Pretty Little Things

I've got two little things to show you today.

These are my makes from the last Thursday night of Judith's term of classes.  Last week we stitched up super useful pouches like this -

Look what's hiding inside - lots of pockets for all my stitching equipment.

I love useful pouches like this - practical and pretty.

This week we moved on to stitch up little journal covers.

I enjoyed the opportunity this project allowed for playing with trims and notions.  Wee snippets of crochet lace trim and heart buttons feed the girly side of my personality that often get overlooked in this house of muddy boots and masculinity!

Fun was had and now I have these lovelies to use and enjoy!

hipBees are here!

Most definitely NOT a blast from the past but hipBees nonetheless!

Yep, today's the day when hipBees go public and announce ourselves to the world (ish).  I have been so excited to tell you about the new Bee that Di has up had her sleeve for a few weeks now that my tongue is all swollen from having to bite it so hard!  You can read her inspiration/motivation for setting up the group here.

There's such a lovely swarm of Bees all gathered into the hive under Di's reign as Queen Bee, all buzzing and ready to go with Reene's first block in August.  (Be kind to us Reene!)

I'm sure you'll be hearing about this a lot from me in the future!  I'm so excited to finally be part of a Bee like this - woohooooooooooooo!!!!  Thank you Di!

Birdie Stitches finished

Birdie Stitches is finally finished.  I waited all through last week to be able to take a decent photo but lack of sunshine (even lack of daylight) means this was the best I could do with the pics.

As a wee reminder, and because it doesn't show up too well on the main pic , here's a mosaic of each month's block.

I enjoyed the process of stitching these blocks by hand over the period of the year that the BOM was running.  Somehow in that space of time the blocks took on a little history (the when and the where and the how of being stitched) that has been built into and will now always be part of the finished quilt.  Now all that's left is to find a (rather large) wall space to hang it!

Bee Blessed on Display

As many of you who read Judith's blog will know, Saturday was her big exhibition day.  To say that it was a success is an understatement.  She has been planning and organising for months, gathering a creative and practical team around her to help showcase the work made in her taught classes over the past two years.

Generous as she always is, Judith also offered space at her exhibition for two local charities to raise their profile and to raise funds for the stitching work that they do.  Bee Blessed was one of those groups, and on behalf of the Bee membership I'd like to publicly thank Judith for allowing us to be part of the fun and creative frisson of her exhibition day.

Here's our wee Bee Blessed table -

When you are a group that spends its time giving away the quilts you make there's not a lot to draw from when trying to be creative with your stall but, I think Barbara and I did a reasonable job.  We had a few quilts that have not yet been passed on to the recipients and a few cushions too.  We also showcased the most recent block and some of the lovely cards we receive as thank yous, as well as some of the cards our blog members send to encourage our efforts.  The amazing Pippi quilt was our backdrop for the day (and was then promptly gifted to a 17 year old young lady who is coming to terms with a newly diagnosed illness).

Here I am (wo)manning the stand (hubby dropped by at lunchtime and took a wee pic):

I am not as lopsided as this pic makes me look!!

As folks popped in to view the stunning displays of quilts (I won't show pics but I'm sure JustJude will have plenty of fabulous eye candy this week), sign up for one of Judith's classes, purchase a little make or two, nab a cake for Sunday afternoon tea or have a rest and a chat over complimentary tea/coffee and yummy bites, I had the amazing privilege to tell folks all about Bee Blessed and the work that we do.

I met folks who were curious about what a Bee is, wondering why we do what we do and indeed how we do what we do.  They were amazed to learn that our blogging friends generously contribute to all our efforts and that we have incorporated fabrics and blocks from elsewhere in the UK, Morocco, Canada, Finland and other corners of the world into our donated quilts.  I was greatly humbled by meeting the wife of a gentleman who received one of our quilts and much later in the morning by meeting the gentleman himself.  And, I struggled to hold back tears as I watched the donation of a quilt to a young girl in the presence of her mum whose face betrayed immense gratitude.

Folks, those of you who were not with me at the table yesterday, those of you busy at the exhibition event in another capacity or those of you who are part of our Bee through this wonderful on-line community should really know that your participation is helping to touch people's lives - I mean it really, really is!

So thank you again to Judith for allowing Bee Blessed to be a part of her big day, and a thank you to all of you who help Bee Blessed achieve our purposes.

Sunshine on a Wet Weekend

It has been extremely wet around these parts this weekend but in spite of the rain a wee bit of sunshine has dropped in courtesy of Susan who nominated me during last week for a Sunshine Award.   Thank you, Susan.  Apparently it's just a wee pass it on happiness/fun thingy where you answer a few questions and link to some blogs you'd like to spread some sunshine to.

So here's a wee bit more about me:

Favourite colour - probably red (deep real red)
Animal - honestly, not a fan of anything with more legs than me or wings
Number - never, ever thought to have a favourite number
Drink - everyday: tea, special occasions: pink, alcoholic and bubbly
Passion - my family and patchwork (maybe a patchwork family?)
Giving or getting - definitely giving 'cos the good feeling and effect lasts a whole lot longer, but in a way that's a kind of getting too isn't it?  (BTW I'm no saint or martyr and I love to receive too!)
Favourite Day - the day my baby boy arrived in this world and I whispered to him "I've been waiting for you"
Favourite Flower - lilies or peonies

So now that you know a few more strange things about me, here are the four blogs I am to nominating for a little Sunshine Award in return:

Di @ Willowbeck Designs
Fiona @ Sew Fi
Tina @ Secret Ingredient: Love
Catherine @ Sew Wonderful Life

I wish you ladies a little sunshine in your lives and some fun in sharing a few random facts about yourselves with your readers.

Summer Bag ready and waiting

Back last September Karen gave me a lovely bag kit as a wee gift.

I didn't quite get around to making it up last Autumn and then I was waiting for better weather before making it up as a summer bag.

Anyway, as you can see I have now given up on waiting for the better weather and I went ahead at the weekend and stitched it up anyway.

I love the rich fabrics and now, courtesy of Karen's generosity, I have a bag all ready for when summer arrives!?!

BQS 3 Inspiration Mosaic

1. DQS 10 Received, 2. Red, 3. Pinwheel Quilt Along Week #7 Block #2, 4. Noise, 5. Kaleidoscopic Kites Front, 6. Lone Starburst, 7. Starry Path, 8. Amber's Design Studio, 9. DQS10 rcvd, 10. April do. Good Stitches Blocks, 11. Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts At The Park Avenue Armory, 12. Robert Kaufman Solids Charm Pack Challenge, 13. BQS pillow swap - All finished, 14. Double Fat Jack, 15. FMF/KJR Quilt, 16. cosmic blue basket weave block


Inspiration mosaics for BQS 3 are popping up thick and fast in the flickr group - some truly amazing inspiration pieces out there.

Here are my choices - hope they'll give my partner something to work on.  But above all else, I'd really just like my partner to have fun in the swap, make something that they enjoy and maybe stretch their wings a little (for their sake, not mine).

Bring on the partner allocations!