Sarah-Lou

Plans, plans, plans!

2012-08-11T14:07:00.001+01:00

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my adventure! The kids are all back safely now, and after 4 evenings of sorting, all the tents are away too!

I've been making lots of plans for projects I'd like to make, and thought I'd record them so that I can't (1) back out or (a) forget.

Plan 1 is to sort out the rest of the house before the end of the holidays. A trip to IKEA and many hours spent putting this together (all by myself!) was phase 1 of this plan.

Number 2 is to finish A's quilt for her first birthday at the end of the month. This is all pieced now, it's too big to baste or quilt here, but I'm visiting a friend to borrow her monster machine next week when hopefully I'll be able to get it all finished bar the binding. Here's a sneak peak:

Part (iii) is to do something with my Indian Summer Mystery charm swaps from the fabulous Jenelle at Echinops and Aster. I'm so glad that I signed up for this, as the fabric is just gorgeous -

I'm thinking that I might try using the tutorials at the HST Block of the Month at In Color Order, as they should work quite well, and they're certainly the right size. I'm thinking that I could make myself a wall hanging of 2x6 blocks, perhaps starting with pink-y ones at the top and ending with the blue-y ones at the bottom - I'm going to ponder further...

And the last part involves the dreaded C-word.......................................................Christmas.

I'm thinking about making table runners for our mums using a charm pack of this:

Photo borrowed from the Fat Quarter Shop

Not that I've bought it yet, but shhhhhhhhhh!

I think I might use some of the tutorials from the Charmed Prints QAL here to make them.

I am well aware that both of these QAL's are either finished or nearly done, but never mind - better late than never! I'm hoping that I'm going to hold myself to this now that I've written about my plans- please chase me up :-)

An Adventure

2012-08-06T18:50:00.002+01:00

This post is going to sound far more like a diary entry than a normal blog post, but I wanted to record the last few weeks. Please don't feel obliged to read, there's sewing stuff at the end if you want to skip!

I've just finished a physically exhausting but totally amazing week in Denmark with 35,000 Scouts, not all of whom were my responsibility thank goodness! I've walked miles every day (the round trip to the showers was about 1.5 miles....), lifted and carried, lit fires (well, directed kids to light fires!) and pitched tents. I cooked so many meals for so many people that I ended up with blisters from stirring - but if you ever need to know how much pasta is required to feed 65 hungry people, I'm your woman! I've given out plasters, brushed knots from hair that's not been touched in days, given cookery lessons and so much more.

Mentally, I feel really refreshed, which is suprising considering how bone-achingly tired I feel. There's been lots of chatting round campfires getting to know great kids, and making what I hope will be life long friendships with the other leaders. It did me real good to have a clean break from work, even though it felt very tiring having to pack and prepare when everyone else was partying at the end of term.

Here are a few photos, no faces for obvious reasons. Hopefully they'll give you a taste of the atmosphere, which I don't think that I can adequately describe. Can't wait to do it again though!

We spent some of our down time lying in the shade avoiding the blinding sun - and comparing the sizes of our feet - guess which are mine?!

27 hours on a coach tires you out!

Lots of canvas

Closing ceremony

After leaving the kidlets in safe hands for a second week of camping, I took some time to travel home in a bit more of a leisurely way. First I took the train to Copenhagen, where I learnt that you shouldn't make quick judgements about a city based on the impressions that you gain whilst leaving its train station! I had a lovely meal, chatted to a hilarious American man, and spent a few hours strolling around the city in beautiful sunshine. I only had a short time in the city, but it was enough to make me want to return.

The Citadel in Copenhagen - a military centre and ancient fortification; the Marble Church; Nyhavn

Next, I got the train to Hamburg, via a ferry that the train drove onto! I was really surprised by Hamburg, I was expecting it to be really industrial as the port is still so busy. The city itself is really nice though, a well planned mix of the industrial and the uber-modern. The new Philharmonic Hall is just stunning!

Hamburg - St Michel's Church, Martin Luther and the view down towards the Harbour

Next was Paris, my favourite city in the world. I think the pictures say it all really!

