frayed at the edge

An excellent book!

I was recently sent this book to review by the publishers, who have given me permission to share some photos with you.  I have to say that other than receiving a free copy of the book, I have not been paid to write this review. Oh how I wish I had this book years ago when I did a lot of dressmaking, as it is such a comprehensive guide.  Although it says that it is for beginners, it would be a good addition to any dressmaker's collection of books

 

the author is Jules Fallon, who has been in the industry for many years, and has a comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of dressmaking, which she shares in the book

 

there is so much helpful information, from basic equipment ........

 

......... to understanding fabrics

 

....... and who knew there were so many ways to insert zips!

 

there is a comprehensive glossary .......

 

......... including the word armscye, which I had never before encountered (despite reading the whole page of the dictionary every time I look up a word - a habit instilled by an excellent teacher at Airdrie Academy)

 

and of course you need this information, should you wish to purchase copy - which I highly recommend

 

and after all the cakes I ate on holiday, I might just need some advice on letting out seams on my clothes!  This was a delicious chocolate brownie ...... although of course I gave the white chocolate shards to Malcolm, as you know I really don't like white chocolate.  For me chocolate has to be dark and bitter!

 

I can't believe it's the weekend again ....... the days have just flown by!  I hope you have a great weekend, love Anne

Penguin progress!

The first stage of the quilting was a simple stitch-in-the-ditch, round all the blocks, which doesn't show up on the right side, so this little section on the wrong side shows the straight lines

 

the next stage was fmq on the background of the blocks

 

it was hard going, as the quilt weighs a lot, because of all the appliqué

 

I also had to avoid the many embellishments, like these little buttons at the sides of the sunglasses

 

I quilted the sky first

 

then quilted the sand

 

at the end of the session, Malcolm had a surprise for me ........ he had hung my new sign beside my door

 

although I have still to add the apostrophe

 

I forgot to take photos of the next stage!  I quilted straight lines on the outer border, then added the binding

 

the binding on, ready to be hand-stitched on the back.  I took the quilt with me today when I went to the Wednesday sewing session at the Quilt Shop in Morpeth.  I got all the ends from the fmq darned in, but it was such a busy day, I only got one side of the binding stitched

 

when I got home, I popped the quilt on the bed in the guest bedroom (on top of the several quilts already on the bed!)

 

this shows the side with the finished binding

 

and as always Winnie the Pooh and Jemima had to feature in the photos!!

 

Catching up

You know that my blog is my little happy place, where the outside world isn't usually allowed to intrude ....... but after the terrible terrorist atrocities, I just want to say that I hope, far from being in Paradise, the perpetrators are roasting in the deepest, hottest pit of Hell

 

I promised you some special sewing, and here it is.  At the end of Margaret's exhibition, I brought the penguins home to quilt, as Harry (who has been winning more gold medals at Boccia!) had declared that this was his favourite.  Last Wednesday I met up with Margaret at Sue's shop, and she bought the necessary backing fabric and wadding

 

isn't this just the most fabulous quilt top!

 

of course the penguins should be in the snow and ice, but Margaret decided to send them to the beach for a holiday

 

the three layers on the work table, ready to pin

 

by the end of yesterday afternoon the pinning was done, and I hope to start the quilting tomorrow

 

I have a bit of a backlog of photos (I still have photos from Majorca to share with you), so here is a quick catch up.  On Friday we went for a walk on a different beach in Berwick.  This piece of driftwood would look fabulous in the garden, but alas it was too big to carry!

 

I had picked up this little dead crab and put it on a rock to take a photo ........ but when I went to put it back on the sand, it decided it wasn't dead, and feebly waved a leg about!  So I turned it the right way up before putting it back

 

it's ages since I built a stone stack (Malcolm decided to help me, so there was a bit of a competition to find the best stones!)

 

and what better way to end a walk on the beach than with an ice cream!

 

this month's man on my "naked men" calendar is obviously a bit shy ........ but wait until you see next month's chap!

 

ok, I know I have watched it several times, but when I saw the Minions film was on tv, I just had to watch it again ........ and I still laugh out loud when I watch it

 

yesterday we went to Newbiggin for a stroll along the seafront.  I rather like the puffins on top of the bollards

 

these tractors on the beach are for pulling boats out of the water

 

this couple are a smaller land-based version .......

 

of this Couple

 

Malcolm spotted this shadow shot ....... isn't it fabulous!

 

this cauliflower was being sold cheap as a wonky vegetable ........ it only cost me 54p, but a non-wonky one half the size would have cost me £1.  I added the can of Dr Pepper to show you how big the cauliflower is - it will make at least four meals.

