MY QUILT HAS ARRIVED.

Isn't it gorgeous!my lovely little quilt from my swap partner in  Australia arrived today Its a really lovely and very carefully stitched piece  with layers of Indian sari fabric and I feel very fortunate to have it.



It has very  fine kantha stitching, Thank you, penny.    I have added Penny's blog to my list or go visit her at backvalleyseasons.blogspot.com    I had a look at her earlier postings, interesting stuff and amazing photos,   makes our lincolnshire fenland look very flat............ and  wet.




Penny also sent me a beautiful small  watercolour painting and a piece of aboriginal design fabric.    I really enjoy these swaps, I enjoy making something to a theme and I get really really excited at the prospect of getting something in the post from a foreign country from  a fellow stitcher.



DUTY SEWING.

Duty sewing this week, my youngest beaver becomes a cub and once again I am sewing on badges,  grrr grrr......

the handbag is coming on nicely.......

And if you want to know about these visit here and find out........

AM I FEELING PERKY?

Am I feeling perky? oh yes I am,I am back from the breast surgery with a new booby!, its great, I love it and its soo perky!

A little bit tender at the moment and oh boo hoo-- no vacuuming or ironing allowed for 6 weeks  yahoo! oh and a lot of chocolate gifts to eat.....

 anyway, the important stuff, my handbag has died, its my favourite , the best handbag I have ever owned, thank you marks and spencer, but all the beads and sequins are dropping off, its had several running repairs, but now I need a new one, preferably lime green and purple[ to match my intended new bras]

so, found a pattern I like.

and some fabric..

constructed two pieces of wonky log cabin patchwork and added a backing and wadding

and some great threads.

I have drawn the actual bag pattern over the patchwork so I can stitch and embellish up to about half an inch of the edge, I have some sequins and beads and I am just going to stitch away

This is fun!

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I am really looking forward to playing with this bag!

WIBBLEY WOBBLEY STITCH

Bit of a panic on this week, my friend has very inconsiderately given birth to a baby, and she only gave me eight months notice, so obviously her baby quilt is not quite ready not even made, in fact! So, panic stations, found a quick, simple quilt in a magazine I actually did have a titchy version of a layercake in nice baby patterns and a matching roly thing of strips in same fabrics not a big jelly roll,a baby one put away for this very day.

,Anyway I have quickly pieced it and  pinned and tacked it to its wadding and decided to MACHINE  QUILT it. well dear reader, you have probably realised by now that I am practically phobic about machine quilting, but its got to be done,Neither I nor the baby have time for me to hand stitch.

I got out the instruction book and tried to remember what Ferret had told me, and my goodness! it wasn't as awful an experience as I expected really, somehow I came through it and survived ,and its not too awful, good enough, I hesitate to say this---but I may have enjoyed it, may even break out the juki and frame and have a play on that ,one of these days

I quilted in the ditch first and then did a sort of wibbly wobbly pattern down each strip-- seems to work, its been washed, dried,and its all soft and lovely now and tomorrow it will be off to cuddle a baby!

Another week has flown by, and the highlight was an evening with the Academy quilters in Grantham where good old Frankie was demonstrating right angled triangles and all their doings to some of our newer members, she brought along a lovely quilt  with really small triangles to show us and also an older quilt that she made for a commission for the women's realm magazine many years ago, the remit was that it had to be suitable for a total beginner and quick to make and no small complicated piecing !!!!

women's realm special

I arrived late as usual, in time for the sausage rolls and chocolate fingers,  yes I know, I will diet tomorrow[maybe] in between stuffing our faces with delicious post Christmas nosh we had a bit of a show and tell, there were some lovely cot bumpers and wallhangings for identical twins due very soon and lorraine appleton had a wonder full piece ready for her next exhibition and julie, well,     I was blown away, I always read her blog hhereere, but in the flesh WOW the small piece shes done for A.Q.L.S. was sooooo scrumptious      she is a marvelous artist with a great eye for colour and  we are very lucky to have her in our group.

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Isn't this great!  half the size of a normal machine and only fifty squid!made by john lewis perfect for classes and PURPLE!!!!!!!

slow, slow, stitch stitch slow.

hello and welcome to my last blog of the year!   Its been a lovely, peaceful Christmas,the family have visited, some dear friends have visited, I have spent a lovely day with some of my quilty friends and we are no longer haunted by turkey, gammon,sausage rolls and quality street.[this is mostly because I have eaten them all] I hope it is not a bad omen for the year that I have spent most of the day ironing the laundry mountain, it seems like all people do in our house is eat food and wear clothes, but I have fitted in a bit of sewing, some of it here and the Dresden plate quilt is coming along nicely, I have quilted the entire centre panel and am starting on the sides, its been quite hard on my fingers because  I am using 80/20 as a wadding,  because the quilt will be washed a lot.   I would much prefer  to have used some of the beautiful wool wadding that I buy from bramble patch-- its the very best I have come across,---but I don't think it will stand regular  hot washes the way the cotton wadding will.

anyway, my new years resolution is to give myself a day a week to sew and insist on it because I am getting a bit frustrated with always sewing at night, when I am tired and the kids have gone to bed.     I am going to ignore visiting relatives[ even the small cute ones]  and hungry shedmen and annoying small dogs who gaze at me with mismatched eyes  hoping for a long walk and just sew! my wish for every one else?  eat more midget gems and SEW a lot more!Happy new year wishes to everyone....

Back from the flu!

Hello, and Merry Christmas, back from the flu, just in time for the peeling and cooking and eating too many chocolates[is that actually possible?] a bit of sewing been going onhere  .But about  to start a new quilting project I have made this for a short person who chose it from a book about two years ago, a piece of cake book ,as  I recall, I have been saving this top to quilt on the quilt machine, but as I havnt got to grips with the dreaded machine yet, I thought it would be nice to hand quilt over crimbo. I

intend to watch a lot of telly---yay... doctor who is back! and sit and cough quietly  as I stitch a lot!         MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE, MAY YOUR NEEDLE NEVER BE EMPTY!