WOW

The post man knocked this morning and handed me this box



I didn't recognise the sender's address so thought it was my Holiday swap parcel. Wrong. It was stuffed full of fabric.


Luckily there was a card with it and realisation dawned.

A month or so ago I won Bab's giveaway for some scraps. I was expecting an envelope with a few fabrics in it. This is amazing.

I haven't had a really good look through but there seems to be loads of FQ's, large scraps, some layer cake size scraps and some charm square size scraps. When I get all of them co-ordinated into colours I'll take some more photos so you get an idea of how much fabric I've been sent.

Thank you so much Babs. You've been so generous and I can't thank you enough. I'm going to have so much fun sorting through and using this fabric.

All feathered Out

Well it's done. I just need to bind it. I'm not sure what fabric I'm going to use for that as I haven't got any green left, maybe one of the beiges.
There are loads of feathers in the centre. I did all the pinks going one way and the beiges going the opposite direction.


I also decided to do a sort of triple loop in the plain border. It's a variation of the loops I've done elsewhere in the quilt. I'm glad it's done and I'll bind it sometime this week so it'll be ready nice and early for Christmas.

remember the log cabin from the last post. Well here are the fabrics I'm doing it in



and here are the 36 blocks needed for the centre of the quilt.

( You can see the reverse of the Woven Feathers quilt in the corner of the photo).

I made them up yesterday afternoon/evening. they are only 5.5" square so they went together very quickly. I'm aiming to make the quilt up this afternoon after I've done my housework.

And finally, in case you thought I might be lonely stuck in my sewing room all this time a couple of photos of my ever present companion.

They are not the clearest photos as I'm sitting on the chair that he has his head under. His back is against the hot water pipe of the radiator and he is quietly roasting.

Now you know how I get so much sewing done. I'm actually trapped against my sewing machine until Stanley decides to move. I daren't move my chair for fear of landing it on his head. He does have a few quilts on the floor for him to lie on in another, and safer, part of my room but he seems to prefer to lie like this.

I've had enough of feathers

.................well for one day .

I've been quilting my interwoven log cabin, which I've renamed Woven Feathers.

Here it is as just the top.

Anyway as the name suggests I'm quilting quite a few feathers on it. To be honest it's all feathers.

The green whole log cabin shapes in the centre and borders have been quilted using a looped motif



The green borders have been quilted with feathers. I've taken the feathers into the green half log cabin shapes as you can see below.



I've finished all the green borders and they are all the same.

I've now started on the pink log cabins.

In the large border and the centre there are some half log cabin shapes. I'll be quilting the same on the pink and the beige shapes. I've decided to pick up the looped motif from the green log cabins, but this time it's only half the motif. ( excuse the threads I haven't got round to finishing them off yet)



I'll do the same in the beige but I'll use beige/cream thread instead of the pink in this photo.


For the ribbons of pink in the borders and the centre I'm quilting more feathers. these will all go different ways and hopefully they will emphasize the weaving effect of the quilt. Again this is in pink but I'll change to the other thread when I get onto the beige.

The only trouble I have at the moment is deciding what to do in border 2, the plain border sandwiched between the two greens. I don't particularly want to do any more feathers but I want something that will tie in with the rest of the quilt. Hopefully it will come to me tomorrow after I've done the rest .

Finally, I mentioned in my earlier post about doing another log cabin quilt this weekend. Well here's the mock up of it in EQ

I'm doing it in these colours but the border colour and centres will be different, as I preferred a fabric I had in my stash to the one on the picture. I'm aiming to get that started tomorrow afternoon so I will have something else to show apart from feathers.

Mail Call and Home Mini Retreat

First up I have to post the pictures of the things I've received in the post this week. I should have done it earlier but the mouse on my computer died and I've only now got around to buying and attaching a new one.

First up we have the new pattern for the Bag of the Month Club I've joined



I'm aiming to make this next week sometime.

Next we have some blocks that my friend Lyn sent me from Australia



These are vintage Flower Garden blocks and she set a challenge with them. The challenge is to make a quilt ( 27" square) using at least four of these blocks, but no new fabric. I can use my scraps or go out to the charity shops but I must not buy new for it. I've got a bit of an idea what I want to make but that'll wait until the new year.

Finally we have the swap blocks from the Yahoo group I belong to.



In this swap we all had to make our favourite blocks with our favourite colours. there are some great blocks there and I'll have to get my thinking cap on for how to set them in a quilt.
As well as the blocks I received a packet of ready cut shapes to make 24 butterflies from one of the swappers, thank you Cheryl ,plus some reels of thread from Jill the swap mum.



the green is a lot brighter in real life and I can't wait to use it.

Mal is away again in work so I've got the weekend, and Monday to sew. There's quite a few things I need to get done this weekend so I've made a list and hopefully I can get it done.

• Quilt my Interlocking Log Cabin
• Carry on with the Chainsaw massacre quilt and hopefully get the top together
• make up a quick log cabin wall hanging for a swap
• carry on hand quilting Irises and Butterflies which I've sadly neglected over the past few weeks

It doesn't sound alot but there is quite a bit of work involved in all of those. Plus I have to be chief (and only) dog walker, cook, taxi driver etc.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures of what I've been up to this evening when I take my break for Strictly Come Dancing. Can't miss that.

You are only as old as you feel........

.......and I feel ancient.

