Playtime

Just look at all these lovely, happy colours. I am really going to enjoy sewing these blocks with all the gorgeous thread colours I've pulled out to use for the appliqué (aka app-lee-kay)  stitching.

Yep, it's definitely ....

bronken.

It's gone off to the dealer this afternoon and let's hope they can find the problem and fix it for me.

It's bronken*, how Bizarre ....

.... What's bronken?

My car, that's what's bronken.

Why is it bizarre? Well, read on and (eventually) you'll get to that bit.

Yesterday was the meeting of Yorkshire Modern Quilters so I set off to the local station to pick up Scrappy so we could set off for a day of fun with friends, fabric and food. I got there, in the pouring rain and left my engine running as Scrappy's train was just pulling in. She climbed in, and as she was settling into her seat we were both saying how excited we were cos one way and another it has been months since we last went to a meeting. Anyway, once she was safely strapped in, with her bags all securely tucked in too, off we set. Except ....

... I moved about two yards, Just enough that I was more than half way out of the parking bay and the engine died. I tried restarting, but, nope, nothing doing. I tried swearing, but that didn't help either. As I was a bit (major understatement there) in the way of other traffic coming and going, we thought we'd better push the car back into the space I'd just left, but the car had other ideas. Because it was an automatic, and because I'd put it into Park before trying the restart, it was effectively all locked up and wasn't going anywhere. So, back in the car for us, and we became a human (or automotive) roundabout and all the cars had to drive round us! at least we were out of the rain, and I called the breakdown service. It was going to be about an hour and a half before they would get to us, so we settled ourselves in for a good natter and even did our own little show and tell in the car. We had food if we were there a long time, so we knew we weren't going to starve although we might die of thirst cos we didn't have any drinks. (I must remember next time to breakdown near a Costa or Starbucks and not in the car park of a small, unmanned train station.).

Mr Breakdown arrived a bit earlier than we expected, which was good. He found that my battery was totally, completely and absolutely flat. He was puzzled for several reasons and our conversation went a bit like this:
Mr Breakdown: How bizarre, Honda's don't just cut out like that.
Me: Well this one did
Mr B: Honda's are one of the most reliable cars there are, it's very bizarre.
Me: I know, that's why I have Honda
Mr B: it shouldn't have just lost power while it was running.
I shrugged my shoulders.

By this time I had come to the conclusion that Mr B was in one of these challenges where he's given a word for the day and he has to use it in every sentence and the word of the day for yesterday was "bizarre". Anyway, he jump started the car, Scrappy climbed on a train and went home and Mr B followed me home. When we got back the battery had fully charged - in less than 3 miles. So, no sewing day for us and I'll be on the phone to the garage on Monday. The breakdown guy did say it was probably a one-off that will never happen again but if it did then I should contact the garage. Hmm, I don't think I want to wait. I was just thinking that if it had happened 10 minutes later, I'd have been driving along on the motorway and I don't drive at 50 (or even 60 or 70) on the inside lane as a general rule, so it could have been worse.

* Bronken: the word Chatterbox used to use when he was just starting to talk when something was not working. It's just one of those words that the family adopted and still use, just like we eat chinken!

Handy Household Hint number something or other....

.... When you put leftovers/spares in the freezer, always label them.

Why do I say that?  Well, one very cold morning this week I pulled out a bag of puréed butternut squash, intending to make a nice warming soup. Unfortunately, it wasn't butternut squash in that bag, it was actually Snickerdoodle dough! Oh well, we enjoyed some nice biscuits (cookies to my American friends) even if they weren't as warming as soup would have been.

Book review

I was recently offered a copy of the book called Machine Quilting with Style by Christa Watson to review. Since I already had the book, I passed the opportunity on to Scrappy, so here, in her own words, are her thoughts.

As an apprehensive machine quilter, I found the introduction to this book both positive and encouraging - "don't get hung up on perfection" along with " the most important tool for successful machine quilting is a can-do attitude."

 The book begins with good advice about the choice of batting, threads and work surface around the sewing machine before starting the topic of machine quilting by using the walking foot. The author acknowledges that this is where most of us start and it is good to be encouraged to think beyond stitching in the ditch. Quilt designs and machine quilting suggestions then follow with clear instructions, diagrams and pictures. The pages and pictures on continuous spiral quilting were very appealing and I was glad to note the tips for avoiding spiralling out of control!

