Signs of spring?

Well it is still pretty quiet here as I am not allowed back to work yet so life could be considered  a bit on the dull side. My lovely Emily came home for a few days to check up on her old Mum and make sure I was behaving and it was wonderful to have her home. We watched films and chilled together which we don't get to do very much anymore with us both so busy and it was sad to wave her away again so quickly, back to her markets and her photography work. Hopefully it won't be to long before we can head down to her in Northumberland and see how her and her Jonny are progressing with their new home renovations, but in the meantime I will stalk her on FB like any good parent. An added joy was a visit from 7 of the Scottish family contingent yesterday in advance of Pepper-Ann's enagagement party which her Dad and I are having to miss . They filled the house with laughter and daftness that only they can bring. Oh and the odd flapjack or too...

The other great news though from QD land is the onset of spring, which has lifted my heart. That and an afternoon spent in my favourite way, listening to Johnny Walker's "Sounds of the Seventies" on Radio 2. Now before all you young 'uns give me up as an old codger you should really check this programme out as it is a gem, full of wonderful music and brilliantly interesting interviews from all sorts through out the music industry in its hey day. Today's was a special commemorating 35 years since the issue of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours and oh my goodness, was it a cracker.  For fear of giving too much away, this album holds a special place in my life as it forms part of that soundtrack from our uni days that most of us have. I am sure I have rattled on about this before though so wont bore you too much, just give it a whirl. You wont regret it.  In the meantime checkout this class track from Sutherland Brothers and Quiver- bit different to Rumours but oh my word- it takes me back...

After the sudden snow on Wednesday last week the garden is trying to sort itself out and little green shoots are forcing their way through the muddy soil and welcoming us to the warmer days. My garden has taken an absolute hammering with all the rain since last year and is needing a fair amount of tlc to get it back in order but it will have to wait a while until are all back to normal. I think everything has survived this year as we didn't suffer the severe frosts of the past couple of winters, but I do have my doubts about the pots of delphiniums as they are totally water logged so may well have rotted away to nothing. But fingers crossed.

I tried to do a bit of stitching today but still am feelings bit " bleurk" to coin a phrase, so it was not very productive. I had missed getting to the shops for a valentines card for the beloved JB so I thought I would make him one ready for his return from offshore later this week. Everyone say ahh.

Apart from that I made a small pouch to send with a swap as a little gift and thank you from this side of the pond, and of course I had to enclose the obligatory Tunnochs Wafer, that is the taste sensation of Scotland. Sadly no plain chocolate ones this time as they seem to have disappeared from sale at Mr Sainsbury's these day which is really annoying.

 

Anyway hope you too are having the loveliness that is the first sign of spring down your way and I look forward to you popping by again soon. Bye for now...

Being Brave

Autumn rolls on and to shock us all into remembering to turn our clocks back the temperature plummeted on Friday which required just one response.

Yes, it was out with the old hot chocolate and marshmallow remedy. Works a treat every time and probably not what you would call a healthy option, but what the heck. Sustenance was going to be required as a weekend of intensive stitching was about to commence and that has to be the best excuse ever for indulging in a sugar rush.

 

Before getting going on the important matter of Zoe's Halloween outfit for this year I was distracted by a lovely post by Charise Creates in which she showed off some stunning little houses she had made from a tutorial. This set my mind whirring and I thought I might give them a go, but with the Halloween season upon us, I would add a little twist. The original tutorial by Retro Mama is really well written and has great pictures. I hope you like my little ghostly version. I think I will give them another whirl for Christmas, but I might move the closure next time as I found it hard to get the neat house shape at the side when I slip stitched the opening. The house is only 5 inches high so as you can imagine a  wee bit fiddly in turning too. I also had a couple of little bat buttons on it originally but took them off as I thought it made it a bit too busy.  Great thanks must go to both Charise and Kim for their inspiring posts and I have already started scouring my stash for more ideas.

Anyway, to the main event!