 

the outer leaves went into the compost bin which sits in the utility room

 

and will the be added to the smart new garden compost bin which I bought for Malcolm as an early birthday present ....... I know how to spoil him!

 

well, a rather eclectic collection of photos, but at least I have caught up a bit!

Finishing the leaf

After colouring in the leaf, the next stage is to cover it with the kitchen paper, and iron it with a very hot dry iron.  Any loose colour will come off on to the paper

 

repeat with clean paper, until no more colour comes off.  The colour is now set into the fabric, but probably wouldn't survive a lot of washing

 

next, I backed the fabric with a piece of thin cotton wadding, and put it in an embroidery hoop

 

the finished leaf

 

this was really fun to do, and I am looking forward to doing more ....... when I have finished enjoying myself in Majorca.  As you read this, I might be tucking into a delicious cake

 

or enjoying an ice cream in the sunshine

 

back soon!!

It's snow joke!

It may be almost the end of April, but I got up yesterday morning to find a dusting of snow

 

on Sunday the weather was so good we sat out on the deck to have our lunch, but we decided against doing the same yesterday!

 

yesterday we had our winter woollies on again, and when we were shopping in Morpeth, I wished I had put my hat on!

 

there might have been snow, but the sky was clear and the sun was shining, creating some interesting shadows in the kitchen

 

I had given this ivy to my Dad not long before he died, so it must be about eleven years old now!

 

this shadow is so strong, it is hard to decide which is the plant, and which is the shadow

 

another shadow of the ivy, taken later when the sun had moved round a bit

 

I don't know what the source was of these reflections of the sun on the wall

 

I can now show you the secret project that I was working on for Sue.  Later in the year I am going to be teaching a workshop on how to make this cushion, with raw edge applique and wonky borders

 

I took the photos on Sunday, when the sun was shining ....... perhaps I should have taken them yesterday in the snow!

 

I will be back on Friday with my 17 UFOs in 2017 report ....... and I have lots to report this month!

 

 

A fun purchase!

When I saw these pencils featured in a magazine recently, I succumbed to temptation and ordered a set.  They have been designed by Alex Anderson of The Quilt Show ........

 

........ and these are the little sayings on them.  I shall now have to do a lot of writing and drawing!

 

when they arrived in the post, I was a bit surprised by the size of the envelope ........ but then I discovered that I had also been sent this book as a gift

 

it has all sorts of wonderful drawings/patterns in it - and they are copyright-free, meaning that I can incorporate them in my own patterns

 

after closing her quilt shop in Longframlington, Anne has now opened a new one at Kirkharle.  When I picked up this leaflet on Saturday .........

 

.......... I was somewhat pleased to see that the photo advertising her new shop shows two of the quilts that I made for the old one

 

we popped down to Heighley Gate Garden Centre yesterday morning, as Malcolm needed some potting compost ........ so of course we had a cuppa and shared a delicious cheese scone while we were there!

Margaret's exhibition - part two

Some more of Margaret's lovely quilts for you to enjoy!  You saw a detail of this fairy quilt in Monday's post

 

a nursery rhyme quilt

 

her latest project - Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam

 

a detail from another Christmas quilt

 

Hamish, the handsome Highland cow

 

Margaret had these badges made for the helpers to wear, and we got to keep them as a souvenir

 

one of her friends made this rabbit, and very generously donated it for the sales table.  When she hadn't sold by Sunday afternoon, I just had to buy her!  She soon made herself at home in the attic .......

 

........ but I don't think she will do much sewing on this little model machine!

 

this had been Harry's favourite .........

 

but then he saw this one at the exhibition and decided that this is now his favourite, so I brought it home to quilt it

 

the original pattern showed the penguins on snow, but Margaret decided to send them on holiday to the beach!  I shall enjoy quilting the penguins - although at the moment I don't quite know what I will do.  I will probably start by quilting in the ditch to hold the quilt together, then perhaps do some outline quilting round each penguin.  It's quite a bit bigger than the quilts I have quilted recently, so will be a challenge!

Margaret's exhibition - part one

When I walked into Eckford Village Hall on Saturday morning, I was amazed by the wonderful display of quilts!  I stood on the stage to take this overview

 

then I went back down to the body of the hall to take this photo of the stage

 

and here is proud Granny Margaret,  with her amazing grandson Harry.  The exhibition was to raise money to fund Harry's travelling in pursuit of more gold medals playing boccia.  I don't know the final total, but I know that over £1,000 was raised on Saturday from the entrance money, sales of raffle tickets, books magazines and other sewing stuff, and some very generous donations

 

before we look at some of the quilts, lets look at the other important part of the day!

