one of those weeks where I feel as if I haven't done much but I have lots to show. This is a change from the weeks I feel like I have accomplished so much but DON'T have much to show for it. Do you ever feel like this?
Any how, I have been making Dog Gone Cute blocks for Karen at KAHolly who is making quilts for hurricane victims. Karen is one of the nicest quilters I have ever met, and it is lovely to do something to help her so I made
this block. If you haven't seen the blocks before they are designed by Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts as part of a free quilt along. There are six different dogs in all in two different sizes and you can find them on the introductory post. If you are familiar with the blocks you may notice that this block, no 5, is slightly different. Jennifer from Inquiring Quilter changed the ears on this dog when using it as a bee block, Lorna loved it and shared it on her blog last week and as I have two springer spaniels I just had to make it too. Jennifer posted the details on how she made spaniel ears on this post if you are interested.
The second block isn't quite finished yet, I have a head cold, the first one in years, and have a touch of cantbebothereditis, but I should get it finished and in the post in the next couple of days. This one is Ella, and the previous one is Indi, after my two.
Oh I haven't shown you this weeks Gypsy blocks have I?
An easy week this week, three hourglass blocks, and as I forgot to take a pic before I went on to the next stage you get to see them in all their glory, with one and two borders and bordered with square in a square.
Last week I forgot to show you pics of two snowman cushions Elspeth is making,
Elspeth hasn't quite finished them yet but tells me how much she is enjoying making them by hand. They are bonded appliqué as in the pattern but Elspeth did all the buttonhole stitches herself whereas I just used the sewing machine. I must say the stitching is beautiful, so even. The templates and tutorial is available free HERE if you missed it.
One thing my sewing room lacks is drawers, but after seeing a pic on Instagram from Anja at Anja Quilts I paid a visit to Ikea. I ended up buying a similar one,
What do you think? I meant for it to go under my sewing table but it's a little taller than I thought, or it could be that my table is a little lower, but anyway I love it, perfect for all the bits and pieces I use all the time and have to hunt for. I could do with one or two containers to keep it tidier and I've just thrown everything in as you can see, but I can see where everything is at a glance and I love it. So thank you Anja for the inspiration.
Finally, I got such a lovely surprise in the post from Helen at Midget Gem Quilts,
a lovely pouch with some goodies thrown in too. You know the feeling of surprise and happiness when someone gives you something and it is totally unexpected? Well it arrived today, just when I was feeling sorry for myself with this cold and it's cheered me right up. I love the fabric Helen used for the pouch and the bright blue zip is perfect, I love it. Thank you so much Helen, it is so very kind of you.
So, that's all for this week, although I haven't shown you the fabric I forgot to show you last week, hmmmmmm, I will show you next week, promise. AND, if I remember that is, I will tell you about the book I was given which belonged to my mother in law Edna given to her by her mother in law Sarah, I couldn't believe what I was reading.
Until then,
With smiles from,
Kate x
Linking up with:
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?
Finished Or Not Friday
Summer Lee Quilts hosting for TGIFF
Friday, 3 November 2017
Wednesday, 25 October 2017
It's a Beautiful World
Have you taken a good look outside recently? I mean a good look, in detail. It's such a wonderful time of year when nature gives us a last fanfare of beauty before the long winter sleep. While it has always been my favourite time of year this year I can appreciate it so much more as I look at it through new eyes, well, one new eye so to speak after having the worst of my cataracts removed.
Thank you so much for all your good wishes and enquiries, I do so appreciate it. I still have emails to reply to and blogs to visit, it is so lovely getting back to normal.
Oh the revelations, I couldn't believe it, I knew I was seeing everything as if through a dirty glass, that colours were dull as if the colours were being slowly leached out, but what I didn't know was the glass I was looking through was a dirty YELLOW. Thats right, everything I was seeing had a strong yellow tinge, imagine what THAT has been doing to my colour vision. Whites were cream, imagine, and it comes in so slowly you don't realise it has happened. But now whites are brilliant, blues are so clear and beautiful, how didn't I realise I was missing all this?
The procedure itself was fine, I did a meditation all the way through and it didn't take long at all. I just want the other eye done now. Oh but I have to tell you, now don't laugh, one of my biggest revelations came when brushing my hair, in fact it came as a bit of a shock, I HAVE GREY HAIR!!! Seriously, I didn't realise how much I had. I knew I had some around the front and underneath, but my hair is peppered with it but the yellow tint made it look like light brown and blond hairs. Yes I know I should have realised, you can't get to my age without getting grey hairs, it's a natural part of ageing, but as I don't think of my age often (who does) it didn't even enter my head. I WONT be colouring my hair mind, I have strong views about all the adverts and the way the media encourages women to look younger and conform to stereotypes, at all ages, and I really don't like the idea of dousing my head with chemicals either, who knows what is absorbed into the skin and what effects it has. However, I'm just spouting off my own personal opinion here so please feel free to ignore me.
So, first I'd like to show you the last bee blocks I made for Janice, Color, Creating, & Quilting.
They are 8 inch finished, Janice asked for brights and that is what she got. I even used some of my Gypsy fabrics, that's twice I've dipped into them, it gave me the shakes I can tell you.
Speaking of Gypsy you are way behind in my blocks so here is the update:
Two half square triangle blocks, I used some of the leftover triangles for these, none of the coloured ones are repeated over the two and I used sixteen of the background fabrics so it is used only once in each block.
