I was looking through all my posts and realized

I know technically it's only been a day (well for another three minutes anyway) since my last entry.


But I had the most wonderful comment left on my other blog from a blind wannabe quilter.  I thought I had put an entry on here as to how I thread my needles without any bother.  So I looked through all of my entries and found I hadn't.  I can't right now because I need to take photos of my doing it.  But on looking through all of my stitching I decided I really miss doing it and see no reason why I can't stitch and quilt at the same time so that's what I'm going to do.


Tomorrow I shall put an entry on here as to how I thread my needles and take out one of my UFO's (that's UnFinished Objects to those that don't know) and get stitching again.  So this blog will be live and well and won't have much more quilting on it but mainly stitching so watch this space and I'm glad to be back and hope you guys are happy to see me back.


Tomorrow:


1.  Tutorial on how I thread my needles
2.  A photo of my UFO and where I have got to on it.


So until next time ... 
Lots of Love 
Patti xxx
American by birth and MOUTH but
British in every other way

Blimey it's been over a month AGAIN

I didn't realise at all that it's been so long AGAIN!!!

Do you like my Britishness of saying Blimey?  It's one of my favorite words but NOT my very favorite which is B*llocks which covers everything and I'm very fond of saying as all my friends know so I figured you should know this too.  The best thing about b*llocks is the Yanks have absolutely no idea what it means.  See I told you I was more British than American now!

So what's been happening over the past month you ask.  Well nothing much to be honest.  Drugs are dreadful still so a couple of weeks ago I stopped it.  I have lost almost a year of my life thanks to those darn drugs.  Look I've had MS for a very very long time without any drugs.  I was told I could chose the one I wanted and woud you believe I chose the one I always swore I would never go on.  What made me decide on that one?  I only had to inject once weekly with it.  How dumb was I!!!  The side effects were too much to bear so I stopped it.  The my neurologist put me on the same drug but this time it was injectable 3 times a week in much lower doses.  I went on this one in July and now in February guess what?  Same side effects but worse because as well as all the other ones I had hot flushes as well.  Look I had a total hysterectomy 20 years ago and already went through the change with hot flushes and didn't need or want them again. So I've been off it for two weeks and everything is normal (for me anyway) again.

Now if him who mustn't been obeyed (known affectionately as DH) would clear his crap (otherwise known as washing (of the clean variety) and other stuff) out of my sewing room which is now a junk room I could sew again.  And I so want to finally sew again.  I was meant to be out all day tomorrow but as I have a virus that's going round and I feel a bit better today tomorrow is going to be the day we clear out my sewing room and get it ready for me to stitch in again.  I really really miss sewing.  So watch this space.

Until next time ...
Lots of Love
Patti xxx
American by birth and MOUTH but British in every other way

No Photos But ...

Hi,


Well it's been a really really long time. But I think I'm finally back to you all.  I have missed blogging and stitching and quilting and every other thing I did to keep myself out of mischief.  And I'm not exactly telling the truth about no photos because here I am going to introduce the newest member of our family and her name is Chloe Rachael.  Chloe was born on November 8, 2011 weighing in at 5lbs 15ozs and is the lovely daughter of our son James and his very lovely wife Danielle and a little sister for Oliver who is almost 2 1/2.

James, Danielle, Oli +

Chloe in Mummy's Tummy at

Peppa Pig World

(forget the girl at the front - no idea who she is -

well maybe she's Illana - Danielle's best bud? Of course it's

Illana - I'm just nuts so please don't forget her because she's lovely

AND Illana is now pregnant with Nos. 2 and 3 - TWINS)

Chloe was crying so Oliver said,"maybe croey 

(Chloe) wants car" well it seemed to have worked cause she stopped crying

The next day he gave her a plastic plant pot with a fake flower in it.

He is just too cute for words

Oli at Winter Wonderland here in London

last week.

If you say to him 'You are gorgeous' his reply is always

'No I Oli, I NOT gorgeous!'

But alas I had a Multiple Sclerosis attack like I haven't had in years and years and it just went on and on on driving me to distraction and not allowing me to do anything but become a couch potato.  So much time and so much television.  Hands didn't work and arms weren't much good - see I'm not clumsy I have bloody MS!  Legs don't work that well at the best of times and my eyes were pretty cr*p too!


