I am determined!

I am determined! 

I have set myself a challenge goal of getting my Brit Quilt Swap 3 'mini quilt' finished by this Friday so I can share it with you because this Friday is an exciting one....  I will be the host of TGIFF.  How cool is that!??  TGIFF means Thank goodness it's Finished Friday and it is a super linky party where you can share a finish and get all sorts of inspiration from all the other finishes that are linked up! 

So -- are you feeling determined to get something finished for Friday?  Perhaps one of your UFO's (unfinished object) or one of your PhD's (project half done)?  I would love to see what you have finished this week so please do come back and link up!!

See you Friday!!

Blog Hop Party with Giveaway

Summer is so exciting!!  How about joining in with the "Blog Hop Party with Giveaways" fun? 

This one is being run by Michelle from Quilting Gallery.  Host a give-away on your blog starting August 25th and lasting until September 3rd (or longer). What you choose to give-away and how you wish to run the give-away, is totally up to you. However, give-aways that require visitors to make a purchase before being entered in the give-away are not appropriate for this blog hop party.  You must register your blog to participate and only quilt related blogs are eligible to register.
Yay -- I've registered which means I will be having a giveaway starting this Saturday.  Be sure to pop back to see what I'll be giving away - and it WILL be open to everyone near and far!  :)

Zakka Little Red Bear

How could I resist making a cute little teddy bear hanging out in his own pillow?   Here is my version of the Little Pocket Pillowcase project:

I purchased a yummy piece of red wool mix at the Festival of Quilts specifically for this project.  When I saw the red with purply hints to this wool mix, I knew it would make the cutest bear for the Zakka project!!  And since I am using 'my precious fabrics' in my Vintage Holiday quilt, I had a little scrap bit of the red and white plaid so I made that his tummy!

Instead of sewing the pillow case that the Zakka book called for, I decided to up-cycle a blue/white plaid shirt with a pocket and some white cotton/linen to make a pillow.  This pocket is the perfect fit for the little red bear who looks pretty cosy sitting inside it!  The pillow closure is made using the button holes already on the shirt and then buttoned up!   The shirt was originally used in my plaid log cabin quilt [one of my first quilts ever made] so it is kind of fun that I have tied two quilts together in this one project :) 

Yay.  Another fun Zakka project completed and linked up :)

Linked to Pincushion Creations as well!

Japanese Charm Swap

Sarah of Narcoleptic in the Cupboard announced she was hosting a swap of Japanese fabric/5" charms.  How could I resist right?  I adore using linen and linen blends and [most] Japanese fabrics are amazing!  Just think of the interesting things I could make with 56-five-inch-fussy-cut-fabric-charms.  Boggles, right?  Anyways, I am super excited for this swap to start and can't wait to purchase a metre and get cutting!

Great day in Birmingham today at the Festival of Quilts but my feet and legs will take a week to recover I'm sure.  I saw some [and bought several] yummy fabrics today and saw soooo many inspirational quilts on display.  My goodness there are some talented people out there.  I have added several new projects to my 'to-do one day' list!!  This list is the length of my arm now!! 

And on that note, I'm off to see what the inside of my eyelids look like :)

WiP Wednesday ~ 15 August

The middle of August already - summer is nearly over!!  My holiday feels like it was forever-ago and it only ended five days ago!  I am so pleased that Mr Toyota had a tune-up while I was away - he is sewing very well and keeping up with me!  This means I can link up with Freshly Pieced WiP Wednesday because in the past five days I have managed to work on several works in progress:

• one Great Granny block for the Great Granny QAL which brings my total to three completed blocks (but I'm a little behind in the QAL so need to catch up!!) -- only 6 more to sew!

My first three Great Granny blocks

•  six baubles for my Vintage Holiday QAL quilt using 'my precious' fabrics (making me slightly ahead of schedule as we are only at Week 4)

• and two bee blocks for two Running with Scissors August bee mamas (right on schedule - will post tomorrow morning and they should arrive before the month ends)

"Spinning Star" pattern by Quilt Dad John Q Adams from Shape Workshop for Quilters book

"Chutes and Ladders" improv block

• I also picked the scraps for the Scrappy Bits swap and I know what I will be making my secret partner for that too [no picture, sorry!]

