Romany Quilt

 A mini quilt actually just big enough for a baby in a car seat or buggy inspired by the rich reds of an old painted vardo.  Quite randomly patched from an assortment of "red" squares ......... a little darker and richer than showing on my screen here and I actually really like it!  I can just envisage some small space in a wagon storing these small jewels of fabric until there were enough to create something useful yet beautiful ............ the meandering lines of the free motion quiting fit nicely too.

Is there really a distinction between excited and terrified?  Local artists of any media have been invited to submit work for consideration for an exhibition later this year ............ I have expressed an interest!  Haven't even got the form yet but the thought of a portfolio seems somewhat terrifying.  I'm not sure that it should be but it is.  I should know how to put some stuff together, perhaps 10 things but what?  First I need to sort out or borrow a decent camera to get some better pics and sure once I get started it will start flowing together.  Then there's preparing a design or two and I keep changing my mind about that.  I did really want to do something more creative this year but didn't really have a reason until now and feel a bit lonesome and lost now I've said I will!
.
.

Free Motion Quilting

I wanted to try free motion quilting on the Juki Exceed and got a foot for my birthday.  It's not actually my birthday yet (well it wasn't when I started!) but I needed a present for my dad's birthday.  My husband suggested an armchair caddy for the remotes.  Ah, I could make one ........ a good excuse to try the foot out!  The manual suggested keeping the stitch length on 2.4 but I found some of the stitches a bit big for my liking .........

so I switched to "0" which I was more comfortable with. 
 

It's not perfect but it's not bad (even if I do say so myself) for my first free motion quilted project.  I've done plenty of FMB and a couple of small bits of FMQ back in C&G days but nothing on this scale.  The dark sludgy grey thread on the front looks quite light but it will have to do.  The back ...........

I did find that the fabric didn't always move too smoothly over the plastic parts of the machine which I'd look into more if I plan on doing a serious amount of quilting.

A couple of design faults (I realise now how I could have made things a bit easier for myself) and I've been advised it might be a bit on the large side but, hey, I really didn't have a lot of time to think about it having only decided and started on Saturday.  I like the quilting though, and the fabric which, although floral, isn't too masculine and something I'm  sure mum won't mind having in her home.  That, too, was part of my birthday present but they deserve it!
. 

Baking

I had a go at Gina's Almond Paste Mince Pies.  Having left the paste in the fridge overnight it was rather difficult to pipe.  A quick zap in the microwave made it really squidgy but much easier:
 

They are nice but my favourite mince pie is still the orange and cream cheese recipe I first used back in the 80s ...........

For anybody that would like to try:

1lb plain flour
8oz butter
4oz lard (I used Trex yesterday as it was what I had)
Zest and juice of 1 large orange
Mincemeat
8oz cream cheese (I used the cheapy basics one this time)
2 oz caster sugar


Rub fat into flour, add zest and mix with some of the orange juice.  Roll out and cut into 24 linings and lids (I usually get about 32).  Add 1 tsp of mincemeat to each tart.  Mix caster sugar with cream cheese and dollop a teaspoon onto the mincemeat before adding the lid.  Glaze with milk and bake for probably about 20 minutes at 190 (I tend to check the oven rather than time them).  The baked pies freeze really well.


Looking for some oven mitts I found a tutorial for some novel looking round pot holders.   I think the addition of binding makes for a neater finish though ...............

Peering over my shoulder, my dad was very complimentary about the chicken ones I was stitching.  Now I'm not sure why he would be so interested in oven stuff so guess he liked the fabric!  Hmmmmm ............ a quilted wine bottle carrier would be just the thing!!!

I used this tutorial but constructed a bit differently, particularly the side seams where I only stitched the top fabric and wadding together leaving the lining to be slip stitched in place for a neater finish.  The chicken fabric is quite heavily printed so I found just the one layer of wadding (Insul-Bright to help keep the wine at the preferred temperature for a while) adequate.
.

Reflecting

Simplicity are doing a Summer Tote Sew Along on Facebook with their patttern 2396 which I thought might be fun.  I don't actually have the pattern but had a look at the specifics and instructions here and could quite easily get round that.  Make it smaller (handbag size), fabrics put together in a different way with some embellishment, an alternative fastening ....... . I wouldn't really be "sewing along" at all so maybe I'll just stick to my own thing.


Another ruffled bag in progress, in fact a replica of the one I made our daughter for Christmas.  I shall sit tonight and stitch the plastic canvas in the bottom then hopefully the zips will arrive soon so I can get on with the lining, pockets and fastening.

I've never been a fan of hexagon quilts with most of what I've noticed in the passt being rather a mish mash of random fabrics.  Quaint I know but not quite for me until I saw, on somebody's blog, the start of some lovely floral hexes in sunflower colours on a white background.  I was captivated and, although I left a comment, now can't find said blog ............. sorry!

Playing with hexagons in pretty colour combinations is fun.  My husband isn't keen and I've yet to tell him that just this week I've read of someone completing a hexagons quilt  which has been 35 years in the making!  Maybe he has a point lol!

.

The First I Spy Quilt

 Enough squares to lay out for the first I Spy Quilt ............ 256 different ones

 

It was difficult trying to fit it all in the pic (next time I'll try and remember to stand on a chair) but it's enough for me to see what's happening and can spot a few that will probably get moved around in the next day or so before starting to stitch but not too much as it's so easy to get just too finicky.  I have plenty of squares towards a second quilt already but have to get this one out the way first and need to collect more of certain colours ........... I kind of struggled with pinky girly ones in particular.

Update:  Changing a few around (apologies for rubbish pics but I can't move this around into a different light .......... it's just about clear enough to use as a working design) .............. 

