Clever Mum!

My Mum, who is no patchworker but an experienced needlewoman, belongs to the Townswomen's Guild. This organisation (amongst other things) have craft competitions at local, county and country levels. A group gets points for the number of entries - in the first instance - and then for numbers of successes in the later stages.

This year's theme was Depict a Decade (of the 20th century), and each guild chose a decade for themselves. My Mum's guild chose the 1950s, and each entry, whether it was a cushion, card, photograph, dressed doll, piece of jewellery, covered box or patchwork bag, had to depict that decade in some way. Mum decided to make a patchwork bag, and borrowed several of my patchwork magazines to help her.

This is her entry, complete with photos of the era. This is Queen Elizabeth's coronation,

and here is Sir Edmund Hilary at the top of Mount Everest. Those with sharp eyes will be able to see that not only did she win the local and county levels, but came second in the whole country! Not bad for a non-patchworking, very short-sighted 82 year old! Go Mum!

Bag lady

I am currently preparing for tomorrow's meeting of Rocheberie Schoolhouse Quilters in Rugby, where all will be revealed! It's a Mystery Quilt Day, and members will be bringing along pieces of fabric cut in various shapes and sizes, ready to sew them together and make a design which will be a complete surprise. If anyone reading this is coming, be assured, the quilt is gorgeous! Jane and Chris have designed it and have cleverly asked people to bring sufficient fabrics in dark and light to make just one quarter of the quilt. That way, if they like it, they can make the other three quarters at home, and if not, they can donate it to the group, where it will be made up (with other people's quarters) for charity. What a fabulous idea! It means you don't waste time (and money) cutting fabrics for a quilt you hate, but gives you the opportunity to try something new and fun.

And the bags? There will be some areas on the quilt suitable for stitching or applique, and I have been volunteered to demo bonded applique. Just to show the technique, I decided to make some fun motifs for a future Linus quilt, and here they are.

This one has been blanket stitched around the edge.

This one has been satin stitched with variegated thread.

This one has been machined about an eighth of an inch around the edge - not a technique I've used before, but which looks really nice.

And here is my example, ready to go.

I'll take my camera tomorrow and see what develops.

Success and failure

You win some, and you lose some, generally. I have been putting my Dresden plates together to make a Linus quilt, and am quite pleased with the result. I wanted to put corner squares of pink, to link it all together, but didn't have enough. I had the bright idea of making a four-patch for each corner instead, which saves fabric and gives a similar effect. When it's been quilted I'll probably bind it with the yellow.

Then at our Flutterwheels meeting, I was inspired by Chris's gorgeous January wall-hanging. She had made it by following some instructions by Kandy Newton on the British Quilt List. Kandy has posted a challenge for the last few years, and this one is to make a perpetual calendar. I decided that for me, January was a dull, grey month, with some frost and silvery sparlke, and a bit of sitting by the fireside.

I have embellished it with beads and sequins to get a frosty look, although they aren't too evident in this photo. If anyone fancies a go, you have to join Yahoo Groups, and BQL, but the instructions are freely available. There are going to be different projects for each month's calendar page.

So far, so good. Then I tackled a charity bag which Nik has designed for our local Leukemia shop to sell. She gave out free kits and patterns at the last meeting of Rocheberie Quilters. Here is my finished bag.

Looks OK, until you look on the other side

which is inside out! This is what you get for leaving things to the last minute! Luckily DD has unpicked it for me, so it'll only take a few minutes to resew. Never mind - you can't be perfect all the time!

Bags and mariner's compass

My Mum absolutely loved the Family Tree quilt! She seemed to think the figures were very like their real-life counterparts (except that my sister-in-law doesn't actually have a pointed head!) and is quite keen to get it framed. I said she can just hang it, but she says it will get dusty. I pointed out that it was fully washable, which gave her pause for thought. I 'll leave her to think about it, but maybe the cost of the framing will encourage her to hang it instead!

Meanwhile I have been having a rest from quilting by making bags. After I had made my BQL January bag, I accidentally threw away the pattern. Luckily Nik came to the rescue and let me have a copy of hers. Thanks, Nik. So I have made a bag each for DS and DD.

They chose their own fabric, DS quite restrained with cars (it was actually a shirt I bought in a charity shop, so a double whammy where recycling is concerned) and DD typically exuberant with dancing skeletons which I bought in San Francisco.

The bags fold up into a little pocket, so are handy to put in your briefcase or handbag, for spontaneous purchases.

At my quilting group 'Flutterwheels', we have continued the stars theme by doing a Mariner's Compass block. This was made using a Judy Mathieson method, where you use freezer paper, but don't sew through it. This means you still get the accuracy, but can reuse the paper and don't have to spend hours picking the blasted stuff off the back. There are nine members of the group, so someone will get 9 beautiful compasses in 'autumn' colours. Hope it's me!

Don't forget, there is still time to register for my 100th blog draw. Look at the previous post for details.

Dogs and bags

Things have been pretty hectic around here (work and stuff) and I haven't had much chance to sew. However, I have been working on a Linus quilt with dogs on. A little girl in the Oncology Ward at the Leicester Royal Infirmary said she would like a quilt with dogs on, in pinks and purples. Not an easy request! Mandy got onto the case and managed to find a cushion panel and some matching border fabric with little Scottie dogs in the heather on! She is even more snowed under with stuff than I am, so I volunteered to make it up.

