Stitching News

Princess Jackie finished her quilt top.... (Rhubarb and Custard sweets, if you remember me liking the colours!) She's working on a fabulous backing now so it will be sandwiched very soon.

Christabelle is working on a few projects, all at the very same time...
This beautiful Bear project is a pattern from the Happy Quilts book

This is a closer shot... see how Chris in embellishing with her very own embroidery stitches, French Knots included... those flower centres have a piece of wadding under them to make them more phoooophy (it is a word! it must be, I wrote it loads of times!)

Elizabeth Hartman released a new pattern, Spectacular Savanna of course I ordered it. Pam was in my shop when the pattern delivery arrived... She was so excited. This is the giraffe in progress. It's all very clever. Pam had to use her noggin to concentrate. 

Jean Bean is quilting her Hound blocks individually. This pattern is also in the Happy Quilts book... it really is a great book... so many use-a-bubble patterns! Jean will join her blocks apartment-ly, such a popular method at the moment.

Stitching News...

New Sue is starting us off with a fabulous and almost finished project. It's another wonderful pattern from Elizabeth Hartman. Sue has used Moda Grunge fabrics for the Bunnies, see the binding clips... Sue is saving that job for TV sewing!

Obviously the quilt has been made for gifting to Abigail... What a lucky little (grand daughter) lady she is. A fabulous, almost finished, quilt... just the hand stitching on the binding to go... with fabulous quilting! a little toot toot because this quilt won't be coming back finished.

I'm not sure there are enough colours in this project, what do you think? ha ha ha
Norma loves every single Batik Fabric that she's used,  I think every one is her favourite. Each block has been quilted before being joined...

This is the other side of Norma's amazing Batik quilt, Actually, looking at it now, this is the front of the quilt, the previous photo is the back... ooooh hard to choose which is which actually, just a bit of hand sewing to go... it's nearly finished!

Annbacan is on the home straight with her apartment joined scrappy quilt.
All the little tiny thin strips are really effective and a riot of colour.
Again, each block has been quilted individually.

Norma has only to finish stitching her binding on the Batik quilt so she decided to save that job for home and started her next quilt. Charm Pack HSTs (Half Square Triangles) She's going to make 16-Patch blocks, quilt them then join them apartmently, with sashing.

Stitching News

This is another of the Bargello wall hanging quilts that was started on our recent workshop. Linda came back to choose her backing fabric. Isn't it a wonderful project. Every time I see a Bargello Quilt, it gives me goosebumps!

Luna Twearly has this fabulous finish to share with you. It was a tricky one to photograph with it being 3D. It's not an Angie's Trolley Cover... it's a Back of Luna's posh, comfy chair cover, all fitted to size! Isn't she clever...
Toot toot toot Luna, great job!

Sporty Sue finished her apartment joining. Then she realised she had made the project a bit long and narrow...  not wide enough needs a solution. I conjured (like came up with) a few ideas, lets see how brave Sue feels making her decision!! Just know... there won't be applique! ha ha ha

Jean (not Bean) laid out her braid progress on my white classroom tables, so we could have a think about her sashing fabric. See the table white showing through... Can you guess what happened?
I said... "ooooh Jean, look what happened here... won't it look fabulous if you add a pale grey fabric at the end of each strip... like where the table shows through?" She agreed, yeeeha. I can't wait to see it done.

Just a little reminder that there's a Sunday Funday Sewday coming up on the 23rd June.... have you remembered to book your place?

My Very Own Wedgie

My Mum Gwynneth mentioned that I haven't put anything on my blog about my very own sewing for a while...  not even what I was doing on our recent sewing retreat... So, today is Sandwich Saturday in my very own shop and I have booked my very own self a one hour slot for making this rather brightly coloured (!) Wedgie top into a quilting ready project!

Messenger Bag Workshop

Another Messenger Bag workshop... Saturday 8th June.
10am - 4pm £30.00 plus materials.
This is a free pattern available on the Makower UK website but Carol has added a few zipped pockets to it. Pop over to the  website using this link to get your free instructions or come for a fun day with Carol and learn extra, top tips while you make your very own Messenger Bag.

