Sewing, At Last

I have finally got sewing, after a long break.  My sewing room is tidy and I know where most things are (the drawer of "gadgets and accessories" still needs attention) and I have a running order.
So far this year I have made a second little bag for Beads of Courage, almost finished my Hadrian's Wall journal quilts and made them into a textile book and layered and machine quilted my birthday blocks from my Global Piecer friends.
I have some enjoyable hand stitching to do.

Firstly, the final page of the Hadrian's Wall book which is dyed with leaves, lichen and bark found in the area and needs embroidery.  Secondly, the birthday quilt needs some hand quilting and then binding and labelling.

I also have an additional project.  Before Christmas my sister and I sorted out a lot of Mummy's art and craft things.  She was a talented water-colourist, a knitter and did tapestry.  In addition to lovely examples of her work in these areas we found a partly worked quilt.  In typical Mummy fashion it is all recycled fabric, the plain is curtain lining, the patterns are from sample books, old clothes etc.  The papers are cut from Christmas cards which makes the work very heavy at the moment and quite rigid.  The weights of the fabrics vary and the colours represent the entire rainbow.

In with the quilt was a stock of fabric pieces, a supply of old Christmas cards, a reel of thread, a needle and Mummy's Singer scissors.  I agreed with my sister that I would finish the quilt.  I will be making hexagons and half-hexagons whenever I have time to spare, in front of the television, in the waiting room at the hospital etc etc, it will be my current portable project.  We haven't discussed what we will do with the finished quilt.
On Tuesday it will be the first meeting of Country Roads Quilters in 2014.  We have an exciting year ahead, with a busy programme of meetings, I'm looking forward to catching up with all the members, it seems a long time since we met for our Christmas event.

Sewing Day

I've had a lovely day today at my Norfolk quilt group.  I was in my wheelchair and I was so grateful (and I must confess, a little surprised) that so many people made a special effort and came over to speak to me as I wasn't able to get around the room easily, I really, really appreciated it.  Quilters are such nice people.  We weren't in our usual hall and so it was a handsewing-only meeting.  I finished my fabric postcards for the BQLPC swap except for zigzagging the edges and then did lots of EPP clamshells, while chatting and drinking the tea that people kindly made for me. 
Do you like the little Aurifil button I've added to the righthand column?  I love these threads and highly recommend them.  They are especially low lint in machines and beautiful to hand sew with too.

Friday Night Sew-In: Report, July 2011

I'm still sitting all day with my knee splinted so I actually had an All Friday Sew-In apart from a couple of hours out to pick up a wheelchair on loan from the Red Cross and to see my GP about the drama queen fainting fits I keep having (the last one leading to a series of obs inside an Italian ambulance).
I did some more EPP clamshells

and then made a start on my fabric postcards for the latest swap I've signed up for at BQLPC.  The theme is "oriental" so, of course, I headed to Japan for my inspiration.  I've had this lovely pattern for a kimono for a long time, it's by Ursula Riegel at Designs to Share and is called "Monoki".  (clever eh?)  I had to do all the sewing by hand and the kimono will look better with a bit of a press and with a decorative button on the front but I think they're rather neat.

I'm trying to decide whether to attach them permanently to the fabric postcards, or just add them with stitch or two so that they can be removed and used as hanging decorations.  What do you think?  Either way they won't be going through the post naked, I'm popping them into transparent envelopes for safety.
I had a good read through the latest issue of British Patchwork and Quilting and entered their giveaways and then decided to add the gorgeous quilt by Lynne Edwards that is featured on the cover to my to do list.

DH brought me my lunch and then it was time for some more stitching.  He was dispatched to my "atelier" to find my Storm at Sea miniature quilt (do you remember this one from a million years ago?!) and that's what I worked on during the afternoon.  I'm too weary to stitch all evening but I hope you all have a great FNSI, I'll be thinking of you.

Anglo-Japanese Paper Piecing

Here are some of my EPP clamshells.  I use any pieces of Japanese fabrics I have left from other projects to make these little pieces and (eventually) they will become a large quilt.  I haven't joined any together so far as my thinking is that they will be stitched to a background of indigo fabric and then outlined with sashiko stitches that will graduate to fade away (if you know what I'm visualising).  It's a lovely little project to grab and go and one that will probably run for years.  My first ever EPP was a hexie bed quilt that became a cushion when I got bored.  Since then I've done EPP blocks for my sampler quilts but nothing big.  I now appreciate that there isn't a time limit - which is probably why quilt groups inherit bags and bags of hexagons from members who have gone to the great quilting bee in heaven!
Thank you for all your good wishes, my knee is less painful today and I think it is less swollen too, I'm resisting the temptation to try a step or two.
Finally today, some bad news.  This beautiful A4 quilt

was stolen from a quilt show in Lincolnshire recently.  If you know anything about it please get in touch and I'll pass the information on.  I hope somebody has an attack of guilty conscience and says they've "found" it.

English Paper Piecing Project

I've been to the hospital today and I'm to have a week without using my knee and then a week trying to walk and seeing how I get on and then I go back to the hospital to have the progress or damage assessed! 
Hmm.  So I'm sitting on the sofa with my knee splinted and feeling pretty useless.  I could do loads of online shopping, or I could join in a Hexalong!

