This week's smiles....week 46

Firstly let me say a huge thank you for all those who joined in the fun this week.  I do love visiting you all to see what has made you smile and it's so good of you all for linking them up here so others can share it too.

My featured blog this week just had to be Sam's joke about the remote control...maybe it's just appreciated by those of us or a certain age who likes to snooze while hubby watches telly in bed but it certainly made me chuckle....thanks Sam.

Well folks, it's been another of those sort of roller coaster weeks here for us.  

Tuesday saw us accepting an offer on our house and having our offer accepted on the bungalow of our dreams....I know we have a long way to go yet but we are keeping everything crossed that we will have a move in the new year.  :-)

Wednesday was a downward slope of the roller coaster....I was rung first thing in the morning by the twins mummy, Shell to say both twins were on their way to A and E!!!  It really isn't a good thing to spread Vick's vapour rub all over your face, all over your clothes and even in your hair and then try eating it!!!  [ you really wouldn't think they would go near it would you?]  I shut the shop and drove straight in to help [sewing can wait at times like this can't it?]....how ever good a mum you are these things happen and to cope with two children just isn't possible when you only have one pair of hands.

They were assessed in A and E....including a 12 lead ECG to check their hearts....Vick really is serious stuff and can cause all sorts of problems.  The poisins guidelines meant they had to be monitored for 6 hours before they could be allowed home.  Thankfully they had no effects and enjoyed their free lunch and play day with all the toys!!!  And now we can all laugh at it all so I am sharing a couple of pics of the two little monkeys....they really do gang up on who every is looking after them and get up to all sorts of mischief.  :-)

You only get one bed for two year old twins and here they are pretending to be asleep!  Needless to say it was a long 8 hour day when neither of them could actually have their nap in just one bed!

Here they are enjoying their fish fingers, chips and mixed veg and the chocolate pudding went down well too.  :-)

Needless to say Mummy and Nanny had to spend all day without even a cup of coffee so we both went home with headaches feeling totally shattered lol.

A good night's sleep was had by all on Wednesday night and I can assure you there was a house full in Shrewsbury that had beautifully clear heads with a house smelling very strongly of Vick!!!

That's all from me for this week so please join in the fun and link up your happy posts below some time before next Friday when I will feature the one that makes me smile the most.

My advent calendar Christmas tree....

I have been busy making an advent calendar Christmas tree for my Grandchildren to decorate when they visit and as it is all made from snippets I am linking it up on Di's Snippet playground. Di is celebrating her 100th week of being in charge of the playground keys so I wanted to help her celebrate by joining in the fun over there  :-)

My little Christmas tree is 17" tall and is made of a  stuffed fabric cone covered in felt pieces to give the tree branch detail and has a stuffed felt star on the top.  It had a wooden stand made by my wonderful hubby and has 24 little buttons stitched around the tree to hang the ornaments on.

 I have then made 24 little ornaments the children can hang daily on the tree...of course there had to be two of everything at least to save any falling out  :-)

These sure used up a lot of my felt snippets Di so just know I can link it up with you.  :-)

WOYWW....

Hello to all.  Firstly let me tell you that I'm feeling sick here today.....no not poorly sick but nervous/excited sort of sick.....We have accepted and offer on our house and all being well will be moving to the bungalow we really want to move to....it's been waiting for us so lets hope it all goes through as we plan.

Now I know you have all come to see what I've been making so here is the first pic...

A little Christmas tree with bells on that the twins like making jingle  :-)














The other thing I've been making is another idea for my Christmas cards.

 I had seen this idea made in paper and decided I could make it in fabric...but of course there was no instructions as to how to make it at all so I sat with a piece of paper and played til I worked it out.  :-)

For those that fancied having a go here are a few pics with simple instructions...

A simple pattern in paper.  Pin it onto two pieces of different fabrics and cut them out.

Sew together with right sides together remembering to leave a gap in the straight edge for turning.

Trim off corners and snip into the curves

Turn right sides out and press and mark with pins at the middle then at a quarter way down as in pic.

