Like buses

Squeezing another one in - this makes 10 finishes for the year which just leaves me with 6 to bind and 25 tops to quilt.

Squeezing in one last finish (spot the frog)

This was a workshop with Mary Mayne at Lutterworth Piecemakers absolutely ages ago. I quilted it earlier in the year but only put the binding on yesterday while sobbing through Toy Story 3. Mark had left the room before the sad bit, he said he was checking on an ebay auction that was about to finish...... did he just not want to watch me blub or did he not want to blub himself? I think the latter..... Good job I didn't watch Dumbo.....

More chickens.....

An I-spy chicken and a spiderman chicken for Edward (grandson of Jill at work) and two chickens made from a workshop technique at Lutterworth Piecemakers. The workshop was on mosaics with Janet Cook and I enjoyed it - I just didn't want to make a bag out of the stars I had made.

Halloween

Mark asked who this one was for and I replied "me".....

I quilted a spiderweb panto on it which I love and would do on everything although it probably wouldn't be appropriate on some.....

Busy, busy, busy

More chickens - on a large scale. These have gone to Davina at work in exchange for bottles for the upcoming Rugby Pawprints dog show. They were called Henrietta and Precious (Murray's chicken is called Mavis).

And then today, I went to the Big Textile show in Leicester and attended a 2 hour workshop with Zoe Potter on block printing. Great fun. £10 for the two hours and we got to bring home what we made...... even the aprons were provided (although I had taken my own with me as I only have to walk into a room with paint in it and I get covered). I have orange fingers at the moment.....

On a roll

Finished and I am going to give it to Rugby Pawprints so they can use it as a prize in an upcoming raffle. Fred and Wilma recently lost Max in Daventry for an hour and a half - he turned up safe and sound - he took himself off to Pets at Home. He had his fifteen minutes of fame as Rugby Pawprints featured him on faceback and helped to get him reunited.

Finished - in the "nick" of time

This is going off to America (via a suitcase) next week.....

Finished

So finished, it even has a label on it..... Quilted on NessieJ Jamie Wallen style but I had real trouble with the thread breaking. In the end I switched to a different brand and then had no problems. A Bonnie Hunter pattern - Scrappy Trip Around the World.

Increase in size

I may have a minion, but Murray has a chicken....

We're having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave....

They have been breeding....

Bumble bee bag

Very pleased with myself today as made this bag and even put a zip in it - oh yes, get me!!!! It was a demo at Rocheberie quilters yesterday and the instruction sheet was 10 pence - what a bargain.

Marbelling

I love the fact that I have my very own sewing room that is a converted attic BUT when we have rare days of sunshine like today, it can be too hot up there, so what's a girl to do..... sit in a pub garden drinking cider or sit in the garden, wearing a green apron, painting clothes pegs.

Lavender chicken

I went on a shop hop on Saturday and this lavender filled chicken was a small kit I bought in one of the shops - the Nimble Thimble in Buckingham. A nice shop, a nice chicken.....

Finish!

Quilted on NessieJ and while not perfect, good enough. A good learning curve.

Bluebells and snow

Penny's first bluebells and snow in May.....

Like Buses

Nothing for ages then two at once..... Mum wanted some covers for her chairs so I loaded some fabric I had dyed onto NessieJ not long after I first had her and practiced on these rather than endless bits of scrap fabric. Have only just done the binding though...... and while I had the camera out, Penny and Scarlett. Penny is the one on the left with a tennis ball under her bum because it is a Precious Thing and she has to keep it close.

Pincushion

Yep, I've made a pincushion......

Fish for Murray and a finish!

For Murray who wanted to see the fish and a finish - so finished it even has a label on the back. It is a small example of English paper piecing for Cosby's exhibition later in the Summer.

Went out for a cutting mat, came home with a lobster

The garden centre didn't have any large cutting mats, but the pet section had blue lobsters.....

Counting

Spot Willow.... Have just counted and photographed my "to be quilted" tops - only 23 - better than I thought!

First finish of the year

I can't believe this is the first thing I have finished - the problem is, no binding..... No binding, no finish.... This is a bookwrap for the Quilter's Guild tombola at the Festival of Quilts this year. I don't get bookwraps, is the book just supposed to fall out like that? Am I missing something..... like an extra seam......

Let there be light

If I had a pound for every swear word, how many metres of fabric could I buy?.....

Ahead of myself

These are four blocks for a challenge set by Liz at Patchwork in Pubs. We don't meet again until April so I am way ahead of myself - I will probably forget to take them on the day knowing me....... And, Penny is six months old! She is still not as big as Willow or Scarlett but she is not too far off.....

Penny in action this morning.

Last year and this so far...

In 2012 I finished 14 quilts. Not bad, I am happy with that. At the moment this year I have an unstarted top on NessieJ, have just completed part 7 out of 8 parts of the Bonnie Hunter mystery (Easy Street), have the pieces cut out for the New Year's Day Planet Patchwork mystery and have just printed out all the clues and have the instructions and the fabric ready for the New Year's Day Longarm University mystery quilt. Should be busy for the rest of the year then.....