Monday 11 July 2011

So not much happening here....

Unfortunately there has been little sewing activity since my last post....I had not done any baking for a while so planned to make a Strawberry Cheesecake and some Raspberry Trifle Cupcakes on Saturday and then I finally got so sick of the mess in HM's room I offered to help her clear it out on Sunday....15 black sacks later & most of the day gone it was done!


I was hoping to get some sewing done today....in fact I did manage to make some good progress on the last two Fruit Salad blocks before I took Mr J down to the Dr's.  He's not really been well over the weekend - fluctuating temperature & waking up in the night & off his food which is definitely not like him.  I prised his mouth open, managing to get a quick squint down his throat, saw that his throat looked a bit sore so thought it best to get him to the Dr's.  Now he has some antibiotics so hope he is on the mend...at least it is now & not when we are due off on our holiday to France in a couple of weeks time!

Fingers crossed - I hope to get the blocks I was working on finished tomorrow & some pictures to show you!



Wednesday 6 July 2011

The finish line

The Twins were feeling a bit under the weather today...think poor little Mr J is coming down with a cold & Mr F was just a bit sleepy!  Anyway the weather here has been rubbish - showers & sun but not very warm which has led me to spending a lot of time today running back and forth from the garden with washing going up & down from the line like a yo-yo!

So the boys and I have spent the day cosy on the sofa, watching movies, eating a few snacks, me doing a bit of hand sewing & browsing fabric on the web.  At least I have now finished the Teacher's gift for HM...its all washed & ironed & ready to go once I get a little hanger for it...and here it is in all it's glory.



Now there are no more distractions & I really should get on with the Fruit Salad quilt again....soon...I promise.....

Tuesday 5 July 2011

A good sewing day

So today was quite a good day for a spot of sewing...my plan was to finish the hand sewing on the front of the Teacher's gift and then to maybe have a go at making a Cathedral Window block like the blocks used to make a cushion in the current issue of British Patchwork and Quilting magazine which I got yesterday....I have recently seen some lovely Cathedral Window blocks used in quilts during my recent trips around blogland and I have been inspired.


First things first - I struggled a bit choosing binding fabric & backing fabric for the Teacher's gift...in the end I used a Jelly roll strip I had left over from the Amy Butler Love quilt which I made & chose a plain pale pink fabric for the backing.  I got the binding sewn on to the front & just need to hand stitch it on to the backing....I will post some more pictures when it is complete.


On to the next task - I was ready to start having a play with the Cathedral Window block when the Postman arrived with some fabric that I ordered from Uberstitch for my Boo to You Halloween quilt...I was not expecting this today & was even more pleased as I did not need to pay any additional Post Office charges which can sometimes happen if you order supplies from overseas!


Anyway..I digress...Cathedral Windows...the pattern in the magazine is for a cushion covered with about 9 blocks but I decided just to make 1 block as a trial piece.  I found most of the instructions in the magazine were fairly clear and there were a lot of photos up to the point where you apply the contrast fabric to the front of the 'window' - I was a little puzzled at first with what I was supposed to do & felt that there could have been a few more photos at this point to help!


The block came together really nicely - accurate cutting, pressing and sewing is key for a lovely neat finish with this block but I was very pleased with how it came together in the end (I did feel that my hand stitching of the contrast fabric & the frames could have been neater but I was too lazy to go & find my glasses!).


Here is  a picture of my trial block...sorry about the creases but I have dragged this block over to my Mum's house today to show her & my sister :-)





On my drive home from my Mum's this evening I came up with an idea for a project using these types of blocks....HM is going away for a week with my parent's to their very good friend's house, down in Devon & I thought I would make a lovely cushion for them for HM to take with her as a thank you gift.

Monday 4 July 2011

Sunny garden days

Today the weather is perfect for sitting in the garden and catching up on some reading.  This morning I took the Twins for a walk to the shops and stocked up on some quality garden reading material i.e. my favourite quilting and cooking magazines.  Now I am all set for a nice sit down in the sun and some reading before its time for the school run :-)



Thursday 30 June 2011

Back to the machine


So although HM was off school due to Teacher Strike action...I did manage to get a few hours stitching done...not back working on the Fruit Salad Quilt but on a Thank You gift for said striking Teacher!

I initially planned on making a version of the "Three Faces of Steve" Cat from my Denyse Schmidt Quilts book...I have some lovely Anna Maria Horner Good Folks Filigree in Dusk sitting in my stash which I think will be lovely...however the pattern in the book needs to be enlarged by 250% and with no photocopier at home I duly asked my Hubbie.  On arrival home from work, Husband presented me with the book saying I can't believe that you really wanted it that big..it doesn't fit on the paper...sigh....yes, I said ....that is right....can you try again but copy each pattern piece on separate pieces of A3 please?

Said book was still sitting at home this morning :-(

Anyway back to today's sewing action...instead of Steve the Cat, I decided to make an alternative gift...a while ago my Sister made some cute quilted wall hangings - one with a coffee cup & one with a tea cup.  She let me have a copy of the pattern & so I decided to make one & now my stash has grown there is plenty of fabric,wadding & thread which I can use.

I quickly chose my fabric (normally this is the longest part of the job as I can never choose) and started cutting out pieces before realising I had no instructions.  I thought that I could probably manage to cobble it together without them but I called my Sister & she read out the instructions to me down the phone (thank heaven's for my Sister!). Armed with her words of guidance I was ready to get stitching.


I am quite pleased with progress so far....I managed to get about three quarters of it made today before having to abandon my works due to hungry children & ironing calling and there is a nice little bit of hand sewing to do tomorrow, before adding the backing and I will probably add some binding.  Hopefully I will be able to get that done in the morning before I head off to HM's school with the Twins as it is Family Picnic day!


    

Wednesday 29 June 2011

Naughty girl

Again much to long since I last blogged but quiet a few projects completed & new techniques learnt in all that time.


My major achievements have been the completion of two more quilts...my Amy Butler Love Quilt which I started planning last year and my version of Red Pepper Quilts, Georgia Quilt....more on those later.


My current project is a quilt for my bed....I wasn't totally blown away by Amy Butler's Soul Blossom fabrics when they came out - there were a few that I liked but I was not sure about the rest.  I was lucky to receive a few quilting books for Christmas & my birthday and one of them was Patchwork, Comforters and Throws.  The Quilt of the front cover caught my eye and I thought that this would be a great pattern for the Soul Blossom fabrics... I purchased about 16 different fat quarters across all of the colour ranges, including some that I am not all that keen on (trying to move out of my comfort zone), along with some solids that co-ordinate with them.

The blocks are made up of fairly large pieces which are good for showing off some of the larger prints...so far I have made four blocks (the pattern only requires four blocks but I want my quilt larger than the one in the book so I am aiming to do six).  Here is one the blocks I have made so far.....







As for today...I am having a day away from the sewing machine & chillin with my boys...they have Rio on for about the fourth time today and we are having lots of cuddles!