Prototype

Not many words today....just a few pics of a trial run at a camera strap.

Its really not very sophisticated looking is it but the fishes made me smile ( even though they are swimming upside down in this photo?). Definitely too much going on with all those colours.

I found the red vinyl from a hideous old belt at the back of the wardrobe but I really need to find a good source of the narrow nylon webbing as the range of colours in pet collars really is pretty grim!

Happy campers

Saturday was "quilt " day according to my diary, which really meant a day booked in at

Beechwood Quilting to use their long arm machine again. I can't handle a big quilt under my machine, however hard I try so I do all my free motion quilting along there whilst having a good old chat and a cuppa or two. Two quilts finished in the day this time,but only sharing one today as the other one needs binding and this one here is by far the most important of the two. Its a house warming gift for our darling Pepper-Ann and I think she liked it. (We had tears!).

The fabrics were a layer cake called "Happy Campers" which is very appropriate as I reckon that just about sums her and her man up these days, as we count down to the wedding next spring.

The pattern is from the Moda Bake shop called" You Zig , I'll Zag"  ( with a finished size of 72 inches square) and I have quilted it in a dark yellow to match the border.

Forgot to photograph the back due to a  nosey cow ( literally if you look in the background of the picture), but it was pieced too, mainly from red but with an added bit of  personalisation as we used one of Pepper-Ann's late grandpa's lovely paisley scarves added into a strip. A sweet idea which she came up with and one that has made it even more special to her. As a surprise I also added in her and her man's names on the bottom in the free motion quilting which I think may have been the deal maker for a  quick attack of the soggy eyes.

Trying to get good photo today has been a challenge as I set off to try and get lovely pictures out in the countryside. When I left home it was blazing sunshine but by the time I got to the end of the road the temperature had dropped  by 6 degrees and it was pouring hard.

So not the best but you get the essence of our beautiful little piece of Scotland anyway. Typically the sun came out when I got home  (and the cow was left to her own devices).

Calling all knitters

Today's post is a little different as I want to tell you all about sheep. Not any sheep, these are rare breed sheep and their beautiful fleeces. 

These beauties are called Ryland sheep and live near Coldstream in the Scottish Borders and belong to a friend of mine. These girls are his first venture into the world of sheep farming and a few weeks ago he sent some of their fleeces off to be spun and he has asked me to pass on the news to you all.  As you can imagine waiting to see your first batch of home grown wool arrive back from the mill has been a really exciting time, but poor chap, he has had to endure some real leg pulling recently, as his new favourite after dinner topic of conversation is somewhat of a specialist subject! Never mind what your thoughts on the Scottish Independence debate might be - just tell us how many kilos of wool you can get from a sheep then Simon? 

Whilst Ryland fleeces are often sought after by hand spinners because of quality and texture of their wool, Simon's fleeces were sent off to the Halifax Spinning Mill a few weeks ago to be washed, carded and spun for him. No one was really sure quite what would return as the flock is a mixture of whites and coloureds (I am told that is a technical term?) but look how beautiful this grey tone is that has come back. 

The finished product looks fantastic and just oozes everything pure and natural.

Whilst Simon is really enjoying his new hobby, taking up knitting is probably a step too far for him so he is offering this first batch of pure Ryeland Rare Breed wool for sale.

The wool has been spun into double knitting wool and is in skeins of 120 grammes each . I think this is an absolute find for anyone who is a real wool addict, as I know you guys are just as bad as us fabricaholics, so if you are interested in purchasing some of this special wool please leave a comment below and I will get back to you immediately. As you can imagine, because this is the first few fleeces from this herd quantities are limited so if you are interested I think you will need to get in pretty quickly. The price per skein is £16 plus P+P and payment will be required by Paypal please, but I can supply all those details to you direct in due course.

The good news is the second round of shearing will take place very soon and this time the plan is to spin the white and "coloured" wools separately so the next batch will give us a natural white as well as a really deep dark tone which should be fantastic. A couple of the sheep are a really gorgeous chocolate colour, so I think this wool will be well worth investing in.

And as if that was not enough Simon has a small herd of Alpacas, so its watch this space as far as their soft and cosy fleeces are concerned.

I do hope to hear from you for this limited edition and if you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to ask. And of course feel free to share a link to this post if you think it suits your more specialised blog. As you can see I am not that up on Marketing but I know a beautiful product when I see one.

Life in the fast lane....

 Last night I had the pleasure to share a room with four of my heros.

Glenn, Don, Joe and Timothy

( sorry Timothy couldnt find a picture of you of the right era).

Not that they knew I was there mind you.

There were another 12,000 gate crashers on my night of time travel.

 

In case your not a fan  I was through watching that "popular beat combo" the fabulous Eagles and this really was a VERY BIG deal to me. I should have seen these boys ( ?) at the Glasgow Apollo back in 1977 (maybe giving away a bit too much away here?) for the bargain price of £2.50. I passed on this opportunity for fear of upsetting my parents at not going home from uni for  the holidays - and sorry mum, boy have I regretted it ever since. 

