The Moda Man's Visit

The other day I drove to Embsay near Skipton to meet up with friends Anthea and Rachel because the Moda man was coming to visit. He brought his suitcase of the latest fabric lines and we had loads of fun deciding which ones Anthea should buy for her soon to be launched quilt shop. The photo shows Rachel and Anthea browsing the samples.

My favourite was this Metro range because they are gorgeous fresh prints. I particularly liked the red flowers on grey:

and the lime greens:

Aren't they just yummy?

I couldn't come away empty handed so here's part of my haul:

Jelly rolls in 'Grace', 'Flurry' and 'Grand Finale' and Charm packs in 'Summer House'. These will be in my little mobile shop for students in my classes and workshops.

Don't forget to enter my fat quarters giveaway which closes on Monday 25th July!

I've been AWOL for a couple of weeks because we've had a busy time with our family. My sister-in-law came over from Syracuse NY with our two nephews to stay with use for 10 days and we also travelled down to visit my in-laws in Basingstoke. Margaret had brought me a whole package of gifts she's picked up in Jo-Ann's - they are fabulous! First, the two bag patterns above. The 'Cover-all Tote' is a very clever pattern for a bag with removable button-on covers and Jennifer's bag is very apt as my daughter's name is Jennifer!

I also received fabric for bag making:

 and some beautiful buttons:

 A copy of American Quilter magazine which I have never seen in the shops here:

 And this great book on landscape quilts:

I'd also asked Margaret to bring me a couple of rolls of freezer paper from the supermarket and she arrived with three large rolls:

This may seem strange to those of you resident in the US but we can only buy this in quilt shops and online at a much higher price. You may need to sit down for this! The cheapest I can find this sized roll in the UK is £9.50 - about $15. I understand this is about 5 times the price Margaret paid!!!

Thank you Margaret for all the gifts and for coming to visit. We had a fabulous time and we're hoping to get together again at Jennifer's wedding next year.

Stash Building and a Sneak Peak

 Yesterday I dropped in to a friends for coffee then, as I was nearly there, dropped into Skep Mill in Farsley on the other side of Leeds. I haven't been since it changed hands but I'll certainly be going again. Most of the patchwork fabric is £6 per metre - half the price of most fabric now. I picked out this pack of 10 fat quarters for only £15 and a toning floral for a backing plus extra of one of the fabrics for binding. I'm planning on making a quick and easy quilt as a sample for my beginners patchwork class I'm starting in September.

It will have to wait a week or two because I've got loads to catch up on at the moment. It's funny how when work calls I can get drawn into new projects. I also visited Texere Yarns in Bradford yesterday too. I hadn't realised that they'd changed their opening hours and are only supposed to be open Thursday and Friday but the nice lady let me in 'Now you're here...' So I had to buy something didn't I? Texere a treasure trove of yarn, fancy threads, wool for felting, leather etc. I bought some cotton/acrylic yarn to crochet a blanket I'd found on'Crochet Me'. It's made of triangular motifs which I've adapted as this yarn is finer than the one used in the pattern.:

 I think it will make a great take along project for when we go away for a day or two. I've loved crochet since I learned to make brightly coloured ponchos in my early teens!

Now I need to get down to business and finish off projects ahead of the deadlines coming up. Here's a sneak peak of a quilt I'm making up for Nel Whatmore to be on display at the Festival of Quilts on the Cotton Patch Stand.

You'll be able to buy the kit for this at the show but if you can't wait to get hold of Nel's stunning 'Happy Go Lucky' fabrics you can buy them now from Cotton Patch and other shops. If you're lucky enough to go to the Chelsea Flower Show this week you can go and say hello to Nel as she is there displaying her paintings and gifts.

Shopping!

This week has been lovely and relaxed - just time to rest, catch up on small jobs around the house and spend time with Martin who is off work at the moment. Yesterday we went shopping because our son needed some items for his newly refurbished house from Ikea. I needed to get some frames for the silk painting workshop Mum and I are doing at the weekend so we had to call in  at Hobbycraft on the way. Does anyone go to these stores and just come out with the one or two items they need??

Well I did get my frames for silk painting but also found a few other bits and pieces - paint brushes, felt, and the items in the picture. The storage case is really cool. It comes with 12 little screw top plastic jars which fit snuggly inside and are perfect for my bead collection as you can see. It measures about 8" by 6" and the jars are 1" in diameter and 1.5" high. The case was only £3.25, empty of course. What would you fill it with?

The clear stamps are from the new V&A quilt collection and they are beautifull. They'll be perfect for making cards but I'm also planning to stamp onto fabric to make interesting backgrounds for mini quilts. I'll let you know how I get on with them. The V&A have also produced stencils and printed craft paper sets in various sizes all based on the fabrics in quilts on display at the current exhibition. They seem to be available at many online papercraft stores.

