CATCHING UP ON THIS AUTUMNAL SUNDAY

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’re all enjoying the beginning of autumn. We’ve had some dull and blustery weather lately. I’ve been watching the leaves tumbling to the ground. It’s a bit sad seeing the trees lose their leaves but I must admit that autumn is my favourite time of year. I’m already snuggling under patchwork quilts in the evening and as the days get cooler I’m starting to wear my cosy woollies. In the week or so, I’ll start wearing my boots. And the menu has changed to winter warming soups and stick to your ribs casseroles. Yahoo.

I attended a Burnopfield Belles meeting a couple of weeks ago. We started a new challenge for Quilts for Comfort. We have a small library of traditional block design instructions. We have all chosen a block design and we will all make a block including layering and quilting by the next meeting. You’ve probably already guessed that we’re using the Quilt as You Go method of joining the blocks together. I chose the Churn Dash block which is kind of my go to block when I don’t know what to choose. I scratched around and found some fabric that would be suitable for a boy’s quilt because we have decided that we’re going to make a boy’s quilt.

Once my fabric was chosen I was off. I love sitting quietly of an evening hand sewing. So, I pieced my block by hand.

Now I will layer it up and add some simple hand quilting, enough stitching to hold the block firmly together while going thru the wash. I love a nice simple challenge.

This morning while I was in my sewing room the blackbirds seem to be popping in regularly to use my bath. One after another they landed and had a good old splash around. This photo isn’t very clear as it was taken thru the window which has a film on it to protect against the bright sunshine.

Speaking of birds …..

I added some freemotion quilting to these old specimens. They need a wee bit of embellishing now. I think I’ll add some small beads for eyes.

Autumn is definitely here; the kids have gone back to school and we’re starting to make plans for Christmas. Sarah and I have discussed what we want to do for Christmas this year. Now that I’m a single parent, we can start new traditions. Making new memories is very important when you’re faced with rebuilding your life. Slowly but surely things are falling into place and life is starting to look pretty good again.

I spent some time in garden this afternoon pruning and clipping shrubs. A half hour tidy in the garden makes all the difference. I have purchased some plants for my funky planter that sits beside my front door. A few inexpensive pansies, some ivy plants and some bargain conifers will look splendid. That’s tomorrow’s job.

As we zoom along toward the end of the year, I have this hankering to learn a new technique. I’m not sure what I want to learn but I’m on the lookout for learning another skill. Perhaps I will take up dressmaking. I dabbled in dressmaking many years ago. Perhaps that would satisfy my longing to take up something new.

October got off to good start. The weather has been pretty good. We haven’t experienced any frost yet but there’s always tomorrow. As I understand it, the western provinces of Canada have had snow recently!!! That’s something I really miss living here in the UK. We don’t see much snow in my little corner of the northeast of England.

Speaking of Canada, I would like to wish all my Canadian readers a very very happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all get to share a meal with your loved ones in peace and with joy.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be hand finishing the binding on the Sweet Dresden Lollipop quilt project. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something you truly love. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥ ♥

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USING WHAT WORKS FOR ME

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had a great week. Autumn is in full swing here in my little corner of the northeast of England. I’m keeping up with collecting and disposing of the fallen leaves. I love this time of year. I love closing the blinds and settling in for the evening. I don’t quite go into hibernation but I think if I had the chance I would!!!

I was hoping to finish all the info on my Moving Forward block but I had a little mishap yesterday which prevented me from the finishing the job. However, today I will reveal some of my favourite supplies that I use which give me really good results. So, let’s start with how I secure the patches in place. For this part of the process I use the finest thread I can find. In years gone by I used 100wt Silk thread spun by YLI. It can be a wee bit tricky to find in shops but there are plenty of vendors on the internet. In the last four years or so I have been experimenting with 100wt Invisifil by Wonderfil.

I’m very happy to report that the Invisifil works really well for me so I am happy to recommend it. This thread is so fine that your stitches just melt into the fabric giving you invisible stitches which is exactly what you want. Along with the Invisifil I use Bohin appliqué needles, size works really well for me. Between the fine thread and the fine needle, I am able to make small stitches by taking a tiniest bite of the edge of the appliqué patch and the tiniest bite of the background fabric. This is why my stitches are obvious.

