Bloggers Quilt Festival

Amy runs an online quilt festival, where she provides a space for people who quilt to showcase what they have done and talk about why, lessons learned and so on.  I was going to just check out the photos of loveliness from afar but have decided to enter.  Eeeek!  As you know I'm new to all this, having taken up quilting (and sewing in general) earlier this year but your kind comments on Ruby made me think...what the hey!

A recap on Ruby Ruby Ruby's back story.... Laughing Boy's parents celebrated their ruby wedding anniversary this year and I offered to make a quilt as a gift from us.  My lovely MIL asked for something colourful with a solid red back and no noticeable quilting on the back!  It was the fifth quilt I have made and I decided to try out flying geese.  It took me aaaaaages and it was unpicked and resewn a gazillion times before I chillaxed and just got on with it.  So, months late, it was finally finished and here's a photo of it in situ...

Carol doing a better modelling job than her son!

The great thing is that she's stoked with it, which made all my anguish worthwhile.

So in terms of lessons learned in its making, where do I start!!!  Well, I learned the importance of accurate cutting that's for sure and of accurate 1/4inch sewing (my geese don't always fly in formation and some look like they've been on a pizza and cury diet!).  I also realised that I needed to worry a little less about fabric choices, although this is still work in progress :). 

So after a difficult start, Ruby Ruby Ruby and I have become firm friends. 

ice cream for grace may.....

To some, mixing ice cream with stash could be a great Friday night in but those years are behind me now ;)  An older and wiser kettleboiler has decided to make a birthday present for her gorgeous niece, Grace May, as a 1st birthday gift.  So I found the right pattern

from an Oliver & S pattern

.. and yesterday went through my stash to find some suitable fabric.  This is especially difficult given Grace May's mumma is a very talented artist who has in the past accused me of erring on the side of Goth when it comes to choosing clothes for the littl'un.  So having hauled everything out of the cupboard (Laughing Boy's nerves were in shreds as he'd just done a proper tidy up - "this place is a TIP!" was the general thread of conversation over the weekend), this is what I finally came up with....

still not getting any better, photography-wise

Cut things out (as you can see), although I forgot to cut the bottom pieces and am going to do the pockets in a different way so will cut out some more of them. And I realised that I don't have any matching thread so have had to order some from tinterweb. I'm nothing if not disorganised!

Anyway, thoughts?  Am I still channelling EMOgirl?

WIP-ing it

So loft guys are due today and I've got workmen sorting out our drains yesterday and today (lots of drilling, tea making and smells!).  Oh, and I decided to experiment on the broken dishwasher just to check that it's actually still broken, so have spent much of the early morning clearing the flood on the kitchen floor.  All conducive to writing this week's lecture presentation and notes.  So to keep my mind off things for a couple of minutes, I've been taking these....

the "extras" from ruby quilt

and planning a 30th b-day quilt for Miss J (that's only about 6 months late already).  Am thinking about something like this:

currently using my bed as a design wall - not the cleverest thing I've done!

there are a number of blocks you can make using half square triangles so I might take some photos of alternative designs and give you all a vote!   The back on this one will include some material from some of littlelegs' old clothes so it's not going to be as straightforward as I'm used to.  Already depressed at the amount of ironing/pressing that I'll need to do...still, looking forward to cracking on with it.

sunday stash #5

I keenly followwed a recent sew-along run by Amy at Badskirt (well back in July!). I wasn't brave enough to join in but I think the Oliver&S ice cream dresses that everyone made were so cute.  I might be too late as the pattern is getting difficult to find but it's going on the list!  Whilst over at Badskirt, I was seduced into buying some fabric when she was having a pre-Japan trip sale.  Bargain!  (except the postage from Australia!)

still rubbish at taking pictures!

So this little stash includes some Girl Friday graph paper and writing lines by cosmo crisket, sublime by riley blake and some really cool neo geo tiles.  I can see some of these making up an excellent ice cream social dress.  That's my fabric buying done for the month (I hope....but my will is so weak!)

I've been obsessed with bag making and have russled up a couple this week.

For Pleat's Sake bag using echino fabric

My original idea for this one was as a Christmas pressie but the lure of the lovely echino fabric was too great and I had to "test drive" it yesterday.  I'm definitely making this again - pattern by U-handbag - so you've been warned.

I also made this one (apologies again for the photo):

daisy jane fabric and keyka lou small satchel pattern

I made the straps longer but maybe a bit too long but I quite like it.  I've got loads of the fabric left and as it's heavy ish and canvassy, it's got more bags written all over it.

Sewing is on hold at the moment as we're getting our loft re-insulated this week and its contents are currently filling my sewing room.  Business as usual from Wednesday I hope :)

ruby ruby ruby - AAAH AH AH AH AAAAH!



Laughing boy doing the honours again

 It was started in April as a gift for Laughing Boy's parents' 40th wedding anniversary. Decided to try flying geese using red pepper quilts pattern.  Much fabric was cut.  Most rejected by MIL so back to the cutting board (and fabric shops!).  The request was for a plain red back even after quilting!  So I needed to use a red thread to quilt it with - decided to stitch in the ditch around each triangle.  This was pretty successful, although every time I got a little cocky and thought "this is going well" I'd head off into the kona snow!  I'm still getting used to handling a big quilt through my machine.  It was easier when we moved the room around aI got more space to work.  Still, it looks not back from the back!


not sure you can see much, but my new floor looks good huh?

I'm quite chuffed - the quilting is a bit wonky, the geese aren't entirely flying in formation, sewing red binding onto a red back with red thread was a challenge, the batting I used was a bit rubbish (expensive rubbish at that), the design changed a gazillion times - but despite all that, I'm quite chuffed.  Laughing Boy told me it was my best yet!  *looks at feet, blushing*

Jamie giving ruby the once over (and me the evil eye!)

Using the Red Pepper Quilts method for flying geese means I have lots of half square triangles left over and I'm about to sew them together for my next quilting adventure (JoJo - you may get your quilt before your 40th!).

sunday stash #4

I'ma very lucky girl.  Having managed to persuade Laughing Boy to convert the guest bedroom into a sewing room, we set about doing this on Saturday.  The old bed frame (which was being held up by the boxes under the bed!) went to the tip, furniture was moved around and the cupboard reorganised.  We knew that the people who owned our house before us painted around their furniture but it surprised us again to see the walls and skirting boards in different shades of magnolia marking where their stuff had been - bizarre!  Not decorated by us yet as we have had enough of decorating for this year.  We are planning to add a sofa bed incase any visitors don't like the mattress and airbed but again that's one next year's list. 

And so onto sunday's stash - another purchase from fabricworm (fabby online US shop)

Too cute but I have absolutely no idea what to make with these....

[note to self: stop impulse buying fabric!]