Life didn't stop completely.  Because of my wonderful husband who can cook by instruction (I sit in the Living Room telling him exactly what to do) so we had people round for dinner here quite often - well at the weekends anyway and we had Christmas lunch here too as well as Boxing Day Dinner.


Our eldest made the chicken soup which was really really good to start with and then my DH did the made the Turkey and even made my usual stuffing plus different (non-onion) stuffing for my DD#2 and our DDIL who both have Crohns disease.  So quite a bit of stuffing went into the bird and the non-onion one went into tin foil like a roll thingy.  We had Roasted Vegetables with our main course which was courtesy of Marks & Spencer as well as the Deserts none of which are shown here because they were especially made for Christmas.  If you live in the U.K. you know that you will get the best fruit and vegetables from Marks & Spencer and Waitrose.  I got the yummiest Christmas Pudding I have ever tasted and it was a veggie one too as everything has to be Kosher here but boy was it good.  I also got this chocolate and cherry cake thing (I don't like Chocolate anymore - go figure) and finally we had loads of yummy fresh fruit on the table.  It was lovely, perfect in fact except I announced that next year we are going out for lunch!!!


Boxing Day Larry (DH) made chicken pieces - via instructions and we had Chopped Liver and Egg & Onion to start, followed by Roast Chicken, Roast Potatoes and Veg with i can't remember what for desert and New Year's Eve we went out for dinner to a Chinese Restaurant which was lovely.  So all in all a good Christmas and New Year was had by all.


Next week I will hopefully be well enough to start cutting and sewing again so there will be photos of stuff that you might (not me) like better than these photos.  My very best thing is being a Grandma - I just Love it to pieces.


So until next time ... 
Lots of Love Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

The EXCITEMENT grows and grows

Boy is my excitement mounting.  I just can't begin to explain how much. And now Ladies and Gentlemen for the promised first, sort of, tutorial on how to get going with your Go! Baby.

I think of lot of making anything is in the preparation.  And here is where it starts.  The first thing you have to do is unpack it, whether you have bought, won or otherwise procured a Go! Baby or a Go! wonderful machine.

Now it's time for Part 1 of How to Mark Your Dies with Ebony Love of Love Bug Studios - she is just THE BEST.


Now you can watch Part 2 of How to Mark Your Dies if they are Geometric or Multiples again by Ebony Love:


Here is Part 3 of the series by Ebony Love and this time it's for Appliques:


Before you start cutting anything you really must watch this video by Ebony Love (yes I am A HUGE fan of her's) on how to get straight cuts for your new Accuquilt G! Baby or Go! There are actually two videos here and please watch them in order:




So the first thing I did was go and try and buy myself a couple of silver sharpies. Could I get them? NO WAY!!! Nobody in this darn country I have adopted had any so I looked at them all and decided to buy these because they would give me the widest choice of colors. I have marked my first die board and here are some pictures to show you:

 These are the Sharpies I bought yesterday and as you can see

I have a choice of four colors to use

 This is the die before I marked it

And this is it after.  As you can see

I chose Green first but that didn't work too well

so, I decided to use the pink which worked way better.

I still would have preferred Silver!!!

Until tomorrow when I, hopefully, will have enough energy to iron some fabric and actually use my new Go! Baby!!! I have discovered ironing sitting down since I can't stand and do it.  And I am sure that this new toy of mine will make my quilting come alive as it won't matter at all how much I am shaking when I use the GO! Baby!!  Such is life with Multiple Sclerosis!!!  Each day brings something else exciting and new!  Okay so I'm being sarcastic but it sure beats being self pitying that's for sure.  PMA all the way!  That's for the uninitiated Positive Mental Attitude - well it's gotten me through the past 20 years and will continue to get me past the next 20 at least and quilting all the way. 

Lots of Love
Patti xxx
American by birth and MOUTH but British in every other way

Accuquilt Baby Go

Hi All,


I have the best news to share with you and that new is that I got a .... wait for it ...

