Cherry Coloured Twist

Tiny Hexies - testing Blogsy for iPad

2012-07-09T23:32:00.001+01:00

Plans for the Brit Quilt Swap are taking shape. In fact, I have made about half of the tiny hexies I'm planning to include - if, of course, my partner is happy with them.

Oops I did it again....

2012-06-18T21:57:00.000+01:00

Another season, another swap. I couldn't resist joining in with this one. It's Brit Quilt Round 3, and it is simple but good: we will be making mini quilts for secret partners. So if you're a Brit (or live in Britain), go jump on the bandwagon. Whoop! Here's my inspiration mosaic.

1. Rainbow Spools Rack, closer, 2. My Precious Quilt Along Progress, 3. Latest idea,
4. FWA - Soulsister of Lyrics on Hexies (PTS7), 5. Mouthy Stitches 3/4" HST panel,
6. FTLOS - Mini Quilt, 7. Robert Kaufman No Prints Allowed Kona Challenge,
8. Cutting Edge Quilt, 9. Jubilee Jamboree Harlequin, 10. Birds of a Feather ~ quilt,
11. MQ for STUD swap (1), 12. Paper pieced sewing machine, 13. fmf wall art,
14. mini finished, 15. Rainbow Compass Mini Quilt: Front,
16. New York Beauty Mini Quilt 1

Linen and Leaves (and a public service announcement)

2012-04-30T14:32:00.000+01:00

Wow! What a lucky girl I am!

Snippety Snip - a mini reaches it destination

2012-03-26T18:09:00.000+01:00

Remember the paper pieced scissors? Yep? Nope?

Well my mini quilt for the FTLOS swap finally reached its destination! Whoop!
Read more »

Guess who?

2012-03-14T18:42:00.001Z

Whooop!

Guess who's on the Fat Quarterly blog today?

Yes! Me! I can hardly believe it!

The project I'm sharing is the Check it! tutorial from Rashida's blog, using some preview 'Quilt Blocks' fabrics sent to me by Katy.

Thanks for having me guys!

Linked up here!

Mouthy Stitches - Received

2012-03-06T21:49:00.000Z

Wowzers! Look what arrived in a package for me!

I'm a little late in posting this, but it's my pouch from the fabulous Laura, of Needles, Pins and Baking Tins. And just look at those lovely scraps!

A mini swoon. Laura stalked me well. She saw this on my flickr photostream and decided I might apprecate something like it on my pouch. And I do!

There are even some fab little rainbow blocks on the back!

Thanks Laura!

Snippety Snip

2012-03-02T10:18:00.000Z

Look what I made!

Life is verrrry busy so I'm only going to show a sneak peek for now, but rest assured its going to be good. More this weekend. Promise.

Happy Friday!
xx

Take a peek!

2012-02-15T19:27:00.000Z

Here's a peek of something I'm quite excited about.....but I can't say any more for now....!

Sneaky sneaky sneaky

Let's just say that it's now finished and you will find out in a month or so if you hang around.

A good job I've finished it too. Sewing is going to have to become my middle name in the next few weeks. Let's see...

I have to finish a pouch.....

And a mini quilt...!

Luckily I've got a fully fledged plan in my head for each, and I've started the cutting for both.

I've had a practice zip sewing session to prepare me for the Mouthy Stitches Pouch, and since I've only made one zippy pouch before I'm going to play it safe with a pouch from this Oh Fransson! pattern.

For the FTLOS swap, I'm going to try my hand at paper piecing (not English paper piecing, but the slightly more scary kind), and I already know my partner loves the fabrics I've chosen. Whoot!

I've also got the swoon to finish...

Swoon Plan (excuse the rubbish ipad photo - why can't they put decent cameras in those things?)

I've done all the cutting and the first stage of piecing for the four blocks I've planned.

Crikey, is it that time already? I'd better get cracking!

Linked up with Our Creative Spaces, Freshly Pieced, Sew Much Ado, Quilting in my Pyjamas and Sew Happy Geek!

