Nearly there......

Well here we are, in two weeks time we'll all be on our way to the glorious Eaton Manor Country Estate ready to enjoy the first Sewing Shindig.

Two weeks...…

Fourteen days....

And in the words of Chris Tarrant as he used to say in the lead up to THAT time of year 'You're not ready, are you?'

So here's some info that you might find useful while getting everything prepped.

Class Specs – Quilt As You Go Cushion


QAYG basics – completing cushion front


Cushion finishing – how to make portholes, add details with perle cotton hand stitching, cushion back (envelope or hidden zip)


Completed Cushion – 18” square

Supplies –

-          Plentiful bag of scraps of makers choice – coordinating colours, or lots of fussy cuts, or a rainbow of different scraps, selveges, whatever appeals

-          Wadding scrap at least 22” square

-          Backing for cushion front – fabric scrap at least 20“ square

-          Sashing (if that is the chosen finish) – 1 FQ per sashing (more than one sashing may be used)

-          If doing a porthole finish instead then a piece of fabric at least 20” square (plus a piece of muslin at least 20” square) (if the maker wishes to make more than one porthole then double the fabric requirements)

-          Cushion backing – 1/2 yard of fabric

-          20” (or longer) plastic zip if wishing to do a hidden zip

-          Neutral coloured thread for the quilting; makers choice of thread to match the fabrics used to finish their cushion

-          Perle cotton or 12 weight thread if the maker wishes to do some hand stitching to finish the cushion

-          A finger pressing tool can be handy but not necessary

-          Pencil

-          Sewing machine – 1/4” foot, zipper foot if a hidden zip is being used, regular or walking foot that allows for a zigzag or overlock stitch

The aim of the class is to complete a cushion cover over the weekend but if the project is not finished then the participant should leave with the knowledge and ability to do a scrappy QAYG cushion front and finish it with some or all of the following skills – a porthole (reverse applique) to set the QAYG panel in, how to make either a envelope or hidden zip cushion back, how to add hand stitching to their project to enhance the finish. 

Quilting Design class

This is a hands on free motion quilting class,  looking at the different options for quilting a block/quilt design.  Well look at the different options, explore how they might look, and how we could enhance a basic design. 

Some preparation is required before the class if you wish to quilt out your design during the retreat weekend, (or at least make a start on it).

We can discuss the basics of free motion quilting if you need a quick refresher or some encouragement, and we will do lots of playing with designs on paper before finally hitting the fabric up.

Class requirements:

Sewing machine (complete with power lead, presser foot and manual)

Free motion quilting foot for your specific machine

prepared quilt sample

Wadding and backing for sample

and/or Fat quarters/wadding for playing/practicing on

Threads appropriate to your fabric choices.

Basic sewing kit

Fabric marking tool of choice (no Frixion pens)

Pencils/rulers for designing on paper

Basting pins

Quilting Design Class Sample Piece - you will have received class specifications with instructions of how to construct this - you will need to do this before the retreat.

Aneela's class specs: 

The project is a great way to learn and practise stitches, explore ideas and inspire your projects.  It is also a helpful exercise in finding and developing your own personal embroidery style.  Once completed - anytime you need a dose of inspiration, flip through the pages and revisit your ideas to kick-start your creativity.  
This is a great beginner to intermediate level class.  Please see the materials list for items to bring (page 2) and ensure you have everything you need on hand.  It is very important that you arrive with your fabric pieces cut as there will be plenty to cover during the class. 
We will be looking at embroidery basics including tools, stitches, application of patterns and more.  We will learn how to use basic stitches to explore techniques and create fun new textures and patterns.
During the class we will be stitching the embroidered pages for your sampler notebook.  You will be able to continue your stitching and complete the notebook at home.  

 Materials list
For the class, you will need fabric for the 'Pages' part of the project only.
Please cut your fabric pieces at home and bring them with you on the day. 
To cut your Pages, you will need 5/8 yard of any of the following fabrics (see note below) -
- Unbleached cotton calico (this is what I used for my project in the book).  This can be found in the haberdashery department of John Lewis.
- Cotton - white, cream or very pale colours.
Note - When selecting your fabric please ensure that you will be able to see through it to trace the designs during the class.  You can check this at home by placing your fabric over any of the patterns in the book to see.  If you wish to use a fabric that you can't see through enough to trace the patterns you will need to print a few of the designs onto some sheets of Stitch Stabilizer such as C&T WashAway Stitch Stabilizer.  To do this, please see Printing on Stabilizer on page 15 of the book.

