Hand sewing

I have been doing some work but haven't had much time to get to the computer and post. Here is the cushion I hand quilted in the car while travelling last weekend to an old friend's birthday party.. we drove over 470 miles in all!

I am looking at the bright green linen as a backing, and perhaps to bind the edges.

I am also working on my Journal quilts that need completing by the end of the month,

These need quilting, trimming and edges neatened.

Cat at rest.

Cat cooling off, it's hot lying on a quilt!

 

Cat with arm over eyes to block out the light...

Quilt stack

I stacked up a pile of quilts as part of my tidying up for the grandchildren's visit. there are at least 15 in the stack and another two on beds; there's one over the sofa and another lurking behind it waiting to be hand quilted which I only do in very small doses. There are another 5 over the bannister rail. Also three tops made recently that haven't been quilted yet.
I've been thinking about this because a student asked me how many I had made...



Then there are another 5 each in my daughters houses and and 5 more at least in my sister-in-law Pat's as she gathered up ones I had made for my Parents. There are two in the villa in Spain. My nephews have one each. there are various baby quilts too, oh and four made for daughters friends. One for John's dad I made when he went into a residential home which he wouldn't use in case he spoilt it so it lived in the wardrobe...

I also made 8 raffle quilts over the first few years we lived in Norfolk to raise funds for the local church.
And I sold a quilt!!

It's difficult to keep track, and this is only the big quilts, it doesn't take account of small stuff, journal quilts and experimental contemporary pieces.

Tarts

Leek and cheese tarts.

Had to make something for a party at the weekend. Last time I made these little cheese and leek tarts they were really difficult to get out of the tin so this time I laid strips of silicon paper across and it worked brilliantly, they lifted out with no trouble at all!

Off to quilt group now to sew up my little trianges and cut some kits for tomorrow's class at Fleggburgh.

Another Top Done Two!

Here is my Serpentine Curves top together at last. I've been working on this for a while. It is more difficult than I thought getting the blocks together as there are issues with which way the turnings need to be pressed so that they nest and make a flatter top; and the edges of the block are stretchy...

Serpentine Curves

I have turned it round and quite like it this way up.
I thought I was making a rectangular quilt but hey ho! it turned out square again.. weird that I always seem to be making square quilts. The blocks are about 7" so now I need to decide: Do I need it any bigger? are borders needed?

I've also had a play with my winning fabrics Houses Drift. These are softly coloured, what is sometimes known among Modern quilters as Low Volume fabrics. I cut some 5" squares and made half square triangles and made about a dozen different arrangements. I added in some soft pink hand dye and this is the arrangement I like best:

ZigZag

It isn't square!

Another top done!

I finished the Plusses quilt top this morning before setting off to Quilt group. I think it will look stunning when it's been long arm quilted.



















At quilt group Linda showed her Cowboy Boots quilt which her son took to the states and got quilted for £35, just a stars and loops panto, but great to get it done.

Then when I got home there was an email from Jenny with a picture of the block she has made for her Sampler quilt, following on from the Rattlesnake class I taught. She had to  reduce the size of the pattern to make the block fit her scheme. It looks really good on point, and I love it when students take the technique and go off and do their own thing!

Just the label to do..

Here is the quilt I've been working on to celebrate a friend's wedding.
The pattern is called Winding Ways and I love making it with lots of fabrics so that the mediums interfere somewhat with the continuity of the big dark and light circles and make them seem to move. It gives the quilt surface so much more interest.
On the off chance this is a bit bright for the bedroom, the reverse is a lovely soft pink dot which shows up the quilting by my friend Mandy Parks to perfection.