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...

Off on a tangent again

Well it's true. I have gone off at a tangent again, though I was good at the Bee yesterday and spent all day hand quilting my UFO. Not a lot more to quilt, then the binding and my first UFO of 2013 will be done!!!

Now this tangent. Well I was blog hopping as one does, and found this lovely tutorial by

Elizabeth Hartman, so I just had to make up a couple of blocks. I have always been fascinated with quilt as you go projects. Wow, these were looking good. I wish I had cut the backing larger to start 

with.This will have to be a rather small project.

Block 1.

Block 2.

                                   This is what I came up with. It's a right dandy little bag,

 not big enough for shopping but fine for carrying small projects to classes and clubs.

Photo taken inside.

Photo taken outside.

The quilt as you go method was quick and easy. The fabric I used was thicker than quilting cotton, so it stands up all on it's own. Well pleased.

Ann's Baby quilt.

Pippa's Blocks.

A lot of fun was had at the Bee yesterday and it was good for me to get out after the bad cold I have had. 

Ann brought her lovely baby quilt she was making to show us, the Jemima Puddelduck border was enchanting, and Pippa's blocks , well what can one say she is so neat and tidy and puts the rest of us to shame.

I do wish this weather would brighten up so I could get out in the garden, good excuse to sew though.

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

Strange Week End

Not a good weekend. I have one of those really nasty head colds, all notty nose etc. etc. The only thing to benefit this week end was my knitting, as I sat bundled up in a couple of my lovely quilts by the fire, with just my knitting and a very large box of tissues.

This Shetland pattern from the Colours of Shetland I am knitting is very strange. I have knitted up to the armholes on the back and fronts, which were knitted all in one, and now have to knit the two sleeves in the round. I have never knitted a sleeve in the round, it's really odd doing the increasing.

Oh well! we shall see.. Plod on.

Why do they never go down!

The sewing room looks a real tip this morning. The two scrap boxes are still out, defying me to put them away until I have made the other two Bit Bags needed. Maybe I should rummage through them,find the fabric needed and at least I could then put them away. I just can't work in a messy sewing room..

Jenny and I were trying to to design a wall hanging, as a block of the month, for our quilting group at the Bee. We came to the decision on Friday that it is just not going to work as we both draw so differently. The idea now is to use the same format, but to do two different wall hangings, so watch this space.

Now to tidy the sewing room.

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

Wednesday Club again.

Yes, it was Wednesday Club again yesterday. My how the weeks fly by and it was at Quilters Haven 

again this week. My goodness, it's a week since I wrote my blog too. I have been busy though.

The birthday girls were all pleased with their Bit Bags, and many of the others have asked for similar for their birthdays. So the scrap boxes have been out yet again,(why do they never seem to go down ?)

So I have made seven and just have two to go, then to stuff all the weighted pin cushions, oh joy! not the best bit...

  I have also been working on my Shetland Hoody Cardigan in the evenings. Its very slow going as fronts and back are all knitted in one. Shock horror, I had to cast on 346 stitches at the hem, but I just love the colours so I am plodding on. As my friends will tell you I am indeed a good plodder..

Knitting so far.

   I have to show you this Quilt that Maggie has been working on for her granddaughter. She was trying to decide how to quilt it and has now decided to hand quilt it. Lots of us hand quilt at our other quilting group the Bee, as it's all hand quilting only there.

The girls all admiring Maggie's Quilt

It't Valentines Day to day, Hubby and I are having a very nice meal courtesy of Waitrose this evening. 

Still on the valentines theme, Shabbyfabrics have a lovely BOM pattern to download free, all hearts each month, it's really lovely.

Jenny had also been very productive and showed us her lovely quilt top, which was greeted with Ooos....and...Aaaahs by every one. A lovely day was had with much laughter and cake. We are going to have to give up the cake, or we shall never loose our winter weight !!

Jenny's lovely quilt.

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

Birthday "Girls"

I thought you might like to see what was in those little packages from my last blog.

Here they are all lined up in my sewing room, how cute is that,

the extra one is mine.

Bit Bags.

We celebrated five of the "girls" birthdays this week at Quilters haven, where we meet for Wednesday Club. Diets went out the window as Maggie had made a huge Malteaser cake and Jenny made lots of individual Victoria sandwich cakes. "Yummy", though she did put creme fresh in the middles instead of cream. Jenny's token to our diets, I think not.

