Back to bright

I have enjoyed my foray into pastels for my circle quilt (which still continues) but I'm enjoying going back to my brights. The rainbow quilt is now layered and quilted, and just waiting for a binding.  I could use a scrappy border, but I think more of the lovely batik would be best. I'll see. 

I've also been making daisies from Jen Kingwell's pattern Daisy Doo. 

These are hand pieced and a bit fiddly, but I'm enjoying them so far.  I'm wondering whether I ought to start and join a few together, as I'm a bit concerned that with my slap dash approach to accuracy, they may not fit together, and even if they do, they won't be very flat!  Still, that problem is for another day! 

Border issues

I have been doing quite a bit of sewing recently, but mainly sewing scraps and bits.  I love playing with colours and patterns and never tire of sitting at my sewing machine joining bits of fabric together!  I love making blocks, quite enjoy joining them together, then that's where the fun stops.  Borders are tedious, layering up is a chore, quilting is OK and binding is fine.  That's why I have sets of blocks or quilts needing borders.  It's also sometimes hard to choose the border, as it's important to get the right one.  So, when Julie told me she had some multicoloured batiks for sale, I jumped at the chance to add them to my stash.  And here is the first one bordering my rainbow quilt. 

Absolutely perfect!  Thank you, Julie.  Now just put it in the cupboard until I can muster the patience to layer it up! 

Circles and stuff

I have successfully made 16 different circles and joined them together. 

They need bordering on the left and bottom, but then I'll be ready for the big border.  I love these blocks, and enjoyed the challenge of drafting and completing each one.  So much so, that I've started another quilt! 

Looks a bit dreary here, but in better light it looks pretty.  Quite a challenge for me, as I don't normally do pastels, but so far, it's fun. 

Since I have shamelessly stolen Jen Kingwell's idea of circles, I thought I ought to support her business by at least buying one of her books.  I chose 'Quilt Lovely' which has some lovely designs in it.  I couldn't resist raiding my stack of log cabin blocks to make these hearts. 

They are made from two log cabin blocks and two courthouse steps and with 1.5" logs, come out at 14". Great size for a Linus 9-patch!  The only snag is the red centres of the courthouse steps.  They keep reminding me of the the 'I think we need bigger buns!' bit in Calendar Girls!  I think if I make some more blocks with different coloured centres, and mix them in, it will look better! 

A full circle!

I have now completed all sixteen circle blocks.  I have to admit that the whole inspiration came from Jen Kingwell's Circle Games, with some blocks drafted from a photo of her quilt, and others from known blocks (eg. Utah, which is a named block which I drafted with great difficulty!) and blocks from other sources. 

Here it is, so far.  Each block will have sashing on two sides, then I will complete the sashing round the edge.  I was a bit concerned that the sashing overwhelmed the blocks, but I think it'll be completely in your face and that will be fine. 

This block was a lot of trouble.  I made the New York Beauty on the outside and it was too small!  So I starched and ironed it with vigour.  That made it bigger - too big!  All the points were gone!  I couldn't face paper piecing another, so washed it and let it dry hoping it would relax back into a better size.  I was delighted to find it did!  This time I had to add a little bit onto one of the rays (top right in case you didn't spot it!) but a bit of tweaking got it together.  I think the pink striped fabric looks great.  

This one is lovely too, and was very easy.  I can't remember where I saw this, but it looks great.  I want to use the blocks as my quilt class for next year, but don't want people to be scared of either the design or the wacky colours, so I'm contemplating making a smaller version with the easiest blocks, in a more restrained palette.  Don't know how I'll get on with that! 

Finishes

Just recently Ive been caught actually finishing stuff - mainly Linus quilts, but still!
The MAM quilt with the stars and little tulips is done, and I love it. 

It's fresh and fun, and I like the alternation of the blocks.  

I've also made an addition to the rainbow quilt.  I've added red squares, and I think it's better with them.  I've started to put the blocks together, but only the top two rows. 

Another finish is this dog quilt, with blocks made by the Hinckley U3A craft group.  I cut the dogs on the Accuquilt cutter, and they hand sewed them onto the white.  Despite the fact that the dogs are all the same, they seem to have little personalities of their own!  This should bring a smile to a youngster's face! 

Same old, same old

Leopards don't change their spots, and I don't change the way I quilt.  Never let a half completed project get in the way of starting something new!  

Well, I have completed my Dollies. They are a multiracial set, with no pink faces amongst them.  Lots of different sizes and styles, with various bits of machine and hand embroidery to set them off. 

The dolly with the pink dress has flowers embroidered onto her hat - albeit rather out of focus flowers!  She looks better in reality.  

Here is a quilt made from strips and strings.  I went through a lot of donated blue fabrics and cut 2.5" strips, and put them into this arrangement from Stuart Hillard's book '100 Scrap Quilts'. It's great for anyone who likes blue.  I think I'll make some more in different colours. 

I continue to be obsessed by MAM, and here is another way of using the blocks.  It uses plenty of 2.5" and 1.5" scraps too.  I'm looking forward to quilting it. 

