Oh dear!

Poor old Bertie had to go to the hairdressers today. 

Unfortunately for her we left it a bit too long since the last clipping and after dropping her off I got a phone call from the pooch boutique telling me that she had too many knots and would have to be shaved as short as a Jack Russell!  Oh dear now I was really dreading picking her up and felt very guilty.

But actually although she doesn't have her feathers she does look pretty smart, well smarter than she did anyway and a lot easier to manage going forward.

A few weeks ago!

And this afternoon

Shaved!

But at least this time she has her eyebrows!

It's auction day!

It's auction day today and I'm feeling slightly nervous. I have my eye on a number of lots this month and I think the nerves are partly because I really really want a couple of painted commodes (the chest of drawers type of commode, not the portable loo's) but also because I've got an awful feeling that I'll just keep bidding until I get them, forgetting that I actually have to pay for them afterwards.

There's also quite a bit of other furniture for restoration (major restoration) and an art deco light fitting. All sitting there waiting for me. 

I'm thinking I really need to get a job to pay for this habit, or maybe pay a little visit to an addiction clinic!

Anyway wish me luck....


Update.

Well I didn't get the commodes or the deco light, but we did get the restoration project, help! Before photos will follow, but who knows if there will ever be any after ones, I think we may have bitten off more than we can chew with this one!! 

Finished quilt

Rhiannon has given me some photo's of the finished quilt, a bit creased but pretty I think.

Early morning sky

The moon going down and the sun coming up and all in the space of about 10 minutes.

Flower play

 I treated myself some cheap flowers yesterday. 

And spent a lovely hour playing with them : )

Roses wedding cake

Since new years eve I have been working on a wedding cake that was picked up this morning for transportation to Windsor. Having it in the house was worrying enough but thank goodness the responsibility of moving it to it's final destination wasn't mine.

The roses are made from petal paste and each was worked over a minimum period of 4 days to allow the previous set of petals to dry before adding the next. The actual cakes are sponge (pound cakes), bottom layer - plain with a hint of orange, middle layer - chocolate chip, top layer - coffee.

Have I been stressed? Yes very. Worried? Always. Am I pleased with the end result? Yes I am.  Do I want to do another one? Hmm not too sure, will have to have a think on that one as I was asked yesterday if I could..... 

A present for Rhiannon

I've been wanting to make a patchwork quilt for a long long time and finally got around to it this year (oops last year now), as a Christmas present for Rhiannon.

I brought the fabric, oh way back in June, but got a bit scared about cutting the squares so kept putting it off. 

It's funny how quickly the weeks can go by and you suddenly think crumbs it's two months later and I still haven't started, so at last one day I just got on with it.

But then came the bit when I realised that I don't have the right foot for my machine, so my squares are what I would call a bit rustic, not exactly matching up as they should do, but hey it's homemade and I just hope nobody looks too closely at it.

So with all the squares sewn together it was time to purchase the backing and wadding. It's about November now, cutting it all a bit fine for Christmas! I decided to buy an Egyptian cotton sheet for the backing as a cheaper option and also used this for the border, a bit boring but everyone has to watch the pennies nowadays.

So with top quilt finally finished it was time to make some room, shifting all the furniture around to find a spot I could lay it all out flat to layer up. That was easier said than done too, there is no room in this house to swing a cat, let alone find a large working space. I really do have to stop the auction purchases, it's beginning to look like a warehouse in here!

Anyway eventually I got there and spent the next couple of hours sticking pins through the layers to hold it all together.

Then it was decision time, do I hand quilt or use the machine? In my wisdom I decided to hand quilt, to add to the whole hand made look. Not the best decision, in stead of taking hours on the machine it took me days and days..... The only place I could work on it was on my bed, which looking back was quite a good option really, as I could huddle under the quilts and keep warm at the same time. 

With only hours until Christmas day the quilting was done and the binding added. No time to run through the washing machine and no time to take the final pictures. And so I am still waiting for Rhiannon to provide me with photographs of the finished quilt in situ and might be waiting a while, so watch this space and i'll update when received!!