I had a busier weekend than I had planned. The plan was to go to the Deep Purple concert and stay the night at a hotel. There was a big car show at the same site the next day that Gemma, Mal and our friend Ian was going to. Ian was going to bring Gemma and then the three of them were staying all day at the car show. I was going to drive home, via a new quilt shop, and then spend the day sewing. Wrong.

Ian brought Gemma and then announced that he couldn't stay all day as he had double booked himself for the evening. That meant I had to stay all day at the car show so Mal and Gemma could get home. No sewing for me.

Anyway back to the Deep Purple concert ( and all those men with long hair). I did manage to get some photos.

We were fairly near the stage but not close enough in my opinion. Mal reckons I'm too old to be right at the front, plus he thinks I'll jump on stage and kidnap Steve Morse ( the guitarist, long hair need I say more).



Luckily there was also a big screen so I could take some 'close ups'. Trouble is he wouldn't stop moving for me to get a good pic.


It was a great concert. Unfortunately it wasn't the best I've been too as Ian Gillan ( the lead singer) was obviously struggling with some form of bug. He kept disappearing to throw up and at once he actually threw up on the stage. Not good. Still Steve Morse took over and as he's such an awesome guitarist it made for a good concert. It just shows what a professional outfit Deep Purple are as many other bands would have cancelled the concert.

As I said earlier the next day saw me wandering around one of the biggest car shows in the UK. As well as classic cars there were the top of the range sports cars and also the Top Gear team were there with a live show. I'm not a great car fanatic but I do like the oldies so I enjoyed wandering around that part of the show.

There is a group of people called The Sporting Bears who give up their time at a car show like this. They all own classic or sports cars and for a price ( which all goes to charity) you can go in the passenger seat while they drive you on a 10 mile round trip. While Mal, Gem and Ian were in watching the Top Gear show I decided to treat myself and bought a ride in the greatest car ever made ( in my opinion and that's the only opinion that counts LOL) the Jaguar E-Type.



I so want one of these cars.

It's taken me two days to get over the weekend and I'm still aching a little. There's not been a lot of sewing done over the last few days. The decorating is nearly done and we are dealing with the mammoth task of swapping the bedroom furnitures over. at the moment we both have half our furniture in the wrong bedroom. We'll get there eventually.

Mal is back in work on Friday so anything that isn't done by then will have to wait until he comes home again late next week. We are aiming to get everything sorted by the end of next week. I hope so because I've had enough of the house looking like a bomb site.

Right that's it for now, back to the housework and bedroom moving. There isn't much sewing being done at the moment but I'm aiming to catch up on the weekend. You'll probably have to wait until then for quilty photos.


Edit

I should mention that although Ian Gillan threw up on stage it wasn't in front of everyone. He ran behind one of the amps. I could see him from where I was sitting, that's how I knew he was ill.

A Warning to All Parents

When you ask your 15 year old daughter what colour she wants her bedroom decorated, be prepared for the results.



As you can see Gemma went with purple AND red in the end. Although it doesn't come out very well in the picture, the ceiling is a lilac. Mal says he never wants to even think of red paint anymore. He's had enough.

Not much has been happening on the sewing front. I'm still ironing my 2 patches for the Chainsaw Massacre quilt. ( Still can't think of a different name for it).

The only newsworthy item is the fact that I've mailed out my SSCS and Holiday swap parcels.


As you know I'm off to see Deep Purple tomorrow, and no Jill I'm not going to behave myself. That takes all the fun out of it. I'm not sure whether I'll be allowed to take photos in the concert. Alot of bands are strict on that but Purple are quite relaxed about it. We'll see.

Christmas Stocking Tree Ornament

Size is approx 4.5" tall. 0.25" seam allowance throughout unless stated


Requirements

2 No 6" squares of muslin/calico ( backing fabric)

2 No 6" squares of lining fabric

various lengths strips of Christmassy fabric. Cut into widths of between 0.75" and 1.5"

a 12" piece of thin ribbon

3 craft bells ( optional)

a cardboard or acrylic version of the stocking template

The Stocking Template can be found HERE

Method

Take one of the 6" squares of backing fabric and lay a strip of Christmas fabric diagonally across it, right side up. Make sure it overlaps the edges.



Lay another strip of fabric on top of this, right sides together. Line up the edges and sew through all layers.


Open up the strips and press. Place another of the strips on the edge of the new strip and sew. Open and press


Continue adding strips and pressing until the whole square is covered. Repeat with the other square . Trim both squares back to the 6" backing fabric.


Place the two squares right sides together and using the template as a guide cut through all layers.



Cut the length of ribbon in half. Fold both pieces in half and pin to the right side of one of the stocking pieces, about 0.5" down from the top. Make sure the loops face inwards and the edges overlap the edge of the stocking slightly.

With right sides together, and making sure you catch the ribbon in the seam allowance, sew all around the stocking pieces to join them. Leave the top open.

Turn the stocking the right way

Now for the lining.

Lay the two lining squares right sides together and using the template as a guide cut through all layers.

Again with right sides together sew together, leaving the top open . Also leave a 2" gap at the bottom of the stocking for turning.

Now to join the both stockings.

Place the outer stocking inside the lining, right sides together. Line up the seams and make sure the ribbon loops won't get caught in any sewing.
Sew together around the top. This is a bit fiddly but do-able


Pull the outer stocking through the gap in the lining


sew up the gap with a blind hem stitch. Fold the lining into the stocking and give the whole thing a good press.


Hand sew a few Christmas bells onto the stocking, just above the hanging loops.


And there we have it the Christmas Stocking. The whole thing took me about 45 minutes to make, but that includes the time taking pictures of each stage.