Oranges and Lemons

 Hello and greetings to you all.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.

I have my eldest daughter home with me for a couple of weeks.

She is a teacher in Exeter, Devon which is a long way from

North Norfolk so I look forward to the school holidays

when she comes home for a while.

While she has been home I have managed to get 

my quilt from this terms Patchwork group finished

and it has gone off to her best friend from school 

who has just had a beautiful baby girl.

I had no idea what I was going to do with it when I 

started, I just thought I would go for something really bright 

and summery after having used quite muted colours on the 

others I have made.

The colours are a bit in your face aren't they.

When it came to putting it together I decided plain white squares

in the middle didn't look right.

I tried a trapunto pattern but that didn't go with the style

of the quilt and

 has ended up as a cushion

 Then my friend Lynn and I came up with a solution

that I love.

She has done a workshop in screen printing and has all the

equipment, so, I found myself a design and off to Lynn s I went.

We had a great day matching colours and trying 

different things.

Once it was all put together with my screen printed squares

I was really pleased with it and was pleased when 

it was so wonderfully received by it's new owner.

All my children love making and crafting things

and eldest daughter ( K) has been given a wonderful old 

Frister and Rosman sewing machine from her Aunt.

So I bought her a copy of " love at first stitch"

by Tilly, one of the contestants from the 1st series of 

the GB Sewing Bee. It comes with a pattern pack which you trace from

so I got some tracing paper as well.

Now K loves vintage style clothing and amongst the

stash of vintage fabrics I inherited from my Mother-in-Law

was this pretty cotton print which she has had her eye on.

So yesterday, with Mum around for advice if needed ( the zip 

caused a few choice words), off she went  to my sewing room.

 With the hem finished this morning, she has gone off

to the beach at Cromer feeling very pleased with herself,

in her new skirt.

And so my little one didn't feel left out

I made the draped top out of the

Great British sewing bee book for her.

It takes just a metre of fabric and was so quick and easy as 

there is no fitting etc to do.

She was thrilled with it but it is definitely not for someone with

a larger bust as, although it fitted me, it didn't fall right.

So that is what I have been up over the last week or so.

K is here for a few more days yet so there may be some more

sewing done before she goes back.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and speak soon.

Gillx