Good News and Good Progress

Well the first thing that I have to report today is that I have passed Module 4 - hooray!  Well, actually it's not really a pass/fail type situation, it's more of a 'have you met all of the criteria' thing and if not then you are told what you need to do to meet it... and the good news is, yes I have met it all.  Phew.  And enormous sigh of relief.  Onwards and upwards to Module 5!

But before I make a start, as previously posted, I promised I would make William a quilt, and after two very long, late nights, I have finally managed to put the quilt top together. 

I wanted it to be something quite simple so that I could piece it together quickly and I found this design on a blog by Flossie Teacakes - a popular, delightful and informative blog that I have been following for some time now, about all things sewing, and with a little quilting thrown in for good measure too.  (You can find the tutorial here).  I didn't follow it too closely, just used it mainly for the inspiration and measurements.  I also cut long strips and sewed them in sets of three then cut them up into blocks of three, rather than doing them all individually, as the tutorial suggests -  cheating, I'm not sure, but far, far quicker!

But now I have a problem.  I don't have enough fabric for the back.  I am going to go with the blue stars on white for the back, but given that it was a fat quarter bundle, I shall have to go back and get some more fabric.  I am also wondering how to quilt it.  I want to use my lovely number 8 perle cotton white thread, but I am unsure how best to do it.  Stitching 'in the ditch' is an option, but slightly boring I feel.  Any suggestions gratefully received!

Another Module Down...

It's been a while since I blogged about anything actually related to my course.  But that's because I have been busy doing it, rather than writing about it.  And finally, finally, after 4 months, and Christmas, and having a baby, I have finished module 4!  (Now all I need to do is pass).

If I'm honest, it's not been my favourite module.  With the criteria being to work in black and white, I have found it a bit limiting, and I have decided I am most definitely a colourful sort of girl.  Well, I don't know about in personality, but certainly with the things that I make! 

Anyhow, here are a few pictures;

The 'Texture Collection'

Using textured papers

Final Resolved Piece

And then there are the applique samples, which I really enjoyed putting together.  I have done about 8  different types of applique now, so I feel I qualify as an expert!  I won't bore you with them all but here are a just couple;

Hawaiian Applique

Machine Bias Applique

Stained Glass Applique

So very soon it will be on to module 5, the last of the design portfolios, before module 6 which is the planning and designing of a wall hanging.

But before I undertake module 5, I have promised baby William that I will make him a quilt for his bedroom.  It's only fair, because I made one for Freya when she was born, back in the days when I knew nothing about 1/4 inch seams, rotary cutters, acryllic rulers, designer fabrics etc. etc.  Boy, I 've learnt a lot about quilting in these last few years!  I have been working on it for just one evening so far, and all my blocks are complete and ready to be constructed into a quilt top, but I shall save progress for another day.    But I can't resist showing you the gorgeous fabrics that I'm working with;

Sorry it's a bit of a dark photo, but they really are delicious fabrics in real life and I am very excited to see William's quilt take shape.
 

Right, must crack on, I will have another night of sewing till nearly midnight and I hope to post a complete quilt top soon!

Small Blog Meet, Collage and Cakes

Well we are now in the full throws of Spring and with Easter round the corner, what better way to celebrate than by making some new friendships.  So I have decided to take part in Lily from Lily's Quilts small blog meet.

The idea is for bloggers with a small following to get to know fellow bloggers, all with patchwork, quilting and sewing in common.  Perfect!

So welcome new friends if you are out there!  I hope you enjoy reading my blog and I shall make the time to have a look at and follow yours too. 

(I can't for the life of me get the logo embedded within this text so I have put it up on the right hand side - please forgive my technical incompetence!)

And following on from my previous blog post, I have worked hard and finished my second texture collage for my coursework, based on the lighthouse at Corbiere.  It's a shame you can't see the detail of the lighthouse; I painted sandpaper white to create a granite effect, which in real life looks more effective than in the photo.  Anyhow, here's the pics;

Just one more collage to go then I am done for this module.  Getting there, slowly, slowly! 

Freya and I also had lots of fun this weekend making Postman Pat Cakes.  Postman Pat is the current favourite in our house, so when Freya saw the box of cake mix at the supermarket with Postman Pat on it, how could we refuse.  But I don't like the idea of making cakes by adding milk and egg to a powder, (I don't want Freya to think that is how cakes are made) so I binned the pre-made mixture when she wasn't looking and we made cup cakes from scratch, which was lots more fun.

And trust me, they were deeeeeeeeelicious!

Tea Parties and Texture

The week started well with an invitation to a  tea party...

Which was attended by some very important guests.

I also managed to enjoy the gorgeous weather we had this week, and did some collage work in the garden. 

I had my assistant beside me...

But he wasn't much help... because he kept on falling asleep. 

