Victoria Park.

I love parks, and this one in the heart of Portsmouth, is a favourite of mine. The main dual carriage runs past one side, and when you look up, the city buildings are everywhere. It's near the bottom of Portsmouth so there are lovely old red brick buildings everywhere, even on a wet winters day, I love it. 

I used the park and ride again to go into Portsmouth, its so much cheaper, and it has lovely big parking spaces. I had lunch out with some more old work friends, we normally eat in a cafe in the corner of the park, but on Tuesday they had a private function, so we walked to the waters edge (The Hard)  and had lunch in a good old fashioned pub, it was wonderful food, loads of laughs and loads of gossip. A perfect way to spend a dull wet afternoon, it was too wet to go to the big shopping area at Gun Wharf Quays, I have nothing I need.
Monday we spent at daughters house looking after Will and George, mummy had a hair appointment, we enjoyed cuddles and loads of laughter.
This afternoon I am meeting eldest daughter for coffee, it will be good to catch up with her. Tomorrow I'm having my hair cut, but before I will add some highlights at home, I have had the colour for ages, once used, I don't think I will get anymore and turn grey over time.

WIP's

I have finished The Sentence is Death, at one point I almost gave up reading this book, but I stuck with it until the end, I don't think I will look for another book written by Anthony Horowitz, the style of writing was not for me. 

Jojo Moyes always is a good read, and makes my reading total so far at 60 books. 

 I have packed my sewing machine away, and sadly nothing more was done on this bag, it's high on my list of things to finish in January. 

 I'm on my last ball of yarn for this blanket, when it is finished I will ask my daughter to take it, and give it to a friend who had a daughter back in November. I do love the colours, but I won't use it and I don't want it shoved in a drawer. 

 Socks, these are not a gift, but I am hoping I can finished them by 25th, they are for my daughter, I have not said anything to her, so if I don't get them done in time, it does not matter.

 I have been watching loads of video's on nails being decorated, I don't like the nails where they add beads and other stuff, those would defiantly not be my style. I went online and got some strips to edge the different colours, so now I am playing. 

The items above are ongoing projects, not things which have been stuffed into drawers, hiding and shaming my lack of finishes.
Thank you for your comments on my last post, I did enjoy making the denim cushions, it will be a lovely keepsake for my brother Martin, the whole time I was thinking about my brother Mel, I spent most of my younger life looking up to both brothers. There is so much fabric in a pair of jeans, even if the front knee area is worn, the back sections will be good fabric, it does stitch together well.
I'm up early, Will does not sleep in, it's just before 7am and we have loads s of cars and duplo out, it's going to be a long day, so I'm starting with a strong coffee.

Denim cushions

I had to make cushion inners first, I wanted these cushions to be much bigger, full and firm, my brother's new sofa is big. I had an old quilt cover, where the corners had worn, but the cotton was still good, perfect for the inner covers. Here is one by a normal sized cushion. 

 I had already cut the legs from jeans, now I cut 4inch wide strips, the denim is thick, so I did not want tiny widths, which the seams would have made the cushion bulky. I used my cutting wheel, perfect for this task.

 I already knew I would not make them matching, and had decided I would have a panel with the seams going a different way, this would add to the interest. As you can see, there were different shades of blue. 

 I had planned this design, but I did not have a piece long enough to go across the cushion, as I planned, so I stitched this together and then stitched it to the panels. 

 On my sofa, which is really small, they do look good, and are really strong, I backed the cushions with some black velvet, which is firm enough to balance the weight of the front panels. 

I finished the bottom seam by hand, I did think of using a zip, but these are huge and the zips, which would need to be strong are expensive. I can always undo and restitch should they require washing.
It took most of Friday to make these cushions, cutting and remaking, much like a simple quilting, does take time, plus I did not want to rush, I wanted the panels to be equal sizes, which meant stitching slowly and careful.
Hubby was out all day with the car, so it was perfect to finish this task, I even managed to pack away the rest of the denim pieces in my stash in the attic. I am on a tidy trip around the house, packing my yarn stash in my wardrobe upstairs, so the spare room is tidy. I have also sorted my craft area in our office, I still have projects out, but most are stashed away for the next couple of weeks.
George had his footprints done for his 1st Christmas tree decorations, daughter will pick them up next week, his foot print was tiny, he is just 3 weeks old, Will was 10 months when he did his 1st ornament.
I have now finished all the hand made gifts, and most of my presents are wrapped, but in truth we don't get too many gifts, our grandsons always have money, so they can get something they want. I do have to finish my cake, but it's just a case of rolling out icing and covering the cake, I have already made my Santa topper.
Today is sunny and bright, but so very cold, we have few plans, Will is coming after lunch for a sleep over, mummy and daddy are not going out, we just wanted Will to see all our lights in the dark and a sleep over was the best way, well that's my excuse for having him here.

Family time

We went out for a meal with Josh and Sam, both are looking very grown up, these are our two eldest grandsons. 

 Mummy sent photo of Will and George wearing their Christmas outfits, under her Christmas tree, these are our youngest grandsons. 

On Monday we saw all four grandsons, it made it a perfect day for me, so much joy and laughter. These boys are our world, both Sam and Josh now have busy lives and we don't see enough of them. Will came with us to our local bistro for an early lunch, he loves seeing the ladies who work there, mummy brought George in for a cuddle early afternoon. We had tea with Josh and Sam, and then spent a relaxing evening at home together. we do miss seeing our Taunton boys and Jake, they all live so far away, Jake will visit with mummy and daddy over the Christmas period.
Tuesday is sadly was the last meeting for our sign class, we had a party lunch together, it was as always great fun, I will really miss our Tuesdays together. I have been attending for 2 years, it's now up to me not to forget all I have learnt. We have promised to meet for coffee, but sadly we know this will probably fizzle out, I am doing a 2nd level online course, and Shelia has promised to help when I need it.
Wednesday I met daughter and the boys in town at 10, we spent time in a few shops, had morning coffee and then watched Will in soft play. Lunchtime I met with a friend, we worked together a few years ago, we caught up with news over lunch, I watched the cute video of her grandson practising his songs for his Christmas play.
Today, I am going with mummy to have George's foot print made into a tree ornament, we have one from Will's 1st Christmas, it's already very wet and dull, so for the rest of the day I will stay home, I still have sewing to finish.
We have already voted, we feel very strongly to which party wins today, with a fear if the other party wins, again we as a country are very divided, I don't think it's been the best election, and most people are saying they are voting for the party which they think will do the least damage. I do feel our wonderful country is on the brink, I hope we can sort everything out and bring us all together again.