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Thursday 31 December 2015

New Year and a New Start.


Christmas has come and gone and I do hope every one had a good family time, and are now ready to start the New Year.
2016, what will it hold for us all? Lots and lots of sewing and knitting for me I hope. I am not going to say I will finish off lots of UFO's like other years, and then carry the burden all through the year.
If I do get around to them, then thats good. If not thats good too!

2016 is going to be FUN

Our youngest two granddaughters made this gingerbread house for Mr M for Christmas. He was thrilled and is still munching his way through it. I love the sledge out front and the windows made with spun sugar..



November, I was the mama of the month and asked for Ollie Owl blocks. These are the first 12 made into a quilt top, and I have enough to make another top,.Not sure how I will put the next group together as yet, but I hope to finish two quilts for the Siblings Together Charity, which is very dear to my heart.


My next job however, is to make some wonky cross blocks for Sue who is the Mama for January. First to find some bright blue and mustard fabric in my stash suitable for a boy..

I have succumbed to the first temptation, but what a FUN one.

Guess who has a sale on and yes I could not resist Oakshott fabrics. You may remember the floral Appliqué quilt I finished last year. It was all made in Oakshott fabric and was wonderful to sew with.





On that note myself and Mr M wish every one a Happy and Fun filled 2016...










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

Monday 7 December 2015

Churn Dash Block..

Well, my last post was" Woo Hoo" and since then its gone wooooo and with it my mojo..
No stitching has been done at all, though I have done a little knitting. 
I was, however, on a course with the lovely Lynne Edwards last Friday and she seems to have rebooted my mojo a little.

It was all about a quick way to make the churn dash block, and as always with Lynne, a fun day..
I only made two blocks up on the day. but what an easy way to do it..


 However, the next day Mr M went off up to London to watch his football team, and I sewed all day.
I might need to add another border to make it a little larger.


And then, gift it to my favourite Charity. Siblings Together and they now have a blog.siblingstogetherquiltgroup.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/welcome...

I did make just a couple of tree decorations, just two 7 1/2" circles stitched around, turned inside out and stay stitched and then all four middles joined and the corners flipped over.


I also took pictures at the Bee last week, so here is a little round up.

This was the lovely Pippa's french braid all made with scraps.



This was Maggie's Mammoth quilt, two girls stood on chairs to hold it up and it still reached the floor. It was a commission.. Maggie does do big..


 Then the lovely Liz who had made three of these great wall hangings for her grand children.


The Christmas tree is up and I have finished the Christmas shopping. 
Mince pies and sausage rolls are in the freezer. Just the wrapping of the presents to do, and of course the cards to write, but they can wait until tomorrow..


Going to put my feet up and do a little knitting..





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

Sunday 15 November 2015

Woo Hoo..

Woo Hoo indeed, on lots of things and happenings.

First we had a wonderful holiday with No1 son and our lovely DIL in Key West. It was very hot this time, and yep, I won the fishing contest by half an inch.That is two years on the trot.

A Pelican tried to make friends with me, and every time I was about to land a fish he would appear and plop down in the sea beside the boat. He was unlucky though, as we use barbless hooks and gently put the fish back in the water, although I did chuck him a lizard fish (my they are ugly) but he was not keen on it either and let it swim away.

Percy the pelican ever hopeful.
I joined The Seven Skeins club before I went away, but I only managed one Baffie while I was there.
Baffle, you may well ask, is the highland name for indoor slippers.:0))



I have, however, managed to knit several more pairs since arriving home. They are a bit addictive and knit up very quickly..


Several Birthdays are coming up at the Bee, so a quick bit of sewing was needed as my gift drawer was almost empty.


These are quick and easy to make too and great fun, so another Woo Hoo.
 Cut three layers all 5 inches for the small one and 6 inches for the larger one. I used Linen for the back, normal wadding and Liberty lawn for the tops. Sew all around leaving a small gap to turn to right side. Then top stitch edge and do a stay stitch about 1 inch in,  then nip the corners together and stitch with embroidery thread.

Now, that is as clear as mud eh! but I am sure all you very creative sewers out there know just what I mean.

I am the Mama of the month for the Siblings Together2 group, and chose Ollie Owl for Novembers blocks. When I got home lots of these lovely owls had arrived from the other ladies of the group.

