Surprise…

There is a surprise giveaway over at pumpkin country’s blog.

So hop on over if you fancy being in with the chance of a surprise.

I’ve already signed up…LOL

What can I say, I like surprises.

Well Done Jesse…

she managed to raised £255 towards her trip to Africa. Kathy won the quilt, congratulations to her.

I managed to win myself a little fabric from Andrea, Welshquilter, Jesse’s mum. Thanks Andrea.

So every one is happy.

I wish you all the best in all that you do Jesse, have a good trip.

Wow back again…

I don’t know what has happened to me.

I am posting for a dear blog friend, Andrea, from Welsh Quilter.

Her daughter Jesse, has a once in a life time chance of going to Africa, but the students have to raise the money themselves.

Any way they are doing a quilt raffle for one of Andrea’s gorgeous quilts to help pay for Jesse’s trip.

I will let you go over to her blog and read all about it for your selves. Follow the link Jesse’s Trip Fund

Will see ya over there…

Aisha

Hi World…

Sorry to be away for sooooooo long, but where does time fly? OMG, its nearly May already.

Any way, first up, I want to thank Faharna for the inspiration for this blankie

Masha Allah I love how you did it Faharna, see it here.

It is a very similar pattern, that I thought would be good practice for my crochet, as I haven’t done much since I was little, and then I couldn’t make granny squares, square. So I gave up, until recently.

I am working on a lap blanket at the moment and I will be… if I can get a picture of it that turns out. The pattern cannot be seen at all. I don’t know if its the colour of the wool or what.

So when it is finished if I still can’t get a good picture I will post a link so you can see what it looks like with a proper picture LOL

Speak to you all soon

Bracelets

I have been working on a Victorian style bracelet which has taken me ages as it is all beaded, but I like how it has turned out.

Tell me what you think.

I think its great.

Lastly some bad news, my lovely Hubbies dad died last the weekend.

Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Speak soon

Mittens

Baby H’s mouse mittens

Rabbit mittens

WordPress is finally letting me add pictures again, yippee!

The mittens above are my new knitting venture. It has taken me so long to find a pattern that works I have totally missed the cold and snow for Baby H.

Never mind, I’m sure there will be more cold weather for him to wear them.

The rabbit mitts (I really don’t think that they look like rabbits) were supposed to be a birthday present for the little girl next door.

It was her 2nd birthday last week, but on the day her mum had a total freak out session on hubby, so needless to say I didn’t go to the little un’s birthday party,

so they are still sitting on my desk waiting…

I have also started making some jewelry. I am having fun making it. Its like quilting and knitting. It totally relaxes me. i have so much jewelry now that I need a second jewelry box.

Even hubby has been having a go…

This is the first thing that he made me

With these earrings to match

This is one of the first charm bracelets that I made

Turquoise is one of my favourite stones and my birthstone

If you want to see more of what I have been up to go to my Flickr page.

I even have some cards that I need to take pictures of. Will add them soon.

Hopefully I won’t be away for so long next time.

There have been abnormal cells, colposcopy clinics and antidepresant tablets, need I say more…

I haven’t even been quilting. I have made one and half quilts in four months.

I have three or four more quilt tops that are pinned and just need quilting and binding and then putting up for sale.

Be there soon.

Will be seein’ ya’ soon

You have probably noticed that I have changed my name, did it by deedpoll a couple of months ago, so no more Claire (except mum)

Still here…

Hi every one still here. Just a quick post to let you know what I have been up to. Well I did go into a load of info and try to add pictures of what I have been up too, but wordpress is having a silly session, won’t upload pictures and has deleted the whole post, so hopefully I will be updating this tomorrow.

If you would like to see pics go over to my flickr page and take a look.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/madebyclaire/

Merry Christmas

Hi every one, I’m still here. Just a quick post to say Merry Christmas to each and every one.

I hope that you all have a great holiday, will post pics in the new year.