 

Since Zoe's arrival I have set myself the task of chief costumier to our beautiful granddaughter. I love making dressing up outfits and it is so long ago since my two were of the age of needing me to rustle them something up. The last opportunity was Emily's 18th birthday, when we held a Hollywood party. This was brilliant fun and we really went to town with the whole thing from the Hollywood sign to Oscars and Paparazzi. It was an emotional time for the family for other reasons at the time but  managed to have a hoot and I will never forget the look on Emily's young friends faces when they encountered the 6 foot plus tall Beloved JB dressed as Mark Anthony, complete with short white toga, leather skirt and giant red plumed headgear. He made quite an intimidating sight and you knwo how cocky teenage lads can be. It worked at treat at keeping them from over stepping the mark and trying their luck at the bar I can tell you. Anyway, digressing again aren't I.   Back to the dress.

 

This year's outfit for Zoe is Merida's green velvet dress from "Brave". It was a bit of a challenge, with its split sleeves, but I got there in the end. Making a little sleeveless undershirt was an inspired idea so that the sleeves actually are an illision. Smoke and mirrors and all that you know . Haha. The stretchy velvet fabric will make it easy for Mum to wash so Zoe can have lots of fun pretending she is charging through the Highlands on her trusty steed hunting for bears.

 

My favourite part was shopping for the bow and arrow and of course I had to try the arrows out myself before hand, just to make sure they flew in a straight line - wink wink. Zoe wanted to wear the dress to sleep in so I think that's a 4 year old's way of saying  she loved it. With her beautiful hair there really could not be any other choice of character could there? Next year dad might get a bit of a say in her costume and end up with a  small Storm Trooper, which has been his wish for the past 4 years but me , I am just hoping for a easier run next year ( please!).

Happy Halloween everyone.

 

 

 

 

Eek.... its an EPP

Well we are back. You might have noticed the absence of posts over the past couple of weeks and this is because the beloved JB and I have been dashing about a bit . This started off with a visit to Number One Son, which was wonderful, on the eve of his graduation. There had been a school of thought that my dear lad was aiming for the Longest Student Career ever, but that was just an ugly rumour put about by the pubs of Cambridge and we were all pleased to announce his move to "Grownup-hood" at the grand old age of 27. Well done Tom, we all love you to bits and are very proud of you.

 

Next we headed off to the Emerald Isle, a first for JB and we had a blast. Belfast is a must for us to revisit as we found it a bright and vibrant city and our one night stop off was far too short. The essential pint in the Crown Bar ( the only pub owned by the National Trust) was fun and we even manged to grab one of the highly sought after booths. I did make the fatal error of being too polite though and instead of us enjoying some privacy in the pub behind the beautiful oak panelled door of our cubby hole, I invited in what I thought was a French couple, to share the whole "British" experience but they turned into a whole gaggle, pouring into the tiny space, somewhat spoiling the atmosphere. Ho hum. This episode was however brightened when JB tried to impart to them that he worked for French company, only to discover that none of them spoke a word of English. The sight of 8 middle age men and women trying to mime to one another how they earned their living was pretty entertaining and not your average occurrence in a Belfast pub on a Friday night I am pretty sure. And you will never guess - whilst supping my pint of Smithwick's I spotted that the floor tiling was a brilliant example of quilt blocks so couldn't resist a quick snap.

Anyway, Ulster fry consumed, we headed off to the North Coast and then on all around the Donegal coast for a great four day trip.  A hiccough by the booking agency meant we didn't get to stay where we had planned so my itinerary to head off to find the Fluffy Sheep Company  and the Fennel Shed ( owned by a work colleagues family co-incidentally ) was somewhat curtailed, so when I head back to see more of Belfast again I will have another shot at introducing myself down there too. We loved the whole area and had a great break but a highlight has to be the Giant's Causeway. I have wanted to see this phenomenon ever since I was a child and I wasn't disappointed. We struck it lucky with a bright, nippy but stunning day which meant we were both well in our element snapping away with the cameras. Nature is pretty darn clever and I think we forget that all to often.

 

On returning home I was very conscious of being behind with my piece for the Mouthy Stitches Swap and whilst I had chosen the fabrics I thought I was going to use, I still hadn't quite got a plan together for a design.

However, reviewing my photos I found myself fascinated by the hexagons forged by the elements and this has inspired me to put together an EPP design using tiny little hexies, each about one inch in diameter.

 

I hope my partner will like this. Whilst they are small and I have a long way to go, I am home alone again come the weekend so I am pretty confident at making the deadline of the 25th. Fingers crossed, but should you see a small woman hiding in the corner of the 7.31 to Edinburgh, please give me some elbow room and try not to waft too much as these hexies seem to have a life of their own once laid on a flat surface.

