A patchwork Quilt for our Master bedroom

Designing Foundation Paper Piecing FPP

I’m fascinated by how to design your own Foundation Pattern Piecing (FPP). It is a complicated and brain twisting thing until you get your head around it. A bit like writing with your left hand if you are naturally right handed!
But so satisfying when you have a design in your head and can piece it all together.
I’m hoping to design lots of basic blocks as I learn the process and then pull them altogether to make a quilt or wall hanging for our bedroom.

Train quilt for Filimon

My Mum asked me to create a personalised birthday present for a new baby from Moldova. She wanted it to have a picture of a ride on train which is special to the family. Regrettably I took the last picture before I had completed all the hand stitched stars and then forgot to take a final pic before it was wrapped up and sent off. #alwaysforgetthefinalpic

A fire engine quilt for Joshua

This cot sized quilt is off to Moldova to a new baby called Joshua. 

Slow stitching...sort of

I wanted to make a quilt using the left over fabric from the new curtains in our everyday lounge. For a change I thought I would do it as a 'slow stitching' project, taking my time and enjoying some hand sewing but as the months dragged on and still it remained unfinished in my sewing box I got frustrated and introduced the sewing machine. So it is a mix of both hand embroidery and speedy singer work!

Quilt for Anania

My youngest niece turns One tomorrow. Last week I felt the need to make something and thought I might sew a quilt for Anania. I’m also hoping it will mean she always remembers her Auntie Charis!

Back to blogging!

 Half term is almost upon us and I haven't been on my blog since before the new school year started...a whole 6 weeks or so ago. I have embarked on a new life stage, that of having both kids at full time school! A number of people have commented that they had never seen me without children before...that was a bizarre but true thought. We moved to this town when MJ was only 4 months and so in the 6.5 yrs that we have been here I haven't had a weekday without children around. I was looking forward to the new stage and have enjoyed it so far...apart from feeling a little broody for a few weeks when my little niece was just born.

Lj is loving school and seems to believe that she is next in command to the teacher...in fact I believe she would willing teach the class if ever her teacher was absent. Her new career aspiration is of course to be a teacher and she has turned her tiny bedroom into a classroom, kitted out with clock, behaviour rocket, story time and lots of pupils (aka soft toys).

MJ has taken on the responsibility of watching out for Lj at school and giving her the 'low down' on how things work. He loves to tell me where he saw her and what she has been doing. He is a proud big brother indeed.

As the weather has remained mild the kids continue to play outside on the street with their neighbours each evening. What a joy it is to watch as they play together, kicking football, riding their bikes, setting up shop and playing all manner of games. Tonight I wish I had taken a photo of them running around in the rain with their umbrellas as the sun was going down.

And me...I have been mixing work and pleasure with golf lessons, running, Architecture and the usual...

Present making

 Kids birthday parties

 Crochet

 Teaching Women to sew

and tonight I finished another Architecture sketch.

Sick children in cosy blankets

 Just yesterday a mum at school told me that this is 'tummy bug term', within 12hrs I was remembering her words and taking them more seriously. MJ went down with it first during the night and Lj followed suit after I noted it strange that she didn't eat all her breakfast, didn't want to eat any of the raspberries at the allotment (this one is v v v out of character) and then she didn't even want a biscuit before nap time.

As they rest I noted that the blankets which covered them had something/ someone in common. The patchwork quilt which Lj snuggled under was made my me in my teens as part of my Duke of Edinburgh award (learning a new skill). I was guided and taught very patiently by my friend Lyn. The blanket which keeps MJ cosy was beautifully crocheted by Lyn as a baby present for MJ.

So perhaps this is a good time to express my thanks to Lyn, not only for her presents and her patience but also for the prayers she has prayed for me and my family and for her example as a Godly wife, mother and friend.

Thank you Lyn xx

PS. Thanks also for the crochet books...currently on hat No. 7...soon to be blogged!

Zara Marion

'Baby Zara' (as my children call her) has arrived...so it was time to make another quilt. I kept this one plain and simple.

I think I'm improving with the freestyle sewing...it is difficult to see here as I used a purple thread.

Freestyle sewing...take 2

 For my new niece, Faith, I gave freestyle sewing another chance! This time it worked much better...I'm not really sure why but the bobbin didn't struggle so much this time.

I haven't taken this photo very well, so the detail is difficult to see. Most of the sewing is using the dog feed but for the numbers and applique flowers I covered the dog feed and went freestyle! 

 
Normally I choose the font I want to use in photoshop and print onto paper, then use this as a template but after struggling with our printer not connecting to the network I gave up and just starting cutting...thankfully there are lots of straight lines in 'Faith'.

 The freestyle lettering...I think I could work on getting it a bit tidier. Perhaps if I use drafting chalk to write the letters on and then all I need to do is trace over it. However the idea of freestyle is that it is not perfect...but I would prefer it a little more perfect :)

These are a few cushions I made over the bank holiday weekend. I still need to do a few more. The fabric I used on the cushion to the left was given to me. It is a 1970's (I think, maybe older) Moygashel print. When the mill closed in N. Ireland they gave away all the left over fabric to my friends Dad. He stored it in the back of an old car...(he is a car fanatic and has many sitting around his house ready to be restored). One day my friend and I tackled the boxes and sorted through the amazing fabric. I love it and have it in a few different colours! The middle cushion is from a duvet cover I found in a charity shop and the cushion to the right is made from fabric I bought in Ikea.

Hopefully this weekend will provide a little more sewing time. My list of things to make gets longer everyday! But next, after some cushions, I want to make a cover for my sewing machine. I was inspired by one in the book 101 Great ways to Sew a Metre.

Freestyle sewing with a Singer

 I have been wanting to do some freestyle sewing on my Singer sewing machine for ages. I did it first when I was at school and had so much fun. Lowering the dog feed on our school machines was simple. I never took the time to work out how to do it on my own machine until a friend gave me the Poppy Trefry book, which I blogged awhile back. It turns out that on my Singer you put a plastic plate over the dog feed and remove the foot. As I wanted to make a quilt for my new niece, born just before Christmas I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try freestyling on my machine. After a few very frustrating attempts I gave up. I was so disappointed as I remember my school day attempts so fondly. I couldn't get the tension set properly. So the pictures of the quilt show mainly normal machine sewing with a little freestyling! I think when I try it again, which I will, I will keep it more simple and on a smaller scale.

I have also just sent off some bunting to another friend who has had a little girl. Sorry about the photo, it is not very clear...but I do love my Forsthyia flowering, in the background...another reminder that Spring is here...yay!

A finished quilt

The front of the finished quilt.


The patchwork which forms the back of the quilt...notice the blue bunny rabbit fabric I previously mentioned.


Finally the quilt for my friends little boy is finished and ready to be packaged and posted. It is always a good feeling to see a project completed. This quilt is different to my previous quilts (examples below) for a number of reasons. I wanted to use a royal blue wool blanket I found to make the quilt warm and cosy but also wanted to try being a bit more freestyle and less planned in my quilt making. I haven't decided just how successful this freestyling is yet...i'm concerned about how well it will wear with day to day abuse. However it did teach my some new skills.
I'm not very good at doing the same thing twice so it gave me some new interest and pleasure as I experimented.

Quilts I have made in the past few months.