Flying Blind On A Rocket Cycle

All sorts...

2012-02-26T10:28:00.000Z

I laid out all my Stained pieces yesterday afternoon, and found that I was only one small piece short, so I was rather pleased and surprised at myself for that...

I ended up bagging each individual block separately, as I was anticipating a bit of a muddle and continual need to re-lay the whole lot out if I wasn't completely organised.

Whilst listening to my two buddies, Rhonda and Cindy chatting away on the latest Quilter In The Gap podcast (so funny!), I cut all the block sashing too, so I am now ready to start the sewing at last.

One thing I must say, cutting up on the kitchen worktop was so much better than hunching over the dining table. OK so you are all saying 'yes obviously, didn't you know?', but I don't think I have ever had to cut so many pieces in one session, and I am so pleased I thought of it before rather than after!

Yesterday I also received the first issue of Modern Quilting in the mail; it's fantastic.

I spent my first flick through saying - "I know her, and her and her", so I felt kind of 'in with the in-crowd', but it really looks like a great magazine, with or without friends in high places.

Look there's Brit Bee Judith D in the scarf!

Hopefully later today I will get the chance to actually read it rather than just grin at all the lovely pictures; who knows, I may even get to make something.

The sun is shining, and I suspect a stroll to get the paper will be in order shortly; Spring is in the air, happy Sunday everyone x

Mouthy Stitches Mailing!!

2012-02-25T13:11:00.000Z

Mouthy pouches are now winging their way all over the globe! OK, sounds like a bit of a big old claim, but it's true!

I sent dear hubby to put this little number and roll of scraps in the mail today, I have seen the receipt, it is not still in the car; so hopefully they will arrive with my partner next week, postal workers willing!

I hate the anxiety of sending things that I have invested so much of myself in; and I will be in a slight state of agitation until I know it is safe in the recipient's hands.

And just to 'up' my blood pressure, Cindy, Susan and I will be anxiously monitoring the whereabouts of almost 100 other pouches! Yes, we went large.

I am so proud to be a Mama in this swap, the purses are all stunning, everyone has made such an incredible effort to tailor their makes to their partner's preferences - it's been a superb!

And as with all swaps, now's the part where we all remember that someone, somewhere really has made something for us too. I don't think I am the only one who forgets about this bit! Despite pretty much staking a claim on all the pouches in the flickr pool, I never quite believe that one really is mine; I'm a bit like our 5 year old girls seeing every singer, actress or pretty lady on TV and saying 'I'm that girl'!

F-ing Friday!

2012-02-24T20:15:00.000Z

I am linking up today with Rhonda and the first quarter mid-term Finish-along and Thank Goodness It's Finally Finished on a Friday... got all that?

Back here, when the New Year was still, um, new, I laid out my first quarter hopes for some long hoped-for finishes...
i) My Brit Bee Constellation quilt,
ii) My Mystery Quilt top, and
iii) My Pips Hexie Cushion.

Well I think you might have noticed that I managed to get the Constellation completed, I've harked on about it enough! Ooh look, here it is again...

I love this quilt so so much, it is on our bed keeping us cozy each night, and it is just such a joy to have finished.

The Mystery Quilt has moved on a teeny bit; I sashed all my blocks, played about a bit, then popped it all back in a box, a couple of times...

OK they really do look in need of a bit of a press, sorry! I hope to get this all finished by the end of the quarter.

And during this weeks' ballet lesson, I managed to complete the hexie panel, which I now need to turn into a cushion cover, pronto...

I am going to have to get myself a new half-hour hobby for those dreaded lessons!

So there you go, I have had some success, and not forgetting that I have made a tonne of new stuff too, and started others things which may well end up featuring in the second quarter.

How have you got on? You can't beat that 'finished feeling' eh!

Well I have to get my Mouthy Stitches parcel all wrapped up this evening, more on that tomorrow after I have laid out all 900 or so pieces that I cut for my Stained quilt, as I know for sure I mislabeled some, and possibly forgot to cut a couple of the others, oh it was a late night!

Time To Cut My...

2012-02-23T19:01:00.000Z

~~Losses~~ Winnings!

Yep, I have finally made up my mind to get cutting for my dear friend Sarah's Stained QAL. I have been pondering fabrics for too long, and today I finally decided to use my Moroccan Mirage FQs that I won from Annabella, courtesy of Julie at the Intrepid Thread.

I don't know if it was because the sun was shining and it was unseasonably warm, or if I just wanted to blow away my grey mood of the last couple of weeks, but the bright colours made me happy today, and now I am raring to go.

So this evening I am going to pop a new blade for my rotary cutter and get down to business.

I really do not enjoy the 'preparation' stage, seeing the fabric pieces getting smaller before they get bigger again seems to contrary to my logical mind, that and it makes my back, hands and head hurt; I am not cut out for manual labour!

Hopefully I will be all chopped and able to catch up with the others soon enough, although some people, naming no names, Ms KC, have finished piecing their tops already!

Thank you...

2012-02-22T16:00:00.000Z

Thank you to everyone who has left a comment or emailed me over the last few days - your kind words have really meant so much to me.

Today went smoothly, peacefully albeit tearfully; another chapter comes to a close xxx

Laying the Foundations...

2012-02-21T20:06:00.001Z

I have ideas above my station. I really want to do this, and I really wouldn't mind a crack at this, and I mustn't forget about this, but for now, I am doing this...

I have dabbled with a Lily's Quilts Big Little George, way more unpicking than should have been allowed, and then Kerry's awesome Winter Woolies, which I managed to piece backwards; so it's back to basics for me before I get to play with the big girls!

Last night I managed my first Courthouse Steps thanks to lovely Katy and her Foundation Paper Piecing for the Terrified! An awesome tutorial, and despite me skin-flinting on my scraps, I got it all to work first time, woo hoo...

Look how tidy the back is too...

I know I should have cut the threads, but I was too excited!

So I am on my way to paper-piecing magnificence! If you are wanting to try paper piecing, or need to get the basics under your belt, why not join in too, Katy is a fab teacher!?

And whilst I have your attention, and if I may be so bold, may I ask for your vote?

I joined my Valentine keyring up with a linky party over at Melissa's Sew Bitter Sweet Designs last week, and in my 'altered mental state' at the time, didn't realise it was for prizes! So now voting is open for the next couple of days, I would love it, if you honestly prefer my non-pink Valentine gift, and felt you could vote for me; thank you. No pressure, but it seems daft not to ask!

My Monday...

2012-02-20T21:26:00.000Z

Whilst my American friends are enjoying another one of their holidays, I had to go back to work today, oh joy.

Still I was greeted by a nice parcel of fabric on my return, so that's my consolation prize.

This was my freebie bundle for subscribing to Mollie Makes; it's only taken about 3 months to turn up and dare I say, contains some fuglies, but they are good size pieces and I love the kettle print, so it's all good.

Well I can't show you what I was mostly working on over the weekend, as it is my entry for the Modern Mini Challenge. It is very different to my usual style, which is causing me to swing from 'total love' to 'not quite sure' on a disturbingly frequent basis; but I am going to go with it, so you'll have to wait until 5th March, sorry chaps.

The only thing, or rather 3, I can show you are these key fobs...

... made with thanks to lovely Kelly, maker of the most awesome sewing machine cover EVER, who kindly sent me some of the hardware which seems to be impossible to get in the UK - these came from a US Etsy seller, and I think I have found my new favourite instant fix!

Well it's going to be a long week, it's my Grandma's funeral on Wednesday, and all the kids' after-school clubs are back in full swing from tomorrow, so please bear with me if I seem a little distracted!

For my sister...

2012-02-19T10:30:00.000Z

I picked up that 1/2 meter of Little Folks voile on sale at Eternal Maker with a plan.

I decided that as I usually send my sister a bag or a purse every year for her birthday, and we always joke how she really doesn't need any more, a break with tradition was finally in order. So an Infinity scarf seemed like a good idea as it is coming to the end of summer in NZ, (although she got sunburnt sailing last weekend, so little sympathy from me right now).

Rejecting flannel, as I wanted something a little lighter weight to mix it with, I pulled out my remaining Oakshott fat eighths and some of the Dead Simple Runner off-cuts, and set to work.

The Oakshotts were perfect as they stop the scarf being too floaty, (that is a good thing in my sister's eyes), giving it a bit more structure in a softer way than regular quilting weight cotton.

I stitched together a small panel of the offcuts to make a stripey section and take the length up to 54" and followed (well sort of) Kerry's post here.

I think I am definitely in need of more Oakshott - which is handy as Lynne has the most awesome giveaway running at the moment over at Lily's Quilts, and my fabric 'kitty' is well and truly depleted at present.

If you are in need of more proof of the greatness of Oakshotts, check out Fiona's recent quilt top, or the Brit Bee masterpiece of Judith's.

I am probably still going to make my sister a coin purse, as I am a traditional kind of girl like that, and I have enough voile left for another scarf for me, win win xxx

Vital Statistics...

2012-02-18T09:10:00.000Z

Do you check your blog stats, maybe your traffic sources and search results?

I know some of you do too, you've mentioned it in the past.

I like to look and see if I am going to top the previous month's total views, (a bit OCD, I know...) and also where 'strangers' have popped in from.

On Tuesday, when I posted the Fugly giveaway result, I noticed a crazy record number of hits; now I knew there weren't that many people waiting to hear if they'd won.

So donning my Sherlock hat...

Gratuitous picture for Annabella!

... I discovered that the Brit Bee Constellation reveal was in overdrive, all down to a pin. Now, I don't know who Michael Wurm is, but he has a lot of Pinterest followers (almost 565,000, can you imagine?!), maybe you are one of them... is he famous?

I feel rather chuffed to be on his Quilts board and the 'likes' and 'repins' are a bit of a morale boost too. Pinterest I heart you, I needed a 'pick me up' and you delivered.

As far as searches go, there seems to be a constant stream heading to the sock owl tutorial from waaaaaaaaaay back, but pretty much every month someone googles 'guns in car trunk' and ends up here, and they're probably rather disappointed! I know that is my fault, because of this post a year ago, but why are people googling it!? And obviously I am over the moon about the hit coming from a 'brown fabric' search this week!

Anyway, nuff 'bout me, did you know Singer have been making sewing machines for over 160 years? Have you seen this special edition beauty...

What fun! xxx

More from me...

2012-02-17T14:21:00.000Z

If you pop over to the Knotted Thread today, you'll find me there as part of Jennifer's Follower Friday series.

I have been bumping into Jennifer over the last few months on flickr and in blogland; she is super lovely and one of the merry band of Mouthy Stitchers too. You must check out this awesome cross-stitch she currently has on the go. Thank you for having me Jennifer x

And for those of you who ~~complained as if it was my fault~~ asked so nicely, you will notice that I have taken off the ridiculous new Blogger word verification; I will keep an eye on the recurrence of spam and see how it goes. Spam-magnet that I am, I have already chosen not to publish a couple of comments that tried to be posted on older posts. NB. when I am back at work, there will be a big old window of unchecked time, so please excuse any random comments that could appear for the worst part of a day.

Finally, here are a pair of purses I whipped up after tea last night for a couple of the girls' friends...

About as simple as it gets!

Now I've just got to finish the ironing mountain, and I am set for the weekend!

Going places...

2012-02-16T08:30:00.000Z

New car, begging to go on a little road trip yesterday, we ended up in Chichester - a treat for me!

I bought fabric! I needed some for a new Bee, I needed some for an idea I'd had for my sister's birthday present and I needed some for my sanity. Eternal Maker to the rescue.

I now have Kei dots, only FQs, so don't shout at me...

I now have some voile, flannel and more herons...

And the postman also finally showed up with my last Christmas present from my sister c/o Amazon...

It looks brilliant, and I am thinking I need to make one of these soon, 20" zipper and all...

Maybe for when I have somewhere to go in June?!

Keyring to his heart...

