Land of No Cooking

Up And Coming

2012-01-26T13:15:00.001Z

We are having an exhibition and you are invited. There will be some great work on show. We have worked really hard to achieve this with the help of Gina . If you are able to visit please do leave a comment in the visitors book, your comments will be much appreciated.

Look what my lovely husband bought me. The book is great I love his use of colour (Hockney's, not mine says Neil!) , so vibrant and energetic. We have got tickets to go and see his exhibition on the 5th March.

I've had the embellisher out again and made some cards to sell at our exhibition. I should do more with my embellisher but I never seem to have any ideas what to make which is a shame. Once I get started I enjoy it.

I did start to quilt my star quilt but wasn't at all happy with it so I unpicked it and now I'm waiting for inspiration to strike, that could be some time!

A Birthday Treat

2012-01-16T18:21:00.000Z

It was my birthday last Tuesday so on the Saturday before Neil and I went to London to the British Museum to see the Grayson Perry exhibition (which has now been extended, so if you fancy making the trip it is now on until 26th February).

The only photos you can take of the exhibition are of his motorbike. I was really pleased to have been able to see the exhibition. It's very varied using pieces from the museum's own collections alongside pieces made by Grayson and some that he had designed. The displays give you a brief insight into Grayson's life which is very complex. I'm reading his biography at the moment, I haven't read a book in ages so you can tell how good it is.

On Saturday evening we went to the Tower of London to watch the ceremony of the keys. We had a Yeoman Warder as our guide. They do not like to be referred to as Beefeaters, they see that as an insult. It relates back to the days when they were paid with an allowance of beef. Did you know that there are 44 plus families living inside the tower grounds? To become a Yeoman Warder you have to have served a minimum of 22 years in the armed forces and it is a job for life. We were told a lot of other interesting facts but I can't remember them. This is a free event and takes place every evening but you do have to book.

This was the view from our hotel, we stayed at the Grange City hotel. The hotel building used to be Midland Bank's head office mail centre (in the days before HSBC) and in the mid eighties when Neil worked for the Bank in the City the staff canteen was on the top floor with this view. This seems to be a trend as he worked in two other buildings in the City that have now been converted to hotels, perhaps we'll try those soon!

I am so pleased, I've finished my holes. Lacing the fabric over the mount board took a while. I had to work with all the gathers and pleats but I got there in the end. I'm going to take it to the framers tomorrow.

Much Better

2012-01-07T18:24:00.000Z

I took another picture of my Wonky Log Cabin and it has come out much better.

Something else I have been working on is this star quilt. It was quick to make and I enjoyed it, so much so that I'm thinking about making another one. For a different colourway check out Pam's blog. Pam is teaching it in April.

Enjoy your weekend and Gina if you read this I hope you're feeling better.

Wonky Log Cabin Finished

2012-01-05T22:05:00.000Z

Remember these?

I finished putting them together a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be to connect them to each other. I thought all I'd need to do was measure accurately but that doesn't mean it's pleasing to the eye so there was a lot of adjusting going on but I got there in the end. I wish I'd taken a better picture though, I'l take another one tomorrow this one doesn't show it at it's best.

I've called the hanging Attitude.

Lost In Lace

2012-01-02T17:14:00.000Z

Last Tuesday Neil and I went to Birmingham to see the Lost In Lace exhibition.

These pictures are of the floor in the Gas Hall and I know that Pam in particular would like to see them.

The Gas Hall itself is a beautiful building and well worth a visit.

The exhibition was amazing, it doesn't finish until the 19th February so there is still time to visit.

There are exhibits of traditional lace on show, how it was made and its uses; and there is modern interpretation. The artists have played with scale and there are some very large pieces, the exhibition certainly challenges the uses of lace, and the way that you think of it.

2011-12-28T20:10:00.001Z

I will never understand blogger that's for sure. I've just logged on to do this post and things have changed again and so far it's not promising as one picture has already disappeared.

This is the stocking I made for Ellie, it's different on either side.

Here she is wearing it.

We did have her to stay for the night on Friday and she was as good as gold. She had her last bottle at 9.30pm and slept right through until her father woke her and us at 7.30am ringing to say he was coming to collect her. As you can imagine I wasn't overly joyed at been woken up but Ellie just smiled. On Christmas Eve we all went on The Santa Special, here's Ellie with her mum and dad (and Dave the Clown).

We had a lovely christmas, time spent with family and friends. I hope you had a good one.

Elfing Around

2011-12-19T22:04:00.000Z

Last week I started on my preperations for Xmas. I know I've left it rather late but never mind at least I'm trying. (mmm isn't she trying....(NLW))

So far I have managed to make three stockings and believe me that was trying enough. Years ago I made some for the children, when they were considerably younger. I had a lovely pattern, very easy and worked every time, so I kept it. Do you think I can find it? No of course not! Anyway I wasn't going to let this beat me - oh no (many a word said in jest) so I drew around one of the stockings and made my own pattern. That was easy enough, but I didn't have any instructions never mind, that wasn't going to stop me, I mean how difficult can it be to make a stocking? Well let me tell you if you're not having a good day it can be b....y difficult. Everything was going fine, I put the first one together so easy and I was proud of myself my homemade pattern had worked. Or so I thought, oh no it hadn't , when I held up the stocking the loop was on the very top edge which would be the bottom edge of the cuff when the cuff is folded over. That's no good so I picked it out of the seam and sewed it back on in the right place on the outside of the stocking.

Amy's stocking was completed.

Now for stocking number two which is for Nicki. You'd expect this one to be perfect wouldn't you, everyone learns from their mistakes, don't they? No not in my case, yet again it was the hanging loop that was the wrong. So for a second time I unpicked the loop from the seam and sewed it back on - on the outside.

Now it was time for number three and Steph's stocking. By now I had learnt my lesson I didn't even attempt to insert the hanging loop.I made the stocking and attatched the loop on the outside without even considering inserting it. At last job done and three stockings made, I've just got one more to make but it's a little bit more special.

One thing I did manage to do and found very easy was to make a paper flower. It's just there on the tree in amongst all the other decorations. If I make another eleven of those I can stick them altogether and have a flower ball.

I thought I'd share this picture with you, It's our own little elf who had a date with santa later in the day. Don't you think she looks the part?

Sleeping Beauty

2011-12-14T09:24:00.000Z

I've finished my wreath and it's now hanging up.

Something else that's finished is my little felted wall hanging. You can't see on the picture but I put some Angelina fibres in with the wool tops and when the light catches them they have a nice little sparkle - nothing too bright.

Friday evening we got to babysit this little girl. She is very cute and cuddly but not very entertaining, all she does is sleep.

This is her 'I'm sleeping leave me alone' pose, which she is very good at.

This is her 'ok you didn't get the message now go away' pose.

Next Friday we may have her for the whole night (yippee) she's bound to be awake at some point then.

Having Fun

2011-12-09T22:59:00.000Z

As we were having a quiet day in the shop today Dawn and I thought we might like to do something a little different. We decided to have a go at making a Poinsettia wreath using the pages from an old book to make the flowers and leaves. This isn't our idea, it came from here .

First we drew our flowers and leaves.

Then the fun bit we painted the flowers, leaves and berries.

Here's Dawn enjoying herself in the bright sunshine.

These are Dawn's flowers.

These are mine. The highlights or little white spots were added using a tippex pen.

I cut mine out this evening and now all I need to do is glue them onto a wreath.

This was fun to do, it didn't take long or cost much and could easily be done by children, not sure what that says about us, except that maybe we like the simple things in life now and again.

Holes

2011-12-08T18:52:00.000Z

Yesterday we had a meeting of Spectrum and I was able to ask Gina for advice on colours. As you know I wasn't at all sure about the purple thread I had chosen. Gina was convinced that it was actually the right colour and I needed to work some more knots to be able to get a true picture. She was right.

This is a sample I made using four other colours none of which looked right. Although I enjoyed making it as the thread is beautiful to work with.

Anyway I have now managed to work my way around one of the big splodges. I wish you could see this in real life the colours are so much better than they appear on here.

Here's a close up, but the colours don't look much better. I must have worked thousands of knots and there's probably thousands more to do. Guess what I'm off to do now!

Absence

2011-11-28T18:35:00.014Z

It's been a long time since my last post, I haven't been getting on with blogger at all. It wouldn't load my pictures, I kept trying for days then when it did it took 5 hours to load 1 picture so after weeks of trying I gave up and then last week it decided that I wasn't allowed to comment on other blogs saying that I had no acess to the pages. Well I'm sure you can imagine my frustration and what I wanted to do to the computer, then last night Neil asked if I'd given up for good which made me even more frustrated thinking a stupid bit of metal and plastic had beaten me, so here I am again having another go and so far so good. If this post works I'm going blog hopping tonight to see what I've missed so fingers crossed.

I have been very busy and there's been lots going on in the shop that I haven't been able to post about but never mind.

I've been busy working on my holes. I'm really enjoying the hand embroidery it's proving to be very therapeutic. Last week I started to use one of the purple colours but it doesn't look at all right it's difficult to see from the pictures. For the first picture I laid it over the dark purple fabric that will go underneath when it's finished.

This picture was taken with it just laying on the table, the purple thread looks very stark. I think I need to use paler shades of purple or not bother at all. I'm going to try the paler ones first of course before making a decision.

Something else I'm working on is getting into the Xmas spirit. Time seems to have passed by so quickly this year I really don't feel at all ready for it and have no desire to go Xmas shopping. We have already had two cards and it's not even December. More importantly though it's Steph's birthday on Saturday and I know I bought her a card a long time ago (as always because birthday cards this time of year tend to be naff) and I put it somewhere safe but can I find it? I haven't got long to find it because we are going to Wales on Thursday for a few days and a couple of exhibitions at Newport.

Anyway I have digressed, back to the Xmas spirit. Today I have been making Xmas trees, here they are on the floor of my sewing room.

More pieces waiting to be put together.

Fingers crossed this posts successfully.

