Saturday 16 November 2013

Busy with Bees....

I may be quiet but I'm busy.... 
The Bee blocks keep coming and I'm having a great time....
 It's November and I'm a Bee Mama....in the Fat Quarterly Bee - (now renamed Bumbling Honeys... you had to be there!.)  Yay..!  
I am still finishing up my quilt from last year, so I thought that this year I would make mine a little simpler.... But that doesn't mean it won't have IMPACT...
I had made this block for the Siblings Together bee earlier this year and loved the easy fun technique. It makes up really quickly - so the girls were very kind and made 2 foundation squares each which then convert to 4 half square blocks. I sent out strips from a Jelly Roll and coordinating plains so that the colours would all work together. I am going to have so much fun playing with 48 squares to make a design.... The trouble will be choosing.....

Our Siblings Together Bee 2 block this month is for Sue and she has chosen a super pair known as Nut & Bolt.... I think the original name is Monkey Wrench but this method gives you a positive & a negative pattern... So one is a Nut & one is a Bolt.... Just don't ask me which is which....
I think this is going to be another lovely quilt for a child going through a tough time.... This is such a worthwhile cause and I am so pleased to be involved.... Becoming a Nannie has made it more thought provoking and makes me realise that not every child comes into this world with the built in support network of a close family. The reports of the tragic little boy Hamza, starved to death by the woman who gave birth to him ( I can't call her a mother) and then left for 2 years in his cot, has affected me deeply this week.... Children are innocents, it's always adults that mess their lives up. 
So if anyone not in this bee wants to get involved please get in touch..... It's a great way to find a home for those quilt tops lurking in your sewing room.. And you will be giving comfort to a child separated from their siblings.... 

Friday 25 October 2013

I'm Viral

I've been busy making Bee blocks and it has been great fun.. For the Siblings Together Bee 2 -  Celine has designed a Pixel block that will make a fantastic quilt for a child.. The blocks will create a secondary design when they all join together.... Clever..


The FQR Bee is back for a 2nd year.... We have changed the name (dropped the 'kinky' part for obvious reasons...)  Carol had given us a 'Free rein' on the design for her block... We just had a title of Its a Wonderful World - right from the start I wanted to do Trees.... ( a play on my name??) I just love Trees.... At any season, their shape & colour give me great pleasure. 
My block is fused & then stitched.... I cut the leaves out using a Sizzix die... I was really pleased with the way it turned out...



We share our Bee blocks by using Flickr - an online photo sharing site.... I started getting comments and views from a lot of people I didn't recognise.... Then realised that my picture had been randomly accepted onto the 'Explore' area of the site.... Where people can browse through random pictures .... If they see something that interests them, they  have a closer look, which counts as a 'view'..... I am up over 5,000 views ... Just for my little tree block! 
My husband thinks it's all a great laugh...

Tuesday 8 October 2013

She's Here.....

Lovely exciting news.... the arrival of our first Grandchild... From my son James and his wife Roisha.

Frida Cristabel was born on Friday 4th October at 9.47am.... after a beautiful water birth.... weighing 7lbs12oz...
Here is her first picture at 30 mins old.....





Water birth babies are said to be very relaxed at first as their entry into the world is more natural to them..... This little Sweet Pea is relaxed full stop.... She hardly cries at all and so far is perfectly behaved... no fretting or fussing. I doubt her parents will be this lucky for long but its very welcome when you are first time parents getting to know the ropes....

Frida (as in Frida Kahlo the Artist - I hope she doesn't have her monobrow!!) 
Christabel (as in Pankhurst - Mum is a history teacher..)
We love the names.... 



Here we are at 3 days old bonding with Nannie.... or Grannie ..... or ....??????? I can't decide who I want to be.... but I don't need a name for now... just looking at this little face will do me...

Friday 20 September 2013

Getting stuck in...

My busy summer had left me a little behind with sewing bee blocks etc. So when I had 3 days to myself I headed to my sewing room and got to work...

