Dancing Dolly - Cora

It is my great pleasure to introduce to you the first in the line up of dancing dollies.

Meet Cora.

She looks a little nervous making her debut but I have assured her that you are a friendly bunch and there is nothing to worry about. This is such a pretty quilt to be making and anyone else wishing to make it can find the details from
Liz at Broderie. The pattern is by Trish Harper.



A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of spending a day at a workshop with Anne Baxter. It was a small class and the most relaxing one I have ever done. We were making a cushion with Friendship Stars block. I chose christmas fabrics in the hope that for the first time ever I will have something to contribute to the festivities. As you can see, I have not got very far and it has yet to be made up into a cushion.



Whilst I am on a christmassy theme I have been indulging in some crochet work. I learnt how to do this as a teenager but never really got the bug for it. For some time now I have been following Lucy at Attic24 and if you have never been and had a look then go there right this minute. Lucy's blog is the most colourful and prettiest ever and I have just had to give in and have a go at making her Ripple Blanket. I have chosen an acrylic yarn called Special by Stylecraft. It is ready available, cheap and also quite good to work with and for a first venture didn't want to spend too much money on something that I might not really enjoy. After several false starts and some not very succesful counting I have now got the hang of it and I am loving it. It looks christmassy but it will fit in my home all year round.



Anyone reading the comments on the last post will wonder what on earth Michelle is commenting on. I have been experiencing great difficulties grappling with using different laptops whilst my new one gets up and running and writing that post was the most frustrating ever and I managed to delete the post just as it posted. Michelle however, was quick off the mark and managed to read it and posted her comment before it all disappeared. Here is what she commented on.

Here in the UK we are gripped with Downton Abbey. It is a fabulous tv costume drama set in the early part of the last century and charts the changing fortunes of the Earl of Grantham and his family and staff. It is superbly acted and the costumes are a delight. At a recent craft exhibition they had a display of a selection of costumes from the first series. This tv show has won many awards and the costume designer too was a well deserved winner. We are now in series two and at the end of the First World War.



I live very close to the hospital and a regular visitor is the air ambulance. There are several and today it is the turn of the yellow helicopter. They look so tiny that you wonder how they fit all that medical equipment in and a patient and crew. We have to be thankful for the sterling work of this service and hope that we never need it. They are funded on charitable donations.



Happy Stitching.

Shirley.