Sooooo suggestible :)

Sharing the top of my Snooker Table Quilt which I finished piecing late this afternoon ... Yay!

Hmmm ... is it missing something? 

Walked away, as you do, checked my blog comments and read this from Julie @ Joe Tulips Quilts:

'She is going to LOVE this. It is coming along fabulously. Will you be adding the sticks too?'

Sticks?! That would be the cues, Julie LOL :D And even as I was replying, 'no' - somewhere in my brain,  the suggestion was planting itself ... hmmmmmmm.

So, back to the sewing room and I've now made a 'stick' ... thanks Julie! DH says it needs to be a bit 'thinner' so I'll do some modifications later. Appliqueing it will be fun :) 

Is it too much?

Tomorrow the sewing room gets emptied as we get ready for the builders on Monday ... will try and persuade DH to help me baste this first. 

And at some point over the weekend, this little lot needs ironing - any volunteers?? Thought not!!

Linking up with Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts - Finish it up Friday. 

Give me a break!!

My Snooker Table quilt for Jackie's retirement present (blogged about lots but please see here for one at the beginning) is coming along nicely so why the title to this post (other than it's snooker related?!)

DH has arranged for the builders to come in on MONDAY ... yes that's next Monday ... 5 days from today. And they will be working in my quilting room (loft) for 7 days (yeah, right!) to fix the 'unstable roof' so everything, yes EVERYTHING has to come out of the loft by Sunday night. So much for all the sewing on this quilt I was planning to do over the weekend *sigh*

Well, I'm just going to have get on with it, snatching an hour here and there where I can. And DH has promised to set me up in the dining room until I can get back in the loft! I'll share all the before and after photos with you from Monday :)

Here's my 'pattern' for this quilt, courtesy of Google images:

Here's where I'm up to after two non-stop hours tonight. First the corner pockets:

Not sure yet whether I'm going to round off the corners or not when I do the binding:

And all the frames and pockets are done. Once I'd worked out the pattern for one pocket, it really was easy to crack on and piece the others. I still have to applique the pockets but at least all my balls are fixed! Amazing what you can achieve when you have to. Jackie's leaving party is on June 13th ... yikes!!:

What do you think of it so far??

Hoping to get all the front pieced by Saturday morning ... then the major upheaval begins!

Linking up with Lee @ Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday

Was it something I said??!!

Rescue cats ... do you have one? Has yours got over their bad experiences? I think mine has abandonment issues ... still ... after nearly 4 years! Ok, Nell, so we went away two weekends on the bounce but you were looked after really well whilst we were away so just because Mummy decides to sew tonight doesn't mean you should be rude:

The complete opposite of her bad behaviour on the swingometer has to be acknowledgement. Look at the pretty presents I received in the post today with a lovely thank you card from Fran @ Patchy Rose who won my Giveaway:

Too nice, Fran ... and naughty but thank you :) And speaking of gratitude, I forgot to share this little Pants Bag with you which I made just after my birthday for DH's colleague, Mandy. She kindly covered his duty on my birthday afternoon so that he wouldn't be late off work ... it was the least I could do:

And a wonderful acknowledgement was the response I received today from the legendary World Class Snooker Champion - Mr Steve Davis OBE. 

You will know from this post that I am making a 'Snooker Table' Quilt for my colleague Jackie who is retiring next month after 42 years service. When I thought about getting colleagues to write goodbye message patches to sew into the back of the quilt, I wondered if I asked Steve Davis what would his response be? He his Jackie's hero. Like BIG time :)

One of my most adhered to mottos in life is, 'If you don't ask, you won't get.' Not that I encourage avarice (because I don't) but if the occasion fits, and I felt this did, then I think you should go for it. I contacted Mr Davis' Management Company and explained the reason for my request and asked if there was any chance he could sign a patch for me. 

Look at this - and a signed photo too:

I'm beyond thilled! And I think Jackie will have kittens! Thank goodness, it'll take some attention away from my wonky balls!!



Linking up with Janice over at Better Off Thread:

Who's done ALL her work?!

