Goodbye 2013 and good riddance!

So, it started with dreadful flu and it's ending in similar fashion with a chest infection, so I for one will not be sorry to see the back of this year. I started it thinking it couldn't be worse than 2012, but it had a real sting in the tail waiting for me, which I suspect will take most of 2014 to get over properly.
However, throughout the year, I used sewing as my distraction, and so have a reasonable number of makes to show off in this round up of the last 12 months....
I managed 8 quilts altogether, (there's more at the end) although half of these are still WIPs! My resolution for 2014 is to get them finished.

There were 4 mini quilts all of which I loved and 3 of which were gifts

This was the year I got back into dressmaking and I have a couple of projects lined up to start the year off.

There were a fair few bags too - I loved making these and again, there's plans for a couple more in 2014.

And lastly there were a few other bits and pieces that missed the mosaics above.

So, sewing wise, not a bad year, and I'm starting another quilt this evening - it's a scrappy tripalong for my neighbour. His wife very sadly passed away suddenly this summer, and, thanks to me, had just got into quilting. He has asked me to make a quilt with the fabric she had bought just before she died. It's an interesting mix of fabrics to say the least, but it will mean a lot to him, and seems a positive way to end this 'annus horribilis' and start 2014.

So, thanks to everyone for your warmth and friendship throughout the last 12 months and here's wishing you and yours health, wealth, but most importantly, happiness for 2014!

Posted with Blogsy

By Jove, she did it!

So, during the week, I got a bit carried away cutting out stuff to sew this weekend. We were due to have a sewing day in Saturday, but for various reasons - finances, builders, wedding quilts and puppies - it was postponed. So I decided I'd get stuck in and get all three items finished..... 

Just waiting for a hem

First was the Sorbetto - a free pattern from Coletter, available here. Because I was trying to make this from 1 metre of fabric, I chose to not have the pleat in the front. The saga with the missing 3cm was resolved with the suggestion of a contrast hem leading to the realisation that, at only 5' 2", I didn't actually need any addition - it turned out the perfect length.

Next came the Schoolhouse - I have already made the tunic length version and I loved that - found it very easy. However, for some reason this one didn't work anywhere near as well. Something went wrong with the top, and so it's a bit on the snug side! Also, I don't like the proportions as much as on the tunic.

That took care of yesterday, and today was the turn of the washi dress. Why, oh why did I take so long trying this?? It's was an absolute joy to put together, including some exciting shirring!

               

I've somehow managed to collect a rather large amount of this gorgeous pink records fabric, Melody Miller Ruby Star Vinyl, and so it seemed like the perfect way to use some of it instead of gazing adoringly at in on the shelf! It's a beautiful soft, fluid linen and it sewed up like a dream.

This was the final pressing before the grand trying on! I chose not to make a muslin, basically because I'm lazy! But also because I'm not good at repeating myself (as the Schoolhouse proved). Considering how hard I find it to find clothes that fit well in shops, it's remarkable how lucky I've been with those I've made, without having done too much fitting, if any.

And here's the finished article. It's fits beautifully, and I'm so pleased with it. I have some gorgeous Lnen Dots linen/cotton blend in Heather that I was gong to use for a dress length Schoolhouse fora wedding. However, after the problems I've had with this one and how much I love the washi, I'm considering a change of plan!

                         

I count myself very lucky....

to have such wonderful quilting friends. Today I had two fab girls keep me very busy...... I'd like to say sewing, but actually I did a lot more gassing than stitching!!!

I had chance to play with two stunning sewing machines, a Husqvarna Viking Topaz and a Janome Horizon with a full 11.5" of throat space which I saw put to fine quilting use this afternoon, had my first go at FMQ which I loved - so exhilarating and liberating - and was given free run of a fab scrap box where I managed to find loads of scraps for both my planned Melody Miller and Welsh flag quilts. My two fur-kids were very ably and affectionately entertained by the two resident gentle giants, although the least said about Daisy sneaking off upstairs for a quick nap on our hostess's bed, and bringing a sock back down with her to greet us at mid-afternoon snack time, the better!

Some things I also learned this weekend were:

1) the first idea I have of how to achieve something is almost always wrong....

2) when using a tutorial and going off-piste, as it were, with different fabric, it's probably best NOT to slavishly buy all the notions asked for in the tutorial beforehand, in the blind belief they will just be fine with the amendments - ie buy a 14" zip only to find you need 20".....

3) it's best to realise your catering size brownie pans won't fit into your domestic oven BEFORE making the mixture to go in them. (Don't panic, brownie devotees, I bought new ones!)

4) it's best not to think too much about where the dog found the roll of Sellotape she just deposited on the spare bed because it will either a) raise too many questions about the standard of your housekeeping or b) raise too many questions about which cupboards she has now worked out she can open, to the point you become too paranoid to ever leave her in a room on her own again!

