Bluebird Parking

It has been a a long time since this WIP saw the light of day.  I just went back to try to find the previous post about it, but I can't find it.  I don't even know when I began this quilt, but basically, I have a charm pack and some fat quarters of Bluebird Park.  So far I've made eight 8" star blocks.  I have no plan for this quilt, no pattern, I'm making it up as I go along.

Even though it's been packed away out of sight, it's been on my mind lately so one Sunday, a couple of weeks ago, I got it out and started sewing.  That's when my machine broke down, so I drove to my parents' house, picked up mum's machine and started sewing, again.

I started with some sorting, looking to see what I'd got and which fabrics I should use.

Then I made a half size block, a little 4" (finished).  You see, I had a plan.  I didn't have a pattern but I thought I could make it work.

I encased that little star in another star, now it's 8" (finished).  See where I'm going here?

Bunnies!!

embroidery

I fully intended to blog last week, but ended up having the week from hell and so it just didn't happen.  We had some computer problems at work and in the midst of it all my spreadsheet, which has all my vital work information, became corrupted.  Even IT couldn't save it and so I had to start again.  Cue a double-sized work load and a new responsibility I also took on and I was at work until very late every night.

I did manage to start a little embroidery though.  I bought the kit at Festival of Quilts last year, so that's almost a year.  Pretty good going for me to get started that soon after buying it!  It's by Rowandean and is called Scottish Beach.

The kit comes with design pre-printed on a cotton/linen fabric and the threads all sorted.  They're mainly stranded cotton but there is also some crewel wool.  The needle for working with the crewel wool was provided.  I assume it's a crewel needle.  It is pretty cruel, it's stabbed me several times already and I didn't do anything to hurt it.

The instructions are basic and the cover photo is tiny, minute even.  I realise it's probably about life-sized, but it needs to be bigger if we're supposed to be following the direction of stitches!  It's smaller than these photos I'm showing you.  I messed up those purple hills.  You can probably see that the one on the left sticks out more, like it's padded.  It was the one I started on and I hated my stitching, I soon discovered a better way of doing it and so instead of unpicking, I stitched over the top.  Yeah, probably shouldn't have done that.

I added some grass, a mud bank and the tree.  The leaves are done in the crewel wool.  The photo is a bit blurred as I took it on my tablet in the light of the living room.  If I'm going to do progress shots of projects (and I want to), I kind of have to take them as I'm going along, in situ, with whatever is to hand.  Yes, I'm lazy!

I added french knots with the multi-colours of crewel wool and this is my second mistake.  I wrapped twice.  I should have wrapped once.  There is no way I'm taking them all out, this, as you've probably guessed by now, is not a piece destined for perfectionism!  Rather it's a piece for me to enjoy stitching, and I really am enjoying stitching it.  I've already put some more Rowandean kits on my wishlist!

Kheops necklace

Wonderful mum and I did a great workshop at The Bead Shop, Nottingham a couple of weeks ago.  It was beadweaving using the new Kheops par Puca beads.  I didn't think to take a close-up of one of the beads, but they are a triangle shape with two holes.  We paired them with Superduos to make this lovely necklace.

I can't take credit for the colour scheme, I stole it straight out of the workshop leaders, Steph's, sample.  I used teal Kheops and purple Superduos with black seed beads.

I've been playing around with photography again and tried some photos in full sun and some in shadow to see which would be better.  I've used a selection here and I'm still not sure!  When I win the lottery I'm going to get a photographer.  And a housekeeper.  And a handy man.  

I made this necklace to go with the many navy tops I own as navy beads are really difficult, if not impossible, to come by.  I love this necklace and plan to make another with a different colour scheme.

FAL Q3 Goal Setting post

Q3 is going to be a rerun of Q2, without the two trivets I managed to make.  I'm determined to get these things done, even if it takes me 10 quarters!

1. Finish the Cuzco quilt.  It's half quilted, it would have been fully quilted by now had my sewing machine not conked out, again.  I need to finish quilting it and bind it.

2. My nephew was 3 in March and I wanted this to be a birthday present for him.  No matter, it can be a just-because present instead.  I have so far cut out 3 pages, it all needs sewing.

3. I need to FMQ my And Sew On quilt.  It's quilted in the red borders and already bound, I just need to add some quilting to the blocks.

4. Orange Peels.  This rather large mini quilt needs quilting and binding.

5. It would be nice to finally get the latch hook rug bound and on the floor somewhere.  Actually it is already on the floor, in my craft room, but it could do with being finished first!

Only 5 items, my shortest FAL list ever.  I'd also like it to be the first list I fully complete.  Go Wendy, go!

Viennese Waltz - update 4

Good afternoon blog readers!  It's been a gorgeous sunny day today, and I've spent the whole day inside sewing at the East Midlands Modern Quilt Group.  Probably for the best as the merest hint of sunshine and I turn bright red!

It's time for an update on Vienesse Waltz.  Here's where I left off 3 weeks ago.



And here is where I am now.

The photos is a bit far away, I took it outside in the sunshine and couldn't see the tablet screen so just hoped for the best.  I've only filled in a tiny bit of background on the right.  Bad Wendy.  I've been busy binding a quilt for Siblings Together and making beaded flowers, I'll show you them soon.  Maybe I'll get a bit more done in the next 3 weeks.


You can go and see what the other participants have been up to here:

Claire, Avis, Gun, Carole, Alison, Jule, Elizabeth, LucyAnn, Kate, Cathy, Jess and Jacqui

Quilting Cuzco

Yep, you read that right, I have finally started quilting my Cuzco quilt.  I'm not sure how well you can see the quilting in these pictures below.

I used a grey thread the same shade as the sashing, you can make it out in the green patch at the bottom.

I'm doing the circles and angles from Leah Day's 365 Quilting Patterns book and I think it works well on this quilt, though I'm not sure if it's dense enough.

Much easier to see on the back.  I posted a mid-quilting shot on Instagram and had a comment from Kate Spain herself.  I refrained from going all fan-girly on her, though it was hard.

It's quilt guild again this weekend, but I won't be quilting this quilt.  Not because I don't want to, but because my machine decided on Saturday to do this:

That's the top, not the bottom.  No tension at all, no matter what I did.  It's back at the shop being repaired.  I feel a new sewing machine coming on...

Sunday Stash

At our last meeting of the EMMQG we had a special guest shop.  The ladies from Pin It and Stitch brought some fat quarters, some charm packs and some bolts and let us loose.  I haven't really bought much fabric this year, so that day, I did.

I don't know why.  I don't have a plan.  They look nice in my pile of charm packs though!

These were 4 FQs for £8, how could I resist a bargain like that?  It's the large letter print from Just My Type.

Finally, some fat quarters.  Top left is a print from Littlest, top right is one of Alison Glass's Sunprints.  Middle row right is also from Littlest - I think.  Bottom is a Cotton and Steel print.  Aren't I just a mine of information?  How do people always know what their fabric is?


Linking up my fabric gluttony with Ms Sparkles.