A Very Purple Quilt

Posted on May 25, 2016 by craftycreeky

Purple Quilt

In amongst all my Otley Show entries etc last week, I also made a quilt…

My God-daughter celebrated her 18th birthday at the weekend, a couple of months ago messages came back via my daughter Helen that she would love it if I made her a quilt for her birthday. I was well chuffed that she wanted one of my quilts and started planning it immediately.

I’d saved a photo from facebook of a simple but effective quilt pattern that I felt could be made from precut fabric packs. It was ideal. Rachel wanted a purple quilt, I fancied making it from batiks and when I looked on line I spotted a gorgeous Bali Cracker called Hummingbird, it’s all purples with a bit of teal. Perfect!…only all the UK shops I found were out of stock!

Purple QuiltI found some on line together with a charm pack of 5″ squares at Sandcastle Batiks on Etsy, it was a really good price compared to UK prices, I enquired about shipping and Janet messaged back, she was horrified at the price she was having to quote. It was still a reasonable buy from my point of view so I went ahead and bought it…what I hadn’t factored in was the 20% import duties I would have to pay before delivery!!! When I opened the package it was beautiful fabric, but what cheered me up no end was a personal note from Janet, she was so shocked by the shipping costs that she had added some extra squares from the hummingbird range, isn’t that lovely, it made my day!

Having waited for the fabric to arrive and then waited for a chance to buy a plain fabric for the sashing in Leeds I was basically left with a week to make the quilt, and it was last week, like the week before Otley Show!!

I laid out the 5″ and the 10″ squares on the floor, choosing the mainly purple ones first and then adding the ones with a bit more teal.Some of the 10″ squares looked a bit busy, I wasn’t quite happy with it yet.

Purple Quilt

I remembered that I had some plainer purple batiks that I had ear-marked for another quilt, I tried them against the others and it worked, I just used two squares each of three different purples.

Purple QuiltOnce I was happy with the lay-out it went together fairly quickly, I sashed the sets of four first and trimmed them down to 10″, then it was just a matter of working my way across the blocks. It wasn’t quite big enough at this point so I used the scraps to make a border. I laid it out on the lounge floor to spray baste it. I love seeing it at this stage, all beautifully smooth.

I think this is the biggest quilt I’ve quilted so far, it’s certainly my best so far! Machine quilting is definitely a matter of practice makes perfect, whilst I’ve still got a long way to go, I’m happy with my progress. I think it also helps that I’ve worked out a pattern that suits my skill levels so far. I stitch a sort of scroll/leaf shape, the important bit being the wave ends in a point, it gives me a regular point at which to stop without causing a wiggle!

Purple Quilt

I stitched the binding on and hand-stitched it down, I’ve never quite had the confidence to machine stitch it down and I don’t mind hand-stitching it, a couple of hours day dreaming and it’s done!

Purple QuiltMy last job was to hand-stitch a label for the back. I used a variegated purple embroidery thread and just back-stitched my message. I tend to do the stitching by eye, rather than writing it in pencil first as somehow it comes out better that way.

I gave her it at the weekend and she loves it 🙂

 

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Hands2Help 2016

Posted on May 24, 2016 by craftycreeky

Hands 2 HelpA couple of months ago I signed up for this years Hands2Help challenge. It’s a fantastic challenge organised by Sarah of Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Each year she encourages quilters to make a quilt for charity, there are usually three charities to choose from. It is mainly a US and Canada challenge I think but there are a few of us from further afield who choose to participate.

For those of us farther afield, Sarah very kindly volunteered to quilt any top sent to her, as she appreciates that posting a quilt abroad can be very costly. This year I decided to take her up on her offer…

About 18 months ago I made a baby quilt for a relative, really it was what started me quilting again. I made a quilt called 100 hugs, I thought it was a lovely name for a baby quilt, the pattern is over on Wedding Dress Blue The pattern used a jelly roll, I used a Moda one called Storytime. The quilt only used about a third of the jelly roll so when I signed up for the H2H challenge, I knew exactly what I was going to use.

