Archie The Wonder Dog

I've had lots of fun with bee blocks this month!   Di asked for two 12" (finished) blocks and wanted one to be made from either a 12" or a 9" leaf and the other to be made from smaller leaves, with a creamy background.  Of course, I had to be different (some would say awkward), didn't I?!  I knew I would far prefer to make small leaves rather than one giant leaf and a couple of small leaves so I asked Di if she would mind me making several small leaves instead.  She very kindly agreed (and wondered, along with Nicky , just how small I would go), so I hopped straight to it and got busy choosing fabric whilst planning to see just how small a leaf I could manage and still have it square and with all the points intact. I started with a couple of 3" (finished) leaves to get me warmed up: I have no idea what either of these fabrics are (they're from the fabric fairy!) but the one on the right (yes, Hadley , the brown one!) is gorgeously soft and love...

I didn't intend to leave such a gap between blog posts but when you're spending more time asleep than awake it's hard to find time to do very much at all, let alone write a blog post.  Enough of that, let's get started, shall we?! Have I told you I joined  Bee A Brit Stingy ?  There was a space available for 2014 and I decided to take the plunge and become a full member, rather than just helping out with admin and cheering from the sidelines.  I was concerned about whether I'd manage to make the equivalent of two 12" blocks each month as my sewing time is variable and my sewing machine time is extremely limited most of the time* but I decided to give it a whirl. * To any new readers who are wondering why this is: I have M.E. and so have limited energy to spend on all aspects of my life as well as having to recover from any physical or mental activity by resting.  I find machine sewing very tiring so only attempt it on an afternoon but I often spend the wh...

I'm going to make this a photo-heavy post so you can see what I've been up to while I've been away.  I don't really want to go into why I've been away but I do want to say thank you for all the lovely emails, cards and presents you've sent (you know who you are!) and to send you all a hug for the friendship, love and support you've given me.  It's very much appreciated - I love this community of ours and am so thankful and grateful to be a very small part of it.   I made a (very quick!) baby quilt: I channelled my inner Lynne and quilted a grid - I love it! I've also made a bedding set for my niece's Christmas present (a pram).  Here's Panda trying out the blanket, mattress and pillow: and here he is trying out the whole set! He wasn't pleased when he realised I was serious about it not being for him. I'm particularly fond of the dolly quilt (made with 'Rain' from the wonderful Si...

...but I do need a bit of help! Once again I'm going to have to work some ATWD magic and make it look as though I've been productive this month!  I think I'll show you lots of photos to distract you from lack of substance sewing.  I've got to admit to being really, really tired at the moment.  To give you an idea of what really, really tired looks like I can tell you that in the last seven days I've spent six afternoons in bed, fast asleep for at least three hours each time.  And that's after at least ten hours sleep on a night so it's not as though I'm going short!  When I'm awake I'm not necessarily awake and doing - you're more likely to find me flitting from thing to thing, not really able to settle on one thing but not able to just sit on the settee and watch telly either ('too tired to do anything, too tired to rest' would be a good description).  If it wasn't for my need to publish my Fresh Sewing Day post on the firs...