Its a Christmas pattern..... I love these nutcrackers and couldn't find anything large enough for my liking. So I made one 😃he 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.
I have been known to do some fabric art.....
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!! 😂
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 😵🥴.....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 🤣😂 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.
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 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.
I managed to make a few bits for myself and use some of the patterns I had bought and not got around to using.
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!!
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.
..... 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.