Old Maid Puzzle in two colour ways. This is the last of the main blocks, the rest are classed as filler blocks, even though a couple are really quite big.
Pinwheel blocks four are bordered but I think I will change the border on the bottom right block, I've been laying the blocks out together and looking at them in the PiZap app and it doesn't look right next to it's neighbour.
Courhouse Steps. I may well replace the one on the bottom right, I really like it but I think it is next to a block of the same colour.
Want to see them all together?
It's not all the blocks and it includes some of them you haven't seen 'officially' yet, but you get the drift. Can you see the bordered pinwheel block near the top just under Crazy Anne? As you can see it's next to a dark blue, I think if I leave it it will always bug me, but I will make the final decision as I put it together.
I had already made most of these before I had my eye done, I haven't been on the computer much and only for short periods at first. I do have one problem with my eye though, well, not my eye exactly, my distance vision is fantastic out of it, only the cataract in the other eye has made the vision in that eye a lot worse, and my eyes just won't play together. I can see much better wearing the old glasses but without glasses everything is just weird and it hurts my eyes too as they vie together to focus. I go back end of next month for a check and I will ask for the second one done. It wasn't planned as it is at an earlier stage, but I was told they may have to do it if my eyes didn't settle, and they haven't.
So, that's the last three weeks in a nutshell. I have got some other stuff going on, one of the oldies is poorly in hospital again, this is the fifth time this year, they seem to be taking turns, but such is life and none of us knows what we have to come to, so I just count my blessings, and believe me when you look at them there are many.
Until next time,
With smiles from,
Kate x
Linking up with
Let's Bee Social
Wednesday Wait Loss
Midweek Makers
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?
Anja Quilts hosting for TGIFF
Thank you so much for all your good wishes and enquiries, I do so appreciate it. I still have emails to reply to and blogs to visit, it is so lovely getting back to normal.
Oh the revelations, I couldn't believe it, I knew I was seeing everything as if through a dirty glass, that colours were dull as if the colours were being slowly leached out, but what I didn't know was the glass I was looking through was a dirty YELLOW. Thats right, everything I was seeing had a strong yellow tinge, imagine what THAT has been doing to my colour vision. Whites were cream, imagine, and it comes in so slowly you don't realise it has happened. But now whites are brilliant, blues are so clear and beautiful, how didn't I realise I was missing all this?
The procedure itself was fine, I did a meditation all the way through and it didn't take long at all. I just want the other eye done now. Oh but I have to tell you, now don't laugh, one of my biggest revelations came when brushing my hair, in fact it came as a bit of a shock, I HAVE GREY HAIR!!! Seriously, I didn't realise how much I had. I knew I had some around the front and underneath, but my hair is peppered with it but the yellow tint made it look like light brown and blond hairs. Yes I know I should have realised, you can't get to my age without getting grey hairs, it's a natural part of ageing, but as I don't think of my age often (who does) it didn't even enter my head. I WONT be colouring my hair mind, I have strong views about all the adverts and the way the media encourages women to look younger and conform to stereotypes, at all ages, and I really don't like the idea of dousing my head with chemicals either, who knows what is absorbed into the skin and what effects it has. However, I'm just spouting off my own personal opinion here so please feel free to ignore me.
So, first I'd like to show you the last bee blocks I made for Janice, Color, Creating, & Quilting.
They are 8 inch finished, Janice asked for brights and that is what she got. I even used some of my Gypsy fabrics, that's twice I've dipped into them, it gave me the shakes I can tell you.
Speaking of Gypsy you are way behind in my blocks so here is the update:
Two half square triangle blocks, I used some of the leftover triangles for these, none of the coloured ones are repeated over the two and I used sixteen of the background fabrics so it is used only once in each block.
Old Maid Puzzle in two colour ways. This is the last of the main blocks, the rest are classed as filler blocks, even though a couple are really quite big.
Pinwheel blocks four are bordered but I think I will change the border on the bottom right block, I've been laying the blocks out together and looking at them in the PiZap app and it doesn't look right next to it's neighbour.
Courhouse Steps. I may well replace the one on the bottom right, I really like it but I think it is next to a block of the same colour.
Want to see them all together?
It's not all the blocks and it includes some of them you haven't seen 'officially' yet, but you get the drift. Can you see the bordered pinwheel block near the top just under Crazy Anne? As you can see it's next to a dark blue, I think if I leave it it will always bug me, but I will make the final decision as I put it together.
I had already made most of these before I had my eye done, I haven't been on the computer much and only for short periods at first. I do have one problem with my eye though, well, not my eye exactly, my distance vision is fantastic out of it, only the cataract in the other eye has made the vision in that eye a lot worse, and my eyes just won't play together. I can see much better wearing the old glasses but without glasses everything is just weird and it hurts my eyes too as they vie together to focus. I go back end of next month for a check and I will ask for the second one done. It wasn't planned as it is at an earlier stage, but I was told they may have to do it if my eyes didn't settle, and they haven't.
So, that's the last three weeks in a nutshell. I have got some other stuff going on, one of the oldies is poorly in hospital again, this is the fifth time this year, they seem to be taking turns, but such is life and none of us knows what we have to come to, so I just count my blessings, and believe me when you look at them there are many.
