Holly's Present

I finished this cushion today by adding the ribbons and beads. The beads are tiny cakes, ice-lollies and ice-creams. It's not exactly what I would choose for myself and Betsy certainly wouldn't give it house room, but I still think its very pretty and Holly is very different to Betsy so I hope she will like it.

I spent a lovely afternoon cutting loads and loads of squares for a patchwork quilt I am making for Al for Christmas. The top is going to be squares of plain fabric mixed with some patterned with the Comic Book Heroes he loves, like Batman, Hulk, The Fantastic Four and Superman, plus some baddies like The Riddler and The Joker.

The reverse is going to be made from pieces of Al's old pyjamas. Over the years he has had several pairs of those brushed cotton pyjamas which he wore till they were around his knees and almost strangling him! He always looked so sweet in them and so have a few pairs in the cupboard I couldn't bear to part with. They are worn so soft and hopefully will make a cosy quilt, mixed with some cream squares of similar fabric.

I have never done Machine Patchwork, nor quilting before and I really haven't got much a clue of what I am doing, but I have fairly low standards so I am not too worried! I think the edging will be the hardest bit but with the help of t'internet, I expect I'll manage to bodge my way through!

Betsy came home from school in good spirits today. She had been given the second highest mark in the year for a drama assessment, and received lots if praise from her teacher. Her English teacher was also very impressed with her choice of topic for the Speech Competition (Racism in Football), and was pleased with what she has written so far. It's nice to see her in a happy mood about school but nothing is going to make her quite as happy as half term! I feel the same myself!