Fold top corner so it reaches the middle pin.

Using the pin that was a quarter the way down as the centre then fold as in the drawing making creases as folded.

Unfold and refold using the creases as guide lines so it concertinas on itself as in the pic and hold in place with a pin until pressed with the iron.

Ta da...and as you can see making it in different fabrics gets lovely effects.

I hope you like my little trees.  If you fancy having a go and are struggling please just shout and I will explain further.

I have used lots of little snippets of fabrics to make these so will link them up over at Di's Playground.

Thanks for popping by today....I will be popping by to say hello to all my visitors as soon as I'm able.  

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 45

Hello to all my wonderful blogging friends.  I hope you all called by yesterday to see the Children in Need quilt update....It gave us so much to smile about so please scroll down if you've not seen it yet.  It was just so wonderful to think that so many people could take the time out to add their love to the making of these amazing quilts so a huge Thank you to each and every one of you who helped.

This week I am featuring the caption of the picture Sylvia put on her blog.....I think we could all take a tip from this don't you?  :-) Thanks Sylvia for sharing it.

My snap today is a drawing that Sam did of me this week...

As you can see I was having a bad hair day that day and although I've lost all this weight the 44 Ds are still there!  :-)

Sam really loves drawing and already draws in details that most 6 year olds struggle with but maybe this one is just a step too far eh?  It really made us chuckle so I hope it did you too.

Please snap a pic of something that made you smile this week and link it up some time before next Friday when I will feature my favourite.

Hugs,

Annie x

Children in Need quilt update....

Yesterday afternoon our good friend Jacquie came with her arms full of the quilts she is making using the quilt blocks donated for the Children in Need appeal to update us on their progress and Jo and I were totally blown away by each and every one of them so I felt I should update all our wonderful blogging friends as a thank you for their efforts in helping to make them possible.  Jacquie has been really touched by how many you girls made and it allowed her to make 6 amazing quilts for Children in need.  4 now completed and last two just to be wadded and quilted together.

Quilt number 1 completed....lilac sashing to link the quilt blocks

Quilt number 2 completed....pink sashing to link the quilt blocks

Quilt number 3 completed....red sashing to link the quilt blocks

Quilt number 4 [an earlier pic as it was out on loan yesterday] now completed....orange sashing to link the quilt blocks

Quilt number 5 to be completed....navy sashing to link the quilt blocks

Quilt number 6 to be completed....green sashing to link the quilt blocks 

All different but all simply gorgeous and each quilt will have it's own Pudsey bear label with the names of the makers on it...

The draw for the quilts is on Thursday 5th December so good luck girls.

There are also 3 wall hangings and two gorgeous cushions that have also been made with quilt blocks that will be sold to raise yet more money for Children in Need but I'm sorry to say I don't have photos of those as yet.

WOYWW.....

Firstly I must thank you all for your efforts to join in my little quiz last week.....you will find the answer and the prize winners here in last Friday's post.  Well done to the three who guessed the correct answer.  These are what I posted out to them.... [hope they like them].

Three little hand made key fobs....just a bit of love and a thank you from me  :-)

I've been in a Christmas making mode in my spare time this week so thought I'd do a quick show and tell as to what I've been up to....

The 6 cards I made from the blue fabric you saw 2 weeks ago....I'm rather pleased with these  :-)

I've machine embroidered on the ribbons, added embellishments and appliqued on some baubles.

A hand embroidered Christmas tree to use for another card.

The same idea but this time on dark green fabric...what do you think?  Cream or Green backgrounds best?

5 little gingerbread men to hang on the Christmas trees for my Grandchildren....I make them something different each year to hang on their trees.

And finally just a quick snap of some fun play with my Twinnie munchkins and Aunty Jo this week....they are so fascinated by all the different buttons Nanny Annie's got...and these were just one small box of them lol.

It's been another busy week for me as always but I will do my best to pop by to say hello when I get a minute.  Thanks for calling in.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles ....week 44 and the quiz results

Well, what a week of giggles I've had.  I had so many wonderful answers to my quiz...rather a lot of them focused on parts of the male anatomy!  What are you like?  I did eventually get a few of you with the right answer and as you had to work really hard with those brain cells to get there I am sending out a little something to the first three correct answers.

