bellsjo

Pink Pink Pink

2012-01-22T12:09:00.003Z

Wow - 5 months since my last blog post. Ho hum, such is life I suppose! As you can see I have a finished quilt to show you - my Quilt of Ultimate Pinkness thanks to the lovely ladies of the Tag Square Bee I was in on Flickr. In fact, this is the first of hopefully a lot of finishes. I was in a number of Bees during 2011 and now have enough blocks to make at least two more complete quilts. As my sewing time is very limited I decided to stop any bees this year and concentrate on using the blocks I already have. I also have a project on the go for a dear friend who is getting married in the summer. She is having a shabby chic style wedding on a real budget and has asked for help from all her crafty freinds. I am therefore going to be making flowery bunting and throws to cover the hay bales she is going to use as seating. They are going to be very simple quilts - just a piece of fabric with backing (no batting), some simple straight line quilting and binding. I have been searching charity shops for floral sheets and duvet covers and am gathering a pile ready to be transformed. I will keep you posted on how I get on!

ABC

2011-08-24T14:16:00.001+01:00

So the summer is rushing past in a haze of paddling in the sea, swimming, allotmenting, pottering and playing! We are squeezing a lot into our last week and a half until school starts again, but I wanted to share with you a completed project. Gasp - I know, I amazed myself as it seems that all I have done recently is show bee blocks! These quilts are for twins and were made from a fabric swap over on Flickr. They are ABC quilts so 26 of the blocks are showing letters of the alphabet. I had to make a couple of changes as the swaps were US based so the fabric reflected that. For example, the kitten fabric you can see came as Y for yarn. I swapped a plain piece of purple that was sent as 'eggplant' colour and a couple more like that. I am really pleased with them - different enough to be unique to each twin but alike enough to stop fights I hope!

busy doing nothing

2011-07-03T16:40:00.004+01:00

Well nothing blog related that is! I always knew I would be a sporadic and occasional blogger but only three posts this year? Oops! I am very busy with work, family and the allotment so sewing has come last place of late. Bee blocks are still being made, which will result in enough blocks to make at least two if not three quilts in the winter when outdoor demands are a lot less.

Here are a few blocks - all bee ones apart from the scrappy 2 inch square block. This is a very long term project to try and bring control to my stash and use up all those scraps!

Well I am not sure when I will be back - I might try to manage two posts in July but no promises :-)

Easter

2011-04-25T21:20:00.003+01:00

Easter has been lovely - weather perfect, time to relax, family visited, allotment planted and of course some sewing done. All the above are bee blocks made using this tutorial. I am back at work tomorrow for just three days before a four day weekend. Hurrah for Kate and William getting married and giving us the day off! The bunting is going up tomorrow :-)

Happiness is.....

2011-03-30T17:27:00.005+01:00

An Orla bag from TESCO:

Potatoes chitting on windowsills all over the house:

A Tag Square Bee block made and posted:

My first Project Linus quilt of the year complete:

time flies

2011-02-13T21:22:00.004Z

So it would appear that I haven't posted since just before Christmas! What can I say? Time goes way too fast. Apart from over the last two weeks when both my boys came down with chicken pox. Then it went a bit slower. Especially at night. Poor old Itchy and Scratchy, they had a rough time of it! Sewing has been limited - I think I burnt out after my crazy quiltathon just before Christmas. The quilts were well recieved by both the boys and are in use every day, which makes me feel very happy! Here is my only offering from the past month and a half - blocks for the 3x6 quilting bee:

Hopefully things will speed up a bit and I will have something else to show you soon!

and relax.....

2010-12-24T14:10:00.004Z

It is done. The Christmas quilt making marathon is complete. The Star Wars quilt for my eldest son is ready to be wrapped and I can now relax! Many of the blocks are from the Euro Bee girls - thank you so much ladies.

There is just some time for a little baking this afternoon before we light the fire and snuggle down for the next few days.

Happy Christmas to you and yours - see you next year!

Christmas finish

2010-12-22T21:26:00.004Z

Phew! One down, one to go! Here is my finished eye spy quilt for youngest son. Twenty six different quilters contributed blocks to this quilt via the 3x6 bee. I love the fact that this quilt has had so many hands working on it. Not only does it make the quilt perfect in terms of wonderful block and fabric variety, but it represents everything great about online bees and quilters in general. I used lots of scraps for the binding and used a plain blue sheet for the backing. The second quilt for eldest son is also nearing completion - a good job too as there are only three sleeps until Christmas!

time flies

2010-12-11T09:16:00.006Z

I cannot quite believe it has been a month since I last posted - where does the time go? November was a very busy month - four family birthdays, report writing, mock exams to mark, sewing to do..... the list goes on. To top it all my work was given an inspection last week so I have been beyond busy. All that is done now thank goodness, so I am hoping that I can now finally concentrate on some serious sewing in the run up to Christmas.
I have got a fair bit done already though - have a look and see what I have been up to!
Bee blocks:

A quilt for a birthday boy:

and a quilt top in progress:

Right - I better get back to it! Happy sewing to you all this weekend!

Thunder flower girls and flags!

2010-11-05T18:52:00.004Z

I am really pleased with how this cushion turned out - my first Christmas present sorted! It was made using some vintage bunting I found at a car boot sale this summer. I chopped out all the mildewy bits to make a rather abstract union flag design. I off centered it on blue and gave it a red cushion back. It will hopefully suit my sister and brother in law - they have a very funky modern kitchen and a red leather chair it should work perfectly in.

My second result of the week is this quilt for my goddaughter - she has just had her 13th birthday. The main fabric is Thunder Flower by Alexander Henry and I just LOVE it! It is too nice to cut up, so decided to just go with a big piece and show off those funky anime girls to to max.

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos - I am now going to work in the dark and coming home in it - boo! Both the cushion and quilt are being delivered this weekend so I snapped these just before they were wrapped up. Next I need to complete a bee block, make a dolls quilt and start on a Christmas table runner. That is before I tackle the monsters that are the two quilts for my sons! Have fun this weekend whatever you are doing.

Halloween and harvest

2010-10-30T15:29:00.004+01:00

So I have finally gathered in all the pumpkin and squash from the allotment - don't they look pretty?

I made a table runner for Halloween. I am not a huge fan of orange and black, but adding the purple works really well! We don't go trick or treating but always light a fire, have a lantern and a special meal. (usually a Chinese - not very traditional I know but our favourite!) When I was growing up the lantern was always a swede picked from the field next to the house (my dad was a farmer). Boy oh boy they were hard to carve! I always kept the swede carving tradition going when I left home, but when I got an allotment I did decide that as long as I had grown the pumpkin myself I could use one! So the last couple of years we have had pumpkin lanterns, much to my relief :-)

Finally here is some vintage bunting I was lucky enough to find at a car boot sale in the summer. The youngest it can be is from the 1950's as one of the flags is an Australian flag with a red background instead of the blue we see today. Apparently the red background was used in Australia a fair bit during the first world war but by the 1950's the blue one had become the main flag. Fascinating stuff! I love to think that those little flags might have been used in a village hall to celebrate the end of the war, summer fairs, Christmas, the coronation.... the list goes on! The bunting was damp and covered in mildew when I got it, but after a very gentle hand wash it came up good. I am going to turn a number of the flags (some of them are damaged) into a patchwork cushion for my sister and brother in law. Watch this space!

progress

2010-10-16T09:30:00.004+01:00

Six blocks made for my hive peeps in the 3x6 mini bee:

Two more rows added to my ever growing eye spy quilt:

Yipeeee! I nearly have a quilt top! I am on a bit of a roll at the moment - I hope your sewing is going as well!

