Now I wasn't expecting that............

...........a first finish for the FAL 2014!!! And it's still only January!!!  I know amazing isn't it?

Now, I'm sure you'll be relieved to hear that this post will only be short.  the reason for it is.. I've been playing nursemaid to Ralph this week as he is home from work with the 'lurgy'!  So, I'm more than usually tired and lightheaded and have developed a bit of a sore throat too.  I know... whinge whinge.  If you can't be cheerful... keep your mouth shut Yvonne.   I promise, now I've told you I won't mention it again. :-)

As I was saying, I've actually finished number 3 on my list for the finish along for 2014.  So, here it is as it was when I added it to my list.

This fabric is one of my favourite collections.  Petit Fleur by Lecien.  I made it up to this point back in 2011 I think and then put it to one side.. just could not decide what to do with it.  It was all hand pieced and hand quilted.  I thought maybe a jewellery roll... nope.  Maybe an Ipad case.... err nope.   A little bag?  Well, yes.... maybe.... except...  Basically I'd messed it up hadn't I?  I hadn't put in any interfacing when I put it all together, only batting.  So it was ... floppy... you know... it had no body to it.  Wasn't really baglike..  If that's even a word! 

Anyway, in the end I decided to just go ahead and make it into a bag, floppy or not!  enough of the procrastination! Just Do It!!!  I made two side gussets and stitched those in by machine, to make it more durable.  There was a little bit of the padded gusset left so I made a teeny tiny bag and attached it to a side panel. I cut out a couple of hearts and sewed them and padded them and attached them to ribbon and looped them around the handle to finish it off.  I'll call it a prototype I think!!  It's pretty and I'll keep my hexie projects in it when I'm working on them.  But there's a lot I'd change about the way it's made. I'm sure you're shouting at me... Well what do you expect when you just jump in without planning it out!!  And you're absolutely right!!  :-) 

I am going to have another go at making something similar.  And I'll think it through next time.  Because I'll know it's going to be a bag from the start.  :-) 

There's been lots going on here on the making front and not just curtains either, though I have made some for the guest bedroom and it's looking very nice in there.  If the lurgy doesn't win out I'll be back soon with pictures of the room and a peek at some of the other projects I've been working on.  I don't know if it's the moving house or having a proper sewing room or what but I've had lots of ideas buzzing round in my head and have started making some of them up. 

So there you go..  one tick on my list of finishes.  See how your encouragement helped me?  Thank you all for it, it does me no end of good. 


Take good care of yourselves and happy sewing.


Yvonne Xxx

FAL 2014 Q1 - Yvonne's list

..... sigh....  I know a 'nudge' when I see one and this post of Correne's, about Katy's  FAL for 2014, was more of a 'shove' than a 'nudge' !! 

Having said that I have watched other bloggers joining in with the Finish alongs that have been hosted over the last few years and found them inspiring.  It is such a good idea to share with like minded people your plans to finish projects and then look back to see what you have all, hopefully, achieved.  Or at least the steps toward finishing that you have taken.

So, after giving myself a good talking to..... and an agitated encouraging chat with Correne on the phone .... I've decided to join in too.  Please imagine a very scared face here.  It's not that I'm competitive.... much .... it's just that .... I ... prefer to waffle on in my own sweet (?) way.  So no one else can see when I don't achieve my objective!!!  All nonsense I know!!  But hey, what am I making a fuss about?  You're all lovely people and will only encourage me, so it's all good isn't it? :-)  Besides which, I've got a lot of very noisy UFO's and WIP's as this post  told you and they have become even more noisy since the move!!   

Without further ado, here's my list:

1. This is destined to be a cushion.  I've been plodding on with it in the evenings whilst watching tv and it's so close to being done. I told you about it in a previous post, masses of tiny hexies swapped with Helen for scraps of Liberty fabric. The really good thing is that it will be Helen's  finish too as she made all the tiny hexies in the first place!! I hope she's reading this and is impressed. :-)

2. I'm ashamed to say this was started in 2011 as my part of the Fresh Modern Bee 2 on Flickr. In my defence, I did become really ill before the end of the Bee's year and spent eighteen months or so on almost complete bed rest.  I still struggle and am generally very slow making anything but I would LOVE it to be a finished quilt by the end of 2014.