Until next time,
With smiles from,
Kate x
Linking up with
Let's Bee Social
Wednesday Wait Loss
Midweek Makers
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?
Anja Quilts hosting for TGIFF
Thursday, 5 October 2017
Still busy.......
It has been such a busy week here and I have several pieces of news for you, but first how about a pic?
Jen from A Dream and a Stitch was Queen Bee for September in Bee Inspired, and this was her request. Lemoyne star in our own choice of tertiary colours on a grey background. Most of us had a lesson in colour here, did you know there are six tertiary colours, they are amber/marigold (yellow–orange), vermilion/cinnabar (red–orange), magenta (red–purple), violet/indigo (blue–purple), teal/aqua (blue-green), and chartreuse/lime green (yellow–green). The colours are slightly skewed here but you get the drift.
Ok, first piece of news, Jack is out of hospital and doing quite well, especially as he is 90. Thank you all for your kind enquiries.
Another pic?
In Stash Bee Hive 2 our Queen requested Bear Paw, Jacqueline requested we make four quadrants the same colour so she can mix them up. I love this Mode Grunge, and she did say think raspberry!
Second piece of news, I finally left work last week. I meant to tell you but I forgot, I had my last day last Wednesday and so far my feet haven't touched the ground. It was my choice to leave and it's permanent, I am taking early retirement. However, coming to my next piece of news I will spend a lot of time at home this month as I won't be driving, that's because today, Thursday, I have cataract surgery. As I am scheduling this post for 8am if you are in the UK I am already at the hospital, and if you are in the USA it will be over by the time you get up to start your day. I have been struggling recently as my sight deteriorated, do you know the worst thing? I can't see colours properly, everything gets washed out. I'll let you know how I get on next week, as long as my eyes work together properly, the cataract has made the sight in one much worse and there will be a big difference between my eyes. I don't know when I will be sewing again, but not in the next couple of weeks anyway. Good job I have some stuff secreted away to fill the gap.
Gypsy? Who mentioned Gypsy? I am several weeks ahead fortunately, want to see last weeks block?
Nurses Cross, like it? A tricky little block but easier than I expected. A lot of people in the sew along have paper pieced it but as paper piecing is not one of my best skills I just do basic piecing and keep my fingers crossed. As with all the blocks it's a matter of keeping a very scant seam and not trying to rush it.
Now I want to make sure you have all read about a wonderful piece of news that isn't mine. Cheryl Brickley from Meadow Mist Designs and Paige Alexander from Quilted Blooms have wrote a book together. Modern Plus Sign Quilts is due to be published in February 2018 and is available for pre order now. I have already ordered mine, this is so exciting! I'm sure you all know Cheryl from her wonderful free quilt alongs, she is the most wonderful designer and so generous, she makes a wonderful contribution to the quilting world. I first met Paige just a few weeks after I started blogging, she started about four weeks before me so we clicked right off, she is also in Bee Inspired our own quilting bee. I couldn't believe how professional Paige's blog looked and it got better and better. Paige is so talented, the quality of her work is wonderful, and she has already had several of her patterns published. With two such fantastic and talented ladies this has to be the must have book for 2018. I suppose I'd better remind you at this point I don't do affiliations, I tell it as I see it, end of.
I WAS going to show you this weeks Gypsy blocks but I haven't taken the pics yet, sorry, and my design wall is full, and no I'm not showing you it, there is stuff I'm keeping secret on there.
What I can tell you is that my 12 days of Christmas in July post is now my most viewed post ever. If you are new and missed it do check it out.
I'm so proud of this I have to give you a second look. This is one of three variations, an 18 inch cushion design which can be adapted for other items such as a table runner or wall hanging. The post includes a tutorial and a link for the templates, if you make anything for them I would love to see a pic so I could feature it on the blog, it would give me such a thrill.
Have a great week, whatever you are doing.
Until next time
With smiles from
Kate x
Jen from A Dream and a Stitch was Queen Bee for September in Bee Inspired, and this was her request. Lemoyne star in our own choice of tertiary colours on a grey background. Most of us had a lesson in colour here, did you know there are six tertiary colours, they are amber/marigold (yellow–orange), vermilion/cinnabar (red–orange), magenta (red–purple), violet/indigo (blue–purple), teal/aqua (blue-green), and chartreuse/lime green (yellow–green). The colours are slightly skewed here but you get the drift.
Ok, first piece of news, Jack is out of hospital and doing quite well, especially as he is 90. Thank you all for your kind enquiries.
Another pic?
In Stash Bee Hive 2 our Queen requested Bear Paw, Jacqueline requested we make four quadrants the same colour so she can mix them up. I love this Mode Grunge, and she did say think raspberry!
Second piece of news, I finally left work last week. I meant to tell you but I forgot, I had my last day last Wednesday and so far my feet haven't touched the ground. It was my choice to leave and it's permanent, I am taking early retirement. However, coming to my next piece of news I will spend a lot of time at home this month as I won't be driving, that's because today, Thursday, I have cataract surgery. As I am scheduling this post for 8am if you are in the UK I am already at the hospital, and if you are in the USA it will be over by the time you get up to start your day. I have been struggling recently as my sight deteriorated, do you know the worst thing? I can't see colours properly, everything gets washed out. I'll let you know how I get on next week, as long as my eyes work together properly, the cataract has made the sight in one much worse and there will be a big difference between my eyes. I don't know when I will be sewing again, but not in the next couple of weeks anyway. Good job I have some stuff secreted away to fill the gap.
