Nuts in May

Linking up with Lily's quilts Fresh sewing day

 

There's an old saying that goes " May comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb", but I would say that in 2013, May came in with a splosh and went out with a dribble. We've been blown about, washed away and then in a brief hour one Thursday, burnt to a crisp. Probably not what we all had in mind for one of the favourite month's of the year and to  say its been an unpredictable month would be an understatement. However I am pleased to say the inclement weather hasn't stopped us from having one of the most hectic, but productive months for a long time.

May round up

In between clocking up the miles on trips to see all the gang, enjoy some live theatre and three music gigs ,(phew!), I managed to finish off not only the Sew Sew Modern  and Pretty Little Pouch Swaps but also to get all my bee blocks out and away to their new homes. The Postman must love me at the moment I reckon.

The block in the middle is the one chosen by Happy Go Lizzie for the Modern Stash Bee, called Rocky Mountain Puzzle, and this block is completely addictive. I have become hooked on these little lovelies. So much so that I have chosen it for my up and coming month in charge in the Together at Do.Good Stitches Bee. I hope the rest of the team like it as much as me. It is so quick and easy but looks really effective I think. There are some more great examples of how they can turn out, both  here and here.

So that was May. June promises to be calmer and I am desperate to get out into the garden so, as inspiration, I am off to "Gardening Scotland" on Sunday. First of all though I have a tutorial to write for another block which hopefully won't be too tricky, but pop back soon and I will let you know. Toodle loo!

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).

 

February round up

 

All in all a bit of a strange month for me really. After near on three weeks away from work with an ailing body I am back in the saddle again and raring to go. My blog has been a bit neglected as you probably noticed so this is by way of a quick catch up on swaps and bees.

 

The February Modern Stash blocks have winged their way off to Linda in Texas care of her daughter so I hope she  likes them and that they fit in well with everyone else's. We also finished the Pretty Little Pouch Swap, which was terrific. Hadley came up trumps with my beautiful wee bag filled with all sorts of goodies and I was really chuffed with the comments I received from everyone for the pouch I made for Indianna Dreams. She tells me she is off sailing again soon and it will be going on its travels with her so the pirate theme was spot on. I have signed up for two more swaps starting in March , but haven't been able to down load the buttons yet so will write all about them next time once I have my techy brain in gear. Of course I also started the low volume quilt I wrote about last time but that too is work in progress, still to be shared once I have made it look a bit more interesting. Not bad really then ,in a shortened poorly month. I am quite surprised now I have recapped.

 

This week I started a lovely little modern techniques course over at Jo Avery's Homestore in Edinburgh which was fun ( but freezing!). It will be 6 sessions of new ideas to have fun with and this week she showed us a great way of making a Dresden Plate. Her examples were stunning but as I packed my bag in a bit of a hurry at 6 am in the morning, before leaving for work, my fabric mix was a little stressful, but by placing the circle on the red fabric I have pulled it back  a bit and I have a plan for the middle which I will show you once its finished. I had hoped to finish it this weekend and take it along next week for a bit of show and tell but today has disappeared too quickly and tomorrow we are off to the family for lunch and stuff, so it may have to wait till next week. If you are interested Jo is selling kits to make these great cushions which you can find by clicking here. They really are beautiful.

 

 

This afternoon I have knocked up a batch of chilli jam to take with me tomorrow as a little thank you and given the look on the beloved JB's face after tasting it, I think the heat factor will hit the spot for the chilli loving Greg and co. It was featured on saturday Kitchen this morning and I couldn't resist.

That's my lot really for reporting today I think. We're off to the theatre in Edinburgh tonight to see Mike Leigh's "Abigail's party", so it'll be cheese and pineapple on sticks and listening to Demis Roussos all round. Cracking play- can't wait.

 

Keep well everyone and and pop by again soon.

 

And I made it over the line

According to Mr Ashcroft the drugs don't work ( sorry class tune- couldn't resist) but if  2 days ago you had suggested that I would have spent this afternoon sewing and completing my swap I would have laughed you out of the room. So something has definitely been working here. I had pre-empted my delay in posting the Pretty Little Pouch Swap by its deadline by contacting the swap Mama with details of my medical hiccough, but there was a little man nagging in the back of my head this afternoon saying I couldn't let my partner down. So onwards and upwards and all that and hurrah, I got it finished.

All the trickier parts had been completed and I just needed to get the zip in and finish off. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out but the proof will be in the pudding for my partner when it arrives with her. As a little add on I made her as a wallet in the same pirate fabric, but it wasn't until later that I realised I have made the opening for a left handed person. What a spoon am I..... Unless of course I am psychic and she is left handed?  Hmmmm? Anyway apologies if you are not. Maybe you have a left  handed friend who has a penchant for pirates? The pattern was one I found over at the mad Narcoleptic in the Cupboard 's blog.

Its a great pattern, even if you can't tell your left from the right.

If you are interested the back of the pouch itself, it was made using a pirate map Emily drew for me which I then printed out on the inkjet printer using the fabric that fits through and it came out a treat. I have used this  a few times now and think its great fun. In my addled state though I did forget to add a Quilty  Doings tag to the make which is a real shame.

Now I am on a roll so I have made one of the February blocks for the Modern Quilting Stash Bee for the lovely Linda in Napa. She is after fuschia themed colours and the block is called "You are here". I am pleased with this too but am a wee bit concerned its a bit too pink for Linda, so I will make sure block 2 will have a bit more purple in it.

After all this activity I am absolutely shattered but its a far better type of shattered than 2 days ago. It's great to be back in the saddle again....

Who'd have thought...

leftovers turned into a comfy cushion for my den

Who would have thought that just about the time I get my lovely machine back from the magic repair man in Edinburgh  that it would be me that breaks rather than the machine?The beloved JB came back from offshore and kindly picked up my treasure for me and I was in a hurry to get going but with family commitments I didn't really have a chance to " have a good go" as they say. I did manage a dabble with some left over half square triangles which turned into the cushion above for my den, as well as the beginnings of my pouch for the Pretty Little Pouch Swap.

Pretty Little Pouch Swap Round 6

But ho hum, within hours of starting I had what I would consider an " oh bum" moment when a good old dose of the rheumatoid's kicked in, in my hands. Not content to strike my left hand for a day, it came back with avengance two days later resulting in a 2 a.m. blizzard run to A and E, a large needle in my rump and being signed off sick for 4 days. Having now come round from the belt of drugs inflicted on my body I am starting to get a little bored and frustrated as I love a) my job and b) my stitching and at present I can do neither. So I have taken to fabric shopping which is as you all know is a very dangerous business. A few little bundles have been ordered but the most exciting purchase has been from Emily's new range on Spoonflower, called "To the Beach".I know it's a little early to be thinking of such things as the summer, but in my book it's never to early to buy fabric for a sunshine project. Emily is new to Spoonflower, but her design eye, used in her great landscape photographery I think stands her in good stead here. I hope you can pop by and have a look. I have ordered a medley of five in orange and blue and plan to add a little Kona solid in there once they arrive. You will of course get to see what turns out as quickly as possible, as you know how I love to share at the drop of a hat.

Anyway, that's me away to my bed know, as I have the current attention span of a Knat with all this medication floating around my brain.  I hope normal service will be resumed shortly. Till then, keep smiling and thanks for popping byx