Thursday 18 December 2008

a present for J and a present for me.....



hurray another present finished ! this one is for J



with just a little reminder that if we ever manage to move house then we need some chickens....

it's amazing that any sewing has been done at all, as we seem to be the plague house at the moment; first both children and I were ill, then they got better, but I didn't quite seem to, then Miss K was ill again, and I ended up with a sinus infection, and then after 2 days back at school Miss K is poorly again, and has spent most of today in our bed asleep............ and now I'm wondering why I didn't just get in with her, and do the same.........

yesterday I was feeling almost human again, and was due to go and volunteer at the quilt museum, so in the interests of getting some fresh air, and because it's actually a real pain to drive into town (traffic, finding anywhere to park, environmentally unfriendliness, cost of parking) I decided to go on my bike

not such a great plan, all the main roads were fine, but the side roads which make great short cuts from all the nasty traffic were rather icy, and I ended up in a heap on the road/pavement with my bike on top of me, and my face on the concrete........
a passing cyclist stopped and picked up my bike, and helped me up, and made sure I was ok, for which I was extremely grateful.
one grazed knee, one bashed shin, one scraped chin, one cut lip, very sore mouth/teeth, nothing broken but completely injured pride..........

the lovely people at the quilt museum found me the first aid kit, and then I spent a happy morning making sure no-one stole the quilts, answered a few questions (nothing hard thankfully!) and spent lots of time watching a fantastic machine quilting demo by Philippa Naylor, who I'd seen give a talk several months ago, and it was just fabulous to watch her work, and ask questions, and realise how much I've been doing wrong - ok so that's not soooo good............

In the interest of cheering myself up I found myself unable to resist buying her book, as a Christmas present to me, and I only had a little peep before putting it away till next week.
It's just gorgeous, the colours here don't do it any justice at all, it's vibrant



and the layout of the pages is refreshing



and the examples of her work outstanding



look at these feather shapes, just fabulous and all stitched freehand, no drawing involved.



even this photo of an iron is inspirational!



and this colour on white is amazing



this might well be the book I spend the whole of the Christmas holidays curled up on the sofa with!

15 comments:

  1. I hope that you all get well soon! I am sorry to hear that you came off your bike and glad that a passer by came to help you. I think it is a good idea to curl up with a book for Christmas!

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  2. Ow ow ow! I was wincing as I read that tale of woe. Poor you!

    But a quilt museum? Now THAT would make me feel better.

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  3. Argh, that sounds like a nasty accident - hope your book is making you feel better. It sounds like you've all been in the wars a bit recently :-(

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  4. oh dear - hope you and your family are feeling a little better and your bumps and scrapes aren't too bad ? Books are always good presents , I've got a few on my list too
    lisa x

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  5. Oh you poor thing,I hope you are taking it easy!

    I like the look of the book.

    They are all ill in our house apart from me!
    Love Lou xxx

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  6. Ack! Tess, enough already!! Take care of yourself (and your people). And I love the chicken/chick!!

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  7. Oh you poor thing, thank goodness nothing was broken, but it still sounds very painful, I hope you are on the mend soon.
    How lovely, a quilt museum, I think I would be there all day until closing! That is one lovely tea cosy, what a wonderful gift for a lucky someone.

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  8. Oh dear--that sounds like a terrible accident! I hope you're feeling much better now and not too sore. I cycle to work in the mornings and really do worry about ice this time of year. But that book looks so cheering--even better than a first aid kit! K x

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  9. I hope you will all feel better and will have fantastic Christmas.

    There is a quilt museum in York?!?! I'll have to find time to visit.

    The book looks beautiful, maybe I need another Christams present as well.

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  10. A quilt museum?!? That sounds dangerous and wonderful all at the same time. Watch out, I'm flying over.

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  11. oh to be able to do feather shapes!!! .... it looks like the most amazingly pretty book.

    P.S. Love the chicken cosies.

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  12. Sheesh, it's posts like these that make me want to take up a NEW HOBBY................ just lethaaaaal !!!!!!!!! I can see exactly why you would want to remain curled up with that book, it's gorgeous and inspiring looking...................
    And I love your biscuits! Now I've got to take up baking tooooo! They look so 'professional' in their cellophane wrapping with the ribbon.................. Actually, there's an idea! I'll get Hugo to bake the biscuits, and I'll do my beloved wrapping ............
    Have a wonderful Christmas................. see you in the new year................ and thank you for all your wonderful posts.................. Cheerio!

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  13. Oh what a lovely book! You definitely needed cheering up after a tumble like that, sounds horrible!

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  14. Oh Tess, what a truly nasty accident. I am so glad that you were not hurt too too badly and that someone came to help. I trust that the lovely quilting book and memories of the tutorial you were able to listen in on will help you recover. Have a really lovely Christmas.
    I have been such a bad blogger of late but hope to post some photos of all my 'doings' soon! Christmas prep has this habit of taking over doesn't it?
    love
    Sheila

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  15. Have a lovely Christmas!

    love Lou xxx

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