100 hugs Quilt

100 Hugs Quilt

Jelly Roll Race Quilt

Moorland Jelly Roll Race Quilt

I needed to fairly quick quilt pattern as I’ve been pretty busy over the last few weeks. I decided to make a jelly roll race. I made one for the first time a few weeks ago which looked great and it was VERY quick to make, like an evening! My Moorland Walk quilt is here.

My only concern was that because I only had two thirds of a jelly roll, I wasn’t sure how it would come out sizewise, it didn’t need to be big as it’s for a child but it was the shape that concerned me. In the end it came out about 36″ by 58″ (this is from memory so it’s a big ‘about’!!) I would have preferred it a little wider and shorter but I’m sure it will keep a child nice and warm!

H2H Quilt

I was so keen to get it posted off I completely forgot to take photos, so not only did Sarah quilt it the day it arrived, she even took photos for me so I could show everyone. Luckily she had a length of fabric for the back that coordinated beautifully. Thank you Sarah 🙂

There were three charities to choose from, I chose to donate to a refuge in Whitehorse, Yukon. My daughter spent six weeks in Whitehorse with the Army Cadets a couple of summers ago doing outdoor activity training, so it was the one charity I felt more of a connection with.

It’s now time for the big H2H linky party, where everyone gets to show the quilt they have donated. Why not have a look and see what everyone else has made.

H2H Quilt 2

 

 

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Little Bee Time

Posted on May 24, 2016 by craftycreeky

The Great British Sewing Bee (GBSB) started last week, it’s the fourth series so ten new contestants are vying to be crowned Britain’s best home sewer. Each week they have various challenges under timed conditions, I decided to have my own Little Sewing Bee challenge, trying to sew something each week either from the books or linked to the challenges.

Great British Sewing BeeEach year a book is published to go with the series containing quite a few patterns. I’ve just managed to buy this years book as it’s already reduced at The Book People. It’s quite interesting looking through it as it does give you clues to what they will be sewing over the next few weeks, such as a mans Lycra top, something from a sari, a bra…that will be an interesting challenge for the three chaps!

The first challenge this year was a deceptively simple top, it’s only got two fronts, two backs and a bias neckline…only they had to make it bias cut with striped fabric, a chevron style top! And of course those chevrons had to match perfectly! I’m not a chevron person, so I’ll give that challenge a miss!

The recycling challenge was to make something from a plain blue maternity dress, the contestants haven’t really got into the swing of the recycle challenge yet as usually the wackier the better, there were quite a few fairly simple skirts, not much exciting there!

GBSBThe final challenge is to make something they know about in advance, they can choose the pattern (and therefore practice it) and the fabric, but it’s to fit a model, so they need to check sizes etc on the day. They had five hours to make a skirt. There was an amazing one all net with a high boned waistband, she stitched silver ribbon along the edge of the net and it puffed out and bounced along beautifully. The winning one was a very fitted skirt with a fishtail, as Esme (the judge) commented, it fitted the model perfectly!

I decided to make a skirt this week. I saw a pattern on facebook recently for the Anywhere Skirt, I really liked it and ordered it straight away. It’s a very versatile skirt as it is basically what I would call a dirndl skirt with pockets and a button placket and options of sashes. What’s nice is the way the pattern is for all ages, all sizes, any length… you enter in your waist measurements on a chart and it then tells you how to calculate the size of various pieces…

the-Anywhere-Skirt-for-women-and-teens

A word or two of advice…

  1. Do  not try and work out the pattern pieces whilst your 18 year old daughter is in chatter mode, just enjoy the moment (or the hour!!) and wait til you have peace and quiet. Otherwise you will make an obvious mistake and miss out one vital calculation…such as doubling the required waistband width by two before adding the seam allowance, this was particularly frustrating as it also affected the sash measurements!
  2. Do not cut out when OH unexpectedly decides to be sociable in the sewing room, again just enjoy the moment and wait for peace and quiet…otherwise you won’t notice the glaring mistakes you made with the measurements, even when there’s a niggle in your head!

