Sunday 29 March 2020

Pam's Stitching News

This is my new way of gathering blog content. 
Lovely customers can send me pictures of what they are working on and I ask whether I can blog about them for you... to keep the fabulous and inspiring customer service that I have always tried to  provide! 

You've seen this quilt a couple of times on my blog during it's production, even when our Pam was sandwich making. It's a baby gifting quilt for a very keen gardener Mummy... Lovely and bright, fabulous and finished... thank you for the photo Pam, toot toot toot

Inspired by my beautiful Turtle quilt, Pam went to the Jennifer Jangles website  and downloaded her very own copy of the pattern... This was before the restrictions closed my lovely shop so Pam was able to pop in to purchase her chosen fabrics. How very different this turtle quilt will look compared to mine.
 I can't wait to see it finished...
OK, I guess I really can...
I will have to, ha ha ha

Please note that I always ask permission before sharing other peoples photos.

Saturday 28 March 2020

Turtles In Quilty Quarters

I'll have to blog more often, it's like writing to Dear Diary, ha.
The first 4 days have passed by very quickly so far, in my little safe-ish bubble at home. It's quite weird not going to my very own shop every day. So much time to please my very own self, in between helping the few with shopping and medical necessaries of course.
I've tried to keep to a sort of routine. 
It involves domestic and garden chores during mornings and for the afternoons, fun in my Quilty Quarters... adding a glass of wine to mark the evening shift, also spent in Quilty Quarters.
If you are home, I hope you have managed a good work / sewing imbalance too, ha ha ha.

I told you about our new baby boy arriving on Friday 13th, well... we were still away that day, on our sewing retreat. I had started making this quilt in the fabulous Garden Room with lots of lovely quilty ladies at our wonderful Alison House (seems ages ago now) 
At the time I didn't know what colour baby we were expecting so I figured turtles would be perfect, lots of green, neutral for either colour baby.
Now I'm locked up in my house, I've continued to work on baby's quit, I even sandwiched it on my floor. A few hours of free-motion quilting loopy-loops and straight-ish free-motion stitching round each turtle and all was done... just the hand stitching of the binding to do, it's only a small quilt so it won't take long. I'll be requesting my tooting fanfare soon.
Isn't it cute, so many googly eyes watching me sew!!
 Sea Turtle Friends pattern from here
I purchased my paper pattern from a shop in the UK a while ago... can't remember which one. There are lot's of patterns to download on this Jennifer Jangles website and lot's of little free projects to play with too.
See you later.... x

Hello Hello Hello...

Is there anybody out there??
I plugged in my perfectly purple camera, just to see whether I took any project pictures before the rules completely changed.
Happily I did, so I'll share them with you... I haven't cropped them too much so we get to see little bits of my shop as well. Not having been there for ages, since Monday in fact, I thought this would help me, if not you... ha!
Rose's beautiful Batik quilt. Fabulous and finished and extremely toot toot toot-a-bubble, don't you think? Rose made this as a wedding gift. The circular designs to reflect the wedding rings and marriage and all the hearts, obviously, to reflect the meaning and the reason for the wedding. There are little kisses (crosses) hand stitched for embelishment too. All beautifully finished with delicious Faux Piped Binding.

The is the back, all Rose's extra bits used up, as we do a lot in these here parts. The lovely quilt finished in good time for gifting... Except the wedding plans might well have been scuppered, or at least delayed a bit. I don't really know. Either way... Rose is ready for when we get back to our new normal. Toot toot toot Rose, a truly fabulous and finished gifting one day Quilt. toot toot toot, let me hear you!!!

Shirley is a new addict. She made a beginner cushion recently and found her very own self completely absorbed and infected, with the Quilting Virus not that other blooming one! Project number two now completed, the brilliant and very popular, Quick Table Topper. It's a fabulous and finished project, toot toot toot.

Kate was very much enjoying working on this black and white project...
I can see why, none of those junctions need to match up! Perfect...
I hope Our Naughty Norma sees this!! ha ha ha
It's like a beautifully built brick wall eh.