I'll finish for now as I have to gather all the supplies Mum and I need for our two day workshop. Day one is Silk Painting and day two Silk Painting and Quilting. We're going to Knuston Hall for the weekend so I'm really looking forward to it. I can't recommend the courses and the relaxed friendly atmosphere there highly enough. Check out the website here. I'll take lots of photos to show our progress over the weekend so come back here soon!

PS. I've just discovered Kim of Bitty Bits and Pieces is having a new giveaway - a crochet clutch bag which opens to reveal storage for crochet hooks etc. Perfect for me as I've started a new crochet project this week. Here's the prize:

My Busy Weekend

 Fumiko Ohkawa: Log Cabin / Kaleidoscope II

Festival of Quilts Winner - Traditional Quilts

Phew, what a busy few days!
Friday:  Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate
Saturday: stripping wallpaper at my son's newly purchased house
Sunday: at college
Monday: back to work

The Knitting and Stitching Show covers a wide range of crafts which includes some quilts. They did have on display some winners from the Festival of Quilts and the nice thing was you could get a closer view than in the original show and I managed to get better photos of a couple of my favourites. The one above was the best in show and the workmanship was amazing - so many tiny pieces!

Here's another I admired for the machine quilting:

Sheena Norquay: Pearls are not Always White

Festival of Quilts Winner - Contemporary Quilts

These close-ups show the lovely circle patterns - I like circles!

Next I visited a lovely display of quilts by  Janice Gunner who specialises in quilts using fabrics dyed with indigo:

These were beautifully quilted to emphasise the patterns created by the dyeing. I treated myself to her book 'Shibori for Textile Artists' and chatted with her about the workshops she teaches - they are now on my list for future reference. We are doing indigo dyeing at college next month so the book was an essential purchase!

There weren't may other quilts on display apart from this one made from cans from a famous Irish brewer- very clever but not a cuddly quilt:

Drunkards Path by Beck Knight

There was plenty of lovely embroidery on display too. One stand featuring the work of the East Anglian Stitched Textiles group - EAST. I spent a lot of time looking at their sketchbooks and completed work as it was just the sort of design work I'm doing on my college course. They very generously allowed visitors to photograph their sketchbooks and finished pieces which were gorgeous. Here are some photos of their work:

You can learn more about the group on their blog and also see more photos of their exhibits here.

So there were some very clever and talented people showing their work - well done to them. There were also, of course, hundreds of stalls selling fabric, threads, beads, supplies etc plus other incongruous items like floor sweepers and manicures! I was pretty restrained and didn't spend much - well the entry cost and parking charges were enough! I may be turning into a grumpy old woman but I do resent having to pay so much for entry to events which give far more space to a large shopping mall than exhibits. I have to admit that despite that they are extremely popular - someone must be getting very rich from them but no the stitchers!

Wish List - Go Cutter

I've had a little play with Quiltsue's new toy - the Go Cutter. She let me turn the handle and make tumbler blocks - it's amazing! They're not in the shops here in the UK but she managed to get one shipped over from the USA. I think they could really take off. Visit her blog Quilt Times to see more of this must-have gadget! It's on my wish list - will it be on yours?

A Taste of Africa

Yesterday I went to my  group meeting at Tuesday Quilters for a talk entitiled 'The Road to Patchwork' by Magie Relph. It was fascinating! Magie lived in Africa for a while and now has a small business selling fabrics produced there. She showed us some of her collection of different fabrics and explained how they are made. Many were wax prints which originally developed from Indonesian batiks - they are VERY colourful and have large patterns on them as they are used for clothing in Africa. Magie is a great speaker!

Of course I had to buy some fabric - it would have been rude not to! Here's my collection. I chose screen printed fabric,a half yard of discharge fabric and a trial pack of hand woven cottons, in a variety of weights, for dyeing. I also bought a piece of barkcloth which you can see in the background. It has a very interesting texture and I thought it would be good for my City and Guilds work. I don't know what I'll use it for yet!

Here is another photo of one of the printed cottons - don't you just love the little elephants?!

Pippa, a fellow member, told me the theme for next year's Harrogate quilt show is Africa so I'll have to start thinking how I could use these fabrics for a quilt to enter - any ideas?

Visit Magie's website and online shop by clicking here.

Daylight

It beginning to feel a little autumnal here in Yorkshire. Although it was bright this morning there was a strong wind and it felt colder as we walked around Harrogate. The evenings are drawing in too. I've been spending some time this week hand stitching my 'Tail Feathers' block and I really can't manage now without our daylight lamp. I even turn it on during the day sometimes too!

The ladies at Knuston Hall were discussing the demise of the 100w light bulb and I tried to explain what a difference daylight bulbs make but I don't think they believed me! The light they give off is lovely and clear - perfect for seeing colours as if you are in bright daylight. I started with a folding 'portable'lamp then Mr Photographer decided we should have a larger lamp for reading etc so we bought a 'floor lamp' to sit between the armchair and the sofa. This has a magnifier attached but I've found I really don't need that because the light makes all the difference. Click here to see details of the type of lamp we bought.