And here is my latest obsession.  String blocks I found on the web.  (I'll credit them when I remember where I found the picture.). More blues to make, but fun to do.  

What's happening with my Sarah Fielke quilt?  Not much.  I have more interesting things to do at the moment!  But I will get back to it, soon, honest. 

Utah

I'm still fascinated by circular blocks and have actually been to my LQS (in this case, Mo's Fabrics in Rugby) to get more of the grey star framing fabric, so I can make my quilt bigger if I want!  The first nine blocks I made were comparatively easy, as I intend to teach them at my class next year, and since the nine are all done, now I can do any I like!  

Leap before you look has always been my mantra, so I thought I'd make this block, called Utah - can't imagine why it's called that!  I love the interlocking circles, and am big headed enough to think I could achieve it!  Drafting it was difficult, as although there are templates provided, they are too small for a 12.5" block.  I decided I could make it using the American method of piecing (drawing the sewing lines on the back of the pieces and sewing carefully on the lines.)  

Well, even if I gave this a good press, it still wouldn't look anything like interlocking circles!  So, back to the drawing board, and try a bit harder to make a symmetrical pattern.  I worked out that the red points are the halfway points of each circle, simplified and redrafted it, and decided that EPP would be the best way to go for accuracy.

That's better!  Although husband says he can't see any circles, I can, and I'm quite happy with that.  One of the orange segments was a bit puffy ( I took the paper out of it before I sewed the turquoise part on, and I think it stretched a bit) but a good press with some spray starch has sorted it out.  I'll appliqué it onto a background before framing it. 

And while we're on the subject of circles, I'll share this Linus quilt which was made by several people at Knit and Stitch.  It's circular log cabin, and was pretty easy to do.  It makes me think I'd like to do some blocks like this and arrange them in a traditional log cabin pattern.  Interesting. 

Sunbonnet Sue

I'm sorry, but I've never cared much for Sunbonnet Sue.  Some people think her cute, with her pretty dresses, floppy hat and stubby feet, but I never rated her.  She seemed so sickly sweet, often depicted watering flowers, drinking tea or usually just standing there, doing nothing!  

Not my cup of tea at all.  So I was amused when I found that there was a quilt which showed lots of ways of getting rid of her.  She is tied to railway tracks, struck by lightning, electrocuted, roasted on a spit, eaten by a snake - you get the idea!  Here she's being strangled by a rather angry-looking sunflower! 

 I didn't realise the motivation behind this quilt.  It was made by a group who were concerned that Sue showed a very outdated idea of femininity, where she was dressed modestly (actually, in a very old fashioned style), carrying out traditional female tasks in the house or countryside or just being 'seen and not heard'.  They wanted to get rid of this image, and found a very witty way of drawing attention to their ideas.  Since then, there have been other incarnations of Sue.  There is Bad Sue, where she is shown streaking, pregnant, making rude hand gestures, stripping and even kicking a snowman over!  Then there is Sinbonnet Sue, where she is shown depicting the seven deadly sins.  Such creativity and imagination. 

So, maybe I'm not sorry that I never liked Sunbonnet Sue.  She's a goodie goodie who displays all the behaviours which have been encouraged to keep women subservient and compliant.  Not the sort of gal I could make a close friend of! 

Good ideas

My friend Gwyneth has had a new sewing room.  Instead of putting up with existing tables, cupboards and shelves as she has done for years, she's had a chance to decide exactly what she wants (including an ironing board slot!) and she was eager to share photos of the new space.  It looks lovely, and she's got so many useful features into it, including some very shallow drawers which she has used to store all her threads.  No more tangles for her!  But it got me thinking about my own tangles.  My threads lived in a set of plastic drawers on my sewing table, which was an old desk with two shallow drawers in it.  What if ......

Hey presto!  By using the three shallow plastic drawers and a couple of cut down cereal boxes I have storage for nearly all my reels and spools.  And I can see eactly what there is!  The only downside is that there are so many spools with a small amount of thread on them, or horrid colours.  Where do these come from?!  So I'm aiming to use up the last bits and the yukkey stuff for piecing, so my thread drawer will look even better. 

Here is the first empty spool.  Let's hope it's the first of many! 

Circles and dollies

I have done all nine of my circles.  I'm really pleased with how they've turned out.

  

I have drafted all the patterns myself (except for the swirley one, which is in Kathy Doughty's book, 'Making Quilts'.  That one would have been tricky to work out. Now, the question is, do I make these up as they are, or make some more?  I have more ideas, but do I want / need a bigger quilt?  This one has 12" finished blocks, which, with sashing will make it 48" plus borders.  So, probably 60".  If I made 16 blocks, it would be 64" in the centre, plus borders, 76".  Not tooooooo big.  And I already have a bonus block. 

I'll think about it. 

But I have been getting on with my dollies.  I think that will be enough for a child's quilt.  Now, how to sash?  Lots of thinking to do! 

More circles

I have loved working on these circular blocks.  I've tried to find some easy ones and some more difficult ones as I'm thinking about using them for my 2019 class quilt.  Quite a few circle blocks need appliqué, so I wanted to find some pieced ones too.  Here is where I'm at so far. 

