HERE'S THE MISSING 6TH BLANKET!

It's taken me about 45 minutes to sort through the various blanket photos, some 'smalled', some cropped plus the originals. Then I had to delete the doubles and so on - you probably know what I'm getting at. But finally I found the missing 6th  blanket. I know why I missed it. There's another one with a green border but this one is wider and the pattern is in moss stitch! I had tried that for a change and soon wished I hadn't! I've done so many garter stitch blankets, which means you don't have to think overmuch, so having to keep an eye on a g. stitch border plus a moss stitch stripe then another g. stitch border - my poor little brain can't cope with that and reading and TV at the same time...

I'll stick to g. stitch from now on - unless I do ripple blankets again???

I FORGOT THIS...

but I did remember to lower the photos!!

I decided that I'm too old and creaky to look after the pond any more so it would have to be filled in. This mess shows the poor old pond in July(no fish in it, thank goodness) covered with duck weed. I managed to find a small local firm who, for what seemed an exorbitant price but on a par with another quote, came to fill it in.

It was a good chance to get rid of those 'might come in useful one day' potsherds in hiding behind the bottom shed so those were dumped in the now-empty pond to act as hardcore. All sorts of other cracked pots were also thrown in, after all, every little helps!

The liner was folded over after the paving slab pieces round the edge were removed and added to the bottom of the pond, then the workmen brought in barrowloads of soil until it looked -

like this.  It was left for a few weeks until it had settled; in the meantime, I pulled up small pieces of pond liner which had been under the pond edging so there would be a clear run for sowing grass seed.

This is how it looks this morning after being transformed by Homebase's own grass seed. It has been cut a couple of times but Gillian hasn't been able to come due to the rainy weather so it needs a 'last cut' before the winter really sets in. And there are still some daffs waiting to be planted... I managed to fill these pots with new compost and plant tulips, crocus and violas in these and a couple more but it's a slow process. I don't usually garden unless there's someone else around to pick me up if I fall. The badger(s) have already had a go at 'the pond' and nearer the house, too, which makes the ground lumpy and potholed at the same time.  But at least it looks better than it did in July when it was a watery pond.

I wanted to advertise my Tiny Teds at the craft fair in Haddenham so made this banner using Bondaweb for the first time. Before I early-retired in the late 80s I copied all the wooden upper and lower case letters which the children used and they've come in very useful for lots of projects.

What else have I forgotten???

ALL SORTS OF THIS AND THAT

 I haven't blogged for such a long time I can hardly remember how to do it! I've up/down loaded things I've done this summer, just to show that I haven't been sitting out in the garden munching chocolate, not that it's my idea of heaven, to sit outside in the sun with no prospect of shade. I tend to stay indoors and cool!! Nothing is in date order, just as it came alphabetically in my photo section.
 (I forgot to leave a space at the top in which to type the preamble and can't shift the photo down...)

The 28 Tiny Teds above were made during the summer just a few 'skins' at a time. I can make the body shape in two hours which you then double for stitching together, stuffing, stitching on features and making a scarf to wrap round his neck. I was having part of a stall at Homemade in Haddenham again (wouldn't it sound nicer if it was called 'Handmade in Haddenham'?). I covered two boxes of different sizes in material with a tiny print and piled one on top of the other so that some of the Teds had a shelf to stand on; others went into the wooden tray I used last year. I sold 26 out of the 28 so was quite happy with that.

I'm back to making Cat Blankets for the RSPCA rehoming centre at Blackberry Farm at Quainton. One thing I've just realised is, I've forgotten to turn the blankets to stand 'on end' as they're a quarter turn away from looking correct. Sorry! I make 6 at a time and then take them up to the Centre and chat to the ladies there. They always seem pleased to see more blankets.

Here's another one (below)from this batch. After making knitted blankets and then putting a crochet border round them it dawned on me that I could just as easily knit the border as I went along. How daft can you get???

 I try to make each blanket different in each batch .

 These were squares I made following a Quilt as you Go square and finally (actually) stitched these together after getting tired of seeing them laid out on the table for weeks on end. People seem to be quite taken with this pattern - and No, there aren't dozens of tails to sew in as I weave them in as I go - Lazy Libra...

 Another one of a different pattern, again.

 This one (above) is really a strippy quilt pattern, just random length strips knitted at once with a nice muddle of wools tangled together, not joined together afterwards as one lady at the Knit and Natter thought.... Incidentally that's held at Haddenham Community Library every week where some people knit, others sew, embroider or just chat. Some weeks it's more Natter than Knit!

 When I wanted a break I made these two hats for - well, some charity in due course. Will only fit small children and I made a premature baby hat from an on-line pattern which looks like a goose egg cover it's so tiny!

My daughter got married to her Dutch partner in August at the Town Hall. Some of the family went but I decided it would be too stressful to go out one day and back the next - and not my kind of thing anyway, I avoid weddings. Still, it was just as well they brought the wedding forward as Jonathan's mother was able to go from the hospice so,although she died ten or twelve days later, she saw her youngest son married. Teresa made the cake,of course!

A few more knitty bits - I found this pattern for knitted hexies which take a few minutes to make but you have to pay attention as you're counting decreases on every alternate row.

 I managed to take myself to a patchwork exhibition at Northchurch near Berkhamstead, the hall being at the top of a steep hill, naturally. Not a very large room and not a large selection of stalls, either but some of the quilts were interesting though not so easy to photo, not much room between the stands. I liked this one, being a scrappy quilt.

Just one closeup of one of the patches which, as you see, is made up of four squares stitched together with the same colour bias in each set of four. I like scrap quilts!

This is another design I like and have meant to make for y-e-a-r-s and have never got around to. Must find a way of cutting these 'tumblers' which I haven't got around to either...

I have made these blocks during the summer, usually by doing something towards them before I actually went downstairs in the morning. I've been given a lot of interesting scraps at K & N by a lady who says she's given up quilting...but none of that material is in here. I have enough to make the centre of a lap quilt but one side needs adjusting so I've put it away until next year. I've done quite a lot towards the handsewn hexie ?quilt during the summer but can't decide what to make it into, yet, so that's gone away as well. I'm still buying fat quarters!

 I entered Haddenham Horticultural Show again this year, putting in Darks and Brights quilt (2nd), the harlequin blanket I made a year or so ago (Highly Commended) and this Pen and Ink drawing I did in 2009 and that was a 2nd, too. It cost 60p in entrance fees and I won - 80p... Then found the crafts judge is one of the K & N ladies...

Sarah (granddaughter) has gone off to California for about 6 months with her boyfriend and she's currently  blogging photos and info on one of her websites plus sending a Round Robin to listed people and answering individual emails, too. While she's away Stuart and Helen are moving house so she'll come back to lots of boxes full of shoes and cushions as well as (no doubt at all) lots of other essential bits.

I'll just check this through then off to watch football on BT Sports Channel which is free at present to rope you in...

Will try to blog more frequently, and that's either a threat or a promise, I'll have to see which in due course! No room to put labels.....