Good news - I got a voluntary post!

Hello Everyone I hope you are all ok and happy.  It has been a busy day for me and I was up and dashing through Shropshire this morning at 7.30 to make sure that I was there bright and early for my interview.  I wasn't sure what to expect in my interview but it was so relaxed and enjoyable and the time just flew. I was asked if I would stay on for an induction which I was really pleased to do.  I was able to meet six other volunteers and we had a full and thorough grounding in to what was expected of us as volunteers. However I still didn't really know if I had a place or not until the end when a lady came into to measure us for our costumes - how exciting!  Now to give you a few clues, although I am sure you have already guessed.

 

This is one of my favourite shops in the village and I know you will have guessed where I am going.

 

 

 

 

How I love these bonnets, they are so pretty and it is wonderful to see them being made in the shop on an old fashioned Singer sewing machine.

 

 

Some of the very interesting artefacts in the shop, I would love some of these in my sewing room, what about you? 

 

 

The shop window shows the old Queen Victoria in mourning for her beloved Prince Albert.

 

 

Now you already know what I am going to say - yes I have been offered a place as a volunteer at Blists Hill - yippee!  I am over the moon as it has always been a place I wanted to work and I thought well why not volunteer.  I contacted them and was told that there was a long waiting list but could I fill in a form and send some references.  After a few days they asked me to go for an interview which was today but I went thinking that I would be put on a waiting list but now it seems as if it will happen rather more quickly.  I am so excited thinking about what cottage I will be in and what my costume will be like.  We were given some guidelines about not wearing any modern watches, earrings or brooches - they all have to be in the Victorian period.  We can only wear boots and no modern clothing at all so it all has to be authentic.  They suggested that I bring some sewing or knitting or rag rugs to make up whilst I am in my cottage so I am thinking of making up my lovely hexagons from Angela into a perfectly lovely bag which will be keeping with Victoriana.  I also have to make sure that the knitting pins are in the period so I need to make sure that everything is correct.  I also have to be instructed in making up the fire in the cottage I will be in - hopefully I won't set the whole place alight as it has been about 10 years since I lit a household fire.

 

Well my Lovelies I hope you are pleased for me and I will of course be telling more once I start my shifts.  Blists Hill is about 60 miles one way from where I live and I obviously need to make sure that I don't overdo things but I am thinking of going about twice a month to start with and see how it goes.  There are a lot of opportunities there which I am excited about and I will really enjoy working with the visitors and the staff/volunteers.  I was going to take lots of photographs today but it was just pouring with rain and not the best day to take any but rest assured you will be getting lots once I start.

 

Phew!  A great day and I actually lost the old dog today, I think I left him behind as I raced through Shropshire this morning and think he is still making his way back here, poor old thing!  As you know one of my big resolutions this New Year was to engage in voluntary work and I was feeling rather dejected as I couldn't seem to get anywhere with the elderly sector, however, that is all behind me.  I hope you have had a good a day as I have - I am sending you all huge hugs and loves - I hope you are enjoying your evening/day wherever you are in the world.  Do leave some comments if you have time as I love to hear from you all.  Lots of love to you Dorothy:-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Sorry two things I forgot!

Hi Everyone, yes it is late - 23.34 and I am supposed to be in bed but I realised that I had forgotten two  things to tell you - one important and the other not!

 

Firstly my lovely Friend Alison who sells those wonderful Laura Ashley hexagons along with many other fabulous delights has now opened her blog - please go and visit her as you won't be disappointed I promise.  Her blog is called Farmhouse Traditions and I know you will enjoy reading all her news.

 

The second thing is that I cannot count!  I have now made six bags, not five! Hallelujah.....

