I am annoyed with a lot of things and a lot of people at the moment.

The people I cannot discuss on such a public forum, but lets say I could honestly wring some people's necks.  However can't do that, but I can do this:

Both dh and Our Little Munchkin are sick again.  Our Little Munchkin has an ear infection (again) and possible a chest infection.  She is getting referred to a Pediatrician for further testing.  Then the poor thing came out in hives (red bumps) from a possible reaction to the antibiotic.

Dh could possibly have COPD, will need further testing and he has never smoked a day in his life.  Neither of what dh or Our Little Munchkin is life threatening but it is worrying all the same.

Anyhoo, this video has been doing the rounds and is really funny:


I think I also need to have this little girls attitude and all will be well:


Finally just because I like this song and it puts me in a better humour with myself!!

Have a good day!!

Our Little Munchkin's Quilt - Photo Heavy

I picked up my sewing machine on Wednesday, so was able to finish our Little Munchkin's quilt.   My "model" is sick {{SIGH}} so I had to be quick with photos, as he was having a hard time holding the quilt up!  This is the front, it's a twin/single size.

 Here is the back.

A close up of the back.  I did NOT do the quilting on the body of the quilt I got a professional to do it.  I can't quilt like this as I am no where near as talented as this lady.

 A closer look at the back.

 Another close up of the quilting.

The label I put on the quilt (see further down the post on this process).

So to recap the story of this quilt.  Our Little Munchkin had her photo taken every month for the first year of her life.  Each photo she was placed on a fabric background.

The grey neutral material was used in 5 month photo.  The Christmas fabric (top left) was used in the 1 month photo.  The hexagonal fabric was used in the newborn photo.  The lemon slice fabric was used in the 8 month photo, the yellow paisley one was used in the 9 month photo.

The ghost fabric (top left) was used in the 11 month photo.  The lilac (bottom left) was used in the 2 month photo.  The brown polka dot in the 12 month photo, and the green and brown one in the 4 month photo.

 The heart and ladybug fabric in the 3 month photo.  The pink floral in the 6 month photo.  The fishes in the 7 month photo and the letters in the 10 month photo.

We obviously have all the photos and need to get a big frame to put them in.    There is also a lot of fabric leftover, so dd said she was going to make some clothes for Our Little Munchkin.  We put her in sewing lessons when she was young (dd), so she knows her way around a sewing machine, but hasn't sewn in years.

I forgot to take photos of how to make the label, as it is a DIY project and very simple.  You need some freezer paper, material (I generally use muslin), a printer and a piece of paper.

What ever the normal size of a piece of paper is, I think 8.5" x 11", take that and use it as a template to cut out a piece of freezer paper that size.  One side of the freezer paper has some "glue" on it.   With that side facing the back side of your material, iron (no steam)  the freezer paper onto the material, it will stick to the fabric.  Trim the material so it is 8.5" by 11".  

Using your "word programme" type out the words you want to use on your quilt label on your desktop/computer.  Print it out on a piece of paper to make sure you are happy with the font and size.  My font size was 11 and I used I think Calabria maybe?  When you are happy with how it looks, feed the fabric with the freezer paper on it into the printer and print it out on your fabric.

Pull off the freezer paper.  With another blank piece of paper on top of the fabric, iron (no steam) over the lettering and hold it there for a few seconds.  I think I did 30 seconds just set the ink.  I then put a border around the grey label with leftover pink fabric and hand sewed it to the quilt.  I will do a step by step tutorial on this when I finish my next quilt.

By the way you can buy special sheets from your local fabric store that does practically the same thing and is supposed to be more colorfast.  I have never had any issues doing it my way, but that's just me.

To see some of the photos of Our Little Munchkin's monthly photos, you can click on this link.  I am so pleased how this turned out.  Now onto dd quilt.  I am quilting that myself as dd did not want to pay to have it quilted.  I paid for Our Little Munchkin's but refused to pay for dd.........they make more money than we do....LOL

There was a bit of plastic broken on my on/off switch on my sewing machine, so they glued it back together.  So how long will that last before it breaks again....any guesses?

