Progress!!

I may not have made much progress with this blog in the last few weeks months but I have managed quite a bit of sewing, in between resting (I was completely exhausted after the Oakshott project and it took me quite a few weeks of sleeping for fourteen hours a day to get back to anything like my usual normal.  M.E. does that to you but I'm lucky that, with lots of rest, I can gradually bounce back.  Lots of people don't...) and Archie-related emergencies (I'll explain more below but don't panic, he's feeling much more like himself, thank goodness!) and I thought it was about time I popped my head in here to let you know what I've been up to.


In July, I made these blocks for Charlotte:

In August, I made this snowflake for Nicky:

There are 239 pieces in this 9.5" x 9.5" (finished) block (each red square finishes at 0.5" x 0.5") and I love the back almost as much as the front!  I must tell you that Nicky didn't ask for this as her block, she gave us free rein within the guidelines of 'red and white with a touch of teal Nordic-inspired blocks' and I designed this snowflake.  It's well worth popping over to Nicky's blog to see more of her blocks!

Most recently I made these blocks for Janet:

One more month and then it's my turn to be Queen Bee!  I've had my block picked since the beginning of the year (and surprisingly, I haven't changed my mind!) but haven't yet managed to make any sample blocks.  I have five weeks to get my act together...


I've been making fair-to-good progress with my Q3 list and even have some finishes.  I'm not going to show you them all now as this blog post is already heading for epic proportions, so I'm going to see if I can manage some shorter (snappier!) posts between now and the end of the linky party; one for each finish, if I can manage it.


My candidate for 'finish I'm most glad to see the back of' started like this:

Plans for 'bed curtains' for a friend's daughter's midsleeper bed

And, after several hours at the ironing board wrestling what turned out to be fabric possessed by a demon (it was so bad that it had to be isolated from the rest of my stash in case it was a demon that liked to inhabit more than one fabric at a time!), I finally finished.  I don't have a photo of them in situ but here's proof of all those hours.  If you look closely you can probably see the demon peeking out from those polka dots *winks*

Finished bed curtains

They actually looked really good by the time I'd finished - my friend had chosen mustard top stitching thread (she couldn't find a standard weight thread to match so went with one which said 'extra strong'!) and I was initially dubious but it looked far, far better than bright pink thread would have done.  Note to self: don't always go with the obvious choice of thread!



I've also made progress with the blue and white monster quilt and I can present, for your delectation, 41% of the finished quilt top:

I've got another ten rows (150 blocks) to go and I honestly can't wait to be able to say that I've finished piecing this top!  Maybe by this time next year, if I'm lucky?!



A project which is much more fun to piece is my Christmas Cherry (based on the Made in Cherry quilt by Sarah Fielke).  I'm aiming to have this ready for hand quilting by the beginning of November as I want to be able to watch Christmas films while I quilt this.  It currently looks like this:

and there are ninety-two squares on my sewing table which are destined to be a border.  I'm then going to add some smaller stars top and bottom to make the quilt into a rectangle, rather than a square.  At least, that's the plan at the moment...


When I joined the strips for the background border, I decided that the easiest way to match the dots was to top stitch the join.  This meant I could pin the strips exactly where I wanted them and get the match as close as possible, given that the lines of dots aren't quite as straight as they look!

I think that's enough sewing progress for now, don't you?  I'll save the rest for another day...


I mentioned at the beginning of the post that there had been an Archie-related emergency.  On Bank Holiday Monday (25th August) I was in the kitchen when I heard a funny 'thump' and rushed through to find Archie leant against the settee and looking very odd indeed.  When I tried to sit him up, he just collapsed back against the front of the settee and it became clear that he had no control/feeling in at least three of his legs.  I thought he'd had a stroke so rang the emergency vet (for those of you who are wondering, yes, the consultation fee for an out-of-hours vet is akin to calling in the emergency plumber.  Just as he's sitting down to Sunday dinner.  On his birthday.) and took him in a short while later (I had to wait while they dealt with another emergency admission).  By this time he was dribbling, shivering (with pain), whimpering and not very interested in what was going on (although he did move his ears when he heard my mam come through the door).  Fortunately, it wasn't a stroke but a dramatic flare up of his bad back (which happened when he was attacked by another, much larger, dog) and resulting arthritis.  Inflammation meant that his nerves weren't sending signals to his legs.  He stayed in overnight (and he's been very clingy ever since) with a series of steroid drips stuck in his leg and came home the next afternoon, much to my relief. He's since been back for another couple of follow-up appointments and the vet is thrilled with his progress so far - she said that dogs who come in as bad as Archie don't usually come back this well.  He's on a low dose of steroids (which are making him eat, drink and wee for England, no exaggeration!), has painkillers to take when I think he needs them and is allowed two slow ten minute lead walks a day.  He's not allowed up or down stairs or steps (so needs lifting in and out of the house, so undignified) but he's adjusting to his 'new normal' quite well.  He's still very, very excited by walks and biscuits and I'm hoping that when he goes for his next check-up (in about two weeks' time), he'll be able to come off the steroids and go onto a doggy anti-inflammatory medication.

Here are some far too many photos I've taken over the past few weeks:

Is that a biscuit you're hiding behind your back?  Hand it over.

This photo was taken the day before he scared the living daylights out of me - you can see how happy and healthy he looks!

 I hate being in here...

I must be poorly if I'm allowed on the settee...it's comfy, though!

I may have been carried here and told not to move but I'm really enjoying this patch of sun

Pleeeeeeease may I come out?

I'm telling you, I'm *this* close to making a run for it

That's better: back where I belong

Do you mind, I'm sleeping!

And this morning, after his 'strip wash' (he's not well enough to tolerate a bath, particularly given how much he hates it and prances around, so he had the doggy version of a 'stand up wash at the sink' with a flannel and soapy water, followed by a very quick rinse from the hose):

No, I'm not best pleased. 

He smells gorgeous and now he's dry he's lovely, fluffy and 'OMO' white!


After that I need a big cup of tea (and perhaps a biscuit) before I head to bed.  Thanks for popping in!


ETA: The Q3 FAL finish list is now open so I'm linking up!