time out
Despite the fact that I can sometimes be the queen of procrastination, or more accurately procraftination, I actually find relaxing very difficult. There's not very many moments of rest in my day and there is always something to DO. I'm trying to find more calm, to be present and really pay attention to the little things.
Surfing instagram I saw that Jan @isisjem had bought a beautiful candle from @candles_n_vintagestuff. It's a clever idea, taking vintage items - Hovis bread tins, ceramic pots, mugs and glass containers - and filling them with scented EcoSoya wax candles. So I had to get one! I found this beautiful pink glass bowl scented with Fig and Cassis, which smells divine.
So I have been lighting the candle and stitching / designing / writing. It's calming and I can enjoy focusing on the work without worrying about the next thing or what else I should be doing.
braid quilt and colour wheel (sort of!)
Last weekend I was on Sewing Quarter, using fun shapes and tools to create two small quilts - one of which used a bit of artistic licence!
The first is this 'Braid' baby quilt, using inspiration from Carolyn Forster's book One Patch Quilts. It's a clever book that explores quilts made from a single repeating shape and is perfect for sparking ideas and playing with shapes. I used Scandi Basics by Makower and a solid red to make a striking repeat. This curved stitch has become one of my favourites for quilting. I used grey and red thread alternately so red would be on the 'hearts' and grey on the patterned fabric.
Fussy Cutters Club ~ We Are All Connected mini quilt
Angie Wilson AKA Gnome Angel is such a joy, her blog and social media are filled with gorgeous projects and the most wonderful fussy cuts! I was super excited when I found out she was writing a book and leapt at the chance to be part of the blog tour - or bribed her - either way I was thrilled to discover this book was even better than I thought it would be (and I had high expectations).
Fussy Cutters Club isn't a dry 'blah blah blah' book, this is like a clever friend explaining fussy cutting to you. With all those really helpful practical tips that you know they actually use. There aren't hard and fast rules, Angie is real and honest in her approach. It makes total sense.
"You need time to think and consider fabrics. Sometimes a project will come together quickly, and you'll know the moment you get the right fabric. Other times you'll need time to think, and that's not a bad thing".
The projects in the book are also all brilliant, with a good range of smaller makes and quilts.
I opted to make the 'We Are All Connected' mini quilt, knowing right away those Echinacea's would be the central hexies and then doing a big stash dive to come up with the right colours and prints for the 'rings'.
Duck Egg Threads ~ Giveaway! 💙
I am thrilled to welcome Duck Egg Threads as a new sponsor! Duck Egg Threads was born from the love of Liberty prints but not wanting (or needing) to buy large pieces of this expensive and luxurious fabric for quilting projects. The shop has come a long way from selling a small range of Liberty Tana Lawn fat eighths at launch to growing into being the go-to online shop for a large range of Liberty cuts, Art gallery fabrics’ Pure Elements solids (they stock one of the largest ranges in the UK), patchwork notions and the hugely successful We Love Liberty Monthly Club. Take a look and have a browse – you’re sure to be tempted to add to your stash!
My weakness for Liberty fabric is strong and, while I would buy bolts of tana lawn if my purse allowed, I appreciate being able to get smaller pieces in a much wider variety of prints. I have a growing collection and even the tiniest scraps get used in epp or hand piecing projects.
Duck Egg Threads have beautifully displayed all the Liberty prints on their website. It is easy to navigate by colour, collection and style. The hardest part is choosing between which ones to buy, though you can easily get all your favourites since the prices start from just £1.38!
Duck Egg Threads have beautifully displayed all the Liberty prints on their website. It is easy to navigate by colour, collection and style. The hardest part is choosing between which ones to buy, though you can easily get all your favourites since the prices start from just £1.38!
it was a good day
Life has been a whirlwind recently, with such a busy schedule and not much time to play. Then a funny thing happened, in the way that sometimes things just come together and everything works out to give you just what you need. First up though I'm going to show you the quilt I made for the Sewing Quarter last week, using fat quarters of Kaffe Fassett and a simple HST layout from Modern Baby Quilts by Fons & Porter. The dark background fabric allows the prints to shine and gives it a bold, modern feel.
I really like this action shot of the quilt blowing in the wind. Wouldn't a wonky chevron quilt look cool?!
So a couple of days earlier I received an email invitation to a beauty event, not something I would usually have time to attend but I realised that I would be travelling back into Manchester on Saturday afternoon anyway, and decided that it would be so good to do something just for me! That's a rarity and I was intrigued.
2017 Finish-A-Long ~ Meet the Global Host Team ~ Felicity
Helloooo!
I'm Felicity
and this is my family - Husband of 17 years K and our nearly-10-year-old daughter G:
being silly, something we do very well
I am lucky enough to live in Naramata, British Columbia. It's a village of fewer than 2,000 people nestled on the Naramata Bench in one of Canada's fruit- and wine-producing regions, the Okanagan Valley.
As you can see, we're on the side of a lake, and it's a big tourist destination because our summer weather is hot and dry.
We moved to Naramata from Vancouver just over a year ago. After living for nearly 25 years in Vancouver, we grew tired of the traffic and the astronomical cost of living and decided to take a different approach to life. We couldn't be happier.
I quit my job in the financial services industry and now I work part time in a local quilt shop as a designer, teacher and retail associate. I also work from home as a training and development consultant. My husband was a stay at home dad in Vancouver and he also works part time here in the area.
I began quilting in 2000, shortly after I got married. My husband is the one who encouraged me to look for a beginner's class because I spent a lot of time looking at and admiring quilts in museums and at shows but I was too intimidated to try it myself. But boy am I glad I did. I knew from the first minute of that first class that this was going to be my thing.
Triangles
It is always good to challenge yourself with different techniques. This table runner has y-seams, angled edges and a few points to keep pointy. Funnily the thing that I struggled with the most was the self cover button, turns out I had the back piece the wrong way round!
Stitch Gathering 2017
On Sunday I was in Edinburgh for the Stitch Gathering retreat organised by Jo Avery of myBearpaw. I went to teach my hand pieced Whatever the Weather mini quilt pattern (which will be available to buy soon!). It was a brilliant day spent with wonderful people and it all went by in a flash, as these things tend to do. The loveliest part was getting to meet up with quilty friends, make new ones and spend time with people I have only ever known online. It's amazing how well you click with people on t'internet (pun intended) and when you meet they are even more fabulous than you expected. Events like this really cement that feeling of belonging for me and I only wish Stitch Gathering had lasted longer. Nevertheless we packed a lot in!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)