Please bring the following materials with you -
Copy of Stitch And Sew by Aneela Hoey published by Stash Books(C&T Publishing)
Fabric (see note above) - Cut into 6 rectangles 11" x 9"
Embroidery floss such as Aurifloss, Cosmo, Anchor, DMC or similar - at least 6 different colours
Optional - Aurifil 12wt Wool Thread (in addition to floss)
Embroidery needles - can be found online, John Lewis etc.
Size 24 Tapestry needle
5" embroidery hoop
Small pair of sharp scissors
Embroidery marking pen such as Prym aqua trickmarker or Clover water soluble marker
Thimble
Pincushion
Long ruler marked with inches

Additional items
If using fabric that is difficult to trace through -  a few sheets of Wash Away Stitch Stabilizer printed with designs (see note above)
If using dark fabric  - you will need a chalk marker for marking page edges
 

More information will follow this weekend about all the fabulous sponsors who have generously donated goodies for you all! Now, I bet you're all ready for THAT!

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.

On the mobile....

I'm on holiday at the moment in lovely Cornwall..... OH is fishing, I get to do lots of sewing and walking of dogs on the fantastic beaches.  I'm trialling mobile blogger, so goodness knows how this post will come out!

Anyway, just wanted to let you know the spiral quilting is finally done! Just got to decide on binding now.....

Making a start.....

Yesterday I got the back of my raw circles quilt basted, with a little help from Charlotte, so last night I made a start trying to work out how to quilt it.  

Firstly, I just hand quilted around the edge of the circles - as the edges don't necessarily meet perfectly however, as you can see on this picture, that didn't really work.  It doesn't stand out either, and if I've gone to all the effort of hand stitching, I at least want people to know I've done it!!! 

So then I thought I'd try a spiral effect, in perle - this was a fuschia colour.  I like how it worked on this block, but then when I did another one with different, lighter fabrics, it looked all wrong and overwhelmed the block.  Not something I ever thought would be a problem with this quilt!  I don't have enough different colours to use a different thread on each block, so that had to stop.

Having sought advice, it was decided spirals were the way to go, so I'm using a variegated normal quilting thread - it's reds, oranges, yellows and pinks and it works really well with the background colours, and gives the quilting effect without over-powering the fabrics.  So far I'm pleased.  I've done 3 blocks now (well, 6 if you count the 3 I un-did) so just 39 more to go.....

Coming along nicely...

My raw edge circles quilt is gradually getting there.... The quilt top is all sewn together and now I just need to work on what backing to use and how to quilt it.  

It's not good enough weather here today for photos outside, so here's the quilt top artfully draped over one of the sofas!  It's such lovely colours, I can't wait till it's finished, and I think it'll be a great splash of cheerful warmth through the winter.

I'm considering plain red with a small section of red magic beans on the back.  There's quite a bit of my beloved pezzy and some teal magic beans on the front, so I think it would be a shame if the back were completely plain.  I'm thinking this multi-coloured Aurifil thread in Laura's giveaway over on Needles, Pins and Baking Tins today would be just the thread to quilt this.

I've also got quite a list of other WIP's at the moment - two bee blocks for Plan Bee 2012, a maison de garance quilt for the in-laws for Christmas, and I want to try and make a start on my niece's birthday quilt too.  

I'm linking up with Lee over on Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

A little charm goes a long way....

Yesterday I was in need of distraction thanks to some unnecessary and unwarranted stress following my pre-op assessment at the hospital.  So I had a bit of a tidy up in the sewing room.  I always find that so soothing, although it never stays tidy long - I'm such a messy worker!

Anyway, amongst the piles of fabric to be sorted and returned to their rightful places was a Sew Stitchy charm pack.  This is Aneela Hoey's new line, and I was lucky enough to have been given some bits of the fabric for my birthday from which I fashioned a sewing kit and so I thought what better use for the charm pack than a sewing machine cover.

My Janome has a very utilitarian white plastic cover, and I thought a pretty colourful quilted number would be just the ticket.

I took the easy route, I admit, and made a very simple patchwork design out of 28 of the squares - choosing which 28 was the hardest part!

(As you can see from the pictures, I have another soothing evening ahead of me as I clean up yet again...)

The colours of this line work so well together, and as the designs are all pretty much multi-directional, anything goes.

