A Happy Finish

Ed Emberly Happy Drawing Quilt - done! 

The quilt top had been lurking in my craft cupboard for a couple of months, waiting to be quilted, but I delayed because I had been pondering the best way to quilt it.  I wanted to machine quilt it, and I considered vertical lines, diagonal lines, horizontal lines, you name it..  And then I came across the wonderful blog and gorgeous quilts of Deux Petites Souris through the Plum and June bloghop and knew that wavy line quilting was the way to go.  The perfect accompaniment to those squiggly blocks.

I was a bit nervous to just 'freestyle' it , so I drew on wavy lines as I went with my air erasable pen, and it worked a treat.  I was able to roughly follow the lines without having to worry that I was going off course. 

For the backing, I used the left overs of the squiggly prints, making it nice and bright and colourful.

This quilt is a lot more modern in style compared with other quilts that I have made, and I just love the animal prints.  I'm still trying to decide which is my favourite!  In fact I think I love them all and how they all work together.

If it hadn't been for life (and children) getting in the way, this would have been quite a quick quilt to put together.  It was a lot of fun working with animal fabrics, and great to try out new skills. 

In other news, we had a great time with friends watching the Opening Ceremony.  We even had some home made decorations (courtesy of my daughter) and some bunting that I made for the Royal Wedding to get us in the mood.

Wasn't it an amazing ceremony!  Did you see it?  What did you think?

PS - I am now linked to Flickr, check out all my quilts and coursework samples by clicking on the 'my flickr' tab at the top :-)

A Collaboration Quilt

Over the last week I have been working on a little commission for a very special friend.  My friend Sarah asked me to make her a quilt to give to her friend Jane, who is soon to have a baby. 

Sarah and me on her wedding day last year

 I felt honoured and delighted to be asked, and I wanted Sarah to be involved in the creative process as much as possible.  There was just one problem.  Sarah lives in the UK, and I live in the Channel Islands.  But did we let that stop us, I don't think so! 

Under my instruction, Sarah went to her local quilting store and selected some 'neutral' fat quarters, as we don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl.  And with Sarah's usual efficiency, she had them in the post to me special delivery the very next day. 

I emailed Sarah a selection of quilt top ideas that I thought could work, and after an instant chat on facebook, Sarah decided that she liked the railfence design that I used for my son's quilt.

The quilt I made for William

So I set myself to work, and came up with this...

Next decision is the backing.  I wanted to wait until the quilt top was put together so that Sarah could get a sense of what it's going to look like and decide from there.  So it's back to the shop for Sarah, to choose which fabric she wants to use for the backing.  And then to send it to me. Again!

We also need to discuss quilting.  I am going to hand quilt it, and  I have a few ideas, but of course I need to run them past Sarah first.  Watch this space. ;-)

I am having so much fun working with Sarah on this and I can't wait for her to see it for real. And I can't wait for Sarah to give it to her friend who's having the baby.  It will be an extra special gift, knowing that she was such a huge part of creating it.

A Little Bit of Cross Stitch

I feel like I haven't blogged for ages.  But I have certainly been busy in the sewing room.  Ahem.  Kitchen table. 

Last week I completed a little project for my Plum and June Blog Hop tutorial, and then without stopping to draw breath, I moved straight on to a little commission that saw a return to my original creative roots...a little cross stitch.

A friend of a friend wanted me to do a cross stitch for her best friend, who is due to have a baby in August.  So I pulled out all my cross stitch books, designs I had saved from magazines, and patterns and we chatted and decided upon this playroom scene.

It's adapted slightly because  we know that the baby is a boy.  I changed the flags at the top to be red and blue instead of the pinks and yellows of the pattern, and I also changed a pink stripe in the balls to a red stripe.  And when the baby is here, it's going to be personalised with the name and date of birth as well. 

In other news, we were lucky enough to see this...

Yes, the Olympic torch relay came to Jersey!  It was just for a few hours, and it was only a skeleton crew (My sister is on the torch relay working for Coca Cola, driving a 'Coke Car' and handing out coke and tamborines, but she didn't get to come which was a shame) but it's great to be able to say we saw the torch.

And on Wednesday, I was even lucky enough to see and (gasp) touch one of the torches!  The head of swimming lessons at my daughters swimming class was one of the torch bearers, and she had brought it to the leisure centre to show everyone.  My daughter had her photo taken with the torch (along with my friend's children) but being only 3, she had no idea what the torch was or why it was so special.  I will just have to explain when she's older!

In other exciting Jersey news, Prince Charles and Camilla came to visit!  I really wanted to go and see them, as Prince Charles was giving a speech in the Royal Square in town.  But with two small children in tow and large crowds, I thought it best avoided.  Many people waited hours to see them, and as luck would have it for my husband, he walked out of his office on his lunch break, and just happened to see the Royal Couple as he casually walked past.  Was he bothered?  Not particularly! 

