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Monday 29 April 2013

Never knowingly blogready

Emma made a whistle-stop visit. She wandered around the house, pointing at things.

"Have you blogged this? Have you blogged this? Have you blogged this?" She exposed me as a blogging fraudster. A layabout. A woman surrounded by perfectly bloggable items, who spends her time chasing her tail ironing school uniforms and watching episodes of Castle on Lovefilm.

I have blogged nothing. Not this quilt, made from a pattern in the Liberty Book of Home Sewing. (Just to note, I did not buy this book. I got it out of the library. It's pretty and all, but the projects are flimsy. There's a free Amy Butler brick quilt pattern which would probably have done much the same thing.)

Still. Here it is. One of the reasons (excuse alert!!) that I didn't get round to blogging it before was because it was constantly wrapped around somebody's shoulders or knees. It is cold, here, people.


As you can see, it is made entirely out of scraps of Liberty tana lawn. I can only apologise for being able to buy this stuff so reasonably. In my defence, if it wasn't dirt cheap I would have found another hobby. We all know how much I like watching TV and drinking fake Aldi Baileys.


I've used some of the same fabrics that the pattern suggested, but only coincidentally. I went with what I had. I find myself secretly liking the back best. I made a stripe of the bits of brick I cut off the edges to square it up, and then used some larger pieces I'd bought by the metre. The pinky blue fabric that makes up most of the back was bought for a song, because of the watermark throughout the roll. You want to know my magic way of removing a watermark? Scissors. 


Now we come to the mandolin strap I made from yet another Liberty scrap, and an outgrown denim skirt donated by Littlest. Mr Coffee had gone to a music shop to buy a strap for me as a gift. On being offered this, he returned home empty-handed. "Ten quid!" he fumed. "Ten quid for a bootlace! You could make one tons better than that!"

They give me their clothes. They refuse to buy things in shops. They believe in me.


The next one isn't mine. It was made for me by a talented friend. About a year ago, I was stripping scrap paper out of notebooks (is it just my children who write on 15 pages of a full notebook and then abandon it?) when I suddenly found a message. Littlest had had a burst of joy whilst learning to write, which had hidden away for goodness knows how long in a half-empty pad.

I kept the note on the kitchen wall, but it began to fade. So I took it to Ursula, and asked her to help me keep it safe.


I am all Show and Tell today. Normal service will be - no, I'd better not say that. Normal service will possibly never be resumed. Because in less than three weeks' time I will be starting a new job, and god only knows what will pass for normal by then.

See? I told you I was all Show and Tell.


29 comments:

  1. LOVE the quilt, well love all of it really, but need you to tell me your source for fabric for the next time I am in the area!

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  2. That is quite an achievement, and lovely to look at too.

    Who would want a shop bought Mandoline strap when you can make them as beautiful as that one?

    And the hoop? Priceless.

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  3. Such a gorgeous quilt! I do like a bit of show and tell :) And what is the new job? K x

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  4. That is one stunning quilt. And I need to know more about your new job.

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  5. Lovely quilt, but loving the embroidered note so much - really good idea! x

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  6. oh brilliant! all of it. The quilt and the strap and the embroidery and the news about the job!

    Can you tell us more?

    in your own time... :)... of course!

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  7. Fabulous news about the job - is it going to be one you'll enjoy? A really lovely post to read - especially Littlest's writing. xx

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    1. I hope I'll enjoy it! That's the plan, at least!

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  8. Oh I did enjoy this post. And am intrigued by your mandolin. I have one too. In fact I had a BIG one not so long ago, an octave mandola which had a beautiful tone, but unfortunately I discovered the melodeon and we swapped it for a new guitar .........yes, I know none of this makes sense to me either. What kinda music do you play?

    I do love the embroidered note, what a great idea for saving those lovely little notes. Lx

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    1. I play the first 20 pages of the Mel Bay Learn to Play the Mandolin Book.

      I think you might be a good deal further on than me...!

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  9. Congrats on the new job. And on all that worthy bloggable material. Most hapi-inducing.

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  10. Oh bless. I have a sort of similar memory. Middle son was learning to write and wanted to show his grandparents. I must have said well you could send nana your love, because he wrote in huge shaky capitals DEAR NANA I AM SENDING YOU MY LOVE.

    New job! Congratulations and good luck.

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  11. A funny, happy post. Love it.

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  12. I love the quilt, love the mandolin strap, adore the embroidered message!

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    1. Thank you! Now I just have to practice the mandolin... no excuses...

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  13. Ooh - I don't know if you'll read this, I'm a long time lurker,no profiles to speak of hence the anonymity. I just wanted to say the quilt's gorgeous, the quote from your littlest is beautiful and good luck with the new job.

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    1. Thanks so much for reading and commenting! And I'm a little nervous about the job to be honest - good job I made a nice quilt to quiver under...!

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  14. My eldest just did a show and tell of assorted beheaded barbies and loose heads; I definitely prefer yours. The notebook page made my heart jump..

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    1. There is nothing more cheering than a beheaded Barbie.

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  15. You hid an entire liberty quilt from us? That's just not right.

    And smart child. Think of all the angsty blog posts I could have saved myself if I'd been able to sum that up as succinctly.

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  16. a liberty quilt on a washing line. oh my.

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  17. Lord, you make me laugh! Thankyou!

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  18. Love the joyful quote! Good luck with the job.

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  19. Oh CL, that embroidery is so delightful. What a great thing to have done it. Now, of course, I want to do the same but lack of time, skill, organisational ability will keep me from doing it so I will add it straight to my 'things I feel bad about not doing' list instead. Thanks for that.

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  20. Let your friends come by more frequesnlty as you have so many gorgeous things to show us an dyou don't even notice them. Oh that note ...

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  21. Beautiful - all of it. Good luck with the job. And where, oh where, do you find Liberty print fabric for a song? Really - I need to know?!

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