 

Nigh night to you all and to everyone else, good morning.  See you all tomorrow.  Big hugs and loves, Dorothyxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

A quick hello

Hi Lovelies how are  you all doing tonight?  I wanted to just do a quick hello and catch up with you all.  Last night I had quite a few fabulous ideas from people with regards to my bags and getting rid of those wrinkles!  The lovely Gilly suggested some wadding and a wonderful lady from Spain called Margaret emailed with details of some iron fusible wadding which I have sent for today from a great shop called Gone to Earth, do check it out for yourself. Margaret suggested using Vilene H640 fusible fleece on the outer fabric of the bags and the thinner Vilene H630 on the lining. This combination gives a nice firm bag that doesn't sag and definitely no bubbles - (Margaret's words).  Margaret's blog is called samplerofstitches.blogspot.com.es/ do check it out, she is such a lovely helpful lady. Thank you Gilly and Margaret and everyone else for your kind comments and encouragement with my shipping order.

 

I thought about Gilly's advice last night when I couldn't sleep last night so did a very naughty thing Folks, I got up to try out her idea with another bag - I cut everything out and did as much sewing as I could and then went back to bed in the early hours - my husband thinks I am a little off my trolley - and yes I am and proud of it. I didn't have to go into work until this afternoon so had a little snooze before starting.  I am tired tonight but did manage to finish the bag which is a little different to the others but, it worked so a huge thank you Gill.

 

I apologise for the quality of the photographs as they were taken in our hall and please don't think there is a ghostly set of eyes behind the bag - I have a small white bust on the table and forgot to remove it - just noticed the eyes!  Very spooky!  I wanted to get these photographs out to you this evening so it was a bit of a rush.

 

 

As you can see I put Cathie's name on the front in order to quilt the bag a little to stop the wadding from moving. It is a little restrained but it matches Cathie's personality to a tee as she is quite a quiet lady but lots of fun when she is off duty. I thought the lining would match the fun side of her personality.  The fabric is the new Marks and Spencer tea towel which I managed to get for £3.00 as they were on special offer in my local store.  I think they are pretty and so nice to sew with.

 

 

This is the other side of the bag - quite restrained for me................and not a wrinkle in sight, wonderful.

 

 

I didn't do much to the lining as it was so vibrant and colourful but I just added some buttons as headlights but couldn't really think of anything else to add.  Do you like this one?  My husband thinks it is my best one yet, what do you think?  The next few bags are very special ones for my lovely friends who are leaving us to retire and I have to wait for a few things to arrive before I can make these up.  I know I sound very mysterious but all will be revealed in good time.

 

I am so pleased to have made the five up to now just one more to go and then I have the six main bags plus four special ones still be to made. 

Well Lovelies I have to get ready for tomorrow - a bit nervous about it all but hopefully I will have some good news for you all tomorrow.  The weather here today has just been so awful with constant rain and really cold so I am hoping the sun will shine tomorrow. 

Have a lovely evening/day depending where you are in the world.  Thank you for your lovely comments from yesterday - the old dog is sitting opposite me at the table grinning but, I am grinning back so that has completely confused him!  Speak to you all very soon, take care and be happy. If you are able to please leave a comment as I love to hear from you.  Big hugs, Dorothyxxxxxxxxxxxx

A long day.........

Hello all you Lovelies out there - I hope you are all well and happy today/this evening wherever you are in our beautiful world.  It has been cold and windy here today so not much of a day and I have been working for most of it.  However, I have been working hard on my shipping order to ensure that I stay on target for the set date when I give all the bags to the recipients.

I wanted to share something with you today.  I have spoken about this before and I know that lots of you share similar problems as I do.  Since around 12 years of age I have experiences very deep spells of sadness and I suppose you would call it depression - I try to stay away from the D word if I can so I call it sadness.  I am sure most of you know all about the Black Dog - the World Health Organisation have made a little clip which I watch from time to time and I have included it here in my post if you wish to watch it - I do understand if you don't.  I think it explains the Black Dog perfectly and I always feel a little better after I watch it. 

