Transitions and sewing room question

While moving from the UK we stayed in a really fun "flat" for about 10 days. It was originally in the Mews where the carriages and later automobiles were stored. Now most of them have been made into apartments.

The one we stayed in was very fun. It only had one bedroom, a living room/dining room, a small kitchen and one bath but they allowed us to keep our pets with us. There was a tiny courtyard that was gated so Mac could sit out on the steps and watch the birds.

I loved how funky it was decorated...so not me but fun for a few days! There was a purple wooden moose-head above the fireplace, a huge chandelier above the stairs, and very large print wallpaper on one wall of the bedroom.

It was fun being in the middle of the city after living out in the country for the past few years but I did miss my sheep a bit....

Today I am taking a break from the move stuff and just organizing my computer...or should I say doing routine maintenance that I am bad about doing routinely. I had to add some RAM which is making the whole thing run soooo much faster (why did I wait so long to do this?) and I cleaned out old programs and files that I no longer need. When in doubt I backed it up onto a disk first...So now, even though it is an 8 year old computer sitting on a desk made of packing boxes (desk will not be here until december) it is working like a charm. I can put off replacing this old horse for at least another year. Now I have to sort through some of the old program CD's and get rid of the really old ones...I still have some 5 inch floppy DOS programs hiding at the bottom of this box! Scarey!

So what am I going to do with the money I saved on our computer? Well....I just borrowed Creating Your Perfect Quilting Space by Lois Hallock and put out by That Patchwork Place. I have a decent size room to use for quilting but I seem to mess it up too quickly. I was hoping if I took a bit of time to plan it out it may work better for me.

The room is about 11 foot by 10.5 feet. There is a double closet along one wall. the light isn't very good - the room is at the back of the house which faces the woods. So I know I will need to add work lighting. The good news is the fabric will not get direct light so will not fade!

Right now I have a mistmatch of pieces - a couple of bookcases that are different heights, 2 cabinets with door of varied heights and an old kitchen table that isn't the right height for sewing but has lots of space on the top that I like. So do I try and modify what I have or really go for it and get some new furniture? And if I could only get one or two new pieces what do you think is the most important piece in your quiltroom? sewing table, cutting table, fabric storage?

So much to think about......

Pulling it together

When I was in college my expository writing professor intensely disliked it when students used the word it. "So vague and uninteresting," she would say in her nasal Yankee voice. The way her nostrils flared and her shoulders shrugged you knew vague and uninteresting was bad - very bad. (whoops, she doesn't like the word very either but that is for another post....) To this day when I use the word it the little voice in my head sighs "vague and uninteresting." Today the answer to that is "you betcha!"

I have been unpacking, sorting, cleaning, repacking, and putting stuff away for what feels like forever...ok, maybe just few months but it is mind numbing! Today I took the day "off" to go to an MD appointment and to browse through some fabric shops for curtain materials. I can only explain it as consumer overload. I think I had the same expression on my face as a child does when the first load of Christmas toy circulars comes in the Sunday newspaper. I came home with two magazines, a christmas towel, and some thread...no curtain fabric. Too much to look at!

So I am back at the computer unpacking a box of cords and getting excited that I finally found all the pieces to my camera and can now post photos again! I am so easily amused. the photo on the top of this post may hold my record for procrastination...it took me eight years to finish putting the binding on it! I only did it two days before we packing out...

The photo below is of on of the woman in my quilting group back in the UK. She was determined to have her blocks together before I left. This is her first quilt. I love how the colors came together on this one. It will have a soft blue border and binding.

Back in the USA!

Needless to say it has been a long time since my last post...trust me it has felt even longer to me! I estimate we have been living in hotel rooms for almost 31 days now. The glamour (if there ever was any!) has faded. I want my own bed, my own pillow, and my own pots and pans. I have a terriable craving for freshly backed brownies.

The good news is on Friday we move back into our house. Although it will only have about half of our furniture it will still be better than a hotel room. Most of our furniture will not be here until the first week of December...OK maybe moving during a month with two holidays isn't such a great idea.

Our house is not in great shape...rather was not in great shape. Things to be greatful for - quilting buddies who share the name and number of their handiman. He has a crew over there painting, pulling up tile, putting down tile, replacing broken toilets, cleaning tile, cleaning wallpaper, and generally getting all the tough stuff done. In two days it already looks 200% better.