 

Margaret's friends had excelled themselves baking and donating a great array of cakes

 

and some excellent scones

 

I'll start with this quilt, as yesterday the lovely Ivy asked me if I has taken a photo of this one, as it is her favourite

 

this is my favourite

 

and I love this little cutie

 

and this is my second favourite

 

while all the dogs round the outside are digging, looking for the bone

 

this cheeky little chappie has pinched it!

 

a lot of people commented on this little bear's necklace.  We all agreed that we would simply have put a circle round her neck, but the way Margaret has done it gives a marvellous impression of movement

 

this little fairy is from when she was going through a bling phase - click on the photo to enlarge it to see all the little crystals she has embellished the fairy with

 

unusual colours for a Christmas quilt

 

this lovely quilt has little bits of lace and delicate embroidery

 

Margaret uses a lot of buttons for her embellishments, buying any that she sees that she thinks she will use in future quilts 

 

a fun Christmas quilt

 

I still have a lot of photos left, so I shall share more with you on Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

More exploring!

Yesterday morning, having completed our various tasks in Alnwick (a trip to the tip, food shopping etc), we decided to head over to Alnmouth for a spot of lunch.  Although there is a bit of cloud in this photo, it was actually a glorious sunny morning

 

the gift shop is packed with all sorts of wonderful things - I'll show you later what I bought

 

and this is where we had lunch

 

it's a charming place .......

 

...... with the most delicious food - we both had the hot beef stottie

 

I think I have shown you this photo some time ago

 

a necessary warning, as the road borders the golf club

 

I don't think I would risk sitting on this old bench

 

but I wouldn't mind sitting in this lovely new conservatory (Malcolm pointed out the rather posh green cover for the gas meter!)

 

so what did I buy in the gift shop?  First, I bought this for Malcolm to add to his collection of little boat related things that he has in the flat

 

and I bought this for me - inspiration for an appliqué block?

 

you can find out more about the cards at the website at the bottom of the card

 

I also took this photo as a reminder for Malcolm, as he may go over for the Food Fest ........

 

....... while I am helping at Margaret's exhibition (I am up at the flat, as it would be a bit far to travel from the house each of the two days, but it is a short journey from Berwick).  I have these three things to take tomorrow for raffle prizes.  You can find the directions to the exhibition here

 

I came up to Berwick after lunch, and walked over to town this afternoon.  Oh dear, as Malcolm isn't here, I had to eat a whole piece of cake myself!  This delicious confection is a slice of creme egg cake ........ the chocolate sponge was very light, with custard in the middle - and of course a bit of creme egg on the top

 

I hope I will see some of you tomorrow at Margaret's exhibition, but if you can't be there, I will take lots of photos to share on Monday.  Have a great weekend, love Anne

Before the sewing .......

......... we have to admire this month's page in my (almost) naked men calendar

 

remember, if you would like a closer look, click on the photo to enlarge it!

 

when I was at The Quilt Shop last Wednesday, the lovely Jill was explaining to one of the other ladies how to make a quilt using a Jelly Roll (I think Jill had seen the pattern on Missouri Star, but I don't have the details).  I was only half listening, but on Saturday I thought I would have a go.  I got out this Jelly Roll, which I had won, so it wasn't a favourite one that I would mind if things went wrong

 

I sorted the strips out into five piles

 

then arranged these in six groups, with a few strips left over

 

as always, I stitched four of the strips together in pairs .....

 

I then sewed those two pairs together, then added the fifth strip

 

and did the same with the other sets of strips

 

after pressing the first set, I checked that it measured ten and a half inches

 

and cross cut it into four squares.  The little leftover bit will be used as a thread catcher

 

you can't see, but under each of the two squares, the other two squares are right sides up, with the strips running horizontally

 

after stitching round all four sides, I cut the squares on the two diagonals

 

and pressed open the squares.  I arranged one set like this

 

and the other set like this

 

then did the same with the other five sets of strips

 

I now have to decide on how to arrange them into a quilt - but that will have to wait until I make my new design wall!  Yesterday, I turned my desk round

 

took the leaf out of the pine table

 

and rearranged my sewing tables. which has given me more room.  The design wall will go on the big bit of wall.  I am going to make it with thick cardboard cut from some of the boxes the removal firm gave us, taped together and covered in wadding.  I must also sort out my overflowing scrap bin, which you can see under the table

 

and some good news ....... I have finally found the key for my filing cabinet, which I had put away in a safe place ........