Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!!

Here's to a productive 2013 filled with health, happiness and lots of quilting!!

Sarah

x

ALQS7 - Time to Rest

This it the 2nd Another Little Quilt Swap I have participated in and both times I have been absolutely thrilled with the quilt I was given in the swap.  This piece is named 'Time to Rest' (hence the chair in the right hand corner!) and was made by Diana Furguson from the USA (you can see her blog at www.difergi.blogspot.com).  The face is silk and was made for another piece of artwork but didn't quite make the grade, rather than discard her totally, Diana put her into 'Time to Rest' and I was lucky enough to give her a new home!  Below are a couple of close up pictures to show the work and detail that went into the piece. 

You can see more of the little 12" x 12" quilts on Kate's blog at www.katesquilting.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!!

Taj Mahal

It has been mad here!  Getting back from holiday so close to Christmas in principle is fantastic but.....in reality there has been a huge amount to do.  I think I can safely say that I am now organised.  Just have to pick the children up from the station this afternoon (thats providing the trains are running, as we've had lots of flooding in the New Forest area and that has affected the trains).  Hopefully that means I can relax a bit and get down to sorting some of my photographs out and also I must blog my wonderful mini quilt that I recieved in the ALQS7 back in November.

In the mean time here is a picture taken at dawn of the wonderful Taj Mahal - just to prove I really have been to India and YES it is as beautiful and magical as they say!!  More pictures will follow.

I'm back

It seems like its been an age since I last blogged - well I guess it has.  We've just arrived back from 3 weeks in North India and it has been amazing.  I will regale you with some photo's but first I need to get over the jet lag!!!

Advent Calendar

I have finished the Advent Calendar for my god-daughter and I absolutely love it.  I managed to make the entire thing from my stash (OK except the felt) but it makes me feel better that I could do it from my stash when I had promised myself I wouldn't start a new project!!!  Anyway I hope Amelie and her Mum like it as much as I do.

The close up photo shows number 24 with her eye open waiting for Santa to arrive!!

Stump work Angel

I have an embroidery and textile class tomorrow so thought I had better finish off my little stump work angel so I could do a show and tell!  I'm quite pleased with the way it looks now the boarder is on - just need to find some where to hang it.

Advent Calendar

Hair on!!!!

Rainbow scrap challenge - black

This months colour is gray through to black!  I thought I was going to struggle but when I went to my fabric stash I had quite a few, all be it only small pieces, but that's all I needed!

I think this completes the challenge.  Next month I guess is filling in the gaps.

I promise I will take a photo soon of all my finished blocks.

Advent Calendar

Despite Roxy's help yesterday I did manage to sew the  rows together!  I'm not sure it looks Christmassy enough at the moment but hopefully when they have their hair and the Christmas stockings hung at the end of the beds it will do the trick!!

Advent Calendar

Progress has been made on my God-daughters Advent Calendar.   All the beds are made and some of the quilts are in place along with their little heads poking out from the top of the covers.  And below you can see I had a little helper - Roxy always comes visiting when I have a quilt or quilt bits laid on the floor!!!  

(Its not until you see a photo you realise how untidy the work room is!)

American Smocking

Last Saturday I had my embroidery and textile class where we did some American Smocking.  I used a piece of fabric that I dyed a couple of years ago (actually its a bit of a pillow case).  I marked the fabric at 7/8th intervals, sewed around each square drawing the thread up to make the flowers.  Its a bit of a fiddle but looks quite nice.  The class example was made of a silk like fabric and turned into a box - with the smocking on the lid.  Not sure this colour will work in my house although the tones in the fabric are actually rather yummy!

This is a close up of the pattern.  I think in a more delicate fabric it would look good with some bead embellishment maybe?

 I also had a play doing a different pattern although I'm not struck on this one - maybe its the colour of the fabric!

Rainbow scrap challenge

I have been out all day at my embroidery and textile class - learning how to do American Smocking (pictures to follow when I get my camera back).  But I did manage to do my brown blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge earlier in the week.  Brown was easy as I have lots and lots (and lots) or brown fabric and scraps.  the difficult bit was deciding which browns to use!!

I must take a photo of all my blocks together.