Gypsy? Who mentioned Gypsy? I am several weeks ahead fortunately, want to see last weeks block?
Nurses Cross, like it? A tricky little block but easier than I expected. A lot of people in the sew along have paper pieced it but as paper piecing is not one of my best skills I just do basic piecing and keep my fingers crossed. As with all the blocks it's a matter of keeping a very scant seam and not trying to rush it.
Now I want to make sure you have all read about a wonderful piece of news that isn't mine. Cheryl Brickley from Meadow Mist Designs and Paige Alexander from Quilted Blooms have wrote a book together. Modern Plus Sign Quilts is due to be published in February 2018 and is available for pre order now. I have already ordered mine, this is so exciting! I'm sure you all know Cheryl from her wonderful free quilt alongs, she is the most wonderful designer and so generous, she makes a wonderful contribution to the quilting world. I first met Paige just a few weeks after I started blogging, she started about four weeks before me so we clicked right off, she is also in Bee Inspired our own quilting bee. I couldn't believe how professional Paige's blog looked and it got better and better. Paige is so talented, the quality of her work is wonderful, and she has already had several of her patterns published. With two such fantastic and talented ladies this has to be the must have book for 2018. I suppose I'd better remind you at this point I don't do affiliations, I tell it as I see it, end of.
I WAS going to show you this weeks Gypsy blocks but I haven't taken the pics yet, sorry, and my design wall is full, and no I'm not showing you it, there is stuff I'm keeping secret on there.
What I can tell you is that my 12 days of Christmas in July post is now my most viewed post ever. If you are new and missed it do check it out.
I'm so proud of this I have to give you a second look. This is one of three variations, an 18 inch cushion design which can be adapted for other items such as a table runner or wall hanging. The post includes a tutorial and a link for the templates, if you make anything for them I would love to see a pic so I could feature it on the blog, it would give me such a thrill.
Have a great week, whatever you are doing.
Until next time
With smiles from
Kate x
Friday, 29 September 2017
How I made.......
????? Did you guess from the pic I showed last week?
Want another look?
I first saw these several years ago when I made one in a class, I was told it was a Victorian Thimble Case. I have since seen them called so many different names, a coin purse, thimble case, thimble holder, thimble pip, clam shell and brazil nut! My original case was made of cardboard and was a single layer with an inner and outer skin of fabric, no wadding. It did work but only lasted so long, maybe I'm a bit heavy handed opening and closing it. You just squeeze the two ends and when you let go it closes again, clever.
Looking through my box for handwork to take with me on holiday I came across a clamshell kit with templates and instructions, this one had two layers of plastic and instructions very similar to the old one, which I a assuming was how victorian ladies made cases for their thimbles. But, me being a bit thrifty I got out a sheet of template plastic and drew around the pieces, why make just one when you can use it as a template and it makes a nice little gift? So I took it on holiday with some fabric and wadding and made........
five. Well it did rain a lot.
They are a nice little project and very easy to make,
First I took my templates and glued them to a piece of scrap wadding, there are six pieces, three larger and three smaller for the inside.
When the glue dries just cut around the shapes, you can see here they are slightly different sizes.
I laid the pieces on to a piece of fabric and cut around leaving a good 1/4 inch seam allowance. Then I stitched around taking a big stitch at the pointed ends and drew up the threads just like you do with a circle and tied it off.
Then I laced across the back, I thought it was a waste of time doing this bit, until I didn't do it, it keeps it nice and taught and just the running stitch around the edge didn't do that.
Finished. You do this with the three large pieces and the three smaller pieces for the inside.
Then you line up a big outer piece with a smaller inner piece,
and ladder stitch them together leaving a margin around the outsides. Binding clips or something similar are the best thing to hold them while you stitch.
Then it's just stitching the three pieces together using a small overstitch in matching thread. The hardest bit is adding the third piece while it tries to spring apart, but it's ok once you get going.
You need to stitch up the remaining sides about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch and you are done. How is that for a nice little hand project?
Did you notice I made the insides with bright contrasting colours?
Except for this one, Husband asked me to make him one and chose his own colours, apparently I got them mixed up and the greyish colour was supposed to be on the outside, although I think it looks more interesting the way I made it. He hasn't decided what to do with it yet.
I wanted to make one for my silver thimble, it was a gift from a friend and I'm very attached to it. I have small fingers and this is perfect for me, only thing is I keep loosing it so I really needed the case.
Would you like to make a thimble case? You don't need to buy a commercial kit, or even template plastic, since I made mine I found a great tutorial AND there are free templates too, so just pop over to supermomnocape for the tutorial, she shows you how to make your own templates or you can always download her free templates. in three different sizes, the large one is the same size as mine although mine is the small size in the commercial kit, if you want a bigger set you can always just enlarge the template when printing it. Why don't you need template plastic? Because you can use plastic from margarine tops and bottles which will work just as well. If you are not a quilter and don't have wadding you could maybe use a piece of thin felt instead.
I was going to show you some other stuff but I think I've bored you enough for today so I'll just show you this weeks Gypsy blocks.
Puss on the corner, as you can see one is bordered the other not.