Calico

2011-10-26T09:36:00.000+01:00

This week we have a local group called Calico exhibiting at the shop. The ladies are members of the Peterborough Embroiderers Guild, it is only a small exhibition but the work is wonderful. They are clearly experienced ladies who take great pleasure in what they do. The four following photos are of some of their work on show there is more to see all of a high standard. If you're passing and get the chance to pop in and have a look they would be pleased to see you.

I am making progress on my picture. I've finished all the eyelets and it's all hand stitching from now on. I don't do a lot of hand stitching but I'm enjoying this. It seems to be something I'm enjoying more often these days although I'm sure I won't be a convert. I'm embroidering colonial knots, lots of them in lovely silk thread from Mulberry Silks. I'm going to use five different colours of thread for the knots, the idea is that they will blend in with the eyelets but add texture and then there will be some beads for shine and richness. That's the hope anyway so I had better go and do some more.

Take Two

2011-10-20T10:16:00.001+01:00

Take two pumpkins, cut open and scrape.

Then chop.

Turn to pulp, allow to cool and freeze ready to make muffins for the all nighter that we are having at the shop. It will be a long night but lots of fun and then off for a cooked breakfast in the morning.

Last Saturday Gina came to teach Diva Dolls. Lots of heads were made and lots of rolling around with laughter. The ladies had a great time and discusions were going on about boob sizes, clothes, shoes and colours. Gina is back this Saturday for the second part of the workshop to finish the dolls. Unfortunately I will be in Germany so I won't get to see them finished. I'm relying on Pam for lots of pictures.

Yesterday I made this. A table runner for Steph, I thought it might cheer her up. It did, she likes it very much.

I should really have been working on this. It's going to be a hanging/picture to be shown in the Spectrum exhibition next year. I'm sure teacher will understand, I know she has been distracted from degree work.

I have enjoyed working on this piece - making the eyelets can be quite therapeutic to work although sometimes it can be monotonous. I'm going to do some hand stitching and beading as well.

Steph is finding things a little difficult without painkillers, she spent all day yesterday in bed but she does look a little bit better. A lot of very kind people have sent get well wishes for Steph and she is grateful to you all. Sometimes I think that no one reads my blog as I don't get many comments but over the last few weeks it has become very clear that actually there are a lot of people that do read it so I will carry on blogging. I would like to thank you all for the the kind wishes for Steph and all the congratulations on becoming grandparents. Ellie is doing very well putting on weight and sleeping a lot. I think she's got flat batteries. We baby sat on Saturday evening the first time she had been left with any one we felt very honoured she was as good as gold and we enjoyed every minute. Except for some reason Neil felt it necessary to complain that he didn't get many cuddles-I really don't understand how that could have happened.

Not Getting Any Where Fast

2011-10-11T12:06:00.000+01:00

I've had a hectic week since I last blogged. I feel as though I haven't achieved very much at all but I know

I haven't stopped all week. Now blogger is playing up - when I started there were three pictures on here but I haven't got a clue where the third one has gone.

I have managed to finish a couple of cushion covers.

The white and green one was started in one of Pam's classes. I'm very pleased with it, not my usual colours but very pretty. The embroidered pieces were cut from a tablecloth that really had seen better days and I had been given the lace a few months ago so a bit of recycling going on there. I think I may be doing some more of this.

This one is made up from the practice star block I did before I made the star quilt for Nicki and Anthony and rather than waste the block I wanted to do something useful with it, I think it turned out very well. I've given this one to Pam for the tombola next month.

On Sunday we had a lovely family lunch for those who had not yet met the newest member of the family. Yes I did cook, I made two lasagnes and a chicken and pasta dish for Sam's girlfriend and a scrumptious desert but didn't think about taking a picture until we had eaten it.

Unfortunately Steph and Nick couldn't be with us they already had arrangements to go to Yorkshire for a birthday celebration, which they had to leave early because Steph was ill. She has not had a good week at all. She has been very poorly and the GP referred her to the hospital last week. We spent a whole day in Peterborough Hospital and I mean a whole day. We arrived in time for a 10.00am appointment and walked out at 4.40pm. Apart from making sure that there wasn't a serious problem with her eyes nothing else was achieved. Peterborough Hospital really is awful, it's filthy, the staff (and by staff I mean nurses and doctors) are rude and there certainly isn't any element of care, we were there all day without a drink or any lunch and every time we asked how much longer they said 'you're next' so of course I didn't dare nip off to buy some lunch. When Steph mentioned this to the doctor at the end of the day his reply was "it's not my fault". We have been told by the GP to make a complaint as this wasn't the only thing that went wrong during our visit. I've spoken to her this morning and she really isn't very well but she has an appointment this evening at the Queen's Hospital in Nottingham so fingers crossed that this visit goes much better. I don't think it could be much worse really, I will let you know.

Baby Baby Baby

2011-10-01T09:52:00.001+01:00

I apologise now for all the baby pictures but she is a cutie. All these pictures were taken when she was about 16 hrs old. She is such a good baby, she only cries to be fed every four hours (how civilised is that) or if her nappy is dirty, the rest of the time she just sleeps.

Here's proud grandad.

Blogger has turned this photo round.

The proud parents.

Stephanie with her niece.

Me with the little bundle of joy.

I have managed to do some sewing, I think I did it in my sleep.

My little felted hanging with some more hand stitching. I keep picking it up ready to do some more stitching but I have to stop myself because really it's got enough on it already but I enjoyed making it so much.

I have made another cushion cover for Pam's tombola but I forgot to take a picture, will do that next week.

These lovely flowers are from Neil to celebrate the 15 years that we have been together, aren't they lovely.

Sneak preview

2011-09-27T09:37:00.002+01:00

From a proud grandad!

See Angela's earlier post today too!

Waiting Over

2011-09-27T09:36:00.000+01:00

Well she is finally here. Nicki had been in labour since last Wednesday, she saw the midwife on Friday who said baby would put in appearance at the weekend and after several visits to hospital over the weekend they finally kept her in on the fourth visit and got things moving along. Ellie was born at 10.06pm yesterday and how about this for a play with numbers she weighed 6lb10oz. Mum and baby are fine Anthony is on cloud 9. We are going to see them this afternoon so there will be some pictures soon.

I'm really enjoying working on this hanging. I unpicked the stitching I didn't like and now I'm doing some running stitch but I have to keep stopping to make sure I don't get carried away and do too much. The silk thread is lovely to work with and it has a lovely sheen in the light. I think I'll be making at least one more of these.

Still Waiting

2011-09-20T13:19:00.000+01:00

Get the balloons out I've finished something! It's a cushion cover cover for the tombola that Pam is doing to raise money for the Quilters Guild.

I saw a quilt on a blog and liked the pattern so I thought I'd have a go at making one myself and this was was my test block. It worked as you can see, so rather than just put it to one side or in the bin I've made it into a cushion cover.

This is my purple square that has got to be handed in to teacher next month. The next and last one is pink and I'm all out of ideas.

Remember the bumper and quilt I made for the crib, well it's now in-situ and waiting for baby - just like the rest of us.

Look at the size of her, you'd think she'd get a move on wouldn't you. She is fed up now this was Nicki two days ago.

Anthony said I had to show you this. He wants baby to to wear this when she comes home from hospital, Nicki doesn't, she wants her to look like a little girl. I think Anthony is little over excited.

Last weekend we had a heart bargello class with six ladies on the course so that they had plenty of room to spread out.

This is Caroles quilt, she's looking pleased as punch and so she should.

This is another Carole with her quilt. Carole was so pleased with herself for getting this far considering she arrived late on Saturday.

Here's Polly with her quilt and grinning from ear to ear she was so pleased with the result.

I think they all did a great job and the ladies who didn't finish haven't got much left to do but didn't want pictures taken because they hadn't finished but they looked just as nice and have promised to bring them back and show us.

This is a hanging I'm making inspired by the yellow square I made a little while ago. I have started doing some hand embroidery on it but I'm really not happy with it. I looked at it again this morning and I'm definitely not happy with it so it's coming out.

Having Fun

2011-09-17T10:42:00.000+01:00

These prints are from the mono printing that I did last week at the Spectrum meeting. It was a great day and such a fun technique. It really is very simple and you don't need a lot of equipment which means it doesn't take long to set up or clear up.

The green ones are done using acrylic paint and a drying extender. I wouldn't bother to use that method again the results are not that good but at least I tried it and now I know.

The blue ones are done using a water soluble oil paint that Gina bought with her and very kindly let us try out. The oil paint was much more sucessful and I was very happy with the results. I'm going to get some of these paints and do some more printing I enjoyed it that much.

The brown ones are done using the oil paints as well. The leaves I used for the prints were found on a nature walk that teacher sent us on very close to the village hall.

These three prints were done by laying the paper straight onto the paint and drawing on the reverse. I'm sure this technique would not have worked if I had used the acrylic paint and drying extender, I think the paint would have been too wet.

These three are my favourites, of course the poppies found their way in.

There will definitely be some more poppy prints.

Time

2011-09-14T09:17:00.000+01:00

Where does all the time go? Looking at my last post it has clearly been a little while since I last blogged but the time has gone by so quickly.

Steph is still suffering with her headaches and has been prescribed Beta Blockers and pain killers.

The baby is due a week tomorrow, Anthony is so excited and Nicki is huge and fed up.

Last week was the start of a new term and the first meeting of Spectrum. I had a lovely day. We spent time having a catch up with a show and tell, it was nice to see what everyone had been up to. There was certainly a lot of nice work and some wonderful sketchbooks. I spent the afternoon having a go at Mono Printing and I really enjoyed it, I'll show you the results another time.

I handed in the two squares I'd done during the summer break. I really like this turquoise one and I'm going to make a hanging based on it. The picture doesn't show it at its best, I think there's too much light and you can't see the stitch detail or the beads.

This is my blue one, strips of fabric laid down and some hand embroidery. I used just one stitch (fly stitch) and various thicknesses of thread. It's not one of my favourites.

Now all that's left to do is a purple and a pink square, think I'll go and make a start.

Prettiness

2011-08-30T10:01:00.000+01:00

I made some more flowers this weekend. The first one is for Gill, she wanted a flower for her bag I hope the colours are ok - she asked for turquoise and orange.

