Ditsy Blue Half Square Triangles

I have to tell you, I was not a cheerful soul this morning and nor was someone else!

So, I dug out these triangles from a failed and abandoned project, and put this together

Once together I added a border. In hindsight I think I should've made this more square, so I will have to fix that. But anyway, my favourite bit. I fiddled about with white paper until I had added some applique ideas. I wanted something simple and "modernish". Just made that word up! Yes, I know birds don't grow on stems but I like him there.

Once I looked through my stash I had nothing to show up on the blue background except these denimy moody blues. (I guess my mood was winning through!)

This is as far as I have got. Funny how taking a photo of a work in progress helps you spot things you want to adjust - things you can't see when you are staring at the darn thing. Those stems need to be shorter. I had to breach a fat quarter bale of fabrics from Moda, Laundry Basket. One of my favourite designers. This collection is Snowbird.

I'm going to use bondaweb but cut out the middle of it to reduce bulk on all the shapes, then blanket stitch on the machine. Going to need to buy some suitable thread tomorrow. I think I'll do a simple meander background for the quilting, using the machine, and echo quilt the applique. This is just going to be a nice little project to have fun with and get done. I've had such a lovely creative day today after all, funny how that happens.

Crikey, it's cold in here, looks like my next task is shovelling coal. Oh my glamorous life!

Half Square Triangles to beat the Winter Blues

What an utterly horrible day, it's cold, snowing and slushy and wet outside. And that is not very cheering! I am sat by my fire, my toes slowly thawing, wearing my warmest Aran cardigan (thanks mum!).

I woke up this morning, enthusiasm for sewing but none for anything I feel I should be stitching, so I have dug out an old project - another not on the "in progress slide show". Until 5 minutes ago! I'm going to do something with these summery little half square triangles...

And if I can tear myself away from compulsively updating my blog I will go and stitch them together and report back later! 

Sewing in Good Company

Another catch up with the ladies sewing projects in the Cabin and at Beales.

Jean finnished her special quilt for her friend, Margaret. Now that the quilt has been given to Margaret we can put some pictures up.

Here it is finished and laid out for basting to the wadding. Jean used Quilters dreampoly and a spray baste.

Quilted on the machine in straight lines using a gentle zig zag stitch with the walking foot. Jean used Aurifil thread and a quilting needle. The zig zag does add a nice little textural detail and helps with any uneven wrinkles between the layers. Margaret had a special pet dog and Jean wanted to make the quilt personal so I suggested an embroidery in a blank square. We used a design by Lynette Anderson from her book, Quilting Cats and Dogs Just back stitch and lazy daisy. Jean is so pleased that Margaret loved her quilt.

Now Jean is learning to Applique using needle turn and freezer paper techniques. Jean's making a table runner. It's got three panels and now she's on the third panel she's beginning to enjoy it!

Mum's been making a bird hanging with an embroidered heart for Wendy to celebrate her wedding Anniversary. I can't show the finished article because she has given it already!

Here's mum still working through the 9 patch quilts for Kofi and Oscar. We have enough for 1 quilt and I bet as I type Mum has made up the final squares for the second one. Oh gosh, another quilting project! An I have just noticed that Jean and Mum appear to dress to match their sewing projects!

I can't fit any more onto the deisgn wall but you can get the idea. I really like the blue jewel like colours. I think the quilting should be simple as the patterned fabric wont let intricate designs show up too well.

And here we are at Beales, this is Elizabeth and Rachel. Elizabeth has rich gold taupes and black and Rachel is working on hazy pinks and creams. It's been good fun sewing with so many different people on so many different projects. I'm looking forward to going back to Beales next Tuesday, 10 Feb and with Valentines Day around the corner, maybe I should think of a themed project...

Next up will be an update on my own sewing projects. I have 2 new starts and 1 and a half finishes!

Grandmothers Flower Garden Hexagon Quilt

2015 and new projects! My Mother-in-Law, Sue, has a hexagon quilt which she finished at the end of 2014 after 40 years of stitching! I think we can call it Vintage now!

These little Hexagons are 1inch and include fabrics from her daughter's dresses as well as other materials along the way. We laid them out some time ago and Sue has been diligently stitching in the white and cream filler hexes. This is an absolute classic example of a scrap quilt and I do love it. There is fussy cutting and an interesting use of striped fabrics to different effect. I think the light and dark colours add interest. You can see that some flowers have pale petals and so seem to disappear into the background. These elements make for an interesting quilt.

Here is the back, you can see the little stitches and tiny seam. The tacking is black, you can't see it from the front so I am going to leave it in and hope a quilting thread doesn't pull any through. (Eek). This tacking method works well on a small shape and does not pierce the papers so they are easy to take out.

Sue has washed this and some of the sneaky polyester cottons that are included have not shrunk at the same rate as the cotton, so I am mindful of this.

Free Motion Quilting

I have said I will quilt it, which now seems like a daunting task as I don't want to ruin the quilt. After much sketchbook doodling, here is one sample idea. I have left a hex flower shape unquilted in the middle to represent a flower to gauge the scale.

Thread: So Fine by Superior Threads. Ive chosen a blending colour and etched poly thread for strength, etched so it looks like cotton. Its 50 weight and so very fine. This is so that you see more of the design and less of the actual thread. I am using an 80/12 Topstitch needle and the same thread in the bobbin.

Ive decided to use a dense design for the background as it will add stability to the hand stitching plus if I only lightly quilt the flowers they will puff up with a more three dimensional effect. The trade off is that the amount of thread required is "lots" and the quilt will be stiffer than it would if it was lightly quilted, but more robust. Decisions, decisions.

Another option would be a simple Meander, but I just want this to be a little bit more special. I am still thinking about this and I think my swirls are a little bit wonky!

Deconstructed Patchwork Christmas Tree

Here is my Nephew, Oscar. He does enjoy sewing and hasn't yet got a sewing machine so he comes to my house and we use mine. Our last sewing day was on Christmas Eve.

I have been so busy I just havent got around to keeping my blog updated.

We were working on deconstructed patchwork. No measuring allowed, all done by eye and perfect for children who can use a rotary cutter safely.

So, after buying some materials that he chose we got to drawing a design of a Xmas Tree on paper. Then simply sliced up rectangles and squares with the rotary cutter (yes I did hold my breath on a number of occasions!) After each piece was joined we trimmed the seams back to 1/4 inch.

This method gives fast results and never promises to match points and so you can just enjoy the sewing part. However the compromise is the rather wasteful use of fabric. It was so good to share this with Oscar, he had so much endless enthusiasm and was so amazingly quick to grasp techniques and instructions.

Well done Oscar! xxxxx Love from Lou-Lou!