You may have noticed I have turned on comment moderation recently and last week added a bit under where comments are left saying anonymous comments will not be published. I have been having a lot of spam recently and some unwelcome comments too. I'm not so keen on the word and tick the box thing and this is easier. I hope you will understand.
You may have noticed I have turned on comment moderation recently and last week added a bit under where comments are left saying anonymous comments will not be published. I have been having a lot of spam recently and some unwelcome comments too. I'm not so keen on the word and tick the box thing and this is easier. I hope you will understand.
I made a bee block yesterday, I used some of my Gypsy fabric and LOVED the colour combination, I'll show you next week and you never know, I may even have an update on circles too.
EDIT I write this post last week but the curse of family illness struck, quilting and blogging were the last thing on my mind. With three elderly parents all with health issues chances are it may well happen again, so if I don't respond to your comments or visit your blog that's what it's likely to be so please forgive me and I will be back soon as I can.
EDIT I write this post last week but the curse of family illness struck, quilting and blogging were the last thing on my mind. With three elderly parents all with health issues chances are it may well happen again, so if I don't respond to your comments or visit your blog that's what it's likely to be so please forgive me and I will be back soon as I can.
Until next time,
With smiles from,
Friday, 15 September 2017
I'm Back..........
from my holiday, but my feet hit the ground running. What with trying to catch up at work and organising the catering for the two day course this weekend, yes I'll be serving and clearing up too so no weekend off for me, I haven't had time to draw breath. No sewing, no blogging, I haven't even answered all my emails or even started to catch up with my blog reading yet, where has the week gone? Do you ever come home from being away and think was it all worth the effort?
The holiday? Lovely, but I haven't sorted pics out yet, sorry, although I took hardly any to be honest, it rained the day after we arrived, and the Monday, Tuesday morning, we did get out for a lovely walk in the afternoon, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, at which point we decided to come home in the afternoon instead of staying until the next day, and yes, it rained all the way home too!
How about seeing some more Gypsy pics?
Indian Hatchet is this weeks block, the easiest so far. I actually made it last month but I've been holding back.
This is Old Maid Puzzle, one of two which is for week eleven really but I'm jumping ahead so you get to see SOMETHING new this week anyway, but I'm still holding back on the second one.
Bordered Puss in the Corner, this is next weeks block, one of two,. I'll show you a pic of the blocks in situ next week so you can see how far I'm up to.
I was going to show you my holiday sewing but you will get the full post on that next week, want a sneak peak?
Some of you will know what it is and some may not, I'll tell you all about it and how I made it next week.
Sorry for the short post, I have to dive back into the whirlwind as is my life this week, but just wait, I leave work in two weeks time and start a new chapter in my life, how exciting is that? I had to promise I would keep doing the catering though, but that is only once a month or so, I can cope with that.
Until next week,
with smiles from,
Kate x
Linking up with:
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?
Katie Mae Quilts hosting for TGIFF
Crazy Mom Quilts
The holiday? Lovely, but I haven't sorted pics out yet, sorry, although I took hardly any to be honest, it rained the day after we arrived, and the Monday, Tuesday morning, we did get out for a lovely walk in the afternoon, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, at which point we decided to come home in the afternoon instead of staying until the next day, and yes, it rained all the way home too!
How about seeing some more Gypsy pics?
Indian Hatchet is this weeks block, the easiest so far. I actually made it last month but I've been holding back.
This is Old Maid Puzzle, one of two which is for week eleven really but I'm jumping ahead so you get to see SOMETHING new this week anyway, but I'm still holding back on the second one.
Bordered Puss in the Corner, this is next weeks block, one of two,. I'll show you a pic of the blocks in situ next week so you can see how far I'm up to.
I was going to show you my holiday sewing but you will get the full post on that next week, want a sneak peak?
Some of you will know what it is and some may not, I'll tell you all about it and how I made it next week.
Sorry for the short post, I have to dive back into the whirlwind as is my life this week, but just wait, I leave work in two weeks time and start a new chapter in my life, how exciting is that? I had to promise I would keep doing the catering though, but that is only once a month or so, I can cope with that.
Until next week,
with smiles from,
Kate x
Linking up with:
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?
Katie Mae Quilts hosting for TGIFF
Crazy Mom Quilts
Wednesday, 6 September 2017
Is there anyone there?
I've not been here to do much sewing this week, in fact I'm not here at all..................... Spooky! But no, the wonders of modern technology has allowed me to schedule this post so I'm writing this before I go away.
Want to see my next Gypsy block? Sorry, no choice, you are getting it anyway,
this is it, the name is Star Block, pretty boring name isn't it? Especially after Crazy Anne and oh I must tell you, it seems I have been calling one block by the wrong name. The second block I introduced as Perishing is actually Pershing. Just to set the record straight. Back to Star Block, no it's not as bright and colourful as some of the others, but I think it will add more contrast. If all the blocks end up super bright the quilt will be overpowering with little balance, so I am adding some cooler and darker shades. That's how I'm thinking anyway.
This is the updated pic to illustrate what I mean. I have looked at so many Gypsy versions, and each one is wonderful and unique, some are monotone, some are completely saturated with colour, some have multicoloured strips and some have neutral strips to show off the blocks more, such as two tone creams, or black and white, such variety. Mine will have multicoloured strips, like the original pattern, so it will live up to the original design. If all those strips were bright you would need sunglasses to look at it, that's why I'm adding the cooler and neutral shades.
