The joy of a little gentle sewing. It soothes the soul and does a girl good.

I put two borders on the Bliss Thimble Blossoms Picnic Roll-up quilt top. Even mitred corners went on like a dream today and now it’s all lying on the floor reading to be basted. Along with the rest of the quilting world, this is my least favourite job, but the delights of quilting with my Bernina 820 have rather taken the edge off the horrors.

It measures 84 inches x 74 inches (214cm x 188cm), so it’s a good size. I’m thinking of swirly loops with the odd flower thrown in for good measure for the quilting pattern.

I’m getting quite wild in my old age!

Helen

You are all wonderful! Thank you so much all those of you who commented!

It was really helpful to know that I probably wasn’t totally over-reacting or being over-protective and I did as you suggested, talked to the mother and she is happy to be present, if hidden in an upstairs room, during the party. We did have a bit of a grim evening (before I was able to talk to the other mum), but things seem to be back on an even keel this morning.

It’s lovely to know that I can draw on such wisdom!

Helen

PS More later….I’m getting the sewing machine out. I think I’ve earned a little me time!

Friends, I need your advice…

Imagine this scenario. Your almost 15 year old daughter is arranging a joint birthday sleepover with a friend who lives about 30 minutes drive away. 15 girls aged between 13-15 will be invited to stay over and the friend’s parents will go away for the weekend. There will therefore be no parental supervision.

When you express reservations, your daughter (of course) tells you that you have no idea, all other parents are allowing this (which I don’t believe) and that it’s time you learn to trust her…..and that she won’t speak to you ever again if you say no and ruin her life for ever.

What would YOU do?

And more to the point, how should one handle this without causing World War 3 to break out?

I know some of you have been here before me. What is the answer?

Helen

One of the very nicest things about blogging is making new friends. More often than not I seem to have a lot in common with all of you out there. I certainly feel like I’ve encountered quite a few kindred spirits and made some very good friends along my blogging journey. Let’s face it, I don’t meet a lot of crazy knitters and quilters in my everyday life, but I find inspiration and enjoy my blog friends every day! (And for that ladies, thank you!!).

Once in a while I have the chance to meet one of my blog friends in person. In some ways it’s a funny experience – you already know such a lot about each other and the signs are good that you’re going to get along just fine – but in the back of my mind there’s always a little ‘but what if we don’t’ thought. I mean when it comes down to it I could be meeting up with an axe-murderer – the chance is probably very slim, but it must happen sometimes!

Yesterday I met up with Lindsay from Rocking Chair Reflections in Luzern. You won’t be surprised to know that we barely drew breath for over 4 hours. Luzern was looking particularly beautiful, but to be honest we were so busy gassing that we really didn’t pay it as much notice as we should have. Lindsay is delightful – as I knew she would be and I’m sure we’ll meet up again, maybe next time with our knitting!

So here is Lindsay ….and a little sample of Luzern in the sunshine. It’s a lovely town. You may want to have it on your list of places to visit if you’re ever in Switzerland.

Thanks to Lindsay for coming down from Engelberg to meet up. We had a lovely day and I went home feeling really uplifted. A day out in the sunshine with great company did me the world of good.

The people who say that blog friends aren’t real friends don’t frankly, know what they are talking about!

Helen

PS Thank you to all of you for your lovely comments about my hip pain. It’s starting to feel a little better – so I haven’t given up hope yet!

My hip hurts.

It’s a strange kind of hurt – not the joint, more pain up the outside of the hip. It makes me walk funny. Running is, between you and me, out of the question right now.

Which isn’t good when I’m supposed to be running a marathon in less than two months.

I’m trying not to panic. I’m also trying to listen to what my body is telling me. Right now it’s saying ‘hey, you, you’re an old lady. Don’t push it. Give it time. Let it heal‘.

Which isn’t really what I want to hear.

On the other hand, I don’t really have an option. So I’m doing just that. Resting and healing and not training – other than in my dreams. The pain came quickly and wasn’t the result of an accident. I don’t know what I did – maybe too much ‘hip stuff’ in pilates? I didn’t do a long run this week because it wasn’t feeling right, so I doubt if it’s actually caused by running.

We’ll see. I’ll wait and I’ll try not to get frustrated and I’ll see. You can’t force these things. Experience tells me that that only makes it worse and problems become chronic. Been there. Done that. Don’t want to go there again.

Happily I have a two week buffer in my training plan. I calculated the weeks wrong at the start and started two weeks early, as a result of which I know I have a little time on my side. In two weeks I won’t lose all the work I’ve done over the last few months and my body may in fact respond well to a little break to rejuvenate. That’s what I’m telling myself and right now I’m OK with that.

Today I’m off to Luzern (Lucerne for you anglophiles out there) to meet Lindsay from Rocking Chair Reflections for lunch and a chat. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow!

Have a nice day! I shall!

Helen