BLOG 532

 

Blog 532

 

‘Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow’ as the song goes! It has been snowing on and off for 4 days and it’s still snowing now. It’s the drifting along our lane to the road that always causes the problem and prevents us from going out in the car…..But, as we can’t go anywhere anyway because of covid restrictions, it’s not a problem this year. Yay! The surrounding landscape looks seasonally pretty and pristinely clean and there’s barely a footprint in the garden. I love the look of it but I just automatically feel cold and our walking regime is on hold as we have to look after our hips!!

I have been fiddling a bit this week, waiting for various supplies to arrive so that I can continue to make progress on my main projects. On order are threads (Quilt Direct), Warm and Natural wadding (Empress Mills) and backing fabrics (Bombay Fabrics). My first fiddle was with the art cushion panel that I made a few weeks back and it has now been made into a cushion with an over-lapped back. It looks lovely in situ and cheers up the corner of a sofa.

 

Cushion front

 

Over-lapped back

 

In situ

 

Next, whilst tidying up my drawers, I came across some blocks that I had sewn using Kaffe Fasset fabric. I was given a sample pack with a plain contrast a long while ago and I had a go at a design called Disappearing nine-patch. They are quality fabrics but I have found that K F fabrics only go with K F fabrics. This is a terrific marketing ploy but not so good if you don’t buy into this trend. So I am trying to use them to make a Linus quilt. This is what I have done so far and I have yet to decide what to do with the remaining fabrics to make it into a respectable size for a lap quilt.

 

K F Samples

 

Mini quilt

 

Remaining fabric

 

Then I made a start on quilting the Set Square quilt having found a suitable multi coloured thread. I wound 3 bobbins in preparation and made a start. I got no farther than a few inches when the thread started to break and it continued to do so despite all the adjustments I could make. So I swopped to a Mettler multi-coloured poly sheen thread 9916 and continued to use the prepared bobbins. This worked very well until I ran out of top thread about three quarters of the way along the first strip! Grrr! I eventually found more supplies of the same thread and I am waiting for them to arrive.

 

Ready to quilt

 

Starting to quilt

 

Making progress

 

That left me with the freedom to focus on quilting the colour study and that I did over a few afternoons until all the surface was covered with stitch. I have to do this copious amount of stitching because of the bonded method I use to create the surface. It’s as much about holding the pieces in place as it is about the decorative detail. As I am sewing I have plenty of time to think about the flowers that I am going to create to enhance the scene.

 

 

Colour study

 

Detail 1

 

Detail 2

 

Detail 3

 

Detail 4

 

I tell myself that I build snowmen for the grandchildren but actually I do it for myself! If I am dressed well, I enjoy being out there as I sink into my own little world of creativity. Aw bless!

 

Snowman