2014 January (first half)

 

Not Quite a Plan

Having cut strips for my STAW (Scrappy Trip Around the World) I was up enthusiastically this morning - sewing, pressing, cutting, and ...

Well, the idea of the STAW is that you can see the stripes, Bonnie Hunter explains it really well here,  and this is why it uses six different fabrics per block, and is a good general stash buster.

*HOWEVER* my plan was to use Christmassy fabrics - they are (in my stash at least) generally red or white/cream, so I had the really good idea (?) of alternating them

Yes, if you look hard, you can see the stripes, but what you actually see first is the red / white checker board effect

So I'm adapting the plan, and making my blocks slightly smaller (5x5 instead of 6x6) and adding sashing

 

 Four down, 16 to go!

Slightly higher in the counting stakes is the yellow hexi top: about 650 down, and who knows how many to go!

 Still it has grown over the holidays :-)

Farewell to Festivities

The Christmas tree and decorations have been put away, the last of the loose chocolates have been eaten, the last of the wrapped chocolates have been put away to go to the homeless: sadly Christmas is over and in a few days I'm back at work, (and back to the gym!!!)

The Christmassy crafts have been put way for the next 11 months but I thought I'd show you my advances:

The 3D Christmas tree has snowflakes added

And the front door has been completed on the crossstitch - It *might* even get finished next year or the year after!

I found anther Christmassy project though - one which has been ignored in the sewing room for the last few years.  Back in 2010 I wanted to make a scrappy Christmas tree, and I envisaged something with far more shades of green than I had.  The lovely ladies from BQL (British Quilt List Yahoo group) kindly sent me loads and loads of scraps of greens, and I made this tree with them (currently plonked on the starry background, but will be appliqued on, eventually).  The blocks are scrappy log cabin blocks, and the candles were based on my granddad's tree when I was a child - he actually clipped white candles onto the tree and lit them

It sat on a shelf for the following three Christmases with no work being done on it, so I've now put it away with the decorations so next year I will be reminded at the beginning of December

Long Long List

So I decided to update my UFO / PHD / FIT list, and it is embarrassingly long - and there are also a few bags and scarves on my to-do list too!

So, 25 quilty things started to some degree or other . . .

UFO List

Selvedge Edge 

Irish Chains

Lone Star

Christmas STAW

Jen's Strings

Boy Racers

Rainbow Hexi

Rainbow Hexies

Yellow Hexies

Rainbow Stars

Christmas Tree by Candle light

Green Summer Tunic Top

Turquoise Patchwork Trousers

Australian Blue and Cream, see Nicky's Fractured Quilt

French Linen (need more fabric)

Sorbet Squares

Japanese Swapped Charms

Woven Five-A-Day

Australian Charms - Hexies Stars.  (Need more fabric)

Woven Denim (pieced, needs quilting)

Postage stamp Snowballs
Strings and Triangles

Calendar Quilt

Lisa's Curtains

Hexi I-Spy stars

Itching to Start

Tea Towel Table Cloth

Summer olives

10" Strings 

Tesssellated Sizzix Stars

What should I do first?

(I have a confession to make: Tessellated Sizzix Stars wasn't on the UFO list, but once I started cutting it was SO easy I just had to carry on!)

Sizzix Excitement

I may have mentioned I received a reasonable grant from the Bishop to run Crafty Church, and really it doesn't cost anything to run, so I introduced Kids Crafty Church - and if you've ever done crafts with kids you'll know they can get through resources at quite a rate.

So I've decided to invest in some Sizzix dies as these will go on long after the money has run out, and paper and card I can get hold of cheaply.

Well look what arrived in the post . . .assorted goodies

including snowflakes

3D trees

Build a flower dies

and make a gift bag die  (this is tiny, but I think the kids will enjoy making them)

  Here is a bag with my ring inside to give you an idea of the scale

And out of the kindness of my heart I will look ater these dies :-) After all, they will need my die cutter to be able to use them!

Decisions Decisions

Decisions Decisions - and what I learnt

So having cut my tessellating star blocks, I convinced myself I kind of had to stitch them together, and I pretty soon learnt something that hadn't been obvious from the other sizzix dies I have.    With this die, fabric cut face down is not the same shape as fabric cut face up:

The two different types of stars won't actually tessellate!

