby alphabet afghan throw:  fun and bright:

and also this beautiful Danish pattern of Noah's Ark:

Those who follow my Blog will know of my love of Noah's Ark samplers -this one is going to be for an extra special young person - if I can bare to part with it!!
And I continue sewing the wonderful Saxony - such a contrast - different is good!:  I absolutely love it:

I was over at the inspirational Cowslip Workshops last week - the fabrics Jo has in stock at the moment are truly glorious and I just HAD to bring these home with me:  some of these blue and cream fabrics will be going into one of the 60th birthday quilts:

Well, it continues to rain rain and rain some more - how lucky we are to be high above the River - The Tamar looks dark and ominous today:

Rodney has been busy indoors:  he put up this wonderful solid oak mantle shelf above the wood-burner just before Christmas - it was so so heavy:  but certainly worth all the effort.  I have wanted one of these for 16 years - so not too long a wait!

I loved choosing which  family photos to put on it, plus the beautiful Anniversaries of the Heart heirloom sampler from Blackbird Designs now has pride of place.  The shelf looks as if it has always been there - which is good.

Well - I hereby state my intention of updating AT LEAST every two weeks!  Thank you popping by and seeing how my life in the Tamar Valley has been progressing - here's to a wonderful fun filled 2014 for us all.

Running behind - as usual........!

I can hardly believe it is over a month since I last updated my Blog - the weeks are passing too quickly and there has been much going on within my life.... but I would like to share with you some of my finishes.  What would I do without these wonderful hobbies - they keep me calm and sane and occupied, never lonely with a needle in my hand or with my Bernina in front of me purring away!
Back in the beginning of November Nicola (Scarlet Letter Challenge) and I got together and had a wonderful day at Cowslip making Christmas sacks and stockings - it was such fun and very productive. Here is the stocking which I made - it is almost finished - just backing and binding to do:

I went to Cowslip again last weekend for their Christmas Craft Fair - it was full of wonderful treasures and I managed to tick a few presents off my list.

I have been busy patchworking with some of the fabric purchased at the FOQ:

Both of these have now gone to Carole at Butterfly for longarm quilting. I have also collected two from her:  this one is now with little George on his bunk bed, and he loves it which is great:

And the one above is for..... yet to be decided!  This is similar to the wedding quilt which I recently made, just slightly more colourful - I love the pattern which is out of Jo Colwill's new book called "Cushions and Quilts".
I am now desperately trying to get on with Christmas quilts and cross-stitch:  I pulled everything out of the cupboards and baskets in my sewing studio the other day looking for one particular piece of fabric - I did eventually find what I was looking for but not until I had caused complete Sewing Room chaos!!  .... oh dear!  Will it ever be tidy again - probably not until the New Year! - watch this space!!:

Oh well, at least I have reminded myself what fabric is tucked away in my Studio!
I am making a small fun Christmas quilt for an almost 2 year old who is arriving from Australia shortly for Christmas:  hopefully it will keep him warm:

and I am cross-stitching some little gifts, lovely pattern from Nikyscreations:

I have also been busy making chutney's and pickling onions:  I love filling up all these jars and  hopefully the taste will outweigh the smell of vinegar that lingered in the kitchen!:

I am really looking forward to Christmas as Robbie and Nisha will be with us in Devon along with Dot and Maarten:

so we should have a really fun few days just enjoying spending time together in front of a log fire, playing Scrabble with maybe the odd glass of wine!!
Sadly we lost our dear old cat Reg at the end of October, he was nearly 16 years and was much loved, I do so miss him:

but we still have Bosun:  here he is helping me load the dishwasher!:

And Fran and Angelo have a new addition:  Miu Miu arrived in their London home last weekend!:

He is so so gorgeous!  I cannot wait to have a cuddle!
Well I must get back to my patchwork else that quilt will never be done in time.  Now the days are so short I have limited hours in my Studio as once the light goes I have to stop:  but at least we get to eat earlier every evening which makes Rodney happy!
I hope all of my Blog Followers are well, and keeping busy - I so enjoy following your blogs, they are full of inspiration and ideas.  Have a good week everyone... I will try and update more regularly.