2013 lookback

 English paper piecing...

...and other stuff.

I think my 2013 was a mix bag kinda year.
Lots of interesting projects most of which are completed.
Plenty of gifts for friends,
(my favourite inspiration)
with many more on the horizon.

I love the start of a fresh new creative year.
I keep telling myself that 2014 is a year for painting
with less sewing
but somehow I think we all know how that will pan out!

I wonder what the next new year quilting trend will be?
Am I too late for a scrappy trip around the world?

ps.
Thank you for your everlasting friendship
I know with some of you we are like ships in the night
but it's nice to know we are still there for each other
even if it's a single word comment
just to say
hi
x

Happy *selfie*sewn Christmas!

In case I don't make it back here 

I just want to thank everyone

for sharing my world this year.

 I am very much looking forward to a fresh new year

of quilting and painting.

So I will leave you now with a shot of my new stockings

my last make of 2013.
(I know the pom poms are still pinned on!) 

 Wishing you all a 

very

Merry Christmas

love Clare

 xxxx

ps. (cos there's always a ps.)

I made my own pom-poms the old fashioned cardboard way

please Santa could I have a pom-pom maker* for next year?

thank you x
* as seen on Kirsties Crafty Home Christmas
** polka dot hairband was £1.50 from a cheapy shop.
started off as a joke, but I quite like it now!!

it's beginning..

 Now that I have sent out all my handmade gifts

I can finally concentrate on some makes for me.

One project at a time definitely

keeps things simple,

even if in my head there are a million possibilities.

I made these simple two sided fabric stars for my dresser

not unlike the ones I made Lisa

 but unquilted this time.

Somehow more effort goes into making gifts for others....

maybe I should love myself more!

And we have a new floor at last...

almost finished,

knowing when to draw the renovation line before Christmas is a good thing.

As the smell of paint isn't all that Christmassy!

The floor is Swedish!

Made by Kahrs product name estrella

(cos I know someone will ask me)

Now that we have a Swedish floor

does that mean my kitchen is now a principality?

On with the makes

next up stockings....

tis the season for giving

 So I have been doing a little more stitching than I have been sharing with you.

Now that they have been received I can show you 

what you can do with some thread and fabric!

In a bid to release the reigns on my epp obsession

I went for some freeform quilting

no measuring

totally off the cuff

just sewing from the heart.

Actually I just wanted to make my pal Mary a label

it just evolved a little.

  My second make also for Mary 

is this kantha quilted heart.

Mary has Irish roots and three daughters

so I embellished it with a vintage pin with three shamrocks.

(these should have been separate gifts, but I was a little tardy on posting)

Making smaller items make the finer details all the more important,

and allows you to explore ideas

like the diagonal stripe binding 

that I have been desperate to try out.

If you loved these little gifts

then why not

hop on over to Marys blog

where she is giving away

the cutest peppermint swirl pin cushion!

pins and needles

Hows Christmas going you ask?

Well it's not...not yet,

we have way too much diy stuff happening to think about 

anything festive.

 So I thought I'd answer a question regarding my quilted star garland instead!

Mad cat quilts asked :

 Lovely! How did you attach the string to the back? Can you show a pic?

*

Over the years I have developed my own way of

doing things

I do not like anything too 'frou frou'.

(fussy bows and ribbons need not apply)

As with my patchwork style

I like to mix and match.

I love using the rough with the smooth

or the new with the old.

I use garden twine for many of my decorations

but as it's Christmas I have splashed out with a

festive stripe!

 Okay back to the question!

Sometimes those hand me down bags of vintage 'stuff'

contain gems like the awesome set of needles*.

I'm not about to start repairing tents or the like

I am just sharing the tools I use to wangle the larger threads

through my creations.

One of my pet hates are decorations that have the loop running from front to back

which means I am forever twisting ornaments round.

So the above picture is my all time favourite hanging method.

Thread an upholstery needle 

and make a running stitch at the top of your decoration,

remove the needle and pull the threads so they are even.

Next pull out the stitch (just a little) to form a loop,

 feed the ends through and pull up tight.

Finish off by knotting the ends together.