What I had to make was a soot sheet for our chimney sweep.  The tube part is where he puts his brushes and them he secures the sheet part around the flue he is cleaning....yes, folks they no longer send a little child up to sweep them lol.  As you can imagine modern chimney flues come in all sorts of sizes these days including  wood and multi fuel burners and the large soot sheets our sweep can buy just don't fit.....hence his challenge for me.

So? Who guessed right?  Drum roll.................ta da da da da

1. Di from Pixie's Crafty Workshop
2. Nan G from Froggy designs
3. Jenny from Winnibriggs House

Well done girls.  Yes Di, I guess it's not the most sensible of colours but calico doesn't come in other colours round here and the ones the chimney sweeps buy are made of the same fabric.

Can you each email me with your postal name and address and I will get a little something in the post to you as a thank you for taking part.

Of course it wouldn't be Friday without a happy pic from me.

As you know my little munchkins come to play with Nanny Annie while their mummy works as a teacher on a Monday and Tuesday.  They arrive at silly-o-clock in their pyjamas and like to send their mummy a photo each day to tell her they love her and to wish her a good day at school.  As you can see Bobby Bear insisted on getting in on the act this week and this really made me smile.

That's all from me for today.  Thanks again for my week's giggles and taking time out to take part in my little quiz.  Well done to the winners.

Please take a snap of what's made you smile this week, post it on your blog and link it below to share your smiles....it really does make the world a happier place.

Hugs,

Annie x

Quiz answer....

I am going to keep you waiting just a little longer but thought you might like to know I've chosen a winner or two to my little quiz.  Thank you to all who joined in the fun.


I shall be posting the answer to my little quiz tomorrow so be sure to pop by to see if you've won.

:-) :-) :-) :-) 

WOYWW....A quiz

Hello to all my wonderful Wednesday visitors who join me in linking up to the WOYWW madness each week....I you still don't know what I'm on about then please pop over to Julia's and find out more.

Last Friday's happy post gave me lots of giggles with the suggestions in my little 'have a go for fun quiz' so I thought I would see if any of you can guess what I've been making.  You all know I love a challenge when it comes to sewing.

The clues so far ...

• The customer was male and of working age
• He uses one of these during his working day
• I have to make him two like this....one to use and one to wash as a spare [ yes, he will get it dirty :-) ]
• I am also making him a zipped, bag shaped one too.

This was the fabric he brought for me to make them all with.....strong calico

Using the measurements and instructions he gave me this is the paper pattern I made....those are inch squares on my cutting board.

And, as no one has guessed right so far and I've now finished the sewing here are a couple more pics.....

Lay flat on it's side.

Another view.

So come on folks.  Put your thinking cap on and leave me a guess as to what you think I've made.  I will be finding a little prize for the first person to guess the right answer and if no one can guess I will be sending a little something to the person that makes me laugh the most.  :-)

The only other pic I'm sharing today is one of a little gift my big sister picked up for me from the car boot.  A pair of large knitting needles for just 50p...she just couldn't resist them.  :-)  What a bargain eh?....and we all know now that an American size 6 1/2 is really an English size 3....but I do have to say I didn't know they made them  ;-)

Thanks for popping by today.  Don't forget to have a go at the quiz and/or leave me a little hello so I know you've called and I will do my best to pop by at yours when I get a minute. 
Hugs,
Annie x

Yesterday's post has a little quiz...have a look and give it a go :-)

My happy Friday's post this week has a pic of a sleepy little Sam...he obviously takes after his Nanny Annie :-)

Also on the post was a little quiz so why not put your thinking caps on and come up with an answer. If you really can't guess...and so far no one has got it right....then just make me laugh. The winner will be either the correct answer or the one who made me laugh most :-)

Good luck xxxx

This week's smiles.....week 43 and a little quiz :-)

Hello folks.  Another manic week for me ...how about you? 

