peek into my sewing room

I am enjoying having a whole room just for sewing...well very almost a few odds and ends are stored in here and Rocky is making himself useful as a clothes horse.

Last night i got the Harlequin finished, so it is now draped over the staircase. I need to live with it a while before I know where it wants to live.

I also sewed a few a few scraps left over from the Starbucks quilt, together.

It left me wondering what to do next, and after a short while prowling about like a caged polar bear I decided that Id sort through my other scraps and bags of fabric. I came across a couple of heavy linen upholstery weigh fabrics and so started cutting!

I had help sabotage attempts from Sweep and Lulu

eye eye eye

Having completed ~all bar one side of the binding~ the Harlequin quilt and not sure if I need to get black batting for the liquorice alsort quilt top, I decided to play with some scraps...et voila

The fabrics are more yellow than red so not sure whats going on with the camera ... but I enjoyed playing and next time I will draft out a papper pattern and do it properly..Since I know what Im aiming for I may as well do it properly.

mean while just arrived in the post...Kona Ash and black, cute spotty envelope it came in too

batting

The batting for the harlequin arrived so guess what I have been doing much of the day!

I quite like how the liquorice alsorts top has turned out.

Painted quilting?

So when I wasn't sewing or sheep washing (or generally lazing about) I was doing a spot of painting. My old friend Jane had donated a pine corner cupboard to my daughter when she got her first house, after a brace of house moves the cupboard came to me for storage and well, you know how these things go, it worked its way into my dining room during a furniture rearranging session.

Since Jane and her DH was heading over for a catch up over wine I decided I'd camouflage paint the cupboard.

By happy accident I happened to have the same green in a tester pot as the green in the childhood quilt made up of Aneela Hoeys Little Apples fabric, that was already sat on a chair right next to the cupboard.

I did confess to Jane that it was her cupboard when after about an hour or so she admired it. Big mouth that I am I even confessed as to WHY I'd painted it! I'd make a hopeless spy :(

A small version of the quilt is about to make its way via the post to William.

Meanwhile back in the bedroom sewing department I have been at the other end of the spectrum to the brights of the Harlequin QT.

There is a liquorice allsorts feel to this one. Unfortunately I have run out of black, a gross under estimation on my part about how much black would be needed to balance to shocking pink. OOOppps.

Glimpse of my sewing cave!


Huge thank you to Kate who had some black in her stash and very kindly let me steal borrow/beg some of it. Its great having quilty friends locally! Thank you Kate.

Harlequin top finish

I am really pleased how this turned out...

I should measure it but basically it fits the top of a double bed with no over hang. This one I intend quilting very simply following the triangles. perhaps give it a binding made up of scraps of the same batiks. I liked the being able to use so much colour and there's only a hint of brown in there really. The white in the border just lifts it all.

Harlequins and sheep washing

I haven't done a lot of piecing lately, this is as far as I have got on the harlequin quilt..I have a few ideas brewing for the next phase on this one.

Instead of sewing there's been a bit of sheep washing going on.

Before

during

Prince really wanted all the attention and maybe a kiss?

After

It will take a lot more work to get them looking like

quilt marking

Spent yesterday afternoon talking quilts with Kate, and planning how to actually do the quilting on the starbucks quilt. After great umming and ahhing and rifling through Kate's stash of quilting templates, the tulip design was the winner. I like to have repetition of elements through a quilt (or any art work for that matter, not that I'm claiming this is art but.....)The tulips will be centre medium border and the final wide border.

Always seem to miss a bit!!!

This marking lark takes forever!!!

I did have a bit of a mad moment when I couldnt work out if the sewline chalk mech pencil had run out of chalk and if it had (it hadn't btw) how on earth do I replace the chalk? May be keeping those instructions aka packaging might have been a good idea....

I'm surprised how quickly it is all coming together tbh, I am almost quilted out from the centre to the narrow dotted border. Its a very heavy quilt, but lovely to snuggle under while sewing. Why snuggle? well I just can't seem to manage sitting up at a frame, either I'm expecting too much of a frame, or my arms are too short, or my back too vulnerable to aches? Perhaps a sitting and quilting at a frame lesson should be in my future, but for now I am a starting in the centre kinda girl. Major advantage to which is that I can ease the backing ever few inches and with my less than perfect basting (coughs~ that's pinning to you and me)that helps a lot.

PS my fingers hurt now :(

The Ginger bread man had run his legs off. Thankfully his disabled drivers permit was valid!

Olympic wit

I absolutely loved the Olympic opening ceremony. From its twee bucolic beginning to Paul Macartney's shaky sound at the end. It was so full of typically British humour that I laughed almost all the way through. Even the Columbians in their all white outfits made me chuckle wryly. That will be white like the powder then?

Understated digs at the evil monsters that threaten not just our glorious NHS system but world health, while at the same time celebrating British creative writing! Rowan Atkinson's skit/daydream with its clear (while self deprecating message) that only pillocks cheat!

I laughed at the anti-establishment choices of music and grinned at the reference to Kes and Train Spotting. Having Sir Tim Berners-lee there was a master stroke! The Daniel Craig and The Queen segment was pure genius, and epitomised our quintessentially British willingness to laugh at ourselves.