The Sleeper train - I was very excited about this!; the view that I saw when I woke up; bridge covered in locks with love messages scrawled on; the Seine; the clockface on the fifth floor of the Musee d'Orsay; Notre Dame, with my wedding ring - we got engaged here four years ago!

And finally, some sewing! I've been working on a couple of EPP projects for friends, one hexie cushion and one Rose Star block cushion. My friends are sisters who went to school with me who both have young daughters, hence the very pink and girly colours. Hopefully they'll be well balanced and not too much pinkness.

Action shot - sewing on the train from Copenhagen to Hamburg, just before it got on the ferry(!!!!); partially completed Rose Star block, with the fabrics that I'm using for the next rings;

completed basted hexies for my other EPP project; I love this giraffe!

Piles of hexies waiting to be basted; a possible layout

So, quite an adventure for me. I have never travelled very far on my own - the furthest I've been by myself is London to Manchester! - so this has been really good for improving my self confidence. I didn't get lost, or mugged, and I had fun!!

I loved visiting the different cities, and can't wait to do more. The only questions are: 1. Where next? and more importantly, 2. When will the bank manager let me?!

Ohhh, and sorry to make this longer, but don't forget about this week's Blog Hoppers,
Aug 7
Liz from What I Did on My Summer Vacation
Susan from Canadian Abroad

Aug 9
Kirsten from Gemini Stitches
Stephanie from Sewing by Stephanie

I'm going back to catch up on the ones that I missed.

Home Safe!

2012-08-03T18:38:00.000+01:00

I'm back from my little adventure, returned just in time to see this:

Netherlands v China then Germany v South Africa Women's Hockey!

I hope you won't mind me sharing some holiday pics, I need to sort through them and choose the best. In the mean time, I have 284 blog posts to catch up with so sorry if I haven't commented!

Kitchen Windows Progress

2012-07-23T17:48:00.000+01:00

The Kitchen Windows quilt for my niece's 1st birthday is making some progress! All the blocks have been cut and partially pieced, I just need some spray starch before I finish the piecing as I've noticed that the print fabric has been stretching as I sew :(

The first (mostly) completed block:

Six of the twelve partially done blocks, on the pink that I'm using as the border fabric:

Here's two of the fabrics that I've bought for the backing, Meet the Gang Names in Rose and 1001 Peeps Towers in Purple (both from the Pink Chalk Fabric sale - such a bargain that shipping was more expensive than the fabric!) I think I might add in some purple solids to bulk out the back, I want the back to be less girly than the front so that she can swap and change as she gets older.

How cute is it that the blush-y colour on the top of the skinny minaret perfectly matches the background of the names?

Proof that it does look something like the pattern! I might have to call it my "Zoo Windows" quilt - look at that cute giraffe :)

And a quick question if you've got this far - anyone in the UK have a recommendation for a good online shop selling wadding and spray starch? I can't remember where I bought my last bits of wadding from, or even what brand it was! Ta very muchly :-)

PS - I promise I will press the pink before I cut into it! I'll also try and find another camera that can pick up the differences between the greys and pinks, unlike mine!

PPS - sorry if I don't reply to comments straight away, I'll be off on my jollies in Denmark :) I promise to reply asap.

Guess what I'm doing on holiday...

2012-07-19T17:45:00.001+01:00

Off camping with my scouts for a week and a half, then some solo traveling home via a few European cities - this should keep my hands busy!

I have got a few posts scheduled but won't be able to comment. Have a fun few weeks!

The story of the seam ripper and the naughty quilt

2012-07-17T18:01:00.000+01:00

Well, this quilt has been a trial and a half for me!

It was actually the first quilt that I started, and began it's life looking like this:

I arranged the strips in a sort-of rainbow order - except that I got a few pieces wrong and had to spend time with my lovely seam ripper....

I got that sorted, then realised that the seam allowance was wonky - 1/2" at one end, and 1/4" at the other! Back to that seam ripper again...

Next problem - the ONE block that was in the wrong place! After much deliberation, I decided to leave it as it was - I had fallen out with my seam ripper by now.

I finally got it all pieced up and was happy with it. Taadah!