We had lots of you joining in the fun last week and today I am featuring the melted bats that Janet shared and the cat in the bat cave that Jan shared....they sort of went well together  with it being near Halloween  :-)

Well done girls and thanks for sharing them.

This week had three busy twinnie munchkin days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and the pic I am sharing today was taken at lunchtime on Tuesday....It's a bit of an 'eat up quick while you are still awake' snap.  My little munchkins are up at silly o'clock to come to Nanny Annie's in time for their Mummy and Daddy to go to work and as you can see it has to be an early lunch before their naps.....doesn't Sam look so cute here?

I am also giving you something to think about this week.  I am given all sorts of challenges during my sewing days and this week has been no exception.  The only clues I am giving you are...

• The customer was male and of working age
• He uses one of these during his working day
• I have to make him two....one to use and one to wash as a spare[ yes he will get it dirty :-) ]
• on the left is the paper pattern I have made...it takes two of these to make it.
• on the right is the calico fabric I am to make it with

I would like you to have a guess at what I'm making.  I will be choosing the best guess...if not the right answer then it will be the guess that makes me laugh most....and I just might find a little something as a thank you gift to send to you.  Go on put your thinking caps on and let me know what you come up with.  I will give it a couple of weeks and will post a pic of the finished item with the name of the winner.

Now I want you to snap something that has made you smile this week and share it with all of us by linking below.  Thanks for joining in the fun and making the world a happier place to be.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

It's a 3 day twinnie munchkin week for me this week so it's all go here at Sewing by Annie's.  That of course means I have put this post to upload automatically and won't be able to come checking out your blogs til tomorrow at the earliest sorry.....but I will do my best to drop by as soon as I'm able.

On my desk today [and it will be there at least until tomorrow!] is....

The evidence that Christmas card making has started....

• Christmas fabrics sorted and ironed
• a couple of quilted squares using the fabric
• those have been machine embroidered and embellished
• then scanned to make some Christmas card toppers

....so far so good.  :-)

Another Christmas card idea in the making...

• strips of turquoise ribbons bond-a-webbed onto white fabric
• wadding ready underneath ready to machine embroider and quilt down the ribbons in place
• silver trimmings sorted ready to machine embroider on top

...we will see how this develops.  :-)

Been such a busy few weeks that I have the need to keep my hands busy while watching telly [or I nod off!] so have started some random crocheting.  I love the wool and it's chunky so I can use a large crochet hook...not sure what it will be when it grows up yet.   :-)

Well folks that's all from me for today....no time to pee breath think sew really so definitely not much time for creative fun  :-)  I hope you have enjoyed your little peep into my world for today.  Please leave me a little hello comment and I will do my best to pop by asap to say hello.

There will be pics and updates on the quilts being made for the Children in Need appeal very soon as Jacquie has already made the first two!

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles...week 42

Another week has passed and it has certainly become Autumn here now.  The clocks went back last weekend and not only is it dark in the mornings when we have to get up but by 5pm when we finish work it's getting pretty dark too,  Roll on Spring I say  :-)

We had some really great posts linked up here last week and today I'm featuring my big sister's impersonation of Andy Pandy....did you think the same too?  For those who don't know who I'm talking about here's a reminder...

She just needed a frill round her neck :-)

I know the pic is in black and white but it was back then wasn't it?.....yes I'm really that old to remember lol  Thanks Jo.

I am also giving a mention to Debs pic or her reindeer massacre today cos she snook it in as a late comer yesterday and it really made me laugh.  Thanks Debs.

My pic for this week was one of Amy's three this week.  Like most houses they have large flat screened televisions in the house and all the modern techy equipment that all three of the children use with no hesitation of course but this is a pic of three little children glued to an old box type television their mummy used to have as a teenager simply because it has a video player attached.  We found some old Disney videos while sorting out here and watching one has proved very successful....for a little while at least  :-)

It made me chuckle so hope it raised a smile for you too.

Thanks so much for dropping by this week.  Please do your best to share your happy moments with us and link them up below.

Hugs,

Annie x