There were lots of Quilty things, and hand made gifts. Ann had made two great pouches for Alison, Fiona some lovely covered hangers for Ann and so it went on. I was very remiss or I was too busy eating cake. I forgot to take photos.

I am not doing very well with this losing weight thing. Last week, I went to our annual Stitch & Sip meal with all my knitting friends at Main's ,where we meet on Thursday evenings to do our knitting. No knitting was done , only eating and what a lovely meal!

Star blocks so far.

Some of the blocks we are making from our scraps, left over from our Friendship Quilts we all made last year, are coming in. We are each making one or two star blocks and when it's put together it will go to the Linus charity,

My WIP.

I am getting on with the quilting on this UFO. I intend to make the binding today, so as soon as the quilting is finished on goes the binding, which is my favourite bit of the whole quilt.

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

Is Spring Coming ?

I do think Spring is on it's way at last. This little patch of snowdrops appeared in my garden this week end and I have lots popping up everywhere. They were planted to remember my lovely father-in-law who died in January 42 years ago, and the only flowers to be seen in my then garden were snowdrops. So from then on, every house we have lived in I have planted Snowdrops for him.

I have been very busy this week as we had our first guests of the year in Sunny Cottage and we had to give it a good spring clean. So forgive me please, as it's a week since I rambled on in my blog.

Great fun was had at the Bee this week, and as usual every one was working on their own projects.

Annie's Homespun hearts. 

Jenny's finished table runner and mats.

Ann's Linus Quilt.

Alison's yo yo's for her Button Club Quilt

I finished the binding on my Quilt

I think you will laugh as I phoned my son to tell him he had a parcel on the way from me, and his comment was "have you been de-cluttering again"

Well in a way I have as all the fabric for the top came out of my stash. You would think my stash would have gone down, but it does not seem to have. Oh well ! on with the next project..

We are celebrating five of the "girls" birthdays at Wednesday Club this week, thought you might like to see I am all prepared...

Keep safe and keep stitching... Doti

A Quilt for Linus

Last summer my friend Ann made a quilt using all little two and a half inch squares that she had cut from her scraps. So I started cutting up two and a half inch squares and keeping them in a box with that thought in mind. Then I saw this quilt made by Red pepper quilts on the 22nd of January, and I thought that with some white fabric I might have enough squares cut to make a little quilt. So with some white fabric left over from the quilt I made for my son and daughter-in-laws wedding, I started making little nine patch blocks.

Nine patch blocks waiting to be ironed.

Nine patch blocks on the design wall but

 I think these will need rearranging before I sew them together.

blocks on design wall.

Blocks stitched together.

Now to add borders and backing. I chose some white fleece for the backing which I seem to have had forever, and then just quilted diagonally across all the white squares both ways. I found a binding already made up  from the twin quilts I had made for Sunny Cottage about ten (yes ten) years ago. I always make up too much binding, then put it in a drawer as it will come in handy some time. Ha!

Well it was perfect for this little quilt. I just love sewing on the binding and hand stitching the back. It's the best part of making a quilt.

And then "Voila" straight into the washing machine to give it the "LOOK". Well it did need washing,  some of these fabrics I have had for a long time.

Finished Quilt.

Nice binding Ya!

Well I am very pleased with my self, I have made my Linus quilt and have used up some more of my scraps! How good is that, very green don't you think....

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

Wednesday Club

Well, the snow had cleared enough for most of use to get to Wednesday club, which is as you know held  at Quilters Haven. It was so nice seeing each other again, every one was getting a little stir crazy at home. Me, I was so pleased to get my backing and wadding/ batting for my log cabin quilt, and yesterday spent my time basting it all together ready for quilting, and last night started on the quilting all snuggled up by the fire. "Heaven"

Basted and ready for quilting 

All the girls were working on different things, Sandra on the second of her twin grandson's quilts. They are lovely and all hand appliquéd. She is a fairly new to quilting but has lots of lovely ideas.

The first one finished 

Second one nearly finished

Maggie was well ahead of herself, making a table runner as a present for a friend for next Christmas!

Way to go Maggie.

Hand quilting.

Jean had finished her star block for the Charity quilt that we are making from our scraps of the friendship quilts we all made last year. I loved the way she had put the centre of the star together, with tiny squares of scrap fabric. 

Alison was working on her Button Club BOM by +lynnett anderson . that several of us have done, hers is so delicate and pretty. Mine is hanging in my sewing room, it took nine months to make but it was worth it. I love it...

