2021 Week 8

Ooops, that was  a bit of a gap between posts!

Not much crafting seems to have been done though

I was given this lovely clay Ginger

 

And these vanilla scented Ginger melts for my wax burner (Thank you Niki - a bit of a theme going on here!)

The lovely Carolyn at church started off a crochet blanket for me (no, I can't cast on - doh!)  It twisted a bit to start with but it's getting better

I put on my big girl pants and started adding some extra types of stitches (I don't know anything fancy: just UK double and trebles)

And apparently added some extra stitches at one end and lost them at the other end - I'm trying to sort them out as to where they should be, and hopefully this bit will be ok after blocking 

To reassure myself with something I *can* do, I made another sari rope basket for my balls of wool

I made a bunch of log cabin blocks, but I've put them away for now - the contrast (between the brights and the grey/white) is disappointing

I was asked if I could do a couple of trampolining Gingers but I couldn't quite envisage them

Lora grabbed her felt tip pens and drew these for me

So I made these

2021 Week 2

More Gingers - this is a mum with a baby in a sling - I thought I'd mention it because when I design I am sometimes moving individual stitches so I get very engrossed in the design, then I stitch it out and THEN I realise the sling looks like big green school knickers (or worse - a mankini?!)  And to make it worse if the green is a pair of big knickers, the babies feet are . . .  no lets not even go there!  I will be stitching another version which hopefully address these issues!!!

This one went better - a "recycles youth" in the village whose family tell him he should wear a mark even when he's out walking

And here are some more for the Keeping Moving campaign

Me? Not so much of the moving although I have been to the village on my bike a couple of times this week.  An I-Spy quilt for a baby girl

And a pile of log cabins started for a new quilt.  They need a few more founds but I'm running low on the coloured fabrics

2021 Week 1

 Hello, Happy New Year!

Days off work meant sewing - yippee!!!  The EPP triangles got quilted

And the bound

Some grey fabrics I got for Christmas were cut into 1.5" strips ready for a log cabin

I started an embroidery map of the village (just a few million more colonial stitches to go!!!)

A bit of progress on the cross stitch

 

And the beginnings of a new group of Gingers!  These are all doing much better on their New Year's resolution to exercise than I am!  (some of these are from MemoriesInThread.com and some are my costume / activity designs

 Keep safe xxx

Less of a Lull

So as I left you yesterday I was making blocks for a quilt that didn't excite me, while I tried to work out what I could do with my Moda Essential Dots, and what could I use to make a Giant Star?

So this is how my sewing time panned out:

The blocks have been assembled,  

Hmm The problem with the fabric collection seems to be the red and the gold, they are a different tone to the others. But if I take them out I only have four fabrics that belong together.

The borders have been added,

Hmmm What fabric shall I use for the Giant Star?

 

 Some of the left over fabric got 'piano keyed' and added as another border

Hmmmm, I could use the 4 fabrics I have to make the lone star, but it would be better with all different fabrics

A few more borders to use up all the project fabric, and I seem to have a quilt top, and what's more I love it again.

Meanwhile ... Hmmmmm I wonder if there are any other shades of Essential dots?  

A quick visit to ThreadBear, and a few clicks later and I think that teeny problem has been solved!!!!  So a finished top, AND a plan for the Giant Star when my squishy arrives!!!!!

A Little Lull

I haven't blogged much about sewing recently as I haven't really done much.  I think it's due to some fabric that I really want to use (but not sure what to do with it) and a design I really want to make (but don't know what fabric to use). Very disheartening.

Instead I've been despondently plodding with an old UFO from a workshop I did with Jan Hassard and the Richmond and Kew  Quilters in 2011.  I haven't really been feeling the love here either but after 18 months I just decided to get on with it. 

I was so 'bleugh' about everything I didn't take stage photos, but basically I had loads of 1 and 1.5 inch strips in shades of red and black and beige.  I used these to make 36 offset log cabin blocks.  Half had the two narrow sides made of red, 

and the other half had them made of cream.

 (Indoor, flash photos, the cream colour is somewhere between these two shades)


As I made these I pondered my two problems: one being the fabric I want to use, and the other being the quilt top I want to make

This is the fabric: Essential Dots from Moda,

 I love, love LOVE the colours, but feel that the bottom two don't really belong with the other shades, and without them I don't have enough fabric to make anything.

As for the quilt I want to make - it's the giant star that lots of people made a while ago:

This is Katy's version

And this is Nicky's 

Aren't they yummy!  I also fell in love with a version Hadley made a year or so ago, but I certainly don't have charm squares in the right colours

(hope it was OK to borrow your photos, girls xxxx)

I *may* have come up with a solution, I'm off to bed now, I'll let you know tomorrow 

Sewing for Siblings

I had a fun day today - I finished piecing and quilting (with chevrons, or zig zags) a square quilt from extra blocks from block lotto, and made a dozen scrappy log cabin blocks, all destined for the Siblings Together charity

Weaving Fun

Yesterday was the class with Jan Hassard.  This is a really quick post as I'm off out for the day, so stand by for lots of photos

(Katy - yet another new project, just 4.5 weeks until I go, hellllllp!)

