Finish-A-Long 2017

I wasn't going to, but at the last knockings decided I will join the Finish-A-Long 2017 (FAL2017).  I will be putting photos on Instagram also, but I thought I would have a round up of my works in progress here as well.

1. Dolly Dress Up Quilt

Not a brilliant pic but just laid out the quilt as you go blocks for this Dolly Dress Up quilt. It is a slow quilt which has been lingering for ages and has had several mentions previously on the blog. Last summer I made the Dresden Plate blocks one of which has been quilted, another part quilted and the other two are waiting to be quilted.  The whole has been a good bit of hand quilting to take with me to quilt meetings but I am getting to the point where I would now like this finished.

2.   The Frivols Quilt

This quilt is quite new, having bought the Moda Frivols tin last summer and just started this on 2 January (this year!). The top is completed and quilting has started. I found some fabric in my stash for the inner border as I ran out of the background fabric and this week bought a bit more of that fabric to use as binding. So I have everything I need to finish this quilt - no excuses!

3.  Godfrey Gadabout

A bit of knitting.  This photo was from last Saturday evening's craft along on Instagram hosted by Lucy of Charm About You.  This is the shoe of another clown that I am knitting, except that my granddaughter Isobel knows about this and it's for her birthday in March so its not secret knitting.  The clown has progressed beyond one shoe and since then another has been knitted. Now I'm knitting the body.

4.  Hexagons.  

For a while I subscribed to The Bramble Patch's Box of Delights and it's been a nice surprise to see what would arrive each month, but during the short time I've received them I haven't had time to make anything with the kits other than I made a cushion one month.  I took the hexies to tack around the card shapes but haven't joined up and put onto backing, so would be good to finish that in this quarter.  I have decided not to renew, even though it would be nice to receive a surprise project as I just don't have the time I'd like to make things with them.

I am hoping this will be a year when I get things done (did I say that last year?) and it would be good to clear my room a bit. The room, and me, have had a feeling of being overwhelmed by stuff and by finishing off and clearing some things would be a good place to start.

Let's see how it goes.....

10 Years Ago Today

I wrote my first blog post!  I looked at other blogs on blog rings (a collection of blogs on one site) and decided to start one myself.

What started it off was taking part for a short time with TAST, Take a Stitch Tuesday run by Sharon Boggon, which I took part until June 2007, when I fell further behind and could not keep up.  TAST is still going, though on Sharon's website, Pin Tangle.  There's more about TAST here

I found the blog was also useful in recording the work I was doing. In that year I was active in two postcard groups, through Yahoo Groups. One was BQLPC (British Quilt List PostdCard) another was Arts In The Mail group (both closed groups) as making fabric postcards were popular and mail was cheaper to send then.  I stopped making postcards in 2013 but I still have photos of postcards on my Flickr site. That's still going too but not updated very much. 

At the time I was also a member of two local quilt groups, Quaterjacks in Wimborne and Bourne Quilters in Parkstone, Poole, now i just go to the one group Bourne Quilters. I've been a member for over 20 years. A move to Yorkshire in 2008 and back to Poole in 2011 (gosh, that's 6 years ago!) meant I didn't rejoin Quarterjacks, but I still meet ladies from that group now and again.

Another difference between then and now is how I compose my posts. Back then it was finding the time to go on the computer and uploading my photos from a camera and typing up.  This morning I started typing this post on my iPad using Blogger app and can take photos with my iPhone which can instantly be shared on Facebook and Instagram. Downside of using Blogger app is that I can't link to other sites and if there are links and more complex stuff on the blog I will use the computer for that.

I don't share a lot of family stuff as this blog is mainly to do with my crafts but back in 2007 I shared a bit of family news with the arrival of my second grandchild, Leo and also the weddings of my sons, the youngest Jamie to Carly and my eldest son Alex to Mary.  Since then we've had two more grandchildren and this year in September my daughter (eldest of my children) gets married and the boys and their wives will be celebrating their 10th anniversaries this year! 

About time for a photo- these are my grandchildren, taken in the summer.

So what else has changed? I think my focus of the blog is still the same - I've always found this useful for recording my work and also as a personal reminder of our holidays and events. I'm not very good with keeping up with a written journal or diary but I've always gone back and referred to the blog. I could see back in 2007 I was experimenting with different techniques on a small scale (such as the postcards) and I don't think there's been anything recently to push me in that direction so would be good to get back to that.