Shopping and Fabric Samples

 My kit contained beautiful hand dyes fabric and tthe pattern

I did a little shopping at the festival of quilts - I was very retrained really! I bought an art quilt kit from the 'Chicago School of Fusing', pictured above. I love Laura Wasilowski and Frieda Anderson's quilts and their stand was stunning. Their hand dyed fabrics and threads are to die for - to go to the Artfabric store for Laura's patterns click here. For Frieda's patterns click here.

I treated myself to one book by Ineke Berlyn which has loads of photos from her sketchbooks and the resulting quilts.I love the idea of having a sketchbook but I'm afraid I've never developed the habit of drawing and painting for inspiration.

 

Just two of the fabric sample cards I received.

I also bought 3 lengths of fabric. One of these was from Oakshott Fabrics who make gorgeous fine shot cotton in a huge range of colours. I've visited their website before but I'm wary of ordering without seeing samples of the fabric because colours on the internet are so difficult to match. I had a word with the man on the stall and he took my name and address and said he'd send me samples. Well he did! I got a large envelope with several large cards containing the samples neatly arranged and labelled - fantastic. I'll definitely be ordering this fabric regularly.

August Linus Quilt

I set myself a target of doing one Linus quilt per month and here is the latest. It's pieced but not yet quilted - that may have to wait a week or two. The design is from an old issue of Quick Quilts (Sept 07) and is really easy to put together - essential for a charity quilt I think! I changed the dimensions slightly. The large squares are cut 6 1/2" and the smaller 3 1/2" and made up the blocks with one large and two small squares. There are 6 by 6 blocks so the quilt measures 36" by 54" but I may add a small border. Anyway it was quite relaxing to do lots of chain piecing and I'm really pleased I could use up more of my stash!

When Jen the Vet came to stay at the weekend I had to clear my 'Studio' which doubles as a bedroom. Here is a rare glimse of it tidy after I got my sewing machine out again.

The machine folds away into the Horn cabinet which can be pushed to the side to allow the second bed to be wheeled out from under the bed you can see so in theory it's very quick to do. Of course this doesn't allow for clearing the fabric thread UFO's etc etc which normally adorn both the table and bed!! The storage cabinet was a christmas present from Mr Photographer and is fantastic - it holds 6 artbin storage boxes and just fits perfectly under the table. Click here for a supplier.

I also have an iron permanently set up which is a great timesaver. This one doubles as a steam iron for my tailoring projects. So a compact but functional space. Now if only I could get rid of the beds......

Skipton and the Dales

On Fridays my other half 'Mr Photographer' doesn't go to work so today we took advantage of the good weather and headed off early for Skipton in the Yorkshire Dales. There's a market in Skipton 4 days a week, including Friday, so it's a popular place but we went down to the canal and found it quiet and peaceful in the sunshine. We had a lovely walk stopping to take lots of pictures of the castle and the canal barges.

Then we had to go for Mr Photographer's treat - breakfast at The Devonshire pub (Wetherspoons!) - delicious! After that a bit of retail therapy was needed in the market and the Fent Shop. Mr Photographer positively encouraged me to buy fabric! The Fent Shop sells remnants of beautiful furnishing fabrics for £5 per metre, dress fabrics, a small selection of quilting cottons and knitting wool. Today I bought some 'John Lewis' fabric in a lovely turquoise to make a footstool and a cushion to sit on top of a storage box in our living room. Uh oh! My to do list has grown again!

Next we drove on to Embsay to visit Embsay Crafts and a enjoyed a coffee break before taking the scenic route to Bolton Abbey over the hills. Driving along we spotted a Red Kite circling on the thermals and stopped to watch. Red Kites are becoming a pretty common sight now around here since they were re-introduced at Harewood several years ago. The are beautiful and very big close up. Today this one was just too far away to photograph.

Altogether a lovely day out. Here are a few photos :

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Present in the Post

Does everyone love getting packages in the post? There I was sitting with a cup of tea watching James Martin on Saturday Kitchen when the postman arrived with a padded envelope for me. I have to say it was something I'd ordered the other day so not a complete surprise but look what was inside the envelope:

How cool is that? It made it much more exciting to open! The website has some beautiful patterns and fabrics so I may become a regular customer.
Inside were a book I'd spotted on the Melly and Me blog and ordered from Buttonberry on Thursday with a cute quilted slipper pattern.

The slippers look perfect for me - I need something on my feet in the house but have trouble finding slippers which are not fur lined or look too frumpy. They are seem incredibly easy to make and the instructions explain how to make them in any size.

The book is absolutely gorgeous. It has 12 projects: a baby quilt, 5 toys, a stitchery picture, 2 childrens backpacks, a handbag, messenger bag and an argyle patterned quilt. It makes me I wish I had young children to sew for! I bought it with the intention of making some easy toys for a Christmas Fair stall in the Autumn so now I need to set aside some time for that.......!