I finished my texture collage, and it looks something like this:

 I also finished off my stained glass applique sample.  Here is the design inspiration,

And here is my 'window'.

More collages are on their way to completion and I shall post again soon regarding progress.  And tea parties.  :-)

On the Beach

I am trying to come up with inventive ways to present my work for my course.  This is a lot of fun, but certainly more time consuming than just sticking information into a portfolio!  But I do love a challenge and not to always go for the easy option, so this is what I came up with to present my work on...

And here is my 'texture' research, although I can't decide which picture I prefer.  This one...

On the rocks

or this one;

On the sand

As it happens, I took the 'on the rocks' picture, and Pete styled and took the 'on the sand' picture.  So the jury is out!

I have also managed to find time to do a little bit of sewing.  Here is a picture.  It looks a bit dull but the brief for the module is 'black, white and muted tones'.  (Not really me at all!)  This sample demonstrates the use of freezer paper - a technique of ironing the shapes around freezer paper so that the fabric takes their shape, and then you applique it on to the background fabric.  I came up with a very basic design as using a hot iron with complicated shapes could be tricky and slightly hazardous! 

I am now working on my final sample for this module, another stained glass applique piece.  It's coming along well but I have hit a stumbling block - I have run out of plain black fabric for the bias binding 'leading'.  So I have ordered more from my favourite ebay shop, Brenda Higgs Favourite Fabrics, along with some rainbow coloured solids for the samples for module 5.  Financial constraints meant that it had to be a purely 'essential fabrics' order, but it was sooooo hard to resist all her gorgeous fat quarter bundles! 

I shall post again soon with my stained glass applique.  I do enjoy this technique as it uses lots of colour.  And it's good to have more colour in my life.  Hooray!

Talking About Texture

In the rare moments when both of the children are asleep, it's a race to get my craft things out and crack on with my coursework, because either one of them could wake at any moment, and bring progress to a grinding halt. 

So here are some of my texture designs so far - the brief was to fill basic outlines of your source material with the hand made textured papers.

Landscape picture

Black on white - Lighthouse at Corbiere

White on black - Lighthouse at Corbiere

The last one, white on black of the lighthouse is my favourite, as I think it's quite dramatic and evocative of a huge thunderstorm.

I have a few more designs to come up with using this technique and then I have to try different collage techniques such as folding, pleating and tearing the papers.  Lots of ideas in my head, and I can't wait to get started.  Perhaps Pete can take the children for a long drive around the island...

In other crafty news, I received both Popular Patchwork magazine and Modern Quilting magazine this week.  I like Popular Patchwork magazine, it has some interesting articles and information, but I have to admit I do feel like I must be one of their youngest readers!  I find some of the fabrics and designs a bit dated, and there are quite a few pictures of older ladies!!  Modern Quilting magazine is definitely aimed at a younger audience and the fabrics they use make me want to drool, they are so gorgeous.  There really is a much more contemporary feel to the projects and style of the magazine, I just love it and I am so pleased I came across it in time to get the first issue. 

Hopefully I will get a moment this weekend to come up with some more texture designs, I shall post more progress soon!

Making Progress

I am very conscious that recently my blog has been more and more about Freya, and books and Christmas etc. and very little to do with quilting!  But the good news is I have been working really hard on my texture module and very soon there will be lots to share.  I have managed to complete my first sample for this module, the Hawaiian applique sample (see previous blog post) and this involved lots of hand quilting and straining of the eyes as I sewed black onto black by hand.  I am now in the planning stages of a machine bias applique sample, and I have found a nice celtic design of a butterfly which I am going to attempt...watch this space! 

One of the other requirements for this module is to make your own papers, using a black and white theme.   I had a fun afternoon getting very messy and came up with 9 papers in total.  I mainly used black ink, and also bleach, a straw to blow the ink, crayon and masking tape as a resist and a sponge.    Below is a picture of some small versions that I made to put in my portfolio;

I was very careful to protect all the surfaces in our kitchen, but one thing I didn't cover was my hands - they are still stained two days later!  I think latex gloves will be needed next time! 

I have also come up with a different way to present my research on texture and my chosen artist (Claude Monet) and so when these bits are complete I will share a picture or two as well. 

This week I have been ultra indulgent and purchased another quilting book 'Quilting From Little Things' by Sarah Fielke.  Jersey Post has done itself proud and managed to deliver it to me in just a couple of days (unheard of!) and I am desperate to sit down and have a really good read.  Her quilts are just so beautiful and her work so inspiring.  In this book there are smaller projects and what she refers to as 'dolly quilts.' So once I have completed the Texture module I am going to throw caution to the wind and make one, before moving on to module 5.  I love my C and G course, but over a year has passed and so far I have not made a quilt at all and I just can't wait any longer!