Lots to write about and show. I've finally come to the end of this semester's work at the library. I've really enjoyed it, but the last month or so has been very hectic with doing my agency shifts, my permanent shifts and a whole range of extra training, induction and so on. Now I'm off for the summer and will return in the autumn to my permanent hours arrangement. As we came to the end of term, I decided to make something for Sian, the lovely person I've done most of my shifts with. Following on from the tote bag I made for myself, I made one for Sian, then got a bit carried away. To go with it I made a little tissue holder (I just LOVE making these at the moment) plus I made up a little pouch with a Velcro closure. Sian plays a lot of softball in a league so I thought that it might be handy for things like keys, change etc when she goes to a match. On the front of the pouch I added some pretty gingham ribbon and a little flower button. I'd asked Sian what colours she liked and she said "Blues and turquoise" so I tried to incorporate these. Some of the fabrics are ones I bought on my birthday as part of a fat quarter bundle at Cross Patch. You can just see bits of Andy in the pics, as he was lying on the bed, assisting/supervising the photo shoot. Sian loved the bags and I was really pleased with them.
As part of another gift for someone, I made up a little parcel for my friend Leila. She's shortly to go away for the weekend with another girlfriend who's been going through breast cancer and fancies a few days away in Cornwall (well, who wouldn't?). I made up a couple of drawstring bags for her, (plus the obligatory matching tissue holder) and I popped in a little goodie bag from L'Occitane, filled with lots of little travel/treat size goodies, such as conditioner, shower gel, a face pack and so on. These sizes are always so handy for travelling - you don't want to be lugging a huge vat of shower gel around with you when away for the weekend. The bags use some of the fabric I bought at the V & A last year, I love these fresh, pretty greens and blues.
On a related note, a study published this week by the University of Glasgow makes interesting reading, discussing the benefits of quilting from a health perspective. See the link to the story here.
I don't think the story will come as any surprise to anyone who sews/quilts. I've written many times before about the very deep emotional satisfaction I derive from this hobby, made up of a range of benefits, many of which were reflected in the study. Much of what I make is for others, and I love giving things that are hand made. I love the immersion in colour and pattern, the challenges, learning new skills, the social side, and also feeling part of a long line of tradition.
I also made a tissue holder for one of the ladies I've just started working with on one of my permanent shifts, Claire. Again, I asked about colour choices and she specified "Blue, non floral" so I made up a batch of various ones, in assorted patterns and then at the last minute threw in one in a Kaffe Fassett turquoise floral. Now anyone who knows Kaffe's fabrics will know that quiet is just not a word to use - Kaffe has a use of colour that is bold and positive. This fabric went in and guess what, Claire chose it!
We were up early this morning as a new chest freezer arrived for the garage. I've previously mentioned that we've gradually moved away from feeding the dogs on manufactured kibble and are now doing a lot more home cooked and raw food. This is working very well, and the dogs are thriving on this sort of diet but it's a bit of a pain in terms of storage. So we decided to get a dedicated chest freezer so we can buy frozen meat etc in bulk (much, much cheaper that way too) and then just defrost what we need when we need it. All of them absolutely adore tripe - it's vile stuff, looks and smells disgusting, but for the dogs, seems like it's a winner. I suspect the freezer will also be handy at times like Christmas or when we are having lots of guests for batch baking/cooking in advance.
I'll close by sharing some good news about Boola. When we first had him, he was terrified of the stairs, and the thought of even going near them. Even passing through the hall, he wouldn't even look at them, but would just shoot past them. Gradually, he gained confidence in the hall, and would even put his front paws on the bottom step when he was excited about going out for his walk, but had never been brave enough to come upstairs. When we had brought him, he'd been stressed and nervous, so we didn't repeat the experiment. Anyway, fast forward a bit. When on holiday in Pembrokeshire, we brought him upstairs every night in the cottage and he had settled beautifully, which was nice to see. During the summer, he had been living up to his nickname of the "blonde alarmclock" by waking us every morning when he felt ready for some company. Trouble was, that was usually around 6 a.m. and we were getting a bit fed up, to say the least! And for all those saying "Well, ignore him then" (as in controlled crying for babies) we didn't want to do that, as he would occasionally be telling us he needed to go outside, and we would never want to stop him telling us that. So we were being woken early.
