Stitching & Lace & News

All Day Di has musical chums...the perfect fabric had been collected, time to make the gifting cushions... Di's first chosen design wasn't doing it... whatever IT is... but this second choice was a big hit... Di was happy... all the parts were cut out perfectly (eventually!) it just needs to be sewn together now...
You know.... when we give these stitched gifts to folk... there's no way they can know just how much of us we put into making them is there?...

Farmer Lynda loves Fairies and was delighted to find a kit with everything she needed for a Fairy Quilt... except that she decided to change the shape and the block sizes... we (I) calculated that she had just enough fabric for the new changed design... all was well again... except that I cut some of the fabric strips the wrong size... whilst trying to help!!!! oh my goodness, how red can one face go???? Another plan was hatched!!! 

Dilly popped in to purchase a little more fabric... This 'smaller project' is now going to be a larger quilt... this lady has size issues!!! She promises her very own self... No More Large Quilts for a while... and then she loves a design and can't help her very own self... ha ha ha,
Go for it Dilly!! It needs to be finished for Uttoxeter Quilt Show 2017

My Mum Gwynneth started a Lace Making Group in June, you might very well have seen it advertised in my Workshop list? It's mostly the last Wednesday of each month? Lace Making looks very tricky (especially to me I have to say) but Mum assures me that it is quite easy, you only ever use two pairs of bobbins, that's only 4 at a time... out of that pile of hundreds... If you make lace and you would like to join the group for social Lace Making, email for more details angiequilts@gmail.com ... If you are a complete beginner we could sort out a class or two to get you going.

And, as it's August on Monday, I thought you might like to know that our Annual Pilgrimage to the Festival Of Quilts at the NEC in Birmingham, is on track... the tickets have arrived in good time. The coach is paid for and, I'm guessing they are polishing it for us at this very moment!!! I'm getting exxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxcited!!!

Stitching News

Just Edna has had a busy time away in her caravan, she's been stitching! 
You might well think that she made two quilts, but no, it's one lovely, double sided playmat/quilt. 
What a fun fabric... colourful and very different...
a bit too lovely to be cut up... it's a perfect quilt back, or front... and Edna's quilting?

See now... here's the other side, colour co-ordinated to the front/back and the back/front... ha ha ha. Pinwheels galore and the quilting looks great doesn't it!! Toot toot toot Just Edna... for your fabulous and finished, quirkily-quilted, play mat 

This project has been a rollercoaster ride for Lady Judith... and my very good self I have to say... I thought it would never get done. The kaleidoscope blocks were made at one of the very first Stack-n-Whack workshops I did, about 4 years ago and Judith has had us math-emising ever since!! Just borders to be added now and a sandwich can be made... the finish is in sight! Judith has made about a thousand quilts in the meantime too... boy does she have Staying Power!!!

This photo was sent to me from one of the ladies who did the Beginners Cushion, A taster day for beginners, workshop recently... she writes....

"I followed your cushion pattern on a bigger scale and with a little help on binding from your website I have now finished my first ever quilt. I'm really pleased with it and more importantly I enjoyed every minute!! Thanks again for all the great tips!! Karen 

I sigh and smile proudly!!!!

Toot toot toot Karen... that is a fabulous and finished quilt!!!

Block Of The Month Pictures

Stitching News

Josie's back fresh from her travels and must be thinking of seaside memories as she was very keen to get her nautical cushion finished... to add to her mini collection of nautical cushions! Those tiny half square triangles (HST's) look great don't they! The blue and white spot will become the back of the cushion... using my very easy method of inserting a covered zip 

Our Peggy couldn't decide what to make next and as she pondered over a few ideas with Jenny Barlaston... Suddenly, she pointed to Jenny's apron and declared... "I want to make that! An apron just like yours..." So, one Moda Charm pack later.... here it is.

Carol was stitching away when I noticed that she was using her new Sewing Machine Desk Tidy, the one that will be a workshop in October... I thought you might like to see it in all of it's splendor so I snapped this picture while Carol was away, pressing seams... and... Wow, see the chair, how fabulous and co-ordinated it is, ha ha ha

Our Sheila is playing with Beautiful Batiks again... applique this time, quilt as you go style... Aren't the blocks lovely... each one will be finished as a  wall hanging with little hanging sleeves stitched in place... the decorative hangers have been purchased too... from my very own shop... I have loads of different ones t choose from.

