My Birdie Quilt

I thought you might like to see my Birdie Quilt now it is finished . It was a free B,O M

Sorry you have the same pic,. twice . I'll be more in control when I have had a cuppa coffee



THe quilting , done on my Brother domestic machine

The backing bought at the NEC from a stall that sells mainly furnishing fabric .

Have to leave you now , I had a busy day yesterday and a day just as busy today,

Bye ,

I thought I could smell spring in the air a couple of days ago so with a burst of energy I changed the pots on the dresser in the kitchen to blue and the curtains to yellow gingham . Then knowing I would not be happy with the winter red T,cosy that had matched the red gingham curtains I set to making a yellow one . I could say didn't cost a penny . Just bits and pieces from my stash . A bit of free hand drawing and my cosy is a one off .
These faded roses were from M&S. They were not faded when I bought them 3 weeks ago . They were complete in the little jam jar £4 . They now feel like paper . They haven't dropped any petals so they can stay as long as I'm able to keep the dust away .

Peace after the storm

It has been 2 days of wind , rain ,cold and all manner of winter . About Tea time the wind and rain calmed down to reveal a sky many shades of grey and blue and pink , it was like a big piece of Batik fabric , really beautiful .

That bought attention to this fabric , 7 fat quarters were a birthday present from bluebell the rest came out of my stash .

I bought a kit of disappearing 9 patch , on the trip to Bramble patch quilting , quite expensive . To soften the blow I shall be making it up from these fabrics before starting the actual kit . I'm itching to start but being good and finishing my Birdie Quilt . Should be finished later this evening .Pip pip hooray .

OH,HAPPY DAY

Anyone reading my blog over the last few days would know I was in a tizzy because I had deleted a email with an order no,. on it .

Bluebell came for a cuppa , chocolate cake too, she enquired had I got any further searching for the elusive order . "no" I replied . After being fortified with tea and cake we delved into back issues of paypal and low and behold the missing email was found .

I have to give credit to bluebell , she found it . I'm not always brave enough to ping and experiment on my laptop. I have told her I will not charge her for her new found knowledge she gained by playing with my laptop .

LOST

Today I'm up the creek without a paddle .
I ordered a Pat Winter magazine beginning December .I had forgotten about it until bluebell jogged my memory . It comes via publisher Magcloud . I had kept the email telling me of confirmation , but inadvertantly must have deleted the confirmation email that contained the order number , so being up the creek without a paddle , the paddle being my order no,.

I have searched around looking for elusive sign that says email us from the Pat Winter site and the Magcloud site

It seems I have also complicated the matter by emptying the recycle bin

I reckon it's £10 flying up up and away

Yesterday , start of a new year for me

It was my birthday yesterday . I had a wonderful day . Beautiful cards and lovely presents . Amongst my presents I had a Kaffe Fassett book that I shall be reading tonight . I now have 4 KF books ,lucky me . Toiletries, divine perfume . fabric , lace , money for flowers , a gorgeous glass 3 arm candleabra and several pther goodies .

Bluebell took me to a favourite fabric shop then we went for lunch . Such a lot of happiness in one day.

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

When the scrap box is overflowing make a scrappy quilt .

This is made from pieces that might otherwise be thrown out because they match nothing and are too small and of an odd shape to do anything with .

I seldom throw out scraps.

I have started to do bits of embroidery and adding lace to turn it from an ugly duckling into a swan .

It would never win a competition but I like it . I suppose that is all that matters .

Saturday Scrummage

On Saturdays I root into all sorts of corners in my garage looking for fabric , special bits , and long forgotten pieces . Today , been there done that also fetched forward a tin of paint to tart a mirror up .

Best thing though was a browse around the garden . I decided to out a few marigolds that were sad looking but not before I cut these little flowers off that had braved the frost .

QUILTS ,I would love to hear your veiw on the subject

My mind is running in many directions this morning . It is a beautiful day here in England . I have been sitting in my conservatory reading yesterdays Daily Mail . I came upon this article . After reading and deeply thinking about the article these are my views .

1I have not seen the magazine but at present until some one else makes me think otherwise I will say it's O.K

2 Lots of people love patchwork quilts and would love to own one . Very often asking "would you make one for me " When told how much it will cost , fabric , batting , thread etc,. before even taking into consideration hours of sewing much of it by hand . At some stage the sewing machine will be involved and they are very expensive items these days . Suddenly owning a patchwork quilt can wait .

