Ahead of myself.

February is just here, but my February bee blocks are done!

Our lovely bee mamma for February was up and at it and raring to go...so she sent out the fabric packs in the last week of January.

The brief, make 12.5" (unfinished) churn dash blocks, using her purple fabric for the actual churn dash bits, and use from stash to complete the blocks. Also do something a bit different with the blocks, something to make her smile... Anything goes, she said... well, if anything goes... I went!

 The first one came to me at work...You know I love making those pinwheel blocks, and I just thought, I could do a double pinwheel... couldn't I?   so I did! Very dramatic with the orange and green.

Then, I had thoughts, I had second thoughts, yes, and third thoughts... I was going to twine a vine around the elements of the churn dash... but when I actually came to make the block, something else entirely appeared! How does a block take on a life of it's own and do it's own thing, rather than what you plan? I do not know...





but it does! I looked at what else is going on in the group, and I had doubts... am I taking the 'anything goes' too literally? Well it is done now, and mamma for the month has seen them on Flickr- and she seems to like them! So they shall go in the post next week, but what do I do for the rest of the month?

 I shall have to dig out a UFO or something... You are sorry for me? really?

In all dimensions

 You may remember this block...

















and you may remember this one too..












well they joined with some friends, and all came together to make this quilt!

 Backed in a pretty fleece, and bound in shades of purple, and looking fresh and pretty thrown over the back of my sofa.. All the wrong colours for my living room, but who cares! I love it anyway!
I am really pleased with how it worked out in the end! and a big thank you to a rather good friend who helped poke me in the posterior to get it finished! Thank you!

Ended up 55" square, so just nicely works as a cover for a double bed, not draping down the sides, and would look great on a single bed, too.

Bee blocking

At the moment I am taking part in two bees. These each run a little differently, and one asks for one block to be made, and the other, two blocks. This is very straightforward, but I seem to have trouble remembering that they do not both want two blocks!

So, first, the ' fat Stash Brit Bee' . For this one, you send a FQ's worth of gift fabric, and ask for what you wish, and the bee members create a block, 12.5", using fabrics from stash, with or without using the gifted fabric. Clearly, you want to send fabric which will help tie together all the blocks when they return, so, this month, Celtic Thistle sent fat quarters of cheerful plains, to be made to her pattern, adding in low volume neutrals, to really make the solids pop. I was lucky enough to get red through my letterbox, and quickly got a block made. However, my careful planning just missed...




 Do you see where I went wrong? I transposed two quarters.. Now I need to get that stitch ripper busy. Not having spotted that one, I happily got on with number two..

I had forgotten that only one block is needed...
and happily this one seems to have behaved itself. So, I shall have to sort that first one, but not just yet, as I have had to pack away the sewing machine for a short while. More on that later...











The other bee is the HipBee. With that one, we are sent a sufficient quantity of fabric to create a block, and return any extra with our TWO blocks. Jill waned beach huts, and sent a pretty selection of fabrics for us to do our worst, and create whatever our imaginations may come up with. There were also two pieces, one blue, and the other white, as backgrounds for the blocks.  So, a good bit of thinking, and a little bit of drawing, and these blocks came up.

  I had great fun working out how to introduce the 3 D effect on the parasol

There would be room for a little extra on this one, but, on balance, I am going to leave it now, quite apart from the fact that my machine is in hiding.








Why is the machine hiding away?

because of this! That is a hole in the ceiling




We are to have a plasterer coming in tomorrow, and she will be repairing this hole. So, my usual sewing haunt will be out of commission, and I think, once the ceiling is done, I will probably need to continue and redecorate the rest of the room.. It is a good job the Easter break is coming, and should give me time to do it.. With a bit of help I hope!

Wish me luck getting my sewing back up and running soon!

day off

 The Hipbee block for this month was set by Catherine. She chose this very pretty block, called Jared Takes a wife, which had really clear instructions, at Quiltville.

Catherine made it really easy, providing fabric already cut into appropriate strips and squares.

It is, however, quite surprising how easily I can sew two pieces together, intending to make that pointy bit, and get it wrong!

My trusty little seam ripper got rather more exercise than I would have preferred.

In fact one of those little pointy numbers was taken apart 3 times...

I can't wait to see what the other colourways are!