 

See you again soon (and hopefully after completion of swap). Oh, and a planned trip to see Brain and Carole at Beechwood is on the horizon as I still have "Autumn Shadows" to quilt, which I haven't shared with you yet so do pop back  .

Sunday swaps and stripey bindings

Well before I start to waffle on today I must impart to you the current musical accompaniment here in QD land. Rather surprisingly for a Sunday afternoon, I am presently blogging to the tones of the Sex Pistols and Anarchy. Now I am sure this is not what you would expect, but Sounds of the Seventies with Johnny Walker is my favourite part of the week and this week "Never mind the Dangly Bits " turns out to be his album of the week and even though I was not, this time rather unsurprisingly, a punk, it takes me back to my student days and to be honest I love the track a lot more now than I did then. If you get the chance though you need to listen to a band called The Bad Shepherds, featuring Adrian Edmondson as they cover Anarchy in a style you would never ever have expected. I will not ruin the surprise but just urge you to You Tube it or something. It is pure genius and me and the beloved JB had a wonderful night in chilly Morecombe last year watching the guys which was one of our favourite gigs for many a year- and that is saying something!

Anyway as ever I have digressed again - probably too early on in this blog to have kept your attention, but if I haven't lost you yet let me update you on events. As you may recall I signed up to Mouthy Stitches 2, a  bag swap with a heap of very talented ladies and now the moment has come for me to actually have to make something. Aagh was the cry. The rest of the gang have been busily uploading their beginning ideas to Flickr and I have happily been commenting, although I don't think I have spotted my secret partner that is making for me yet. However all this viewing has done is increase my fear.  The partner I am making for has a very varied mosaic for me to use as a guide to her taste and the more I read the more I can see that she is a bit like me ( so well chosen) in that she has a broad taste in styles. Whilst this is a great trait it has not helped me one little bit. I have poured over my stash, rifled through the stores and googled until the cows come home and still am not totally convinced if my idea is the right one. But go for it I must as we have a deadline to meet  and I have a weeks holiday in Ireland in the middle of the remaining time so need to pull my finger out. I have today uploaded my mix of fabrics and invited comments and now will sit back and see if she has any for me.  I had a sneaky and really cool idea for the lining but I will keep that to myself for the mo as a) its complicated and may fail and b) I may change my mind.... 

discarded idea 1- I thought the stripe would make a good lining for the swap bag, and the print is the lovely Amy Butler

Anyway on the way to deciding on the final group of fabrics to put into the group for comment I went through quite a few alternatives, so you might like to give me your comments on the rejected ones. Who knows, my secret partner might see one here they prefer and I might get to change my plans yet again.

discarded idea 2

discarded idea 3 - Appleville by Robert Kaufman , bought from Avery Homestore in Edinburgh

I also had to get a crack on and finish yet another baby quilt ( yes I know I said no more for a while but this was a request from elsewhere) so I got a chance to use the great zig zag I had been hanging on to for a binding  and I love it. The feature fabric was very bright and busy, featuring zoo animals and so the black and white I thought was a good contrast. Anyway hope it goes down well with its new owner. 

She has also asked if she can have the pink and green quilt featured in last months catch up blog which was homeless so it will be nice to see it put to use keeping someone's wee one cosy now the nights are drawing in.  On that note I also popped this little mat together this afternoon as I fell on the Halloween fabrics whilst rummaging and just couldn't resist a play. I know I am a bit early, but at least its ready for the end of the month and as you can see I made good use of the left over binding. 

That's me for now, I am off to try and decide what I need to pack for Ireland. Five days of rain is forecast so probably won't need the shorts this time eh!

Homecoming

It seems an absolute age since I have written of the goings on in QD land and that's just been due to life in general going on around. The beloved JB has been home from offshore and the days have flown by. With the nights drawing in too I really can't start sewing after I have finished supper as my brain tells me its time to sit curled up under a quilt and indulge in a bit of autumn TV scheduling and of course a a bit of "Smurfing" the net to catch up on what's happening with my swappies out there in Flickr land. 

