Quilting Journal - Part 2

The above pages shows a design that was inspired by some of the fabric which was sent with one of the blocks. A stylised Christmas tree with some hand stitched detail.

I like to make scaled drawings and them templates, to make sure that the cutting out is not wonky. I then keep these for future use of reference. My own stash of patterns!

I have quite a mixture of pattern paper types ranging from computer printer paper, cake tin lining paper, old wrapping paper etc.

These are the blocks made for me by other members of the Quilting Bee. I have added the white sashing in between the blocks. It is not quite finished yet and the backing needs to go too.

A lovely light and summery quilt which has been crafted by fellow bloggers from all around the world. This will be a treasured possession for a life time and it will be passed on to Sophie to keep within the family.

There is one further thing that I did with my Quilt pictures which I have not gone into detail yet.

As for my Quilting Journal, well I am still adding to it with further ideas and designs for this quilt and the Christmas Quilt which is also a WIP at the moment. I also have plans for the journal cover.

xx

Quilting by the Book

Above are just some of the blocks that I have made recently and I do have to thank this book for helping me.

I have had so much inspiration from this book. One of the things that I like about it is that it suggests different ways to use the same block, either by changing the colour combination, sequence of using the block or how to combine blocks together. It is also very easy to follow and there are useful photocopiable templates.

Very colourful pages and you can see at the bottom of the page the various combinations.

Clear instructions ans measurements are given and so far (touch wood) I have had no trouble what so ever in making each of these blocks up first time. They also enlarge very easily to produce larger final blocks.

Now, I dare say that most of what I have written here is not new to some, but every so often out of all of the books you buy, one just pops up as a "I am so glad I bought that book, I use it all the time!" This is one of those books.

I completely recommend it, especially if you are learning to do patchwork, or if you would like a lovely book to look at and gain ideas.

xx

I am in print!!!!!!!!!!!

After many months of designing, researching, cutting, stitching, ironing, photographing, wrapping, posting and finger crossing I finaly had all of my blocks done for Around the World Quilting Bee.

I decided after having read one of Kittywrinkles posts about a year ago where she had created a book archiving her blog for a year that I decided to take a look at Blurb.com.

Months and months this has taken to sort out, so you can imagine my frustration today when I tried to finalise it all and actually order a couple of copies!!

Would it work? Would it co-operate? No it bloody would not!!!

Hours I spent uploading it (ended up getting it twice so I have had to delete one), publishing it! As for trying to order it.....well I gave up, painted Sophie's toe nails for her, emailed kitty wrinkle and went to make the dinner.

My hubby comes home from doing a boat survey in Helston, he suggests that I use his laptop and........ that's right......it worked first time!!! I am not going to type here what was exactly going through my mind but I am sure that you can all have a good guess.

If you click on the book link in the left hand side bar at the top and then click on the book cover featured hopefully you can have a preview of what it looks like. However after today's little fiasco I can not be certain it will work, ha ha!

I think that you can leave a comment there too if you want. Once I go back onto my computer I will do a Picassa collage to give you an impression of what the inside looks like. I now have to wait for the books to arrive and I shall post here and let you see what they look like. If I like them and I have the strength to do another, I was thinking of doing one based on Sophie's photographs from birth to the present day. Digital pictures are ok but we are guilty of not printing them off. This would be one way of creating an album. That will of course be a private book and not featured on the internet.

I probably should have waited until the book delivery before posting but after today I wanted to have something to show for my efforts.

Our holiday in Seaford was a brilliant as ever and once I have uploaded the pictures I shall post about our fun week.

Please let me know what you think of my book.

xx

I am now off for a strong cup of tea and a biscuit, by the way our chicken casserole was very nice too.

xxxxx

Final Quilt Block

Here, I think, is my last offering for Round 1 of the Quilting Bee that I have been working with for the past 14 months. The overall quilt still has another one or two people to see yet, but for me I think I am done. This block is mainly applique of which I am much more experienced in. It goes along with much of the previous work that has already been done. This is the second outing for my "Birdie" and it will not be the last either.

My quilt arrived at the same time as this quilt and I have been really good and not looked at it until I had completed my share of two other quilts. However, I am now free to work on my own quilt, but guess what? Yep, I am off to my sister-in-laws for a week instead. However I do have plenty of time to look for sashing fabric. So more on that another time. I am also up to date with my Christmas Bee work as well.