But then - we had acoffee disaster :-( when the cleaner accidentally spilt coffee on it! It was extremely quickly (and quite badly!) quilted without waiting for the walking foot which was on order. The binding was thrown on, quicker than I thought I could, and it was thrown in the wash following the advice of lots of lovely ladies. Please take note of the use of the verb "thrown" - it was appropriate!

The washing mostly worked, so here's the finally finished quilt! It finished up at about 36 sq inches - not huge but big enough to snuggle on the sofa. It is going to be loved and used as much as possible - after all, it needs to be after the stress of making it!

Some straight-ish line quilting here! I mainly quilted in one direction, with a few perpendicular lines. I left the squares on each end clear. Please ignore the puckers, there are plenty, but my machine just couldn't handle the layers and I didn't want to wait for the walking foot in case the coffee stain set too much.

Backing with more fabric from the same line, and some Klona White.

Nice mitred corners - I was very pleased with myself! There's no purple in the quilt, so I thought it'd make a nice frame by using purple binding.

Joking aside, I have learnt a LOT about making quilts in the process and hopefully won't repeat any of these mistakes!

Thank Goodness!

2012-07-15T20:49:00.002+01:00

Just a very quick post to say thanks so much for the help, I've washed the quilt and mercifully, the colour hasn't run and most of the coffee stain has come out.

It's hung up to dry now, I'll update with photos tomorrow if I can (weather and time permitting)

Now, back to that marking......

How do you wash your quilts?

2012-07-14T21:50:00.002+01:00

Ok, so we had another problem with the flipping rainbow Half Moon Modern quilt - a coffee stain this time (poor cleaner was distraught - and no, I don't live in a mansion, I just don't like cleaning the toilet!)

At this point, it was basted with one line of quilting, so I rebasted in (I think the glue came unstuck with the liquid of the coffee), trimming and squared it up, decided not to wait for the walking foot which is on order, and threw it through the machine to quilt it last night. Today I've added the binding (which arrived super quick from Frumbles) and it's now finished.

So - here comes the scary bit - how should I wash it? It's made out of charm packs with bright white sashing, and obviously no prewashing, so I'm worried about the colour running. I've read some advice online, but it seems very US-orientated and not very clear. I've got a standard washing machine, no tumble drier, Persil, fabric softener and Vanish powder in the cupboard, and any advice would be incredibly gratefully received! Oh, and it's peed it down all day and probably will tomorrow too :-(

No photos today, hoping to salvage it first!

I conquered a zippy pouch!

2012-07-12T16:46:00.000+01:00

A zippy pouch went well - I'll tell you about that below. First, can I apologize for the total lack of comments this week? My phone tells me that I'm not logged into Google every time that i try :-( Please don't think I'm being rude! Secondly, my photos are now nice and large as suggested - any bigger and they won't fit on the page!

Ok, so the success story. The last zippy pouch I attempted didn't go very well, however, after a bit of encouragement from Susan and with help from the latest issue of Fat Quarterly, this attempt went much better!

Look at those neat corners! Look at the topstitching! (Couldn't do that last time, hadn't sewed the fabric on the right way round at the first step...)

This is a present for my lovely bridesmaid, she lives in Seoul now so her present needed to be small, light and easily transportable for when she heads back to South Korea following her latest flying visit. The fabric came in a scrap bag a long time ago, and was only a tiny scrap (18" by 11" approx), but I managed to get two little covered buttons from the final scraps to add in.

Hope she likes it!

PS - Rebecca from Sew Festive Handmade and Marti from 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks are today's Blog Hoppers - why not go and pay them a visit?

Planning more cushions...

2012-07-08T10:00:00.000+01:00

Thank you to everyone who visited on Thursday, it was lovely to get so many comments!
Cushions seem to be my go-to present this year, I think I've already made 6 for birthday, new baby and Christmas presents, and I've got two more ready to make.

Number one is for a friend's birthday. Her house is really brightly furnished with lots of lovely accessories, including some very funky cushions, so when I saw this fabric I thought it was very apt for her birthday.

