Quilt update

This is really the best thing I have ever made, well, its the best thing I have ever sewn at least. I love it, and I have loved making it, working out the design was quite a brain fizz, then cutting all the bits was slightly tedious, with some frustration and mistakes thrown in. But seeing it take shape whilst dreaming about the baby was wonderful, the best bit by far. After making I sent it away to The Running Chicken to have it quilted, and they did a fantastic job... it was like Christmas when I received the parcel with my finished quilt. In fact it was Christmas, by co-incidence, so perhaps that was a contributing factor. I did manage a few snaps, and even send pictures to Ray Stitch where I bought the fabric, because I was sooo pleased with myself!

time to enjoy

Now on maternity leave from work I have moved to be with David (Mr V) in Essex. Home sweet home. I am undergoing a thorough life laundry - it's cathartic, and quite tiring. I have mobility challenges due to BUMP.
8 weeks to go now, during which I have Christmas to contend with. I love Christmas, making cards and buying and wrapping gifts., and while I am not at work I can really indulge my craft tendencies - brilliant.

I have also made a start on the long awaited Quilt. I did all the design and working out ages ago but the actual making (the good bit) got seriously delayed, due to my boring sickness, which has now, I am glad to say, subsided.

re - worked

I re - worked the quilt design. scaled it down and put a white design in the blank area, to see how it looks. I don't want to lose the design by putting too much pattern in. I quite like it.

new fabric woo hoo

after a bit of confusion with delivery I finally got the fabric for the quilt.
and got to work planning my design straight away. thought i'd cheat and do it on the computer first to check it looks OK before i cut the shapes... is that cheating? maybe - it just makes sense to me. didn't take long either.


I'm not sure if i should make the pinwheels smaller, and might change the border colour.

something to get excited about

Since the birth of my nephew 18 months ago, I have been very proud of myself for making him a little baby quilt, which has reportedly been very useful, and I hope will be a treasured childhood momento for years to come. The thought of having my own baby has given rise to much excited and enthusiastic daydreaming about a new quilt project.

I have done no sewing since January, I was so down and miserable at the end of last year, that I decided to give it up for a while, because I was turning it into a chore, rather than a pleasure.

now it's summer, I'm feeling better and I have a big reason to get stuck back in again. At Christmas I got a book from my Auntie, called Material Obsession, it is the most scrummy gorgeous book of quilt ideas ever. I defy anyone to not get inspired.


So I did a bit of online scouring for the greatest 'unisex' colourscheme and fabrics for the wonder-quilt. I found this great shop called Ray-Stitch they don't have vast collections, but what they do have is lovely, and also some organic stuff, which I am a big fan of.
they had a summer discount offer, so I went a bit mad and bought 3 bundles of fat quarters. can't wait to get them in my grubby little mits.


The wools are what Mum has got for her crochet project. Except not the Mint coloured one, I though that would be a bit yuk, so went with the brown and natural colours.
so excited.

I finally made it

yay. it is finished. my first patchwork quilt! I'm loving it, and I hope the baby does too, When he finally makes an appearance. Today he is 10 days late and counting! I was in such haste to post it off to mrs T, the expectant mother, that I have hardly taken any photos - not like me at all. It is so dark and miserable at the moment i am feeling pretty uninspired to take any pictures, or write my blog for that matter. I feel I need to make spring happen and start doing sunny weather things.


let see what happens.

Patchwork

I have decided to make a patchwork quilt for my sister, who is having a baby. I began very enthusiastically, buying lots of fabric, planning the design and then began to cut out all the little squares.....

and then I slowly lost interest

It was pretty boring - cutting out squares. They are not even small squares. I mean, imagine if I had decided to make one of those quilts with tiny hexagons or some other multi-faceted paneling. I think I would have lost the will to live.

As the last few prints lay discarded on my desk, and the birth of the baby draws ever nearer - I decided to take serious action, and get on with it. So this weekend, I have had a totally self indulgent time, alone in Falmouth, going out on boat trip on Saturday - see seperate post - and getting down to the dreaded patchwork today. I am most pleased with the results, as you can see the pattern is starting to take shape:


It took abit of time deciding how to make it look patchworky and random. I actually quite like the repeat I've settled with, it gives some uniformity to the panel as a whole.

now it looks pretty I think that I will be able to endure the sewing part....

latest sewing fad

Since getting my sewing machines back, I have been going crazy fixing lots of clothes that needed fixing. Wanting a "quick fix" of making a whole thing (clothes can take ages to make) - I have opted for the shoebag as my current favorite. I have made lots, which has been really handy for moving house, and gives major satisfaction as they hardly take any time at all to make, use up odd bits of cloth and ribbon or tape (very eco-friendly)and can be made in a multitude of sizes for different purposes.


these two are housing a hairdryer (in the small one) and a yoga mat (I'm particularly proud of that one.)

It's arrived!

yes, the moment I have been waiting for, the arrival of MY NEW SEWING MACHINE. Now it may seem rather odd to those non-sewers of you out there, but I can admit freely that I have always hankered after an industrial sewing machine. The fast staight line stitching, the ability to glide through several layers of fabric, and even to sew chunky denim and wool, are all attractive capabilities, you have to agree.

I decided I must have this wonderful piece of equipment after making the first few prototype handbags for my business, after much snarled up thread, and several frustatingly slow sewing hours, I realised that my 2 small domestic machines were really too feeble to match my ambitious plan for sewing. I scoured E-bay, and found a couple of things, but had no real idea what I was looking at, so contacted a dealer in the UK, who gave me the number for Mr L, in a town up the road. I went to visit Mr L, and he showed me his big warehouse full of machines, I phoned him up the next day to let him know what I had decided I wanted, and hey presto, here it is, or should I say 'here she is'? hmmm, should a sewing machine be male or female? I think perhaps I shall reserve judgement on that question, until continued use reveals the machine's reliability.

At this point I should let you see a photo of the fantastic thing:

and, of course, thank my Grandparents, who's post mortem generosity has enabled this business investment.

Down to business

Well, as I keep telling everyone, I'm starting my own business. So, what exactly is it all about? I have finally made my first 'prototypes', and took the opportunity to show them to a couple of friends, (& potential customers), to get their opinion. Fortunately, they liked them, and with perhaps a few slight adjustments, I could have someting actually saleable on my hands. Brilliant!



Next step is to get sewing and start finding local shops to sell them in.