A pincushion

Another quickie today just to help me work through some of the pics piling up in my "must blog about" folder.





It's a really simple pincushion that my former SU mummy Jules showed me how to make.

I used the Timeless Portrait Fabric from Stampin' Up! and a nice big button in Cherry Cobbler.

Goodness only knows why I keep making pincushions - I have several now!

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Quilted patchwork bag

Remember the fab patchwork bag pattern and kit I got from Knitting & Stitching last year? Well, it's still sat part-done in a corner of my room, along with many other WIPs and UFOs.

I have done a little more - the front and back pieces are now finished.





And quilted!

I even bought the Bondaweb to do the applique on the flap.

My excuse at the moment is my lack of sewing machine - mine is in its new home at my office so it's there ready each time for the patchwork course.

No matter, as I have plenty of other things to do ...

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Chain piecing

I have recently learnt a marvellous patchworking technique that makes certain blocks so quick and easy ... chain piecing! Wow!

For things like Log Cabin and Courthouse Steps it is perfect and saves A LOT of time becasue you can work on lots of units at once and reduces confusion because they're all at the same stage each step of the way.

Here's my first Log Cabin unit ...



And all four together to make one block.



And then I did Courthouse Steps ...





So hat makes three whole blocks from my patchwork course now!

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Inner City block completed

My Iinner City patchwork block is now finished!



I'm loving geometric designs, and of course I always like working with hexagons.

They all got pieced together ...



Then hand sewn on to a plain backing fabric.



Love, love, love the optical illusion. I keep staring at it!

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Adinkra fabric with the Embroiderers' Guild

Last weekend was our monthly Embroiderers' Guild meeting. I love these sessions as they are proper me time when I can learn and be inspired without having to do any organising or thinking!

Our topic was Adinkra fabric and stamping and we also had a workshop in the morning.

Magie Relph was our guest and she came along to show us how to make our own stamped fabric using traditional stamps from Ghana.

Here are my attempts ...

In the afternoon she then took us on an imaginary tour of several African countries and told us all about their textiles.

I was amazed by the size of the clothes the men wear during ceremonies - the weight of them would probably crush me!

This is one of my favourite fabrics she showed us - a more modern version of traditional Adinkra stamping.

Magie also has lots of lovely fabrics to buy. I purchased these ...

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Canvaswork wallhanging

One of the things I purchased at the Knitting & Stitching Show was a cnvaswork wallhanging kit.

As with most things it took me a while to get round to it, but it is now finished and hanging up in my room.

There are four square tiles, each worked on canvas in six strands of embroidery cotton, then backed with a plain fabric with a square of wadding inside.

They each have little beads all around the edges too.

Here are the four tiles:

I'm getting to be a big fan of canvaswork now - there's something about the texture that I love.

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An iPad cover

Having invested in an iPad the other week I had to then make myself some sort of pouch to keep it in.

Rather foolishly I decided it should be patchwork, which meant it took rather a long time to complete (six hours to be exact!).

In fact, it took me nearly as long to decide which fabric to use! In the end I settled for Etchings by 3 Sisters for Moda, which I had a charm pack of. I selected the prints I wanted to use and set about cutting them into 2" squares.

Here I am ready to go ...

And here are all the squares ...

The next step was to piece them together. I sewed them into strips, then sewed the strips together, and quilted them down to a piece of batting with a red zigzag stitch.

This made the back piece and envelope flap. For the front piece of the pocket I used a plain fabric with one strip of the squares on.

Stitched together round the edges, et voila!

I also made a binding for the top of the pocket in the same strip of squares.

It was certainly a labour of love and it works just great, but if I make similar things again there will not be anywhere near as much patchwork!

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Learning patchwork - Inner City block

I'm taking part in a beginners patchwork course at the WI Office in Rodley over the next few weeks.

Led by the incredibly talented and experienced Anne Starkey it is a six-week programme that shows us several different blocks and styles of patchworking.

Earlier this week our first session was English piecing, which is something I have done before. I always need more practice though and Anne is full of wonderful hints and tips.

We had a choice of Tumbling Blocks or Inner City, and I chose the latter.

Basically, you sew strips of three different fabrics (roughly light, medium and dark) together on the machine, then use freezer paper to make little hexagons. They then go together in threes to make the 3D geometric shapes.

Hopefully here you can see how it comes together.

I need to get these finished off and stitched together before the next session in a couple of weeks.

On the agenda for the rest of the course is: chain piecing, curved piecing, American piecing and foundation piecing. We'll be doing blocks such as Log Cabin and Monkey Wrench. Drunkards Path is on the list too but I don't like that and it's rather tricky so I'll be doing a different curved one.

It will probably become a quillow when finished, but we'll see what happens!

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Quick quilt update

Here's my quilt at 11 rows sewn together.



I've now done 12 and my size estimate seems to be right, so just five more rows to go!

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Crazy patchwork keyrings

A little bit of crazy patchwork for you today.

We're trying to get together some new goodies to sell on our Buns & Roses craft stalls, so I rustled up these little keyrings.



I pieced together scraps on my machine, then made a sandwich with the crazy patchwork piece, pelmet vilene and a single piece of fabric on the back.



Stitched over the fabric joins on the top piece through all layers, then round the edge, and finished off with pinking shears and an eyelet and keyring.



Rather nifty I think. Hope they sell!

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My birthday week

T'was my birthday on Thursday and I was very lucky to spend at the The WI's Denman College in Oxfordshire.

My room ...



I was there as the College Host for the week, which meant I was there to assist with any problems and generally keep an eye on the students and visitors.

This turned out to be the main part of my job as Hazel Everett was there teaching a goldwork course and she always manages to have a classful of cheeky women! There was plenty of laughing going on, but their work was fantastic too.

It was incredibly busy at times but always great fun and I met some lovely people.

On my birthday everyone sang as I walked into the dining room for breakfast and there were lots of treats and surprises for me. I can think of no better way to spend a birthday than in beautiful, peaceful surroundings with dozens of (slightly crazy) women and having all your meals cooked for you!

Among my pressies I had a box of cucpcakes delivered from my friend Kat, Hazel's goldwork book, plenty of wine and sweeties and .... an experience day at Silverstone!

Hayley, Helen, Flower and my mum had coordinated to get me a session driving a single-seater at the track. I was so excited and overwhelmed with it all I was bawling like a baby!

Cupcakes ...



Needless to say I had an excellent birthday and a really lovely week.

On Thursday night I hosted a quiz for some of the students, which seemed to go down well, and we even got a bit of snow.

Denman in the snow ...







I'm back at Denman next month for a conference, then a further two times later this year for WI Adviser training.

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Just Believe card for a girl

Another card commission for Hayley for a little girl who likes pink!



The lack of typical girly things such as princesses and fairies has never worried me and instead I turn to the Just Believe stamp set, Boho Blossoms Punch and Beautiful Wings Embosslit.



Some Rhinestone Jewels for added bling, et voila!

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