So what happened to September?

It started off promisingly - a friend and I did a beginners quilting course that we'd enrolled on back in June and were eagerly awaiting. It was held a tiny shop in Canterbury and was great fun. There were six of us on the course which is the maximum the room can hold and we learnt about piecing, cutting and sewing together basic nine patch pieces in squares and triangles.

Here's my first four squares made during that day:



We're booked to go on the second Beginners Course next month which teaches smaller triangles and the 'flying geese' blocks. After that it's a 'finishing' course at the end of november.

I'm already hooked just from this initial course and have about a dozen quilts planned LOL. There's also another 12 courses run at the shop all of which I'd like to do so I'm hoping I manage at least a couple next year. Of course I need another hobby like a hole in the head.

Anyway, after the course I came home picking my in-laws up en route as they came over for five days to see us (well DH), Lia and the new house. Thankfully they weren't staying with us so I was able to hold my temper better than previous visits but it was a relief when they left. I don't understand why they're such hard work. We constantly try and come up with things to do when they're around and they never seem to enjoy it but they never seem to enjoy just sitting around either.

DH finds them even more frustrating than me which doesn't help as I have to put up with them AND him being in odd moods. The only thing that caused issues this time was my refusal to let my MIL wash up and clean. I know that sounds like bliss to some people but having her walk into the house and immediately start cleaning and tidying drives me nuts. I can live with dirty dishes sitting waiting to be washed - they're not left more than a few hours and only if we're heading out or busy elsewhere - and it always makes me feel like she's criticising me by implying I don't run the house the way she would (god forbid anything dirty is left out for more than 30 seconds in her house).

Anyway, this time I was super-woman. I went to work, cooked, cleaned, washed, ironed and looked after the baby. I also haven't slept as well for weeks as I did those five days LOL.

And then, on the day they were leaving what did I notice on Lia? Spots. Only one or two but by Monday morning there were lots and lots and lots...





Chicken Pox!

Nine of the children in her room at nursery had it last week too. I had to take four days off work to nurse her (DH did one day as I had to be in a meeting) and for the first three days she was pretty miserable and kept asking me to wash the spots off for her. Thankfully child antihistamine worked wonders for the itching and by thursday she was on the mend. This pic was taken on friday and as you can see she was feeling a lot better!



So that was most of September gone!

Other good things that happened this month were our new sofas arriving. They're scarlet leather and sooooooooo comfortable but we have been warning friends that they may need sunglasses when they come and visit



We also saw lots of friends we haven't seen for ages and my sister came to stay to help us get started with sorting out the garden. She and my BIL delivered some furniture including a piano which is fantastic. It's in need of a tuning but other than that is in perfect condition and I can't wait to start playing again (yes, that is another hobby to add to the list LOL).

I also held a small stitching GTG - smaller than originally planned as only those prepared to brave the chicken pox came. It was fun though and some of us ended the day off with a trip to Kristina's house which holds all the stock for Lekker Threads. Much stash was purchased and a great time was had by all (except maybe her DBF who was trying to watch TV!)

Do go and check out her site as she has some fantastic items for sale (no affiliation etc, just a happy customer).

So that's it. September is almost over and the shops are starting to display Christmas items so I'm left wondering what happened to the bulk of 2007!

Stitching Project Plan

This is a list of my current projects that I want to focus on between now and the end of the year.

Bent Creek Red Threads
Bent Creek Big Zipper
Cirque des Cercles
Heaven Above
Grandma's Thread Minder
Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag
Sleigh Ride
Santa's Journey Afghan
Be Attitudes Afghan
Cottage Garden 2

All are current WIPs that I love and so deserve attention from me. I hope to get better about taking WIP pictures to get my motivation levels up so I'm going to start by taking a picture of all of them at the weekend so I can compare them all on 31st December. I'd like to think I will have a couple of finishes by then but given there's so much to do in the new house I'll be happy if I've just managed to get a bit further on with all of them.

If I do start any other projects I will keep them small - probably some quick finishes such as ornaments, biscornus, etc.

Also I want to get practicing with drawn thread work too as I have a sampler I'd like to get stitched for my Sis and BIL who celebrate 40 years of marriage next September. I think I should get moving on this now just in case Baby 2 comes along as all stitching plans go out of the window with a newborn in the house!

The Tale of the Paint

The first job on the list for the morning after we moved was a trip to B&Q to get all the paint, brushes, etc required for us to get on with decorating. Our car was still pretty full of stuff from the move but we didn't really have anywhere to put it in the house and, as the bulk of it was my stash, I wasn't putting it in the garage (there's A LOT of spiders in there and I'm not risking one jumping out and attacking me the next time I go on a floss hunt...)

Anyway we bought all our stuff and as we came out of B&Q DH saw the icecream van that was stationed at the exit to attract all the bored and whiney kids who had endured DIY shop hell with their parents. Cue much searching of pockets for enough change to buy and icecream for my slightly less bored and whiney husband.

I purchased the icecreams while he packed the stuff in the car (hey, I was bored and whiney too).

Anyway, the route home involved, unsurprisingly, turning a few corners and whilst turning the fourth corner there was an ominous thump from the back of the car. DH yelled at me to stop the car but in order to do this safely (it's lucky I'm not a nervous driver) I had to turn two more corners.

We opened the boot to discover that the tubs of paint that DH had carefully stacked in the back of the car had fallen over and the top one had hit the side of our newly purchase mop bucket, opened and dumped a large amount of it's contents around the back of the car.

So we're stuck with paint dripping everywhere, nothing useful to use to clear it up and me having a minor fit regarding the close proximity of paint and stash. Oh and I hadn't finished my icecream either.

We mopped up as best we could and headed home (which was just around the corner) with DH muttering about how he shouldn't have stacked the tubs, how he shouldn't have shopped with the car full of stuff, how the whole world was against him, etc etc etc, and me resisting the urge to say 'but there was more than enough room to put the tubs side by side' (which there was)

In the end the damage was minimal - a couple of unrescuable garden rubbish sacks, the mop bucket (which did a super job of catching the bulk of the paint and ensuring it wasn't a lot worse) and one of my framed cross stitchings.

Swirly Sampler to be precise. DH cleaned it up as best he could but I'm not sure that it is going to be okay. It's a bit damp round the edges and it's difficult to get to all the paint without risking more damp. I've been way too occupied with other things to spend time trying to clean it up properly but thankfully, whilst I did spend time stitching it, it wasn't hours and hours of work.

Yes I am taking it quite calmly but there's nothing I can do. If I'd gone on a total rant we'd have had a huge row (in front of Lia and my parents) and nothing constructive will have been achieved. I've chalked it up to 'accidents happen' but I have learned that golden rule - never let your husband load paint in the car whilst distracted by the thought of an icecream...