Postcard and Advent Calendar

Its been a busy weekend!  We went to Glastonbury for the night which was very nice.  Some rain but on the whole it was beautiful bright, sunny days.  It also gave us the chance to study our guide books for our upcoming holiday to India.  I did get some sewing done, although not a lot.  Here is a postcard I made for a friend who invited my DH and I over for dinner during the week.  The idea is based on a postcard I saw on Norma's blog.  You can look at them on http://www.notesfromnorma.blogspot.com - its well worth it!!

I also made some progress on the Advent Calendar - 9 beds made only another 15 to go and then all the little quilts, stockings........Maybe I shouldn't have started a new project when I had promised myself I wouldn't!

Stump work Angel

Ta da!!  The finished item (not sure what to do with it now?)  But still quite pleased with the outcome.  If I was being ultra critical I would have done the inner ring in a different colour - but as I don't have any different colours, green it was!  And thank you Faye for your 'Home Sweet Home' suggestion!

Angels and beaches

It has been a beautiful day today!  We walked the dog along the beach, its a pebble beach and because it was windy and quite stormy last night lots of things had been washed up (shoes, bits of plastic and other flotsam and jetsam) including these crab shells - the blue inside of one caught my eye!  Its really bright!  The crabs look positively prehistoric with their lumpy shells and eyes on storks (still attached).

 More work has taken place on the Angels!  the hunchback angel looks quiet angelic with her little pursed mouth but I think the jelly bean angel has a bit of a wicked glint in her eye!










I now have to decide on a quote of saying to go in the frame.  The one suggested at the class is far to twee for my liking so I shall go and do some surfing and see what I come up with!

Stump work Angel update

Here is an update on one of my little stump work angels - she now has hair (no features but at least her hunch has been covered).  Its quite relaxing doing bullion stitches and Ive almost done the 2nd angels hair.  So will get them finished hopefully this weekend (the weather forecast is grim for this afternoon so a good opportunity to sew!)

Stump work Angel

I had my first Textile and Embroidery class today.  There were four of us starting new, with varying levels of ability, so it was a nice mix.  We started on our stump work angels - very simple ones!  Some of the examples the tutor gave are amazing with tiny wire fingers that have to be covered with embroidery floss and they can then be manipulated....first things first, lets get some of the basics!!

 My angels look like a hunch back and a jelly bean in pretty frocks!

 The wings are made from organza, folded in half and bondawebbed together.  I've chained stitched around the wing shape and will fold them in half and attach to the angel.

The wings are now in place and I've started giving her some hair - she now looks like a long haired monk with a hunch!  But I really like her so will crack on and get some more hair on her head!

No new projects!!

I don't have any photographs to post on my blog at the moment - but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy!!  I've made a decision - I will not start any new projects until I have finished some of my UFO's and reduced the mountain of uncompleted by half before Christmas (that's this Christmas by the way).  I've just had a count up and there only seems to be 13 outstanding projects on my 2012 To Do List.  Now this somehow doesn't seem right, but lets just go with that because I'm sure I can manage to finish 6 - 7 projects before Christmas!   So lets just clarify what I mean by not starting any new projects - its actually OK to start a new project if it's using fabric from my stash - phew I've just started making an advent calendar!!  Oh yes and I've joined a textile and embroidery group so I will be having a go at stump work this month (didn't have to buy anything for it though!!).....I can see this is going to be very difficult.

Rectory Quilt Show

         Rectory Quilters is a local quilt group who put on a show in the local church every third year!  Along with the quilts there are youngsters entertaining us with their musical abilities and some beautiful flower arrangements to complement the whole.  Its a really nice setting and the standard of work is always excellent.  Here are just a few pictures to give you a flavour and feel for the show.

This photo is of a challenge to make a teacup pin cushion.  They are all wonderful - hard to pick a favourite!

This fish is covered in sequins held on by seed beads - very clever!  I love all the different quilts draped over the pews and they have even themed the quilts in this section by colour.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge

 Its Saturday so it must be Rainbow Scrap Challenge Day!!!!  This month it has been orange.  I really like orange fabric so was spoilt for choice, but here are my two pinwheels to add to the other 8 months worth (where have those 8 months gone?).  It also got me thinking about all the other projects I have in my cupboard that have orange in them, so here are a few

 I'm a big fan of this pattern also - square dance - so have made several small pieces using this technique.  the first one I dyed all my own fabrics so it was a bit of an experiment and the 2nd one I tried using different textures.