As I am Bee Mama for Siblings Together Bee 2 I was rather embarrassed to be 3 months behind... So first on the list was a confetti block for Svea - this was July...




I liked the easy way this went together but it was a little heavy on white fabric... I think this was because I was only making one block... There were quite a few bits left over that I may turn into a cushion.

August was Colourful Log Cabins.... With a contrast centre these were easy to put together and I probably took longer sorting and choosing fabrics than the actual sewing.



This will make a lovely colourful quilt that will give Suzy loads of choice when putting it together... Modern Log Cabin doesn't focus on the distribution of dark/light colours so the old style patterns don't appear but I still think its a fun block.


September -  Leah had chosen String blocks...


We had some fabric kindly donated by Annie from  The Village Haberdashery and Svea had sent out colour themed packs to us all. I really enjoyed doing these, I used a foundation paper like 'Stitch n Tear' which gives a nice base to sew on. The method that Leah chose was to make a HST with the String square and a plain white square - so this divided each block in 2 and we quickly had four squares to play with.. after each block was complete I removed the paper. The pattens available with these blocks are endless...

This is a wonderful way to use scraps and as I am currently having a 'sort out' of my huge overflowing scrap boxes, one of the 'subsections will be Strips.... I have also bought some new dies for my Sizzix and will be cutting other scraps into 2½"& 4½" squares and 2½" x 4½" rectangles.

We are under a week to go before my first Grandchild 'should' make her appearance but 'Operation Baby Watch' is actually blocking out 3 weeks in my calendar just in case... (don't tell the expectant Mum..)
I have made the quilt top but got a bit carried away and it is currently at 60" square...!! Slightly large for a new born so I am quickly making up another smaller quilt that will be easier to carry around and smaller to lay on the floor... I have been wanting to make something from my Summersville charm pack  (by Lucy) and this is just the job, pattern is from one of my all time favourite 'quick quilt' books - Simplify by Camille Roskelly..


Just got to sew it up, pop a border on, quilt it and we are good to go.... So any time you are ready to arrive Little Miss Wardlaw.......?!!!!






Thursday 29 August 2013

Looking ahead....

I've been told off.... I'm not blogging enough... but I honestly don't know where the time goes...
Anyway....

We have had a really busy August, with guests over from America we always have plenty of parties and gatherings - we have a very large close family that all get on very well.... we are blessed.

I was itching to be stitching and got straight back to my sewing machine while they were on their way to the airport!!

First to be sorted were blocks for a course I will be teaching in the Autumn - Jelly Roll Sampler Quilts from the book by Pam & Nicky Lintoft..

 I feel a bit of a fraud when asked to teach from a book but at least this way I get to make the errors first and pass on hints & tips. I think we all like to learn in different ways and sometimes it is just a nice excuse to get out and socialise amongst like minded people.
and I do like a nice bit of piecing.......

Project number 2 is to get a start on a quilt for my first grandchild..... due in 4 weeks... eek!
I have made a small receiving blanket and passed that on in case 'she' arrives early... I might have shown this before but it's pretty cute so worth another look.... made with Cotton and  Minky (funny stuff to sew with but a lovely feel..)



I am under orders for 'not too much pink' and have been very controlled so far..

I love this winking Owl...
 and those little scraps are my thread savers....


At the moment I think I need to add some more colour out in another border to make it a bit bigger and to balance the ric-rac...


The pattern is from a great book Baby Times from Abbey Lane Quilts - this is one of the rare books that I could honestly make nearly everything in it - its gorgeous. (although I am a little surprised at the price on this link, I bought it at my local quilt shop for a lot less...they don't seem to have it in stock at the moment but I will mention how great it is and hope they will get it in again..)

I am also very behind on my blocks for Siblings Together Bee 2 - as Bee Mama this is not good but I will rectify that in the next few days.