We are coming towards the end of our round the world trip  quilt and there are only a few more blocks to go. The last but one for me is entitled ' Twelve bar blues' . An all blue 12.5" unfinished block is requested, so I came up with this, 

Again, this is the result of fiddling about with a piece of paper, whilst watching television. But, I think it fits the brief. And then, as I had nothing better to do ( cough, cough) I just felt like making the next one. 

Those three dimensional blocks are so addictive....

June already!

 Well, May was a busy month! I had decided to participate in a basket swap, and was lucky enough to get May as my partner. She is a quirky fun sweet lady, and in the time I have 'known' her, I have got rather fond of her. Now, we also were in an apron swap, and she got rather a 'thing' about skulls. So, I do not know, if you can quite see the quilting on that top basket? I put skulls round it, as a bit of an in-joke. I was trying diversionary tactics too, that she was not my partner, by starting the basket making, with orange. And then progressing to yellow and red. But she is a clever cookie! and saw right through my tactics, She knew these were for her!

So I added a couple of sillies, and posted them off! Happy baskets May!

 Now, I am also mad enough to have joined the name tag swap for FQR, and have designed and made this tag. I know my partner had a stated preference for a lanyard, so that is what I have produced, and I trust the 3D flower will be enjoyed. It was posted on Wednesday, so, if the Post Office is co-operating, she should have received it by now. I hope to hear soon.

 In hipbees, lovely Sarah gave us a different challenge. She sent fabric, and we could do any block we wished! The red and cream is lovely, and it produces a really lovely block, almost whatever you want to make! Sarah has some really pretty blocks from the whole group.





And, as a by product, it inspired me to use some fabrics which I had already 'bundled', to make 3 D blocks and put together a quilt top. I have started sashing- but life keeps getting in the way!











I occasionally go to a new little local craft group.  The group is mainly papercrafting, but 'anything goes' , so knitters, sewing ladies and all sorts attend. The skill levels are very varied, and everyone is made welcome.
This has started up in Lowton, and they asked me to do a tutorial for these silly little embellishments that I often use on cards- some of you will recognise these. 

 I tend to think they are so simple, I can produce a card in 5 or 10 minutes, with these, but it does take longer to explain than to do, and an hour or so on, about 5 or 6 folk had put cards together, with these pretty little nothings on. Very effective.  I hope they will do them again, without my beady eye on them!

May's Stash Bee block was asterisks, quick and easy, I look forward to seeing what Bri does with them.

and then, there were the round the world blocks too. I can see now, why folk do this round up! It really focuses on what you have achieved, and lets you see past the bits left wanting, and so encourages you to go forward!

And, linked with Lily's quilts, for Fresh Sewing Day!

Pretty things!

 A little while ago, we had a mini competition, in Quilt around the world.
We were asked to find something that said 'spring'. It could be something we had made, but did not have to be, it could be a whole quilt, or just a block, so I found a quirky little block, on flickr, which depicted  a swing under a cherry tree.

(I have put the link in,as I do not think it would be right to borrow her image. You can see it on the link. )
This was made by FlossieBlossoms, and is lovely. There are a whole set of these, in subtly different shades, and the whole thing is just spring in a nutshell!

And my choice was the winner! Thank you Elizabeth, for this super prize! It arrived on Friday.  The twill tape matches the green and blue of the boho perfectly. And thank you to the innocent author of the block!   Amn't I the lucky one?

Strange things appear in strange places. This old bathing dress is a display item in a second hand furniture store. This is one of those odd quirky places straight out of some atmospheric novel. Rooms lead off rooms, you go up one staircase, and down a different one, along a corridor, being careful not to fall over random broken coal scuttles, and up another, broken, and rather dingy stair, and the, on the landing, a gorgeous Edwardian bathing dress greets you!
lovely cotton lace trim, a strong ticking type fabric, and matching underpinnings!

Sorry, the pictures were taken on my OH's mobile phone, and they are not brilliant, but I think you can sort of see the attached bloomers!



And yes, that is me, being wicked and taking a look at those underneaths- 'Down there!'

This is beautifully made- but I am happy not to have to wear that type of garment these days!

I had to have the photo, in case I am ever asked to make one!

 But today, I have managed some intrmittent sewing.

Four more blocks,  two stars, and two more 3D pinwheels.

 Now to do a bit more 'think about it'