Quilt Festival

Check out the fantastic Quilt Festival at Farfield Mill, Sedburgh, Cumbria. There are some very well known names involved, including Pauline Burbidge, I love her work. I've got to get up there and have a look. Runs until Sunday 7th April 2013.

New Year - First Finish

Now the festivities are over I can get back to some sewing..... yeah.

For my first finish of the New Year, I made up this cute little book panel from Moda. It was very badly cut at the end of the bolt so it's been hanging around my sewing studio for some time and I've had to make some modifications to it. This is one time when not rushing in with your first idea really paid off, I had been going to abandon some of the pages, but today it occurred to me that if I made into a rag book I could keep all the pages. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out and in fact I prefer it to the original. Result!
  

A Cold and Frosty December Morning

Oh my but its cold out there today. At 6:00 am this morning I took pity on my youngest son, and in temperatures of -4 degrees C, very slowly on untreated roads, I drove him to work. He normally goes on his push bike. I'd been out quite late last night at Susan Dixon's Quilter's dinner and I didn't have to get up this morning so I'm expecting lots of good mummy points for this selfless act :) I know that these temperatures are nothing to what other countries have to cope with but I'm a total wimp when it comes to the cold and driving in it.

Later on this morning I took the some pictures, it was bitterly cold and very foggy, thankfully the fog has lifted now.

This is the view from my kitchen window.

I love the little ice crystals that form on leaves and plants.

Went to the Heaves Hotel for the aforementioned dinner, the food was superb, the staff friendly and welcoming, and the company were, as ever with quilters, great fun. We had a choir on the stairs singing Carols for us before dinner and sang Carols around the piano with the choir after. Met up with old friends not seen for a while and hopefully made a few new ones too. Many thanks to Susan for arranging it all. 

Apple Harvest

At the beginning of the month we finally picked the apples from our tree.

The chap from next door came in September assured us they were cooking apples, and helped himself to a bucketful. We tried one too but the pips were still white. Having been told that apples weren't ready util the pips turned brown we waited, and waited and waited.... until finally at the beginning of November, just when we'd decided to pick them regardless, they were ready.

Turns out they are very tasty eating apples too, not the cookers our neighbour claimed.

It was a gorgeous morning the fruit was, as you can see, dripping from the overnight rain.  So I took a snap of the field too.

The trees are now bereft of their leaves but how pretty it looked just a couple of weeks ago.

Granny Squares

Now we've got all this warmth, I am loath to leave it in the evenings and go to my sewing studio, so I'm getting much less sewing done. On the other hand as I cannot bear to sit and do nothing, I've been crocheting granny squares.

When my mother, who was a very good and somewhat prolific knitter, died earlier this year I inherited her wool (talk about coals to Newcastle!). What to do with it all? I decided to hand the unfinished items to daughter Charlotte, she's a much better knitter than I and will finish them beautifully. But all the odd balls... time to make some granny squares for a blanket. I've only just learnt to crochet and granny squares are about my limit at the moment.  I've begun with this not terribly pleasant green, which I am sure is left overs from school jumpers for my children. Then getting bored of that colour I picked out the next ball, a navy blue, which is great but until we get a decent light I am barely able to see in the evening. Oh how we laughed when our parents complained of not being able to see dark colours at night.... I digress, hopefully, if I make enough different coloured squares, one day it will all look ok in a blanket.... um!

Ahh... warmth

Oh the excitement..... we've just had a wood burning stove fitted and I'm warm!

Before we moved here we were told by the previous occupants that the house was quite a cold one, but we didn't worry too much as most of the houses we've lived in have been somewhat on the cold side. It is nice to have the stove, it makes it nice and cosy and no longer cold!

Knitting

Having got over the giddiness I'm now knitting a slip over for my Dad. Not that it will be done in time for Father's day this Sunday, knitting isn't really my thing and it takes me a long to get it done.

I'm using this Stylecraft pattern and the same brown wool as shown on the pattern.

More Jubilympic giddyness..

I've finished another Union Jack cushion using less obvious fabrics this time.

I got really frugal with this one and used up the left overs for piecing the back, I also added a red, a white and a blue button to fasten it.