Alison's BOM.

I took loads more photos at Wednesday club, but the rest were not so good, so will have to take some at the Bee next week. At Wednesday Club I was working on a UFO and when I was folding it up, Jenny stated it was "the epitome of sludge." Am I cross about that? No not at all, both Jenny and I love sludge colours LOL..

Stay safe and keep sewing........Doti

ps. Keep warm too...

P.S.

Yesterday, I said if I found the tutorial for the little pin cushions I would put it up, well I have found it or should I say it found me. I sat down at the big mac this morning and up it popped. I had saved it, and as it is much better than anything I could have done, here it is

  My Go-Go Life

Yesterday evening, I sat looking through my new knitting book and thought I might make my self the lovely Hoody in it. It was going to be the hat on the cover, but as my lovely husband bought me a rather nice grey sheepskin hat for Christmas, I thought I was more in need of a nice warm cardigan.so I have ordered the wool from my friend Anj at Meadow Yarns and now have to wait till it comes.

No sewing to show you, but thought you might like to see the little goblin that sits on the roof of what used to be my Pottery, till I retired and just did my warmer hobbies ie:- knitting and sewing. Ha! Ha!  

He looks a little perplexed at all the snow. I looked out of the kitchen window at him the morning and he is even more covered up. Oh dear, when will this snow go, soon I hope. Not sure if there will be any Wednesday Club tomorrow..

Keep safe and keep stitching...Doti..

Still Snowing.

Yes its still snowing here in Suffolk UK, though it does look lovely. It's very cold so I am staying in, keeping warm and getting on with knitting and sewing jobs.

My finished mittens.

I am well pleased with my lovely warm Alpaca mittens, and they were made with scraps from my wool basket. I now have to order some wool from my friend +Anj of Meadow yarns, as I would love to knit a hat from the book Colours of Shetland that I mentioned in my last post.

Two little pin cushions.

Here are two little pin cushions I made yesterday. I found this great tutorial on the net and I was going to link to it on this blog for you all to see, but I seem to have lost it. I was blog hopping as you do and for the life of me where it is now I do not know. 

I did take photos of some of the steps as I made the second one, to remind me how they were made. So I will try and sort you out a tutorial of some sorts tomorrow, or who knows I might even find the original.

Keep safe and keep stitching....Doti

No Quilting Bee this week.

There was no quilting at the Bee this week. It was cancelled due to the weather conditions. Lots of the girls live out in the sticks, so journeying to Wickham Market was a non- event. Several of us have skype so have kept in touch. Every one is cooking comfort food and getting some of their hand quilting done. What could be better than sitting by the fire with a quilt over your lap, hand quilting. 

That was to be my job for today, after having a big bowl of porridge for my breakfast, 

making Butternut squash soup for lunch and putting a casserole in the oven for tea. 

But as you know I am apt to go off at a tangent. I had received a book yesterday I had been waiting for from my friend +Anj of Meadow Yarns. The book was Colours of Shetland by +Kate Davies

New Book with scrap wool.

Well you know me. Straight to my knitting basket to try out a little project. I found some scrap alpaca wool from a previous project and decided to start of with a little pair of mittens. Will have to order more wool off Anj if I want to make anything bigger.

Bit Bin

I have done a little sewing. I thought I needed a little bit bin to put all the threads in rather than dropping them all over on the floor and sucking them up the hoover (they always get stuck around the brushes).It sits very neatly next to my sewing machine with its weighted pin cushion (sand) to hold it there, some of you may notice its scrap stripes from my log cabin quilt.

I took a little trip down the garden to look at the snow. It had only been trodden on by birds and looked really lovely. My little summer house looked a little sad though. You might know from previous blogs I sit in my summer house (I call it my shed) in the summer and sew. 

My garden

My neighbours garden

I thought my neighbours garden was rather beautiful though forlorn.

Going to sit in front of the fire and knit my mittens...

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

Excuses to Sew.

I do not really need an excuse to sew, but I do have one this week. It is so cold and miserable outside so definitely no work to be done in the garden. As I am typing this it is beginning to snow.

 I have a small wood burner in my sewing room, and my lovely husband has kept a good supply of logs coming my way.

Sewing on the flat crumb catcher.

Edge of quilt with borders.

 I have finished my log cabin top, including the flat crumb catcher and a two inch border. My friend Pam who was visiting, (also a quilter) tells me the American quilters call it a Zinger strip. I suppose it is really a bit zingie!

