Crochet and baking ....

I haven't crocheted for a few months now due to the fact that my hands and thumbs have been very sore this year.  However, when I saw Helen's (from Archie the Wonder Dog) post on IG this morning I felt compelled to make some flowers.

There was a call out for #aflowerforjenny on Instagram a couple of days ago .... if you click here there's a great blog post relating to this.  It broke my heart reading about what this family has gone through and the courage 19 year old Jenny is showing whilst planning her own funeral.

So if you crochet or knit or can make pompoms maybe you will consider making some very soon and send to Jenny.  I have just read an updated IG post and they are already inundated with pledges so do not now need anymore!!  How awesome is this community?!!!

Today is also ANZAC Day when Australians and New Zealanders around the world remember the fallen in Gallipoli.  My girls will be happy when they come home from school to find ANZACs in the tin!  It was very strange to be baking on my own and not have the girls asking for a 'lollipop' - ie a spoon full of raw biscuit mixture!

This is the recipe I use (posted to a very old blog of mine!!) and I did just have to try one that broke as I transferred them to the cooling tray - delicious!

Life can be so fragile and can be ended way too soon for some people.  I often tell people I love "I love you!" and I will continue to do so a very regular basis.  Lots of love heading out from me to you aswell!!

The Weekend - 18/19 February .....

I should have spent Saturday sewing with the ladies of the Oxfordshire Modern Quilt Guild but this bug I have is not shifting and so I had to cancel.  I was able to nip into the studio for some of Saturday and work on a new quilt based on my Churned to a T block.  Having drawn up this design in EQ7 I was able to have a good play with layout and colours, more details in this post if you are interested, and settled on a design.

This was the first time I cut all the pieces out before starting to sew .... I did not get it 100% correct and had to cut a few more pieces along the way but it certainly made the piecing go much faster.  I love seeing the difference once the block is trimmed ....

The fabrics used are all Kona Cotton and the colours are silver, cerise, gumdrop, cyan, Bahama blue and graphite (not in this picture).

There were three colour variations on the same block resulting in 16 blocks with a measurement of 24".

I am finding it really difficult to get a true representation on the colours in any of my photos - but in real life I love them!!  I hadn't physically seen gumdrop before and I am so pleased with the colour.  I was wanting the change between the light and dark pinks to be the same as between the blues (which I already had) and I am really happy with what I achieved.

I have to say that I really don't enjoy joining the blocks when they still have their papers in however, when I have taken them out in the past I can not get the seams to match up as well as I would like.  I only ever pin if absolutely necessary so for me this was a nightmare!  Not to mention that I sewed this entire line but my bobbin thread had run out after the first three inches!

First line of papers removed ....

and then I moved upstairs to the lounge.  I have never removed the papers whilst watching TV before and I have to say it made the whole process a lot more bearable!

I had to see what it looked like so I ironed it just before I went to bed ....

Today was spent on an entirely different project.  In my bid to be more organised (as per my word of the year ORGANISATION) I am not leaving the girls' World Book Day costumes to the last minute.  Being at school for this day will be really good fun for them and even the secondary school children still dress up.  My eldest decided to go as the Mad March Hare from Alice in Wonderland and so of course needed hare ears!  I had thought I would make them from felt but my daughter found some faux fur in the studio - I have no idea where that came from.  This was my first time using faux fur so I wasn't really sure whether it would work or not.

I made a template and cut out the shape from pelmet vilene and then sewed some wire around the edges in the hope that the ears could be shaped ....

Then came the fur part - uuurggghhhhh!  It got everywhere ..... I found it best to cut out with a rotary cutter (totally ruined the blade but it was worth it) and then I hoovered them so loose fibre wasn't getting everywhere whilst I worked on them.

I joined the first side with a whip stitch but the second side was done with another stitch, similar to ladder stitch but I am not sure of the name, and it gave a much better finish with the fur in the seam.  I was thrilled with how it hard turned out and, most importantly, so was my daughter.  I felt like an old pro when it came to making the second ....

