The Blogging Train

Hello lovely lovelies❣ Welcome to my little place where this 'Snow Queen' sits in her icy castle humble abode, where stalactite and stalagmite encrustations abound. Just joking. =) Although Jack Frost and Old Man Winter are strutting their frigid stuff; and blustering and roistering outside my windows; here in my little home where blazing fires roar away, I am as snug as a bug in a rug. Actually, even though I have awoken to many mornings of ice-sheathed landscapes as far as the eye can see, winter has not been too bad really. It has been tolerable enough.

Gosh, it has been an age  since I last chatted with you. I didn't intend to alight from the blogging train for so long, but you know how it is, you miss one week, then two, then all of a sudden the days have disappeared into many, many weeks, months even;  being swallowed up by that bearded old fellow, Father Time. I do not know how he does it, but Father Time can certainly gobble up time quicker than quick. But......the blogging train has once again  chugged into the station here at this far rural outpost, the friendly little railway man has yelled "all aboard", and with my trusty camera slung over the shoulder I have happily boarded,  setting off on the blogging train once again. Besides, I never was/am a blogger who blogs every week. I am just a blog-when-I-have-something-to-show-or-write-about, kinda gal. I don't know how you ladies manage to blog every week...and some of you who blog every other day....amazing.

During my 'leave of absence' I have been buried under a mountain of stuff; re-organising and culling an avalanche of shall we say....crap....yes....crap. =) As I am not teaching kids this year, and probably won't any more a lot of the stuff is irrelevant now. I just don't need to hoard my 'just-in-case' amassment anymore. A friend of mine is moving to a smaller place and asked me if I wanted some cupboards. I of course said yes, as what she was offering me suited my needs in my sewing room better. The cupboards are wood, slathered with a dark stain, so me being me had to sand and then paint them with many coats of sealer and paint in a pretty shade of grey, called Marina Pearl. I know....how dare I!!!! The wood gods will heap coals of fire upon my head!! I know splashing paint on wood is the cardinal sin to those who love to see wood grains from floor to ceiling but I much prefer a lighter aesthetic. So, so sorry if I have offended the sensibilities of those of you who adore wood au-natural, but I am that gal who loves a lick or two of paint covering my furniture. Alas, deviant genes I'm afraid. I am still in the process of painting. It is a task which is taking what seems forever. As it is winter one needs to wait longer between each coat. Goodness, gracious me, I have a ton of stuff, but it is a task which needs to be done. It feels good to purge. I suppose one should never start this sort of task, should one?? The bottomless textile, and bits and bobs pit is very, very deep and may I say, scary. =) Who would've thought that three 'little' cupboards could have caused so much upheaval. And....I might say one helluva mess!

Also, during by blogging absence I have been organising posts regarding all my finished pretties; quilts, tarted-up lovelies etc etc, and filing them away under new page headings which can now been seen under my blog's banner. A process I am still doing. This has taken some time. As I walked once again, along the path of Sarah Lizzie's and revisited old blog posts, I noticed some new implementations of Blogger had left some of my posts with a few glitches within. Honestly, sometimes Blogger is a pain in the right royal proverbial. I have no idea why these problems have arisen but me being me, and to please my persnickety eye, I have been going through all the posts and fixing them.  I just could not help myself from fixing things up a bit. Another deviant gene, I'm afraid. =) I am a wee bit particular about 'the look' of my blog. I know, I know...who do I think I am??!! No-one really. Just a gal, with a stylist eye from way back when, who has a certain aesthetic for my blog. Why, I consider each post is rather akin to a new chapter in my book. I must say though, I have rather enjoyed turning back the clock and re-visiting my posts from way back..  I had forgotten about a lot of the pretties I had fashioned; and the mad musings which have emanated from my rather muddly mind. I guess that is why we write a blog; a record and visual diary pertaining to our creative life.

Deary, deary me, ever the stylist with an "it's all about the look" aesthetic. As I  am a venerable woman I don't suppose old habits and sensibilities will change now. I was that girl who all through school my work books were  decorated with my Derwent colouring pencils; colourful doodles here, there and everywhere. Even the books pertaining to all things mathematics. But, surely boring calculus, algebra...Pythagoras theorem etc etc needed a little artistic touch. I know artistic squiggles here and there certainly cheered my mathematics lessons. Not quite sure the maths teachers appreciated my artistic bent, though. Why, I always thought (and still do) the hypotenuse of a triangle always looked spiffier transformed by a flowery vine trailing its way up the triangle's sharp incline.

Anyway, besides a little fixer-upper-ing of my blog, there has been a little stitching of my Flowers in Her Hair, Flowers Everywhere, but not much. The bias strips/binding have been taking an age to stitch. Metres upon metres of bias strips have been stitched with tiny stitches skipping up and down each strip; each leaf!  It is rather akin to hand stitching the binding to many quilts; a job which I am not particularly enamoured with. I suppose if one was to think about it I have figuratively stitched the binding on many queen size quilts. Funnily enough, the stitching of all these strips has not been in the least bit boring. Though, I cannot wait to begin to design and stitch what is outside the window. Three more lengths of bias strips to be stitched, skipping up, down.....and up again.

Oh...and I forgot to mention I acquired some more fabric....just a little. =) Why, now that I have culled unwanted fabrics there is some space in my brand, new cupboard waiting for that 'must have' fabric. AND.....this fabric is definitely in the 'must have' category. The fabric is dancing all over with big, bold hydrangeas! Just 'gorjuss'!!!! =) It kinda reminds me of 1960's tablecloth fabric. I have no idea what I will do with it, but I am sure something 'brilliant' will come to mind. It is by designer Robins Pickens and the collection is called Cottage Bleu. There is a quote on the selvedge which says "How calmly blue soothes and sings softly in the sky". Yes indeedy, this gal whose heart is forever blue certainly thinks so.

Fingers crossed I won't disembark from the blogging train for such a long time again, but you never know with me, as I do tend to wander off for a little while. As it is Sunday today, this blogging train is pulling into Kathy's station, picking up all the other ladies who are stitching slowly as we all chugg along. Conversation, a little slow hand stitching and a little enjoyment of the countryside swooshing by, as the steel wheels swish on the steel rails beneath. For me, stitching bias strips, skipping up, down....and up again.

Oh....I forgot to say, those of you who were following my little blog via email, I am afraid I have taken this gadget from my blog. I am still investigating other options. Some of the emails I have been receiving from other bloggers seem to come with a lot of advertising, so as I don't particularly want you to receive all the adds I will wait a while. I will ponder my belly button re this subject for a little while.  If you still want to follow me and read my ramblings each time you can do so by clicking on the 'Follow Me with Bloglovin' link at the top of the page. But then, if you do follow me via email, then I suppose you won't be reading this......oh well. =)

Anyway, thank you for visiting my little place after all this time. It is a joy to have you visit; it really, really is❣ Thank you so much you lovely lovelies who emailed me through this last little while to see if I was okay❣ Beautiful friends, whom although we have never met and probably never will this side of heaven, I consider precious kindred spirits❣ All is well, down here at the bottom of the world. May you enjoy a beautiful Sunday. It has has been a rather chilly one here....but there is a spring to my step as the garden is beginning to come to life whispering to me that my favourite season is thinking about it's arrival on my front doorstep and rat-a-tat-tat on my bright pink, front door. So, so excited❣

Until the next time.............