Sophie and I were very lucky to spend much of today on Bude beach while hubby went off and carried out a boat survey slightly further up the beach. In 3 years this is the first time that we have managed to co-ordinate like this. i am really waiting for the phone call asking for a boat survey in the Bahamas or the Med!! What do you reckon my chances are?

Great weather this week for the beginning of the Summer Holidays, lets hope it stays with us too.

xx

ATWQB - Maria's Block

This is the last quilt block for Maria who I have been sending all of the other quilts on to.

Maria likes Cath Kidston so I used some of her fabric in this log cabin. Maria has since received her quilt and is thrilled with it. I am also sending on the Christmas Quilt blocks to Maria as well and I have learnt her address off by heart.

So I thought I would add a little surprise in the parcel as well. This recycled tea towel and one of my felt key rings which I forget to photograph (doh!).

There are only a few more to do and then my quilt will arrive back home to me. It is getting very exciting. Just in time for the Summer holidays so that I can stitch it all together.

It has been scorching hot here this week and it has been a very busy week too. I am very tired indeed but I shall be back over the weekend. Have a relaxing and sunny weekend.

Best wishes

xx

ATWQB - Birdie Block

There has been quite a break from producing theses quilt blocks lately, so I had to get myself in gear to make this one. Thought for ages, too long really, but then settled on these greeny colours. There is also a bird and butterfly theme going with this quilt. So I hunted through my books and magazines and found one that I thought would do the trick.

I started creating a Roman stripe block for the boarder (well, that is what it was called in my book anyway) and then cut a piece of white cotton for the middle.

Using pattern paper I created the bird shape and cut it out of fabric. I then attached it to the block using bond-a-web. I changed the machine setting to satin stitch and appliqued it to the block. Some wing and tail feathers finished it all off and a bluey craft button for his eye.

All in all I think it turned out quite well and I am really pleased with it. Sent it off to Maria today.

Relieved that it is Friday today. My eyes ache so much that the old specs are not even helping to keep things in focus!

Ballet tomorrow morning and then maybe a trip to Eden etc.

Have a great weekend.

xx

AWQB Latest Block 18...

This is my latest quilting block for the Around the World Quilting Bee that I am involved in. When the quilt arrived I was not really sure what to create, all of the other blocks were so good. I did notice that there was not a log cabin block amongst the many lovely blocks that had been made.
So I decided to go back to my favourite faithful Log Cabin block. I tried to include the main colours that had been used by the other quilters and on the outer edge I made use of some more of the Cornish Tartan that I had bought for the last block I made. It seemed to fit in with the world and map theme that some of the other blocks had featured on them. I am quite happy with it and I hope that Anita likes it too.
Take care all, really tired so off to bed early. Yet another blasted headache. Roll on the Christmas holidays.
xx

Lastest Quilt Block..

I have actually had this block made ages ago and I am a little behind in that I have not made the next yet. Work has gone nuts and our building project takes some of my time at the weekends. Sewing during these dark evenings are tricky with matching fabric etc.

Anyway here is the next offering...

This time the owner of the quilt asked if we could create a block that said a little about ourselves and maybe where we came from/live.

So I managed to find some fabric that showed some of the things that are me or that I like.

*My sewing machine

*I love making pincushions (you can never have too many of them!)

*Buttons and ribbons

*Lots of cups of tea with some cupcakes! (I love making cupcakes and icing them with an icing bag and shaped nozzles)

I put a cream edging around these quite highly coloured pictures and then another edging of Cornish Tartan which shows where I live! Quite straight forward this time I thought and I am happy with the way it turned out. I have the next waiting to be done but I know how I am going to tackle it and then it shall be sent off.

Our building project is moving along nicely but I think that now I shall wait until it is finished then show you an album of pictures to show what we did. All I will say is that it is just as well that we are not at home for the start of Christmas this year!!

Take care and be back tomorrow.

xx

Quilt Block 16 Musical Frogs...

Here is my latest quilt block for the Around the World Quilting Bee which started back in May. This time the owner of the block wanted a house with something inside. This was a bit of a challenge, but I did have some fun frog fabric so I decided to have musical frogs jamming in the house.