Here are mine, I do however need to finish the hand stitching.



A new pattern appears in my inbox every Friday, from
 the Seven Skeins  Club, so I am well behind. The next thing I am going to attempt though are  Pawkies. Yep I can hear you , "what on earth are Pawkies" well they are fingerless gloves. :0)
So watch this space..


So many things happened while I was away, like standing on a sand bank, two miles out from land in the Gulf of Mexico sipping Prosecco. Surreal and fun. Woo Hoo...

Now where is that Pawkies pattern ?









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














Monday 12 October 2015

Two Finishes.

A couple of finishes have gone in the post, and will be at a craft fair in the West Country soon.
The pink and green fuchsia quilt had its final border, was quilted and bound.
Sorry about the bad photo, it was such a sunny day, but we must not complain. Here in the UK they are so few and far between at this time of year.


Another Baby quilt,(a square in a square,) so quick and easy to make and such fun.


Now I have been playing around with short socks, yep, you know me "Do I write it down as I knit". Nope. So heres hoping I can make the second one the same. :0)



Looking out of the window, it looks like sparrows bath time. The fun bit for me is the branch above with the second sitting on, or are they just spectators.. who knows ..








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

Sunday 4 October 2015

Summer is Fading.

Summer has indeed faded and Autumn and Winter are on their way.
Our little patio, where we sit and have coffee gets very little sun now, and I have brought some of the plants in for the winter. Some will have to brave it, and as the patio is quite sheltered, hopefully will make it through.

  
The last of the summer harvest has also been brought in, to ripen up on the kitchen window sill.


You know summer has gone when you have to put tomatoes on your shopping list. :0)

We have the last guests for the season in our holiday cottage, and when they leave we shut it up and go off on our own vacation. To renew our energies to start the winter clean, ready for next season..


The October blocks are done for the Siblings Together quilt and have been posted off to the Mama of the month Jenny.  This quilt is going to look great and she put a link up that some of you might like
It's a lovely Quilt and is now on my To-Do List..

I am the Mama for November, and as we will be away, I am in the process of writing the details up, which my good friend will post for me at the end of this month to each of the girls.


The background fabric is a 10 1/2 inch square. I am hoping they will like a little Appliqué, it is a very simple block, which I am hoping will make a child very happy.
 I always try and make my owls look cross-eyed as they look so cute..

Print out on A4 paper

Now to finish writing up the details, and then Lists for going away..









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

Sunday 27 September 2015

Playtime

I know I should be doing a UFO but this is very old fabric. maybe that counts..

I bought this fabric the first time I visited the USA, I thought it was so pretty. On getting home, I thought well what on earth am I going to do with it, so it has lain unloved for years.

Having seen a friends lovely Magic four square quilt, I thought perhaps I could use some of the fabric for that. So its been a case of make it up as I go along.


Using the largest bit for the four patches, I made 20 patches / Blocks.


Each one is different, some better than others, but all fun.

Things all went a bit astray after that, as I surrounded said blocks with 1/4" crumb catchers, and then forgot to take photos as I went along.





Well I have had a lot of fun, using up this fabric. The little quilt has now another border all around it, and I am about to cut piano keys with the scraps I have left for the next border. 
At the moment it measures about 45", but I would like to use up all the fabric if possible.
So it's a case of watch this space. 










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




Monday 14 September 2015

"Happy Dance.".

Yep, indeed I did a happy dance.
Two finishes and a little play time. 

This was my first finish, I was so pleased to have finished it I took this photo before I sewed in the tail ends,Ha! Ha! 
This was a mammoth knit. I do not think I have ever knitted anything so long or big in my life, and yet it is as light as a feather. The yarn was called Loft, and the whole thing only weighs 1 pound..


The label said 100% American Wool. Grown in Wyoming, Spun in New England.
The last person I saw with a muffler this long was Dr Who..



My next finish was the binding on the Liberty quilt, you know I love doing that.

 I sent a photo of the finished quilt top
to the lovely Amanda who runs the Liberty Club and she sent me a lovely present in the post (a
Scrap Bag), some are really big pieces 1/4 mtr size.
Another happy dance ...

Scrap Bag fabris from Amanda

This was my final fun bit of the weekend, playing with wool felt and embroidery thread, picking up the Tugboat Willy idea.