It hard to believe that some 22 years ago when I first started quilt making I stayed away from appliqué work. I couldn’t face the fine stitching. Nowadays I think nothing of design my own appliqué projects and thoroughly enjoy the whole process from start to finish. I believe it’s good to experiment with different tools and supplies. Sometimes we crossover using tools meant for other techniques that work really well. So, have a go and if you find something that works well for you share it with us so we can benefit too.

I have a little tip for you today. Now and again there will be a little fabric fraying on your appliqué patches. You know those pesky loose threads that can be difficult to tuck in under while you doing the fine hand sewing??? Well if you find yourself with 3 or 6 loose threads you will need a cocktail stick and your trusty fabric glue pen. Tease away a tiny little bit of glue from your glue pen onto you cocktail stick. A little glue goes a long way to taming the loose threads. All you need to do is running the gluey cocktail stick along the loose threads while directing them under and between the layers of fabric. Once the threads are hidden press it down with your finger and continue sewing the area. Fabric glue is water soluble so when you wash the quilt there will be no traces of it.

At this point, I must stress that this is the method I use for appliqué. I’m sure there are other ways to approach this task. I choose the more relaxed approach. I shall return next week to show you how to make really good circles. And hopefully I will be able to collate all the info in one printable document to help you along.

After my little taste of knitting over the last few weeks and thoroughly enjoying myself, I added knitting socks to my To-Do List. I ordered some sock yarn and go started …..

My knitting needles are a size 2.5mm. When I saw how fine the needles are I thought I would be at it for ages but what you see is what I produced in a couple of hours one evening!!! I am enjoying this fine knitting. I hate to say it but I might be hooked. It looks like a few different people will be getting socks for Christmas.

It’s been a good week in my little world. Winter is just around the corner and I’m enjoying autumn. The quilts and the woollies are definitely coming in handy now. There’s nothing nicer than snuggling under a handmade quilt while stitching something else.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be doing some fine hand appliqué with my favourite tools and supplies. I hope you have a super cosy evening doing what makes you happy. Surround yourself with people who appreciate and love you and make the most of everyday you have with them. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching

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READY FOR THE COLDER WEATHER

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had a fabulous week. It’s been a rather busy one for me. I’ve done this and that and kept really busy as you do in autumn. Planning Christmas seems to be at the forefront of mind quite often. I want it to be perfect this year so I’m thinking it out properly. After all there are only 58 sleeps left until the big day.

I’m still waiting for the first real frost. I’m not trying to be miserable but I think a good hard frost will help to kill the coughs and cold germs making many people sick at this time of year. So, in my quest to be ready for the colder mornings I have knit some mittens this week …..

And I plan on knitting a few more pairs because I have some yarn that needs knitting up. I learned to knit this design back in the 80s. A lovely lady named Rose taught me how to knit these. For some unknown reason I can knit these mittens in my sleep, no pattern needed. I hope someday to be able to knit socks without a pattern. Sock will be my next effort.

So, today I decided to give you a little more info on how I approached the task of piecing my Moving Forward quilt blocks. Let’s continue from where I left off last time ….. the next step after ironing the Freezer Paper shapes onto the wrong side of your chosen fabric is to tack the fabric to the paper …..

Here’s a tip: when I tack the fabric to the paper, I work with the right side facing me. Because I’m pushing the overlapping fabric over the top of the paper and to the back away from me, I am able to keep the fabric snug to the paper which gives me a more accurate shape.

When I tack the fabric around the centre whole I clip around the shape. This helps me stretch the fabric in place where it should be without any pulling. Once I have tacked all my shapes I press them. Doing a good job pressing can make all the difference to your finished result. I could help myself I just needed to layout the shapes on my background fabric to see how it will look. I loved working on my Moving Forward quilt and I’m just as excited working on this single block. I will turn this into a cushion to match my quilt.

Whether you just want to try this block to make a cushion cover or a whole quilt I’m sure you’ll enjoy making it. Don’t forget that I will turn all these little snippets of information, as well as the templates, into a document which you can print to use as a guideline. And don’t forget to stamp your personality to your project. I give you the bones to work with, it’s up to you to make it your own. I shall return next week with some more info and tips on how to make you own Moving Forward blocks.

