Pack Up Your Troubles

I woke up at about 4:00 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. So 4:30 found me sitting at the computer writing a newsletter about the latest Kansas Troubles Fabrics.

I remembered that there's a block called Kansas Troubles, so I played around with it in QuiltPro4 and came up with this design, which I've called Pack Up Your Troubles.

You can buy the pattern for £5, or better still, order a couple of metres of the Kansas Favorites Fabric and we'll send you a FREE copy of the pattern.

Jelly Roll Part Two - at last

I've been stock taking for most of the day - Year end coming up.
However, after that I decided I deserved some sewing time.
Having taught a Jelly Roll class yesterday with two students making the Star-Crossed Quilt and the other student making the Basketweave Quilt, I thought it was about time I got my own sample of the Basketweave Quilt finished off.

From one single Jelly Roll, I used half (20) the strips to make the Star-Crossed Quilt and have just used up the remaining 20 to make this one. I used the same co-ordinating fabrics in both quilts so they could go on two single beds in the same room (if we only had a spare room with two single beds in it!)
Of course, you can see I haven't got around to attaching the borders yet, but that's for another day.

If you haven't seen the other Jelly Roll Quilt in the gallery then here's a reminder of what it looks like:

Kaleidoscope Frenzy

I'm working on an idea for a new workshop. It'll be called Kaleidoscope Frenzy. Here are 18 of my kaleidoscope hexagons; I have another 18 to make.

I've worked out some great tips for getting the hexagons just right and for the centres to all be perfect (well nearly!).

Maybe not a great choice of fabric, since it was predominantly green, but it's all a learning curve.
I'm planning to insert some other hexagonal blocks and will use those to bring out the other colours - orange, pink and black.

Watch this space for progress!

Buckeye Charm and Pocket Bag

Back in September / October I was making this quilt and I wanted to share it here, but couldn't in case my Mum saw it. It was a surprise gift for her and David's 25th Wedding Anniversary.

Well now they have it; it's on their bed and goes beautifully with the colour scheme in their bedroom.
It's the Buckeye Beauty block and is made from two charm packs, hence the name - Buckeye Charm.

Over the weekend I have been working on an idea for a new bag design ready for a workshop in March.

This one has a row of three pockets on the outside, another double pocket inside and nice long handles so that it'll go over my shoulder.

Haven't got the patterns sorted yet, but I'm working on them and they'll be available on the web-site as soon as they're done.

Christmas is a-coming

I spent the day making Christmas cards. Used a combination of Free Motion Embroidery and some of the decorative stitches on my machine (Janome Memory Craft 4800) and Mettler metallic threads. I just drew a rough outline of the image I wanted using my Sewline white marker, filled in the shape with fancy stitching and then straight stitched around to neaten off the outside.

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All snowed up

After constant snow fall during the night I decided to cancel classes for the next few days. I don't want people to risk trying to get here and getting stuck on the way.
This posting is a bit of an experiment; the first time I have blogged direct from my phone, including a dodgy photo of the snow take this evening, out of the backdoor.

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Thanks for the push, Viv

Thanks to Viv for 'nagging' because I haven't blogged for a while, I decided to let you know what progress I've been making lately.
Following the Mariner's Compass Quilt class on Friday morning, I got my 'West' block complete (as in North/South/East/West) and finally got all those blocks along with some border pieces attached to my compass.

I know the white looks a bit stark in the photo, but it's going to have a trailing vine of flowers appliqued all over it, so that will tone it down a bit.

Prior to that I've been catching up on a bit of quilting. My favourite quilt of the moment is the Four in a Box quilt. I didn't like it much at first, as it was all a bit too busy, but it's definitely growing on me and fast becoming a favourite to snuggle up with on the sofa.

I took a while to decide how to quilt it, but in the end I went for "In the Ditch" around each block, and then a geometric pattern in each Four-Patch and a trailing vine of hearts in the border.

Christmas is Coming

Well it's only 4 months away - as at yesterday.
For once I'm ahead of the game and have completed my samples for this year's Christmas Patchwork Workshops where we'll be making a Christmas Star Table Runner and matching Placemats.

Well, when I say completed I mean I've done the patchwork bit, but they don't have any backing or quilting yet.
I used fabrics from the FruitCake collection by Moda.
And I'm planning to use the same block to create a Sofa-Throw, but I'll probably try different fabrics for that one.

Foundation Piecing - You can do it too!

I've shown pics of this quilt at various stages. Now it is finally quilted and bound.

If you want to make one for yourself I have a mail order Block of the Month Workshop for it.
You get a fabric pack up front in a choice of colours and then instructions every month to make all the blocks and the border.

Food For Thought

So, if you looked at the photos from the other day - kitchen floor tiles - large cooker in the background - you'll realise that we love to cook. Well, Alistair does most of the cooking these days, since I am busy with my workshops. Yesterday he came up trumps - using a rather over-grown courgette from our garden. He sliced it open, removed the seeds and stuffed it with beef machaca mixed with borlotti beans, chopped onion and peppadew peppers (you could always use some chilli con carne). Topped with grated cheese and breadcrumbs and baked in the oven for about 40 minutes (could have been a bit longer). Served with sour cream and chile sauce. Yum Yum. I'd love to do this again!