Longport Lynda is still trying to use up her left over red fabrics from making the huge red and grey quilt AND the large dog quilt... I think this is just about the last red project she'll make for a while. Well... it's the last one we will be seeing for a while. Toot toot toot, it's still a fabulous finish!
I do hope you are all well and finding time to sew while we are doing as we are told and staying home. xx

Sunday 22 March 2020

My Lovely Shop

Closed until further notice from the government.
Once the dust settles in my world...
I'll get back to blogging... just for your entertainment.

Saturday 21 March 2020

New Rules

Good Morning....
If you have booked any Saturday workshops, 
or any weekday classes, 
Please, please would you contact me,
before you come to check on the situation... 
Most workshops have had to be postponed.

Angie, Me, my shop telephone number...  
07807530441



My shop is open and will stay open while it is allowed to be.
We can all keep our safe distance from each other to purchase supplies.
We could limit to one customer at a time...  if needs be.

I'm doing my level best to help you with your fabric and project choosing.
You all know that choosing for a new project is tricky, making those big decisions, especially with all the choice in my shop!! ha
If you could please try to choose your pattern/project and work out how much fabric you think you will need before you come to my shop, Most patterns give you guidelines on amounts... it will speed up the process and you will be out of my door as fast as possible.
I only have one brain for all those mathemisms and it's a bit fried at the moment... 
I love that you all want to stay safe and sew... we know it helps our sanity already....
I struggle to concentrate with lots of you waiting for my creative juices at the very same time... and if you 'tut' ..I hear you.
I am not a robot fabric calculator, he he he.


Who knows what we'll have to do? 

I know I don't!
Keep sewing and STAY SAFE xx

I will need to go on another retreat after all this! 
Now there's a great idea eh!

Friday 20 March 2020

On A Happy Note...

Baby Anders was delivered safe and well on Friday 13th March
Nangie now has one of each colour, quite content with that!
Little Faye loves him
, of course... she's 2 next week.
My Lilly does bake them well!!! 
Quilts are planned.

Thursday 19 March 2020

Open For Business

My shop will keep opening daily. 
Normal hours, 9:30am to 4:30pm
If you are going to be home isolating for a few weeks...
Allow me help... 

Let me keep you stitching!!

I have more new fabric deliveries due in today... 

Two big boxes came on Monday!!
I received a big box of new quilting and bag making books too.
Yippeeeee... 

How's that for temptation? Wooops I meant inspiration!!! 

Thursday 12 March 2020

Retreat Time

My shop is closed now until Monday 16th March when all things 'normal' will resume.
We are away having a fabulous time on our Annual March Quilting Retreat at Alison house The link will take you to our 2019 retreat post... I am hoping we will be doing more of the same!!
See you on the other side. xx

Sandwiches

Sandwich Saturdays are a very popular service I offer. 
Here are a few pictures of freshly made sandwiches in my very own classroom... 





What is a Sandwich Saturday?
It's a day when we push the tables together in the classroom so that you can pin (sandwich) the 3 layers of your quilt together, no matter how large or small it is, without having to crawl around on the floor and without having to spoil your best dining table with pin and tape marks!
We like to book sessions in 1 hour slots, between 10am - 2pm, booking is most definitely required.
You can also use the tables to lay out the blocks you've made to decide on settings, or to see how many more blocks you need or... even better... to help you choose fabrics from my very own Shop!


Monday 9 March 2020

Stitching News


Gail started a new adventure. She made practice Snail Trails and a Star block, which has quite a few different names depending on which block book you use... They didn't prove to be too tricky so, I think Gail has decided to go for it. We changed the sizes of the blocks so as to end up with a slightly smaller quilt without losing the design... It's Shakespeare In The Park!! This quilt has been on my To Do list for ages, I purchased the book at least 15 years ago... It was a start!.