The Bank Holiday weekend was Hijacked by Younger Son & his Bride moving from London to Berkshire - quite a culture shock for them... They are county kids at heart and have managed to move out of Woolwich!!... where they were on an old council concrete estate..... (don't ask!)

to a different sort of Estate.....


Actually this is their next door neighbour...... any guesses where it is?


Friday 2 August 2013

Distractions

I've been distracted again... (it doesn't take much)....

A few months ago my youngest son asked us to go down to London to meet his girlfriend's father.... I was a bit put out as the date coincided with a major day on my golf calendar but we fixed it up anyway (with a bit of grumping by me along the way)
We had our suspicions............ so I took a posh frock..

And when we got down to London we were greeted with the news that the next day we would be going here.....


Woolwich Town Hall & Registry Office



To see this.....



We were so delighted to be there for a very private personal moment, shared just with their parents... they are such a darling couple.... so made for each other....


She's a very lucky girl.... (but I might be biased)  and he is one very lucky boy... 


And afterwards up to a little tea shop in Charlton House Park for a wedding tea party..... Champagne in teacups......



Cheers Ross & Hayley.....

I wish you a lifetime of Happiness..... Love one another - its as simple as that!

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Poor Neglected Blog....

Oh dear I'm not very good am I....

I could, of course, come up with numerous excuses for not posting more often - like how my life is too busy to have the time but would be ridiculous... I just put other things ahead in the queue...
But I have been on holiday for a week to sunny Portugal - great timing, as since I have been home the weather has improved enormously..

But the main aim of this blog was to post about my sewing and if I haven't got anything to show then I don't post... Who would be interested in hearing about my latest round of golf ?...(my other obsession) even my husbands eyes glaze over and sometimes he's my partner....!!

I have finished my project for my son's birthday.... I made it up as I went along and was pretty pleased with the result... so was my son... I just have to put a hanging device on the back as I wasn't sure how/where he would be putting it..
Here it is... for my spec loving James....



I have also finished another baby quilt... this one is a 'commission' - yeah right... when its for a friend how do you work out what to charge.... When you take in the material costs and your time - you can come up with a silly figure that is difficult to ask for... As I really enjoy making these I am happy to add a little on top of the fabric costs to go towards more fabric.... and this is only because it is for a friend... if I were making them to sell then the figure would be more realistic... its always a problem isn't it?
Silly me I forgot to photo it properly before it went away.....




I have finished my first block for our Siblings Together Bee 2... June's Mama wanted Wonky Stars -





I think this will make a great quilt for a child... the blocks so far are very different and will make a quilt with a random scattering of colourful stars. If you want to see or follow the other blocks/quilts from this bee click here

I am just starting to make things for my 'Granddaughter" (due in Sept)... it seems so funny to know in advance... never did that 'in my day'... I still would prefer not to know as I love natures final surprise but its not my decision and at least it helps to know for making things in advance...  I have bought some soft white 'Minky' fleece and this is the first project under way...


I am hoping this is going to turn out to be a fantastic week.... Cryptic??........more later!!!

Sunday 9 June 2013

So much sewing... Sew little time..

Life can be so frustrating..... I failed to get my Pieces of Cake quilt finished in May....

In the first place I had forgotten I needed to put more borders on... So maybe I set my sights too high.. I did get about half of it quilted but have been distracted by a 'poorly' father... (It's never my fault really!)


My Bloglovin feed comes in each day and I see so many prolific quilters out there.... fitting in work & children around their sewing.... I definitely agree to the old adage "If you want something done ... Ask a busy person". Cause the more time I have... The less I get done!!


I did manage to get my Zakka make done....... Only one but I liked the method & want to find some better fabrics to make more..





I'm also making a present for someone at the moment..... I'm making it up as I go along but I'm pretty pleased with it at the moment....
Here's a couple of shots so far..... Reveal later on.

Monday 20 May 2013

Siblings Together Bee....

I feel very fortunate to have brought up 2 happy healthy sons who, despite all their childhood squabbles, are the best of friends. They live miles apart now but still keep in touch and enjoy each others company when they get together. It warms my heart to see this..

