Congratulations & Commiserations!

It was my Grandma's 90th birthday today.  So we took a trip along the coast to Bexhill, cushion at the ready.

The 'back' was greeted with enthusiasm, and then so was the 'front'!

I think we can count it as a success, as the immediate concern was where it could be put so that she could see it when in her room - I went and deposited it at the foot of the bed - no missing it there!

We had cake; the kids got over their initial shyness, then politeness, and were their regular selves by the time we left.  We said our goodbyes and went for lunch at the De La Warr Pavilion and took a look around the Warhol exhibition.  I have 4 year olds who recognise Chairman Mao!

Home to find Judith's Bee block awaiting my attention - thank you J xox - if it stays dry tomorrow, I will get those beauties on the line for all to see.

After tea, we had sparklers in the garden, then a good hour or so lights off, watching all the neighbours' fireworks from the bedroom window; indoors, warm, eye-level and free - great eh!

Whilst the small folk shreaked, ooohed and aaaghed, I basted the Man Quilt on the conservatory floor, so now it is all ready for quilting.  I think I have decided on 'how', it needs to be finished rather pronto, but for sure, no FMQ!

In other awaited news, I came 3rd in Pings' Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge, pipped by 3 votes for 2nd place by Eilidh's stocking and the pair of us basically trounced by Ali's Baby Booties (you broody lot!).  Congratulations Ali xxx

Source: veryberryhandmade.co.uk via Hadley on Pinterest

Thank you so so so much to everyone who voted for me - it was really excellent fun - thanks Sarah and Anna for being a great 'team', and well done to all my fellow competitors - this was such a wonderfully spirited competition and I am proud to have played my part xxx

Looking back...

It's that there Fresh Sewing Day again hosted by lovely Lynne - I am a bit late in day, but getting all those snaps together of the last months' makes is a habit I don't want to break.

There are a couple of interlopers in there, made in September, but kept secret until more recently, so they got an October reveal.

Now, I was so good at not mentioning Pings & Needles' Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge for the last couple of days, including my Blogger's Quilt Festival post, I hope you will humour one last reminder that voting closes at midnight tomorrow, so if by chance you are unfamiliar with this superb competition, pop over and cast your eyes over the 9 entries and cast your 3 votes!

So there you go, November already, my month to play Queen to the Brit Bee; most of the gang have received their fabrics, Trudi has even posted her block back!  So I will give you the low down tomorrow.  Time to check out what everyone else got up to over the last month x

FMQ Mo' Fo!

Here we are again, linking up with Cindy and her Fluffy-free-motioning Sheep, trying to replicate some clever stitchcraft!  Oh boy, oh boy!

I went 100% cotton, I dropped the feed dogs, turned the stitch length to '0', and really tried my best.  I have 'enhanced' the photos so you can see the stitching more clearly, maybe I shouldn't have!

So it looks a lot better than the polycotton/polywadding adventures, but my actual 'steering' leaves a little to be desired.  I didn't go pedal-free, that is just a crazy nonsense I will only use again if I should break both ankles and still have time to sew!

The middle is not quite up the Leah's standard!

The back isn't too bad - less tension issues than before!

After the 'homework' I tried some random stippling, as I think this will probably be what I attempt for real in the future (Duo QAL?).  I only used small practice pieces, so my movements were rather tiny, but I do believe it is the best I have produced!  Still needs work though...

The back of this was cream, so I couldn't photograph it.

Another attempt.  Quite good?

I still need to try gloves.  At the garden centre earlier in the week I did look and try on some thin grippy ones, but they would so annoy me.  Anyone in the know - is it a lot easier once the 'quilt' is larger?  And at what point does a quilt get too big to even bother to try to manoeuvre?

So this week do you think I can say it wasn't a total catastrophe?

Oh before I go, I just have to show you this, having gone completely insane today at a Pizza Hut Buffet, (inc. ice cream, big mistake), we took a trip to Eternal Maker, (you know the one, the wonderful sponsor of the Pings&Needles Scrap Bag Challenge - I hope you've voted!).

I had a little splurge with the girls in mind, probably for Christmas...

Mollie Makes seems to have jumped in the basket at Sainsburys too!

Not a bad day eh? x

Scrap-a-lap-a-ding-dong!

Firstly, have you made up your mind who you want to back in the Pings & Needles Scrap Bag Challenge in association with The Eternal Maker?  Cue huge fanfare!  Details on how you can vote are at the end of this post.

Yesterday, I decided I needed a tick (always need a tick), and between twinny haircuts, DVDs and a trip to the park, I knew sewing was going to be a tad difficult, so it was time for a 'wreath'.

I remembered seeing one in a magazine last Christmas, and there are plenty on Pinterest using a variety of hoops, rings and flower-arranging accessories.

So I went for a humble dry-cleaner's coat hanger and bent it into a circle round an upturned waste-paper basket.

I didn't keep count of the number of strips I cut, but it must have been in excess of 200.  I plumped for approximately 1" x 9", as I found a lot of scraps that fitted the bill, along with some fat eights and polycotton just asking to be used.  I don't ordinarily like red, but it is Christmassy, so it was a great project and dodgy-stash buster in that respect.

I simply tied the strips to the ring, squeezing in as many as I could in semi-random order.

'Semi' in that I tried to evenly sort the different scraps into 4 piles first, each to fill a quarter of the ring; this ensured that after the first quarter I could see I had cut enough.  There were also a few bits of sparkly netting tied in for good measure.

So I reckon I get to have a tick on my Winter Stitching list, (OK, so there was no actual stitching, but it's fabric and crafty and all the things I love, plus it's my list):

9.  Another grand crafting gesture for our Christmas home!

You don't get more grand than putting something 'out there' for everyone to see, whether they are invited in, or not!  I just hope no-one takes a fancy and pinches it when I put it out on December 1st!