So: from the fabric I have I can make two smallish tessellated quilts like this: they would each be about 32"x48", but I could pad them out with some cream border

Or I can make a bigger top using all the blocks (it will come up about 48"x64" - an Ikea fleece is 51x67 so a good fit) but it cant be a full tessellating design

I could use this arrangement (lampshades)

Or this one (cream lava lamp with red zigzag)

Or it's twin, red lava lamp with white zigzag

 

 Or double zigzag

Or double lava lamp

Or, the last one I can think of,  alternating:

Not that I have any problems with decision making since I hit menopause, but please tell me which one you prefer!

The Christmas holidays are now over, and I'm back to school tomorrow, so my sewing time will be cut and I'll be back to blogging every few days or when I've had a chance to sew

Selvedge Surprise

I hadn't expected to post anything on my blog today, but that was before the post arrived!

My order from Thread-Bear arrived - lots and lots of yummy Eternal Dots so I can carry on with my Irish Chain

And far more exciting . . .

Back in September, fellow blogger, and all round lovely lady, Fiona was making a quilt that needed scrappy triangles, and I just happened to have loads so I packaged them up (I did send them to you, didn't I Fiona?) and felt good that I'd got rid of some stuff I would never use

Well Fiona saw my Selvedge Edge post and offered my some scraps that she didn't have a need for. And look what else my postie brought me today

A big 'baggie' full of selvedge strips, and a doubly useful calendar diary too, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Fiona, this is great xxx

Bucket Blogging

Husband brought me home a present: I had explained what I was after and he'd listened (!) and come up trumps

I can hear you asking whether a bucket really has a place on a patchwork blog - and that is a reasonable question, but I can assure you the answer is yes (well I think it is anyway) but you'll have to wait until I've finished to see why

Essentially Irish

Now that I have my delivery of essential dots I have done some more work on the Irish Chain top.

I have changed the design slightly as I felt that this looked too much like a nine patch alternating with an X block

So instead I have reduced the number of X blocks and added some / blocks (there are probably technical names, but I don't know them)

Anyway the design is now like this

and here are the first 59 blocks - exactly half way on making blocks

Bucket Blog

The reason for the bucket was not anything to do with the local flooding

But was to do with the assorted parts of this hexi top I'm sewing downstairs in front of the TV

There is the top itself, the spare flowers for the bottom row, the papers, the tacked hexies, the tacking thread, the stitching thread, the thimble, my glasses, the scissors, the fabric ready to be tacked ...

You get the picture - loads of stuff, which lived in lots of bags.

Well now it all lives in a bucket!

A covered bucket, with pockets inside

and out

It works really well ...

Except when the cat tried to make friends with the bucket (hopefully this video will work)

(Yes Avril, maybe I should have a lid!)

Essential Irish Extras

I decided to work on some more Essential Irish blocks! 

 

Nothing difficult or complicated, just repetitive and therapeutic - perfect!

Now I've done 71 out of 108, and I'm off to join the Richmond & Kew Quilters for our monthly meeting

Dear Jane - Done

No, the Dear Jane isn't mine, not in a million years!!!

A member of Richmond and Kew Quilters started a Dear Jane, making a lot of blocks and preparing a lot more, but sadly died before she finished it.  The whole lot was donated to R&KQ and people have worked hard on the blocks and the assembly - making a raffle quilt

Doesn't it look amazing!

Ash Wednesday

The Church's Ash Wednesday isn't until 5th March, but today was mine.

Niki and her boyfriend Harry are going to a fancy dress party on Friday, and are going as Ash and Misty from the Pokemon cartoons.

Misty is quite easy: Niki already has denim shorts and yellow tshirt, and bought red converse and red braces - sorted

 Ash is a bit harder,

So they bought a blue shirt, and I set to it with scissors, sewing machine and white and yellow fabrics - hope Harry Ash likes it!

Now I'm off to school - I've got a new sewing 'club' starting there one evening a week - it's been advertised through a number of schools - I hope some others turn up and I'm not the only one there!!!!

