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 44 - what I've been doing (and should have been doing)

I'm teaching a class today at Chertsey Museum - and planned to teach a sewing caddy in a glass jar with a pincushion lid.  As I started to prep for the class I realised this would take no more that ten minutes so was NOT a good idea.  Instead I made this (just for fun, we wont be making these at the museum until December 2020!!!)

Then I had to get back on track: I have a couple of dozen polystyrene balls planned for the sewing caddies so I had to find something that I could do with them.  Thank you Pinterest: two ideas!

I treated myself to a new storage organising thingy so spent the best part of a day sorting lots of little bits and pieces into this - I think everything little is now easy to find except a box of bells that are still hiding somewhere

I did some machine embroidery for a customer

And I love it when I get pics of things I've made being used

And that pic wasn't the only one this week: I got this from the Windsor Homeless Project showing Chris with his hat

And this from Lily's granny - what a cutie!

The hexi rounds flimsy has grown, and hopefully the dark rings and the light rings are obvious.  I can go two more light and half a dark with prepared hexies, and then oh dear what a pity never mind I'll have to do some more!

I'm almost up to date on the temperature project

And I am up-to-date on the European-trips-with-friends patches.  Do I sew them onto a bag as originally planned or would a zippy or a scarf be better?

2019 Wk 32 - fun and finishes

I've been working on a random selection of stuff this week, as well as teaching 5 children's classes (separate blog post coming up)

Mt temperature embroidery is now over 2 metres long, and has already outgrown its wooden bobbin so I'm going to have to rethink its "home"!

I can only show it in a loose coil, so here are 5 lengths

and here are the alternate lengths

For quite a while now I've only been using the "hot" colours - lovely!!!!

I have finished the binding on this brick wall I-spy quilt,

And on this Mickey Mouse one.  names can be added as appropriate

Thanks to Sharon who gifted me some rainbow cork I made a cork travel bag - room for change in the front pocket, passport, glasses and phone in the main pocket, and boarding pass in the real vinyl pocket, plus a front zipped pocket under the flap, and a rear zipped.  I didn't line it, and I constructed it wrong sides together - just zigzagging over the sides and the edge of the flap with a rainbow variegated thread,  I'm in love!

We made a crazy patch at the last Richmond and Kew Quilters meeting, with the idea we would decorate it at September's meeting.  I'm going to be away for Septembers, and Avril was away for the last weeting so I handed my block over to her.  In fact she might have to miss September's meeting too so she's already started decorating her / my / our  patch: looking good Avril!

And Lizzy has been helping me make some coffee wraps: We've been having fun ready for the Church summer fair next Saturday

2019 Wk 28 - a round up

I've been working on the temperature embroidery - it's getting quite long!  I am enjoying playing with random stitches. 

We have a newly started community radio station covering our two villages and another half dozen or so.  You can google it and can listen on-line.  Not necessarily highly professional but very enthusiastic!!

One of the trustees is a good friend of mine.  She had a 60th party a few weeks ago - she didn't want any pressies, but I decided to ignore that request.  It was only a humble calico tote bag, but it came out well!!!

I did some other embroidery too - Chertsey Museum is preparing for a display called Pleats and Drapes, could I please embroider on some samples.  You can't see them but the fabrics are pleated to show the different types.

And finally a whole bunch of T-shirts for the local scouts

Including a special one for the Quartermaster!

2019 Wk 15 - Playdate with Sharon

 Saturday playdate with this lovely lady!

We put the world to rights (of course!) had plenty of coffee, rethreaded the overlocker, cut a quilt for her and speed-dated one for me!

What a way to spend a Saturday!

Sharon has great ambitions for her **SECOND** ever quilt (this was the first)  She has pieced a rainbow jelly roll as the front (like this but this is from Pinterest as I forgot to get a pic of hers) but then wanted to make a fractured heart for the back.  The pattern was for 2" or 5" squares but we went for 2.5" squares.  We had to lay it out in 2 halves

but then used a bit of photo trickery to sort of join them - isn't it going to be awesome!!!!  I think I want to make one too!!!

For my project we layed out the EPP plus blocks on her spare bed, and I now just need 15 squares to fill in the gaps and then I'm ready to put them away and ignore them for a while start sewing them together

I have been sewing these starred hexies together, but they don't look any different

And I am all caught up on my Temperature Project.  A warm blip is shown by a map of the state of Texas and TX

And the other half - I'm loving the texture of it!

This was the walk to church this morning - isn't the cherry blossom beautiful!!!

And we (the sleepout) was in the local papers!!!!