Valorie Wells Cocoon Liv in coral

I was thinking about using a zip closure rather than an envelope back, so as not to waste too much of this gorgeous fabric. Does anyone know of a good tutorial?

The second (and possibly third?) cushion is for my brother in law and his soon-to-be wife as a wedding present. My nearly s-i-l is from quite a creative family, and they made a quilt for her sister's wedding last year, but I can't see my brother in law wanting a whole quilt! I decided instead to make them a cushion, and THEN I saw this fabric:

Wedding Rings by Ellen Luckett Baker - appropriate or what!

I'm not sure entirely what to do, I'm thinking about making a pair of cushions, using these solids which match quite well:

So, should I add borders? Keep the fronts plain and just use the solids on the back? I think I want to keep the pattern fairly visible. Questions, questions! Any thoughts or opinions would be gratefully received.

PS - wasn't supposed to be buying more fabric - oops!

PPS - don't forget to catch up with next week's Blog Hoppers:

July 10

Jenelle from Echinops and Aster

Julie from Bedsheet in the Kitchen

July 12

Rebecca from Sew Festive Handmade

Marti from 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks

Blog Hop Bus Bag

2012-07-05T07:00:00.000+01:00

It's my Blog Hop Day! Hello again to those of you who've been here before, and to those of you who are new - hope that you like it here!

If you're new here, my name is Sarah or Sarah-Lou, Sarah Louise if I'm in trouble, and Little Sarah quite often as there are lots of Sarahs around and I'm 5" nothing. My Dad calls me Weezy because I used to have trouble saying Louise - but he's the only one allowed to call me that. My friend's little girl calls me Auntie Sar-dah, which is just the cutest thing ever :)

I'm 26 and live in North London with the lovely Hubs, who doesn't quite understand why I *need* to take over more of the house with the growing fabric stash. I'm a teacher which means that I don't have lots of time for sewing during term time, but the holidays are more productive.

I've been sewing nearly a year now, I started when I found out that my lovely cousins were both pregnant, and my friend Charlie suggested making them cushion covers. I then started working on my first quilt just after Christmas, and Hubs bought my lovely Janome for my birthday - yay!

Beth suggested that we answer some questions to help us "get aquainted!" Here are my answers:

Favorite quilting tip(s)

I wish that I'd known the importance of keeping seams allowances consistent earlier - I'd read it somewhere but it hadn't got through my somewhat thick skull, so I've just spent ages unpicking my Half Moon Modern quilt as the sashing really didn't match up.

Favorite blogging tip(s)

The main thing that I've realised is that it's important to get involved - I haven't had time to join any swaps yet, but I love getting comments and then replies to comments.

Favorite fabric

Ooooh, there are so many! I love the Liberty prints, but my bank balance hasn't stretched to that yet! Of the fabrics that I actually own, I think my favourites are either my solids, or the Raindrops by Erin McMorris which I used to make my first ever handbag.

Favorite craft book

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Elizabeth Hartman's Practical Guide to Patchwork

Favorite book

By far the hardest question here! I'm currently reading the latest Game of Thrones book and Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo, and I've been trawling through Les Mis for over a year! I also love Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer's books, and Jane Eyre, and Terry Pratchett. Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey is fantastic, and I love love love Animal Farm, and........ There are just too many to name!

Favorite children's book

I read the Hobbit with my Dad aged eight and it lit my imagination up. I also love the Weirdstone of Brisingamen which was set in the area where I grew up. I have a real thing for early C20 girls' fiction, things like the Chalet School and Abbey books, and the classics like What Katy Did. Can you tell that I'm a bit of a bookworm?

Favorite quilting tool

No contest here - 1/4" foot all the way.

Favorite music to listen to while quilting

I rarely listen to music whilst sewing - usually it'll be whatever Hubs is listening to. To be honest, I don't have an MP3 player and only listen to Radio 2 in the car (old before my time or what!)

Favorite TV show while handstitching

Box set of The West Wing, or whatever's on E4 (UK channel showing things like Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother)

Binding - by hand or by machine?

