What I did in the Lakes - Crafts Part Two

Having completed all the current Noah's Art blocks I began my next holiday project. This has been hanging around in the Quilting Ether since April. I spent some of my birthday money on a collection of shaped templates and while my local (at the time) quilting shop was closing down I was able to buy a selection of fabrics to make some sunflowers that I have been itching to do.

So with templates, a sunday suppliment, threads and fabric I set about getting oprganised. Here are the fabrics at various stages of sewing which will begin to take the shape of sunflowers.

Every time I had to sit in the car to travel to various parts of the Lakes I was sewing down the fabric to the paper, then the fabric shapes to one another

and by the end of the holiday the fabrics where ready to sew into sunflowers on the return journey home. There would have been more but I spent a part of the journey reading the Sunday paper!

Here are four flowers ready with plenty more to put together before the quilt will be finished, but this is a great travel/waiting for Children project. Once Trumpet lessons begin again then the flowers will begin to bloom! I am still deciding how to join them together and I have some green fabrics for that job. I'm sure you will keep seeing this on Wednesday WIP posts until I finish it!

What I did at the week-end

Some time ago I saw a demo of Stepping Stone Quilt by Kitty Pippen on Alex Anderson's Simply Quilts at HGTV. This pattern has been nagging me for a long time now, so it was a relief to finally have some time to make it.

And here it is...

Art in the Garden

The quilt needs some hand quilting down the sides. The original has scalloped quilting, but I would like to have leaves, so I intend to do some sketching of lakeland flora whilst up in the Lakes. So although it is completed in the physical sence it is not finished yet...

The Wonders of Architecture in Windsor

DH took a day off today and we visited Windsor, didn't stop for the Tattoo at the Castle, although DH did return to Windsor in the evening for dinner at Anthony Worrel Thompson's restaurant. He said he was sitting facing a picture of a pig's head that was on a table, dripping blood and had a tag on it's ear which read "Gordon"! Ramsey, I presume?

So earlier, we had a wander over the bridge to Eton, where the House on the Bridge restaurant stands. I think the big letters on the side give it away abit.

Further into Eton is this building with a split personality - it's Tudor with Georgian aspirations!

We had a walk along the river bank to build up an appetite for lunch and dined at the Tapas restaurant in the old station, they have changed their menu and the set menu for two was different from our visit for my birthday, sadly I felt the choice was not as nice, but we enjoyed it. Possibly as we had some "quality time" together without having to referee the Darlings or be the font of all knowledge to the numerous questions they like to ask!

This building close to the castle just goes to show the extremes we Brits go to to avoid paying taxes - during the window tax of 1696-1851 many people bricked up the windows to stop having to pay! Tax was payable on a house with more than 6 windows, although not officially acknowledged it would be nice if the phrase "Daylight robbery" could be attributed to this time!

For those who are wondering where the patchwork and quilting has gone I have been working hard on coursework ready for the Summer School in July and creating a piece for the Quilt Show in June. I have been working on a Boutis quilt. A technique I haven't done before so it's taking some time as I have quilt the design before I can begin to put in the stuffing that will raise up particular parts of the design.

The photographs are not brilliant as the light was poor and the flash didn't really help as the design is on red fabric with red thread! Hopefully it you click on the photo you will get a larger version and see the detail.

The photos are of the top section which has daffodils on. The middle and bottom sections - not shown - are part of the Welsh Dragon and the Prince of Wales Feathers. The quilt will be called "A Bit of Rare Welsh" and will be in the challenge section whose theme is "Wales".

A close detail of the daffodil

I hope I can get it completed in time as it won't be much good for next years show as the theme will be different!!!

Wednesday WiPs

The donated hexagons take shape!

I decided to follow Grandmother's Garden with the donated hexagons I mentioned last Wednesday, here are five blocks using the rosehips fabric which I have since found out is called "Harvest". There are a further five blocks being sewn together in another floral fabric and the green fabric in the photo will be the edging hexagons that hold all the blocks together. Taking shape nicely.

Although it's Wednesday, I shall be spending this evening on coursework as the hexagons have had enough of my time! I have the Dorset buttons to display - I have an idea so that I can display them on the wall, my DH keeps asking when I will be showing my work around the house! - and I have the bead chapter to break the back of, again plenty of ideas of how to display them, now I need to spend some time making the ideas real!

Off to work - hopefully will have something to show you later...

WiP near complete!

Son completed English homework, Daughter completed English homework and made a lovely example of a Roman mosaic for her art project AND I completed the sewing together of the Frayed Denim Quilt.

Front and Back

It's still on the WiPs list on a technicality. It now requires washing 2/3 times and fluffing through the dryer to give the edges a softer look, but to all intents and purposes it is done.

Day well spent and Sunday is a day of rest and cuddles from my Nephew and Niece,(twins), who will be visiting before school and a new term begins on Monday.

Wednesday WiPs

Here are my Wednesday WiPs

1) Black and White Seminole Quilt Top

This is the first machine pieced top following a pattern from Green Mountain Quilts. The borders on the pattern are small squares but I have a need to complete it and start quilting so I intend to put a white border around it and quilt a black diamond pattern on it, then put a second black strip and then bind with dark grey fabric.

2) Inspired by Helen Conway's "No Fear Quilt" blog date Sept 24th 2006

This is going to become a raffle quilt for the church bazaar in November - best to start early!

Helen's quilt,which I saw in an article she wrote in a quilting magazine, inspired me as I had the fabric and no idea what to do with it.

3) Poinsetta Quilt

It would take a while to describe this technique so I shall be as brief as possible - lay out the squares as close as possible on iron-on vilene, press with hot iron. Next sew down each row with a 1/4 seam once done cut vilene on fold and press open seam, next do the same again down each column. The quilt will "shrink". I now need to add a border and quilt it.

4) Fan Blocks

Fan blocks made on a Sally Holman workshop.

What possessed me to chose these colours is the question I ask every time I look at them. Is this salvageable or ...?