Welcome Progress

I didn't make it to therapy class this week so I've been playing catch up at home so as not to fall behind with my Welcome banner.  Having happily cut and stuck all the wee pieces in place last week, this week it was time to put all the sketching practice to work.

So it was in with the bright contrasting threads, down with the feed dogs, deep breath in and time to get sketchy around those letters and bunting.

Was very difficult to get a decent photo but hopefully you get the idea
- a few of my sketchy wobbles were a bit too generous, but hey ho ...

Random pic from the back

If this were a school report it would say "could do better"  but it might also say "could do worse".  It could definitely stand some improvement but it's not so bad I'll need to relegate it to a drawer somewhere.  Relief!

If you fancy a go at this wee banner yourself, the lovely Judith has recently opened an Etsy Shop to sell her patterns and this is one of the ones in there - go have a look!

All Ready For Thursday

Here she is -

Finished at class last week and ready to be filled with treats for December!  Really enjoyed this wee project and LOVED being back at class and having a giggle or two while we stitched.

Up Next ...

I'm so excited to be going back to class tomorrow night!  I was green with envy that I had to miss out on the jelly roll quilt class because of post-operatve non-driving - see what they made without me.

But finally, finally I am able to head over to Belfast tomorrow night for a new class.  We'll be making Advent calendars from panel kits for the next few weeks.  I love all things Christmassy so I'm really looking forward to this project and I've chosen my kit.  Isn't she cute?

Now, I know that amid all the modern Christmas making going on out there my little traditional angel will probably not be most of your cup of teas.  In fact some of you may currently be hyperventilating at the sight of gold and reds and greens -

breathe deeply!

in .... and out ...

there, see you're okay really.

But I like her very much and can't wait to make her up, fill her little pockets with treats and count down the days to the festive celebrations.  Off to pack up my machine and bits and bobs in readiness for the fun and community!

Beach Hut Beginnings

Made a wee start at the Beach Huts foundation piecing at class last night.  I loved the fun and freedom of this design - choosing cute and amusing fabrics to create fairytale beach huts.  Wouldn't you like to spend a sunny summer afternoon in one of these?

Picnic Quilt Ready to Gift

It's finished (and on time) so here it is in all its ragged edge fluffy glory -

It's hanging sideways to keep it off the wet grass!

Look at those lovely fluffy, cuddly seams.

All folded, ready to be wrapped!

All ready to be a pressie next week.  The beauty of this quilt belies the thread-fest that was required to get it to this state (I had to clean the lint filter 6 times during tumble drying and had to hoover it on the washing line when it came out) - but all totally worth it!

Check out Judith's blog post to see the other amazing picnic quilts made by the ladies at her class.

Summer Picnic Rug

Remember these?

Heather Bailey, Nicey Jane

I flashed the stash with a wee blog post a few weeks back as I was gathering these Nicey Jane prints for a class project.  Well, 78 full brick cuts later (plus 39 wadding bricks) and 12 half brick cuts (plus 6 wadding half bricks) - whew(!), here's where I've got to:

Bricks cut and all sorted and labelled into rows

This class project is the Rag Quilted Picnic Rug, but I am beginning to wonder if this little quilt will ever see a picnic given the unreliability of our weather for the last four summers!  Anyway, picnic or no, this one is intended as a summer gift for someone in the family and will find a use at those summer bbq evenings where we all put on fleeces and huddle around the chimnea on the decking like hardy fools!  Imagine this cosy, but summery quilt around your legs while you finish a Pimms or G&T in the fading light (all sounds a bit more romantic than reality probably).

So all these lovelies will be quilted individually, like so

I am really enjoying this wavy line quilting!

then stitched together in a brick like format and finished by ragging up the raw seams, I think. If you want to see how it should look when it's done take a peek at Judith's own version which she is teaching us from.  I love her combination of fabrics which give this such a vintage feel.  I love this look - it's really cosy and familiar without some of the formality of other quilts, perfect for relaxed summer evenings.

I am enjoying the fabrics in this project so much - don't think I've ever had so much of one co-ordinating collection before and I really do love the lightness of the colours (though the yellows do add a bit of zing to proceedings).  I am going to struggle to part with this one and if I feel it's not being loved as it should might just sneak it away again at next year's family 'do'!  Alas, I think it will be loved and we will be parted forever.

PS you really should keep an eye on Judith's blog in early July when this class finishes up because there are some really gorgeous fabric combinations going into this project from all the other 'girls' at the class - I am envious of them all!

Easter is Getting Closer

School's out for Easter today here in Northern Ireland and there was even some lovely sunshine to herald the Easter season!  Had a bit of a surprise when I collected my lovely son from school at lunchtime and we had to make room in the back of the car for his enormous Easter win!

Easter Charity Basket winner!

The rabbit has been named Rolly and I think the chocolate is being eyed up by more than one of us!

Back to business... I got to go back to class last night which was so lovely, although must admit I did a lot of catch up chatting and not enough sewing last night (everybody is flagging and in need of the upcoming Easter break, I think).  Anyway, during the week I changed my mind about making a larger basket at the class as I had previously blogged.  Instead, I thought I'd have a go at shrinking the original basket size just a bit and making into a little basket to hold the log cabin coasters we'll be tackling next week.  How's that for forward thinking? (Easter hostess gift for my mother-in-law.)

A few calculations, a little tweak or two here and there, some stash fabric and an old lemon shirt ...

Gathering supplies ...

Eh Voila!

Next up, making some log cabin coasters to fill it.  This will be a  real test of keeping things square - little things are not so forgiving!

Both of my baskets from the class.

Cosy Cushion Complete

Ta-da!  All quilted, zipped and sewn up.  I'm delighted with how my floor cushion turned out - though I think it's too nice to ever be anywhere near the floor.

Definitely a cushion to snuggle up to!

Keep an eye on the Rags to Bags blog for pics of the other cushions made at the class appearing soon - they were all so beautiful - worth a few minutes peeking, I'd say.