I used simple white twill ribbon for the ties, as I love it when the fabric comes tied up in bundles with that ribbon, and it seemed to be a good extension of the Stitchy theme. 

However, once I'd whipped up the front, I got a bit stuck with the lining.  Should I go Aneela a-go-go and line it with girl on a tree swing, or use some fantastic Tula Pink fabric I recently found skulking away in a rather odd fabric shop, or go totally bland and line it with Moda white.....  I pondered this for several minutes while staring into space.... then I drank a coffee and ate almost a whole packet of fig rolls....  then I had a mini-row with the hospital (possibly not a good move, am now hoping I won't end up with anaesthetist's equivalent of waitresses spitting in your food... I'm kidding!  We don't do that.... really, we don't) then I went back to staring..... and then I realised what I was staring at....  

Now, admit it, who doesn't do the biggest amount of sewing at Christmas? All those last minute gifts, and seasonal decorations?  So what could be a better lining than a Cherry Christmas scrappy affair?  My little spaniel helped me pick the fabric and sort the layout - she kind of lay on bits of it which meant no more changes to that bit!  I had to add a white border too as the scraps I had didn't quite match the Sew Stitchy front.

I quilted it all really simply, using the Sew Stitchy side, I quilted in the ditch around the charm squares and then did a further two lines either side of that row.  I like the way it shows through on the scrappy side too. 

And it might well be true that a bad workman blames his tools, but let me tell you when a bad workwoman gets the right tools, all kinds of miracles are possible.  Look at this beautiful unpuckered quilting,all thanks to my lovely friend Kelly and the walking foot she very generously gave me on Sunday.

And I think that turquoise hexy fabric is my favourite from the whole line.  oh, with the exception of the panel... You have heard about the panel, haven't you?

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.....

and now for some Nina Simone...

'.... and I'm feeling gooooood!  Dummmm, de-dummmmm, de-dummm, de-dum, de-dum-di-de dummmmm.....'


On Wednesday, my machine and I went for a little trip, coffee, chat, sewing, and I was somewhat stunned to realise when I went to get my machine for this sojourn that it was still in it's carry bag where it had been since retreat!  A whole month without using my sewing machine.  I knew I'd been off my game, but that shocked me, even so.  


This weekend has seen me battling to finish a project I was doing for someone else, and then late last night, after singing along to 'Mamma Mia', in an effort to avoid the second half of the football, I decided it was time to get on with some fun sewing.

So out came this, a project I last worked on back in March on our Cornish holiday.  It's taken from this tutorial and I had completely forgotten how much I love it and the colours are so cheerful.  Last night I managed to get all the pieces laid out, and realised that I needed at least another 14 'blocks' made up, so I'm now going through all my fabrics trying to find about 20 more that I can make up into squares and circles, and then start rearranging the main part of the quilt I've already done to incorporate the new pieces so they're properly spread out.
Then I just have to keep them in the right order while I start sewing them altogether - think many photos will be necessary!  But hey, it feels great to be back!

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!

The excitement of a new garden

In July 2007, we moved into our current house.  Remember those terrible floods we had that year?  Well, the day the heavens opened is the day we moved and I thought I would never be dry again!  Needless to say after several weeks underwater, there was not much garden wonder to behold.  But I knew the received wisdom for a new garden was to wait 12 months and see what you get.


The following year, some foliage appeared.  Looked bushy for a few months, but no flowers, and I had no idea what it was.  It died back in September time I think.


2009, it came back and with it a couple of buds.  No flowers though and again, a few months later it died off.


2010, back again and this time four buds.  They opened up into relatively small peonies and I was beside myself.  I LOVE peonies, and I happily cut them as they were weighing the stems down so much, and as soon as I did that, they died.  Ah, I thought, bad plan!


So in 2011 I bought bamboo canes and tied the stems up, so the 8 buds this time wouldn't be spoilt then they opened.  And open they did and they were gorgeous.

This year, then.... we got foliage and buds and then boy did we get rain, and I thought we'd lose it.  Then we got that little heatwave and we got more buds but I still thought we'd lose it, so I watered it.  And then, oh my, we got this beauty.  And this was the 4th flower to open, I didn't get chance to photograph the first 3 before more rain got them.  and we also have these...

I'm mesmerised by how the flowers on the same plant are differently patterned - see this one has deep pink stripes down some of the petals rather than the deep pink centre?  This year we have had some 20 buds on the peony, 16 of which have so far opened, the remainder of which are trying very hard.