Sadly not all families are this lucky and for a variety of reasons children get separated from their siblings to live apart. including Adoption, Foster care & Kinship care ....
Siblings Together is an organisation that aims to keep brothers and sisters connected. They organise holidays so that children can be together in relaxed fun surroundings away from the outside influences on their lives.  Lynne of Lily's Quilts brought this organisation to the attention of quilting blogland last year and quilts were made and sent to the children to have while they were at camp and to take home as a link with their siblings...
 This is an ongoing project - there will be more children this year and more quilts are being delivered... So this year a few groups have sprung up on Flickr to organise ourselves into Bees to make  quilts to be delivered for next year - I'm in and will hopefully be reducing my stash for this wonderful cause...



To cut down on postage costs we are making the quilts from our fabric stashes, each month has a 'Bee Mama' who will choose a block and colour scheme for the rest of us to follow, we then make one or two blocks and send them to her. Each months Mama then provides the backing, wadding and binding etc to  complete the quilt for delivery - our Bee hopes to donate 12 quilts this way.
 Bees are such a fun way of connecting with fellow quilters and as there are only so many quilts you can make for your home, the surplus can help keep a child connected with their siblings, hopefully making that connection last for life.

I will keep you in touch with how we get on.....

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Many Happy Returns?

Well not me but my 'baby' turned 27 yesterday.....


 and I have a question to ask...

Every year the night before Ross's birthday I have a terrible nights sleep... he woke me up at 3am to arrive at 5.30am. It's not something I am conscious about until the morning of his birthday when I am calling him..... its weird.

He says he slept like a baby - funny boy.....!!

So does this happen to anyone else?

His brother was an afternoon baby so I don't have the same thing happening...

Monday 6 May 2013

A finish for May...

Ok... here we go for May in the Lovely Year of Finishes project....



I think most of my finishes are going to be quilting... I seem to be a piecer and not a quilter, so this challenge is perfect for getting my tops done..

This month I will be finishing a quilt top I made last year from Camille Roskelly's book Simplify...   Pattern - A Piece of Cake...... (I'm a big fan.. Can you tell?)  I recently bought her Pre-Cuts class on Craftsy and this quilt was part of the class... it prompted me to get it out again and get if finished... Its a really simple pattern & was made with a Layer cake and yardage....
Have a look a the class... it is currently 25% off... Craftsy classes are great value - you can return to them again and again. If you are a fan of Camille's patterns then you are in luck.. you get the pattern for this quilt and Swoon included (amongst others...)

I'm not advertising... I'm spreading the love....


Its a lovely day and I got a sunny snap in the garden...photos are so much better in sunlight..

Ok.. off and running - A quilting I will go.....

Thursday 25 April 2013

A Lovely Finish....








I have managed to finish my April challenge.... This was a small quilt that I had made when following the Zakka Style Sew a Long last year.. I had used a Charm Pack by Cabbages & Roses instead of yardage, together with Essex Linen to give a really soft 'shabby' look.
So a quilt style to match? I chose straight line quilting about 1/2" apart... this was the width of my walking foot.
You can't see it on these pictures but through the strips with floral blocks I quilted with a variegated cream King Tut thread and to ring the changes on the plain linen strips I used a variegated pink one...



I like this close straight quilting as I like to see a soft 'rumpled' finish - so after quilting the top I sewed a line of zig-zag close to the edge, trimmed  it up roughly and then put it through a wash and tumble dry. Then I squared it up and put the binding on.... followed by another wash and pinned out to dry on old towels to keep it square.



So here it is ... all soft & shabby -  with (hopefully) just a hint of chic?


Wednesday 24 April 2013

Baby Baby Baby...

Is there something in the water around here? or is it just that having been married for 33 years all my friends children are starting their own families.... as I just seem to be making an awful lot of baby quilts..

