Catching Up at last

I seem to have done nothing but make samples for the last couple of weeks, that and chase dust bunnies. Our 'Dippy Day' was on Monday gone and as one of two of the members had recently purchased machines for workshops we thought we'd go back to basics and get to grips with our sewing machines.

First we started scribbling to loosen our stitching up.

Next we tried our hands at a few basic quilting stitches, first using straight lines then getting a bit more adventurous.

Next we tried sewing Zentangles.  We first made a frame to work within and to make a border to hang onto when moving the fabric.   These were quilt sandwiches we'd prepared earlier.  Once the tangling was done we added a border using a decorative stitch.

We thought we'd like to try out the decorative stitches on our machines and make 'Stacked Stitches'.  This is a Bernina term and several stacked stitch 'recipes' can be found here.   There are also loads of other ideas.

This is one I made earlier (another Blue Peter job) its a quilted background and a piece of stacked stitches fabric cut into hearts and appliqued onto the background.  I think this would look good using Christmas colours and perhaps a snowman, tree or even a house with snow on the top.  Maybe my cards this year will look a bit similar.

This is another one I did earlier.  The fabric is sheeting over which I placed a plastic stencil and sprayed die onto it.   I layered wadding on the back and stitched round the petals then cut out the wadding to make the flowers puff up.   I put it on top of a second piece of wadding and stippled in various sizes in between the flowers.  Added some beads and a border.

We finally tried thread painting.   I painted the skey then didn't like it so I cut it out and layered the remainder of the card onto another background.  It gives it an almost 3D effect.

I'd been reading Karen Linduska's "Your Machine's Decorative Stitches" in preparation for our Dippy Day and made this piece using her technique.  You can see her book here.

I have been getting on with my second mini quilt and should have it finished within the next couple of days so will post it then.  

CQJP'S next bloc finished.

Not sure why but Blogger has turned some of the photos upside down, so sorry you will have to stand on your head if you want to seem them the right way up!!   Think I might have posted some of these before but not sure.  Okay here goes, our task for these four JP's, should we accept the challenge was to include text.   I based all four on electronic communications.



June - Texting
Hope you can understand my version of text speak...



July - Twitter (Tweeting)

August - Facebook (here's where you stand on your head)

September - Login
Digital images and text printed onto tshirt fabric.  I did add beads but then took them off.

October - Chamomile Days
Another upside down one, I know I'm early but I got carried away. The next set of JP's have to include buttons.

Mini quilt finished

Just a quick post today to show you my finished mini quilt (9pm curfew project).  I enjoyed doing it but got it all wrong as I cut out the foundations minus the seam allowance - durr....   As a result not all of the blocks are the same size, my mind must have been on the tv than on what I was doing.   I've started another one, this time I've cut the foundations with a much larger margin of error.

Keith has gone off to help Sy lay laminate flooring before they have their BBQ for Julie's mum's birthday tomorrow.  And as for me I have four pairs of trousers to take up, not one of my favourite pasttimes but a necessary one as dh has short legs and hates shopping for clothes.  I have to buy them while I have him cornered else he would go around in a tatty pair of trousers quite happily.

Bits and pieces

Bits and Pieces is all I seem to have done recently.  I've been catching up on all those odd jobs that need doing but get pushed to the back of your mind.  Well I tidied up my room and decided to just get on with them and that would leave me free to sew later.

We went to Harrogate Quilt Show but I'm not posting pictures as they seem to be lots of them all over the web.  What I have done is post a couple of pictures of the goodies I bought while at the show.

 There were so many lovely goodies it was difficult to choose what I wanted but I had gone with specific buys in mind.  After I bought those, freezer paper, threads, velvet and grey net - the latter I didn't get as there was none to buy, I went a bit wild.   The photos aren't too good as they really don't show you the brilliant colours of the threads I bought from Oliver Twist's.  I have a specific project in mind, something for my dil's birthday (although at the rate I'm going it could be Christmas) present.  So I won't say anything about it but let you drool over the threads.

Arenh't they beautiful...... I love Jean Oliver's colours just wish I could dye something similar.   Anyway apart from threads I bought some Egyptian cotton from the Egyptian tentmaker's stall, a bag of jelly roll offcuts on sale for £6 which I though might come in useful.  I really splurged though on books.   They were on sale for around the same price as Amazon but without the postage so I told my dh that they were a bargain and he believed me.

Amongst my stash of books was Susan Brubaker Knapp's new  one "Point, Click, Quilt" and Isobel Hall's Textile Adventures.  I also bought a book on digitizing, I can do pretty basic designs but sometimes thread compensation baffles me so I hope to do great things after I've read this one.
Last weekend was also the Embroidery Guild's first meeting after the summer recess.  Philippa Naylor was the speaker and apart from seeing her absolutely stunning quilting she is a very funny lady.  If anyone is looking for an entertaining speaker I can definitely recommend her.  Her book "Quilting in the Limelight" is also excellent both visually and techniquewise.

Beadnell and old friends

Yesterday we met up with Anne and Grant, good friends we'd not seen for several years.  They were holidaying in their caravan in Beadnell, Northumberland.  As it is closer to us than there home in Cheshire we decided to make a day of it and visit them.  We took Buster with us as we couldn't get a dog sitter but he was very well behaved all day I'm pleased to say.

We took the direct route up the motorway for quickness but stopped at Amble to let all of us stretch our legs and do the necessary.

Buster was disappointed that the tide was out and we wouldn't let him play in the mud.  That's Warkworth Castle in the top photo, not a very good picture though.

We arrived a lunchtime and Anne and Grant our friends insisted on taking us for a birthday lunch in Seahouses.  As we had Buster lunch had to be in the beer garden but that wa fine as it was sunny and the garden backed onto the harbour.  We also had a wonderful view of the Farne Isles.

Later  we went back to Beadnell and finally allow Buster a paddle and play in the sea.  He loves water, so long as he doesn't involve soap.  He spent ages picking up seaweed from the water and depositing it on the rocks.  I think he must have been a retriever in a previous life.

He really did not want to come out but we had to set off home.

We took the long way home via Alnwick, Rothbury across the moors to come out just above Hadrian's Wall.  The heather was beautiful and we stopped to pick a couple of  pieces and let Buster stretch his legs again.

All three of us really enjoyed our day out and apparently we'd worn Buster out as he took himself off to bed at 7:30pm and was difficult to get out of bed this morning - just like us.