These are three that I've made for Pam for her tombola stall.

This one is for Steph she wanted a pink flower with orange leaves.

Busy Busy Busy

2011-08-27T10:09:00.000+01:00

It's been another really busy week around here and there hasn't been much time for creativity. Anthony has moved out this week in his usual chaotic style.

Both he and Nicki seem to be happy and are counting down to baby's arrival. They have everything in place - the pram is assembled, the cot is up and the rocking cradle is ready with a lovely little quilt and matching bumper.

They have all the other paraphanalia that goes with babies - nappies, dummies, bottles, babyclothes, blankets, toys, monitors , even toys for the bath but I think that is more to do with Anthony!

The house is very quiet without him he always was the child with the most to say and still is, I shall miss him.

Steph has been very poorly. She is still suffering with the headaches and been sick necessitating several visits to the doctors and an evening in AandE. Because the headaches are stopping her from getting any sleep she was prescribed some sleeping tablets but had an allergic reaction to them which got progressively worse. She should have had some more tests this week but was unable to have them done so this has put her further back. I feel so sorry for her she really is suffering at the moment.

On a much nicer note though when I got home yesterday the postman had left an envelope all the way from Australia with some goodies inside.

There was a little handmade doll, very cute and the fabric is lovely the picture doesn't do it justice.

The doll was accompanied with a needlepoint kit and a very sweet card made by Penny the very kind lady who sent me all this loveliness.

I have managed to make this flower brooch for Pam. A while ago I made a little zip up purse/bag for Barbara and Barbara has been taking great delight in tormenting Pam because she hasn't got one. Well now Pam has got something Barbara hasn't! Honestly and I thought the children had left home.

I'm hoping to have some time over the weekend to be creative. Enjoy your bank holiday weekend.

A New Skill

2011-08-23T10:23:00.000+01:00

I've always wanted to know how make crochet flowers and now thanks to YouTube I can. The red flower was made following the instructions to the letter, the green one is my adaptation. It's got an extra petal and I think it's much nicer.

I bet if I looked I could find a video for sock making. I tried to make some a while ago and I managed one sock but when it came to the other half of the pair and I got to the bit where you turn the heel I couldn't remember how I'd done it so they went in the bin. So I'm very tempted to look and have a go.

I've done a few more pages in my sketchbook . This one is my favourite at the moment.

I'm not sure that there will be much creativity this week due to a lack of time. We are very busy in the shop this week and Anthony is moving out. Baby is due in 5 weeks or thereabouts so they want to get all comfy and settled before their peace and quiet is shattered. They have got their house looking lovely and Anthony has done a fantstic job of the renovation, he has fitted a lovely kitchen and bathroom. I wish I had their bathroom - it's huge. Anyway I must go and do some work now.

Festival Of Quilts

2011-08-12T09:24:00.004+01:00

Yesterday Neil and I went to the festival of quilts and we had a lovely day. There was some stunning quilts on display.

The Meerkats quilt was a group effort, such fun.

A lot of you probably recognise the next quilt, it's Pams doesn't it look fabulous hanging there.

A quilt show wouldn't be a show with out some poppies would it?

More poppies because they are my favourite.

This is Julie's quilt.

This astonishing piece won the best amateur quilt prize - some amateur! The quilt is quite exceptional, Neil says it's the best in show, if not ever!

Next is Jenny's quilt. Jenny doesn't have a blog, the photo's on the quilt are of her family and I can truthfully say that blood sweat and tears went into the making of this quilt, sadly Jenny's father passed away before it was finished.

I'm going back to the festival on Sunday with a group of friends and I'm hoping it won't be quite as busy. If your making the trip then enjoy your day you won't be disappointed.

Something In Blue

2011-08-09T09:32:00.000+01:00

I've done some more sketchbook work. I placed one of my stencils in the middle of the page and cut around it and repeated this on the page underneath. Then came the hard job of eating some Quality Street because I needed the wrappers. I used the wrappers on the back of the cut outs layering them as I went.
I put a piece of plain paper underneath to get a better picture.

This is the other side. I used water soluble crayons to colour this page and I really like it.

Even though it's the summer holidays Gina has given us homework, we have to make a Blue square and a Turquoise one.
This is my blue one. I thought it might be nice to work in just one stitch. Using a blue fabric I covered it with strips of different blues and worked Fly stitch in tapestry wools and a rayon thread in different shades of blue.

Now if you want some really exciting news just hop over to Pam's blog.

A special visitor! (with 6.00pm update)

2011-08-04T12:56:00.005+01:00

We were delighted to see our good friend Jennie Rayment this morning! She popped in to see us in-between filming at Ideal World Create and Craft, and did an impromptu book signing while she was here.

Her new book 'Foldy Rolly Patchwork Pzzazz' is literally hot off the press and is fabulous! We have a few signed copies available at the shop (or by post at £14.75 post-free) if you're interested.

We are working with Jennie on a very special event later in the year, and will post more details as soon as we can.

6.00pm Update: Thanks for the name-check on national TV this evening Jennie, we're delighted you enjoy your visits to Art and Stitch so much!

Sketchbook Work

2011-08-03T19:28:00.000+01:00

I've done some more sketchbook work and I've been enjoying it.

Following Gina's example for using a stencil I combined two and used a metallic oil pastel in purple. It's very difficult to see that it's metallic from the picture but it looks very striking over the white card.

Much more subtle against the red page.

Here I used a white oil pastel and mixed purple and red Kohi-I-Noor colours together to fill in the poppies and then I cut away some of the page to reveal part of the underlying page.

I worked some more on the combined stencils page adding some texture. The top of the seed head is covered in the tiniest dark purple beads and I added a few words using my stamps.

This is the page that lies underneath the cut away page.

I took this picture so that you could see the beads on the surface.

This is my favourite page. I used water soluble crayons in various shades of red, orange, yellow and a dark purple mixing them all together. It made such a nice smooth surface to work on that I was reluctant to use it but I did. I'll show you the results in my next post I'm waiting for it to finish drying.

The tumbling block quilt is finished and has recieved lots of nice comments.

I've made a start on putting the pink and green star blocks together for Anthony and Nicki's quilt. I'm hoping to get the top put together today.

The purple and green log cabin hanging is coming along nicely and I've ordered the perspex rod for displaying it.

I must go and get on with the stars now.

Round Two

2011-07-28T09:41:00.000+01:00

I have started another sketchbook the first two pages are the same as before, well almost I did make another stencil. Looking back at the two colours I've decided to stick with red. I know that will make it the same as Gina's but red and poppies have been my favourites for some time now and you just can't change things like that. I'm clearly not finished with poppies and I already have another project in mind but on a large scale.

Here I've added some words but it doesn't show very well. On the green page I used some stamps that I've had for a while which came in a very cute box but I can't remember where from. The letters used on the red page came from the local newspaper. I really enjoyed doing this. So much so that I have already made another stencil for the next page.

This is the cute stencil box, just incase you wanted to see it.

Now for a real treat. Look what I made all by myself and probably never again. It's social stitching today so I made cakes to go with the tea.

I hope there's enough.

A Bag For Ellie

2011-07-27T10:07:00.000+01:00

I've finished the big bag and I have to say it's very nice. Baby now has a name, Ellie- until they change their minds again!

I have started on my sketchbook and I'm still working with poppies, they are so pretty. My drawing skills are still lacking.

But I think you can see which two I chose to draw.

I did this step last night, when I'd finished I thought it wasn't very positive and I had doubts but now it's had a chance to dry properly I am quite pleased with it.

The work was done in the sketchbook that I started last year but I've decided to start another one so I'm back to square one.

See this old lady she's been sitting on my window sill for quite a few years now and I think it's time for a change. She is very old fashioned looking and fading quite badly but I'm not going to throw her out I'm just going to make a few alterations maybe something in red and black. Any suggestions?

Coincidence

2011-07-19T10:09:00.000+01:00

How about this for a coincidence? I started this bag a couple of months ago (I'd had the fabric for quite a while as you can imagine) so I cut it into 5" squares and set about the making and that's as far as it got.

On Sunday evening I was looking throught the new issue of Australian Homespun which happens to be the Christmas issue and is full of great ideas for gifts and decorations. Anyway I digress, but look at what I found. The bag I'm making, it looks very similar even if it isn't the same one. I obviously have good taste.

Think I'd better go and do some work now.

Finished

2011-07-15T10:14:00.000+01:00

I finished the quilt last night and I'm very happy with it. Can't imagine why I didn't finish it sooner!

Here's a close up of the binding and quilting.

So pretty.

I have at last made a decision about how to finish the edges of my Wonky Log Cabin. You can see on this sample that I've tried binding in both colourways. I did consider the orange-but not for long, I'm going to bind them in the accent colour used in the block. I think this helps to give each block a strong and positive finish. It feels as though the hanging is really starting to come together now and I may have decided how to join the blocks together, just need to do another sample to try out my idea.

Today I'm hoping to do a little more quilting on this.

I'm hoping to get to Gina's on Sunday for the Open Artists Studios . Hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Finishing and Wishing

2011-07-14T08:59:00.000+01:00

Tuesday was a day for a special cake. It's the birthday of one our regular customers on Sunday but she comes in every Tuesday with a group of ladies so to celebrate we had a Sainsburys special (any excuse) and it was very nice.

There has also been new fabric and they are gorgeous. It's a linen and is wider than the normal bolt of fabric.

I can't wait to make a bag using these fabrics.

More linen.

This is what I'm finishing. I made this quilt last year and it was my first try at free motion quilting but I wasn't happy with it so it just got left in a dark corner somewhere. On Sunday Neil and I tidied up the store room and this was one of the things that we found. Looked at with a fresh set of eyes I realised that actually the quilting wasn't that bad and I should stop being a drama queen and just get it finished. Of course there is another reason to finish it now that there is a granddaughter on the way.

I love the crochet trim I used on it.

So the binding was made and is now been stitched, all we need now is the grandaughter but there's a little while to go yet.

I'm hopeful the quilt will be finished today, I'm going to go and do some stitching now whilst I've got a few minutes of free time.