The pets made it through the flight OK. The folks at the check-in desk for Delta were wonderful! The trip from our flat in the UK to our house here in Georgia took almost 23 hours...of couse I got a cold during this. Travel kills me. Poor Macbeth keeps going back to the house where the "red-headed dog" dog (a very pretty long haired femal dachund) used to live. He looks so disappointed when she doesn't come out to play....

I will post more on the move and what little needle work I did during it on Friday when our own computer gets back on-line.

A few more English days....

I checked another line off my "to do" list. Friday I went up to Worcester to see the Cathedral and to a small pottery just outside Gloucester. Both were well worth taking the time out of packing and cleaning!The cathedral is gorgeous. It is right on the river Servern and we were lucky enough to have sunny...that's right...Sunny day! (no way was I staying in to pack when the sun is out!!!!)
I loved this little "sleeping monk" we found on the ceiling in one of the side chapels!

The stained-glass window were beautiful too....
So for the second year in a row my chili has come in second...oh well, isn't the saying always a bridesmaid? Anyway, I am ok with that since the guy who came in first had promised me his recipe for cheesecake which is absolutely wonderful. My Dh on the other hand had his hopes up for first place...men!

Our computer gets packed on Tuesday this week so I my posting my sporadic through October...

Are we there yet?

Macbeth's photo sort of says it all...we are very tired. And this isn't the royal we either - the cats are sleeping almost all day, Macbeth will not give up his corner of the couch for anything or anybody, and if it wasn't for an obnoxious alarm clock I am fully capable of being the next Rip Van Winkle. Yup, we are very tired.

I would like to blame it all on the pack-out, the move, the MS, and/or the meds but in reality much of it is from just plain stubbornness. You see there are still boxes unchecked on my list of things to see and do while here in England. I am just too stubborn to accept that it is time to fold up the list and let it go (but, but, but....what about...just one more....)This week I joined and British American group on a trip to Lacock. It is a National Trust village that is used for many costume dramas like Jane Austin, historical movies like The Other Bolyen Girl, and Harry Potter! It is like hitting the trifecta!

For those HP fans you may recognize this hallway.....The cloisters also had some very interesting medieval tiles. Overall the lighting was great.

Moving slow and steady

About the only time I have picked up fabric in the past week has been to fold it, wash it or pack it. Not quite the same as actually making anything. The photo above is of one of the quilters in my group's sampler quilt. It is her first and she even mitered the corners using that ivy fabric! Can't wait to see it finished.My sister and her husband came to visit for a few days. I can't believe it rained almost the entire time. The photo above is of a row of Cotswold houses in Upper Slaughter. There are lots of photos and paintings done of this town.

I did take a day out to visit Highgrove, the Princes gardens. It was beautiful. A bit on the wild side - lots of slightly overgrown hedges and mismatched pavings. There are some sculpted areas too and a really wonderful middle-eastern style walled garden. They don't allow photos though...it was killing me!

I am so tired of living in piles of stuff...I am sort of looking forward to their coming and picking up the stuff and getting on with it...

Craziness continutes

I started out my day sitting on jelly donut. I should have gone back to bed....

We were bringing a carload of "stuff" to the charity shop and my DH thought he would surprise me and picked up donuts when he went to the local shop for a newspaper. He assumed I would see it on the drivers seat before sitting down. Doesn't everyone check the seat for donuts before sitting? If I remember correctly it was on the driving test....

Even with clean-up duty we got to the shop early. I waited while DH went for a walk. The women working at the shop helped me unload the car. DH arrived just as the last box was dropped on the floor...he was carrying a two bags of books and rugby shirts. I don't think he has got this we are moving and need to cut back plan...so I didn't feel bad at all when I added to my little sewing machine collection.

Next was the trip to the vet with Brownie. Her lip was acting up and I needed to check out shipping requirements. This little 7 pound cat managed to stink up my car almost beyond bearing. While I was in with the vet DH cleaned the cage. I dropped DH off at work then the cat managed to come up with more ammunition. I almost drove off the road! When I got home DH had left me a message...maybe I should drive Brownie around everyday to get her used to the cage again. I wish he was joking!Anyway, the photo above is of a firescreen I bought a year or so ago. I caught my DH trying to slip it into the pile to go to the charity shop. You have to keep an eye on him...

I promise to have some quilting photos tomorrow...I plan to start packing them before my DH can get his hands on any of it!!!!