Liberty Tana LawnLuckily I had plenty of fabric! The fabric is a lovely Liberty tana lawn. I was given this recently by a friend who was clearing her mother’s sewing room. What makes me smile is that I know exactly where she will have bought it. Many years ago (probably about 25!!) there was a local mill that made fabric for Laura Ashley and Liberty. They had one helluva closing down sale, most fabrics as I recall were about 50p a metre, tana lawn, silks, I’ve still got a length of silk stripe fabric I bought there. It was the sort of sale that went down in sewing folklore!!

I’ve been trying to decide what to make with this tana lawn as it’s quite a busy design and I felt for me a dress in it would be too much, so when I saw  the maxi-skirt pattern, I knew just which length to choose.

The Anywhere SkirtThe pattern is very straight forward (if you’ve got peace and quiet!!) The only change I made was to interface the front button placket, I wanted to give the tana lawn a bit more support rather than risk it tearing. I made it with a deep 3″ waistband, sashes, pockets and maxi length. It was pretty quick to make too. I bought the buttons from Samuel Taylor, they coordinate pretty well and even better they were only 10p each!

I love it, it took a few tries to find a top to go with it. The sash can be tied in a bow or I prefer it wrapped round Japanese style. I think it will be great for the summer as it’s lovely and light to wear. I’ve got a length of grey chiffon in my stash…I might just have found the perfect pattern for it!

Anywhere Skirt

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MMM Monday

Posted on May 23, 2016 by craftycreeky

Me-Made-MayThis week has been quite good for Me-Made-May in that I’ve had a couple of social events where I could dress up a bit more than I would for the usual day of dog walking, housework (occasionally!) and sewing, I’ve even managed to get a few more ‘action’ shots instead of the usual conservatory shot;

On Wednesday I was busy sewing, trying to finish a quilt for my god daughters 18th birthday. This cardigan is lovely to wear, to feels nice and it’s a nice weight too, it’s from my go-to pattern this winter, Butterick 6258.

MMM2016

Friday found me visiting my friends, helping to decorate the conservatory ready for the party, I still managed to find a bit of to embroider one of my Splendid Sampler blocks. I was wearing one of my favourite Archer shirts with my navy Fumeterre skirt. Continue reading →

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Happy Dance Time!

Posted on May 22, 2016 by craftycreeky

DSC_0167Well I had a very successful day at Otley show yesterday. Last year I won the Eric Walton Cup for the most points in the handicraft section for the first time (having entered things for over 25 years!) This year I was out to defend it!!

There are 9 classes in the section with a maximum of two entries per person, so I entered two things in 7 classes, I left out the knitted ones, I know my limits!! I entered two soft toys, which will be pin cushions now, two padded coat-hangers, two bags, I ‘dressed’ the knitting bag with sewing pattern in a pocket, fat quarters, sewing magasine in the big pocket, wool inside etc, I think it helped to portray the bag. I also entered two pieces of jewelery, two embroidered pictures, two scarves and two items in the variety class.

We took the entries down at about 7.30am, the showground was pretty deserted! The judging doesn’t often finish until about 1.30pm  and we have to stay until 5pm to collect our entries (and any prize money) As the weather was a bit on the damp side I came back home for the morning and cut a skirt out. It always (well, nearly always) rains on Otley Show day, it’s a standing joke round here, very few people round here get married on the 3rd Saturday in May as it always rains on Show Day!

I was just about to set off back down just after lunch when I got a text from a friend to say ‘Congratulations on my winnings’…I must have won something, I thought!

Well, I won two first prizes, three second prizes and three third prizes. More importantly, I got the most points, so I retained the Cup 🙂

My Sampler Aux Bouquets won second prize, I made this in the autumn, I love the colours in it.