3 A well made quilt that is going to stand years of wear , perhaps be dragged around lovingly by a child will not withstand wear if made on a cheap sewing machine bought off the grocery supermarket shelf

4 People who make quilts have very often paid a lot of money at workshops learning the latest methods or pay to attend weekly sewing classes to further the knowlege of their craft

5 100% cotton fabric used in the making of a quilt is usually priced around £10 yard , yes it is mostly sold by the yard not mtr ,. sewing thread is not cheap and quilting thread expensive . The price of batting , the warm layer that goes between the front and back fabric is also expensive . A good quality is needed to keep the quilt in good shape .

6 Having said all this many hours will have been spent sewing . When we quilters make quilts for friends and family we do it with love in our heart and pride in our craft . We love handing over our quilt .

7 without having seen the magazine I am presuming the quilt might be a sampler . If this is so many different tecniques will be learned . If I was a beginner with no one on hand to teach me I would most likely purchase the magazine .

8 You have only to attend a quilt show at Malvern or the NEC to see quilters buying expensive magazines and books , fabric , scissors , rulers ,and many many other things to be an asset .

If you admire patchwork quilts and want to make your own heirloom then go ahead buy the magazine . I will warn you patchwork is very addictive . If you buy only a couple of copies then decide it's not for you give your effort away to the charity shop , some one will buy it .

I hope I have not stirred up a hornets nest . I am passionate about patchwork and quilting

quilt finished Bunny Hill Design SNOWBOUND

This is my quilt SNOWBOUND by Bunny Hill designs

I have really enjoyed doing it . It's just the right design for sitting in the evening if you like a bit of embroidery . mostly blanket st,. round the edges of applique and a little stem stitch .

I did put my own stamp on the design . The original has irish chain blocks between the snowmen . I quilted it on my very basic longarm frame .

Thank you Anne Sutton (Bunny Hill Designs)

Next to get the finishing is Birdie Stitches . I shall be hand quilting that one so it will be awhile longer before appearing on my blog

Tis the Season

I finished my' Tis the Season 'quilt . It will have pride of place for next year . It is very pretty , did not take long to do. I purchased the pattern from Just quilting shop in Newcastle U,K . The pattern is by Natalie Bird .

I was a late riser today, looked out , it was cold so back to bed with my Andriani Trigiani book , and my tray with tea and a biscuit .

Thinking back to 2011 it was a good year for me . Two holidays , very memorable . Nice quilt shows . Some nice quilts finished and passed on to family . Nice days spent with bluebell .

Today I hope to put a quilt on my frame . The frame is in the garage so if it's cold it will have to wait till the sun shines . Looking at my UFOs it could be a while before I start another quilt .

Yesterday bluebell and myself went to the yearly fabric sale at the fabric guild . Spent wisely with future projects in mind . Lot's of fresh projects and BOMs on the blogs.

No leisurley stroll today

Very scary in my part of the world today , MARCH High Winds , APRIL showers , and in between a little light relief with a show of sunshine . When I say showers I should say torrential rain and the wind is really scary . The occasional burst of sunshine I can cope with .

I think today I have earned my blogging time , no guilt . I've had a good clean up after the dismantling of christmas . This afternoon I shall sew , perhaps read . This is before I blitz the bench in the garage where I have stacked the boxes of christmas paraphenalia before relagating it to the loft but that is for Saturday .

I have prepared my lunch of ham salad with waldorf , olives and artichoke hearts and a very sinful bread and butter pudding with custard to follow . No guilt trips today at all.

I saw a wonderful blog a few days ago . The blogger is a crocheter . Her work is absolutely beautiful . I like doing crochet , I have several quilty pieces to finish before starting anything else but I'm tempted .

Times , they are changing

My two son's have always said my home is full of junk . It isn't really because I'm quite selective what kind of junk I aquire . One said he wasn't going to trim his house for christmas but changed his mind on seeing my three trees and all kinds of christmas stuff . He went home with lots from my house to decorate his sitting room .

Both D,I,Laws oohd and aahd . That made me feel good .

Today I have been putting stuff carefully away for next year but I still have lots to do .