2014 January (second half)

 

A Few new Friends

The new course at school Started this week: I had no idea how many to expect, but had three "can't come this week will be there next week" messages! In the end Niki came with me, and two lovely ladies came, so a slow start, but a lovely evening.
All set up waiting . . .

Kate brought a book of fabric samples she had got her hands on: we couldn't peel the stickers off, so she had a lesson on rotary cutting and pretty soon had them all cut to a usable size. This pic is lack and white as we were considering their values, but in fact they were all lovely: very calm creams, yellows, pale blues reds and greens. She got most of them sewn into strips before we left - lots of ironing to do next

Tara came with fabrics to make a bag for her niece, and has the bag planned and cut (and stitched and unstitched, but we shan't dwell on that!!!)

Niki also stitched - she's working on a charity quilt, but I didn't get any photos

Indi's Art

My favourite favourite niece lives in Australia and is 7 years old.  She drew me a lovely picture and her dad emailed it to me:

and with the magic that is PEDesign and my Brother embroidery machine ... I have converted it to a machine embroidery!

 Hope you like it Indi!

Other catch ups - Harry and Niki as Ash and Misty (with Mario!!)

And I had a great afternoon at Chertsey Museum yesterday: the ladies made Infinity Scarves:

As usual, individual pictures, and Show and Tell pictures are on the Fun With Fabric blog

Sizzix Suggestions

Thanks for all the suggestions for what to do with my miss-cut tessellated stars

In the end I decided to go with the original plan, even though I'll possibly have to make two smallish ones rather than one large one. NEXT time I'll cut the fabric correctly!!

So I stitched these blocks into pairs

and pressed them

That's enough for now :-)

Borderline Bully

*I* don't think I'm a bully, but I have some friends that might not agree!  A group of us from a few churches meet a couple of evenings a month, and at the moment we are reading a book: which involves one person reading aloud, and the rest of us listening.  So I decided we should be multitasking!

I took along squares of paper, strips of assorted fabric, and strips of pistachio:

And introduced them to paper pieced string blocks - making them sew while they listened and chatted - we got 5 finished and another three started - I don't think they minded too much

 No bullying was needed at the new Broom Farm class, the girls were raring to go - or roaring to go?  Lauren has designed this quilt which is going to be awesome

Rebecca is making bunting for her sister in law's wedding

And Cara  is making a pillowcase for her husband - he is due to go to Afghanistan next month, and she is making it for him to take

Doing well ladies!

Christmassy Trip Around the World

I don't seem to want to stick with any one project at the moment, so today's stitching has resulted in another seven STAW blocks

They will be sashed like this when they are joined, unless I decide I prefer the sash-less arrangement!

I've had to stop now for a while with this project as I need more variety in the light fabrics - don't worry, it's on order!!!!


Which does remind me, I've been doing some other shopping - with so many bloggers on a fabric diet this year I feel the responsibility falls to me to take up the slack!!!!

There is a rainbow charm quilt in the planning, and a rainbow hexi quilt, so of course I needed these (and aren't they pretty!!!!) and one pack is Jackie's so that makes it all OK

Sewing at School

Wednesday night went well at school, with 8 people coming to join me: two children and six mums, with a variety of projects - cross stitch, cushion pads, tooth fairy pillow, patchwork quilt, jazzing up a jumper, learning to use a sewing machine, and turning two curtains into a quilt!

I was kept busy all night, sadly too busy to remember to take many photos, but I snapped two as we were clearing up

Kate's patchwork

And A's Crossstitch

 

Immitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery ...well I hope Sheila (Blue Patch Quilter) agrees, as I have imitated a fab idea of hers!

I first saw her Mega Pinnie on  Hadley's Flying Blind blog, and fell in love - you can see why, isn't it awesome

 

(hope you are happy with me 'borrowing' your photo, Hadley xxx)

I did download Sheila's (FREE) instructions, but one of my many failings is a reluctance to follow instructions, so I grabbed some fabric

 

And got going.

I ditched the wadding, and used heavier fabric instead, I ditched the quilting, I ditched the patchwork (impatience is another failing) and in about an hour made this

 Well - an hour to stitch, and another hour to stuff!!!!!

