2019 Wk 47 - where did the time go?

I rather feel this post is just going to be a list - but lots of pretty pics anyway!

I made green felt storage containers for another Chalice set at church.  I prefer the colour of the red but I think the design of the green is better

We had a fabulous Remembrance Day parade and service ten days or so ago - huge turnout and not only no rain, but incredibly blue skies

Lisa I attended a course where at one stage we had to "make" something to reflect what we had learned - our eyes lit up as we were allowed to rummage through bags of stickers and pipe cleaners etc.  I used needle and thread (of course I have a sewing kit in my handbag. doesn't everyone???) so the stickers dangled - we had great fun!

Another Pudsey hexie flower arrived

 And I joined a whole load of 1.5" squares into a long strip.  Jackie and I have a few million of these squares, but my seam allowance isn't accurate enough to make 3.5" squares (3x3) so our first plan has been abandoned.  I think something like this will work, and my dodgy seam allowance should be hidden!!!

I've also given up on a blanket crochet I started ages ago. I cant find any progress photos but it was far too wide and would never be finished with the two balls of wool I bought, so I frogged it all and Lisa started me off with a straight forward granny square

We had Crafty Church last week.  I got a bit on pinning done, not much more, but there was lots going on!

Carole visited us for the first time and taught several girls how to make decorations form corn stalks

Ulrike showed us how to make this star while others got on with patchwork or quilting

Others were making Suffolk puffs (with lavender inside), and Stitched Christmas cards

While others were knitting or crocheting or sewing buttons onto a tree for our Crafty Church entry into the next village's Christmas Tree Festival

Phew!  So that's where the time went!

Museum Making

I had a fab afternoon at Chertsey Museum this afternoon - show send tell from last month was the best ever . . .

How stunning are they!!!!
And today we made Suffolk Puffs (aka yoyos)

And Susan brought a wall hanging she made some years ago:

It's such fun working with such talented ladies!

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2011 July (1)

Too busy to blog!

I have been busy making stuff, and busy being lead down dead ends trying to revive the SLIKstitches blog.  The making has been fun, trying to get to communicate with someone at blogger reminds me of the saying "the impossible I can do at once, miracles take a little longer!

Anyway, enough whinging - I've mostly been working on blocks for the texture quilt, just 4 more to go, then I need to work out how to arrange them.  Here are some photos

Suffolk punches from A at Stitching Science (thank you A)

Not sure if this is smocking or pleating, but it seems to be called honeycomb smocking

This block is four squares of corduroy with the nap in four different directions

This is a very loose woven fabric given to me

This one is ripped fabrics with some extra threads pulled out.  The strip is made by alternating back and front of the fabric

and finally a pleated one where I have stitched the pleats down so there is a twist

Where did the mojo go?

I still haven't really got my blogging mojo back: I really would rather be blogging at SLIKstitches, but still blogger ignore my communication attempts, so I have no idea what to do next :-(

I'm having a generally bleugh day anyway, as school have finally told me that although they have the funding, they are not going to extend my Extended Schools Co-Ordinator contract, so that leaves me with just three hours a week from September, so for the first time in about (gulp) 25 years I am actually looking at the vacancies section of the local papers.  Until now I've been lucky enough to hear about a job that I wanted - at a time that I was ready to work those hours - and get it, so this is a whole new ball game!

Anyways, enough of the whinging ... I HAVE been sewing!  I have pieced together some 8" squares to make an I-Spy quilt, just to have for when it's needed:

I have also taken this fairly simple flimsy,

and with the help of my little template

have turned it into this yummy Whirly Gig or Square Dance flimsey.

Annoyingly I did type out 90% of the instructions about a month ago ... and saved them on the old blog, but I think I can copy and paste so if you want them just let me know.

I have also been doing some lesson planning for Fun With Fabrics next weekend: The ladies asked for Stained Glass, and I had three methods in mind, so I have done samples using two methods and am half way through the third.  I chose owls for the image, and wondered how best to display them

When I next checked in at Hadley's blog (Flying Blind On A Rocket Cycle ... What does that mean?) I got inspiration, so here are two of my owls, just waiting for for number three.  (Pink is created using the cut-away method, and Yellow is made using the fusible bias binding method.  Red hasn't fully hatched yet, but will be made with the mosaic, or needle turn method)

Instructions are available if you are interested

something pretty

Lisa suggested I sew something pretty, just because!

I picked up this jelly roll from Fabric Freedom (Aunt Grace, Circle of Friends, SOOOO pretty! It reminds me of summer dresses from childhood) and pulled out some white to go with it.

Did I want to do nine patch blocks?

Or scatter the patterned squares randomly amongst the white?

I started stitching each strip to white, and then had a brain wave.  I cut 8" off each pair, then stitched the remainder together.  At one end I added the patterned to the white to make an 8" strip of patterned / white  /patterned which I cut off, then I added the white to the other end (making white / patterned / white) so i made enough for two nine patches and left enough for 6 or 7  white / patterned pairs. (Makes sense to me anyway!)

 

Yes Mum, I know I'm supposed to do Hilary's textures first, but I needed some therapy!  I've had to stop with the circle of friends because I ran out of white fabric, so I did this one for Hilary: woven strips.

I think it's just a few more to go, so I think log cabin (maybe uneven log cabin? and maybe ticker tape (raw edge applique)

I'm also doing some liberated sizteen patch for Block Lotto, so I'll show those when they are done.

9 patches and Block Lotto

I have done ten blocks for the July Block Lotto.  I loved doing the blocks (each pair is done together, and one is the opposite of the other) but the ironing was a pain.

 

Having not done enough squares for the day (!) I then made up a whole load of nine patches.  Lots more summery fabrics waiting to be used as soon as I get a chance to go the the shops