Finishing off and planning

This weekend saw the finishing off of a small quilt top I had just the borders to do on, the finishing of the pieced top of a beginners project for a workshop in March and the completion of my first block in the Seattle quiltshop star sampler quilt that I have signed up for this year.
Bonnyrigg quilters are running a one day workshop in March where the project will be the star quilt that is on last weeks blog and this little quilt which is ideal for beginner.  It is great fun as it is easy sewing but lots of opportunities to play with colour. 

I also met up for lunch with my 5 chums with whom I am planning a quilting retreat in Caithness in May.  Those of you who followed this blog last May will have read about our intrepid adventures north with sewing machines and enough fabric to cloth an army.  We had such a great time we are going again and we are swelling our number by two making us six in all.  We had a great stay and we so well treated by Lyn at Patwork Pleasures that we are making the trip north again.  There is much discussion about the nature of the 'difficult challenge' we will set ourselves - all of course over cake!  I came back from lunch fired up with enthusiasm and finished my star block for this month.

 

The little quilt that I bought the border fabric for last week (see last weeks post) is now complete to make three new quilt tops to add to the already significant pile of tops waiting to be finished.  I have promised myself that I will take Little Gracie out of her box and get on with a marathon top finishing month in March. 

Well coming up we have the Ingliston quilt show and the Guild Regional days so plenty to do in central Scotland in the next month.  

Now....I really need to find a chum who hates patchwork and loves quilting then I would really be making progress. 

Happy stitching

Snow hits North East again - Quilting called for

Friday morning saw the start of the snow again in Aberdeen and by early evening it was really deep and pretty difficult driving.  This picture was taken first thing in the morning.   I decided to spend the weekend in Aberdeen which meant shifting all sorts of arrangements around for next weekend but never mind - it gave me a bit of time for quilting and I will catch up with family and friends next weekend.

I finished the quilt top with stars.  Not for beginners really though anyone who can cut accurately and sew a consistent seam would enjoy it.   However, though it went together really easily there was a lot of sewing!  Don't look too closely at the seam matches..... I am pretty pleased with it overall though and my next task is to get it layered up and quilted. 

I decided to join the block of the month club at Seattle Quilts in Aberdeen which necessitated a walk to the shop on Saturday morning in the snow.   Have a look on their website to see their interesting classes and project.   It was as a lovely cold morning with lots of snow around and a very warm welcome in the quilt shop.  It is a real treat having a quilt shop so near.  I also picked up some border fabric for a simple  little lap quilt which has been sitting around waiting to be finished for ages so maybe that will be another finished object very soom.   It started life as a pack of shot cotton from Rowan fabric. The colours are lovely I think and I am looking forward to finishing it.

That's all from me for this weekend.  Let me know if you have any news you want me to pass on. 

Happy stitching

Stars in the night sky

I have set myself the goal of getting the quilt top for Bonnyrigg quilters finished by next Saturday and am now at the stage of piecing all the strips together.  Here is the work in progress.  It is a dark blue, mid blue and purple background with stars created from a flying geese construction.  Lots of pieces  - but a great way to get star points that don't get chopped off.  Hopefully the whole top will be done by next weekend.  It is based on a quilt in a book called 'Bundles of Fun'.  All the quilts in the book are based on 12 fat quarters.  You can find out more by clicking on the picture on the bar at the right.   Great for fabricaholics who want to justify more collecting by using some up.  

The other very quick project I have been doing this week is to make some necklaces from silk cocoons.  I bought a bag of lovely silk cocoon scraps at Harrogate before Xmas with no idea what I would do with them.  Then a chum gave me a necklace made of silk cocoons and felt 'beads'.  That inspired me to dig out my box of larger beads, many of them either from broken necklaces or from my bead collection  (yes I know we all collect anything we can get our hands on).  Here is the result.  The method is so simple and I made several in less than an hour.   You will need some biggish beads, some silk cocoons dyed - or undyed and dye them yourself - and some 7mm organza ribbon.  You can get the ribbon from your usual haberdashers or try the gift wrap shops.  The ribbon will thread through a bodkin or needle for sewing up  knitting.  The rest is easy, simple thread through the beads and cocoons in a pattern that pleases.  I did not bead all the way round.  The ribbon then just ties at a length that suits the wearer.   I think the colours are lovely.  Yocan get a great selection from Stef Frances - where you can also get wonderful embroidery threads - you can find them online at
 http://www.stef-francis.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3_4_9

That's all for this week.  Let me know about anything happening in the lothians or the north east. 