Stitching News

We're all back now from a wonderful and very relaxing, funny and highly productive retreat at Alison House Hotel, in Cromford Derbyshire. I truly really deeply cannot recommend this hotel highly enough. It was, once again, an absolutely brilliant retreat holiday!!! ABSOLUTELY!!!

Loads of projects were worked on and I did remember, once or twice, get a few pics...

Nuttie finished her Quilt-As-You-Go with apartment joining AND double sided binding. This has been made using shirts rescued from the 'throwing out' pile.

Toot toot toot Nuttie, it's a fabulous, double sided, finished quilt.

Just Edna also needs a loud fanfare for a fabulous and finished gifting quilt.
How cute are those ducks!!!

And this is the back...
Double sided quilts are the best!!
Toot toot toot Edna.

Longport Lynda finished a quilt too...
Toot toot toot Lynda, a fabulous and finished scrappy quilt.
Crumbs with Mile-A-Minute blocks all sashed with white.

PM Pam worked on her long list of Premature baby unit gifting quilts.
There will be two made in this design.

Norma finished joining her beautiful Batik blocks together then cracked on with quilting more of them as she's decided to make the quilt even larger. 

Maggie worked on a Hatched and Patched pattern.
There are lots of tricky bits just because they are so small really...
and some hand sewn parts too.

Nuttie worked on this wall hanging quilt.
It's from Table Please, an Art To Heart book.

Nuttie also had a go with Crumbing...
Then she went round scrounging everyone's scraps!! 

Our next Alison House Sewing Retreat is in September... Fully booked, as usual!

We can't get enough of it!

Stitching News

Carol finished this wonderful quilt top. The applique is a mixture of Moda Flannels and regular cottons plus there are lot's of embroidered embellishments to boot... makes it a very tactile project. The backing has been chosen and a sandwich making session is iminent.

Just for a quick fix... Carol decided to make a Bendy Bag with her pastel Kaffe... and a little zipper pouch made from the left over Bendy Bag triangles... That will only make sense if you've had the pleasure of making a Bendy Bag for your very own self. Toot toot toot Carol two very fast and fabulous finishes

What a palava it was to get this picture. Monday Sheila is making new festive cushions to keep for her very own self... for a rare change!! She wanted to show you the back and the front of the cushions at the very same time... Poor Longport Lynda's hair was all messed up when Sheila nearly fell on top of her... Laugh, oh yes we did! Anyway, toot toot toot Sheila, fabulous and finished and festive.

PM Pam finished yet another quilt. All those Half Square Triangles (HST's) were given to her... they are someone's left over, cut off bits!!! I know... some people throw good stuff out... how very wasteful... of course... not if you know a keen scrappy quilter... like our Pam!! Toot toot toot Pam another fabulous and finished gifting quilt.

An arty-farty picture of Longport Lynda's piles. 12" blocks all in the process of being individually quilted ready for apartment joining, probably whilst we are away on our upcoming retreat. Have I mentioned that to you??? ha ha

Princess Jackie had made lots of Flying Geese units for her borders and she decided to use them side by side, making the chevron pattern... do the colours remind you of those Rhubarb and Custard sweets we used to get years ago?? Well now... would you believe it... we can still buy them now... I just looked on Google... yum

All Day Di finished her quilting on this William Morris gifting quilt , made up her binding and got it all stitched on, it's now ready for hand sewing whilst away on our retreat... she has lots of projects to take, as do most of us.

Harry Potter Quilt

Farmer Lynda made this quilt for a very special person.
He requested a Harry Potter Quilt and boy did Lynda run with the idea!!! Hours on the internet looking for ideas she found a pattern and the seeds were set. As always we decided not to stick too rigidly to the original pattern...

 Harry Potter Quilt back... or front? This is a truly, double sided, fabulous and finished totally toot toot toot-a-bubble project... Well done Lynda, you made a wonderful gift.