Machine on the front, by hand on the back

For the Blog Hop, we were asked to choose a novelty fabric to work with. My friend's little boy is about to turn three, and is obsessed with buses and books, so I thought I'd make him a present that combines the two! I used the Child's Messenger Bag pattern from 101 Great Ways to Sew a Metre.

and made it using fabric with a London bus pattern from Fabric Rehab. I'm afraid this is more of a pattern review than a tutorial I'm afraid as it was from a published book and not a self-made pattern, but here we go!

Overall, I thought it was an excellent pattern - easy to follow with clear instructions, making good use of the fabric (I have a decent amount left over) and leading to a nice final product. More specific thoughts on certain parts of the bag are below.

The fabric was just quilting weight, and on reflection, it might have been a good idea to use some interfacing to strengthen it. The pattern does suggest using a heavier weight fabric. However, it can hold the weight of a decent sized cookbook, so hopefully it'll be ok for a trip to the library.

Nice boxy corners, made by folding a flap into the fabric and sewing in place. I was really pleased with this, even though I had to read this step quite a few times!

The velcro lined up quite well on the front, but I wish I'd ignored the instructions and left it off the front flap so that they could be lined up with the velcro on the body more closely.

Cute little pocket! Knowing the birthday boy, it'll probably end up with a toy car or digger in here.

The straps came up a little long on Little Miss Cheeky here, but the birthday boy is taller than she is so hopefully it'll look ok on him.

The persuasive power of chocolate buttons is amazing!

Thanks for visiting, I hope you liked what you saw. Don't forget to visit the other blog hoppers this week - Catherine from Knotted Cotton today, and Di from Willowbeck Designs& Jennifer from Knotted Thread who posted on Tuesday.

Sarah x

PS - I'm rearranging my layout at the minute, any feedback is gratefully appreciated!

Winner!

2012-07-02T17:31:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to say that the winner of the charm pack was Yzo from Chez Roo

Yzo didn't mind which charm pack she got, so I decided to send her the...

Actually, I'll leave it as a surprise!

Thank you everyone who entered, it was lovely to get so many comments :-)

June Roundup

2012-07-01T09:00:00.000+01:00

Well, another month has flown by. Here's what I've been up to:

1. A new Kindle cover for me!
2. A sneak peek at my Blog Hop project - please come back Friday for more.
PS - linking up with Lily's Quilts again.
3. and 8. A new wristlet, again for me, using Summersville and a Keyka Lou pattern. This involved lots of resewing!
4. and 5. My Half Moon Modern quilt, which I've been deliberating over a lot this week - I decided to finish it regardless of fudg-y-ness.
6. A new photo of my Raindrops handbag which I took to a wedding in May. I re-shot this as I didn't have a decent picture, and improving the quality of my photos has been a personal challenge this month. Let me know if you think I've been successful.
7. My pillowcase for Danny.

And number 9 is not in the mosaic, but is my new header - I've also learnt a bit more about coding and photo software this month - do you like it?

Looking at this mosaic, this seems to be my most prolific month, but also the month with the most selfish-sewing - I wonder if that speaks to my personality at all?!?

PS - Linking up to Lily's Quilts again this month :-)

Fudge.

2012-06-28T20:04:00.000+01:00

That's my current favourite non-swear word, for those moments when you need to say something really *expressive* but it's not appropriate to say anything stronger.

You know when you're working on a project, and all you get is mistakes and problems the whole way through? I'm working on (murdering??) one of these at the minute.

I loved this charm pack when I first bought it, in fact it might have been my first ever fabric purchase, as I can't find a photo of it, and this was the first quilt that I ever "planned" (read threw together) and started.

So far, I've had to unpick the entire quilt, bar one row, due to the totally wonky seam allowances - nothing lined up! That took me *hours*, although I got quite quick by the end. I've now resewn the whole top, bar a few sashing strips. I then stood back and took a good look at it... can you see what I noticed?

Hence - FUDGE!

If you can't see it - look at the top row.........................

I'm trying to decide whether I should bother redoing it all again, or whether I can accept it as a "learning moment" as we call it at school. This is purely for me to cuddle with, when the mercury drops again, as I'm sure it will. If nothing else, Sports Day is in two weeks and we all know what that means!