I added a needle sheet, and a cord to hang a spool of thread on, and elastic and a short pocket for the scissors as I was running low on the fabric.  If I was making another one I might add a handle, its actually a bit difficult to move from one place to another as there is no obvious place to hold it, but I love it!

(Hope you can see  what you are looking at - photography is yet another failing!)

Instagram Issue

Lisa persuaded me to try Instagram - I couldn't really see the point, but I gave it a try (the things we do for children eh?)  I also signed up for Twitter before Christmas, for a particular event which in the end happened elsewhere in cyberspace.

I dip into Twitter occasionally, but it doesn't do anything for me, but Instagram is a whole different thing - I love it!  If I've got hold of the right end of the stick, it's a bit like blogging but one photo per post and far fewer words, followers can comment or [like] or can move on. 

I think that I would maybe have chosen IG (get me, jargon already) instead of blogger if there had been a choice at the time

So, IGers - please let me know your IG name so I can find you (Hadley, Katy, Nicky, I've found you :-)

And because a blog post should always have a photo, here is a recent photo of the yellow hexie quilt

So Easy to Shop

I think it may be time to stop shopping and start sewing!

Some Christmassy fabric, needed for the scrappy trip around the world

And some Kona solids from Justine at Simply Solid (who could ignore 20%off? Thanks Justine)

But I do think I'll stop here (unless, of course, I see something else I *really* need, or at a true-good-to-be-true price!)

Finishing the Fun at Broom Farm

The local authority have changed the way they charge for adult education - as Broom Farm is an army base, the agreement was that the army wouldn't charge for the room, and the local authority wouldn't charge the army wives for the courses.  

The authority have now taken it into their heads that the army wives have to pay - not taking into account that they cant get jobs as they don't stay in one place long enough, that the army moves them around with no regard to where their natural support group (mum, sisters, aunts, long term friends) lives, or where their replacement support group is (other army wives, health visitors, children's centre staff, army welfare staff, adult education  teachers (!) and that their men are putting their lives on the line for our country

So some of my ladies didn't come back this term, as a lot of their men are being sent to Afghanistan.  Three did come back, although one knows her man leaves in two weeks, and the other two's men are expecting orders any day now which will see the whole family moving again.

So, as if the army isn't treating them badly enough, the authority has decided to cut the class!

So we have asked the welfare officer very nicely, and she has said we can still use the room, the girls will pay the weekly rate to me, and we'll carry on with these great projects. 

Lauren's Monster Quilt . . . 

Cara's working hard to finish a pillow for her husband to take to Afghanistan

And Bekka is making a ticker-tape quilt using lots of lovely fabrics

Sewing School

Busy ladies sewing at school tonight .  . . 

Tara worked on a reversible bag, and an unmbrella wall hanging (very appropriate given the weather!)

Naomi worked on a bolster cushion - the stuffing was taking longer than the sewing!

Tracey is working on the tooth fairy cushion,

And Kate has learnt spray basting and quilting!

Thank you ladies!

One Hundred Days of Happiness

I recently posted that I've joined Instagram: my daughter Lisa is taking a photo of something that makes her happy every day for a 100 days, with the hash tag #100DaysOfHappiness. Well I think I have at least 100 days of happiness tied up in a gift received yesterday.
Jen from Quilter in the Closet and I agreed a private swap, and I sent her an iPad bag and on goodies a while ago, and yesterday her creation arrived:
I can't get over the fact that this is*mine*

The perfect piecing, and the fab FMQ

The lovely wording: "Friends and Quilts make like more colourful"

A thread catcher with the tiniest pieced squares

this gorgeous rainbow of the same fabrics in the star and the flying geese, and the thread catcher

And a label - which I never thought to add to the iBag

Oh, and goodies too!!!!!

I can't tell you how much I love this, but I can tell you I won't be hiding it under my sewing machine! (Jen has even put tabs along the top so I can hang it instead)

It is beyond gorgeous,

and I love,

love,

LOVE

it!!!

Thank you Jen I feel very honoured that you made it for me