2012-02-15T09:42:00.000Z

I did make a teeny gift for my Valentine as promised.

Dear husband will be picking up his new (to us) car today, following a bit a motoring disaster last Friday, (totally under the bonnet, nothing dramatic); so to 'celebrate' this mixed blessing, he hinted that some sort of keyring would be in order.

He didn't have to ask twice...

A little piece of Melody Miller typewriter and even some embroidery, simple, but true xxx

Fugly Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T18:50:00.000Z

I know, the prospect of chocolates, flowers, a pretty card or maybe even a sparkly surprise was nothing in comparison to waiting to see if you were going to win some Fugly fabric, right?

I believe quite a lot of the Fugly giveaways were ending today, so without further ado, and not wanting to out-do any of your sweethearts' efforts, the winner of all this fugly fabric...

is...

Number One does win sometimes!!!!!

Yay Janine - I will be in touch shortly!

Apologies(?) to all those who escaped this time, please sleep easy, safe in the knowledge that I am not planning to do this again any time soon!

Thank you Lucy for hosting such a fantastic gathering of fuglies - it was fun seeing what grotters other people had too, and I even resisted trying to win everything on offer for once!

God Save The Queen...

2012-02-13T08:30:00.000Z

OK, not really a Royalist, but when thinking what I could put together quickly this weekend, and following on from my Jubilee Going There bag, I plumped for a Union Jack!

Inspired by this purse I saw in Cath Kidston the other week, and having claimed 'I can make one of those', it was time to put my money where my mouth was...

This one measures up at 6"x 8", uses a few of my prized Denyse Schmidt scraps, East of India heart ribbon, shell buttons and some shocking pink lining, and I am in love with it!

It's not perfect, but it's mine! Now I really do need to think of something to make for Valentine's Day and my sister's birthday, probably should have thought about those before, oops.

London baby, yeah!

2012-02-12T08:50:00.000Z

Well as I am going to go to London in June, I better take a bag, well probably 3, but I'll start with this one!

Sewing is definitely good therapy; I really needed to just get my head down and make something on Thursday; so with my lovely Christmas present Echino and my Noodlehead Go Anywhere Tote pattern, it was thankfully a no-brainer!

I found this pattern easier than the 241 Tote. Due to the heavier weight of the Kokka linen, I didn't need to add interfacing to every piece, and there are no tight curves to negotiate. My only gripe was turning through of the handles, (far superior brains than mine would know why this method is better than just folding and double folding), my fingers just aren't that strong, but I coped.

So this isn't just a 'Go Anywhere' tote, this is a 'Going there' tote!! Woo hoo!

PS. Things are starting to hot up over at the FQ London 2012 flickr group; if you are heading to the Retreat, make sure you join up and don't miss out; there's a Secret Name Badge swap to currently sign up for, a Fat Quarter swap to start thinking about and much much more.

Snow!

2012-02-11T08:30:00.000Z

Yesterday, after the disappointment of last weekend, waking up to an Inset Day like this was the perfect start to the Half Term holidays...

It may not have been knee-deep, but it did the job nicely!

I'll be back tomorrow with some more snowy shots of my latest make. In the meantime, thank you all so much for your kind words and support over the last couple of days; you have once again proven the wonderful spirit of our blogging friendships xxx

Modern Mini Challenge Blog Hopper!

2012-02-10T07:17:00.000Z

Today I am thrilled, and quite frankly rather scared, to be linking up as part of Jennifer's wonderful Modern Mini Challenge Blog Hop. This is the first time I have taken up an offer to join in a blog hop; there must have been some New Year bravado in the water when I said 'Yes'! The rest of the bloggers on this tour are so inspirational and talented, I am hoping that some of their magic will rub off on me by association.

Anyhoo, if you have come over from Jennifer's for the first time, or if you are a regular stalwart, 'Hello and Welcome', please be kind.

The mini quilts I have to show you have been inspired by Boo Davis of Quiltsryche. She's brilliant!

Her 'Two Heads Are Better Than One' pattern was the basis for the mini quilt I made for Sarah. The pieces are all 1.5" x 2.5", or 1.5" square, and its as much about the counting as the sewing. I love the simple method and the great effect it produces...

I made another Boo Davis-inspired mini as a Giveaway prize for my owl-loving, pod-casting friend Rhonda.

This has more variation in the piece sizes, but follows the same principle.

My dear friend Cindy also made me this awesome mug rug; again you can see the method in the madness...

If you find comfort in straight lines and love using up tiny scraps, then this style could be one for you.

Here is a brief overview of the process that anyone, who can cut and sew a straight line, can achieve...

First find an image and then using any photo-manipulator, such as online freebee Picnik (if you are quick), 'pixelate', to get you from...

...to this...

Print out and divide up your picture into the individual pieces you want to cut, working out how many of each size and colour you require, the choice is really yours...

Pull your scraps and then get cutting...

Once all the pieces are laid out, make sure to take lots of photos, as something always happens, especially if you sew on the dining table as I do, where pieces tend to go astray with regularity! Now if I had the benefit of time and space, I would have pondered over the layout of this one for far longer than I did...

Next, it's helpful to grid out the separate groups of blocks you need to piece; it's at this point you have the last chance to alter any of the layout in order to be able to join everything together easily; I am no friend of the Y-seam.

Then it's onto the sewing. A 1/4" foot is pretty much essential! It will come together really quickly, so crank the iron up to hot (press your seams open) and get going...

When selecting my backing for this one, the selvedge was simply SCREAMING to be used; I love it when that happens!

Et voila...

This one turned out a little more abstract than I was hoping, but I really like it! The twins' reaction, "Oh a beautiful sewing machine mummy!" My son's, "What is it again?". You win some, you lose some.

I am in no way an expert and I know my method is a little haphazard, but I hope this at least gives you an insight into another style suited to mini quilt making which you may, or may not, like to try.

Thank you Jennifer for organizing such a fantastic blog hop and awesome competition; I can't wait to get started on my Challenge entry!

And to anyone-else who has made it to the end of this post, thank you so much x

Fondest Farewell...

2012-02-09T08:16:00.000Z

5th November 1921 - 8th February 2012

xxx

To every action...

2012-02-08T11:40:00.000Z

... there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Yesterday I offered you fuglies, (if you are feeling really brave, look here...).

Today I get to show you the beautiful fabric that I am going to keep...

You can't argue with science, or Brenda at Pink Castle x

Fugly Scrap Giveaway!

2012-02-07T12:37:00.001Z

***The Giveaway Is Now Closed***

I am linking up with Lucy in an attempt to rid myself of my fugly scraps with a clear conscience!

There is something inherently wrong in throwing away fabric, no matter how truly awful it is, and this little lot has been languishing here far too long. These are proper fuglies, none of that 'I will never get round to using it' or 'I liked it at the time' nonsense! A few came from swaps, and are just so 'not me' but mostly pot-luck scrap bag purchases; do not judge me!

I tried to make them look pretty!

If you leave a comment, you are in with a chance of winning, no matter where in the world you are. If you 'win' I will track you down even if your comment is a blatant 'no thank you!' Your only escape will be if you are a no-reply blogger!

I have no idea what any of it is, so don't ask; on the flip side, if you can name any of the lines, I really would keep quiet!

I will close the giveaway at 6pm (GMT) Tuesday 14th February. Call it a twisted Valentine's present!

Disclaimer: I cannot and will not be held responsible in any way, shape or form, for the horrors you may create with these fabrics, or the psychological damage that will be inflicted on the recipient. You enter this giveaway at your own risk.

Just not me!

2012-02-06T19:38:00.000Z

February's Brit Bee package was eagerly awaited from Jennie. Jennie is an architect, so what would it be? Cute wonky house blocks? Or maybe something more structural like Jacquie's awesome Building Bridges? Oh no no no no. Jennie wanted faces, and not any old faces, the Bee's (old) faces!

My reaction? And I quote, "WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

This is Ms Feb's inspiration; as far as I know, none of Brit Bee sport a beard!

I was not happy. I really hate having my photo taken, and the thought of having my face on a quilt, I find quite frankly disturbing! I am not good at doing arty-art. Graphics, straight lines, angles, block colour, I can do that, portraits, no.

But it's Jennie's month; so desperate not to be defeated, and in my usual manner of charging ahead, (no pun intended!), I found one of the only decent pictures of me not in a wedding dress and wearing a tiara, and got to work.

Jennie had suggested using Photoshop, but I don't have that; hubby is the whiz, and that's the way we like it, so I headed online instead. For now Picnic is the place to go, (there are other sites, so come April, should any of you crazies want to replicate this later in the year, you will be able to find an alternative).

Uploading my picture, clicking on the 'Posterize' effect changed me from this...

Bar Il Molo, Varenna, Lake Como, Italy. I recommend the pizza!

...to this...

Much better!

Then I headed from a point where my 'comfort zone' was already a distant memory, to somewhere decidedly downhill and around the corner from there. I had to get the image to a fabric block.

Enter freezer paper, Bondaweb and lots and lots of swearing.

I printed the image onto the freezer paper, cut out the fewest number of pieces possible and then ironed them onto corresponding black, cream and white cotton. Cutting all the tricky curves, making sure that the pieces were all going to overlap a little and go back together was tricky enough.

Top tip and the benefit of hindsight - fellow Bees, if you are using Bondaweb, iron it to the back of the fabric BEFORE you cut out your face out. Trying to attach (old crumpled) Bondaweb to small pieces without ruining your new iron, only leads to ruining your ironing board cover instead; trust me, I know.

Frustration! These were heading for the bin, but I calmed down enough to flatten them out and proceed.

So then I reassembled my face as best as I could and pressed it all into place. Jennie wanted a background that represented each of us... what else could I do!?

To this point, NO SEWING. That was not right. I had to sew something! So on to the transformation into Bride of Frankenstein!

It was whilst using my machine's applique stitch that I managed to sew right through my left index finger, rendering the air blue, needle unusable and an abrupt end to a rather frustrating day!

It is now a nice shade of purple!

But the block is now complete and ready to post back to Jennie, and it'll either give her a fright or a very good laugh...

I tried. I learnt many things, my children learnt new words, I don't think I'll be doing do it again!

I can't wait to see what the rest of the Britain's Most Wanted quilt looks like!

Mouthy Pouch!

2012-02-05T12:00:00.000Z

Well let's just ignore this scene of disappointment shall we...

... and I'll show you something far more satisfying!

So for my partner, wannabee partners and other interested parties, I am pleased to present my Mouthy Stitches Zippy Pouch...

1" HSTs

1/2" HSTs

I will add a split-ring and clip before posting.

Magnetic snap.

Lined outer pocket.

To say that I was feeling the pressure as a Swap Mama is an understatement! I had an idea where I wanted this to go, but I was really winging it the whole way. I must admit that I wasn't keeping to any particular size; it turned out very approximately 9"x7".

I really hope my partner is happy with this after all the build up; I am just pleased that I was able to make something, without a pattern, that looks better in reality than it did in my head.

I just need to go check out my partner's mosaic again, as I think I may have ended up as a bit of a deviant!

Flaps!

2012-02-04T20:10:00.000Z

Today I finished my Mouthy Stitches pouch!!

But as it was dark by the time I finished, you will just have to make do with a few in-progress 'flap shots' for tonight...

As you can see, I had a total about-face and plumped for a lime zip and lining, in reality far zingier than the photos. Sorry partner, if you are looking in and had your heart set on one of the earlier choices, but going off at a total tangent is a Mama's prerogative, (well any maker's to be honest); I played for ages and these really did look the best, trust me.

I am hoping that when I wake up, to a beautiful crisp white vista tomorrow, I will be able to get some lovely bright pictures to show the purse off in full. Should the snow, that is now gently falling, not come to much, I will attempt to do my best with a background of disappointed children and redundant sledges.

How about a little bit of sewing!?

2012-02-03T16:29:00.000Z

Seems like ages since I showed you something new!