• and lastly I finally added the border to my Brit Quilt Swap mini quilt for my secret partner...

I added the triangular border to the left side of this block for my secret partner

These 60* triangles turned out to be quite a challenge for me.  This was the first time cutting this shape of triangle [I've only ever done half square triangles up to now] and this was the first time sewing this shape too... and I will not be doing them again anytime soon, let me tell you!!  They sewed up sort of crooked so I starched the strip as straight as I could and then it appeared to sew on well from the back but in fact I lost some points (and I didn't want to lose any triangular points).  Oh well - at least I tried something new!  Practice makes perfect I suppose!  I had planned an entire border on all four sides but I only managed one side.  Call it 'artistic'!!  Anyways, on to the next step now so I can get it to my secret partner! 

So in summary, I am behind in one QAL, ahead in another QAL, on track for Brit Quilt Swap and the Modern Scrappy Swap but a little panicked to complete a paper pieced block and an improv block for Miss August in the Kinky Bee and a word block for Miss August in the Bee Europa bee.  In addition to all of that, I am yet to re-design and sew my Texting while Sewing block and start my Sailor Mouth swap item -- all for the end of August!!  Yikes!!  But, you know me - I LOVE deadlines and lots of challenges so I'm feeling positive that everything will get done :)  I am strangely calm about it all actually and I'm enjoying the process... and having SO. MUCH. FUN!

~Linking up to Fabric Tuesday and TNT Thursday as well.

____________________________

And I couldn't forget that today is the 15th of the month so that means it is Quilty Embellishment Day!  I will be linking up my Zakka Sugar Cookies Sack as I did embroidery as the embellishment on that project.  Check out the linky party and perhaps link up something you've embellished as well!!  You could win fabric!  Woohoo!

See you at the Festival of Quilts - I'll be the one with lots of shopping bags :)

Super Swaps - sent and received

A little while ago I joined a Flickr group called Super Swaps and the project they were swapping was a 'covered notebook'.  I immediately made a Smiling Snowman Journal Cover to test a tutorial I found on-line.  It was a great tutorial so I modified it to make a notebook cover for my {secret} partner. 

She listed her favourite colours as red and aqua and that she liked gnomes, owls and mushrooms; no linen!  When I saw this gnome fabric in one of my on-line shopping sprees I immediately bought it as it ticked all the right boxes and was in the perfect colours and subject -- pretty hilarious fabric really!  I love it for its funny-factor!  My {secret} partner will now have a travelling gnome with a geisha notebook!!  Too funny!  Hope she can see the humour too!

Top: stitch details on front of notebook cover
Bottom: the back of notebook cover and the inside left side

As you can see, I added three lines of straight stitching on the front to bring some red from the spine/back to the front to tie it all together.  I LOVE the red pin fabric I used on the back - yummy!  So that is the notebook that I sent to my {secret} partner.  I hope she likes it!   Linking to Quilty Embellishment Day.

And today I received my notebook in the post all the way from Sweden!  How cool is that!?  Thank you Karin - it is lovely!! 

She made the cover using some half square triangles in a scrappy style and used green polka dot fabric for the spine and back.  A nice thick notebook in lime green is inside.  And look at all those stamps that it took to post it!  I'll save those :)  She sent me floss as well - a nice surprise.  I love swaps - you get to meet people from all over the world and you get great things in the post!  Win-win!  Cheers!

_____________________________________________________

 

This weekend I tended to my poor neglected garden.  Everything was so dry because I abandoned it when I went on holiday and didn't organise a 'garden babysitter' to water anything while I was away.  When I returned I was surprised to see that I actually had a handful of green and purple beans to eat, some rhubarb to pick and some amazing gladioli to cut to brighten the house up with... and a handful or Arran Pilot potatoes.   