Lynne and Gayle have started a Hexalong for the summer, the post with all the information is here.  There are opportunities to share what you do on Lily's Quilts' Flickr group and lots of help, support and tutorials.  Today Lynne has posted about the basics of English Paper Piecing here. 
This doesn't have to be a new project, I'm sure most of us have some hexagons (or other tessellating shapes) sitting in a bag or drawer somewhere.  Pull them out, they're the ideal project for taking out and about this summer, pop a few in your handbag, have some in the car, do a few when you have a few minutes to yourself....
I already have an ongoing EPP project, my Japanese clamshells.  I've asked DH to find them and bring them to me, along with a nice cup of tea and a bowl of fresh cherries and my afternoon is sorted!  Photo tomorrow (I couldn't push my luck and ask for the camera and computer lead too now could I?)

A Delivery and A Finish

While grieving that the wonderful Roger Federer has been beaten at Wimbledon I have had two highlights today, firstly, my copy of the V&A quilt book arrived and secondly, I finished a quilt.

The book accompanying the V&A exhibition, "Quilts 1700 - 2010, Hidden Histories, Untold Stories" was written by Sue Prichard who curated the exhibition and I have been waiting excitedly for my copy to arrive.  Today was the day.  I obviously haven't had time to read very much but I am impressed with the quality of the images in the book.

About a third of the book is a catalogue for the exhibition, with good notes accompanying each quilt image.  I am appreciating the value of having the book and being able to study the quilts in detail.  I spotted the steam train in this 1842-52 hanging by James Williams of Wrexham, Wales when I saw the quilt in "real life" but I have seen so much more while looking at it this afternoon.

The catalogue is arranged in the same way as the exhibition; The Domestic Landscape, Private Thoughts, Public Debates, Virtue and Virtuosity, Making a Living, Meeting the Past.  

There are also some wonderful close-up images to enjoy, such as this one of the back of a 19th Century paper-pieced quilt, isn't it a delight?

The first part of the book is made up of essays and features that are intended to "challenge the assumption that stitching is simply 'women's work'."  These are arranged chronologically, beginning with the 18th Century and are also fully illustrated.  I like this photograph of the Hayling Island WI making quilts for Denman College which appears in Dorothy Osler's feature on British quilt-making in the first half of the 20th Century.

The book is not an academic history of quilting but rather, as it says on the back cover, "A celebration of more than 300 years of British quilts and patchwork" and I think it would make a good addition to any quilter's library. 

I am having a little celebration of my own as the dinosaur quilt which has been causing me so much trouble is finished.  I have had to do a lot of negative sewing on this quilt but I think my grandson, Wills, who is six in July, will be very pleased with it.  Don't tell him, it's a surprise (I'm sure he doesn't read my blog).

Just peeping out behind the top right hand corner of the quilt you can see my wonderful rose which has taken over an apple tree.  Here it is in its full glory, it's the Rambling Rector rose and is exquisite.

Christmas is Coming

This is my Christmas Wreath which I finished this afternoon and have just hung on my front door.  It's the first day of Advent tomorrow so we will start burning the Advent candle, a little every evening until Christmas Eve.  I received my first Christmas card this morning, along with a lovely festive block from Katrina in NZ.

The wreath was quite straightforward:  English paper-piecing, six diamonds to make a star, backed with another star and stuffed.  Then my beloved made a wire frame for me to sew the stars on, with vintage buttons in the centres, little swags of beads, I added a bow and the Father Christmas figure and that's it, done.  I hope you like it.  I notice a lot of bloggers are posting pictures of their decorations and Christmas trees.  I haven't got as far as putting the tree up yet, maybe next weekend.

Bountiful gifts and a new convert

I spent the weekend with my parents and Mummy is starting to have a bit of a sort out...I am the delighted recipient of these jars of buttons, aren't they gorgeous? At the moment I'm just admiring them, all colour-sorted in their containers but I do think I might have a go at making some jewellery with some and will definitely use some in a future quilt project or two.

The next goody bag was from my sister who has just holidayed in Florida. She brought me home this wonderful selection of fabrics and I have a plan for a rainbow quilt in square within a square blocks. I started talking about quilting with her and it turns out that she has ALL of Jennifer Chiaverini's books (which she buys in America) and was willing to lend them to me. Here they are in my sewing room, I started the Quilter's Apprentice last night and am on chapter 9! Jane had bought herself some fabric and wanted to know where to start with an English pieced-patchwork project so she has begun working on Grandmother's Flower Garden with hexagons and promised to start her own quilting blog. She found lots of helpful information on the internet including Wendy Harbaugh's very helpful tutorial at http://sunshinescreations.vintagethreads.com/2007/03/tutorial-on-english-paper-piecing.html all in all, a very successful weekend, plus, hopefully Jane and Mummy are going to the Quilt Show at Hever Castle this weekend while I'll be at the Harrogate show and we're intending to go to the forthcoming V&A exhibition together if we can find something to amuse the menfolk!!