Stitch One, Perle One

2012-01-17T17:27:00.000Z

The hand quilting on the New Wave is finally finished....in fact I've finished the whole thing but I'm awaiting some decent light for the photos. These photos pre-date the trimming and binding.

I've used the obligatory perle cottons, and I'm very pleased with the result.

I had some initial reservations about hand quilting on such a big and heavy item, and in particular about how I would manage the middle, but I managed to pull it off. Practice makes (nearly) perfect. My hand quilting has definitely progressed since I did this little pre-cursor.

I found that a thimble was absolutely essential, and over the course of the first few rows I got the hang of it - up until then the thimble just felt clumsy and cumbersome. I didn't use a hoop, just grabbed handfuls of the quilt with my right hand to pull it tight while sewing with my left (yes, I am one of those people).

As you can see, I had some *assistance* with the photographs.

She thinks all the quilts in the house are hers, and she doesn't tend to stay still for a decent photo.

I can't wait to show you the final quilt. I kept the zigzag edges when I trimmed it, and painstakingly bound all the funny shaped inside and outside corners. It's not perfect by any means, but I love it!

In other news, I've signed up for Katy's Swoon-Along, but I'm having difficulty deciding on fabrics....watch this space...I'm planning on making my mind up tonight!

Linked up here, here, here and here!

Mouthy Stitches!

2012-01-11T18:04:00.001Z

I was planning on holding back from quilt-alongs and swaps for a few months, but when I saw the description for Mouthy Stitches, I couldn't refuse.

After all, January is the month of new starts. Just one small zippy pouch and a fat quarter of scraps. I am sure I can manage that.

Inspiration Mosaic for Mouthy Stitches

I've had about four zippy pouch tutorials bookmarked for a very long time, but never made a single one. So its time to put up or shut up.

I'll need some time to practise but I'm sure I will manage it.

Anyone going to join me? Check out Hadley's post for all the deets.

And incidentally, I've (finally) finished the hand quilting on this little baby...and I'm very pleased with the result...watch this space for a hand-quilting post!

Linked up here, here and here.

Well Worth Waiting For

2011-12-09T21:38:00.001Z

'Wow' is all I can say.

This is the table runner I recieved from my partner in the SewHappyGeek Table Runner Swap. Isn't it fab?

It is exactly what I had 'asked for' in my inspiration mosaics:

Oh Heck - A Guest Post!

2011-11-14T21:27:00.001Z

Oh heck indeed.

Spray basted strip quilt

I forgot to tell you that I did a guest post for the wonderful Vanessa of Nifty Thrifty Things. How could I forget that? Vanessa is uber cool and has a fabulously inspiring blog full of things she has made for her home and garden. Basically, on some level, I want to be her. Well, at least have her crafting skills.

Have I persuaded you to visit her yet?

Ginger Lemonade with Fresh Mint

My post was up on her blog yesterday, so you can check it out in all its glory here.

Rye Pancakes with Caramelised Bananas and Maple Syrup

The photos I've included here are the things I mentioned in the guest post, so click on over if something takes your fancy. Enjoy!

Linked up here!

Only Orange

2011-11-04T14:48:00.000Z

Orange. I'm loving it at the moment.

1. Mod Square - Quilted Pillow Cover in Shades of Orange, 2. orange coasters :), 3. favorite vintage orange fabric, 4. Orange grove quilt - back, 5. i chose orange, 6. Reversible Baby Shoes, Apple Dot, 7. bathmat orange, 8. Orange grove quilt - front, 9. Mandorle (Warm Colours) fabric

Making (New) Waves

2011-10-30T17:44:00.001Z

Oh! I just remembered I have a sewing blog - and this is it. Thanks for hanging in there in this *abandoned* space.....

Making Mosaics

2011-09-30T18:44:00.001+01:00

Perhaps I'm the only one around here who didn't know how stupidly simple it can be to make a mosaic from photos.

