December challenge

Now that I have completed the Beth Ferrier top I need to think about machine quilting it. This is truly scary so I have decided that I am going to practice every day in December. I have just put together this quilt sandwich

(Apologies for the appalling photograph).  I bought this length of fabric with applique already done on it years ago in an interior decorating shop so I have decided it needs to be quilted.  I can do small samples like everyone on the machine but I need to practice on a larger piece - this is approximately 60" square.

So every day, little by little, I will quilt for about 20-30 minutes and hopefully it will be finished before too long. Then I have another top exactly the same so perhaps both will be finished by the end of the month.  At least it is a good way of using up the stash.

Happy quilting.

Tidying

Wednesday, 23 November 2011

Tidying

My spare room has just been taken over by a lodger and so I have had to move out all my magazines which were cluttering up the place and I now have a knock on effect. Some of the magazines I love and will be keeping but that means they have to go into my sewing room and the fabric previously stored there has retreated to my secret hiding place. Total chaos is ensuing and I am having to go through lots of old magazines which the view to passing them on to my various groups. So I am in house keeping mode and not doing any sewing.

Have just discovered a new website, run by Keepsake Qulting called Uptown quilting which seems to specialise in more modern fabrics. I went to a local quilt shop the other day and bought two fabrics by Valori Wells

Can't you just see this fussy cut into different flower heads - I might even use it on my Roseville quilt.

Also I just loved this next fabric

I even bought 2 metres of it - no idea what to use it for yet but I can just sit and look at it for a while.

Also decided that I needed some more Lecien fabrics. There is a wonderful new Lecien block of the month pattern which has just been released, called Vintage Tiles and I am wondering about doing it. The sutblety of the applique design is fantastic. Have a look. Some of the flowers would also look marvellous in really bold colours I think.

And finally I had to feed my spot habit a bit

So I am off to cut up more magazines

Happy quilting





sorry for not posting

I am sorry that I have not posted for a while but I have been having really bad computer problems which, fingers crossed, are now sorted.  Who would have thought that buying an IPad and trying to get it to talk to a Microsoft computer could be so difficult.

Anyway, in my absence I have been sewing like mad and have finally completed the Beth Ferrier block of the month. It is so big - about 102 inches square, that I can't lay it out anywhere in the house. So yesterday I took it to church with me and laid it on the floor and then photographed it from the balcony.
That is as good as it is going to get.

I promised myself that it would be finished by the end of November and so I am at least a week ahead of myself!!

Boy this was a lot of work and of course it is not finished yet - but I am going to put it aside for a while before I start quilting it.  First I need to practice my machine quilting a LOT before I start on this but also I am going to send it out to be machine basted using water soluble thread - thought that one up in the middle of the night and asked the local long arm quilter if it was possible.  I could not face all the pinning or taking out all the basting thread.

So now I have to get on with my Christmas exchange on the subject of Cool Britannia - I have the idea and now need to knuckle down and do it. As some of the members of the group read this you will all have to wait until the great reveal on 9th December.

So happy quilting wherever you are.