My own black dog must have only been a bit of a puppy when he attached himself to me and over the years he has followed me everywhere.  I have tried to lose him in the USA, most of Europe as far as Poland and the majority of the Scandinavian countries.  I have also visited almost every Scottish island plus many others around Ireland, Wales and England but he has kept up with me Folks, always bounding around waiting to leap on to me at the slightest chance. Over the past few years I have almost accepted him as he is growing old like me but he still alarms me at times even after all this time. 

For over 20 years I practiced as a counsellor both in education and in the medical field specialising in grief and depression so I should have 'all the answers' at my fingertips but it is different when you are sitting on the other side of that chair.  The past year has been one of the most traumatic and upsetting of my whole life so black dog has been with me all the way.  My blog has helped enormously as he cannot sit on me when I am typing so have to lie on the floor away from me and I can ignore him.  All of you have helped me so much and I thank you all for this - when things get very difficult I tend to try and watch the clip below as it always makes me smile a little and puts things into a bit of a more reasonable perspective.  If you have a similar beast following you it might help, I hope it does. 

Youtube - The Black DogThe Black Dog - Youtube - just click on this line and hopefully it will work.  If it doesn't then go to Youtube and type in The Black Dog.

Now on to more cheery and productive things Folks.  I am still working on my shipping order you will be pleased to hear.  I only had a little of the sparkly French fabric which I used on my other bag but found this one in my cupboard.  It is not as fancy as the last one but the lady I had in mind for this bag is quite serious so hopefully she will like it. 

I used a CK tea towel and repositioned the label to show that it is her fabric - I hope that it doesn't infringe any copywrite laws or anything - obviously I am not selling them either so this should be ok.  I know from things I have read on Etsy how careful everyone has to be with craft things.   I had fun with the brooch as I wanted something to represent a can can dress.  You can see it clearer in the photograph below.

I thought a nice little crochet butterfly would look cute on the handle.  By the way a few people have asked about my pattern and it is one of favourites from Lillyblossom it is the PDF Reversible Contrast Tied Tote and costs £3.67 which is good value as you can print off time and time again. All Helen's patterns are so easy to follow and I have used them ever since I started sewing.

 

Rather than put applique patches on with the name I have embroidered the name in using my machine which is fab as it cuts down on the preparation time.  I kept the buttons to a minimum as it was a buy pattern anyway.  I hope Rachel likes it.

I wanted to ask your advice Folks as I know that there are many sewing experts out there in Blogland.  I use iron-on interfacing for the bags using it either on the outside fabric or the inner fabric.  Rachel says it is better to use it on the inner if possible.  I have tried soft interfacing but the bag sags, heavy weight stuff which makes it difficult to manoeuvre the fabrics.  I always seem to find that fabrics (inner and outer) seems to crinkle and I struggle to get a nice even finished which frustrates me no end.  You can see it on the picture below Folks but I am going to have to live with it or else I will never finish the bags.  What do you think?  I finished this one last night before going to bed.

 

I was up really early this morning as I couldn't sleep so I thought I would start Jackie's bag and cut everything out ready.  I know that blue is her favourite colour so used another CK tea towel (Folks I buy these in the sales in January and keep them for projects like this) plus a cheaper (£2 per metre) fabric to keep the costs down.  The inner fabric was just awful when I was trying to iron on the interface and it kept creasing up with little bubbles - it looked terrible so I cut out more and can use the other pieces for brooches.  I carried on this evening once I got home but don't feel that happy with it and would like your thoughts.  You always give such good advice.

In the photograph below if you look to the left you can see that it is not that even - I put the two little butterflies in to hide the crinkling a bit but don't tell Jackie!  I am not happy with it and feel like starting again but my husband says that once she goes shopping with it she won't notice them - I am still undecided?

The other side is a little better (see below) although I think the photographs make it look better than it actually is or am I being too picky?

The outside looks ok in the photograph below but again I am not happy as it was difficult to get the creases out effectively.