Shhhhh - top secret!

2010-09-27T19:49:00.005+01:00

No sewing from me alas, but look at the pretties sent to me by my Bee peeps. These six fabulous blocks are to be added to the eye spy quilt I am making for my two year old, courtesy of the 3x6 mini bee:

These beauties are the start of the top secret star wars quilt I am making for my soon to be seven year old and are from the Euro Bee:

I am very excited about making these two quilts. The eye spy quilt isn't so top secret, but the eldest has no idea I am making him a star wars quilt - I will be doing some late night sewing when he is abed to get it completed for Christmas. Oops, sorry - I said the C word :-)

Tag Square Bee

2010-09-17T17:51:00.007+01:00

A quick update:

The Bee is now full! Yipeeee!

Tag Square Bee

2010-09-11T08:45:00.008+01:00

Hello everyone! Thanks for your comments about the bee - I have a had a look at what people thought and have come up with a plan. Here we go:

The name of this bee will be 'Tag Square Bee' and the idea is that we 'tag' different people each month and make a block for them so all bee members end up with enough blocks to make a quilt. Over the year we will make 12 blocks (one a month) for each bee member, using our own fabric and block design but their colour choices. So once a month you will recieve a lovley block that someone else has made for you! The square bit comes in because I thought we could base the blocks on squares. There are so many block designs out there that include squares everyone should be able to find a block that they like making and that is suited to their ability level. It also means that the finished quilt will have an overall theme running through it. You could choose to make the same block each month or use different block designs each month to practice trying new techniques - the choice would be yours.

To summarise:

the bee will be made up of 13 quilters
start date - November 2010 (this will allow us to finish in November 2011 with enough time to make up our quilts for Christmas 2011! December 2010 however would be missed out - so we would make blocks Nov '10, Jan 11', Feb 11' etc)
block design - something including squares, size 12 1/2 inches
you use your own stash to make a block each month for a different bee member
each month someone makes a block for you using their stash
choose the same block to make each month (so just varying the colours and fabrics) or try a new block each month
you will need to be a member of Flickr as that is where all photos, instructions, addresses and information will be based. (If you are not a member, don't worry - it is very easy to join!)
international quilters and beginners welcome
you request a colour combination for your blocks but the design chosen is up to the quilter

gallery

anyone fancy a quilting bee?

2010-09-03T19:05:00.006+01:00

I had a go making some placemats and coaters as a housewarming present and was very pleased with how they came out. Putting the binding on the coasters was extremly fiddly however - I am not sure I will be doing that again!

I also made a little bag as the wrapping for a birthday present. No lining, just a sewn square cut with crimping scissors to stop fraying.
Finally a question - anyone fancy a quilting bee? The two I have been in have pretty much come to an end. I thought I would ask here on the blog first before throwing it open to Flickr. I have a few ideas - do any out of the following list appeal?

2011 quilt - each month we make a block for another member of the bee using the month we are in as inspiration and using our own stash.
Build a quilt - using our own stash we make a block for one other member each month following guidelines from them (colour, general style etc)
Classic bee - one person posts out fabric each month for everyone else to make blocks.
Improvtastic - some sort of bee based on improv blocks.

I think my preference is for something that involves bee members using their own stash and making one block a month for someone else. In traditional bees you might have to wait months before it is your go to have pretty blocks arriving in the post, but this way you would get something arriving each month! Let me know if you are interested. It would be open to people worldwide by the way and beginners, so if you have never done a bee before don't be shy!

shopping!

2010-08-20T10:34:00.004+01:00

I made myself a bag the other day:

To take with me to the festival of quilts and fill with fabric of course!

Also, without wanting to give too much away for those of you yet to visit the F of Q may I warn you that the famous rabbit and bee quilt from last year has a new rival. You will know it when you see it. Oh yes.
I have also had a few lovely breaks away recently to Yorkshire, Devon and Wales so I am terribly behind on blog reading and replying to your comments. Apart from the occasional day trip we are now home for the rest of the summer break giving me the chance for some gardening, sewing and generally messing about with the children. What bliss!

at the seaside

2010-08-10T06:33:00.005+01:00

Our holiday: surfing, sandcastles, fish and chips, rain, sunshine, family and Woolacombe beech!

block making

2010-07-25T13:26:00.005+01:00

I have been busy making lots of bee blocks this week as you can see from the above photos!
These lovley blocks were sent to me for my eye spy quilt via the 3x6 mini bee:

Here is the quilt so far, with a new row added:

Have a fun week everyone - now I am on holiday I am off to Yorkshire for a few days to see family.

princess and unicorn

2010-07-17T06:53:00.002+01:00

Made for a six year old using a tutorial from Fat Quarterly. Taken before the rain returned - the UK is back to its rainy self now, not that I am complaining too much, my allotment needed a really good water!

fabric and flowers

2010-07-10T09:11:00.009+01:00

Here are my latest purchases - they all arrived in the post together so I had a lovely 10 minutes opening my parcels and stroking my new fabric!

The plains are from a new online shop Simply Solids. Finally the UK has got somewhere to buy Kona solids from! I also splashed out on a swatch card - a bit pricey at £12 but so worth it. It will earn its keep as I will no longer be wasting money buying plain fabrics only to discover the colour is wrong when they arrive.

My patterned fabrics are from Saints and Pinners and Fabric Rehab - two UK stores always guaranteed to have lots of lovely things to choose from. All in all we are starting to do pretty well as far as shops go. Lily's quilts (another UK blogger) has compiled a list of UK online fabric shops on her blog that is well worth a look - she had a few on her list I had not come across before. Her blog is fab as well!

Finally I picked these flowers on my allotment at 6:30 this morning on an adventure and raspberry munching walk with my two boys (they are both early risers). Some sweet peas, a few sprigs of herbs and wild flowers from my asparagus bed (it really needs a good weed if there are flowers in it!!) Enjoy your weekend!

dogs and robots

2010-07-04T09:25:00.005+01:00

Two finishes in one week - wooh hoo! The quilt is full of some of my favourite fabrics and was a joy to make. It is destined to live in the back of the car along with this one for moments of snuggle on long journeys.

I am officially retiring my UFO list for a while as I have done most of the stuff on it and I have another birthday quilt to make by next Sunday. I am in the quilting zone at the moment and have already made a start on the new quilt. Have a great week everyone - my school is taking part in SHINE - basically a week when students are taken off their normal timetable for sports day, trips, concerts, special assemblies, charity fundraising and the like. It should be hectic but fun!

pink quilt goodness

2010-06-30T17:22:00.005+01:00

Yay! I have finished the quilt for a three year old girl. As time was short I just went for big, bold pieces of as many pink/purple fabrics I could get my hands on. I am very happy with how it has turned out, helped by my new toy, a walking foot. For those of you who might not know, a walking foot helps stop fabric puckering especially when doing lots of straight lines. It is pretty pricy at £25 ish but it is SO worth the money! I wish I had bought one sooner and totally recommend it. I can notice a real difference in my quilting and there are no puckers and snags!
I combined the batting and backing in one and used a fleece quilt from IKEA. At around three quid it was a really cheap way of making the quilt, and is also very nice and snuggly for a little girl who loves all things fleecy. So all in all a big success - I just hope the birthday girl likes it!

quick update

2010-06-21T19:45:00.003+01:00

Bee blocks ended up as the focus for this weekends sewing. Two for the Euro Bee and one for my first quilting bee. I took these pictures just as the light was fading hence their poor quality but I was too impatient to leave photos for another day! The dogs and robots quilt is pinned and ready to quilt and the birthday girl quilt ready to start sewing. A productive weekend all round. Happy Solstice to everyone!

lucky me!