OK, build up over...

Time to Vote 

Please head over here and decide our fate!

May the best scrap-bagger win!

Game On. Part 3...

The one with me!

Yep, today is my chance for fame and glory; OK maybe just a couple of extra visitors who don't normally venture this way, and that's good enough for me... hello!

So the final trio to be showcased by la Pings, for the Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge are Bianca (no blog), Emily (Strawberry Patch), and moi, FB!

I know I have shown you my entries time and again on flickr, and here, but what's once more between friends?

Voting starts tomorrow,  I'll post a link - I am helpful like that.

A quick re-cap, 'we' received a scrap pack each, with which to make something fab.  The winner will receive a year's membership of the wonderful Eternal Maker's Japanese Swatch Club, that's six 5" charms per month to fondle feel the quality and make pretty things!  How awesome is that!?

This is probably the first time I have wished that any of my real-life friends and family knew I had a blog!

Good luck everyone xxx

PS. Today I made a scrappy wreath - I will show you that, if you come back tomorrow x

Game On. Part 2...

In today's instalment, Pings presents 3 more hopefuls in the Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge.

So if you would like to check out the next challengees (?), you will find oh-so-brave Ella (throw a wrench in the works), Mad Scouser Beth (no blog), and Alli (B. Yazoo).

Exciting stuff!

In Half-Term news, I utilised my free child labour to arrange and re-arrange the layout of the man-quilt, and this evening I have pieced the top!  I am awaiting some Kona Coal to mix with a charm pack for the backing, then I can crack on.  Oh I wish I could show you - but not you, dear husband!

I have been getting on with joining some hexies, losing 1.75lbs and I am planning on making the decision on a Christmas project, so I'm off to Pinterest, to make a Christmas board.

Source: howtonestforless.com via Hadley on Pinterest

Heinous poly-cotton be gone!

Game On. Part 1...

Lovely Pings, aka Sarah, has posted the first of three posts for the next stage of the Pings & Needles Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge.

Today you will find links to Sarah (NarcolepticInA Cupboard), Ali (VeryBerryHandmade) and Eilidh (no blog), so please check out these talented ladies' superb competition entries. 

There will be links to 3 more tomorrow and yours truly will feature in Tuesday's group.  Then the voting begins!!

I am pleased to report that my tags have made it to Half-Term, all still attached, intact and used daily, so if nothing else, they are doing what I set out for them to do.  Result!

Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge - The one with the tags!

Tonight I am revealing all for Sarah's PingsAndNeedles Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge.

Back in the summer, Sarah threw down the gauntlet to find out what her fans/followers would make with a scrap bag from The Eternal Maker.

With a 2-tier prize, first the battle to be one of 10 finalists to win a scrap bag, and then for part two, to turn our suggestions into reality. 

Shortly you good folks of blogdom and flickrland will be asked to vote for a winner of a years' subscription to the Eternal Maker's Japanese Swatch club.  How totally cool is that!!?

So here goes... my attempt for the big one!

My idea was "depending on the scraps, I would be making tags to distinguish all 3 school kiddies identical book bags, PE bags, swimming bags and cardies; children should be identifiable by pattern!"

An easy way to distinguish between this lot at a glance has got to be a good thing!

I think I could let the photos do the talking; I have smudged the sew-in name tags to protect the daft and clueless, but I hope this will not detract from your enjoyment...

My scraps, straight out of the bag, approximately a FQs in total...

Initial pairing up for fronts and backs...

The first 'batch' that have been in daily use since the beginning of September...

Fronts - with name tags sewn on, attached to the zips of the girls' rain coats...

The backs...

Bag tag fronts for twin 1... used on lunch bag, book bag and PE kit...

Twin 1's bag tag backs...

Twin 2, the ballerina, fronts...

Twin 2 backs...

More for the girls... arguments ensued!

Back of the above...

 

One for mummy - it's Echino, definitely not suitable for children!

Mummy's backside!

Not to let dear son miss out!

Back of the above...

The second 'batch' all together.

The 'design', in the broadest sense of the word, kind of evolved with each tag I made, until I had it perfected, (well I got it all to work without the need for swearing!)...  so if you whizz through the pics below, the making will all be pretty clear, remembering that sizes are determined by the scraps you have...

Select your scraps...

Double fold a small piece which will become the loop...

Trim the smallest piece to the largest possible size...

Trim the larger piece to match the first...

Ready for sewing...

Run two rows of topstitch to encase the raw edges...

Stick a pin in it!  Remove the pin once the folded loop is held in place with your presser foot...

Stitch down 'within' the seam allowance (which can be whatever you want it to be!)...

Place right sides together and pin either side of the loop to keep it all straight..

Start at the bottom end, leaving a gap for turning, spin the tag round when you get to the end and go back and stitch to the beginning...

Trim your corners, and turn through, using the tag to pull makes it a lot easier...

Use one of those bits that come with your sewing machine to push out the corners...

Cut a piece of thin wadding smaller than the inner dimensions of the tag, push it inside with the same gadget...

Topstitch all round and ensure the open end is sewn closed, and sew in the loose ends...

Finishing tip...  Use an easy-thread needle to reverse the threads through to behind the button, catch the thread with a pin and pull through the button - then you can wrap the thread around the button post (I remember that from school!), and bury the threads inside the tag... tidy!

Ta da!

And here we have a tag all ready to use and clip onto whatever takes your fancy...

Perhaps you will feel inclined to give me your vote, maybe not - you could even use up some of your scraps to make something way better without the 'competition angst'. 

Either way, I hope you have enjoyed my disjointed process and make sure you take the opportunity to check out the rest of the competitors.