WOYWW 890/110 - We're Having a Heatwave ...

Hello Everyone,

Happy What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday to you all!

Oh my, but it's hot here in Ardrossan! Too hot for comfort. I thought I'd spend the day in the garden yesterday but had to give up as the temperature rose to an uncomfortable high. Today looks as though it's going to be just as hot giving me no option but to stay in the craftroom where it's cool. Oh, what a shame!

This was what was on my desk yesterday. It's what's left of homemade kit no.9. That doesn't mean I've worked my way through nos.1-8 already. I'm just pulling them out of storage in no particular order. More fun that way. This kit had some Disney themed papers and sticker sheets in it which had me stumped for a while. The only time I've ever been to a Disney park was in 1984 and the photos from then were scrapped a long time ago. 

One thing I've learned from following Shimelle's scrapbook videos, it is that it is possible to ignore the theme of a paper collection, in this case Echo Park's 'Magical Adventures', and adapt it for use with non-themed photos. On this page the photos are of Alan cuddling our great-niece way back in 2012. She won his heart from the first too. Her mum has reminded me of how his singing of a naughty ditty made Arihanna laugh much to my embarrassment! Happy days. 

This is what my desk is like this morning. Silver has given it the once over and approved the next kit I'll be using. This one is no.116 and I had the foresight to label it with details of the contents, Echo Park's summer themed papers purchased from Hey Little Magpie in 2022. Just before we moved house. 

I'm still struggling to sort out the garden after months of neglect but despite that the roses are in full bloom and this one is a real favourite with the bees. This is a rose I inherited with the garden and I've no idea what it's name is. It's beautiful whatever it's called. 

You've already seen a pic of Silver today so I thought this week I'd introduce you to Glasgow's Scottie Dogs. 

And finally the one with the cone, of course!

There's a total of 40 giant Scottie sculptures and 52 wee ones on this free art trail around Glasgow. The large Scotties were designed and painted by local artists, the wee ones were created by local schoolchildren. All in support of Maggie's a charity that provides support to people with cancer, their family and friends. They will be on show until 16th August and then the large ones will be auctioned off to raise funds for Maggie's. The wee ones will be returned to the schools. 

Well, I think that's enough from me today.  More than I intended but I hope you enjoyed those photos of the Scottie Dogs. 

To see more creative workdesks pop over to Sarah's blog, Sarah's Craft Shed. If you don't already do so, feel free to join in the fun and show us what's on your workdesk this Wednesday. You'll be made most welcome.

Have a great WOYWW day and a fabulous week everyone,

Take care everyone,

Elizabeth

My First Full Size Quilt

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all well on what is another bright, sunny but frosty day here in bonnie Ayrshire.

Yesterday evening I finally finished my first quilt. 

A few stats for just in case anyone's interested: it's single bed size, length 67", width 47". The fabric is from a Lewis & Irene line called A Walk In The Glen - bought at Manders in Glasgow. The fabric cost £88 and I spent about another £12 on thread and quilter's safety pins total spend on materials approximately £100. I had other equipment needed, e.g. a cutting board, rotary cutter, ruler and sewing machine, already but did end up buying a larger cutting board and longer ruler because it soon became obvious that they would be helpful - approximate cost £30. I could also add in the cost of the classes - another £50. It's an expensive business, quiltmaking :) 

Then there's the time it took me - a one hour lesson every fortnight = 7 hours - plus the time taken at home in between lessons - possibly another 7-8 hours, maybe more. I didn't keep a record. 

After saying all that, I can honestly say I'm delighted, and relieved, to have finished my first full size quilt :) So much so, I'm preparing to start the classes again on 19th January when we will be making a quillow, a quilt that folds into it's own pillow case, using the log cabin pattern.

Take care and stay safe.

What's On Your Workdesks Wednesday - WOYWW Week 387

Hello WOYWWers and All,

Greetings from a very cold, only 1°C this morning, but bright and sunny day here in Ayrshire. A perfect day for staying cosy indoors and just admiring the fabulous autumnal colour in the trees that can be seen from my craft room window. Which brings me to the point of this blog - my desk and our weekly visit to the Stamping Ground, to link up with our Head Desker, Julia; taking the opportunity to see what both she and a whole lot of other crafters have on their desks to today.

And here's the desk. It's all Christmas themed. A pile of new stash bought at the show at the SECC on Saturday has galvanized me into action ... there's nothing more stimulating than new stash, don't you think? There's the trees in the background, behind the mountain of card scraps. In front of that is a pile of card waiting to be used, well some of it anyway, in cards. 

Here's another view ... one that shows all the stuff I keep on my desk most of the time.That's a bunch of toppers made using stencils, inks, waxes, and glitter paste. Messy, really messy, but an awful lot of fun!

That's the desk this week, only the one - the sewing table is little changed from last week. 

I teased earlier with a mention of new stash and I'm sure you would want to see it so here's a few photos.

Templates, Embossing Folders and Palette Knives

Sewing related goodies - the white stuff is wash away web for machine embroidery

Our fellow desker, Annie, aka Wipso, of a Stitch In Time makes the most beautiful memory bears so when I spotted the pattern I was delighted and just had to buy it. I vowed that I wouldn't buy any more fabric but I just could not resist the pink floral - at only £2 it was a bargain. My daughter, charged to keep me on track, joked that she would let me off this time :)

Apologies to Julia but here's a few more photos from the SECC. 

A Christmas cushion that took my eye - as did all those lovely fat quarters behind.

Teeny weeny guitars based on those played by just about every guitarist you can name.

 

A beautiful silk painted panel created by the Scottish Branch , Guild of Silk Painters to - apologies that the photo isn't the best, there's a good close-up on the Guild's website.

This brightly illustrated van actually driven into the hall - saves transporting a huge stock of pens from the car park!

 And finally, the Wincher's Stance, found inside the Buchanan Street bus station terminal buiding in Glasgow on the way to the SECC. The name of this bronze sculpture comes from the local slang word for kissing or courting, “winching.” It shows a very touching scene of two young lovers meeting again after being apart for some time and separated by many miles. The aptly named sculptor is John Clinch.

There's even a tear of joy rolling down the young woman’s cheek.

Once again I apologise to Julia for such a photo heavy post. I hope I'm forgiven this week. I'll try to be good next week.

Take care everyone and have a very happy WOY.