This is the 3rd quilt that I have made using the 'Little Man' pattern from Camille Roskelly's book Simplify. It is so simple and so effective... just 4 fat quarters (this is from Lily & Will by Bunny Hill Designs for Moda) and some plain yardage. However I did cheat on the yardage.... I have used a cream jelly roll as the pattern uses 2 1/2" strips and I have enough strips from one roll to make 5 of these quilts. Then just a bit for the top & bottom borders and its all done. It is about 40" wide so fits one width of fabric for the backing too (around 1.5m total) so altogether it is not an expensive quilt to make.


I have quilted most of the top but I am waiting for this baby boy to be born and then I can quilt his name on the bottom corner - so I am well on time with this one.


Saturday 6 April 2013

A Lovely year of Finishes


I'm back on track... Linking up for my April finish.. This is a quilt top that I started last year in the Zakka style sew a long... so it just needs to be quilted and bound.


Not a good picture sorry... but Linen & pastels are not high contrast....

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Spring Break?

This time last year I was up in Scotland basking in temperatures of 24 -26 degrees... and very nice it was too.
This year we went up again.... not quite the same!!
We left Suffolk after an overnight snowfall and headed up to Cumbria - I phoned the hotel to check that we could get to them as we were seeing pictures of stranded motorists in the new... They were fine... only 7 miles off the motorway so to them  access was good... not like some of the villages higher up that were cut off.  And they had log fires going...
The next morning we headed North again...  Tried to phone the hotel but couldn't get past the switchboard...!
I must explain that this trip was for my LSH... he had seen pictures of a golf course on the Kintyre peninsula that he so wanted to play... after letting me go to India for 3 weeks it was only fair that I said yes.. so to save you running to look out the Atlas..



Can you see Glasgow?... well we had to go up around and above that and come back south to Campbeltown....  See that island in the middle.. Thats Arran - and you saw what was happening there... why did we not take this as a clue?

The journey went well.. the roads were pretty good and the snow was spasmodic leading my LSH (not normally known for his optimism...) to remark he was hopeful of playing some golf...!! (I had a bit of a paddy when packing the car, that it was pointless putting all the kit in.... I was right..)
All went well until we were approaching Tarbert and heard the traffic news.. "the A83 is closed" - thats that red line on the map... one road in and out.... oops..
We risked it and were rewarded by getting through via a convoy system.... it was only one area that kept getting blocked by snowdrifts..
So we pulled into Campbeltown rather chuffed that we had fought our way through only find that the whole peninsula had been without electricity for 5 days.. the hotel had been taken over by power workers and they didn't have any proper food as it had all spoilt... They had one room left.. so we stayed one night and beat a hasty retreat up to stay with our friends near Glencoe... which was totally white, majestic and trouble free... they are used to snow there.. love it in fact, the ski season was in full flow..


We took a ride down the glen where Skyfall scenes were shot and saw loads of these.... 


They are pretty bold at the moment as the hunting season isn't until June..

So although the weather was totally different... we do still love Scotland..  We get 'Goosebumps' every time we drive through Glencoe especially... It's so different from the 'Big Sky's' we have here in Suffolk for one thing... and then there is all that history...

So not a lot of sewing has gone on for some time but I have been getting my Kinky Bee blocks back in the post... Here are the first 9.... they finish at 16" -  I don't know how big I need to go but I am loving this quilt already.....


Will be back soon with more pictures from India maybe....



Wednesday 20 March 2013

Hi Honey I'm Home......

What a fantastic time I've had - India it is an incredible county... The sights, sound and 'smells' were amazing.
I had approached this trip with trepidation as I had some idea that it would be an emotionally  uncomfortable trip... I'm sure we have all seen pictures of the poverty there and been told tales of being pursued by hoards of begging children. But at no point were we chased or hassled in any way.. ok - some of the hawkers at the larger tourist attractions were persistent but most were good humoured about it.  And you cannot escape the fact that people live in poverty but it is sometimes hard to judge the extent as the general living conditions are so different to the western style we are used to. A lot of the homes are very basic in comparison to ours... no fitted carpets ?... Not needed in a hot dusty country... hard floors are cooler and easier to keep clean.. Bedrooms doubling as living rooms?.... Necessary when several generations of families live together and support each other for their lifetime.  As on my previous trips I have found it easier to understand their lifestyle if I ignore my own... Who's to say we in the west have got it right?

