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Catherine's Wheel
Well I don't know what she's going to call her quilt but it definitely is starting to look like a Catherine Wheel to me! Here are the bee blocks I made for Catherine:
This is the Fireworks Block by Marcia Hohn, the pattern can be found here. I have to say I struggled with it a little bit - it made more sense when I read each page and the fabric requirements are at the end! I also had a hard time printing out the templates for the larger triangles, I'm not sure if it was my printer or A4 paper?! Anyway I got there in the end. I used fabrics from my scraps, Catherine asked for jewel toned colours and my first pull was more of a rainbow but I was drawn to these firey colours and I think it evokes a firework really well.
Next was a simple triangle using 2.5" strips of grey and 1.5" strips of colour. They are so effective when you start to put them all together, I think this quilt is going to be incredible!
Tomorrow is my birthday so I'm looking forward to a night out with my husband. I really like birthdays and I'm thinking that 37 will be excellent. Having my age go along with the years is so helpful (if I can remember the year!) ;)
Hope you're all having a good week!
Classes and happy, lovely thoughts ~ Bea and Hope
This is a mixed bag post... some news, some sewing and some life stuff!
I managed to complete a couple more hand pieced Farmer's Wife 1930's Sew-along blocks this week:
#11 Bea - This letter reminded me of the Diane Von Furstenberg quote, "Feel like a woman, wear a dress!". I have done this many times, just got dolled up for no reason other than to cheer myself up and I agree it "it's funny how different things look". I went with fun prints from Good Hair Day by Kim Andersson, perfect for "the Queen Bee in the hive!".
#43 Hope - I used to be a complete perfectionist about my house, cleaning and organising. After having my son I had to abandon a lot of my OCD tendencies and now I have 3 kids you would never think by looking at my house that I cared about cleaning!! So I'm all for the idea to "skip some of the daily tasks and make them weekly tasks, and enjoy my family while I still have them with me". I picked the brown and the gingham because they feel homely and represent the "home in spick and span order". The bright dots print is because "they don't care whether things are shiny spotlessly clean if they can have fun and see a happy face and hear mother join in on their jokes".
Saturday 2nd April is SALE DAY at Patchfinders and there's 20% off everything! I am working in the shop, so come along and say hi!
I've also updated my classes page, click here to see my upcoming classes - bookings are being taken at Patchfinders from Monday 4th April and places fill up fast.
For the first time myself and Jayne (dressmaker extraordinaire) are hosting evening sewing sessions and will be able to help people with sewing projects or offer advice for beginners. Perfect for everyone that can't make the day time classes! Check here for dates.
It's been a really lovely day today. I managed to sneak in a little quilting time, working on my watermelon Stitchy Pie needlecase:
I got an upgrade on my phone and opted for the new iPhone SE. I like having a small phone, I've had the 5s for a while and get on well with it so a more powerful phone that's the same size suits me perfectly! I went for the rose gold and will probably spend the rest of the evening setting it up.
Today there was an Easter service at church, it's so nice being able to go to kid's events and the whole school was there. Lois was dancing around to the organ music because she couldn't read the words to sing along with the hymns! Very sweet. The older two really like singing 'Lord of the Dance', which was one of my Grandad's favourite hymns.
At the end we waited for everyone else to go back to school and went to look at the flowers and display created by the children at the front of the church. On the way out we saw a little ladybird on the steps, we sat down and watched it and Lois giggled as it crawled on her finger. Those moments are so peaceful and wonderful. I am literally taking time to smell the flowers and live in the moment with my little girl before she starts school.
homemade amusements ~ Dolly
Aren't you glad this was the only block for the Farmer's Wife 1930's Sew-along this week? It is a beautiful block though and worth the time to match up all those points and corners. I hand pieced this block and want to share some tips to make it easier and go together a little more quickly!
Once all the pieces are cut I always lay out my block, this helps me make sure I am sewing the right pieces and for blocks with lots of pieces it means I can work out the best construction. There are four identical segments of this block with 11 triangles in each. I laid these out:
The block assembly in the book seems to suggest making half square triangles and sewing these together but I would rather not stop and start so much. I did split the triangles into the same two rows and then sewed each row without stopping as indicated by the arrows in the pictures below.
For the longer row there is a seam that you need to sew and then stitch back over, so that you travel back to the corner and continue sewing. You can see this seam where there are two arrows below.
I then sewed the short row to the large navy triangle, followed by the longer row - as shown in the block assembly in the book. To attach the two other triangles I again sewed continuously, following the arrows below to attach them to the previously completed piece of the block.
The middle part of the block is a simple nine patch but making sure you centre the points of the adjoining triangles is not so simple! I tried by folding the nine patch in quarters and marking the centre of the middle outer squares in the seam allowance. As you sew the block together you can align the point of the triangle with the pen mark on the seam of the square:
#28 Dolly Sometimes it takes travelling the hard road to make you realise the importance and "quality of quiet living". Those simple pleasures of "old-fashioned Sunday dinners, neighborhood dances, and card parties". I chose the Macrame print because it reminds me of the plant holders my parents had around the kitchen when I was growing up. The metallic gold/navy print represents the "easy road" while the brown stands for the time they "scrimped and saved".
