SLIKstitchesblog: Dad Eileen

Showing posts with label Dad Eileen. Show all posts

Sunday, April 9, 2023

2023 March

I think back on the bloggers I used to follow, and many have stopped blogging: I guess some have gone to Instagram, or Tiktok or whatever else is 'hip' these days but I am in my comfort zone here and find this is a great place to be able to find photos of things I have made if I want to show someone an example of a technique or something I have made.

So here is March's roundup even if it's just for me and maybe a few lovely followers!

Chertsey Museum class made Japanese Rice bags, but I forgot to take photos until nearly everyone had left, so we just have one pic for evidence!

I got a thank you card from a little munchkin who received this quilt

And I am making for for this little munchkin who arrived a month early so I wasn't ready! (yes that's my daughter cuddling her, but not it's not her baby :-(

But this *is* part of her crochet: she is making two, one of for this baby and one is for another one due in April

I managed to get the Chertsey Meads wall hanging commission finished, and it is now up in the Museum (although this pic is from our Centre Parcs villa where I finally finished it!)

My lovely S-i-L got me some Tula Pink Parisville fabric: I stroked and loved it for a while then went shopping for some suitable solids . . . watch this space: I have a cunning EPP plan that should showcase the fabrics, fingers crossed

I have been commissioned by the Mayor of Runnymede to make a banner that she can gift to the towns Runnymede is twinned with around the world - this is the first draft and I have been given the approval to make a final version

I was gifted a whole load of kite fabric and didn't really have a plan for it so took it to Crafty Church: we cut loads of red, orange and yellow into triangles and have been making bunting with it

These are Twist and Go pots that I have created for Chertsey Museum for April's lesson - they are big enough to hold a project and thread and twist down to about 1.5" high

Then we went to Texas to see dad and Eileen. While we were there we went to Eileen's great grandson's 4th Birthday party: he's into bugs! I couldn't find anything suitable in WalMart but picked up a plain t-shirt and fabric pens. and was able to gift him this buggy t-shirt

Luckily it was a success!

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

2019 Wk 12 - Hello from Texas

We've just spent a week in Texas with my dad, there may have been some looking at quilts

Some sitting by the pool

Some hand sewing

Some looking at an awesome Quilting Retreat

Some sitting with Miss Maddy

And a bit of being spoilt by my daddy!

There may also have been some shopping!!!

Monday, March 27, 2017

2017 Wk 11 & 12 - #2 Mostly Creating

We've been having a great time in Taxas! Catching up with Dad and Eileen and exploring this new-to-us part of the world. And doing some creating - and admiring some of their creating!

I've been working on La Pass - finishing cog 5 (my little 'work table' next to 'my chair' - I made myself at home!)

And starting cog 6 (although annoyingly I didn't bring the fabrics for the outer ring

I also brought a kantha project which has progressed nicely!

Dad and Eileen have been creative too - they built this house!

and I'm trying not to turn too green with envy over this studio!

Eileen isn't the only creative one - her daughter made these coasters for them ...

And while I've been away Lisa has been sewing - following a patten - and has made a lined bodice for a new dress!

Posted with Blogsy

Sunday, March 26, 2017

2017 Wk 11 &12 - #1 Mostly Supervising

We are on holiday in Texas at the moment (with very limited wifi so please excuse the delayed publishing of this post!)

Due to an unfortunate (and painful) incident involving a slippery pool step I have been supervising rather than helping with the various jobs at dad's

I did get taken to a fabric shop though - and look at the fab way they displayed the fabrics

And I have been enjoying the sunshine and the medicinal local wine

I will post more about the trip - especially the fabriccy purchases, but for now my bed calls - I've been awake 20 hours and I'm starting to lose the ability to think or write coherently!!!!

Posted with Blogsy

Monday, November 15, 2010

2010 November (1)

Back from holiday ... to postcards

This is a very brief post as I am seriously sleep deprived having slept three out of the last 36 hours (*), but I had to show these postcards...

These six were part of a swap- I sent six and received six back. The photo shows all six: the champagne glass and the fish arrived while we were away, and were a lovely surprise to come back to

However, my absolute favourite was also waiting for me when we got back

This hand stitched beach scene was made by Lisa, just for me :-)

Proud Mummy!!!

(* fab holiday if you asked - sun, sea, swimming and shopping shopping and shopping, oh and it was good to see Dad and Eileen too!!!)

And here is my favourite of Eileen's paintings (but her bum isn't that big!)

I read that Mark Twain had one of his characters say that you should eat a frog for breakfast - that means that the worst thing is over and the day can only get better.

I have finally decided to follow MT's advice and get the frog (AKA pawprinted car seat cover) FINISHED!!!

I realise that this frog is the reason I haven't started anything exciting recently - I knew I had to finish the 'frog', but really didn't want to, but meanwhile knew that I shouldn't start anything else

It wasn't just me that came to detest the frog either: after the upset with the big embroidery machine a few weeks ago, I've been using that for my stuff, and the baby machine for customers ... look what it did to a pawprint.

In fact, it did this to several pawprints, and always in the same place - so Mr 'Bodger' is going to take it apart and have a look at it, but in the mean time I went back to the big machine, and with fingers and toes crossed, actually finished the last pawprint.

So now I ought to get on with sorting the mess that is the sewing desk...

Post Card Swap - multi tasking

I'm in two more postcard swaps this month (as well as the black and white one!) and the themes are Windows and Home. I've decided they are related enough that one design will do for both swaps.

So imagine, if you will, there is a thunderstorm, and you are a cat - the best place to watch is from a window, at home (smug face)

And to make it look more like home, there has to be curtains eh?

