Monday 5 October 2020

I've designed a pattern!!!!!!

 Its a Christmas pattern..... I love these nutcrackers and couldn't find anything large enough for my liking. So I made one πŸ˜ƒhe is approx. 50" tall so would look fantastic either side of the fireplace or the front door for Christmas! This pattern is for sale at £8.95 as a PDF or £8.95 plus p&p if you would like a hard copy. Please message me via email or my facebook page. 


















Fabric Art

I have been known to do some fabric art.....



This framed piece is for sale on my Facebook page. Please take a look if you are interested? (link to the right!!) 


Ripped pieces of fabric stitched together with decorative stitches. An image of leaves and stalks are stitched in by machine with button flowers, and a felted butterfly which had been stitched and hand beaded is in relief on the background. 


£55 plus p&p. 







Gypsy Wife Quilt Pattern

 So ...... I had had this pattern for, probably a couple of years. Then my husband went to Washington DC for a business trip so I sent him to JoAnns!! πŸ˜‚

There he was in his suit with his briefcase not knowing what to do!! He ended up facetiming me so I could direct him around the shop..........We used to live there so I knew where everything was.... anyway amongst much hilarity and giggling from shop staff he managed to get a good collection of fat-quarters for me as well as some other bits.

So.. on his return I dug out the Gypsy wife pattern and read it through, then I read it again, then again. What had I let myself in for!!!

I took a deep breath and got on with it! The top took me a while...., you make up the blocks and then join them into bigger blocks until you have about 12 larger blocks of all shapes and sizes. Because I chose the fabric I did I also had to match the grey stripes all the way down the quilt 😡πŸ₯΄.....won't do that again!!!

It got left again.....I had had enough and just wanted t out of the way. In the PHD pile it went.

Finally I decided to get it finished and bought the wadding and backing.

THEN I made a big purchase........talked into it by a friend @saminstitches  πŸ€£πŸ˜‚ I bought myself a Machine Quilter from Martha Milne. I LOVE it..so not only did I finish my Gypsy Wife quilt but I have now completed the majority of my PHD's.






The completed quilt. Thanks Chris for doing the shopping!!!πŸ˜€













Monday 28 September 2020

Follow along workshops.

 So....back to Stuart Hillard. I follow him on Instagram and he did a couple of great follow along projects early on in lockdown. This is the tote bag results!




I use it as an art bag - it carries all my watercolours, pencils, brushes and pens as well as loads of paper.



Quilts and Machine covers

 I love The Crafty Nomad patterns. I'm really pleased with the vibrancy of the colours I have chosen for both of these pieces - from the same pattern.

The machine cover was not quilted on my Machine Quilter frame as I felt it was a bit too small to load on and I wanted to practice my free motion quilting anyway. Plus matchstick quilting around the edges and each panel would have been more difficult.



The quilt from the same pattern is stunning, I really enjoyed making this. It came out better than I expected. 







This Quilt is for sale at £150 plus p&p. It measures 52" x 60". Is 100% cotton including the backing and wadding. It has been free motion quilted in a swirl pattern using an iridescent thread. The backing fabric is also white. If you are interested please contact me via email.

Bits and Pieces

 I managed to make a few bits for myself and use some of the patterns I had bought and not got around to using.



Sugar Bowl Crafts have some great patterns and I love the size of this great project bag.



I made a pencil case for myself from an online pattern.


This storage box is from The Crafty Nomad. It was the first time I had used Bosal.




Machine Quilter

 Just before lockdown I had ordered a Machine Quilter frame from the great Martha Milne. Instead of going to collect it and have a mornings workshop with Martha I missed out and had it delivered to home. Luckily her great videos and tutorials via her website were extremely helpful and I managed to get it set up myself and even working!!

                                                                                        








The dog got a new quilt that day as I had a jelly roll around which was easy to make up and it gave me some great practice on the frame. 

Stuart Hillard Workshop

 We managed to squeeze this in just before lockdown. It was fabulous. Stuart is such a good teacher and spokesman. Scrap Happy Quilters had a great evening listening to Stuart and looking at some of his creations. A few of us were then able to take advantage of a workshop the following day. Excellent!!!

We made a Cathedral Windows cushion cover.





Loved it so much I made another for a friends birthday!







Lockdown Life

..... It's been a challenge, I can't deny it. However I have managed to get my head into a better space for crafting, gardening and other hobbies which had been put to one side. Starting with creating masks and scrubs bags for the NHS. I think most of my friends also did this and I know that between us we probably made thousands of pieces.




I've lost track of how many masks I made....definitely hundreds.


...and scrubs bags.






So... you will have noticed I have been absent for a few years!  It's not that I haven't been crafting its just that other things have taken priority. BUT now I'm back determined to make my blog, Instagram and Facebook pages the best they can be to showcase my crafting.....watch this space!

Friday 26 June 2015

PHD FINISHED!!!!!!

Here is a top I had in a box. Can't even remember when I did it! Now quilted in straight lines and faced in black. PHD - project half done! Now complete!!!

Jazzy lap quilt!




First time I have used anything like these colours! Blocks came from a group I belong to. I love it he simple quilting and the facing instead of binding. Simple yet effective.

Wednesday 8 April 2015

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Christmas tree skirt

At least I finished it in time for Christmas this year!!!!