3. Honestly, this should be a quick finish, even for me, if I can just decide what I want to do with it!!!  Some of my favourite fabric ever I think, Lecien's Petit Fleur.

And that's it folks!  I know I know only three!!!!  And one is a long term one too.  But I'm hoping that I will get more confident each quarter...... perhaps?


Now then, I'm off to ask Correne how to do the linky thing with Katy's blog.  No doubt she'll get tired of explaining and do it for me..... At least I'm hoping she will!!!!

Thanks for dropping in.  Take good care of yourselves.

Happy Sewing Xxx

I do like.....

...... to make and give presents.

I've been thinking of making 'thank you' gifts for two of our neighbours before we move on from our rental home.  They have gone out of their way to be welcoming and friendly and I wanted to show my appreciation to them.  

The first lady is in her late seventies and has traditional tastes so I delved into a box of vintage fabrics and put together an assortment of creamy florals.  I can't remember where most of them are from, just bits and pieces from here and there that I couldn't bear to part with because..... Well, because... they might be useful .... one day??   It was an interesting trip down fabric memory lane, not because the fabrics reminded me of something I'd made or worn years ago, but because they made me realise how my fabric tastes have changed over time. 

As they weren't fabrics from my 'precious stash' ..... hmm I think maybe I should be ashamed that I just said that?  So, moving on quickly and hoping nobody noticed what I said.... I decided that I'd try not to be fussing and faffing about placement and just wing it and see how the mini quilt evolved. Now, if you knew me well you'd be gasping at that statement!  Honestly, you would. If we wrote a family dictionary, the definition of fussing and faffing would be - Yvonne!!
 Why even my sewing machine is a Pfaff.  :-) Snap decisions and winging it just do not come easily to me. Actually, that's really quite an understatement. But I did it and I really enjoyed it and I like what I made, because I know she will like it too and that's what counts after all.

Disappearing nine patch blocks randomly placed

and framed by three different sized borders.

 

Excuse the light in the photo, as usual not sure how it happened!! 

 

Lavender bag to match.

 

Now that's a better photo isn't it? Sometimes I do get it right.  Although I probably have no more idea how I do than when I get it wrong!

 

She gave me some lavender to dry from her garden so that I could make lavender bags so it was only fair to make one for her too, wasn't it?  Actually, there was only enough for one bag but I didn't have the heart to say. :-)

 

The second gift was for a much younger lady and the fabric and cushion shows perfectly where my tastes and style are at right now. 

 

The front

 

You see, totally different.  I tell you, I had such a hard time handing this one over!  I think I remember she had to prise my fingers from around it.  Although, my brain has blanked the awful experience out of my mind! Self preservation I think. :-) 

The back

 

I love the back as much as the front. I even fussy cut the fabric for the buttons to match the centre hexie on the front.

 

Fabulous Pam Kitty fabrics, I think it's the Love selection by Lakehouse fabrics.  I still love florals and whimsy but the palette I choose is very much more diverse than previously. And thankfully, I still have fabric left to make myself another cushion!

 

I wonder have you noticed how your tastes have changed as you move through your quilting life? I'd love to know. :-)

 

Thank you so much for vising.

Take good care of yourselves and happy sewing. Xxx

  

So now I'm at Liberty.....

...... to tell you about my playtime with some of my hoard of Tana Lawn fabrics. And I am so relieved to, finally, show you what I've been doing with it.  Oooh, actually I can't decide ..... should I show you the finished object right NOW?  Or should I be a bit of a tease? And show you how I got there?  What do you think? 

I'm sorry, I can't hear you.... What do you think?

Oh ok, that's better I thought you'd all left the room.  Just like my husband does when he asks me a question and I -apparently - take too long answering him.  So his eyes glaze over and he wanders off into another room!!!
And then... has the audacity to shout out 'it's no good talking to me when I'm in the other room. You know I can't hear you'  ###?@@!!!

 Correne just popped in and told me I should warn you to make a drink and grab a chair as this may take some time. Or you could always skim through and look at the pictures I suppose.  But don't tell me or I might cry. Ok? :-)

So, where was I?  Oh yes.  You said you'd prefer to wait to see the finished project didn't you?
Excuse me?  What was that?  Alright, no need to shout. ;-) I'll show first and 'tell' after then.

