The Blues

I paid the ransom in customs and received the Accuquilt GO cutter that I had ordered ages ago from the USA. I was really impressed at how neatly it cut out a stack of tumbler shapes and how nicely they all line up because of their little notches. I decided to make a quilt for Fergus using a collection of vibrant orange and blue African fabrics but I just did not have enough; despite telling myself that I should use up every available scrap of stash fabric before buying anything new, I ended up buying yet more from The African Fabric shop.

Mo ran a very successful needle felting class during the week in my workshop and provided her students with home-made soup and bread for lunch. They were all thrilled with their super little animals, including a couple of terriers and a polar bear. We think we may offer occasional drop-in days where folk can get a cup of coffee and see us demonstrating some sort of sewing or crafting technique. This would be less of a commitment than signing up for a whole course. People have been very keen for us to run classes but less enthusiastic about actually signing up. I know that the run up to Christmas is a busy time but I can't honestly work out when IS the best time?

Since I was not busy teaching, I decided to paint the sitting room for the first time in eleven years. It was really quite overdue as there were several old tester patches of paint that everyone had stopped noticing. It was not a thrilling job as I was not making a dramatic change from one shade of cream to another and the dreich weather made it difficult to see what I was doing in an old house with low ceilings. The only good thing about decorating is that I get to listen Radio 4 without a sewing machine drowning out part of The Archers.

Eventually the room started to look fresher but I was reminded that I have two very mismatched sofas and this room that is used by everyone in the family contains an awful lot of different "stuff". There is a glass cabinet that contains odd ornaments and an assortment of books so I made a pair of curtains that would hide it all away. I bought a white plaster deer head but I have decided to paint it blue to match my collection of vintage, cracked Cornishware crockery. Everything got a rare and thorough dusting and I was fairly pleased with my efforts. I will really have to psych myself up to tackle the marathon chore of repainting the hall, stairs and landings – but not yet...