The one thing I did enjoy with this bag was the brooch as I had bought a load of net from Abakahn for £1 so I can cut wild and loose with it.  The jury is out with this bag Folks and if I have time I might make another one for Jackie - maybe I am tired and being too critical of myself.

 

Finally I wanted to show this picture.  My husband has always been good at drawing - he is trained in engineering so everything he does is precise and balanced.  I have been talking to him about going to a local art class as he does a lot of artwork with the Little Peeps.  Anyway, to my amazement he rang the lady at the weekend and agree to go this morning (just to try it mind you).  He loved it and really enjoyed his morning.  This was his first introductory project which Margaret his art teacher set him.  I just love it and could it is on a Marks and Spencer plate.  When I told him this he just laughed and said that I should get my eyes tested very soon.  Do you like it?

Before I go tonight I wanted to say a huge thank you to you all for being so kind, caring and patient with me.  You all have really helped this year.  I am not sure if you remember but one of my New Year resolutions was to volunteer in some capacity.  I tried to get some work with the elderly but drew a complete blank and can only assume that possibly they thought I was too elderly myself to do it!  Now on Thursday I have an interview with another organisation - yippeeeeeeeeee - I won't tell you about it just yet in case I jinx the whole thing and get turned down so keep your fingers crossed for me.  I will tell you how I get on afterward on Thursday evening. Meanwhile have a super day/evening  tomorrow wherever you are wonderful People.  You are all the tops!  Please leave a message if you are able to and I would love some advice about the interfacing if you have any.  See you all very soon, big hugs and loves, Dorothy xxxxxxxxxxx

A shipping order..........

Hello my lovely friends, I hope you are all enjoying good health, loving company and fabulous weather today.  We are having a Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK and I am not sure about everyone else but ours is a scorcher - not!  I think Noah is about to disembark anytime now as the rain has been persistent and steady throughout the whole weekend but maybe tomorrow......we can hope.  I hope you are all doing much better than we are.

 

 

At present I am still busy with my marking and work life but have some work in progress such as my crochet bag which needs some handles on and lining.  Also I have started a big shipping order - let me explain.  I have the most wonderful set of people who work with my on my programme at college and each year around this time I like to buy them all a thank you gift to show my appreciation.  Each one of them goes over and beyond what is needed in order to support our fabulous learners.  I have eight lovely ladies and three wonderful men and all the men are chocoholics so it is easy to give them a gift.  The women also usually get chocolates but this year I thought I would try and give them something a little more personal - a bag.  I am using my usual Lillyblossom design which I just love as it is so easy to use. 

 

I wanted to make the outer part of the bag with a tea towel just because I love using them and also because the fabrics are usually so robust and strong.  My plan was to personalise each one to make then unique.  Now, besides my eight lovelies I also have three very special friends who are leaving and I am going to miss them all so much so their bags will be a little different - more details to follow on those.

 

Now I have made only three up to now, working like Billyo to get them done.  I hope you like them.  Number one is for my wonderful colleague and special friend Mel.  As you can see I am using the Marks and Spencer tea towel for the outer part and a fabulous scrap which I bought from Rachel my sewing teacher last year.  It is all about Paris which is a favourite haunt of Mel and I know that she went on honeymoon there so I am hoping she will love it.  Do you like the flower?  The back part is felt and in beween the front and back I have put some netting which I got in a huge bag from Abakhan for only £1 - amazing.  I put a sparkly button in the centre of the flower to finish it all off.  My only disappointment is that I didn't quite have enough fabric to do the ties in the Paris fabric but I hope it looks ok?  

 

 

You cannot see it very well in the photograph below but the Eiffel Tower really sparkles well especially in the light - I love it and wish I could get some more of this fabric.

 

 

I decided to just sew her name straight into the fabric rather than putting it on an applique patch which is my usual way of doing things.  Do you think it looks effective?  I put some little buttons in to really brighten everything up.