Anyway.  Back to sewing.  So now I am working on another commission, a cot quilt for my lovely friend Sarah, who is going to give it to her friend Jane, who is having a baby.  It's been great fun deciding on fabrics, design, style etc. especially as it's all been done via email and online chat,  but more on that next time!

And the winner is...

Ok so here, goes, with a little help from the Random Number Generator the winner is...



(Sorry, couldn't work out how to just get the number box!)



Number 16...

Gill!!!

Gill10 July 2012 04:47

I'm a new follower!
Congratulations to you both and happy birthday to your daughter too!

Congratulations Gill on winning this wonderful book, I shall be in touch and get it in the post to you asap!

Thank you so much everyone for entering. 

Back soon with my latest project :-)

Don't forget the Giveaway!

I am working fiercely at the moment, on my little project for the:

I am making good progress so far, (ahead of schedule, hooray!) and I am pleased as punch with how it's turning out.  Sometimes I have a vision in my mind of what I want something to look like and I don't even need to draw it or make a plan, and this is one of those times.  I won't reveal what I am making, but I will say that it involves EPP, something I have not tried up till now, and, as predicted, I just love it.  I do hope that you will give my tutorial a go when my day comes on 14th August. 

Anyhow, just a little reminder, I having my very first, and very big giveaway this week!  A copy of Material Obsession by Sarah Fielke and Kathy Doughty.  Check out this post here to enter and don't forget to take your 2 chances to win.  Tell your friends - this is an opportunity not to be missed!  Deadline is 9.00 pm on Friday 13th July. 

If you are new to my blog then I would like to extend to you a huge welcome...

Do take a look around while you're here and enter the giveaway.

What more can I say - Good luck!



A Special Day Giveway!

Well the big day has arrived, my little girl has turned three!

And my husband and I have been married for 5 years today.  Yes, that's right, Freya was born on our 2nd wedding anniversary, so big celebrations all round :-)

So what better way to celebrate, apart from drinking champagne and eating cake, than to have my very first giveaway. 

Cut a long story short, my lovely husband bought me my favourite quilting book for Mother's Day - it's so much my favourite that I had it already!  (He did try, bless him).  So I have a spare copy of this, wonderful, colourful, inspiring, delicious book, Material Obsession by Sarah Fielke and Kathy Doughty.



It is full to the brim and bursting with vibrant quilts, many of them lovingly hand quilted, and it has been my inspiration for trying new techniques (hand quiltling included, which I love) and for putting fabrics together that I might not normally consider.  For me it is my must have book, and a constant source of reference and inspiration.  (Along with Material Obession 2 and Quilting From Little Things, also by Sarah Fielke). 

So, would you like a chance to win a copy??!  All you have to do is:

1) Become a follower and let me know

2) If you are a follower already, let me know

3) And for a second chance to win, tell me your perfect way to celebrate a special occasion - just a bit of fun! 

I shall be using the random number generator to pick the winner on Friday 13th July - could this be your lucky day?!  Entries welcome from everyone, I just want it to go to a good home and be loved as much as I love it.

Good luck!  x

Flower Fairies Don't Like Rain

I have been very quiet on the blogging front this week.  And exceptionally busy on the party planning front.  Yes, this weekend my little girl turns 3.  So what better way to celebrate than a Flower Fairies Birthday Party. 

I made Flower Fairy bunting...

A Mushroom cake...

Fairy Wand biscuits...

Little food baskets...

Fairy cakes (with some help from a little fairy)...

And I even enlisted my husband to make one of these...

And one of these for the grown ups.

There were Flower Fairies in attendance:

And of course the REAL fairy!!!

We all had a lovely time, despite the pouring rain!

Next week I am planning my tutorial for Plum and June's

I am going to try something new and I'm really looking forward to returning to sewing again.  Thank goodness I only have to make 2 cakes a year, give me a quilt any day!!

Fresh Sewing Day and Small Blog Meet

If your'e not careful, you'll blink and miss 2012, it's whizzing by!  Here we are in July already!  A special month for us, as our daughter turns 3 next week and it's also our 5th wedding anniversary on the same day :-)  Not to mention the start of the Olympics and my father's 60th birthday.

But before I look ahead to July, it's time to take stock of what I have achieved in June, as part of Lynne from Lily's Quilts

After a wonderful holiday in France, I have managed 2 finishes this month, which are...

Walk in the Woods Cot Quilt

and...

Little Kukla Dolls Cot Quilt

I am currently working on some Flower Fairy Bunting for a very special birthday party, which I will finish and share with you soon. And  I need to quilt and bind my Ed Emberly Happy Drawing Quilt as soon as I get around to ordering more wadding.  Once 3rd birthday preparations and celebrations are out of the way, I also hope to resume my much neglected City and Guilds coursework; I have some exciting ideas in my head, I just need to put them on paper (and fabric)! 

Also linking up with:

So hello and welcome if you are new to my blog, it's lovely to meet you and I hope you enjoy looking at my work.

And I am very excited, I'm going to be hosting my very first giveaway soon...and it's a big one!

More details to follow next week.

Watch this space!