2019 - Here's to a Great Year!

Wow that went quick - one minute it was 27 September and the next it's January 2019!!  Happy New Year to you all and I hope that the Christmas and New Year period was a good one.

Oh how I miss my lovely spacious studio ....

Since I last posted here we have been rather busy.  The house move finally happened - in the end we had one week from exchange to completion so that was one week to pack up my studio, pack up our family home, keep 2 children and a cat settled and not go crazy in the process!

It was wonderful to see the shelves emptying and lots of bags went to a lady who makes charity quilts - there was no way it could all come with us!

It didn't seem quite so big when it was all boxed up!

Followed by work commitments, illness and Christmas it's no wonder that my blog has been somewhat neglected.  I aim to remedy that this year.  Whilst Instagram is quick and portable I miss writing here and I especially miss having a fuller record of my creative life.

The girls only went back to school this week so I have been somewhat late entering the New Year and making plans and goals.  There is going to be lots going on this year and some stuff I am SOOOO excited about.  There will be sewing and quilting as usual but also house renovations, a studio conversion, teaching and talking - more on all of that soon.  I have temporarily housed my longarm machine at my Mum's and it felt great to finally get the frame back up and be able to quilt.

I had a play with some of Jane's rulers and some FMQ inspired by this video by Sherilyn Mortensen.

Up until last Monday I hadn't sewn a stitch for almost 3 months.  It was not good.  I had itchy fingers.  My mind was making in my head which didn't leave much room for much else.  I have finally got a sewing space set up in the house, my family are very obliging when it comes to giving up rooms (not!), and today I made a start on a lovely QAL that I have signed up for.  It is the Tumbling Spools QAL hosted by Jo over at The Crafty Nomad and is a lovely leisurely way to start the year and end up with a gorgeous wall hanging.

There's still plenty of time to take part if you want to.

Here's hoping I will be back here again ...... very soon! x

A week of finishes (again!) :: Day 3 :: Cloud 9 Sample Block #1

Up today is No 13 from my 2017 FAL Q1 list!  Back in September last year, I took part in the Cloud 9 New Block blog hop and, before making the block in the gorgeous Cirrus solids, I made a few sample blocks.  This was one of them.

This block is not actually the foundation paper pieced block that I finally did for the Blog Hop, but a rotary cut and pieced block.  I know that some people don't like paper piecing and so I was trying out an alternative to it.  Whilst it works OK, I wasn't happy with some of the sections and so plumped for the paper pieced version.

I had already quilted one of these to become a wall hanging for a swap at my local quilt club and so I knew how I wanted to quilt this one - just the same!  Even so it can be daunting when it's all loaded up and you haven't made that first stitch yet ....

I straight line quilted two quadrants with a gradual increase in the space between the lines and then free motioned quilted with a paisley motif in the other two quadrants.  I used Glide thread in light turquoise which I really like.

I decided against a traditional binding for this and went instead with a facing.  I followed Victoria's tutorial again, and it worked well.  This finishes at 14".  The fabrics used were Kona white, Bahama blue and cyan and then the reds were FQs I had picked up at a show so not sure what they are.

I like the abrupt change between the geometric straight lines and the swirls of the paisley design ....

and another, just because I can and I love this design!!

I am going to be linking up with Lorna over at Let's Bee Social. x

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! 

Let's Bee Social - all about the blocks!

I am still not feeling well but I got so bored doing nothing that I have been in my studio and created!  Whilst it has been a lot slower than normal at least I am making again.

My first make is for the Jersey Modern Quilt Guild Rainbow Retreat in March.  Last year, when I asked for pattern testers, a lady from Jersey replied.  She duly tested the pattern and we kept in touch.  I met her for lunch at Festival of Quilts last year and she mentioned that she was one of the organisers of the Jersey Modern Quilt Guild.  At that time I was really wanting to get involved in the MQG but had just decided that I didn't have enough time or energy to start a group in Midlands.  Luckily for me, soon after, there was a post on IG for the start up of the Oxfordshire MQG which I duly joined!  However, back to Jersey .... I was lucky enough that there were spaces left on their Rainbow Retreat and was invited to go along. I have never been to Jersey so I am really looking forward to it.  The plan had been to go for a week with the family but then the girls started school so the plan changed.  Now it is me flying on my own and being away for 4 days.  Which is a first for me since children came along and will be such a short flight compared to our usual journeys between the UK and NZ!

Anyway, the block requested was a rainbow star (any design) with a Kona Iron background.  I think this fits the bill!

I had used a Wombat Quilts paper pieced pattern before (Inner Star) but I wanted it larger this time.  So I upsized it in EQ7 and printed out my own papers.  I have to say I am really enjoying the learning curve of EQ7 and have found myself colouring in quite a few quilts since I have been unwell!

Next up was my addition to Pauline's UK Travelling Quilt Bee.  I still haven't blogged about this fabulous group I am in which I really must do.  So having looked at the quilt and Pauline's various inspiration # and Pinterest boards I decided to make some improv blocks.  This is something that I have wanted to do for a while having seen such gorgeous pieces being made by others.  I read this post from Red Pepper Quilts - Tutorial: Cutting and Sewing Freehand Curves and this post from Leanne at She Can Quilt on Improv Circles and got cracking.

