Giveaway winner

Thank you to all of you who entered my Giveaway for this little bag below. 

Unfortunately only one person can be the winner and Mr. Random Generator has spoken…

 And number 19 is Mrs Flying Blind….Hadley

The bag will be in the post to you Hadley and thank you to all of you who entered.

Di x

Bee blocking

Today has been all about doing some of my bee blocks. I am in three bees and it is a bit of a juggle sometimes, although I have three times the fun each month.

In the Bee a Brit Stingy bee, lovely Emily has asked for log cabin blocks. She is going to add them to the ones already made by her other bee. She is going to have one massive and beautiful quilt once it is all pieced. 

This log cabin block was a challenge of a 'fabricy' kind.

I quickly realised that  my stash has very few blues and even fewer Low Volume fabrics. Emily didn't want any repeats in either block and my stash was  challenged on this one. Fortunately I had a few pieces of Liberty blues left over from my 'hipBees fabric' that is being used by the hipBees, as I am the February queen bee.

The low volume fabrics weren't happening, so I texted Trudi as I knew that she was teaching near me today. Trudi kindly raided her fabric to bail me out. I met her this lunchtime and we furtively did a fabric deal. She is an excellent and generous fabric dealer and this enabled me to finish both of Lucy's blocks.

I think that low volume fabric stashing is in order…

Di x

P.S. Don't forget that my giveaway ends tomorrow evening. You can enter by following this link.

Anniversary Giveaway.

Yesterday was the second anniversary of this little blog. I started it after lurking and reading other blogs and was greatly encouraged to take the plunge by Judith.

The final push for me was that I wanted to start the blog before I got a year older so on the eve of my birthday I wrote my first blog post. It is nice to link the two anniversaries together.

Blogging has really given me a whole different perspective on life. I have met some fantastic folk and made some true friends. It never ceases to amaze me that we belong to a great online quilting  community.

Just before Christmas, Quilt Candy left a comment to say that she was my 100th follower. The number has now crept up to 102. I think that these are good enough reasons to have a little giveaway.

I made this little bag to use as a toiletry bag and it is modelled on the Socksack pattern. I used it whilst away this week and it really worked for me. I was able to put my contact lenses case in the zippy pouch part and not have to hunt around my bag for it. 

 So I am going to offer up as a little giveaway…. another little drawstring bag that is made with some pretty elephant fabric and within it, is a secret zippy pouch to put little/precious things in.

To qualify, you need to be a follower of my blog and leave a comment below - no hoops to jump through. 

The Giveaway is open to UK and non-UK folk. I will use Mr Randomgenerator to pick a winner at 7pm (GMT) on Wednesday 13th February.

Di x

A gift

I have been beavering away, making a quilt for a little boy, whose Thanksgiving Service we have been invited to in March. 

I had a lot of fun in making this quilt - from choosing the fabric with the help of my son, to sewing the top during the rugby matches this past weekend. (My son has been glued to the rugby. It is quite amusing as he fervently supports Ireland, the land of his father, rather than England!).

I love the simplicity of a simple square quilt.

 I like the fact that each piece of fabric can be showcased. In this quilt I like the little tea party rabbits and the ric-rac rabbits interspersed with stronger background fabrics - the russet spots were from my buy on the greatukfabricdestash that was recently held over on Instagram. For me, you cannot beat a stripy binding and this ric-rac fabric really encompasses the main colours of this quilt. 

I had so much pleasure in sewing this quilt. I look forward to giving it away and seeing the pleasure in the parents' faces.

Di x

Farewell to January 2014

 

I am linking up with Lily's quilts fresh sewing day. I haven't done this for a month or two several months, but I did get a few finishes in January. January isn't my favourite month but to be fair it is getting lighter in the evenings, and whilst it is cold and dull, it is good for sewing output.

So what have I been up to…

                                                  Well there were bee blocks

The top right one is my chosen one that the hipBees will be making me in February.

I have also been finishing projects. 

I finally turned these cushion tops into finished cushions. My husband has commandeered the economy square cushion.

I also pulled out last year's hipBee quilt and finished the top by making many, many flying geese. 

My aim is to start quilting this quilt in the coming week. I think that I have a plan for this...

I have finished three secret projects that hopefully I can reveal to you all in February.

I know that my list isn't long but it feels good to have moved some projects on and completed a couple too.

So what did you make in January?

