Win my WIP!

Blog followers will be familiar with a certain set of hexie flowers that have been hanging around here for years; cropping up on my FAL list every quarter and never getting the attention they deserve!

Well in the spirit of sharing, and moving on and going forth into the New Year, I am basically passing the buck!

So it's a win-win.  I get to move something off my never-ending To Do list, something that I haven't fallen out of love with, just don't have the time to turn into something super, and you get a pretty half-made project to play with.

I am not one for hoops, so just leave me one comment, telling me which WIP you keep putting to the bottom of the pile.

This giveaway is for followers only, because it's my blog, my rules, so expect me to check that you really are, (you can tell me how you follow if you want to be helpful); and if you are a no-reply blogger, then for goodness sake leave an email address!

I will pick a winner next Tuesday evening, 22nd December, 8pm GMT, so if all goes to plan I will be able to pop into the Post Office before Christmas, (although that's a sincere hope, but not a promise!).

Open internationally; multiple comments will be deleted and Random.org will do the business.

Good luck my friends xxx

Getting caught up...

I hope you all had a lovely weekend; we had a kid-free couple of hours on Saturday, which is always good, and managed to have our first BBQ of the summer yesterday, woo hoo.

I cut another 96 hexes for another Amitié Mystery BOM border, each from a different fabric…

I am planning on saving the two hexie borders for my holibobs, to appliqué on if/when the mood takes me, but I will baste these at my leisure and look forward to finishing them off.

I also finished the book I have not been reading since about September!  I have about a dozen books piled up ready to read, and I am loving being able to lounge in the sun and see what is in front of my face, so happy!

This evening I made my Stitch Tease Bee blocks for Di.  These, from an Ashley - Film In The Fridge tute were super easy and nice to make; thanks Di!

I now have to just get the Inbox under control, well you can't have everything!

Hexing about...

Plaster applied, I made a few more hexie flowers today, and for the second day running we have been to the park and been rained on!

So sat on the concrete under the Leisure Centre shelter, I stitched on whilst the kids ran about until we all got too cold.  It's August for goodness sake!

9 down, 11 to go, maybe.  Plans are there for changing, right?

Prepped and ready...

I crossed a couple of things off my To Do list today, keeping myself occupied with the help of a little skiver so-called poorly child, who, 10 minutes after pick up at 9.30am, seemed as right as bloody rain!

So first I made the binding for Terri's quilts.  As far as I know, the tops are still in block form and then need to be quilted, but I am ready!

Then I made the next additions for Jude's Brit Bee Medallion, but I forgot to take any pics, but as they are secret anyway, no biggie.

And although I have the MATO applique at the ready, I feel a little lost when I don't have a bunch of EPP on the go; so I sizzixed into yesterday's bundle and a dozen complementary prints, mostly Liberty, including my first quilty fabric purchase from the V&A exhibition in 2010!

I am not sure what these will become yet, whether I will stick with my usual random, or make pretty flowers, I cut 8 hexies of each print to keep my options open, and time will tell.  I am just happy to have some basting to keep my fingers busy.

So until next time dear folks; it'll be Random Thursday, and if the sedative hasn't worn off, you can probably expect something a bit more random than usual!

Mini-sewing...

It seems to take me a whole evening to catch up with a day's blog reading and respond to comments and emails of my own at the moment, so that doesn't leave much stitching time!  At about 10pm last night I finally got a little sewing done...

Hey ho.  Not banking on achieving much more this evening, as I feel a little Touchdraw playtime coming on; I have plans to make, and a day off to prepare for.

TTFN xxx

Bank Holiday Fortune...

Good and bad fortune in the shape of my latest make. 

Those wee Liberty/Heather Ross hexies that kept me occupied on my journey to Susan's and back were carefully planned to make a Lisa Lam Fortune Cookie purse; the pattern is included in the latest copy of Mollie Makes.  I bought a couple of the frames ages ago, and so now was the time.

Only it wasn't, well almost.  I made up the pouch yesterday, it looked perfect; I was thrilled. 

