The Jury is Still Out

........... on the little quilts. I took them along to the class for the ladies to compare - I'm not sure if I would be able tell the difference myself if I hadn't made them.  

We are comparing Warm and Natural with Vilene 80/20. Thicker, softer, lighter, couldn't tell .......were some of the comments.  They will be laundered this week and then we will see and compare once again. Then after that there may be some hand quilting and more comparing.

I haven't done very much this week, unfortunately a tweaked muscle in my side has hampered all the things I had planned but I can only rest and hopefully it will be better soon.  I am not a good patient and hate sitting around. I'm not really able to sit at my machine for any length of time so short sessions are all I can manage meantime.  Unfortunately I don't have a hand sewing project at the ready - any I could be doing requires a bit of preparation first.  My main pastime has been knitting an Easter Aran cardigan for our wee grandson and reading.  I discovered I had some catch up to do on my Missouri Star Block magazines. The second Mod Block magazine has just been issued so I'm looking forward to downloading that one.

A gloriously sunny day yesterday and today has brought a feeding frenzy to our garden bird feeders with the blackbirds enjoying the apples we put out for them.  It's so nice to sit and watch their antics - discovering indeed what pecking order really means.  A pair of bramblings have been spotted, beautiful wee birds in their bright plumage which are not a common sighting in the garden.  The little wren was hopping around on the blue conifer and a pair of robins were pecking around in the bark under the shrubs looking for nesting materials. Spring has sprung!!

We may even get to sit in our summerhouse soon - Hubby decided he could no longer sit surrounded by the garden furniture, bay tree, bird seed, and plant pots which have all been stored there over the winter.  It has now been all swept out, the cobwebs dusted down and is looking much better.  All I need to do is give the windows a wash and tidy the shelves and our little seating area is ready for use - roll on the warmer days when we can enjoy some quiet time sitting there drinking our coffee and hand stitching.

Trials

Having finished off four quilts last week I haven't finished one this week.  I have made a start to a project for our class this week.  I recently bought a roll of new batting and took  along a sample to let the ladies at the class see and compare it with our usual one.  Of course there were questions:  how far apart could you quilt, was it good for hand quilting, did it wash well, was it lighter or heavier, was it as warm as the other one?  Well I didn't know all the answers did I.  I did take along the instruction sheet but not all the answers were there.  So what do I do when I don't know the answers to questions?  Try and find out of course...........

A New Roll of Batting

...........another project - I decided to make two small quilts 30" x 30" using the same fabrics, the pattern below, backing, thread etc but I used the two different battings one in each.  The plan is to get them finished for Tuesday and let the ladies decide and see if they can spot the difference.  Then next week I will throw them in washing machine and see how they turn out after the usual cool wash and dry.   Watch this space.

I have become a member of a Facebook group UK Quilters United and have found it a great resource for information, tips and ideas.  There are so many talented quilters out there.  As a sub group there is a band of ladies and probably gents too who belong to a group called Helping Hands - stitching and sewing for good causes.  This is just what it says, folks who like to sew and give their time and efforts to others.  Many sew for their local community and smaller charities.  Someone had requested scraps and offcuts of fabric and I found this was one way to pass on my leftover pieces of fabrics.  Many of us have scraps - and many like to sew put them both together and you get lots of projects being made - quilts for children, syringe driver bags, quilts for elderly in care homes, flood victims, Girl Guide groups making small items to sell for fundraising for cystic fibrosis the list goes on.  You name it,  it's being done within this group all over the UK - the power of Facebook!  One lovely lady coordinates wishes and gifts and marries them up, you then get an address to send your envelope of scraps or completed items.  She does a grand job!  Well done N.A. 

My circle project is progressing slowly but it's still on the design wall - not quite sure which method I'm going to use for the next step though.  I don't have any set plans for this week so I will just wait and see what pops into my head - I've got plenty on my 'to do list'

Have a good week whatever you are planning to do.

The Sun Has Got Its Hat On

I have been sitting knitting in the sunshine while having my mid morning cup of tea.  

The birds are singing and hopping around in the hedge outside our window I expect looking for a comfortable spot to make their nests.  Spring is just around the corner.  It's so nice to see the lovely blue sky. I am off out now to have a walk around the garden.  I can see from our kitchen window little splashes of colour under the shrubs so I guess the snowdrops, crocuses and anemones have pushed through the cold ground in search of some warmth in the sun.  I don't normally see our spring garden as we are usually on the other side of the Atlantic at this time of the year so I'm off to make the most of it while the sun is shining.  Hopefully within the next few weeks we will be able to enjoy sitting in our summerhouse once again fingers crossed, it's a nice place to sit and sew with your cuppa.  My main aim this morning is to take photos of my recent finishes. Wish me luck, see you in a bit.......

Well it's very cold out there - nice in the sun but most of our garden at this time of the year is in shade, the sun is still too low in the sky and doesn't quite make it over the rooftop.  The summerhouse is in need of a clean, it's been used as storage over the winter, so before we can actually enjoy sitting in it I will need to have a Spring Clean!!  