Yarn Barf on Yarn Along

It's one of those terms I had never heard off until I started to knit.  This is what Yarn Barf looks like:

What's even funnier, Gillian was showing us on this post How to Wind a Skein of Yarn Yourself.  Guess I should have read that first before I started knitting.

I have read two books this week.  Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran, you can read my review here.

 Also The Vagrants by Yiyun Li, and you can read my review here.

I have been putting the binding on Our Little Munchkin's quilt this past week.  So very little knitting has been done.  I did go to The Knitting Basket to the sit and knit and got a little more done on my dish cloth:

However I have pulled it all out again, as I got lost in the pattern.  I find I can't concentrate on my knitting when talking.  I know don't talk, but it doesn't happen that way!  This dishcloth is proving to be a tricky thing to knit for some reason.........

So here we are now, just plain knitting:

I prefer the prior pattern and may give it a go again later when I spend more time concentrating.

For more Yarn Along with Ginny posts, please click on this link.

Book Club Meeting.....

Photos from the book club meeting.  I served gingerbread, scones and watermelon slices.

 I used this recipe for the scones.  It's a tried and true recipe.

 This is my Nana's recipe for gingerbread, and the only recipe I do not share.....sorry. 

 Can't remember where I got these napkins, very appropriate don't you think?

Cups and saucer's all ready for the tea.  Denby Sweet Pea, out of production now.

 Even managed to cut up some lemon wedges for the tea.

 Made up a jug of Crystal Light for those who wanted a cold drink.
Had a great meeting, 13 out of the 14 members turned up.  Have chosen books for the next 14 months, I will let you know what we will be reading when the list is all written up.  Next month's book is "The Vagrant's."  I have already read it and reviewed it here.  I posted another book review: Rosewater and Soda Bread," which is the sequel to "Pomegranate Soup."  Both are super books and well worth reading.

I won't be hosting again until December for the Christmas pot luck.  I will be only hosting that one in future, unless someone else can't host a month, then I will step up again.

What are you reading at the moment?

Bit of a change up this week.

Here is my menu plan for the week:

Instead of eating things on certain days; these are the meals I am going to make and whatever we fancy that night off the list is what I will make.

I am hosting the book club meeting today.  So on Sunday thought I'd get a jump start on the cooking and made the gingerbread.  While the oven was on put some Scotch eggs in too cook along with some Rosemary potato wedges.

I'll show you what else I served the ladies tomorrow.

This month's book was The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.

You can read my review here.  Has anyone read The Rosie Effect?  What did you think of it, as the reviews were mixed?

A bit of progress outside.....

Dh got the privacy fence put up, you can see it from the living room.

This is the before.

This is the after.  Along with our new umbrella.

It's perfect and does the job.  It's around the same height as me, so around 5 foot, five inches.

We then sat down and had a nice cool glass of lemonade.

An oldie but a goody........

Originally posted back in 2009 here.

This letter was actually sent by Tesco's Head Office to a customer in Oxford:

Dear Mrs. Murray, Whilst we would like to thank you for your valued custom and use of the Tesco Loyalty Card, the Manager of our store in Banbury is considering banning you and your family from shopping with us, unless your husband stops his antics. Below is a list of his actions over the past few months all verified by our surveillance cameras:

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's trolleys when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to feminine products aisle.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official tone, 'Code 3' in housewares..... and watched what happened..

5. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

6. September 15: Set up a tent in the outdoor clothing department and told shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring sausages and a Calor gas stove.

7. September 23: When the Deputy Manager asked if she could help him, he began to cry and asked, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

8. October 4: Looked right into the security camera; used it as a mirror, picked his nose, and ate it.

9. October 10: While appearing to be choosing kitchen knives in the Housewares aisle asked an assistant if he knew where the antidepressants were.

10. November 3: Darted around the store suspiciously, loudly humming the Mission Impossible' theme.

11.November 6: In the kitchenware aisle, practised the 'Madonna look' using different size funnels.

12. November 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed,yelled 'PICK ME!' 'PICK ME!'

13. November 21: When an announcement came over the loudspeaker, assumed the foetal position and screamed 'NO! NO! It's those voices again.'

And last, but not least:

14. November 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited a while; then yelled, very loudly, 'There is no toilet paper in here.'

Have a great Saturday.