I glued in the first side, bit of a squeeze, but the second side was never going to work.  I tried, twice.  The pouch was just too small for the frame; I don't even think if I had scrimped on the seam allowances that it would have worked.  Bugger.

But determined not to let that get the better of me, I pulled a regular frame and it was the perfect size.  So once again good fortune has made this pouch my own...

I am going to use this one for the reels of thread and bigger wotnots that don't fit in my Patchwork Please! embroidery case; sorry all you ladies who feel that I should be handing that one over - it ain't going to happen!!!

And because it was a sunny Bank Holiday, we headed out to the Steyning Country Fair.  There were lots of animals...

... lots of general fun and lovely grub...

... then home for more garden time.  My afternoon incorporated a lot of this...

... looking at blue skies and having my nails painted with water and paintbrushes, possibly not as relaxing as it sounds.

Tomorrow is forecast for rain again, I have shopping, ironing and cleaning, all that boring indoor stuff to do that I have been ignoring in return for a great long weekend, so I mustn't grumble. xxx

Summer holiday hexies...

Without 10 days of guaranteed wonderful sunshine to look forward to, I think I would go barmy.  So thinking ahead, I decided to turn my hexies into a great big beach bag.

It's a whopping 21" from top to bottom, plenty of room to fit in all the towels, lotions, goggles and biscuits for a day at the beach...

It's going to make me happy to keep looking at it until we head off to sunnier climes!

I quilted the hexies onto some fusible fleece and used most of the remainder of my parent's curtains, so another bargain make, and my second FAL finish too.  I promise, as soon as I go back to work on Monday, and-slash-or, the sun ever comes out again, my output is going to plummet, significantly!

This rainy afternoon though was spent cutting tiny pieces of Liberty and the rest of the fabrics for my Marcelle Medallion; a horrible job, but no-one else was going to do it for me.  But now I am free to piece to my heart's content.  Happy days xxx

Hexing about...

Whilst you lovely folks have been leaving me so many wonderful comments about my Sizzix cushion and the Starry block, (some of your name suggestions have, maybe unintentionally, had me in stitches), I have been busy... oh yes.

We have luckily had no settling snow, unlike so many of you; but the miserable weather this week has certainly been very conducive to staying indoors.

I have cracked on with my Brit Bee quilt.  I had an unscheduled day off on Thursday with dear son having a nasty looking itchy rash, which turned out not to be Shingles after a second Doctor's opinion; but with a late morning appointment, it really wasn't worth going to work afterwards, so the spiral quilting got finished. 

Today I have started on the binding, and I am almost half way round already; if it isn't finished this evening, it definitely will be tomorrow, and I really really can't wait to show you.

Last night I played with my basted hexies.  I had an idea the other weekend at the Brit Bee get-together, and so I decided to hone my low-to-high value layout...

In the poor night-time lighting, using the black & white filter was it was easiest way to sort them all into order...

First try, just by sight, not too bad I reckon!

After a little re-jig.

Once I had pretty much got them in the right order, I played with sorting the colours and came up with an almost there, on the left, and then final layout...

I am going to make them up into a panel for a huge tote bag; I am partial to using a Tesco Orla Kiely bag for day-to-day haulage, but I think it would be nicer to actually make something of a similar size.  My mum just gave me all the excess cotton/linen from their new curtains, which I think will be perfect.

The hexies, as well as my Brit Bee quilt are both on my FAL list, so I only have a week to get them done, and I wouldn't mind getting my Orbit snuck in under the 1st April QAL deadline too.  It's going to be a busy week.

So stay warm folks, unless you are in Sydney and experiencing record-breaking heat, in which case, be cool xxx

Revealing!

Today I will be in the company of some of my bestest sewing friends; Brit Bee hits the south coast!

I am not sure what time I will be home - not too late, but I know I will be exhausted and fit for nothing by the time I get back through the door.  So I am scheduling this so you don't feel like you are totally missing out!

Some of my secret makes have been for today.

The mini (3/4") hexies have been made into little keyrings. 