2010-06-13T17:19:00.004+01:00

Well I was on a roll when the Sew Mama Sew giveaway was on, because I not only won this giveaway, but some more scrummy yummy fabric. Oh yes - it is indeed Heather Ross from Spoonflower! This was the giveaway from the very lovely tigglegiggles who is also the brains behind the 3x6 mini bee I am loving so much. Thank you so much Tiffany, much happiness and excitement was once more present in my house as I opened up my packet from the US! That fabric is in my 'stroke and admire' pile for a bit.

Onto my list. Well there is not really that much to report as work has had to take priority (boo) but I did manage to get fabric chosen and cut out for the birthday quilt I have to get done by the end of June. It is for a 3 year old girl, so will be pink and pretty but not too babyish. I still want to get the dogs and robots quilt finished soon but I have not had the space or time to get it pinned ready for quilting. This is my main task for the week. Well have a great week everyone and hopefully next time I post I will have a bit more progress to show you!

first thing crossed off the list!

2010-06-06T13:30:00.005+01:00

I am happy to report that a UFO has bitten the dust! This is my Project Linus quilt, made using extra squares sent to me by the lovely ladies of this quilting bee. I got the binding sewn on this morning whilst my DS was at his gym lesson, and even now as I type the quilt is in the washing machine. If the sunshine holds I will be able to get it dry but thunder is threatening so it may have to be the tumble drier. I feel much better now I have got something crossed off the list. Next - the dogs and robots quilt!

My UFO list

2010-06-02T06:25:00.006+01:00

I can no longer deny it. I don't have a pile of WIPs (works in progress) but UFOs (unfinished objects). I have decided to take the plunge and write a list of everything I have started. With the exception of a birthday present at the end of June I cannot start anything new until my UFO list has gone down a bit.

top secret quilt for my eldest (so secret I haven't blogged about it in case he sees!)

That should keep me busy for a while! In case you were wondering, the quilt in the photo is definitely a WIP - it is my ongoing project courtesy of the 3x6 Mini Bee on Flickr. I love love love this Bee, it is such a clever idea. Every three months we make six identical blocks for 6 people using our own fabric and the colour scheme they suggested. I have been requesting all colours and fabric to make an eye spy quilt for my littlest. This is the result of Round 1, a couple of blocks from my mother in law and a couple of blocks made by me. Isn't it fab? By the end of the year it should be complete. Right, I am off to tackle something on my list!

Happiness

2010-05-29T06:43:00.005+01:00

What could be more exciting than coming home from work to find this waiting for me!

I was lucky enough to win a Sew Mama Sew Giveaway from this very kind blogger.

Not only did Judy send me the cute cat panel she had made, but lots and lots of wonderful scraps and snippets. Judy read on my blog that I am making my son an eye spy quilt so she sent me bits and bobs left over from making eye spy quilts for her grandchildren. How thoughtful and lovely is that? Quilty bloggers are just the best!

Thank you so much Judy - I am going to have lots of fun making things with these fabrics - they have gone to a very appreciative home! Judy is also planning a trip to the UK and I would love to meet her and show her some of my local area. What we don't have in fabric shops we can certainly make up for in castles, stately homes, car boot sales and craft centers! Oh, and cups of tea of course. Lots of tea :-)

Giveaway Winner!

2010-05-21T05:34:00.003+01:00

Wow! 801 people left me comments - how fantastic! Thanks for stopping by :-) Now onto our winner. Random.org chose 685, The Accidental Crafter who lives in Australia.

She said:

'Who wouldn't like to recieve a bundle of fabric? Thank you for the chance to enter your giveaway. '

I have sent you an email and congratulations!

Giveaway Day is here!

2010-05-16T07:23:00.013+01:00

Hello and welcome to the Sew Mama Sew May Givweaway. It is also my First Blogiversary so a double celebration! I started this blog just over a year ago as a record of my crafty efforts, as a way of joining in more with all those amazing blogs out there and as a way of giving back - I felt that as I had received so much in terms of inspiration, friendship, tutorials and advice having a blog and doing the odd giveaway would help me pay back some of what I had been given. So without further ado here we go!

My giveaway is this bundle of fabric from my stash. It is an eclectic mix of fabric I have bought, swapped or been given over the past year. The bundle is made up of a mixture of different sized fabric pieces, from small snippets to bigger pieces with an assortment of styles and designers. I am not going to show you everything you might win (you can have the fun of discovering that when your parcel arrives!) but here are a few closer glimpses just to whet your appetite:

Interested? If yes, just leave me a comment! I am happy to post internationally and will leave the comments open until the evening of May 20th UK time. Good luck and enjoy all the other wonderful giveaways out there!

Giveaway!

2010-05-15T06:11:00.003+01:00

It's that time of year again - the Sew Mama Sew May Giveaway day! For those of you who don't know anything about this, SMS coordinate a mass crafty giveaway all over blogland. It is fantastic fun, you get to visit some amazing blogs and of course have the chance to win some wonderful crafted goodies or supplies. I will be taking part once more, and by chance it coincides with my first Blogiversary! Well if truth be told I am a bit late, it should have been back in April but I didn't twig in time! Come back on the 17th for my giveaway and don't forget to visit Sew Mama Sew to see all the other blogs taking part. Be warned however - hours of your life will be eaten up blog surfing!

union jacks

2010-05-09T12:07:00.005+01:00

Well after a couple of weeks of sewing I finally have completed my six blocks for the 3x6 mini bee over on Flickr. Sewing time has been squeezed in around hectic planting and weeding on the allotment. The first spring crops are starting to be harvested, with asparagus, pakchoi and salads now a regular on our table.

As the only Brit in my bee I decided to go with a Union Jack inspired block, using the colour choices my beehive peeps requested. They caused a great deal of head scratching, a bit of swearing and some taking out of wrong seams and re-sewing but I got there in the end!

bee blocks

2010-04-17T09:05:00.004+01:00

For the Euro Bee and 1st Quilting Bee I am part of.

Easter Holidays

2010-04-07T09:34:00.006+01:00

Lots of good stuff has been happening round here over the past few days. Much creativity from my two boys:

A trip to visit my parents in law in the wilds of North Devon and a ride on a narrow gague steam train:

Finally a little sewing of course - a spring cushion for my mother in law:

I hope Easter was good for you too!

a perfect weekend

2010-03-16T19:27:00.004Z

My weekend was lovely and calm, spent sewing, digging on the allotment, playing with my boys and being spoilt on mothering sunday with a lie in, roast dinner and a bubble bath! For the first time in a good while I did not have any job work to do so I could get on with more fun stuff. As well as digging over five beds ready for potatoes I started on a quilt for a boy, using some funky dog prints and lots of orange. I think this one will be a keeper - I am loving the fabric too much to give it away!