It's not actually something I would usually make, but I'm sure a pink, purple and dog-loving little girl will think it's fabulous!

I have been trying to get my Family Tree quilt finished (nearly there!) and working on some quilting for my Mum. She is a member of the Townswomen's Guild, where they have various national and regional competitions, and since her genes are where I got my flair for making things, she likes to enter the craft sections. One of next year's challenges is to make a patchwork bag in the style of a 20th century decade and her branch's chosen decade is the 1950s, so she took that one on. Although she has done lots of sewing in her time (even made my brother's trousers when he was young) she isn't a quilter, so this was quite a challenge for her. I lent her some magasines for inspiration, and she just dived in! Dad is good on the computer, so I showed him how to print photos onto fabric, which she has incorporated into the bag. Here it is so far.

As you can see, I'm currently quilting it. here are close-ups of the two sides.

Here is the Queen's coronation in 1953, and Mum has printed off two slogans about rationing ending in 1954 and Princess Anne's birth in 1950, and used them as part of the blocks at the side.On this side is the conquest of Mount Everest in 1953, with slogans about Roger Bannister's one minute mile and the first dog in space.

Considering both Mum and Dad are in their 80s, it's not bad going at all, I say!

Gorgeous bag

I was out shopping in Leicester recently with DD, when she went in one of those shops that 50-something women don't enter - the ones with corsets, PVC outfits, piercing jewellery and the like for sale. Well, it's a shop, and you're allowed to go in, aren't you, and I was surprised to find that DD didn't buy anything, but I did!

Who could resist this gorgeous bag (it was reduced as well!) which is so over the top! Apart from its fabulous looks, it's very functional. It is made from heavy furnishing brocade, so very sturdy, and has a tasselled zip along the top for security. The handles are just big enough to go over your shoulder, but not too long to just hold in your hand.

The back has a zipped pocket (with another tassel!) ideal for tickets and shopping lists.

Inside, it's roomy enough to take my work A5 diary and all the other things I need, and is lined with a plasticised dark fabric (perfect in case of make up spillages) with more pockets and another zipped compartment - this time without tassel!

DH absolutely hates it, and does his best to make me leave it at home when we are out together! He says only someone eccentric would buy a bag like that, and I'm not eccentric, which sounds almost like a back-handed compliment to me! Viva eccentricity!

Gifts

I had a lovely day yesterday. First the postman came with a lovely squishy envelope for me. I had entered Karol-Ann's draw for some gorgeous African fabrics, and was disappointed to find that I hadn't won. Never mind. But then I was intrigued when she contacted me for my address. Apparently she had some fabric left over and has sent me these fabulous giraffes! Aren't they cute?

Next DD and I went to the Bramble Patch to buy some border fabric for three quilts. Since I am a scrap quilter, I usually have enough fabric to make a quilt, more or less, but don't have the yardage I need for borders. I like going the the Bramble Patch, because they have such a good selection of fabrics, there is plenty of parking and the ladies are all so helpful and pleasant. There are usually classes going on there too, and you can peep in and see some fabulous work.

As I paid for my fabric (I was very good, and only bought what I had come for) the asistant handed me a free bag kit, with pattern and fabric!

It's a really sturdy bag made from Osnaburg, and I think I might line it to make it even stronger. Two gifts in one day! Do all good things come in threes? Watch this space!

Rosie the riveter

Having a daughter with a degree in Gender Studies, I was already familiar with Rosie the Riveter. According to Wikepedia, Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States, representing the six million women who worked in the manufacturing plants that produced munitions and material during World War II. These women took the places of the male workers who were absent fighting in the Pacific and European theatres. J. Howard Miller's character is now considered a feminist icon in the US, and a herald of women's economic power to come.
Rosie and her slogan, "We can do it!" were featured on posters, magazines, and more.

Here she is with her lunch pail and rivetting gun, in characteristic 'We can do it!' pose.
You can imagine my delight when I came across this Rosie fabric in the sale at a local retailer!


I couldn't decide which I liked better, the pink or the red, blue and yellow, but there are two images on each panel, and at £3 each I bought both! Now all I need is for the BQL bag challenge to include a bag made with a 22" panel. The only qualm I would have about making a Rosie bag, is to wonder whether it's advisable to display an image with Rosie holding her rotary cutter next to her temple. Could I be sued for encouraging reckless rotary cutter behaviour in this Health-and-Safety-gone-mad world we live in? Watch this space.

BQL bag

I have signed up for a bag challenge with the British Quilt List. It started in January this year, and you get instructions to make this lovely shopping bag which is based on the shape of a supermarket carrier bag. Providing you make the bag and post a photo of it online, every month you get instructions for a different bag. I must admit that I found the instructions challenging. There are lots of photos, but since the originator of the pattern chose to make her demo bag in turquoise with a turquoise lining, the photos didn't turn out to be as helpful as they might have been! Never mind, with a bit of help from a friend (Jane) I worked it out, and it turned out to be one of those patterns which make more sense when you're actaully doing it than when you're reading it! Have a look at Jane's great bag with biker chicks on it.

I used some of my favourite Alexander Henry 'Stylish Girls' fabric which a friend brought me back from America a few years ago. It looks great with a yellow lining. The best thing about this bag is its little pocket, which is big enough to hold the bag when you're not using it for shopping.

If you want to make this bag there's still plenty of time to join the challenge. Seee you there!