Christmas swap quilt

This is what I was trying to make last night when my iron died

The red is much redder in real life.  These are the squares from the christmas fabric swap organised by Emily.  They have been sitting next to my sewing machine for a while and were in danger of being there still this time next year

And to complete the whole christmas swap theme:

I have added the fabric strip that I received from Leanne today from the christmas table runner swap.

My aim is to FMQ it (gulp!) over the weekend and have it on my settee for Christmas to remind me of all the lovely bloggy friends that are out there

Its here!!

Oh yes, look what I got in the post today all the way from Canada.....

I was the lucky lucky recepient of Leannes (she can quilt) table runner: whoo hoo!

This is such a lovely table runner

 

Have a look at those teeny tiny stars inside the big star.  It has been beautifully quilted and has a lovely back too

And these too

As well as some Lindt chocolate and some spare fabric.  Thank you Leanne, it is absolutely lovely.

Last night I was out doing my first ever training session, which went well. I got home at 9pm and had to pick Beccy up from school around midnight as they had been in to London, so I thought it would be perfect sewing time.  I got on with some bits and pieces ...... and then my iron died.  So I had all this spare time and no couldn't utilise it as my material was well screwed up!
I feel like a zombie now: I got home last night about 12.30, was up at 6.15 and have done a very long day - I can hear my bed calling!

I may.....

have just bought this

A fat quarter bundle called Power Pop byJenean Morrison.  Over at The Intrepid Thread they are giving 20% off if you enter the code BLKFRI20.  I just got these 10 fat quarters for £14 (plus shipping plus shipping at £9)  The colours were screaming summer at me and I had just read this post over at Sew Happy Geek, telling me that I might need 10 fat quarters in the not too distant future .....
I havn't bought fabric in a very long time, so I decided to treat myself.

We have a new Asda open in Tiptree today (Jenny has secured a job there too)  It was mobbed!!  I then went over to Tesco - it was dead, there were about 3 other people in there.  However, I have to say, Tesco have known Asda is about to open and yet their customer service just recently has been dire, as if they were trying to promote shopping at Asda: last Saturday they did not have one single carrier bag in the store, people were just abandoning their shopping at the tills, their self service tills would not accept cash, and there was only ever about two other tills open and huge huge quese.  It never ceases to amaze me how big companies think that it doesn't matter how they treat their customer, that they will always stay loyal - err, I don't think so!! 

No sew day

Well, the show was a great success: Saturdays two perfomances broke all records on ticket sales, refreshments and raffles sales (.... oh yes it did...) and I was pleased to say that my two bags were not the last things to be picked in the raffle: phew
Susan requested a pic of my pirate outfit: nothing spectacular:

My feet are killing me from standing in my 'pirate' boots for hours! 
Beccy and I were back down there again this morning to tidy everything up and then came home and she got on with home work while I did revision/studying.  So this has been a no sew weekend :-(  Roll on next weekend.....

Catching up .... me hearties....

So, having got together all the stuff that I had tidied away and couldn't find, I finally got on with some sewing!
I have been putting together my mystery quilt squares:

I love how bright and vibrant this is - and they are colours that I would never normally choose, but I went along this route due to some fat quarters that I had been given.  I still have a star to piece and some 'infill' strips to do, but at least it is starting to come together!
I have also made one of these for a raffle prize

It is the christmas production for the 'am dram' kids group that the girls to tonight and tomorrow, so I thought I would run one up and put some spare smellies in

I am doing front of house again, selling raffle tickets, doing refreshments etc. The production is Treasure Island and we have to dress up as pirates.......

Double Yay!

Two lots of good news. First of all I won a giveaway!  From the fabulous Jenna over at Sewhappygeek, I already knew she was super talented because she was my one of my swap partners in the mug rug swap and made me these:

She wrote this 'whingy post' (her words, not mine!) re big corporations (ie Moda) and the so called little person.  Have a read, there were a lot of people, including myself, who had things to say on bad manners!  Anyway, she gave away a bag of scraps to a lucky commenter, and that person was me!  Can't wait, you only have to see all the lovely things she makes to look forward to some scraps!
Also check out the tutorial that she has done, which was the basis of her original post:

And finally, I got home earlier than normal from work today and whilst it was still light (just) I got my conservatory back to the sewing room that it should be and found my ruler.  Now I am good to go!

Don't tidy things away

It seems like ages since I have been anywhere near my sewing machine.  Everything got 'put away' and 'tidied up' for Jennys party and now I don't know where anything is.  I was going to do some cutting up last night but can't find my ruler thingy - I have my new cutting mat and now no ruler.  and the conservatory is cold and dark this time of year (unless the heating is on)  So I need to kick myself up the butt and get on with some things (like finder my ruler) - oh yeah, and never tidy up again!

I have started a new knitting project:

It looks like a really complicated pattern, but its so easy.  I dont like the colours in the pattern, so I have gone for a blue:

Much more my colours, and it knits up really quickly.
Right, off to have another look for all my missing things!