All in all, a nice, relaxing, distracting weekend. And I'll leave you with a picture of the box bag made this weekend as a very, very belated birthday present for a lovely friend, from Aneela Hoey's oval box bag tutorial, adapted to use Melody Miller's Ruby Star Vinyl records.

100 days.

Right then, one day to go, but with an event for 150 tomorrow night it's unlikely this list will change before the end of the year!

Having posted back on the 9th November that I had made progress on only 4 of my 17 projects, and that I would have to work hard over the coming 40 days, everything went a little bit awry.  As many of you know, less than a week from that post my life went through a pretty cataclysmic shift.  So, I'm sure you're not expecting great progress with this, and you'd be right!

Here goes:

1) design & make a cd holder using the Melody Miller records fabric - tried and failed.  Have something else in mind during the course of 2013.

2) Make double-sided quilt for niece Megan - finished, loved and delivered to Megan.  I saw this over Christmas hanging in her newly decorated pink bedroom! (1 finish)

3) use the brown batik Charlotte challenged me with - 2 projects in mind for this. I used the tote bag we got goodies in at Retreat and made the batik into a tree trunk.  The leaves are Innocent Crush.  Project two was a 40th birthday present for Charlotte - a pouch which you can see in her post here.  What she has failed to mention is that the pouch was lined with brown batik! (2 finishes)

4) Make an Amy Butler weekender bag using 'Newquay' fabric neeeeever gonna happen!

5) make the Christmas wonky log cabin into a mini quilt - Christmas was pretty much cancelled in my house this year, so no Christmas projects got done.

6) finish the double circle flying geese cushion cover from FQ Retreat scrapped...

7) make mug tree / Christmas cards  see item 5

8) make 3 thank-you popsicle mug rugs replaced with Bottle sacks filled with pink champagne! See this post for more details. (1 finish)

9) finish campers travel sewing kit oh dear, no excuse for this not getting done!

10) make 2 x hopscotch quilts with jelly rolls This may have been a tad optimistic, but will keep me busy in 2013.

11) finish Maison de Garance quilt for Christmas gift DONE!  Hurrah, I did manage to finish something, even if I was hand-finishing the binding on Christmas Eve!  This now graces the bed of my OH's parents, and looks lovely, though I say it myself.  It was finished with a border of the rich goldy-biscuity colour with the rich deep red as the binding.  Backing was a plain beige sheet.  Although I wasn't sure about this to start with, and it was definitely a 'well, they'll like it' I ended up loving the warmth and vintage-y feel of this one. (1 finish)

12) make 4 x Oh Fransson! bags for Christmas gifts 3 made, and then another one was made in black denim, 2 of those were sold for use as Christmas gifts, the other two are still here.  I also have wallets cut out ready for sewing, and I made 2 pretty pleats totes in Melody Miller Ruby Stars Vinyl telephones panels - one with the orange phones, one in the blue phone colourway. One sold along with the pouches and one given as a gift.  I also started another Christmas quilt for my niece and nephew but a sewing machine in need of service put paid to that!  (counting this as 2.5 finishes!)

13) make a notebook cover for Christmas gift well, I've got the fabric and the notebook, just need to get the two together! Nothings' changed there but I did make other Christmas gifts - see above!

14) make a duvet cover for the spare bedroom out of IKEA fabric another project for 2013.

15) make a QAYG version of Weekender bag using Tula Pink fabric.  see item 4.....

16) various bee commitments 

17) edited to add: finish raw circles quilt!!! Yay!! All done, hand quilted and bound and just gorgeous.  Currently over the back of the sofa where the feline in residence is also in love with it and spends most evenings asleep on it! (1 finish)

So, out of the original 17 items, I'm counting 8.5 finishes.  As 3.5 of those were quilts, I think that's not bad under the circumstances.  Had I not had a few weeks of other things to deal with, plus a sewing machine which gave up the ghost in the days before Christmas, I would have got a lot further. However, hopefully I can get the remainder finished in the next few weeks - at least they'll be ready for next Christmas.  

I'm linking up for the final round-up.  I don't expect to be in line for the prizes, but it was fun trying to get everything done!

Vintage Icons

OK, you remember a couple of posts ago I was wrestling with some fabric for a project and worried about cutting it right, etc?

Well, head on over to The Daily Stitch at The Village Haberdashery today and you can see what I was making....

August's been a busy month!

I feel a bit of a fraudulent Slow Blogger this month, because I have actually not only done a fair amount of sewing, but also had time to blog stuff, too!  In fact, if I look over my archive, this post makes August the joint top month in number of posts!

However, there are two very good reasons for that - distraction and convalescence!  And I can assure you this mega-activity probably won't last once I'm back to work full time!

