baby quilt

I love it when our kids and our friends kids start their families because I get to make a baby quilt and I love making baby quilts!

This is my friend Jacqui, her son is one of my sons best friends and he and his wife attend church with our son and his wife. Sean and Rachel are expecting their first child in October and this will be Jacqui's first grandchild...I know just how excited she is.

We know that their baby is expected to be a little boy so I went to my fabric stash to gather suitable pieces and got cutting this morning.

I still don't know how to centre my photo's when I blog on.y ipad

Jacqui

Our son Dominic was Sean's best man at his wedding.

Birthday Bag

 We have a number of friends/family who are 60 this year. So for the first friend I have made this bag. I just used the same idea as when I made my daughters a few weeks back. I somehow deleted the photo with the fabric before sewing together. I had had these fabric pieces for years waiting for a project. 

I joined strips of fabric, then sewed up the sides, added the boxed base. Made a pocket and sewed in place to lining. I sewed wadding to the lining and then fitted the lining inside the outer bag. 

 Made straps and sewed in place 

Baby Quilt

The daughter of some friends of ours has just given birth to her first child so I made this baby quilt for her. I decided to use up fabric that I had already, some of which I have had for years.

Nebworth Classic Car Show

With today being August Bank holiday here in the UK we went with friends to visit the Classic Car Show at Nebworth House http://www.classicmotorshow.com/knebworth-classic-motor-show.htm

The weather was good, after the wet and windy days we have been experiencing and the cars were great to look around. I wouldnt know what make most of cars are that I have photographed, without my husbands help but I thought the pictures were worth posting. The bottom photo is of clouds reflected in the bonnet of a car

Eton Mess

Yesterday we had friends up from our old church, Jacqui & Graham. We had a great time, talking, laughing, eating, walking, eating! It's hard to leave friends when God moves us on to another area but so much fun when they come and visit!

So for desert I made Eton Mess, the first time I have made it and the first time I have used Carnation Squeezy Condensed Milk.

Raspberry Eton Mess

serves 4

284ml whipping cream

170g (6oz) Carnation condensed milk

Few drops vanilla extract

225g (8oz) raspberries, fresh or frozen, defrosted

4 small crushed meringues

1. Whip cream 'till soft & thick, fold in condensed milk and vanilla

2. Reserve a few raspberries for top, slightly crush the rest of them and gently ripple fruit through the cream mixture

3. Layer meringues and raspberry cream into 4 glass dishes.

4 Add reserved raspberries to the top

Friends

Today I met up with a friend who I hadn't seen or spoken to (apart from email) for 37 years!!! When we were children she went to boarding school here in the UK while her parents worked abroad. During the shorter school holidays she would stay with mutual family friends of ours and we would spend lots of happy times together. When I was 16 my family moved to Cornwall (about 5 hours drive away) and later she moved to Canada and we didnt see each other again, losing contact soon after. We have now moved back up to near where I grew up and closer to those mutual friends. She has come for a visit to the UK and today we all got together. We spent the afternoon talking and laughing and taking photos. Since we lost contact we have both become Christians and it has been so amazing that God has brought us back together again.

Wolves and Stuff

We have had some beautiful weather over the past week, on Friday we had friends visiting and went out to Ashridge, we found a new walk with some lovely fir trees. We then had lunch at the Ivinghoe Tea Rooms, the weather was so good that we were able to sit outside to eat.

I got the 'Max' costumes finished and posted to South Africa, the photo isnt that good so hopefully I will get some of them being worn to post soon. Now I am about to start working on a baby quilt, I will pobably use the cream coloured fabric below and then use the coloured fabric for another baby quilt which I will need to make by September.

Birthday Girl

Today my eldest daughter is 33. I always find it hard not to be with her on her birthday and because they live in South Africa she is usually without any of her UK family or friends. But this year she has two friends from the UK and one from USA visiting and it seems like they have all had a great day together with her husband and boys as well. She has just posted these photo's and so I have copied them to my blog

Dinner at an African restaurant, Moyo

The boys chilling at the organic cafe