You won't find this project in a book!!
Merrily is off on another personalised quilt making journey. A few weeks ago, she brought in a fabric panel purchased by her daughter from 'Down Under'... How can I make this into a quilt?.. Oh that question... ha... It's how they all start!!! We had a Brainstorming session. Merrily went home with her head buzzing with good ideas. One week later and a few button pressings on her printer... she had a 'proper' plan... here we go!


Farmer Lynda has been working on this beautiful Batik project for quite a while. It's been Lynda's 'betweeny' project. The one she works on in between all the other projects. The one she stitches during retreats too. The borders are on and isn't it just fabulous. Sandwich time.

Our Carol enjoyed Jenny's Fabric Covered Book workshop recently. She continued book covering in class on the Monday after... I think she is going to cover every book from now on. Can you guess which book is for the sewing notes?

Christabelle is quilting...to get the effect she desires, all these threads need to be sorted! It's one of those No Pain No Gain things. It would drive me nuts! I have to tie of ends as I go but Chris saves them up and sorts them in bundles... How do you work with ends and tying off?

Sunday 8 March 2020

Beginner Cushion

This cushion belongs to a very happy Lisa.
She's been itching to get to a Beginner Workshop
and now she's taken the leap....

She rather impressed her very own self with a fabulous covered zip too. All ingredients have been purchased to make another Patchwork Cushion in readiness for Mothers Day gifting. It's a fabulous and finished project too... toot toot toot Lisa.

Thursday 5 March 2020

Stitching News

Just Edna is very pleased with her Hunters Star quilt progress, and rightly so, all pointy points are pointy pointy in the right place. All the bits were cut with one of those machines.

Jean Bean has entered this, so far unfinished, quilt into the Uttoxeter Quilt show... she will finish is now that she's given herself a little added pressure... she works well with a bit of pressure!

New Sue is on a finishing spree. She has a few experimental started projects... Number one quilt top is now finished and she has no idea why she had put it on one side as she really likes it... as do I!! we quilters do the strangest things! 

PM Pam finished her top ... another baby gifting quilt made for a gardening enthusiast who is expecting a little bundle...

All the left over fabrics have been carefully incorporated to make a co-ordinating back for the quilt. All ready for sandwiching... ( I'm a bit late posting this picture as Pam is already quilting it)

Enid finished her applique Blanket Stitching... I think we set the cat amongst the pigeons as we had Enid try a Juki DX 7... she loved it, with it's Hover Foot and single Blanket Stitch... it was a dream to play with.

All Day Di was chuffed with her corner stones... they were needed with the border strips not being quite long enough without joining them, don't ask!... It's turned out great, better than Di's original plan in fact... which is a relief!

Shirley wanted to make the Quick Table Topper... a long standing favourite in my very own shop... Bright and spring-like colours was the brief and I think she nailed it. A sandwich was made and the Ditch-Hopping commenced... not much hopping for Shirley, she is a great straight ditch stitcher!

Jean Hill collected her Braid quilt from Amanda in Stone... It's been Long-Armed! Jean is thrilled with the way it turned out and thrilled that her shoulders have not suffered at all! She's going to add some Faux Piped Binding... not that she wanted to in the beginning, he he he.

Sunday 1 March 2020

Walking Art

Lots of ladies are getting their Scrap Fabric Aprons ready. 
You will see them walking their art around the quilts at Uttoxeter Quilt Show while doing the very important job of guarding the exhibition quilts. They will also be wearing their white gloves and halos. Not long now!


Fabric Covered Notebooks Workshop

It was a lovely day, as usual. Everyone went home with heads buzzing with new crafting ideas.
All the ladies covered two notebooks each with different methods of construction and finishing off. 




Below are a few of Jenny's very own Fabric Covered Notebooks...
To make them with all the extra detail would be nigh on impossible during a one-day workshop. There are many hours of work involved, what with all the hand stitching and embellishing.
But the ladies went home all fired up and with arty farty thoughts, ha!

We are trying to match up our diaries for another Fabric Covered Notebook workshop in the near future. 
Also there will be a workshop to make an Arty-Farty Fabric Folder Workshop... I'm rather excited about that!