suewilduk's photostream

suewilduk's photostream on Flickr.

I've had a play around on my Flickr account which has been inactive of late.  Still needs a good sort out but have a look at my postcard pics, there's quite a few.

Sewing stuff

Some postcards were sent this week.  One was a birthday swap, this time for Jacquie who requested butterflies.  I made this ages ago along with another butterfly postcard for another birthday girl, who had changed her mind and wanted a bird one instead.

This is based on Jan Mullen's "Cut Loose Quilts" so choosing something as bright as possible, though whether it looks much like a butterfly is debatable.   So I added a band of butterflies.

Another postcard make was one on the theme of "Tried and Tested" which only had one swap partner.  A few months ago I picked up a fridge magnet advertising the Weston Super Mare quilt show, though I never got to see the quilt show I decided to make use of the 6" square of fabric on the magnet.  It was a lovely little square which goes really well with the woven postcard

It looked very autumnal by the time I's finished, with a quick rummage through the stash I came up with oak leaf fabric which was just right for embellishing the back.

I am very slowly sorting out my room and the UFO's and other detritus that lives in there.  In my wardrobe I have some bags hanging which contain calico, bits of wadding, vilene and other bits and pieces. 

To organise things a bit I've started to make proper fabric bags which will hang from the loop hanging bit of the coathangers.  This is one that I've made with a foundation pieced block that I'd made, oh, years ago and this is for the bits of wadding.

My friend Brenda has recently started teaching some patchwork and quilting at a sewing shop in Wimborne.  She's after some quick and easy things for Christmas and I had some ideas.  I thought of coasters which I've done loads of times before

 On the right is the one that I have on my window ledge and the two samples in Christmas fabrics

 

Above is a little decoration based on the diagonal coaster, when I realised I could pull back the diagonal edges to reveal a little star underneath

And I also made a table mat using a sew and flip method, which is quite easy. I hope these will be suitable for her students.  I'll write some instructions about how I've made them.  All of the items took me just over a couple of hours yesterday evening.

I don't think much of the clocks going back and coming home from work when its dark.  At least it'll give me more time to sew!

Days Out

I haven't had much sewing or other creative stuff to blog about recently, so for today's posting I will share some photos from the last couple of months of going out and about which I haven't posted about before.  It is such a drab day today (as it has been for the past couple of days) some nice pics will brighten the day up.

Back in September we went on the Wessex Belle dining train run by the Swanage Railway with Peter and Diane, my brother-in-law and his wife.  We had a really brilliant day from going to Swanage by bus into Bournemouth and taking the Swanage bus that goes on the Sandbanks ferry over to the Purbecks.  Spending the afternoon in the town having a wander round we then made our way to the station.

By the beginning of September the nights were drawing in and by the time we left the station and headed for Corfe Castle is was getting dark.  By the time we returned on our first run back to Swanage it was dark and we had another return trip while we had our meal.  It was a really lovely 3 course meal, though we had to choose from the menu in advance and remember what we'd ordered! It was really well organised and the waiters (all volunteers) were really friendly so it was a great experience that we'd try again. 

I thought that the Day Out With Thomas day came after the Swanage Railway trip but I found this was back in August in the week of the August Bank Holiday.  The Thomas day was on the Watercress Line, in Hampshire.  This was a family day out with Jamie, Carly and the boys who are Thomas the Tank Engine mad.  In fact, Freddie is train mad because he keeps playing the dvd that David made of video clips that he's taken!

It was so busy (as you would expect with Thomas being so popular).  This photo was taken on a footbridge at Ropley station.  But the boys managed to see the popular characters 

Thomas and Diesel.

And Gordon (I think!)

And they met the Fat Controller.

If trips up and down the line were not enough, over the footbridge and in the field by the station was a miniature railway too, which Carly and I went with Leo and Freddie

At the beginning of this month we had a day out with Alex, Mary and the girls, this time to Marwell Wildlife.  This was quite a large park to get around but the girls did well and there were play areas dotted around to take their interest as well as the animals.

Penguins, showing off in the water

Seeing how tall you are compare with a giraffe.

Comparing meerkats

Seeing lemurs, zebra and rhinos

And at the end a train ride!

PS - Because it's October all the links above have some spooky goings on for Halloween.