My lovely friend Sue gave me a lovely little gift a couple of weeks ago. She knows that I record different ideas as they come into my head. So, this little notebook will be tucked into my handbag so I can do just that …..

It’s been a pretty good week in happy quilt maker land. Life is busy with regular everyday stuff. I stepped out this morning to start clearing the fallen leaves. I swept and bagged and sept some more. And the garden is looking rather tidy until the wind blows again. I do love this time of year. At the moment, I’m craving comfort food. So, for this evenings meal I decided to cook a comforting cottage pie. Later we will treat ourselves to hot chocolate with marshmallows while watching mindless TV shows. Autumn is my favourite time of year.

So, for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be working on hexagons. I hope you have a super cosy evening doing something you truly love doing. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching ♥ ♥

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GOOD PROGRESS

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had a super fine day. I can’t believe it’s already midway thru the work week. And it’s almost mid-month as well. Time sure does fly.

So I thought I would bring you a little progress on my UFOs. Let’s starting with my knitting …..

I’ve started to add pattern and contrasting colour to the yoke of my pullover. I would have liked to have had it finished it by now but the quiet moments have been few and far between lately. I need peace and quiet in order to count to be sure that I’m casting off and putting the right colour in the right place. Now that the temperature is cooling off I will appreciate this pullover!

My Lucy Boston hexagons are growing nicely. I am busy at present working on the filler hexagons that I will add around the blocks. I’m dying to join a few block together just to see what it will look like. This is a great project to work on while watching mindless TV in the evening.

I love this time of year. The leaves are falling from the colourful trees. And of course, it’s pumpkin season …..

My Sarah has always carved a pumpkin in October. So why should life be any different this year. Things have been ticking over nicely in happy quilt maker land. Christmas is just around the corner and we’re furiously planning out the best Christmas ever. Sarah and I have been making decisions that will affect the rest of our lives. I look back on my early days and realise how important it is to make the right choices at the right time. I wish I had been more discerning with the choices I made when I was young. Someone once said to me … take your life and make it the best story ever. So that’s exactly what I’m working on now.

So for this evening, this very happy and super ambitious quilt maker will be working on hexies. I hope you have a super cosy evening doing something you truly love doing. Until you read me again,

 

Happy stitching.

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AUTUMN IS SPICY TIME……

Just in case you haven’t noticed autumn has arrived in the UK over the last few weeks. There’s a patchwork of lovely autumn colours dotted around the countryside. I can’t speak for other areas of the country, but here in my little corner of the northeast of England, there hasn’t been a ground frost yet but tomorrow is another day. I’m looking forward to crisp mornings where we have to scrape a little frost from the car windows. You know those mornings where we can see our breath and you have to wear your purple gloves to keep your hands warm…..

This is the time of year when the pumpkins and other the autumn vegetables are plentiful in the supermarkets. It’s the perfect time of year for steaming soups and good old fashioned comfort food. I must get my recipe books out to find some new recipes to try out. I feel like eating gingerbread and other spicy treats.

I also like to bring the colours of the season to my projects. My art journal will most likely show the colours of the leaves on the trees at the moment. I’m starting to work on a patchwork design for 2013 and I’m very tempted to use Burnt Orange, Antique Gold and Rockwood Red which would represent autumn colours beautifully. Isn’t it funny how nature’s current colour scheme consists mainly of warm colours when the temperatures are rather cool! Golden yellows, deep reds, and orange……..

It’s time to start wearing the woollies and my boots will be dragged out of summer storage so I can start wearing them. The cozy throws will come out for extra comfort in the evening. So it looks like I will spend part of tomorrow searching for that little list of winter stuff but for this evening, this very happy longarm quilter will be sharpening a sketching pencil and recording some autumn ideas. As for the gingerbread treat, I guess I will have to settle for my gingerbread men cushion. Whatever you may be doing this evening, I hope you’re warm and cozy while enjoying a relaxing project. Until you read me again,

Happy stitching. ♥♥

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