Advent

As you probably know I have been making all sorts of small projects over the last few weeks.  I am pleased to say they have all gone to better places and are being 'looked after' by others who hopefully will enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Struan's Advent Calendar before it was filled

For the other 'Big' Children in the family

It was really good fun making these, but as always had to rush at the end of last week to fill them with all sorts of fun goodies.


The quilt below has also gone of to Marie Curie to help in fundraising it will hopefully be raffled later this month at the Hospice Firewalk evening.

I now hope to return to the piecing together of Techie's big quilt, I am looking forward to tackling a larger project next week.

I am also a wee bit ahead as I have managed to complete with two weeks to spare the gift for our class Secret Santa.  Hope you have all been doing some festive stitching this week.

Marie Curie Fundraiser

I am pleased to report that the stall at the Christmas Street Market was a success thanks to the band of  volunteers who braved the cold last Saturday.  Hopefully they will have raised the awareness of others, spreading the word of the valuable work the Marie Curie nurses and hospices provide in the UK and hopefully encouraging others to join the team of fundraisers for in my opinion a very good cause.  Each and every one of us has a different charity we support and of course you know the reason for my trying to raise money and awareness in our local community.  We do not have enough nurses to support those who need it.

I was given a list of statistics to allow me to make up some temporary posters for the stall.  Did you Know?

There are only 48 nurses covering the South Lanarkshire Area, they provided 1581 visits during 2016/17.  £20 donation helps fund a nurse for only 1hour.  £35 provides a nurses uniform.  £180 pays for an entire night shift.  On Saturday the stall raised just over £500 which will help fund 25 hours of care in Scotland.  I am pleased I have been able to support the charity once again and hopefully my quilt which was raffled will also keep someone cosy this winter.

The volunteers sold Marie Curie Christmas Cards and bags as well as other craft Items.  As promised here are photos of my donations to the stall.  Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the scarves or the little Christmas stockings which I believe were a good seller.

The Quilt which was raffled

Table Runner

Mug Rugs/Candle Mats

Tissue Holders

The Glasgow Marie Curie Hospice is having its annual Christmas Fair on Saturday 25th so I wish them well in what should be a good day.

As an added aside I have added a few wee quilts which I have made over the last few months to the Selling My Quilts page in the hope perhaps they can be sold for added funds.  Any money I make from these will be added to my Just Giving Page.  Should you be interested in purchasing any of them please contact me using the contact on the home page. The Prices I have listed are minimum guide prices and covers the cost of the materials used only and does not reflect in any way the value of quilters work elsewhere.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

That's just what I have been doing over the past few weeks.  Getting tied in knots over silly things which don't really matter.  I haven't really concentrated on the 'big stuff' with the result I have been getting bogged down.

Once again too many irons in the fire and trying to do too many projects at one time.  I sat down this afternoon and discovered once again I have too many WIPs.  I think I have counted 9!!

Over the last week however I have been trying to get on top of a few small items which I want to donate to the Marie Curie stall at the local Christmas Market which is taking place next Saturday.  At last I feel I have enough small items made for their stall to make it worthwhile.  I am donating Lotta Dots this half square triangle quilt.  

I am not sure whether it will be for sale at the right price or whether they hope to Raffle it on the day.  As always when quilts are made you shouldn't try to put a price tag on the finished item, a donation is a donation and hopefully Marie Curie Fundraising Team will make good use of it and see it for what it is - A Quilt is a Hug you can Keep!  I had fun making it and I hope someone will enjoy having it as a comfort.  

The smaller items - a Table Runner, Mug Rugs, Tissue Holders and Small Christmas Stockings -should help raise a few pounds to help with the care and support for those with terminal illness in our local community.  I will post a few pictures next time.

Advent Calendars have also been on my list.  Fortunately I am now confident enough to say they will be ready for the 1st of December this year.

At class this week being the first of the month our Block challenge was a Star Block.  What a wonderful array of sparkling stars appeared.  I haven't asked permission of the group to post their blocks but these were my two blocks.  This is turning out to be a really enjoyable challenge for those taking part.  Next month's chosen block will be a Square in a Square.

Techie's quilt is still hanging forlornly on the design wall, looking at me everytime I walk into the sewing room, hopefully this week I will manage to start the process of joining the blocks together.

Until next time, have a good sewing week and keep cosy.

