scrap quilting part 3

I've run out of white fabric for the log cabin scrap project, and I was in the mood for something quicker and less intricate than the hand pieced hexagons .

1 1/2 inch strips to the rescue. Too narrow for the log cabin. Random lengths and an eclectic mix of colours. I just joined a few of the same colour and shape together, and then sewed it to another few of a different colour. When I had a few joined I made another section and then another, and joined a few of those together.

A couple of hours of chaotic piecing whilst everyone else in the house was still sleeping.

There is no plan for the them, but if I'm storing them somewhere it might as well be on my wall.

They make me smile when I walk into my room.

liberty trees

When you sew with liberty fabrics there are inevitably little scraps leftover that are too small to be useful but to gorgeous to be parted with.

In cases such as these then tiny scraps can be turned into intricate appliques.

They are incredibly fiddly to sew, but lots of fun!

do you have things that can't be parted with? and do you ever turn them into anything else?

scrap quilting part 2

scrap quilting part 1 was a log cabin project, scrap quilting part 2 is all about hexagons.

one very perfect sized ornament shelf turned hexagon display box, lots of 2 1/2 inch fabric squares. many paper hexagons,

basted on the back, not going through the paper, just catching the corners,

slowly and satisfyingly the boxes are filling up.

Pretty soon I'm going to have to make a decision what to do with them all.

Random scattering of colours?

Stripes?

or perhaps more traditionally more hexagons?

what do you think? what's your favourite paper hexagon design?

scrap quilting part 1.

In January when I sorted out my fabric and had a massive folding session I also sorted out many many strips of different sizes. 

These are the 2 inch strips and they are slowly becoming a bright and random log cabin.

Each block is part white, and part one colour, with the logs selected at random.

I'm having lots of fun choosing where each block might go, there is absolutely no plan.

When I run out of strips, I'll stop.  

star quilt progress

I've finished the piecing. November 2013-January 2015.

size 90 inches x 100 inches.
or 34  x 38 squares. = 1292 squares.
consisting of;
500 blue triangle squares
500 green triangle squares.
125 blue squares
125 green squares.
42 white squares.

I've pieced a back together from some large pieces of liberty I bought to make a sundress and a shirt and never did....... but I'm not happy with the arrangement, so I need to have another go at it, I think I'll cut the paler section on the left in half lengthways, and sew the other section to the right of the dark fabric. it might balance it. or not. I shouldn't obsess too much, it's the back after all.

I'm also dithering over ordering wadding. I usually use quilters dream blend, but this quilt is HUGE, and I think that will be too heavy, so I'm wondering about warm and natural.  It could be that in all reality that all I am doing is procrastinating about actually quilting the thing!

folding

after weeks of mock GCSE exams (Miss K sitting them, me invigilating them - not usually Miss K's....) what was needed was a bit of de-stressing.

First of all I made the most incredible mess all over the living room, and then the sorting began.

According to amount of fabric each piece was folded around a cardboard template and then stacked neatly in boxes. You have no idea how happy this made me. Which I will readily admit is pretty odd.... The teeny pieces were sorted by colour and now have scrap boxes all of their own. I have great plans to cut them into even sized pieces ready to become a quilt project at a moments notice, but for now I am just enjoying looking at my neat folded pieces.

Happiness is found in the strangest of things it would seem. x
Hope you find something this weekend to make you happy x

seeing stars part 2

this week I have stolen a few moments to play with stars.

the more there are, the happier they make me.

other things coming up this weekend to make me happy; taking the stars to show a friend and going on a cake hunt.  I like cake hunts. They're less dangerous than bear hunts.

hope your weekend is lovely, and that you find cake too. x

the story of the magic scrap bag

Once upon a time some scraps of liberty were liberated from a friend, and I started a star quilt.

In exchange for the scraps I made a few of them into a fabric bucket bag, which I gave as a gift to become a new scrap bag.

What I didn't realise what that this is a magic scrap bag, every so often it refills itself.

The contents are glorious scraps of colour and pattern,

I select the blues and greens and try to create order from chaos.

and square by tiny square

it is slowly evolving.

I took the scraps on my running away weekend.

the net result of which was approximately 47 cups of tea, the occasional glass of wine, and 270 triangle corner squares.

I think I almost have enough now.

the slowest ever quick charm square quilt

quite some time ago (6 years..... maybe) I bought a little charm pack of fabric thinking it would be fun to make up a simple and quick quilt.

piecing the quilt took not much time at all, I went for the simplest design possible with huge areas of white sashing.

for a variety of reasons the quilting took rather longer......


my little helper for one.
and choosing a backing fabric.
oh and straight lines that weren't straight.
then once I'd finished it I decided the lines weren't enough and went back and filled in some more...

and then the next stumbling block. I'd used a charm pack. all the fabrics matched from one designer and colour range. I never work like this. I normally sew with the children's old pyjama's and random fabrics that I like/have in the house/got given scraps of by a friend....
I tried for months to find some more of the fabric, but could only find one of the designs and I didn't think it would make a good binding. I dithered about using a plain colour, or some of the backing, or just using white.

in the end I remembered the golden rule "when in doubt go for spots."

and finally it was finished.

just in time to become a birthday present.  I'm not going to admit how long it took me if I'm asked......

random things summer holidays week 3

week three of the holidays. 

I discovered that the quiet time in the mornings between J leaving for work and the teenagers dragging themselves out of bed is not for getting laundry done, or planning meals or heaven forbid housework. 

no, it is the time to squirrel yourself away and pull out fabric that you dyed years and years ago on a course, but never used, mostly because you bought calico to dye as it was cheap and then discovered that you don't like sewing with it, as it's a bit stiff and crumply....

it is the time to cut strips and sew them back together, and to experiment with wriggling lines and eek out the purple to make a border. One new picnic blanket ready to go away with us soon.

In other news we've been failing to spot film crews, despite the fact that town seems to be full of them as Downton Abbey is being filmed on location here at the moment and even the high school has been used as a venue. We did see evidence of the fake snow left on the pavements though.

We took a train and went to stay at my parents for a few nights. There's something about train travel that makes me feel like I'm on holiday, the excitement of going to new places, or rediscovering old favourites. Given the choice of all the attractions and museums that the city had to offer the children chose to go and spend time in the newly refurbished favourite bookshop.  

I didn't complain.

The week ahead will be all about list writing and getting organized. 

There are trips planned and places to go.

 I must remember to add picnic blanket to the list.

running trees

Take one charm pack of Christmassy fabric, 

one white sheet that has seen better days,

a pinterest board full of quilty inspiration, and a whole lot of improvised piecing,

and you get your first ever table runner.

and then you wonder if so much white was a good idea, and hope it will wash well............

seeing stars

A little while ago I liberated a bag of liberty scraps from their owner.

 

The plan is to add them in with some of my own scraps to have enough for a scrap quilt.

 

 

The bigger pieces became neat squares.  The smaller pieces were cut into random sized triangles.

 

 

Lots of little scraps turning into little stars. 

 

You have no idea how happy these are making me. 

repair work

 

I've been doing lots of repair projects recently, everywhere I look things seem to be falling apart.......

The binding on the quilt on our bed had completely disintegrated, and was beyond repair, so now there is all new binding, navy polka dots, they make me smile every time I see them.

As you can see from these two the photos there is some dreadful fading going on as well, and the faded fabric is clearly weaker and had developed lots of tiny tears.

 

After what seemed like hours of darning, my stitching were not that tiny.............. or unnoticeable......

but hopefully they will hold it together for another 17 years......

 

 

At least one member of the family has approved the repairs!