One of the girls' teachers will be going on maternity leave at the end of next week, so I thought it was only right that I inflict my crafty makings on a new generation. Although this is the teacher that I help at school, I don't know her that well, and certainly not enough to make anything as full blown as a quilt.

According to the school gate Mums, Mum-to-be doesn't know the sex of the baby, so that didn't help, so I settled on a taggie cloth in bright colours...

This was the first time I have used Minky, and I was pleasantly surprised; a lot of pins were used to avoid slippage, and I think it turned out OK.

I love the Riley Blake ribbon, which accompanied an order from Quilty Pleasures ages ago, and the rest were just knocking about. The Minky was pre-cut at 30cms/12" squares, a great size for this quick project.

I may have gone a little overboard with securing the ribbons in place, but better to be safe than sorry!

There has also been a little progress on my Mouthy Stitches purse, I have made the front and the back pocket panel (definitely not as wonky as the pictures imply)...

Having thrown a couple of colour options out there to 'my partner', I only went and found a great button which may, or may not decide my final choices for the zipper and lining anyway.

Hopefully I will get a nice bit of sewing in this weekend, and I need to start work on my guest post for next Friday's Modern Mini Challenge. The nerves are starting to kick in!

PS. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!! Please x

You wash, I'll dry...

2012-02-02T14:56:00.000Z

But not with these!

I was given the opportunity recently to receive a couple of tea towels from All Tea Towels, and I am NEVER one to say 'no' to cool free stuff, especially of the fabric variety.

I know, I should have ironed them!

Now I enjoy drying up as much as the next person, so I am going to have to make alternative plans for these.

I am thinking of using the Brew Up as a backing for a mini-quilt, maybe as part of the Modern Mini Challenge, and I am toying with the idea of chopping up the superb Creamola one for a purse or two. I chose the latter as it immediately reminded me of two of my fellow Brit Bees, Sarah and Fiona (but don't tell them that I like the logo far more than the actual drink!!).

I had a quick Google and came across some wonderful ideas too including these tea towel bags and drawstring bags.

The linen is such great quality, it almost seems a shame to not simply frame them and put them on the kitchen wall.

Al, who is based in Northern Ireland, sent these so quickly after I narrowed down my choice, I would have no qualms about going back as a paying customer. Please pop over and have a look at the amazing selection he has in stock.

Here are a few of my other favourites...

Can you imagine turning the Tunnocks wrapper design into a whole quilt top!?

New Year Stars!

2012-02-01T08:25:00.000Z

Well as is customary, pinch punch, first of the month and time to link up with Lynne and all the Fresh Sewing ladies (and gents?).

So after the manic end to 2011, I spent the best part of January 2012 working on big quilts, and it has been wonderful.

My Brit Bee Constellation quilt has got to be my favourite finish ever, I have gushed thanks and posted many many pictures here, but never one to miss the chance of posting another picture, or two...

Then there was my Cherry Star; made using rainbow swap charms and buoyed on by Chelsea's QAL, this is already a chilly-day/night favourite!

There were also some Brit Bee and Bee Blessed blocks for Judith...

And of course the start of the Mouthy Stitches zippy pouch swap...

I also made it to the final 8 of the completely brilliant Quokka Quilt's Blogger's Choice, which I am really proud of...

I think that can be counted as a pretty good start to the New Year, and February is already looking like it is going to be a bit of a Leap Year bonanza!

I hope 2012 has started how you mean it to go on too x

The Modern Mini Challenge...

2012-01-31T20:18:00.000Z

You must have heard about this one...

I am so thrilled to have been asked to be involved in the Modern Mini Challenge.

"This is your opportunity to try something new, something fun, something on a small scale. Take that big idea and give it a try in mini form."

Here are the main details:

6th-19th February...
Weeks 1 & 2: Inspiration Weeks.
Modern Mini Challenge Blog Hop. Bloggers share their modern minis and kick-start your creativity. Get inspired, get creative, get those ideas flowing!

20th Feb-4th March...
Weeks 3 & 4: Sew. Sew. Sew!
Work on those minis and create your Modern Mini Challenge piece.

5th - 9th March...
Week 5: Enter the Contest!
Link up your Modern Mini Challenge piece at Ellison Lane Quilts. Voting begins that week and winners are announced on March 9th!

5 winners will be chosen as follows:

James’ choice Jennifer's husband chooses his favorite.
Viewer’s choice Mug Rug & Viewer’s choice Mini Quilt The viewers choose from a selection chosen by Jennifer and three other bloggers.
Luck of the Draw Random Number Generator chooses 2 winners.

So what are those fabulous five prizes? Hold on to your hats!

Both Viewer’s Choice Winners will receive a fat quarter bundle of the FULL LINE of Flea Market Fancy reprint by Denyse Schmidt. Oh boy!!!!
James’ Choice Winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop
Both Luck of the Draw Winners will receive a $75 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop

A special thank you goes to Kimberly for generously sponsoring all five of the fabulous prizes.

It kicks off next week with the Modern Mini Challenge Blog Hop and this amazing line-up (and me!):

6 Feb: Stitchery Dickory Dock
7 Feb: Fairy Face Designs & Amy's Creative Side
8 Feb: Lily's Quilts
9 Feb: Patchwork Notes
10 Feb: Don't Call Me Betsy & Flying Blind on a Rocket Cycle
11 Feb: Sukie, Don't You Know Who I Am?
12 Feb: Freshly Pieced
13 Feb: From the Blue Chair & Poppy Makes
14 Feb: Needles, Pins & Baking Tins
15 Feb: Mon Petit Lyons & Felicity Quilts
16 Feb: LR Stitched & Random Thoughts Do or Di
17 Feb: Life's Rich Pattern & Twin Fibers
18 Feb: Cut to Pieces & Sew Sweetness
19 Feb: Swim Bike Quilt

To say I am a little anxious about being in such esteemed company is an understatement!

And just so you can't say nobody told you, here are the all important Contest Requirements:

1. Create a modern mini quilt or mug rug - only one entry per person.
2. Enter your mini quilt or mug rug in the linky party at Ellison Lane Quilts on Monday, March 5. You do NOT have to have a blog to enter. You may link a picture from your Flickr account.
3. Your entry (blog post or Flickr description) should include the size of the item.

Here's the button, you always need a button!

Star light, star bright!

2012-01-30T13:00:00.000Z

I told you that I had completed the Cherry Star top...

Well then I went ahead and finished the whole blanket...

I'm opting for 'blanket' rather than quilt, as it has a simple dark grey fleecy backing, and minimal quilting just to keep it all in place. I sewed it up, right sides together and turned through.

I top-stitched just under 1/4" around the edge in dark grey, and outlined the star the same way. Simple, but effective. This is for the times when we, or rather I, really want to snuggle down and be cozy.

Without batting, it is really light, especially compared to the whopper Constellation! But it is beautifully warm, I know, I sat under it yesterday evening and it was great.

So, do you like the background? Be honest. I know it won't be to everyone's taste, but I love love love it! Its an IKEA classic which I had been waiting to use. I sort of envisaged counting the stars in the sky, and it made me smile as soon as I auditioned it.

Thanks must go out to Chelsea for running the Made In Cherry QAL, it focused my mind on using my rainbow charms on a superb pattern that I had pinned as soon as I saw it; and I am, once again, surprised and thrilled with how it turned out.

I think I normally play things a little too safe; so much time, effort and expense is usually being invested for me to risk making a big old faux-pas by getting all adventurous. But I want to change that, and make things I will love, and reflect the look I really want to be creating, not just making the things I know will look OK from the outset. Does that make sense? First attempt, I will deem a success.

So onto my Mouthy Stitches partner, who will also receive a leap of faith, with 3/4" finished HSTs. I wasn't too sure I could pull it off, but Lucy's excellent and timely use of the brilliant method from Elizabeth 'Oh Fransson!' for piecing small squares set me on the right route.

I can confirm that it worked a treat; I won't talk you through it, the original does that way better than I can, but all you need to know is that I gridded some light-weight iron-on interfacing with 1.5" squares, pressed on my trimmed HSTs and off I went...

I really hope my partner likes the Cherry Star off-spring panel, otherwise this Mama will happily keep it! xxx

It would have been stupid not to...

2012-01-29T17:25:00.000Z

We went to Bluewater yesterday, having left the kiddies at my parents. That meant being able to go into shops that sell 'breakables', lunch with dear husband and going to John Lewis.

John Lewis made me buy brown fabric! I needed buttons and a magnetic snap, I bought buttons, (but not for the original project), bobbins, ribbon and fabric. Lots of fabric!

It wasn't my fault, they were selling Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow at £5.10/m (c. $7US/yd), that's half price!

5 meters found their way into my basket, but it was too good an offer for me to resist.

I am now re-thinking my Swoon and Stained fabrics, and a few other projects I have in mind too.

Tomorrow I promise you colours-galore, and touch-wood, a Cherry Star finish. The top is now complete - and I am hoping to get the fleece backing on this evening.

Monday is an Inset day, so the kids and I are planning a pyjama day!

On Brown...

2012-01-28T21:50:00.000Z

I think it is time I set the record straight on 'brown'.

Having pulled Rhonda's leg about Mouthy Stitches being an all brown swap, this colour has taken a bashing within the group, and although I will immediately say to anyone who asks, that I dislike, even HATE brown fabric, there are obviously exceptions to the rule.

So just to prove that I do not think all brown is evil, here are some of the fabulous few which I love...

Denyse Schmidt

Joel Dewberry

Lotta Jansdotter

Etsuko Furuya

Of course you need to know where I get this, perhaps irrational, phobia from. Look at this selection I spotted on eBay this evening, with a quick search for 'brown fabric'...

Help, my eyes! These are my idea of what I could be given if I didn't claim to hate brown, f'ugly is not adequate, these are hideous, and maybe they wouldn't be any better in any other colour, but the brown just tips me over the edge. I cannot take the risk!

If you are not feeling queasy enough, these (in my humble opinion) are the ultimate crime against fabric...

These should be banned!

I apologise if you are not of the same nervous disposition and have a love of the brown batik, please hoard and enjoy your precious stash and never EVER share it with anyone as narrow-minded and opinionated as me!

Which leads me nicely onto... Marmite is the ultimate brown!

When I said my Cherry Star background fabric was going to be 'marmite', I meant that some will love it, (I hope), but I expect some people to hate/not get my choice, but I am prepared for that!

If you have never looked at the Marmite website, then do, I think it explains exactly why this is such an apt analogy! I hate marmite too xxx

Back tomorrow with less attitude, and photos of today's purchases, damn and thank you John Lewis!

Feelgood Friday...

2012-01-27T22:40:00.000Z

I have so many Thank You emails and replies to send, so I have to make this quick! (2 Explores in a week - has the world gone crazy?).

Today's mail included these...

Do you want my twisted logic? Goldfish - stupid money (but I love them too much), doggies - not so much; 2 FQs, add them together, a good price for a 1/2 yard (well, sort of!). And I have used way more than a 1/2 yard of stash so far this year! I got mine here.

This evening I turned these...

... into HSTs for my Mouthy Stitches partner; they still need to be trimmed, but that's a job for tomorrow, after a trip to Bluewater.

I started cutting the background fabric for the Cherry Star... but more on that over the weekend.

I also got my first Fat Quarterly on Subscription - thank you Mum & Dad (if you knew I had a blog!), there are so many awesome things to make, and Kerry has made me so want a teapot!

And finally, check this out! Be chuffed Bee ladies xxx

Taking a break...

2012-01-26T20:23:00.000Z

... but only from the sewing machine for today!!

The plan was that all the kids were heading off to their friends' house for tea after school, and I would have 3 or 4 hours uninterrupted sewing after work. However a tummy bug is working its magic throughout school, and the tea had to be cancelled as one of said friends was incapacited!

Hey ho, the 'marmite' will wait, so to speak!

