Thursday, 10 April 2025

Phew! Thought I was locked out forever!

 Gabby set up my new computer this morning (an Acer Aspire 3 this time) but I have just had to do some Desperate Technology, as I couldn't find the proper password etc to get into my blog.  For 10 minutes I was going round in circles, but finally cracked it and am breathing a big sigh of relief now.



I have had a lovely birthday, and all my family were here yesterday.  Danny set to and dug a couple of holes for me to plant a rose and a birthday present plant from my friend Chris, so they are in now and well watered.  I was expecting Gabby to arrive this morning, so imagine my surprise when she turned up yesterday evening!  It was SO good to have her here on the day.  I wondered why Tam had been peeling so many spuds for roasties!  We had belatedly put a chicken in the oven, so were late eating, but Tam and I had gone to the garden centre so I could get some more Rose Feed as I'd run out, and in having a slow wander round, were late back, and then I had a phone call from Keith's cousin in Cornwall.  

Then I had a new problem.  I tried loading photos from my phone and only 7 or 8 loaded.  Another attempt 5 minutes later has worked . . .  Yes, more Desperate Technology but I managed it.  The first photo shows some quilts for sale.  I think one was £125 but it must have been small as one of the cushions made from damaged quilts was £65.


Some Welsh blankets were for sale too.


I took SO many photos it's going to be 3 days of posts, so I will try and spread them out a bit for the sanity of my followers who aren't quilt orientated.

Here are a couple of my favourites though:


This intensely quilted "Butterfly" quilt just caught my eye as it was so colourful and beautifully quilted.  Kept for best, I reckon.  American Jen Jones started collecting Welsh quilts in the 1970s, when prices were negligible as quilts weren't desirable then.  The wholecloth one below would be heading towards £1000 now I reckon.


Then there was this darling wholecloth quilt - just look at the quilting skill in that.


Of course, Calico Kate's patchwork shop is next door, so the girls and I went in there.  Tam bought me some fabric, and got a couple of rather whacko Kaffe Fassett fat quarters to turn into cushion covers.  I have decided to go for plain navy waffle duvet cover and pair of pillowcases, but got some definitely NON-NAVY fabric to make pillowcases from.  It goes well with the Verdigris green, and has pink in too, both colours which will tie it in with the wallpaper and paintwork.  Photos tomorrow.

Wendy - thank you for the heads up about the Florian print bedding.  I loved it, but thought with the import tax etc it would notch up the price, plus not too sure if the green was a little too olive to co-ordinate.  Lovely site though and gorgeous bedding :)





29 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday. Aries forever. Xx

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  2. Is the wallpaper navy not black? I saw the same print in fabric, you could make pillow cases then use neutral sheets or mix. Cat hair shows up so bad on dark fabric--maybe a rose or softer blue, or? I ll add a comment later, this was just about the fabric.

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    1. It's dark navy Lizzy. I priced the pillowcases alone and they were £30! It was cheaper to buy a contrasting fabric to go with a plain bedding set. We had considered rose but most of the bedding is paler. Have found magenta - but need to see the colour to know if it will co-ordinate.

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  3. Happy Birthday! Lovely to have the "children" home. I'm quite helpless when faced with a rose patterned quilt, adore them. The quilting on the whole cloth ones are amazing. Lizzy's comment made me realize the new sofa I am getting needs to be the same colour as the dogs. (Thx Lizzy)

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    1. Thank you Susan. That whole cloth quilt was amazing. SO many hours of dedicated stitching. I think I would need to go for tweed to combat various cat hair colours!!

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  4. Happy Birthday, and how wonderful that your family was all together on the day. Those quilts are beautiful.

    God bless.

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    1. Family is everything. It was a lovely outing too - beautiful drive there and back past the old Roman Gold Mines at Dolaucothi.

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  5. I like the Flying Goose quilt and of course spied a Log Cabin quilt. New laptops and such are rather scary to get set up!

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  6. That's one pattern I have never tried. Perhaps for a lap quilt in the future. There was the daintiest log cabin (photo coming up). SO pretty. I am glad I had my Tech experts here to set up the computer. Next - new step counting watch, which apparently needs to be apped to the phone! I gave Rosie my old step counting watch (v. cheap one) to play with as she likes to run her fingers across the front to change the "picture" and she reset it to a totally different time and I can't change it!!

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  7. A lovely birthday, well deserved.

    Interesting seeing all those quilts and carthenni for sale!
    I have a carthen that I was given forty years ago and the fringing is wearing out..what would you add as a border to stop the weave unraveling?

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    1. I've seen them mended by sewing round in blanket stitch.

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  8. Technology is wonderful - but can be so worrying!
    Some lovely quilts - all that tiny stitching - they must have had good eyesight

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    1. I'm usually lost without one of the kids here. Managed to get my new watch working today, but still not properly paired up with the App on my phone.

      Considering a lot was done by oil lamp or candle, I do wonder if it damaged their sight?

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  9. So pleased it was a lovely day for you.
    Those two end quilts, brown and yellow, look to be the same pattern as the two I will be selling shortly in mid blue and cream, the other a gorgeous turkey red.

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    1. I wish you luck with selling your quilts. Get a ball park figure for value first, so you have an idea of value. Are you selling on Ebay? I prefer to do fixed price sales, but it's down to you. Perhaps contact Jen Jones, as she might be interested for her shop. She wouldn't rip you off.

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  10. Happy Belated Birthday from me. Gosh I have one day away from the computer and it seems like everyone is a year older when I get back!!

    It sounds like you had a wonderful day anyway, and while I'm not a quilter, I do appreciate seeing all your lovely photos of them, there's a lot of talent and hard work that goes into most quilts and it really shows.

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    1. Glad you like to see the quilts, even though you're not a quilter.

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  11. Happy birthday and your welcome ;-)

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  12. Happy happy Birthday dearest J x x x I’m
    glad you had a great day and lots of chatter and hugs from your family x x. XDanette

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    1. Thanks Danette. It was a lovely (though tiring) birthday. Still have another day out to look forward to that I have promised myself.

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  13. Happy, Happy Birthday, so glad all your family made it home for your special day. I've been out looking for a garden obelisk for my passionflower, been to 3 garden centres, B&M and The Range and nothing, but I did pick up a reduced hellebore, had been £12, paid £2. Its soaking in a bowl of water. Navy bedding sounds lovely, but as we both know if you have cats you are fighting a losing battle with hair. Xx

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  14. It's frustrating isn't it, when you can't find what you want. I found my rose support in Charlies, but they only have stores in Wales. Well done with the reduced Hellebore.

    The navy bedding will have a blanket over it . . .

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  15. That whole cloth quilt is gorgeous. Is that machine done or hand done? Happy belated birthday! I cannot tell you how much I love your banner picture. So beautiful.

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    1. Hand sewn. The work of a professional quilter I am pretty sure. I was wrong about the banner picture as Tam said it wasn't Ivy Cottage as that looks like the Black Mountains in the distance, so I obviously parked up somewhere and snapped that one. Wales IS so beautiful.

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  16. Happy birthday! What a lovely time you had.

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    1. Indeed and I shall give myself a birthday day out on my own to somewhere special. The short list includes Portmeirion and Harlech Castle, amongst others.

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  17. Ho-ray for you, preserving with these new devices!

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