But this one is my favourite and I can't help but think it's crying out to be a made into a pattern for a cushion cover.  So any of you clever sorts who can see a picture and instantly conjure up a pattern from it, give me a shout and tell me how to do that, please!

As promised, more on the FQ Retreat

So I promised to tell you more about the weekend, and the best place to start seems to be with the brilliant name badge made for me by Kelly who is one of my fellow LMQG members. 

As anyone who reads this blog may have noticed I'm a big fan of American Jane's Pezzy Print, and Kelly came up trumps.  There was a great selection on the front, funky tube map fabric for the lanyard and wonderful Melody Millar viewfinders for the backing.

It was perfect and exactly what I would have made (if I'd had the fabric!) and I love it!  I am getting some funny looks wearing it all the time, mind.....

On arrival at the retreat we had to pick a raffle ticket and we were given a goody bag.  Now, I never win at raffles... actually I never win anything - raffles, giveaways, lottery tickets, bets on the horses... - so I nearly didn't even bother leaving the bar for the draw!  I'm so glad I did in the end as I won a jelly roll.

Cosmo Cricket's Salt Air is about to be one of my covet's of the week (yep, it's being dangerously reinstated, so my favourite fabric shop can start stalking my choices and stocking them in time for me to purchase!)so to be able to choose the circa 1934 roll was great.  I can't wait to make something with this, but it's going to be a winter project, and I have a potential recipient in mind for it....

I'll tell you more about the goody bag later - don't want you getting overloaded with jealousy! 

I took 4 classes altogether, and they were all fantastic.  Two were trying something I'd never done before - one of which I really loved and the other I will probably not be trying again.

I made this little pin cushion in the freezer paper piecing class.  It was hand sewn in my beloved pezzy, although it did have a slightly psychedelic effect.  This wasn't my favourite technique to be honest.

In the afternoon however, Aneela had the pleasure of trying to teach me and 34 more competant people, the delights of embroidery.  Reader, I loved it!  I'm so proud of my little robin, and loved the packet of flosses which Cosmo were generous enough to send to Aneela for her willing pupils.  Here's my attempt.... 

Aneela laughed when I told her I intended to make this the central square of a wonky or crazy log cabin cushion with her gorgeous Cherry Christmas range which is featured on her blog today - go and have a look, it's scrummy - Santa's laundry, snowglobes and snowman teapots, roll on July! 

Anyway, it's bedtime now, so Sunday's excitement will have to wait until tomorrow....

Silly billy.....

We have some friends, let's call them Toby & Jane Oakley* who live in Cornwall.  Back in March, we were lucky enough to have a lovely week in thier holiday home, and in exchange I promised to make them some new curtains.  Jane* and I went shopping for the fabric, lining etc, measurements were taken, one pair were made, although not without many mistakes, during the holiday and I came back home to finish the other 8 pairs and pelmets. 

And here I have to confess, I've been a rubbish friend, and I haven't yet finished them. 

Earlier this year, I applied to join a quilting bee for the first time, and was excitingly accepted.  Half way through April the fabric and instructions arrived and they've been sitting on my sewing desk looking at me accusingly (I think the sweet chocolate bee that came with them was doing more looking than the fabrics to be honest) while I have failed to start the block.  It's a wonky square in square block, I've made them before, no reason not to just get stuck in.

This morning I had a coffee and a good girly chat with a quilting friend.  We got quite carried away (ok, I got carried away!) discussing a secret project, and I was really touched when said friend said she would only want people to help who she could trust to sew things to a really good standard.  Judging by the to do list I've come away with, it seems I am to be trusted to do that.

So, 'what the heck is she going on about', I hear you ask?  (If you're Charlotte or Kelly, that word's probably not 'heck'....) what's the connection?  Am I about to not do another thing for someone?

Nope, far from it.  What this morning made me realise was that I've been having a bit of a crisis of confidence, and not trusting my ability to make things for other people.  Having been less than well since March hasn't helped - I've had little energy and a serious issue with brain fog and lack of ability to concentrate.  Anything I've done for myself has been fraught with mistakes, unpicking, stupidity.  And so I just haven't had the faith in my abilities to do things for other people.  I've blamed it on work pressure, family commitments etc, but cards on the table, heart on sleeve, the fact is I didn't trust myself to do them right, and I was scared to ruin them.  But if I'm trusted to get involved with the secret project , then I need to stop being a silly billy and just get on with the curtains first!