Sampler Aux Bouquets

The silk scarf I painted a couple of weeks ago won second prize too.

Otley Show 8

The beaded bangle I started at Denman College two years ago and finished last month won first prize.

Otley Show 1

My knitting bag won second prize, so I think kitting it out really helped. The satchel won third prize.

Otley Show 6

 

Otley Show 5At the last minute I stitched an extra padded coat-hanger using ribbon embroidery, that may have been the deciding vote that swung it as I won first prize for the ribbon embroidery one and third prize for my frothy lacy  one.

Otley Show 2

Mary the Hippo won second prize too, she’s going to be a super-sized pin cushion! Everyone loves Mary!

Otley Show 7

So that’s my winnings! Next year I’ll just enter what I happen to have made, rather than making things especially for the show, I’ve defended the cup this year but someone else can win the cup next year 🙂

 

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Eleventh Hour Entry

Posted on May 20, 2016 by craftycreeky

I know I’m leaving it a bit late, but I’ve just finished my last entry for our local show on Saturday. It’s a padded coat-hanger. I’d already made two, one of them is a gorgeous frothy affair, the other is an elegant linen one and it’s this one I wasn’t completely happy with, from a likelihood of winning point of view!

Marilyn PipeWhen I was at Denman College at the beginning of the month I learnt how to do ribbon embroidery. The tutor was Marilyn Pipe and she was fantastic, a great tutor and we had a lovely atmosphere in here class, I loved it so much I’ve already booked myself on one of  her classes next year. She’s a very talented lady, I bought a machine embroidered card from her, it’s a picture of a sewing machine. I’ve framed it and hung it in my sewing room.

We made a beautiful pot of roses and flowers, learnt how to colour silk, adding filler flowers and twiddly bits. I was so excited when I got home I sent it off to be framed before  had chance to photograph it, so for those of you who missed the update on my post , here’s the photos of my flowers. Marilyn recommends framing without glass so the embroidery doesn’t get squashed, my house is too dusty for that (dogs etc!) so the framer suggested a double mount with a spacer in-between, I really like the effect.

Continue reading →

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All ready for the Show

Posted on May 19, 2016 by craftycreeky

Over the last few weeks I’ve been busy making entries for our local show where there is a very well supported handicraft section. Last year for the first time ever (I’ve been entering for over 20 years!!) I won the cup for the most points in handicrafts, so I’m defending my cup!! Luckily I have very few local followers on my blog, so I don’t think my secrets are out too far!

Over the weekend I’ve made a couple of accessories to go with one of my bags and a new toy…

Knitting BagOne of the bags I’ve made is a knitting bag from a Butterick pattern 5006, I had a few wobbles making it but it all came out ok in the end, I think I’ll be using it a lot afterwards to keep my crochet in. The pattern also includes some accessories, I’ve decided to ‘kit out’ the bag to try and display it better, so I’ll pop a pattern in a pocket, some scissors in another and some balls of wool inside. I’ve also made the coordinating knitting needle holder and pincushion from the pattern.

Butterick 5006I used all the leftover fabric from the bag, the knitting needle case is quite big (I suppose it has to be as knitting needles are quite long!!) so the fabric I had left wasn’t quite big enough to do the main piece and the flap in one. I pieced the flap separately which actually worked better as it meant the trees weren’t upside down inside! The pattern called for iron on wadding, I found some scrap batting left from quilts and used spray basting to stick it together.

Butterick 5006 It went together fairly easily, the ribbon tie was a lucky match as it was a free gift on a magasine months ago, the colours match perfectly.

Butterick 5006The pin cushion is one of those with pockets round the side for reels of thread. It all gathers up into a bit of a dolly bag. It needed quite a big piece of fabric and the bag fabric is all very one directional. I would have preferred to use the triangle fabric but I had no where near enough for that. In the end I chose the rabbit fabric, I think it looks cute. The pincushion is attached with a spot of stick-on Velcro, it has a base of cardboard to keep the bottom flat.

