A Productive Day

Happy (belated) New Year! I have been promising myself that I will blog more frequently in 2013 but as this is my first post of this year my resolution has not all got off to a good start! Never mind - onwards and upwards!

I have been sewing this week in between starting off my students on their new projects. Today I went to my local group's sew-in and layered up three quilt tops. The first, in the photo above is made with a new irresistible fabric range 'Dino Roars' by Michael Miller which arrived from the suppliers just before Christmas. I'm making this up as kits so have put a simple design together measuring about 40" by 40" as a sample. I've backed this with the lovely plaid form the range which I'll also use for the binding.

I have several quilt tops which I made for class samples last year and pulled one of those out to layer and quilt:

The photo doesn't do this justice but it's made with Moda Ruby in a very straightforward modern log cabin design. Quilting this should be quick as I can just use straight lines diagonally across the blocks without any marking.

Last but not least is my version of 'Shattered' from the pattern in the book 'Quilting Modern' by Jaquie Gering and Katie Pedersen:

There'll be a lot more quilting on this one because I'll be echo quilting inside all the light grey areas but I can't wait to get started. I pieced the back of this one:

I love it! Perhaps I shouldn't have used the solid black though - it shows up every stray thread and dog hair!

I also did some sewing this afternoon. I have a pile of Drunkards Path units cut out for one of my classes and am steadily working through it. I cut them on my Accuquilt Go and they stitch together beautifully and it saved so much time cutting them. I'll take some photos of my progress with this one during the week and share them with you another day.

I did draw up a timetable for each week as an incentive to fit in more stitching this year so I'll be trying to stick to it now thing are settling into a routine. Part of that is to make one small fabric gift each week to put away for suitable occasions. Hopefully this will also get me blogging about that every week too. Watch this space!

Happy Stitching

Hazel x  

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!   It's a bit frosty here this morning so my Christmas panel is quite appropriate!.

We'll be opening presents with our son this morning and then visiting our Daughter and Son-in-Law tomorrow for a family meal with more gifts to exchange. Even the dogs love this time of year as they get to help with the unwrapping and have new toys and treats.

Whatever you're doing I hope you have fun!

Stepping Stones

My goodness it's a long time since I've posted on my blog! I can't really explain how I go out of the habit of blogging but I have been busy and somehow never got round to taking photos of my projects to share....until now. This last weekend I treated myself to a short break from work and spent time at a workshop where I was a student rather than the teacher! QuiltSue taught a workshop for Tuesday Quilters based on the Stepping Stones quilt from her book Pick Four. It was just what I needed - a day of easy sewing just for fun!

I chose colours which are unusual for me - pastel shades of pink and mint green from the lovely Riley Blake 'Willow' range. The quilt design is perhaps not as striking as in the bolder colours most people were using but I love it anyway. Sue decided it was reminiscent of sugared almonds and she's quite right!

It's not easy to photograph pastels but here's a shot of the quilt top so far. I made 18 nine patch blocks then cut them in quarters (disappearing nine patch) so the quilt is 7 blocks by 10. That's just a bit bigger than the quilt in Sue's book. It needs a couple of borders before I layer and quilt it but it was very quick to put together and will make a lovely single bed sized quilt.

I must take some more photos to share a few other quilt tops I've made in recent weeks. The WIPs seem to be piling up now and I will have to spend half term week on getting them quilted and finished. I will try to stay in touch more regularly too!

Hazel x

A Simple Bag

This week I've been hopping from project to project getting too easily distracted and as usual spending far too much time surfing the internet. The one thing I managed to finish was this very simple quilted bag.

I'll be teaching a bag making workshop in August and wanted to simplify the pattern and instructions as much as possible to make it suitable for anyone pretty new to sewing and quilting. It is very simply quilted with a walking foot in wavy lines, and lined with simple pockets on the inside. It's quite roomy at about 18" by 14" and very light. I managed to cut it all from two half metres of fabrics although I'd prefer the handles to be just a touch longer to slip over my shoulder more easily.

Still, it'll be perfect for trips to fabric shops and the shows coming up - the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham and the Great Northern Quilt Show in Harrogate!

The Wedding

Here's the reason I haven't posted in a while - my beautiful daughter's wedding! I was very busy in June making her wedding dress, shopping for an outfit and all the other preparations. It was worth it. The wedding day was wonderful! Even the weather was good and the sun and blue sky appeared right on cue for the photos. I don't really have any others to show you yet as we won't get access to the official photos until next week when the happy couple return from their honeymoon.

Since the wedding on June 30th I've been chilling out watching tennis, reading, and decluttering a couple of cupboards. Sewing the dress has got me back into dressmaking and I've spent a few happy hours browsing my stash of dressmaking fabrics and patterns and I have started a new blouse for myself. 

I am planning on making lots of quilts over the summer and finishing some UFOs. With the appalling weather we're having here I don't think I'll be venturing outside as much as usual this summer so there should be plenty of time for sewing!

Jubilee Pinwheels

This weekend many people in the UK are celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and there are flags and bunting everywhere with parties and special events up and down the country. My quilt group held a Jubilee Party on Tuesday so I had decided to make a red white and blue quilt to mark the special event! Above you can see it layered and ready to quilt just over a week ago and here is the finished item:

Sorry the picture's a bit blurry! Here it is back at home - our dog Kate obviously approves!

I chose a ribbon effect quilting design on the pinwheels:

Although the stitching isn't perfect I am really pleased with this design. I adapted it from an idea in 'Quilting Dot to Dot' by Cheryl Barnes which is full of wonderful quilting patterns. I intend to spend some time practising more during the summer break from my classes - on top of all the other projects I have lined up!

Happy Jubilee!

Bloggers Quilt Festival

Here's my quilt for the Bloggers Quilt Festival! I've decided to show you the quilt which got me hooked into this wonderful hobby - my very first quilt!

 I'd been looking at quilting magazines for ages when I came across an advert for a workshop for beginners. The class was held over 2 days but one month apart. On the first day we learned how to cut the fabric and make a block so we could go away and complete the quilt top. One month later we returned to layer the quilt and use a walking foot to quilt a simple straight line design and bind the edges. It was brilliant!

I remember spending literally hours in the fabric shop choosing my fabrics based on the bright orange walls of the spare room in our house which the children had decided to make into a TV room. These are not my usual colour choices but I love it! The churn dash blocks measure 15 inches and with the sashing and borders the quilt is 72" square and just sits nicely on top of our king sized bed. For the quilting we used invisible thread but this has started to break so I may eventually have to re-quilt it. I think the it's about 14 years old but I didn't add a label so I'm not sure. 

The quilt marks the beginning of an obsession which in the last year has developed into a successful quilt teaching business. More importantly it has been responsible for me finding many many good friends and gives me a real sense of satisfaction through stitching creativity. What a wonderful craft this is!

Please spend some time visiting the other blogs featured in the festival - it's such an inspiration to see these wonderful quilt. Many thnks to Amy for hosting this event!