That would be ... MEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeee :)

With minutes to spare before the Post Office closed, I posted the other two giveaway prize Pants Bags this afternoon (1st prize sent on Wednesday) and I am so happy because all three lovely ladies will get their gifts soon. I know they didn't mind waiting (was in Sweden last weekend - was the wedding really only a week ago??) but I know what I'm like when I'm waiting for a gift ... impossibly impatient ... so here they are!

First up for Fran @ Patchy Rose who asked for a purple PB. This scrappy block making was something new for me and I sewed it on to Vilene for extra stability and did just a little straight line quilting - I think it worked? I'll let Fran tell you what it looks like in 'real life' but I hope she likes it! 

Then, for Shauna @ lovingquiltin who asked for pinks or blues or greens ... Well, if you give me too much choice, you'll get too much colour, Shauna! Sorry, but I couldn't stick to one colour so you got all three:

And last, but not least, Nina @ Quilts, Life and Balance who asked for pinks and browns. Now, having a lot of pink in my stash but not so much brown, I was really chuffed when these 3 FQs 'jumped' off the shelf to come together:

Don't you just love it when that happens? I made a star on one side: 

And with the cut off triangles scraps, a centre square:

Which I framed:

It's so hard making stuff for other quilters - do you agree - especially when all the winners are so talented! (I stalked their 'older posts' to see what they've made!!)

Three different Pants Bags - each unique and special - just like their new owners! Three parcels off to the UK, Canada and USA ... lucky me getting to sprinkle some happy dust all over the World! Yeah ... get over myself, I know :)

Linking up with Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts - Finish it up Friday

and Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Can I get a Whoop Whoop?

WIP Wednesday updates :)

Back in the land of sewing - a happy quilter am I :)

I haven't made much progress on the Snooker Quilt but I did make a mock-up of a corner pocket using some scraps. It was tricky because I have to get the scale right otherwise it will look silly. I think this should work okay and will make one out of the 'real quilt fabric' tomorrow so fingers crossed that works out better than my wonky balls:

And for the fabby Fran @ Patchy Rose, who won my Birthday Giveaway and asked for a purple Pants Bag, I wanted to try something new so I dug out my purple scraps and some 1/2 yards I've been hanging on to for a special occasion! Had a flick through one of my books for some inspiration:

And here is a bit of scrappy loveliness which will find its way into the completed bag:

I won't show any more photos until I know Fran has received her parcel so that she can have a nice surprise :)

Linking up with the lovely Lee @ Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday

Back from Sweden :)

Home safe, unpacked, work clothes ready for tomorrow and feeling a bit weary now ... think I need another holiday!!

After the wedding, we travelled from Sigtuna into Stockholm for a couple of nights - a beautiful city surrounded by water and islands ... very special. Just a few photos to share - tomorrow I really must make a start on the Giveaway Pants Bags :)

This was the view from our hotel - we stayed at the Sheraton (very nice hotel but not as special as the wedding hotel):

And of the route to the Vasa Museum (I love travelling around a city on a boat, do you?

On the 10th of August, 1628 Vasa commences her maiden voyage but heels over and sinks in the middle of Stockholm harbour after sailing barely 1300 metres. Captain Sofring Hansson is arrested but released. No-one is officially blamed for the catastrophe. Attempts to raise the ship failed and she was left in the waters (perfectly preserved) for over 300 years!

Here she is now:

Someone made these 100s of metres of sails. Aren't they amazing?

DH next to a gun:

In Sweden, you have to eat meatballs - its the law!

And here's me and the bride - my beautiful 'pbf' - it was a fabulous wedding in a glorious setting. Truly, a wonderful experience and holiday. Thank you, my dear pbf xx

Welcome to Sweden ...

Doing a happy dance in Sigtuna, Sweden, having just booked into the fabby Stads Hotel for my dear pbf's wedding, which takes place tomorrow!

Complimentary Molten Brown toiletries ... thank you!

Complimentary lake view ... I thank you again!

My OWN quilt - no fighting with DH tonight ... Triple thank you!

Place to hang our Pants Bags ... Tha - ok, you know where I'm going:

And - the price list for the mini bar ... er definitely NO thank you - divide it by 10 and that's £9.50 + £3.50 for a gin and tonic and £2.50 for some peanuts:

The best things in life are free ... going for a walk by the lake now :)