I used Tacha's Sew Mama Sew tutorial but decided (unwisely) to machine stitch the folded hexies together. 

Talk about sewing in the dark - I literally was, but only in the cold light of day can my wobbly stitching, (made extra special with a bent needle!) be seen in full gory detail.  I am consoling myself that now my buddies will have a bit of hardware they can put onto something else at some point!

Secondly, and way more accomplished, the T-bag I made for Terri.  Totally inspired by the awesome H-bag that Nova sent me, I perfected my Y-seams and made this for my special friend...

I used Jeni's method to make the drawstring bag, but did not box the corners, otherwise the T lines would have been spoilt.

So some of the secrets are out, and I promise to fill you in with the day's fun and games tomorrow.

Happy Saturday everyone xxx

FAL Q1 2013

Now I know I needn't go into too much detail on the whys and wherefores of the Finishalong, as it does appear that pretty much everyone I know is either linking up and/or has heard me, or someone else mention it previously, but I am really pleased to be linking up again.

I have linked up my Q4 2012 finishes already; I didn't write a whole new post, as I had finished all 7 items on my list back at the end of November, and blogged about them here.  How did you get on?  It was my best quarter ever for finishes.

Linking in 2013 with the new hostess with the mostest, Leanne, I know for sure that she will continue the successes encouraged by awesome Rhonda throughout 2012.  Thank you Rhonda for getting this brilliant ball rolling!

Leanne has a calming influence in my frequently hectic and emotional existence, so I am thrilled that she will be there, making things better, keeping a level head and encouraging us all.

I did joke after Christmas that I better start a few projects just so that I could make a list, which was kind of true.  Like many of us, Christmas Makes were the be-all and end-all of the last couple of months, so once the gift-giving was done, I was free to start new projects again.  And start I did.

So here are my four for the first quarter...

1.  #scrappytripalong

I have 6 blocks to finish, and I love it so much already.  As soon as I have ordered some more batting and backing, there will be, I hope, no reason not to get this beauty all sewn up.

2.  Sizzix Commission

I have two quilts to make for Sizzix by the end of the month; I have batting and backing for these (grr!), and the top of the first one completed already, and they HAVE to be done, so I will be putting the pedal to the metal on these soon.

3. A hexie project

I know, a bit vague.  I have started basting a bunch of lovely hexies which I trimmed from the mini-charms sent to me by this lovely lady; I have a couple of ideas, but want to see them all hexed up before I commit!

4.  Brit Bee 2 - Diamond Nipples

This one is kind of out of my hands for the immediate future.  My block is made, but once the others head back my way, I am not one to hang around and will get those mega-blocks made into another BB smasher.  Well it's a plan!

So there we have my hopes for Q1, and I am sure I will start, and maybe finish a load more and have a bigger list in Q2!!

Ready or not?

Well Christmas is coming ready or not...

So here are the last couple of makes that I can show you before the big day.

Lovely Sarah sent me a couple of Doctor Who cuts with a certain someone in mind.  So, as I was already planning on making dear son a drawstring bag, it was a bit of a no-brainer...

He is going to be thrilled!  Thank you Missus xxx

My long-term Christmas project was the low-volume hexie cushion for my Mum. 

I finished this up at the beginning of the week when the fear of the lurgy was starting to make me panic.  I used some natural Essex Linen for the sashing and back, and it measures up at 20" plumped with a feather insert...

I did a (reversed) french seam instead of binding it, and I am really really pleased with how that turned out.

Apart from the present wrapping I am as ready as I can be... I think!

Today I have cleaned and tidied, and now I have a slight sore throat, so am going to try and fend that off with Chocolate, tea, Christmas movies and napping!

I've decided I won't be posting again until this time next week, so I really really hope you all have a wonderful Christmastime, surrounded by the ones you love, and time for thoughts for those who may be missing. 

Have fun, and see you on the other side of the big dinner xxx

Giveaway Day!

*** The Giveaway is now closed - Winner to be announced shortly***

Hello hello hello and welcome as always to the regulars, irregulars and stalkers who frequent these parts, and thank you too for stopping by if you are purely here to take a look at the loot, I won't hold it against you.