A bit more of London

After a week of cleaning the house I did a quick one day trip up to London and fit in a packed schedule. (I could not believe how young these soldiers are! or am I just getting old?! And I must be shrinking!)I saw the changing of the guard, toured the Royal Mews and Buckingham Palace. Once again London wore me out!

The changing of the guard was very crowded but interesting. The Mews was my favorite - horses and carriages! Doesn't get much better than that. The palace was a bit overwhelming. The state dining room was set for a state dinner which is very over the top!Got home tired and had to get back to organizing and getting things ready to ship. I have visitors coming for a few days later this week so have to get as much as I can done as early as possible. Part of me just wants to have them pack it all and deal with it when I get to the states...not the worse idea...

Sunday I taught a bag class with a local sewing group. I also got rid of some of my excess fabric. I brought way too much drapery fabric with me...enough for two houses worth of windows! Needless to say I only made three curtains while I was here...I think I used more making bags!

Well the rain has stopped for a bit so out to clean out the car....am I having fun yet?

London Calling

We went up to London for a few days. My Dh is starting to say "this is our last chance to..." about every hour! So we took the Bank holiday weekend as a last chance to see a couple of show at the west end (Jersey Boys and Mousetrap) and to get some good Greek and Middle Eastern Food.

Saturday was my day to go to the markets. I went over to Portebello Road early. This is an interesting antique market but don't expect any deals there! It was very crowded and I left earlier than I expected which was OK because that ment I was in time to meet my DH at Camden Market.
The last time we went to Camden was at least 8 years ago. We haven't gone back because my DH was noticeable uncomfortable with the Goth/Punk atmosphere. This time he had no problems - it has been yuppified. There are still elements of the old Camden yard but they seem a bit "Disney-d." For instance there was only one guy there with the shabby leathers, florescent pink mohawk, and torn t-shirt...he was a poser. For a 1 pound coin you take his photo...the Camden equivalent of Mickey Mouse. (He also had not tattoos and no piercings...wimp!) Not just the atmosphere has changed but the things for sale were 80% imports from the far east. Many of the stalls were just repeats of stalls on the other side of the market. The stalls inside the Canal building are much better and the food stalls in the courtyard next to the canal are wonderful. (best to go there hungry!) Interesting that sometimes the prices in the shops along the road are less then in the market...and that is with my DH negotiating.

So my advice for Camden is to go on a Saturday. Hold onto your money until you get to the stalls inside the building. There are some good crafts there but do not expect any antiques like most of the webpostings promise. Also, wonder the small food court before deciding what to have for lunch...there are lots of great choices! (My Dh had Lebanese and I had Ethiopian goat curry followed by a cappachino and French puff pastry! Calories don't count on vacation...)
That afternoon I went to the National Gallery. It was wonderful I love Van Gogh so seeing another of his sunflower paintings is always exciting. They have so much more energy when seen in real life. The paint is so thick and has so much texture. Right now I can see oranges, yellows and greens better than reds, blues and greens so the sunflowers really seemed to glow for me! We had really good Greek food at Jimmies near the theater.

Sunday we went to yet another market! This time to Spitalfields and Brick Lane. These I strongly recommend! Lots of crafts, young designers and vintage clothes. The food at the Brick Lane was again really, really good. I ended up buying a trench coat, a belt, and a pocketbook. I would have bought more if I was about 4 sizes smaller....I did love the red chairs in the photo above. I took about 8 photos and have been playing with them on Picassa.


There was an Olympic handover party we made a showing at but I cut out early to spend a few hours at the V&A. The tearoom there is one of my favorite stops in London. Each of the three rooms was decorated by a famous designer (including William Morris) and are just wonderful eye candy...the almond croissant isn't bad either. (Ok, I have given up on fitting into any of the designer clothes....)

That night we just had dinner at a little place in China town. Then I went back to the hotel too exhausted to see any more...

Today I am home resting...needless to say I overdid it the past few days. Too many "my last chance to...." finally wore me out! Lots of inspiration though. I filled dozens of pages in my dream book and took lots of photos.

Crafty stuff

I took a break this morning to do some crafts with the local kids. It will most likely be my last time since next week we will be shipping my Dh's car and packing out will start to go into overdrive!

We finished up their shopping bags, made some beaded bracelets, some bookmarks and ate Victorian Sponge Cake (almond cake with raspberry jam - may favorite!.) A good morning all around.