I also completed the March block for the Euro Bee. The brief was no angles, curves or wonkiness. I love the soothing nature of the colours Concha has chosen. All in all it was a perfect weekend!

spring raggedy

2010-03-06T09:17:00.004Z

I wanted to make something small, fun and with a feel of spring about it. I think this little rag quilt fits the bill perfectly! As there was very little sewing in comparison to the amount of cutting out and snipping I had to do I was able to do odd bits here and there without having to set out my machine and iron. (This is complicated as it involves having a clear kitchen table and no children underfoot who would try and climb the ironing board!) The fabric is by Saffron Craig. I may have to get some more of this - I adore it and now it is all gone! I know I know, fabric is there to be used not just stuck on a shelf to be stroked but I don't like it when I use my last bit of something!

finishing off

2010-02-21T12:35:00.004Z

I am really pleased to finally report a finish! The blocks sent to me by the First Quilting Bee ladies have been turned into this wonderful hanging for the upstairs landing. Isn't it brilliant? All the blocks are amazing and I have made some great new friends. I am so happy to have joined three quilting bees - I would love to join more but have to be realistic about the amount of time I have to spend sewing. I have to accept that at this point in my life, with a full time job, two young children, an allotment and the need to get at least eight hours sleep each night my sewing time is a lot less than I would like it to be :-)

I completed the next set of blocks for the same Bee - the lady they are for rerquested stars of all types, suspended in a white background. She sent over some lovely blue and green fabric for me to play with. I have discovered that I am not very good at following a pattern (the friendship star) and need lots more practice with accurate cutting out!

Finally I could not resist buying this amazingly cute donkey and wellie fabric from here. I have no idea what I am going to do with it - I just had to have it, you know how it is :-) Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone.

puppy dogs tails

2010-02-02T19:03:00.004Z

There has not been a lot of sewing going on round here at the moment due to work getting in the way, but I did manage to have a go making string blocks for the Euro Bee. It was my first time using paper and it was not half as scary as I thought it would be! Here is the tutorial I used.

I also got a start on a wall hanging I have been wanting to make my little one for ages. The background fabric is made by comfortstitching and is based on the rhyme 'slugs and snails and puppy dogs tails - that's what little boys are made of! Isn't it adorable! I hope everyone is having a good week so far - bye for now!

Bee Blocks Galore!

2010-01-19T20:22:00.008Z

I have just finished six blocks for the 3x6 mini bee I joined. The idea is that we are in 'beehives' of seven people, and we make the same block for everyone in the group. We were all able to specify particular colours, likes and dislikes but the block itself and the fabric used will be a surprise. I requested a mix of fabric and patterns as I would like to make an eye spy quilt for my little one. For my six blocks to send out I decided to try stripes. I am really happy with the results!

Requested: grey, pink, white

Requested: green and turquoise

Requested: red, white, aqua

Requested: a rainbow with critters!

Requested: blue, green, orange, white and yellow

Requested: a rainbow, no orange

I got these six blocks completed in four days and have loved seeing how the same design can look so different depending on the fabrics used. As well as sewing I have been counting my blessings over the past week. Haiti is a sharp reminder to give thanks for so many good things in my life and never to take it for granted.

If that wasn't enough sewing I also completed two blocks for another quilting bee I am in. I think I am going to give my sewing machine the day off tomorrow!

snow and sewing

2010-01-11T19:22:00.008Z

The midlands finally got to see some snow and I had a snow day! There was sledging, snowball fights and a fire to keep us warm in the evening. I have had a little play on my new machine but have yet to try FMQ - I am saving that for when I have a couple of quiet hours free from child interruptions!

I completed my Euro Bee blocks and played around with the blocks I have already received for my month of the My First Quilting Bee I am part of.

My plan is to make a wall hanging to brighten up this very dull part of my upstairs landing:

Finally I will leave you with a couple of photos of the wonkiest icicle I have ever seen, growing on the edge of a drainpipe. It reminded me of a stalactite. I hope my fellow UK readers are enjoying the snow as well!

2010

2010-01-03T20:19:00.006Z

Happy New Year to you all! I hope it proves to be a good one for everyone. I had an eventful Christmas break with many excitements and changes. My youngest son took his first steps and is now the proud owner of his first pair of shoes! He also had his final feed from me. He had got down to a morning snuggle and nurse a couple of weeks ago and just before new year he decided that he didn't need my milk any more. As those of you who have nursed babies know, it is a really bittersweet moment. Pride at seeing him moving on and growing up, satisfaction at a job well done and a twinge of sadness that he will never need me in quilte the same way again. I must admit I am looking forward to wearing something other than feeding bras again however - they are not the most attractive of contraptions! Maybe Thimbleanna could help me out - I seem to remember she had a few spare a while back!
The other big excitemet was the arrival of a lovely shiny new sewing machine. My mother in law upgraded her machine and asked me if I wanted the old one. I couldn't believe it when she turned up with an Elna 6200 for me! I am very lucky to have such a lovely mother in law who shares my passion for all things sewing as well. The thing I like best is that we are both very different - she likes more traditional fabric and designs and does a lot of hand quilting and applique. I get to see a very different side to sewing via her work.

The best thing about my new baby is that I will be able to try free motion quilting - something beyond the abilities of my old singer. I have ordered a darning foot and cannot wait to have a go - oh the possibilities!

I have managed to have a few goes on my new machine and I made a dolls quilt and pillow and my first ever soft toy, known as the purple thing. Purple is the colour of the moment for me as I also made a purple square for this bee.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and thank you so much for stopping by my little blog!

Ready for Father Christmas!

2009-12-23T16:13:00.003Z

Just in case Father Christmas does come down the chimney on Thursday night I thought I better be prepared with somewhere nice for him to put any presents he might be leaving. This is the result! My eldest son approves and thinks that FC will as well. Wishing you and yours many blessings and I will hopefully see you all in the new year.

Christmas Quilt Done!

2009-12-20T20:42:00.005Z

Yay! I have finished the Christmas quilt. This has been a long time in the making and I am very pleased to get it done and onto the sofa. It has been claimed by my eldest son who snuggled underneath it all afternoon whilst watching Star Wars!

I think I have enough time to get this done as well - a simple patchwork sack for Father Christmas to leave his presents in. I hope all your Christmas plans are reaching completion!

New Winner

2009-12-17T19:34:00.002Z

The first winner of my SMS giveaway never got in touch to claim their prize, so I have done the random number generator thing again and this time it has picked happycottagequilter. She said:
'What a great giveaway. Please enter my name. Thanks for participating in the Giveaway Day!'
Please get in touch with me and give me your address so I can send you your fabric!

Slow Progress

2009-12-15T19:17:00.003Z

Life has been realy getting in the way of sewing at the moment. In the last week I have marked 90 exam papers, written 30 Year 9 reports (with another 60 to go by Friday - eek!) and celebrated my son's 6th birthday with an epic sports hall, bouncy castle and 30 children party. I have now started quilting my Christmas quilt and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can finish it this weekend when we put the Christmas decorations up. It was meant to be done two weeks ago but as long as it is done by Christmas Eve it doesn't really matter I suppose. Continuing the Christmas theme, if you want to send a little one a special message from Santa have a look here - it is fab!

Finally a message for Cat - the winner of my SMS giveaway. You must contact me by Thursday night UK time please - if you don't I am sorry but I will have to re - draw the giveaway. Get in touch or you will miss out on the fabric!

More Giveaway News!

2009-12-08T16:55:00.003Z

Well after getting in touch with Anna about winning my sneaky giveaway for people who have previously posted on my blog, she tells me that she is on a giveaway diet after winning a number of giveaways recently. Anna would prefer it if I chose a new winner so I once more returned to Random.org for the result. This time it picked Floh. So please get in touch so I can send you your goodies!
Also Cat - I have not heard back from you yet about winning my fabric giveaway - please let me have your address so that I can send your fabric out to you!
Finally I was lucky enough to win this giveaway. Yay!

Giveaway Winners!

