Snow

Snow is a big deal in the south-west of England, purely because it happens so rarely.

I have lived in Exmouth 22 years and have only seen it three times. On

those three occasions it was worse than any of the forecasters had predicted.

This time there was a red weather warning over Exeter, which Exmouth is

very close to (for those of you elsewhere in the UK or overseas). Everyone

was pretty blase about the possibility of snow because it is just such a rarity.

However I follow a local weather group South West Storm Chasers and I have

to say their forecasts are very accurate and when they started saying that

“yes Exmouth would get snow” I started to listen.

On the Wednesday of last week we had a few very light snow showers,

whilst other places in Devon got quite a bit more snow. However on

Wednesday night it was clear from all the forecasts it was going to be

Thursday that the weather would be at its worst. Hubby was sceptical,

but when we woke up to snow on Thursday morning and it didn’t stop

snowing, he started to take notice. Hubby was working a middle shift

so I managed to convince him to leave the car at home and just

walk in. At that point around 9am there wasn’t a lot of snow but

within a few hours the situation was completely different.

I was sat at my sewing machine in the kitchen with the local BBC radio

station on listening to the reports on road closures and school closures.

Each hour I was sending hubby photographs of the back garden as it was

getting covered in more and more snow.

I was quite happy though as I just sat at my sewing machine and finished off

the panels of my first quilt as you go quilt. I have just got to now sash the

panels together, which I will do over the next few weeks. I am trying to decide

if I will add both my quilt as you go quilt panels together or have them as

two separate ones.

My second quilt I sewed in one day on the Friday, as once I knew what I

was doing I could whizz through it.

When Hubby got home at around 6pm on Thursday evening it was still

snowing and when we went to bed at around 8pm it was still going.

Overnight we had freezing rain, which is a very weird one. It falls as

normal rain but on contact with any surface it instantly freezes. It leaves

the most bizarre patterns on things.

What it also did was leave a thick crust of ice all over the snow that had

fallen the day before. When walking on it, it was so loud like you were

walking on gravel. The dogs hated it, Mollie couldn’t get back to the house

quickly enough when out for a walk and really missed her daily

jaunts to Woodbury Common.

During Friday we had more snow, so again I sat in the kitchen at the

sewing machine whilst listening to the radio, I couldn’t believe it when

I completed the second quilt as you go (qayg) from start to finish in one day.

This included cutting 44, 2 ⅝ inch squares for the six panels. As this quilt was

the same as the first one I whizzed through it as I knew exactly what I was doing.

The snow was short-lived on Friday night the rain started and that

continues all day Saturday. By 2pm all the snow was gone from our garden

and traffic was moving again.

Saturday I spent making my mums mothers day present. I can publish a

photo of it here as I gave it to her Monday as I was down in Plymouth

for a hospital appointment. I made this one by watching Debbie Shores

YouTube video on Laptop bags. I just made the same bag but down sized it.

It took 4 fat quarters to make, I used fabric from some John Lewis

fat quarters. I absolutely adore this Moroccan style fabric

On Sunday afternoon I decided to make my best mate a ipad bag and

myself a clutch purse ( same bags just different purposes). With these

I made them from fabrics I had bought in the sale at Christmas.

However these both had directional patterns on them so I had to solve

the issue of having the patterns facing the right way on the back and

then on the flap at the front. I solved this by cutting out the back panel,

then cutting it in half, turning one pattern completely around so the

print faced in the opposite direction and then sewed the two pieces back

together again. If I hadn’t done that the zebras and foxes would have been

upside down on the flap. I was so proud of myself for working out how

to solve this problem.

Mine is the red with the zebras and my friends is the one with the foxes.

Next week I will have lots of exciting news for you nut at the moment I am

having to keep an enormous secret. Its killing me keeping it from you all but

you will love it when you hear it. And to put you all out of your misery I am

NOT pregnant!