Month: March 2020

ALL CHANGE

On By LucieIn Applique Work, Hand Quilting, patchwork & quilting, Quilt Making, Random Thoughts6 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’re all well and in good spirits. Like most of you I’m having ups and downs but thru it all I recognise that I am grateful for all I’ve got. Sarah and I feel safe at home and we’re in reasonable health at the moment.

We both step out first thing in the morning with our Maisie girl dog. We go early in order to ensure we don’t meet too many people. Yesterday morning we came across some chalk markings along the way …..

Hashtag Strong

And …..

Hashtag brave

I think this describes our current situation nicely.

And then on our way back home past the little play park …..

Empty Play park

We found this sign on the entrance gate to the park ….

Park Sign

And this padlock securing it shut for the duration …..

Padlock

I don’t need to comment on this because it’s obvious that it’s for everyone’s good. Normal service will eventually be resumed.

It’s all change on the current project. I switched from hexagons to some hand quilting …..

Hand quilting

I’m hand quilting in circles. I am keeping it simple by quilting concentric circles. I quite like this type of quilting design. It’s easy peasy to mark by overlapping every which way. And by using matching thread, you don’t see the uneven stitches, only the texture which is what I’m aiming to produce.

Here, at happy stitching manor, we’re keeping busy. I still feel a little distracted but I am confident that in a few days the isolation will become the normal and I will be back on track and being creative again. I’m currently jumping from one thing to another and not getting much of anything accomplished. I managed to spend several hours hand quilting over the last couple of days. I think things are improving.

So, I guess that’s my report for today. I hope you’re all getting on with doing things you enjoy doing. After all life has to go on while we fight this invisible enemy. Until next time,

 

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x

KEEPING BUSY IN LOCKDOWN

On By LucieIn patchwork & quilting, Quilt Making, Random Thoughts8 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’re all safe and well and in good spirits. We’re still on lockdown here in my little corner of the northeast of England. This lockdown will surely slow down the spread of Covid-19.

We’ve had a lovely couple of days weather wise. The temperature yesterday was 15C and pure sunshine all day long. What a shame the kids are on lockdown and cannot take advantage of the glorious weather with wild abandon as they usually would. The small play park across the road from my home is empty. The swings are still. It looks very sad indeed. Today was a little misty at times but plenty of sunshine.

The purpose of this post is not to moan but to reassure you all that you’re not alone. We’re all in the same boat. And once the dust settles and we don’t feel so distracted by the newness of the fear and panic, we should all take stock of what we’re doing without and whether we can eliminate it for good. I miss the social aspect of my life. I generally live a quiet life nowadays but I miss not gathering with other like-minded people a couple of times a month and catching up with what’s going on in the world. I learn so much from others. I don’t consider myself to be anti-social in the least.

Yesterday I mentioned that I felt quite distracted. Well I have heard from a couple of friends, male and female and they have confirmed that feel much the same. My friend Veronica described it as having birthday money and not knowing what to spend it on. That’s such a great description. We are confronted with oodles of time at home when we can finally play in our sewing rooms to create beautiful things but not knowing what to create. I’m not giving up hope that in the next few days I shall find the on button for my creative side to emerge and produce something splendid.

In our time of isolation, it’s important to stay connected. Most of us have the internet which helps everyone to stay in touch. My neighbour phones me everyday to make sure we’re alright. And I have a weekly phone coffee date with my creative buddy at 11am on a Thursday booked for the foreseeable future.

So, what am I planning on doing once I stop feeling distracted??? Well I managed to order some new garden tools …..

Trowel and Fork

My old garden tools had seen better days. They were ancient and the trowel was taped together but finally gave up the ghost recently. I kicked off the gardening season last week and I plan to get my garden up to scratch in the next couple of weeks. It’s something I can do without danger of encountering the current invisible enemy.

Do you remember I posted about finding feathers everywhere recently? Finding said feathers has been happening for some time now. Well, I came across several pictures of a feather quilt in different websites online. So, I tracked down the pattern and ordered it …..

Feather from heaven

Arctic Feather

I have pulled and chosen fabric for this project which I hope to be able to concentrate long enough to get it rotary cut and start stitching the patches together. It’s a long time since I’ve worked from a pattern because I design my own quilts but this feather pattern was calling my name. So, watch this space for progress reports.

