Malvern - Marvellous!

We had a brilliant day out!

you can just read Quilt Pass - I washed my hands in the ladies

 We all got our hand stamped and them Mr M decided to stay outside for another cigarette while the rest of us went into the fray. I found several stands with stuff I desperately needed, fortunately Mr M hadn't caught up with me yet so I could only buy a cone of pretty sparklers chainette that I intend using on the christmas tags I am making to sell for charity. My daughter was enthralled by all the fabulous fabrics and has decided that she intends having a go at felting. She has the instructions and most all of the stuff so I think next weekend might see her having a go.

which way did we choose? neither, we went the pretty way 

 We met a dear friend while we were there so I got hugged too. Always a bonus. He had taken his mother to the show because the person she usually travels with is in hospital so our friend had the ticket instead. It's a good job he grew up in the rag trade and loves fabrics and is a brilliant machinist - he makes curtains and soft furnishings as his job and he has one of those huge expensive nine thread embroidery machines that I would love to play with...... one day.

we came home via our favourite diner

Afterwards we went across to Leominster, the pretty way, so that we could stop for a late lunch at the OK Diner. We have told far too many people about this place and it was absolutely crowded and we had to wait for a table and then wait for our food. We also had to wait for our stack of onion rings that was supposed to be a starter but didn't arrive until half way through eating our meal.
Not a glimmer of a panic attack at any time, so I am even more pleased about the day. Now I am going to take my cone of chainette up to the craft room and start cutting it into lengths for the tags.

Quilts, I like quilts

I wanted this to look like a tiled floor with leaves blowing

 Tomorrow Mr M and I are going to Malvern to the Quilt show. My daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter are coming too. I know this doesn't sound like much really. I mean everyone has the odd day out don't they? Well, you see, I. Don't. Go. Out.

Based on a postcard of Portmeirion - we love that place

 It kind of sneaked up on me when my parents came to live with us. They moved in at the end of December 1997 and while Mr M was a tower of strength and social services were really helpful I had the bulk of the caring. They eventually had to go into a home because I collapsed and that's when I realised that going out brought on the panic attacks. They went into the home in 2002 and it is only in the last year that I have been able to make the occasional trip out without Mr M. So I am getting better!

This is going to dear friends who recently got married

 I have wanted to go to Malvern for several years to see all the quilts. I used to make quilts - amongst other things - as you can see by the pictures of some of my better ones. I haven't done any sewing for ages, just haven't felt the urge to sit and fiddle but recently I have had the stirring of an idea for a quilt.




I look at these pictures and realise that I was quite good really. I shall probably be very disheartened by the standard of quilt tomorrow but I think I am quite proud of my work really - and I will hopefully get through the whole day without having a panic attack. Wish me luck!

Based on a painting by Helen Rich

...as Dreamers do....

Today is Story-Telling Sunday when we sit at our computer and write a story as our blog entry and then link up to Sian at Fromhighinthesky so that everyone can read all the wonderful stories. Take a look after you have read mine.

This happened last night so no one has heard this except me and Mr M. A bit of background first.

I have been making one of our five bedrooms into a craft room. I did this before but I used the smallest bedroom and then didn't like it because I always felt cramped and claustrophobic in there - and there was only room for me.

This time I am using the slightly bigger single room at the back of the house. This was where the Divine Miss Em slept when they were living with us and so it has a pink and purple decor with a border of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too - just perfect for me.



 Because I don't carry things too well, because of the sciatica, it has taken a while to get everything upstairs. Miss Em and her Mum helped a lot but it still took me a while to get everything where I wanted it and for the pinboards to be fixed to the wall.
My lovely Son-in-law did that for me yesterday, drilling holes and using rawlplugs and making sure that nothing would crash down on my head.

During all this time Mr M has stayed out of the way. He has never coped well with moving things. We would have moved house several times if I had had my way but that's a whole other story. Where was I? Oh yes, the notice boards are up and the room is nearly finished.

I spent a happy couple of hours on iNternational Scrapbooking Day (another story too) completing a small album of pictures of my eldest grandson and beginning another small album for my eldest granddaughter. I suggested to Mr M that he should take a look at the room when he went up to bed because it looked really good and he said he would. I watched a little TV and then Mr M said he was going to bed.

I had just made a cup of cocoa for me so I said I would drink it and have a little read of my book before I too would go upstairs to bed. I read my book, finished my cocoa, cleaned my teeth and went to bed. Mr M said hello when I went into the room, this is his way of telling me that he was still awake and I didn't wake him. If I had woken him he would have simply huffed and puffed and turned over onto his other side.
As I got into my PJs I asked him if he had looked at my craft room. "Oh," he said sleepily, "I forgot, I'll look when I have to get up to go to the bathroom."

I will confess now that I was a little hurt that he should forget something so important to me but I realised that it probably didn't loom as large in his life as it did in mine so I said nothing. I got into bed, grabbed my reading-in-bed-book for another five minutes reading time and snuggled into the duvet. I had just got to the almost dropping the book stage when Mr M wriggled a little then said "It's very nice."

"What's very nice?" I asked, "Your craft room, it's very nice." He replied. "You haven't seen it yet," I said, closing my book and turning my head to look at him. "I did, just now when I went for a wee, I looked in the room." "You haven't been anywhere, you are still in bed and haven't moved." I said anxiously, wondering if he had actually had a wee in the bed! "Oh," he said, and paused for the longest time, "That was a really real dream then." and he laughed. Whenever he laughs I just can't help myself and I have to laugh too. So there we were at 11.30 at night lying in bed giggling hysterically.

I am glad to say that he had only dreamt he had a wee.

Now you can go and read all the other stories on Sian's blog.