Happy stitching.

New Year Resolution

Well the festive season is over and among my many New Year good intentions is to get back to doing regular updates on this blog.  Those of you who have been following it last year will know that I did try to do a weekly update but my new job - which I really love - has been all consuming, so lots of other things have had to take a back seat.  So if you are still reading the blog after a huge gap thanks for your patience.

I have not been completely bereft of art, craft and stitch activities though - towards the end of last year a very dear chum treated me to a weekend in York and I will try to do a post on that once I have some of the pictures sorted out - the weekend included a visit to the Art Gallery, the Quilt Museum and to Harrogate to the stitch show - among many other things.  More on this to come. 

The snow of course has made life pretty tricky for lots of us.  It was very beautiful in the borders - travelling a bit tricky but a good excuse to sit by the fire with family and friends and catch up. 

Last weekend I walked the short distance from where I live in Aberdeen to Seattle Quilts.  It's a lovely quilt shop and the ladies who work there are really helpful and very friendly indeed.  Before moving here for work I was a sporadic visitor to both  Seatle Quilts   http://www.seattlequiltcompany.com/
and Patchwork Creations   http://www.patchwork-creations.com/
 the two quilt shops in Aberdeen.  We are very lucky here in Aberdeen to be so well served.   Now that I am living in Aberdeen for much of the time I have easy access to both.

Anyway, I was in search of fabric for a quilt I am doing as a workshop for Bonnyrigg quilters in March,  A star quilt of gold stars on mid and dark blue background.  I will post some pics of my progress with it in next weeks blog.  Seattle Quilts were having a marvelous sale on a really wide selection of fabrics.  Of course I succumbed a little but was very sensible and only bought what I 'needed'. 

I am now trying to carve out a little time each week to get back to stitching, going to shows and art exhibitions and will try to alert readers of the blog to events in the North East of Scotland and the South  East / Borders now that I divide my time between the two.  Lucky I have two sewing machines and two tables ( and now it seems two stashes!)

Coming up in my diary so far is the Spring Quilt show at Ingliston near Edinburgh 26th to 28th February,  a quilt retreat in late May to Caithness again with my great chums who went on the road together last year (see earlier blogs), and I have booked my flight to the Festival of Quilts which I missed in August last year as it was the weekend I moved to Aberdeen. 

Check out too the new exhibitions for this year at the Quilt Museum in York - there is a button to link you to the museum on the right of the blog.  If you are a readers in either of these areas feel free to let me know about anything you would like me to put in the blog.  If you are a visitor to Scotland let me know and I will try to point you in the direction of all things stitch which I know about. 

Happy quilting for 2010

Dry at last

Today feels like the first dry day in ages.  The burn in our village is full and flowing fast and the garden looks bedraggled. However, it was a fine morning and there was even some watery sunshine. 

Not much quilting this week but here is a pic of the little wallhanging that those attending Bonnyrigg Quilters Workshop last week could have gone on the complete had they wanted to follow on from the foundation piecing activity.  It is a very simple little quilt and the foundation patterns were adapted from Carol Doak's book.  

At the workshop last Saturday, Anne, one of the quilters taking part kindly shared a pattern for a small round table mat.  She emailed me the instructions and I have made one with another just needing the binding.  This is a really easy little hand project - perfect if you are stuffed with the cold and disinclined to do anything bigger or further from the fire.  

Having seen close up, a superb large finished quilt of different stars by a friend this weekend I am now raring to get back to one of the bigger quilts I am working on.  I might even dig out the Grandmother's Fan Quilt which as been waiting patiently for some time now to be finished. 

Next week off to York so will bring you news of the exhibitions there.  I notice that the Quilt Museum now lets you shop on line.