2023 January

What did your January look like?  This is my January in photos!

The Stitch group packed lots of kits for Days For Girls

The Chertsey Museum Fun With Fabric ladies made Japanese knot bags

I was gifted this awesome pig in a blanket

I made badges for the scouts who delivered Christmas cards locally

I have been posting Gingers onto facebook - they are based on the National Calendar - this was for the 3rd Monday in January, known as Blue Monday, and the penguin was for Internation Penguin Day - who knew!!!

I also made a pregnant Ginger each for two of Niki's friends who are expecting,

An a couple of dozen 'naked' gingers for the Richmond and Kew Quilters ladies: I'm doing a talk about the gingers at the next meeting, then they all get to take one home and have a go at 'dressing' it

I dont think I showed you my lovely Christmas pressie from Plum:

Which came in its own sleeping bag (actually a FabWrap!)

Nor did I share the fab slippers Lisa crocheted for me: 

I went on a course with Stacey (ooops, have forgotton her surname), who had us FMQing designs to be put together as a tribute to the Queen

The lovely Debbie made me Buddy all ready for next Christmas, thank you Deb

And my awesome sister-in-law got me a whole stack of Tula Pink fabrics that are just at the stroking and loving stage, not the cutting stage!  Thank you Lisa

And talking of s-i-l: we actually got the whole gang together in the middle of January - my brother and his family from Australia, all 6 of us, and mum.  I hadn't seen him or his family since 2011, and Niki had never met her cousins so it was a great treat to spend time with them

Talking of cousins, this is Brian's cousin's granddaughter on her I-Spy quilt - isn't she a cutie!

Our Community Coffee Morning celebrated its first birthday at the end of January, and seems to be transforming into a Knit and Natter group too!  I think there were 6 of us knitting or crocheting and enjoying this a-maze-ing cake!

This is my project: it is actually changing colour but it's a very subtle change

Hope you had a good January and wish you all the very best for February!

2020 Wk 9 Play date fun

The lovely Tara from Crafty Church came to play today.  She brought this panel she had made at a class where she learnt to draw and write with a sewing machine, and we turned it into a cushion

While Tara was sewing her projects I was cutting t-shirts to size for a T-shirt quilt for a customer.  I wanted (needed) a quilters square 15 inches square, but don’t have one and couldn't find one to buy - so I butted a 12.5” square to a 2.5” ruler and topped them off with an over lapping 4” ruler: worked a dream and no duct tape residue when I pulled it all off!

This cushion is going to be gifted with a pack of fabric pens so it can coloured in - put to add to the pizazz Tara wanted to add bright pom-poms. . . It was a fair amount of flaffing to get it right but doesn't it look great

Come on Tara - show us how chuffed you are!!!

2019 Wk 49 - Janet Clare Course and scrappy pennies

Richmond and Kew quilters organised a course at Janet Clare's studio.    It was the "Quilted memories to cherish" course, but it included drawing with the sewing machine - free motion sewing to draw pictures

I was well out of my comfort zone but really enjoyed the day.  These are my pictures:

I "may" have bought some of her fabric too!  My plan is a quilt alternating the medium fabrics with the light fabrics - and some of the dark squares will be the pictures rather than just fabric

She was also selling some felt:  So I had to buy some of that too!

On Friday I am teaching scrappy pennies and needed another sample, and on Monday I will be taking part in a Secret Santa swap at Richmond and Kew, so need to make something - for a while I was daunted by the work that I needed to put into both those events, until eventually it occurred to me that I could make a Secret Santa gift with scrappy pennies!!!

Do you remember the wraps we made a few years ago from Ikea fleeces?  I am now making another one, decorated with scrappy pennies!!!

I hope whoever gets it likes it!

2017 Wk 7 - mostly Crafty Church

We decided to offer a jewellery special Crafty Church on Saturday.  

Stephanie and Julie having a go at Infinity Button necklaces

 

I only got a blurred pic of their creations, but here are some from a previous session:

Janet had made a completed Crafty Church Crocheted Hug which has today been delivered - and I got an email from the lady who delivered it "I told her the blanket was from the church and was our way of wrapping her in love and prayers.  She was really greatly touched and overwhelmed. . . . I know when tears well up we have touched a heart. Crafty church is showing our caring hearts too.  "

And we have 16 squares towards our 3rd Crafty Church Hug!!!!

I got a chance to play and to spray baste a bonus quilt!  This used the excess from the Lotus Selvedge  quilt, and the two packs of charm squares from Amo: It really grew quickly!

Since then I have (shock horror) actually quilted it!

Free Motion Quilting at that!!!!

Not fab, but it's OK!!!

And I have another cunning plan!

Tara wore this fabulously simple poncho which she'd bought from a craft fair.  I borrowed it and got her to take a pic:

I also took a few how-it's-made and what-it-measures pics - and hopefully soon see you'll see a here-is-my-version pic too!

La Passacaglia Progress and Pretty Post

I have tacked and joined some of the La Passacaglia templates, and a shape is beginning to emerge.  The question is do I take it with me as a travel project?  I'm worried all the shapes will fall off and I'll get confused again

I might try some fussy cutting later, but for now I'm happy using solid scraps from the HST quilt a few months ago

Some fab post arrived from the lovely Reene in Oregon, USA.  She is making a Bow Tie quilt - she's making 700 (yes SEVEN HUNDRED) of these blocks, and is trying to make them all out of different fabrics

I sent her some charm squares and scraps that I had got fed up with trying to use,  and she sent me these to add to my sweet sixteen blocks - I was delighted - ALL of them are new fabrics tome

She also sent me a barrette (translates to hair slide this side of the pond!) that her husband had made.  It's really beautiful - made of modern dicroic glass (developed by NASA). 

I had several attempts at photographing the slide in my hair, using mirrors . . .

 But finally managed to get this

I did decide to have a go at quilting the Light House Quilt.  Its been a very long time since I tried FMQ, so I had a practice, and was happy with it

And then had a go on the real thing - not so good :-(   This isn't brown bobbin thread pulling through, its fluff from the brown fleece I have backed it with.  I think I'm going to have to hand quit this one

Off to mum's for the night tonight, then back to teach advent calendars and marbling onto fabric tomorrow . . . and off to Jackie's for FOUR days on Saturday, 

YIPPEE!!!!

And I'll have hours and hours to wait at the airport so I'll catch up with reading other blogs!