Today, I've tested myself and made the bee block.  I'm not convinced it's what the bee member wanted - I think it might be too sedate, but I managed to make it.  I've sent a photo, and if they don't like it, I will make another one.

But more importantly, here & now, I'm not only apologising to our lovely friends Toby & Jane* for my total muppetness and rubbish-friend-ness, I'm making a promise that I will get them finished before the bank holiday weekend, whatever it takes.  You're all my witnesses - all 13 of you that read this blog! - and you have the right to nag me as much as you like to make sure I get them done.


* names have been changed to protect the innocent

Busy, busy, busy!

Where does the time go!  This last week has been so busy, with my day job seriously impacting on sewing and blogging time. We've been to exhibit at a wedding fair today, and all I could tihink about was how much it was wasting good sewing time! Over the coming weeks we have some big birthday celebrations for the OH as he reaches 40, and then wedding season kicks in and so it's work, work, work.

In the meantime, I thought I'd show you my little bag that I made. 


I decided the night before the last LMQG meeting that I needed a bag to carry my stuff in and so at 9.30pm, I set to.  Needless to say, in spite of a very late night, and an equally early morning, I didn't get it finished.


I used a layer cake of Hometown by Sweetwater, and was really pleasantly surprised that the fabric I'd struggled with when trying to lay out for a quilt top, was transformed when used for this.  I went from indifferent to loving it.


The pattern called for a contrasting fabric for the lining and handles, but I thought I might as well get full use out of the layer cake and so I pieced them.  

The contrasting strips and binding round the top are Moda Bella Solids in Snow. (nestling in the bottom is my Sew Stitchy still hidden in it's envelope!)


It's a really generously sized tote bag, and the pattern also has instructions for adding pockets inside and a tab closure with magnetic clasp, but I decided to forego those options - I wanted something big enough to carry my cutting mat, without anything to get in the way.


So, I'm really looking forward to showing it off at the next meeting!   It's just the right size for the myriad parcels of fabric I seem to bring home every time...... 

Primary school art

I wasn't sure I was going to blog this, but here we go..... honest opinions only please - even if it's not great! Let's face it, taking criticism is all part of the learning process.


On your marks, get set, go......

Let battle commence......

This year I gave up competing with my spaniels at agility to concentrate on quilting, deciding that was more relaxing.....

.... more relaxing, that is until an element of competition was introduced this month with the LMQG challenge!  We're to make a 12" mini quilt which expresses 'what modern quilting means to you'!  Well, right up until yesterday it meant relaxation, escape, peace, happiness.

After yesterday, I might have to revise those adjectives!  I've seen two of my co-quilter's entries so far, Kelly,  who produced this rainbow-hued wonder (and that's not even it finished, it gets better!) and Charlotte, who completely blew me away with this fully-functioning beauty.

Right then, I thought, where the flippin' heck do I, as a fairly novice quilter, start to even begin to come up with anything remotely close....

Well, step 1 was looking through the modern quilting flickr groups.  Step 2 was feeling more and more inadequate as each page passed!

So, stop that, Pennie!  Thursday night ended with me reading a Jo Nesbo thriller for hours, trying to eradicate all thoughts of pretty, stunning, clever quilting.

I was determined I was going to design my own unique quilt - having never done it before.  (Those of you who are getting to know me will suspect I'm not one for making my life easy!)

Out came the notebook and Bic, and two quick sketches were produced.  The first one was to be words and the second was to be a visual representation of those words.  I even toyed with the idea of making both and using one as the back....


Anyway, off I went to Hobbycraft, bought a pencil and sketchbook and drew out the winning design to 12" size.  Measured, drew, rubbed out, re-drew, tore up, started again, finally, 'that's it', I thought.  And off I went. 

A multitude of methods were tried - applique was favourite to start with, but I knew really I needed to foundation piece it.  I'd done FPP before but following a pattern.  This time I had to make the pattern myself.  And oh boy, did that cause some ructions - each time I tried the next piece, it was either upside down, back to front or just not cut right.  I couldn't work it out... Then eureka!  I realised I had the template I was sewing onto back to front.  (I did say 'novice' didn't I?!)

That sorted, it got a lot easier.  Even so, having started the whole process at about 11am yesterday, it was 11pm by the time the main block was put together, and I was finishing off the bits I did decide to applique (another thing I've never done before!).  I laid it out on the table and went to bed.

