Monday, 29 April 2013

getting stitchy with it

So I have chosen to use pink, red and green cottons
along with a cream for the background.
Hand quilting for me is on a par with hand piecing.
There are no fixed rules,
which can be confusing,
with so much choice..
I am toying with the idea of quilting 
petal shapes within the white 
like a daisy with a hex centre..
I might make a trial run to see if I like it.

Any guesses to which backing I went with?

Thursday, 25 April 2013

garden chit chat

 Let this be the first of many garden chit chats on the blog!
As is now usual with me
I have had my 360 degree spin of horror moment in the garden.
The moment when I whisper...help....
and then just crack on with it!
I have become accustomed to it now, so lets put that one to bed
(for another year)
and look at the pretty things.
The above are snakes head fritillarys
a gift from a friend,
I wasnt sure they would make it through the winter
but they did!
That said I have lost a number of plants this year
the first being ALL of my lupins
see here for last years show.
Our garden is on clay
so when it rains the beds become lakes..
I guess lupins can only take so much.
Also lost are all my echinacea, a euphorbia, a penstemon and 
quite possibly my catmint.
Thank goodness for the selfsowns!



 A year on from our pond dig and things are getting established
though I have decided to let this area become ungardened  wild.

Bird Cam
Ever felt like you were being watched?
This is how I do it
weeding that is..
keep it real x

Monday, 22 April 2013

macaroon monday

Wish they were macaroons..
however they are my sweet new perle cottons!
You may think ooh now they're Clare colours,
but no
this was an online bundle
colours already selected.
Totally getting this hand quilting lark
but,
 oh 
(think John Travolta singing Summer Nights)
 the possibilities are endless!
Add them to my modest yet growing cotton stash
and I can't help thinking they remind me of something....?

Sunday, 21 April 2013

making it work

 Well this took me back to my technical drawing classes!
Not as easy to reproduce as it was to draw willy nilly.
 After taping some A4 sheets together I strolled back and forth with my ruler in hand.
It was actually quite fun
a bit like dot to dot!
 I do love our new space...
I am in between the radio, the kettle and the toilet
why go any where else?
This is how far I got.
I numbered the templates on the back 
and remembered to take a photo
to help me assemble correctly!
I'm thinking now that the orange should be red,
I used orange in the painting, but the tone is a lot darker 
than this orange I have....in other news
still waiting on some perle cotton 
so I can get on with 
some hand quilting.....hurry up already!

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

perfectly pastel...

 Last year the house and the garden both went through changes.
A pond in the garden and an extension on the house.
Needless to say the latter was by far the most stressful.
With the days now getting longer and warmer
we are hanging out more often in the new bit.
We still have flooring, skirting, door frames and a patio to do,
but we're getting there.
Which leads me to our latest house guest
my our welsh dresser.
 I quite literally stumbled upon this dresser in my local town
I couldn't quite believe it..
if you knew my town you'd know that
 poundland* is the very heart of the community.
So you can imagine my surprise
when I found Junk and Disorderly.
I had been scouring websites trying to find one to do up
but I wanted a wood dresser
and as painted furniture is the in thing
I was finding it hard.
The lady seller had rubbed it down herself
she said it took 2 weeks.
Normally I would rather do the work and pay less,
but sometimes when somethings right
you should just go for it.
That said I did haggle her down some!
With these hard times I think we need to support 
our high street shops and the people trying to make a living.
And besides I wouldn't be sharing these photos with you now
had I not fallen in love...
 I am a girl who's love affair with old things runs deep,
and have been collecting quirky objects for many a year
(and yes more loft delving)
Having said that my husband picked up some great things
from carboot sells back in the day when deco mirrors cost a pound.
In fact the ice creams and the bread bin are his.
 A dtawer for my aprons...how decadent!

 This charming lady came from the loft
I've had her years
she is utterly broken
but I cant throw her away.
So now I have a place for everything and everything in place.
Really every girl should have one!
And breathe....

*nothing wrong with poundland I shop there too!

Sunday, 14 April 2013

Le Challenge ~ Geometrics

 Sometimes all you need is a little nudge
to set you off.
 It's been way too long since I've picked up a paint brush and oils.
I had forgotten how much I LOVE it!
 I have had this painting in my head for awhile
and had the canvas for even longer.
I originally had an idea for an even scrappier style painting,
that can wait.
So when Lucy and Nat came up with their 
Geometrics.
I knew what I wanted to do.
I drew a somewhat random pattern
with a pencil and ruler.
The basis for the colour palette was 
my summer of love quilt
(yep still rolling that out)
Although the colours are not all faithful to the quilt
the values remain well balanced.
 So well balanced in fact I'm turning it into a mini.
I mean it would be rude not too right?
English Paper Pieced but of course!
So there we are.
The hardest part with painting is knowing when to stop.
For now I'm calling it Love/Hate.
If I was having a crit I'd have to come up with something meaningful as to why.
Well the love part comes from my quilt
 and the hate because it has a somewhat angst kind of feeling.
Either way I have a feeling this will be the first of many
paintings of quilts and quilts of paintings!

Friday, 12 April 2013

a quick quilting quandary

Can I make a confession?
I really feel like I don't know what I'm doing
most of the time!
And when it comes to quilting
I'm lost.
I read my quilting books and all your blogs for inspiration,
I just wish it came naturally to me.
With my wadding purchased from John Lewis
(80% cotton 20% polyester)
I've reached that dilemma.
I was thinking about using the pink for the backing
and the stripe for the binding...
But maybe the other way round?
Or not at all?
I'm definitely going with some hand quilting,
possibly a blender on the hexagons
and some more colourful stitching on the stars...
decisions decisions!