Oh yes, another change has been the recent rediscovery of knitting and crochet.  Back in 2007 there wasn't a lot around in the way of yarn shops then but there are certainly more online shops now for fabric and yarn that are quite fresh and modern as with a lot of crafts nowadays. When I can't sew and after a day's work I don't always have the energy to cut, sew and iron so to settle with a little bit of knitting I've found really relaxing. But it is still sewing I go back to, even making a journal quilt in an evening.

For the future I will keep the blog going and hope that you will still enjoy reading about what I've been up to.  I've enjoyed composing the posts over the years. If you have time do say hello.

There will be more Splendid Sampler blocks to come, which finishes in February and I've got to catch up with that.  The downside of working nearly full time (I work 4 days a week) is there is always something to do and never enough time to do it, but I think that is a common problem among us creative lot.

There will be more sewing (got all that fabric to use up!) and there will be more yarn-y stuff too, maybe arty stuff.  Stay tuned......

Best wishes

Sue

New Year, New Quilt

With all the UFOs, sampler blocks and other bits and bobs, it would make sense to get something finished off.  Oh no, not me.  I decided to make something new.  A few months back, in September, I bought a Frivols tin by Moda and decided to have a go at making a quilt from the instructions and fabric within.

The tin contained 42 7" squares of Little Miss Sunshine fabric line, together with a card of instructions to make a quilt top adding some yardage of background fabric.  Also in the tin is another card with a saying and instructions for an additional quilt block (not related to the quilt top to be made) and a little adult colouring booklet.

This isn't a good picture, but showing how I like to work, I like to chain piece and as you can just see a chain of pieces blocks draping from my machine and piling up on the floor!

I laid the pieces out on the bed to get an idea of how it looks. This was mid afternoon.

I then made the flying geese blocks which were joined by the short sides with a strip of background fabric to one side of each strip. This was late afternoon.

I might have got a quilt top made however I hit a snag.  I ran out of background fabric and there should be a narrow inside border made with this.  I have a solution though, instead if going out and buying more I have a long quarter of a fabric print which will tone in and might just do the job.  

I've got one more day at home as instead of going back today and taking my usual Wednesday off I've swapped the day.  Got a few other household bits to catch up on but hope to have a bit of quality sewing time later.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I hope you have a lovely New Years Day today and wish you well for the forthcoming year.

That Was 2016

A year in which I made a few Farmers Wife blocks, lots of Splended Sampler blocks, rediscovered knitting and crochet, and found painting too. Went to Cornwall 3 times, the Lake District, Norway and visited the Chelsea Flower Show for the first time. I've visited 3 quilt shows, though gave Festival of Quilts a break last year. I'll look forward to visiting again this year.

A few completed items. Still many UFO's but what is a quilter's life without them. Increased my collection of fabrics and now yarn too.  Looking back over the past year I have found the blog as a useful tool for journaling my makes and our journeys too.  I've kept the blog going for nearly 10 years now and still find I like to write about things I've done and seen, which is goes against my character as I've never been able to keep a diary!

Here are 8 of 11 journal quilts that I've made last year (the 12th has to be made but that'll come quite soon on the agenda for finishes this month) 

A few finished quilts were done last year. The International Quilt Day sew and flip quilt was almost finished in a day in March, and finished off in April, with another finished by my friend Val and given to Teenage Cancer Trust for visitors to the Bournemouth holiday home. I'd also finished of two quilts in February and August that went to Project Linus.

I've collected stash fabrics wherever I've been 

I think I may scale back a bit in 2017.  I've also got a growing yarn stash now and knitted and crochet a few items. 

I almost forgot the sheep

The purple one is mine, the turquoise one has found a new home, via Yarndale in September.

Sheep also features prominently on our holiday in the Lake District back in July

And some bits and bobs finished in 2016 and a pic of David and I from our last trip in 2016.

I'm hoping for a productive 2017 (don't we all?). It'll be back to my sewing room tomorrow for a Bank Holiday bash catching up with Splendid Sampler blocks.

Mad Dash to Cornwall.

Last Christmas we wanted to see the Christmas lights in Mousehole Harbour, but didn't get there because my Mum was ill over the holiday.  This year we decided that we would go and booked a hotel room just for one night in Camborne, which was just half hour's drive from Mousehole.  

According to our satnav it is a 3.75 hour journey without stopping.  Being as it was Tuesday and a bank holiday the roads were fairly quiet and the weather was good our travel went quite well. We did stop at a service area just south of Exeter;  a surprising place as we didn't expect much, just a drink and loo break but came across an ex-Little Chef with really nice food.We eventually got to Camborne as it was starting to get dark so pretty good run down.

After an early dinner in the pub next door to the hotel we set off for Mousehole and we managed to park quite easily in the pay and display car park just outside the village.  Here are some of my photos taken by iPhone and as ever I'm surprised how well the photos turned out.