Finishes this month include:

• Sew Stitchy and Cherry Christmas reversible sewing machine cover - see it here
• Summersville Go Anywhere bag - that's here
• Summersville wallet - that will be over here
• Yet another Summersville bag - it's turning into a bit of an addiction, as this post shows - by the way doesn't the lining photo in that post remind you of a shark mouth...?
• and lastly a project for someone that I can't show you yet as it is destined for big things, but which more than tested my sewing superpowers, but I did win out in the end!

WIP's are mainly my raw circle applique quilt, which is coming along really nicely.  Am loving the colours and enjoying hand quilting the free-style spirals (well, spiral-ish!).  I've given this a plain red backing and I'm thinking of binding it in orange magic beans, but that's yet to be decided.  And then there's my fabulous brown batik challenge that I need to get finished to show my friend Charlotte I can work with anything...

Photo bottom right courtesy of Canoe Ridge Creations

Plans in mind include something interesting to do with the Ruby Star Vinyl records, when I hopefully get some; making a start on my niece's third birthday quilt using the Sew Stitchy panel, some Heather Ross fabrics and whole load of other bits and pieces; joining in the Japanese Charm swap and working out my block and fabric requirements for my bee month in November - I want to do something similar to the block Megan showed on her blog although whether they'll turn out quite so gorgeous remains to be seen!

Lastly, a small matter of a paper pieced block to make before the next LMQG meeting on Sunday - for someone who professes to be a slow blogger, I don't half like leaving things to the last minute!

Linking up with Catherine at Knotted Cotton for the inaugural Slow Bloggers linky party & shamefully doubling up for Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day.

Getting ready to convalesce in a treasure trove...

I'm a terrible patient!  From mid-August I will need to be off work for a whole month, and when combining my huge levels of impatience with my control freakery tendencies, it's going to take something pretty amazing to keep me out of the office. (Granted the inability to drive will help - I will be quite easily left stranded!)


Anyway, I am making a list of projects to work on to try and keep me busy.

Firstly, towards the end of this month, beginning of August I should be able to get my sticky mitts on the much coveted Ruby Star Vinyl and I have a couple of things in mind for that. Thinking about that made me remember I needed to go and check if The Village Haberdashery's pre-sale offer is still on....


while I was thinking about that I got an email from Annie about Cherry Christmas, another covet, and if there was anything I specifically wanted.... 'where should I start?' I thought. So off I went to check the website and see what there was to choose from...

While I was there, I started exploring - what else could I find that would be useful... I started thinking about my two on-going projects, one a Christmas present for someone, and the other my colourful, migraine-inducing raw circles quilt!  They both need wadding purchased for them so I can hopefully have them in a suitable state that i can do some hand quilting on them during that month.  Lucky for me Annie has that in stock too, and just the right size, much more reasonably priced than I've bought it in the past, too!

Then I spotted the embroidery and needlepoint section.  I was thinking about taking some embroidery into hospital with me to while away the 3 days.  I've got a Sew Stitchy plan for my niece's quilt which would include some embroidery of Aneela's designs, but I don't think that fabric will be here in time.  I wondered what kits Annie had, and was besides myself with excitement to spot these Emily Peacock 'Kiss' and 'Hug' kits - I've been coveting these since I saw them on the Kirsty Allsopp TV program, but I thought I'd missed out on them.  Not sure I can afford the two of them, but might stretch to one to keep me occupied!


What can I say?  It has become clear this afternoon that whatever you need for all kinds of projects, Annie is your woman!  Her customer service levels are second to none, and your stuff is sent out super-quick in fantastically cheerful dotty bags that you just can't help but smile at.  So if you're a fan of internet shopping or have never tried it before for your fabric and quilting supplies, do go on over and give The Village Haberdashery a try.  


I, meanwhile, have to go off and negotiate a small mortgage so I can place my order for all the things I just won't be able to get through August without.....

Ruby Star Vinyl pre-sale offer......

Can you keep a secret?  Annie over at The Village Haberdashery  is having a little pre-delivery offer on Melody Miller's fantastic Ruby Star Vinyl, due in within a matter of days.  All pre-orders will get a wonderful 10% discount.

Just make sure you save some for me....... 

Covet of the week

It's hard to know right now just what I am covetting the most, there is so much out there to be covetted!

For now, let's start with Ruby Star Vinyl by Melody Miller.  You all know how much I loved the Ruby Star Shining typewriters, and I am totally besotted with the amazing sofa that was on Melody Miller's stand at Spring Market.  And then today, into my inbox drops a newsletter from a certain online fabric shop, with news that this line is in the Coming Soon section.  I just don't know what to say!

So, now it's time to start planning what to make with it.  I saved my typewriters for something special which was eventually a 241 tote.  So whatever this gorgeousness is used for will have to be equally special.  I think it's going to be a quilt, but what pattern, that's the question.......

I also think I need to buy up a bit more of the Ruby Star Shining fabric while it's still available - can't help thinking I might regret not having more when it's gone...

All of which will no doubt make Annie very happy!