After my morning routine was done, this includes walking my Maisie dog with my Sarah, I disappeared into the kitchen and baked a batch of cookies. I used the very last of my flour. I shared our cookies with my neighbour. They were soooo good. I hope to be able to buy some flour soon as I would like to make a lemon drizzle loaf which I plan to share again. I haven’t baked in some time but the whole process today kept my mind busy and we ended up with a nice treat.

Oatmeal Cookies

So, my friends, if you would like to pop in and tell me how you have been keeping busy or indeed are able to concentrate on life in lockdown, please do. We’re all in this together.

So, my friends, I guess that’s my report for today. Rest assured that Sarah and I working on conquering this new way of life. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing things that you truly enjoy doing. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x

STAYING HOME AND BEING WELL

On By LucieIn English Paper Piecing, patchwork & quilting, Quilt Making, Random Thoughts8 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’re all safe and well on this glorious day. If you look outside everything looks just as it always did but it’s not just any ordinary day. We are in lockdown due to the war against an invisible enemy.

I count myself lucky. I have a roof over my head. I have food in my fridge. And I have the company of my Sarah and Maisie the dog. Maisie the dog is unaware of the war going on all around us.

We have taken government advice which of course is to stay home and save lives. I believe anyone who chooses to take this advice is a hero. So, congratulations to anyone who has hunkered down until it’s safe.

Sarah and I take Maisie out for her morning walk together. That way we all get a bit of fresh air and a leg stretch every day. As Sarah and I both live in the same household we are safe to walk together while keeping our distance from strangers. This morning we met absolutely no one. Early morning is a great time to step out. We have a small garden we can hang out in whenever we feel the need as well.

I’m finding it hard to find my feet. I can’t seem to concentrate on anything for any length of time. This morning I forced myself to do a few household chores and some cooking. I have a ham cooking in the slow cooker and if I have enough flour (I couldn’t find flour at the supermarket for love nor money) in the flour bin, I might bake some oatmeal raisin cookies.

Has anyone else had to hit the supermarket since the official lockdown started a few days ago here in the UK? Well I went first thing yesterday. I went at 7am to my local Morrisons supermarket and was turned away because I wasn’t NHS staff. 7am to 8am is reserved for NHS staff. I don’t begrudge that. I feel we need to support our medics. So, I came home and waited it out until 8am and went back. It was all quite surreal. Even getting in the car and driving to the supermarket. I felt like I was driving thru a warzone that didn’t look any different than usual. I seemed to be on high alert on the lookout for police. I’m glad the journey to and from the supermarket only takes about 10 minutes from door to door. Once I got in the supermarket with my trolley, I was really aware of personal space. I felt like a ninja trying to avoid coming too close to anyone else. For the most part everyone was very accommodating. I got most of what was on my list except the flour. There were plenty of fresh veg and meat and fish. Milk and dairy were well topped up, they didn’t have skimmed milk but I can live with semi-skimmed for a while. There was no pasta but it wasn’t on my list, I just happened to notice the shelves were empty. There will be hundreds of people with dozens of bags of pasta which they will still be eating next year! The freezer sections were a little thin on the ground but the supermarkets are doing the best they can to keep up with the demand of people stockpiling. I must admit that I was glad to leave the supermarket and get back into the fresh air. Ninja style doesn’t suit my slow and measured pace.

So, now we are left to re-invent ourselves to suit the situation. I have been soul searching in order to decide how I’m going to go forward once life returns to some kind of normality. I truly believe that life will never be as it was. The economy will take a hot minute to improve. Employment will change drastically. And life will be very different from what we’ve been living.

I remain of the opinion that stitching of the sewing, knitting, crochet, needlework etc variety makes life better one stitch at a time. It keeps your mind occupied and your hands busy. You produce something that you can be proud of. You make history with every project you complete. The sense of accomplishment is amazing.
My sewing endeavour at the moment is my hexagon UFO. I started this project at least two years ago. And slowly but surely, I can see progress. And the progress feels soooo good.

