2020 Wk 15 - playing around and a round up

It's lovely to receive REAL post - it does wonders to stave off the wobbles!  I got two miracle cures this morning - Lisa sent us a crochet rainbow and Plum sent a stitched Easter Card - Even husband was impressed!!!  Thank you both!

The two villages have set up a Safari Park Trail - people are encouraged to put out an animal and facts about it, so kids can look for them on their walks.  Mine:

And next door's

In other news there has been some hand quilting

And some finishing (only one side so far, I'd forgotten what a flaff this method was!)

 

I also have to confess: Following our Resin craft afternoon a few months ago, I *may* have popped some resin craft stuff into my Amazon basket!

I found a collection of postage stamps dating back to I don't know when (but some of the values have half pence on them!!!) so I made these

And then I did some more with some pretty rainbow buttons

I have also (clearly not much else to do at the moment!) made the Hexi flowers for the Facebook swap for April as well as March

 and completed some more FPP blocks 43 made, 90 needed!!!

I have been keeping a UFO spreadsheet (thanks for the idea Amo) to show me what needs doing next.  Unfortunately it's a bit two-steps-forward-one-step-back as I keep finding more projects to add to this list

As if this wasn't bad enough I've just realised the Spotty Circles quilt isn't even on it!!!!

I can't crochet

I can't crochet, but it seems that Lisa can!

She has done a couple of blankets, but has needed one of the little old ladies at church to start her off with a square, then she can go round and round it, getting bigger every time.

We bought some wool at Knitting and Stitching show, and she and Jackie had a one-to-one in the car on the drive back.  It was not made easy by Lisa sitting in the back of the car, with the hook and the wool, and Jackie sat in the front, twisting round trying to give instructions "yes, like that, two of those, no not through that hole, through that hole, loop it round again, through the same hole, now through the next hole, now another one . . ."

Anyway much as I laughed at the chat, it must have worked, as I got this postcard from Lisa:

and she has nearly finished a first scarf too :-)

Thank you Jackie, and well done Lisa

What says "oom"?

(It's one of my favourite jokes)

Flushed with success of the FMQ on Richard's taggie, I decided to have another go.  I read a suggestion that a tree was a good thing to try, so I 'drew' a tree!:

It was such fun, and looks so cute with two of the owl buttons on it.  (I think this will become a postcard mug rug and will fly to Greenwich soon)

So I had another go, and added some hedgehog buttons

(This just might find it's way to Niki's room!)

Another favourite joke is a cartoon - Mummy Kangaroo is standing near her joey.  Joey is talking to a hedgehog.  Joey says "I'm sorry Spike, but mum says you cant stay for a sleepover"

And the answer to "what says "oom" - it's an owl flying backwards, up side down!

I'm still here!

Not got much sewing done, but yesterday I did join The Richmond and Kew quilters for a talk by Sara Impey who created one of the quilts in the V&A Quilt exhibition last year.

This is a photo of the V&A quilt (photo taken from the book: I did get told off at the V&A for taking a photo of this quilt, but I cant find that photo)

Sara gave a really interesting talk on how she makes these, and how they evolve.  The V&A quilt was make on one piece of fabric, using different coloured threads ( these letters are the unsewn areas)

I have an idea to do something like this to look like an old fashioned telegram - but as ancient as I feel, I cant quite remember what telegrams looked like, so I will need to do some research, sometime when I have some free time!

Sara has gone on to do others where the letters are the stitched areas

Then onto colour blocks (she has a great sense of humour) like a paint chart

 

 And then free hand writing

I went to the R&KQ Group with Plum, and had a lovely tea and chat at hers first -  I love this cushion that she embroidered!

I received this lovely leaf postcard from Sue W (left) and sent her a dressmaker's dummy very similar to the one on the right

Time for bed now, night night 

Mug Rug Swap

There are lots of swaps happening in Blogland, and I don't normally join in.  Certainly when it comes to quilts, if I make one that I am pleased with i like to give it to someone I know, and if I'm not so please with it I couldn't give it to a stranger in a swap, so I figured swaps were not for me. 

However, you may notice a new button on the right side bar - yes I have caved in and joined Cindy (Fluffy Sheep Quilting) for a Mug Rug and goodie swap.  I have all of September to decide and make my partner's mug rug and goodie, and that should be enough time even for me.  It's not a direct swap so i wont necessarily be making for the person who is making for me, and I wont know who is making for me.

There is a Flickr group so we can see what each other likes, so I guess I'd better go off and learn how to play Flickr!

(and I wonder why I don't have any time?)

Meanwhile, I have been embroidering more school jumpers today, so while I (ie the machine) am doing each one, I (ie me) have been doing some hand sewing:

Hand quilting the Flying Geese

And hand sewing some embellishments onto some machine embroidered cards for a swap coming up.  I seem to have rather overdone the quantity, so if anyone would like one of these, let me have your snail mail address (by email, Benta@SLIKstitches.co.uk, not as a comment)  and I'll send you one!

Hand sewing and embroidery today

A few bits and pieces today, nothing from the to-do list, but mostly because I forgot to put these on the list!

I have measured and tacked the hem of Lisa's curtains, but want mum to check that they are OK and level and stuff before I press and sew them

Last year I contributed some blocks to the Linus quilt charity, and had a very nice email from the lady who went on to make a quilt out of them.  This year they are asking for transport themed blocks.  I'm not much for paper piecing etc, but I have a set of embroidery designs on the same theme, so, remembering that Festival Of Quilts is just ten sleeps away, I embroidered a whole load of blocks

and turned one into a postcard for Lisa as she's back at Uni

 I also did some embroidery on an I-Spy quilt for the new grandson of a friend of mum's

This on the front...

and this on the back

 and then binding round the sides ... not really the weather for sewing on binding, but there you go!

A day off...

I don't work at school on Thursdays: this leaves me a day free if I want to visit mum or Lisa.  I love them both, but today I wasn't visiting either, so yippee, I had nothing in the diary!  What a difference it makes to be able to sew without clock watching!

I had some 'ladder' blocks which pre-date the blog, but finally today I decided to do something with them (they are, at least, on my to-do list!)

So from this

 

I got this 

  

and now this (just stitched in strips at the moment)

 

I have also (ages ago) signed up to do a  postcard swap - with a theme of my favourite pet.  As we have this little chap in our house, how could I not?

 

 (And yes, we are allowed to keep one indoors, and no, he didn't come from the garden, and yes, he really is as cute as he looks!)

 So here are his postcards!

 
 And lastly I've started on a job I've been putting off since last October: Every autumn I go on a girly trip for a long weekend with friends.  Years ago I made us backpacks for a trip, and  now we have an embroidered design for each trip.

This is Jane's bag, the other side is just as busy: 10 trips in 8 years!

Last October we went to Florence, and the design was easy, but with so many designs it was becoming difficult to hoop a spare bit of bag, so I kept putting it off.

Anyway today I thought outside the box, and have embroidered Florence onto fabric that I can easily stitch onto the bags - bingo!

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!

Not very exciting

Not a very exciting weekend - I've embroidered a company logo onto 30 polo shirts, and Brian's put new floors and shelves in Lisa's room

I did however, clean out the fluff from inside the sewing machine (yuck!)

 Niki went to London and spent some time with Lisa... and brought back this awesome postcard for me.  Thank you Lisa, I LOVE it!!!