 
I think it's just about there now.  Husband thinks I should just mix them all up and go with it but that really wouldn't be me ............. much as I might like it to be sometimes.  Can't wait to start stitching now!
.

I'm not disappointed ............

A few months back Quilting Arts were asking for submissions for "Quick and Easy" patchwork projects (not their usual stuff at all).  I had ideas for a few items but only got to get a couple of baby bibs ready - one of them in "Toy Poodle" by Clothworks ............

I saw recently that they've been photographing items for publication so assume mine weren't chosen.  I don't mind at all as I've yet to find a patchwork or quilting book where I like everything so know that I'll like these more than some of the stuff they've chosen.


Anyway, on with the log cabin patchwork for the blind ............

 ............. in green this time.  Only 4 large blocks completed today yet it seemed like hard work.  Too many mistakes (my mind was elsewhere)!  In fact one block has the middle square wrong side up and I didn't even realise until I'd completed the whole thing.  I really can't be bothered to try and put it right at the moment so we'll see ...............
.

I Spy Quilt Squares Swap Anyone?

Needing something "easy" to distract my mind from everday life for a bit I'm collecting fabrics for an I Spy quilt having been inspired by others I've seen recently on the web.  Deciding on 3.5" cut squares (finished size 3") to accomodate some Makower farm labels, I started to sort out my fabrics.  About 30 different novelty and kids fabrics doesn't make much of a whole in the 250+ different ones that I'd need ..............

Attempting to decorate some myself ...................

Stamping with Dye-na-flo onto cotton squares didn't make much of an impact so out with the fabric pens ...............

A couple are ok but the half inch images are making it very fiddly and time consuming so I'll probably stop there with those.  Purchasing some larger ones or print blocks is out of the question at present and defeating the object really but I might have a go at painting some larger pictures.

Would anybody like to swap some fussy cut squares of childrens and/or novelty 100% cotton fabrics?  The top picture gives some indication of the type of thing I am currently using for this project.   

"kitty Boutique" Baby Changing Bag

I promised to make a baby changing bag for my husband's niece ................ it's nearly finished ..............  I hope she likes it.

I only had enough of two different fabrics with enough co-ordinating fabric without buying anything else ............. luckily she liked this one from the "Paris Cats" range by Bernertex.  The design was handy for quilting too.

I had planned to design something myself but family heath issues have kind of gotten in the way of creative thinking these last few weeks so I used a free online tutorial for the Hip Mama Diaper Bag which I found very easy to follow.  There are loads of pockets, inside and out ...........

The main fabric is all quilted whilst all the lining fabrics are iron-on interfaced and I substituted velcro for the main fastenings as I think it might be more practical than fiddling about doing up snaps for a busy mum.

Fresh from the Washing Machine

Still wet and smelling wonderfully of M&S Lavender & Lily fabric conditioner (buy one get one free yesterday). This was fun and I like it!  It needs to be touched (and smelt) ...............

More importantly, a milestone has been reached!   Just before I started cutting the fringing last night, 18 yr old dau asked who it was for and said she would like it if it was twice as big, blue & white, had a zipped top ........................ I think that's a cue to make her a bag!  I'll be seeking out some fabric next month for this huge turn of events!


Thankyou for all your encouraging comments.  Yes, I just need to rethink a bit with the rainbow piece ........... some less controlled stuff would be easier on the eyes.

Edited with a clearer photo
.

Hello ..................

It is a long, long time since I last blogged and sometimes life in general takes precedence over creativity (and blogging) but here is what I have been doing so far this year .................

Between Christmas & New Year I made myself a bag. It was ok but not being terribly familiar with the particular style of patchwork used, placement of the pieces could have been better (discovered when it was too late to do anything about it). However, having seen mine, a friend asked if I could make her one. Using the pattern from Easy Japanese Quilt Style I changed the placement of the ties a little, added an extra set (obscured by the photo) to enable the bag to be tied in different ways and inserted an internal zipped pocket



I was also asked if I could make a "pinky" backpack for said friend's toddler grandchild. Hmmmm, the nearest quilting shop had no kiddy/girly fabrics in pink so I selected a range of fabric that I thought I could put together without looking too grannyish and together with the plain dark pink in my box at home am rather pleased with the result ................

.

Not actually knowing the child, I wanted to be sure the size and practicality would be about right so searched the net for something modelled on a real child and found this pattern to which I added a lining (made as a separate "bag" then stitched in) and velcro fastening.

.

.

And we now have another little patchwork pig ....................

.

I hope to catch up properly with reading all my favourite blogs and get working on one of my own designs which I have been playing around with the last couple of days.

.

Wishing everybody a happy, healthy and creative 2010

The Cushions

I didn't realise it had been such a long time since I last blogged - I have heaps to catch up on. Anyway, here are some pics of finished cushions (I've no idea what went wrong with the lighting on this first one as they were all taken at the same time):



The reverse of the above cushion:

The Indian fabrics used were quite loosely woven but the use of folded patchwork and quilting has added some depth and, I hope, durability.

What works and what doesn't?

The machined cords give a nice stability to the piece but joining them where I thought the joins were less likely to be noticed ie. near the folds and hence the weakest points wasn't the brightest move!

My starting point for selecting the fabrics was the navy zips but using Viyella for the pockets and lining wasn't a good idea - it frays and it isn't very stable even with a double layer - I suppose I could have have done some free machining to help stabilise it and/or perhaps even bonded the fabric to help prevent fraying? It's not really a lesson learned as I am aware of this - just need to get my brain in gear!

I don't think I'll be continuing with the decoration and fastenings ............ it'll be sampling!

Rough Seas

.

There has been a little mishap (I know he feels really guilty about it so won't mention any names) with the purse I am making using this this book as guidance so whilst I am waiting for the piece of quilting (complete with cotton wadding) to dry, here's a couple of photographs we took this morning