End of Year Show and Tell

I can't believe the last few weeks have gone so quickly.

I have been sewing and felting up a storm as

 I set myself the challenge of making most of the presents this year.

Certainly the females in the family anyway, I find men difficult 

to buy for let alone make for.

We have also had a couple of Christmas events with Carols at the pub

which was fun and a Christmas party for the Surf life saving club

which was great fun.

I also had a coffee and mince pie morning with

the ladies at my Patchwork group  as we had our

end of year show and tell.

It made me feel a little inadequate seeing some of the work brought along.

I loved this one below. The ladies daughter

set her the challenge of doing something abstract

and her words were

 " This was the best I could come up with I'm afraid"

It's fantastic to see how so many different designs

appear when we are all given the basic block to work with.

I wrote about my version of this Here

The shop is starting up dress making classes in the 

new year and the lady running them put some of her

work on show.

I don't need beginners dress making skills

but I do want to learn to smock as this is fabulous.

I don't think I'm alone in this either as these 

dresses generated a lot of interest.

I can't show you any of my work except the advent calendar below  as some members of 

my family read my blog and it would give the game away.

This I made for my eldest daughter though 

and of course she already has it full of chocolates.

She absolutely loved it and I have to say it was good fun to make as well.

This quilt below is for one of the classes next term

and I love the colours so might have to use similar ones

for my project next term.

One thing I can show you is my Harris tweed 

applique project. I really like the colours

of this fabric and have used this little bag a lot.

The long wooden' button' I got n Australia a few years ago

and I think just finishes it off.

I didn't use any bond a web or stiffening on the appliqué and

it is fraying a little but I rather like like that.

I can open my Santa Sack Swap tomorrow so look out for another post very soon.

Gillxx

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

Pinspiration.

I love pinterest.

For a hoarder like me it means I can collect as many

ideas, patterns and pictures as I like without have shelves full

of folders and box files cluttering up the place,

although of course I do still have a few.

Well this week I had to clean up some jars to be used

as garden night lights at a wedding.

 It's a job I hate as it usually takes ages to get rid of

that sticky residue left by the labels.

So on to Pinterest to look at some of the weird and

wonderful home cleaning ideas that are on there and 

see if there is an easier solution.

Of course there was, how did I doubt it. 

The solution turned out to be mixing 

equal amounts of bi-carbonate of soda and vegetable oil,

Paint it onto the jar, make a cup of tea and catch up

on some blogs.

10-15 minutes later wipe the jar with kitchen roll

and pop in the dishwasher.

Voila

 beautiful shiny jars

which is wonderful as I have quite a few to do over the next

few weeks.

One of the other things I love doing is browsing charity shops.

This week I found this wicker basket which I 

knew would be the perfect size to put herbs in on my kitchen windowsill

but felt it was a bit dark for what I wanted.

So out came the left over white emulsion paint from the garage

and a couple of coats of paint later it looked much better.

While it was drying I remembered something else I

had seen on Pinterest and as the paint was out

I thought I would give it a go.

These two baskets have been used as waste paper baskets

and needed a bit of a lift.

Put the paint in an old washing up bowl and dip

the basket in the paint.  Then you sit there for ages in the sunshine

holding the basket and 

letting the excess paint drip back into the bowl. 

Then just leave them to dry.

Parsley, basil and coriander fit nicely

in their new container

With my lovely ceramic plant labels.

And

It might be back in the same position but it looks

a lot nicer I think.

So thank you Pinterest for the inspiration.

And to finish

 some flowers from the garden

Gillx

One Ends and Another Begins

Well my quilt is finished.

This is the one I have been doing in 

my Patchwork group since january.

The colours were specifically chosen for this spare room

but I think I should have added another couple of rows

 so it covered the whole top of the bed.

Never mind I will just have to make another one

to fit better but for the time being this one looks alright.

So work has started on this terms quilt

and I have decided to go brighter with

my colours this time although

I'm now wondering if they are going

to be a bit too 'in your face'.

I don't have a specific place or purpose for this one

so I suppose it doesn't matter really.

It's another sample style quilt with 6x12" blocks 

set on points. The spaces will probably be white to 

keep it light and airy.

So watch this space.

My other W.I.P at the moment is some more

baby named bunting, this time for a friends

little Granddaughter called Erin.

Pretty name.

I've been asked for pastel shades and this is what I've come up with.

I was going to do the letters in white but they don't look right

so have to try something else.

Since writing the above I've finished  the bunting and 

it has gone off to it's new home.

Now what's next on my list?

Gillxx

A UFO No Longer

I stitched this lovely whimsical girl a few months ago.

It was to be used as part of a folder

cover to commemorate the naming ceremony for my Great Niece.

It was done onto a vintage linen napkin with her name 

at the side.  The Pattern is one by Lilipopo

who does some really pretty bits.

  When it came to actually

making the cover I decided that it didn't really suit

so made it with just her name cross-stitched on the front.

That of course meant I had this just hanging around 

waiting for me to make something out of it,

 as, lets face it,  it was a waste not to use it.

So finally this week I have made it into a cushion

to take down with me next time I go West.

I have to say I'm really pleased with it,

 I hope her Mum and Dad feel the same.

Have a good day.

Gillxx

Spring Giveaway Win

My garden has come alive over the last week 

with flowers and plants coming out everywhere.

Even Mr T has got his legs out while we give the summer house 

a bit of a face lift 

and I made it a door hanger to brighten it up inside as well.

I also received my fab brooch which is my Giveaway win

from Dog Daisychains and goes perfectly with

my new jacket. 

Perfect!

So don't forget my own giveaway ends on the 10th.

See you then.

Gillx