Son and Grandson



Here is DS on his first day in the 6th Form. They have to wear a suit and tie every day. Doesnt he look grown up?

And here is my new Grandson. Announcing the birth of Alexander. He is 9lbs 1oz and is DD2's first baby. So very, very beautiful.

New Website

We have a new website!!! This one has all the new products on it : Mini-niddy noddys, longer swift pegs etc as well as the swifts, spindles and nostepinnes. Plus a new gallery of the available spindle and nostepinne woods on the Nostepinne page.

We can be found here:

http://www.sunflowerswifts.co.uk/

Best wishes, Richard & Claire

The Fruits of my Labour

Back from quilting and i have 2 quilts to show you. The first is Friendship Braid from the Jelly Rolls book. It is 53" x 64" and involves cutting 320 trapesoids out and sewing them together. Once I got the hang of it, it went together surprisingly easily, but took a long time. It will b a lap quilt for me during the Winter.


The second quilt is the last of the Dinosaur quilts I have been making. It is 43" x 52" and I made up the pattern with the bits I had left from the first 2 dino quilts. This is the front:

And this is the back:

It, and its companion will stay at my house for sleepy grandchildren to cuddle into when they come here. The other one and the Caterpillar quilt will be at their homes for snuggling there.

I hve pinned together the front, wadding, and back and will hopefully quilt and bind it this weekend.

Going Quilting

Its that time of the year again. I'm off quilting for 5 days with my friends from Chaos Quilters. I go on Weds 27th July and am back on Tues 2nd August. 5 whole days of sewing and giggling, sleeping in dorms on bunk beds, sharing communal bathrooms and having lots of fun. These ladies know so much about quilting - its like a masterclass everytime I go.

Have fun, see you soon : )

Last of the Summer Yarn

As some of you know, I sold one of my spinning wheels recently. I have put the money I raised into replenishing my yarn stocks. These are what I bought from the last of the money.

This is called Magnolia and I bought 2 skeins of it.

This is called By The Sea and I bought 2 skeins of this too.

They are both by Skein Queen and each skein is 4ply, 100% merino 100g/400m. She exclusively dyed these colours for www.theyarncafe which is where I bought them.

So thats that for at least until after Christmas

(hark - do I hear the sound of disbelieving laughter???)

PS Did I mention the 10kg of undyed yarn and fibre which also arrived, from www.bluefaced.com ?????

More Yarn

I fell off the yarn diet yesterday by buying these:

They are from http://www.theyarncafe.com/, a new online yarn shop in Coventry. They have lots of really beautiful yarns and accessories, including several yarns dyed by Skein Queen in exclusive colourways. This one is called Snow White's Apple and is a 4ply 100% superwash merino. Each skein is 100g and 400 metres. I feel a shawl coming on : )

Finished the Shirt

Here it is, finished!! I am not a very small person, DH is so tall that his shirts go to my knees. I had to add 3" to the pattern to get the right length.
I learned a new way of hemming. First I overlocked the edges of the button bands, then I turned up the hem and slip stitched it invisibly. It has made a lovely finish with no bulkyness where the seams meet.

It was my first attempt at a collar. The instructions were clear and, provided I followed them to the letter, all went well. I slip stitched the collar by hand for extra neatness and comfort.

I practiced a lot before doing the buttonholes. I used my Janome 6600P and it was straightforward once I had got the hang of the buttonhole foot. I found a video on Youtube showing this technique - I love Google : ) The machine automatically makes the buttonholes the right size, so that part was easy.

I stitched the buttons on by hand, and hemmed the sleeves by hand too. I think hemming by hand gives a neater finish. I really enjoyed this project once I got my confidence going.

DH has now bought some striped fabric and given it to me to make the next one Gulp!!!