2009-12-07T06:03:00.006Z

I have had a brilliant few days entering giveaways, checking out new blogs and reading all the comments on my giveaway - what fun! Of course that means that very little sewing got done round here - some sewing on my Christmas Quilt happened and I chose fabric based on a rainbow theme and posted it out for a new bee I have joined:

Anyway, onto the winners! Firstly the winner for the Arcadia Fabric:

Random.org spoke to me and said that cat is the winner!
Cat siad:
'This is very pretty, not something I have come across before. How happy giveaways are!'
Cat - please will you get in touch with your address so I can post your fabirc off to you. I cannot email you as I cannot see your blogger details! Thanks to everyone who entered and to all the other blog people out there who had a giveaway of their own.
Secondly I wanted to do a giveaway for all those kind people who have previously left a comment on my blog. I do appreciate every one. I wish I could send you all something! Anyway, Random spoke again and this time said Anna - otherwise known as Thimbleanna. Hers was one of the first blogs I started reading - it is a great mixture of sewing, cooking and general life. I love it! So thank you Anna for leaving me lovely comments and please get in touch with your details. As for what you have won, well it is a surprise but it will include something to eat, something to read and something I made!

Giveaway

2009-12-01T19:25:00.004Z

Welcome to all visitors old and new! I am really excited to be taking part in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway once more and have already warned my family that I will be spending a good number of hours over the next few days visiting lots of lovely blogs! I am offering a charm pack of Arcadia by Moda as my giveaway. Isn't it pretty? For a chance to win all you have to do is say hello!

P.S. I am also running a second giveaway for all those lovely people who have previously commented on my blog. You don't have to do anything - you already have! I want to let you know how much I appreciate all your comments :-) As for what the giveaway is - well you will have to wait and see!

Giveaway Day

2009-11-25T18:46:00.005Z

Sew Mama Sew! is holding another Giveaway Day on the 2nd December. I took part in the spring one and had lots of fun visiting some wonderful blogs. Come back on the 2nd for a chance to win some fabric. Apologies to anyone who commented on my last two posts for not replying to you - I had to change my preferences to get rid of some spam and I stopped getting email notifications that you had dropped by! I now cannot work out how to 'reply' to your comment without sending you a random email that will not make any sense as the first half of the conversation is missing! This problem has now been fixed so everything should be back to normal. See you on the 2nd! (If not before!)

a big disaster

2009-11-20T19:20:00.003Z

Well at first glance it might not look so bad, but look closer..... see the big, glaring mistakes? Four of them? Yep it all went pear shaped. I cut it all out, happily sewed it together, ironed it and prepared to sew the quarters together before noticing that the sides of the spotty triangle were not even. Much cursing and sewing later I managed to just about save the square. In amongst all blue language flying about I was struck by how unimaginative our swear words are, so decided to look to the Bard for inspiration via the Shakespeare Insults Generator. 'Thou creeping shag-haired measle' was a much more satisfying way of letting that block know what I thought of it!

My wonky star Christmas quilt is slowly taking shape - a bit too slowly at the moment, I need to speed up!

Gnomes and Spiders

2009-11-08T13:53:00.004Z

My sewing machine is poorly. I don't think it is terminal but a short stay at the Singer shop for some treatment may be in order. My lovely other half spent an hour trying to make it run again but something somewhere inside keeps sticking as the needle rises. Luckily a friend has a sewing machine that she only uses once or twice a year so I have borrowed hers on a long loan until I can get mine fixed. After faffing about for a while getting to know the new machine I managed to complete my mini gnome quilt. I was lucky enough to be sent some squares of Heather Ross by this lovely lady and when I saw the gnomes I just had to make something with them.

I am so pleased with how this turned out. I only had a small square of the gnome fabric, but it went a long way! I have no one in mind for this quilt - I made it on a whim and I really enjoyed not having a deadline to meet or a person to make for. I am going to hang it on my wall for a while before deciding what to do with it.

The backing fabric is from the children's section of IKEA.

I also completed my spider web block for the Euro Bee. If you fancy having a go making one here is the tutorial.

euro bee stash

2009-10-27T20:32:00.000Z

I could not resist showing you my growing stash of aqua, red and white fabric ready for my month of the Euro Bee.

My month is not until August, but I really want to get as wide a variety of fabrics as possible so have been slowly collecting bits as I have found them.

I think my biggest problem will be resisting the temptation to start using them before next summer!

Christmas Quilt

2009-10-22T19:10:00.000+01:00

Today I began my Christmas quilt. It is going to be wonky stars made out of the most wonderful fabric designed by Comfortstitching. I cannot wait to make each star with a fussy cut center showcasing each little Christmassy scene. (If you click on the photo you will be able to see a closeup of her delicious fabric). The only flaw in my plan is that I need more fabric for the outside of each star, and as we have postal strikes in the UK at the moment (and more likely next week) I may be held up in my quilt making. Good job I started in October then!

made it!

2009-10-20T20:27:00.000+01:00

I finished my two quilt challenge just in time. These quilts are for birthday boys and their birthday is tomorrow! Phew - there is nothing like a deadline to keep you motivated. The boys are identical twins and their mum has just started dressing them in different colours to make it easier for people to know who is who! As a lucky coincidence one boy has been given red/brown clothes and the other blue/green to wear. I didn't know this until after I had started making these quilts but it made it very easy deciding which quilt to give to which twin! Please excuse the poor photos - the weather was not cooperating today so i was unable to take any nice photos outdoors or even in natural light.

The only thing I am not happy with is the amount of crinkling on the quilts. I would have preferred them smoother. They looked a lot neater before they had their wash and tumble dry. I don't know why - maybe it is because smoother suits straight line quilting more. Never mind - it is a small niggle, otherwise I am very pleased. The fabrics are all child friendly without being too babyish - hopefully the boys will enjoy their quilts into toddlerhood and beyond!

Next challenge - spiderweb blocks and starting on a Christmas quilt for me and my boys to snuggle under this winter.

lovely stuff

2009-10-14T20:12:00.000+01:00

I am having a really productive week spurred on by the fact that I have two quilts to finish by next week! They are a pair of cot sized quilts for twins. The first one is orange and brown and is being quilted at the moment:

The second is green and blue and here is the binding ready for folding and ironing:

I also made my block for the Euro Bee, but please excuse the terrible photo:

I am starting to feel like my sewing groove is coming back!

Quilt Festival

2009-10-10T06:41:00.000+01:00

Amy at Park City Girl is hosting her Bloggers Festival of Quilts and this time I get to join in! Last time I had not even completed my first quilt and did not even have a blog - so much has changed since then! I don't have masses of quilts to choose from as I am still so knew to quilting, so I will tell you about my first quilt. It was made using a tutorial by Oh Fransson and was my first effort using a pattern, modern fabrics, binding and well everything really!

I loved the process of choosing my fabrics (the Amy Butler Belle is my favourite) and seeing my quilt slowly come together.

Surprisingly my favourite part was making and sewing the binding - I was expecting to dislike that bit but found it really relaxing.

So there you go - my first quilt! Have fun looking at all the amazing quilts at the festival.

rag quilt done

2009-10-01T20:04:00.001+01:00

Well after much snipping I have finally got the rag quilt finished for a first birthday present. I am really pleased with how it has turned out but it was a lot of work - more than I was expecting! Cutting out all the squares (top, wadding and backing fabric) was a bit of a pain. Thanks must go to Katy - she sent me lots of wadding scraps a while ago which I was able to use in this quilt.

I am going to give it another wash and tumble dry just to fluff out the raggedy bits even more before going on to my next challenge - quilts for twin boys by the end of October - eek!

progress

2009-09-27T19:51:00.000+01:00

Well it has been a crazy hectic couple of weeks. After my last post bemoaning the fact that I had no time or space to get any sewing done the situation got even worse - the school I teach at had an OFSTED inspection. Well I say the school - it was actually just the department I teach in! OFSTED inspections only give you a few days warning before they drop in so I have been beyond busy as I am sure you can imagine. Everything went well and we got a great report so we are all very happy.
The relief at reaching the end of last week was immense and I have finally been able to have a nice relaxing weekend full of walks, conker hunting and sewing - yay!
This is my rag quilt in the making for a baby boy - his first birthday present in fact. My plan is to get it finished by Thursday so that I can sit and watch TV in the evening and do all the snipping. Have a good week everyone.

not much sewing but lots of growing!

