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Friday 29 March 2013

Happy Easter.

Happy Easter everyone, 

 I have bought the wadding/batting and backing for my jigsaw quilt ( might have to find a better name than that), and I just have to put the borders on the top. I am loving this quilt, it is so gentle and soft and was fun to make, with the help of my husband who drew up the background design. He not being a quilter put in some challenging seams for me to sew, but my, am I pleased with it!



I had a lovely comment on my last post from the designer of the fabric Shell Rummel, which made my day. Thank you Shell.


Got to gather greenery for church flowers, and there are hot cross buns to eat, so this is a very short post today.
I hope every one has a good holiday.






keep safe and keep stitching .....Doti..



Tuesday 26 March 2013

Scrumptious Fabric Part Two

Well, I spent a long time stroking my lovely new fabric, dreaming of what I was going to do with it.  After getting very cross with the UFO I was working on, because I put one of the borders on upside down, TWICE, and would have to do a lot of frogging, once again. The new fabric won...



I started with the panel and cut all the blocks out, pinned them to Ricky Timm's stable stuff and quilted them with silk thread. I had this idea of setting them in a background made up of all the fabrics in the fat 1/4 bundles. My husband seemed very interested in how I was going to achieve this, so I gave him the graph paper, and told him the number and sizes of the quilted blocks from the panel. Then asked him to fill the background. Having taught Maths (though mainly geometry and algebra) many years ago this is what he came up with. 


Oh dear!, He had even calculated the cutting requirements for each fat 1/4....
What now?  So I enlarged it, 


Gave each of the fabrics a colour code , and coloured the graph in.


I forgot to tell him about No Y seems etc.. and I did not have the heart to tell him, he was so pleased with himself. So it was go for it! I am going to call this quilt my Jigsaw puzzle quilt, as its just like doing a large Jigsaw puzzle.The finished size will be approximately 6 feet square. I have started piecing it together and I must say I am having great fun
(at the moment). Watch this space.









Stay safe and keep stitching......Doti..

Thursday 21 March 2013

Scrumptious Fabric


It was Wednesday Club yesterday at Quilters Haven, and one of my New Years resolutions went straight out of the window. NO buying any more new fabric until I use up some of my stash. Well look at it, how could anyone resist such lovely fabric I ask. I bought 2 fat 1/4 bundles and the panel that goes with it, all little humming birds feeding at the most delicate of flowers. The fabric is called Gossamer, designed by Shell Rummel for Blend. What am I going to make? not sure yet, lots of ideas floating around in my brain. 



I got out another of my UFO's to finish, so I am not even going to think about my lovely new fabric until I have sorted that one out. Below are some of the appliqué blocks to finish.   


All the blocks are now appliquéd, and I have started to join them together. Not sure why I abandoned this quilt to the UFO pile, I am liking it again now. The Design is from Edyta Sitar's book "Hop To It." though I have changed the colour way and the sashing. The fabric is from a line of Lynnett Andersons for Lecien. It was called Sumertime, not sure it is still available, I think I started this quilt in 2011 


This is the progress of said quilt so far. Not sure why the pictures are a little fuzzy, they were taken yesterday at Wednesday club. Maybe it was the rare SUNNY day we were having.


This is Pippa with her beautiful quilt that she made for her daughter. All the fabrics were recycled and even her daughters pyjamas were included. I think her daughter will love it..

When I started this blog last year, it was meant to be an online diary. Instead of writing by hand in my journal each day for my family to read, it seems to have turned into a quilting/knitting blog with a bit of gardening thrown in. I now have readers all over the world and I Love it.






Keep safe and keep stitching...Doti...

Monday 18 March 2013

Good stitching Weekend


Yes it was a good weekend for stitching. The weather was not so good; it rained on and off all day which meant no getting out in the garden.


You might remember these scraps of lovely fabric I was playing around with in the post "another rainy day." What did I do with them? Well I now have a new iPad carrier, and yes I am well pleased It has a long strap for across the body carrying, which leaves both hands free.

New iPad carrier.


Thought you might like to see some of the ends that had to be sewn in on my Shetland Hoody cardigan, which came from Kate Davies Book Colours of Shetland. and that is just the sleeves. You should have seen the fronts!!


They are all sewn in now and at this moment said cardigan is being blocked on my dining room table. So all in all it was a good weekend.

I would like to say"Welcome" to my new readers from Japan, I hope it all makes sense.






Keep safe and Keep stitching....Doti...






Friday 15 March 2013

Finish up Friday


I have finished my first UFO of 2013,( a little happy dance called for here ), I started hand quilting this quilt at the end of last year, and took it up again this January. I have only done it at Wednesday Club and the Bee and have done a myriad of other quilting and knitting things in between. I am so pleased to have finished it, yea!!