It's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day and I am ready!

After a shocking failure to get finished yesterday, I came in from work this afternoon, stitched a bit, did the school run, then stitched a bit more.  Took some slightly dodgy photos, fed the family and here I am.  If this is your first time here, that pretty much sums up most of my days.

So what do I have on offer for you this time... one of Jeni, In Color Order's drawstring bags, the first I have actually completed, 5 more are all cut and ready to go for Christmas, and I don't think I will be stopping after those; it's a brilliant pattern.

And what do you need to go inside a cute bag?  Well hexies, that's what!  I have cut 100+ 1" hexie papers to get you started, and just because I want to spread the hexie love to one and all, I've cut a rainbow of 100 scrappy 1.25" hexies, so you can make yourself something fun straight away with no time-consuming chopping required.  I did use my Sizzix in case you are wondering, I am not kind enough to have cut them all by hand!

So what do you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this bag o' fun?

Two chances, with one separate comment for each... any additional comments will be deleted, and if you answer both in one comment, you'll only get one chance...

1. Tell me what you would pop in the bag after you have stitched up all those hexies; and
2. Followers get a second chance, just leave a comment saying that you are; you can even start following right now if you feel so inclined; I will then tick you off the class register!

International entrants are more than welcome; I will use Random.org to draw a winner on Friday 7th at 9pm GMT (which I think is only 1pm PST, but I will be asleep at 1am/5pm PST, sorry).

No Reply Bloggers must leave an email address in your comment(s), otherwise I will re-draw, sorry.

Good luck chaps - as with previous giveaway posts, I will not be replying to all the individual comments, but I will read everything xxx

Sunday Wrap Up

I hope you have had a good weekend, whether it has been a holiday, a super get-together, or nothing out of the ordinary.

For us is was a relaxing weekend, which itself is out of the ordinary, and hence very welcome.  We have watched family DVDs, The Lorax and The Pirates, taken in some Christmas films on TV and I even made a casserole and apple crumble today; I know in a months time I will be feeling frazzled, so it was nice to have a little time to take it easy.

This coming week we have Parents' Evening, Swimming, Ballet, Cubs, a Beaver trip and Recorder concert all before an Inset Day on Friday, so I am not hoping for great things in the making department.

But having laid out my plans last Sunday I managed to achieve the lot, and more!

I managed to get a couple of blocks made for Bee Blessed and waited all week for better light for the photos, but I had to snap these this morning so I can mail them this week...

All the strips of hexies for my Mum's cushion are now made...

...and I only have one edge of binding on my Retro Flowers left to stitch down this evening - woo hoo!

So this week... I aim to join Mum's hexies into a panel, decide on and make my Brit Bee Secret Santa pressie, mail my Bee Blessed blocks, Stitch Tease Secret Santa thingumy and LV Swap fabric, make a wall hanging for the downstairs toilet so the wall looks less scruffy at Christmas, finalise my Christmas Gift sewing list and make something for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!!!

Easy eh!?

Sizzix Quilting Blog Hop!

I am really excited that it's my turn to extol the virtues of my Sizzix cutter especially in relation to Christmas!  I know it is Thanksgiving elsewhere in the world today, but we'll gloss over that for now.

Did you see all the ideas earlier this week?  And there's more to come...

Monday 19th November - Angela Southey

Tuesday 20th November - Tacha Bruecher/Fat Quarterly

Wednesday 21st November - Katy Jones

Thursday 22nd November - Hadley Gordon

Friday 23rd November - Lynne Goldsworthy

Saturday 24th November - Lory Bucaria

Now, I am all for quick finishes and anything that makes my sewing life simpler and cheaper, and although I love stitching from scratch, as Brit quilters know, fabric is so expensive compared to our US friends, sometimes it is way more economic to buy ready-made items.  Using my Sizzix and beloved hexie dies, my first project combines the best of both worlds.