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As I write this post, I can see cars going past my house in both directions. All of these journeys are supposed to have a specific genuine essential reason. I can see familiar people walking their dogs and getting some fresh air while avoiding contact with others. There are no groups or crowds gathering anywhere that I can see. For safety’s sake this is how it must be for now.

I guess that’s my report for today. This is my account of how this invisible enemy is affecting me and mine for the time being. I am prepared to follow government advice that will hopefully save lives. Whatever you may be doing at the moment, I hope you are all safe and well at home sweet home. Until next time,

Let’s keep on stitching. And let’s all be heroes by staying home saving lives.

Lucie x

ANGEL WATCHING OVER ME

On By LucieIn patchwork & quilting, Quilt Making, Random Thoughts13 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I decided to pop in today to let you all know that I’m fine. I’ve had a bad case of writer’s block but with all that’s happening in the world at the moment, I thought I’d pop in to see if I could somehow lift your spirits.

First of all, how ya all doing??? If you’re anything like me you’ll be staying away from the madding crowd. My Sarah and I have been practicing social distancing for the last week as advised by the government. I have only stepped out for essential food shopping and to collect meds. There has been no socialising except thru digital messaging and the rare phone call. I, of course, have plenty of UFOs to work on but with all that’s going on and things changing almost hourly, I’m finding it hard to concentrate on my projects. However, I’m sure that I will settle down into this quiet isolation period and get some stuff done. As well as my projects, I have loads of tidying to do in the garden. Sarah and I have been demolishing an old deck type patio which had become dangerous. With the help of a borrowed crowbar we lifted the whole thing and there is no more danger of breaking our necks. When things start taking a turn for the better, we will take the rubbish to the tip.

The bulk of the schools in the UK closed on Friday for the foreseeable future. We have no little kids in our household to worry about entertaining in a state of isolation for the months to come until the Covid-19 situation improves. We have only been under “house arrest” since last weekend and already I feel a little cabin fever creeping up. So, I can only imagine what the mommies are going to do with small kids for the next few months.

This whole situation seems surreal to me. It feels like we’re war against an invisible enemy. I have no family here in the UK. They live in Canada and I imagine that things must have a very similar feel there to how things are here. In all my years on earth I have never experienced what it’s like to be at war, not up close and in person anyway.

My only advice to all is have patience and be kind whenever you can. Find chores and projects to catch up on. And this may be the perfect opportunity to get some much-needed rest. Make plans for the future. This is the time to plan how to make your dreams come true.

Over the last few weeks, I have observed some interesting night skies …..

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And some lovely sunrises …..

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I have officially launched the gardening season …

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And look there seems to be an angel in my garden …

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I really enjoyed hanging out in the garden for a bit this morning. I dead headed the hydrangea after seeing that the leaves are sprouting. I did a wee bit of pruning and filled the garden waste bin.

So, tell me what have you been doing to keep busy this winter and during our time in isolation. Sometime after Christmas I finished knitting my purple pullover …..

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And a few days ago, I dragged out my hexagon project. I’m just working on squaring it up before I add a plain border to it …..

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I have been trying to make a plan of action for the next few weeks. My notebook is full of scribbles and lists …..

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And look another feather. There must be an angel watching over me for sure.

I don’t spend much time in my sewing room anymore. Most of my quilt making projects are of the slow stitching variety which work really well as armchair projects while watching some mindless TV in the evening. Having said that, when I do disappear into my sewing room my little Maisie joins me in her capacity as project manager. Maisie will soon be 14 years old. She has a number of physical ailments now but she’s hanging in there nonetheless. We treat her with care and kindness. She has been our devoted companion for such a long time she deserves to be treated like a princess.

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Today is Mother’s Day here in the UK today. Well I am very grateful that my daughter is with me today. So, to all the mothers who cannot spend some time with their children today due to isolation, I wish you a very happy day. Life is an adventure these days. I reckon isolation may be the very best thing we can do at the moment. Just view our isolation as saving lives. This is our way of helping the NHS. Who knows, we may all be heroes.

So, my friends, I guess that’s my news for this weekend. I hope you all have a super cosy day doing things you enjoy doing. Remember, this too shall pass.

Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching. It really does make things better.

 

Lucie x