Brit Bee Weekender pt.2

There was much laughter, chatting and eating, you get that, but by golly there was stitching!

I was actually quite unprepared for the productivity that can be mustered when you are not having to clear away all sewing in order to eat, do home work or keep the family happy.  I took, what I thought was ample to fill the weekend, and popped in my trusty hexies, just in case, but I ended up making way more than I had hoped.

Top of my To Do list was quilting and binding my #IGminiswap; success!

An off-centre spiral and semi-scrappy binding, hope my partner loves it as much as I do.

Next on my list were Bee blocks for Stitch Tease; this month for Jen, Re-mixed Geese, using the no-waste method; so quick, even with all the nattering!

Then a pair for Jude and Sarah's Bee Blessed; I used Sarah's bright idea of creating the two blocks by my usual HST method, and it worked a treat.  I was able to pop these straight into her hands, which was an added bonus…

An unscheduled tick, Susan had handed me the next Brit Bee Medallion to work on, and luckily the package contained most of the fabric needed, with some additions of mine and Ange's, I was able to get my geese border and 4-patch completed and handed straight to Sarah, woo hoo!  As these are secret, here's the highly doctored proof…

On Sunday we got printing!  Dear hubby had turned my vision into an image, I then emailed it to Thermofax to create a printing screen.

I had trialled it at home beforehand, and am the proud and happy owner of a navy hoody and grey slouchy Tee emblazoned on the back, as well as a nice piece of Cotton & Steel.

Anyway, we gave the pool table a break from being our cutting surface to become our printing area.  Mass production ensued, everyone who wanted had a go, and the lounge became a drying room…

I am looking forward to seeing what everyone makes with all their panels.  I screened a little tote bag, just because, and when the screen comes home, afters doing the rounds at Troods' and Katy's, I am definitely going to get a few more printed.

What I made next was a zippy pouch.  Total fluke that it fits my iPad; I do love an added bonus…

I used up a couple of Karen/Blueberry Park's scrap bags, bought at FQR when she got me into this screen printing lark, so it seemed totally right to pair it with my Weekender print.  I was running low on fabric at this point, so the lining is pieced, and I love it.

My final finish of the weekend was an impromptu sewalong with Ange and Fiona.  Using Svetlana's excellent tutorial, we all made little drawstring bags...

A little Jungle Avenue with Cotton & Steel, a sweet little combo I reckon.

And that was me!  My mojo was definitely back at full strength.  I wish I had taken photos of everyone else's makes, because there was so much gorgeousness about, but honestly, if I wasn't sewing, I was too busy eating!

Back home, I just need to get the binding on my commission quilt, then I am going to dive straight into a Sew Together Bag.  Ange made one over the weekend, and what more inspiration could I need?

Brit Bee Weekender pt.1

I do not apologise if you begin to tire of the blog posts that will pop up here and there over the next week; the first Brit Bee Weekender was so fantastic that everyone should gather a group of friends and head off out into the country to sew!

We booked The Stables back in July, and had been planning meals and looking forward to it ever since.

Sadly there were some beautiful faces who could not join us, but they were in our thoughts and prayers; the unstoppable Terri even popped in from LA, via FaceTime, on Friday evening.

I arrived first, and was able to have a good look around and have a cup of tea in the peace and quiet before, well, before the buzz of a dozen sewing machines and the best bunch of friends started chatting, laughing, eating and stitching for the next 66 hours!



The sewing space was perfect…



The kitchen was equipped for anything, even the 30 kilos of baked goods we consumed…



… and quite frankly 3 nights was not long enough!

Of course there were phone calls made to husbands, partners, children and pets (probably), we didn't cast aside all outside responsibilities, but seeing how well those left behind all coped, I see no reason why this shouldn't become an annual occurrence!

Now it won't come as a surprise to those who were following us on instagram, but it was the most productive weekend sewing-wise too, which considering the amount of talking and cake eating that went on, is actually amazing.  I will let you see all the things I made tomorrow, and leave you with the picture that sums up the weekend…



Smiling friends, wearing pyjama bottoms and loving every minute!

Today I was home, sewing alone, it wasn't fun.