Here are the results of the photoshoot. I am no David Baillie nor indeed very good at taking artistic  photos but these are just for my own records and to let you see my finishes.  No doubt Techie would have something to say about them but he is taking the opportunity it's of a nice day to go off wildlife hunting to take photos of his own.

Spools finished .......

Spools - 46" x 58"

As is Hardware...........

Hardware - 60" x 60"

Toes in the Sand - now to be known as Spiralling Triangles...........

Its too big to turn the right way up but you get the idea!  - Spiralling Triangles 63"x 91"

I must admit I have felt very negative about this quilt from the outset.  I think the BOM started in 2012?   I enjoyed making the triangular pieced blocks, but not the fabrics. I almost came a cropper when cutting out the white background triangles too - take care if you are using this pattern you need to cut them out individually or you will have lots of waste/or potentially not enough fabric if you cut them double layered as you would normally do.  However all that being said when I saw it hanging on the line earlier I felt a bit of achievement and admiration for it.  I almost thought it would be good enough to for an exhibition!  I think when working on our projects we are sometimes too close to them, working on them night after night, seeing all the little imperfections in our eyes, but in fact if those little errors are not pointed out they are not always seen by others.  Yes we are far to critical of our own work for our own good.  Sadly for the moment I have no where to display this rather large quilt so for now it will hang on a hanger in my diningroom/quilting room.

And finally Sunny Scrappy Strings which I finished last night .............

Using Up More Leftovers - Sunny Scrappy Strings 44' x 60"

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and make the most of the sunshine.

It's a Bind

But I so enjoy it.  This week I have been sewing down the bindings on three, yes three, different quilts.  

There is something quite satisfying sitting hand stitching in a comfy chair in peace and quiet of an evening. It also means of course I have almost finished three quilts, which I am delighted about.  

Spools as you saw in the last post is now sandwiched, quilted and bound, so that's a finish!

Toes in the Sand is almost there I hope to get it finished this weekend but it's huge so will take a bit longer than normal to get around all four sides.  

On its completion I am going to change its name - the original pattern was called toes in the sand but this quilt does not suit the name.  The fabrics do not lend themselves to a beach scene in any way shape or form.  Yes they are all blues but feature whales, snowmen, knots, alphabet, liberty, Japanese designs and many more.  They were not my choices and I have vowed never to do a block of the month this way again - A very expensive mistake on my part.  I am keeping this quilt to remind me of all my mistakes and errors of judgement made along this quilting experience.

I have just finished machine quilting Hardware and have started on the binding ........ I think this quilt has taken me the longest time ever in the making but as you know I haven't been working on it full time and it started as a Connecting Threads kit bought in Canada.   It's now in the final stages and I may even do a wee bit hand quilting with perle cotton on the centre piece of the spanner blocks.

I spent one night this week working on my Circle Quilt so I've got another wedge completed. 

Mountain Majesties  now has a border - but was quite difficult to choose.  The scrappy nature of this one made it hard to find a suitable border fabric from my stash.  I'm not 100% happy about this one but I'm not changing it.  Sometimes you just have to accept your choices are not just right but the best on offer at the time. 

So although I said in the title "it's a bind", I've had another enjoyable week sewing.  Next week's tasks have not been written down yet so I am still undecided.  Labels need to be made for my finishes and hopefully I might manage to get outdoor photographs of them too if the weather stays dry and bright.  The scrappy string blocks are still to be sewn together so that may be on the to do list, apart from that I think I will just wait and see how the mood takes me.

A quilt show is being advertised and taking place in the SSEC in Glasgow next weekend so I am going to try and find time to get along there for a look.  I may find some inspiration and pick up some of the items I didn't manage to get last week at Ingliston.  

Have a good week everyone.

Scraps Scraps and Even More Scraps!

As promised I will show you how I used up a good amount of my scraps last week.  The ladies at the class I think enjoyed my wee presentation on how they could use up all these leftover pieces from their completed projects.  I have three in progress at the moment.  

Number one:  Spools, a free pattern from the Connecting Threads website, uses up 2.5 inch squares and 2.5x6.5 inch strips.  I kept the background consistent with a grey moda marble and I am pleased with how it has turned out.  The borders are now on and looking good.

Number two:  Mountain Majesties, another freebie pattern, this time from Bonnie Hunter's website.  She makes lots and lots of scrappy quilts and her website is a great resource full of interesting tips and ideas.  This one uses 8.5 in squares, although you could use other sizes too with a little bit of maths, one light one dark.  This was a real fun project and kept me focussed and entertained as I love the cutting and piecing process, I now just have to decide on the borders.

Number three:  Strippy strings, this appears on many websites.  I have done this one before using another method but this time I used Bonnie Hunters foundation method using paper.  It's amazing how quickly all the strips in your scrap bucket disappear.  Again it's good to keep a consistent colour way going throughout the quilt and as I had a lot of dark strips I chose a bright yellow/gold Kona from my stash.  This is it on the 'wall' it has still to be sewn together so may not be the final version.  This is another one where you can alter the design depending on the orientation of the blocks.  I may have difficulty in choosing a border for this one!