The second half of the book tackles free motion quilting favourites with useful tips for getting started. Of particular note is 'Quilt Daily" - that encouraging tone throughout the book is exemplified by the suggestion that fmq should be practised for just 10 minutes a day in order to see improvement. Different hand positions are illustrated so that the novice machine quilter can see which feels most comfortable when guiding the quilt under the needle. Quilting designs then follow such as simple stipples, loops and spirals all illustrated on beautifully designed quilts with clear instructions where to start. Freewheeling vs Precision is highlighted - the choice between marking out the quilting diagram or going for "free-form and somewhat imperfect".

For anyone who is seeking to become more adventurous with their machine quilting this book is an excellent place to start.

I will also point out that the book includes 8 designs using your walking-foot, 10 free-motion designs and 12 quilt patterns.

Happy dancing ...

... is going on over here at QuiltTimes Mansion. I've been practising quilting with rulers as you know from my previous posts, and this is my latest effort.

When I bought the special foot, it came with one ruler, but the company had also put together a "sampler" package which I treated myself to. While I was waiting for them to arrive I spent hours watching videos on their site and also found one or two others on YouTube so once I had all these goodies in my hands I couldn't wait to have a go. After a couple of days of just trying things, I felt ready to really push my luck, so, I made up a quilt sandwich about 18" square and this is what I came up with. It may not be perfect, but I'm happy. 

Not bad considering I've only had the foot and rulers for 7 days.  

(Mind you, when I proudly showed it to Mr Fixit, he looked at it and said, hmm, it's OK but what's it going to be? After I counted to 10 I explained the "practice, practice, practice" idea to him.)

Now I'm off to sew some poor little orphan blocks together so I can get quilting on them.

I've been playing....

... and having lots of fun with my new quilting rulers.

Here are my first efforts. I know they're far from perfect, but considering I have only had them for 5 days, I am very happy.

I was trying curved cross hatching here cos I love the effect. This was really my first try at doing anything with a purpose, and I know the photo is slightly out of focus, and my spacing between lines leaves much to be desired, but I still love the effect.

This is my effort at using an arc shape to fill a border. I have learned that I need to "draw" in the boundaries before I start otherwise I am not very good at judging the distance.

and yesterday I got really ambitious.

All in all, I'm learning a lot during my playtime, and who knows, maybe one day I'll feel brave enough to actually do this on a real quilt.

it's playtime ...

Look what Father Christmas has just delivered:

There's a special quilting foot and all these rulers so I can have a go at quilting with rulers on my domestic machine. I've been watching videos and am now excited to get started and see if I can do this.

By the way, I've also decided to join the 21st century, and am now on Instagram. I can be found by just typing in the name QuiltSue, I think. This is thanks to Helen, who gave an impromptu tutorial to a few of us while we were on the retreat last weekend.

and I'm back ...

... from my quilt retreat with members of the Yorkshire Modern Quilt Group.

I had a fabulous weekend with 15 friends, lots of chatter, laughter, eating and, of course, sewing. Not that much sleeping went on though and on Saturday night some of the die-hards were still hard at work (chatting anyway) at about 1am I gather.

Scrappy and I arrived early so we had time for lunch on Friday although we couldn't get into the sewing room until about 4.30. So we ordered a sandwich each and a plate of chips (french fries) to share and the portions were large enough that we really only needed one sandwich between us. Still, we managed to eat it all. Other people started arriving and soon we were able to get into the sewing room.

We had a lovely big room with plenty of natural light, room for a table with coffee and tea making facilities and a large "treat" table. That table, I can tell you, was the ruin of any diets for the weekend. What's more, it was magic. As fast as we all ate, it never got empty.

There was a great goody bag for each person with gifts like magazines, fabrics, threads, vouchers and all sorts of lovely things.

 We were able to sew, eat, chat, repeat, as often as we wanted and I managed to make a quilt top (no photo for some reason) and sort of master machine applique with my new machine. I have never had a machine with a button-hole stitch before, so I had fun playing around using that and trying out different threads. This was the beginning of a quilt, until I realised that I did not have enough of the right fabrics, so they will become a table topper I think, and I will make the quilt from different fabrics.

