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).

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!

Dreich- adjective ( see also Scotland)

My back garden lawn !

Today has been the sort of the day the Scot's invented the word dreich for. It's been grey and damp with that horrid drizzly sort of rain that gets you soaked right through to the bone. When I first ventured north to university I wrote home to my Mum ( yes, that was in the days when you used a stamp and an envelope, but not quite a quill pen) and told her that the rain up here was wetter than down in the good old south. And do you know, I still stand by that daft statement to this day.

Rain in Scotland has a persistence about it that matches the national character. It is strong and unforgiving. But like the Scottish character the land has a warmth and glow about it that I cannot resist and that makes my heart smile. So I will wear wellies and cultivate the biggest umbrella collection known to man.

Anyway all this drivel about drizzle is because today was "Bank Holiday Monday" which translates as "Guaranteed Wet Dreich Day" so I spent the time catching up on some odds and ends and started a new project. You might remember a few blogs ago I asked for suggestions on what pattern to use for a Layer Cake I had bought entitled "Happy Campers". Well I settled on Emily's suggestion of  "You Zig and I'll Zag" , from the Ruby Blue Quilting Studio and have made a good start. I have promised to give this to Pepper Ann, who is a huge retro fan as I thought it would be a great start to her and Scott's home which they have started  saving things for. It used to be called a "bottom drawer" and that probably  sounds very old fashioned thing now , but actually I think is quite sweet. Pepper Ann and her big and wonderful Scott ( who is somewhere around 6 ft 6 I am sure) are the last of our gang of 5 to set up a home and we hope it won't be too long for them before they are all set and find their ideal place. In the meantime, I can start off their nest with a nice big and bright quilt to snuggle under on the dark nights. I have hit a wee snag though, as the pattern requires 41 blocks and as the layer cake only has 40 pieces I have had brain fade trying to figure out how it's meant to work from the cutting instructions, so I hope I hear from Ruby Blue soon. If you have made a similar pattern or any ideas that will help me please drop me a line to rescue me.

I have to confess though that I did get a bit distracted from my task of this quilt as I stopped for a cuppa and a slice of Marmalade cake and discovered a rerun of Sense and Sensibility on Channel 4 and, well you can't beat a bit of Austen on a wet bank holiday can you. Not to mention Mr Rickman in breeches. Three hours later it seemed a bit late to return to the den to pick up the pieces, if you pardon the pun, so I will continue next weekend, as the beloved JB will still be away at work.

Given all this moaning about rain I thought it would also be good if you saw a few of the upsides of all this northern precipitation. You know I love my garden and its been a tough year but these last couple of pictures show  some of the beneficiaries from this summer. I have been trying to grow Agapanthus for years and this is my first ever bloom. I know its a bit on the weedy side, but its a start. As for the Hydrangea, they remind me of our wedding where we had them stacked high in buckets by the entrance to the marque, and they looked stunning in shades of pink and purple. Next year I will try the iron filings trick and see if I can get a similar effect. The last picture is one of the rain laying on the Achemilla which I thought just looked rather cool. Hope you like them .

 

Anyway, that's me off to find a cure for webbed feet and trench foot... see you again soon