BLOG 402

Blog 402

 

I can always tell when I have just finished a batch of projects because I am usually at a loss as to what to do next. I thrive and work well when there is a deadline, just as I will fritter away time when there isn’t! There is no doubt that I am happier when I am creating so what I really needed was some thinking time. I started by tidying up my studio which in turn led to painting the walls and eventually I will attack the skirting boards when I have some more gloss. Whilst tidying, I was also sorting out my ‘stuff’ and making decisions about what I wanted to keep and what I was going to get rid of.

            Decorating

 

I have been running down my stock of cotton fabrics for a long while so that I can concentrate on Batik’s and Bali’s which I love to use for their intense colours and tight weave. Many of my cottons are small remnants, scraps and strips but the pic below shows what I have decided to keep in stock after a massive cull. The remaining fabric will be offered to those who make scrap quilts using smaller pieces.

                Cottons

 

From the remaining scraps, I cut 5” squares where possible and divided them into lights and darks. As I had many more darks than lights, I added to the light pile by using the reverse of some of the dark squares. Now I have all the ingredients to make a scrap quilt top using half square triangles and the method is simple and logical. Naturally much time is spent ironing and cutting the accurate squares in the first place, but once that is done it is a case of following a system by taking logical steps.

 

Scrap quilt Half-square triangles

 

 

                5” squares

 

1 Draw a diagonal line on the WS of the light squares.

            Diagonal line

 

2 Place a light square onto a dark with RS together and pin to secure.

            Pin

 

3 Set up the sewing machine with a ¼” foot and neutral thread. (I just happen to be emptying lots of spools with short lengths on them. I will put a full spool in the bobbin case and use these on the top of the machine so I can see when they are about to run out!)

           Spools

 

 

 

4 Sew a line of stitches on one side of the marked diagonal line, ¼” away. Feed the squares one after another under the foot, allowing the teeth under the foot to catch the next pair of squares. This lets you to sew with speed and it saves thread.

               ¼” seam

 

 

5 Without separating the squares, string feed them through again to sew a ¼” seam on the other side of the marked line. Press the squares to settle the stitches

            Second ¼” seam

 

 

 

            Press

 

 

6 On a cutting board, use a ruler and cutter to separate the triangles along the marked line. Each sewn square will yield 2 half-square triangles.  

                Cut

 

 

 

               2 Triangles

 

 

7 Pile the triangles with dark uppermost on the ironing board. Lift the tip of the dark triangle as you run the iron across the light triangle to the seam, thus making sure all the seams go from light to dark. This simple method produces the building blocks for this cheerful scrap quilt. More next week.

               Darks uppermost

 

 

 

             Press open

 

 

 

              Building blocks

 

 

We had a rare treat on Friday when the Red Arrows landed with panache at our local airport in Hawarden. They were staying there over-night before taking part in various flying displays locally. I like the way the pilots look as though they are caged; perhaps it was for their own safety!! !!! Yum!

         Red Arrows

 

             Caged pilots

 

 

 

 

BLOG 401

BLOG 401

 

This week I have chosen a personal selection of favourites from the Gresford show. The church was absolutely full of crafts of all description; this is what makes it such an interesting event. There is something for everyone. Next week I will hopefully be able to tell you how many people attended and what sort of money we raised for charity. Enjoy!

                 Embroidered cushions

 

 

 

           Quilt for Tess

 

 

           Positive/negative

  

 

 

           Knitting

 

 

 

             Teddy bears’ picnic

 

 

 

          Crochet dogs

 

 

 

            Quilts and clothes

 

 

           Toys

 

 

           Toys

 

 

             Structure

 

 

 

             Miniature teaset

 

 

          Recycling

 

 

 

            Exquisite beading

 

 

 

          Quilting: Guest quilter Sandra Weir

 

 

         Quilting: Guest quilter Sandra Weir

 

 

           Cake making

 

 

         Crochet

 

 

 

           Crochet

 

 

      Challenge: ‘Under ground’

 

 

          Challenge: ‘Under ground’ (sink hole)

 

 

          Beloved toys

 

 

 

         Quilt (won in a raffle)

 

 

 

          Tessilated quilt

 

 

         Embroidery

 

 

         Cross stitch

 

 

             Embroidery

 

 

        Fall of poppies ‘We will remember them’

 

 

And finally, I walked/ran in the ‘Pretty Muddy’ 5k at Tatton Park again yesterday for cancer research. It was a lovely day for it, sunny and bright, but the organisers made an extra special effort to make sure that there was as much wet mud as possible throughout the obstacle course! Here’s my daughter in the middle, with me on the right and Jackie (the sharer of the grandchildren) on the left. When I have collected in all my sponsorship money, I will let you know how much we have raised as a group of 8, but many thanks for all those who have donated; you are all very generous.

 

 

 

 Pretty Muddy 2018

BLOG 400

BLOG 400

Fancy missing my 400^th posting!! I had imagined a drum roll and trumpets blasting but alas, there was nothing much to say after an exceptionally busy week of sewing! How can that be? you might ask. Well, most of what I sewed was repetitive and didn’t bear repeating for my blog. I was trying to catch-up on my Gresford exhibits and to do that, I had to concentrate on finishing off items, working to the last minute to get them done. Phew! On Monday, a dedicated group of stalwarts spent most of the day from 8:30 am onwards preparing the church, receiving exhibits, labelling them all and then arranging them into pleasing displays; that’s what takes the time. At the end of the show on Friday, it will take us less than an hour to dismantle it all, ready to be collected!!

 

The 4 colourful cushions did materialise (excuse the pun) by the end of the week, taking lots of patience and application! Rather than bind them, I zipped the backs and turned them through.

            Decorative stitches

 

             Construction

 

                  Completed cushion

 

The other preparation I needed to do was add temporary sleeves to the backs of the quilts. These I just tacked into place for easy removal after the show. Next week there will be a quilt show to report on!

 

            Hanging strip

 

This Saturday, I am doing the ‘Pretty Muddy 5km run’ at Tatton Park for breast cancer. Now the word ‘run’ is a bit misleading, we tend to wind up to a jog when we see members of the public but mainly we walk around chatting and getting filthy! It is great fun and this year we are’ running’ for my daughter Tess, pictured below with me and (the sharer of the grandchildren) Jackie. It took ages to get the mud out of all the crevices!!!!

                 Mud run 2017