 I started with 1m of assorted creams, the same of assorted dark reds and .5m of black - all cut into 1 inch and 1.5 inch strips.

We then made (or at least started to make) 18 lopsided (cant remember the right word, sorry) log cabins going clockwise, and another 18 going anti-clockwise

These are mine

and this is one of Plums (she was sewing with a scant 1/4 inch seam, while my machine didn't have an adjustable needle position, so mine was a huge seam, so a big difference in block sizes)

But do look at Plum's awesome 'featherweight' sewing machine

The display board doesn't quite show the end plan as we were all doing (at this stage) anti-clockwise blocks, but you can see here the great variety of colours (and block sizes, LOL)

(Mine is the skinny one, 8th from the left, Plum's is 5th from the left)

This is the aim: mine will be red and cream on black.  I love the design and once I'd got the hang of it the blocks were quite easy.  I will finish it, and I might make more blocks to make it bigger, but not until after Christmas

It was a great day, 6 hours just sewing - bliss!!!!!

Today and tomorrow

Today I managed to progress Swirls to the 'hand stitch the binding' pile, and Heather's black and White and pink to the 'needs binding' pile, so things are getting better.

Tomorrow I am off to a workshop with the Richmond and Kew Quilters. We are going to learn how to make Jan Hassard's woven log cabins (http://www.janhassard.co.uk/interwoven.html). I am really looking forward to it.

Full report tomorrow soon :-)

A romantic story...

This post has nothing to do with craft or patchwork, but lots to do with romance...

15 years ago we had an au pair, Slavka, to look after the girls when Brian and I were both working. (she wasn't planned, but she and her best friend came over together, best friend worked for friends of ours while Slavka was put with a horrible family, so she came to us temporarily, but we fell in love and wanted to keep her) after 18 months she went home but we kept in touch, we've jokingly called her our oldest daughter!

About 4 years ago she got married, but soon after her husband cheated on her, and they split up. About the same time, nephew #1's wife cheated on him. Two years ago, first born daughter, Lisa, had an 18th, and invited *everyone* she knew, and Slavka was able to come. With a little bit of matchmaking from nephew #2, she and nephew #1 met, and fell in love, and she is now moving from Holland to Reading.

All say together, ahhhhhhhhhhh!

So on Friday we took the girls and the car to Holland. We shopped in Amsterdam, in the rain, on Saturday (I did get fabric, photos to follow) and this morning we packed every spare inch of space in the car (even leaving the girls behind, they'll fly home with nephew on Wednesday) with Slavka's stuff, and she'll follow in three weeks time.

I'm blogging this on the ferry, thanks to the Stena Line WiFi, and we have decided that ferry (one day upgrading to cruise line) is the way to travel! I have caught up on blog reading, hand stitched: two texture blocks, a milk bottle mat for mother-in-law, another two mini log cabin blocks for a 36 block wall hanging (3 to go, yippee), read some of my book, and had a lovely three course meal . . . Bliss!

A block, a flimsy and a postcard

Folded Prairie Points   No idea why they are called this, but I found an easy-to-follow guide on how to make them here, and thought they'd be great for Hilary's textured quilt.

I have today finished the flimsy for the warm and cool log cabin.  I do like it better now that it is all joined together.  I added more blocks of white in the hope they would look more intentional

 
 


And finally, a postcard under construction for Hadley

I use pelmet/craft stabiliser from the local fabric shop. and I cut it to 6" x 4".   I cut my backing fabric slightly bigger and glued the fabric to the stabiliser

Then I cut a piece of fabric for the mug, and sketched on the mug using a frixon pen (it vanishes when ironed)
 


I drop the feed dogs on the machine (although some people don't bother) and use a darning / free motion quilting foot.  These are the ones I can use, my preference is for the middle one

I then kind of draw round the mug with the needle on a slow speed.  I went round a couple of times, and I don't try to follow the previous stitches.

When I'm happy with the mug I trim back the excess mug fabric.  I like these applique scissors, but any will do: take care not to cut the base fabric.



I also have some cookie fabric which I love, co I cut out a cookie and added that in the same way

Finally I cut a sheet of paper to the same 6X4" size, and glue that to the back of the card, and the stitch through the base fabric, the stabiliser and the paper.  As I used paper I just did a running stitch.  I could have used a piece of cotton fabric, and then I could have used a blanket stitch or another decorative one

Enjoy your cuppa and calorie free cookie!