Thrifty Hexie Christmas Pillow Case
You will need:

Sizzix Big Shot Machine
Sizzix 1" Hexagon 658317 Die
Sizzix 1 1/4" Hexagon 658318 Die
Brushed cotton pillow case (I got a pair from TK Maxx for £5, flannel fabric would cost at least twice that)
Fabric pieces - I used mostly Cherry Christmas, with a few scraps of pink and yellow.
Bondaweb, or similar
Copy paper
Greaseproof paper
Sharp scissors
Thread, sewing machine & iron

• Measure the width of your pillow case, and calculate how many hexagons you will require, multiplying by the number of strips you wish to use; my pillow case required 10 hexies x 4 columns.
• Cut the number of hexie papers you require using the 1" hexagon die; folding a sheet of A4 into quarters and running through the Sizzix cutter will yield 16 perfect hexies.
• Prepare your fabric, giving it a quick press and layer 3 or 4 pieces onto the 1 1/4" hexagon die.  I used a combo of small scraps that covered a single hexagon up to 5" x 10" pieces folded in half to cut 8 hexies in one pass.  You can be as efficient with your cutting as you want.
• Baste and join your hexies using your preferred method.
• Once your panel is complete, press, remove all papers, press again, taking care to make sure the edges are all pressed under.
• Cut a piece of bondaweb slightly larger than the panel.
• Affix Bondaweb as per manufacturers instructions - I place the paper side up, on top of the back of the panel and place the whole lot on a piece of greaseproof paper to stop any ironing board catastrophes.
• Trim the Bondaweb as close as you can to the edge of the panel.
• Remove the backing paper and place in your desired position on the pillow case.
• Press with a hot iron to fix.  I also stitched round the edges of the panel at about 1/8" to make sure it wasn't going to come off.  If you apply to the side of the pillow case without the extra flap bit, it will be easier to manoeuvre.
• Fill with a pillow and admire your lovely new bedding.

As I had a pair of pillow cases, I made matching ones for the girls to have at Christmas already.

My second project was so quick and simple, I whipped these up within a couple of hours from when inspiration struck... emergency last minute gift anyone?!

Drunkard's Coasters x 6

You will need:
Sizzix Big Shot Machine
Sizzix Drunkard's Path Quarter Circle 657169 Die
Sizzix Drunkard's Path Arch & Fan Background 657168 Die
Sizzix 4.5" (4" finished) Square 657609 Die
Selection of fabrics at least 5" square - again, lovely Cherry Christmas
Heat resistant wadding
Thread, sewing machine & iron

• Cut 6 x 4.5" fabric squares for the backs.
• Cut 6 x 4.5" squares of wadding.
• Cut 3 pairs of Drunkard's Path pieces using the dies to create 6 DP pairs.
• Pair up the cut fabric pieces to make a pleasing arrangement.  
• Sew you Drunkard's Path blocks using your preferred method, lots of pins, no pins, flip and stitch, they all work!
• Quilt your DP blocks to the wadding squares as desired.
• Place the backing and DP block right sides together, stitch round using a 1/4" seam, leaving a 2"-3" gap for turning on one edge.
• Turn through, poke out those corners and press; stitch round the edges with a 1/8" closing the gap.
• Pour yourself a drink, sit back and enjoy, whilst making sure not to slop your beverage of choice on your pretty fabric!

I hope these have given you some ideas for Christmas, with or without a Sizzix cutter, and if you are making do without, read on...

To be in with a chance of winning a Big Shot machine and a selection of quilting dies worth over £130, click here! Closing date: Wednesday 28th November 2012 at 10am GMT.

Sadly this is open to EU residents only.   
For more information about the Sizzix patchwork and quilting range, please click here.

I am looking forward to seeing what Lynne comes up with tomorrow.

Travellin' Pic Stitch...

It's my turn at last!!  It seems like an age ago that Laura and Katy asked for volunteers to join them on their travels, and what travels they have been!


So I had a ponder, as is my way, and tried loading a few pics into the Play Crafts palette builder to firstly come up with my colour scheme.

I thought I would stay local, a local block for local people everyone!

