2013 July (second half)

 

Baby Bobbins

I had some machine embroidery to do for a customer, in gold thread.  Metallic thread often shreds or breaks so i needed to watch it, but I didn't want to sit doing *nothing*!

I'd popped into "the Works" after school today, I love the possibility of cheap books or crafts and I picked up a few packets of these 

I've got a crafty friend coming here at the weekend and I wanted to make something for her, so I set about decorating these 

And then a few more

And then the rest 

(They may look normal size, but the grid under them in the early photos is a 1" grid)

And I got the embroidery finished too

Tangled Threads

In the last post I used some embroidery threads.  They all come in similar packaging, but I can't help feeling there is a design fault!

When you buy them, they look lovely

They get a bit tangled as you carefully take off the first metre or so 

They then, while you aren't looking,  transform themselves into a birds nest

My second purchase from the Works was a pack of these

And last night I spent a few hours watching TV and transforming my birds nests into these 

While I was wrapping the thread around the dolly peg I pulled quite tight.  This pulled the 'legs' together so the end of the thread could wedge in the end of the peg 

(-:

A Bit of Bondage

I managed to find a bit of time to sit at the sewing machine, I had to: I'm teaching binding at Chertsey museum on Friday and need to have something to show them!!!!!

So the first two huge hexi quilts now have binding stitched on to the front, so the ladies can see how that is done, and I can then demonstrate hand stitching to the back 

Friday Flowers

The ladies at Chertsey Museum made fabric flowers on Friday

A lovely afternoon :-)

A Monday with May

I know lots of you went to the  Retreat in London this last weekend - well I didn't, but I got to hear all about it first hand.

I knew that May from Confessions of a Fabraholic was coming from Germany for the retreat, and I invited her to stay the following night with me before she flew back home.  As well as following May's blog, I know her through the Star Of Africa Bee that she has arranged (see the blocks I received here), and the texty charm swap that she also arranged where I got this lovely bundle.

Our weekends are normally quit and peaceful, but somehow this one became ridiculous - poor May! As she arrived the family were here on mass: both daughters, two boyfriends,husband and family friends were all just finishing a race at a kart track. 

Then there were 9 of us for supper for Sunday evening, and Monday morning I had to get up early for work abandoning poor May!

We managed to get a few fabriccy hours together on Monday afternoon.  May brought me these super yummy Oakshott fabrics, which I am drooling over as I type this

and also these fabrics that she considered fluglies, but I'm very happy to have in my stash, and some yummies from Liberty

One of the classes she attended was curved EPP - she showed me the pieces 

and her sample piece

I think that idea will make a great class at Chertsey Museum

By mid afternoon I had to take May off to start her journey home: Our nearest tube station is Heathrow, so we drove to an airport so she could get the tube, to get a bus to get to another airport to get the plane!!!!

We did manage to get an innocent bystander to take this phone 

It was great to meet you May, see you soon

Bye Bye Boss

For the last two years I have worked for the best boss I've *ever* had, and I'm gutted that he's leaving the school.

We've done a collection from all the staff and got him some lovely pressies, but I wanted to get him something from ME

Mum suggested this quilt.  I made it a whole ago and it's been stored at hers, but given that his favourite colour is purple, I think it's very appropriate, 

Good idea mum, lets hope he likes it

Travelling Thursday

So school finished yesterday, and my boss seemed very pleased with his quilt, (and I was very spoilt by the lovely families at school) and today I'm off to Ireland to have 4 days at a sewing retreat (aka Jackie's house)

First I made a couple of bags just because I *had* to sew something this week

Then I tidied Lisa's room so she can come home, trouble is there is only one place to move the stuff

Anyway, I'll deal with that little problem when I get back.  Hope you have a lovely weekend, I reckon I will!

Feel Good Feltiing

Jackie and I had a great day trip to see Carmen who reaches felting.  We layered and soaked and rolled and bashed

 

And then did more of each and ended up with a pot and a bag each

And also ended up with lovely soft hands!  That's from the soap and the lanolin (?) in the wool.

When we came back to Jackie's we make scissor keepers

(I need to get a photos of Jackie's too) and worked on our EPP hexies:

Jackie's

And mine

And may have chatted a bit too!

Hurling for Foreigners

I have today been introduced to the game of Hurling, let me tell you about it.  

Take a pitch, I'm guessing about twice the size of a football pitch, add rugby goals and football goals too.   Throw on loads of players,  give each one a stick that looks like a golf club that was run over by a steam roller.

Tell the players that they can move the ball on the ground like hockey, they can smash it to the other end of the pitch like tennis, they can pick it up and run with it or they can (I think) Velcro it to their stick and run with it (think egg and spoon race). While reminiscing about childhood sports days,  tell them they are allowed to squabble like children, and that wrestling is also allowed. 

Yes, I think that covers it, thank you Paul for the introductory lesson.  (Any errors may reflect more on my inability to grasp *any* sports than on Paul's ability to teach!)

I'm off back to the sewing room to do done quilting designs on this 

Sunday Sewing

So much fun sewing with someone else!

This is Jackie's sewing room . . .

where yesterday we marked the quilting pattern for the Rainbow quilt, 

Pieced together some of the text charms 

to make a lamp shade

And cut, stitched, and bordered this lovely tumblers quilt, 

and even pieced its backing, and cut and joined pieces for a scrappy binding!

as well as planning future projects and future visits

Thank you again Jackie for a fab "retreat"  long weekend, see you in 9 sleeps in Birmingham!!!!!!!

Tidy Up Tuesday

So I left Jackie yesterday, and came home to a house that needed just a little bit of tidying up so that has been much of my Tuesday: Jackie however has managed to decipher the quilting markings I made on the Rainbow HST quilt borders, and has it all quilted, doesn't it look great

I did buy Jackie a thank-you-for-having-me pressie, but then got scared that it would get confiscated as a sharp, so she'll have to wait until Festival of Quilts so she can put it in hold luggage.  I bought one for me too, and as she's seen the pic of hers I can now show you mine - a tulip rotary cutter, isn't she pretty!

Partly to hang it up, and partly in case there is another one at a class, I put a red ribbon on the end.

It cuts beautifully, like a hot knife through butter. 

My thought process . . . .

• I probably don't replace my blades often enough. . .
• I wonder when I last DID change a blade . . .
• It would really help to know when the blade was last changed . . .
• I should record that info somewhere . . .

Have you made a connection yet?  It took a a while for me to think of it, but I finally had the brainwave, and I've written the date of the new blade on the ribbon

The rotary cutters were last week's impulse buy, I actually went to the shop to get some binding fabric (I was going to be within 10 minutes of it anyway, and would have half an hour to kill)

So I took a bag of quilt tops . . .

This one had already been backed and quilted and now has pretty purple stars for binding

These are still flimsies but as it's school hols I should have the time to assemble, quilt and bind, so the flowery hexies have pink binding, and the tumblers have grey (both spraytime)

These hexies have muted yellow binding all cut and waiting

and these two string flimsies have a bright yellow and a blue/black binding

How organised am I?