 

 

Below is the other side of the bag which is very similar to the first side.  I tried to scatter her name in a few places - I hope she notices it.

 

 

Now the two below are made from a set of tea towels from Sainsbury's which were £4.00 for three - the third one was a waffle fabric so I used that one for a tea towel!  The inner fabric was some which I got in Birmingham's Rag Market for only £2.00 per metre so a good bargain.  Once I put in some iron on stabiliser it was just perfect and so colourful.   

 

 

The little boat bag is for Joy who is such a colourful and well travelled lady so I am hoping she will enjoy using her bag over the summer.  As you can see I have done my usual with applique patterns and of course all my buttons - I love using them.

 

 

 

 

This is the other side - the patch is slightly larger.  I have to watch myself that I do not overdo the embellishments as they can be a bit OTT.

 

 

The spotted bag below is for Dilys who is a very caring and quiet lady with a great sense of humour.  Do you like the brooches which can be taken off if they want.  I love making these.

 

 

As with Joy's bag I have used applique patches for Dilys plus all the buttons - maybe my blog could be called Dorothy and the Buttons - only someone got there before me - aka Tilly and the Buttons!

 

 

 

 

Which one do you like the best?  Only seven more to go.....................

 

The lovely Alison from Farmhouse Traditions has been in touch and been reading the blog - she is a fabulous lady - do pop and see her.

 

 

She pointed me toward the Cath Kidston Sew book for ideas of how I could use my wonderful hexagons which I bought from her shop.

 

 

Alison said that she has made quite a few of these CK knitting bags which I just love - not only for knitting but anything!  Do you like it Folks?  A big thank you Alison.

 

 

Now lovely People I hope you are enjoying a good evening/day and having some crafting time to yourself.  I am ploughing on with my bags to hopefully get them all completed and am enjoying the making process.  I am thinking of offering one as a personalised prize a little later in the year if you think it might be a good giveaway?  I would welcome your thoughts on this.  Do take care of  yourselves and I shall be back very soon to chat with everyone.  Big hugs, Dorothyxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Looking for some advice - can you help?

Hello all you lovely people out there, how are you all today?  It has been a wonderfully sunny day here and, although I have been at work for most of it, somehow it doesn't seem so bad when you look out the window and see the blue sky.  It is still sunny and I am sitting here with the doors open onto the little patio we have, although the weather forecasters say that a change is on the way so I should enjoy it all while I can.  I hope you are all enjoying some good weather and are in fine health.

Now as you know I have been following Lovely Lucy's Jolly Chunky Bag pattern and I must say that it has been so easy to do, even for me as a novice.  I have really enjoyed doing it and it all came together quite nicely.  I have now reached the stage to do the handles and fix on the cute little buttons which came with the pack.  I cannot wait to get started on the pretty flowers.  The bag is destined for a good friend of mine but I want it to be right and I am thinking that this one may have to be the dry run but I will see what you all think about it.

As you can see below, I have loads of yarn left over so can easily do another one.  The problem I have is that I think my tension is wrong as the bag seems to be a little on the larger size.

I tried the 'standing up' test as Lucy did but hers does look a very neat little model as mine resembles the type of bag you might carry the potatoes home in!  What do you think?  Now lovely Readers this is where I need your expert advice.  I want to line it with some pretty fabric so will have to work out how to do this in the neatest way I can..........also I am not sure that the crochet handles will be substantial enough for this big beast.  I am hovering between fabric handles which match the lining or putting on some leather type ones which might give it more structure.  There lay the two problems and I would love to hear from you all about how I could line it properly and what handles would be best to use.  At the worst I can finish it and use it myself and then make a smaller one for my friend or give her this one if it turns out ok.  Any ideas or advice very gratefully received.  Oh, and the other thing would be should I go down one or two sizes with my hook to be able to crochet a neater bag?  Questions, questions, questions, hope you can help Folks. 