Speak soon

Hi Y’all

I hope that you are all doing well. Wow, been busy. Sorry for not posting pics of the cat and mouse quilt sooner, but they are here now…

This is exactly as the pattern asks for fabric wise. The quilting is too in the center, but on the border The pattern shows quilting along every line, but as it was a custom order and I was running out of time, I just did some large stippling. It still looks ok though. I am pleased with it. The only thing that I am not pleased with is the person who bought it left no feedback what so ever. Didn’t even send me an email to say that it arrived. I know the have it though as the day they ordered this quilt they had bought another one of me, which I posted. They didn’t leave feedback or let me know that it arrived, so when it was time for posting this quilt I sent it signed for so I could track it on the internet. So I know they have this one… Aren’t some people strange…

Any way, the main reason I have been away for so long is that we went back to Bahrain for the Eid celebrations to see Hubbies family and surprise them. They were all a bit shocked. It was nice to be back for a while. But back in the UK now. It has been very wet since we got back and I’m not sure if I’m jetlagged or if I have got this SADS thingy from the depressing weather, but I can’t get my backside into gear. I am so tired. Feeling a little better now though.

The socks that I knit for Baby H, I haven’t taken pics of Hubbies socks yet (Bad blogger), let me know if you see a trillion mistakes or dropped stitches. I’m sure you knitters will see something…LOL

Baby H’s socks. They are a bit long in the leg, but I followed the pattern and this is what I got. Baby H loves them. He calls them his rainbow socks. So what can I say?

Speak soon, hopefully it won’t be as long next time.

Some Cards

for you to look at, as I have been busy with a cat and mouse quilt in blue. Will post you some pics when its finished so you can see what it looks like in blue. I am looking forward to seeing it finished. Any way the cards, and they are listed in my ebay shop if you would like to buy one…

This one has a matching envelope

This one is not for sale, its the card I made for Gran for her birthday, I just forgot to post about it. It is hand embroidered. Gran says she is going to frame it…

Speak soon

A special quilt

I have been working on a special commission quilt for a lovely lady called Natalie.

It’s all finished and sent of and I received an email from her today saying it has arrived safely and she likes it.

Phew!!!!

Natalie bought the picture blocks and sent them to me, and I went from there.

Glad you like it Natalie.

Ta Dah!!!!

I have finally finished the socks. Sorry I haven’t posted for a while, been working on a commission order. Will post pics when its finished. I couldn’t work on it yesterday as I have pulled a ligament in my right shoulder, and guess what I am right handed…

Any ways, pics of the socks

Time to knit hubby some socks,

Speak soon

Mum, you better sit down for this one…

I’ve been knitting. Toadstools to be exact. I very often browse around the blog Purlbee and a few days ago they had a tutorial for knitting a baby toadstool rattle, I thought I gotta have a go at that one. It was all stitches that I could do, that mum taught me when I was a kid. So here here we have it, my toadstoll rattle…

and it RATTLES!!!!! Yay…

I am quite pleased at how it turned out and all the stitches are right. Actually they aren’t. I had put it on the needles the wrong way round. If you see the rows of purl stitches, well there are only supposed to be a couple of rows that are purl and the rest are knit. I don’t know how I managed to do the rows in purl, but after a couple of rows I realised that I wasn’t knitting, so when I got to the end of the row I started the next purling and voila it has knit all the way down. Anyway i think it looks groovy even if the colours are naff.

I am now knitting some socks. I got some wool of ebay (the wool on the stem) and I have knitted about 3/4 of my first sock. Not bad seeing as I have never used double needles before. I have had to purchase a second set as the first ones I bought were 30cm and kept poking my eyes out, these new smaller ones are much easier for knitting socks with LOL.

Will post pictures when it is finished.

Speak soon

Give away…

Over on Hugs and kisses blog. She is giving away a taggy blankie which is absolutely gorgeous. So if you would like to be in for a chance of winning pop on over. Good luck every one.

