2020 Wk 13 - a finished quilt for an anniversary

The BFL (my father’s initials) quilt was finished earlier this year and has been on my on my bed ever since.   I used some blocks embroidered with free motion quilting, some blocks machine embroidered with designs I created, and mostly some perfect fabrics from various collections designed by Janet Clare.

I am totally in love with this

More details about my quilt are here

As well as having added embroideries that were important to me, the fabrics really spoke to me too

They are all Janet Clare fabrics: sailing ships - my father loved them (my stepmom had to clear 31 boxes of books about, and paintings of sailing ships!), there is wind, rain and seaweed (all featured on holidays to Bergen and to Halsnøy )!  The red cottages are perfect to depict the cottage we visited every holiday, and the blue whales ... our Norwegian family is spread all over the world: USA, Kenya, now Portugal, England and of course Norway, but like blue whales we call to each other across the oceans and support each other.

When I had finished “my” quilt there was enough fabric left for a end-of-the-bed quilt, or a wrap-round-the-shoulders-if-you-are-cold-or-need-a-hug quilt, so I made one for his best friend, my stepmom, too.  It’s been posted to her and I’m hoping it will arrive in time to commemorate the anniversary - I can’t believe he’s been gone two years! 

Thank you to Janet and Tony Clare for the course and the fabrics, thank you to my aunts, cousins and the family for the happy memories, thank you to Susan for being his much loved best friend and for everything you did for him, thank you to the blue whales for the love, thank you to my “Farmor” (grandmother) for recognising the cottage and the island as a treasure for so many future generations, and thank you to my father, BFL, for having been you: love you and miss you

2020 Wk 2 - memories quilt

I’ve finally stitched together what looks like a fairly basic quilt

The Janet Clare fabrics really spoke to me and with her help I created some FMQ embroidered blocks of images that I associate with holidays with my father.  I added some embroidery machine designs I created that also “belonged” and put them all together this afternoon

The fabrics show very nautical images - lots of different boats - and trees and red cottages, and birds and seaweed from the island, and weather; particularly wind and rain which the west coast of Norway is well known for

There are ten or eleven embroidered squares - this Viking ship and the rose are reminders of his memorial service 18 months ago.

 These are the FMQ blocks from before

Now I just need to find time to bind it!!

I have also finished the temperature embroidery, (difficult to photograph 15 foot x 2 inches!)

 And the Red Velvet crochet has grown a bit

And a final gingerbread man has finished some weaving - and will be a pressie for a young lady who helped me with a weaving project!

2019 Wk 51 - a day in my happy place

I actually had pretty much a whole day to sew on Thursday - unheard of!!!

And my extra fabric from Janet Clare arrived too so guess what I did!!!

It’s all cut and speed dated, the pieces are mostly joined into strips, and I am loving it!!! The (few) free motioned pictures are included, and the fabrics are all chosen to remind me of my father, the family holiday cottage south of Bergen, and Bergen itself.  There will be enough fabric left over to make a smaller one for my step mum too

And Luna clearly gives it her seal of approval!

This was supposed to be the last Christmas pressie - a bag for the tiles for a favourite game of Lisa’s

But then I got the urge to make rope bowls.  I hadn’t made a totally scrappy one before, I’m really happy with the result.  Niki can use it for bathroom stuff,  food or rubbish!!!

And then I made a much subtle one for Lisa. I’ve bought her a crochet pattern and the wool for Christmas and I think this will be a good size basket to keep it all in.

What I don’t understand is how they decide for themselves what shape they will take! I swear I made these the same but they came out very different shapes - at the end I decided Lisa’s needed handles too

One of husband’s nieces sent me this pic - I made a sack for her oldest daughter Chloe ten years ago when she was a baby - and now one for the much younger new little sister Olivia

And this arrived in the post from Jackie.  I’m sure the inside will be awesome, but at the moment I’m happy looking at the outside - it reminds me of our “small world” that hangs in my bedroom

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!

2018 Wk 10 - two quilts!

Quilt 1
After the previous disaster with June's quilt I have now made a replacement. Amo suggested a way to salvage the original which I will do, but for now June's replacement is ready to go to Texas, and with the right name!

Quilt 2
I was inspired, many months ago, by a quilt I saw in a fabric shop in quaint village called Grayshott.

My version was planned last August

but never got stitched until this weekend.  I considered the lines of quilting in the white sections, to make it look as if they were pieced, but didn't feel the love.  I rummaged in the quilting threads box and found threads that were close to the colours in the fabrics

and I quilted and quilted and quilted - something like 130 yards of quilting, all triple / bean stitch, and I'm really pleased with the result

I just need to find suitable fabric for the binding

We've had  few days of the country going into panic mode - Brits can go through a World War or two with nothing defeating their spirit, and have shown terrorists that our best comes out in times of disaster - but a few inches of snow has achieved the results that the terrorists planned and hoped for! The country shut down!  Schools were closed, flights were cancelled, people panic bought at the shops that were open.  Niki was flying back from Budapest: the flight was delayed not due to the two foot of snow there, but the two inches of snow here!

Another casualty of the weather was Niki and Lisa's front door.  They could not get it open!  Their home insurance comes with an emergency call out service - but the operators couldn't get to the call centre so they were no help at all.  so . . . Daddy to the rescue

It was the only way in!  He did manage to remove the lock and fix it so at least he could leave by the front door rather than the kitchen window!

And finally, Janet from Crafty Church has created another "Horton Hug".  Completed blankets are appearing in church and then being taken to a good home - to someone who needs a hug!  I love the colours on this one

The snow has now gone, the weekend has nearly gone, and this blog post is done!  Hope you had  good weekend

Retreat Roundup

I can't believe I've only been back home for 24 hours - the weekend seems to have been ages ago!
We managed some more making- and a few gifts were exchanged. By virtue of working full time and also not having a sewing machine at the moment, mine were mostly bought - but my "retreat goodie bag" was awesome!!

Do look at that hexie needle case - and the other side is blue in the centre, yellow outside!

We got the embroidery machine running and made these for the boys for Christmas. We ran out of time so Jackie has to finish them off!

Hand sewing over a cuppa created these

And a lovely lady from my church knitted a panda for A - It went fine very well!!!!! Thank you aunty Janet!

*** STOP PRESS ***
Jackie has just sent pics of the finished sacks!

Looking good!

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