All the ticket sale and traffic jam cock-ups, all the vast waste of money that these games are, and the false hope or promise that they will in some way miraculously boost the economy was temporarily forgotten in a "Jolly good show!" I expect Danny Boyle will be chuckling all the way to a gong now!

finally done

Finished the childhood quilt, the aneela hoey fabric is still one of my top favourites!

Instead of binding I tucked the edge. Whether I did that the right way or not I'm not sure but I got it done and hopefully with a bit of persuasion once it is washed it will square up nicely. Those bubbles took a lot of time, and achey shoulders!

Yes I know far from perfect but if I was a perfectionist I'd never have started sewing at all!

bubbles

almost there with the bubbles on the..... heck what did I call this one again?

Warning Rant in progress

Warning this is a totally non-quilty rant, do not read further if rants offend you!


I am sick to death of people thinking its just fine to take advantage of others, especially when the other is me or mine. I am heartily sick of all the people who think that all the nasty jobs in life get done by robots with no feelings. Who are therefore an easy target for nit picking small minded thoughtless criticism.

The country side has mud in it! the country side has dark little houses in the main, and wood fires that put out dust and animals! it is not an operating theatre. and IF people are going to insist on complaining they should at least have the courtesy to leave things as they found them and not in the disgusting state that some actually do.

I am equally sick of people that assume older people can be fobbed off with service that leaves them with no place to turn. With companies that treat them like they are stupid just because they struggle to hear or understand a foreign accent. I am sick of callous thoughtless selfish people and the harm they blithely do to others.

yorkshire agricultural society event

So I have a sore throat from shouting all day!!!

The YAS hold an event for schools where small work-shop introductions to various country side businesses that offer various educational links or have visitor centres. Another local business was short on some one to speak knowledgeably on poultry and egg production. Aiming the talks at 7-8 year olds meant nothing to gruesome but with out sugar coating either. Basic information that might spark their interest in animal welfare and husbandry. So muggins, I, got asked to help out. In reality I actually enjoyed the process, I can waffle, talk for hours on just about anything once I get going, so 40 min workshops where the kids also get to handle chicks and stroke the odd chicken was right up street.

Myself, together with Jodie and very pleasant Australian girl, A rather grumpy Marran cockerel and 3 of his ladies, three chicks and assorted fresh and old eggs (inc a few goose eggs) spent the day waffling, explaining the odd fact about eggs and hens. I must admit I did feel slightly pleased with myself when I was able to enlighten another company specialising in hatching chicks in incubators, on how to sex chicks.

I'd have liked to have told them how the male chicks were destroyed and how inhumane (IMNSHO) the mainstream egg producers are in their pursuit of profit. Short that, of telling the boys of each group that they were not so useful, leaving much to the imagination, was as close as I was able to get.

If nothing else they went home with a few bits of trivia to annoy their mums, Nancy and her kid, also part of the Hazel Brow set up, took the whole business in their stride, old hands at this educational events stuff, but like me, they too were rather tired by the end.

It aint Westie clipping!

not sure who was more scared of the clippers me or the sheep!

Being short doesnt give you enough reach plus these girls are stronger than they look..Still the wild gang got clipped and now there are just the ryeland girls to do....I really must learn to spin..quite fancy having a go but then I dont knit so what would I do with the wool? I used to have a drop spindle years back, perhaps it is time to dig one out again.

not the neatest result in the world but its done

Another great local artist

Nolon Stacey is a superb pencil artist.
I bought the Westie of course. His work is beautifully observed and at great prices for the prints I felt spoilt for choice! There are some great drawings of hens that I could make wall space for.... why not drop on in to his website and have a look for your self.

Graculus

I really love these sculptures by a very talented local artist Graculus . Well worth looking at. The Stephenson's Rocket really does remind me of Noggin the Nog

sorry the pictures are not great, I took them walking home from the car boot sale. Where I picked up 3 boxed of embroidery threads and a printed sampler for £10..bargain ehh? I am starting to think that car boot sales should be renamed "Cr*p I have collected and want rid of displays" Usually there's a good few bargains to be snapped up (admittedly I was up late not feeling very well today, so the bargains had most likely gone. I picked up one other item but I might send that off to William so wont spoil the surprise. He will love it, just not sure his mum will thank me!

tidying up

I treated myself to some machine quilting gloves, they make a real difference, previously I was making do and the strain on my shoulders was noticeable. with these, while not exactly effortless it does make manoeuvring the quilt under the machine a lot easier!!!

Another little treat was a trip to the charity shops, Im still fiscally mean when it comes to quilt back material, old cotton sheets and duvets have the width I want and make affordable backs. That pink is so soft you would swear it was really quilters cloth!

finished top

Finally

It is 86"x86" that's big enough for any bed really. I really do think a bit of unsewing will have to take place on those 3 dark squares that are in a row. in person they dont jump out at me but when i see a picture they leap out

This is a bit big

I have to confess I made an error on the border. All will be revealed.

starbucks

By far the largest quilt I have attempted so far. One more border to go and I will call it done. Kate my quilty friend invited me to join her in ordering some fabric, joint orders are gret for keeping postage costs down and theres a lot of fun in having someone else give you their opinions on colour choices. We went for a deep red, the one showing in that narrow border which I just love the look of! so the final border that will be the hand quilting main area for motif is that lovely deep red. It will take me forever to quilt but Im looking forward to it as a project. This time I will be good and actually mark the design :)