Saturday 27 February 2010

All a quiver for Jelly Rolls:


Ooooo look what arrived a couple of days ago. The three Jelly Roll books I ordered from Amazon. I was browsing the Amazon site a few days ago and came across the Jelly Roll books and you could look inside them. Oh dear that was my down fall, all those lovely quilts made from 2 1/2 inch strips. Well of course I had to buy one but I could not decide which one to buy, so I bought all three. Last night in bed I oooed and rrrred and sighed all those lovely quilts. (who needs a man girls when you can take a great quilt book to bed ;). I have managed to pick a quilt I would like to make, now I just need to buy the jelly roll to make the quilt and away I go.

Quilted by Jude:




Look what I got back yesterday! My wonder block quilt all professionaly quilted by Jude. It is gorgeous and Jude has done a fantastic job could not have asked for more. Thanks Jude. xx

Sunday 21 February 2010

Log cabin fever:


PHEW! 16 Log cabin blocks all done. Now I am ready for round two of Janet's Log cabin and applique strippy quilt. The only trouble is I have to wait for another 9 days before I get part two. Oh dear, me thinks I will have to start another project to keep me going. Mmmmmmm the question is what?????

Bennette sisters:


At last doll two of the Jane Austin style doll is finished. God love her she has been sitting in my sewing room for weeks minus her hair and face. Now she is at last united with her sister and they are both hanging up in my sewing room.

Wednesday 17 February 2010

I am a millionaire:


It was my birthday yesterday and it was filled with lots of love and best wishes from family and friends. My daughter and grandson arrived in the afternoon with balloons, cards and a great big gift bag. Inside the bag was a pair of pj's, a set of Tatty Teddy oven mitts and a beautiful pink box. When I opened the box I found a gorgeous pair of shoes I had admired a few weeks earlier. Then the intercom buzzed and up came a lady with a delivery for me. It was a bouquet of lovely flowers, they came with a little card that read "To Mum I love you millions love Michaela". Now i am sure you will agree this now official makes me a millionaire in love. xx

Thursday 11 February 2010

What a find:


Lately I have found myself wondering into charity shops when out and about. To day I found myself in the British Heart Foundation charity shop on Bold Street. At the back of the shop they had quite an array of books. I began looking through them to see if there was anything of interest and look at what I found. Mrs Beetons Book of Needlework which was first published in 1870 alas my copy was published in 2007. However,it is an absolutely fascinating read, as you can imagine because it relates to the needlework crafts and fashions of her time. It has patterns for linen collars trimmed with tatting, a cravat end in raised embroidery. It even has instructions on how to make a knitted bodice (something that Mrs Beeton herself would have probably wore)and a Lady's veil in net and tatting. As I sat on the bus going home looking through the book, I transported back in time when these crafts and hobbies we call today were an essential part of life. Now how many people can get all that for just £2.75.

Wednesday 10 February 2010

Feeling Red:


At last I have managed to start a new quilt. This is a stripy log cabin and applique quilt designed by my friend Janet. On Monday I decided to go through my fabric stash to see what colours I was going to use to make this quilt. My heart skipped a beat when I looked at my red fabric stash. I adore the colour red because it represents so many things, passion, romance, heat, love and confidence etc, the list is endless. Now, while it has been sometime since I have experienced some of the things listed, there is one word that has always been constant in my topsy turvey life. PASSION I am always passionate about quilts, fabric, threads, textiles, exhibitions so on and so on. So this new quilt had to be from my red stash. I have added a nice warm cream for my background fabric just to cool down those passionate reds but I think this quilt is still going to be a little hottie.

Monday 8 February 2010

Wonder Block Quilt:


I have finally completed the top of my wonder block quilt and I have just telephoned Jude who is going to professionally machine quilt it. On Saturday I went to Liberty Bell in Chester (what an adorable little quilt shop). I could not believe my luck, the first bolt of fabric I looked at was the exact shade of blue that would be ideal for the border on my wonder block quilt. I have put my heart into this quilt and I wanted the quilting to be just as special as the fabrics I chose to make the top and the time it has taken me to make it. With this in mind I decided to have it professional machine quilted. It is going to take pride of place on my bed when I move back home.