2009-09-13T13:40:00.000+01:00

Now I am back at work full time after my maternity leave I am finding it really difficult to get any sewing done. A lack of time, motivation (I am shattered come 7 pm when the boys are in bed) and space are all adding to the problem. I don't have anywhere just for me to sew - I have to make do with the kitchen table which of course needs clearing for meals. So whilst I am itching to get on with my list of projects nothing much is actually happening. I am hoping that as work settles down a bit more and I get used to it again I will find some space to get going once more. I have to get a quilt made for the middle of October for a first birthday, followed by two more for twins by November. Eeek! I really need to get in the zone again!

On a much more satisfying note, here is my haul from the allotment this morning - we are having a roast for dinner with all the trimmings. The red potatoes are Roosters and make the best roasties ever. Tea today will be yummy!

mini projects in progress

2009-09-03T19:50:00.001+01:00

I have had very little time for sewing over the last few weeks. I have loads of quilts I would like to make but cannot seem to get started on them. Instead I decided to have a go making a couple of smaller things, so have been doing a couple of mini projects on and off in odd ten minutes here and there. My first will become a furoshiki once it is backed. I plan to use it for taking my lunch to work.

Secondly I have been experimenting with bleach painting again and plan to turn this into a chair cover.

The above photos were taken outside on a wet and windy evening in Warwickshire. Here are a couple of shots of the sky just as I was finishing - the colours are amazing!

giveaway winners

2009-08-30T13:57:00.000+01:00

Well as only two people entered my giveaway I have decided that I couldn't possibly choose between you, so you are both winners! Renee and Lisa, I have sent you an email so if you could please send me your addresses I will pop your goodies in the post! ( I will split the giveaway in two then add a few extra bits as well). Congratulations and thanks for stopping by :-)

giveaway!

2009-08-26T08:03:00.000+01:00

I thought I would have a little giveaway - no real reason, just because I felt like it! The following goodies are up for grabs. (Please excuse the photos - it is raining and pouring at the moment so the light is terrible).

Firstly a couple of origami fat quarters by Paula Ozier.

Secondly a leftover square made for my 'dancing leaves' quilt. I have no idea what to do with this so thought that someone somewhere might be able to use it!

Finally some scrappy bits of grey leaves again left over from my grey and lilac quilt.

If you would like to enter please say hello! I will post all over the world and will leave comments open until Sunday morning UK time.

festival of quilts

2009-08-20T13:24:00.000+01:00

I went to the festival of quilts today at the NEC. I am really lucky - I only live 15 mins away by car. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so no pictures of the amazing quilts on display - boo! There were of course endless shops full of all manner of goodies, droolworthy sewing machines, interesting gadgets and endless quilting books and patterns to enjoy. I found some new bits to add to my growing aqua and red stash:

and some Paula Prass cobblestones just because:

I have however come away from the show not exactly disappointed but a bit unfulfilled I suppose (sounds a bit melodramatic - I still had a really fun day!). I think it was because much of the fabric was very traditional (nothing wrong with that - it's just not always my thing) and lots of it was fabric and designers I could get easily online. There was very little in the way of new, rare or unusual. I did however find this UK designer and fell in love with her origami fabric. Isn't it great!

I am off with the family camping and LARPing. I have been busy making costume for my son over the last few days but ran out of time for photos. I will have to take some whilst we are away. Have a great weekend!

euro bee

2009-08-13T07:11:00.000+01:00

Well these are my first ever squares for a quilting bee. I was invited by Hanies to join one based in Europe and jumped at the chance. There are twelve of us from Germany, the UK, Denmark and Portugal. It was a bit nerve wracking cutting into fabric belonging to someone else but once I got going I loved the challenge.

These blocks are made using Lizzy Dish fabric and are for Isa. My round is not until August next year which is fine by me. I would prefer to have the chance to make a few blocks first and get a feel for how much fabric to send out to people before I have to organise a round (and choose and idea for a quilt!) Our progress is being recorded on our Flickr group. I also decided to post a photo of the back of one of my squares..... I don't know any 'real life' quilters so have no idea what a good back should look like! I am guessing mine is messier than some and tidier than others! I am sure it will get neater with practice.

Finally, have a look at this new fabric line designed by Jessica over at Juicy Bits. It looks wonderful and I hope some of it ends up in the UK!

leaf and lilac quilt

2009-08-07T12:33:00.001+01:00

My first improv style quilt! I love the colour combination and the fabric (from IKEA) but think the fussy cut leaves get a bit lost amongst the overall quilt.

If I did this again I would add an extra layer of square round the lilac one, possibly in white or black.

I am feeling all quilted out as I have made a couple in very quick sucession. I am going to stop with the quilts for a bit and instead make some smaller things including pincushions, chair covers and blocks for my quilting bee (more about that soon!)

finished!

2009-08-06T12:53:00.000+01:00

Here it is, my prints charming quilt completed. I am very pleased with it, and my niece seemed to like it too. Not that a three month old can express an opinion, but she was certainly transfixed by all the colours and patterns!

Prints Charming

2009-08-01T19:21:00.000+01:00

I have finally done it. After weeks of stroking and admiring I cut into my stash of prints charming and started sewing. It is destined to be a little quilt for my baby niece. I may have a hard time giving it up however. I adore this fabric. What is it about Australia? Is there something in the water? There are the most amazing designers out there coming up with the most wonderful fabric. I have just come across Saffron Craig and I NEED some of her dandelion circles fabric to go with my Prints Charming baby paisley in taupe. Luckily I have found a shop in the UK that sells it so if money allows this month I will be getting some. I am off visiting family in Devon for a few days so am taking a quilt to finish off -there is just the hand sewn bit of the binding to go on my grey and lilac quilt. See you next week!

this and that

2009-07-27T09:53:00.001+01:00

I have been away in Yorkshire for the last few days visiting my family. We did a bit of this:

And a bit of that:

There was time for some sewing - I completed the binding on my painting with bleach quilt:

The I came home to a little packet from Kate at one flew over. There is a bit of a tale attatched to me recieving these pieces of lovliness. Months ago we arranged a swap via this group. My fabric arrived safe and sound from Australia, but my parcel to Kate never turned up. Kate was very patient but eventually we had to admit the worst - my parcel had vanished somewhere between the UK and Australia. Luckily I had enough of the fabric to send the swap again (by recorded delivery this time!) but Kate felt so bad for me that she sent this to make up for it! How lovely and how kind of her. Quilty bloggers are so wonderful. Even better is that I had just been reading over on Red Pepper Quilts about Aunty Cookie fabric and look what turned up from Kate - some Aunty Cookie of my very own!

rainbows

2009-07-20T19:34:00.000+01:00

I am easily distracted. My plan to work on my new purple and grey quilt went out the window and instead I have been having lots of fun playing with colour. I am part of this Flickr group and have been inspired by some of the wonderful ways people have been experimenting with changing fabric. Last night I had an idea to paint bleach onto fabric, so this morning I did just that! I am really happy with the results but would go for a thinner brush next time. I only had a chunky one belonging to my son to experiment with.

All I did was make up a water and bleach mixture and then paint it onto plain coloured cotton. If it did not change the colour enough I went over it again with neat bleach and left to develop for a while. Everything was then popped in the washing machine. I will be turning the results into a wall hanging of some description.