Not Quite A Blogoversary Giveaway....

2012-06-23T09:00:00.000+01:00

In my attempt to become more organised, I decided that I wanted to hold a giveaway to stay thanks to everyone who has commented, emailed, offered me help, support, ideas etc, since I started sewing and blogging.

HOWEVER, I realised that the date of my first post coincides with my trip to Denmark this summer. So, instead of holding my giveaway on JULY 23rd, I thought I'd start it on JUNE 23rd instead (I thought about whether that was "allowed" - then I remembered, my blog, my rules!) That way,I have time to hold the giveaway, contact the winner and post out the prize before I go.

So, here's the prize:

Either one charm pack of Pezzy Prints

Or one charm pack of Fairytale Friends

Both pics from Fabric Rehab, where I bought the packs

Just to be clear, only one of these packs is available - I bought them both but can't decide which I like best!

To win, please leave me a comment telling me which you would like. I'd love if you were also a follower, as I'd like the giveaway to thank my followers.

Comments will close at 9pm on Sunday 1st July when I will pick one winner. Please make sure that you're not a no-reply blogger, or leave an address in your comment.

Summerville Chevron Pillow

2012-06-19T20:00:00.000+01:00

As I've already mentioned, this pillow is for Danny at Mommyforreals for a charity that she works with.

I'm really quite pleased with this, as it represents a few firsts for me. I haven't made more than two or three half square triangles before, and this was the first time that I had used them to "make" a design. It took a few doodles before I started to get the basic pattern straight in my head, but I got there in the end. I used 4 charm squares of different green patterns, four blue, one red (cut into quarters) for the corners and 8 black squares cut vertically in two to form the outer border. The solid I used was quite a bright white, but it was all that I had, and I'm pleased with the effect that it's created.

The back was pieced together using some larger pieces that I had left over from my wristlet - more on that when it's finished! I included some covered buttons made with scraps, because yet again I left a gape, oops!

Hope whoever receives this enjoys using it as a weapon and a shield, a comfort and a tear collector - and it's got wadding and quilting so should stand up to all of this!

IT - broked!

2012-06-18T19:59:00.000+01:00

Ahhh, I tried to be clever and follow the Bold Good's excellent tutorial on using Powerpoint, linked from Plum and June's Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop (please check it out, it IS excellent)

HOWEVER - I'm a numpty, Hubs is working with an am-dram group after work this week, and I've messed it up! Does anyone know how to make it work please?

This is what it's supposed to look like - any feedback gratefully received!

Finished Kindle Cover

2012-06-16T12:36:00.001+01:00

Well, it did rain quite a lot while we were in Cornwall, so I had time to finish my Kindle cover.

I used the pattern from Clover and Violet, and used some charm squares from Domestic Bliss to make the hexies (plus one little pink hexie on the back because I forgot to take enough fabric with me!) I used some HeatnBond on the back of the hexies to add a bit of stability, and quilted with straight(ish) diagonal lines.

Close up of the back - you can just see the little pink hexie at the bottom :)

The black elastic was a nightmare to find, I didn't take any to Cornwall with me, but we went into Plymouth for the day and found some in House of Fraser (with a lot of gorgeous fabric, couldn't browse though because my brother was moaning that he was hungry!) I used some cardboard to add strength to the pockets as I didn't have any plastic canvas (or know what it is!)

Proof that it didn't rain the whole time, as taken by my friend's three year old who was staying with us:

She finally learnt not to put her hands in front of the lens!

PS - please let me know what you think of the photos, I found my old digital camera, so used that instead of my phone camera, but it is quite an old digital - I think I got it in 2004 ish?

TRAC pillow

2012-06-13T20:28:00.003+01:00

Danny at Mommyforreals put out a call for help last week, which I saw when I got back from Cornwall on Sunday (which was supercoolfun, more about that later.)

TRAC, an adventure camp for girls, has put out a request for pillowcases for presents - for more info, see her post here. After figuring out which type of pillowcase was needed (immediate thought was the British kind - what is the American word for that thing that you put your head on at night?), I came up with a plan...

Taadah!