And the result .... attached to an old magician's hat my Mum made for her years ago they will fit the bill.

Will she actually wear the hat on the bus to school?  I'm not sure but I love that she still wants to dress up and spending some time in the sutdio with her today was really precious! 

The Weekend - 28/29 January

It felt strange heading off for a workshop on Saturday when the girls were home from school, but I had booked on it before they decided to go to school.  One of my local club members had made a Swan Confetti Quilt which hung in our show last July and the workshop was to make one.

 

It is still at this rather precarious stage but I hope to get it quilted one day this week.

A new ripple blanket was started on Thursday and so the evenings were spent enjoyably working on this.  The evening lighting has really not shown the colours correctly.

And some baking was done - these are kumara (sweet potato), bacon and onion muffins and they were delicious.  The chocolate cup cakes, baked by my eldest, were very tasty too!

And then there was some post.  Two blocks for my month as Queen Bee of Stash Bee Hive 8 - one from a Hive mate and one from a Hive Crasher!  I still a couple of blocks to receive and then piecing this top is top of my list.  These blocks make me so happy and I am going to love, love, love this quilt!

I also managed to spend some time on EQ7 but that's for later! All in all a good, if busy weekend, the downside being my youngest has been off school today with a temperature and sore throat.  Although it has been rather pleasant to sit snuggled up with her this afternoon watching a film! x

Where has January gone?  It's already the 25th and I am just coming to grips with the New Year!  This January we have had big changes in our family.  After years of home educating our two daughters they both started school at the beginning of term!!

Sewing on name tags took a lot longer than I thought!

What a change .... for us all.  They have gone into Year 7 and Year 5 and, fingers crossed, things are going really well.  In fact I have been astounded by their attitudes, their ability to get organised and their all round acceptance of school life.  They are both really enjoying it - long may that continue!

A very quick make-up-the-pattern-as-I-go pencil case for my youngest

My first finish of 2017!

For me of course it means I have more time, although truth be told I spent the first two weeks of term in an exhausted, zombie like state.  I finally feel that we are adjusting to our new rhythms. although having to wake by an alarm for the first time in well over 13 years is not something I am enjoying!

The final blocks for Bee Hive 2016

I am slowly going through the house and decluttering (6 months of receipts anynone?!) and have been mentally planning over the last few weeks.  I really wanted to join in with Yvonne's Planning Party but realistically I had no idea how school was going to turn out and I restrained myself from overcommitting, although I have been sorely tempted with a couple of things.  

After learning about Epiphany in Spanish my daughter made El Roscon de Reyes - it was delicious! 

So rather late to the party but I still want to state my intentions for the year.  I have never chosen a word for the year before but after lots of pondering it has to be ORGANISATION.  In the hubbub of HE and the resulting 'things' you need for it I don't think I have had a really good clear out since we arrived back in the UK.  So that's 4 years of things to sort through.  It also applies to my studio where I have a lots of ideas to streamline things so that I am not needlessly looking for things or repeating myself with tasks.

To that end, I have joined in an IG challenge #organizedsewingspace2017.  On 16 January my studio was still full of Christmas wrapping paraphenlia, projects half done and had become the general dumping ground over the holiday period.  The first challenge was to clear and organise your sewing area.  My before shot ....

and after .... So much better - I now don't have to worry about the chair toppling backwards every time I move it! 

The second challenge was your pressing and cutting area.  After an accident involving an overloaded ironing board a few years ago my 'pressing area' is always kept clear and tidy.  My cutting area on the other hand not so much.  I am lucky enough to have two areas I can cut in and, ashamedly, I could not cut on either ....

But after is a different story all together!  Whilst the back table still has some piles on it, these are piles that consist of all the correct bits and are projects to be worked in the near future.  The difference in my mind once I had done this was unbelievable.  I have vowed not to let it get in that state again!

So that's a start!  The other thing I have done was to sort out my projects, WIPs and UFOs and make my Quarter 1 FAL list.  I was delighted to be invited to be one of the global hosts this year but almost missed the deadline of entering my own list .... see I really need that word 'organisation' in my life!  In my organised, tidy studio I can now get on with these projects.  I have already completed 3 and have been working on two more these last couple of days.  More of that later along with other commitments and plans for the year.