Pin Cushion

So that’s my knitting bag kitted out…

Mary the HippoI’ve made two toys for the show, both will be pincushions afterwards! One is a huge hippopotamus called Mary (don’t blame me, I didn’t name her!) the other is a cute owl called Archimedes, he’s really cute, but I decided he is just too small to be called a toy. I found a pattern on my computer called Dave the Dachshund, well I’ve made Dot the Dach!

It’s a very simple pattern and I used up some spotted Clarke furnishing fabric. I fussy-cut the ears but purely by chance a spot landed right on the eye on both sides, perfect! I just needed a spot of felt in the middle and a cone of felt around her nose. She’s very simple, but she would actually be a perfect toy for a small child as she is easily grab-able. When my kids were toddlers a favourite toy was a giraffe I made, they held it round it’s neck!

Dot the Dach

 

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Me Made May Monday

Posted on May 16, 2016 by craftycreeky

Well these weeks are flying by, we’re half way through May already  and two weeks into Me-Made-May and so far my wardrobe is holding up. I’ve managed to find at least one item to wear each day, if not the whole outfit!

The weather here in Yorkshire is still a bit on the changeable side, we’ve had some lovely warm days, but also some distinctly chilly days, so layering up is still the order of the day, the layers are just getting thinner!

Here’s a selection of the outfits I wore;

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This is a top I made last year, it was one of those prints that I wasn’t sure if I loved it or hated it, luckily I love it now! It goes nicely with my straight navy cotton skirt. The garden is colouring up nicely too, it’s always a nice moment when the weather improves enough for us to get the patio set out.

 

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Thursday night was WI night, I’m president of my Women’s Institute at the moment, so I do feel I have to make a slight effort with my appearance. As it was a lovely sunny evening I wore my chiffon Gabriola skirt, nice and swishy! It was a great evening as one of our older members has just got engaged for the first time so we opened a bottle of Prosecco or two!

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Another sunny day, I wore a top I made last year from a really soft batik, it buttons down the front matching the Fumeterre skirt I made in the spring.

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Today I was working, it’s chilly at 7am at the railway station! The hairstyle is what we call pacemaker hair at work, which means I’ve been wearing a theatre cap all day so it’s totally flattened!

This is my favourite Fumeterre skirt, I still haven’t worked out what kind of fabric it is but it drapes beautifully. This is an action shot in my new sewing room before I get cracking with a quilt that’s got to be finished for Saturday as it’s a present for my god-daughter who will be 18.

So that’s my week in clothes, how have you got on with Me Made May?

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The Great British Sewing Bee

Posted on May 15, 2016 by craftycreeky

p03tpm13I watch very little TV, I’m too busy sewing! However for the next few weeks I have an appointment with the TV on a Monday evening as The Great British Sewing Bee is back for it’s 4th series. It’s the sewing worlds equivalent of Great British Bake Off! Amateur sewers take on various challenges to be named Britain’s best home sewer.

There’s a big change this year as May Martin isn’t returning as judge, she was a lovely judge, always finding something positive to say, a bit like Darcy Bussell on Strictly Come Dancing. She does courses at Denman College, I’d love to go on one but they tend to book up really quickly! The good news is we still have the lovely Patrick, and a new judge to get to know.

With each series comes a book (of course!) I’ve got two of them, they’ve got various patterns in from the series.

I’ve decided this year I’m going to do my own Little Sewing Bee, I’m going to try and make at least one pattern from the books each week, or make something along the theme of the programme that week. It will get me back into clothes sewing as quilting has started to take over a bit and will hopefully push me out of my comfort zone occasionally.

Some weeks it might be something simple like a shell top, depending on how much time I’ve got, or something a bit more challenging like a pair of trousers!

Anyone fancy joining me on the Little Sewing Bee?

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The Grand Opening!