The bookmarks were a lot of fun to make. These are still on the kitchen table waiting for the glue to dry. The girls will pick them up tomorrow. They match the book-bags they made for going back to school...though how many books a 5 year old carries I don't know.... I do know that if your give a 5 year old girl glitter glue pens you have to be prepared to cut some of your dogs hair! (And give the poor pup a long time to recover...) I can tell when Mac is really tired - he snores!

Well, off to spend a couple hours sorting and packing...

Forgot what sun looked like...

I had so many plans to work in the house today to get ready for visitors and for the move but there is sun! Real sun with real blue skies! None of the big billowing grey clouds we have lived under for the past month or so. It feels so good. Housework will just have to wait....

Yesterday I put the border on my Orphan/scrappy quilt top. There are so many random bias seams in this I think I'd better get it quilted soon before it morphs into one of those pointy hats...For example right after I put it together I squared it off. The only thing I did after that was hang it on the clothesline for a couple of minutes to take a photo then I folded it up and placed it on a shelf. (I may have taken it out one other time to show some quilters here are the house.) Regardless, compared to the lives of my otehr quilt-tops this one has had it easy. However when I laid it out on the floor I did a quick measure and found that one corner had streatched out almost an inch...back to squaring up this monster. I hope the borders will help.

I know I cut enough of the red fabric to go around the entire quilt but one strip was missing. The gold fabric on the top of the quilt was the first piece of solid 3 inch strip I found in the box so like a game of tag - that was "it." It does serve a purpose - reminds me which side it the top!

I also did some more packing this week and actually found some things that had been missing since we moved here two years ago! How great is that! Some of these were real finds: a footpedal for one of my machines that I was sure was long gone; my Cobb Quilt that I started back in 1997 (!); a box of beads that also had a bracelet I made while on a trip to Florida. You can see in the photo above that I tried to represent Amish quilt blocks with beads. Typical of my projects - all it needs is a button or large bead on the end and it is done! When I look at this it reminds me that not all that long ago I had really good eyes!

Well, off for a walk with Macbeth and to take advantage of the rays while we can.

Vintage Fungly and a plain Fun recipe

I've been packing up some of my vintage quilts and came across a truely vintage fungly! Perhaps we are on the verge of a fungly revival?I love the little panda bears in the yellow fabric! Some of the blocks are frugal pieced and there is one little ninepatch for a center on the far right center row. Unfortunately much of the orange fabric is too delicate to quilt. I think the blue ticking fabric is what holds it all together both design and structure-wise. It will just stay a top forever and give a smile every time I take it out of it's bag/pillowcase! The squares making up the nine-patch are 4-1/2 inch finished...you could easily make this "pattern?" with some charm packs and a couple of yards of fabric.
The little "thief" above was at the boot-sale the other weekend. He ran off with this bone from a stand selling them. The owner was very nice and went back and bought it for him. He doesn't look guilty at all!
Above is another chair recovering project I bought at auction. I love the lines of the mahogany curved arms (very Ralph Lauren-y.) Best of all it is a folding chair! Under the funky gray silk is a thick brushed fabric that is very worn in the center. Part of me wants to get going on this but the rational side says to wait until I get back to the states....we'll see. At least it already has the Brownie seal of approval.

I took a few minutes out from pre-packing and funglies to actually cook. My DH was feeling very bad for himself. Since my eyes have been acting up he has been eating a lot of spaghetti. So last night I made him some Keftaides Tou Fournou just like his former mother in law used to make! The best part - it will feed him for a week so I can go back to sewing!

Meatballs a la Smyrna (Keftaides Tou Fournou)

2 pounds ground beef
2 onions, finely chopped
2 sprigs parsley, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 egg beaten
salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons tomato paste
8 ounces water
4 ounces olive oil
4 bay leaves

(optional: 1 Tablespoon dried mint and/or 1 tsp Allspice)

In a large bowl, add ground beef, one chopped onion, parsley, garlic, and seasonings to taste. Add beaten egg and knead well.

Ina large frying pan, add 2 ounces of oil and saute second chopped onion until soft and transparent. Dilute the tomato paste in the water and add to the onion. Cook for 15 minutes.

With floured hands shape the "meatballs" into oval shaped 3 inches long by 1-1/2 wide. In a second frying pan heat the reamining oil and brown the meatballs on all sides. Place the meatballs in a baking pan. Add the bay leaves to the tomato mixture and then pour over the meatballs. Cover the pan with foil and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for about 10 more minutes or until the meatballs have a brownish-red tint.

