Having a Tidy Up!

 Whenever I change my workroom around I can never find anything! The top picture is how my work room used to look and the bottom two are how it is now! It is a lot more organised but I can't find anything! I need some scrim and I know I have some in several colours including white but it is anyone's guess as to which drawer it has gone into. I love my Ikea cupboards under the worktops with see through drawers but so much stuff is piled into them that it still isn't obvious as to what is in them. Some I labelled! How did I get to be so organised but others I didn't! 

 












The things that are on the shelves are all very clearly labelled and easy to access as are the books which I have in subject order! This is so useful! Graeme made a large padded board for ironing on which is on one of the worktops and the other worktop has cutting boards on so while he is ironing freshly dyed fabric I can be cutting out and sewing.



























If I hadn't got sidetracked looking for scrim I was going to get on and finish this small wall hanging or throw! I wanted to do a piece to showcase the 9 patch block and this seemed an ideal scene. Everything is sewn or attached and I just need to do some free machining to add detail. I do have several UFO's and I am determined to finish them this side of the summer! Hope springs eternal! 

Where does the time go to?

We have just come back from doing a show in Exeter and it was jolly cold. The show was good though and I added to my fabric stash. You would think with all the fabric I have that I wouldn't need any more but I am a sucker for Kona Bay fabric!

We did very well and now have to dye lots more fabric and make more packs ready for Malvern next month. I have several UFO's that I want to finish as well so a busy time is ahead of me.

Finally made a pattern with instructions for the crazy patchwork waistcoat and it proved very popular. I have now made several of these waistcoats and they are so easy to make and put together. 

Had classes at the Exeter show in wired ribbon flowers and they went very well. I made some decorative pieces which could be pinned to a bag or with the addition of a brooch pin they would look good on a lapel. 


This is a little bag I've been making to use up scraps of fabric. It looked really good with the addition of a flower!

 

Another couple of flowers to match the bag! 

 Different flowers; the one with the silver beads is a brooch.

  I'm doing classes on these again at Malvern  which will be good!  They are fun to do and very quick! 

I'm going to make some more of the little bags as they are done in just over an hour from start to finish!

 

Making Runners!

      












I've been making table or end of bed runners using a bundle (6 x FQ) of light to dark fabrics plus a half metre (60" long) for the backing. They are so quick to do and so effective. 

Because I wanted to do a pattern for them I asked a friend to try it out to make sure it made sense and the two below are the ones she did. She even used a Rainbow bundle to get the same effect but in a variety of colours. 


























It is a lovely sunny day today though icy cold! We are off to Exeter for the Spring Quilt show on Thursday so I am hoping the weather will remain dry and perhaps a tad warmer. We will be staying in the motor home so need it to be warm! The gas is good but we haven't tried it yet in icy conditions!

I'm looking forward to meeting up with old friends and making new ones. See you there! 

Time passes!

Suddenly it's nearly the end of January! Where does the time go? We weren't able to go to the show at Ardingly due to the turbo on the van breaking down. I'm not sure what this actually is but I do know it's going to cost a lot of money to make better! Ah well with all the snow across the country we were probably meant to stay here!  We even had some snow ourselves on Monday! It lasted all of four hours! At least I was able to get to work which I am enjoying immensely. This is my new part time job at the Sewing Studio in Redruth. I work on Mondays and Tuesdays and it's great!

We have been dyeing more rainbow bundles and they have been going like hot cakes. The bundle consists of 6 x FQ's of a set of colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. We have done lights, brights and muted using different primary colours. I shall be adding them to the website and they will retail at £15.00.

 


The above shows the muted and light bundles.



I have a lovely fire, some crumpets and a good book so I am going to toast crumpets and read! What could be better on a chilly January late afternoon!

Happy New Year!

Somehow Christmas and the New Year have passed me by almost unnoticed! It was a quiet Christmas but good and then suddenly it is now nearly a week into 2013. Where has all that time gone? 

Before Christmas we, that is Farne Designs, had a great article on the business in Patchwork and Quilting with lots of lovely pictures. Graeme and I were really pleased and we loved having Judi Mendelssohn visit us! We are hoping for great things! And a good plug for the Sewing Studio in Redruth too. I am going to be working there from next week for two and a half days a week. I'm really looking forward to it!

I have been doing some dyeing which is a real treat as most of the dyeing lately has been done by Graeme who has taken to it like a duck to water, leaving me to do the sewing! I have been dyeing rainbow colour runs. One set have been brights and the second set has been lights. I'm really pleased with them!

Classes start again this coming Wednesday and I have been sorting out new block patterns for the irregular sampler quilt we are making. It is a quilt as you go piece and I have a lot of catching up to do! So tomorrow I think I will be chained to the sewing machine! 

 

As well as using our own hand-dyed fabrics I have also used some of my precious Kona Bay fabrics. I really love these Japanese patterns. The blocks look really simple the secret is in getting perfect points! 

My son got married last November and for Christmas I made him and his new wife Mel a memory quilt using photos I'd taken at the wedding. I thoroughly enjoyed making it and they were delighted with it! 

Not the best photos I'm afraid! I used some of the Kona Bay fabric in this as well because the wedding favours on the table at the reception contained coin charms and similar things and my son is enthralled by all things Japanese! It was a lovely wedding!    

I meant to be so good!

 Firstly apologies to Diana. Diana I don't have an enlargement of the flower quilt and I haven't done any more on it but when I do I'll post it! 
 
 I was going to be so good and keep the blog up to date but sadly I haven't. In my defence I have just been so busy. Firstly making bags; lots of bags, and then making Christmas things including the crazy patchwork stocking below. I had great fun making this even though I had great difficulty in sourcing the fur fabric around the top. But in the end I found just what I wanted.


















I also made some felt stockings with silk ribbon embroidery. Quick and easy to do. They will look great hanging on the tree!


















I had a Christmas themed crazy patchwork block which I turned into a cushion. It looks lovely and I am sure I will use it all year!













This is the newest shape pack. It was such fun to do! It will look great at Christmas hanging on the wall! I love making appliqué pictures like this. I know this is a bit clichéd it is for Christmas after all! 














And before Christmas struck I was busy making bags. Lots of bags. Some of which I've shown below. The grab bag is lovely but not so useful as the tote bag! Lovely for using appliqué shapes on and I made two sizes. The tote bags will remain my favourites though as they are great to practice quilting on. The one below has quilted feathers on the dyed stripes on the fabric.































































The next projects will be small quilts which I want to make patterns for. However I am going to Scotland this weekend for my son's wedding so they will have to wait! Hasta la vista!

Class

Brilliant class this morning in our new venue. Lots of light; large airy room and sufficient tables for everyone and some over! What more could we want. Oh yes and it was very clean! Great fun was had by all and we all agreed it was a good move!

The quilt project is progressing well. We are making a variable sampler quilt with blocks of different sizes. We are using the quilt as you go method as the finished quilt is quite large! The blocks get progressively more difficult but each one is a learning curve with lots of quick techniques on offer. Fun for all regardless of ability!

I am busy making Crazy Patchwork Christmas stocking kits. They are about 11" high. Enough for a small gift or two! 

This throw has been languishing in my unfinished pile for too long so I have made a note to myself to get it finished! In fact I have decided to try and get one UFO finished each week! Will it work? We will see!

The End of Summer

The last few weeks have been really busy and now I'm up to my eyes preparing for my patchwork class which starts on Wednesday. We are going to be making a varied sampler quilt using the 'quilt as you go' method. I'm really looking forward to the classes as they are such fun!

A few weeks ago we were in Scotland staying in our time share on Loch Rannoch. The weather wasn't brilliant but we had a good time. The first full day there we went to the local Highland Games which was a good laugh and most interesting. Fortunately the weather stayed fine! 

Later in the week we took the train from Rannoch Station to the next station and walked to Loch Ossion where Graeme caught two very good sized brown trout which we gave to my son and his fiancée later in the week. I however got eaten up by midges! I think I was the attraction of the week! I felt and looked as if I had chicken pox. Not a good look at all! We also visited a local craft shop near Aberfeldy which was interesting and after browsing the shelves for goodies we had home made cake and coffee. Yummy! 

Then after a few days at home we were off again to Harrogate for the quilt show there. Brilliant quilt show and only second in my opinion to Malvern! I indulged in some retail therapy and treated myself to some lovely things. 

I bought a fantastic bag pattern from Japan Crafts and some lovely fabric as well. I only have a large draw full of japanese fabric at home. Certainly no where near enough to make bags! Then I bought an electric hand held embellisher from Lady Sew and Sew. I haven't tried it yet and am dying to give it a whirl. I'm sure it will be great fun. Other things included a lap tray with under cushion and magnifying light. So useful in the dark evenings for crazy patchwork. All in all a good time! 

I also took some pictures for inspiration. Colours for dyeing and flowers for silk ribbon embroidery plus a few just because I liked them! 

This was a weird fungus growing on a tree!








Now we are home I am having to tidy up the garden, do some custom dyeing for various clients, make some samples for class and play with my new braid maker! Not much!