Get the book for this gorgeous block and many more...
living by the day ~ Aunt
#8 Aunt
Life can be overwhelming, the demands and worries can easily take over, and this letter is a nice reminder to "take one day at a time". I chose my fabrics to represent day and night. The square in the middle is like sun down on the horizon. I hope to fill my days "with work well done" and let "tomorrow take care of itself". A productive day is so rewarding and to me this block represents that warm feeling at the end of a good day.
Here are my three blocks so far, which are all English Paper Pieced, you can read about the first two in this post:
I picked up some fabric to add to my Farmer's Wife 1930's stash when I was at Patchfinders. It is hard to find the right kind of brown but I was drawn to this pretty bronze metallic; Brilliant Christmas by Stof. These Clover Black Gold Needles are amazing, my favourite needles for appliqué. The black plating wears away once you've been using them for some time, which is a good way to know you need to change your needle. They are light and thin but very strong and work perfectly with Aurifil 50 wt thread.
As well as sewing I have been on a health kick, drinking green smoothies each day (as well as regular meals not as a substitute) and trying to exercise more. I tried the 30 day shred but quite honestly I wasn't inspired. It is hard enough to motivate myself to exercise but if I don't enjoy it then there's no way it will be sustainable. So I've gone back to some old favourites:
It's been a while but I remembered the choreography for the hip hop one and I enjoy it. I wouldn't bust these moves at the club but it's ok for dancing round my living room ;)
I can't recommend Kathy Smith highly enough. I have this Timesaver DVD and the second one as well (they aren't available on Amazon UK but you might find them on ebay? You can get them on amazon.com in the US).
I love doing hand weights and after I read this book I realised how important it is, especially for women, to stay strong - not just for weight but for bone health and more.
random, veganist and a bit of pain
This is going to be a random ramble about various goings on...
First up I finished this hand appliquéd Igloo block from my green tea and sweets beans quilt the other week but forgot to share it. I've been working on this block for what feels like ages so it feels good to have it done, I've started working on the next one and hoping it won't take quite so long.
Although right now there is no sewing going on because I had a neurofibroma (nerve tumour) removed from my thumb. The operation took about half an hour and quite honestly it was slightly scary, I've never been in an operating room before. The first thing I said when I walked in was 'oh there's a lot of people in here'! They were all super nice and comforting, thank goodness for the NHS and their amazing staff. It was all nicely bandaged up like Mr Bump until I took it off last night, I won't share pictures because some people might be squeamish but it's all bruised and swollen with seven stitches. It hurts like a mother****** and I don't say that lightly.
I've been wanted to blog but we had a busy weekend and then since the operation on Tuesday I have felt exhausted. I don't think I had really anticipated needing time to heal. The surgeon told me I would need to rest and I laughed (because I have three kids so 'rest' is rare) but I had to admit defeat last night, even doing a bit of light housework in the day was too much. Thank goodness the weather has been nice and Lois and I have been able to just play and hang out outside:
I thought I would mention a quick update about my decision to give up processed sugar in April, I did it for the whole month and a little longer but slowly it has crept back in. There was definitely benefits, I lost a bit of weight, I slept better and my energy levels were more even. I have stopped putting sugar in my coffee but I have allowed myself to slip back into my Coca Cola addiction, so that has to stop! It's hard because every time it's sunny I want a Coke - total advertising win there! Sugar really is addictive and I am so much more aware of how many things contain processed sugar.
Recently I have been thinking a lot about my diet in general because I do need to lose weight and I want be healthy... and get back into some much loved jeans. I have been overweight before and lost it through healthy eating and exercise but since having kids I haven't made much of a prolonged effort. I think summer is always an easier time to kick start healthy eating because fruit and vegetables are so appealing and I always want to eat lighter anyway.
I have been looking for good recipes for my family, I prefer that we all eat together and I can make one meal to serve us all. I don't eat red meat so I will occasionally cook something with meat just for them or do pasta, for example, and just add meat to everyone elses meal. It's important for me that we all eat healthily and I want to incorporate more vegetables into our diet so I have been looking at a lot of vegetarian/vegan recipes. I also bought this book because I'm interested in learning more about plant based diets:
I have never labelled the way I eat and don't intend too but I would like to think more about where my food comes from. I currently eat chicken and fish, though I wouldn't find it hard not to. I get really bloated when I have milk or ice cream so I stay away from them but I do love eggs and I eat a lot of cheese. I've read a bit about the blood type diet too though I haven't read the book, I'm Type A which apparently benefits from a vegetarian diet. Would anyone recommend it? I don't want to 'diet' but make gradual and healthy changes and become more conscious about my eating. Counting and weighing food doesn't interest me at all, I would just like to feel healthy and enjoy my food. Once I have a bit more energy I will get back to exercising too, weirdly I've been dreaming about doing weights!!
silence is perturbing
well that was an unintentional break... it hasn't been because anything wonderful or tragic happened, life has just been rolling along. Honestly I think it's not a good sign, it tends to mean I feel a bit stuck and when I'm disconnected to my making and writing it all feels a bit blah. Ambivalence doesn't sit well with me and so I am shaking it off and just trying to get back to it.