At the entrance to the village

This was the sight that greeted us as we got to the harbour. Three sailing boats, a whale and a Loch Ness monster lighting up the water. On the left harbour wall were a church and some trees.

Stocking, baubles, Christmas pudding and present were on the back wall.

There had to be a mouse too, with a lightbulb too.

The streets around the village we light with strings of lights too so it really was a colourful sight. A church in the backstreet had a nativity scene all light up.  The whole village really goes to town with their lights.

Not to be outdone the nearest town to Moushole is Newlyn, who had their own lights and a took one of an anchor the side of a building (this photo I took from the car windscreen, so I'm surprised it turned out as well as it did).

On the wall of a pub was a mermaid (you can see our sat nav in the bottom of the pic).

And a few other light decorations too.

We headed back towards Camborne and stopped of at Marazion where we saw St Michaell's Mount lit  up not a good pic as the Mount is so far away, but can be seen just right of the We,come sign

We travelled back home the next day but instead of whizzing straight back on the A30, we headed towards Newquay then Bude.  There was a sign along the route which took us to Widemouth Bay and stopped briefly to take in the views.  Seeing the waves coming in to the coast it was easy to see why this bit of coastline is popular with surfers.  We walked a short way along the cliff top and took a few photos.  I like this one, taking advantage of the long shadows from the winter sun.

Isn't the sky fantastic?

And looking across the other way.

David wasn't keen on stopping in Bude, too many people so we went on to Holsworthy (didn't stop there either) then Okehampton.  Lovely tea shop there had tea and scones and oh dear, there's a wool shop just across from there.

Two balls of yarn were calling to me to buy them.  What was I to do!

From Okehampton we headed towards Exeter then took the Lyme Regis road back into Dorset.  We don't go there often so it was a pleasant walk around the town and the quirky shops there and seeing the sun go down over the Cobb.

And of course there are Christmas lights in the town. 

After a stop in Dorchester for an early dinner we were soon home.  It too all day and were tired by the end after our two day there and back trip, but got today to recover before I go back to work tomorrow.

It was worthwhile to get away albeit for a short time and lucky to have had such good weather too.

Knitting and Crochet Stuff

I hope your Christmas went well and looking forward to the year ahead.  No quilting goodies for Christmas, which is good, as I like to choose my own.  I did get some crochet hooks in a wrap and a travel sewing kit and a small tin (good size for bits and bobs).  I've taken to knitting and crochet recently as you will have seen in my most recent posts so these will come in useful in my knitting bag. I did get lots of other pressies too including a radio with Bluetooth speaker which I will keep in my room. Music while I'm sewing. I will have to update the playlist on my iPhone now.

I can now reveal the secret knitting that I've done in recent months, which the recipient, my granddaughter Sophie, is now enjoying.  It's a Jean Greenhowe clown, Mr Forty Winks.

There he is just getting comfy on the settee before being wrapped up.  Sophie kept going to our spare room when visiting to find the one my Mum knitted years ago for my daughter Sarah, (in the picture below) so instantly David and I thought "Christmas present!". Pattern sourced as Mum no longer had it, but found in local wool shop and some yarn using what I had and buying some more too, I managed to make this well before Christmas.

Guess who else wants a knitted clown - her sister Isobel! Better get the needles and yarn out for another to be knitted by her birthday in March.

Here's a pic of the clown in progress together with a picture from the pattern. He has an amazing number of little bits to knit but the detail is really good. The body is the easy bit being worked in one piece from the ankles to the hat but even bits have to be added, like the hat band and brim, hair, collar and band with knitted buttons, so did take a while on and off from September onwards (so better get a move on with Isobel's then).

It was good fun and I hope the next one will be too.

Meanwhile we have been to Cornwall and back during those between days and I took some crochet with me as David was happy to drive both days, so my corner to corner blanket which has come out of retirement is on the go again.

I'll post about our Cornwall trip next time as I've got several photos for that.

Christmas Wishes

This is my 600th post on the blog and Christmas Eve. We've been kept busy with Christmas preps and work (that's me) and catching up with family.  We are having a quiet Christmas Day at home, just the two of us probably eating and drinking too much! The day after Boxing Day will see us on a brief trip to Cornwall to see Mousehole Harbour Lights which was going to happen last Christmas but didn't. 

Recently I've been knitting tiny Christmas stockings

And yesterday evening completed a little tiny Christmas Bear. I've placed a £1 coin beside it so you have an idea of how tiny it is

Both the patterns are free ones from Little Cotton Rabbits pattern blog. The last stocking and the bear are on the Christmas Tree now.