Not Much

2011-07-05T09:25:00.000+01:00

There hasn't been much creativity going on since my last post. Last week Neil and I went to Wales for a few days. Unusually I said it wasn't long enough - normally I can't wait to get back!. Unfortunately before we went I'd been ill with an awful cold and throat infection that made me lose my voice for two days. Neil was happy though. But I was so tired and just getting over being poorly that I wasn't able to appreciate the break.

All I've managed in the last three weeks is 20 star blocks. I wouldn't have managed these if it hadn't been for Barbara. I think I may have driven her mad, I was having trouble concentrating but we got there in the end.

I am so far behind with everything including all the blogs I usually read, there must be a lot for me to catch up on, I'm hoping to read a few blogs today so I'm off to start now.

My Lovely Husband

2011-06-09T08:57:00.000+01:00

Bought me this book and it's earnt him a lot brownie points. It's a beautiful book full of wonderful pictures and lots of inspiration. Looking through it made me wish even more that I could draw. This is the sort of book that you never tire of looking through. I'm hoping to go to the gallery in a few weeks.

Here's a few snapshots of a couple of pages.

Today there is cake for social stitching. I'm going to enjoy a slice of this! yum yum.

An Enjoyable Weekend

2011-06-08T09:37:00.000+01:00

I hope you all enjoyed the weekend. Neil and I went to Easton Walled Gardens again. It's so nice there even though it's right on the A1. The changes in the garden were clearly visible and the Sweet Peas were just coming into flower, we must go back in a couple of weeks to see them in full bloom.

Saturday evening we went to Pam's for a barbecue. Pam had made two moussakas (one with potato) and it was lovely. So nice there wasn't any left and that's the best kind of compliment to pay the chef. Caroline (Pam's daughter) was there with her fiance whom we hadn't met before so it was nice to meet him and the rest of his family.

I've finished the green square.

The bag got finished yesterday. I like it now,once I started to quilt the fabric it seemed to bring it all together and I think it's turned out to be a nice fun bag. Unfortunately the picture doesn't show it at its best the colours are much brighter.

Don't think I'll have much time to be creative today but I'm going to try.

Getting Ahead

2011-06-03T10:40:00.000+01:00

When Spectrum has its next meeting I will be on holiday, Gina said the colour for next time would be green so I'm been very good and I've started my green square. I'm trying to get ahead instead of been behind do you think I'll get a gold star from teacher?

I've been messing around with the cut and come again technique. I'm not sure I like this one as much, I didn't do any curved seams but I did do a diagonal one. Anyway I'm hoping to turn it into a bag today so I'll decide when I have a finished bag.

As promised a picture of Vanessa's Bargello quilt.

I'm now going to go and make the bag.

A Good Day

2011-06-02T10:07:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was Spectrum's monthly meeting. I had a great day beause Gina's challenge for this month was to make a yellow square and I got mine done during the day and I'd made a ginger cake so for once I was a good girl.

I think this may be the start of something with dasies.

Now I have three squares.

Just in case I do get a fixation with dasies when I got home I rushed outside and took some pictures before the lawn was cut and the daisies were no more.

Then I spied some buttercups and took pictures of those because you never know.

We Have A winner

2011-05-31T09:59:00.000+01:00

First things first here are the 9 names in the giveaway.

Dawn did the draw for me.

The winner is....... Gina.

I have done my Orange square and managed to get both squares mounted, the only productive thing I did last week.

We had a two day workshop Saturday and Sunday. The ladies were making Bargello quilt tops and they all did a fantastic job.

This is Jacqui with her top.

Anne, who used blues and creams.

Carole, you can't see from the picture but she used metallic fabric and her top looked very rich.

Gill who used Amy Butler fabric. This top looks very fresh and summery.

Margaret, holding a panel from her top. Margaret and Jean are ambitious ladies all the others used seven fabrics to make their tops but not these two they decided to use fourteen and this is why Margaret is holding up a panel. You can see enough to know how the pattern is going to look. Margaret used batik fabrics.

This is Polly's.

I'm two pictures missing - Jean who didn't want to stop sewing and I don't blame her using fourteen fabrics and Vanessa who will be in today so I'll be able to get a picture and show you later in the week.

150th

2011-05-28T12:15:00.000+01:00

On Thursday Neil and I went to the Mall Galleries London to see the Prism exhibition. As usual there was some stunning work. I did take some photos, but no paper and pen to make notes and record who had done which piece of work. Very remiss of me. I did try to buy a pen but they didn't sell them and didn't offer to lend me one. Anyway I will share a few of the pictures with you.

Just look at these seagulls. I was worried that this picture wasn't going to come out very well but it's OK you can see them very clearly.This is a lovely pieceof felted work by Ali Brown.

One day I'm going to have a go at making felted pebbles. These ones are very textural which doesn't come across in the picture but I thought they would act as my inspiration for when I have the time. The pebbles are the work of Davida Macdonald and the picture in the programme is far better than mine.

The next two pictures really don't do this piece of work justice. The colours were much brighter and the work is very detailed. The other thing you don't get is an idea of the size of this piece. It's by Heather Hunter
and my guess is that she had a sore neck and shoulders whilst working on it.

This work is by Julieanne Long and I really liked the way she has used the cable clips.

Of course I'm sure you all know whos work this is..... Gina Ferrari. A lovely piece of work made using lace and snippets of printed text.

This is my 150th post, so carrying on with blogger tradition it's time for a giveaway. So I made a small bag/large pencil case, we call them a carry-it-all. When we go some where and can take hand sewing with us it usually all fits in one of these.

Of course no giveaway would be complete without chocolate. To enter the giveaway all you have to do is leave me a message by Tuesday morning and your name will go into a draw. Good luck.

Remember my red square from Gina's challenge? Next week we've got our monthly meeting of Spectrum and this square is supposed to be mounted but it's not. To make things worse I should also have an orange square to take to next weeks meeting mmm.........

I'm now going to start mounting the square and hopefully this will be finished today.

Finished and On-Going

2011-05-25T11:57:00.000+01:00

The crib bumper is now finished. I hand-sewed the binding whilst watching the Formula 1 on Sunday and when it finished I made the ties and attached them. This is such a cute and cheerful set, now all we need is the baby.

A few weeks ago Anne Stacey did a workshop called Cut and Come Again and I took part in the workshop. It was thoroughly enjoyable, all the other ladies made their fabric into wall hangings, but not me!

I used Amy Butler fabric from the Love range and made four pieces which I'm going to use in a few months to make a bag. I can't wait.

Just in case you haven't seen enough of the beautiful fabric here's a close up.

I think I may have another go at this today, it was so nice and easy to do and I can't be doing with anything complicated. So far it's been a bad week and this may just be enough to cheer me up.

This is my 149th post meaning that the next one will be a giveaway so I think I had better go and make something.

Baby Stuff And More

2011-05-19T09:46:00.000+01:00

This is the little quilt that I've made for the babys crib.

A close up of the cornerstone and you can see just how cute the little birds are.

As for the bumper, all I need to do is hand stitch the binding and make some ties for it. They know it's a girl but wanted something neutral for the crib. Baby is due 22nd September and so far has had two names, the first one been Hope and the current one Ellie. Both nice names but we'll wait and see.

On Tuesday I took part in Adult Education Awareness Week at the town hall and whilst I was there this is what I achieved. Not much I know but I was talking to people for some of the time. It's not finished, I don't know what I'm going to do with it but I am going to keep working on it.

But now I am going to make a start on quilting my Wonky Log Cabin.

Green Is For Go

2011-05-18T10:48:00.000+01:00

I have got all the blocks done now for my hanging and I just need to quilt them. I've been giving this a lot of thought and I'm going to try invisible thread because I don't want to detract from the visual impact of the fabric and colours.

I really like the way these two colours work together.

The next thing I need to think about is how to hang them all.

Sketchbook Work

2011-05-10T10:12:00.000+01:00

I have done a little more work in my sketchbook this weekend. I would have liked to get more done but there hasn't been a lot of time. Saturday I was at work and Sunday I helped Pam and Anne. Pam is area rep for region 9 of the Quilters Guild and the guild had a stand at a local craft show so I went along for the day to help out. Pam had worked very hard and organised a tombola to raise money for the guild. She made a lot of the prizes herself, we bought a few things and some very kind people donated items that they had made. The tombola was a huge sucess and raised £155 and the nicest thing of all was the handmade gifts which were recieved with great enthusiasm.

Anyway back to the sketchbook. This is a page from an old copy of Country Living, note the owl.

Continuing on from the work we were doing with Gina I have come up with my own interpretation of the owl.
I think he is a little scary though.

My necklace and bracelet are finished and I'm very happy with them. I covered an old box to keep them in as they really do need to be stored flat.

I particularly like the beaded fastening I made for the bracelet. The beads dangle very nicely when you are wearing it. You can just see them going of the edge of the picture.

Now I must go and do some work on my Log Cabin hanging.

At Last

2011-05-05T11:31:00.000+01:00

It has been a while since I last blogged, I did try last week but had so many problems just trying to load the pictures that I gave up. Anyway with Pam's help I've had better luck today. A lot has happened in the last few weeks mainly Easter and a Royal Wedding, didn't she look lovely?

I have been busy making and doing - I've got so much to do. This is some hand stitching that took a while, I'm going to free machine into it next. The plan is for it to be another piece of poppy related work.

This is my red square, as Gina pointed out I don't need to paint the fabric just use red fabric! I think I was having an off day when I painted the fabric, I was so tired and obviously not thinking straight. This wasn't the first square I made; that went in the bin because it was rubbish. I like this one though so I took it with me yesterday to the meeting of Spectrum. All the other ladies took theirs and they looked lovely all together and all different. This month Gina wants us to make an orange square...... she's so demanding :-)

Yesterday we worked on our sketchbooks. Gina showed us a technique of getting colour and shape into our books without the need to dtraw, so it was great for me. It was a nice day and I enjoyed the technique I'm hoping to do some more this evening.

As you can see I put more poppies in my book. I think I need to choose something else to work on and I could be developing a hankering for dasies.

I've got to go and work now it's getting busy.