Some more

Take a look at my latest quilts…

The picture fabric is from France. I picked up a couple of meters while I was there and have been waiting to do something with it. I have also made a burp cloth and bib with the same fabric combo.

Number quilt. My gran sent me this with a load of fabric scraps, so I thought I would make it up.

Sales on the Mickey and Donald fabric have stopped, so I thought I would make something out of the two.

All the foliage you see on the pictures behind the hedgehog in the previous post has been removed by management maintanence, and I haven’t seen the l;ittle fellow since. Slugs are eating the bread and milk that I put out for him. I hope the little guy is ok and just had to move house…

Speak soon

Not good

I have made a quilt that I think is lovely, but I can’t take pictures when it is gloomy. The light is no good. It lets the colours of the quilt down. So it will have to wait for a brighter day.

Andrea, take a look at my hexagon top, or what I have done so far.

I love this picture with the sunlight shining through the blinds.

Sun light gone…

I love how fast these grow. I am not sure yet how big it will be. We will have to see when I get bored, but it will not be for sale, this is mine.

The past few nights we have had a little visitor in the garden. It must be a male because he is quite large and loves bread and milk. Can you guess what he is yet?

A Mr. Hedgehog…

He likes having his photo taken, he just sits there and doesn’t curl up into a ball.

Will post pictures of the new quilt when I get good light.

Speak soon

Cats and Mice

This is what has been keeping me busy. It has taken me a while as it is half hand sewn and I’m not the best hand sewer in the world, but I’m getting better. I used to hate hand sewing but now I’m quilting I am beginning to like it. I am even working on some hexagon paper peicing.

Any way back to the quilt…

The young girl next door claimed it as hers after just seeing one cat. She has a daughter and the little one likes cats. As you can probably tell from the photo’s her name is Brooke.

She finally has it and squealed when she saw all the cats. LOL

Speak soon

The new quilts I spoke about…

The first quilt is the same as the pink jelly roll quilt that I did before, only this time its blue. I have a black and white jelly roll, but I’m not sure if I will do a quilt in the same style. I will think of something

The next one is a receiving blanket with a decorative stitch around the edge.

Can any one name the flower in the previous post, I’m still waiting…

I really want to know what it is called.

Speak soon

??????????

I will be posting about a couple of new quilts later, but first I wonder if any one can help me? We went into the city yesterday and when we were walking back I saw these flowers on a bush…

I would love to know what they are. The petals look like crumpled tissue paper. I didn’t dare to touch them in case I tore one of them. If any one knows what kind of flower they are, then please let me know.

Speak soon

Sorry…

It’s all I seem to be saying at the moment. I just can’t get my backside into gear.

As promised some pics from our little holiday in France.

This tractor belongs to the farmer from up the road. Here he has blocked the road so he can move cows. He had let Baby H in and have a go at moving the bucket up and down, but I missed it as I was talking to Hubby on the computer. Todd managed to get himself in the shot.

This is my duck, he doesn’t have a name, but he is around 4 years old now. I picked him and another (that the fox got) when I was staying with my mum before I went to Bahrain. The next picture is of my mum’s fat chickens…

My Hubby bought me a new camera before we left so I could take some good shots, not that the weather let me. But it had a macro button and I have not had this option before so I took pictures of some flowers and weeds. I don’t know the names of all of them, so you will just have to look and say OOOOHHHHH!!!!!

I don’t know what the second flower is called (mum did tell me) but I love the forget-me-nots and the rosemary.

I have been busy since I got back trying to fill the shop up again. I have finished two quilts and I am now working on a third, but I need to get some batting. The first picture and the quilt I am working on now are from half jelly rolls.

I was reading Creative little daisy‘s blog and she had made a quilt out of charm squares. I had purchased a pack of 100 charms, but didn’t know what to do with them, so when I saw Autum’s blog I thought great I’ve got to do one of those to get rid of the charms. So here it is…

To finish of with, I have been making some cards, as I can do that easily around Baby H. This is one that I made for my Nan’s birthday…

Speak soon