Gathering Nuts in .... Edinburgh

Well we got there, we are not sure how, but we got there. And oh wow, wasn't it well worth all the effort. The first (and lets hope it it becomes an annual event) Stitch Gathering took place in the beautiful Morningside area of Edinburgh on Sunday, thanks to the very clever and organised Jo of Avery Homestore.

Unfortunately I was having what I like to call a "technical hitch" so was not firing on all cylinders so despite carrying my camera with me and snapping away, I discovered yesterday that I had forgotten to put the SD card in before hand so I have no photos of the event to show you.  But if you pop over to the SG website you will see the pictures taken by the lovely Jonathan Avery, or alternatively Sheila from Bluepatch quilting has today written a lovely post too which is here. I can however show you the contents of the stonking Goody bag we were all given. I have listed as many contributors that I could see at the bottom of this blog so you can see how generous they have all been.

As you can see it was full to the brim with amazingness, from fat quarters, to a whole box of thread, and from buttons to badges. But the "piece de resistance" was the Frixion Erasable Pen. Oh my goodness. This thing is genius. If you haven't got one you need to head right off right now and order yourself one and your life will never be the same. The idea of being able to erase any markings made on fabric simply by ironing over it seemed too good to be true and a few of us were doubting Thomas' until we actually tried it. It really is like a little bit of magic right in front of your eyes. I fear I am a little too excited by this pen, but you just try it and you will see. 

The lovely Mrs P, who joined me for the day at the Gathering, thinks we should write an episode of "Midsommer Murders" based on this pen, once we found out that the marks come back again once exposed to the extreme cold! how clever is that too. How about some deadly deeds occurring down in that fateful village's local quilt group, with the victim leaving a secret message written in Frixion pen on her favourite piece of stitching. The big reveal could be when she is laid out in front of the autopsy doctor. "It was the Swap Mama who did it!" ha ha ha...

Anyway, I cannot thank Jo and her team enough for a great day, which ran so seamlessly. ( See what I did there?) It was great to put some faces to names from blog and flickr land first of all and then we moved on to the classes. We took the cathedral window pinnie course in the morning with Jo herself, which I loved and will now be itching to have another go at. Then after a sumptuous lunch it was Fiona's Jelly roll class in the afternoon. Truth be told, I have used jelly rolls quite a lot, but thought that Mrs P would enjoy this one so wanted to join her too. Fiona's suggested quilt is lovely and features in the special edition of Creative Patchwork this month. A really lovely quilt. I have gone for a grey and orange theme using some fabric from the Lucy's Crabshack range which I bought in Cannon Beach this summer, plus some others from the stash and am not sure how big it will turn out yet, but will of course report back. What do you think?

I think it will be a good souvenir of our trip and its so nice and fresh on the white background. I have even gone for the trickier piecing of the points, as explained by Fiona, but so far I am in luck with it matching. Thanks Fiona for your inspiration.

Anyway, still a bit to do though as you can see so do pop by to see the final top. In the meantime I have a date with a box of steroids and a week of watching "Homes Under the Hammer". See you soon.

Thank you to all the wonderful sponsors for the Goody Bag contents:   Avery Homestore , Frixion pen, by Pilot, Frister & Rossman thread box from sewingmachines.co.uk, assorted buttons and thread from buttoncompany.co.uk ,Coats Crafts UK,  Rainbow scrap pack from Veryberry Fabrics,  Hexagon Flower Block by webfabrics.net, Liberty Art fabrics, Nairn Oatcakes, Milward needles and pen, Beechwood Quilting, Groves, Robert Kaufman fabrics, Aurifil

Keeping the postman busy

I had a lovely surprise when I got home from the office on Friday. Not one, not two , but three lovely little parcels from the postie. I love getting parcels and three in one day was a triple whammy. 

First and foremost, I received my package from my swap partner, Adrianne, all the way from New Zealand. She has made me this comfy cushion cover which will be great in the garden. Its a lovely size at 20 inches ( I had to go and buy a filler for it today and couldn't find the right one anywhere , so I have filled it with a continental bed pillow which works a treat). I am afraid the picture is a bit dark and doesn't do all the colours justice, as unlike the South of England, we have had a rubbish grey and overcast day, totally not conducive to taking photos. Anyway, hope you like it too. I think it will be ideal for reading in the garden and a snooze under the big red beech tree.

 

Next was parcel two, which was my yard of fabric ready for the texty swap, so that is sitting ready for cutting into its little charms. I had a bit of a disaster for this swap as the first fabric I chose and ordered was from Spoonflower and I didn't read the scale properly and it was far too big a print. It was a very cool " physics equations" print though so I will definitely find a use for it. This one, shown below, which I have chosen now though fits a treat into the 5 inch charms and is called "Calculations" by Carolyn Freidlander.  I found it at at The Eternal Maker, a great shop and always quick on the delivery.

Last but by no means least was the wonderful giveaway I mentioned last blog from Sheila at "Bluepatch Quilter". They are a bundle of fat eights by Jenn Ski called "Mod Century" and are really lovely. Their arrival was very timely as I was about to start my next swap project. This one is quick turn around and my partner has a liking for yellows and sunny things so I quickly spotted a couple that would work really well in with my plan. So that's how I spent today. Pouching again. Its not a huge one but I thought it would be handy for carrying scissors and small projects when travelling.

I hope she likes it. You might spot the other fabrics are from the "2wenty Thr3e" range at Moda. A careful bit of fussy cutting as you see which I thought went with the sunny theme. Anyway its more work for the postie, only in the opposite direction this time.

 

See you soon and hope your enjoying your bank holiday ( normal day at the office or me though- boo hiss).

 

Ready for posting

With a bit of a back log of swaps and bee blocks to make it was all a bit chop chop busy busy here today. But I am glad to report that the bag I have made for the Modern She Made swap is all complete  now and ready to go off in the post tomorrow.

After a bit of brain wracking I figured out  a way to section the middle as this has a specific purpose for my swap partner . The pattern ( from Amy Butler) as mentioned in my previous post did have instructions but I never did figure them out so I have done my own thing but I think it has worked. The bag has an elasticated split pocket inside to keep things safe and easy to find, again for its specific purpose. I wonder if anyone can guess what my partner wants to use it for?

As a little extra I made a small draw string bag with 1 inch sawtooth squares on the front to match, which I hope comes in handy too.

Now its time to move on to a bit of paper piecing and my April blocks for the Modern Stash Bee. As I am not really a fan of paper piecing this might prove a little bit more difficult, but I will let you know.

 

Oh and nearly forgot to say, I was the lucky winner in the lovely Sheila's give away this weekend on her blog at Bluepatch Quilter. She blogged about her "significant birthday" and it took me back to a couple of years ago to my perfect gift of a pair of red patent crocodile Dr Martin's. I am not sure if I won on merit or in sympathy for my dodgy dress sense. Anyway thanks Sheila and I can't wait to see my lovely little win in real life.

see you all again soon. JB is off back to work this week so more sewing will ensue.