Mind Boggled

 

This week I have been glued to my 2 computers in every spare minute! Last June I was meant to teach a week’s retreat all about the “Art and Stitch” software for Quilt Direct but it was postponed due to low numbers as it is a tad niche. I was almost ready with the preparation then shelved it all thinking I would have months to finish it all off. Obviously, I got side tracked by moving and DIY so my good intentions kept slipping. Hence, I have spent hours finding, revising, copying, and checking all of my files! The manual for the software is enormous and I have indeed been through it all but I cannot guarantee that I know it by rote. I plan to give my pupils enough confidence to work through the tricky exercises after mastering the basics. 

And - I wrote instructions for a quilted tote bag without actually making it;)

At work I had a couple of quilts in for basting so the customer can free motion them herself.

At home I found a newt on my doorstep, put up a little shelf, making sure it was level by shoving in some shims made from an old loyalty card, and received some lovely Mother’s Day flowers. 

What I did in a Short Week

I travelled back to my cosy Devon cottage on Tuesday via Stonehenge, according to the Satnav and that seemed to take ages, although it was scenic. I was back at work for 2 days this week where I dashed around making cups of tea for visitors, attempted a sewing machine inventory, basted a customer quilt and answered the phone, plus loads of other things;)

At home I painted what I could reach of the grubby upstairs landing. It is pretty small so that did not take long. My long awaited garden furniture set arrived from Temu. Instead of being 4 chairs and a table, it was one chair only so I have sent it back, lesson learned. I ordered a bistro set from Suttons Seeds but accidentally entered the delivery address as Scotland. Luckily, they were able to redirect and it arrived very quickly. It took me ages to put it together and honestly, it looks a bit naff. It is plastic, designed to look like wrought iron and sprayed gold! Once I have a couple of cushions and a tablecloth it will be fine.

I attached a mirror to my lobby wall with sticky hooks with mere millimetres spare to open the door and I borrowed a step ladder which was took short to screw coloured solar lights to some fascia boards outside. Instead I used a glue gun and stuck them straight to the wall so now my backyard looks like a disco. 

I popped into Tavistock to go to the Post Office and get Freya some birthday goodies and came back with a Nigella Lawson bread bin from the Oxfam shop. The RSPCA charity shop had some pictures for 50p so I got a couple for the gallery wall that I plan to do. I can’t decide whether to leave their frames alone or paint them. 

I rearranged some of the storage boxes in the spare room so the desk is more accessible. I have 2 weeks to go until my Art and Stitch / Qmatic retreat and there is still a lot of computer work to check over. It was almost ready last year then was cancelled and I kept telling myself I would get it finished but it was not urgent so here we are and I am having an unnecessary minor panic. Everything is totally under control so I am heading out to the seaside with Nessie…

Norfolk Mini Break

 

It still feels weird that I now have limited holidays. When I was teaching in school there was just mandatory term-time and when I was my own boss I just took time off whenever I pleased. I had to use up 4 days of holiday so decided to spend time with my family in Norfolk since I had not visited for 5 months.

I don’t know why I bothered to take 2 laptops to Norfolk, thinking I might have time to review the Art & Stitch software retreat that I am teaching in a couple of weeks. I have said before that time flows differently in Norfolk - nothing actually happens but time passes weirdly fast. 

Nessie went for a haircut at a new pet salon around the corner from my sister. The groomer did a great job but it took 4 hours because she is not a very co-operative Scottie when hairbrushes are brandished. 

I spent a busy Saturday in Norwich with Nella, supposedly to buy birthday presents for Freya. Despite seeing lots of nice things, most of which I wanted for myself, I did not complete my mission.

We did at least have some very nice coffee and snacks in the city and I was very happy to sit on a bench with Paddington Bear near the cathedral. It was nice to have some time off my DIY but I have to get back to work and finalise my plans for the retreat in April.