Somehow I have missed their couple of subsequent tours to the UK. Have  no idea how, but thanks to a bit of fate and a kindly young mate, last night I travelled back in time to the days of tasselled jackets, men in very tight jeans and being able to wear double denim without a visit from the fashion police.  The Eagles iconic anthems helped me through my A levels and teenage angst and led me to a new world of independence many many miles from home and have stayed in my heart forever. To this day I cannot hear "Best of my love" without a lump coming to my throat. Stupid eh?

 

Very pleased to report the band didn't let me down . The set was long and varied and they all played their part perfectly. Joe Walsh , the Master of the Stratocaster entertained in only the way he can and proved that despite trying to kill himself by copious amounts of recreational chemicals over the years he still has what it takes.

Thank you chaps, you made am 'old rocker very happy.

 I am all ready for dress down Friday this week too...... Tee hee

 

 

Hexies on the run

Any of you that follow me on Facebook or IG will have seen that I have been very busy in the last couple of weeks stitching up a whole pile of hexagons ready for a swap. This round of the Modern She Made Swap has hexagons as the theme and whilst I did try something different with my hexagon fabric box, I eventually settled on a  simple piece of EPP for my make for my partner.

 A table runner was one of her suggestions so fingers crossed this will suit somewhere in her home. It is certainly bright and bold so lets hope it will fit the bill.The whole runner is modelled by the Beloved by the way .

The fuschia coloured linen was a  real find in John Lewis ( sorry if this means  nothing to non UK readers). They seem to be getting a lot better these days so if you haven't been to your local store for a bit, do pop along and have a nosey around. You may get some very pleasant surprises. 

The back is  a mish mash of the fabrics used in the front and actually I think is quite fun and makes it pretty reversible.

so its off to the post office tomorrow for me and bye bye to the hexies. I really like this piece and will be sad to see it leave. 

Bag lady

 

A short post today as it's late and I am running behind again, but I just needed to let you into my latest exciting bit of stitching. I took my self along a week ago to a great class at My Bearpaw classes in Edinburgh to have a bash at making a Weekend holdall, or "Weekender" as these seem to have been nicknamed in the crafty world. I am not done yet as you can clearly see, but am so pleased and excited with it so far and just had to share a bit with you now. I spent until 1 am on the previous Friday making myself a giant 1.3 m square piece of "quilt as you go" for the body of the bag and that in itself was a bit of a challenge, but like a dipstick I forgot to take any pictures before it all got cut into bits for the bag. It was pretty darn traumatic cutting it up if truth be told. We do have to suffer for our art though don't we.

Huge thanks have to go to Naomi Crowley of Green Earth Beads and Bags for sharing her vast knowledge and making the class such an enjoyable couple of days. Despite me having a very late night in the middle of her class ( but no hangover!), she managed to make it all seem pretty straightforward and all that thickness in the seems no quite so scary.

I can't remember if I told you that My Bearpaw have moved to new premises, but just in case I forgot do pop by and have a look at the new shop and classes here. Jo has done a great job and I think the classes will be even more popular than ever in the new fab surroundings. I have to say too her classes are a great way to make new friends and as you can see here, some very talented ones at that ( note I had not consumed all the biscuits on this occasion).

 

As I said though, this is just a Work in Progress post . Adding the bottom of the bag is a bit too tricky for late night stitching so it will have to wait till the long weekend . Add to that curtailment of all sewing for nursing duties of the Beloved due to an unfortunate incident involving a shower mat and a bath handle and I reckon it will definitely be next week before I can head off to Paris, as Naomi suggested, with my natty new Weekender. First class of course.

Freebird

Delighted to report I have finished the main piecing of my Freebird quilt.  Its been such a time since I made a large quilt and this has been good therapy. The fabric is a Moda Jelly roll that's been around quite a while by MoMo, but just because its not the latest doesn't mean its not fab. I actually am not sure if you can still buy it sadly but  I love the colour combinations and have kept it sitting in the stash just because it looked pretty. This picture doesn't do the real colours justice. Hopefully once it is quilted  I can get some great shots and you will be able to see the great mix in there of oranges, reds, blues, greens and yellows and yes even the dreaded brown makes a little appearance. The reds and oranges are so much brighter in real life, trust me.

The pattern was a freebie from the Moda Bakeshop which goes with the Mixed Bag fabric range which you can see here. I thought it suited my Jelly roll and I love the use of the negative space. One thing I would say though about the pattern, if your tempted by it is, don't cut all the coloured strips straight away. The instructions said you need 92 units, which is incorrect. I had a whole load left over which was really annoying , but I think I may well make a bright pieced border from them. Not sure yet. Really in two minds, so need to sit and have a play. Its also  biggie so I will be heading off to Beechwood Quilting to quilt the top, which will be an added bonus as I haven't seen Carole and Brain for an age and I think they have been off on adventures so will have much news.   

You won't believe by the way how hard it was to get this picture in between torrential rain!