Time Does Not Stand Still

I am not sure where the hours, days, months are disappearing to this year.  I seem to have been very busy but I don't think I have achieved much or have a lot to show.  I cant believe it has been two weeks since my last post.

I collected my sewing machine from the shop and the technician has given it a good clean and service, he replaced the thread cutter which when pressed was making a dreadful noise and of course wasn't cutting the thread.  The machine itself sounds much healthier and is running smoothly.  I took the opportunity while it was away to give my frame a brush down, secured all the screws and gave the rails a polish which was recommended on a post on the Grace Frame users Facebook page.  So I duly loaded it all up last week and finished off the zipper quilt I was in the process of quilting when the machine had a tizzy.

I have continued with Techies quilt and now have the 4 large blocks and 3 of the 5 small blocks completed and I added a pop of colour to one of them to see how it looks.

All the babies have arrived their quilts have been delivered.  Findlay, Harry, Zachary, Amelia, Ellen, Jack, Imogene and Angus.  The quilt photos are now all on the Gallery page.

The Marie Curie charity have been in touch with me and I have been busy making a few smaller items for sale on the Market Stall they will be having in November.  Good fun and useful for using up my smaller pieces of fabric but a bit disjointed and fiddly.  I hope my wee items will help boost the funds, help them raise awareness and find more volunteers in our local community to support the work they carry out caring and supporting people through terminal illness.

I will be continuing work on Techies quilt this week and I must make a start to some items I need to make for Christmas - I was told its only 9 weeks - I am sure you didn't really want to know that!  Have fun.

Crystal Star

I am delighted to report that Crystal Star is finished and I am delighted with it.  It has been a long process, not so much the actual making the quilt but the time it has taken from purchase of the kit way back in 2013 to the final photo today.  Sometimes things get in the way, something you really want to do but don't have the skill, knowledge and sometimes the inclination just to get it done!  Then when you actually make the decision to start, everything goes ok and the end result is something quite stunning and very much more than you expected.  I overcame many hurdles along the way with this one both mentally and in ability.  I pushed dark negative thoughts aside and travelled along a path which led to new techniques being mastered, extra care being taken for accuracy in cutting and stitching and I have come out the other side and now the owner of a very striking quilt which will hopefully be with me a very long time. I have no intentions in parting with this one.  At the moment I have no idea what I am going to do with it, where I am going to put it or when I will actually use it but when all is said and done - it is Finished and I am happy with it!

I have also made a really good effort to push on with the Farmers Wifey Quilt which as you all know has been a WIP for a very long time too.  The fabric for the setting triangles arrived and have been cut and are now sewn in place.  I decided to leave one of the strips out of the front of the quilt as it was like Topsy, growing and growing and was going to end up so big!  I stopped when it reached 60 x 60 inches and I still have to put a border and binding on it.  I will put the strip on the back as extra interest.  I have ordered extra wide backing for this one and hopefully it will arrive next week, then I will be on the home stretch for another finish. 

My baskets are gradually emptying, but I have plenty of new ideas waiting in the sidelines.  I have added a few more creatures to the Awesome Ocean project 

and Techie's new quilt is coming along nicely too.  

A good week of sewing when all is said and done,  I hope you have had a good week too.

Imagination

This has been an exciting week, no sewing, no knitting, no chores, but I am exhausted!  but in a very nice way.  We spent this week looking after our little Grandson who is an absolute charmer, I know, thats what every grandparent says about their offsprings little ones.  What adventures we had, we visited the Sea Life Centre which was fun although the turtle which S particularly wanted to see had gone on its holidays, we did however see the sharks, and rays being fed and watched the antics of the otters.   Some time was spent in the playpark where he burned up some of his never ending supply of energy.  He was so tired he fell asleep on the way home.

Catching Fish

Planting Bulbs

Digging up the lawn - oops!

Taking water to water the plants

One of my quilting friends commented when I said I was going to be entertained by my Grandson for a week thought that it should be the other way around and I would be entertaining him.  Well apart from  story time, meal times and bedtime I was well and truly entertained.  He has a very vivid imagination and can turn a piece of pipe into a fishing rod, a pair of rubber gloves into flippers for going diving, and on numerous occasions called out the coastguard and fire engine on his walkie talkie to rescue someone in difficulty - all helped of course by Fireman Sam.

So many questions had to be answered, jigsaws made up and stories read and woe betide me if I got the words wrong.  'Silly Grannie"!!