I love the way they sing against the grey frames.  One more to go, which will be a swirl design.  It'll be hand piecing, the American way, which might not be everyone's cup of tea, so I'm making a more straightforward wheel block as an optional replacement.  Fun times! 

In a spin

I've never been good at resisting new projects.  I see something, get all excited and then dive right in!  

I should be working on these cute little dollies, and getting them together. 

They'll have to wait. 

I also should be making more sliced MAM blocks, 

But they're on the back burner too!  

I saw one of Jen Kingwell's quilts on Pinterest, and was bowled over by the colours - the Australian quilters use such bright colours!- and the design. 

So, I'm using a favourite colour scheme of pink, orange, red, turquoise and green, to play with circles!  The maths is nearly killing me, but it must be good for my brain! 

Result!

We have been away for the last couple of weeks and very little sewing has been going on.  But there has been activity, as I sent my 'Happy Days' quilt as an auction item for a fundraiser at The Kite Trust, the charity my daughter works for.  They have an annual showcase, which we were unable to attend, and part of that is an auction of items and promises to raise funds. 

Here is my 'Happy Days' designed by Sarah Fielke. 

I loved making it, but had no real use for it, so decided that it would be great if I could find someone who would love it.  

And I did!  They loved it enough to pay £300 for it - which is a good price for a non quilter to pay.  They're happy and I'm happy.  Result! 

First finish of 2018

I have managed to finish one quilt so far this year.  I've registered for two UFO challenges, and typically, this quilt isn't on either list!  It's a variation on Mile a Minute, and since the MAM blocks wwere already made, it seemed silly not to leap in! 

It's very simple to make.  Just take a MAM square and a white square the same size.  Place on top of each other and slice both at the same time at an angle.  Swap the top left piece for the bottom left piece and sew together so you get two blocks half MAM and half white.  Then arrange them going alternately horizontally and vertically to create the zig zag effect.  Simple!  I quilted it it zig zags on the white to emphasise the design.  

This quilt is on my challenge lists.  It's granny squares and there were only a couple of blocks completed so was a bit of a slog.  I need to quilt it before I can cross it off the list.  Lovely. 

Slippy rulers

Most of my quilting rulers are from Creative Grids, and have little nonslip dots on the back of them, to make them stable when cutting out fabric shapes.  

I hadn't actually appreciated that as much as I should have, till I used my EZ Triangle ruler.  This is a great ruler for making HSTs and flying geese etc, but occasionally it slips a bit and the shapes aren't completely accurate.  Now, I need all the help I can get with accuracy, so if my shapes haven't been cut accurately, I'm on a loser!  I was sure there must be a solution to this problem, and found that there are indeed products you can buy to do this job.  But I didn't want a product I can buy, I wanted an instant fix!  And then I found a tip using surgical tape.  I have micropore tape in my first aid box, so wondered if that would do the job.  

And the answer is yes!  I put two pieces on there as you flip the ruler, and it's fabulous!  Now here's hoping it'll make my quilts more accurate (don't hold your breath!) 

Finally!

I have finally found some time to do sewing for myself!  There have been a few panto related jobs to do (missing press studs, broken headbands, seams that needed a bit of reinforcement etc) but now I can sew for me! 

Something I've wanted to have a play with is this idea to use up MAM blocks.  You take a white square and a MAM square, slice them at an angle, swap the sides and sew together to make a wonky rail fence.  Then, by rotating them, you can make this zig zag design.  

I know there is a block wrong on the right hand side - I've sewn it together wrongly twice, so let's hope its third time lucky! 

Have I been sewing, oh yes I have!

This is the time of year when I'm usually busy with panto sewing, and this year has been no exception. This year's offering is 'Beauty and the Beast' which has been quite a challenge.  Apart from the usual princes, witches, villagers, servants, dame and chorus, there has been a clock costume, a chest of drawers, a candelabra, a rug and a table.  That's apart from two French poodles, a girl who is a blacksmith and a 'masculine' dame's outfit.  Luckily we have a store of costumes, and so some just had to be found and fitted, but the furniture was a real headache.  

Here is one of the poodles - luckily more man than poodle. 

Here is the chest of drawers (I'm very pleased with how that turned out). 

Here is the candelabra (I'm not so pleased with that, but at least people can work out what it's supposed to be!  

The witch turned out well, although the skirt is borrowed. 

The clock is awesome, and was made by the talented Jess, who is currently at college and hoping to study costume design at uni.  Thank you Jess, and why didn't I ask you to do the rest! 

Yay, Bonnie!

Happy New Year to all, and I hope 2018 brings you lots of happiness and fun.  My year has started well, as Bonnie Hunter is revealing her mystery quilt day by day!  I haven't managed to keep up, but I have enough elements to make some blocks. 

Bit of a dreary photo, but the blocks are looking lovely!  I did my usual half of the components, and find I will have enough to make 25 of these blocks.  Twenty five!  Nine down, and sixteen to go!  Plus there are more components to come!  Exciting!