Oooh isn't it amazing?!!!!! A roll up to make you feel much better. Sitting on Correne's brilliant Liberty picnic blanket kindly gifted to me.  

I fell in love with Liberty in the early/mid 70's when Correne was just a little tot.  It was just me and her back in those far off days (she is going to be cursing me reading this, you can probably hear her shouting not so far off days Mother!!!)  Funny isn't it how rapidly you can change from a 'Dear Mum' to an 'Irritating Mother'  in the blink of an eye with just a couple of words? :-)) Although, thankfully, gone are the days when she preferred to keep me in a cupboard to be reached out occasionally for an opinion and bunged back in the cupboard again when it was the wrong opinion!!!  Happy Days. Teenage years.  My advice? For what it's worth.  Just keep loving each other no matter what, try VERY hard to not say anything either of you will regret and when you come out the other side you will have the best friend you always dreamed of.  No kidding, honestly.                                                            

Mmmm, what happened there?  How unusual, I got side tracked.  So, just the two of us in our little family unit.  Not a lot of money, but lots of shops to window shop in and my absolute favourite was a little shop in Cotham, Bristol that stocked bolts and bolts of fabulous Liberty.  I used to drool at the window displays and as a treat,  go in and smooth the fabrics and dream about what I could make with them.  Oddly enough little as she was Correne didn't mind waiting, she usually started chatting to anyone who'd listen to her. I'm not saying she was patient, I guess she just knew which battles to fight. Hehe, nothing much has changed really except that she has her own passion for fabrics now. :-)

  

I wanted to put a photo in here, of us from way back but they're still packed up from the move and waiting for the next move, hopefully later this year!

  

I used to make clothes and such like for people back then and one happy day a customer placed a bag of Liberty fabric in my (shaking) hand and asked me to make her a dress!!!!  How lucky was that?  I did, of course and I never told her that the money she paid for the material would have fed me and Correne for weeks!  :-) So, to cut a long story short...... What you think this is a long story?  Hmmm.  You don't know me very well then. Anyway, the offcuts from that dress which I was very kindly allowed to keep were the start of my Liberty stash which I have added to and made from ever since. Clearly, the giveaway has shown that I've got quite a lot. 

So to the quilt that has got me so excited.  Was that 'finally' I heard you say? :-)  Cheeky!  I started making tiny hexies out of the Liberty back in September 2011 (no excuses, I like to think things out and mull them over for a while. A bit like a cow eating grass then chewing the cud as it processes through it's four parts of it's stomach or something like that! GCE Biology from the late 60's is a bit hazy.)  And when I'd made the little hexie flowers I appliqued them to some Kona solids 5" squares. 

 Made into needle cases and pin cushions for Christmas Gifts.

I carried on making the flowers in between other projects and it wasn't until earlier this year that I decided to make them up into a quilt/wall hanging.  So one lovely afternoon when visiting with Correne and Jess we were all sat hand sewing and I finished appliqueing all of the flowers onto the 5" solids squares. You know how you have a vision of something in your head and it's just.. missing...a little something?  You can't put your finger on it.  But it feels wrong... kind of.....  Well, I knew how to fix it.   How?   I had a bit of a  very long browse on ebay and ... Eureka.  Jackpot!! Found it, the missing link.

Perfect.  A fat quarter of Liberty lawn called Lucy's Farm. Discontinued I believe.  So I had a few tries at the layout.

Yikes!! I know it's Liberty. But awful!!! 

Errm.  Better but not quite. 

Keep going....

 

Mmmm nice. 

 

Very nice.

Yes, oh yes. (Steady on, nearly had a Meg Ryan - When Harry met Sally moment!!)  

The backing.  Liberty Rossmore Cord as soft as Mackinlay's sweet little baby hands.

Perfect with Correne's (now mine all mine) fabulous Liberty Stile Picnic Blanket.

Which I promise you will NEVER go near any grass!!! 

and really finally...

A close up shot of the inspired way Correne pieced the back including the selvedge.

And you'll be relieved to know that I still have plenty of Liberty left to carry on making pretty things with.  And for more giveaways too probably, cause I do like to share! :-)

Phew, if you have stayed with me through all of that I am so proud of you!  You have real staying power.  If you skimmed over it and only looked at the photos, still thank you.  I know I've gone on and on. But I have to say I've waited for... shush I'm counting... er... a very long time!!! Let's say nearly forty years to own/make a Liberty Quilt and what do you know just like buses two come along at the same time!! And I am one very happy bunny.

