Buttoned Up

 

Another busy week has flown by! At one point I had 2 customer quilts on the go using the Bernina Q-Matic automated system. There was a very big quilt that I had to finish on time so its maker could take it home after she finished her sewing machine mastery course.

This week’s find was a small red swivel chair that was put out on the street. It is in good condition except when you lift it up and 2 of the wheels fall off. I expect some duck tape will fix that. I hope to take it to FoQ so we can offer clients an adjustable chair when they try the Q16 sit-down machine.

I was commissioned to sew buttonholes and buttons onto a waistcoat that the boss’s husband wanted to wear at Festival of Quilts. I was told to make a video of the process. First I had to practise since I have never had the need to do buttonholes. I have to say that I did a fantastic job. However, there was a bit of a hoo-ha as apparently I sewed the buttons on the “female” way and the male waistcoat wearer refused to wear it. I made modifications over the weekend so hopefully it will now pass muster.

I went to visit Mel in Looe on Friday. I wondered whether the Haar (sea fog) would be in at the seaside but it seems that this does not happen as much as it does in Aberdeenshire. The weather was perfect and we took a wander to Hannafore. There were Luggers in the bay and a sea shanties being sung on the quay. It made me wonder if I should move to the Cornish coast. 

I spent Sunday gardening and assembling what I need to pack for Birmingham. Nessie is going on her holidays to the office manager’s house where they will probably play tennis balls and fulfil her every demand;)

Quilts and Flowers (and a Hat)

 

Quite a bit of longarming went on this week:) One quilter did a great freehand job on her daisy appliqué quilt and someone else came for an introduction to longarm quilting, intending to do a traditional Devon / Welsh style quilt.

While they were busy quilting away, I did some basic ruler work and freehand on the Bloom and Grow quilt which we hope to offer as an L890 class. 

We are gearing up for FoQ at work so I did some straightforward quilting and binding on a table runner that show cases some of the Accuquilt dies. Karen and I showed off our prototype bucket hat which was easy and fun to do.

I “invented” household chores over the weekend, ticking off a list that included some dusting and floor mopping. It is high time I got stuck into quilting then I would not have time for that nonsense. At least some heavy rain and slightly cooler temperatures meant I did not have to water my plant pots daily. I am very pleased with my herb and flower towers and I am excited that some unknown  seedlings have popped up in my herby bean cans. I just hope that we don’t have a heatwave while I am away at FoQ or all of my plants might die!

Manifesting Paddling Pools

 

I was regretting not bringing Nessie’s paddling pool to Devon since we have been melting in another heatwave. I thought about ordering a new one which was upwards of £20.00 but then I spotted one outside a house near to where I park my car. It appeared to be amongst the rubbish and I wanted to pluck up the courage to knock on the door to ask if I could have it. The house looked dodgy so I left it for a couple of days until a sign went up declaring that it was a building site. I seized my chance, nabbed the pink apple-shaped pool and had to walk home with it, as well as four fruit trees and some plant pots that a friend had given me. 

A work colleague said that her wee dog would probably also like a paddling pool in the hot weather. Weirdly, the very next day and 2 doors down from where I claimed Nessie’s pool, a pink shell-shaped pool had been put out with the rubbish so I though I might as well save that one from landfill too!

I used the last of my bagged compost potting up 3 of the bare rooted bargain trees and sowed herb seeds into some old tins. It is probably too late and too hot for them to grow but you never know. Keeping my plants watered has been quite a big job this week!

Nessie went for a posh hairdo on Friday and came back 3 hours later looking like a different dog. The new groomer told me I should look after her better as her hair was a bit tangled. Sigh - she hates having her hair brushed and if I could keep her tidy I would do it myself. I ignored the telling off and booked another appointment for October.

I tried to make a purple velvet cake for one of my work friend’s birthdays. The mixture looked the right colour and the cake turned out perfectly except that it was dark green. I tried icing it with lilac coloured, lemon flavoured icing but in 30 degree heat it just kept sliding off. I felt as despondent as a Bakeoff contestant in the competition tent as the reality did not match my vision. At least it tasted great - we will see if the folk at work appreciate the leftovers or if they will refuse to eat a green cake;)

I Can Cut Straight

 

I had a handyman here for a couple of days to fix my leaky roof. He also took it upon himself to fix the gate, mend the door on the outside gas meter and install a water butt, all fixings cobbled together from bits that came off the extinct satellite dish! 

I thought I had better do some jobs while he was here on my day off so I cut up some OSB board scraps to make soffits for the shed using my very basic hand saw. I told Freya about my DIY plans when she phoned and she told me I was not allowed to balance the lengths of wood on a plastic box whilst wearing Crocs (just because I once cut up some branches for a bonfire like that). My electric screwdriver was too pathetic to attach the strips of board so I had to go and buy nails instead. Now that I have painted over my handiwork with black paint it looks good and should be fairly water and ivy proof. 

The handyman was most complimentary about my cutting skills considering I only had a kitchen stool, pencil and basic saw. In fact - he said that he had come across real tradesmen who could not cut as well - maybe I should go back to college and retrain as a chippie.

It was a busy week at work as a retreat for the super-sized Bernina 990s was in full swing. There was a lot of background prep for that, making sure that everyone had the right kit. I had two customer quilts on the go - one was simple grid basting and the other was to do light custom on a wool appliqué wall hanging that took the maker 3 years to complete. 

Saturday was wettish all day so I actually did some sewing on the patchwork coat. I wish I knew what I have done with the lining that I bought for it. It does not seem to be here in Devon. I am not in any danger of finishing it soon so either it will turn up or I will have to buy something else at FoQ.