Winter sun

The sun trying to break through the freezing fog.

Even the bin looks beautiful!

On a cold a frosty morning.....

This weather even makes the weeds look good! Oh and there's a tit on the fat ball feeder!

We have had 2 nights of very heavy frost it has barely got above freezing during the day, this is the atmospheric view that greeted me this morning.

Negatively Positive....

Finally finished the cushions (pillows) I mentioned a few posts back, they have been sitting in my projects box for quite some time!

They are the result of my messing around with positive and negative blocks, two different methods of applique and 'quilt as you go'. For the white on blue I used bondaweb the blue on white other was just pinned into place. The motifs were stitched into place and quilted at the same time using a machine buttonhole stitch.

I used the MicroStitch gun, for the first time, to hold the layers together instead of the usual pinning or tacking (basting). It was brilliant, apart from.... I used muslin as the backing fabric and the tacks slid back between it and the wadding when I was trying to remove them so I had some fishing to do before I could finish off the cushions.

And it would have been easier to get the tacks out if I had one of the tack removing tools, but so far I have been too tight to buy one, its now on my Christmas list:-) If you had a lot of tacks to take out, on a large quilt, it would be far easier, quicker and safer as you have to be really careful not to accidentally cut the fabric as you go, they are tiny and quite difficult to get hold of. Babs steered me to Lady Sew and Sew who has deal which works out well as you get the extra tacks, she also suggested I get the removing tool at the same time, should have listened.....

teabag folding

All are 3 1/2" from point to point

We did some teabag folding in the afternoon, something I never imagined myself doing but amazingly I loved it...

These are my first samples and no where near perfect please don't look to closely!!!

folded patchwork - log cabin

Log cabin 4" square

Folded Christmas Decoration/Coaster

Square in a square 3 1/2"

On Saturday I went to a Quilters' Guild members day where Janette Fairer taught us how to make folded Christmas decorations, though mine will be coasters, I'm not a big fan of decorations!

Reversible quilts...

The Pot holder was originally a block for a Project Linus quilt, but as ever I cut that one too small (how does that happen?) and faced with either cutting all the other block to match or making another I made another, so this one became an orphan.

The block was made using the reversible quilting technique in Sharon Pederson's book - Reversible Quilts - Two at a Time.

Pot Holder

As ever I didn't finish all I wanted to but I did finish the pot holder.

which is reversible

Real Sewing?

I got to do some sewing yesterday..... 6 buttons on my partner's shirts oh the excitement I could hardly contain myself. And what does he do to his shirts to require 6 buttons replacing all at once? OK I'll fess up the pile has been building on the table for a number of weeks.... well possibly months.....



Have done no other sewing for weeks, the machine has been put away whilst I do 'design work' which I love doing, just so long as I can jump in and make whatever when I am happy with it. But as this design work is for C&G I have to get approval from my tutor, it also has to be presentable, not my usual scribble, which I understand but the tutor wouldn't! It kinda takes the fun out of the whole process!



Got a couple of WIP's out after my success with the buttons and will finish them today and post pics later. Now when I say WIP's I do use the term very loosely they were experiments ie me trying techniques nothing very exciting, two of which I will make into cushions and one into a pot holder:-)

Feel obliged to leave you with a picture as I have written nothing of interest so here we have it:

Hydrangea's from the garden