Husband is concerned that the postcard may not be accepted by the post office, so I may have to masking tape down the curtains for posting :-(

Slik and Quick FQ bags - a tutorial

One of the nieces in America, Megan, is the founder of her High School's Cancer awareness committee. She has managed to get the soccer players playing in pink socks, and has all sorts of plans for raising money and awareness. I decided to make her some FQ bags to sell as I have some fab cancer themed fabrics.

As these lovely little bags are quick to make (*), and are really neat (and have no raw edges) and just take a Fat Quarter each, I thought I'd include a tutorial on how to make them

They just take 1/4 yard fabric and 20 inches of coordinating ribbon. (*They take about 15 minutes each, but with confidence, finger pressing instead of iron pressing, and sewing the channel with the ribbon in place, can be as quick as 10 minutes each)

Take a Fat Quarter of fabric (this is where a yard or metre of fabric is cut into 4 squarish quarters, as opposed to Long Quarters where the fabric is cut into long thin quarters)

If the fabric is directional, place the BOTTOM away from you, otherwise put the selvedge edge away from you. The fabric needs to be wrong side up. Fold down the top edge about 1/2 inch, 1cm, onto the back of the fabric

Press.

Fold the fabric in half, right sides together, so the folded edge remains at the top.

Stitch the bag into a tube shape, starting 1 inch/2cm from the top. (lock your stitches by stitching forwards a few stitches, then backwards the same number, then forwards again).

Move the tube so that the seam is now going down the centre of the tube, not the side. Press the seam open

Now fold up the bottom of the bag so it is line with the bottom of the fold (not quite in half) and press the fold. (We are still looking at the wrong side of the fabric)

Open the fold, and stitch along the fold mark, locking stitches at both ends.

Now turn the bottom half of the tube inside-out, pulling it up over the top half. Now you can see the right side of the fabric inside and outside the bag.

Using your original top fold as a guide, fold fabric again and pin to make a channel for the ribbon. You will need to unfold the horizontal fold at the seam, and refold vertically first and then horizontally.

Stitch the channel and thread the ribbon through. Tie the ribbon.

Ta Daaaa!!!!!!!

Brilliant for make up, sewing supplies, ballet slippers, medication, kids toys, gift bags ...

(It is possible to make this into a boxy bag, but that introduces raw edges, so you are on your own if you want to do that!)

Just checking in

These are the three Stay At Home Robins I am doing with Kate at Stay At Home Robin, I had so many orphan blocks with plenty of extra fabric that I couldn't choose, so went for three!

Click on the link to see the lovely blocks that others have come up with

This, black and white, (with red for a robin) was the first one I started, and I have added some stripes, and some folded flying geese: I enjoyed making these more than I expected (but I did get muddled up with remembering to iron away from the folds, not into them!)

For the baby blue one I added some stripes again, and some slashed stripes

For the pink one I added some stripes (*) and had a go at some of the liberated stars I've been seeing in blogland. I obviously have a problem with spacial awareness as the number of time I had to re-do the 4 pointy blocks is nobody's business! however I like the result, so I might be trying these again.

Next month I am going to force myself to do some half square triangles - either I'll get over my dislike of them, or I'll enforce it, either way, I'll know!

Rural Jardin Jelly Roll

Jackie and I both got a free Moda Rural Jardin jelly roll when we signed up for a year's subscription for Popular Patchwork at the festival of quilts in August.

Mine has been sat on a shelf while I drooled over it, and waited for inspiration. As I surfed around blogland I saw a number of designs that would work, but this morning, with some help from an inspirational email (thank you Victoria) decided on a sort of rail fence design.

I joined the strips into pairs: a light with darker, keeping reds with reds and blues with blues.

And then ironed them

I then cut the selvedge to selvedge units into 9 inch units

and started to play around with them

I tried using 'twins' in a mirror image,

and tried dissimilar pairs so it looks woven, and finally decided this was the way I wanted to go.

I am going to be brave, and have my first go at setting these blocks on point (diagonally).

I was just about to start cutting some squares into triangles for the corners, when I realised they weren't actually square - they had ended up 8.5 x 9 inches. (grrrrr)

So I have put them aside for today, and will get back to them tomorrow night.

By the way, I am L-O-V-I-N-G the Moda fabric - it's the first time I have used it, and it's lovely to work with and so soft.

Rural Jardin flimsy

I managed to get the Rural Jardin finished (at least to a flimsy) yesterday,

and made part of the Secret Santa BQL pressie.

I also finished sewing the 1.5 inch blue blocks into a strip for the Log Cabin Candle quilt, and piece some green piecing to bulk out the tree - phew!

Today - nothing!

We did go to the Remembrance Day Service at church, and I have to share with you the sight as we came out and walked (about 200 of us, with Scouts and Guides etc) past the section which the gas board have dug up, and have had traffic lights for what seems like months ...

How awesome is that? And what's more, the lovely man who arranged it (and came to the service with his wife) donated one to the parish and one to the church!

Candle Christmas Tree Quilt - bleugh

I KNOW that green and blue are next to each other on the colour wheel, and I even had Plum warn me (and Kate prove to me) that dark green and dark blue don't contrast well, but for some reason I chose to ignore all this and expected my dark green tree and dark blue sky to work well together.

Possibly this is because I have invested hours and hours in sewing 1.5 inch squares together for the sky - approximately 500 of the blinking things, all hand sewn in a strip, and they jolly well SHOULD look good together. It isn't too bad lit up by the camera's flash, but I can see that I will have to start on the sky again (light blue this time) and use the current sky on some other project, but I have to say I am a tad pi$$ed off!

(Oh, and also I forgot to put the top triangle on the tree, that will happen - I have LOADS of green strips, chunks and crumbs on the work desk!)

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