Obviously, it's not yet complete but it is in progress and looking good (I think!) I'm not made chevrons before so it took a little patience to get everything in the right place.

I realised that I've not done any backstitching as I've gone along - any suggestions for how I can make this as sturdy as possible to stand up to the pillowfights!

Packing

2012-05-31T19:34:00.001+01:00

My packing for a week in Cornwall mainly consists of....

Well, I need something to do while it rains!

Sewing in the sun

2012-05-25T19:25:00.003+01:00

After a few hard days at work, I've been enjoying the last few rays of sun in the evenings and getting a bit of hand sewing done.

This is the progress so far with my Kindle cover, based on Clover and Violet's tutorial:

I've also been making a zippy pouch, using Flossie Teacakes's tutorial, which I messed up the first time round

Don't look at those zip ends!

Then, with some very gratefully received help from Susan, I managed to sort out those pesky ends:

Sorry for the lack of ironing, it's too sunny and hot to be cracking out the iron!

And I've just noticed my toes sticking out on the photo...

Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop

2012-05-21T07:00:00.000+01:00

When I saw Plum and June's first post about a blog hop, I thought it sounded like fun, but that I was probably far too inexperienced to take part. Then I saw that it was only open to new(ish) blogs, I thought "Why Not?"

Beth explains it far better than me, so here's her description of the blog hop.

"The Hop begins on May 22, 2012. We'll hop to 4 blogs a week (2 on Tuesdays and 2 on Thursdays)

For details and updates, see my Monday Blog Hop News that I'll post here on PlumandJune.blogspot.com every Monday throughout the Hop starting May 21st.

So, what is it all about?

1. Who can participate? The Let's Get Acquainted! Blog Hop is for blogs that were started in 2011 or 2012 and that focus primarily on quilting. We hope readers with older blogs or no blogs at all will join us as we visit these new blogs but only blogs fitting this criteria will be the stops on the hop.

2. Each blog in the hop has an assigned date. The calendar will be listed on this page as well as in my Monday posts. On each blog's date, we'll all "hop" over for a visit, look around, leave a comment or two, and if we like what we see and want more, we'll subscribe (or follow or join!)

3. What should you post on your hop day? Well, there are no strict rules - just some general guidelines about what your post should include:

***An introduction to you and your blog - maybe create a collage of your favorite finishes or links to your tutorials or favorite posts. (This is optional - it is totally up to you how you want to present your blog to the new visitors.)

***The official theme of the Hop is novelty prints (blogger's choice - examples include typewriters, monsters, bicycles, clocks, animals - or even just flowers.) You can make anything related to quilting - a quilt of any size, bags, pillows, coasters, etc. You don't need to include a full tutorial but you should include pics and a description of your process. Your project does not need to be used just for the hop - link it wherever you want, use it for a swap or a QAL - whatever you want."

