2019 Wk 32 - mostly Kantha stitching

I have been finishing some projects ready for the village fair at the end of the month but have also been happily losing myself is stitching smaller portable projects just for fun.  The EPP sewing machine has started to be quilted with kantha stitches.  Defined as ".Kantha stitching is ...used to make simple quilts, commonly known as Nakshi Kantha. Women in Bengal typically use old saris and cloth and layer them with kantha stitching to make a light blanket, throw, or bedspread, especially for children." I think of it as stitches you don't need to think about: long or short, a bit wobbly, not quite parallel, not evenly separated. . .  who cares!

I am using the same dark colours for the stitches as are in the blocks, so it is fairly subtle

but you can see how far I've got looking at the back.

I also have worked on this piece: the Chertsey Museum ladies were making hanging pods this month, and I got the urge to Kantha mine to the nth degree!  This is the back

This is the front (we are calling the yellow a design feature not a I-didn't-have-enough-black-fabric-error!)

And this is the finished pod. 
Love LOVE LOVE it!!!

The ladies didn't get theirs finished so I am looking forward to seeing them at Show & Tell next month

I have finished the EPP-without-the-paper hexies, and have quilted the front much more than I would have done had it been any bigger!  I'm planning on  a few bigger EPPWP hexies for the other side so I guess I'll have to quilt that too then I can put it all together

I did make and finish this one though.  It's a lovely laminated fabric I got from Sewing Sanctuary at FOQ - she has designed the fabric, and had it laminated: it's lovely and soft.

2019 Wk 31 Festival of Quilts Day 2

After a reasonable night's sleep and a lot of talking Jackie and I headed back to Festival of Quilts.

I fell in love with another quilt - Jo Avery's Vintage Home - and was delighted to catch up with Jo at Aneela's book signing stall (eavesdropping on their chat and now name dropping!!!)

A bit more shopping found its way into my bag (thank you for the T-shirt Jackie)

And then Jackie and I ended the day by attending a class teaching EPP without the paper!!! This method is really good for the design where the hexies dont join

I love to learn new methods!

The tutor does her zips differently too - she joins the outer and lining fabrics first, presses them open, and then add the zip to the lining side

I got home in the evening to find that husband has been creative too - these blocks were duckboarding sold by Ikea for decking, but used by us in the bathroom until earlier this year.  

They are now going to be attached to the garden table to replace (hide) the horrible wood that is there

2018 Wk 20 New To Me

The lovely Fiona runs a new To Me blog hop at the end of every month - and I very occasionally manage to join in the fun - this time I think I am making up for all the missed months!

On a short holiday to Norway I made a model Viking ship (NTM)

We then set it alight on the fjord as part of my father's memorial service (NTM)

Against the back drop of a fab sunset

And Niki took me out in a canoe in the fjord (NTM)

Today I blind hemmed a top (NTM) with a great idiot's guide from this web page.  Look you can hardly see the stitches.  I though my hand sewing was neat, but this is awesome!

And I lost out on Mother-of-the-Year (not NTM!) award when daughter was using a rotary cutter and suddenly uttered a loud gasp and put her thumb in her mouth - with hindsight "don't let blood drip on the fabric" maybe shouldn't have been the first thing I said

I have owned up to my UFO collection (definitely NTM) - also now known as the rail of shame

That's five New To Mes!  Have you linked to Fiona?

2018 Wk 18 - Sewing with Jackie Part 1

A perfect weekend!

Jackie arrived, lots of sewing, Crafty Church, a bit of fabric and wool shopping and mostly decent weather!  What more could I ask for?

Zippy pouches from lined hessian (I'll be finding hessian dust for weeks but they didn't need any stabiliser!

Do your children every actually ask you to make something?  Usually I get "It's lovely mum, but I really don't NEED another quilt" but on this occasion it was "mum, can you and Jackie make a chemo quilt for Claire at work? Any colours, any design (more points there kiddo, well done!) but plenty of blank space so we can write messages for her", so this has been started

We made a box pouch with a vinyl pocket  - finished item will be in the next blog post, but the pain that was making the bias binding is evidenced here - never again!

Tara at Crafty Church brought in her WW1 Heart Pincushion kit.  Explained here, it takes the occupational therapy practiced by injured soldiers in WW1 and has turned it into a commemorative project for the 100th anniversary of the end of the war later this year, asking people to recreate these hearts for an Art installation.  For example:

Some of us will buy one the of the kits for the Untangles Threads project, but we also decided to make named hearts for the 7 soldiers from our village who served in WW1

Lesley brought in a picture of an Amsterdam street she has completed.  It has been framed and I really struggled to get a pic without reflection, but it's worth zooming in to have a closer look.  it is all made of fabric, stitched in place.  She made each house twice - so there is a mirror image house upside-down in the water!  Its absolutely stunning

The next post will follow when Google photos has caught up with the photos I've taken!

Thank you Jackie - I've had a wonderful weekend -I love you xx

Linking at Last

I keep meaning to link up with Fiona's "New to Me" and her "Ho Ho Ho and on we Sew", and I'm finally remembering to do so!

I have blogged about this before, but here is my Ho Ho Ho offering:

 

Hand dyed / marbled fabric sewn into zippy pouches for friends for Christmas

And for "New To Me" I'm offering these, some already posted, some new

Peg bags made for a friend: the opening is under the bone

La Passacaglia

Tool store / pin cushions

And binding caddy and hexie caddy