Here's it is, at last! These photos were taken before I had finished the quilting and binding, but it's all done now. 90 blocks for her 90th birthday. I'll put up a photo of the whole thing when I get a moment.

 

 

My biggest challenge is getting GAH's grand nephew and niece (my husband and sister-in-law) to stitch their names on the label that I'm putting on the back. I'm going to start to nag - I can feel it coming on...

Finally finished a cot quilt yesterday for the baby of some great friends from the Old Days. Hooray for little Rosie Brookes, who arrived, perfect in every way, within two hours. From first uh-oh to final ta-da in an hour and a half! What a star!

The quilt took a lot longer.

Having read all the books that say you must label your quilt for posterity I dutifully wrote a little note on the back of it then nearly set fire to the whole thing when setting the permanent marker with a hot iron. I hope the scorching will add to a subtle patina...

Anyway, here it is. I'm not showing you the burnt bit.

This means that of the five projects I had on the go at Christmas, I'm now down to three. Better start another one, I think.

This is the riverside town of Topsham, where I live.

Incidentally, that's not my house. That one is worth over a million, and I shall be among the first to offer my condolences when global warming causes the waters of the River Exe (seen the background) to swallow it up, Atlantis style.

This is me, rowing our little dinghy on the river in the height of summer (cue Hawaii Five-O theme). It just seemed like any other Sunday...

But, lo! What's this? A helpless figure is floating face down by the reed beds.

Man overboard! Full emergency drill swings into action. A bit of nifty oar work and the little fella was rescued.

The casualty turned out to be a little knitted chap in full lifeboat man uniform. How did such a professional come to be in mortal danger? We'll never know.

We left him recovering by the Topsham Small Craft Club notice board, in case someone recognised him and could take him home for a nip of brandy and a debrief.

Not strictly a craft-related story, I know. But there was knitting in it.

I had to fall back on my little battered digital camera, which has been dropped once too often in the pursuit of taking pics of horses in muddy fields, but here are some pics of the cot quilt I'm making for my mate Lara. Lara's had a rotten pregnancy and has been in and out of hospital. She was determined to keep on riding her horse until her bump got too big, but that plan went out the window when she got poorly. She's expecting a little boy in April. Perhaps he'll be a rider like his mum.

Please excuse extreme shonkiness of quilt and dodginess of photography.

 

I had to jam the quilt into the gap between the top and bottom halves of the back door in order to take the photo in daylight! I haven't done the binding, hence the scruffy edges.

 The Little Yellow Horsey!

I've just added some photos to my hub. (I think I'm a bit swept away by all the little areas of functionality that this site offers. I shall soon settle down, I expect.) I realise that they are all horsey, which isn't really relevant, but hey (hay?) they are decorative!

I don't have any photos of my crafting activity available at work, so I'll have to take some snaps when I get home. I've been making a cot quilt for a friend which I have just basted and am about to quilt. It was the first time that I had attempted piecing triangles (did I mention that I was a very BAD quilt maker?) and only about half of the points match up nicely. Erk!

When in doubt stick on some appliqué. I think I might adopt that as my profile quote rather than the one I have. Though, as an aside, "Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?" is a rule that has prevented me from putting my foot in it on many occasions. Before you say something check it against the three questions. Only go ahead if you can answer yes to at least two of them. Miss Nonita Glenday was an ex-headmistress at the school that I went to. Now all I have to do is remember her advice more often and I could join the diplomatic corp.

Anyway, the appliqué covers up some of the worst seams and draws attention away from the rest of my clonky sewing. The appliqué patch is a little yellow horse. Of course.