Stitching blind!!

Nope not a new stitch but exactly how bad my eyes have gotten over the past few months, so bad I decided enough was enough and booked my eye test yesterday. The outcome was not as bad as I intially thought, the distance is fine but close up work, ie computing and reading etc was pretty bad.
Why is it that when you reach a certain age lol it all seems to pile up in one huge heap ready to pounce one morning, oh the joys of getting older!!
Anyway what is everyone doing this miserable Sunday, yep the Uk has grey miserable clouds and the odd rain shower thrown in for good measure. We are just about to settle down for a cozy night in front of the telly with a dvd ready to go and nibbles on hand, relaxing finally after having to endure a plumber rip up my craft room to find the leak we awoke too this morning...aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Progress

Wow this college experience is taking a toll on my sewing as it is taking up so much time studying lol But over the weekend I did manage to grab a few minutes to myself to start the embroidery on the panels using lazy daisy stitch. Eventually I will add a few embroidered roses to the vines to add extra detail to tie in with the quilt theme.  Quilting is where I will be taking my time as I would dearly love to do FHQ but need lots of practice first, not too keen on straightlines for this project but we will see how it goes!.

Rosebud Faire work in progress

Well it was about time I decided to tackle my first quilt so on spotting  Rosebud Faire floral and Makower tonal fabrics when I visited my local QS I knew the time was right.. Is it not the prettiest fabric? and the colours are so warm !. The pattern I have chosen is Plaid and each block is roughly 10" square, my quilt will be of lap size and I have decided  on 40 x 50" size, perfect for those cozy evenings watching telly.
(sorry about pic but there is bit of fluff on my block ...see it on the pale square middle).

Im off....I am taking the plunge

I have after much thought and consideration decided to take a college course in Accounting and Book Keeping. My hubby is doing his Driver Instructor training and knowing what I know about him and computing it gave me the opportunity to go to college as his computing skill is a fat zero lol He will need to do his own accounts and I know that will be very daunting for him so I will take that role and he can pay me the wage lol hahahahahha. yeh right!!
Im both excited and very nervous as being nearer to the big 50 than I admit, I hope it is not too much to take on and hope that  my brain cells can cope.
Wish me luck, I so need it.

My very own Chef !!

Well I wish it was lol no this is a finished project I intend to give as part of a Christmas gift to two very important male friends. Paul and Tom are old friends and Paul has always joked about him being a chef only he forgot to mention it was a hossy chef where the food is already prepared lol When I saw this pattern for a note holder I knew it had to be made up for Paul and I almost defrinatley know he is going to love it. Again the pattern is available from Daisy Chain designs here in the uk.
Have you made any christmas project gifts yet? if so let me know what gifts you will be making and if there is a story behind them too.

Sue xx

I Love quilting exhibitions lol

Here intin the  Uk today we have at the NEC a festival of quilts exhibition, a array of beautiful quilts on show and the most important part of the show SHOPPING!
I ws literally blown away with some of the designs and I know I will never beable to achieve such stunning creations myself but am in awe of those who do. I mainly do smaller projects as I am not very patient lol, always onto the next project that catches my eye.
A major part of these expos for me is the SHOPPING, especially as I adore fabrics, all colours, tones and textures, I simply cannot get enough of them!! Will I ever use all these fat quarters, long quarters and metres and half metre pieces, I probally never will hee hee.

sorry no pics of the beautiful quilts as photos not allowed grrr but thought may like a sneak peak at some of the yummy new fabrics I purchased. ( photography not my strong point lol ).

Potty for teapot cozies lol

Wow cannot believe how many orders lately I have received  for teapot cozies, seems everyone with the economic downfall needs to make their brews last longer lol .
Patterns from Tilda by Tone Finnager and Art to heart Nancy Halverson.

Been busy ...Making my lists and Chicken them Twice !!! or three or four times lol

How I am so loving these small project patterns from Dasiy chain Designs, they are just so fun to make. These will be added to my Christmas gifts this year for friends and neighbours. Cheap to make using scraps for the applique and small amounts of fabric for binding and backing. For the notebooks i simply took myself off to the local  store where I purchased a pack of five for a £1.00...bargain.  Recently spotted some chicken pens on sale too online so will be purchasing those in the near future. If you look where you hang the book the two smaller tabs can be used to hang pen and pencil either side.
So far have managed to make 4 of these kitchen hangers but need to concentrate now on a special project for a friend who turns 70 this year, will publish the finished article later on in the year, lots of hand stitiching to finish, mainly colonial knots aghhhhhhh lol.

Christmas in June .....Ho Ho Ho

My Wall hanging is finally completed at last. The ornaments are ready to hang( not shown in photo).
Looks wonky but it is the padding making it look out of shape lol

I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed making this especially as it is also my first project since giving up cardmaking. To find the book was easy but to find ther fabric panel meant hours searching the internet lol , but at least I got out of doing house chores hee hee.

The wadding I used was extra thick, maybe too thick but it gives the illusion of Santa being chubbier/fatter which is the consequence of eating allt hose pies!! naughty Santa lol

Angel Button Bag

I simply adore this cute angel bag from Brenda Walker part of the Country Folk Designs.

Easy to make and quick too!!, especially as I needed a new button bag to store my beloved buttons.

Pattern available from Daisy Chain designs.

You could make 2-3 easy in one evening and fill wth toiletries as gifts for friends and family.

Funny Bunny pretty in pink !!

Sew4home has some amazing projects free for you to download and have a go! My choice was this cute Funny Bunny and using only fat quarters it is economical too. Adorable!! however I did find sewing the head on trickier than explained, fidlly in fact lol but to cover any tucks accidentally made when sewing I simply added a bow.

Joyful Angels cushion/pillow

Before I start my Santa comming Wall hanging I thought it be nice to show my joyful Angels cushion which is part of a christmas gift for this year. Using gold metalic thread to enhance the halo and instrument strings and adding sead beads for buttons, this gives the fabric panel dimension. Satin stitched by hand using embrodiery thread the noses and simple knots for the eyes. Added red border fabric and then picked out the dark bloue for the cushion back, which is envelope folded for speed and ease of use when washing. Will probably go one step further and add tassles and buttons to the corners.

Happy Stitching!

Garden Song Pillow/Cushion.

Birthdays can be often difficult which is why this year I have decided to make my own!, yes out came my trusty machine . I also decided to join a sewing club and whilst broswing around , well to be honest I was mere being nosey lol , well I spotted a book sitting on the shelf that shouted out to me. The book is "Garden Song" by Nancy Havvorsen and is jammed pack with gift ideas and easy instructions too which I need.

Materials are mostly those used in the book with the exception of the4 backing which is a pretty blue floral but you have to agree it goes well. My applique stillneeds paractice but hey I am getting there albeit slow lol.

Hope you like!!

Welcome

Hi and welcome to my new venture in the blogging world. I am pretty new to quilting although have been sewing for many years off and on. My passion is making smaller items such as cute bags and wallhangings etc. Hopefully soon I will take my first step to starting a quilt , something I have been itching to do for some time now but confidence is still low.
As there are many blogs now on the the internet I know youare sure to find me popping in to say hi so please take time to say hi back.