Carpentry 101

 

I swear that next week I WILL take pictures at work just to prove that I have a job and am very busy;) I think that is proof in itself that I am so busy and forget to take photos. My 2 day ruler course went very well with the participants telling me that it was “outstanding”. I am so pleased that everyone went home with the confidence to have a go at ruler quilting. I worked on finishing 2 customer quilts that I feel have taken far too long way as I have been redirected to other tasks, including cutting 60+ half metres of Moda Grunge fabrics that were an urgent mail order. 

Last week I bought a hand saw and used my kitchen table to cut some second-hand MDF panels to fit the walls of my lobby. That was really heavy going but I got it done eventually then stuck them to the walls with stinky glue. 

I went to the local DIY shop and spent far more than I should have on wooden mouldings, primer and paint. It took me ages to trim them all to size and attach them to the panelling. There were some dodgy joins but one was pretty good, if I say so myself. 

I slapped primer on as fast as I could and had the initially fun then boring job of painting everything with Farrow & Ball “Cook’s Blue”. The panelling has all had one coat so far and I admit that some areas are as skilfully painted as a fishing trawler but I think it looks lovely. It is a tiny space, usually packed with coats but I thought it deserved some colour. Besides, when Nessie shakes her wet fur the dirt won’t be as noticeable!

Feels Like Spring

 

Maybe I am too hopeful but March has started with lovely weather - frosty first thing then sunny and mild. Such conditions are wasted if you are working of course but 2 days of nice weather at the weekend lifts everyone’s mood. I even decided to cut the grass which was long and straggly and had never really stopped growing. The old guy next door said it was too soon but his whole property is a mess so I ignored him. My grass is awful anyway and could not get any worse. 

I finally got the overhead locker up in the kitchen - Mel’s husband did it for me and I am thrilled with it. I am not entirely sure what will go into the cubbies (nothing too heavy) now that I have become obsessed with storage. 

Mel and Iain brought me some pieces of second hand MDF panelling which I plan to fit into my tiny lobby. I bought a hand saw and amazed myself by managing to cut it. Mel says I should become a freelance Handywoman but I don’t think I am ready to buy a van just yet;)

I was actually very busy at work this week which is my excuse for forgetting to take any snapshots. There were classes, demos, phone calls and emails to answer as well as 3 customer quilts! 

Readers who log in regularly to get quilting reports from me will think I have become a DIYer instead. Wait until I start planting things in the garden…

Some Wet Holidays

My sister and her boys loved my tiny cottage with all of its quirks and Nessie had people to play with all week. I took 3 days off and obviously it rained constantly every single day. We did not let that stop us and did a driving tour of Dartmoor, admired Tintagel Castle in the howling wind and followed that with ice cream in Port Isaac. Looe was the driest place that we visited between squalls. Of course, it was a glorious spring day when my visitors left but the next day lashed down with rain again!

It was lovely to have company and a few days just pootling about but it’s back to normal routines and work this week with a couple of quilts to longarm and further classes to plan…

Nessie wonders what I do all day...

 

Nessie spends a lot of time snoozing or looking out of the window when she is not out on squirrel patrol. I think she thinks that is what I do too when I am not at home. She is very much mistaken! I had a busy week preparing for my class on “Quilting with your Bernina”. The participants learned lots but on reflection, there was too much for just one day’s class. Feedback from one student reported that they were not in the least bit interested in the history of quilting which I mentioned in passing so that has been duly noted for future reference;) 

My sister and nephews are coming for a visit so I will be taking a couple of days off. This meant that I had to make sure everything was prepared in advance for the next batch of classes. The other job which has been getting ignored is completing the filming area so we can make short instructional videos. The idea is that the background looks like a sewing room. We found a folding screen to hide some cables and the door so I ran up some ruched panels with Bernina branded fabric. The media team has to share the space with the technician and we will have to agree on a schedule for access.

