Smashed-up shoulder = no quilting retreat :'(

Instead of enjoying a leisurely brunch with the fabulous 5 (Fran, Amy, Julie, Maria and Sarah), after what should have been one of my most favourite weekends ever, am sat in hospital waiting for surgery on my shoulder!!

What happened? Thursday afternoon, after picking up some essential supplies for my weekend retreat with the Strip Bee ladies, I tripped on a bit of pavement, catapulted forward, took the full impact of the fall on my shoulder and dislocated it! Ouch! Oh well, methinks, they'll 'pop' it back in, it'll be a bit sore but I'll be ok. No. Not even close. Yes they popped it back in ... eventually ... but I've damaged the humerus very badly. Have broken it in 3 places and the ball and socket are damaged too. Double ouch :(

It's a bit tricky taking a one-handed selfie but you have to have some pictures! And I have a great view from my bed out over the River Thames:

It's even trickier typing this up left-handed on my iPad! Yes, I broke the good side!! Hopefully, the operation will take place tomorrow and I'll recover well.

I am soooooooooooo very sorry that our weekend did not take place, ladies. I'm sorry not to have met you, I'm sorry not to have quilted with you, I'm sorry we didn't get to exchange our quilts, I'm sorry all your plans were halted ... I hope to be able to make it up to you one day. 

Promise to keep you updated :)

Sunday stripping!!

No, not me - that would be a shocker! But I have started (and finished!) the last strip on our Strip Bee Quilt. 

Last Summer, organised by Maria, 6 of us joined the Strip Bee Quilt-a-long. This was my first strip:

Maria's:

Fran's:

Sarah's:

Amy's: 

and Julie's:

We then passed them on for the next person to add a strip and so on. Next week we're all meeting up for the weekend (am hosting and attending my first quilt retreat!) where we'll hand over the completed quilts. We have no idea what our quilts look like as we've only been allowed to post snippets along the way. 

So here's a sneak preview of the fabrics I've used to complete Amy's quilt:

I've not used Kona ash and charcoal before - very dramatic ... might just have to use them again.

Now for some more stripping ... lots of beds to be cleaned and made!

What's on my table?

Lots of house viewings since last week and a good offer but no sale yet ... it has only been a week so we're not worried. I got a bit of sewing done over the weekend but certainly I'm feeling unproductive compared to my usual outputs :(

I have finally added a border to my soldier's quilt and made the back, so if DH and I can baste this this weekend, I may even get it quilted:

Next weekend I'm hosting a 'quilt retreat' for our Strip Bee quilters  - I have previously made Fran and Julie a Pants Bag so felt it was only right that the other three ladies had a Pants Bag too to transport their 'pants' in when they come to stay! Here's all three together:

For Maria (pinks and blues):

For Amy: (aqua and pale blue):

For Sarah: (pinks and purples):

They'll be in the post tomorrow, ladies! Very excited to host the weekend, promise to take lots of pictures of our weekend and the finished strip quilts.

And one more thing on my table - I participated in a low volume charm swap around Christmas. Here are the 56 x 5" squares I received:

But I just haven't been hit by the inspiration fairy to know what to do with them. So, yesterday, I laid them out with different fabric choices from my stash:

My thinking is to keep it simple, maybe  a 10 x 10 lap quilt using one extra colour ... or more than one? What would you do? All ideas gratefully received :)

Linking up with Lorna, Lee and Heather & Megan:

Everything but sewing!

That's how things are around here at the moment! We're busy selling our house - decluttering, organising and reorganising, cleaning and staging which leaves no very little time for sewing. But it's all done - had our first viewers today and have 5 more bookings between Thursday and Sunday so, with any luck, it'll be easy going from now on :)

What I have managed to get done is a couple of Pants Bags (love 'em!) - one for a girl and one for a boy. First up:

And the back:

And this one's for my brother in law whose having his fifty something birthday this week (and is one of the few family members not to own one):

He is a huge fan of Paisley fabric and 'proper hankies' so I made him one of them too!

And only fitting, as I'm linking up with the lovely Lorna, that I share with you the sweet gift I received from her in the post ... all the way from Canada to the UK (naughty Lorna!):

Isn't it just the cutest? Love the design, love the quilting, love the ruler ... Just LOVE it! Thank you, Lorna xx - now you're always in my quilting room (which is more than I am!!) 

Linking up with Lorna:

And Heather & Megan:

Got to love a quickie!

And that's what this had to be! Found out Friday afternoon that a colleague in another team is retiring - clearly had no time to make her a quilt so I asked her if she'd like me to make her a cushion or a Pants Bag. 'Cushion, please ... browns and beiges and maybe a little red.'

Raided my stash over the weekend and got to this stage:

... but then took to my bed with a filthy cold. Tonight after tea, feeling much better, I finished it off ... thankfully, it came together really quickly, no dramas, everything in harmony:

I'll be handing it over in the morning. Happy retirement, Carol x

Linking up with Lorna and Heather & Megan:

Happy St David's Day :)

Spring is here! I finished this quilt at 11:55pm last night - so, officially a February quilt completed on the last day of Winter! And photographed outside in the morning sunshine on St David's Day, who is the patron saint of Wales. 

Here are some of my favourite Welsh things:

And tonight's tea? Cawl, a lamb and vegetable broth:

The Welsh language is beautiful and unique, and the national anthem is one of the best (well, I would say that!) and whenever I hear it sung at a rugby match, it gives me goosebumps:

The longest Welsh word - the name of a village on the island I grew up on (and I can say it!) is:

And one of the funniest Welsh words is Popty Ping! Popty is the Welsh word for oven so can you guess what a Popty Ping is?!

Here's my finished quilt. Made for Saffron who will be one in April:

Happy birthday dear Saffron or, as we say in Wales - Penblwydd Hapus :)

Linking up with Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts and Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict