Bluebell Woods Revealed

Welcome to Day 2 of the New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop.
Oh Yes!!!  Today is the day, the first view of Bluebell Woods, in all her glory.

Bluebell was made from Sherri Lynn Wood's book The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters using Score 1, Floating Squares.  She is 50.1/2 by 43.1/2inches, and quilted using the serpentine stitch, Bernina stitch 4 set to length 2, width 2.5.

Can you see the bluebells, in three different shades, for as you know bluebells come in many different colours.   The trees are arching over on the right, and the blue sky is overhead, peeping through at the top left corner.  The gentle rain is falling softly on Bluebell Woods, feeding and nurturing the rich soil.   Although I had originally intended to bind the quilt in green with a scattering of bluebells I didn't have enough left, therefor I extended the sky and the trees into the border and added only random bluebells on three sides.  However I am pleased with the effect this gives.

I didn't plan the size, I just made the blocks and Bluebell just seemed to take on a life of her own.  When it came to putting her together there was very little adjustment to be made.  One block was too small by 3 1/2 inches, so I fudged a bit extra which blended in quite well, in fact although I know which block I have trouble seeing the adjustment.  On another I added a small strip of background at the side.  I did use the rotary cutter on the edges for a very light trim where they were very wavy, and one block was slightly too tall and had just over an inch trimmed off the top.   Let's take a closer look.

Can you see the rain now?  If we turn her over.......

You can see underneath the surface, the rich dark soil which feeds the woods, and look, there are lots of seeds scattered, ready for the summer flowers, (but there again it could be because I bought the fabric on sale :)

At this point I am supposed to evaluate my experience and results.
If I was to make this score again I would take more care in cutting the pieces, I was supposed to cut the squares in a size range, say 3 to 5 inches for one and 4 to 6 inches for another, in my enthusiasm to get on with it I forgot all about that and just cut whatever, as a result some of the squares were the same size so I didn't add as much background fabric between the squares as I would have.  This has resulted in somewhat less of a 'floating' of the squares I think.

Apparently I wasn't supposed to trim the blocks, only odd bits which stuck out and just follow the natural shape of the fabric edges, and I should have added background filler to even up all the blocks instead of trimming the top of one.  Well........ that wouldn't have worked with my wavy edges I think, and what's done is done in the trimming, but all in all I'm happy with my decisions to join the blocks as I did.  There is a discrepancy on the size, it is slightly longer on one side than the other, and wider at the bottom than the top, but that's ok too.

Did I enjoy the experience?  Too right, I loved making it, and I am looking forward to the next score. In fact I wasn't going to keep Bluebell, I was thinking about who I would give her to, but now, I have enjoyed her so much no way can I part with her, so she is mine forever.

But look again, for Bluebell Woods holds a secret known only to a few, do you know what it is?

On Friday The Final Chapter, The Secret of Bluebell Woods will be revealed.

But first, I have news of a giveaway.

As I said yesterday I have no sponsors or affiliates so my giveaway is at my own expense, so, as postage is expensive, and to make it world wide, I am giving away from my own stash.  18, 10inch squares  cut from my solids collection, and including 7 textured read as solids.  It's 18 because that is how many I have big enough to cut a 10 inch square.   Most of these are included in my circles quilt, in fact if you wanted to make it there is enough fabric for all the circles in the quilt, although there wouldn't be enough for the borders.

So, to enter my giveaway, just leave a comment about Bluebell Woods, or the 2016 New Bloggers Blog Hop.  For a second entry, leave a comment saying how you follow me.  The giveaway will remain open until midnight on Saturday.  I will announce the winner next Wednesday.  If you are a no reply blogger remember to check back to see if you have won, then email me your address.  You can find my email address on my About Me page.  I will hold your prize for one week, then re draw if I have not heard from you.
This givaway is now closed.  Thank you for participating.

Tomorrow I am so excited to be giving you news of my circles quilt, so please come back then.

Remember to visit the other new bloggers on the blog hop.  In Mis Bee Hivin' they are:

Emily @ The Darling Dogwood

Kate @ Smiles From Kate  (me)

Miranda @ I Have Purple Hair

Holly @ Lighthouse Lane Designs

I am so looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow,

With smiles from

Kate

Linking up with

Blossom Heart Quilts

Linky Tuesday
Quilt Story
Let's Bee Social

2016 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop

Hello, and welcome  to Week 1 of the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop.  Hosted by Cheryl at Meadowmist Designs,  Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl,  and Stephanie at Late Night Quilter.

I'm Kate and I'm in Miss-Bee Hivin' with Cheryl.

In a nutshell I'm married, and live in the northeast of England.  My husband and I have four children between us all grown and flown, and four grandchildren.   Nowadays we share our home and our lives with two working type English Springer Spaniels, Ella and Indi, who have been known to make a guest appearance, well, once anyways.  I work part time for my husband supporting him in running our business teaching mindfulness courses in healthcare and corporate settings.   There is a pic of me just to the right in the sidebar, the one where I'm hiding behind my sunglasses, being the shy retiring type.  There is another one on the 'About Me' page without the sunglasses but that's the one that keeps the kids off the fire.   Now, that's the boring stuff over.

I've been quilting for over ten years, I'm not saying I'm an expert, or even that I'm in anyway good at it, but after 10 years I still enjoy it.  It's my main hobby I would say, although I do a little embroidery and I love reading too.   I go to a (very) small quilt group every four weeks,  and an embroidery weekend twice a year.  As far as ambitions go I'm very boring, all I want to do is progress in my quilting, try new things, and enjoy it.  That's me, if I make a quilt or something anyone likes I'm happy to share it, but I'm no designer, and I have no affiliations or sponsors either, (hehe, as if).

I started blogging in January this year, I just felt I was missing out, then I found out I was.  The online quilting community is wonderful, I have met some lovely quilters who are so friendly and kind, always having time to help, or explain things.  I should have done this years ago.

When I meet a new quilter, I like to know where they are coming from, so for that reason I thought I'd share a couple of my older quilts, and two I have made recently.

This is my first quilt I ever made, a handmade sampler and you know what? I still love it, I think it's the colours.  They just said choose some fabrics on light medium and dark tones, so I did.  But everyone else had blues and creams, or reds and white, that sort of thing.  So mine ended up a bit different.

Because I enjoyed the appliqué on the sampler I jumped in for a monthly class, a Baltimore.  As you can see I veered away from the traditional and went for blues and purples.  It's stuffed in a cupboard now, I think it took me so long I went off it.

For the benefit of those who have been here before no, I still haven't quilted this one and yes, I'm still procrastinating about the quilting because we all know I'm rubbish at free motion stuff and no I still haven't started practicing regularly yet.  But, I do want it finished for Christmas so watch this space, but not in the immediate future :).

This was actually a group quilt, but as it was my idea and I made two of the blocks, put it all together, spiral quilted it and did the binding I claimed it as a finish.  This is more the kind of stuff I enjoy now.

Last one, promise, yes I know it's three but I didn't think you'd be counting.   I blogged about this only recently, I love simple designs which shows off beautiful fabrics.  In this case City Lights was made with Oakshott Lipari fabric with colourshott centres.

I was going to show my most beautiful Bluebell Woods today, an improv quilt made with score 1 (Floating Squares), of Sherri Lynn Wood's book The Improv Book for Modern Quilters, however, after all the hype about this quilt and all the comments I have received it did seem sacrilege to add it to the end of a post, so I will be revealing Bluebell Woods tomorrow.  If you haven't been here before you may want to read the earlier posts, the inspiration, how I made the blocks, the next steps, and the apology, to get the full effect.  Of course you may just want to skip all of it and come back tomorrow for a giveaway.  I'm saying no more, ask me no questions I'll tell you no lies.

It's been suggested I give a blogging tip at this point, well, I already have a page of blogging tutorials, if you are new don't get excited, it's just about the stuff I had problems with when I started. What I will say is, if you don't blog, and you are the chatty, sharing sort, think about it, because I have had the most fun since I started.

Now for the quilting tip.  One thing I wish I had known about when I started was to use a Kwik Klip for basting a quilt if you use safety pins.  It cut my basting time in half and no sore fingers.   If you are right handed hold the  safety pin in your right and the Kwik Klip in your left to close the pin.  If you google it there are videos on YouTube and they are available from Amazon.com and Cottonpatch in the UK.

How did I name my blog?  Well, everyone seems to have lovely quilting type and imaginative names and I went through a lot, Oakfield Designs?  No, I'm not a designer.   Kathleen's Quilting and Embroidery?  No, don't like the sound of that.  The problem is I have no imagination, so I became Smiles From Kate.  Why?  Because that is how I sign my emails (but I pinched it from a friend 'cos I already said I have no imagination).

Trivia for those who have been here before, things you didn't know about me.

1  Favourite book, has to be the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon, are you watching it on TV?  If you are not you should be.   Jamie Frazer?  Be still my beating heart........

2  Favourite holiday destination, I love Italy, the Italian Lakes, Sorrento, Venice, get my drift?

3  Favourite food, vegetable lasagne, it has to be vegetable because I don't eat meat.

4 Random fact,  when I was a child, about five, I could see fairies and talk with them.  Now I just see them after two glasses of red wine.

Thank you so much for visiting me on the Blog Hop, there are lots of other lovely quilters who would love you to visit.  Here are the others in my swarm this week:

Emily @ The Darling Dogwood

Miranda @ I Have Purple Hair

Holly @ Lighthouse Lane Designs

Remember to come back tomorrow when I reveal Bluebell Woods, in all her glory, and give you all the details for my giveaway.

Until then,

With smiles from
Kate

Linking up with

Cooking Up Quilts
Em's Scrapbag
Linky Tuesday
Let's Bee Social

Bluebell Woods 2 and 3

Yesterday I had a spare couple of hours so I headed up to my, still not finished in fact not started but I have got great lighting now, sewing room.  But first confession time.....I DID IT AGAIN!  Remember when I took all the pics to demonstrate the binding tool and had no pics saved on the camera?  Well, history repeated itself :(, so sad, I'm tearing up at the though of it........  Ok, I'm ok, I won't cry again, well, I'll try not to anyhow.  Fortunately I realised half way through when I spotted the words 'No CF Card'.  So there are some pics, only not so many, for block 3.  Then again seen one seen them all and you'd probably be bored anyway.  If you have just joined us and want to see the inspiration behind the quilt and block 1 post, they are here and here.

Block 2, two fabrics,  one same as the last block, one new (from the pull), same background (no this isn't the actual fabric I used it's bits of what I have left),  right through the quilt.  So, I hacked, I mean, precision cut a piece from two fabrics without measuring or guessing, and cut it up into squares, only I forgot I was cutting squares in a size range and just cut it up into pieces, but hey, it's improv so just go with it. The background as before just use as needed for filling.  I had a great time piecing it, the rule I made was go fast, and I did.
Only thing was I forgot about taking pics for this one, so I can only show you the colours, shame.

Today it was different, I remembered the pics, (I know I said it, but I'm not crying)

Block 3, these are the fabrics, one from before, another new one from the pull, same background.

I added some more rules. Go fast, finish in 1 hour 15 minutes and I put a timer on.   So I went for it, as fast as I could.  Sewing machine?  Pedal to the metal, it was hot, the faster I went, the faster I tried to go, and I don't just mean with the machine, I hacked bits off the filler fabric, stitched any together that would fit, then, new rule.  No single pieces allowed, all single pieces have to be stitched to another piece, in five minutes.  Oh yes I was buzzing, stitching and cutting like there was no tomorrow.  Of course I was stopping to take the odd pic, but you know I have nothing to show,

until this one.   I have a tabletop ironing board in my room and I WAS pressing as I went.

But the faster you go, the wonkier the seams get.

Only thing is with all that speed I couldn't keep with all the threads, and the scraps, and it started to get a little messy, ok, a lot messy.  My thread catcher?  Thats the blue splodge at the bottom of the pic, BUT, you can see my lovely spiral quilting if you look hard.

No, before you ask, I missed the deadline, with 2 seams to go, I was miffed, but I've let go of it now, just as I let go of the photos.

So here are the first three blocks, all different sizes and I had to add a big bit of leaf to the edge of Block 2 because the rules say I have to use up all the pieces I cut.

So, watcha think?  Still like it?   I had to add the brown of course because it's a bluebell wood and you can't have a wood without trees.   Of course in Kate's world I can have anything I want........

Yes, I have made another one and no, you can't see it yet.  Well, ok, just a peak

No, that's all you are getting for today, after all, you have to have sky otherwise it would be too dark without light and you couldn't see anything at all.  I did some rules for this one too, 1 hour 15 minutes, stop and sew all fabrics in 2's to more fabrics, that sort of thing, mix it up a bit.  NO, I didn't hit the deadline, again.  I was would you believe 2 seams off finishing?  I don't believe it either!

So......if you want to see Block 4 you will have to come back next week.

But, before I go I'm giving you fair warning.   As you know I am in the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop,  it starts 13th June, and I am Week 1, how scary is that, and I should be getting prepared and I'm talking to you.  I will be joined by three  lovely quilters from my hive, Miss-Bee Hivin', the button is on my sidebar, lovely isn't it?

They are:

Emily @ The Darling Dogwood

Kate @ Smiles From Kate  (me)

Miranda @ I Have Purple Hair

Holly @ Lighthouse Lane Designs

We will be joined by quilters from the other two hives, The Sewcial Network, and Hive Sewciety but I don't know which ones yet.  I know there will be A LOT of giveaways.    

I do hope you will follow along and visit as many new bloggers as you can, we have all been working very hard for this.

Personally, I am aiming to post every day that week although don't ask me about what, no it's not that it's a secret, although yes it will be, just that I haven't written them yet and only have some vague ideas just now.

 Linking up with

Cooking Up Quilts
Em's Scrapbag

So, see you next week

Smiles from

Kate  x