Accuquilt Baby Go with three dies.  The link HERE will take you to the purchase an Accuquilt Baby Go page and if you click on the link above, it will take you the that page but even better is there are two tabs on the left hand side of that page and if you click on the Video tab it will take you to a video telling you all about this amazing machine.  Also right now if you buy a Baby Go Accuquilt are giving away totally free (not that I got them but this is now and that was then) the Alex Anderson Die Set worth $139.97 so in fact you would only be paying for the Dies and not the Baby Go at all.  Now how exciting is that!!!

I spent ages choosing my dies but I did it in the end and I chose these three dies

Go! Triangles in a Square-3" Finished

Please click HERE to see the accompanying video of that these dies can do

Go! Drunkards Path-3 1/2"

Please click HERE to see the link to the videos for this die

and finally I chose this set

Go! Value Die Set

Please click HERE to go and see what this lot can do

Okay I have the machine and the dies so what next you ask?  Well me being me I need to know all the ins and outs of how to use this machine without destroying anything.  So I headed to You Tube and found the most amazing videos and tomorrow please come back because I am going to share them all with you.  

And before the end of this week I am going to be making a Tutorial on how I did with it and what I managed to make.  I am just so excited I can't tell you.  So please keep on coming back because before too long I'm going to be having an even bigger surprise for everyone.

So until tomorrow ... 


Lots of Love 
Patti xxx 
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

This is the MOST gorgeous X stitch

For some reason the links aren't showing up on my computer screen.  I hope they are on your screens but if they aren't almost all the names (except where I have said here) contain links to go further and explore.


In the U.K. we have had this really great TV program starring Kirstie Allsop and it's called Kirstie's Homemade Home.  I loved every single episode and watched some twice and three times with the help of my MacBook.  She does all kinds of things from showing us from Kirstie Creates: Restored Chairs to How to Make a Cushion Cover and beyond.  She has had three series so far and each one has been breathtakingly good.  The main link to Kirstie's Handmade Home can be found here and it is so worth seeing.


In one of the episodes, requested by viewers of previous shows of hers Cross Stitch was widely requested.  Well did she pick a good one for this.  She picked Emily Peacock who creates the most gorgeous pillows and sells the kits for the stitching.  You have to provide any embellishments you want and also the fabric and stretching letting you make a pillow.  I just have to buy at least one of these beauties they are just super gorgeous:

They come in two sizes.  Large and Small.  The large one is large enough to two people to sit it on and the small one is, well, smaller like for one person.

The large kit is worked with Appleton Brothers tapestry wools in counted cross stitch on Zweigart 7 h.p.i. canvas. The small kit is worked with 2 strands of Appleton Brothers crewel wool in counted cross stitch on Zweigart 10 h.p.i. canvas. The design is worked from the easy-to-follow colour chart provided. 

Working with tapestry wools on the larger 7 h.p.i. canvas (large size) gives a beautiful chunky, hand-made finish. The crewel wools worked on the 10 h.p.i. (small size) give an elegant, smoother finish.

To be honest I am going for the Smaller kit size as I don't particularly like chunky and also the pillow will be too big for what I want it for, and I so prefer elegant to anything else.  It will be a Christmas Gift this coming year so I'd better get my skates on and buy and start it.

I will keep you appraised of my progress weekly whilst I do everything else I love to do too.

So until next time ... 


Lots of Love
Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

A giveaway to make you smile so much your face will hurt

No pictures but here I am.  Alive and well and off the drug that made me feel so horrid.  Back to normal whatever that is.  And back on this blog to share this amazing giveaway with you all.

So what have I been doing? Absolutely nothing craft wise.  Not even stitching or cutting or sewing on my sewing machine,  but I have been looking a lot on the computer and drooling and have found some truly wonderful things for you all and here is NUMBER ONE!

Madame Samm  (this is Samm's original blog and what a treat to read it is) is having the most unbelievable giveaways.  The links to her two blogs are on the right hand side of my other blog but I have put a link underneath the picture here for you.  