I did get a little more quilting done on circles before I got away, I got nearly half the quilting done in the coloured circles. I had a big think about it first, hang on I'll show you..........
Now you can see, circles, or pebbles as they are known. Pebbles best describe mine too as they are not all circular, AND they overlap quite a bit, far from perfect in fact. Do I care? Not on your nellie, I decided to do pebbles as my control needs a lot of improvement yet and I still struggle with manipulating a larger quilt (ok not that large but it is for me). If I had tried to do something fancy like orange peels, which would have been perfect, it would have been disastrous, so I chose pebbles and if you stand back and screw your eyes up they look great, so I'm happy. I had a variegated thread so I'm using that, hope I don't run out, I've had it for ages, but it's a King Tut so I'm hoping it will still be available if I need it. Fingers crossed.
Thinking of Gypsy recently I also started thinking of the quilting, some quilters machine quilt and some hand quilt, that got me thinking of the baby quilt I made for my youngest granddaughter Emily. It was just a panel with borders but it matched the theme of her bedroom.
This is the only pic I have as I forgot to take one before I gave it to her Mum and I pinched this from Facebook. Yes, her bedroom has a jungle theme. I had bought this panel years beforehand and some yardage of the matching print too. I think I should have added a border between the flowers and the small print in hindsight (which is as always a wonderful thing), but I didn't and it can't be changed now. I had to juggle the yardage as I had a limited amount but I did have enough to make it all face the same way, don't ask me why I decided to do it like that I can't remember. I added cornerstones in orange, which I also used for the binding. As a point of interest I have been using some of the leftover orange scraps recently to make the noses on my snowman cushions. Waste not want not.
Unfortunately when I zoomed in the quality wasn't good enough to allow you to see the hand quilting, so I will just have to tell you about it. I hand stitched around all the animals and some of the detail on them as well as some of the leaves, butterflies, rainbow etc.. I even quilted around the small animals in the border. It took me ages, good job I started early. Emily now uses it in the camper van, she is going on five so the design is still fine for now. However I believe there are plans afoot to turn her bedroom from a jungle into a bedroom fit for a little girl, so a new quilt may be in the offing before long.
If you have left a comment since Saturday I won't have read it or answered it yet, as I said last week I don't have wifi, a phone signal, or tv this week. I have taken a little hand sewing, though not much, and a couple of books too,
these are they, World Without End and Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett. I have read them before but I don't have copies so I treat myself as I won't be spending anything much at all when I'm away. I didn't mind buying these as I know I will reread them in the future, also after many years a third book will make them a trilogy next month and I have had it on preorder for ages so this is the right time to read them again. I don't think I will get them both finished in time though, these take some reading. It's the kind of books I like, no three to four hundred pages for me, there just isn't enough words for a good complicated story to develop.
So, that's all for today, no linking up, unless you are reading through Mean Queen, she has my blog on her sidebar. If you haven't read it take a look, she is indeed the queen of frugal living in the UK. The posts vary a lot, sometimes she just shows some pics, other times she talks about her crafting, sometimes she talks about how she has been saving money or her opinions of life, and some of the posts can stir up a real hornets nest. Do make sure you read the poem on the sidebar one of the readers wrote, it sums her up brilliantly. It's a great blog, but don't just judge it on one post, have a good look around while you are there. There is also a monthly update on the quest to walk a thousand miles a year and lots of people add their totals in the comments. Do you know it's not as difficult as you think? All you have to do is about three miles a day. Amazing, I never thought of it like that.
See you again next week and I will tell you where I have been and what I have been doing, but don't hold your breath, it won't be THAT exciting.
With smiles from,
Kate x
Want to see my next Gypsy block? Sorry, no choice, you are getting it anyway,
this is it, the name is Star Block, pretty boring name isn't it? Especially after Crazy Anne and oh I must tell you, it seems I have been calling one block by the wrong name. The second block I introduced as Perishing is actually Pershing. Just to set the record straight. Back to Star Block, no it's not as bright and colourful as some of the others, but I think it will add more contrast. If all the blocks end up super bright the quilt will be overpowering with little balance, so I am adding some cooler and darker shades. That's how I'm thinking anyway.
This is the updated pic to illustrate what I mean. I have looked at so many Gypsy versions, and each one is wonderful and unique, some are monotone, some are completely saturated with colour, some have multicoloured strips and some have neutral strips to show off the blocks more, such as two tone creams, or black and white, such variety. Mine will have multicoloured strips, like the original pattern, so it will live up to the original design. If all those strips were bright you would need sunglasses to look at it, that's why I'm adding the cooler and neutral shades.
I did get a little more quilting done on circles before I got away, I got nearly half the quilting done in the coloured circles. I had a big think about it first, hang on I'll show you..........
Now you can see, circles, or pebbles as they are known. Pebbles best describe mine too as they are not all circular, AND they overlap quite a bit, far from perfect in fact. Do I care? Not on your nellie, I decided to do pebbles as my control needs a lot of improvement yet and I still struggle with manipulating a larger quilt (ok not that large but it is for me). If I had tried to do something fancy like orange peels, which would have been perfect, it would have been disastrous, so I chose pebbles and if you stand back and screw your eyes up they look great, so I'm happy. I had a variegated thread so I'm using that, hope I don't run out, I've had it for ages, but it's a King Tut so I'm hoping it will still be available if I need it. Fingers crossed.