1. The Dark Side of the Loom - first version, 2. "Tic Tac Toe" Quilt - Finished!, 3. Mug rug close up, 4. Bottled Rainbows basted!, 5. Little Folks Quilt ~ voiles, 6. rainbow hounds tooth, 7. april 2011 do. good stitches, 8. A rainbow of Perle 8 Cotton, 9. Rainbow Hexagon Pillow, 10. Single girl quilt_front_quilting, 11. Rainbow Medley - FTLOS Swap, 12. In a (Solid) Pickle, 13. Pretty Diamonds

A Really Satisfying Swap and a Sandwich

2011-09-13T22:02:00.001+01:00

Despite the teaser-photo above, first up is a long overdue 'thank you' to my swap partner in the Sew Happy Geek Mug Rug Swap. The mug rug and additional ~~pot stand~~ I meant to say teapot stand - oops! (I know, I was very spoiled), are really really lovely.

Colour Crush finished and a new face!

2011-09-04T18:25:00.005+01:00

Wow. A busy few weeks. Apologies for the long absence from posting and commenting (if there is anyone still out there reading this apart from my family - thank you for sticking with it!).

During the past few weeks I've had stomach flu, gained a family member (see more below) and finished this quilt.
Read more »

Calling All Chocolate Lovers.....

2011-08-10T22:31:00.001+01:00

Just a lightening quick post to say that there is a giveaway happening on my other blog. Shameless cross-posting, I know, but if you're interested take a look!

Le Cordon Bleu Chocolate Bible - who wouldn't want to win?

I'm So Excited (and I just can't hide it)

2011-08-04T18:35:00.003+01:00

You remember the swap I'm taking part in? Well I'm really excited to say that I've posted out my goods!

It took a while longer than expected because I was waiting for some labels to arrive from Spoonflower. I had seen so many people mess up slightly on their first order that a little part of me was convinced that I would find something wrong with them when they arrived. Not so! They are perfect! See for yourself!

A Sneaky Peek

2011-07-26T17:47:00.008+01:00

Summer is great, but the sunshine beckons me outside and messes with my sewing mojo.

I'm not really able to show you what I'm working on, because it needs to remain a secret for a little longer. But I'm bursting to show you something, so here's a little sneaky peek at what I've been doing.

Colour Crush Progress

2011-07-12T21:36:00.004+01:00

I've been busy this week. One of the things I've been working on is a secret for now because I'm joining in with Jenna's Mug Rug Swap. Yes, I thought I'd dip a toe into the world of swaps. Jenna's seemed like the perfect initiation because a) its a mug rug, and therefore not too difficult to tackle, and b) Jenna is awesome.

The other thing I've been working on is this. I trimmed it up and spray basted it (yes - still a mega fan).

'Northern Style' Hand Quilting: Part 1

2011-07-08T18:34:00.001+01:00

The things I love most about sewing, are learning new techniques and being inspired by others.

I have wanted to learn how to hand quilt for a long time, so when I heard that that Patchwork Chicks in Barrowford were running a hand quilting course - with a teacher I knew - I snapped up the opportunity!

The course is split over two sessions, and by the end of it (plus a lot of finishing off at home) we will have made ourselves a crib sized 'North Country' quilt. The North Country technique is also known as Durham Quilting, and there is a similar tradition in Wales too. You you can read a bit more about it on the marvellous Florence & Florence blog.

Read more »

Americana

2011-07-03T11:47:00.005+01:00

I've fallen for Pintrest in the past couple of weeks. I've had a sign in for a while but only just got round to playing with it properly.

View images and sources

Colour Crush

2011-06-20T23:54:00.005+01:00

Well, it seems like forever since I got a chance to do some sewing. I've been doing pretty amazing things, like going away on holiday, and seeing family, but life has been a little bit too packed full of places to go and people to see.

However...

Sunday evening = solitary sewing = absolute heaven!

Finished at last!

2011-06-01T13:41:00.005+01:00

I have been so busy doing things and going places that are nothing to do with quilting, so I can't quite believe it myself, but I'm finally dropping in with a finish!
Read more »