Now I don't know about you but I have always loved the vintage Laura Ashley.  I fell in love with her fabrics and dresses in the 1980s/1990s.  They were quite expensive but I saved up to buy a couple of dresses and felt the bees knees in them, just wish I had kept hold of them now as they would be lovely to have.  I can vividly remember the patchwork squares and hexagons coming out in her shops and fell in love with them.  I couldn't afford many of them at the time as they were £5.00 each but I did get some and you might remember that I started to make them up and then forgot about them.

Now when I was mooching around Ebay last week I came across a lovely shop Folks, do have a look for yourself.  Alison from Farmhouse Traditions is the most lovely seller I have ever been in contact with.  She is so friendly and helpful and has all these gorgeous Laura Ashley packs ready to be sewn up into something fab.  Yellow has never been my favourite colour but I have always loved Laura Ashley's yellows for some reason, they always seemed so fresh and lovely.  I have a dozen ideas floating around for these beauties and no doubt will be calling on Alison in the very near future.  Do you like them?  I think they are irresistible.

It is such a small world as Alison and I found out that we are both in similar vocations and I realised today when my gorgeous packs arrived that she lives in glorious Cornwall in the town where I applied for my first nursing post many years ago.  I fell in love with the place as Cornwall was always the place I was going to live.  We have visited Cornwall for every holiday when I was growing up and I never tired of going there - I loved it because it was full of countryside and seaside, a perfect combination for me.  I got the post and my husband as was then always got a job in the town but it was a difficult time to uproot the boys and we had to decide, very sadly not to go.  I always regretted it and I know the boys did later on.  I wonder what would have happened if we had moved?  Do you ever think that Folks, we take one fork in the road which takes us to one place, but what if we had taken the other road.............all very mysterious.  I feel that I have made a new friend in Alison and hopefully we will keep in touch.  Do call in to see her Folks, her shop is just lovely. 

Now let's have a few ideas of how I can use up these fabulous pieces - I am thinking of a cushion or maybe a bag for myself (I usually make things to give as gifts) or a couple of small quilts for the Peeps to use with their dollies?  What do you think?  You always come up with such great ideas.

Here is the sweet note I received from Alison - a big thank you for being so helpful.

Finally Lovelies I have to go soon to get back to my marking - yes it is still here waiting for me........have a look at my special bag which I got from my Peeps. I never thought I would be so pleased to have a bag with Grandma on.......but I love it and have been carrying my crochet around in it.  Thank you Peeps, my bag is adorable.

Lovely Friends I am still catching up with all your news and do apologise for being so slow in doing this.  Hopefully the marking will calm down soon and I will have more time, meanwhile have a wonderful evening/day depending on where you all are.  Sending you all the biggest of hugs and loves.  Please leave a message if you able as I do love to hear from you all.  Dorothy :-)xxxxxxxxx

Did you think I had gone AWOL?

Hello all you lovely Folks out there, I do hope you are all well and happy.  I have been really missing you all but have been absent for good reasons I promise.  Are you sitting comfortably?  Then I'll begin.............

The last week and a half have been the most exhausting I have had in work - the inspectors wanted a large proportion of the work marked and sent to them so the whole team was in a frenzy - we have all been burning the midnight oil, going in very early coming home late - not good.  Each night I dragged myself home I was thinking about you all.  Then.....

My computer gave up the ghost, or so I thought and I must admit that I went into a bit of a meltdown - what about my blog I thought?  I was pretty upset about it all at the time and think it was down to absolute exhaustion.  I think back now and wonder why I reacted so badly but it was tiredness and weariness.  My wonderful Friend Laurence fixed it in a jiffy - he is just fabulous, what would I do without him. 

