Becky's roses

The weather has been foul recently - lots of heavy rain and wind, day after day. If you want a sample, look at Jane's post about why she came back early from holiday! Add to this a weekend where DH went to a stag do on Saturday (go-karting in the afternoon and then a pub crawl in the evening) and then drove 30 miles to play half a game of cricket and then watch the pitch slowly flood and you'll understand why I've managed to get my roses top together!

It looks pretty dull, but the light is so poor today (more rain), that even though I put all the lights on in my bedroom it hasn't helped much. It's actually quite fresh and pretty and fairly pastel.

One thing I discovered about this pattern is a way to save fabric. The instructions tell you to cut out all the pieces for all the rose petals before you start. I rarely do that, as I'm always itching to get on with the sewing and hate cutting. This time I was glad, because since the petals are of decreasing size

and you then cut them away at the back to reduce bulk, I realised that I only needed to cut the first two large petals, and could cut the smaller ones from the cut-away fabric! We'll beat this recession yet!

Generous quilters

Any sensible person, having just finished a double bed sized quilt would make a little bag, a wall hanging or chip away at the ever increasing pile of UFOs all ready and waiting. Unfortunately, sensible isn't really a word to describe my quilting habits! Our friend Becky (she of panto principal boy fame) has just bought her first house, and in response to her delight, I offered to make her a quilt. What colour? Pastel pink. What size? Double. Serves me right for offering and then asking!

I'm not really a pink person, so was delighted to see a lovely pink quilt which Loulee had made from a kit. I asked her for buying details and was disappointed to find it didn't seem to be available any more. Never mind, I was sure I could work it out for myself, so asked Loulee to tell me the size of the blocks. She is so generous that she sent me the pattern in the post! How great is that! Thank you, Loulee.

So I assembled some pink fabrics, trying to keep them medium and light, and leaving most of my brights in the drawer.

Then I started to make up the blocks. I found that a couple of the darker fabrics were too much, and I turned a couple over to use the back, as it was more in keeping with the theme. Two of the blocks in the present bottom row are too dark, and I'll have to unpick them. Do you agree?

The pattern calls for 25 blocks, but I'm making 36 so it will be big enough. Becky completes in a fortnight, so I'd better get a move on!