Cutting went well for the Japanese Charm Swap and my little squares where quickly winging their way to Narcoleptic in a cupboard in Lerwick and by some miracle I ended up with a fair size pieced left over for me to keep. Yipeeee! Cannot wait to get my bundle back come the end of the month. If you have popped by the group you will have seen that the gang have exceeded themselves in their shopping skills . I just have no clue at  all at the moment what I will want to make from the charms when they arrive.

my girl , herself

This weekend however, much hooting and a hollering could be heard in QD land as at last, the girl got to come home. Yes, that is correct. Emily managed to make it back north for a day and a bit and was welcomed by a very happy Mummy and Step Pa. Emily is a mad little whirlwind and I miss her like mad. I miss Number One Son constantly too, but I don't know if its him being a chap or because Emily actually did live in this house in Scotland for a while, but she has left a bit of a hole. This here was her home, where as for Tom, Cambridge will always be his home, although I am very proud that he constantly regales everyone of his home in Scotland and long may it continue. My tots grew up and life moves on...

Anyway, I digress. Emily managed to get home for a flying visit bringing her gentle and lovely man with her and we managed to catch up on events whilst he and the beloved JB bonded over a glass of red and stories of spanners and electrical supply theory. On Sunday it tipped it down with rain and so we decided we would have a bit of Mum and daughter time in my den. Em has been doing a lot of paper piecing recently but this is not really one of my favourite types of stitching so I had avoided it somewhat but we thought it was time for some role reversal with Emily tutoring me on the technique she uses. 

We chose a pattern of stacked teacups to practice on, from a pattern she found on Craftsy. We raided the stash and set too and to be honest, I am still not completely convinced that this kind of piecing is my bag, but I can see it has its place. 

Em's turned out a lot better than mine as she chose better contrasting fabrics . I went wrong with my top cup fabric as it is too pale and tried to remedy it with  a little embroidered trim, but hey ho. That's what practicing is all about. 

We had a great afternoon whilst the boys snoozed/watched the football and topped it off with a full tummy of Roast Pork and rhubarb Crumble. Yum Yum.

Em has now headed back to County Durham but I will be heading that way on Saturday as we have much work to do sorting out her stand for the Country Living Fair in Glasgow in November.  This is a HUGE thing for Emily and her fledgling business and I am so proud that I could burst. You will be hearing much much more of this event so I won't bore you now but if you want to pop by to see some of her work that will be on sale there just click here. There will be some new work in time for Christmas too, especially as it's a Christmas Fair so don't forget to bookmark the page, wink wink.....

See you soon when I am back and hopefully I will have news of not only the Japanese Charms that have arrived but also progress in the Mouthy Stitches 2 Swap. Can't Wait.

Don't you just hate it when that happens

Its been a very strange stitching week, which has led to the neglect of  my blog I'm afraid. I was distracted by a quick diversion back to some dressmaking on the tout suite, which I haven't done for years, due to what can only be called a "Wardrobe Crisis". We had been invited to a birthday party of a lovely friend and her husband and they had the brilliant idea of it being a Hollywood party and we were urged to "think Red Carpet Glamour". I loved this idea as I love an opportunity for a bit of dressing up and the idea of the beloved JB in a tux is always appealing, but this time it was topped by me knowing instantly what I was going to wear. 

Lurking in the back of the wardrobe was lovely taupe beaded number I had bought some years ago in the sale, which had been too good a bargain to resist and here was the ideal chance for it to shine, if you pardon the pun. I tried it on and it fitted like a dream and the only issue was footwear, as the colour was unusual and didn't fit with the normal black, silver or gold evening shoe. So my quest began and I plagued my friends with ideas as my search failed once, twice and three times to find a matching colour. Weeks passed and then panic set in so I thought I would haul out all of my shoes from the wardrobe in the belief that somewhere in there inspiration would be hiding and the Cinderella moment would follow. So I popped on the dress and guess what? Yes, horror of horrors, the stunning but unforgiving cut of this beaded column dress did not allow for an indulgent week in Provence, nor the even more indulgent trip south to see my best chum and Number One Son.The blessed thing would not zip up! The familiar cry went up " I have nothing to wear" and so JB and I hot footed it to Glasgow where I purchased 7 metres of black taffeta, with an amazing ribbon effect edging and I assured my ever patient husband that a gown could be knocked up in no time, to use my Mum's vernacular.

I had a vision in my head of a sweeping off the shoulder number with a big skirt and a tight little bodice( of course ignoring the fact that I no longer have a tight little body to match). Heaven.