This will be a quieter week ahead, but I am already missing his little voice saying Grannie what are you doing?

I hope I will be able to continue with Techie's quilt, which can be seen over on Instagram, the fabric arrived for the setting triangles of the Farmers Wifey quilt so I can do some of the cutting for that too.

I am off to bed now to try to recharge my batteries.  Have a good week and enjoy whats left of the long weekend.

Three Finishes

Did you pop over to my Instagram page to see my new project?  I am loving everything about it the pattern and the colours seem to be working well.  I am taking this one slowly and so far so good.  Follow the progress and add a few comments if you like.  It won't appear here until its done and that may be a long way away!

So I am still catching up with the UFOs.  The Farmer's Wifey Quilt is on the wall - I have been waiting for some fabric to arrive for the setting triangles.  I was a bit fed up with this one as its been around a while.  I enjoyed making the little blocks then of course it was put in a basket and left to mature.  I was just going to sash the blocks in a square but I was persuaded the blocks would look better on point.........on point it is.  This is where I am at the moment

I finished the Whirlygig Vintage Flower Connecting Thread Kit this week - this was supposed to be a table runner but as always I had more fabric than needed just for a runner so I turned it into a small lap quilt or child's quilt.  

Whirlygig Vintage 36" x 36" 

I think I may have talked about having fleece and batting leftovers lying around needing used up so this is the second Finish

Stripey Quilt as you Go 25" x 25"

This is another little pram cover or car seat cover.  I cut the fleece and batting, sandwiched them together and used up some of my strips from my leftover basket.  The first strip is laid down diagonally right side up then the second on top right side down, stitched the normal quarter inch seam , flip and press, and continue.  Not sure if this should be called quilt as you go or stitch and flip.  Whatever you call it, it worked for me and made something out of nothing again.  I have had that jelly bean fabric for ages and thought it was appropriate for the binding of this wee cover.

This week I don't suppose I will get much stitching done.  I am off to play Grannie for a few days and have fun with S.  This is the third finish and not quilting.  Its been on the needles a while and when I started this I thought it was going to be a bit big however its taken me a while - I almost gave up as I didnt think the wool was going to stretch far enough - but of course over the summer he has stretched so hopefully it will keep him cosy as the days get cooler as he travels to nursery in the car.

Until next time happy stitching.

Another Basket Empty

The successful stash busting and finishing off UFo's continues.  I am working through a list and that seems to make such a difference ticking things off as I go and feeling good about it too.

This is the quilt I have been working on this week and now that basket is empty.  The half square triangles were made up from some left over 5inch charm pack squares and some Dashwood Studios Flurry in cream. Just to be different I used the different colours for each side of the binding.  This is a very spotty quilt!   I finished it last night, sewing on the binding while watching Netflix and sipping a glass of well earned (well I think it was well earned) newly bottled Plum Gin.

Lots of Spots 37" x 41"

Counting Sheep was gifted to Jack this week so I can now show you the finished quilt. 

Counting Sheep 30" x 42"

Finally for this week I decided that I must do something with the shelf in the wardrobe which was full and overflowing with offcuts of Ikea fleece.  The issue is, the offcuts are not really big enough to back another quilt but they are too big to discard and throw out.  I have been struggling to think of ideas of how to use them up.  I did have a couple of pieces which I though might just work for a little pram cover or car seat cover and this is what I produced - something from nothing - the fabrics were from my leftover bin and I cheated and didn't put batting in, but now I wish I had.  I think its quite cute.

Aqua Cover 25" x 25"

Now if you have been very observant you might have noticed a new tab at the top of the page.  I have joined Instagram -  Blogging is fine but with the very nature of it you have to write a story and sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day, week, month.   My Instagram page has been set up with a view to tracking the progress of any new quilts I make.  It will be a step by step photo record of each stage of the process of my quilt making. One quilt at a time. (although I will be working on others in the background)  Well that is the plan.  So I hope you will enjoy the first quilt in the series of many more and follow my page and its progress.  Its called Refraction and it will be for Techie.

Have a good week and keep cosy and dry, the nights are already getting shorter and the lights are going on earlier I hope you have a quilt cuddle under.

Unfinished Projects

How many projects do quilters have on the go at any one time?  That's a rhetorical question because there is no real answer.  Very few quilters I know only work on the one, in fact most folks have a number exceeding 3 and some have in excess of 10.  At the moment I think I am somewhere in between but I daren't count.  I am working my way through the baskets, my oldest to date is the Farmer's Wifey Quilt, I have started adding the sashing strips so that is progress.