So I only got a brief few quiet minutes to concentrate on my Mouthy Stitches swap.

I posted this 'basic' purse/pouch sketch in the group pool yesterday, and it seems to have gone down a treat; so I pulled 48 of the Cherry Star charm off-cuts, ready to be made into the mini HSTs.

I am hoping my secret partner is up for some scrappy magic!

Cherry Star...

2012-01-25T20:46:00.001Z

Today, having made a couple of dozen paper dragons at school for Chinese New Year, I dusted off the glitter, came home and got cracking on my Made In Cherry.

The star pieces are complete...

I am 99% pleased with how this has turned out; with 220 different fabrics, I reckon there are 2 or 3 squares that should have been moved a little or swapped out, but without a design wall, minimal natural light and only having space to make it in 'quarters', I am actually surprised it worked so well!

It is completely inspired by the fantastic Kati, thank you Kati; if you want to see colour graduation in a different league, please pop over and take a look at here, and here!

I have a bit of a 'different' idea for the background fabric of this 60"x60" quilt using some great fabric I bought last year.

I will hopefully get that sorted tomorrow; it might be a bit marmite, (love it or hate it, no in-between!), but I am determined it will look exactly how I was hoping, especially with its fleecy backing and minimal quilting, I need a bit of minimal quilting!

Not-so Bleak Mid-WInter...

2012-01-24T21:48:00.000Z

Time to link back all those successes from my Winter Stitching Plans posted way back here in October.

It was a huge and hopeful list, which I have been keeping up to date as you can see via that link over on the left. But I thought it would still be nice to round up with pictures and see everything in one place...

1. Present for my Grandma's 90th birthday in November.

2. Man quilt for dear husband's birthday in November.

3. Sonic Screwdriver case for sonny boy's birthday in November.

4. Something pretty for the girls' birthdays in November.

5. Something for my Dad's birthday in December.

6. 7 change trays commissioned by Mum's friends for Christmas.

7. Duo QAL runner for Christmas at home.

8. Matching Ayumi organizer basket.

9. Another grand crafting gesture for our Christmas home!

10. Dead Simple table cloth for Mum & Dad's Christmas present.

11. Zip pouches/pencil cases galore for Christmas, including Mum, sister and teachers. Well the teachers missed out, but there was the Brit Bee and Work Secret Santas, Sew Mama Sew giveaway day and myself to add in, plus a Kindle case, with no zip!

12. Finish my Mystery Quilt. It's now on my Finish-along list!

13. Learn to paper-piece properly and use my Kerry pattern(s) many times. Not 'mastered' or 'many' times yet - I want to be on Kerry's masterclass at Fat Quarterly Retreat for sure.

14. A Rainbow charm quilt. Made in Cherry QAL current project.

15. A Denyse Schmidt quilt. Possible Swoon, after the Made In Cherry!

16. A Little Apples confetti quilt. Bumped down the list, but will happen.

17. Complete my Brit Bee quilt (November Queen Bee). Oh yeah!

18. Stay up to date with the Bee blocks.

19. Use all those hexies I have been mass producing! Almost pieced for a cushion top, and on my Finish-along list too.

20. Make at least one item a month from my crafty book collection. I have amended this to 'book, magazine or pattern collection', ie. anything I have paid good money with the intent to use! Not sure on the timings, but 3 makes in 3 months so far.

Mollie Makes

Keyka Lou pattern

Modern Blocks book

21. Make at least one more 241 Tote. I need this one done by mid-February for my sister's birthday.

22. Seat cushion cover for hubby. He did get a cushion for Christmas though!

23. Be a New Year Swap Mama!

24. Run a Brit Fabric swap. No hurry, I want to do something a bit different.

25. Lose weight, a lot of weight! Ahem, it's been Christmas!

There was a lot of 'felt' action too, and some other bits and bobs I didn't put on the list, so I reckon I've made a good start!

I am hoping to tick off the rest of the list, or at least a good proportion of them, by the end of the Winter sewing season.

How about you, how have you been getting on? Off now to check out all my sewing compadres over with Sarah @ Fairy Face Designs.

And In The Green Corner...

2012-01-23T21:42:00.000Z

I promise to keep it short this evening, as I seem to have rather a lot of comments from both here and flickr to respond to!! Thank you all for all the wonderful compliments, I owe everything to the awesome Brit Bee ladies xxx

So not content with just an fantastic finish yesterday, I started trimming my Made In Cherry charms to 3.5", and pieced one corner...

I have actually pieced a second corner this evening, but no photos yet. You like?

Right, I need to get replying and put in some stalking hours for the Mouthy Stitches Swap - I have a few ideas, and I just want to see if they are heading in the right direction before dipping my toe in the flickr pool.

PS. I didn't place in the Quokka Quilts final selection, nor did any of the MS ladies which was a double shame, but still, a wonderful feeling to get so far.

PPS. I'll be back tomorrow with my 'Winter Stitching Plans' update, linking back with Sarah and the Fairy Face followers, how have you got on?

You asked for pictures...

2012-01-22T19:47:00.001Z

I will give you pictures!!

Possibly way too many pictures of one quilt, but as I am so totally over the moon with it, and as you keep on asking, I think that I am not going too overboard!

I was out in the garden at 8am in my dressing gown and wellies as it was dry and bright, and who knew what the weather would be doing after a quick wash and tumble (the quilt, not me!)...

Once crinkled, very nicely, I tried some indoor shots...

And finally I roped in dear husband to get the sunny ones at the end...

I can't thank all my tremendous Brit Bee friends enough for making the mega-blocks, they look so completely amazing all together, thank you, thank you, thank you!

And I could never have made this without clever-cloggs Katy Jones xxx

Finer details for those interested in such things...
Quilt design: based on Katy Jones' Constellation quilt from Fat Quarterly issue 5.
Prints: Momo 'Just Wing It', Kate Spain 'Central Park' and some scraps from here, there and everywhere.
Background solid: Klona Teal.
Binding: Joel Dewberry 'Herringbone' in Aqua.
Quilting: Straight line machine at 3/4" intervals using Gutermann cotton (7325), echo quilting one star from top left outwards (does that make sense?).
Size: 72"x72"

Did I mention that I completely love it?

Thank you Harrison Ford et al...

2012-01-21T22:17:00.000Z

Before I had even got showered and dressed this morning, I had trimmed and attached the binding to the Constellation quilt, and decided that the drizzle outside would make a wonderful excuse for a film-laden afternoon for everyone after a very early lunch!

Look how much thread I had left!! Thankfully I bought another reel yesterday 'just in case'!

Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom followed by Jurassic Park III and I am completely over the moon as the Constellation quilt is finished!!!

I love it so much; it has turned out a million times more amazing than I ever envisaged when I cut all those charms for the wonderful Brit Bee ladies back in October.

I will get some photos first thing in the morning so you can see it in its full glory tomorrow!

This evening I also fulfilled the day's Mouthy Stitches duties and flickr-mailed 'my' third of the wonderful swappers with their partner details, a whole week earlier than we had anticipated so now I can get stalking my partner too. Let the zippy times roll!

Oh That Friday Feeling!

2012-01-20T21:03:00.000Z

*** Warning***

***This post contains excessive exclamation marks***

I have had a great start and end to Friday; the middle bit we'll just skip over if that's OK!

Cryptic emails from Lynne and Ceri first thing this morning lead me here. I can't believe it!!!

So I had to tell my twinnie Sarah, then Ella and I swapped congratulatory messages too - 4 out of the 8 Quokka Quilt/Fat Quarter Shop Blogger's Choice finalists are Mouthy Stitchers!!!!

I am so proud to be in such amazing company, and the odds are I will know one of the 3 winners. I am trying not to think about it now, but obviously failing dismally; I don't know when the winners will be announced so this is a cruel, but exciting wait!

Work mornings don't usually start better than that!

And now I have finally finished quilting the Constellation and made the binding!!

I have to trim off the excess batting and straighten up the edges, those long, long edges, and get this baby bound this weekend - and that makes me so happy too.

So if my pretty dismal week can be turned around by material things, then so be it - Happy Weekend everyone.

PS. Mouthy Stitchers, I think I have my group almost matched xxx

How do you cheer up an old bag?

2012-01-19T21:02:00.000Z

Send her a bag!

I have been having a bad week at work, and trying not to let it show, my brain is aching from the Mouthy Stitches spreadsheets and my shoulders are aching from quilting the Constellation (almost done!); so when I got home this afternoon to a little red postman note telling me the neighbours were holding a package for me, I was kind of excited!

But not as excited as I was to find this...

Lovely Sarah, of Chic Quilt Geek posted here about some rather gorgeous vintage sheet market bags she had made, and of course I told her that the pink one was particularly awesome, so guess what, she sent it to me!!!!!!

I love it - and wasted no time in letting Sarah know!

Sarah is not only super generous and makes beautiful things, she spends a little too much time popping over to the States for business in my opinion, but does run a rather brilliant looking online shop, Sarah's Cards Ltd. If you dabble in cardmaking, scrapbooking and the like, I reckon you should take a look at all the lovely things she has in stock. I seriously feel another crafty outlet trying to take over the last minutes of my spare time!!

So I now have a smile on my face, and it's time for Mad Dogs, so I'm off xxx

Day Off...

2012-01-18T13:57:00.000Z

Today I am blogging early as I am on my day off, not helping at school, but not sure I will have the energy to blog tonight as I am exhausted already and still have the school-ballet-Beavers runarounds to look forward to!

I have already re-sealed the bath, sewn on a Beaver's badge, done 2 loads of washing, quilted a little more of the Constellation (such hard work!), and made this...

The old zipper tabs are not so technically perfect, but it used some of my stash and has a much needed purpose, so that's good enough for me. It measures up about 10.5" square, and is a pretty nifty size for a storage pouch.

I used some of my old Kokka Matryoshkas, lined it with the same Klona Teal as the Constellation and uses one of my new 9" zippers.

And this is my current view...

I am sorting the charms required for my Made In Cherry, and making the most of the floor before the kids get home, so can't stop, must get back on my knees xxx

Resolved to Sew!

2012-01-17T21:39:00.000Z

OK, my turn.

As I have mentioned before, 2012 is the year that I use up more fabric than I buy. I have to say now though, that excludes the 15 yards of Flea Market Fancy I have pre-ordered, because that would just make the whole thing impossible, and FMF doesn't count as just fabric, it is something way more!

Anyway, after the Constellation is complete, (I am resting this evening, suffering from Quilter's Shoulders!), I already have planned the Made In Cherry QAL which will use the best part of the 3 Rainbow Charm swaps from last year and Sarah's Stained QAL which I am currently alternating between my Moroccan Mirage winnings from Annabella/Julie at The Intrepid Thread, or my Robert Zingone Stockholm bundle courtesy of Katy.

Then I am going to Swoon with my Denyse Schmidt Sugar Creek FQs, not to mention the Little Apples quilt on my Winter Sewing Plans List.

Now that sounds like a plan if ever I had one; I will not have time to buy any fabric (ahem!), never alone make anything else if I accomplish all those!

I am linking this little 'set up for a fall' with Ali's super-duper Resolved to Sew Giveaway just to crank up the pressure to succeed a little more!

Have you Resolved to Sew yet?

Hello... now be off with you!

2012-01-16T20:34:00.000Z

OK, I only have two things to impart to you this fine evening, as I have only buried a few threads in the Constellation since we last met and I can't hang about, I have stuff to do, swappers to sort!

If you haven't heard already, over at Very Berry Handmade this evening, 'The Resolved to Sew 2012 Giveaway' has just launched, and there's a list of prizes that only a crazy fool could ignore, including these...

10 Erin McMorris FQs from Backstitch

...or a £40 voucher for Fancy Moon - can't decide which is my favorite!