I then moved on to a different applique project and am making slow progress with it and having fun.

We also had a raffle and a quiz, and, on Sunday a little fresh air was called for, but don't worry, we had a good reason for abandoning our sewing machines, as you can see. A fire alarm went off and we all had to evacuate while the firemen came and extinguished the fire (which I was told was in the kitchen, but we still got our meals served up so I'm not sure). We also had snow, but not enough for us all to have been snowed in. (What a hardship that would have been, snowed in while staying at a hotel for a quilt retreat.)




All in all, a great weekend thanks to L & H (the organisers) and everyone else who was there and now I'm looking forward to the next one.

Hello ....

.... is it safe to come out now? I have been hiding away over New Year as I really did not want to do the traditional review of 2015/planning ahead for 2016 thing. 2015 was not a good one health wise for either my husband or my father, and who knows what this year will bring to them? Neither of them are suffering with things that will get better unfortunately. I have not really done any sewing since October when my father became seriously ill and I have spent a lot of my time caring for him. This meant that I have been beyond tired and not had the energy to do much when I had free time. However, things are improving. Dad's improved to the point of getting up every day and although he is very weak, he is a little more independent. Starting last week, I have had some help with him and he now has a carer coming in twice a day which gives me some free time and I am starting to recover.

Next weekend I am off on a 3 day quilting retreat with members of the Yorkshire Modern Quilt Group. I am really looking forward to it, and have started gathering up my projects and making plans. I have gifts ready for my mystery gift swap, treats ready for the treat table and am good to go. The great thing about this retreat is that it is only about 15 miles away, so I can get home easily if I need to.

As part of my "getting ready" I decided I needed some zippy bags to organise things into, so I ordered some from Amazon. They came in a pack of 5 A2 size and were delivered this morning. below you can see the box they came in on the left, and the actual bags on the right. Slightly over-packaged maybe?

Also I am going to "try" and make a scrappy quilt while I am there, and worked out how many scrappy strips I would need, so I could cut them ahead of time. Well, I am so insecure about this scrappy lark, that I have actually cut enough strips to make three quilts!

Review ...

... (please note that I was given an e-copy of this book to review)

There may not have been much quilting going on around here lately, but that doesn't mean I can't read about it, so, when I was offered a free copy of this book to read and then write an unbiased review, I leapt at the chance.

Simple Blocks, Stunning Quilts the Squareagonals Way, by Sandi Blackwell

I have been aware in a vague sort of way of Squareagonals before, but never really known much about it. Well, it turns out to be really simple. You make blocks for a quilt, lay them out and sew them together, make two cuts across your quilt top, rearrange them and sew together again, and hey presto, you have a quilt that is set on the diagonal, with no worrying about setting triangles or silly maths or anything.  There are six designs in the book but each one shows an additional two layouts, so in fact there are eighteen quilts you could make. The instructions for the blocks are all well-written and a relative newcomer will be able to make most of them. The only stumbling block might be finding the courage to take the plunge and making those scary cuts at the end. I think it'd be well worth it though for the great looking design you could end up with. It's certainly a technique I intend to have a go at as soon as I get the time to get back to quilting.

Happy Christmas

Do you like my latest Christmas tree?

It's made of biscuits and I actually made it myself. 

(Most people don't realise what a Domestic Goddess I am.)

It was very tasty, even if I do say so as shouldn't.

Have a great day everybody.

It's definitely ...

... Christmas in my house, look

and here is my first Christmas present of the year.

Isn't he gorgeous? This cute little snowman was made for me by Scrappy. I really love him and it makes me realise that I must learn how to machine applique soon.

Meanwhile, because Dad's been very ill, I've been spending a lot of time sitting with him, so my lovely new sewing machine is not being used very much at the moment, but I have managed to do a some hand sewing at the same time. 

There will be three little redwork squares made into a small wall hanging. Mrs Nomad saw this and asked if I'd make it for her for Christmas. Fortunately she didn't specify which Christmas cos so far I've only got this square complete and half of the next one! 

My gift to Scrappy was only finished at the last minute. She and Mr Scrappy were coming visiting last Sunday and it was the last time we'll be able to get together before Christmas and Saturday evening at 9pm saw me putting the last stitch into my gift to her, and I know she was also doing last minute sewing. 