Now here is what you have to do:

Now go here and what you have to do is:

1. First go to the link
2. Then on the right hand side of Madame Samm's giveaway blog (which is the one linked above) click on any of the people that have donated giveaways and there are so many to choose from but one has to Sponsor you
3. Go to the Sponsors website and email them asking them to sponsor you
4. Wait for his/her reply saying they will sponsor you - because he or she will trust me because whatever you win she wins too!!  
5. Then on Monday, Wednesday & Friday the giveaway is for a Want To Be Quilter - THAT'S ME
6. On Tuesday and Thursdays it is open to quilters who can actually quilt - THAT'S NOT ME

So much fun and so much is being given away it just isn't true.  And you don't have to be a quilter yet in fact most of the giveaways are for people who are wannabees - THAT'S ME!!! In fact the giveaways are happening from August 1, 2011 (that was last Monday and I missed it because birdbrain here didn't understand the directions but you will) until October 29, 2011 so go on TREAT yourself because Madame Samm really is as gorgeous as she is lovely.

Until next time ... 

Lots of Love 

Patti xxx 

American by birth and MOUTH but British in every other way

I have finally decided ...

to stop this blog once and for all.  I have thought about this long and hard over quite a few nights and rather than give you an inferior blog, which this has clearly become, I would so rather concentrate on my other blog.


As you all are aware, I think, I have been really poorly for so much of this year that I have done very little of anything.  But I have done some stuff and here we are 7 months into the 'new' year, which very little of anything of mine to show.  It's not been a good year one way and another.  I really don't want to whinge about it so I'm not going to but it will get better of this I am sure.


I know I have way more followers on here but I can hardly keep up with one blog never mind two.  So if you still want to keep up with my forays into stitching and quilting and any other craft I decide I HAVE to try plus everything else I do and don't get up to please come over to my other blog and give it a go. 


My other blog is called P.S. I Want To Quilt Too and please come on over because I will really miss you guys and your great comments and you too.  You have all made my life so much richer with your encouragement and support and the wonderful things on your blogs as well that have so inspired me over the years and for this I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I wouldn't have been without a single one of you and I really have loved you all.


Lots of Love Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

I Know this is turning out to be more of a quilting blog but ...

Anyway it's been a week and a half since I last blogged.  I haven't done anything at all because I have had an abscess on one of my teeth for the last four weeks and have been in such pain it honestly has been worse than childbirth and I've had three of them - children that is.

What a pain in the you know where!  I am now on my fourth lot of antibiotics which is the most I have ever had in my entire life.  I don't take them generally but save them for when I really need them because I am allergic to so many.  So I've had two lots of one that I am not allergic to and am about to start on the 2nd lot of the second one that so far I am not allergic to.  The allergy had always turned up the second time I take an antibiotic but as there won't be any gap in taking the 2nd lot of this one maybe it won't happen.  The last time I took any antibiotic was 5 years ago and that was the first lot I took that had absolutely no effect whatsoever.  Before that it wasn't on my records at all and I have been with the same doctor for the past 30 years so you can see how rarely I take them.

I have found out (because somebody told me) that it seems to subside when I am sitting up but when I am in bed and laying down it is just awful so last night I sat up all night and haven't slept at all and my tooth isn't killing me today - yet but tonight I am definitely going to bed.

So what did I do all night.  Well I redid my quilting blog and I really love it because it is much simpler than I usually go for and it has loads of great links on both sides.  And now I am going to show you what I have been up to before a month ago.

All images are clickable to enlarge them.

This is the front of the Pin Cushion I made and 

sent at the end of April if memory serves me right

but I don't think it ever arrived at it's

destination.  I offered to redo another one

but haven't heard which is just as well 

really as I have been in pain - okay

so I am a pain.

And this was the back.  I really loved

making this and would happily make it

something like it again.

This is the first of a lot of blocks I am making

for my elder daughter's birthday.  But I'm afraid she 

shall have to wait and it will be really late as I

have to make some other stuff first - but I'm

sure she will be find with waiting.  I really loved making

this too as it is a quilt as you go and was a lot of fun

and can't wait to make some more of them.

This is the first block I chose to make of 

Ryan & Charlie of 

Patchwork Squared QAL

I think I like it but

I should have stuck with some of 

the colorways they chose.

The other things that have changed in that blog is there are lots more icons on both sides of the blog that lead to really really interesting places and I hope you like seeing them as much as I do.  So please click on them because they all take you somewhere really special.

I promise as soon as I've done some stitching I will be posting that too and I know I owe Catherine a Blackbird Design piece of stitching.

So that's about it from me for today except to say I will be back a lot sooner than I have been posting and I have really missed you all.

