Then if you're in England, just pop along to a blood donor session and you'll get a cuppa and biscuits afterwards. Actually I always have hot chocolate, but there's a variety of beverages, hot and cold, plus my favourites - Club biscuits, (as well as other biscuits).
This is my arm afterwards
I couldn't go to my usual venue last week so today I went here -
The Keepmoat Stadium, home to Doncaster Rovers football team. It made a lovely change to donate in somewhere new, and we were in a room on the second floor so had good views of the pitch on one side and a lake on the other. I've booked in to go there next time because it's in November and I reckon it'll be a lot warmer there than the sports centre I usually go to. When I went last winter I was so cold that my blood only trickled out, and I was there ages.
On the way home I called at a pick-your-own farm for some strawberries and raspberries
there were more than this, but I ate some in the car, which along with the ones I quality controlled while I was picking them, means I'd had more than my fair share before I even got home!
I got some more weeding done yesterday and was rewarded with this lovely day lily today
We've actually had a day without rain! Woohoo!
After weeks of rain, I could have done with a machete to tackle the weeds in our garden.
Here's a few flowers that hadn't been swamped by weeds
A few days after making the baby dress in my last post, I had a niggling feeling it might not be big enough. It was going to be a surprise but I thought if it's too small it wouldn't be a very good surprise, so I asked my niece to measure her for me.
It was too small, so I've altered the pattern and made another one, using the fabrics in a different way.
Unusually for me I had the first one made in good time but then ended up having to finish off some hand stitching on the second one when we got to their house! It was very reminiscent of that maxi dress I made for the wedding. If I've got a deadline for something I'm usually on the last push!
I've used this vintage pattern from Woman's Realm magazine to make a tiered maxi skirt
But it wasn't vintage when I used it, because I made this in the 70s!
I made a few maxi skirts at the time and I've still got them all. I was slimmer then so this isn't fastened at the back and it's got a hole cut out where I've used the fabric for something else.
I remember making this to wear to my cousin's wedding. My family's weddings back then always seemed to be on Thursdays. I don't why that was, unless it was because my uncles were all farmers and Saturday was market day, but I rarely went to a wedding on a Saturday.
As usual for me the skirt wasn't finished the night before the wedding, and I had the afternoon off work and rushed home to finish off the hem before we went. That hem was a marathon task, it seemed to go on forever!
Back to the present, and there's now a bigger hole in the back.
My niece who lives in London, had a baby girl a few weeks ago and we're going to visit later in the week so I've made this little dress
It was great fun making something so small; I didn't start making dresses for my own daughter until she was three or four.
I used this pattern.
I found some photos today of a bag I made a while ago but haven't shown you.
It's made from curtains I used to have in our last house
At first I used an old button for the fastening as in the photo above but thought it wasn't enough, so I changed it for some beads from an old necklace threaded on ribbon which I think suit it to a T
I wanted to make something for a friend as a thank you, and as I know she likes my patchwork jeans bag, I decided to make something similar.
Her favourite colours are green and purple so I've incorporated those into it
After I'd appliqued on the flowers and leaves they looked a bit drab, so I used some bronze fabric paint to brighten them up
Inside are two pockets and a clip for keys
I've used the wrong side of some curtain fabric for the green patches and lining. I wanted plain green but the right side has raised stripes which gives a slubby effect on the reverse
I got this fabric and a different one from Abakhan a while ago when they were being discontinued. They were those curtain samples that are made up into curtains and were 60p each.
I've used some of the right side of the fabric to make this SatNav bag
