I used to be home alone a lot, when Malcolm was away on business trips, and I got used to it (I think the longest was eight weeks on my own). But this is only the second time that I've been alone in this house, and it feels quite strange! But then, there is the compensation of being in charge of the tv remote, which is sitting on top of a rather large pile of magazines and books. I think it is time I tidied my table
I bought the Craftseller magazine at the weekend, not just because it is a good magazine, but also because it features two patterns by the lovely Tracey. She has made a very good start to her new full time craft/design career, and I wish her continued success.
At the weekend, I finally remembered to do the last little bit of work on Lilly Pilly ....
....... adding the eyes to the birds. I used a sequin and a bead for each eye
I also did more work on my block keeper, finishing the machine quilting
the next stage was to add a large pocket on one side of the inside
and then to add a divided pocket to the front of the large pocket. I just popped the nearest things to hand into the sections to show what they could be used for
then today I added the two triangles which will hold the blocks in place to the other side of the inside
I stitched on the binding
and made the handles. Not much more to do now
and now for something completely different! Stuart and Alison were at a wedding at the weekend, and Stuart sent me this photo. Alison exceeded her budget by rather a lot for her dress - but it was worth every penny as she looks gorgeous! Stuart doesn't have such worries, as he wears his kilt to weddings - I must remember to ask him for a full length photo
Just a final mention of being here on my own. When Malcolm was away so much, I learned to be quite practical and self reliant (although there was the odd panic, such as when I set the chimney on fire when we had sold the house, and the time I found a bat in the bedroom!) But since Malcolm took early retirement, he has taken over all the practical stuff, so I had to have some instructions yesterday. First, Malcolm informed me that the bottled gas for the cooker might run out, so I had to learn how to switch to the spare bottle (turn the control knob until the arrow points in the opposite direction, open the valve on the new bottle, close the valve on the empty bottle) Then the boiler .... it occasionally trips out (and of course it's sod's law that it will happen when Malcolm is away). This isn't quite so easy, and, I think, demonstrates that it was designed by a man!! Instead of having a button on the front to reset it, you have to take the front off, stick your hand into the innards and feel about until you find the reset button!
To finish, a photo from my morning walk .... when the sun was shining!