Lots of Love 

Patti xxx

American by birth and MOUTH

But British in EVERY other way

The Competition Winner

Who says that the first person never wins in a competition.  Well this time you have because according to Random Generator the winner of this competition is:


Number 1 who is Hazel and her blog is Quietly Stitching.  I have emailed Hazel for her snail mail name and address so I can mail the magazine to her.


Thanks to everyone who entered.


So until next time ... 
Lots of Love Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

I know another post.  HOW EXTRAORDINARY for me. But I just had to bring you news about this giveaway too.  Don't forget about my magazine giveaway which you can find here (quilting blog) or here (this blog) to enter.

Now there is another giveaway.  My friend Shawna, who is THE nicest and most generous person on earth, is having a MEGA giveaway and she wants YOU to enter it.  I don't but what the heck she does so I'm doing it.  I mean if you all enter then I won't stand any chance of winning at all and I WANT TO WIN this, but then again I ALWAYS want to win.  This one has some really good stuff, not just a measly GREAT magazine like my giveaway.

All you have to do to enter is click HERE

Good luck to everyone who enters.  Especially ME!!!

Lots of Love
Patti xxx
American by birth and MOUTH

I didn't realise

It's been two whole months since I last wrote on this blog.  I never don't write but unfortunately the MS has really had quite a long ride recently and I have been too tired to do anything much.  No sewing, no quilting, no writing and no quilting and worst of all no blogging.  Whether I'm walking or not has never really bothered me because I have always but always walked slowly.  It's the tiredness I can't control that drives me nuts and is the worst of it insofar as I am concerned and self pity has NEVER been high on my list.

So I started Avonex 5 weeks ago and the side effects were supposed to be not nice.  I didn't get any of them at all until this week when the side effects struck with force.  Two hours after I gave myself the injection I started to shiver and feel hot and cold and just like flu.  So do I blame it on the Avonex.  No not really.  I blame it on my HUGE mouth.  I was so busy bragging how I didn't get the side effects and that's why I blame my mouth.

Anyway enough about that.  I will take some photos of lots of things soon but in the meantime I have a competition for you all.  I bought one too many of the new magazine here so I am offering it to one of you. All you have to do is leave a comment here - I hate it when you have to jump through hoops to win something.  Doesn't matter where you are but if you would like to put a comment on your blog about this giveaway I would be really grateful but you don't have to.

Without further ado is a photo of the front cover of this magazine which I have to say is the best thing to come out of England in a very long time in the quilting/crafting world as usually I really don't like English magazines.

This competition ends on 17th of June. 

So until next time 

Lots of Love

Patti xxx

American by birth and MOUTH

P.S.  I live in the U.K. but will mail this to anywhere in the world.

I haven't been posting anywhere and this is why

Well firstly I had a major MS attack, but I usually just learn to live with whatever it throws one way or another.  


But that was by far not the worst of it.  You see my new Neurologist put me on new pills.  I was to take 2 daily, one in the morning and one in the evening the first week leading up to 8 daily by the 4th week - 2 morning and 2 evening.  


I really started to feel strange, really strange for me.  Everywhere was itchy and I thought it was the Diabetes, I was terribly tired and again I thought okay it's either the MS or the Diabetes (which I control with pills - no big deal), but I began to feel really depressed and couldn't for the life of me leave the house even if I wanted to.  I didn't want to do anything, go anywhere, see anyone, or even talk to anybody on the phone. 


Then last week - 7 weeks after the start of the wonder pills that were going to cure the pain the MS caused, I was really ready to commit suicide.  All my daughters kept on saying was you must go to the doctor and get something and I kept on refusing until last Tuesday (the 22nd I think) it was so bad that I phoned (lucky for us we have NHS and I have brilliant doctor) and she couldn't see me that day but saw me the day after but all I kept on thinking was just to end it all.  I know this sounds really dramatic.  So what I finally did was read the leaflet that came with the pills the Neurologist had put me.  


I never read the leaflets of what the side effects might be because I don't want to imagine I have one of them when I don't so I always figure the best way is just not to read them.  Well last Tuesday night (the 22nd of March) I decided to read it and one of the effects was extreme tiredness, another was itchiness, I had even changed my shampoo thinking I had dandruff all of a sudden, and one of the last ones was severe depression leading to suicide.  