This harvest was half of what I got from the Duke of York grow bag that I dug up before the holiday.  I haven't eaten any of this type yet so fingers crossed they taste better than the Duke of York which looked lovely but were not nice boiled up.  Guess they are more for 'roasting' than 'boiling'.  I wonder what Arran Pilot potatoes are best made into?

_____________________________________________________

Each month on the 15th I link up at Color Me Quilty for the Quilty Embellishment Day.  Last month I was the lucky July winner!!  Thank you Pat - the pattern has arrived safely! 

Look what I won!

And that's all for now folks :)

 

My Precious Vintage Holiday QAL

I love when you can go dive in to your yummy delicious fabric stash and pull yummy delicious fabrics out that smile when you look at them.

And the satisfaction of when you can go from this:

...to this in a matter of a few hours over the weekend:

What a great feeling!!  Six baubles completed - only six more to do!

About a month ago, The Fabric Mutt announced the 'Vintage Holiday' Quilt Along.  It only took me a second to decide that I definitely wanted to make a Christmas quilt.  I purchased the pattern from Camille Roskelley (she's the Swoon pattern maker) and I spent a few days picking out fabrics from my stash.  At first I picked some Kona solids mixed with various Pezzy prints and dot fabrics in mostly greens and reds.  I also ordered some Brrr fabrics and added a few solids to that pile to see what that would look like. Then I looked at some of 'my precious' plaid fabrics and 'my precious' snowflake fabrics ('Winter Song' by Deb Strain for Moda - purchased almost 3 years ago!!) that were in a drawer and immediately decided that they were the fabrics for this quilt.

Looking at the pile, I figured it would turn out sort of cottage-y, maybe a bit vintage-y, somewhat shabby-chic like, and perhaps a little contemporary-country.  I am quite pleased with it so far and am loving it the more it all comes together.  I am a great fan of plaids and when I first started quilting I thought that I would only ever use plaids and checks in my quilts, along with stripes and dots and spots!  Then I discovered Moda and then all of the other fabulous fabric manufacturers out there and the poor pile of precious plaids sat for a long time, quietly waiting for their turn to come again.  They nearly suffocated in a drawer with all of the other fabrics crowding them out!!

So yay for the plaids - they are quickly becoming a precious Christmas quilt!  Six more baubles to make, Kona Ash sashing to add and a border (still to be determined) to sew on and then the top is done [and ready for linking up to My Precious QAL]!  Yay!  It will be loved as much as my other plaid quilts and I may add a hanging sleeve to it as well so I have the option of making it a wall hanging for the holidays if I want to.  'Vintage Holiday' is a fantastic pattern -- very easy to follow (and you know me and understanding patterns!!).  I would like to make a table runner too but don't want to get ahead of myself because Christmas is only 134 days away and I have loads of other projects on the go! 

Yes you read that correctly - Christmas is only 134 days away!  I'll leave you here to go ponder that!!

Linked to Plum & June

Home again home again jiggity jig + Zakka

Ahhhh...home.  As exciting as it is getting ready to go on holiday, coming home is always the best feeling!!  I'm frantically trying to catch up with bee blocks, swap projects, blog-reading and answering all your lovely comments about Jax on the plaid quilt.  You can still go vote for him [he's #60 in the Dog on Quilt category over at Lily Pad Quilting! You just vote in the comment section]. VOTING CLOSED

The highlight of our 13 night cruise holiday was Florence.  My mother travelled to Europe after university and before getting married (I think in about 1969 or 1970).  I recall her telling me that she shopped for a gold bracelet by candlelight, and there were shops on a bridge.  My memory holds no other details because it was probably 20+ years ago that she told me about it, but as soon as I saw this bridge I was positive that this was the place where she had been!  I wish she had kept a travel journal - I could have checked the details.  I got all choked up thinking that this was a place she had once been and here I was seeing it in real life :)  She didn't feel so far away all of a sudden...

