Let's go low volume ( ...ish)

After all the bright and sunny colours encountered through the Modern Quilting Stash Bee, I felt the need to try a  bit of low volume backgrounds for a change and whilst I am not a pale and subtle type, I am hopeful this will turn out OK once I have finished with it. If you're not a quilting aficionado "Low Volume" means subtle type fabrics and colours that do not leap out at you and smack you in the eye, either in colour or pattern. They can be very effective to set something else off or be used to give a lovely gentle look to a  quilt for a particular place. You may need to bear with me for a bit though on this one before it looks at all interesting on the blog.

I found the fabrics lurking in my stash and after  a bit of googling found they came from back in 2008 and are called "Cats in Paris" . To be perfectly honest, this makes me cringe a bit for I cannot imagine what made me buy them, as whilst I have been a  very happy cat parent in the past, I am not a great cartoon motif type. Nor am I that much of a pastel cutesy type girl either ( unless there may be a moose involved?) so that is why they have probably sat in the stash for over 4 years. A couple of the matching fabrics though are really lovely, especially the spot and the small star and I must have had some kind of plan back then, but heaven knows. Anyway, as a low volume I think they are working pretty well. The piecing is 2 1/2 inch squares and ended up with a finished size of around 48" x 38" ( I know weird size- sorry).

The plan to "funk it up a bit" is drawn from a pattern in the most recent edition of "Fat Quarterly", but I want to keep that under my hat for the moment. My big task though is to find a strong contrasting colour to add on top off the pale pinks, greens and beiges ( yuch, cant believe I even used that word). I have had the Kona colour chart out and what I really want is a dark dark chocolate colour and the best I think is going to be no. 1136, Espresso, but I am still a bit torn. As you will see there is actually a dark contrasting fabric which I do like but I only have a fat quarter which is not enough and despite more googling I cannot find anymore. Given it is a 2008 fabric I am not at  all surprised though. The contrast is nearly a black but the Kona blacks look a  bit too dense so I think the dark chocolate will be best , especially with the pale and delicate pink. So that's me now off to order me a yard or so. A tiny bit of me says to hunt for a tiny print but I have a feeling that could take me for ever and I really want to crack on with this as it will, for a first, involve circles. That's all I am saying for now - 'cos as you may recall I don't do circles!

See you 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

Disaster strikes

Well, it feels like my right arm has been cut off.  I don't know how I will last the next couple of weeks? Is there support group for this sort of thing??? There had better be or there could be one very stressed and stroppy woman wandering around, I can tell you.

Oh, did I not say - my machine is on the blink.

After a fun few hours in which I managed to pull together my block for the Modern Stash Quilting Bee as well as a little pouch for Emily as a surprise (thanks again Noodel-head), I needed to fill another bobbin and that is where it all went wrong. For some reason it won't wind even though the motor is running so tomorrow first thing I need to get on the phone to the man in Edinburgh to see how quickly he can fix my baby. The idea of not having a working machine, even though I rarely stitch in the evenings after work, fills me with dread.  I don't think I have been machine-less for nigh on 34 years ( yes, I could sew as soon as I left the womb.....) so if kind readers you have any goodness in your bones, which of course I know you have by the bucket load, you will tonight be saying a little word in the right place on my behalf to ensure that the lovey repair man can act a bit toute suite and get me back up and running.

 

In the meantime here are a couple of pictures of the successful makes before it all went pear shaped.  I love this Supernova  block that January T has asked us in the Las Vegas Hive to make. I never make things in yellow, but am a big fan of grey ( or gray to my friends over the pond), but January  has made a great choice I think. The tutorials from "Freshley pieced" are great and as you would have guessed I now want to make a whole quilt in this pattern.  I am however intrigued to know why the tutorial says to not steam as you go when making, so if anyone wants to let me know why I would be grateful. We also had a little "lost in translation" moment too over in the Flickr group as I made a gag about Oasis and " Supernova" in my post, but as the beloved JB would away , it didn't hit the baffle plate. Clearly the Mancunians' fame is not as wide spread as I had anticipated. So sorry about that chaps.

 

 

 

My second little make today was this small pouch for Emily. The naughty cats made me think of her and I think will make her chuckle so I will pop it in the post tomorrow. She would have been freezing her little tootsies off today on the snowy Quayside in Newcastle, selling her photography, so she I thought it would give her a nice little surprise. It's a big week for her and the wonderful Mr S as they collect the keys on Friday to their newly purchased first house . I can't wait to get to see it as they have lots of ideas and  generally hard work ahead of them but its so very exciting. All in all a very  exciting time for all our young people at the moment.

Anyway that's me for now. I am off to find the stitching equivalent to the Samaritans ......hopefully see you all very soon ( repair man willing) x

Scrappy dabblings

First and foremost Happy New year to you all and I hope you had a great great Christmas. We had a great couple of days, although both the beloved JB and I were back at work on Thursday last week. To make up for this I had a lovely treat of having  two of my gang home this weekend which was wonderful. Number One Son and the lovely Danni flew up on Friday night, through the wind and the rain (and a very dodgy landing at Turnhouse) to join me, Emily and the lovely Mr S. We had a hoot, although we missed my big noisy husband but did try to make up for this by a night of home made French Martini's which probably each had the alcohol content equivalent to about half a dozen in the average bar - and very scrummy they were too! No sore heads though which was a bonus.