Another goal I have set myself is to start blogging regularly again and visiting other people's blogs. I really do miss it when I am away from this wonderful community.  So with that in my mind, I am going to link up to Let's Bee Social over at Sew Fresh Quilts today for the first time this year.  I am looking forward to getting a cuppa later and popping over to visit other people and generally being sociable!  If anyone has any tips on how to get in the blogging groove again I would be most appreciative! x

Pick a letter, any letter!

My Mum turned 80 in August.  What do you get for your Mum when she turns 80?

What do you get someone who has most things and has just decided to start decluttering after 30 years in the same house?

What do you get for someone who, after a few hard years, decides to buy herself a soft top sports car a week before her birthday?

What do you get, or make, for someone when there is only a week left until their birthday?

Why you make a Scrabble mini quilt of course!!

My Mum and I, and indeed all the children, often play Scrabble so it seemed appropriate.

My daughter, 12, now plays with my Mum, 80!

I loved the way this turned out in the end .... although part way through I was beginning to worry it wasn't going to look as good in real life as it did in my head!

I used twin needles to attach the white grid fabric and decided to use those as the quilting lines aswell.  It gave a zig zag appearance on the back of the quilt, which I actually quite like - speed, efficiency and good looks too!

Now the question is what to make her for her 81st?!!

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday today.

A pair of pyjamas ....

in fact two! 

One of the items on my 2016 FAL list was a pair of pyjamas for my youngest daughter.  She had picked out the fabric months ago (she wanted it to match mine which are made from a vintage sheet in white and mint green stripes) and I had taken measurements to draft the pattern months ago.  Needless to say, new measurements had to be taken and I drafted the pattern from this book, Metric Pattern Cutting for Children's Wear and Babywear, by Winifred Aldrich.

I chose the 'flat' one-piece trouser block and opted for an easy fit because they were going to be for pyjamas.  I haven't done any pattern drafting for a long time so was really pleased that I was able to do this one evening after the girls were in bed.  Oh and having varifocals/progressive glasses makes a HUGE difference - I could actually see what I was doing!!

I did think after drafting the pattern that they seemed really big and even went so far as to recheck all the calculations I had used for drafting and then I found my PJ pattern piece and compared them.  When they were made up I realise I should have listened to my gut instinct and changed them.  Oh my goodness they were terrible ...... my daughter got it right when she said she felt like a clown.  I now realise I should have taken some photos of them at this stage but I was so disheartened I didn't!

With a bit of judicious cutting and sewing here and there I have made them wearable.  The back fits OK but was a bit low in the crotch once I had rejigged the front.

As you can see there is loads of spare fabric in the front - and I took out a lot more!

However, at this point she was happy and told me to stop fiddling!

When I first starting making trousers for me I used to have to look inside them each time I put them on to check which was the back.  It wasn't until some time later that I realised I could just mark the back with something!  I do this every time now and for these trousers I had the perfect little scrap of vintage ribbon ....

I wasn't particularly happy with them, but I guess the proof of the pudding is in the wearing and my daughter has worn them every night since I made them!  So another tick of my list - hooray!!  However ...... the story does not end there ....

I really want a good pattern for easy fit trousers because in reality they only take half an hour to sew if everything fits.  So I revised the block to the standard fit and took new patterns from it.

New material was chosen, another vintage sheet from my shelf, and I set to on making another pair.  These were a much better fit - thank goodness!

There is still a little extra fabric in the front but the back fits perfectly ....

I don't have enough knowledge to know how to pull in the front without distorting the back .......if anyone knows how then please shout up!  They were finished just in time because her stripy ones had to go in the wash yesterday so she had these to replace them!  There's something very special about seeing your children in mama made clothes.  I think I may have a little longer with this one - the eldest has been out of them for almost 2 years now :( x

I am linking up for the first time to to Needle & Thread Thursday over at My Quilt Infatuation.