Not where I want to be at the moment, but it's getting there.
Previously I was working in cotton fabric for the tug boats but as I have such a lot of felt, it's time I used up some of it. So watch this space...









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


Tuesday 8 September 2015

The best Bit about Quilting.


If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you will know that the best bit of making a quilt for me is putting the binding on.
a) Because the quilt is nearly finished, b) The sheer enjoyment of sitting in a comfy chair and hand sewing the binding down.Sheer bliss for me. :0)


I quilted my beautiful Liberty fabric quilt very simply. Just straight lines both ways on my domestic sewing machine, using my duel feed foot (a bit like a walking foot).



I used simple quilting as I wanted to show off the lovely fabric, the wadding/batting used was a high loft as I wanted that puffy look too.
I am so pleased I finally cut into this wonderful fabric. It was a joy to sew and to quilt.
I have been collecting Liberty fabric for over a year, from
Liberty Tana Lawn Bundle of the month club from 
and the lovely Amanda sends 10 fat 1/8 ths every month. and as yet I have never had two fabrics the same.

Binding being stitched down.

You can all guess what I am doing this evening, comfy chair here I come.!

Before that, I must show you this beautiful Quillow that my good friend Liz has made as a gift for a wedding. This is the pillow and the quilt is tucked up inside. I love the glasses on the little boy bear...


Beautiful Quillow Liz, I am sure they will love it..







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



Monday 31 August 2015

Knitting UFO.

I always think of my Quilting as having UFO's but I guess one can have them in Knitting
as indeed I do.
It is August Bank holiday here in the UK and typical bank holiday weather. Peeing with rain !! and not very warm either. So the wood -burner was duly lit and not having any hand sewing to do, I thought I would sort out some of my knitting.

I started this while on holiday in Key West last year, and did intend to finish it as a Christmas present.


Well, Christmas came and went and we are now heading towards yet another Christmas. So I guess I should try and finish it.


I had forgotten how lovely this wool was. I was told about it by my lovely friend   
Deborah Kemball ( she of exquisite appliqué) who lives in Canada. The wool is by Brookland Tweed and is called Loft  it's so soft and as light as a feather. 

Think I just might finish it now.


Talking of finishes, we have had this large rock in our garden for over ten years, waiting for Mr M to make it into a water feature. Well our youngest son was here for a short stay and helped move it into position and yes, it's looking good.


Not a finish but a start. I have finally cut into my lovely Liberty Fabric and pieced a top.

I now need to visit my favourite quilt shop to purchase the wadding/batting and backing fabric, so watch this space. :0)




Back to my knitting now and a comfy chair by the fire..






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

Tuesday 18 August 2015

Two Finishes.

Yep!! Two finishes indeed.
The honey Bee Quilt and the 12th pair of Socks this year.

Centre of quilt and label.

Last pair of socks for the year...

I set myself a challenge to make a pair of socks a month for twelve months and this is the 12th pair..:0) I might even make some more..

This is the Honey Bee Quilt finished, all but the binding, and I am leaving that to do at the Bee this week. Binding the quilt is my favourite part of making a quilt, so I shall sit with the girls, and probably eat too much cake and finish it off completely...




The quilt was designed by Leanne Beasley and was published in her magazine Vignette.


The weather is the pits here in Suffolk, it has not stopped raining all day. So I am off to have some homemade soup and bread for lunch. Then to finish a little birthday gift for one of the girls.











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




Tuesday 4 August 2015

You shorten your Jeans!

  
They were on sale at half price and the only ones in your size were long.
Yep!, you cut a chunk off your new jeans.

.

Now what do you do with the bits? Too nice to throw away, though you really should, but these have little hearts all over them :0).


So you unpick and give them a wash ( jeans shrunk on first wash and the colour ran), find some scrap fabrics that goes well with denim. 



Make paper pattern. And starting with a small square sew and flip onto heat resistant wadding till you have covered the square.



Using pattern cut out.


The backs were made from plain fabric and simply quilted, right sides joined together and flipped out. Now add some bias around the bottom plus a hanging loop.


Hope you noticed I made two Right gloves. I forgot to turn the pattern over Ha! Ha!

They are for me so I shall live with that. I also added some little appliqué hearts so not a scrap was wasted.

Other than making two right gloves it was a rewarding day and hopefully I will stop burning myself getting stuff out of the oven..







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