Serve over rice pilaf or with crusty bread and a Greek salad. Makes 20-24 meatballs. (Freezes well)

New Fungly Challenge

Tonya at Lazy Gal Quilting and Bonnie at Quiltville are challenging folks to try Fungly quilts...basically using simple blocks with ugly/old fabric.

So here are my first blocks...my favorite ugly block has this animal print with the entomology fabric.
I have been doing a bit of a fabric clear-out. I found the fabric fell into several groups: novelty fabric (like the animal and entomology prints) that I bought for a specific project or on impulse; I must have had a metallic period because there is a lot of it lurking in my stash (and I haven't used it in at least 6 years!); which leads me to the last group, old fabric. If the fabric was made after 1970 and before 2000 then I had to seriously wonder why I still had it. Unless I love it then it was put aside to be used before I leave or leave in the UK. I am not packing and unpacking it yet again.


Besides using for the fungly quilt I have used a lot of it making bags. Here in the UK plastic bags have become a pariah but most of the reusable bags are a bit boring. So I found a super simple pattern on the internet on the All People Quilt site. It basically uses two half yard pieces of fabric and makes a reversible bag that can be rolled up and kept in the glove compartment.
Here is Goldie hiding in the apple tree in our front yard. Couldn't find a good spot for this photo but had to get it on the blog!

Back again...

I know it has been a while since I posted. I'd go through the long explanation of my eyes going wonky, not being able to use the computer...I don't want to be too whiney so I'll just leave it at that. I have found that I see colors better right now by taking photos , downloading to Picassa and then hitting either the color saturation option or the black and white option. I used that laying out the blocks above. There are a couple of not dark but not light blocks (they were samples made while I was teaching new quilters ) that were fighting me. Using the photos I found the "problem" blocks worked best in the corners. Who knows I may even finish this one since you don't have to see colors to hand quilt!


The photo above is from Chedworth Roman Villa in Yanworth. It is one of my favorite sites to bring visitors. On a sunny day the mosaics look amazing and it really gives you a feel for how a villa was laid out. Earlier someone posted and asked for more mosaic photos so as I find them (my photos need organizing again....) I'll post! I'm sure there is a quilting pattern in those floors....


I did make it to the Tewkesbury Medieval festival again this year. The photos are of a Morris Dancer group. I love their costumes. The one with the bright mask represents summer...of course it was rainy and cold that day!

I haven't been doing much sewing...except for bags. I found a really easy pattern on the internet for a medium size tote. You can never have too many of these...ok, maybe I do have too many now but I never seem to have them with me when I am shopping so now I have made a tote bag for my tote bags. This made it easier for me to carry the bags in the car and I am happy to announce I have even run out of store plastic bags! It may be time to retire that funny little plastic-bags-carrier-tube I made years and years ago that hangs behind the kitchen door. So is that progress - I've gone from making a storage bag for my plastic bags to a carrier bag for my carrier bags?!

Happy 4th of July

OK so I am a bit early...that alone should surprise anyone who knows me! We had our ex-pat independence day cookout yesterday. It was typical UK weather. Fine in the morning during set-up and showers when the guests arrive. We were lucky it cleared up later in the afternoon so the tents had time to dry out before we had to take them down.

A typical mail story...the decorations never arrived! The woman in charge of the committee ordered them over a month ago! The tracking system showed they got at far as the military postal system. Oh well! Needless to say there are no 4th of July decorations in the UK stores so we had to improvise. We had some flag banners left from last year. I pulled out all my patriotic fabric from the stash and over the weekend made 12 table centerpieces (30-inch by 30-inch little quilts which hid the fact we couldn't find round table clothes and had crossed over one blue and one white.) We bought red plants and wrapped them in more patriotic fabrics and used mason jars for some red, white and blue flower arrangements. In the end it look very American Country...I liked it better than all the plastic stuff they used last year!

We don't have any big plans for the holiday weekend. I'm trying to rest up a bit. If I am really ambitious I may try to make my first Victoria sponge cake. Our village is having a "Flood Reunion" which marks last years flood then lack of water episode. As part of the festivities they are having a cake baking contest (which of course my DH signed me up for) but you have to make a Victoria sponge. I had to look it up on the internet! I may have to make a few trial runs over the next few weeks...