It's pretty much back to normal here though come tomorrow, as my employers stick to the English one day hangover respite as opposed the Scots who need the two day cure. I thought I just has time for  a wee stitch today just to unwind and my original plan was to make my square for the Modern Stash Quilting Bee but I discovered that I had no plain grey for the first round background so that plan had to be shelved. Instead I had a bit of a play as I haven't had chance to use any of the Japanese charms I received from the swap back in the autumn. 

I thought I would have a look through these to see what I could find and it turned into quite a fruitful afternoon actually, as I managed to turn out 3 small makes.

First of all I made a small basket to use when I am stitching. I don't know  about you but I have a habit of dropping any small pieces on the floor as I move things around on my table to the machine, so I thought this little basket would come in handy to use for Work In Progress. 

Next I used some tiny little one inch squares to make this taller handle free version, which will hold pencils and the like. It was a struggle to line and a bit of an experiment in how small I could go, so probably won't be repeated again for that reason.

Last and by no means least I made a scrappy zippy pouch, based on the great tutorial by Noodlehead. I know this particular tutorial is very popular with a lot of my blog and flickr friends but just in case you are not familiar, I have attached the link. I needed a new make up bag as the Lancome girl has been seen rolling her eyes whenever I am in  for  a purchase, because the one I have been using I think was a give away about 15 years or so ago. This is definitely a bit more individual I reckon.

I think that's all my news for today. No New Year's resolutions from me, as I am more of a serendipitous nature, but I can say that the beloved and I are vowed to be more at home this year so I hope that means a lot more makes. Yippeee... 

Oh and most important piece of news of the Christmas period? Pepper Anne's engagement. This made us all weep like you would not believe. Brilliant news- our first son-in-law-to-be and you will never guess. She has asked me to make her dress. No pressure there then at all eh? Luckily I have a year or two to build up the nerve and who knows she may be the first bride to wear a dress made out of hexies? (Only joking by the way just in a case anyone thinks I have freaky taste.)

Till next time.

Christmas is coming , this Quilters getting fat...( or Let the Moose Fest Begin )

 

Chop chop busy busy... things to do , places to go and all that. Like all you lovely readers I've been on the go non stop for the past few weeks but do you know, its finally all coming together. Seasonal over eating and imbibing has begun and will continue apace as all the gang arrive home over the coming days and weeks. Of course in this house it is the annual Moose fest, when every nook and cranny is packed with Mooses of every shape and size. I love these beasts, small or large and my long suffering family humour me, I am pleased to say, with new additions each year to my growing heard. My favourite is probably "Reggie" a small and neat little Moose, who sports a natty pair of blue trousers with braces and a little bow tie. He is so named because he reminds me of my Dad for some obscure reason. And I think he is quite splendid.  

 

Despite inclement weather I managed the annual run out to the Trossachs ( sounds like a dodgy disease doesn't- ooo I've got  a touch of the Trossachs!) to collect our Christmas tree. This is now a well established part our Christmas ritual here in QD land, with the purchase of a lovely, beautifully smelling fresh tree from the Forestry Commission out in the Queen Elizabeth Forrest. Transportation was a bit of an issue this year though as the beloved JB was away working and so I only had access to my tiny little car but I had a cunning plan and  the rain held off.

probably not what they had in mind when they designed the retracting roof

Next thing was to get little Zoe over to decorate it for me, with a little help from Mum and Dad. This of course meant a little bit of festive sustenance, so I knocked up these scrummy little Rudolph buns.

 

I cannot take the credit for their inventiveness, as I actually found them on the BBC website. They are so easy to make and really really effective so do give them a go. I bought Smarties for Rudolph's nose, but M&M's would have been better ( and presumably easier to find if you are over the pond?) as they are a much better bright nosey red colour. As you will also see I cheated by buying buns for this batch rather than making the buns from scratch as I was in a complete rush.  Zoe worked hard  decorating Nan's tree (well the bottom part anyway) and it was fun watching her little face with all our treasured nic nacs coming out of the boxes

Anyway, probably like most of my blogging buddies, there's not to much time for sewing at the moment with all the preparations, but I did have a wee bit of time to stitch these stockings for a friend's twin girlies, Kiki and Amelia. I had to match them to a pair of shop bought stockings their big brothers already owned which I thought had a bit of a Scandinavian feel about them. Hence the red and white gingham, with the blue trimmings. Apart from the applique, the tops are machine embroidered in red and white stitching. Let's hope Santa fills them to the brim next week.

 

I reckon this may be my last blog before the festivities, so just want to say Happy Christmas to you all and may the world be the place we all wish it to be in the New Year. Take care and thanks for dropping by...