When I belonged to a quilt club (before I moved here) we used to have various challenges.  This one was called Ugly Fat Quarter - we had to wrap our ugliest, unused, unloved fat quarter up and then we picked from a tub - I picked the orange - didn't have a problem with it at all and I was actually quite pleased with the result.

Cushions!

Its been a beautiful weekend and we've had guests (which was lovely) but it means I have not spent a lot of time in my work room.  And I haven't wanted to miss any of the final days of the paralympics - which have been amazing, but here's something I was working on last weekend!!

A cushion for Faye's craft fair coming up in November!

Yummy fabrics

Popped into the local fabric shop to pick up some backing fabric for the cushion top I made last weekend.  I chose some fabrics very randomly (they were all in the half price sale) and not quite sure which, if any of them actually will match the cushion, but I'll have a play this weekend and see what I come up with!!

And of course with the start of the paralympics I will have to get back to the hexies again so I can sew and watch TV.

Oh yes and the colour for September in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is orange!

Square Dance

Faye has a stall at a craft fayre in November and apart from selling her greetings cards she wants to put some patchwork on the stall also.  With that in mind I thought I would contribute a couple of cushion covers and  have started with a square dance pattern.  Its also keeping to the Rainbow scrap challenge colour of teal/turquoise!

 

 I've done one or two square dance patterns previously and its a lovely satisfying pattern where you can use up scraps providing they are 4 1/2 inches square!  There are more complicated square dances where you re-cut the design once you have sewn it together and I may well do one of those as well.

Anyway here is the finished top, rearranged and quilted and this is why I love all things patchwork - too go from the first picture of 16 squares sewn together with a boarder added, to the above photograph of something very pleasing to the eye!!! - just have to turn it into a cushion now.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge

The colour for this months Rainbow Scrap Challenge is teal.  I had however done one that colour for July so decided to do a navy block  to make up the blues in July and do another one in turquoise/teal for this month - confused? Never fear all is as it should be!!!  I now have two blocks in blue and two in turquoise.

Grandmothers Garden

Its been an extremely hectic week and weekend before that.  But that's not why I didn't blog last weekend it was because the keyboard on the computer stopped working.  It did take me over 24 hours to realise it was the keyboard that was broken as opposed to me having a blond moment or two!!!  But anyway I did do some more hexies (still loving the hexagons!) and this weekend it is going to be pretty wet, which in my book means even more sewing - so quite looking forward to it really!!

Olympics

Yesterday my DH and I spent the day at the London 2012 Olympics and what an amazing day it was!!  I felt incredibly proud to be British and there was a definite feeling through out the park that the Brits had really come out on top with this one! The Olympic park is huge and it was an absolutely scorching hot day so every inch of shade was occupied (we took refuge under a bridge at one point to get out of the heat).  We did of course take lots of pictures.

 The curved roof of the Veledrome and to the right is the water polo building.  The small white bubble in the middle of the picture is a stage for musicians.

 Lots of people were proudly sporting their national flags!

 While wandering around the park we came across the Gloriana - The Queens Diamond Jubilee boat.

The park is planted out with banks of beautiful wild flowers.  They looked glorious!

 It did get incredibly busy, so busy we couldn't get into the Olympic shop (people were queueing!)  But you could really feel the excitement growing in anticipation of the evening sports events.

 Inside the Olympic stadium waiting for the evening to begin.  It was full to capacity - that's 80,000 people and most of them came to see Usain Bolt of Jamaica running in the 200m race.  Before that however we did see a World Record being set by a Kenyan in the 800m men's race - now that was exciting.  We also saw some great Javelin and Triple jump along with relay and some of the Decathlon.

I didn't take any pictures of the actual 200m race - it was over in 19.32 seconds and I was on my feet along with everyone else yelling and cheering!

 But Jamaica took Gold, Silver and Bronze!

The Olympic stadium and the Orbit at the end of a fantastic day!