Thank you so much for visiting I've really enjoyed sharing my Liberty story with you. And I hope you don't think I've taken too much liberty with your precious time!   Till the next time  Take good care of yourselves.  Happy Sewing.  Xxx    

Brit Quilt Swap Completed

If I hadn't have seen the sender of today's parcel I would have been very worried when I opened the wrapping to discover this! Prepare for lots of exclamation marks!!!

 As I did know the sender I was super excited to get inside the box!!! My Brit Quilt Swap mini arrived today and feast your eyes on the fabulousness that is the Dark Side of the Pond by Hadley! I had admired it in the Flickr group so I'm completely delighted that it now resides with me :)

 This little bit of text print will cause me many giggles every time I look at it....I'm very immature ;)

 The frog prince peeking out at me, love Tula Pink!

The fabulous hand embroidered label :) 

 Hadley included this gorgeous little hoop which is so cute! I thought it was a nod to the brown purse I sent her but Hadley reminded me that I had specifically stated that I wouldn't be impressed if I received a brown dog in a patchwork waistcoat :-D lol, what do I know...clearly dogs in patchwork waistcoats are totally awesome!

 Finally, Hadley included this gorgeous flexi-frame purse! Check out those tiny Liberty hexies! The other side of the purse is also tiny hexies, so much work!! Thank you Hadley, you got me sussed :)

 Benji is feeling much better today, although rather grumpy after his trip to the vet, so I was able to get on and finish the mini for my Brit Quilt partner :) I'm hoping my partner will excuse the rather wonky appearance of the edges of the quilt. I'm not quite sure what happened but what I thought was straight was not so I've lost the purple edge entirely on one side and part of it on the other, sorry partner!

I backed with a print from Good Fortune by Kate Spain. I'm hoping to get this posted tomorrow so not long for my partner to wait now :) 

Hope you all have a good weekend. Catch you soon x

August and a giveaway

Well I can't believe August is over half way gone! In the post-Olympic period I've got very little done but here are a few things that I've been meaning to share for a while. I was lucky enough to take part in a Fat Quarterly design challenge this month using fabrics from the British Designer, Nel Whatmore. My project is on the Fat Quarterly blog today! Feel free to pop over and leave a comment over there so the Fat Quarterly guys and gals know you've been, make sure to come back though to find out about the giveaway ;)

Fireworks pillow

August is the first month that the HipBees have been sewing blocks and luckily they're for me!! I sent out packages of Summersville with co-ordinating solids and asked for house blocks in return.

HipBee packages

 I've already received quite few of house the blocks. You'll have to check out the HipBee group on flickr to see them as I won't be showing them here until I've got them all :) I also received this super cute Summersville ring pincushion from Tanya which was such a lovely surprise!!

Ring pincushion from Tanya 

Talking of surprises, I received this gorgeous package from Sarah as a 'hello' to the HipBees. A Zakka pencil case and check out the cute bee charm made by the very talented Shannon, Jude's daughter. What a great bee to be in!

Zakka Pencil case from Sarah with Bee charm by Shannon

 So now to get to the nitty gritty of the giveaway that I mentioned a while ago. This little old blog has been in existence for 2 years now! Wow, where does time go? As a thank you for all your support we're giving away this awesome mini quilt that was hand-pieced by Yvonne using Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille. Check out the photos in Yvonne's flickrstream for more close-up detail. It is beautiful!!

Vintage Modern hexies hand-pieced by Yvonne

I'm also going to dig into my stash for some fabric goodies too! I'm thinking a little bit of Tula Pink and Amy Butler might be up for grabs....
So there will be one lucky winner.
You get up to three chances to enter:
1.  Leave a comment letting us know your favourite craft blog of the moment. We're always on the lookout for new sources of inspiration :)
2.  If you're a follower old or new just say so in a comment.
3. Blog, tweet or shout from the rooftop about the giveaway then leave a comment to tell us you did for another shot.
That's it. The winner will be chosen by Mr Random Number Generator after the draw closes at midday(BST) on Saturday 25th August.
Catch you soon x