I'm also working on a tapestry type cross stitch Union Jack design which will most likely end up as a cushion too. Pictures as soon as I've finished it.

Gettin Giddy....

I said I might get a bit giddy...
I did but not only with the Jubilee stuff with the blog too. Three posts in one month that's got to be a record for me!

So to the Jubileee (which my daughter is calling Jubilympics, others maybe too but I'm out of touch!) giddiness... I made mini bunting using Benartex's 'Cool Britannia' fabric for the shop. The bunting is now up in the window and unfortunately I forgot to take pictures. Then I adapted the free pattern from Makower to make this pillowcase using yet more of the 'Cool Britannia'.

For the back I used another co-ordinating 'Cool Britannia' print.

Apologies for the picture quality, they were taken last night in bad light, sorry.

Jubilee Cushion

Here is my latest project a cushion for the Jubilee, using Makower's patriotic 'I love London' Fabrics.

I used the pattern designed by Hilary Gooding, which is provided by Makower for free here.

I love this pattern and may get a little giddy and make more..... 

My Sad and Sorry Abandoned Blog!

Oh my poor abandoned blog! I do mean to keep updating but life just gets in the way. My latest excuse, and I do like a good excuse, is we've just moved house. So we are now living out of boxes, oh what fun! I tell myself that one day it will all be unloaded and packed away neatly!

Quilting-wise, my most recent activity has been to make The Sweet Shop Quilt, using the gorgeous Sweet Shoppe panel by Michele D' Amore for Benartex. 

These days I rarely get to make a quilt from scratch but spend much of my sewing time making samples for the shop. Not that I am complaining, I love any sewing project especially when I get to use a sewing machine. I'm now working on Jubilee bunting and cushions, pix coming soon.

Christmas Stockings

I've been busy making Christmas stockings.

Side one

Side two

The stockings are double sided.

More pictures of them in the making can be seen here.

Riches to Rags

I'm off to Furness Shoreline Quilters Guild this evening to give a talk - Riches to Rags. This talk covers the first part of my exciting quilting journey. I will be taking along lots of quilts for the audience to have a good rummage through after I've finished. The bags are packed with quilts all I have to do now is figure how long it will take me to get there!

And now for a little eye candy:

 

This is Frosty a double bed sized Stack n Whack quilt I finished in June.

The Quilted Sheep

The reason for my prolonged absence is due to our new venture - The Quilted Sheep.
My daughter and I have taken the plunge and opened a quilt fabric and wool shop in Milnthorpe, Cumbria.
Hence we have had a very exciting but busy year planning, organising, buying etc.
As the quilter I am looking after the quilting side of the business whilst Charlotte takes care of the knitting.
So there will likely be even less posted on this blog!

Scraps

I've been in my scrap box again and for once I've finished what I started! When I get my act together this will be shipped to Jan MacFadyen in Australia for the Oz Comfort Quilts - Queensland Flood Relief Quilts.

I used Jan instructions for making it Quilt As You Go, though I joined the blocks differently by using one strip of fabric on the front and another on the back.

Farfield Mill

We went to the preview of the Turning Point Exhibition 'Trees in the Park' at Farfield Mill nr Kendal on Friday. The exhibition was fabulous I recommend you go and see it if you are in the area.

I haven't been to the Farfield Mill before and was delighted with it, it does requires further exploration as we only got a tantalising little glimpse of it on Friday. Charlotte (my daughter) and I will be checking it out in full the near future.

Clutter tidied

These remote controls have been driving me crazy for months, they are forever cluttering up the sitting room either making a mess on the coffee table, are left lying down the side of the chairs or settee or are somewhere on the floor just waiting to cause an accident.

A bit of ingenuity and a couple of hours cutting and sewing and ta da we are all tidy now!

Blue

Ummm my scraps are very blue.........

More scraps

I spent most of my spare time on Saturday pressing scraps I now have a huge pile waiting to be cut into strips!

I had some time to cut a few yesterday, I also made another block - two down twenty-eight to go!

Scraps

Scrap box

I have been totally uninspired for some time but this week I have been in my scrap box.
I've decided on a pattern, and am now busy processing my scraps.

Pressed scraps

I couldn't resist making up a block to see what it would look like!

Here it is the first block completed