It did look a little plain so I added some grass and an appliqued tree. I do have to say that it looks much better in the flesh. The picture has come out rather dull looking. It was fun to look at by the time it was finished and was posted off over a week ago.
I am a little bit behind with my blogging because I have in fact finished the next block and sent that off last Wednesday but more on that another time. We have just come back from visiting my Sister in law in Seaford and we went to London on Friday. I have not yet downloaded the pictures but when I have I shall explain why we went to London. Back to work tomorrow! I have one load of washing on and another to do before I go to bed. Back tomorrow.

xx

Jacobs Ladder Quilt Block- 15...and more...

Here is my latest quilt block for the Around the World Quilting Bee. We are now into our 6 month of block making. I have seen my quilt in progress on Flickr once, so it will be a huge surprise when it finally reaches me again in Cornwall. This is called Jacobs Ladder and was described as a beginners block. I really enjoyed whizzing this one up and even the practice version in some dodgy fabric looks pretty good!

Here is a close up version of the centre of the block. I tried to following the fabric style and colour set by the first block. The yellow features through many of the previous blocks created. This was another 12.5 x 12.5 inch block, so much easier for trying out more complicated designs when it is bigger. I already have the next one lined up and I hope it will be suitable for the quilt, if not I now have quite a bank of block ideas, certainly many more than I had when I started this!

Talking of quilts, Sophie and I are sitting under our handmade quilts watching a Winnie the Pooh DVD!

Ps. I realised that in an earlier post I said I had some news. Well I applied for an internal job at work and got short listed. However, I was pipped to the post and did not get it. I had an interview de-brief and was told that it was very close indeed and the reason I did not get it was because the another candidate had researched into what they could do in the job by asking certain people about setting up certain things, times etc. Now, preparing like that was never asked for and I would not approach it like that because I think it looks like I am assuming that I have got/will get the job. A little too forward for me! So, there you go, by the way I have more experience in all areas that this new job would entail, successful experience as well, but that did not seem to be enough to swing it my way. Sorry if I sound a bit annoyed but 14 years in the job did not seem to count for much in the end! It is over a week ago now and I have had lots of favourable comments since but it is not exactly the same is it?

Anyway, it is the weekend and I have lots of items cut out to sew, a swap to launch, a felt making class to go to tomorrow and some items to list on Folksy and Etsy. So all enjoy the weekend and more pictures to blog tomorrow.

Take care

xx

Double Wrench -ATWQB Block 13

This is my latest block for the Around the World Quilting Bee and we are up to Block 13 already. 13 may be unlucky for some but for me this block went well. I did try it out first on some scrap as getting it the right size to match the other blocks is quite important. Hubby helped to choose some of the colours this time and I like the bit of green to spice it up and stop it looking too pretty. I am pleased with the way all of the panels joined up, pretty much matching. I have learned so much from taking part in the Quilting Bee, and despite a couple of panic moments it has gone well.

There are definitely several blocks that I would like to make into a quilt of my own and I have started a little resource notebook which I shall post about once this Quilting Bee is over.
You can see my other blocks on my Flickr account, the link is in the side bar.
Many thanks to those of you who have commented here this month. I seem to have lost a follower somehow(?)
Take care all
xx

Kentucky Chain... Quilt Block.

Here is my latest offering for the Around the World Quilting Bee. Definitely my most complicated, lots of cutting out, pinning and trying to get it to line up just right. It should loop under the yellow section at two points so I am going to make it again for the next round but remember to loop it under this time. I have been looking on the Internet for other block designs to try. Very addictive this patchwork and quilting lark you now!

Been very busy at work since term started hence the delay in starting this year's Christmas Swap but I have forgotten and I will have it sorted out asap.

I would like to say "Hello" to those who have joined my follower ranks lately, I do try to return the visit but I can not always get through, so please, when you pop back leave a comment and I shall click the link that the comment generates. However, for now Thank you.

Back soon with some more attempts at crochet.

Take care.

xx

Where have I Been.......?

No where much really, honestly....

