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!

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.....

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.

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 :-)

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!

    

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!

Union Jack cushion cover

Here is my finished Union Jack Cushion Cover and I must say I am pretty pleased with it!

I made the block that formed the Union Jack using the tutorial from Lily Quilts and then added some sashing to make the front of the cover.  The back was made using an envelope design (so no zips, buttons or poppers).  I even used a small strip of the sashing material to edge the front of the envelope panel on the back & I think it gave a very nice finish!


Lily has a Union Jack group over on Flickr for anyone to add photos of their Union Jack projects and I have added mine.


I have another cushion to cover but this one is larger & square in shape.  I fancy either doing something with yo-yo flowers or maybe do a wonky log cabin block on the front....all using my scraps.  I am off now to put my thinking cap on!