Di x

Talented Bee Buddies

Have you got the new issue of Love Patchwork and Quilting yet? 

 No? 

Well may I suggest that you do as it is packed full of lovely projects such as this one..

 By my Bee a Brit Stingy bee mate Karen…

And this project...

 By my Brit Bee buddy Hadley…

And this project...

 By another Brit Bee buddy, Susan…

And this project...

By Laura Jane, also from Brit Bee…
And this project…

by Fiona another member of Brit Bee.

Bet you didn't know what a talented lot of bees that I rub shoulders with!
Congratulations to all my bee buddies with their publications. 

Di x

Edited to add: Look on page 89 and see who has quilted Katy's quilt - yes another Brit Bee my good friend Trudi. What a talented bunch of friends I have!

The Geese Have Landed

I thought that I would show you how my 2013 hipBees quilt has turned out. I spent most of last week piecing flying geese for the sashing.

 I had a big dilemma about the outside border as I really didn't want to make anymore geese. The feedback on IG was to continue the sashing into the border. I spent an evening debating this with myself, knowing that it was the way to go. The next day when I got down to it, I realised that I didn't have enough background fabric to do this. I then had to rethink this all over again. I procrastinated for a day and then decided that what geese I could make, I would put into the border. I also chose a busy print for the border, so that the juncture between the sashing geese and the border wasn't too stark.

I know that I am not completely happy with that border but it is the best compromise that I could come up with. The background is actually a self patterned fabric and is no longer available so buying more wasn't an option.

Now for the full quilt..

As you can see it was windy, and just as I had coerced my men to come outside to hold the quilt top for me, it started to rain heavily and then thunder. These are the best shots that I could come up with. I will try again, when the weather is better and the men are free.

My next problem is how to quilt this one. Do you have any ideas? I would really like some help on this.

Di x

Flying in

Today I have been making flying geese - lots of flying geese blocks.

It is a tedious job but hopefully it will be worth it. They are going to be the sashing in my 2013 HipBee quilt. The blocks have been languishing waiting for these geese to be made.

I have been needing cups of tea throughout the day to get me through these. 

Sewing for pleasure - finishes

The first couple of projects that I wanted to finish on my 'sewing for pleasure' bandwagon were two cushions.

I had a great sewing day on Thursday. I completed both cushions by putting a zipped back on both. I sewed down the binding of both cushions sitting in front of the fire that evening. 

Yesterday I went to see Trudi and her new machine. This long arm is massive and I think that Trudi is going to have a ball using it. So if you want a quilt quilted for you then you know who to ask!

Trudi with her Long Arm

Today I have been doing more secret sewing but I can't let the cat out of the bag just yet!

Have a good weekend.

Di x

Sewing for pleasure

I have seen many people in blogland making resolutions about what they want to sew in 2014. For me, I am going to resolve to sew more for pleasure. I have bee commitments, but beyond them, my sewing time is going to be more for what I would like to do rather than what I think I should do. 

This means not getting on the latest sewing bandwagon i.e the economy block craze on Instagram, making the latest quilt or even thinking that I should be making these things. I enjoy making small items and although quilts are great to make, I am in three bees so I will end up with three quilts this year. I also need to think about making a quilt in 2014 for my younger son's 18th birthday in November. I have quilts that also need to be completed so I have plenty of quilt projects on the go.

My first sewing for pleasure project is to finish a couple of cushions. Do you remember these?

Economy block cushion top

Spring Carnival EEP class at Fat Quarterly 2013 Retreat

This morning I have been making cushion backs and binding.

Hopefully I will have binding attached and ready to sew down in front of the fire this evening.

I have also been making another Sew it Together Bag - I really like making bags. This time I challenged myself to use red, as it is a colour that I never use, and also do a little hand sewing on the outside.

Another Sew it Together Bag

This bag has been posted this morning as it was made for a friend's birthday.

So come back soon and see how my 'sewing for pleasure' campaign is going!

Di x

New Year sewing

I have been doing a lot of sewing recently and I have been having a lot of fun pottering around with fabric and ideas. The downside is that some of the sewing is secret so I can't show you all of what I have been doing just yet.

I have been doing my bee blocks…

These beautiful butterfly blocks are for Lucy in the Bee a Brit Stingy. Lucy gave us an easy block to do and also a more difficult blockm if we wanted to do it. I chickened out and did two of the easier blocks.

Lucy is going to make a butterfly quilt for her middle daughter. I think that it will be the perfect quilt for a little girl.