For those who don't know this part of the UK, I live on the beautiful South Downs about 10 miles north of the West Sussex coast.  I work and previously lived in Worthing, a seaside town, predominately inhabited by the older generation.  On a sunny day, coach loads of even more older people descend to look at the sea.

Anyway, I tried some pics from my village...

 

A bit dull?

Some of the autumnal foliage...

A bit too, um, yellow?

A trip to the beach on a cloudy day...

Too grey, and too brown.

Another trip to the beach on a sunny day...

Perfect!

So I showed you my first attempt before...

Shocking to say the least!  But there was deep thought going on here, see those little diamonds on the front of the beach huts and everything!  I don't usually throw away any fabric but these, once they were partially sewn, were so horrible, dear friends, they went in the bin!

And so to my beloved Sizzix-cut hexies.  Now these I adore.  There was no plan other than fabrics I love and random.  So much more me...

A bit of a cheat?  Well the text print is from Crabtastic, and we all know that the British seaside is where you go to eat fish & chips out of old newspaper!

I immediately made this into a whopping Open Wide zipper pouch and have been using it for hexying on-the-go ever since!

So there you have it, my interpretation of my locality at its best.

Thank you for stopping by if you are new to my blog, and thanks to Laura and Katy for a superb idea, even if they were the only ones who actually got to gad about the Wiki-wiki Wild Wild West.

Tomorrow my lovely friend Sara of Sew Sweetness takes the TPS baton, and I cannot wait to see what she has come up with.

Don't forget that on 30th November everyone can link up for a chance to win these fabulous prizes!

Sponsored by Paperpieces.com, Fabricworm, Pink Castle Fabrics ,  Marmalade Fabrics, the Fat Quarter Shop, WantItNeedItQuilt, and Aurifil.

Full details for competition entry can be found here.

xxx

Juggling...

I have so many balls up in the air right now, I am feeling just a little bit anxious that I have forgotten something major.

I have just sewn up a little Christmas project - I had the urge, and also the raw materials, so I can at least tick off one of my insane amount of  'to dos'.

I will try to clear my Inbox later and comment on as many blogs as possible, but in 5 minutes time my favourite lady on TV will be back on the box, so you will all have to wait in line behind Kirstie!

So as not to leave you picture-free, here is the current batch of hexies being taken from pillar to post, hoping to eventually be a Christmas present for my mum...

The low value fabrics are rather calming, which is just what I need right now.

Some calm...

Half term has swung into town; we have already successfully school-shoe-shopped, car-MOTed and turned up the central heating.

I won't complain about the weather (for once), because I know there are a lot of friends battening down the hatches for real tonight, and a bit of gusty drizzle here really is nothing in comparison.

Last night I got as far as ironing on the transfer for the next embroidery I want to attempt from Aneela's book, but then I could not resist the call of the hexies again.

So I decided instead to immediately start making my Mum a cushion for Christmas; I routed about and opted for a calm, low value selection to match the decor of her bedroom, I enlisted the help of my Szzix-winding princesses and got this far...

So now I am all set for my TV-watching, swimming lesson and ballet-waiting moments again.

To my East Coast American friends, be safe xxx

I'm pulling!

Yep, it's friday night and I have already pulled these for the new nephew quilt...

And now I am going to pull all the basting and papers from these little beauties...

I may have done a little shopping courtesy of Annie at The Village Haberdashery, and Brenda at Pink Castle, but I am not going to own up to that until the evidence is in my little mitts!

My BQS parcel also arrived with it's new owner Reene, hurrah!!

Happy Friday everyone xxx

For the next few months...

... I will mostly be piecing in...

BLUE!!!

... and grey and orange and green...

I am going to have a new little nephew.

So my goal is to make a smaller, canine version of Tacha's Cat Tails quilt, as seen on the cover of Hexa Go-Go...

I already have some Heather Ross doggies, the only acceptable mutts in this house, to replace the moggies, so time to cut some more papers.

I have never been so excited about making a quilt; so please excuse me whilst I go stash diving!!