Checking in . .

now I know I was put on this earth to sew so how come I have to spend so much of my time doing other stuff - lol ! This is a catch up post as I've been doing a bit here and there

First off the batik quilt got quilted and bound and was posted off to my friend Jacqui for her birthday. I have not heard if she likes it yet as I'm pretty sure they are away on holiday. Hopefully I will find out this week. I used a new thread to quilt it - a madeira one in lovely turquoise blue. It behaved beautifully and I really like how it looked.

Next up I made a bag. I've come across some blogs that mentioned the use of selvedges. I had so much fun going through my fabrics and cutting off the selvedges. Inspiration came from this blog - . I think I could become addicted to using this little strips that I would normally throw away. I think my bag is very cool if I say so myself. I had a ball making this - my daughter says I need to get out more - lol !

I'm also involved in several upcoming swaps so have got started on one of them. I'm liking this so far - needs to be a bit bigger. One of the new ladies in my quilting group loves this and said how gorgeous it would be if there were about 11 more of them made into a quilt. I am not listening ! I am not starting any more big quilts.

More hexagons too. This is my evening project.

I have been having a few migraines lately and in desperation went to my doctor as they have been very severe. I normally grin and bear them. He has put me on some preventative medication which seems to be doing the trick but is making me sooo tired. I'm in bed before the kids some nights. Things should settle down soon I hope - I'm wasting too much time yawning and mooching about.

I'm making good progress on a UFO and have the finish line in sight on that one. We have a new bed on order and you can't have a new bed without a new quilt can you ? Trouble is it is being delivered rather sooner than I'd expected so I'll have to get a wiggle on.

Have fun

Finally...

here are the last of my pictures from the quilt show. Then I'll leave you in peace - lol ! Hopefully you will see something to inspire you or start the old cogs working. . .

As for my own sewing I am flitting back and forth from one thing to another making little progress on anything. Hopefully I will settle down soon and may actually have pictures to show.

One funny thing I must share. Some of you may know my husband is a computer geek and we shared a room. One half for my sewing table etc and the other half for him and his pc's, printers and god knows what else. Anyway we were outgrowing our space - especially on my behalf if the truth be known - stash building and all that. Anyway something had to give as we were getting more crowded. As all his stuff is wired up and networked it was easier ( ? ) to move my paraphenalia upstairs to a corner of our bedroom. I actually have more room up there and better light but that hasn't stopped me saying repeatedly " I can't believe you've chucked me out of my sewing room " - lol ! Anyway the other morning he was sitting on the end of our bed putting on his socks. He seemed to be having some difficulty and was fiddling about for ages - straightening his toe section etc. " What on earth are you doing ?" says I " you're making a proper meal of that ". More fiddling and faffing ensued before he eventually gave in and removed his sock to reveal - - - - a small scrap half square triangle wedged between his toes. Laugh ? I nearly fell off the bed...

Have a great weekend.

More from the Quilt Show

Whilst I've got a free half hour I'll show you some more of the quilts that took my fancy or that were interesting. Here goes ... photos should be clickable for a better look.

Seeing as I have a current obsession with hexagons I had to snap this one. It was huge and very well sewn. It was long-arm quilted in such a way that it did not detract from the pattern. I think most hexagon quilts I have seen have been hand quilted.

I love log cabin and I love blue so this one was great in my book. I got talking to the lady who made this and she told me it is for a friend who has ovarian cancer. She also flipped it over to show us the back of the quilt.

More log cabins but completely different. Very subtle and quite beautiful. I think made for a Golden Wedding hence the double wedding ring blocks in the centre.

This was so lovely and the hand-quilting was fantastic. This is definitely one where the photo does not do it justice.

Gorgeous and very rich colours. Again beautiful hand-quilting.

As I'm running out of time I'll just show the rest of the photos. Sure you don't want me waffling on anyway - lol !!

I have a few more but have to dash. See you soon xx

Catch Up !

No I haven't fell off the face of the earth just catching my breath !

First of all a big thanks to Angela. When I thanked her fot the beautiful kitty postcards I mentioned that I would have to keep my eye on them because Patrick loved them so much. A couple of days later guess what arrived....

One for his very own. The look on his face was priceless. It now has pride of place with his football trophys and medals. I wanted to get his picture with it but everytime I think about it he is at school and if I don't update my blog today not sure when I'll get time. Patrick started High School this time and he was very nervous but so far, so good. He seems to be settling in well - a few tears were shed the first morning. Not by him but by me - lol !! He just looked so grown-up in his shirt and tie..

Anyway I have done a bit of sewing. Started something new..

and a bit of knitting..

I went to the Great Northern Quilt Show on Sunday and have lots of photos to share. Will do them over a couple of posts. Although the show has shrunk in recent years there was still plenty of quilts to drool over. I also spent some cash on a few must-haves.

Hanging in all their glory were 2 quilts by a fully-fledged member of Blogland - Karol-Ann. We had hoped to arrange a little meeting this year but unfortunately it was not to be. Here are the quilts. Absolutely beautiful ! Well done Karol-Ann.

Seeing these has made me vow to try and enter one myself next year. I have never done so before and I think this show needs all the support it can get.

Here are a few more that caught my eye..

This was absolutely tiny - maybe 6 inches square ?



I almost got arrested shoving this one in my bag - lol ! I LOVED this..

This one being closely inspected by my friend Sue ( known by my family as Sunbonnet Sue - lol )

won lots of awards incuded Best of Show. Amazing hand-quilting !

These are a couple from the Fuschia Challenge. There was a whole wall of these and they were all beautiful and SO different.

This was a real stunner and so well made.

Oh how I loved this. Kept drawing my eyes back again and again. One of these is on my to-do list someday . .

more in next post..