All you have to do is comment over at Ali's for one chance to win, or blog on the theme of 'Resolved to Sew' and post a link in your comment for 2 chances. I, for one, will be posting a little something here as my double-chance entry tomorrow, and I think maybe you should too.

If you are not familiar with Ali and her wonderful makes, tutes and Sunday night low-down on UK fabric shops and crucially their current bargains, then I think you should rectify that immediately!

Secondly, could all Mouthy Stitchers who have not yet posted their mosaics or sign up forms please do so by Wednesday; we would like to get onto the fun part, allocating partners. Those who requested an invite to take part should hear from one of the Mama's this evening, and those who want to be members, but not take part in this round should be able to join the group from Thursday, if we can get the books to balance!

Off you go!

Sunday Views...

2012-01-15T20:03:00.000Z

Today I saw a little of this...

...and a lot of this...

Constellation is now a quarter quilted; the totally frustrating, awkward and downright difficult quarter, the rest will be time-consuming but a doddle in comparison. I would like to be sat here, this time next week, hand finishing the binding; I am looking forward to that bit!

Saturday Stuff!

2012-01-14T21:47:00.000Z

Remember I mentioned getting zippers for Mouthy Stitches from Zipit; well I ordered a bundle of 25 on Monday, and they arrived all the way from the US of A this morning - how's that for amazing service and a round of applause for the postal service on both sides of the ocean!!

I bought 9" zips this time; my Christmas purses were all made with 7"s, which were totally fine, but I would like the option of going a little larger, and also reducing the chance of stitching over those needle-breaking metal bits, which has to be a bonus!

I can't wait until all preliminaries are completed for the swap, so Susan, Cindy and I can get matching then bring on the making!

After the posty, we went out and dropped the kiddies off for a MacDonalds birthday party, so hubby and I got to have lunch together without the children for about the 3rd time in a year!! I also got a lovely long grey sleeveless cardigan in the White Stuff sale and a few other bits and bobs, so that was a result.

Then this evening I started to quilt the Constellation! Last night I basted the beast - almost managing to match all edges perfectly. By the time the binding goes on I may lose a few edge star points, but I don't think that will matter in the scale of things. The bit I have started quilting is very hard going, but it will get easier, just not for a few more days. I think I will keep you in suspenders until it is all done, then reveal my mad and difficult quilty vision, but so far it's looking good!

Hope you are having a good weekend, it's turning out to be 'snuggle on the sofa with a quilt' weather round these parts, and tomorrow I will willingly oblige!

T'other side...

2012-01-13T18:32:00.000Z

I just had to haul the second side of the Constellation quilt out into the sunshine again today. I took photos yesterday, and they all came out looking a little flat, so here you have the side with all the little stars...

I love it; I completely forgot to look at the real pattern for this side, I got a bit carried away after making the siggy stars.

So now comes the grovelling about on the floor stage, spray in hand, and a few pins for matching the centre blocks. I bought my thread for the quilting during the week, so this weekend I hope to make headway on that.

Can't go without mentioning Mouthy Stitches - if you have signed up but not completed the form for this round, please could you pop over now and complete it, or let us know you are a voyeur only, and as soon as all the mosaics are uploaded, we will be able to fill any spaces and commence the matching process. Remember it is not a straight swap - ie. 2 people making for each other, we will be matching one person for you to make for, and also one mystery person to make for you! Fun, fun, fun!

Constellation Side One...

2012-01-12T14:45:00.000Z

I pieced the Brit Bee Constellation yesterday.

The first side, between playing Snap at school, and going back to retrieve the small folk, and the other after they had hit the sack, all tired out from Ballet and Beavers.

So today I give you the sunshine pictures of Side One...

Doesn't it look awesome - I really cannot thank the Brit Bee ladies and Katy Jones enough for making this one what it is!

This baby is also huge, well it is for me, c. 72" square. I was contemplating making my Made In Cherry quilt the full 90", but having seen the size of this, I am seriously going to scale back from the 5" charms to 3.5". Do you think I need to Swoonalong too? How many huge star quilts does one person need?

I tried to get some decent pictures of Side Two today, but the weather wasn't quite so nice, but I'll show you those tomorrow.

Once again, a massive shout out, thank you and complete all-round gob-smack-ed-ness to the Mouthy Stitches sign ups - we are now provisionally full. We just need to tally up the pure observers and those who have not completed the sign up form or posted their mosaics, there may be some additional places - if you have joined the group already, or are still undecided, please check out the message on our flickr group page, thank you. I cannot wait to get matching partners and making!

Scraps ahoy!

2012-01-11T14:35:00.000Z

Yesterday I received my scraps and extras from Michelle at Keyka Lou - perfect timing as we had just launched the Mouthy Stitches Zippy Purse & FQ of Scraps swap!

These are cute fabric covered magnets on a needle sharpening pad; eat your heart out Masterchef!

It wasn't so sunny when I took the photos, so they are not looking as special as they really are, but they are rather lovely, and I am thinking some may even appear in or with my swap purse.

Susan, Cindy and myself have been absolutely overwhelmed by the speed and enthusiasm of sign ups for our 'little swap'. We were going to be happy if there were 50 of us joining in by next weekend; in just over 24 hours we have already reached 80 members in the flickr group! Have you joined - if not, why not!?

Finally for today, I can report that I have pieced one side of my Brit Bee Constellation quilt, and I even got a couple of decent photographs, but I will save those for tomorrow; I am hoping to finish the second side tonight... it looks fantastic!

Anybody ready for a SWAP??

2012-01-10T07:04:00.000Z

Ladies, there's a new swap in town, and now is the time to reveal all!

For months, my dear bloggy friends Susan, Cindy and I have been chatting away, plotting and scheming, and now the Christmas makery and New Year excitement has passed, it's the perfect time for a swap to share the love with a stranger!

We have called this venture Mouthy Stitches.

The clue is in the name; we are aiming for a chatty, actively creative, fun and friendly flickr-based group.

Obviously it won't be much of a mystery swap if there are only the 3 of us, so please come and join in!

I suppose you need to know what you could be letting yourself in for this round, (yes, we are thinking long-term here!), we are having a:

Zippy Purse & Scrap FQ Swap.

A purse, by my definition might be what you call a pouch, or a clutch or a wristlet. We are not talking a full handbag, more something to hold a little money, cards and phone when you pop out, or maybe to keep some hand sewing gubbins, or your pens and pencils safe in style just like these...

You will be assigned one partner to make for, but they will not know you are making for them, likewise you will not know who is making for you.

We also want to limit the 'extras' which are customary with such swaps, to a simple fat quarter of scraps, be that 2 fat eighths or 20 smaller pieces; you should ONLY send those, along with a handwritten message. We want the purse to be the focus, and no competition or anxiety about what else to send.

This swap is open to international participants, so you must be prepared to make and send to someone anywhere else in the world.

What you need to do:

Join the flickr group here and express an interest in the sign up thread.
You MUST then complete the sign up questionnaire, signing over the rights to your children, car, home and more scarily, fabric stash, should you renegue on the swap rules.
You MUST also post a photo mosaic in the group pool.
This part must be completed and uploaded by Sunday 22nd January. NB sign ups may close sooner if we reach over 90 swappers before the 22nd.
Partners will be assigned and notified by Sunday 29th January.
Posting must be during the window Saturday 25th to Wednesday 29th February.

That gives a month to stalk, ponder and make for your partner.

In the meantime if you do not have any zips, or need to practice, maybe get a bundle ordered from Zipit or any other retailer you prefer - pick a multi-colour bundle and there's bound to be one to match your partner's loves.

Please feel free to add discussion threads about great deals, tutes and patterns or ask any questions in the flickr group even before the making starts.

Please note, we want this, above all, to be fun and stress-free. We do not approve of silent partners, we want Mouthy Stitchers. We do not want anyone worrying that theirs is the partner who hasn't uploaded any pictures or commented on any of the marvellous creations that we are hoping will appear. We want to have a laugh, inspire each other and produce beautiful, thoughtful makes that our partners will love.

You do not have to comment on every picture or thread BUT you will be expected to join in, plot your progress and to let your swap mama know if anything is conspiring against you as early as you can. If you prefer to work quietly, without any interaction, this is probably not the swap group for you.

Susan, Cindy and I will be cracking our whips if we think you have gone AWOL!

If February is not a good month for you, or you already know you cannot make and post in the above time-frame, don't worry, we want to run regular swaps, so you can join the next one.

Think carefully if you have commitments that may impact your ability to meet the requirements, if you have unpredictable computer access or are off on your holidays. Please do not leave it until the last minute to start making, that's common sense; life happens, we do understand that, but 'sloppy swappers' will have their cards marked and may be excluded from further swaps if they don't play fair!

Do you think the power is going to my head?

Well what are you waiting for? Please come and join the fun, you know you want to, and we want you too xxx

Star-ting to come together...

2012-01-09T21:22:00.000Z

See what I did there!?

Well just a quick one from me tonight; if you have as much blog reading to catch up on as I have, you'll be quite pleased!

Last night I got out all the blocks for my Brit Bee Constellation for a bit of carpet time.

Apologies for the dreadful pictures, they were meant for reference only, but I thought you might like to see what I am up to, as I am aware my explanations of this side may have previously been a little vague.

This evening I have made 4 of the extra six blocks required and part-pieced the other two. I hope to get those finished tomorrow evening, ready to have both sides finished before the weekend!

Before I go, please make sure you pop by again early tomorrow, it'll be worth your while, nudge nudge, wink wink!

Stars on Sunday...

2012-01-08T15:58:00.000Z

Stars, lots of stars...

Big star...

14" block

Little stars...

3" blocks

And some in between...

5" blocks

8" blocks

Now to start on the layout!

The lack of sunshine makes the jade appear more blue here than it actually is, and the sticky gunk on the bottom of my iron has left these in need of a proper pressing after I get it cleaned; however I think you can tell how much trimming I had to do last night!

Bee-ing Stars!

2012-01-07T20:42:00.000Z

I promised you stars, I will give you stars!

Along with the blocks the Brit Bees make for each other every month, we send a siggy block, following the quick tute over at PS I Quilt. I decided that I was going to make mine into additional stars for my Constellation, pretty much as soon as I had decided on the quilt.

Today I pieced the 12 siggy blocks into 3 stars, having re-photographed all the blocks and siggies first, so I have a record of whose blocks were whose for prosterity.

NB. Apologies, I have not been using the siggies to clean the bathroom, I have digitally smudged surnames and hometowns to keep up the Brit Bee's mystique!

Looking at all the blocks laid out again, gave me a really excited feeling, and has started the old cogs turning on how I am actually going to quilt this beauty.

I am not going to risk ruining it with some FMQ fiasco, and I would not put money on being able to align the stars on both sides accurately enough to echo-quilt the seams, so I shall be lurking around flickr and pinterest for some flash of inspiration, unless you can think of anything in the meantime! Any suggestions more than welcome xxx

For the remainder of the evening, I have the small task of trimming many many more HSTs...

...whilst repeating the mantra 'it WILL be worth it, they WILL look great' over and over again!

Friday!

2012-01-06T21:17:00.000Z

Yep, Friday; I have worked a 2 day week, and that was 2 days too many; the Christmas decorations are now all packed away and the house seems a little bare after 2 months of Birthday and Christmas cards covering every surface, but on the plus-side it's been a year to the day that we moved to our lovely home, and I still get a buzz living here.

I am determined to give the house a good clean tomorrow morning and get some serious sewing done on my Brit Bee Constellation quilt this weekend; hopefully I'll have some siggy stars to show you at the least.

Thankfully I have had a couple of good mail days to bring my smile back on getting home. Yesterday, this awesome bundle from Brenda at Pink Castle, although I bought these fabrics, it still felt like an awesome present had arrived...

I have now decided to bind my Bee quilt in the aqua Joel Dewberry herringbone; I would love to say this was the plan when I ordered the fabric, but that would be a fib, but it is a great result!

I am totally smitten with the scissors...

