6.12.10

needs must


Thank goodness the snow is going - for now. I agree it does look lovely and I'm being very bah humbug but it's the disruption I can't bear. Along with the snow came coughs and sniffles and one child or other off school last week.

The weight of the white stuff on our roof has caused one of our windows to leak and I've changed a 'catching' bowl goodness knows how many times. And as if that wasn't enough, I developed chilblains which are no fun at all. Is this a sign of getting older I wonder? Ah but one good thing happened and that was my lovely husband did the school run for me. Bless. So all in all, not a lot of work has been done over the past three weeks.

Now the temperature is plummeting once more and we're all suffering this time. After several nights of wrapping a hot water bottle in a tee shirt to stop the boy from burning, I could bear it no more and a diversion was clearly called for.


I bought this fabric a couple of years ago with thoughts of making a shirt for my boy but never got round to it. So, in desperate need of a hot water bottle cover, it finally came into its own.

I made this hottie first time round for my father's Christmas present last year. But whereas his was quilted by hand, I didn't have the time with this one so I set the machine's setting to its longest stitch and saved myself many many minutes. Some curtain interlining came in useful as batting and I used remnants of Ikea cotton for the lining/binding to break up the pattern. I also made a conscious decision to veto the button, because I felt it was busy enough, but more importantly because I imagined my little boy snuggling up with his hottie and didn't want anything getting in the way.


Now I'm frantically trying to reclaim some time for Christmas trade and am rushed off my 'chilblained' feet stocking the shop. Last night I was wide awake thinking about purses! Blogging may be a little sporadic this side of Christmas I fear but there is something I'm determined to get finished any day soon. We'll see ..

Keep warm everyone x

12 comments:

  1. love your hottie cover! ouch I get chillblains too, misery, last winter I bought something called a snowfire stick from the chemists, we call it the stinky stick, but it works xxx

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  2. Love the hottie cover. Haven't had chilblains for donkey's years but can remember how horrid they are do hope they will be better soon.

    Keep cosy.

    JAne

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  3. Love the hottie cover - I was driven to fashion one from a fleece scarf, not pretty, but it does keep the bottle warm all night.
    Chilblains are nothing to do with age, my mum had them as a child. She told me one year they were so bad she was driven to trying an old wives remedy of dipping your toes in the full chamber pot. (You wished I hadn't told you that don't you?)

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  4. At the risk of being repetitious ~ I love your hottie cover too! Love the real boy look of the fabric and your caring mum side coming to the fore not wanting buttons to spoil the smoothness of the cover for him. Has your daughter got one too?

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  5. That fabric is perfect - its lovely. Hope your chilblains recover - they do sound like something an old person would have! The snow is not moving at all around these parts at the moment.xxxx

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  6. That hottie cover is lovely - I need to become friends with my hottie again. It's in the shape of a crocodile!

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  7. Your hottie cover is fab Kate!

    Sorry to hear about the children's coughs & colds and your poor feet!

    I know what you mean about the disruption the weather causes and it's set to get worse I hear! Nevertheless I've been waxing lyrical this morning about the frost!!! Oh dear!

    Hope you grab yourself some much needed trade time.

    Keep cosy!

    Jeanne
    x

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  8. Lovely hottie cover - just right for a boy. I made my boy one once out of a favourite fleece that he had outgrown but was finding it hard to part with!
    How the chilblains soon go - aren't you supposed to use mustard foot baths or something horrid?

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  9. It is very cold isn't it - mind you mother nature served us with some stuninng ice trees this morning.

    I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,thank you, thank you,thank you, thank you for my gorgeous earings and they stunning little pouch! I will blogging about them soon. xxx

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  10. Yup, I'm smitten too! They are wonderful.
    I keep meaning to make a cover for my heating pad...wait, I think that makes me sound old. I'm turning another year in a few and suddenly I am chilled to the bone. I may just go ask the Mr. to "fetch me a cuppa tea love? Must warm these old bones a bit."

    Best of luck with all your making!

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  11. Fantastic hottie covers - the fabric is perfect.

    Our downpipes had frozen this morning - spent ages trying to unblock the bathroom sink only to realise (after no progress) that it was because there was an ice plug at the bottom of the pipes!

    Stay warm and cosy xxxx

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  12. It is lovely to see what you've been up to. Life is a bit busy around here too. I can't believe the cold weather you have all been having - I hope you are staying warm and having fun. All the best, T x

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There's nothing like a comment to stop me feeling like I'm talking to myself. If you leave one here I'll pop one back here too, so don't forget to come back and continue the conversation ..

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