I also found through Pinterest a crochet Christmas tree so made one of those one evening this week.

The fancy Christmas yarn doesn't really show the crochet up that much.

Earlier this week we caught up with my youngest son Jamie and his family.  His wife, Carly, Is a professional photographer and earlier this year we gathered the family together for a photoshot.  This was a birthday present to us both which was meant to be an album, but I wanted the pictures in a frame.  I chose a 12 picture frame in Next and this is how the photos turned out. My photo of this was done in the evening so difficult to take in the artificial lighting but here it is

My grandsons (Jamie and Carly's sons) were reluctant to have their photos taken so there are no individual photos of them, which is a shame, but a lovely collection of photos nonetheless.

Have a lovely Christmas and hope to do another blog post around New Year. The beginning of the year will see the 10th anniversary of my blog so I will have to think how I will celebrate this.

16 Years in the Making

Years ago I used to do cross stitch.  The pictures I made became larger and more intricate but then quilting took over and this piece got left.  I originally stitched this on Aida fabric but didn't like it so stitched again on this even weave fabric and I preferred the blue background.  I started the embroidery in 2000.  I have the receipt to prove it - to buy some of the threads that I didn't have to stitch it.

The pattern was in a sorry state too. It had been folded and unfolded so many times that I had taped it but over the years the tape deteriorated, leaving yellow marks on the pattern.  This was kept it a plastic  document pouch.

 

I think the reason why it was left was because there are so many different but similar shades of the dark blues and reds in the skirts that I became disoriented.  Anyway, roll on 16 years and my Mum asked if the embroidery was still around.  It was and she took it on along with the threads. There was only one shade of the dark blue that was needed but the dye lot of that number thread was slightly different but she blended strands of old an new thread to make that less noticeable.

So here it is, The Quitmaker. 

She did a fantastic job and it was returned to me for washing and framing.  I won't do anything just now as I will get the Christmas holidays out of the way and look for mount and frame to finish in the New Year.

Thank you Mum.

A Bit of Knitting and Crochet

Recently I've taken to doing some knitting and crochet.  In my last post I had knitted but not seen up a little Christmas stocking, but now I've completed three.

This was from a free pattern from Little Cotton Rabbits and because they are so small each one takes me an evening to knit and they look so sweet. One at least will go to my sister who asked for one and he other two may have new homes too.  

Underneath the stockings is a crochet mandala. This was from a pattern in Crochet Now magazine who have been asking for mandalas to swap for mental health.  This was worked with just one variegated yarn, which I bought for just £1 at my local Wilkinsons store.

Sometimes it takes a photo to get a sense of the texture in this piece. It was interesting to make haven't ever done this before. It took a couple of evenings to crochet this and not having to change colours means there was just the beginning and finishing ends to darn in. I'd like to try this in a plain coloured yarn with some texture.

The Christmas tree has gone up now. Familiar decorations adorn the tree that we've collected over the years, the Pirate from Penzance, some little cross stitch pieces, Bugs Bunny and Alien we bought years back from America years ago, Dutch decorations from our holiday last year and our new flashing reindeer.  This is probably the last year for this tree as we haven't got a small table to put it on and is to short to stand on the floor.  Just two and half weeks away from Christmas now. 

And Now For Something Completely Different

It was my birthday on Monday. 61. How did that happen? Anyway another year passes and as always happens it collides with having to think about Christmas things.  

A few weeks back I had an email from Seasalt, who have a shop in Wimborne.  They were hosting as Sketchbook Club session byJennie Maizels last Thursday evening.  After a bus trip from work in Poole to Wimborne I spent an enjoyable hour and a half with eight other ladies doing a winter scene. We had a 'recipe' to make a scene with using paint and drawing techniques with clear stages.  These were the paintings produced

Mine was the middle left in this picture and a close up below

Not bad.  I was really excited by what I made. I wanted to have another go.

No fluke, I can make another winter scene. This was my version made at home. I really enjoyed the process and may take this a bit further next year.

Something else I've had a go at recently has been knitting and I've got some on the go which I can't show here until after Christmas, however I have made this yesterday evening, which has got to be sewn up.

A cute little Christmas stocking, just over a couple of inches tall, from a free pattern by Julie of Little Cotton Rabbits.  Do have a look at her blog, she has designed and made the most gorgeous little knitted animals (including rabbits!). There are several patterns for small stockings.

Just goes to show that however old you are you're never too old to learn something new!  To sign off here's a selfie with Shaun the Sheep perched on my shoulder. I was given some Mardles, character stickers that cone to life when using the app on he phone, whatever next!