WIP Wednesday

I have a work in progress (happy singing).  Do you remember that ages ago I won a whole bundle of Joel Dewberry Aviary from Rita at Red Pepper Quilts?

I decided to make this into a quilt for Siblings Together but have really been struggling to think how to use these big directional prints. I wanted to do something really clever but dithering over it was getting in the way of other stuff so I decided just to make a very simple quilt that makes me think of a large window pane.

This is my design floor (haha)...

I have to lay everything out while I'm working or else I lose track of what I'm doing so I take each piece in order from the living room through to the dining room where the sewing machine is, then back to the living room again.

It's perhaps not very exciting, but with a wide white border, and maybe some hand quilting, it should be okay!

Linking up today!

Slow Blog Linky Party

It's the 15th of the month - where has the time gone?! Actually, for me, a lot of it went into the school holidays. A good time was had by all, although there were moments ....

Success of the month - I ran two miles and suddenly realised that if I go upstairs to fetch something, forget to bring it down with me and have to go up again (which happens a lot), I'm not out of breath by the time I've got to the top of the stairs for the second time. Result!   I'm mentioning it really because if I can do it so can anyone. Getting fit was one of my New Year's resolutions, and at that point I couldn't run for more than a minute or so at a time.   I'm doing the Couch to 5K programme, using podcasts from here.

Sadly I have completely failed in one of my other resolutions which was to do something creative every day.  I haven't been doing anything creative at all this month but c'est la vie.  On my immediate to-do list are yellow and grey Siblings Together quilt, my leaf quilt - think I can get it done in time to enter it here?! - and three very belated Pay it Forward gifts which I haven't forgotten.

What about you?  Have you been wildly creative (not envious at all...) or been doing other things?  I would love to hear about it, so do link up - you can grab a linky button from my sidebar - and visit other Slow Bloggers too, to show your support.

(PS, if you would like to host, just let me know.)

Slow Blog Linky

Just a little reminder Slow Bloggers, temporary or permanent, can join the Slow Blog Linky party here tomorrow.  I've been having a veeerrrrry slow month myself!

PS, if you were the person who offered to host an upcoming linky, please could you get in touch again - I can't find your comment/email - so sorry!

Random Thursday - a Week of Awesome

A snowfall in which every flake was composed of perfect crystals:

A Roman settlement, in the cold and windy wilds of Northumberland:

A rare red squirrel:

A walk on the Pennine way:

A magical contraption:

These are teasels, used to raise up the surface of a wool fabric - there are 3000 of them in this machine which stood in this position for 160 years until the 1970s:

Hmmmm.....

Lastly, the view I found on stepping into the garden this afternoon:

Linking up to Live a Colorful Life - click here for some lovely randomness.