I know you are not all from these here parts, that's Staffordshire in the United Kingdom... Blogger tells me you might be in Brazil or Russia or Canada ... but if you are local enough, or at least close enough to visit... I hope you will and I hope you notice my very tidy fabrics... it's only taken me a week to tidy up the mess I made last week while trying to better display Christmas fabrics!!!  oh how I ache... but you're all worth it... I do it for you you know!!!

Sporty Sue's Quilt

Wow!
Sporty Sue found the pattern for this stunning quilt on Craftsy...
The circles are appliqued in place using a double needle...
Before we knew that though, we thought Sue had extremely accurately stitched two rows of straight line stitching, perfectly and amazingly, the same distance apart around each and every circle... what a very smart idea to do two rows of stitching at the very same time... We should ponder that for more projects me thinks...
The fabrics are Little Black Dress 2 from Moda... how very elegant they are too.

The back rather fabulously, uses up all the leftover fabrics, including a Charm pack, and shows up Sue's lovely quilting... Can you see it?
So, toot toot toot fanfares are required for Sue's fabulous and finished, elegant and sophisticated patchwork quilt

Stitching News

You will need your trumpet!!

 Fran Cupcake's lovely vintage-y quilt, fabulous and finished... you know what that means... It's toot toot toot, fanfare time!!! Fran is donating her lovely quilt to a hospice. She was so pleased to see all the beds/people there had quilts and we quilters do feel we can express our gratitude and appreciation by giving quilts!!

And the sands of time have begin to trickle through Jean Bean's fingers...
 she's gone into a higher gear... she says she works best under a little time pressure and boy does she get a move on when she needs to... side setting triangles, corner triangles, lots of sashing strips and corner stones... they are all in place! 
This gifting quilt might very well be finished on time!

New Sue,  almost at the end of day, when we were all just about ready to melt! spied the opportunity to use lots of tables to make big decisions... which block go where? and how many more sashing strips and corner stones to cut... and biggest of all... 
Do I have enough fabric?

PM Pam is having a lot of fun making these blocks. They are from the book A Year In The Life Of Sunbonnet Sue by Chris Porter and there are lots of quirky little elements to the designs.Each fabric carefully chosen... yes, Pam arrived with a list of fabrics that she 'needed'... we found them all in my very own shop!

The is what Princess Jackie was doing all day... Cockerels... oh those colours!! Jackie says she loves to tie off all those ends while suffering the TV of an evening... proof that we too could learn to love doing it if we did enough tying off and threading through... ewwwwk!

Oooooh... something a little different now, from our Tuesday Rose...
Giant Wedding Rings that look like eyes!! This is looking like one very lick-etty-split quilt to make... It only needs four blocks.... I will keep you posted as it happens... if I can keep up with Rose.

Toot Toot Toot

Or... maybe... a hoo-hoot hoo-hoot hoot fanfare would be more appropriate... Lou Lou sent in this photo of her fabulous and finished Owlie quilt. Made as a most lovely gift for a baby shower during Friday Quilt Club days.
The binding stitched and finished at mid-night the day before the quilt was going to be gifted!!! Does that ever happen to you... sometimes these thing go down to the wire!!!
Such a wonderful gift, when the new baby sees it... he or she will be thrilled, I am sure of that.
Well done Loulou!

Stitching News With Tooting

Our Sheila's fabulous and finished quilt toot toot toot
Made with scraps from her main Batik Beauty... if you don't remember it here it is

There were a few scraps left for a panel to be added to the backing as well making the whole thing co-ordinate perfectly... and it feels wonderful to boot! Toot toot toot-etty-toot Sheila, a fabulous finish, fit for a fanfare for sure

LouLou finished her two cushions toot toot toot...You don't have to be a beginner to love making these lovelies...With beautiful soft and luxurious Art Gallery fabrics and the covered zips on the backs they are completely fabulous!

Margaret will require two, toot toot toot fanfares with, no less than, Two fabulous and finished cushions. The centre is a panel purchased from who know where on tinterweb but we made it look Great as a cushion didn't we!!! 

This is number two cushion for Margaret... made with panels from the Makower range. This was a little trickier to deal with it starting off as Rectangles... both of These fabulous and finished cushions will be gifted.