The problem is these are only projects I have actually cut fabrics for and started sewing, this doesn't include the numerous kits, patterns and books with 'to do' quilts in.  it also doesn't include the ones I have seen and taken screenshots of or bookmarked on my iPad.  Without wishing my life away I wish I had more time!  Perhaps its not more time I need, but more inclination to get the chores done so I can get on with the sewing.  Maybe if I spent less time thinking about what I should be doing and actual get on and just do it.  Well the start of a new month and a new week maybe, just maybe...........

I have tallied up the quilts I have made to be delivered to the local care home with the others from our Group.  I have five complete, 

there should have been six but disaster struck last week with the Zipper Quilt below (sorry not a great photo)

which was loaded on the frame and I was getting on fine until three quarters of the way down.  All of a sudden the machine  beeped at me and jammed solid.  The needle was stuck and wouldn't move - I switched off switched on - no joy.  Well long story short after a morning gently coaxing the needle up I managed to cut the tangled mess of threads loose, cleaned it all up and rethreaded, new bobbin, new thread etc. the machine just would not stitch.  Stripped it all back again and watched carefully when I tried manually to take a stitch.  The problem was quite noticeable.  The hook was in the wrong position to pick up the thread from the needle.  So this week my machine will be heading off to the technician who hopefully will manage sort it all out for me - I hope.  

So it is all packed up and ready to go and of course I now have another UFO! which will  just have to wait until my machine is fixed.

Two more of the baby quilts have also been delivered this week - I will show them next time.  Hope the upcoming week is not as disastrous as last week.  Happy stitching 

Four + Three

The count so far this summer is Four Boys and Three girls and another little one due in September.  It has been fun making baby quilts using a variety of styles and fabrics.  I cant say I love them all but I do have my favourites, some fabrics were nicer to use than others, some frayed a bit which was a bit disappointing, maybe my colour choices were not quite right but all in all I hope the little ones will enjoy their little quilts. you can see some of them on my Gallery page.

I managed a finish this week the 'Delightful' (yes thats what it is called) Connecting Threads kit, there was a lot of thread went into this one!

I also had a little play and made this little fun Block from Elizabeth Hartman's Awesome Ocean pattern.  I just felt I needed something to 'make me think' a little - a nice little challenge, there are lots of other ocean inhabitants to follow over the next few weeks or so.

Our Group had its annual outing yesterday to Kaleidoscope - what lovely day we had, Coffee first at Dobbies garden centre, a couple of hours shopping and admiring all the fabulous fabrics then a lovely lunch at the Tickled Trout.  A good day was had by all!

Thats the news for this week, until next time enjoy your stitching.

It's That Time of Year

The soft fruits are in abundance so it is jam making time!  I enjoy making jam it rekindles lots of memories of my childhood watching Mum prepare the fruit, watching it bubble and being sent out of harms way when the crucial moment of testing the setting point.  Being allowed to watch from a distance as the boiling liquid was poured into the sparkling clean jam jars, which were then wiped down just in case there was a stray drip (there never was).  As I got older I was allowed to put the little waxed circles on top, placing them carefully and not allowing the edge to dip down into the delicious smelling delicacy.  Gone now are the days when we put cellophane lids on fixed securely in place by the little elastic band, the screw top lid has taken over.    It is funny how your memory is triggered by doing a similar task today.  The handwritten labels are gone now too replaced by the printed labels from the computer.  I am sure jam making is another dying craft.  Sugary jams are becoming a no no as our diet is bombarded with everyday sweet biscuits and cakes.  Jam was a luxury when we were children and about the only treat during the week.  Mum always did her baking on a Saturday and we were always at her elbow to get some sultanas or a glace cherry from the tub.  Memories..............I must be getting old!!  Well I enjoyed the morning jam making.

and so to quilting -  This week has been spent using up precuts.  Yes I know I hear you, I don't like precuts.  I have had these two same charm packs for some time and they were gathering dust on the shelf.  I combined the two and then split them keeping all the same designs together.  Swirls for one and spots for the other.  A quick and easy Zipper Quilt was the first one to be put on the design wall.  Does anyone else out there have a larger than usual supply of dull brown fabrics?  I seem to, although I have managed to use some up on this more masculine quilt.

