Hello everyone!
Well I am feeling a little bit smug today, as I have finally finished my pinwheel seaside quilt!
As I mentioned in my last blog, it was one of those projects that got pushed in a drawer as I tackled other things.
I had made all the pinwheels, and sewed half of it together, but I never got round to finishing it. So I decided to set to and sewed the top together.
Then discovered that all my backing fabrics were just a bit too narrow, so off I went to the Fabric Guild www.fabricguild.co.uk and got a lovely pale blue fabric for only £2.00 per yard.
And this is the finished quilt! It was made to snuggle up in this winter, and has a lovely superwarm wadding in it.
Here is a bit of the detail:
And another section:
It is certainly colourful! I call it my "Seaside Snuggly quilt," And I look to snuggling up in it when the cold winter nights are here.
So I am glad that at least another project is complete.
Also this weekend, I decided to have a go at making a Christmas tree skirt.
Anyone who knows me will know that Christmas is BIG in our household!
I always have two large trees, a real Nordman fir in my lounge, & one artificial in my dining room.
I bought a beautiful tree skirt from New York a few years ago that goes round the real tree, but the one I use for the other tree is looking a bit worse for wear.
So after looking at various templates on the internet, I made my own to the size I wanted.
And then I set to:
All ready to go!
My selection of fabrics cut out. (Pic is a bit yellow due to the artificial light. It poured with rain all weekend so was very dark & miserable).
Then when they were all cut out, I tried them in various combinations:
Eventually decided on a combination I liked (with help from Beckie) So I sewed them together before I could change my mind again!
After they were sewn together (I left the back seam undone) I got backing fabric and wadding, and made a quilt sandwich, then I quilted "in the ditch" down each seam.
Finally, I hand stitched bias binding round the edges:
TaDa!!!!! The finished skirt. Again, it looks more colourful in reality. The light is not very good. Still, you get the idea.
So that's about all for now.
Not sure what I will be doing next. Maybe a bit of embroidery? Or I might finally get to finish my jigsaw that has been sitting under the sofa for ages!
Thanks for reading.
Will be back soon with more pics of the quilt room (especially for you Lisette!) when the days are a bit brighter.
Take care everyone, and to finish, a great quote from Dr Seuss:
“If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.” x
Hello everyone.
I thought I would update you on what I have been up to these last couple of weeks.
As I have finished the Christmas Quilt, I was about to start a new project, when I found a half completed seaside themed quilt lurking in a drawer.
I had sewn about half the top together, but then never got round to finishing it. I decided that I really should finish it before starting any more projects, so I set to & have now finished the top.
It would have been finished today, except that I discovered I haven't any suitable backing fabric wide enough for it. (An excuse to go fabric shopping tomorrow then!)
You can see it being completed in the pic below:
It is a pinwheel design using a mixture of nautical & beach inspired fabrics. Will post a pic of it when I finish it.
So then I decided to give the quilt room a bit of a tidy.
I took some pics of my quilt room /study/ office etc to show you:
My cutting table & sewing machine workspace.
I love the enamel picture, bought for me by my sister last Christmas.
This is a close up of it:
The heart shaped plaque was bought by my friends at work when I retired last year.
Here are some of my other pictures:
My daughter Beckie bought this one (above), and my quilting teacher Jill, bought me the one below for my birthday:
You sense the theme then!
Yesterday I was lucky enough to acquire this wonderful Singer hand sewing machine. It has not been used for years, but I was able to sew a few rows with it, as if it had been used yesterday. I have taken it out of the case & got it on display on the window sill.
It is a lovely thing to look at.
I have posted a picture of my machine below it. Mine has 100 stitch combinations, all sorts of wizzy gadgets, and yet the Singer sews a beautiful straight line.
I don't think I can manage to wind handle & feed fabric at the same time though!
My quilting machine.
I find that storage is always a problem, so when my sister was throwing her old spice wheel out, I decided to use it to put buttons etc in.
It is so useful, and you can see what is in the jars:
And last pic for today is my collection of old cotton reels. I think they look attractive in the jar. I only put in those made of wood, and try to find ones with interesting makers paper on the end.
I never actually use them though!
Well that's the story of my quilt room, and the things in it.
(I haven't shown you the loads & loads of drawers filled with fabric, or my bookshelves of quilt books, but I will spare you that!)
The weather here is a lot colder today. At the weekend we spent a few days in Suffolk, and the weather was glorious. We walked along the beach in tee shirts, but certainly wouldn't do that now! I suppose we have been spoilt by the lovely summer we have had, but now it is on with the fleeces and jeans again.
Last night I spent a lovely evening with my Mum & Sister at a place called Narborough Hall (Which is surprisingly in Narborough, Leicestershire!)
They have been holding preview evenings of their new Christmas shop all this week.
It is an amazing place & we bought some gorgeous Christmas decorations, & I got a necklace for my sisters birthday in December. She chose it, and I was more than happy to get it, as it is always difficult to find unChristmassy things in December.
As it was a preview evening it was VERY busy, but the bubbly & amazing chocolate truffles made up for the queues to pay! (They were very efficient, and wrapped everything up beautifully).
They gave us a "spend & save" voucher, so we will definitely be back to spend our gift voucher soon.
I have enclosed a link, so if you are ever in Leicestershire, this place is well worth a visit.
http://www.narboroughhall.co.uk/
So that's all for now.
As usual, feel free to leave comments. I love reading them & they mean a lot. x