Oh... thats all a bit heavy... and to describe my thoughts over the whole 3 weeks would have you running for the trip switch ..So I will just briefly explain where I went...

We started off in Delhi.... where we launched into India's crazy traffic - the guide books have one word to say about driving in India - DON'T... and it is sound advice. I don't think there are any traffic rules in India except one... Might is Right... which means the biggest man wins.. It works (mainly..) but comes a cropper at junctions where 2 vehicles of the same size will have a stand off until one of them concedes..
and don't even get me started on explaining this one....
Suffice to say Delhi is disorganised chaos that gets there in the end....

We then travelled on to Agra....  and this.....

One slight problem.... we were there on a Sunday.. with the rest of India..!! It makes you realise what sort of organisation was behind the picture of Diana all 'alone' here.
It is a beautiful building tho' and I had one of those 'take your breath away ' times as I thought back to how it was built and the conditions that the 22,000 workers endured to achieve such a visual delight..


Then on to Jaipur... with its magnificent fort.... That you travel to by Elephant.. (don't you love it that  the Mahout is on his mobile?)


The fort was so decorative... it was pattern & design overload... I am inspired towards a little bit of Appliqué...


That would normally end the 'Golden Triangle' but we travelled further west towards the Pakistan border... More later when I have sorted my 1800 photos out.....

Sunday 3 February 2013

Argh...!!!!

Just when you think everything is going swimmingly DISASTER strikes.....


I had a date in my diary wrong and it means I can't go to FAT QUARTERLY RETREAT..... I am gutted.. last year was so much fun. But the other date is a family occasion and we are all very close, my sister in law is celebrating a special birthday with a family gathering at the Latitude festival here in Suffolk.. you may remember dear reader that I went last year and it was a trifle muddy...


but we had a great time...


So sadly for me... no Retreat this year... I had my ticket and hotel all booked & paid for... luckily my room mate is taking both of them off me so I am not out of pocket. My LSH (long suffering husband) had moaned at me when I insisted on booking my hotel so early "Why do yo want to book that now.. a lot can happen in 9 months..." - Darn it .. I hate it when he's right... But to his credit the words "I told you so...!" have not crossed his lips..

Excitement has stared to mount with the first 'swap' posts going up on the Flickr group... I don't know if I will be persecuting myself by following all the frenzy..
It also means I will not get to see any of the finished quilts from the Kinky Bee that we have been working on... although maybe a few will make an appearance next year too..

My Kinky blocks have all gone in the post this week as I am 'Mama February" I can't believe that 2 of the group have already sewn their blocks up... so hopefully that means that my instructions were clear enough. It was a bit like sending your child off on a school trip...... a lot of preparation and organising but once they are on their way.. you can't wait to see them home again.

I think the paper foundations have gone down well... the CD program I have is a boon to help sew multiple half square triangles...

I first came across Triangulations when I went to Quilt Market in Houston in about 2004 - it was just a PDF disc then and the sizes only increased by quarter inches but that was fine for me... The new edition (version 3) allows for size changes by 1/16" (as if I am ever going to be that fussy..)  But also prints papers for Quarter Square triangles and Flying geese..  It is sold in the UK here for £24.95 -   Don't know where else, sorry.

I'm also going to try & link to Bloglovin here... it is a blog reader I use & is a great way to keep in touch with blogs I find interesting.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I get an email digest each day rather than individual emails..

The countdown is on for my holiday... the pile in the bedroom is calling my name - I have to see what will fit into my case...... and what will be left on the cutting room floor...
Have a Happy Sunday....