What I hadn't of course factored into his week of eager stitching was a full time job, a trip to the Edinburgh festival, nor a hospital visit to a very dear friend who is having a horrid time at the moment. So dear reader I think you may have guessed by now that come Thursday  night there was no gown. Said taffeta can now be found neatly folded in its bag in the fabric cupboard and will wait to see the light of day next time we get to play dress up. As for the party, the LK Bennett's had a great trip out and a good time was had by all. ( oh, I might have forgotten to say I found another gown in the back of the wardrobe! oops).

So after the distraction of the party wear I thought it not a good plan to start a new project so at the weekend I pulled out of the basket a part made project which used a pattern called " Confetti Stars", by Atkinson Designs which I bought The Fat Quarters ( a lovely little shop in County Durham, definitely worth a visit if you are in the area- just ask for Kim)  a couple of years back. This project has been on the go for quite some time and is a scrappy effect from a whole host of toning fabrics I bought on a trip to Canada at least 5 years ago. So long ago that I couldn't tell you the names of the fabrics nor the maker by now. 

I had pieced a large number of squares and now I needed to stitch these in rows. I thought all was OK and and I was pleased with the look, but then I made that fatal mistake we have all made. I got a bit carried away and over confident. As you will see here the pattern was emerging beautifully, but then if you look at the next photo you will see what has happened . Some how I lost the flow and reversed the rows and the mistake did not appear until at least three rows later and the whole pattern fell apart.  So annoying.

all going well

oops!

As you may have guessed the next sewing session will involve a lot of unpicking. I have managed to figure out a way of sorting it out without taking out all the rows but really, not a very productive week all at all. No gown and no quilt. Don't you just hate it when that happens...

By the way if anyone recognises any of these fabrics I would love to know what they are called .

Bits 'n bobs

Well, we are back from the Games, where I spent my birthday ( thanks to the IOC for going to such lengths to help me celebrate ha ha)  and and I very pleased to say that a wonderful time was had by all.  Hope you have been following the events down in the East End as there have been some amazing moments of sporting achievements, not just for us supporting Team GB , but also for a lot of very talented guys and gals from all over the globe. The UK have now got behind the whole event and the atmosphere throughout the country is electric and such a joy to experience. Absolutely love it.

Another big event last weekend was Number One Son moving into his first real home with the delightful Miss Danni N. No more student hovels for him , but a nice little bijoux end of terrace in the Suffolk countryside. Built around 1850, its a lovely little house that needs a bit of TLC so I think Missy D, who is a furniture designer, will be in her element. To tide them over though we had the obligatory trip to a well know Swedish furniture store to buy the basics, just so they don't end up eating off cardboard plates for the next couple of  months. This was a whole new experience for my boy who likened it to a retail treasure hunt and of course we had to top off the whole thing by introducing him to the weird wonder that is the IKEA meatball. No trip to the store would be the same without a plate of those weird grey but surprisingly tasting little spheres and I had never quite been able to put my finger on what it was that they reminded me of , but my boy got it in one. School dinners. Genius.

Thank you to Aeracura- A Blossoming Life for this funny and i think scientifically accurate diagram

There are certain things that I cannot bring myself to buy though and one of those is pot holders, given the thousands of bits and bobs of fabric sitting in my den needing a home. I don't know what you do with your orphans (I hope that is what you call your left over blocks otherwise you may think I am going slightly mad?), but I regularly transform mine into handy little pot holders. I use one layer of the heat resistant wadding as well as one layer of standard cotton wading in each one, as this gives enough protection, but  is not too chunky like some oven gloves. I managed to stitch 5 whilst watching Andy Murray win Gold this afternoon so they can go off in the post tomorrow.

 

My favourite actually was not an orphan, but a left over piece of the Koala and Kookaburra fabric with a cheeky little monkey face peeping out of it , which just reminded me of my boy so I couldn't resist. ( Did I say he was 27 - no probably not. I am such an embarrassing parent!)

 

back views- quite pretty too?

Whilst routling around I found a couple of other pieces that needed binding so have spent the rest of the day finishing them off. I am always surprised at the amount of wee table toppers that are always hiding in that pile of cast off blocks and left overs.

Let me know what you do with all your orphans. I would love to know.