Gina's Challenge

2011-04-15T10:46:00.000+01:00

On Wednesday I went to the monthly meeting of Spectrum. I nearly didn't go after everything that's been going on as I really wasn't looking forward to the drive, but I'm glad I made the effort.

Gina has decided to set us a monthly challenge.

First mark out a 4" square.

Then paint it red and wait for it to dry, but where do you put it when you don't want anyone else to go near it?

Problem solved, put it on a piece of baking paper (well what else do you use baking paper for) and just dump it on your sewing table along with the rest of your stuff!

Here's a piccie of the cards we have received and a beautiful orchid.

We're In !!!!!

2011-04-14T11:43:00.000+01:00

At last. We had a very busy weekend moving the shop. A lot of very kind people gave up their Sunday to help us and we wouldn't have managed without them. So thank you all we are very grateful.

Here are a few pictures of the new place, there will be more to follow. Ladies were queing outside on opening day which was exciting. We have had a lot of kind wishes, cards and pressies from customers It's been lovely to have so many people popping in.

These are the goody bags we gave out, all the ladies loved the little bags.

This is the first wonky log cabin block and I'm very pleased with it. It wasn't as easy to do as I thought it would be it takes a lot of concentration. Anyway must get on with some more and a challenge set by Gina which I will tell you more about in another post.

Let Them Eat Cake

2011-04-07T09:19:00.000+01:00

Apple cake for social stitching today, very nice with a cup of tea.

Iv'e finished the necklace and I'm very pleased with it. I'm not sure whether I should put some sort of backing on it, maybe felt, it just feels a little scratchy.

Our new sign is up and looking good.

As for the rest of it.........well lets just say it's work in progress.

Lots Of Pictures

2011-04-06T09:42:00.000+01:00

We had a great time in Wales last week and really didn't want to come back. I don't think we realised how tired we were, the rest was very welcome and we slept a lot.

Don't the Lambs look cute. I didn't take any mint sauce.

The lovely scenery even on a cloudy day.

Pictures of the resevoir, the water was so still like a large mirror.

A disused lead mine.

This picture should have been further up before the pictures of the resevoir but it's got jumbled up and I'm not even going to attempt to move it.

This picture was just because, it looks interesting and full of texture, Neil wasn't convinced but never mind.

More paper play, not the best picture though. This is roughly how the blocks will be but I haven't decided how they are going to hang. I can't decided whether I should sew them together so they hang in three rows or have them hanging in three rows but join the blocks with tabs. Something to ponder.

We've got a very busy week and even busier weekend ahead of us moving the shop but so far everything is going well. I will update you later in the week.

Paper Play

2011-03-26T10:31:00.000Z

This is why I spent an evening colouring in paper. I have been wanting to make a quilt in purple and lime for some time now but who wants a quilt in those colours? Log Cabin is my favourite block so I'm going to combine the two and make a Liberated or Wonky log cabin hanging.

This has been a very useful exercise to do. It has given me a clear indication of how the colours work together and I've already decided I don't like the pale green inner border the brighter green is much better and the block has come out far too square. So it's back to paper play today.

This is the book that I'm following/using for guidance. It's a lovely book and Janice is a very nice lady who produces beautiful work.

On Wednesday Steph had her hospital appointment. She has been diagnosed with chronic migraine and prescribed some tablets that so far seem to be making things worse. It's odd really, she says her head hurts more and she looks very pale and is being sick. She has to take one tablet every evening for two weeks and then increase to two tablets every evening so she has got to stick with them for a while before any conclusion can be drawn.

We are going to Wales on Monday for a few days so she is coming to stay with Anthony-not sure who will be looking after who but at least they will have each other and I won't worry quite so much.

Enjoy your weekend.

Progress In All Things

2011-03-25T13:41:00.000Z

What did you do yesterday evening? I spent some time colouring in paper (well there wasn't anything on telly) I do have a reason for this it wasn't just boredom! I'm going to make a purple and lime quilted hanging and as I hate drawing but like making I thought I could make a paper block first to make sure it's going to work. I'm sure I've said before that there's method in my madness or is it madness in my method? It all seems logical to me. More on this soon.

I have made good progress with the necklace and bracelet. I'm very pleased with these.

Here's a sneak peek at the new shop. More work in progress and so much more to do, but exciting.

Big News

2011-03-17T11:38:00.001Z

Art and Stitch is moving. Not very far (just 15 yards or so!) only to Unit 33 but to much much bigger premises. This mean a bigger work room (and in the near future a second workroom), a quilting frame that will be available to hire and more importantly much more fabric.

The new shop will open on Tuesday 12 th April and there will be goody bags for the first 50 customers!

Yesterday I went to the monthly meeting of the group that I belong to, the group name was Tension but nobody really liked the name so we have changed it to Spectrum, much nicer. We are going to be an exhibiting group and our first exhibtion has been arranged for February next year at Art Van Go. A big thank you goes to Gina our mentor for arranging this for us.

I had intended to work on my necklace yesterday but instead I made a bracelet to match and so now I have to make some more flowers for the necklace. The bracelet isn't finished yet I need to add some beads but it is looking very nice.

This is the back of the bracelet and you can see the grid that the flowers are stitched onto. The grid was worked onto water soluble fabric using flat braids.

For those of you that have been asking about Gina's class in May here are a couple of pictures of some of the things that Gina will be going through on the day.

A very pretty bag with a gorgeous flower. The flower has lots of possibilities, imagine it on a fancy cushion or as a brooch.

These Ivy leaves are just as beautiful and would make a great picture or wall hanging. Once you learn the technique all you need to do is follow your creative spirit and you will be creating textile treasures in no time.

Quilt Festival

2011-03-15T10:32:00.001Z

I didn't get much time to sew last week. I had hoped to have the necklace finished by now but best laid plans and all that mean it isn't. I'm going to try and get all the flowers done today.

They do look very pretty on the blue background.

On Sunday I went to Chilford for the quilt festival. I went with Pam and Steph, we had a great day, a lovely lunch and spent lots of money. I came away with five books - not sure how that happened but it's Pams fault!. Steph bought quite a lot of fabric, she obviously thinks she hasn't got enough but I know different and so will Nick when he gets home.

I will leave you with some photos of some of the quilts. The quilts were lovely it was a great exhibiton.

The Last Project

2011-03-08T09:46:00.000Z

This is my last project for my City and Guilds. It's going to be a necklace made from sheer fabric. It has taken a long time to get the right flower shape and in the end it all came down to a 50p piece.

Here you can see the relevance of the 50p. I ended up with a very nice shape and size I was a little worried how the flower would look as the flower shape had no detail on it. The detail was stitched in and it's worked very well I can already see other uses for these flowers.

Here's a close up of the stitched flowers.

Now all I need to do is decide on the shape of the necklace, how many flowers I will need and how to join it all together and of course make the flowers.

A Busy Time

2011-03-02T19:33:00.000Z

We have had a very busy couple of weeks in the shop, culminating in a stand at the Textiles In Focus Show at Cottenham. The show is organised by Pauline Verrinder; it went off very smoothly and was a real credit to her. The textile exhibition was fantastic, unfortunately I didn't take any photos but all those that took part in it are very talented.

Ladies from the Fibrefusion group were selling these little Jute bags in a wide range of colours and I just couldn't resist them, buying five in total. The bags were plain and I have added the decoration. Nothing complicated, a few suffolk puffs, buttons, beads and twill tape. They make nice little gifts.

The pink one for myself.

The orange one for Barbara with bells so we can hear her coming because there's no harm in a little warning!

Blue for Sam, who had a birthday today.

Pam's was yellow.

And last but not least a purple one for Stephanie.

A group photo of five old bags!

Stephanie had another visit to the doctor today for the results of last weeks blood test which showed a slight improvement in what the doctor was looking for but not enough. She now has a hospital appointment on 23rd March in London. She is still suffering with very bad headaches but seems to be coping fairly well. Another 6-8 weeks and Nick should be home, I'm sure that will go a long way to making her feel better.

Something Soft And New

2011-02-15T11:38:00.000Z

I've started quilting the border on my quilt, so far it's looking good. I hope you can see the quilting on the pictures. This is the back.

And the front.

This is the something soft and new. It is hand dyed wool from Blue Faced Leicester sheep and it comes from Wales. It has taken a year to get this in the shop but it was definitely worth the wait. It is sooooo tactile we can't help but scrunch it up.

Steph is still not well she really is suffering with those headaches. She is back at the doctors on Thursday as they now want to do a specific blood test to check on a blood vessel that runs down the side of the skull and she has got to have an E.C.G.

And as is if that wasn't enough yesterday she went to the dentist for a check up and ended up having a wisdom tooth out. She was so brave I really don't know how she got through it. I'm keeping as close an eye on her as I can but I wish she would come and stay with us I don't like the idea of her being on her own. I'm so looking forward to Nick coming home.

It's Worrying

2011-02-08T10:28:00.000Z

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto for last nights tea. Made by me without a recipe and it was lovely. Is this the start of the slippery slope?

The bottom of my shoe. I thought it was a very nice pattern and I'm sure I will be able to do some work in my sketchbook (when I find it) using this pattern.

Iv'e decided to go curvy on the border. I think it will look vey nice once it's stitched and the blue pen has been washed away. Barbara made the templates for me , she is our template queen and will spend hours making the right one. Hopefully today I wiil finish marking it up and you never know I might get some stitching done.

Yum Yum

2011-02-04T10:49:00.000Z

Spicy Pumpkin Muffins for afternoon tea.

This is the Quilt-a-Long quilt I made a little while ago. Last week I started quilting and I'm very pleased with it so far.

This is the back, I thought you might be able to see the quilting a bit better. All I've done is stitch a quarter of an inch either side of the seam. I would like to be a little bit more adventurous on the border but I'm not sure what to do. Any suggestions?

Hello

2011-02-03T09:08:00.000Z

I can't believe how quickly time passes by. It has been such a long time since my last post and so much has happened. Christmas and New Year have been and gone, I hope you all had a great time. We have been very busy in the shop and are working on exciting new plans for the year ahead including lots of courses.