... and these are just pure fun!

Then today I got a parcel from Benta; she spent some time out in Australia just before Christmas and came home laden with fabric, and kindly offered FQ bags to her eager followers, that'll include me then!

I love this take on the traditional Aboriginal patterns, and it goes without saying that I love the keychain. Thank you B x

I know I am not the only one who's had a less than perfect week, so here's to a happy weekend for us all xxx

The Blessed Path...

2012-01-05T20:15:00.000Z

I took the Route of all Evil, so to speak, back to work today, whilst yesterday I passed a lovely few hours making a couple more blocks.

Judith and Sarah, for those not already in the know, run a real-life sewing group and simultaneous virtual Bee, called Bee Blessed, making quilts for the needy in Northern Ireland; I have made a couple of blocks in the past, missed the last round, but was determined to send some back along with my Brit Bee blocks this month.

Asking for blocks for sampler quilts, any colours, any block, had me dashing for my thus far merely 'perused' copy of Modern Blocks...

On the cover is probably the least 'fun' of the whole 99 illustrated inside, however that was to be my starting point...

So after a quick scrabble about, I plumped for a bit of Solid action and a couple of charm squares and came up with these Pathways blocks...

Katy C - this was your Japanese Import choice I believe!

I hope they will fit in with your grand plans my dear ladies x

I can finally confirm that the way the book is laid out, and the clear instructions given, made this block so easy to put together, and has added to my enthusiasm to make a quilt of more adventurous blocks, which, after the day I've had, is something I would love to spend my working hours buried beneath just now.

If you want to join in, and send a block or two, check out the flickr group too; I'm sure Judith and Sarah won't mind me pointing out that last month was 'granny block month', so do not be put off by the muted florals that await you at first glance!

Bee-ing Alone Again...

2012-01-04T11:39:00.000Z

Having waved dear husband off to work and safely deposited the children back in school yesterday, I hunkered down to a nice bit of sewing, whilst the wild winds blew and the torrential rain beat the crap out of the conservatory roof! (That's an official weather category, honest!)

As has become customary, first week of the month I like to get my Brit Bee blocks made, due in part to the paranoid fear of a total sewing machine malfunction later in the month, but mainly as I can't wait to make and finish a project in one sitting!

Judith, Rags To Bags, sent us a bag of scraps, asking for log cabin blocks, any type, any style and directed us to her great Pinterest board for inspiration.

With the request for the centre fabric to come from our stash to 'remind her of the maker', and the outer edges to be of a particular fabric she'd sent us all, Judith pretty much gave us free-reign, simultaneously exciting and just a bit scary!

So here they are...

I love the mini-log cabin in the top one, even if I do say so myself; and the cheeky birds having a natter, who could they be?

I had great fun making these blocks Judith, thank you for trusting us, well, me in particular!

PS. I hope everyone came through yesterday unscathed; we just got very wet, twice, lost our analogue TV picture for a few hours, had to navigated one section of deeply flooded road and a couple of fallen trees on the drive to swimming lessons, but I know people were really affected, and hope it wasn't any of you.

The Case of the Naked Kindle...

2012-01-03T13:27:00.000Z

I mentioned that my Mum was getting a Kindle for Christmas, and as it was not adorned in a little cosy jacket on Christmas Day, I spent some of New Year's Eve making a case to rectify that on New Year's Day.

I based it on this wonderful tute by Amber, I'd previously pinned the original, (thanks **Nicke), but it was revamped during Fat Quarterly's fantastic 12 Day of Ruby Star.

OK, so I had to re-calc the measurements (**Nicke, I forgot you had already worked them out until I was ironing on the velcro!), but this easy to follow iPad case tutorial was just the ticket.

I had the bird print as a scrap from Sew Fresh Fabrics, no idea what it is, and worked the Ta Dot, Dumb Dot, Metro magic around that.

I decided to put the bigger print on the back, as the flap would have overlapped it on the front, and I hoped for the best with my none-to-accurate 1/4" seams and the bulk of the cotton velvet I used for the lining.

It fitted like a glove... phew!

Race to the finish!

2012-01-02T15:00:00.000Z

Not going to mention the Olympics yet (doh!), but the finishes I am most looking forward to this year will be in conjunction with my old friend Rhonda!

Are you joining in the FAL? Committing each quarter to finishing some of those WIPs, UFOs or whatever you want to call them, telling the world and being prepared to be get your butt kicked if you don't?

Well I am.

The inaugural quarter will see me aiming to finish 3 things:

i) My Brit Bee Constellation quilt.

I have all the main stars ready, but I still need to make the siggy stars and some other smaller stars to complete the back, then I can turn this baby into the quilt of my dreams!

ii) My Mystery Quilt top.

I fell off the magical Mystery bus about three-quarters of the way there. Having fallen out of love with the fabric, I was finding it hard to re-motivate myself. This is a prime example of using cheap 'n' cheerful unloved fabric when, had I the confidence to use something I was more emotionally attached to, this quilt would have been finished ages ago.

I am not promising to complete all the blocks posted by Sheila (sorry Sheila), but I want to make a quilt top that I can back with a fleece blanket and be finished. I have leant a lot from making these stars, and will definitely use Sheila's instructions again in the future and I don't want to leave it languishing.

iii) My Pips Hexie Cushion.

I have been slowly sewing hexies for what seems like a million ballet lessons and I think the other 'ballet mums' will be as happy to see these finished as I will be! It will only be the front of an 18" cushion, but I really want it this one ticked off.

I have many plans for new makes in the near future too; quiltalongs (at least 2), presents to make for my sister's birthday, the multitude of obligatory handmade goodies required by any discerning quilter for the Fat Quarterly Retreat in June and dare I say a swap, or two; these will definitely roll into the next quarter and keep this ball rolling.

I'll have to save yesterday's sneak-peak reveal until tomorrow now, as I have school bags to find never alone pack!

Its 2012!

2012-01-01T22:18:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

Thank you for all your wonderful comments on my last post of 2011 - I will get back to you individually, I promise; UNLESS of course you are a No Reply blogger, in which case this is your thank you! x).

I just have 3 fabric-related New Year Resolutions to share with you tonight...

1. Be brave enough to use some of my favourite fabrics. All too often I use scraps and pieces I don't care for and then end up wishing I had used something better! Why? Because I am a scared of messing up, wasting my precious FQs and yardage, and fearing that some way better idea will come along! Daft I know, so there will be a concerted effort to use my stash.

2. Use more fabric than I buy! This is a hard one but requires no.1 to be put into action to achieve it. Last year I acquired way more fabric than I can sensibly use, but each piece was chosen with either projects, or pure love, in mind! I have a lot of Flea Market Fancy and some pre-cuts on order for a few months time - so once my latest parcel appears, I think I conveniently forgot to mention that one, I will need to crack on! My Winter Sewing List should help on this one too, but I need to justify 'needing' not just 'wanting' more fabric!

3. Be a bit more adventurous! I stick to what I know, and 'quick hit' quilts, when I really should be going for things that require a bit more thought and time. So this year I will, maybe not go as far as designing my own, but certainly attempt to widen my repertoire!

Have you made any resolutions for 2012?

Tomorrow I am going to link up with Rhonda and the girls for the Finish Along - I've had a long day, so I haven't had the chance to sort myself out yet, but I will get my list written and take the plunge, how about you guys?

And just because it seems to be all talk and no action this evening, here's a glimpse of my last make of 2011, and first gift of 2012...

2012, so far, so good x

That was the year that was...

2011-12-31T09:40:00.000Z

Oh can you believe that it is the last day of the year? What a year it has been! 12 months ago we were still in the old house, surrounded by packing cases ready to move, checking the 10 day weather forecast for snow... thankfully (?) it just rained!

Before I bombard you with image overload with all the things I have made this year, I want to say a huge thank you for the wonderful year that you have all helped make it for me.

Others have been patient enough to group their 2011 makes into quilts, blocks and other goodies; no such luck here, semi-chronological will have to do!

Some of you have been here for the whole year, and others have joined along the way, and you all make me smile with your constant encouragement, kind words, sarcasm and banter.

I can hand on heart say that I have made some brilliant friends in this blogging world and I am so looking forward to getting to meet many of you in June, if not, maybe sooner or later.

I wish you a fantastic 2012, surrounded by loving family, dear friends, good health, fun times and loads of beautiful fabric xxx

Remember when...

2011-12-30T08:57:00.000Z

... we used to sew and not just watch TV, eat chocolate and look forward to the next mince pie?

A couple of nights ago I was lucky enough to be one of the lucky 10 folks that benefited from Michelle's special offer for her blog readers over at Keyka Lou, and whilst I was there I had an epiphany, well, quite a good idea, that the best thing to get me out of this no-sew zone was to whip up one of her Camera Case Wristlets. I bought the pattern a while back but didn't get round to making one before the pre-Christmas frenzy.

So here are rather a lot of photos, as i) I am so pleased with the way it turned out, and ii) I actually made something worth photographing again...

I thought it was time to use some of my treasured Michelle Engel Bencsko Across the Pond. I love this fabric so much, and was keeping it for 'best'!

The pattern was so easy to follow, quick to put together, and I normally hate the pattern/piece cutting part but this was really quite painless. I used some medium iron-on Vilene interfacing and my usual cotton batting and it worked out really well. Even sewing on the velcro was surprisingly easy. I used the iron-on type, as it was white and all I had, but I sewed it on too, just to be sure it wasn't going anywhere.

My only niggle - with myself not the pattern, is that the herons on the back panel, although being up the right way when the case is open, are upside down when flapped over, but I can so live with that. I definitely see many more of these in my future.

Oh it's good to be back at the machine!

Quokka Quilts Blogger's Choice...

2011-12-29T09:01:00.000Z

I don't like to miss out, especially if all I have to do is sit on my backside and browse my way through the entire Fat Quarter Shop inventory!

So here is my pick for the awesome Blogger's Choice competition being run by Laura over at Quokka Quilts...

Pajama Party Orange Dots and Stripes Yardage SKU# 5824-33

Puttin' on the Ritz Grey Dimples & Dots Yardage SKU# 2804-32

Stella Dot Gray on White Stella Dot Yardage SKU# STELLA-1-GRAY

Prince Charming Aqua Snail Scallop Yardage SKU# TP11-AQUAX

Etchings Aqua Antique Architecture Yardage SKU# 4060-23

Ruby Cotton Grey Sundae Yardage SKU# 55037-13

Ruby Cotton Aqua and Grey Dot Yardage SKU# 55031-32

Pajama Party Orange Pinstripe Yardage SKU# 5821-33

Hometown Sky Town News Yardage SKU# 5462-23

Palladium Gray Aerial View Yardage SKU# STELLA-19-GRAY

Happy Mochi Yum Yum Tangerine India Yardage SKU# 30305-51

Woodland Gray Dots and Vines Yardage SKU# 30408-90

Aunt Grace Centennial Solids Orange Yardage SKU# 5901-2340

Free Spirit Designer Solids Slate Grey Yardage SKU# S99-SLATEGREY

Bella Solids Aqua Yardage SKU# 9900-34

This is actually about my 5th selection, it was just a teensy bit difficult to narrow down all those gorgeous fabrics to 15, but I am stopping now or it will be never-ending.

I started with Melody Miller's Ruby Star Spring - Buzz as my original inspiration, but as you can tell by the end mosaic, I kind of got sidetracked, but I am rather pleased with the end result.

If you haven't already entered, why not give it a go too, and you could win a 1/2 yard bundle; how fantastic would that be?!

PS. I actually sewed something yesterday evening, it felt so good to get the machine whirring again - I'll show you tomorrow!

Leftovers...

2011-12-28T08:53:00.000Z

Whilst the leftovers are still being consumed, I thought I better give you a look at some of the things I haven't shown you before, (you can tell I am scrabbling about for blog posts ideas now, without actually making anything new!).