Hmm, maybe next year I need to restart the Christmas Quiltalongs? What do you think? Who'd be with me?

It's beginning to look ....

.... a lot like Christmas ....

Well, I'm here, ....

.... but is anyone there?

I know I've been very quiet lately, but it's been due to ill-health unfortunately. It started with Mr Fixit developing a virus which gave him a temperature and a horrid cough for some weeks. Fortunately, he is virtually over it now. Then my father was ill again. This time he was confined to bed for quite a while but he is now making slow progress. Father was taken ill before we were due to go on our quilting retreat to Bridlington, so unfortunately I could not go. That was a shame cos I'd been looking forward to that and had projects planned, fabrics bought, etc. and I was really looking forward to the food. Still, that's how things go sometimes isn't it? Then, not to be left out, I decided I ought to have my annual chest infection a bit early this year, which has wiped me out for the past week. I'm getting better too and I can now talk again, but I'm still prone to coughing a lot.

One good thing about not going on the retreat is that my son and his family came up for a few days. They were here for Halloween, so here's a picture of young Mr D all ready to answer the door to Trick or Treaters.

and here's a picture of the pumpkins they carved

So all that means no sewing has been happening and if I don't get my act together soon, Christmas won't be happening here either.

One of us ...

Scrappy and I had another lovely day out today, with wonderful food, but, one of us is on a diet. You can tell, can't you?

Vote now ....

.... at the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  You can vote for up to 3 quilts as your favourites and cast your vote by clicking on the little heart in the top right hand corner of the thumbnails. Just in case you have fallen hopelessly in love with my quilts and would like to vote for them, here they are again

                       

            This one is in the Original                            and this is in the Modern quilts

                   design section, here

They did the Mash ..........

It's Halloween again.  If you've been with me for a year or more, you'll know that I love to hear the Monster Mash at this time of year, and here is this year's version.
Warning: it's not very scary just quite funny.

Happy Halloween

Blogger's Quilt Festival 2015 - Original Design entry

This is my entry into the Original Design section of the Blogger's Quilt Festival being organised by Amy Ellis from AmysCreativeSide. You can read more about the Festival here, but in summary, this is an event that Amy organises twice a year and it is open to anybody in the whole wide world (or further!) It is not a juried event, so if you have a quilt you would like to share, then just go here to read all about how to do it. In about a week, viewers can vote for their favourite quilt in each section, and there are prizes involved. To see all the entries in the Original Design section, just go here.

So, here is my entry into the Original Design category of the Festival.  This quilt is called Charming Columns, cos it's made from Charm packs and is asssembled into columns (aren't I clever at naming my quilts?) and measures 54" x 60".

 

This was started when I went to a class (which was run by my friend QuiltHaze) with Scrappy. I didn't want to make the quilt that everyone else was doing (yes I know, typical stroppy student, me) so asked if it would be OK to do my own thing and QuiltHaze was fine about it, so this is the result.  Just because I can, here are some more pictures of the quilt.

When it came to the backing, I found I had miscalculated somehow on the amount of fabric I would need, so I had to get creative, and here is the result

This quilt has been published in November's issue of British Patchwork & Quilting, and all of the photos have been taken from the magazine, with their perrmission.

Blogger's Quilt Festival 2015 - Modern Quilts entry

... for the past few years I've managed to forget to enter this event organised by Amy Ellis from AmysCreativeSide, so this time I made a big effort to remember.  The festival is open to anyone to enter a quilt and there are loads of different categories, there will be voting in each category for the Viewer's Favourites, and there are some great prizes too.  To read more about it all, you can go here.

This quilt, called Colour Boxes is my entry into the Modern Quilts section of the festival and you can see all the quilts in this section, here.

Colour Boxes measures approximately 50" x 50" and I designed it specially to use fairly large pieces of some fabrics that I loved and didn't want to cut up. Here is a flat shot of it

It was fun to make, and also to quilt.

I chose to do an allover quilting pattern that almost looks like great big flowers bursting out of the boxes and as luck would have it, I had some variegated quilting thread that has all the colours of the fabrics in it.

The pattern for this quilt was published in Make Modern last month.