I have not blogged for nearly a week!! Goodness me I am starting to slack. I have had a good reason and that is working on things for school as I go back tomorrow! Last week I did make this block in the next round of the Quilt Around the World Bee but I have forgotten where I am with this. It may be block 11 but I am not sure. Now, the one thing that I have had a few problems with, being relatively new to trying to create blocks with any kind of design, is the fact that each one that came through the post is a different size. Not having access to my beloved photocopier, changing the size of my carefully made templates was not easy if at all possible.
This particular block came through the post and it measured 7 x7 inches, by far the smallest one so far! I loved the colours used by the owner of the quilt in their starter block and decided to sew my uneven log cabin that I used for the Scrappy Christmas block swap that I have been involved with. By the end of it, having added the crisp white border around it, it may be one of my smallest and simplest contributions but possibly one of my favourites!

I have been collecting pictures of other things that I have been doing since last week. We have embarked on another building project which may well have me reduced to a stressed heap in a few weeks and a piece of happy news too!

I shall be back tomorrow with some pics of my students coursework now that the results are out. I do not know what they got yet, due to other issues I did not get into school last week but never mind, I have found out by other means that they are all pleased with what they got and are now moving on to the next stage of their lives.

xx

PS: I have put a guest Crochet blog post here.

House Quilt Block 11...

When I got back from my holiday the next quilt for the Around the World Quilting Bee was waiting for me. My heart sank when I saw that it was a set of different houses. How on earth was I going to do this??
Once I had read the enclosed letter it came about that the owner of the quilt had created a tutorial for making the house block and that if we all wanted to have a go at it that it was there for our use.

The tutorial for this block can be found at SewManyQuilts blog. There is a clear diagram and measurements, plus a layout. I may have written it down wrong but double check how many you need to cut of each section I think one section asks for two pieces to be cut when you in fact need four pieces.

After all the pieces were cut out (this did take me a while but then I did have Sophie with me at my sewing group and she wanted help with what she was doing) it stitched together really easily and it was fun to see it taking shape.

The curtain feature is my own idea which I added to the pattern.

Before I stitched on the grass I machine embroidered some flower stems using green thread.

I then had some shop bought embroidered flowers that you can buy by the metre. So I snipped them apart and added them to the stems with hand stitching.

It was all them sealed into the seam when the grass was added.

There is a lot of scope for this block and I have many ideas whizzing round my head and I have sketched a few done. They will have to stay as sketches for a while as I must get the Christmas blocks done and finish off a gift for a friends baby.

Pop over the SewManyQuilts and take a look.

Thank you so much for the many comments on the London and Calender posts. I had some many hits for the calender post I wonder if it may have anything to do with the title that I gave it?

Bye for now have a great day, my friend and her daughter will be arriving in a minute.

xx

AWQB - Block 9 - Log cabin

Already up to block 9 out of, I think, 23. Again, an unusual colour scheme in that my stash seems to be out of tune with everyone else's. In a way that adds to the thinking process of this swap and it has been good fun. I based it again on a log cabin design so that I could make good use of the few pieces of fabric that I did feel could work with the original starter block. Since making this block I have decided to try some more tricky designs and I found a little book on Ebay which arrived this morning. More on that once I have had a little play with some fabric.

I have really enjoyed seeing the other blocks being created my the other ladies taking part. I want to try some harder blocks and stretch my ideas a little more.

I have some other items to post about in the coming days which will keep me busy if the rain keeps up and I would like to say thank you for the lovely comments about my Peg Bag. It has been useful already.

Now onto other things.

Christmas Swap Planning stage:

I know it is rather early, but once I go back to school my feet will not touch the ground again until December.

As we 'speak' I am making up a sample for this years Indigo Blue Christmas Swap. If you missed out last year you may like to take part this year. It is still in the planning stage so please do not sign up just yet, let me post the sample then you can decide. We were let down by a couple of 'no swap shows' last year so I do want you to think about it before signing up. I managed to step in on one but not the second and to this day I feel guilty about it. If the same blogger wants to take part again then I will make sure that they get a swap partner who will follow through and no disappointments this time.

I am quite excited by this idea and it is one that I used in the past at home but not in blogland , probably nothing new to seasoned bloggers but should interest makers of all abilities. So watch this space or become a follower which is how I can see if blogs have been updated by scanning my follower list in dashboard. It will be another week or so before signing up so plenty of time to think about it.