Another highlight was eating a macaroon in Cannes.  O--M--G this was the most divine taste experience/sensation that I have EVER had in my life!  Up to then, I had only ever tried one of these macaroon thingys and it was a UK shop-bought one.  I didn't think it was all that special.  I've seen them made on the tv cooking programs and again thought 'nothing special'.  So when I discovered this little shop FULL of them looking so very tempting, I decided to try two -- a 66% chocolate one and a butter-caramel one (my English translation of the French label). 

And I was not disappointed!  They were pricey but-oh-so-worth-it!!  They cost 3.79 Euros for the two [sold by weight - and they were only small] so I was thinking 'boy I hope these are good'.  The chocolate one was ok.  Nothing to go rushing back for.  I even shared the rest of it with Mr Crafty Shenanigans!  But when I bit into the butter-caramel one I immediately thought 'I should go buy a dozen more'... but then I remembered the cost!   

Bad photo [I have a lopsided my-mouth-is-full grin on] but here I am pausing just long enough to have photographic evidence of the experience!  I'd fly go back to Cannes just for more of these!!!  Confession - I did go back for one more which I took back to the cabin and ate very slowly...  Yum!

Coming home from holiday meant I got to see my wee Jax too - he's been at a dog-sitter for 2 weeks and he was so happy to see us!!  And then today I collected Mr Toyota from the sewing machine doctor/spa and he is sewing like a dream!  Hardly a noise out of him - he obviously needed the holiday as well!  He got a tune-up, a polish and was dusted and oiled too!  Lucky machine :)

And this is what I made - the Zakka Sugar Cookie Sack.  I did the embroidery last week by the pool so all I had to do this morning was sew it together.  Once I finish the second bit of embroidery I will make another.

With that completed, I am now off to sew some bee blocks and then hopefully teach myself/learn a new technique so I can finish my Brit Quilt 3 mini quilt for the swap.  Wish me luck!!  It is so nice to be home and back on-line properly and have a long list of things to do :)

I shall be linking up to:

• LR Stitched
• Quilty Embellishment Day
• The Handmade Parade

Pets on Quilts - my little Jax

Yay for my little Jax.  He is my 'baby'.  My four-legged-furry-best-friend!  He makes me calm, happy and he certainly makes me laugh!!!  He is a dachshund-beagle cross -- basically a super-sized wiener/sausage dog.  He LOVES to run and boy oh boy can he can!!  He can stop dead in his tracks if he catches the scent of something yummy - or roll in [yuck]. 

Plaid log cabin - comfy cozy!

He occasionally sleeps on/in the bed and his favourite quilt is the shaggy plaid one [below].  He quite likes the Plaid Log cabin one too - here he is all wrapped up [above]!  Should you think Jax wrapped up in this quilt is awesome, please go vote for him at Lily Pad Quilting - he'll lick you if he wins!!  Thanks!

Plaid shaggy quilt - Jax loves this one too!

July month in review

July was a fun month.  I got a bit of Christmas sewing and crafting done so I [hopefully] won't go into panic mode in November!!  I sewed several bee blocks, made a few swap items and joined a handful more quilt-alongs and linky parties!!  All in all, I completed [yes, done with nothing more to add to them] 13 projects (which is a total of 25 items if you count the multiple cards and gift tags).  I started quite a few other things too which are now inevitably added to my WiP list!  Ooops!

Here is my July month in review mosaic - finished and WiP projects:

My favourite item is definitely my Spool Block for my secret partner in Brit Quilt Swap 3, but I really love my Great Granny squares too.  I actually completed the second one on the 21st but this is the only photo I seem to have of it.  There are 7 more already cut out and waiting to be stitched.  They are such a great scrap-buster!

I learned/learnt a couple of new and very useful skills in July too.  I made my first ever frame purse [I love using stinky glue!] and I did my first ever button holes.  Next month I will re-attempt paper piecing... there may be tears [again]!!!