Job done

I have finally finished my table runner

I feel like it has taken me a very long time to do this, maybe because of the false start that I had with the paper piecing

And maybe  because it has taken me a long time to hand quilt it all.  I picked out random circles and sewed around them in gold thread, as well as quilting around the two main stars and the two 'christmas trees'

I am really pleased with how it has turned out, although I am dissapointed that my partner has not commented on it (or anything!) I hope she likes it

..... if not she can always flip it over and use the back instead :-)

This swap has been full of lovely people, who have all encouraged each other and left positive thoughts.  It has been great fun, so lots of thanks to Susan for putting this one together.  It might be my last one for a while: I have 5 exams that I really must take before next summer, so the pressure of any swap deadlines may have to wait until they are over! 
For now, I shall wait for this to get to its destination and wait and see which amazing runner from the swap will land on my doorstep (I want them all!)

18th Birthday weekend

Wow, what a fabulous couple of days we have had.  This gorgeous girl was 18 on Thursday

We had a 'birthday tea' on Thursday night for 7 of us:

 this was the cake my 18 year old asked for (a replica of the one I made her for her 1st birthday!)

Then on Friday more family arrived and 10 of us squeezed in to my kitchen and more happy birthdays were sung and more bubbly consumed!

Saturday was the big party day.  I only have a small house, but we managed to cram a lot of people in  to the front room, the kitchen and the conservatory





We managed to squeeze about 40 family and friends in - some of whom had travelled a long way to be here and we hadn't seen for a while.  It was soooo much fun 

Daniel has grown up so much and is nearly walking

And Emily is growing up so quickly too

I thoroughly enjoyed doing all the 'catering' and feeding the masses - I do it very rarely so did get to enjoy it.
On Sunday morning a lot of family came round for a coffee before heading off on their journeys home.  By Sunday afternoon, we were all zombies on the settee - but happy ones with lots of happy memories

Me? I'm not stressed!

   I had a birthday over the weekend (as well as my mums 70th!): look at these lovely sewing gifts

 I have needed a new cutting board for so long!  My previous one was only 12" x 20" - rather challenging for cutting on sometimes.  And some basting spray to have a go with

 Some lovely fat quarters

and these lovely fabrics and some variagated thread to play with too.  I was a very lucky person and can't wait to have a go!  However, I will have to wait as everything is about to be put away to make more room for the weekend :-(

I appear to be suffering from headless chicken syndrome.  I have so many things that I need to do!
Its Jennys 18th on Thursday and I am cooking for 7, with a homemade birthday cake.  On Friday my brother and his family are coming down and I will be cooking for 10 that evening.  On Saturday I have aprox 30 people arriving about 2ish to further celebrate the birthday!  I am so looking forward to catching up with family and old friends that I havn;t seen in ages, but I have soooo much to do.  I don't think I have looked at a blog since friday!!  So tonight, I am going to try and get to bed a bit earlier and do some blog reading catching up!

mmmm, gingerbread men

So here is what I have made for my christmas decoration for the table runner swap

they are very easy to make, just out of felt and ric rak really!  I had a lot of them strewn around my house last christmas - they are very cute
We have a family weekend this weekend for my mums 70th birthday so may not get much blog reading in - but looking forward to Sunday evening when I can sit down and catch up
enjoy your weekend, whatever you are up to

Lokking better!

Remember that poor red star that looked so ugly against my white for the modern table runner swap: well it now looks much better with some friends

 I have finished my 'alernative' table runner which i will take to my sister in laws this weekend

 I quilted around each star, this one in red

And the black one with gold thread

And then a star in red and gold for the middle block (terrible light, no matter how hard I tried!)

So, I am really pleased with how this one has turned out after the initial disaster.  I have been sorely tempted to keep it myself, but I have restrained.  Plus there are some amazing table runners being whipped up over at the swap, one of which will be coming my way!

And here is a sneak peek of Jennys album: a couple of my favourite pages:

And by the way, don't you just hate leaving home in the dark first thing in the morning, and then coming home in the dark too- roll on summer!!

fresh sewing day - october

Mmmmm, is this really all that I acheived in October: doesn't look much considering how busy I thought I had been sewing!

I made a couple more of these bags for the hospice to sell

My christmas star that went from this , to never going to be this:

to ending up as this for my S.I.L

with this one being the final design for the modern table runner swap:

I recovered a chair: only 3 more to go

I made a hot water bottle cover a) because I needed one and b) so that I could practise some fmq

And then I got really brave and started to fmq my first ever quilt, normally I quilt by hand!

I made this quilt up from wonky stars, thanks to Susan, who introduced me to them.  This is a quilt that I am doing for a friend to donate to a new childrens ward

And, I know its now sewing or quilting, but I did also make this for Beccys birthday yesterday!

I wonder if Novemeber will be more productive!

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