The other half of the charms squares with the spots were made into HSTs and produced this little one.  Now I just need to find some fabric and put some borders on.

Two completely different quilt tops from the same fabric line.

Thats my news for this week I hope you have a good week and enjoy whatever you are doing.

The Star Continues

Crystal Star has been pinned to the design wall and I am so pleased with the results so far.  It is pinned because it wouldn't  hang there itself because of the tissue paper backing.  So the next stage was started sooner than intended as I didn't want it hanging there and pin marks appearing.  Well I have to say this was the worst stage in the process and its still not complete.  Pulling all the little bits of paper off the back took longer than sewing the sections!  It was a tissue paper pattern a bit like the dressmaking patterns I used to use many years ago, so the big bits came away easily but the littlest sections were a bit more of a challenge.  It is mainly done but I will have to go back over it again when I have a bit more patience - something I don't have a lot of!

Work in Progress

Whilst it was up on the wall I auditioned the border fabrics which came in the pack.  To say I was disappointed was a bit of an understatement.  In my eyes the border is the wrong fabric - its showing as a brown colour way and not the black of the rest of the background of the quilt top.  Hmmm! Plan number two is now in progress, after which it is being folded up for a while so I can come back to it with fresh enthusiasm.

I have been piecing another Connecting Threads kit in between times and its now hanging on the wall, I'm trying to get inspiration for the quilting of this one.

So as you can see I have a good couple of weeks and the little bundle of quilts for the elderly care home is growing.  I hope you have managed some stitching too, have a good week.

No Words

Well only a few to say how pleased I am to have this little beauty at last on my design wall!

The Box Under The Table........

......Is Empty!!!  Hurray - although it is empty I still have some of the fabrics to use up.  I think though I have done well using up the pieces.  As you know the box was almost full

then gradually some of the fabrics were used, 

then I managed to use a smaller basket, the middle one 

 and now I only have the little basket of bits left.  I call that a stash busting success.

I of course also had the wastebasket in which all the smallest of pieces go - its not quite fully so thats another stash busting project in the future.  Do you remember my Toes in The Sand Quilt?

This was the block of the month quilt and when complete I had so much fabric left over I have made these tops which are now waiting in the stack to be quilted.

40 x 35inches

                   

40 x 40 ins

                      

Random nonsense which doesn't take much thought or concentration but is good therapy.  Sometimes its good to sit at your machine and pick up small pieces randomly and stitch them together.  Im pleased with the results and they will go to the care home in due course.

Crystal Star is now coming together nicely after a short break for some scrappy stitching.  I need to jump back on to Gracie to keep the flow going.  Its a wet day here so I might just go and do that now. Enjoy your weekend and week ahead whatever you are doing.  

Freemotion Quilting

Determination and encouragement by others is the answer to any anxieties over free motion - I have decided.  Having good friends to prod and cajole you along sometimes is just what is needed at least it was exactly what I needed to get my rear in gear and get over my hang ups about my Gracie Frame.

Having invited two quilty friends both very good at FMQ to try out Gracie I had no option but to bite the bullet and give it another blast.

What a lovely couple of hours we had. We were all a bit apprehensive but I think it was just what we needed - just look what we managed to do.  Stipples, swirls, waves, bubbles and feathers.  Encouraging each other to try different shapes the time just flew in.  Thank you girls!

                 

Having been given that wee push I loaded another two quilts tops up this week and am reasonably pleased with the results.  As always you learn from your mistakes and there are a couple of things I will change in the future.  Probably not noticeable to anyone else, but I know they are there.  Photos of the completed quilts are on the Gallery Page.

The Crystal Star has been put on the back burner this week but I am ready once again for the next section.  I am enjoying the foundation piecing but it is very easy to get complacent.  The last time I was working on it I almost had a complete disaster.  I was  on automatic and I placed the first piece of the section with the wrong side facing up instead of right side up.  I trimmed it ready for the next piece when I noticed.  Fortunately being thrifty with my fabric I did manage to turn it and slide it into position, I was lucky and managed it by a whisker!  I decided that I should have a break from it at that point as I was getting too smart for my own good.

I've had a good couple of weeks and I'm enjoying having most of my sewing items and computer upstairs.  Today was spent updating said computer, tidying up files and updating photos.  As is usual when I start on this type of clean up things don't go as quickly or as smoothly as I would like, thus taking much longer than I anticipated so no sewing done today.  There is always tomorrow..............