Andrew decided to bring him upstairs about a week ago, with a duvet for him to sleep on from downstairs. He was escorted gently up and immediately settled happily on the duvet. Next morning, not a peep. Bliss. This has been going on for about a week now, and each evening he comes up the stairs with progressively more ease, and less reluctance, which is lovely to see. Then this afternoon, a big break through. I was on the computer and Andrew was also upstairs, and Boola was in the hall. Andrew called him, and all by himself he came up the stairs, looking very pleased with himself. He came into the study, settled immediately on his duvet, after a bit of congratulatory cuddles and tickles, and masses of praise from both of us, and is now lying by my feet snoozing contentedly. It's lovely to see him looking so happy.
As part of another gift for someone, I made up a little parcel for my friend Leila. She's shortly to go away for the weekend with another girlfriend who's been going through breast cancer and fancies a few days away in Cornwall (well, who wouldn't?). I made up a couple of drawstring bags for her, (plus the obligatory matching tissue holder) and I popped in a little goodie bag from L'Occitane, filled with lots of little travel/treat size goodies, such as conditioner, shower gel, a face pack and so on. These sizes are always so handy for travelling - you don't want to be lugging a huge vat of shower gel around with you when away for the weekend. The bags use some of the fabric I bought at the V & A last year, I love these fresh, pretty greens and blues.
On a related note, a study published this week by the University of Glasgow makes interesting reading, discussing the benefits of quilting from a health perspective. See the link to the story here.
I don't think the story will come as any surprise to anyone who sews/quilts. I've written many times before about the very deep emotional satisfaction I derive from this hobby, made up of a range of benefits, many of which were reflected in the study. Much of what I make is for others, and I love giving things that are hand made. I love the immersion in colour and pattern, the challenges, learning new skills, the social side, and also feeling part of a long line of tradition.
I also made a tissue holder for one of the ladies I've just started working with on one of my permanent shifts, Claire. Again, I asked about colour choices and she specified "Blue, non floral" so I made up a batch of various ones, in assorted patterns and then at the last minute threw in one in a Kaffe Fassett turquoise floral. Now anyone who knows Kaffe's fabrics will know that quiet is just not a word to use - Kaffe has a use of colour that is bold and positive. This fabric went in and guess what, Claire chose it!
We were up early this morning as a new chest freezer arrived for the garage. I've previously mentioned that we've gradually moved away from feeding the dogs on manufactured kibble and are now doing a lot more home cooked and raw food. This is working very well, and the dogs are thriving on this sort of diet but it's a bit of a pain in terms of storage. So we decided to get a dedicated chest freezer so we can buy frozen meat etc in bulk (much, much cheaper that way too) and then just defrost what we need when we need it. All of them absolutely adore tripe - it's vile stuff, looks and smells disgusting, but for the dogs, seems like it's a winner. I suspect the freezer will also be handy at times like Christmas or when we are having lots of guests for batch baking/cooking in advance.
I'll close by sharing some good news about Boola. When we first had him, he was terrified of the stairs, and the thought of even going near them. Even passing through the hall, he wouldn't even look at them, but would just shoot past them. Gradually, he gained confidence in the hall, and would even put his front paws on the bottom step when he was excited about going out for his walk, but had never been brave enough to come upstairs. When we had brought him, he'd been stressed and nervous, so we didn't repeat the experiment. Anyway, fast forward a bit. When on holiday in Pembrokeshire, we brought him upstairs every night in the cottage and he had settled beautifully, which was nice to see. During the summer, he had been living up to his nickname of the "blonde alarmclock" by waking us every morning when he felt ready for some company. Trouble was, that was usually around 6 a.m. and we were getting a bit fed up, to say the least! And for all those saying "Well, ignore him then" (as in controlled crying for babies) we didn't want to do that, as he would occasionally be telling us he needed to go outside, and we would never want to stop him telling us that. So we were being woken early.
Andrew decided to bring him upstairs about a week ago, with a duvet for him to sleep on from downstairs. He was escorted gently up and immediately settled happily on the duvet. Next morning, not a peep. Bliss. This has been going on for about a week now, and each evening he comes up the stairs with progressively more ease, and less reluctance, which is lovely to see. Then this afternoon, a big break through. I was on the computer and Andrew was also upstairs, and Boola was in the hall. Andrew called him, and all by himself he came up the stairs, looking very pleased with himself. He came into the study, settled immediately on his duvet, after a bit of congratulatory cuddles and tickles, and masses of praise from both of us, and is now lying by my feet snoozing contentedly. It's lovely to see him looking so happy.
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