I'm looking forward to seeing what August will bring.  I know I have several swap items to complete and send off and more bee blocks to sew and post so I shall be keeping busy once again.  I only finished one quilt in July so I am challenging myself to finish another in August - hopefully my 'precious' Vintage Holiday quilt!  I love challenges and deadlines!  Oh and I sure hope Mr Toyota comes back soon - I miss him! [that's my sewing machine for anyone who wasn't sure!!  He's been away for a sewing machine MOT.]

Happy sewing to you all!!

TGIFF

Thank goodness it is finally finished / finished Friday!

I finally completed my Pretty Pleats Reversible Tote.  My first attempt went pear shaped so I re-gathered my strength and courage and picked some new fabrics and started fresh.  And thank goodness I did because now I have this pretty bag:

I'm loving the quirky birds [Laura Gunn Garden Wall] fabric - especially the one on the bottom left corner! They are all pretty cute feathered friends, don't you think!?  I also used Kona Brick and Kona Navy but now wish I had used Cerise or Eggplant instead of the brcik red.  I am pleased I finally made it and the best bit is that it turned out!  Oh and that it looks like it should and it works (quite a sturdy bag)!  I'll be using it on my upcoming holiday as it is nice and spacious inside for all sorts of things like a bottle of water, a camera, wallet and snacks!!

I will eventually purchase more black with cream dots fabric to make my first version with, as that is what I really want to use as my everyday bag.  But at least it is done and off my 3rd Quarter Finish Along list with Quilter in the Gap.  If I make another I may add a magnetic closure, an inside pocket and key ring clip which will make it non-reversible but that's ok by me! 

So I am happy to link up to

• TGIFF
• Can I get a Whoop Whoop
• July Finishes

I'm off to do some hemming by hand and some embroidery as Mr Toyota is now in for a much needed sewing machine MOT and service ready for all the sewing I HAVE to do in August!  Swaps, bee blocks and personal challenges -- a busy month ahead!  This includes my Vintage Holiday quilt!

Have a great weekend!

WiP Wednesday & Olympic torch

Happy Wednesday!

My list remains pretty much the same as last week though I did complete another Great Granny square/block.  Yay for me!  Only seven more to go!  I finally got my 12.5" ruler so I can finally square up my Bee blocks and these granny blocks.  One step closer to becoming quilts, yay!

I am feeling particularly determined recently and have set a goal to get working on some of my super-outstanding WiP's, my UFO's and even some of my PIG's and PhD's.  To those of you who aren't sure what those all mean:

WiP = work in progress

UFO = unfinished object 

PIG = project in grocery bag

PhD = project half done

Why am I mega motivated to get loads done?  So I can play along with the Lazy Bums group!!  There are 12 of us hoping to get one WiP/UFO/PIG/PhD done a month  (or more) and to fill in our bingo cards and get points and we can even challenge each other to duels and all sorts of crazy stuff!  Fun huh - what a great motivator to get things done!  Wish me luck! 

My newest WiP is my second attempt at my Pretty Pleats Reversible Tote.  I screwed up the fabric [black and cream dots by Cosmo Cricket] on the first attempt so here is my second attempt [Laura Dunn and Kona fabric] and so far so good:

I had to stop there because the tension has gone all funny again on Mr Toyota and I didn't want to mess is version up!  So "all" I have to do tomorrow is work on the handles... Fingers crossed it looks ok when completed.  I'm not sure about the brick Kona anymore - oh well.

Linking to Freshly Pieced WiP Wednesday.

____________________________

The Olympic torch went through my town today.   I waited over an hour for this exciting event and this is the picture I snapped of it [anyone sensing my disappointment or sarcasm?]:  

Yes, that is the torch running away from me!  And what is worse than my rotten photo?  The fact that we didn't even get a coke or Frisbee drum thing from the Coke promotions van!!  Boo.  But on a positive note, I got to 'scive' for over an hour with my workmates and hey - I saw the Olympic torch [which is pretty cool actually]!!  So in summary, I am sad to say that I still haven't caught the 'Olympic fever' but I may have caught some sun though, which is pretty darn exciting for me! 