Sparky has been poorly again, he has had an eye infection which led to an ulcer on his eye but luckily that responded to topical treatment and didn't need surgery just numerous visits to the vets.

Nick has gone to the Falkland Islands and isn't due back until April. We thought he may have to come back last week as Steph has been quite poorly. So there has also been visits to Peterborough and Stamford hospitals and doctors.

The biggest news of all came from Anthony when he announced that we are going to be grandparents. Baby is due sometime in September.

And I had a birthday so another year older!

These are some of the pressies I received. Pam made me a Scissor, Rotary Cutter and Odds and Sods case.

This is a Sewing Case also made by Pam.

And this is a Jewellery Roll made by Barbara. This little jewellery roll is very very special, Barbara really hates putting in zips and apparentley she wasted a lot of fabric with all the attempts in doing so. I am very grateful and it will be used.

This is a little snap shot of some christmas presents that I've made ready for this year. I know it's a bit early but I was in such a mess last year because I ran out of time that I made a New Years Resolution this year (something I have never done before) and it was not to be in a mess this christmas. Well thats the idea we shall just have to wait and see.

Please feel free to leave me a comment it's always nice to hear from you even if you haven't left a comment before and that includes you Monica!

An Unintended Break

2010-12-15T09:21:00.003Z

You may have noticed I've had a blogging break, It was unintentional but nice. I had been having so many problems with blogger that I just gave up. But the break had to be broken. When I got home yesterday as usual the postman had left a delivery, but not the usual kind.

Amongst the expected bills, flyers and xmas cards there was a xmas card from Gina. But it was more than just a xmas card there was a little package and inside the little package was this.

Doesn't it look beautiful, infact so beautiful I didn't open it until this morning. Look what was inside. These are postcards of Gina's lace work, which I'm eager to see in real life.

After opening the parcel which I did very very carefully I managed to get it wrapped up again so it is going into an envelope to be kept nice and clean for posterity.

How are your xmas preparations going, am I the only one who is miles behind?

A New Arrival

2010-11-26T09:46:00.003Z

These are the baby quilts I have made so far. They are so small but very cute.

On Wednesday a very nice delivery man brought me a parcel and I was just a little excited.

I was surprised as well because I only ordered it on Monday afternoon. It's a wonderful machine I love using it. The best thing I've discovered so far is the bobbin countdown, I think every machine should have one of those. It's great to have all that throat space for quilting.

I bet you can guess what Ill be doing this weekend.

A Rant

2010-11-18T09:17:00.003Z

Life is busy and I've been wondering if there is something I should be giving up just to take the pressure off a little but I couldn't decide on anything I would like to give up. Today however I am seeing things in a different light and I've realised there is one thing that right now I would give up very easily and it's blogging. I had a hard time yesterday trying to post and in the end I was in such a rush to post before blogger went berserk again and ate my photos or did something else weird I forgot to thank you all for your kind wishes about the shop so THANK YOU.

Today I had just one picture to load onto blogger and guess what it's turned the picture round. I didn't ask it to, I didn't tell it to, but it has.

These are baby quilts that I will be finishing today. They are for the special care baby unit at the Rosie in Cambridge. Apparently they need 50 a month so we have been encouraging people to use their left over fabrics to make some.

While the going is good I'm going to catch up on some other blogs.

I Don't Like Gremlins

2010-11-17T08:46:00.005Z

Congratulations to Sam H, she was the winner of the giveaway and this is what she won. Unfortunately it's a dreadful picture but the only one i've got.

This is the little quilt that I was piecing together last week. I'm very pleased with it, particularly the quilting. It's also very pretty and the photo doesn't do it justice.

Don't know if it's me or blogger but I've had real problems trying to do this post this morning - I hope it's not a sign of how the day is going to go. The stupid programme ate my pictures and kept randomly putting in links. I nearly gave up and wasn't going to post at all.

I'm going to start quilting the pheasant quilt today so my fingers are crossed for no more gremlins.

A Special Day

2010-11-11T11:48:00.003Z

Today is Art and Stitch birthday. We are two years old and they have been a wonderful two years. We have met so many lovely people, babies have been born, illness has been suffered, marriages have taken place, houses bought and sold and so much more. We have become a little community in our own right.

We have also seen some fantastic work, it has been lovely to see all the things that customers have and are working on.

All the teachers have been great with many of them returning time and time again.

As a treat Neil commissioned a birthday cake, I'm not sure how he managed to do this without me knowing. The cake was a real treat because Oliver (who owns and runs Kings Cliffe Bakery along with his wife Karen) doesn't make many birthday cakes. Tea and cake was enjoyed by everybody, the cake was as good as it looks .

If you are ever in the vicinity of Kings Cliffe then you really must make a visit to the bakery.

Their sausage rolls are the best ever and the pumpkin bread is lovely.

Thank you to everyone who has walked through our door over the last two years.

As it's a birthday I'm going to have a giveaway, with a twist. It's going to be a secret giveaway. If you would like to enter just leave a message before Monday evening. Good luck.

A Pretty Quilt

2010-11-06T09:24:00.005Z

These pictures are my goldwork samples. I didn't use gold coloured thread because I don't really like the colour which may be part of the reason I don't like the technique.

This was couching threads.

This next sample I enjoyed more and could immediately see lots of uses for it. It's padded - the correct name is raised work.

You can't really tell from the photo but it would be great for flowers or faces and lots more.

This is what I've been working on this week. It's the quilt made from the pieces cut on the Go Cutter.It has gone together so easily that I'm very tempted to make another one but slightly different. I thought it would be nice to make a block that included the star and the first border of squares, make six blocks like that put them together and you would have a nice size quilt. Now I just need some more time.

I have started the quilting, I'm trying to do something a little bit different and I'm enjoying it. Hopefully I'll get it finished next week. I'm not going to get much done this weekend.

Enjoy your weekend, today especially as the weather is being kind to us.

Time Please!

2010-11-02T08:52:00.005Z

Where does all the time go? I can't believe it's over a week since I last posted, I really could do with an extra day in my week. Home life has been busy and the shop has been hectic - but that's good! We have seen lots of lovely people, old friends and new. Some have been kind enough to bring in WIPs and finished projects. It's so nice to see what other people are doing and discuss ideas.

Last Wednesday was the second meeting of the stitching group I belong to and at last we have a name - 'Tension'. We had some homework which I have done but forgotten to photograph so I can't show you just now. We are still working on Goldwork, not my favourite subject but Gina is teaching us some useful techniques.

I did manage to get the attic window quilt top put together. I wasn't very happy with it but now I have seen it on here it looks much better than I thought it did. I obviously just needed to take a step back and look at it.

Yesterday this arrived at the shop. I have to say I was doubtful about this gadget but I've been having fun. I am about halfway through putting together a quilt top, all the pieces were cut on the cutter. I got the rep to cut them last week as a demo and I have noticed how much more accurately they have been cut. The pieces have gone together so easily and I haven't used anywhere near as many pins as I usually do trying to make the seams meet accurately. I have had to eat my words and admit I am impressed.

It also makes cutting so much quicker. Last night I spent an hour cutting 2 1/2" squares - it was so quick. I don't know how many I cut because there was too many to count . There are lots of different quilt blocks I would like to make but wouldn't have attempted to in the past just because of cutting, now I will.

Please please can I have some more time?

Back In The Swing Of Things

2010-10-21T09:28:00.005+01:00

It's been a long time since I last posted, time goes by so quickly these days.

Our holiday was a disaster, we arrived on the Saturday afternoon and left on the Monday morning. We are now in dialogue with Hoseasons (I think that's the polite way to put it) I don't hold out much hope but I could be proved wrong.

We have been very busy in the shop and I haven't had time to get much sewing done. I have finished my ATC's and cut some fabric to make another quilt.

These three fabrics are going to be Attic Windows. I really didn't want to start something else but this has got to be done because it is a christmas present and it's only 64 days to christmas!

Here are my ATCs - I'm so pleased they are finished. I enjoyed making them it was fun to work without any rules or instructions. It was a real free for all and I used things I've never used before in stitching and I would do it again.

2nd Post

2010-10-01T13:56:00.003+01:00

I won't make a habit of this but I just had to show you my first ever A T C. It's soo cute. I'm really pleased with it. This one is going to a special person so I've got more to make because teacher needs to see at least one.

I forgot to say earlier but I'm off on holiday tomorrow. Neil and I are taking a week off work and we are going to the Norfolk Broads. We are staying on a houseboat.

Nearly There

2010-10-01T09:08:00.004+01:00

Thanks to Barbara and Pam my quilt is now layered and basted just waiting to be quilted. I'm looking forward to doing the quilting. I have decided to do diagonal lines because it means that the little square in the middle of the blocks will become four little triangles and I think they will look very cute.

It doesn't show up very but using the rust dyed and painted fabrics I made another fabric ready to make the Artists Trading Cards.

The brown paper is from the bag the stamps came in, I have also used an old road atlas. The two small plain beige squares you can see are tea bags. I used some of my grandmothers cotton lace so they will be very special A T C s. There is even a label from a Layer Cake kindly donated by Pam.

Today I'm hoping to make at least one A T C.

Taking Things Further

2010-09-30T09:15:00.003+01:00

Remember the rust dyed fabrics? I got them out last night and decided they looked a bit plain and I needed to add some colour to them.

A little while ago I bought some lovely wooden stamps that I hadn't yet used so I got them out along with the fabric paint and this is what happened.

I'm not exactly pleased with the results but I haven't finished so I'm trying not to be too critical of the mess I have made. I am hoping to get some stitching done on the fabrics today. Our homework for the new group is to make an Artist Trading Card and I'm going to use this fabric for it.

This is my favourite stamp so I thought I would share a close up of it with you. So pretty.

Surprises In The Post

2010-09-28T10:06:00.004+01:00

Last week I received a little parcel from Gina . It was a welcome surprise in a very hectic week. Sometimes something small can make a big difference and this was one of those occasions. It may be only a coaster but we have been so busy that when it arrived it made both Pam and I stop what we were doing (obviously not important) and share a few jokes - mainly about my cooking!

I have never understood why people spend thousands and thousands on a room where you go to make a mess somebody eats it and then leaves a mess to clear up, it's a bit like going back to playschool!

