Saturday 29 November 2014

Coiled Fabric Pot Workshop






















Crafting With Scraps

Take one ring shaped thing, in this case a polystyrene loop from the flower arranging department. Cover it with red or green fabric... I chose red, for me that's extra Christmassy!
Once it is completely covered, start tying on the thin strips of fabric, I would use plain, woven or batik fabrics if you have the choice because they are the same colour on both sides... don't worry if your fabrics are a little frayed, that adds to 'the rustic look'

Keep going until the hoop thing is full and trim the bits that are too long..... or don't and leave them long... PMS Pleasing My Self is rather fun
Next find one unfinished Christmas ornament from last year and attach it to the centre ... then hang it on a door!

Friday 28 November 2014

Stitching News

My Mum Gwynneth had to make more Dresden Plate cushions. 
They make popular gifting items but not everyone wants to make their own... 
We sell them with, or without, the cushion pads... luxury for your sofa! 
Gail's 3D Folded cushion is fabulous and finished... Toot toot toot... 
not for sale... though we have lots more of the fabrics, Ha!
Started at the recent workshop with our Sheila, Gail is very happy with her handiwork 
Princess Jackie finished her quilt, just in time for tooting... no, I mean it was in time for the Charity Auction she's involved with... such a pretty and beautiful quilt... I hope it goes to a lovely new owner... I don't know how Jackie managed to part with it... do you think she will end up out-bidding everyone to keep it?
Gail started a new project... BEN-to Box... for a lovely fellow named Ben.
This is going to be a stunning quilt... just look at those lovely fabrics!! These blocks are Gail's practice ones... just to see whether she would enjoy making them... she did!
Rose is happily piecing blocks for her new project. She had 3 growing piles of different blocks so decided to have a count up to see how progress was going, Rose discovered that she is half way along, row 3 up!... onwards and upwards Rose...
Lovely Lyn needed space to spread out her latest large blocks, but we were full up with happy, chatty quilters meaning that no space large enough for Lyn could be found... so she continued quilting her daisy project... free motion no less!
Krafty Karen pieced a whole quilt top in one afternoon... just as well as three quilts need to be finished Lick-etty- Split... they are for gifting during sewing prevention season. One has binding on, one is being quilted and this one will be sandwiched soon... not enough work waiting? Karen sandwiched a quilt panel before she went home too... 
Who needs sleep anyway?
Princess Jackie's been dabbling with Foundation Paper Piecing... 
It's been tricky but she refused to be beaten... by gorge she got it!! Practice makes??? PERFECT... she needs 5 more of this unit.
Joan The Shop has one half of her Quilt-As-You-Go sampler almost finished. This project uses a slightly different way of joining individually quilted blocks together... it's very clever. The method is from a Lyn Edwards Essential Sampler book

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Stocking News

Of course I meant Stitching News... but we are awash with Festive Stocking making in my very own quilt shop... I heard one lady declare that she was wishing that she hadn't attended the Double Day, Stocking and Bauble workshop recently... not that is wasn't a most fabulous fun day, oh no... it's that she's finding herself consumed with the urge and desire to make stockings for everyone! ho ho ho

The two on the right were made by our very own Jean Bean, two from the long list of people who will be receiving stocking gifts this year.
The stocking on the left, an up a bit, is only one of PM Pam's... see the doggie bone fabric... that's a clue... even the pets will be receiving festive goodies!
Ho ho ho indeed... one giant Festive Stocking... it's almost as tall an our Annbacan!...
 that's her standing by the side holding the stocking for the photograph...
what a hoot it was when the stocking appeared from Ann's bag!!
Plenty of room for Monkey Nuts and Satsumas!!
PM Pam has a Fabulous and Finished toot toot toot fanfare due...
It might well be a simple design, but it's been perfectly pieced
 and quilted with this very popular design of ours.
Just Jan has another tick on her long list of festive gifting things to make.
A fabulous and finished 3D folded cushion... with zip!
Toot toot toot Jan, another fabulous finish!


Tuesday 25 November 2014

Sandwich Saturday


Lady Judith's most beautiful Love Star quilt is so huge, two and a half metres square-ish, that it really needed more tables. The problem there though, is that none of us, even the taller ladies, can reach the centre to put the pins in...
We've another option... pin the quilt in two uneven halves! It works ever so well and saves any of us from having to get stuck after climbing up onto a table!!
Judith needs this quilt ready for festive gifting...
but there are 8 advent panel calendars to be finished first!
Fay came to show us her super Stack-n-Whack Kaleidoscope quit progress. This is Fay's first ever project, she's done an amazing job... it's tricky learning to rotary cut through 8 layers!! She went home with binding fabric and will use the Binding tutorials, found on the tabs at the top of my blog.
A very simple quilt.. for PM Pam it is anyway. She's making it for a special little four legged family member... even dogs need quilts to snuggle up to!
A Snowman table runner, also belongs to PM Pam. She was choosing backing fabric and binding so that she could get this lovely quilt top sandwiched and finished.
I pressed the wrong button yesterday and these pictures appeared without my words... though some might think "Yippeeee" about that... I decided to write it all again... how very kind of me eh!

Saturday 22 November 2014

Stitching News

Melissa Bump's Railfence design, kiddy play mat.... like a quilt really but hey ho.
Once the sandwich was made, Melissa met the wonderful walking foot and started shadow quilting the zig-zag pattern.
Lorna had seen the forest of fabric trees on the classroom wall and wanted one for her very own self... a few fabric strips later and the very useful 60 degree line on the ruler...
There was almost a tree... 
Farmer Lynda added borders to her second Railfence table runner... not that she had finished the first one I might add... and right at the end of the day we managed to squeeze is a little sandwich making so there will be shadow quilting next time.
Brenda Duck didn't make our beginner Railfence table runner when she first joined us... I think she must have been feeling left out so she's making one for her very own self now, so it's like a Back to basics project.
Our Rebel Josie is smitten with a teddy trend... she's loving the Teddy Bear patterns from Kids Quilts... who can blame her, they are quite lovely and a very decent size! 
If you dare, click on this link to see some of the 27 fabulous new fabrics that arrived on Thursday.... thank goodness for my extra trolleys!!! Beautiful fabrics that make you want to sew sew sew sew sew sew sew

Friday 21 November 2014

Fabulous And Finished

Morning Judith popped in to show off her latest fabulous and finished quilt.
It's the Split 9-Patch design and will be gifted very soon
 
Brenda Duck also finished her Split 9-Patch quilt... it will be adorning her table as a topper...  of course it could be used as a cosy lap quilt too, how very versatile!
Our quilt rebel, Josie, finally finished her jolly Jack Russell quilt. It's a pattern that she purchased at the Uttoxeter Quilt Show in April this year... who would have thought that William Morris fabric would look so good with bright orange Batik?
Lorna did her homework...
the binding's all stitched in place so she proudly held up her Railfence Table Runner, the first fabulous and finished project on her road to deep addiction!
Sheila also has a fabulous finish... beautiful Batik fabric for a lovely little, hand stitched, wall hanging, lovely!
Toot toot toot ladies, your work is wonderful and very, very inspiring... and so say all of us, boom boom!