Here's the schedule too:
"May
May 22
Kelsey from Kelsey Sews

Erin from Billy Button Designs
May 24

Nik from Bold Goods

Alyssa from Pile O Fabric

May 29
Heidi from Fabric Mutt

Amy from Amy's Crafty Shenanigans

May 31
Jodi from Tickle and Hide

Jennie from Porch Swing Quilts

June
June 5
Cinzia from Deux Petites Souris

Kristy from Quiet Play

June 7
Taryn from From Pixels to Patchwork

Em from Sewing by Moonlight

June 12
Kelly from Jeliquilts

Yzo from Chez Roo
June 14

Debbie from A Quilter's Table

Sarah from Silly Banana Sewing
June 19

Jennifer from Sewlandia

Nicole from Mama Love Quilts
June 21

Suzanne from SuzClaas

Mina from Kindaquilty
June 26

Svetlana from Sotak Handmade

Beth from Plum and June
June 28

Julie from Jolie Maxtin

Lori from Adventures in Fabric

July
July 3

Di from Willowbeck Designs

Libby from Miss Beau Jangles
Jennifer from Knotted Thread
July 5

Sarah from Sarah Lou

Catherine from Knotted Cotton
July 10

Jenelle from Echinops and Aster

Julie from Bedsheet in the Kitchen

July 12

Rebecca from Sew Festive Handmade

Marti from 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks
July 17

Katie from Kati's Quilting

Claire from Sewing over Pins
Caroline from Quilting in the Cold
July 19

Jamie from Sweet Baby Jamie

Janine from Rainbow Hare Quilts
July 24

Colby from Sew Quilt Explore

Fiona from Celtic Thistle
July 26

Mary from Spoolhardy Girl

Fiona from Finding Fifth
July 31

Audrey from Hot Pink Quilts

Michelle Renee from Quilt Matters

August
Aug 2

  Jennifer from GH Quilting
Aug 7
Liz from What I Did on My Summer Vacation
Susan from Canadian Abroad
Aug 9
Kirsten from Gemini Stitches
Stephanie from Sewing by Stephanie
Aug 14
Sarah from Sarah Sews Quilting Blog
  January from Sew Sew Go
Aug 16
   Alison from Little Bunny Quilts
Cathy from Blueberry Patch
Aug 21
  Marta from From Marta with Love
  Marion from My Quilt Diet
Aug 23
Sunni from Love Affair With My Brother
Ginny from Fish Creek Studio
Aug 28
Lucy from Charm About You
Aug 30
Elaine from Dashasel Sews

TBD

Danny from MommyFor Reals

***Kathy from Pink Chalk Studio has agreed to be interviewed during one of my Monday Blog Hop News posts and she'll also be giving away 4 $25 gift certificates to her awesome shop, Pink Chalk Fabrics - date to be announced soon.
***On June 11th, Lynne from the wonderful Lily's Quilts will be guest hosting on my blog as part of the Monday Blog Hop News."

As you can see, I'm not on until 5th July, but I've already started to prepare (very unusual for me!)- here's a quick sneak peak of the fabric I'm using:

"Next Stop London" from Fabric Rehab - very appropriate!

Looking forward to starting and to seeing what everyone else is making!

A Single Window Frame

2012-05-20T08:30:00.000+01:00

I started Amelia's quilt! She's one in August, so I thought I'd give myself lots of time, in the vain hope that it might be done in time for Christmas. Maybe. (Hubby's birthday quilt was finished nearly two months late. He did snuggle under it on his birthday, but I don't want to let my niece stick herself with the sharp pins. Hubby is old enough to look after himself)

Progress so far:

It's a little wonky, but we'll pretend that it's a lovely, old, Grade II listed window frame rather than a plastic-y new PVC frame.

The pattern is Kitchen Window from Oh Fransson's! Practical Guide to Patchwork, which I know that I've mentioned before but I think it's fabby.

The prints were from a bundle from Eclectic Maker which they no longer have in stock, and I'm ashamed to say that the only one I can remember is the Modern Whimsy Strawberry Circles. The sashing is Klona Ash from the lovely Backstitch, and I've got Klona Pale Pink to use as the other neutral. I've hoping that it's girly enough for a toddler, but not too girly that she'll grow out of it too soon.

Fingers crossed!

Bits and Bobs

2012-05-19T16:42:00.002+01:00

Thank you for the help with the fabric dilemma - I learnt a lesson on that one! I've decided to keep the fabric, use some in the quilt it was bought for, and keep some for swaps / other precious makes. My nephew is going to end up with a room full of the bloody stuff!

I've had a stressful week with exams and a wisdom tooth making itself known, so I cheered myself up with a potter round the garden this morning. It's been a very wet few weeks which has been a bit miserable in some ways (and a bit annoying in others - you'd think southern kids had never seen a bit of rain with the way that they reacted to a storm on Tuesday!), but obviously it's done my garden some good. Silver lining and all that.

Alliums and yellow poppies making for some lovely colour, and chives and mint growing like mad!

The clematis doing a good job of covering the bare space where we chopped down a tree.

(Please ignore the Dalek compost bin, and the bird bath full of red muck due to next door's builders!)

Want to win some fabric and help a good cause?

2012-05-18T07:06:00.002+01:00

Celtic Fusion Fabrics are holing a raffle - open til 6pm tonight to win a huge bundle of gorgeous fabric