bohemian like you quilt reveal

 If this quilt were a song it would be

bohemian like you

by the Dandy Warhols.

I will pass on the over used term boho chic much in the way I do the term  shabby chic.

Generally speaking my quilts gather a life

which is not pre-determined.

The seed for this quilt was a simple glimpse of my own stacked quilts.

I fell in love with the blue, white and natural colourway.

I also blame my visit to Libertys 

for totally bringing me back to my arts and crafts 

state of mind.

  Although I am known for hand piecing quilts

I am not averse to a bit of machine action....

but don't worry I made up for it with a

marathon of hand quilting!

  I love how the gingham binding

creates a 3D looking double helix pattern,

discovered by accident when trying out binding fabrics.

This quilt has a real vintage/alpine/Liberty feel to it.

It is all about texture 

and is really not like a quilt as we know them.

The heavy quilting has given the fabrics stability....

which makes it feel like a turkish rug!

Vital stats:

Size~50" x 60" (the perfect size for lounging)

Strip~ widths approx 1.5" 

lengths various

Number of strips 40

Fabrics~ mix of stash fabrics inc my favourite Joel Dewberry herringbone 

also fabrics gifted to me from Deborah simply miss luella

and from my pal Lisa jumble and jelly

thank you girls.

Backing~ vintage terylene type fabric of an indeterminable age.

Binding~ another stash fabric of unknowness.

Quilting~ hand quilted with almost 3 balls of number 8 perle cotton.

Rows approx half an inch apart.

120 rows equals 6000 inches of hand quilting!!!!!

Time taken to hand quilt ~ approx 60 days.

Cause I like you,
Yeah I like you.
And I'm feeling so Bohemian like you,
Yeah I like you,
Yeah I like you,
And I feel wahoo, wahoo, wahoo! 

ps. I love you.

scrappy economy block

 Hi thank you all for your positiveness regarding my sketch.

I thought I would reward you with some patchwork!

Don't tell anyone

but I seem to have joined in with something!

With my efforts to reduce my scraps being poor to none

I thought this economy block was just the thing 

to lessen the load.

And because you have been ever so nice

an update to the crazy one.

I was thinking how my quilts are all different 

yet go well together..

I guess fabric choice has a lot to do with it.

This is another a little experiment with colour choice

it is what it is

okay with a little tweaking here and there.

100%   s-crappy fabrics

You can find a tutorial and qal links  here
 I used Crazy Mom Quilts measurements
which makes the finished block a little over 8.5 inches.

ps.

I know they are not perfectly square...

but who wants to be square right?!

feeling sketchy..

So here's something different for you Diane.

All I ever wanted to be as a child was an artist.

No one ever told me I couldn't

so unlike everybody else I never thought about

forging a career as a dentist or a doctor.

I have never been a fan of sketching 

because I don't have that natural talent.

The one thing aside from life drawing

that I remember from art college

was a visit from a brilliant artist who sketched every day....

 20~something years later and here I am.

Looking for inspiration I stumbled upon a whole new world

a world of sketchbook art..

google it if you dare!

So I started today.

I'm not sure of anything

I'm not sure where this will lead

I'm not sure what to sketch.

I'm not sure I can sketch.

Which is why I am also keeping a colour inspired book too,

for the pencil days that don't happen.

ps. cos theres always something I want to whisper
It's been a long time since I really evaluated my face for an artistic foray,
for now I'm leaving the wrinkles and jowls out.
I'm already giving the evil eye
and anyway I'm the one with the pencil!

readjusting..

Okay so remembering back to my summer of love sewing days

things definitely got ugly....but they turned out great in the end.

After the chaos of yesterday

I have made several readjustments 

to this project and to my head.

I am taking your advice

and sticking with it.....

even if it is all....

applique applique applique!

Happy Weekend readers x

tipping the balance

 Have you ever ...

 thrown caution to the wind...

ripped up the rule book....

 made use of gay abandon

entered into a manic fabric panic?

If you have then you know how I'm feeling...

....utterly mad.

Opening your mind to fabric freedom

means any normalcy that once was

( to be frank there wasn't much to start with)

slips away...

leaving you with 

fabric blindness

a bit like getting lost on the underground.

I would love to say that I am choosing fabrics

willy nilly

but when the possibilities are endless

I feel slightly fried!

It is an interesting concept though,

get your stash out and play with it,

go on!

ps.