Posted on May 14, 2016 by craftycreeky

Sewing roomI’ve been enthusing about my new sewing room for a few weeks now, but I haven’t actually had the grand opening, the big reveal…I was hoping to get it finished and perfect before I showed it to the world, but a comment on facebook made me think…it’s never going to have that perfect finished look (you know, like the ones in magasines!) as I always have several projects in the go…and if I’m honest, I’m not a tidy person, I like everything to have it’s place…but it doesn’t always get put there! So it’s as tidy as it’s going to get, I even vacuumed the carpet for you!

My previous sewing room was small and perfectly formed, floor space actually wasn’t too bad, but it was under the eaves, so I could only stand up straight along a 3′ corridor, it also had no windows.

Sewing roomMy new room seems huge, though I’ve filled it with ease! I’ve also got two big windows, it makes such a difference to sew in natural light and to look out over to Arncliffe Crags. I painted it a soft shade of purple, I bought some decals on the internet with sewing words, the original plan was to have them as a single feature but I don’t actually have that much available wall space, I had a lightbulb moment about 2am one morning to put them around by the ceiling. I spaced them out and used my quilting ruler to get them reasonably straight.

Sewing roomI showed you my pegboard a few weeks ago, I’m really pleased with it. I now have a new addition too. The chocolate firescreen has moved and in it’s place I have a thread holder for my overlocker spools. I bought the standard thread holder from George on Ebay, I remembered it said on his page to contact him if different sizes were needed. I messaged him on the Friday giving him the dimensions of the spools and the space available, we had a few messages to check things, it was ready for the post on Monday and arrived that week, brilliant service and it works perfectly.

Sewing roomWhen I was planning my sewing room I was determined to have a cutting table. Before I would sew and cut out on the same table, so particularly with quilting I was forever lifting my machine down, dye cutter up, over-locker up….I bought some bed-raisers off Ebay to make the table more standing height, it also meant the Kallax shelving units from Ikea would just nicely fit underneath. I have scraps in one side and in the other it’s interfacing, lining, batting and wool. My little chest of drawers just nicely fitted between the legs too…Sewing RoomI

I painted a set of drawers I’ve had for years (from Ilea!) and changed the drawer knobs for vintage spools. Drawers were labelled with a silver pen. In time I want to paint them again as the finish isn’t great, but it will suffice for now.

Sewing RoomMy mini drawer unit has been reorganised so it’s mainly bag making stuff at the bottom and sewing stuff at the top. In case your wondering about the drawer named Pearl, the beady-eyed amongst you will spot a new addition to the stable, a vintage singer sewing machine (more about her later) and as any fan of Elkie Brooks will tell you, Pearl’s a Singer, so all my vintage singer stuff is in there!

Sewing roomMy fabric stash is all on the shelves under the workbench, I’d often seen on facebook where people had used comic boards to store their fabric, it took me ages to work out what comic boards were! In a local stationers I found sheets or corrugated card which could be cut in half to make two mini bolts about 6″ by 16″. Over a few weeks I bought his total stock and he’s not getting any more! I love my fabric shelves, it’s like having my own little shop! The 2m metal ruler on the workbench came from a friend of my OH, I’m planning to screw it to the bench, it’s very useful for a quick measure.

Sewing roomI’ve got a small desk for my computer and my mini ironing table fits nicely in a corner. I’ve got a bookshelf for all my sewing books, though I do need to sort out my magasines, they are getting a bit excessive! I also have a bookshelf with all my patterns on. I’m planning eventually to make fabric boxes to separate them on the  shelves.

I have great plans for the wall next to my sewing machine, I want a design wall for planning quilts. I’ve already asked my son (a plumber) to find me some insulation board.

I bought lots of storage boxes from TK Maxx in various sizes. I’ve got a bead box, a button box, a fat quarter box…and a box for each of my on going quilting projects! There’s several different designs, but I stuck to a peacock theme (I like the colours) so they all coordinate together.

I’m so happy with my new sewing room, I can (and do) spend hours in there, it’s everything I wanted for a perfect place to sit and sew.

My Sewing Room

 

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