A quilt pattern and a picture!

 I have been really busy lately with not a lot of spare time. One of the things I have been doing is putting together Lanscape Kits ready for the Festival of Quilts. This is like a mini workshop in a pack as there are full step by step instructions with lots of ideas and how tos so that once one has made up this kit any photo can be made into a piece of fabric art. They go really well and I'm always running out which is why I want to have lots done by the show! 

This photo below is of a simple end of bed runner using a light to dark bundle of 6 fat quarters and 1 x 1/2 metre for borders. Very quick and easy to do. The instructions are below.

Wild Waves – Bed or Table Runner

Fabric needed:

6 Fat Quarters dark to light selection

½ metre plain toning fabric 60 x20

Wadding 60 x 20

Equipment needed:

Rotary cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter

Sewing machine

Scissors, pins, etc

Thread

Cutting   (24 blocks- 3 x 8 layout)

Cut the darkest FQ into 2.5 inch strips (8)

Cut these strips into 6.5 inch strips (24)

Cut 6 x 2.5 inch strips from fabrics B & C

Cut 3 x 2.5 inch strips from fabrics D & E

Cut 2 x 5.5 inch strips from fabric F

Sewing   (24 blocks- 3 x 8 layout)

Join strips B & C together, press and cut into 4.5 inch strips. (24)

Join strips D & E together, press and cut into 2.5 inch strips. (24) 

Join patch B/C to patch D/E as in the diagram. Press

Join strip A to B/C + D/E block. Press

Layout

Lay the blocks out as in the diagram.  Sew the rows together and then join the rows. Press.

Add 5.5 inch strips cut from FQ F. Join to the top and bottom of the runner.  Press.

Layout the runner onto the wadding. Place the backing fabric behind the wadding making sure it is placed evenly so that the overhang on each side is the same.  Spray glue, baste or pin all three layers together.

Quilt. Suggestion – stipple quilt in the dark patches making the herringbone effect and outline stitch in the lightest patch as shown in picture.

Trim wadding. Turn in edges of backing to make a self binding. Machine.

Enjoy!

Note: If wanted the binding can be made by joining strips of the left over FQ’s and using the resulting strip as binding.

I hope you have fun doing this! Would love to know what you think! 

Little Sachets!

Having made up the rose silk ribbon embroidery piece into a pot pourri sachet I decided that I'd turn the two kimono blocks that I made in class this morning to demonstrate the technique into a sachet as well.  These little sachets are so quick to make and I made the rose one in less than half an hour! I made muslin bags and filled them with rose pot pourri and placed them in the sachets. The workroom now smells strongly of roses! 

Being made of cotton the kimono block sachet doesn't fold as well but it is still very interesting.

Next week's class project!

I have so many scraps of Japanese printed cotton fabrics which I have been loath to throw out as the fabric is so lovely and finally I have found a use for them. These small blocks only use a small scrap for the kimono robe which is ideal. In fact I made the blocks using nothing but scraps and they only took about half an hour from start to finish so a very quick block to put together. It took me longer to choose which fabric scraps to use! 
So this will be the project for this coming Wednesdays class. Should be fun. As it is so quick I think I might make a quilt with lots of different coloured blocks! 














These are the two sample blocks I made with close ups below. One is a front and the other back! The collars, waistband and obi get sewn on by hand but even with hand stitching it didn't take longer than half an hour. I love quick projects!

Time to tidy!

Now that shows are over for the next wee while I think it is time to tidy and organise the workroom. It has become an overcrowded tip with items just plonked down willy nilly and no organisation anywhere. 
 












I have two worktops in the centre of the room each of which is 30inches by 6 foot. They make a wonderful work surface for cutting out, ironing, putting packs together, etc. However this is a handy space for just dumping things down and then there is less room for work! The trouble is that finding a home for some of the dumped stuff is very hard which is why there needs to be some organisation! 

The shelves on both sides of the room are full of storage boxes which are very useful and many of them are labelled but there are so many that finding things is difficult. Beads,threads, cutting tools, handy gadgets and paints are all mixed up together whereas with a bit of organisation they could all be stored together and then be much easier to find. So that is going to be my next project! I shall need to start early in the morning as I shall take things out of the workroom and stack them on our bed while I re-organised the space and then I will put them into their new organised positions! Well that's the plan and it will need to be done before we go to bed! :-)

Here comes the sun again!

Lovely sunny day! I enjoyed sitting in the garden and admiring the flowers and trees and closing my eyes to the overgrown parts! 
 











The trees are all coming in to leaf and the Weigela is in full flower. It's glorious! 













The Rhodidendron is nearly over but has been a lovely colour. I think this will be the subject for another silk ribbon piece!













The roses will flower all summer but these are nearly finished. They still smell wonderful!














Wild garlic is hidden under the Rhodi's! 














Close up of roses! 















Lots of inspiration there for some embroidery! I've just heard the weather forecast for tomorrow and it's going to rain! Glad I was able to sit out today. 

Like the Phoenix!

I am going to start again and this time I'll make more of an effort to keep up to date! There is just so much to do and so little time! We have just come back from exhibiting at Quilts UK Malvern and had a really good time. Our next show will be The Festival of Quilts at the NEC at the beginning of August so we have time to replenish stocks. We are off to Scotland in two and a half weeks to stay in our time share apartment on Loch Rannoch for two weeks. Lots of fishing, walking and just relaxing! Can't wait! And we'll catch up with my son Andrew and his wife Mel!

I have self published a small book on Silk Ribbon embroidery and so have been doing lots of silk ribbon work. I've been combining it with crazy patchwork and have really been having fun! Here are some of the things I've been sewing!
 











The book is just the first in a series I plan to do. The second one will be on applique! 

This is going to be made into a small sachet for rose pot pourri. The silk background piece is one I hand-dyed and it was lovely to work on. 

 This time I used silk paints on a piece of habutai. I don't know what this will end up as!

 This little motif will be the centre on a silk covered coat hanger. Coat hanger covers are so easy to make and look good too!

 This is part of a long strip and will make a sachet with a drawstring top and circular base.

Another hand-dyed piece of taffeta but I don't know what it will become! 

A piece of silk ribbon work that was lost and lonely and so got added into this crazy patchwork block. I think that is what I'll do with a couple of the pieces above! When I have enough blocks I'll turn them into a throw! Hand sewing is good to do in the evenings as one can still be sociable whereas if I machine I have to go to the workroom and work on my own!