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!

Siblings Together

I have been following Lynne at Lily's Quilts for a few months now.  She has a great blog and I have made lots of new friends through her 'small blog meet.'  But there is something else that she is doing that is really rather special.

Lynne is supporting the charity Siblings Together, a project that, in a nutshell, reunites siblings at a summer camp, who are otherwise separated by the care system. 

Lynne has come up with the wonderful idea of giving a quilt to each of these children, to take home with them, as a reminder of their stay and the special time they had with their sibling.  The response has been overwhelming, and quilts have been provided from all over the world.  And not just any old quilts; quilts that have been years in the making, quilts with beautiful fabrics, quilts with children and teenagers in mind.  And others have donated blocks, offered their services to quilt quilt tops, and some have provided fabrics for others who have more time to make a quilt - you can see them all on the dedicated flickr group.

Every time Lynne posted about progress and the marvellous momentum that her appeal has gathered, I kept feeling that I wanted to contribute, but the reality is my time is stretched to the max with looking after Freya and baby William (not to mention squeezing in some coursework at every spare opportunity) so making a whole quilt in a timely fashion is just realistically not going to happen.  :-(  So I came up with an idea to write a poem, which could be given to the children, or, as Lynne has suggested, somehow incorporated into the quilts.  Here it is:

If you’re feeling lonely

And you don’t know what to do,

Wrap this quilt around you,

And love will come shining through.

You may not always be together,

But forever in your hearts

Is a love so strong, unbreakable,

It cannot come apart.

And every stitch is sewn with love,

With colours to brighten your day,

The pattern chosen carefully,

To remind you of your stay.

 

 

So take your quilt and treasure it,

Let it be your joy and pride,

Remember all the special times

With your sibling by your side.

 

 

It's just a small contribution to this wonderful project, but I hope the children can read it as they look at their quilts and take that little bit of comfort. 

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.  :-)

Easter Bunny Bags

This weekend I have been a busy bee, or perhaps I should say 'busy bunny' making these Easter Bunny Bags for Freya and William.  (Ok so William is a bit small for Easter Egg hunting but it won't be long before his time will come!)

Anyhow, I have decided to be enterprising, and am going to be making them to order, for the bargain price of £9.99 inc. p&p.  There are two options...

Light blue and green

 or...

Light and dark pink

They measure approx 18cm x 13cm, and are made of felt with an appliqued felt rabbit on the front.  Perfect for little ones hunting out those eggs, and can be used year after year! 

If you would like to place an order please email me at;

sarahnorton4 (at) hotmail (dot) com 

and I will be in touch :-)

Happy Easter x

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!