Then Saturday evening Neil gave me a little parcel containing two of Gina's brooches. The labels are as nice as the brooches.

Thomas Is Finished

2010-09-24T09:33:00.005+01:00

I managed to get the Thomas bag finished. Neil put the grommets in for me. I'm very pleased with it.

And in keeping with tradition here is Barbara modelling the latest model.

Barbara really is a good sport.

I hope Neil's nephew likes it. He had no idea what sort of a bag I was going to make or the fabric I used.

Very Important

2010-09-23T08:47:00.004+01:00

The very important news is that tomorrow we are taking part in the Macmillan World's Biggest Coffee Morning. So if you are in Peterborough tomorrow morning pop into the shop and have a cuppa and a slice of cake with us. We are also having a raffle with lots of lovely prizes including fabric.

I did manage to make a start on the Thomas bag hopefully I will get a bit further with it today.

As yesterday evening was so lovely Neil and I went for a drive and ended up at the pub (don't know how that happened) we had a lovely meal. I also made a small purchase, just a few more vintage buttons. Well you can never have enough can you?

Don't forget to pop in and see us tomorrow.

Plans For Today

2010-09-22T09:12:00.003+01:00

I didn't get any work done in my sketchbook at the weekend. We have been very busy in the shop and family life has been also been busy. The days just aren't long enough.

Some time ago I was asked to make a bag for Neil's great-nephew and so far I haven't got around to it. I'm hoping that's going to change today.

I'm planning to use these lovely Thomas fabrics. The photo doesn't do the fabrics justice; the red is such a lovely red it looks like velvet.

On Saturday we have a workshop making a Victorian Sewing Box. I think it would make a great gift box if you didn't do the middle bits and you stitched the sides up.

It is very pretty and we do have a couple of spaces left if you fancy making one.

More Progress

2010-09-17T09:56:00.003+01:00

Well I managed to get the rows sewn together and the borders on and I think it's looking very nice. All I have to do now is layer it up and decide how to quilt it. Originally I was going to quilt in straight lines then I thought about wavy lines and now I'm thinking flowers would be nice,time consuming though.

Here are a few shots of the blocks.

Such pretty colours and patterns.

I'm hoping to do some more work in my sketchbook this weekend.

The weather is promising to be nice for tomorrow. I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Yesterday's Progress

2010-09-16T09:30:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I managed to get all the blocks pieced and the blocks joined together in rows. Today's aim is to join all the rows and if I'm really lucky get the borders on.

I only managed to get this far because Barbara helped me for which I am very grateful. She passed me the blocks as I was sewing them into rows and she kept them all in order.

I'm of now to join the rows, here's hoping for a productive day.

The Final

2010-09-15T09:37:00.004+01:00

I have re-dyed the calico and printed cotton fabrics with the rusty bits and some copper. I'm very pleased with results.

I have got some very definitive marks.

And I've also got some lovely turqouise ones. Having three plumbers in the family means I'll never be short of copper and I'm definitely going to do this again.

Now I have these lovely dyed pieces of fabric I'm not sure what we are going to be doing with them. I vaguely remember Gina saying something about ATCs.

A couple of weeks ago Pam and I signed up for a 'quilt-along' with Fat Quarterly (see link on the right). Neither of us know why we signed up for it as we have both got so many things on the go already. I think it just sounded like fun. We should both know better really.

I'm using a jelly roll called Verna. I managed to get the cutting done last week as you can see. Monday we received the piecing instructions and yesterday I started to put them together.

Halftime Results

2010-09-08T13:40:00.002+01:00

Don't panic there's no football results here just the halfway results of my rust dyeing.

From left to right, Calico, nasty cheap Polyester (which I didn't think would work), Silk Dupion.

Printed cotton fabric, Silk Scrim and Evenweave fabric.

Last but not least some Tapestry wool just because I had it.

Now you ask why halfway, well I'm re-dying the calico and printed cotton pieces. I re soaked them last night and I've wrapped Malcolm's rusty bits up in them and held them in place with elastic bands. I'm hoping to get some definitive marks. I've also wrapped in some copper piping , hoping that I'll get the nice green colour.

I will confess that I couldn't wait and I had a sneak peek this morning and there was some green colour on the fabric. So I quickly wrapped it up again and I'm going to leave until Thursday evening.

Finished Bag

2010-09-02T09:37:00.006+01:00

I've finished the bag and I'm very pleased with it. It took 5hrs to do each beaded ball but it was worth the effort. I think they finish the bag off nicely.

Remember Barbara and the picture of her with my 3D piece on her head, well she's been at it again with the bag this time. It's a good job she has a sense of humour as she doesn't know I'm putting this on my blog.

Yesterday was the first meeting of our new group, the group with no name as yet. This term we are looking at Goldwork, but not in the traditional way.

We did some rust dyeing which by the time I had got home yesterday had already started to work. You can just see it through the bag. I'm going to leave it until tomorrow evening (if my patience lasts) to rinse out the fabric.

This is the start of a goldwork sampler except it's not gold thread it's a coppery colour but teacher says that's okay.

We have been looking at different stitches - from left to right Straight Stitch, Zig Zag, Satin Stitch, Vermicelli, the squiggle is meant to be Feather Stitch but it wouldn't go right. I'm going to have another go.

In the evening I went round to Barbara's to take a picture of her passion flower, it's a very good specimen.

And it has fruit which when it's ripe Barbara is going to pick for me so that I can grow my own.

Nearly Finished

2010-08-31T10:12:00.006+01:00

The bag is coming along very nicely. I'm very pleased with the way it has gone together bearing in mind that I didn't have a pattern.

This is the tube assembled and the base attached. The twists work very well.

This is a shot with the lining pinned into place and ready to be sewn.

So is this.

And now with the lining sewn in and turned out.

Here I have pinned the top cuff on. This was used to make the channels for the drawstrings.

I am now making the beaded balls that go on the ends of the drawstrings.

Tomorrow is the first meeting of our new group, the off-shoot from City and Guilds. We haven't got a name yet, probably the first thing we will do is to choose one. I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure there will be lots of catching up to do.

A Special Day

2010-08-29T16:11:00.004+01:00

Monday was a special day for Neil and I, it was our thirteenth wedding anniversary. So we both took a day off work (which is a celebration in itself) and went to York.

The day started out at Peterborough train station where I bought a bottle of water and by the time we'd got on the train I'd lost it (not the only thing I lost) we only had to wait 15 minutes.

Neil was very sweet and had bought a bottle of champagne with him so we could toast ourselves over our breakfast. I've never had breakfst on the train before but it was very nice.

We went to the quilt museum which would have made a nice day out itself but Neil had arranged for me to have a private tour of the museum, which was wonderful. I really enjoyed going behind the scenes, seeing some of the things that don't go out on display too often and the storage room. I think the storage room was Neil's favourite bit, everything put away neatly in labelled boxes and shelves. I think he did make some kind of comparison with my sewing room but I wasn't listening.

This jacket was one of the items that had been got out for us to look at. The fact that it is all hand embroidery is stunning but the buttons are handmade as well. There are only two buttons on the jacket but they are both different and both are hand enamelled.

This small quilt is by Pauline Burbridge. Very different from her current work

This is a quilted petticoat.

And a few minatures.

This pincushion is heavily decorated with glass headed pins.

We had a lovely leisurely lunch in Russells of Coppergate.

When we left Russells it was pouring down with rain and I had to buy an umbrella. It was a very pretty umbrella, black with pink and red roses and a frill. By the time we got on the train to come home I'd lost it.

Neil is a very patient understanding person and I've enjoyed the last thirteen years.

More Sketchbook Work

2010-08-27T08:21:00.005+01:00

I have done a little bit more in my sketchbook. This time I've been looking at Star Anise. I certainly wouldn't use it for it's real intention.

It has a very pretty shape. Here I used felt tip pens in brown and black.

This is a much prettier drawing. Iused Koh-I-Noor paints, bleach and a drawing pen. I'm really pleased with this.

I have also been working on a project for my City and Guilds. For one of the finished pieces we have to use one or more of the utility stitches on the machine.

I'm making a twisted bag, which uses three fabrics.

I don't have a pattern for this bag so I'm making it up as I go along. As I've made the samples I've been sticking them in my sketchbook and doing the write up at the same time. I don't like doing the write up so this way it saves me from having to do the whole write up at the end of the project and it stops from forgetting anything.

Here you can see how the three fabrics go together and how the twist is created.

This is me just trying out some of the decorative stitches. I decided to use just two fabrics, a black and gold patterned one and a plain black decorated with one of the embroidery stitches.

This is the result, a lovely piece of fabric. All I have to do now is twist it and put it together. Guess what I'm doing this weekend!

A Group Outing

2010-08-25T09:20:00.003+01:00

On Sunday a group of us went to the NEC for the Festival of Quilts. We had a lovely time and it was really nice to go in a group, even if we did temporarily lose one person!

We saw Julie's quilt which was stunning. It was nice to see it in the flesh. We also saw some of Gina's work. Her work was been used to promote the Julia Caprara School Of Textile Arts.

I did make a few considered purchases. Some fabric obviously, you can't go to a show like that and not buy any fabric.

A couple of kits.

A few books.

And some more, just in case.

I have finished my Flying Geese bag. The geese aren't meant to have points. I'm really pleased with how it has turned out.

I used plastic handles for a change.

This sunflower is in my garden, it's so pretty I thought I'd share it with you.

I have done some more work in my sketchbook but I'll show you that another day, but I will tell you that it involved something you would normally use in cooking.

Sketchbook Progress

2010-08-16T10:22:00.006+01:00

I've been doing some more work in my sketch book, I thought I would keep going while the creative drawing flow was with me. It might not last long!

This is my bleach drawing finished.

When it was finished I started looking at the shape rather than the seed head.

This is what I ended up with.

And then I decided to take it further and try to turn it into a design. I think it worked quite well.

Then I went one step further and it was obvious that it was one step too far. This really doesn't work because the design has just got lost.

So I went one step back and I think this works much better. I'm not sure about the yellow though.