Happy sewing!

My Precious Vintage Holiday QAL

Yay - I've finally picked my fabrics.  I'm going with a cottage-y-plaid-shabby-chic-homespun-modern-country-bumpkin sort of look...with snowflakes.  Fingers crossed I've chosen the right ones!  It should look cozy and fit in to the decor of the tiny cottage we live in.  I had another pile from my stash that I contemplated using - it was all greens and reds and graphic prints but I like these snowflakes.  And the plaids.  I almost went with some Brrr too - but I kept coming back to those two red plaids!  These are some of 'My Precious' fabrics.  I've been saving the plaids since 2009/2010 to make another shaggy quilt but I doubt this will ever happen so I would love to use them now.  Those snowflakes have been around for a long time too, just waiting for the perfect project!

They are for a Christmas quilt I will be making with the Vintage Holiday Quilt Along over on Fabric Mutt's blog starting the 6th of August.  Aneela Hoey made a Vintage Holiday quilt (and it is gorgeous) using her own Cherry Christmas fabrics so I hope I can do Camille Roskelley's [click here to buy the pattern] pattern justice in the fabrics I've chosen!

I can't wait to start!  Lots of people have posted their fabric selections on Flickr already - and some have even started cutting and sewing!  Yikes - I better get my skates on!  

Messy thread & random blocks

Over on Sew Many Ways she is having a linky party to do with THREAD -- a Thread Organizing Party.  There are so many clever ways to store your thread - and mine is not one of them!!  [but it currently works for me]

You see, my homemade thread 'bucket' lives in the corner under the lamp, out of the way on my teenie tiny sewing desk in the closet-room that I sew in.

This fabric bucket of mine holds all my bobbins (I only have 6) plus all my spools of thread.  I will admit that there are some pretty dodgy spools of thread in there - name brands NO-ONE has ever heard of, purchased a long time ago or picked up in an emergency to sew a button on the go type of thing.  I love collecting hotel thread kits - so I have a separate tin full of those!  In fact, I keep one sewing kit at work and two work colleague's needed to borrow it yesterday!! 

Anyways, there you have it - my way of storing my thread.  Check the linky party out - it is fascinating to see how differently we all do it!!  One day I will have a storage rack thing on the wall to store the threads and filled bobbins.  One day....

_____________________

In other news - I made Annaliese her block for the July Running with Scissors bee.  I quite like the Kona Pomegranate she used mixed with the oranges and fuchsia - it will be a bright quilt.  She will be squaring it off to 9.5 inches. 

I aso have one Great Granny completed and another practically sewn together.  But poor Mr Toyota has pulled a sickie - he doesn't want to play anymore...  I think he may need to go to the sewing machine doctor for a check up (which I know is lonnnnnnnng overdue).  Poor fella - he was skipping stitches and the thread was breaking every few inches so I changed the needle, the bobbin, the top thread, re-threaded it, adjusted the tension, the other tensiony thingymebobberdoohickey thing {all at different times to see which if those things was acting up} and nope - he just wouldn't play right.  So I left him alone to think about his behaviour.  I will try him today and see what happens.  Maybe he just needs a rest? 

Here is the first completed Great Granny:

And the one needing two more rows sewn on:

And one of the seven more waiting in the wings to be sewn:

So once Mr Toyota starts to be himself again I will crack on and get these done.  I'm using all scraps (except for some text print in one of the blocks) - but it is amazing what you can get out of your scraps!  And OMG these are a blast to make!  I may also use some fabric I won from RicRak Studio from an Etsy shop called Sarah Waterhouse Textiles.  I won two fat quarters so I picked 'suitcases in pink' and some fabric with speech bubble s containing verbal 'insults'!  Too funny!!  I'd love to see 'Halfwit' or 'Oaf' in one of my Great Granny squares!! 

Ok, Happy Saturday - see you soon!