I’m in ‘have been away, last week of term chaos, playing catch up’ mode this week. There are nowhere near enough hours to do all the things I want to do, so it’s all a little manic…..but I’m trying to slow down, be methodical (‘Ha! Fat chance !’ I hear you shout!), not panic and just plod on.

There are other things that I should be giving priority, but I’m really trying to catch up with the others on the Soda Pop Quiltalong – where I’m oh…a zillion weeks behind everybody else due to the green spot saga. I’ve managed to cut out my squares and am chugging along sewing them all together. I’m seriously in love with the Sweetwater deliciousness of it all. It’s also quite different from the sort of quilt I normally make – and I haven’t even got to the machine applique bit yet. So far, so good. I think it’s going to work and it’s going to be a really fun quilt.

Sewing is right up there on the list this week – I also have a summer dress made of Liberty tana lawn that needs to see some serious progress before my class tonight. That may not happen, but we’ll see….

The other aim this week (other than fulfillment of my prayers that all my children will actually manage to pass this school year) is to get the garden back under some semblance of control. Rainy weather followed by too hot to work in the garden weather mean that there have been excellent growing conditions, which mostly seem to have been taken advantage of by plants of the unwanted variety. The weeds have really run riot. I’d like it looking a bit less of a mess by next week when I’m planning some sitting in the garden and reading time.

We won’t talk about the housework and laundry situation…..you really don’t want to go there and neither do I…..

Helen

I paid a flying visit to England this weekend for a 30 year school reunion- which was a wonderful trip down memory lane…

….I also managed to fit in a trip to one of my favourite places on the planet.

Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland

I’ve been walking the two miles each way to this magnificent ruined castle on the Northumbrian Coast for my whole life. I try to go every time I’m in Northern England. One of the most magical places anywhere and very close to where my father was born and grew up. It’s very, very special to me.

Helen

I thought I’d like to show you one of my very favourite places today….

The farm shop where I buy my fruit and veg a couple of times a week.

Lovely, isn’t it? Just going there always makes me feel happy – and the ladies who work there are delightful.

One of the advantages to living in the country!

Helen

My friend Carla in Canada sent me a really interesting link this week – it’s a test on how well you see colour and can differentiate different hues.

I just assumed I was perfect….well you do, don’t you?….

…I wasn’t, but was still a fair bit better than average for my age, which is reassuring!

Why don’t you give it a try, it only takes a couple of minutes. You can click here if you’d like to!

Helen

PS Do let me know if you get a perfect score – I’ll be deeply impressed!

Hallelujah! My green spotty fabric finally arrived today and despite my trepidation IT WORKS! Or at least I think it does! I’m rather relieved, to put it mildly. In the words of gertie’s comment a couple of days ago….this is an aaaahhh and not an aaargghhh moment!

So now I have an awful lot of cutting out to do to try to catch up with the others making the Soda Pop quilt. I actually can’t wait to see how the lovely, lovely Sweetwater fabrics turn out!

The only downside to today’s delivery was that I also got my Kona Snow, which is what I THOUGHT I needed for my Zigzag quilt. I would have sworn blind that I was using Kona Snow – but it turns out that Kona Snow isn’t white….it’s cream…..duh! I have found some white leftovers at the bottom of the odds and ends basket that look like they will pass muster though, so all is not lost. But I am now the proud? possessor  of a large quantity of lovely Kona Snow that I don’t need. Cream always comes in handy though – right?

Happy sewing to all of you out there!

Helen