{quilt} while you're ahead

Day four, five, and six

A victorious soccer final.
Hamburgers and shopping.
Horse riding and corndogs.
Swimming and a baseball game.

Day three

A quick drive to admire the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

I wanted to visit the Queen Mary... I was outvoted (the downside of running a family like a democracy) and we went in a 'sambarine' instead. No 3 can't say the word.

My favourite sign so far.

(sorry the photos are all over the place, mobile typepad lacks certain features)

Day 2

Day 2...

Cupcakes

Hollywood (I think Mr M and I enjoyed that more than the kids!)

Museums (cars the boys, folk for me)

We're in LA - day 1

It's hot.
Didn't sleep for 24 hours.
Had Mexican food and No 3 fell asleep at the table.
Had first experience of LA traffic.

...and we're off...

We're off on a big adventure... I'll try posting photos from here and there...

You be good whilst I'm away.

94/2011 ** No 2's stripey socks **

My children (and husband) are not bothered about me knitting and about what I knit.

They've never asked me to knit them a jumper. Ever.

(In fact I'm positive that Mr M made me promise NEVER to knit him one.)

Imagine my surprise when No 2 asked for a pair of socks.

I couldn't say no.

I think it's K Fassett yarn, but please correct me if I'm wrong, it's been resting in my stash for a while.  2.5mm needles.  Usual pattern.

I'm so pleased with them.  By a serendipitous coincidence the heels and the toes happen to be knitted in the blue stripes.  Perfect.

And trust me, a happy No 2 makes for a happy household.

For a while at least.

93/2011 ** mug rug swap **

I spoke to soon.  

I tempted faith.

And it bit me in the butt.

Day two of the holiday, approx. 2hrs after writing my last post (where I said things were going ok?...), No 3 started running at full speed... looking backwards... the exact moment he turned towards the direction of travel... his head collided with the wall.  The edge of course.

THUD.

I heard the noise from downstairs.  Then silence. Then screaming.

Then two hours at the hospital.

The cut was quite deep but remarkably it didn't bleed much at all and they didn't stitch it but glued it.

I'm sure he thinks he's quite the dude at the moment.

Sigh.

On a much happier note my mug rug got to its destination:

front and back

Hope you're all well... I know must go and remove No 3 from the trampoline!

They never learn, do they?

92/2011 ** new camera strap **

Day 2 of the summer holidays.

So far so good.

We have painted the inside of the little wendy house yesterday morning.  It languished at the back of the garden kind of forgotten for the last couple of years but now is turning into a whitewashed club house for secret boys' meetings and 'chillaxing' moments.

I did offer to make curtains and bunting... but the stunned silence and horrified look I got back was quite eloquent.  That would be a NO, then.

We also hit the aforementioned 'lido'.  They won, as I knew they would.  It was kind of sunny so they did get to swim a little, but wasn't as warm as they thought so today there hasn't been a request for a repeat trip.  

Ha.

I guess learning from experience is the best thing, right?

Here's the new camera strap:

I used some of that 70's ribbon my aunt gave me.  I just doubled it up and stitch a couple of parallel times along the edges.  Opinions vary around here.  From 'cool vintage' (me) to 'yuck, looks old' (No 1).

Whatever.  It's mine and I like it.

91/2011 ** No 3's sofa quilt **

A few years ago my cousin, who used to work in the fashion industry, would occasionally score some sample fabrics and pass them on to me.  I never complained.  It would have been rude to do so.

The best of the lot by far was an excellent pile of shirting material; the moment it arrived I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it... of course it took me a couple of years to actually do it, but that's a story for another day.  Perhaps I need therapy.  Who knows.

The quilt is made of simple 6" squares with flashes of solids here and there. (48" by 48', enough for a little almost 6yrs old).

And a bright red binding.

The very thin wadding combined with the smoothness of the fabric makes this quilt so light and soft that it's a real pleasure to use.

 

I'd like to take full credit for this design but I must own up to the fact that I remember seeing a similar number a few years back and haven't been able to forget it.  I can't say who/where/why/how, and if anybody knows I'd like to give credit where credit it's due... It was so long ago I can't even say how similar or how different this is.

In the meantime, No 3 is very happy with it and that, after all, is what counts.

90/2011 ** wonky log cabin - Sew Hip issue 31 **

So we get to the last day of school and instead of being a day of joy and celebration my kids are furious with me because I didn't take them to the lido.

Furious.  No 1 is staging a hunger strike.  No 2 is giving me the silence treatment (if only he knew what a treat that actually is!!)

In my defense can I say it's 15C (59F) outside and raining.  Hard.  The rain does stop every ten minutes or so but then it starts again and my idea of fun is NOT freezing my butt off under an umbrella in July watching my kids getting pneumonia whilst swimming in a non-heated outdoor pool.  Apparently I'm alone in thinking this.

Call me spoil-sport, I can take it.

On a better note my two weeks intensive UFO elimination programme has had good results:  still to show you are No 3's sofa quilt, a new camera strap and a 'mug rug' swap.  As soon as the weather improves and there's enough light to take decent pictures I'll show you all.

My Farmer's wife quilt is going great too.  Only 87 blocks to go. (That sounds awfully depressing, doesn't it?)

I'm also half-way in a linen crochet 'scarfette' for wanting of a better word on a day I feel positively brain dead.  (Do you ever wake up in the morning without having the faintest idea of what day of the week it is? That's me today)

What I can show you however is my latest pattern design in issue 31 of SEW HIP magazine (in the shops now)

That's mine that is.

NOT the baby (cute though), you doughnuts!

The quilt.

Although it's been so long since I was commissioned it that the gestational period would have been the same.  I could have provided them with quilt AND prop!

Also in the same issue is a block I had designed for their mistery quilt but for some reason they didn't attributed to me... doh. (Not very happy about it)

I better go and see if I can make peace with my offsprings now... otherwise this could turn out to be a looooong summer indeed.

wish me luck.