I think I may have fallen rather in love with this technique!!  I loved how liberating it was and that you can't really go wrong.  The colours would not have been ones I would have usually worked with but I love how they have worked out.  They are mostly Kona Cotton solids with some Cloud 9 Cirrus solids thrown in.  This photo does not do the colours justice but having not had ANY decent light for photos this will have to do for now!

My other monthly Bee commitment this year is The Stash Bee.  This month Rochelle asked for an arrow:

You get some lovely bonus 1/4 blocks from making these blocks which make gorgeous scrappy string squares.

I have three 2017FAL finishes to still blog about but will do them in separate posts to make it easier to link up at the end of the quarter.  If any of you have had some FAL finishes please do leave a comment below with a link so I can come visit and wave some pompoms!!

I am going to link up with Lorna's Let Bee Social linky party today.

The Weekend - 03/04 February .....

has been spent with half the household being ill, one recovering and one unscathed!!   I am one of the ill and so have not been making anything at all.  Although I have been playing with EQ7, planning some projects, and ordering some fabric - well what's a girl to do when she's ill?!

I have been playing with my Churned to a T block from the 2016 Cloud 9 New Block Blog Hop.  I drafted it in EQ7 and then played with lots of different layouts .....

This is the original block that was made four times and joined together to give the 12" block required:

My original layout idea had the blocks oriented like this:

One of my pattern testers put hers together another way, by rotating each 1/4 block 180 degrees:

And another layout:

A full quilt layout:

And in a different colourway:

It is so quick and easy to change placement and colours so I had another play:

Having thought about purchasing EQ7 for over a year I am absolutely delighted to now have it AND be using it!!  Whilst I had played with different layouts with physical blocks I made I would never have come up with all these layouts with the use of the computer.

The quilt I have actually decided to make from this block is this one:

I am using Kona Solids in graphite, cerise, gumdrop, cyan and bahama blue and it should end up single sized.  This will be my first time making a quilt with so much negative space and also the first time I have made a quilt that is fully planned before I start!  I have the foundation papers printed and even plan to cut all my fabric at the start.  I'll let you know how all those plans go!  I hope your weekend has been a lot more fun than mine. x

Dachshund Cushion No 2

My youngest daughter is also rather partial to dachshunds and, with her birthday being just a month after my eldest, it only seemed fair to make her a dachshund cushion aswell.  My eldest received this one here.

This pattern is also by Juliet at Tartan Kiwi (psst she has 25% off her patterns until 31 December 2016 if you use code Happyholidays2016) and was lovely to make - even though I was somewhat apprehensive about some of the tiny pieces.

For the first time whilst paper piecing I bothered to get my light box out and it made such a difference.

I worked through each section and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly they came together.

It was lovely seeing him come to life ....

.... but not so lovely seeing his backside when he was complete!

He was at this stage for a while before I was able to get a big enough cushion inner.  He finishes at 20" and I didn't want to lose much of the background otherwise he looked a bit funny!

Finally all finished and gifted ..... just a little late!

This is another finish on my 2016FAL - Number 5 on the list.  I really need to check on this list.  I know I haven't made great inroads on it but I think there are a few things that I have done but not yet posted about - nothing like the end of the quarter to get you motivated!

Linking up to Let's Bee Social over with the lovely Lorna!

Finish Along Quarter 3 No 1 :: Dachshund Cushion

Both my girls are majorly into dachshunds at the moment so, as we won't be getting a real life one, I thought they might like fabric ones.  I bought two patterns from Tartan Kiwi and set to making the first one for my daughter's birthday at the beginning of September.

If you look at the scale of the cutting mat you can see exactly how tine some of those pieces are ....

I was running a little late so all she got was this little block in an envelope with the option of it becoming a mini wall hanging or a cushion cover!!  This block measures 6 1/2" x 8 1/2".

She chose a cushion cover and I happened to have a rectangle cushion inner, but it still took a few weeks to finish!

Making do with what fabrics I had, and also not really knowing what I was going to make with it when I started, meant that it truly became patchwork as I made it up to size!  It was finished a week ago but I only had indoor shots ....

The sun was shining today so I took him outside!  And I had the realisation that, in my hurry to get him finished, I made the cushion cover without giving the front any quilting - can't believe I've only just realised.

However, I still think he looks pretty good.  I make my covers a couple of inches smaller than the cushion inner and that way they are plumped up well.  I think that's a saving grace for this one with no quilting.

I made a zippered opening on the back with some white and orange fabric I had in my stash.  I have to admit that I forgot how to put in a zip so some unpicking ensued but I got there in the end.  However, I used a zip I already had because I didn't want to wait any longer.  It was smaller than it should have been and I was lucky to be able to get the cushion inner in there ..... I certainly have learnt my lesson and will wait next time until I have the right zip for the job.

And in its final resting place!

Dachshund No 2 is in the works - again the piecing was finished in time for my other daughter's birthday but I didn't have a cushion inner the right size to finish it.

This is my first finish for Quarter 4 and is No 1 on my 2016FAL Q4 list.