While the Sailor Was Away

It's a miracle! While the (temporary) sailor was risking his life on the high seas, parcels kept turning up at the door - After all, I had to do something to keep myself amused.  

First, two books by Sarah Fielke......'Old Quilts, New Life' has just recently been released. In this book Sarah takes a museum quilt as her inspiration and remakes it using modern fabrics. She then goes a step further and uses this as a springboard to interpret both quilts as a modern quilt with some stunning results.

While I was browsing I also came across this little book which Sarah co-wrote with Amy Lobsiger. It has some very cute projects using a variety of techniques. For anyone with grandchildren and wanting to practise new or favourite techniques I think a number of the little quilts would be ideal to wrap a teddy or doll in......

For a change of pace and intention comes 'Slow Stitch'.

Think Kantha, Boro and meditative stitch  - beautifully produced and exudes calm......

A page from the book.......

If this type of process appeals to you then you may also be interested in the work of Jude Hill. Below is her blog address. She also posts on Instagram (search for spiritcloth) and probably on Facebook as well...........

http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/

Another new approach is this book. Fabrics are layered, stitched then painted and more stitch (usually hand stitch) added - once again with stunning results.

A page from the book......

A glimpse at her technique - loads of possibilities......

This sent me running to pull out all my lace scraps etc - but they'll have to join the project queue for the time being.........

This book excites the senses a great deal. In this book Janet Edmonds takes the work of several artists and investigates transforming their ideas and style into stitch.

Then we have this one........colour based studies and exercises

And then we have this one........

And a few other bits to add to the tool kit........  (once my hands allow me to get back to sewing in earnest.)

While I am waiting to spring back into action I have been bingeing on online classes - I may not be able to 'do' butthere's no reason not to learn. I have particularly been focussing on free motion quilting. I would recommend any of the following, especially for beginning quilters, though they all have something to offer.....

I also have this issue of Textile with an article on Annabel Rainbow. If you haven't encountered her work before I suggest you research her work online.....

http://www.annabelrainbow.co.uk/

While the sailor was absent the sewing empire expanded - mainly to give the old machine a test run - and create a panel to expand the backing for my big quilt (Summer Quilt) in progress......

I figured that as long as I didn't mix the threads with the baking everything should be OK.

On another note.........

Did you do this?

I might have..........so tasty......

The moral of that story is don't leave a bucket of fresh fish on the floor!!!

Or leave the vacuum plug lying around when you go out shopping for a few hours......

And I have no idea where she found this.........



Roxie has now been with us for a year - and I think to say she has settled in is a bit of an understatement.......

We have all come a long way in the past 12 months.

I had hoped to get this post off the ground much sooner and to provide a lot more links but Google the artists and you will find much to while away a lazy summer afternoon and stimulate the creative juices. They all probably post on Facebook and Instagram as well blog and it is an easy process to follow them....

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate and I hope to be back here again soon,

Sue xxxx



Blood (a little), Sweat, (almost) Tears and Deadline.......

This is the story of a baby quilt for a great niece born in Japan on the auspicious date of 8/8/15 - she made it by about 5 minutes.

It's based on a quilt by Alex Anderson of The Quilt Show in a recent show
 and according to her the quilt top should only take about 3 hours. My guess is if you can cut straight and sew accurately that would be about right - and you would be correct in thinking it took me quite a bit longer as I don't always seem to be able to do either with reliable accuracy.......

Anyhow, the theory was good. Start with a themed piece of fabric (24.5" by 30.5"), add borders (3.5" - I mitred mine), then another border of flying geese(6.5" by 3.5") - easy.......

To make the flying geese Alex demonstrated this method......

Take a large square (7 1/4")  and add 2 small squares (3 7/8") which will slightly overlap  in the centre. Rule a line on the diagonal and stitch a scant 1/4" on either side of the line.......

These can happily be chain pieced......

Cut along the centre line.....

......and press.

Add another square as shown. Draw a centre line and stitch as before.

Cut on the line again, open and press.

Trim to 3.5" by 6.5". (Or, if they are like mine, unpick and restitch with scant seams until they are big enough.....)

Playing with the layout on the design wall......

Building the backing with leftovers.........

The binding (too) smugly ready for action.......

Quilting underway. I revisited Jacquie Gering's Craftsy class - 'Creative Quilting with Your Walking Foot' - and also bought her new class, 'Next Steps with your Walking Foot', which is just as innovative and informative......I wanted to maintain a modern feel and also keep it very practical. There is also a free show with Jacquie on The Quilt Show website.

Partly quilted.....

A close up of the quilting.

Pick the problem!  I was positive the binding would be long enough - I don't know how I managed that.........luckily I had enough fabric to make up the length.......

I attached the binding from the back so I could then machine quilt it as my hands are too sore to handstitch at present..and I think it will make it sturdier for repeated washing......

(I used YouTube tutorials to refresh my memory on machine binding a quilt and how to mitre corners. It's all out there....)

Note to self - the clothesline is not a good place to try and photograph a quilt on a breezy day.

Finished! (Pity about the photography....)

The back.

The beautiful baby.

The blood? I used flat pins to temporarily hold things together and accidently swiped my hand across a pin - yes - blood across the quilt....I remembered being told that the best way to remove YOUR blood from fabric is with YOUR saliva. It sounds disgusting but it works!

The sweat? Sew, unpick. Sew, unpick. Grrr!

The (almost) tears? See above.

But it's done. Finished, washed, dried, soft and ready to go.

Now to plan another one for the next baby due in February from the other side of the family.

Sue xxxx