Long-arm quilting- or how I would spend my millions

How many of us plan what we would do if only our lucky numbers came up on the lottery one weekend? For me it would be a simple and easy decision. I would have to buy myself a long-arm quilt machine- oh and perhaps a big enough home to keep it in.  I think for us weekend quilters, the actual quilting of our projects can sometimes prove the most troublesome part. I personally have spent many an hour tightly rolling my pieced quilt sandwich so that it will fit under the arm of my Janome machine only to end up feeling exhausted and disappointed at the result and sad that I have messed up what had been a  great piece of piecing. So the idea of a "rent by the hour" quilting service is an absolute God send to many of us. To be honest as a hobby quilter the actual investment in a machine of the size and quality available through these services, regardless of the financial consideration, is pretty unrealistic because of its practicality so being able to find somewhere that I can feel at home and relaxed and finish my larger quilts to a high quality has been a great boost to my enjoyment of my stitching.

My local Long-Arm Quilting service is Beechwood Quilting based in the beautiful City of Stirling and the business is run by a very welcoming Carole and Brian. They have a great set up with their Gamill Optimum (this recently replaced the APQ Millennium shown in my pictures) in a spacious and bright studio which they also use for other quilting classes and workshops. I haven't yet had a chance to attend any of their classes as they have always clashed with other commitments for me, but they have a great flexible approach so are happy to organise classes on requested topics if a group can be pulled together. Emily and I are working on a plan at the moment so I will let you know if this comes together. 

As a double act Carole and Brian are a hoot. Carole has the calmness and approach of a great teacher and is wonderful company. I really look forward to catching up with her at each visit and we regularly put the world to rights over a cup of tea mid session. Brian- well Brian is a man with a plan. If an ingenious solution to a problem is required , he is the chap to find it. He is very knowledgeable when it come to his machine and its workings and at the moment he is also working on his piecing skills, so that they match his machine quilting. I am very much looking forward to his next major project and particularly his entry to Loch Lomond next year which appears to be top secret. I would say though that Carole has the patience of a saint and after writing that I think Brian may never speak to me again ..... ha ha.   

Loading the backing

For anyone who hasn't yet tried their hand at Long Arm quilting, I would highly recommend it. The hour of initial tuition can be a lot to take in but I have to say the Gamill Optimum ( or Vicky Plum as she is affectionately known to Brian and Carole) is the easiest and most intuitive machine I have used so far. I started off with lots of quilts looking very similar with "spaghetti" stitching but you very quickly get used to the idea that if you can draw in a long flowing manner then you can create any design you like. Carole is an absolute whizz at this and has had some great ideas to help me along the way. I bet you have never realised how easily you could draw a realistic helicopter in one long sweeping movement have you? Well nor I had I until let loose on Vicky Plum and was prompted into action by my wonderful JB who too has an artistic bent as well as an uncommon knowledge of these "parafin budgies".  

So far I have only completed one piece of custom quilting, on a Block of the Month quilt which I made called "Stitches of the Oregon Trail" , ( bought via Keepsake Quilting many years ago and buried for over 6 years in my finished top stash because of the impossibility of quilting something so large on my Janome). This took me 2 sessions at Beechwood, and a fairly large supply of Carole's wonderful flapjacks. I have 2 more king size quilt tops tucked away which I have been looking at them recently to see what style I can incorporate so again, watch this space for updates of how it goes.

Stitches on the Oregon Trail

Brian and Carole also offer a service where they will quilt for you if you haven't either the time or the inclination to quilt your piecing yourself. They have over 2000 patterns to choose from and a great knowledge of what will suit your work of art so if you are after a whole cloth  and regular pattern they can use their computerised pattern to do this for you. Again I haven't tried this yet, as I get very attached to my work and have an inherent need to do anything all by myself but its a great great service.


If you would like to read about some of the work that has gone on at Beechwood, this link takes you to "Women of Scotland" a project they were involved in, which exhibited earlier this year. 


Also if you are not lucky enough to live close to Beechwood, Carole  and Brian also run a  very lovely Bed And Breakfast called "Kerran Bed and Breakfast"  so you could make a couple of days of your visit and explore the stunning Stirling castle and surrounding areas.


I am off there again on Thursday evening for a quick session which you will hear about in my next blog , oh yes and my fill of flapjacks...that is unless I win the lottery.