Crochet and Chocolate! Lucky me!

Hello. How are you?

 

I hope you are well and happy.

I'm a very happy bunny as a couple of days ago the postman delivered a parcel.

I had a feeling this was a special parcel and as soon as I saw the word 'Alicante' on the post mark, I knew what it was!

It had to be the wonderful giveaway prize from lovely Amanda at Crafty in the Med which I had been so lucky to win!

And there were a few surprises too!

I was so thrilled to have won this gorgeous crochet book....

 

 

I can't wait to try some of the wonderful motifs....

 

 

 and cute project ideas..... 

 

 

 But that was not all that was in my parcel........I felt like it was Christmas again!

A gorgeous crocheted and adorned brooch.....

 

Pretty ribbons......
 

Embroidery silks... I use these for embroidering babys' names on my quilts so they will come in very handy......




 Cute charms.....




 So pretty heart pins...... 

 

And........wait for it.... CHOCOLATE!   Mmmmmmm.......

 

Thank you so much Amanda. You are so kind. It was lovely to receive your parcel of goodies! :)

For a Mediterranean flavour and beautiful crafting, pop over to Amanda's lovely blog Crafty in the Med.

Maggie xx

 

 

Baby Clothes Patchwork Quilt

I thought I'd show you a patchwork quilt I completed just before Christmas.

My lovely customer asked me to make a quilt using fabrics from her little boy's baby clothes.

It was to be a Christmas gift for her Mum.

 

I remember thinking what an excellent idea......what a delightful gift it would surely be...and what a perfect way to repurpose the little boy's baby clothes!

So I started with a huge bag of baby clothes......dungarees, little shirts, jeans....lots of delicious denims, cottons and cords....

I had a super-duper time sorting through the clothing and cutting as many squares as possible from each piece......

Making the most of any features such as tiny pockets and cute motifs.....

I laid the squares out in diagonal rows of light, medium and dark fabrics......I started with the pockets and motifs all facing the same way as shown below...

...but later on I decided to mix up the direction of these squares so that the quilt could be used any way round...

I sewed the squares together, first into rows and then all the rows together.

I found this lovely fabric for the backing....the cream looked wonderful with some of the lighter squares whilst the blue floral pattern complimented the denims........in addition to adding a pleasing feminine touch :)

I then basted, quilted and bound the quilt and here it is!

I was really thrilled with how the quilt turned out :)

and luckily so was my lovely customer.....

and my lovely customer's Mum was thrilled too!

I loved making this quilt by recycling this little boy's baby clothes...a quilt that is so unique and special.....and full of lovely baby memories :)

Maggie xx

New Year's Resolution Number One-Boogie Woogie Piano

This year, I haven't made the usual resolutions about losing weight, doing more exercise, improving my hand writing (yes, really) although it would be very nice to achieve these!

 

New Year's Resolution Number One for 2013 is to learn to play the piano, Boogie Woogie style!

 

Something similar to Jools Holland would be nice! 

 

(Photo-Royal Albert Hall website)

 

In my dreams, eh?

 

Jool's piano playing has always totally inspired me. I love his playing and I watched a brilliant BBC tv programme about him the other week titled, 'My Life in Music'. 

 

I had piano lessons as a child and have always felt very lucky to have had the opportunity to play this wonderful instrument. Sadly though, I gave up playing when I was about 16, as many youngsters do.

 

Up until recently, I hadn't played at all. But then, a couple of years ago, my lovely Chris presented me with a fabulous digital piano for Christmas!  Of course, I couldn't wait to start. I enjoyed playing many old tunes that I remember performing as a child. Since then, I've gained a stock of sheet music but sadly my enthusiasm has waned...

 

Then I saw the Jools Holland programme. He chats about going to music lessons and I can really relate to what he said. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my piano lessons as much as any other child but I have always found playing from sheet music rather restrictive. I admire the pianists that can reel off some amazing tune without any music to follow.

 

I remember a girl in my class at school (back in the 70s) playing her own awesome version of Boomtown Rats' 'I  don't like Mondays'. Rather appropriate for a class of girls who would rather be anywhere else but in class! She played with no sheet music. She just sat down and went for it. The whole class was speechless. And I've always remembered it.

 

After seeing Jool's programme, I thought why not? Maybe I could play without music?  There's nothing to lose by having a go!

Well, I've made a start. Chris found me some You Tube tutorials and I'm currently working on my left hand chop! I'm loving it. I'll keep you updated on how I'm progressing. It's early days and I know I have to practise lots and lots but I'm very enthusiastic!

And......

'If it ain't got that swing, it don't mean a thing'......

I'll be working on that too!

 

If you're a Jools Holland fan and missed the tv programme, you can watch it on BBC iPlayer by clicking here.

I would love to hear if you have any New Year resolutions - please let me know all about them by leaving a comment.

In the meantime, I'm off to practise my Boogie Woogie piano!

Maggie xx

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

 

This is not a long post as I'm sure you're having a lovely day with family and friends :)

 

It's a beautiful sunny New Year's Day here....with gorgeous blue skies!

A lovely start to the New Year after all the rain!

Have a fabulous New Year's day!

 

Maggie xx