Mel and her husband, Iain came for a rake around Tavi with me on Saturday. I had hoped that he would help me to attach my IKEA cupboard to the wall. Left to my own devices I would probably have used nails and no-nails glue but as an engineer he requested that I should get a gadget to find the wooden studs behind the plasterboard so it is fixed correctly and not tilting at a bit of a slope like my so-called “floating” shelf. I blame that on the gas-man who must have leaned on it.

I wonder how my wee house will cope with 3 extra people? The spare bedroom is not big enough for 3 so someone will have to bunk down in the sitting room. It is so annoying that the new sofa is not big enough to sleep on. That was the whole point of bringing the bigger red leather one from Scotland - sadly it is now languishing in the shed!

Cats in Frocks

 

Nessie and I went on a charity shop mission to find Victorian style pictures for my arsenic green sitting room. I could not resist a barmy cross-stitch of kittens in frilly dresses. I hasten to add that it will be part of a “gallery” collection and not a main feature!

My DIY ventures continued with me spending an entire evening attempting to put up a curtain wire for curtains across my wardrobe area. After a lot of dropping tiny screws and shimmying up and down my step stool, I finished the job which would have been better attempted with 2 people, to find that the curtains sagged disastrously. I decided not to persevere and ordered a spring loaded shower curtain pole instead, which was far more successful.

A plumber came and replaced my broken bathroom radiator and when he left it was toasty. Later on it was stone cold - after much internet and soul searching, I had to turn up the thermostat that I had set to a stingey 16 degrees. After the smart new radiator was installed I put up a wee bathroom cabinet as the old one was set so high I could not actually see in the mirror. The new one is naff quality, basically cardboard, but it looks much better and serves its purpose.

Since moving here, I have been going to a weekly “Fair-Share” food larder. For a small fee you can get quite a haul of stuff that shops are getting rid of as the dates are short. This week was particularly good for veg. If there are things I don’t think I can use I take them to work and give them away and it helps to reduce food waste.

I taught a 2-day masterclass about the L890 overlocker / overstitch machine with lots of technical info followed by practical experimenting on rolled hems, gathering, sewing seams, flatlock and more. The participants were all enthused and some are looking forward to my next class on quilting which is this coming week. I really enjoyed being in teaching mode, challenging the confident students and boosting the ones who were floundering:)

My First Visitor

 

Freya finally arrived on Sunday evening! We had a lovely week together - she was able to work remotely and entertain Nessie. She loved the cottage and enjoyed cooking most evenings except when we went out for tapas and pizza. She was a huge help with little DIY projects like putting together some IKEA shelves, since I never bother to read the instructions. We also moved the furniture around to accommodate the new-to-me armchair. 

It was really nice to have such easy company, from chatting in the evening to our outing at the weekend. We spotted a kingfisher on the river, walked in the grounds of Cothele house and paid a visit to the Trago shopping emporium (not something I will repeat in a hurry). 

Hopefully I won’t be lonely this week - I will be too busy preparing for teaching a 2-day Masterclass in using the Bernina L890 overlocker/coverstitch machine. 

Another Trip Around the Sun

 It was my 57th birthday this week - the first one on my own but I had the most amazing cake at work. It was a bit of an error that it ended up being such a fancy carrot cake topped with macarons but it gave everyone enough cake at coffee time for 3 days. I FaceTimed my children and am still waiting for Freya to arrive for a visit after a dreadful train journey, plagued by train cancellations due to another bad winter storm in Scotland. 

For a change, I made a couple of successful purchases at the junk shop. There was a mock Victorian plant stand for £3.00 which I will either donate to my friend in Love or keep as a shoe rack. Maybe rashly, I bought a comfy floral armchair. I opted to get it delivered as it is too big to fit on my festival trolley and I was not sure if I could manhandle it in the door. It is coming later this week and my cottage will truly look like a Granny lives there!

Nessie is currently on her windowsill waiting for a trip to the park but as it is lashing with rain I think I will persuade her to wait;) Instead I need to get on with some lesson planing for forthcoming quilting, overlocker and binding classes.