So at last I knew what had caused it so even though I was meant to take 4 pills that Tuesday night I only took one figuring if you had to taper off the medication I should at least take one of them.  Well Wednesday (23rd) when I saw my lovely doctor she took me off them immediately and made me another appointment to see her in a weeks time.  Well I saw her yesterday and she said in all the years she had known me she had never seen me in such a state - not even when my younger brother was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer a couple of years ago and I was in a state then, and if I hadn't been better this week I was going to be hospitalized because if it wasn't the medication causing this really bad depression I was in the middle of a nervous breakdown and couldn't be left at home. 


But the difference between last week and this week it totally amazing.  Joanna (doctor) couldn't get over it.  She told me she had never seen me in such pieces before and had prescribed this medication before, not a load of times but a few, and had never seen an effect that I had on them and was really ready to put me in a Psych ward.  But, I was back to  my normal happy smiling self.  Maybe next time I'll read the leaflet that comes with the medication.


So I'm writing this really as a warning to everybody.  When you get new medication read the leaflet that comes with it and if you show any of the side effects it warns you about go back to your doctor immediately.  I will never be so cavalier about leaflets that come with medication and thinking reading the down side of what the medication MIGHT cause will mean it will happen to me.


And this is the reason you haven't heard from me in so long.  I haven't been anywhere, done anything, or gone anywhere and for the first time in my life I had a pity party and felt really sorry for myself which is unusual all by itself.  I generally have no sympathy for others, nor myself, unless of course they are really sick.


So until next time ... 
 Lots of Love Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt


P.S.  The drug I was put on was called Topiramate.  The first drug the Neurologist wanted me to go on was called Gabapentine but my doctor thought it was a bad idea and so I never took it.  The Neurologist then said to take Topiramate and after talking to my doctor I felt I had to take at least one of the medications he recommended or he might have felt what was the point of seeing me if I didn't listen to what he had to say.


ABC New has this to say about both drugs "Patorno said clear differences appeared between the drugs -- gabapentin had 40 percent higher suicide risk compared with topiramate, for example -- but that the overall risk for suicide was low enough that doctors might not pick up on it in their practice." This is only one very small snipped out of the whole article which can be read at the link above.

Okay so I lied + I have loads to share

I'm not going to give up stitching totally because I need to do something in the evenings (well sometimes anyway) when it's too dark to quilt and I can only stand cutting for just a very limited period of time because of the standing problem.  I won't be posting as often but I will be posting irregularly when I have something to show you.  And boy do I have some things to show you.


Firstly I have some things I got back from the wondrous Finisher Deb and here they are:

This is a Needle/Scissor/Thread Case.

I stitched the outside of ages ago and have just got back.

It came out a it larger than I thought it would be I love it anyway.

This is now Threadkeep.  I stupidly pulled out

some threads - don't know why, but it was the only 

thing Deb could make it into and I LOVE IT and shall be using it.

This is a Christmas Ornament and is destined

to be given away.  But I did enjoy stitching it

over one and I love the way Deb has finished it for me.

Umm what next.  Oh yes.  I got some wonderful gifts from Karyn just for being the leader of the Blackbird Designs Exchange.  I don't deserve them really as the last exchange was not as I would have liked as so many people didn't follow through with their commitments.  So this next exchange is going to be a bit different insofar as I will know that each and every person doing it will follow through.  But these gifts were so wonderful and I thank you immensely for them and you are oh so generous.  THANK YOU and hugs hugs.

 As you can see they are all Blackbird themed

except for Flowers which is by Niky

 A diary which I shall never write in but treasure

that goes for the Threadkeep too

A little kit the Tokens of Friendship Book

which I have never owned but loved always

And sort of finally I got this GORGEOUS stitched and finished wooden box from Catherine who had stitched it at a Blackbirds Design Retreat and given it as her exchange in BBE 6 and all I did was admire it and look what I got.  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

 So Catherine didn't just stitch and finish this gorgeous box

once but she did it twice.

So you ladies - Karyn and Catherine who have stitched and finished and bought me things just for keeping the BBE alive and kicking I thank you from the bottom of my hear but you really didn't have to do anything at all but I really, I MEAN REALLY appreciate everything.