In answer to the question about the stars

I simply thread the twine through the backs

using a running stitch

which means the stars are not stuck in one position

and can move about.

That was all a bit too heavy

 for such a simple question!

I think I need some light relief!

*a certain amount of force is still needed

even with these giant needles!

teenage kicks decorations

 It has become a tradition for me to send handmade decorations

to my friends three kids,
ala Beatrix Potter

Now they are teenagers the cutesy stuff

just doesn't cut the mustard.

 Remember my scary skulls and the black crochet star garlands?

They were previous years makes.

I struck upon an idea that wasn't too twee

and suitably personal.

So I made another visit to my 'goto' craft compendium

aka Molly Flanders

and found her 

scrappy little Christmas tutorial

which continues my theme of close line quilting.

 I kept mine really simple

by just using one fabric

and a double layer of felt.

I found it easier to quilt the lines first 

and then cut the shape out.

ps 

I used my walking foot.

And made the paper letter templates

from a picmonkey font.

 I finished them off with some twine*

and some beads.

 So I am pretty much done with gift makes.

Nicky suggested that I should make some stars for myself.

So that was enough of a spark to 'get the scraps out' again!

Some of you might notice that I have cleared my dresser/cabinet 

you also might think I am preparing it for Christmas?

But no believe it or not we are finally laying a new wood floor

in the extension.

We were so excited when the wood delivery arrived

we were literally like
children going to bed on Christmas eve!

Fingers crossed I will have a wonderful new floor

to share next week!

*twine from Libertys none the less!

thanksgiving star garland

This will be my dressers first Christmas in our home.

I am excited by the idea of some festive decorating.
(not yet started...susan! )

Not only is it useful for hiding stuff

but great for displaying recent makes.

This was always my plan for these stars

as I know the recipient has a dresser

and I think I know what she likes.

In fact these stars were rehomed yesterday

and now live with my friend Lisa

whom I call one of my fabric sponsors

because she ALWAYS has a bag of vintage goodies for me.

Life is a precious thing so get living.

 Friends are a special thing so get giving.

Clare

Happy Thanksgiving to you all

xxx

monday making...

... making presents money just cant buy.

made with love

 xxxxx

kantha quilting

Have I been living under a rock?

Am I the last to know about kantha quilting?

How have I missed it, with all this evidence around me?

 I know I have seen such quilting

I just had no idea how big of a thing it is right now.

Kantha quilts'quilting originate in India

and are traditionally made from saris 

with simple but heavy stitching.

So it seems I am making a kantha quilts of sorts.

Currently I have stitched 15 out of the 40 strips

and used one whole ball of perle cotton....

that's 82 metres so far.

You work out the maths,

just don't tell me how far I have left to sew

I already think I'm insane.

xxx

*Kantha sources shown.

 Homes and Antiques magazine sep 2006

Granny Chic ~ Dottie Angel and Ted and Agnes.

framing notions ~ arsenic and old lace

In an effort to

keep things simple

I had an idea 

and I completed it in a day!

 It started with an old brown frame you know the type.

Just hanging around from my childhood,

not really loved

but sentimentally cherished,

a Farrow and Ball arsenic* tester pot,

a sewing notion from Australia

and some moda fabric from America.

Put them all together...

and we have a fine romance
and not a dark comedy
boo!

*arsenic ~ just about my all time favourite colour!

mini mojo quilt reveal

My mojo quilt has found it's way to it's new home in Australia,  

so I am at last able to share it with you.

It is actually called Susan's Mojo 

after my friend Susan asked me to send her 

some mojo..

and so another quilt is born.

I am very proud of this one

I think it is my best work to date.

In fact I think I work best when I know it's a gift....
must be the love!

 

 

The nitty gritties

This mini is hand pieced using the English paper piecing method

although the pattern from Linda Sewards Country Quilts book

is machined.

I have used a mix of modern and vintage fabrics,

the back is a rosali print from ikea

and the binding is my fav Joel Dewberry herringbone.

The quilting is also a mix of machine and hand quilting.

The size approx 25 inch square.

 The label is hand embroidered.

Thank You xxx