Thinking of Gypsy recently I also started thinking of the quilting, some quilters machine quilt and some hand quilt, that got me thinking of the baby quilt I made for my youngest granddaughter Emily. It was just a panel with borders but it matched the theme of her bedroom.
This is the only pic I have as I forgot to take one before I gave it to her Mum and I pinched this from Facebook. Yes, her bedroom has a jungle theme. I had bought this panel years beforehand and some yardage of the matching print too. I think I should have added a border between the flowers and the small print in hindsight (which is as always a wonderful thing), but I didn't and it can't be changed now. I had to juggle the yardage as I had a limited amount but I did have enough to make it all face the same way, don't ask me why I decided to do it like that I can't remember. I added cornerstones in orange, which I also used for the binding. As a point of interest I have been using some of the leftover orange scraps recently to make the noses on my snowman cushions. Waste not want not.
Unfortunately when I zoomed in the quality wasn't good enough to allow you to see the hand quilting, so I will just have to tell you about it. I hand stitched around all the animals and some of the detail on them as well as some of the leaves, butterflies, rainbow etc.. I even quilted around the small animals in the border. It took me ages, good job I started early. Emily now uses it in the camper van, she is going on five so the design is still fine for now. However I believe there are plans afoot to turn her bedroom from a jungle into a bedroom fit for a little girl, so a new quilt may be in the offing before long.
If you have left a comment since Saturday I won't have read it or answered it yet, as I said last week I don't have wifi, a phone signal, or tv this week. I have taken a little hand sewing, though not much, and a couple of books too,
these are they, World Without End and Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett. I have read them before but I don't have copies so I treat myself as I won't be spending anything much at all when I'm away. I didn't mind buying these as I know I will reread them in the future, also after many years a third book will make them a trilogy next month and I have had it on preorder for ages so this is the right time to read them again. I don't think I will get them both finished in time though, these take some reading. It's the kind of books I like, no three to four hundred pages for me, there just isn't enough words for a good complicated story to develop.
So, that's all for today, no linking up, unless you are reading through Mean Queen, she has my blog on her sidebar. If you haven't read it take a look, she is indeed the queen of frugal living in the UK. The posts vary a lot, sometimes she just shows some pics, other times she talks about her crafting, sometimes she talks about how she has been saving money or her opinions of life, and some of the posts can stir up a real hornets nest. Do make sure you read the poem on the sidebar one of the readers wrote, it sums her up brilliantly. It's a great blog, but don't just judge it on one post, have a good look around while you are there. There is also a monthly update on the quest to walk a thousand miles a year and lots of people add their totals in the comments. Do you know it's not as difficult as you think? All you have to do is about three miles a day. Amazing, I never thought of it like that.
See you again next week and I will tell you where I have been and what I have been doing, but don't hold your breath, it won't be THAT exciting.
With smiles from,
Kate x
Wednesday, 30 August 2017
Still Obsessed........
with Gypsy Wife. I can't help it, I have never had this happen before. If I'm not in my sewing room making blocks, I'm thinking about making them, choosing colours, discarding, choosing again, and all in my head. Oh and you wouldn't believe how long that takes me, literally hours, then I will start making it and change them again.
So, where are all these blocks I have been making? Can't tell, no, I decided I am going to drip feed them to you, just like in the sew along. I may have to have a few weeks off quilting in October so if I do I will still have something to share, that's the theory anyhow, I will be scheduling some posts just in case and I can always edit and add to them to let you know what's happening.
So, without any further ado I give you......
Crazy Anne. This is the second block with somewhat of a reputation, but I checked it out, read lots of tips, some helpful some not and just went for it. The one tip that was really helpful was to use a Tri Rec ruler to make the half square rectangle bits AND I already had one, wonderful. The blocks went together like a dream and Anne wasn't as bad as her reputation. Mind you I do use very scant seams and I'm happy to report that so far I have not had a single block end up small, which is the most common thing I hear.
Being in a couple of Facebook groups to do with Gypsy Wife has had a great bonus, I discovered a new app, and this is what I did.......
Isn't this helpful, I took a screen shot of the pdf of the colouring page by Pink Door Fabrics, opened it up in the app, and added pics of my blocks. I should have cropped them a bit more and got rid of the seam allowance though but it gives a great indication of how the colours will mix together. Here are the first five blocks for the first five weeks, and no I can count, you get a bonus, I had already added a Puss in the Corner block which is week eight so you get that too. Don't worry though, there are two Puss in the Corners so you will get a new block in week 8.
If you are interested in the app it is piZap and best of all it is free, although it says there are in app purchases, although I haven't been asked if I want to buy any so far. I would recommend using it on a tablet rather than a phone though, that would be just too fiddly. There is annoying adverts that come up after you press 'save' though so I press to close it fast. I can put up with it as there are none while I am actually using it. I'm not trying to advertise the app mind, remember I don't have sponsors or anything like that and I don't want to either, for me it would take the joy out of blogging and just saying whatever comes into my head if I had to think about advertising stuff. I blog because I enjoy it and for no other reason. That said I can understand those who do have sponsors, quilting isn't a cheap hobby, we are all different at the end of the day and what is right for one is not necessarily right for another. Enough said.
Now I am going to shock you, at least shock those of you who have been reading for a while, here it comes.........