In the HipBees, Collette has sent us fabric to make an off centre log cabin block. I sewed this up as enders and leaders whilst sewing a secret project this afternoon. It was a quick way to do two projects at once!

One little project that I can show you, is a book cover that I made for my niece as part of her Christmas present. I forgot to show you this at the time.

Once I have my secret sewing completed and in the post I will reveal all.

Di x

A Sew it Together Bag

I bought this fab 'Sew it Together Bag' pattern way back in October from Sew Demented and dearly wanted to sew this bag up straight away. In between illness, catching up with bee blocks and Christmas sewing, I never got time to make it.

I did read reviews on this bag and tried to figure out how to put the bag together by googling other people's photos. The instructions are often difficult to follow and there are only a couple of diagrams to go on. If you decide to make one though, don't be put off as it is an awesome bag to both make and use.

I used a mini charm pack that my bee mate Rachel, gave to me back in July at the FQ Retreat, to make the outside piece of the bag. I then quilted this to make a firm piece of fabric for the outer piece.

Sew it Together bag in progress

The end result is a bag with four open pockets and three zippy pockets.

Sew it Together bag

It is a brilliant bag for carrying around a hand stitching project as it has ample of room to store everything you might need. When the outer zip is open it enables the pockets to concertina outwards so that you can see inside the pockets.

Sew It Together Bag

I just LOVE this bag.

I liked it so much, that I have made another one. My sister-in-law has a birthday between Christmas and New Year so I decided that as a sewist she might like one too. I  have made this second one using some scraps and linen. I learnt a few things when I made my first bag, so this second one came together much faster. We are sharing New Year's Eve together so I can give it to her then.

Sew It Together Bag 2

So that is the last of my sewing of 2013 to show you . I hope that 2014 will bring you many blessings and joy.

Di x

A Christmas Surprise

I had one really nice surprise that arrived on Christmas Eve. It was made by a very lovely Elf who was deputising for my partner in the Brit Bee Secret Santa swap. My partner isn't well at the moment but was thoughtful enough to arrange for someone else to make my cushion cover in the swap.

This is the cushion that arrived by special delivery on Christmas Eve. My husband wouldn't let me open it until Christmas Day, so the suspense was great. When I did open the parcel this is what I found. 

It is so kind of Terri (who you can find over on Flickr) and the clever Elf, Ceri, 

to hatch such a nice surprise for me. Thank you Ceri for doing the sewing on top of your own Christmas sewing, and also thank you to Terri who has been so thoughtful in making sure that I didn't miss out on the swap.

I LOVE my Brit Bee cushion!

Di x

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas

I have finally run out of time… I have a carol service to go to this afternoon so there will be no more sewing for me, this side of Christmas.

I did manage to squeeze in making a final present last weekend, but as it is a birthday present and not a Christmas present, I will show it to you after Christmas.

Di x

More present making...

I have been beavering away this week making presents. These are not on my present list but rather on Younger Son's present list. He commissioned me to make two zipper purses for friends and a birthday card for a third friend. I hope that the girls will like them.

Younger Son chose the fabric, buttons and zip combos and I had the fun of doing the sewing.

The Birthday card is based on the idea of our Bee a Brit Stingy swap. I used both linen and Liberty fabric as well as doing a little free motion writing.

I still haven't cracked the envelope as it isn't coming out just right, however as Younger Son was happy with it, I didn't worry too much as time is at a premium at the moment.

Hopefully I will get the last of my secret sewing finished this weekend.

Di x

More cushions

In Brit Bee we are swapping Christmas cushions and previously I have given you a peak of what I have been making.

I sent my cushion off to my swap partner last week and now that she has received it, I can now reveal my partner and the cushion! 

I was making for Judith and this was how the cushion turned out.

A Christmas cushion swap

And the back...

Back of cushion

I was anxious that I had filled the brief which was Christmassy but without Christmas fabric. I know that Judith likes modern so I was a little out of my comfort zone but I think that I may have pulled it off. I love this block and so I used it again to make a cushion for my Mum. 

My Mum has asked me to make her  a cushion for Christmas so I have made a small 12" cushion. Again these colours are not within my comfort zone but I do like that little bird.

Cushion for Christmas

Isn't it amazing how the same block can look so different? 

I am gradually whittling down my Christmas sewing list and there are still 6 sewing days left!!!

Di x