Quilt while you're ahead

the best of times...

aka as the recharging power of friendship.

(and good food.  and good shopping)

Some of you already know of my day out last Tuesday.  It was a really fab day.  Even if the weather tried to spoil it.  Even if I was so tired at the end of it I barely remember being picked up at the train station by Mr M and Lilli the dog.

London held up to its reputation too, I mean, where else would you find a car like this?

it was for hire too. 

Maybe I should re-upholster the interior of mine? or maybe not.

Ali mentioned the gorgeous food we had, I'll just mentioned the shopping... I'm obviously shallower than her. 

Fabric:

And the most gorgeous of skirts:

 

Divine, eh?

Oh yes, I needed a day like that.  Thank you my friends.

time with friends

yesterday I spent the day with two lovely friends and their children (together we put together a silly amount of boys...).  We had all met before; Ali and I many times, while Karen and I met through our love of reading which did make us spend a whole day book buying all over town not long ago. But it was the first time our children met and it was wonderful to see how well they got on.

Don't you just love this blogging thing?

Karen made everything beautifully,... the food was fantastic (it disappeared too quickly for me to take a photo...),

the kids crafted

 

they got sweets

 

and gorgeous little bags to take stuff home in

And although the weather wasn't the best we even made a trip to the local Halloween festival...

(geesh... it was cold)

 

(and muddy)

 

and grey. But there were pumpkins

 

and a fair

and I don't think the boys noticed! 

Now Karen needs to get herself a blog... right?

"autumn is in the air" - unoriginal seasonal post for a friend

I just discovered that another friend is taking a break from blogging and whilst I'm all for freedom of choice I'm really hoping she won't go too far away for too long

 

these seasonal photos are for her... with a smile... yes, they might be very similar to last year.'s.. but friends never tire to hear about friends

 

Have a rest, come back soon.

home

we returned on Friday.  to grey skies. to days that are 10C colder than the place we left. to a very excited dog.

back home.

back to friends with whom to spend a lovely Saturday (c'mon Karen get yourself a blog!!)

back to a Sunday full of wonderful long-lost (for Mr M) and newly found (for me) people

it was a busy time... and before diving head first into the ironing basket I think I deserve a second cup of tea

Will you join me?

"One soft infested summer me and Terry became friends"

Ok, so maybe it wasn't a very infested summer and my friend's name isn't Terry... but you know what I mean. Me and my friend have known each other since we were six.  We just hit it off and I don't have a memory of the next five years without her in it.  

Then I moved away but we remained 'friends'... like you can only be with people who have known you since forever. We went from Barbies to Lego to boys.  We wrote long letters.  We stayed in touch even when we weren't in touch.  We spent whole nights awake talking talking talking every time we met.  People thought we were sisters.  In a way we are more than that.  She knows everything about me. She read at my wedding.  She's the godmother of one of my children.  She's smart and beautiful and has great style.  She sends me books to read and always gets it right.  She's full of energy and enthusiasm.  She has a wonderful soul.

She's my best friend.

So when I saw her crying, her heart shattered and ripped from her chest., unable to understand and accept what had happened... I could only hold her tight, but I would have done anything to give back her back what had been taken away.

Me and my friend have been to three Bruce Springsteen's concert together already.  Last Saturday it would have been our fourth.  We'd bought the tickets months ago and were counting the days, ready to lose our voice singing out loud, laughing, and talking talking talking the night away again.

Instead she flew back home, alone, trying to make sense of a death that is untimely as it is senseless.

I missed her that night.  It wasn't the same without her, but I sang a little bit louder, I hope she heard me.

that was the weekend that was

and what a fab weekend that was too!

It started with a train journey on Saturday morning

and it finished with another train journey on Sunday evening

and in between there was a lot of this

and a gorgeous picnic under this tree

(these were divine... from here)

and whole day of learning knitting secrets  here.

The greatest thing was meeting in person other like minded girls:  Ali (again), Christina who doesn't have a blog and of course should..., Tracy, Val and the mastermind of it all Alice.  What a laugh.  Ali and Alice have got a much more detailed account of the event so head over there if you want to know more.

I can't stop smiling.  Do you know that feeling?

(A special thanks goes to Mr M without whom this weekend wouldn't have been possible!)

objection, your Honour

I know Ali said it was my fault... but it wasn't.

Yes I drove her to this shop but she did all the spending by herself.  I swear. No gun pointing, no arm twisting necessary.  No Sir!

Actually, I did some 'shopping' too... a bit of fabric

and a little bit more

and this (although the thought of doing it kind of scares me)

and some bliss yarn

which has already been put to good use (one down, 17 more to go)

And by the way...  how can someone claim to be innocent... after tempting a friend with such evil presents?

Thank Ali, it was a lovely day.

let the quilting begin...

We had a great weekend.

We visited friends

We had some lemon meringue pie

And whilst the boys bounced

I quilted

a couple of place mats

And what did you do?

it wasn't only about food and presents...

it was also about visiting new friends

who live in gorgeous homes

and love crafting

The kids abbandoned the peg people session very quickly... but we stayed.  A glass of wine (or two...) and peg people.  Small times are the best of times, aren't they?

just what the doctor ordered

The doorbell rang as we were getting ready to leave the other morning ...

look!!!!  A present!!! For me!!!  The most thoughtful of bloggers, the lovely Ali sent it to me to cheer me up... and cheered me up it did!!  It made me laugh (a lot) given that I had spent the previous week virtually chained to the washing machine and  I wore it like a talisman against the nastiness of the  previous days (motherhood is not all violet and roses, we all know that! ... Thank you, my friend.  It was timed to perfection.

And now - armed with my portable washing machine pin - I can face anything.  I even made croissants for breakfast.  Chocolate croissants, I'll have you know.  From the book 'Nigella Express', which is as brilliant as all her others books, I can't recommend it enough.

It was an embarassing easy thing to do and all 12 of them were eaten to the last crumb.  Don't I deserve a medal for that?

I also managed - that's what football matches are for right?  allowing women around the world sewing time, right? - to sew another tote for the stall. 

For the front I used a 'vintage' (that makes me feel kind of old...) pillow case, whilst the lining and back of the bag are made with soft pink cotton.

Oh how I used to like that stuff when I was younger...