I shall have a go at making my own button (Kitty kindly did this for me last year), use the same Flickr group page as last year so an archive can be built up, and I thought of having a voting system whereby blog visitors and swappers could vote for an overall design and I will give a prize to the winner. Lots to do!!

Well, best dash and get the sample finished!

x

Pin Wheel - Block 8

Now, I very nearly got myself into a bit of a pickle with this one and it was all because of three bits of paper. Last year or more I took part in a block along with Sew Mama Sew and made up some of their blocks they posted every day for a week/month, I forget which. At the time I made patterns and stitched up the blocks, wrote the names on the paper patterns and put them into my pattern storage. Well, I had more than one piece of paper with Pin Wheel written on it, different shapes and a blank memory. However after much head scratching of course the fabric sample had vanished, and going back through my own blog archive it was sorted out!! Phew!

A close up of the fabric, one of my favourites.

The original block was quite bright and fun with characters on it. I have a cute one with kittens on but the black background meant that it was not really suitable for this quilt.

I confirmed my block layout and measurements by finding this site which you may wish to visit to get some further ideas. I found it very useful and found some other block ideas that I might try out.

My next block is upstairs and will be posted this week.

Thank you for all the comments about my efforts with the crochet scarf, I am tickled pink!

xx

Around the World Quilting bee - Block 7

I will confess that this next stage of the quilting challenge had me tearing my hair out!! I did not seem to have anything in my stash that seemed to go with the starter block and I was aware of how many times I had made the log cabin. I really wanted to try something else.

So I went into the workroom (titchy tiny workroom) and began putting bits of fabric along side each other. Then, before I knew it I was pinning and cutting a little bit here and there and then laying it all out. So in the end nearly an hour later I had made some decisions. The sewing machine was already set up ,so I started to look at constructing it and to stop a long story I had the whole block made which meant a later night to bed than intended. But I do not care!!! It worked ( I think) and the yellow has a circle pattern on it which the pictures does not show up as much as it could. I am certainly learning a lot from this challenge and I am looking forward to the next block arriving. I am working on some block ideas already.

Hope you all had a good weekend.xx

Quilt Around the World Block 6....

I was visiting one of the first blogs I found over two years ago, Mollychicken, and she was experimenting with uneven log cabin strips. By having strips with different widths means that stash busting can be even more extensive.

So the above block is made up of different widths following the colour scheme started and I think it has turned out quite well. I am pleased with the colour combination.

I have posted this block off today and I already have the next one lined up. Completely different colour scheme, I may need dark glasses! I really want to try out another block style for the next one but at the same time TIME is an issue as I am still trying to catch up little from having been in France with the school. I shall have a think tonight. I may need to put a quilt block book on my birthday/Christmas list.

The rain has stopped at long last and we are actually sitting on the decking that hubby made last week during the rain. I shall try to get pictures of it this weekend.

Enjoy the evening!

xx

AWQB- Drunkards Path - Block 5

When Aimee's quilt arrived I decided that I really needed to have a go at these curves. Never tried this type of block before but I will certainly add it to my list in the future.

I have two more packages here to concentrate on and the for the next one I have already selected and ironed the fabric. Guess what I am doing tomorrow night, yes block 6.

Have you had a look at Sophies felt bag? Take a look at the last post.

Take care

xx

AWQB - Block 4 - Log Cabin

This is my fourth block for this challenge and I am really pleased with it. I did need to go fabric shopping for this and for the last block as my colour range is very different to the blocks that are coming through at the moment. I needed to get a green in the block somewhere and the green fabric that I found was quite patterned. It is quite bold in the picture and the camera has made it look quite strong here. It is less forward in real life.

I like taking close ups of my work. I think that over the past year some of them may well become my next set of MOO cards too. You can see the pattern on the green piece. I have some left so you may well see it again!!

Off for a cycle ride tomorrow if it does not rain. I hope my typing is much better today since I had my glasses fixed . I have no idea what I had done to them but even the chap in the shop laughed. They now sit on my head straight and securely!

I have been busy at work this week but I have also managed to do some making to help with my down time otherwise my sleep is affected because I can not switch off properly. More on that tomorrow.

Take care.

xx