Firstly the Secret Santa gifts that I sent to fellow Brit Bee Jennie of Just A Little Stitch. My pictures are not that great - taken at work on my phone as, in my attempt to get them posted in time, I forgot to take any at home, muppet.

The Christmas purse outer fabric is wipeable PVC for any gravy-spillage problems, and I couldn't not send felt baubles could I!?

Oh and there was this kanzashi flower brooch I made for my coat for Christmas Day, using this tute...

Now I suppose I better go make something new.

Is it Tuesday already?

2011-12-27T10:28:00.000Z

Doesn't time fly when you are eating chocolate?!

I feel like I have had my cooking, eating and watching TV 'empty handed' fix, and now I am raring to get making again.

It might be something to do with these gorgeous goodies that have been in my possession since Christmas Day...

Fat 16ths of Lotta - Echo from my sister x

Echino, Aurifil and Liberty book from darling husband xxx

Or these that arrived Christmas Eve...

I was drawn in by Julie at the Intrepid Thread!

Winnings from Katy/Ginger Monkey x

More winnings, from Alison - Little Island Quilting x

I think I need to pick a last little project for 2011 before I go stir crazy!

Man It's Christmas!

2011-12-26T10:15:00.000Z

Happy Boxing Day everyone!

Did you have a good Christmas Day? I did - but more of that later in the week.

Well I couldn't show you the Christmas makes for dear husband before now, as I wanted there to be a little bit of a surprise going on.

So here we have a partner for the Man Quilt...

Using the remaining charms and some of the curved corner scraps, I thought this would do the business. The back is the same Kona Coal and pin-striping as the quilt. I lined the cover with some deco weight, what was I thinking when I bought it?, cream damask and used almost all of my remaining Bliss dots for the binding. It takes a 16" cushion pad, and it got the happy reception I'd hoped for x

I couldn't leave him without a little felt makery too could I eh?...

This is actually a badge/brooch or whatever a gentleman prefers to call it - it measures almost 5" wide, and makes me laugh, (more than the real one he sported for Movember!).

Don't worry, he also received a lot of things he actually wanted too :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T08:22:00.000Z

Bee-ing Santa!

2011-12-24T08:52:00.002Z

The Brit Bee indulged in a spot of Secret Santa makery this December.

Earlier this week we all received our presents within a day or so of each other, and agreed to blog or upload flickr pictures of all our lovelies today.

I was so excited when I received mine, wouldn't you be...

Lovely Laurie Wisbrun fabric...

Cute Crochet! I can't do that :(

And....

Aqua and orange needle case!!!!

Super pin toppers and FMF hexies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven't got the words to describe how excited and happy this lovely parcel made me, but I have been sporting a wide grin every time I've looked at them.

I thought I had narrowed my Secret Mrs Santa down to two lovely ladies, then I changed my mind and couldn't decide between four, and so here, I have to say someone, so... I thought it could be...

Judith (Rags to Bags)

...but I am so so wrong!

Miss Lolly Pops you are a star!

(Edited to say - I am cheating and have updated this!!)

Thank you so much to my 'Santa-lady', I love everything, you know me well xxx

So if you want, check out the others and see if you can match the makes to the makers too. It's only Christmas Eve, you are bound to have time!

Sarah, Fiona, Judith, Laura, Jennie, Susan, Trudi, Judith, Terri, Jo and Ceri.

My posts over the next few days have been pre-recorded in front of a live audience all bar some photos and reactions I am hoping to catch 'on the day'; so I'll be pretty quiet on the commenting and replying front, but then I guess you will be too!

That only leaves me to say have a wonderful Christmas my friends xxx

Edible Makes...

2011-12-23T11:32:00.000Z

Unlike some of my friends, particularly this one, I don't get great pleasure from cooking or baking.

The 'effort to result' ratio is seriously tipped against it being a joy - there is always at least one small person who declares they 'don't like it' before I have even put the plates on the table, and with the limited time I have between work, school runs, clubs and meal-time, it means we typically stick to the 'tried and tested'; to be frank, I would rather it was boring, quick, easy but eaten, than a couple of hours of effort resulting in turned up noses and tears all round.

Christmas fayre isn't much different, Mr Kipling, Mr McVities and Aunt Bessie do such great job, I like to let them get on with it.

However I did plan ahead, buying the ingredients to make some Christmas Rocky Road. I am an old hand at the regular Nigella recipe, and I thought this could be my token effort the festive season.

All you need is white chocolate, dessicated coconut, pistachios, dried cranberries, ginger biscuits and mini marshmallows. 5 minutes to make, 10 minutes in the freezer to set, perfect!

If you haven't gone down the white chocolate route before - it is definitely worth it.

Food photographer I am not either!

Now don't you be expecting any more kitchen-orientated posts from me for at least another year though - that's your lot!

Dead End...

2011-12-22T10:07:00.000Z

Way back when the sun was hot and lounging on the deck was the order of the day, I cut a couple of Oakshott stacks into 9" squares for the Dead Simple QAL.

They sat unloved in a drawer until earlier this week, when urgency struck!

Having first planned to make a full-sized table cloth, I changed this to a runner, as upon re-visiting, some of the pinks now seemed too bright, and with the whopper that is my parent's dining table, it was going to need a lot of sashing to bring it up to size.

So a bit of jiggery-pokery, and the best part of yesterday at my sewing machine and ironing board, and I managed to get the final Christmas present made.

Afraid we are seriously lacking in the natural light and adequate space this morning, so the photos are bit lacking in style!

There is no 'quilting' as such, a simple 'right sides together, stitch round, turn through and topstitch round the edge' approach has worked just fine.

It measures a huge 250cm/100" x 65cm/26", and is backed with some IKEA linen type affair which is lovely looking but as stretchy and awkward as buggery to cut and sew!

The pressure is now off a little - so I am off to sort through the boxes of food I have been storing in the garage, I have no idea what's in there!

The End Is In Sight!

2011-12-21T20:16:00.000Z

This evening I can report that the Man-gift is finished and the Dead Simple runner has also been completed, so my Christmas making is now at an end!

I will photograph the table runner in the morning as it was already getting dark when I finished at about 3.30pm!

I am still waiting on parcels, although more arrived that I was not expecting, including a lovely one from my sister courtesy of Kate of M is For Make! But having seen what it was, it all went back in the envelope until Christmas Day!

I received my lovely Bee block from Sarah...

There may have been some fudge in with it too, but you'd be hard pushed to find any evidence of it ever having been here now ;)

January's Brit Bee package also arrived from Judith, including a dalek and more (for a lucky so-and-so!), I will therefore be pondering log cabins over the festive period, and no doubt wishing I could escape to one!

The posty also delivered a wee 'thank you' from Lucy, my Sew, Mama, Sew! winner, including some pretty scraps...

So I have had a good day, I even got the remaining food shopping done. I am now going to top it off with an hour of Kirstie's Homemade Christmas, put my feet up and catch up with blogs and comments...

Tomorrow I get to ponder cooking, cleaning and clothing and not to mention wrapping - and I thought I was winning!

Hooters & Tweeters!

2011-12-20T17:56:00.000Z

I have made the girls' brooches...

So that's another couple of gifts off my list, only to be swiftly replaced with the knowledge that my Mum is getting a Kindle for Christmas from my Dad, so maybe a case is required?

I actually don't know if he has bought her a 'proper' case or not, so maybe I will hold fire and then I can make one in a bit more of a relaxed manner in the New Year if required - yep, typing that out helped make that decision! Hurrah for the power of blogging! I pinned a couple of tutorials already though, just in case!

Last night, as some were quick to observe, I changed my Twitter name, (I am now @MrsFlyingBlind), and clicked the Follow button in a random manner - I've been on there for longer than I have been blogging, but never felt the need to tweet - I am more of a passive observer. But hey, if I can snag me an extra Go!Baby entry every now and again or a super deal, then hurrah for that!

To be honest there aren't enough hours in the day as it is, but it doesn't need feeding or watering, unlike the time zapping, head-splitting little darlings that are 'home for the holidays'.

We are off to church for the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts Carol Service shortly - there's parental bribery in the form of tea and biscuits at the end, so I'm in, or rather out - see you later x

More heart-felt gifts...

2011-12-19T17:03:00.000Z

This weekend I ticked off a few more makes and tasks. I made a little something for my dear husband, but I can't show you that just yet, however the other men-gifts I can show include this for my Dad...

He has a love for AirStream trailers; this little one is probably as near as he'll get to owning one.

I also cobbled together this for dear son...

It is rather 'basic' for want of a better word, but I think he will like it; with all the other baubles and tinsel on his little tree, it will blend in nicely! He's not getting it until Christmas Day though.

Oh OK, there was another heart!

I now have 2 felt brooches for the girls, a mammoth Dead Simple table runner for my parents and one more man-gift to finish, and then I. am. done.

Am I last, have you all finished, or are we all asking the same? I wish I had someone to blame other than myself, but I don't, so I will start earlier next year!

Today included a round trip to see my Grandma, and a second trip out to pick up a 'missed' parcel, which I will tell you about soon; the postmen seem to be hoarding a lot of my deliveries, so tomorrow there's going to be some serious stalking!

A quick trip...

2011-12-18T21:35:00.000Z

Today I was allowed a couple of hours out of the house alone for good behaviour. So after lunch I headed over to Arundel for a spot of Christmas shopping.

I love Arundel, I have mentioned it in the past, we got married there.

It is pretty at Christmas, and it has one of my favourite real-life present stores, Sparks Yard...

I managed to get a few extras there for my nearest and dearest, and I unexpectedly caught up with one of my real-life friends whom real-life usually conspires against us and keeps us from meeting up, so that was a bonus.

I may also have spent a whole £4 on some more felt; well when the shop looked as pretty as this...

...how could I resist!

There has been a little bit making, and a bit more winning this weekend, but more on all that tomorrow, the clock's ticking and these pressies aren't going to make themselves x

Winner time!

2011-12-17T09:54:00.000Z

Thank you so much to all those who entered my little Giveaway, and thank you to Sew, Mama, Sew! for making it all possible.

OK, you want a name... and that name is.....

Congratulations Lucy!!! Looking forward to meeting you in person! Look the number of sleeps is up there on the top left!

This will all be on its way to you shortly...

I wish I had the time to make more prizes, so once the hubbub of Christmas and New Year has died down, I'll sort something out, promise!

Enjoy your weekend everybody xxx

Thank you Archie!

2011-12-16T21:40:00.000Z

Today's post is bought to you courtesy of Archie! If it weren't for him, then I would have pretty much nothing to say except 'It's the holidays - hip hip hurray!!!'

Having logged off and come home from work for the last time until January 5th, and thinking things couldn't get much better, there was a superb parcel waiting for me at home...

Now if you want to find out how I ended up with said parcel, please check out this awesome post, video clips 'n all, but for those impatient souls, go on, take a look what was inside...

Want a closer look? Please bare in mind there was a time delay between the first picture and the rest whilst I oooh'ed and aaaah'ed at Helen's handiwork, pondered whether I would share when the kids came home or not and stroked the Echo!

For those who somehow aren't familiar, Helen is Archie's pet/owner and spokesperson; she makes beautiful things and is incredibly generous with her words, time and skills. Archie is a rescue dog who is very very good at picking winners :)

So here's the detail - I am so in awe of these teeny perfect stitches...

Amazing huh!? If unsuspecting visitors jump to the conclusion that this is an FB original, I won't be in a rush to correct them!

I feel so lucky; Helen you know this will be loved and has come to a good home, thank you xxx

If you have time for one last photo, this is what dear son bought home from school today - sewing!! He is so proud and so am I!

Well I hope you get a good night's sleep (or a fun Saturday if you are of the 'other side of the world' persuasion), and aren't kept awake with the excitement of all the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway draws that will be going on!

I'll be back in the morning with my winner!

I heart Christmas!

