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Saturday 7 July 2007

~*~ Alington House Quilters,Durham ~*~



Drove across to Durham this morning for a super exhibition by a local group.Quite by chance I met up with Dawn outside and we went round the show together.
Upstairs there was a room dedicated to Amy Emms and some of her original Durham quilting projects and hand-drawn templates.
My favourite quilt of the show was an outstanding Sampler Quilt,the workmanship was awesome





Retail therapy was provided by The Fat Quarters,Kim had set out a beautiful array of fabrics, books ,notions etc.Just time for tea and fairy cakes served in funky pyrex!!

Friday 6 July 2007

~*~ Can you ever have too much fabric? ~*~


I visited Kim and Emma at The Fat Quarters today(www.thefatquarters.co.uk )for my quilting fix! Since reading The Elm Creek Quilting novels, I have had a yearning to do some hand quilting. So I bought a 'Sandie Lush Strippy' quilt pattern, and I going to start on a cot/crib quilt.
Let me introduce my quilting buddy Wendy. We will have to dash now, as I am off out for a birthday tea with Julie, at a local restaurant.


~*~Helen High Water~*~


So much has happened in the last 2 weeks

Verity and I went off to Pelion in Greece,we stayed in Milina,a beautiful, small , unspoilt village on the peninsula.This is the 4th year we have returned.The people are so friendly and always remember us ,the food is delicious ,fresh and using locally grown produce, the weather was boiling,over 40 C .

Alex and Calum had stayed at home this time ( it is too quiet for teenage boys !!) , to look after things.Thank goodness!! . I phoned home on the Monday evening , to be told that there had been a freak , flash, flood during a torrential downpour and that the ground floor of our house was under water.

The boys called in reinforcements and coped brilliantly , moving furniture etc., building a dam at the garden gate and mopping up .

Obviously, there was nothing Verity and I could do , I was certainly subdued for a while but after some reassuring calls home , we tried to enjoy the rest of our hols.

On the Wednesday afternoon , a bush fire broke out on the Pelion peninsular , the weather had been so dry ,no rain for 3 months , fanned by the breeze , it really took hold and the army etc had to be called in

We went on a cruise on the Thursday. We saw a school of wild dolpins very near the boat which was wonderful but we also watched fire boats scooping water from the sea to try and help put out the flames.When the boat dropped us off they went to help evacuate villages cut off by the fire.

Our trip to the airport for our flight home was horrendous, the roads were all closed so they tried to take us by boat,we were all loaded on ,with our luggage, and set out to sea , 10 mins into the trip ,the captain turned around , he realised the boat was overloaded and it was not safe to proceed . Back on dry land again ,we had to hang around till the roads reopened and then drive ,by minibus , through devastation.The beautiful Greek countryside had been raised to the ground.Homes, olive groves , vineyards and 100s of acres reduced to charcoal, it was heartbreaking.

The weekend ,when we got back home , was spent finishing off all the great work the boys had done.They had lifted the affected carpets and the house was almost dried out (helped a great deal by the Aga and various heaters ). Its in the hands of the insurance company now .

You may notice in some future photos , bare floors , the carpets , rugs etc are rolled up outside. and will be replaced in due course. You couldn't make it up,could you ??


Thursday 5 July 2007

~*~ Yummy Mummy ~*~


Although the 'Birthday Tea' was a bit of a shambles, mainly due to my excitement over my newly created blog, and first comment (Hello Julie).


I receieved many gorgeous presents, Verity, 14, brought a necklace and some pottery back from our recent holiday in Pelion, Greece.


While Calum presented me with a lovely, and very suitable mug.

~*~Happy Birthday To Me~*~



~Forty-eight today! ~

I have finally decided to become a 'blogger'!

My daughter Verity, 14, is assisting me with this, because I am hardly the worlds best at computers. She is continuously being called down from her bedroom, which she is trying to tidy, to assist in how to edit the pages and insert pictures, although I'm getting the hang of it now... I think!

I have begun to upload a few photos of recent quilts and projects, and would be very interested to hear your comments.