I also finished off this rag quilt for a 5th birthday present. Tomorrow I will be back on track with my purple/grey quilt, unless late night inspiration strikes again!

new

2009-07-18T19:04:00.000+01:00

New fabric:

More new fabric:

New WIP:

So many possibilities!

pushchair quilt done

2009-07-12T17:36:00.001+01:00

I have finished the pushchair quilt for my son, and I am really pleased with how it has turned out. I used Japanese linen blend designs - they are lots of fun.

For the binding I used another cute Japanese design, this time in cotton.
The back is a brushed cotton sheet. I did not add a middle layer as I wanted it to be a lightweight quilt.

I quilted it using straight lines - it looks good but it really does show up any seams that are not quite straight! More practice is needed I think!

kawaii quilt

2009-07-07T12:32:00.000+01:00

This is my new wip. It is a pushchair/car seat quilt for my baby boy made using Japanese linens. The fabrics are very cute! I was lucky enough to discover this UK based Etsy store run by Stacy. She sells fabric in fat sixes which means I get to buy more designs for my money. Stacy is very helpful and her fabrics are wonderful! Here are a few of my favourites:

Mary Poppin boo pigs:

Russian dolls:

Coffee making mini bears:

Green Forest:

Little Red Riding Hood:

Alice in Wonderland:

My plan is to complete this quilt for the weekend before starting a grey and purple improv style one.

Old Red Barn Quilt

2009-07-03T19:24:00.000+01:00

My second Quiltalong is done, hosted by the Old Red Barn Co. I am really happy with how it has turned out. Most people were making really big quilts but as I joined in a bit late I decided to make a smaller one. It also meant that I could use fabric from my stash instead of spending more money.

I am now moving on to have a go at something totally different - a quilt made with Japanese linen. Watch this space!

third time's the charm!

2009-06-29T19:31:00.001+01:00

Well this is the third quilt I have completed and I am really pleased with how it turned out. All the stages seemed to work a lot more smoothly and I am especially happy with my binding and corners. I still need more practice with hand sewing the back of the binding, but all in all I can see a real improvement.

This quilt is destined for a baby girl in the US as a Mountain Baby Blanket. It is going to be a well travelled quilt - the fabric was won in a US based giveaway, came to the UK, was turned into a quilt and is headed back across the pond to the US once more!

This quilt was not on my list of things to do, but it was a niggle in the back of my head that would not go away - since Rachel first started her appeal for blankets I knew I would want to make one at some point, but I needed to wait until I felt my quilting was good enough for someone other than family to recieve. It is made with love, but also needed to be made well enough to withstand life with a baby!

Sunday

2009-06-28T16:44:00.001+01:00

It has been a lovely and warm if somewhat muggy Sunday. The day started well with a solo wander round the local car boot sale. Usually visits include my oldest son who is only interested in finding toy cars and my baby who is only interested in putting things in his mouth! It was a real treat to be able to take my time and have a good rumage through tins and boxes. I bought some old thread, mostly for the lovely wooden spools - they are so pretty. I also found this brooch which at 50p was a real bargin!

I have also made the binding ready to complete my quiltalong quilt. There was also time for ice cream today and sitting in the shade of a friendly tree watching the world go by!

quilt along fun

2009-06-18T20:05:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to share my new quilt top. I am taking part in the Old Red Barn Co. quilt along. I joined a bit late but could not resist! I am trying not to buy fabric at the moment as I already have way too much fabric for way too many projects. This being the case I decided to make a smaller version of the quilt using some fat quarters and scraps I already had. It will be a perfect lap quilt when completed. I am really loving the colours and the simple yet striking pattern. Again I am amazed and so thankful to bloggers out there who give up their time and share their talents so freely to help people like me create something wonderful!

job done!

2009-06-12T07:04:00.000+01:00

Yay! My quilt is done. It is the first top I ever completed and the second I have quilted. I can already see an improvement in the basting, quilting and binding since my first effort. The block desing is from the paintbox tutorial over at Oh, Fransson!

In fact, both my quilts thus far are Elizabeths designs, and I plan on making another of hers next - there is just something about the form and shape of the blocks and patterns I love.
I still have a huge list of projects to do:

Mixtape botanical pop quilt
Flowery ragedy quilt
Rainbow ragedy quilt
Old Red Barn Co quiltalong quilt
Grey and lilac quilt

Plus many, many more ideas as well as an allotment to weed. I better get doing instead of blogging then!

nearly there...

2009-06-01T19:30:00.001+01:00

My newest quilt is so close to being finished. I just have to complete the quilting and do the binding. Here is the quilt top - it is not a great photo but you can get the idea - lots of pink, red, purple and turquoise - lovely! It is from a tutorial over at Oh, Fransson!

I have also just finished a dolls quilt and pillowcase for a birthday gift. I am very impressed with myself as the birthday is not until the end of June - usually I am finishing things at the last minute!

I am really pleased to be able to take part in the second half of Spring To Finish hosted by Tallgrass Prairie Studio. The idea was to see how many projects you could complete in May. I didn't manage to complete anything in time for the first deadline so am very glad to have made it this time round.

My completed list is:

The boys orange spot quilt
Lots of taggie blankets
Two dolls quilts
Raggedy hearts and tutorial for the Sew Mama Sew giveaway

Not bad at all considering I have been planting up my allotment and looking after a 6 month old at the same time!

giveaway winners!

2009-06-01T09:33:00.000+01:00

What a wonderful few days of blogging happiness! I have loved taking part in this giveaway - both in offering a little something and in having the chance to win! Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment - I have loved reading them all and seeing where in the world you all come from. I have a HUGE list of blogs to go back and explore and enough inspiration to last me for years!

Using Random.org I have come up with the following two winners.

For the two raggedy hearts - Emily

For the taggie blanket - marzy dotes

Congratulations to you both! Please drop me an email with your address so I can send your things out to you!

Giveaway time!

2009-05-26T20:33:00.001+01:00

A warm welcome to everyone who is visiting me today from Sew, Mama, Sew! as part of their giveaway day. (and of course welcome to everyone else who is visiting just because!) I hope you enjoy your stay and have the chance to have a quick look around my blog. I am new to the whole blogging thing - I have been following a few blogs for over a year and as my interest in sewing and quilting grew so did my blog list! I finally decided to take the plunge and start a blog partly to record my efforts but also to get involved with things like this - everyone is so generous with their time and creativity that I wanted to return some of what I have been enjoying. So onto my giveaway! I decided that although I am still a novice when it comes to sewing I wanted to have a go making something for you, albeit something simple. I know that what I have created won't compare to some of the amazing things out there on offer but hopefully my efforts will be able to find a new home somewhere!

My first giveaway is for these two raggedy hearts. They were lots of fun to make and pretty straightforward too. I have written a tutorial in case you would like to have a go making a raggedy heart of your own.

My second giveaway is for a little taggie blanket. I made one for my six month old baby boy and he adores it - there is just something about babies and ribbons that seem to go together!

If you would like to be entered into one or indeed both giveaways please leave a comment. I look forward to visiting your blogs and hopefully discovering some more lovely craftiness out there. Thanks for visiting and good luck!

sometimes it's not just bills in the post!

2009-05-25T20:12:00.000+01:00

An exciting packet arrived for me....

Look what I got! Lots and lots of lovely fabric thanks to r0ssie and her Flickr group, take charge, DISCHARGE! give it a try, OVERDYE!

