Cupcakes, washing lines and frizz...

Hello my lovelies, I hope you've missed me! I've made the executive decision that I will blog once a week, going forward. That's not too many, not too few, and it means I'll always have a lot to talk about!

First - today is Valentine's Day (unfortunately). THUS FAR I've restrained from eating any chocolate to compensate for my SEVERE lack of any romance, but then, its still the afternoon and there are many hours in the day remaining. I make no guarantees about the possibility that I will eat chocolate to excess this evening.

I pushed the boat out this week and decided to take a cheeky SELFIE. That's something I haven't done in years, actually, so pretty radical! I really wanted a new profile picture for Facebook, and given the lack of photo opportunities lately, this was evidently the only option. Thus is life. Look at me. Posing. Like a poser.

I'd be disgusted with myself but I actually like it. And the frizzy hair was a by-product of rag curling the night before - it dropped during the day into a messy frizzy...thing. 

Moving on, I finally finished my quilt!!! This is the last few stages, here (listen closely girls and boys): 

First  - I laid out the backing, then the wadding, then the quilt top. I smoothed it out as much as possible. That translates directly into 'until I got bored and decided I could live with the creases'. 

Then I trimmed some of the excess so the layers were all more or less the same size, and put aside the offcuts in case I might want them for other projects. 

Then, I cut some binding. This was as long as all four sides of the quilt added together, and about as wide as the length of my iPhone 4s. I didn't have a rule, and yes, I used my phone as a 'measure'. I then folded this in half, and 'ironed it' to make sure it stayed folded. I say 'ironed' because I actually used Lizzie's hair straighteners. Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

I then lined the quilt with the binding, rough and unfolded edge closest to the outside, and the folded edge on the inside. Like this:

If you're unsure on how to do the corners, YouTube it - its hard to explain in writing how to do the corners.

So next , I manoeuvered the great big thing around until I got one of the edges under the needle on my sewing machine and sewed all around the binding, about a centimetre  from the edge.

After that, I put the sewing machine. It was time for the handsewing part. It was extremely difficult to avoid losing the will to live. I challenge anyone to not get bored doing this next bit. 

So, you fold the binding over the rough edge, and sew it to the back. By hand. Like this:

ALL the way around the quilt. Yes. I nearly died.

But, the end result was fabulous, of course!

Isn't it lovely! And it didn't even take that long :) LOVE IT <3.

Moving on, I also started to feel a bit angry about the empty whiteness of my window. Hence, my photograph washing line - complete with pegs and everything.

This fell down in the middle of the night the other day. I very nearly had a heart attack -  I thought that ghosts were finally going to come kidnap me and trap me in purgatory with them. Yes, I have a very active imagination.

Sometime this week I also went into town with Lauren, and just happened to buy myself a piping bag. And some weighing scales. And various other baking equipment. Very spontaneous (in a completely planned sort of way). And the result, was this chocolate cupcake (and a few others).

Lizzie has an incredible way with words. Her exact statement when she saw them was a bit like 'it looks like a sloppy dog poo, Abbey'. What a babe.

Unfortunately it does. Practice makes perfect?

AND lastly, I discovered this week Becca's hot water bottle. I've had some tummy ache and it was the only solution. Look at how CUTE it is!

Love it much? I do! But, I really wanted a hot water bottle of my own. So I've bought one, and my next project is, obviously, to make a cover for it. EXCITEMENT (Oh I do live the life). 

Until next week! LOVE YOU ALL ENDLESSLY XXX