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun

I cannot believe it is over a month since my last post. It is not for want of trying. Its just that every day that I have planned to sit down to write an update life has conspired against me and I have crumbled and failed. To prove my point I am writing this blog whilst sitting in the departure lounge at Bristol Airport, after  a weekend with Ma and Pa in sunny Wiltshire. As I knew this was going to be  a quiet affair I had great plans to a) update my blog b) post lots of pictures of makes and swaps and c) draw up my Christmas menus in advance of the arrival of the hungry hordes. I think I will get a B+ for effort but a C- for achievement as all I managed was half a menu for Christmas Eve, no photos of swaps and am now only just starting to write this because I got the airport 2 hours too early. Pretty poor all round I am sure you will agree.

 

Anyway for fear of boring you with the too much detail of the past month, plus I can confirm that

1. two swaps were completed
2. one Country Living Fair was attended and a prize was one ( Hurrah and well done Emily)
3. we rocked to 3 gigs
4. Santa arrived in Edinburgh and last but not least

On point number 1, I wish I could post some pictures but I have had a few IT issues with cameras and the like so am going to have to rely on picture links from Flickr. First of all I made an ipad case as part of the Scrappy Swap, which was great great fun and I posted this off to my name sake Jo, from "Dont drink and Sew"  down in lovely Sussex and I think she has enjoyed it. I managed to sneak in a little piece of the Japanese "Laboratory" fabric which I had been dying to use since buying. I thought was an ideal opportunity, given the loosely scientific nature of an ipad (tenuous I know).

Chemistry lab - Pushpin by kokka

Jo managed to post a picture of it with some of the fabrics which made up the swap but the accompanying Tunnocks Teacakes (we had to add a small local gift so I couldn't resist) didn't make it to the photo shoot as I understand her Mum got to them first!!! In return Jo made me a brilliant little pouch and two lavender bags which I adore. The pouch has been really handy and I used it this weekend to transport a pin cussion, scissors and thread so that I could do a wee bit of EPP whilst at Ma and Pa's. It was the perfect size for my bag but due to good old airport security it had to go in the suitcase other wise I would be hexxy-ing at this moment in time and not writing this drivel. Jo took a great couple of pictures before posting to me with my gift of a Simon Drew Coaster. A great choice as I am fan of thei clever clever man. So thanks again Jo, a really lovely swap. The other completed swap was the Addicted to Text Swap, in which I managed to not be able to count. The poor old  swap mama had to chase me for 4 extra squares when she started counting them out so this is probably not the time to confess to being an accountant is it?

On the Country Living Show front, Emily and I had a great but exhausting time there. The clever girl won Most festive Stand so we will be definitely be back next year.

It was also lovely to meet some of my blog friends and have to give special mention to Jo from the Avery Homestore in Edinburgh. She very bravely put together a Craft demonstration making little fat felt robins which was very well attended and proved to be very popular by the look on the participants faces. So much so that I watched her cleverly do her stuff whilst my ample bottom was precariously balanced on the edge of a planter bearing a particularly prickly Christmas tree. Well done Jo ( this seems to be the Jo tribute blog today doesn't it-  we must stick together eh girls) and I hope to get through to the shop very soon.

Third on my list there you will have seen mention of 3 gigs this month. Well do you know it may even be 4? Last weekend the beloved JB and I ventured to Manchester and the MEN to see the stunningly brilliant Elbow. We have been fans for many a year, but after we first saw them live at T in the Park 3 years ago, (much to the amusement of my work colleagues I might add), I  became even more hooked. "The Seldom Seen Kid" is a brilliant piece of writing and I have to state that the line " You are the only thing in any room that you are in " as being the greatest Love song lyric ever written. If you are not familiar with these guys you must check them out. Our other little soiree's were Keane, at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, again excellent, a very amusing evening with Adrian Edmonson in Glasgow with his chums the Idiot Bastard Band (aka Roland Rivron, Phil Jupitus and Neil Innes) and finally and most bizarrely a night in Bury watching a very odd little ensemble called IQ, care of the beloved JB's taste for Prog rock, God bless 'im . You may have deduced this to be my least favourite, and I should add that I spent most of the evening on a comfy couch in the bar but hey ho, that's married bliss for you.

Well this was supposed to be quite brief post but the descriptive juices started flowing and my flight has been delayed so I have droned on a a bit. I have not talked about the fun of the make for Emily's stand, nor the brilliant time we had at the Christmas Market with Zoe and all the gang but you may have deduced that from the photo on the Carousel. I am dreading the year she thinks she is grown up enough to go on there on her own and poor old Nan gets left standing watching with everyone else. How else will I get to have a ride without looking a complete numpty? Anyone got a small person I could borrow as a spare perhaps, or can someone else in the family muster one up for me in due course....  Only joking by the way if any of you get to reading this. 

Anyway , I am off to berate the EasyJet desk to get an update, but in the meantime I hope your Christmas preparations are going well and I look forward to  you popping by again soon.