Circles, I've been doing free motion quilting! A squiggly meander in the background. No, I was beginning to think I wouldn't see the day either!
Have a closer look. It's fairly even although it varies slightly in places but hey, tis done and I'm happy, ecstatic actually. I'm leaving the dark grey diamonds unquilted so they pop, I'm really glad I decided to add them they bring a new dimension to the quilt, in my opinion! The circles will be the next thing I do, then the borders. I am hoping to get it finished by the beginning of October, keep your fingers crossed. Just don't look at the back.........
I said not to look at the back. Well, go on then what do you think, inspired or dog's dinner? Closer? You want jam on it! Oh all right then.
The colours are slightly distorted on this pic, it's more of a reddy burgundy like the first one, but a bit deeper. It does give you a good look at the quilting though. As you can see the size of the meander does vary a bit but in the grand scheme of things and as it is my quilt who is to notice or to care? My only real mistake was to use solids instead of a tone on tone fabric and thread of a different colour to the the solids to boot, AND advertise the fact. I've made a mental note about THAT one.
I'm going away next week but I plan on scheduling a short post before I go which will be due Wednesday. I won't be here to link up so if you normally read my blog on a regular link up you will have to get me direct next week, IF you want to read my ravings that is! I will have no wifi, no phone signal, and no tv either. Retreat? I would love another quilting retreat, I haven't done one for five years when I went to France for a week with Sandi Lush doing hand quilting.
So until next time,
With smiles from,
Kate x
Linking up with:
Midweek Makers
Wednesday Wait Loss
Needle And Thread Thursday
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?
Finished or Not Friday
So, where are all these blocks I have been making? Can't tell, no, I decided I am going to drip feed them to you, just like in the sew along. I may have to have a few weeks off quilting in October so if I do I will still have something to share, that's the theory anyhow, I will be scheduling some posts just in case and I can always edit and add to them to let you know what's happening.
So, without any further ado I give you......
Crazy Anne. This is the second block with somewhat of a reputation, but I checked it out, read lots of tips, some helpful some not and just went for it. The one tip that was really helpful was to use a Tri Rec ruler to make the half square rectangle bits AND I already had one, wonderful. The blocks went together like a dream and Anne wasn't as bad as her reputation. Mind you I do use very scant seams and I'm happy to report that so far I have not had a single block end up small, which is the most common thing I hear.
Being in a couple of Facebook groups to do with Gypsy Wife has had a great bonus, I discovered a new app, and this is what I did.......
Isn't this helpful, I took a screen shot of the pdf of the colouring page by Pink Door Fabrics, opened it up in the app, and added pics of my blocks. I should have cropped them a bit more and got rid of the seam allowance though but it gives a great indication of how the colours will mix together. Here are the first five blocks for the first five weeks, and no I can count, you get a bonus, I had already added a Puss in the Corner block which is week eight so you get that too. Don't worry though, there are two Puss in the Corners so you will get a new block in week 8.
If you are interested in the app it is piZap and best of all it is free, although it says there are in app purchases, although I haven't been asked if I want to buy any so far. I would recommend using it on a tablet rather than a phone though, that would be just too fiddly. There is annoying adverts that come up after you press 'save' though so I press to close it fast. I can put up with it as there are none while I am actually using it. I'm not trying to advertise the app mind, remember I don't have sponsors or anything like that and I don't want to either, for me it would take the joy out of blogging and just saying whatever comes into my head if I had to think about advertising stuff. I blog because I enjoy it and for no other reason. That said I can understand those who do have sponsors, quilting isn't a cheap hobby, we are all different at the end of the day and what is right for one is not necessarily right for another. Enough said.
Now I am going to shock you, at least shock those of you who have been reading for a while, here it comes.........
Circles, I've been doing free motion quilting! A squiggly meander in the background. No, I was beginning to think I wouldn't see the day either!
Have a closer look. It's fairly even although it varies slightly in places but hey, tis done and I'm happy, ecstatic actually. I'm leaving the dark grey diamonds unquilted so they pop, I'm really glad I decided to add them they bring a new dimension to the quilt, in my opinion! The circles will be the next thing I do, then the borders. I am hoping to get it finished by the beginning of October, keep your fingers crossed. Just don't look at the back.........
I said not to look at the back. Well, go on then what do you think, inspired or dog's dinner? Closer? You want jam on it! Oh all right then.
The colours are slightly distorted on this pic, it's more of a reddy burgundy like the first one, but a bit deeper. It does give you a good look at the quilting though. As you can see the size of the meander does vary a bit but in the grand scheme of things and as it is my quilt who is to notice or to care? My only real mistake was to use solids instead of a tone on tone fabric and thread of a different colour to the the solids to boot, AND advertise the fact. I've made a mental note about THAT one.
I'm going away next week but I plan on scheduling a short post before I go which will be due Wednesday. I won't be here to link up so if you normally read my blog on a regular link up you will have to get me direct next week, IF you want to read my ravings that is! I will have no wifi, no phone signal, and no tv either. Retreat? I would love another quilting retreat, I haven't done one for five years when I went to France for a week with Sandi Lush doing hand quilting.
So until next time,
With smiles from,
Kate x
Linking up with:
Midweek Makers
Wednesday Wait Loss
Needle And Thread Thursday
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?
Finished or Not Friday
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