There are some great pictures of peoples experiments and joining the group has opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Here was my bleach experiment:

To start things off she organised a fabric giveaway and I was lucky enough to win one of three wonderful fabric bundles. Isn't that a fabulous pile of pretty fabrics? r0ssie is so generous and I am very happy!

I really fancy trying overdying next with the two pieces of red fabric r0ssie sent. As for the rest, well that is going to be used in a quilt for a little girls birthday.

raggedy heart tutorial

2009-05-25T11:54:00.000+01:00

Here is a tutorial to make a simple raggedy edged heart. As this is my first time writing a tutorial please let me know if you spot any obvious mistakes or omissions. Also please excuse the quality of the photos - the weather in the UK was not cooperating when I made the hearts - it was being all rainy and overcast!

To make a raggedy heart you need the following:

1 Fat Quarter of fabric (or less - you can easily make two hearts with a full FQ)
A piece of thin wadding
Iron on interfacing
A piece of ribbon

1. Draw a heart shape on a piece of cardboard. Mine turned out approx 8 inches by 8 1/2 inches. Make a second heart shape template approx a quarter of an inch smaller than the first. If you would like your finished heart to have fluffier edges make your second template half an inch smaller.

2. Cut out two fabric hearts using the larger template, then one wadding heart and two interfacing hearts using the smaller template.

3. Iron each interfacing heart onto the wrong side of each fabric heart.

4. Make a sandwich by putting the wadding heart in the middle of the two fabric hearts. The right side of the fabric should be on the outside. So your sandwich should be fabric, interfacing, wadding, interfacing, fabric. As you can see from the photos my heart templates were not very even so I ended up doing a bit of trimming to make sure that there was a good quarter inch of fabric round the edge of the interfacing/wadding.

5. You should end up with something that looks like this:

6. Pin a loop of ribbon to the top of the heart, sandwiching the ends inside the heart layers.

7. Pin all round your heart ready for sewing.

8. Sew round your heart using a quarter inch seam. (or half an inch if you are going for the super fluffy look)

9. Sew inside this seam to secure the wadding using whatever pattern you fancy.

10. Now for the fun bit! Using very sharp scissors, snip all the way round the outside of the heart approximately every quarter inch. Take care not to cut through the seam and into the wadding. (sorry the picture is a bit ropey - I wanted to show you a close up of the snipping)

11. They should now look like this:

12. Wash your hearts in the machine then tumble dry to fluff up the edges. I did this step twice to make them extra fluffy and crinkly. There they are - raggedy hearts done.

a proud moment

2009-05-22T19:53:00.001+01:00

I am one happy mummy today. My 5 year old son made his very first quilt! He asked if he could have a go and of course I said yes. He chose all the scraps and arranged the quilt to his own design. He pressed the machine pedal himself but had a bit of help with guiding the fabric and snipping threads. Making me even prouder is that this quilt is for grandma - he wanted to make something special for her. Finally to really make me cry he said 'thank you so much lovely mummy for helping me to sew my lovely quilt!' My first born son is wonderful! His quilt is so much fun - he really enjoyed going through my scraps and building up his quilt a piece at a time.

My second born son and very vocal six month old is also wonderful and for him I made a taggie blanket. I also made one for another six month old baby and a set of twins. These were fun to make!

I have also finished making my offerings for the giveaway day at Sew Mama Sew and have written a tutorial to go alongside. Here is a sneaky peak:

Yipeeee!

2009-05-15T17:43:00.001+01:00

It's finally finished! Although this is my second quilt top it is the first quilt I have fully made including the basting, quilting and binding. I am very pleased with it. OK so it is wonky in places, some of the quilting is a bit dodgy and the binding a bit fuzzy round the corners but nevertheless to me it is wonderful!

The quilt is for my two boys to share - hence the crazy colour scheme. I really enjoyed all the stages you have to go through to create a quilt and especially enjoyed the binding which is a surprise as I was not looking forward to hand sewing. Although I wanted to have a go doing free motion quilting my old singer was not up to the job so I had to make do with wonky lines instead. I like this random look so am not too bothered.

All credit must go to Elizabeth at Oh, Fransson! for providing the pattern and tutorial for this quilt and for setting up the quiltalong to go with it. I have loved being part of it and watching the different quilts develop. They can all be found here and are well worth a look.

Of course I am now fired up to make another quilt... only this time even better! I so have the quilting bug. I am now off to sit on the sofa for half an hour under the quilt of course!

Giveaway News

2009-05-13T16:37:00.000+01:00

Sew, Mama Sew! are hosting/coordinating a giveaway. This is the first one I will have done on my blog and I am really looking forward to taking part. I have signed up with SMS so there is no backing out now! My biggest problem is deciding what to make. My first thought was to offer a couple of fat quarters but I will be brave and make something instead. I do have to admit to being daunted by the standard and general loveliness of work out there - I am not sure that my offering will be anywhere near as good! At the moment I am thinking it will be a dolls blanket and pillow but if I have the time it might be a bag of some description. Humm... I will have to put on my thinking cap.

party time

2009-05-04T09:39:00.001+01:00

Well my boys have a better social life than I do. They are always at one party or another or having playdates! However it does mean that I have been able to express my girlie side recently by making a couple of simple doll quilts and pillows for the girls birthday celebrations they have been to.

This fabric is so pretty - the little girl in question said her favourite colours were red and pink so this fits perfectly!

The back was red with white dots but I forgot to take a picture of it.

Here is my other recent effort. I like the random line quilting - I think I will do this on my big quilts. I have not had any luck yet with free motion quilting - it has always gone horribly wrong.

It is a bit wonkey but I am sure the little girl who recieved it won't mind!

surprisingly satisfying

2009-04-27T15:06:00.000+01:00

Binding happiness! My very first binding. I feel all grown up now.

I didn't think I would enjoy making binding, but I did! These are for the two quilts I have on the go at the moment. It was very soothing ironing long strips of fabric, and the thriftyness of using up all my scraps appealed to me as well.

This is for my boys orange quilt.

This for my turquoise, red and purple quilt. They make me think of multicoloured snail shells.

first post I suppose....

2009-04-22T18:47:00.000+01:00

I have always said that I would never have a blog as I would end up spending what little spare time I have writing it instead of making the things I would want to blog about! However here I am. Three things made me change my mind. Firstly it seems to be a lot easier to leave comments on other peoples blogs if you have a blog of your own. Secondly some things can only be participated in if you have a blog (e.g. this virtual quilting festival hosted by Park City Girl) and thirdly and most importantly is the desire to pass on the good stuff. In a karmic sort of way I hope to be able to pay back some of the wealth of knowledge and inspiration I have gained since reading some of the wonderful blogs out there. People are so generous with their time and talents, freely sharing their ideas, tips and amazing work. Whilst I know that as a total newbie to it all it will be a long time (if ever) before my work will be comparable to the things I see on other blogs, at least via my own blog I can do a couple of fabric giveaways or suchlike as a roundabout way of saying thanks.

So anyway, I am not planning on posting very often - as and when the mood takes me and time permits me to - but I will keep this blog ticking over with bits and bobs that I sew and make.

This is the quilt I am making at the moment for my two sons to share.

My eldest plans on using it to snuggle under on the sofa and my baby will be using it to roll around on! It is the second quilt top I have made but will be the first one I will complete as my eldest son is getting impatient! I have been following the quilt along hosted by Oh Fransson. Elizabeth is such a talented lady - her quilts are amazing and her quilt along easy to follow. My quilt top is done and I am now making the back.

It is not perfect by any means - it is wonky in places and the seams and corners don't all match, but I am very proud of it! My aim is to get the back finished this weekend before the not small task of my first big basting and quilting session. So that's it - I have a blog!