 My friend Jenny calls this quilt "the epitome of sludge." Do I mind, NO, not at all. I love sludgy colours though I have read some quilters refer to them as low value quilts. The picture is not a true colour as it is more pale blue than grey. The second photo show the colour better.


On a not such a happy theme, my lovely husband thought he was helping and put my woollens on to wash. This is my favourite cashmere sweater and some of my hand made socks.The socks now measure 5 1/2" and the cashmere sweater now has a 34" bust. I have not been a 34" bust since I got married, and as you know we celebrated 50 years of married life last September.



He has since bought me 3 new cashmere sweaters, so all is forgiven. Well it will be when he replaces the lovely pale blue one, that was my favourite. I know it is the middle of winter, but no one seems to stock that lovely periwinkle blue at the moment.

 Now to sort out my next UFO, the hoody cardigan is almost finished. I just have the ends to sew in and the cord bind off to do.





Keep safe and keep stitching......Doti...
















Saturday 9 March 2013

Another Rainy Day.


It is indeed another miserable, dark, rainy day. We had two lovely days this week, and I did manage to get on in the garden. Though I am so far behind this year with the clearing and the planting.There will be no gardening today however, so will it be knitting or sewing. You may well ask.


This is where my knitting is at the moment, the sleeves were knitted in the round and then added at the armpits. I had 476 stitches at that point, and the most I could manage was about 6 rows an evening. 

Evening is when I knit as my husband likes to watch the telly, so it's hand sewing or knitting for me.
My knitting is getting to an exciting point at the moment, shaping the neck and setting up the hood, so it might just win over my sewing, as I am not sure where I am going at this moment with that.


 I love this fabric, and these are some scraps I have been playing with, Trapuntoing  (not sure that is a real word) the birds, but you quilters out there will know what I mean. Then small stippling around them so they puff up. What to do with these pieces when they are done ? that indeed is a good question. I need another bag? I don't think so! Though on second thoughts I might just make it into a little pouch to put in my gift basket, till the right occasion arises.  Watch this space...

I went to a very interesting demo at Quilters Haven yesterday. It was a Sizzix demo, and the machines are £76 and the "girls" at the quilting Bee are thinking buying one between them to share. It cuts through 8 layers of fabric at a time and we cut out lots of Drunkards Path blocks in no time at all, and of course they are very precise.. I am undecided at the moment if it's something I would use a lot, but you never know. 


I think the knitting has won, I am going to sit by the fire and knit, blow the RAIN...




keep safe and keep stitching.........Doti...







Sunday 3 March 2013

Continuation of The Dandy Little Bag

I said yesterday I would continue the little bag today, computer willing etc.
Well here we are again, the sun is still shining, and my lunch guests have departed.



Stitch across the corners and cut off.


Cover corner seams with bias binding.


Side view of covered seams.


Turn bag right side out, your bag should look like this so far.



Make handles. Cut 2 strips 19" x 3,"press 1/4" over on both long sides. lay 1 1/2" piece of wadding along length, fold over and top stitch both sides.


Pin handles evenly to both sides of bag.


Make facing strip. Measure width of top of bag all around + 1/2"(for seam) and press up a 1/2" seam along the length.


Place facing over top of bag and carefully pin all around, then stitch 1/4" from top over all layers.



Flip facing up and stitch 1/8" from top of bag, press down and slip stitch hem of facing to inside of bag. 


your bag should now be finished...


I hope you like this Dandy little bag, and you have had fun making it. Please comment if you did. I know I had fun and I have made two now.


I made this little purse to go with my bag, but that is a whole new story.




This was my bit bag after I had made my little bag, now normally that would have been all over the floor Ha! I am beginning to get really tidy...







Keep safe and keep stitching.... Doti,,,









Saturday 2 March 2013

One of those weeks...

Yes indeed, it's been one of those weeks. You know the one where every thing you do turns to you know what. But the sun is out today and February has finally gone. maybe just maybe, spring is on the way at last.

I took my dandy little bag I made last week to Wednesday Club, and all the "girls" want to make one. As usual, I just sew till it looks OK, with no thought of of what size I cut things etc. etc. So, I have had to make another one and photograph each stage, so I can write a pattern of sorts.

2nd little bag



Assortment of fabrics that go together.


Cut backing fabric 12 1/2" Square 
Wadding/batting 11 1/2"square



Place first square on and quilt straight lines 1/4" apart.



Place 2nd strip across and stitch.



Press and flip, stitch the same as first square.



Sew log cabin style till the whole of the 12 1/2" square is covered.


Turn over and trim any overhang.




Make pocket, two pieces of fabric right sides facing,
stitch around leaving a gap to turn right sides out


Press and hand stitch pocket to inside of bag.


Sew side seams together and press open, cover with bias binding.



Cover bottom seam with bias binding, measure and mark and sew across the bag corners.


I am going to leave this at this point, as my computer is playing up and will resume again tomorrow, computer willing.








Keep safe and keep stitching... Doti...