Not able to do any more until I get some backing fabric and Wadding or Batting as the quilters across the pond call it. 

So I have been a busy bee, pedal to the metal (as Eleanor Burns would say)  and made six Birthday presents. The sewing group I belong to has six of the girls all born in February, and we always exchange little gifts, so I am all prepared now. Just have to buy cards.

View up the road from my sewing room.

This is the view out of one of my sewing room windows. If this keeps up there will be no sewing at the Bee tomorrow, lots of the girls live in very rural areas. so they will not be able to get there.

Not all good today either, I thought I would do a little washing. First I turned a whole wooly wash PINK and as my friends will tell you I am most definitely not a pink person. My lovely cream cashmere socks are now barbie pink, yuck! and to crown it all I washed my husbands jeans with his leather wallet in the pocket, (all contents now drying out in front of the wood burner).One cross Bunny.....

View out another window.

Will write another post if we make it to the Bee tomorrow.

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

First Wednesday Club of the year

It is indeed the first Wednesday Club of the year, it seems a long time ago that we all met up. As you know Wednesday club is held at Quilters Haven our nearest quilt shop. They had lots of  lovely new fabrics in stock, but as you know from when I tidied out my sewing room I need  do not need fabric, in fact I could sell them some. I did however, buy a new fine line fabric marker pen (FriXion) that you iron to remove. There were 14 of us there in total, all doing different things. I was working on the first of my UFO (un finished objects) which of course is now a WIP. ( work in progress).

Block five 

 

I started this maybe 2 years ago. It's a whole cloth panel and this is the 5th panel. I intend to stitch them together in the "quilt as you go" method. I think I need 9 panels before I add borders. It's very relaxing and something I can do on the go as the panels are 20" square.

        Annie was busy making tiny Bargello strips( she likes tiny fiddly things) Look at her sewing basket under the table, also tiny blocks. I think these were going to be a Tea cosy.

Annie's Bargello.

 I just had to take a picture of this, Pippa was making a pieced border for her quilt and had laid them all out on her table, they were all so neatly pressed. I will show you the quilt when it is finished. It's lovely so far, and all recycled fabrics.

Pippa's neat piles.

    

   Much laughter was had and mainly at Jenny's expense again. She was making her star block with her scraps from her Friendship quilt but it did not help that the pattern she was using had a page missing.  Then sewing the final strip on she put it on back to front. We did laugh. Sorry, Jenny.

 Her finished block was lovely.

Jenny hiding behind her  faulty block

I have finished my Log Cabin blocks and later today I am going to sew them together. Then see if I need to make more blocks or put a nice border on. I do hope it's the later as I am a little fed up with making the blocks now, and I now know why I have not done log cabins for 20 years,

(pretty but monotonous). 

Ha! Ha! but it is for my son so shall soldier on...

Off to cook healthy lunch.

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

New Year

Happy New Year 

to all my friends and readers of this blog.

Today we have taken down the Christmas decorations, and as I am pleased to get part of my sewing room back, mainly my ironing area. It is a little sad to pack them away again for another year.

I want to tell you about some thing my friend Debs shared on Facebook, you find yourself a screw top jar and when good things happen to you, or that make you LOL, surprise gifts, accomplished goals, memories worth saving, daily blessings or are just lovely times .Write them down on a small piece of paper, fold them up and pop them in your jar. Then this time next year, open them up and have fun reading and remembering all the lovely things that happened to you in 2013.

My Jar complete with bow, only two folded papers so far.

 I thought this was a lovely idea and my husband is going to join me too. Watch this space.

I have not done a lot of sewing, just a few more log cabin blocks, but I did sign up to do a Craftsy course on Hand Quilting. I am not bad at hand quilting, and I do love to hand quilt my quilts,

 but I wanted to learn that rocking stitch that a lot of hand quilters use, but believe me it is not easy. In fact it is quite hard and this is going to take some perseverance on my part. Another space to watch.Ha!

I still have Bertha Bunny who I made just before Christmas, and I am afraid I kept for myself. I have moved her off the sewing machine, and she now is lolling on a lovely box watching all proceedings.

The box was given to me by my friend Jean and on the top it says,

"People walk through our lives but only friends leave footprints on our hearts"  

Bertha Bunny

I store little precious things in this box, and I love the saying on the top.

Now to get some sewing done. That is not a large cup cake, its my ribbon box.










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