Norma finished her beginner cushion, complete with a covered zipped back and already planned to make another to co-ordinate with it... toot toot toot Norma... your first fabulous finish!!

Princess Jackie will be quilting for a while now as she made two quilt sandwiches at the very same time... babies are popping up all over the place!!!

Princess Jackie's second sandwich... you're probably thinking that Jackie never sleeps? It doesn't seem much more than a week since the pattern for this cutest of cute projects arrived in the post and now it's almost done!!

Claire Sainsbury's popped onto the Moda Bakeshop Website, put Jelly Roll into the search thing and chose this great design... it was super quick to make too, so it might be ready for this coming Christmas... but I have nothing in writing!!!

Sporty Sue spent her day quilting with the Big Stitch and Perle method... A very relaxing day with all conversation leading to giggles... as usually happens when a group of stitchers spend a day together.

I Am A Fool!!!!

Yesterday,
oh my goodness...
I made a big mess of my very own shop... 
I was trying to find a space for the Christmas Themed fabrics to sit on a shelf, or two or three and then four and then 5 so that you would be able to see them better, to help you with your choosing dilemmas.
Anyway... How on earth did I get so many fabulous festive fabrics??? 
Now the purples have nowhere to be, and there's no room for the greens and those browns and beautiful beige fabrics might have to move... 
oh my goodness!!!... 
The Festives are back in trolleys, piled high... temporarily!
The purples are all over the table...
The neutrals have nowhere to be... they are all around the corner, by the wadding...
If you come to my shop today you will probably think I've gone nuts...
It's A proper Blooming MESS!!! 
and I know I am the only one to blame
I did it all by my very own self!!!

But... I reorganized all of my Moda Bella Solids... they look A-Ma-Zing!!! ha ha ha

Stitching News

Rose says she has been "Free-Wheeling"... after our workshop on Free-Motion quilting she has the bug and she's decided that It IS fun to do... you have to practice through play... but we knew that really. This quilt was made with Half Square Triangles (HST's) Two Charm Packs with the addition of Moda Bella Solid fabric for the background... it's the clever placement of the light and dark fabrics that gives the great design and Rose's quilting sets it all off

Toot toot toot Rose, your quilt is fabulous and finished!

Princess Jackie's quilt is looking extremely cute. When she held it up, the" Oooh's" and "Awww's" must have been heard over many miles, I'm sure... Made with a wonderfully cute pattern from Oz... it's from here (though I find the website a little tricky, others have succeeded) Of course Jackie's our 1st prize winning applique quilter, so her fabric choices and stitching are what makes it  absolutely fabulous.

Pam is making a Sun Bonnet Sue quilt... how cute is she? This Sue is on a board a ship and must be having a marvelous time with all that sunshine and luscious, blue sea.. I'm thinking... it must be a 'furrin' cruise... The clue?... It's not grey enough for a UK holiday! ha ha ha 

Finishes For Fanfares

Two of the ladies who came to the Quilted Cushion, a taster day for beginners, workshop last Saturday sent me a couple of pictures to show us what their cushions look like, complete with pad inside... I think they deserve a toot toot toot fanfare each, don't you?... after all the cushions are fabulous and finished

  

Stitching News

Toot tooooot-toot-etty-toooooooot
Margaret's fabulous and finished Noah Quilt
Absolutely spot on... a new grandbaby came recently... he's also called Noah
A perfect combination!

Jeannette Dilly was very smart and cunning... she chose to use a Moda Ombre Grey fabric for her blocks... it looks like she purchased at least 49 different shades of grey!!! ha ha ha... bet you thought I would say 50?

Carol finished her lovely, quilted, sewing station tidy mat... complete with pockets. A fanfare is needed. toot toot toot... She made a little thread catcher and a pin cushion with some of the bits of fabric she had left over. The pattern for this Sewing Machine Desk Tidy was in a magazine recently and some of the other ladies have asked Carol to run a workshop so they can make one too.

The first Mat requires lots of bits of fabric so Carol made another using just the three so it will work out more economical... darn it!!! ha ha ha, I am a quilt shop and we keep trying to save you money!!!... the workshop will be on Saturday 8th October and, which ever one you choose to make I am sure you will find it very useful... and your sewing machine will look very smart!