Sketchbook Work

2010-08-14T09:18:00.004+01:00

Like all good students I have been working on my sketch book.

I wondered if maybe my problem with drawing had anything to do with being faced with a blank page. So I crumpled up some tissue paper and glued it onto these two pages then painted over it with gesso and I must admit that once I'd made that mess I didn't feel quite so intimidated.

So I went for it. I used oil pastels (as suggested by Gina ) to draw the cow parsley and I have since gone over it with green ink.

This time I had a go at drawing on a normal page. I have also gone over this one with ink and I think this one looks much better so I won't bother with the tissue paper again.

Here it is, I used the ink at full strength and I think it's too strong.

So I had another go. This time I used a metallic wax crayon and watered down the ink, it gives a much better result.

Here I was just messing about.

Then I decided to use the pages I had painted with the Koh-I-Noor paints.

I thought it looked like a corn field. So I drew some, please say you agree!

Just to show you that I have done some sewing this week. I'm making a bag with flying geese and yes I know they haven't got points. They aren't meant to have points it says so in the pattern. It has come up bigger than I imagined.

Enjoy your weekend.

Another Project Started

2010-08-05T08:36:00.004+01:00

This is my summer project as set by Gina . I hate drawing, I'm really going to struggle with this but I will give it a go. You never know one day I might draw something recognisable.

Gina suggested we put this comment on the first page.

Why is it that an image can look perfect in your head and then when it gets on the paper it doesn't look how it's meant to!

Sorry about this picture blogger has turned it round. Didn't ask me if it could just did it, how rude.

I was experimenting with bleach, another of Gina's suggestions. I hadn't done this technique before, I'd have another go but with a better brush. I have done a bit more to this attempt since taking this picture.

This is just two pages that I coloured in using Koh-I- Noor paints. The blue was meant to be purple but never mind.

It does suggest a field though.

Finishing Things

2010-07-31T16:25:00.005+01:00

Last week I started quilting my half-square triangles quilt, but then I lost the pictures and couldn't show you but I've managed to find them. I have now finished the quilting so all I have to do now is the binding.

Here's a shot of the back.

This is something else I've managed to get finished this week. A bag for Barbara,
it was meant to be part of her birthday present. Her birthday was in June. For some unknown reason I had a mental block with this bag and I really struggled to make it. The annoying thing is I've made one before with no problems.

I ended up putting on a self cover button because I just couldn't find one to match or that looked right. Even though it was late Barbara was pleased with it.

We have had a new Australian magazine in at the shop this week. It's a lovely magazine which is going to be issued three times a year.

For those of you who like to crotchet there is an article on the technique. In case you wanted to know the pattern for this teapot cosy is in a book called Really Wild Tea Cosies by Loani Prior. If I could crotchet I would make it.

And there is an article about keeping sketch books. I'm going to pay particular attention to this one. My homework for the summer is to keep one and I'm hopeless at drawing so I just feel intimidated at the thought of this, but I've got to do it so I'll give it a go.

Enjoy your weekend.

Missing Pictures Found

2010-07-30T08:59:00.006+01:00

I have found the photos that I tried to load onto blogger last week, I'm just hoping they don't disappear again before I get to the end of this post. Maybe it would be a good idea to save as I go along, I'll do it now! Fingers crossed.

But first some pictures of my Rail Fence quilt. I didn't really need to make another quilt but hey why should that stop anybody. I love the fabric and just had to use it and I've wanted to do rail fence for a while now so I did.

It's Tilda fabric and so pretty.

And now the pictures of the Red Arrows at RAF Wittering last week. I used my phone to take the pics but I'm hoping you will be able to click on them to get a larger picture.

Hopefully next year I will be better prepared. If that's possible for me.

And The Winner Is

2010-07-26T10:14:00.003+01:00

As promised the draw took place on Saturday and Pam's name was picked.

I did try to post on Saturday. I put some lovely pictures on, clicked on the done button and they all disappeared. I had taken me ages to load them onto blogger and I'd had a feeling something was going to go wrong and sure enough it did.

This is a post without any pictures as I'm hoping they are still on my computer somewhere. I had some pictures of the family day we went to at RAF Wittering last week. The Red Arrows were there doing their display and it was the best one I'd seen for a long time. They flew lower than normal and came in over the crowd. The Harrier was there as well of course. We didn't get to see the other displays as we had been told about the day at short notice and needed to get back to work but I am looking forward to next year. We also met some of Nick's work colleagues which was nice. He seems happy to be back at Wittering and I know Steph is looking forward to moving back.

I will have a look for the pictures and post again in the week.

100th Post

2010-07-17T08:33:00.007+01:00

I can't believe I've made it to 100 posts. There is a celebratory giveaway but it's at the bottom of this post. In typical Angela fashion I've loaded my pictures onto blogger in the wrong order, sort of on par with how the rest of the week has gone.

It's been quite a while since my last post, but I have been busy.

I have spent time working on my 3D piece for my City and Guilds. It has taken longer than I anticipated and the weaving was very fiddly and annoying but I'm very pleased with the finished vessel.

I enjoyed using some of my treasures. I've been collecting them for years (as you can imagine) and it was enjoyable rooting through them deciding what to use and then of course because they are treasures they bring back memories.

Last Saturday we had a Bargello workshop at the shop and right at the last minute I decided to give it a go. I didn't get as far as the other ladies who went away with borders on their quilts and they also got them layered up and basted, but thats what happens when you don't start until 2 in the afternoon. But I am very very pleased with my quilt.

Like everything else I do it has now got more complicated. I'm not putting a straight border on - I'm going to do Prairie Points. Never done them before but I'd never done a Bargello before so I might as well jump in with both feet.

Now we get to the giveaway. A few little goodies.

And also this little bag I made. I used a very pretty batik fabric and the picture doesn't do it justice. There will of course be some chocolate.

This is another bag that I made for Steph.

Nick starts his new job on Monday. He is moving back to Wittering so Steph will be closer to home. Hopefully he will be there longer than the 18 months he has been at Henlow.

They haven't been married for a year yet but they have had their fair share of upheaval but I guess that's life in the RAF.

Enjoy your weekend and good luck with the giveaway. I've just realised I forgot to say the giveaway will be a draw, to enter just leave a comment on this post and I will do a draw next Saturday.

A Finished Quilt Top

2010-07-04T11:43:00.003+01:00

Last week I ordered some fabric from Sal Snippets the fabric is lovely and bright. I have no idea what I am going to do with it but I love it.

I recieved excellent service the fabric arrived within a couple of days and the lady very kindly sent me an extra piece. If your stash is running low (a problem we all suffer with!) have a look at her site, there is a lot of choice.

A very kind friend made me this lovely, gorgeous, colourful ever-so-posh shopping bag. Isn't it great? I went to M&S the evening before last and of course I used it.

It's hanging on my kitchen door at the moment because I like looking at it. She has lined it in red which is my favourite colour. Thank you so much Sam.

My half square triangle quilt top is finished. I used a fat quarter of each fabric and they have also done the border and there is more than enough left to make the binding.

The border is pieced from rectangles I had left over from cutting the squares to start with. The squares were 7" so I got four from each quarter which gives you some idea of how much fabric is left.

All I have to do now is layer it up and baste it, the part I hate. But I'm looking forward to quilting this one.

Two Years Are Up

2010-07-01T09:13:00.004+01:00

Yesterday was the end of a two year journey. The City and Guilds course I have been doing came to an end. Well it did for all the other ladies but not for me I still have three projects to finish and an issue with drawing to resolve. To see some absolutely fantastic work pop over to her Fan My Flame and take a look.

This is my second project, which has to be in three dimensions. I was going to make a vase but it has evolved into a vessel/sculpture. But not an Octopus or Squid as it looks here - it's a work in progress. I thought this would be soo easy to make, how wrong can you be. It seems that I can't do anything simply. This has been part of my reason for not finishing. I get an idea and won't compromise over how things should be done, I just make it harder for myself.

I am enjoying this project, it feels as if anything goes and you can have lots of fun and it's given me the chance to use some of my treasures.

I need to tell you about a new blog on the block. Baldies On Tour the

blog is written by Gina's son Joe. He and a group of friends have gone traveling and this is their on-line record of all the fun they are having, so go and have a look.

Something Finished, Something Started

2010-06-27T09:06:00.004+01:00

Pam and I are taking part in the Peterborough Artists' Open Studios for this and the next two weekends.
This is one piece that I am proudly showing. I'm so pleased with it. It took a long time but it was worth it.

I'm now working on my 3D piece for my City and Guilds. I had planned to make a vase but it's evolved into a 3D Structure/Vessel.
I'm enjoying this piece of work because I've got much more freedom with it and I'm using some of my treasures (which makes Neil happy). You know all those things you hang onto just because you like them and there's bound to be a use for them some day.

There is a silver heart in there somewhere, once upon a time it was actually part of a pair of earrings but I lost one, well I knew I'd need it one day.

However there is always some one who can find another use for things.

Barbara thought it would make a great Sunday Wig. Not sure what Sunday has got to do with it but hey she's got a sense of humour and let me take this photo. I'm not sure that she'll be speaking to me when she realises what I've done with it.

Thank you Barbara.

Found At Last

2010-06-24T09:03:00.003+01:00

Last night I managed to get my hands on something I've been looking for for a while now. It's wrapped up in the yellow fabric.

A little teapot. Iv'e been trawling through lots of charity shops looking for a small teapot and you'll never guess where I found this one, in the pub - honestly!

It isn't what I had imagined I was looking for but when I saw it I just had to have it. Since Stephanie left home there is only me for cups of tea, Anthony is never around long enough for the kettle to boil and Neil doesn't drink tea, so I wanted a single person's teapot. I had thought I would get something delicate and floral all over but I saw this and decided it was perfect. It has got a little chip on the lid but I guess that is to be expected and I can live with it.

I also bought some gorgeous vintage buttons.

Aren't they lovely and all from a trip to the pub. Must go again.

There hasn't been much creativeness going on because I have hurt my neck and been having physio and resting.

I have managed to sew a few strips of half square triangles together and finally get this quilt top ready for its border.