Well last night I got home, the work had all been marked and sent off and we breathed a sigh of relief, the job was done.  I cooked tea and settle down to write to you all.  I must admit that I was almost falling asleep at the keys but managed to get it all written.  I was just adjusting the final photograph and wanted to move it up the screen and, don't ask me what I did, but I managed to delete the whole post!  By this time it was 10.30 in the evening and I couldn't keep my eyes open so had to leave it last night.  I was so cross with myself lovely Folks.  Today I had so much housework to do seeing as how the poor house has not had a bit of attention so I couldn't leave it another day but all day I have been itching to get on to the computer to write to you all.  So big apologies to everyone for being so remiss, I have tons of blogs to catch up with and I am really looking forward to seeing what you have all been up to.

Now when we last spoke if you can remember (it seems such a long time) I was struggling with Tilly's Coco lovely pattern.  I had bought the wrong fabric and Rachel, my sewing teacher, said that it didn't have enough stretch in it.  Now Rachel did ask me to leave the neckline until I was back in class but after I got home I stayed up and tried to finish it.  A lesson learned here Folks, I should have listened to Rachel.  As you can see below it is not the most perfect neckline but I suppose it is ok for a first attempt (sorry Tilly, not up to your standard).  

I think it is wearable and Rachel said, very kindly that it looked nice.  However, when I got home and showed my husband he didn't like it at all which has put me off a bit.  Why is it when one person says something negative I tend to believe them.  I thought it would look quite nice with a white pair of summer trousers or jeans.  What do you think?

Since I last spoke with you I have been a very lucky girl in getting some lovely gifts from special people in my life.  My wonderful friend Jo send me some beautiful gifts which I absolutely adore as she made them herself.  Jo is a wonderfully talented young lady who, hopefully, will be opening her online shop soon.  When she does I will point you her way.  Lovely Readers she makes the most fabulous things and can make anything, and I mean anything.  Hurry up and open the shop Jo as I want to buy something. 

Don't you just love this cute book she made for me with my name on - such a handy book to keep in my sewing bag for my notes and little messages to myself.  Whenever I read about new websites or blogs I always want to have a look but obviously cannot spend my whole day surfing the internet as I don't think my bosses would be too happy!  This cute book is perfect for keeping all my sewing notes safe and sound. 

But, that wasn't the end of it.  She also sent me this fantastic length of fabric which I just love and am itching to make something with but can't make up my mind.  It looks really vintage and is really beautiful to handle.  Perhaps you gorgeous people out there could give me some ideas?

And...........she also sent me this wonderful book which I was thinking of buying anyway - what a fabulous friend, thank you so much lovely Jo, you are such a gem.  The book is fabulous for me as it is really clear and talks you through every step of the way. 

I adore this little dress below (don't worry Folks I am not going to attempt it just yet!).  I would love to be able to make this one day in the distant future for my granddaughter who has just finished university this week, it would be perfect for her graduation.  One can dream............

Now then, I have been really spoilt - for Mother's Day my eldest Son had ordered this fabric for me from Cath Kidston - he was with me when I bought the tea towels in this fabric and had said how nice it was.  I said to him 'wouldn't it be nice if I could get more and make some cushions or a throw?', well the little sweetie ordered it and it was such a fabulous surprise.

He had popped this in too as he knows I love caravans - I can't stop looking at it.

And.........something he had ordered ages ago - my Tilly book which is just fabulous.  What a lucky girl I am. 

And she even signed it................

Finally, to show you that I have been doing something other than marking.  I finished this cushion for my grandson who is an avid Liverpool Football fan.  It was a small piece I had won on Ebay and I just had enough to make the cushion.  He was chuffed with it and it is sitting on his bed now.  He was pleased to see his initial on it plus a ball.

Well my Lovelies, I am not going to delete this post!  I am back on track now with tons of sewing to do, a crochet bag to finish and a new cardigan for one of my little Peeps.  How are you all doing?  I can't wait to catch up with all your news.  Thank you for being so patient with me.  Have a fabulous evening/morning depending where you are in our wonderful world.  Big hugs to you all.  Dorothy :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxx