Feel a Bit Bereaved

I know that I am a bit of an anorak as far as maps are concerned, but I really do get a buzz from looking at our stats map to see where we get visitors from.

Over the past few weeks, our map has appeared and disappeared and I found out that ClustrMaps was having a problem with one of their servers.

Server number 4 had died.

All of our stats were on server number 4.

They are gone.

Nearly 18000 visitors since 2011, from dozens of countries have disappeared.

Our regulars - Mountain View, California (would love to know who you are!) Deland, Florida (I so know who you are!!) 3 from the Yukon, most of the US States, Australia, India, South Africa, All of the European countries and every county in the UK.

Gone.

So we are starting again

Look forward to meeting you all again soon

Getting Knotted

 On Wednesday, we had our "corners" project evening and you may remember this simple but very effective dust collector tra la that Jackie had made some time ago. It is just scrap strips of fabric tied onto a piece of string and the embellished with ribbons, buttons, scented soaps. They really are quite pretty when finished.

all tied ready to decorate

Carol decided that she would make a Christmassy one

maybe add Cinnamon sticks?

And there was also a sewing purse pattern that some were making

Jackie was stitching some Scissor Keepers

 A simple but pretty stitch on the sewing machine to finish off.

 Gillian's Redwork Garden Girl is almost finished

 Louise has finished a Redwork wall-hanging - never put her down as a golfer!

 Monday saw Angie talking most of the afternoon making some more hexagons to add to her box. I am sure that she will tell us what they will become one day!

quite small

 Jo is midway between her sewing projects and decided to bring her crochet flowers to make, these will be the centre of some granny squares for a blanket 

 Marie is also on hexagons, but she is sewing into rows.

 And remember the cushion that Sue was working on?  Well he is now finished - isn't he a cutie?

  More Hexies ! The other Sue had finished her Liberty prints quilt. This will grace her sofa.

soft colours

 Hazel was working on a couple of bunny hearts

 And it seems that they are doing what bunnies do .......

multiplying as we speak!

 Chris has nearly completed the embroidery that will become a cushion. It is really pretty and I hope that this will be one that goes into our cushion raffle in September

 Spring is definitely in the air and Bridget is using these bunnies to make a mobile for her niece's twins that are due shortly

 More bunnies from June, this time little bunny bags to fill with chocolate for Easter

 Lynda had had a clear out of blocks that she had made and not used. Ellen, Ena and Maureen have made simple calico bags to sell at the Exhibition.

 Another job sorted!


Toni was making one of Annette's zippy pouches last week and brought the finished item in to show.  I just love that fabric!

 There were quite a few still working on the pencil cases and crayon roll up's for Mrs Beal to add to the shoe box appeal.


 Pauline making more Fish pencil cases

 Brenda was using the notebook pattern

 So there was a really good selection for Mrs Beal to take home with her.

 Thank you to all the ladies who have given their time to help with this project.


Jan brought in a sample of the (I think she called it ) Hussuff that she will be teaching on our all day in May.

 And she was also adding lots of pretties to make a couple of notebook covers

Colleen is creating a beautiful piece of embroidery

 Tuula is adding the last quilting stitches to her very pretty quilt.

 And just look at this lovely selection of bunting panels. These are for a wedding and there are MANY table cloths being made for the occasion too!.

 Now -- just in case it has slipped your mind, NEXT WEEK is the date for returning your completed Challenge pieces.  If its not done yet - you have ONE WEEK LEFT !!!!

A Productive Collaborative

 Wednesday evening saw Ena in a bit of  quandary. She was having a "practice" at a twisted Log Cabin that Shirley is going to teach us a bit later in the year.
She has gathered her fabrics and started her block, but was unsure if the colours she had picked were going to work
 She had purchased these teal and pale blue colours

not stitched

But she had thought that she would go more green

 What do you think?

I will tell you, that after a bit of discussion she is going ahead with the pale blue and teal. We will see how she goes.

 Lesley has attacked her scrap box and cut much of it into 2 1/2 " squares and strips. It has taken a while, but the (large) box of scraps is now in better order.

 Elizabeth had some very pretty fabrics to make a baby quilt.

love the ellie's and sheep

 And God forgive her Hayley is making an ADVENT!!! stocking panel. She may not be the quickest sewer, but ...... really!

 Amanda has pulled out a cushion panel to keep her busy

 Rosemary has created another pretty postcard

 It's not patchwork, but Susan has chosen a very bright variegated yarn to knit a baby jacket for her Grandson.

 Brenda is having fun selecting her fabrics for a baby quilt in a jigsaw design

clever use of Drunkards Path

Next Wednesday, we are doing our Three Corners projects, and Jackie has selected this delightful hanging for us to try. It just uses scraps ( I bet Lesley is kicking herself now) tied around string, and some little fragrant soaps and buttons to embellish it.

 We will also be making some small items for our sales table later in the year.
 Which was what the ladies on Monday tackled on their sweat shop session today

 Jo & Lesley had gone into mass production

 When they are all done we will have 25 crayon rolls from these two

They look sweet when closed up

 The "Top" corner were also making crayon holders but these are for pencils rather than the little wax crayons

There was also a "fish" pencil case being produced which started off as lots of strips of bright fabrics.

strips sewn ready for cutting out

 By the middle of the afternoon, we had quite a few items that Mrs Allsorts Beal will be adding to her collection for the shoebox appeal, with many more to be finished off .

 We will add some of the little rolls to the box for our sales table too.

The Coven corner were teaching a rather pretty embroidered heart ready for Easter  

 Aren't they just the sweetest?
These Coven ladies were so well organised, they had even brought in a twig tree to display the finished items!!

 Annette had selected a zipper bag for her corners project, though not so many of these were finished, because those pesky little rabbits took much longer than anticipated

Bernice's choice for her pouch

 When Annette had finished her heart, she carried on with her Sashiko panel that will be turned into  a box pouch

 And you can see Shirley's pencil case as well as a mug bag that she is making

 Here's a selection of the Hearts and a couple of the zipper pouches

 June had brought in her gorgeous knitted bag which received lots of well deserved praise

 A Great BIG Thank You to all the ladies that had taken the time to sort out some lovely projects for us today. I know that a couple were a bit worried, but it all turned out beautifully!!

 Thank You !!!!

 Our time with Ena is always eventful, and here you can see that she has sewn her batting to her trousers. Not just one or two stitches, a whole row had to be unpicked!!

 But this week, Rosemary takes the prize for stitching the most unusual  project.

not her usual neatness I must say......

 Someone give her some fabric to play with!!!