Well, I found the missing camera finally…..where was it? Behind the chair in my sewing corner, where it ordinarily lives and where I had looked oooh at least three times. I don’t know if the fairies have been up to a bit of naughtiness, but I’m just glad to have it back. It wasn’t quite as bad as the lost handbag feeling, but not far off.

So here’s what I have to show you:

Two more Fireworks blocks in Rouenneries Deux by French General…big blocks with lots of bits…73 pieces per block by my calculation. They take a while! I now have seven, but need at least 16 and am starting to wonder if the fabric will stretch that far! The one on the right above is possibly my favourite so far.

Two blocks for Christine  in Germany for the Sew Euro-bee-an bee…..she’s making a quilt to go with her orange sofa!

Two hanging baskets.

they each contain…

• Lobularia ‘Snow Princess’
• Glechoma hederacea
• A hanging petunia with small flowers
• A petunia Surfinia – that is the one with the big purple flowers.

Years ago I used to buy hanging baskets, but they are the easiest thing to plant up yourself and are great value all summer long. This year I invested in these lovely wicker baskets, to replace my rather dilapidated metal ones.

And here is the lovely mother’s day gift my husband picked out for me at the garden centre yesterday. (Ladies, let me tell you, it’s worth dragging your husband to a garden centre on the Saturday before mother’s day – and not just to lug the heavy stuff!).

As my son has now come home from 4 days away camping with the scouts the rain has now stopped – there is an awful lot of muddy laundry to be dealt with. I’ve had to seriously fight the urge to rescue said son all weekend, who despite the deplorable weather seems to have had a great time. I guess he’s not such a little boy any more 😉

Have a lovely evening and a good start to the week.

Helen

I’ve been doing a lot of sewing the last few days – bee blocks for Christine and French General blocks for my fireworks quilt….and lots of trouser hemming and clothes altering. I also had a trip to the garden centre and have planted up my hanging baskets for the summer and have been popping plants in the garden in between torrential rain storms.

The only problem?

I have lost my camera, so I don’t have a single thing to show you. I’ve also spent loads of lovely sewing time looking for it. To no avail. It was last seen a week ago and must be in my now tidy house somewhere..but who knows where?

Why is it that as soon as you clean the house you then lose everything?

Bah!

Helen

x

Hopefully back soon with lots of photos…a blog without photos is really no blog at all :-0

It’s a public holiday here in Zürich today  – for Ascension Day – and without trying I have five days in a row off work and one child less (he’s away at scout camp – and it’s raining :-0).

There are no plans beyond a couple of runs and friends coming for dinner…..five days pretty much unscheduled. How blissful is that? If I’d tried to organize it I’d never have managed. But there you go, sometimes I just get lucky.

I had planned to get a lot of sewing done, but somehow so far that hasn’t materialized. I have however done loads of other things…

• cleaned the house (very overdue),
• had a 110litre chuck out and reorganize in the laundry room – mainly so that I could actually get to the ancient cupboard that houses my shoes
• switched over winter and summer clothes in the process coming to the conclusion that I have WAY TOO MUCH and vowing never to buy new clothes ever again (this will be a tough one as I have a business trip to London next month!)
• spent copious amounts of time in the garden digging out weeds, weeds and more weeds. No matter what anyone else says, I can see the difference.

I actually feel like I’m on top of my life, for the first time in months. I probably shouldn’t say that because it’s asking for disaster to strike, but it’s a good feeling and I wanted to share!

So tomorrow is self-indulgently going to be a me day.

I’m planning on a lot of sewing – although quite a lot of it is boring stuff like hemming trousers – and a trip to the garden centre to get some plants to fill the holes where all the weeds were.

Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Why don’t you pop by and see how I get on?

Helen

• of warm summer days and pottering in the garden
• of my next quilt….which I think is probably going to be a pineapple quilt, something I’ve wanted to make for years and which will use up the entire laundry basket full of scraps that I’ve accumulated over the last 25 years or so.
• of my next race….will I finally be able to make the step up to a marathon without wrecking my body doing the training? (Which is what has always happened in the past).
• of finally using up the stash.
• of going to live on a remote Scottish island on a smallholding.
• of my children learning to love each other and large happy chaotic family gatherings (which could be a bit tricky as we have the smallest family ever!).
• of unplanned time…the ultimate luxury.
• of downsizing and simplifying my life.
• of living life in the now and taking time to smell the roses.

Helen

It’s a public holiday today in Switzerland. I guess the socialists will have been protesting and smashing windows in Zürich again – it’s workers day – and somehow they feel the need to protest against the injustice in the working environment in Switzerland. Crazy really in a country that is incredibly well regulated and functions well without demanding we all pay super-high taxes. But there you go. I guess some people are never satisfied…and some people just like smashing windows.

The weather forecast was seriously rubbish, but all in all it turned out to be a pretty nice day. I went for a 5k slow run in the woods – which was just lovely and then did what I always do on fine days in the spring- weeding, weeding and more weeding. I planted some lettuces too and all in all I think the garden looks a little better. Not brilliant, but not bad either.

Then after a little bit of general domestic goddessery I got down to some bee sewing. It’s been a while and I’m a little behind, so it was good to catch up a bit.

I made these turquoise blocks for Di for Stitch Tease Part 2. Easy, relaxing and I think they will make a lovely quilt. Di is going to add some mustard highlights in her blocks.

Then I got down to making my favourite sort of blocks – using pieces from the scrap basket – for Celine for Sew Euro-bee-an. I have one more to make – but aren’t they fun? This is going to be fabulous quilt. Celine has a tutorial on her block if you want to have a go yourself.

Now the rain has started and I’m off to make Toad in the Hole for dinner – which will please the teenagers no end and bemuse my Swiss husband, who thinks it’s one of those strange English concoctions that he still hasn’t got used to even after 25 years!!

Have a nice evening!

Helen