I've been cleaning like a mad woman, when my house and space feel ordered I have a much better frame of mind. I even tackled my sewing space today and that felt good, it also motivated me to get some things done.
This week I finished another green tea and sweet beans quilt block, though it doesn't strictly follow the pattern because I chose to English paper piece different flowers again and then appliqué them:
I have 21 blocks to go (some of them are small) and then the filler blocks. I'm in no hurry though.
During the clean up I discovered a quilt top that I would like to complete so I'm working on that too, though I have decided just to get it done in a way that makes me happy rather than struggling with things I'm not enjoying any more, so quick borders it will be!
My husband is working hard to prepare for an exhibition he's organised at Yuck Print House. The opening is this Friday, if you are in the Manchester area I would love to see you there! It opens 6:30pm Friday 27th March and continues to Sunday 24th May.
Hope you're all having a great week and I'm intending to make the most of what's left of it!
chuck it in
After making bee blocks at the beginning of the week I was on a log cabin rush and spontaneously decided to make some quilt as you go blocks.
I usually spend a bit of time picking fabrics and thinking about how they go together but I did something I've never done before... when I'm working on a project I put my scraps to the side and then sort them later (or when I can be bothered), well I just grabbed those scraps and turned them into this quilt as you go basket!
I've been needing a thread catcher next to my machine after the beautiful pottery bowl I was using fell off and smashed. Sad. This one can't get hurt though and I used this tutorial for the overall measurements to make it and it's the perfect size!
I used a scrap of binding I had left over from a quilt and it makes me smile seeing those pretty little flowers.
Hope you're having a nice start to the weekend and I will be back tomorrow with a giveaway so make sure you stop by!
My rose star quilt top
I finished my rose star quilt top...
It will need trimming along the sides and of course I will be hand quilting it. I have a quilting plan and Aurifil thread ready to go!
There's 5,467 pieces in this quilt top... ok kidding I haven't got time to count them!! But it's a lot. All the papers were cut out from printer paper, then hand basted and hand pieced with Aurifil 50wt 2600 and 2610.
All done by hand and all done by me, except for one beautiful block made by my wonderful friend Nicky - she made the one on the bottom right in the picture above and she also made me about 5 of the 'alien' connecting shapes because she's awesome :)
I haven't quite finished taking out all the papers but I'm just pulling those basting threads by hand and it comes out easily, most of the time I took them out as I made each block but some have remained from connecting them together.
There was very little thought put into this quilt. In the sense that I decided to use solid colours (orange, pink, mint, grey and beige) in the centres and I used a stack of fabrics I liked but I just put them together one by one in combinations that I liked. There is very little fussy cutting, I tried it and I love the effect but for the most part I just cut totally randomly. I didn't play around with the layout, I just started sewing them together. Then I realised you can put them in rows so that's what I did. Putting them together is much faster when you work in rows - one rose star, two alien shapes, one rose star, etc.
To finish it off I decided to have the rose stars almost floating by using kites and half hexagons to get to the point I could just use full hexagons. I was going to do more hexagon borders but honestly this quilt top is big enough as it is and I like how the rows of rose stars look like they're stacked on top of each other, kind of higgledy-piggledy.
It's random, eclectic and all mine!
The rose star tutorial is by the amazing Clare - my love of English Paper Piecing is all down to her and this brilliant pattern. This was the very first English Paper Piecing I attempted, I have finished other projects along the way but this quilt holds my first block. Is it weird that fact almost has me tearing up?! I adore this quilt top so much. I totally recommend going and visiting Clare's inspiring blog selfsewn, she also has an English Paper Piecing tutorial if you'd like to start doing some yourself.
You can see more fabulous rose star blocks and quilts in the Flickr group.
Linking up:
two flowers, one head injury and a crafty day out
I managed to finish machine sewing the first English Country Garden Block. I love it and am looking forward to doing the next two I've downloaded.
I've also completed the last appliqué block for my daughters butterfly quilt, it will be set on point with the other three blocks. This one is a free pattern from McCall's Quilting website.
I had planned to try and lay out all the butterflies and flowers and take a quick picture to show you but then I got a call from school...
Mr Bump here ran into a table and cut his head open. The first aider did a great job with the bandage. I am sparing you the picture of the A&E staff glueing the gash, which I took so he can show his class on Monday!
Having kids is traumatic and exhausting (and wonderful obviously)! Luckily I am taking a little break and going to the Minerva Crafts Meet-Up on 14th June, so that gives me something to look forward to!
A whole day filled with workshops, guest speakers, lovely people and prizes, held in a fabulous craft shop? Yes please!
The event is at the Minerva Craft Centre in Darwen, Lancashire. If you're nearby or fancy a fun day trip then come along. It's right next to Darwen train station and there's free parking if you choose to drive. I can't wait!
Linking up:
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