And to top it all off THE nicest thing happened to me this week.  You know my Mac has been seriously misbehaving itself and that I really love it, well I took it into the Mac Shop in Brent Cross (local shopping mall - in fact I was there the week it opened almost 35 years ago 9 months pregnant as I so missed Essex Green (a mall in N.J.) and I had to make an appointment so I did and went along and the guy looked at my machine, did loads of tests on it and I was right there is only one USB port working (come on I have a degree in Computer Science) and for that I would need a new motherboard but he said to just go into John Lewis and buy a powered USB thingy, The CD Rom drive he fixed in a second and then said to me that the case was cracked a bit and he replaced it for nothing - no money - free.  Gosh I was excited.  I got a new battery from eBay for £29.00 instead of the £100.00 Mac wanted.  So all in all I have a fully functioning Mac again.


Finally I won a Giveaway from Mikki and if you want to see it you will have to go to my quilting blog.   


So until next time ... 

Lots of Love Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt
My Quilting Blog

Last post for a while

Hi All


I have decided to stop writing on this blog for a while anyway because I am engrossed in my new hobby which is quilting.  I do have another blog if you would like to keep following me and its here.  I just haven't enjoyed stitching for quite a while now, at least hand stitching as such and so much prefer working on my machine and learning new things.  I have always loved learning and this is a huge opportunity for me to teach myself.


I tried a quilting class last year but I couldn't remember enough, or see enough from one month to the next so I just quit.  But there is so much information and lessons on the internet it just isn't true and the best of it is you can watch them over and over again until you get it.  


So I'm going to be selling a load of my stash including two of the classes I signed up for last year with  Jackie du Plessis of It's Finally Finished.   One is Thistlewood and the other is Treasures of Comfort (just the little thing in the middle and on the right).  Both projects are on her blog and are near the bottom of the page.  I have the scrims to go with both of them too.  Make me an offer if you like but I will be putting them on eBay sooner or later I just have to get around to photographing everything I have.  


But I would like to thank you all from the bottom my heart for being so loyal and coming to see my blog whenever I have written.  You can still see my quirky writing if you want to.  So bye for now and thank you so much for all your comments over the years they have been truly wonderful and your blogs have been awe inspiring.


So until next time ... 


 Lots of Love Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt

These past few days have been ....

... manic.  I have received so many lovely things in the mail and I just had to share them with you.  Also I have a new addiction which I shall share with you at the end of this post.


Okay number one I received a few weeks ago a Threadkeeper from a Threadkeeper Exchange organised by BeckyB and here it is, and isn't it just lovely

Unfortunately I can't find the email I wrote to the

wonderful woman who stitched and finished this for me

but I really love it

Then there is this:

I was in an Exchange organised by Mayte 

which was a Christmas Ornament Exchange and

this came all the way from Mexico and was made by

Oli and it is just gorgeous and this is the package as it arrived and

below is the front and then the back

This is the front of the ornament and ...

This is the back and it was

finished beautifully.

Then there is:

This is the back of the Quaker Quarterly Exchange XXI

from the Legacy Board that I received from Linda

and this is the front. Isn't it gorgeous.  The stitching and

finishing are just superb.  I LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!

and finally insofar as exchanges are concerned I received:

This is the Blackbird Design exchange I

received from Jennifer M

And this is a side view of it showing that

it is made into a stand-up

FINALLY I am ready to let you into my newest addiction.  I am trying to teach myself how to quilt.  I love the idea of quilting and I love so many of the quilts I have seen and I really want to be able to quilt properly.  My only problem is the standing one and the cutting, but they have another way of quilting in America called paper-piecing, and I am going to give that a try first, if that doesn't work successfully then I am going to try using templates and in the meantime I shall save up for the thing I want most in the world right now which would solve all my problems and that is this:

This is called an Accuquilt GO!  And It would enable me to cut quilts without any problems.

So in the meantime before I can get one of these I am going to be using:

for my first foray into quilting.  I shall be making a cushion 

out of this Charm Pack and backing fabric

which is from the same range.

AND I have a brand spanking NEW Blog and it is called P.S. I Want To Quilt Too.  So come on over sometime and have a look because I promise I shall be making some goodies there too.

So until next time ... 

Lots of Love Patti xxx
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission - Eleanor Roosevelt