2011-12-15T19:42:00.000Z

I have finally finished, I really really hope, making hearts for Christmas!

Last night I finished the Teacher pressies, and I have just wrapped them all ready for the morning...

I quite like this one, it is more of a squished heart than the others, as I was down to my last pieces of red felt, so a few more buttons were in order - the photo doesn't show just how bright they all are.

I also made another brooch, this one really is for my Mum...

I still have a few felty makes on the cards for my nearest and dearest, but the parliament of owls seems to have been abandoned for now - I have a New Year cunning plan, but I really cannot be thinking that far in advance just now, I have the small matter of a Dead Simple quilt to make by this time next week!

Before I set to answering Comments, or emailing a Wish List or two to my wonderful, gorgeous, generous husband, I must write our Christmas cards, otherwise they won't be landing on doormats until well into 2012.

It's the last day at work and school tomorrow, as long as the forecast snow and gales don't cause too much disruption, and I can't wait :)

More Plays and Purses...

2011-12-14T19:30:00.000Z

I got to see the Christmas play again this morning, my reward for putting about 15 little girls' pairs of tights back round the right way and pulling big heads through tiny sweatshirt head-holes!

These phone snaps sum it all up for me...

I also went Christmas food shopping; all bought, bar the fresh veggies and the small matter of a turkey (ie. we have enough chocolate, coke, cheese and cake for a month!). We are meant to be dining with my parents, but I am stocking up just in case it snows or some other mishap keeps us 70 miles apart - have you seen the forecast? Blimey!

I haven't managed any sewing yet today but I only have one felt ornament left to make for the school presents, how I forgot 'Nanny Jean' I will never know. Then all the deadlines move forward to the big day. Phew!

Last night I put together the last of the production line purses... although I am officially addicted and may just keep on making...

This one is for Ballet Twin...

The measurements are again based on Ayumi's tute, and I have finally memorised the zip layering mantra, thanks Kat.

This one is for me...

I know, I don't need it, but since when did that matter!? The fabric is another upholstery sample, and still requires an additional detachable section of strap to be put on when I get more split rings; I am rather in love with it already.

There's still time to enter the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway if you haven't already. I have been literally overwhelmed with the number of responses so far, so please forgive that I can't reply to all the comments, otherwise there'll be no time for making - and that just wouldn't do!

The Wise Man Cometh...

2011-12-13T21:28:00.000Z

It was Nativity day for the FB children today. Proud Mummy and Daddy watched Wise Man One and our 2 little Elves singing their hearts out.

Follow that star!

It was one of those random productions of 4-7 year olds including traditional Nativity, Father Christmas, Rockin' Robins and Elves - my photos were shocking, but we'll get a copy of it on DVD to re-live those classic songs, such as 'Don't Forget The Donkey' and '1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Elves'!

They get to do it all again tomorrow, and hopefully I will catch another glimpse after helping Reception class get into their costumes.

As promised, here is a picture of the goodies that will accompany the little purse I am offering as part of the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day...

If you haven't entered yet, make sure you click here and add your name into the mix. Thank you for all your great answers so far about June 2nd 2012 - seems we'll mostly be having fun, somewhere or other!

And finally for the Brit Bee girls, this is the brooch I made Terri for her birthday...

;)

Sew, Mama Sew Giveaway Day!!

2011-12-12T21:12:00.002Z

*** The Giveaway is now closed at 244 comments. ***

I couldn't resist! You know the score, this will no doubt be the millionth place you've stopped by today, but maybe it could be the place you get lucky!!

As the regular crew are aware, I've been flashing my Christmas makes of pouches/purses for all to see at frequent intervals over recent weeks, so it is surely only right and proper for me to offer one up for grabs! If this is your first time in this neck of the inter-woods, please feel free to look around, stay a while and hopefully come back again.

Now, I am more than capable of organising my weekend plans for six months time, but getting myself sorted with good photos for this evening has been a bit hit and miss, please accept my apologies.

So here is the little purse (in a UK sense) I put together for today...

I will fill it with bits and bobs, including a brooch, or maybe even two, and if you need convincing it's worth a go, I'll post pictures of the extras tomorrow, when I am in less of a tizzy! (Updated - click here to see the rest!).

This is open to international entrants, and will close on Saturday 17th December at about 9am UK time. I will draw the winner via Random Number Generator.

For your chances...
Leave one comment telling me what you will be doing on June 2nd 2012 (if you don't know yet, you can make something up)...
...and for a second chance, be a Follower and leave a separate comment (but don't fib on this one - I will check).

NB. If you are a 'No Reply Blogger', or think you might be, please leave your email address in your comment(s) eg. 'hadley dot 1 at virgin dot net', otherwise I won't be able to contact you and I will pick someone else, sorry.

Good luck, and thank you for choosing to stop by my humble abode when I know there are so many great people to see and goodies to win courtesy of Sew Mama Sew today xxx

The Big Make...

2011-12-11T20:23:00.000Z

The only making I have done so far today is...

'Christmas'!

Yep, the time has finally come for the festivities to really begin in the FB household. After the regular cleaning and tidying, and a quick birthday party in the middle of the day, I cracked open the boxes of pretty things and we set to it. Last year was spent surrounded by packing cases, so this year we really want it to feel like a proper Christmas.

We have our first real tree since the girls were born, and it's a beauty...

We actually have 4 trees, a white pop-up in the conservatory, a 3' pink tinsel one "decorated" by the girls and put in their room and a 3' green one of dear son's with a Doctor Who figure on the top! Paper chains, tinsel and decorations are scattered throughout the rest of the house, and the scrappy wreath has been getting a daytime airing. I'm starting to feel real excitement and sheer panic now!

I do have a couple of other makes to show you from the other evening, my Secret Santa gifts for a lady at work...

I hope she isn't too disappointed that it isn't a singing snowman or a willy-shaped soap!

Birds, Bees and Unicycles!

2011-12-10T23:05:00.000Z

It's been a fun packed day for the FB household today.

Grandma and Grandpa took the 3 small folk to see Mother Goose; the Sevenoaks pantomime with stars such as Leslie 'Dirty Den' Grantham and The Demon Headmaster (?); by all accounts a very fun time was had by all, and sleep came very easily for them tonight.

Whilst this was going on, I met a fellow Brit Bee for the first time!

Picture the scene...
Me: (ding dong doorbell)
Pretty lady: Hello?
Me: Hello (big insane grin) - you don't know me, well you do, but you don't...
Pretty lady: (thinking 'help, it's a nutter!!!!!')
Me: I'm Hadley...

There followed about half an hour on the doorstep, grinning, hugging, laughing, talking incessantly, more ginning, hugging and general excitement. I was only meant to be putting a birthday card through the door.

I had my camera, but I forgot about that along with my husband in the car; so you have to trust me, I was there, with Terri, and she is amazing.

I won't go on about how brilliant she is too much, otherwise that head of hers will get so big it will no longer fit in that fantastic pink knitted wig of hers, and her daughter was equally fab riding up and down the street on a unicycle, entertaining my poor neglected husband.

Apologies to all non-Brit Bee readers, you will just have to imagine the awesomeness of meeting up with Terri - if you remember the Project 51 quilt, you will have a inkling of what this means; even if we were talking too much to even go see the quilt! Terri, you haven't sold it have you?

Are you going?

2011-12-09T19:33:00.000Z

I am!!

Just a little bit over-excited! Having been so jealous of all those lucky folks racing off to the Sewing Summit, those fabulous Fat Quarterly ladies and gent are hijacking the Jubilee celebrations in June, and getting those of us on this side of the pond all together for a bit of a shindig in that there London!

Now in true Sewing Summit style, I need to make an overnight bag or 3, name badge, lanyard, outfit, covered notepads, a dozen drawstring pouches, shoe bags, appliance cases, something for my phone, ipod, sunglasses, camera, a pouch for my pouches and Uncle Tom Cobley and all!

176 more sleeps!

A New Me!!

2011-12-08T21:32:00.000Z

I didn't want to spoil the fun by posting my best pics of the day first, so take a look at one of the other great things to come through the door today...

Back in June I posted here about my block for the Tokyo Quilt Festival, well today I received confirmation that my block has been sewn into quilt number 61!

I am really looking forward to seeing pictures of the quilts made from the 10,112 blocks received and donated in aid of rebuilding lives affected by the tsunami back in March; what a simple way to help.

OK then, you patient people, look what my amazing friend Toni sent me...

Happy dancing was in order!

Because the weather was so delightful this afternoon, the photos really don't do justice, but I got snapping anyway as I was so excited!

Woo hoo!!!

I've told Toni already, that when I can get a perfect shot, I will be swapping my favicons with this handmade beauty - perfect!

If you don't know Toni, pop over to her blog and say Happy Birthday to her little boy - 'Hi Max', and then stay a while, and look at her other brilliant makes!

Hoo ate the chocolate?

Thank you again my friend for preparing me for a much needed facelift!

Doin' It For The Kids...

2011-12-07T19:40:00.000Z

Poorly twin slept right through the night (in a cinnamon and menthol coma) and woke up raring to get back to school - so the flipside was, I got to go and help again, dashing my plans of shouting "Are you OK?" periodically from my sewing machine for the day.

I was tasked with supervising the making of paper chains, and in true 5 year olds' Christmas style, easier said than done, and the less said the better!

So having posted parcels to New Zealand and Brighton, I dashed round Tesco (alone!), and was left with a whole hour to play before pick up time.

I pulled out the next-in-line from my zippy pouch pile; it didn't start too good...

But I managed to get this for one of the girls, finished just in time...

The sun was so low it was hard to capture the true colours, especially the Kona something-or-other lining, but I expect you all know the Heather Ross FFAIII guitars.

The zipper ends were not as perfect as my last attempt, too bulky, but fine nonetheless.

For those that have asked, I always refer to Kat's tutorial when making up these zippy pouches, purely now for the order to layer the fabric/zip - priceless xxx

Hubby did his bit, helping out at Beavers this evening, and I have just ironed more school polo shirts than I care to remember.

Now for another evening of teacher-related Christmas makes, with a little Kirstie's Handmade Christmas and CSI for balance...

Monster!

2011-12-06T20:30:00.000Z

Well I promised you 'bigger than owls', so may I present this fella...

Made using the Mollie Makes (issue7) tutorial, and downloadable pattern; with the children in charge of the colour combo, he had to resemble the picture in the magazine as closely as possible!

I didn't quite finish him last night, but he probably only took a couple of hours to sew together, a little longer for cutting out all the pattern pieces and felt.

Hairy shoulders!

He measures about 7" tall, and has been a big hit with my young critics.

He will be heading to my parents' on Saturday, as a birthday gift for my Dad, where I will also have to measure their dining table, again, so I can complete their Dead Simple table cloth in time for Christmas.

I am hoping for a quieter night than the last, as one poorly twin in the bed with mummy and daddy, full of cold and unable to get comfy, did not make for a refreshing rest! 'Tis the season xxx

I don't like Mondays!

2011-12-05T17:46:00.000Z

...and today started even more despicably than usual!

In the shower, shampoo a-bubbling nicely, then the lights, electric shower and everything else went OFF!

So a lot of shouting to the kids finally produced a plastic jug from the kitchen, to finish the rinsing and then I had the delight of the school run with very cold wet bad hair and the realisation that it wasn't a full-on power cut (outage), just us.

All credit due, the Electricity guy was here within an hour, just when I had resigned/consoled myself to a morning off work and some owl action; and he had it all fixed in about 15 minutes. I was in work an hour late but all was illuminated and switched on in the FB homestead again, phew.

So I only have these Christmas pressies that are destined for my sister to show you today...

A laminated/PVC zippy pouch, made from an A4 sample and Kona Aloe...

Check out those zipper ends!

And a muted heart brooch, which I promise to put in the post and not keep!

Tonight I am planning to go bigger than owls, for my Dad's birthday, so hopefully I will have something fun to show you tomorrow.