Number four:  this was just a flash of inspiration and my own idea although it may have been done before.  We have all tried out Jenny's Exploding Block from Missouri Star.  How about putting a pieced block in the middle - looks good with the nine patch, or the rail fence. I am sure we all have orphan blocks lying around, or.............. just use up those scraps!  These may not become a quilt just yet.

When these quilts are eventually finished I will not be returning to my scrap bin for some time.  I may even be tempted to give my scraps away in the future rather than let them accumulate.  Well that's last week's round up.  Plans for this week.........

Start something new perhaps?  Hmm still too many WIP's maybe.  I certainly have my quilting mojo back and have lots I could do.  I may be working on this one though for some of the time.

I did manage a visit to the Quilt Show in Ingliston yesterday.  Good to meet up with some of our ladies and see the Exhibition Quilts, it wasn't terribly busy but that may have been because of the horrible wet day. I thought there were fewer exhibitors and not so many quilts on show.  I think we better watch out though. If we don't support these events we might just lose them and here in Scotland we don't have that many.

Have an enjoyable week everyone.

Quilters Quilt .............

.............but produce so many scraps in the process.  Over the last few weeks I've been scrap busting, emptying and sorting my scrap boxes and baskets.  I have managed to empty my baskets completely, and have combined two large boxes into one, my bin is still full but that's next week's chore.  Being a thrifty bunch of quilters we are loathe to throw anything away even the tiniest piece or crumb.  Naturally enough our group of ladies produce lots of scraps as you can imagine. We need someone to come up with ideas for using them all up.  I am "it" again.  I volunteered (did I?) to come up with some ideas for Tuesday,  which I have and had good fun in the process.  I will show you what I've produced next week - there is no point in telling you now, here on this blog as I know some of the ladies follow along.  Suffice to say when I have finished the two I have been working on this week I will not be using scraps for a while.  I am itching to get going with something new and interesting and break into some of the larger pieces of fabrics sitting on my shelves.  Maybe I will try a new technique from one of the books I got at Christmas time.

So this week's progress?  Disappearing pinwheels another scrappy quilt is now finished, 

Using up scraps from the Blue Basket

Hardware is sandwiched and ready for quilting, but not this week I want to finish the quilting on Toes in the Sand first

Hardware nearing completion and is now sandwiched

Three more triangles have been quilted on Toes in the Sand and progress has definitely been made scrap busting! I have also updated my Gallery photo page so go check it out when you have finished reading this if you have a minute to spare.

The Spring Quilt Festival takes place next weekend at Ingliston, Edinburgh, Friday 19th to Sunday 21st.  I hope to get along there to see what's new and be inspired with all the lovely competition quilts on show.  I also have a wee shopping list of things I need so hopefully I might pick up a bargain or two.

Enjoy your week whatever you plan to do.

Trying Something Different

I am continuing with my plan of every time I sit down to sew I work on something different.  I have a few projects on the go as always.  I find I get bogged down doing one thing until it's finished so for this last month I've been working on at least four.  I am now pleased to say I have completed two of them, the little baby quilt is finished and posted off to Jessica.

Butterflies and Buds for Jessica 48 x 48"

The Autumn Improv Pods quilt is also finished and I am pleased how it has turned out with its pieced back.

Front of Autumn Improv Pods 48 x 60"

.......and the pieced back

The first two blocks of Amy Gibson's Sugar Block Club are keeping the Disappearing Pinwheels quilt company on the design wall.  This now has sashing and borders and the batting has been cut in preparation for sandwiching.  My dilemma at the moment? I'm not sure what that backing is going to be, nor do I know how it will be quilted.  Maybe a fleece or maybe pieced........I'll leave it up there a little longer and see if inspiration strikes.

Progress being made

Toes in the Sand has a few more triangles quilted in the spiral design and a few more marked out ready for its next outing to the sewing machine.  

For the last hour I have been trying out something new, a new block for me.  I still continue to use up my scraps (Well what is a scrap anyway? That's a story for another day I think.  Is it a tiny snippet or crumb, is it a 2.5in square or a strip, is it less than a fat quarter, or is it just a piece of fabric you no longer like or need). Well today mine are smallish pieces in my scrap box which are less than a fat quarter but much bigger than 2.5ins. In actual fact they are squares which have been cut to 8.5 inches, trimmed, sewn, trimmed, sewn again and slashed and flipped and sewn again and have turned out like this.  Hopefully you will follow the progress of this block and see how it ends up.

Still to be trimmed up

Q.  What do you do when you've lost a quilting book you know you should have?  It's not where it should be beside all the others, it's not by your bedside, it's not down beside your favourite chair?

  

A.  Pull out all the books in the bookcase, make up a spreadsheet, put the said books in alphabetical order by author, place them all on the one shelf and low and behold there it is hiding.  However I've now forgotten why I wanted it in the first place but I do have a tidier stack of books!!

Much tidier and in order

Until next time have a great week ........... be brave and try something new and different using up your scraps.