And tossed, and turned, and fidgeted, and huffed and puffed.....

And this morning when I woke up I knew instantly it was wrong.  It's too simple, too basic, too twee.  It's a pretty mini-quilt for my wall, and I'm proud of it for what it represents to me - my first design, my first mini-quilt of it's style, my first applique, etc, but it's just not up to the mark.  It would be like good primary school paintings exhibiting in the Tate gallery!

So, inspiration has struck again this morning, and I'm off now to try and put that idea into practice and hope it's a better result!  Let's just say that relaxation is no longer the theme!

Have a lovely Easter weekend, think of me with my now even messier worktable to clear up, new boxes to fill and curtains to settle down to while my mind churns with my new idea which I can't start yet 'cos I'm missing a fabric!

Disorganised chaos

First job for the long weekend.... find the work table!

Second job, sort out the stash boxes, especially as there's now tonnes of new fabric to somehow fit in there!

Did I say 'job'?  Both sound like a great excuse to while away some hours stroking fabric..... 

Feeling 'sew stitchy' this week.....

So, when I posted about my lovely birthday on Sunday, there was one thing I left out.  The excitement levels made me think this little piece of news deserved it's very own post.

I got a little gift.....


..... from Aneela.....

I was beyond excited, although I might not have shown it too much at the time as I was driving!! 

These are pieces from Aneela's new collection Sew Stitchy, which for those of you who haven't seen them on her blog are themed around sewing.  The gorgeous pieces here include pins, embroidery and chain stitch.

I have the perfect project lined up for them.

I had a lovely new Janome for Christmas from a very generous Santa, and thought it does come with it's own uninspiring white plastic hard cover, it mostly spends its time sitting on my sewing table stark naked!


What better use for a sewing themed fabric than a funky sewing machine cover....

 

So, I have a couple of other things to get out of the way, not least 9 pairs of curtains (!), but once they're done I'll be getting started.

Huge thanks to Aneela, and I just hope I'll do her gift justice!

What a day!

So, yesterday was my birthday and I wasn't exactly looking forward to the arrival of 45!  However, once I realised it co-incided with the next LMQG meeting and that it was possible the lovely and talented Aneela Hoey might be coming, all of a sudden it seemed like it might be quite a good day after all!

Aneela and I travelled into London together, and were so busy chatting about everything under the sun, the poor sat-nav woman had a job telling us where to go, and it's fair to say we got a bit lost and were a bit late!  Still, I'd gone armed, not only with Aneela, but also the best chocolate brownies in the universe, so I was sure of a warm, if belated welcome.  The rest of the group didn't know Aneela was coming, and their faces were a picture!

However, my day wasn't complete yet.... the lovely Charlotte had made me a pretty little iced fairy cake for my birthday.  I've also got into an expensive habit of ordering a few bits and pieces from the Village Haberdashery for Annie (our group president) to deliver at the meeting so she handed over a very, very, very exciting bag with not just one of my weekly covets, but two!



I'd also ordered a stack of Magical Lands and some lovely embroidery cottons for me to have a play with.


To say I was a happy girl would be an understatement!


We got on with the meeting, including talking about the Siblings Together project.    Judith (Needles & Lemons) has offered to collate some blocks and make them up into a quilt.  I handed over 6 simple log cabin blocks made with Pezzy Print (which I forgot to photo! you can now see on Judith's blog here) so I'm looking forward to seeing them appear in one or more of the final quilts.  If you want to get involved then go over to the Flickr group (linked to above)and sign up.

Our challenge for March had been to make a wonky log cabin or crazy block using the scraps we 'won' in the swap at the beginning of the month. It was incredible to see how, even in a small group of 20, we all had such differing tastes as so many of us commented on how we'd found the received scraps hard to work with as they weren't our style or colours!  I confessed I had shamelessly cheated, as I'd been dying to make something with the Pezzy Prints, and so I used the smallest of one of my scraps and then made up the rest with lovely Pezzy!  I thought it worked really well with the geometric design.




Once the meeting part was done,  the important part of fabric buying started!  So Michael and I trotted through to the back of the shop where I indulged with a few stash boosters - some that will go with existing stock and some that are just too-much-fun-to-leave-on-the-shelf-and-will-come-in-handy-at-some-point!


The afternoon was rounded off  back at Charlotte's lovely house, with a fashion parade of her amazing quilts, a very envious ferret through her drawers (oo-er!) in her quilting shed and a lovely cup of coffee!