Last blog of the year

Sorry to disappoint anyone visiting the blog - I've got no pics, but will update before the weekend. I arrived back from our Christmas break in Surrey yesterday. Had lots of gatherings with family and friends which was lovely, though I did have an unwelcome present - a flu virus! My brother in law and his partner had it and I got it too so one of the days was spent in bed.

Have had a brief read of blogs this afternoon and have seen that Angela and Helen on their blogs have kept a record of what they've made through the year. It's amazing the way the year has come and gone and one wonders what has happened to it, great to know that there is something to show for where that time went.

From what I can recall I know I made several postcards (of course!), 13 bags (the 12 on the BQL challenge, plus 1 made from the quilt retreat in Devon earlier this year). I'd also been involved with the International Quilting Day in March (a link here for pics) which for next year is being run by Pauline and Sarah of Pauline's Patchwork and did the admin for the Quarterjack Quilters exhibition in August. And Google says that I've also posted 56 entries on my blog this year, so I'm not one for being idle!

What I'm looking forward to in 2009? A job - I'd like to get that sorted as I would feel more settled in Yorkshire - hope that happens soon - that's the bigee! I'm also going to seek out a quilt group to join and I've found an Embroiderers' Guild group locally so hope to get in contact with people there. I've got another quilt retreat in Devon coming up in February so that's something to look forward to and I'm taking part in a 4 Seasons Quilt Swap which is due between February and March.

Wishing you all the best and happy sewing for 2009

Looking forward to Christmas

Thought I'd post my last posting before Christmas as I will be away from tomorrow until just before New Year. I am escaping from Yorkshire and going down South to stay with relatives and DH will follow early on Christmas Day. Meeting up with parents and children over the holidays, so should be a good time.

The past couple of days I've made useful bits as I'm still sorting through the plethora of stuff, knitting, stitching and other bits, since moving here as I think we may move again, be it sooner or later and just want to thin things down. I've made a roll for my knitting needles which have been in a Hobbycraft carrier bag for ages, which in the end didn't take long to plan and make, so that's one thing sorted and tidied.DH came home with a diary. I'm useless at keeping diaries as the end of the year ends up being as blank as the beginning, but each year I think it'll be useful to have one. It's black - I don't like black - so it had to have a cover. After measuring up and getting it wrong I had to make another, so here it is. The fabric is patterned so didn't embellish it with anything. I'll put that right later, but meanwhile the diary is no longer black!

The bit of needlefelting I showed in the last post I had some bits of painted Bondweb left so did another bit of needlefelting with velvet, scrim, bondaweb and organza on top, needlefelting from the front and back. Quite like this effect, discovering that the velvet base works very well.

Yesterday DH and I spent the day at the National Media Museum in Bradford, which didn't take long to get to. Yesterday was a grim and damp day so this place was good to go to as it's indoors and it's free. They had a special exhibition showing 50 years of Blue Peter. Having grown up with programme and later seeing this when the children were growing up too we had a lot of memories of this programme. So an enjoyable day. But for now I have to get ready for my trip down South.
Here's a couple of views - the top one looking from a mezzanine floor out to the Town Hall and the one below looking to the ground floor and a red Dalek!
And lastly a Christmassy pic from Leeds, where we went to look at the Christmas lights last month - a Champagne bottle underneath a street light, so it looks as though it's fizzing.

Have a

HAPPY CHRISTMAS
with best wishes from Sue

Catching up with old stuff

A couple of things have been lurking in the UFO bags. The redwork above I bought last year at The National Patchwork Championships at Sandown (think from Dandelion Designs?) and has been with me to quilt group meetings when there was no specific item to sew so has slowly been sewn. Finished off with a fabric border it looks quite good, just needs somewhere to hang.
I'd promised my daughter Sarah some cushions and I had some blocks made from ages and ages ago and put them together but didn't finish off. Checking that she still wanted them (and she did) I put that right. When I see her at Christmas I'll be able to give them to her. She has a red settee so they will go nicely.

So I've done some sewing

And embellishing too. Just to show that I haven't been out and about I have been doing things. At the Knitting & Stitching show last month I bought a n old issue of Cloth , Paper , Scissors and saw a needlefelted hanging by Beryl Taylor and decided to have a go and this is the result below.I used a piece of lilac velvet as a base with pink/purple scrim. Circles of purple felt were needled on top then painted bondaweb over that. Pieces of foil were ironed in place and felted. I edged this with strips of organza. Bit of stitching and a few buttons to finish off.
For those who like to look at the back (like I do) here it is in the pic above.
On Saturday I stayed in and pottered around because it was pouring with rain. I made a little flip and sew (or is it sew and flip?) purse for my camera (below). They look like a matching pair .

Been Out and About

Last Sunday I went to Nostell Priory, at National Trust property on the way to Wakefield. There was a craft show and secondhand book sale. The house was also open with the volunteers dressed in costume to celebrate Christmas. Children were given a challenge to collect stars for the magic wands that they found in the rooms. This pic above was the house. It was a cold but sunny day so a good day for a walk so long as one was well wrapped up.

This was the statue in the rose garden.
Outside the gift shop there were some metal doormats for sale. I could not resist taking a picture of this.
On Wednesday I took myself in the other direction, towards Doncaster. On the outskirts of the town is Cusworth House, which is run by the local council. The house was sold to then by the last remaining member of the family that owned this back in the 1980's. There has been a lot of work done to the building. Inside there is an exhibition of Quintin Blakes pictures from the Roald Dahl books. Not sure if pictures could be taken I didn't take any, but took a pic of the house, above.
And of the stables, which houses the coffee shop with a lovely collection of tea pots. Being mid week and again very cold the place seemed deserted.

Whilst in Doncaster I went to The Range. I saw this pink fluffy Christmas tree, together with other pink things around it - whatever next! But I could not resist taking a photo.We've also put our Christmas tree up. A fibre optic one in black (though we hadn't realised it was black until after we bought it a few years back). The bottom branches are little weak now and drooping a bit. So it may be it's last Christmas - ahhh.

Yet another bag!

Hot on the heels on the November bag in my last post is the December bag - this was finished yesterday (4 December). I had all the bits from my stash, nothing extra to get so just got on with it.

Doesn't look too bad, does it? If you click on the Flickr site on the side bar I'll have pics of all my bags from the BQL bag challenge on there.

Anyway with the awful weather - very icy on Wednesday then snow on Thursday (though it disappeared really quickly) they were days to potter around. As well as the bag making I also had a bash at making felt. I've made needlefelt with the embellisher, but in Sew Hip magazine there was an article about making wet felt. So again I already had stuff on hand so here goes..I had some roving (which a friend gave me a from her spinning days) in 4 layers going across and down laid in a baking tray.The above pic shows the soapy wetted roving (very squishy). This had to be pushed into the tin until the fibres held together. The felt was then placed onto bubblewrap and rolled up and thoroughly kneeded.This shows the felt drying on teatowels, you can see that I also made a cream piece. The felt dried overnight and I was surprised that it didn't take that long to do. I may have a go at felting the some of the pieces I've needlefelted and see what difference it makes to the fibres.

This Saturday will see DH and I going to York. I got a new camera last weekend (which took the above photo's) - a dinky little thing in purple (just my colour). So we'll put it through it's paces there. Hope I'll have some photo's to share.