Some lovely presents and a bit of a catch up!

Hello!

I do hope you're all well and enjoying life?  I'm still wiped out but I'm sure I'll bounce back soon so don't worry about me, I'll be fine!  In the meantime I'm doing lots of sleeping, a bit of stitching and not a lot of housework and Archie is mainly sleeping and keeping a beady eye on 'his' pavement!

On Monday I had a lovely afternoon in Whitby with two friends - lots of chatting, some gorgeous scones (fruit) and cake (lemon and poppy seed - delicious!) and a teeny tiny bit of shopping.  We went to a lovely little craft shop crammed with goodies and had a whale of a time choosing ribbons and thread and I bought somehow came home with a FQ as well.  Want to see?!

£2 for 6 reels of cotton thread!

I'm planning to use the Tilda stripe for the back of my crochet cushion and as it's slightly wider than usual I should have enough left to make a hexy or three...

Monday was also turned out to be a present day.  Before I went out I got a lovely parcel in the post containing this...

...which I can't wait to try.  Then later on one of the lovely friends I went to Whitby with gave me a thank you present (very naughty!)...

The chocolate buttons are almost too nice to eat!!

...yes, the chocolate is still all there, I haven't even opened the lid yet - aren't I restrained?!  And how great will that lovely yellow fabric look in my hexies?  I needed some more yellow and now I have some!!  There was also a voucher for a nail salon and I'm currently debating which treatment to have, I'm leaning towards some paraffin wax treatments as I have patches of stubbornly dry skin on my hands which even constant moisturising doesn't solve and I've been told it can help with aches and pains so it may even help with the tendonitis which would be a bonus!

Thank you ladies, I really appreciate having such wonderful friends!

And continuing my good fortune I won Tina's giveaway to celebrate 100 followers - thank you, Tina, I'm going to spend the next week or so hovering by my letterbox!!  Tina's gorgeous wedding ring quilt was recently featured on Kate Spain's blog - how fabulous is that?!!

I did say I'd been doing a little bit of sewing and it really is a little bit, I've stitched the first four blocks for my Pillow Fight cushion.  I'm quite pleased with how they look and they're a perfect hand piecing project for an evening.  What do you think?

Four down, twelve to go!

I've almost finished prepping the pieces for the remaining blocks and I'm going to spend some time this evening arranging them as I'm trying to make all the blocks different...for those of you who are as sharp-eyed as Laura@Needles, Pins and Baking Tins and are also wondering if the blocks are small or the seam allowance is large - the blocks are 3" (finished)!  I love these little blocks so much I'm considering making a version for myself using the scraps left from Going In Circles with black centres and outer triangles...but I'm not 'allowed' to think any further about it until I've ticked at least two items off my Winter Stitching list!

 

That's about it from me today but before I go I want to share a couple of photos of Archie who is currently curled up in his bed and is gently snoring...why is that appealing and cute in a dog and annoying in a man?!!

This is how he looked when he realised I was going to Whitby and wasn't taking him with me...

It's not fair...left alone again and not a biscuit in sight...

And I think this must be the doggy equivalent of licking the bowl after baking...

...hours of fun chasing those biscuit crumbs!

It's almost time to vote for your favourite make in the Japanese scrap bag challenge run by Sarah@Pings and Needles so go over and have a look at the fabulous things that have been made - prepare to be amazed!  If you come back in a day or two you'll be able see Archie deciding who to vote for...

Have a great day - Archie would say thank you for all your lovely comments about him but he's still fast asleep so I'll say it on his behalf!