I'm thinking this quilt should be called 

liquorice allsorts...

reverse applique quilt label

 

  There's nothing like starting a new year off

with a new skill.

This is my first attempt at needle turn applique.

I'm so pleased

as I have wanted to make this type of label for so long.

It really was very easy.

Simply draw your shape on the back of your background fabric (the gingham)

cut out the shape leaving a 1/4 inch for the under turn.

Next snip up to the line of your shape,

pin on your second fabric and start sewing.

I used the stitch I use for binding.
Find my label tutorial  here

woo hoo!

linking up with I Have to say 
show and tell Tuesday

patchwork scraps scrappy quilt?

   Today's post was supposed to be about how I only have ONE wip.

It's a partial truth

somewhere amongst this lot

there is my batik quilt that I began last year.

Colourwise it was looking a little flat,

so I thought I'd add the Dresden to it.
A quick rummage through my scrap bags

and you see where I ended up.

If you love English paper piecing or quilting

then maybe you have such a stash?
UFO's
unused fabric oh~dears

So what do you think?

Should I just go for it....and say I do only have one wip?

How about you?
Got any UFO's?

I dare you to get your patchwork scraps out

I better you'd be surprised how many you have.

ps.

One wip must mean that I have finished binding my 'kantha style' strip quilt,

I have indeed, I just need to make a label and wait for a sunny day.

Full reveal coming soon....

hand quilting to the max

 I have finally crossed the finish line of my hand quilting marathon.

My constant companion,

falling in love with every stitch.

In an effort to reduce wonkiness

I quilted in one direction

turning the quilt after every line.

When the bulk of rolled up quilt became large and an effort to handle

I began sewing two lines at a time

hence the two needles above.

Last night I finished the last strip with three needles (Mary)

Thoughts soon turn to binding don't they?

This is how I 'audition' fabrics.

Generally I find the right binding 

but this quilt with it's crazy backing got me stumped..

Without really thinking I bought the middle fabric

2 metres as well!!!

I don't think its right.

I'm not 100% convinced

but I think I prefer the

choice below.

This quilt is by no means perfect.

It's been another learning project.

The backing is wonky through hand quilting

and the whole quilt has a curved attitude

because I sewed all the strips one way 

and didn't alternate....add to that a gingham binding on the bias...

Oh my dear quilt I do all these things....

cause I like you,
Yeah I like you.
And I'm feeling so Bohemian like you.
Yeah I like you.
Yeah I like you
And I feel wahoo, wahoo, wahoo!*

* Dandy Warhols

postal patchwork presents....

 

  ...are the best!

 Especially when they come with lots of goodies from afar...

 

 Thank you Mary for decorating my home and my life!

 I am always intriegued by vintage patchwork

the hours it must have taken someone?

It's not even paper pieced,

just held and sewn.

(the way I made my first quilt)

I remember swooning when Mary 

shared her flea market find,

never suspecting that it would end up in my hands one day.

So now it's my turn to 

ponder....what to do?

Thanks Mary...I think!

xxx

out with the new and in with the old...

....because that's just how I like it.

I don't however like to see my garden friends in pieces.

Here in the UK Christmas eve was spent tidying up 

after a scary great storm.

And so this is how it looks today.

With more rain and storms this week

this is how they will stay.

The garden is very grey right now,

which leads me on to my muse for 2014.

'Grey Gardens'

(did you see what I did there?)

I shall be channelling my inner Edie

both big and little,

I'm already singing

tea for two..

I feel akin to little Edie mainly

like a star wanting waiting to shine.

I just know that this book is going to give me

 inspiration for 2014.

And so here we are 2014.

I love a fresh new year.

I'm not really fussed about resolutions

after all I still have cheese and wine in the house

and I'm not giving that up just yet.

So I shall share some ideas

I have for 2014.

 1. Painting ~ the top of my to do list is to paint a picture at least once a month.

2. EPP ~ I have in mind a scrappy lone star project.

3. Collecting ~  realising I have a penchant for jugs with blue interiors, 

I shall seek them out

rather than buying junk willy nilly!

4. DIY ~ This years main job for me is to paint our front door,

a nice Cornish sea green I think.

* stripe jumper Gap

So what's on top of your list?

I know I feel like having a great purge in the house,

I just wish someone would come in and rearrange stuff.

The other thing I love about a New Year is that

Spring is just a round the corner.

I have written the birthdays on my new calendar

and Christmas is back in it's box...

without further a do.

Roll on 2014!!