I just need to make the keyring.
I actually messed up a bit- I’ve cut the points off the ribbon star when sewing the lining in and I was going to put an internal pocket in and totally forgot.
I’ve deliberately blurred out the bottom right as it will give away the recipient. I like the block though and I like the quilting- I was going to have a go at quilting Paisley but it always turns out as swirls, which still look good.
Just a quick post today to let you know about the Scrap Vomit swap just in case you want to sign up. If you’ve seen Katy’s scrap vomit quilt then you will know that the main block is made up from a grid of 7×7 2.5″ squares (2″ finished size). Angie at Gnome Angel has organised a Swapbot swap for 49 squares- i.e. a block’s worth- that’s open internationally, but she does have an Australia only one too. The last day for sign ups is in 9 days time, 22nd September.
I’ve joined the international one as I’m a Swapbot user anyway and it means that come payday the one treat I will allow myself this month (Austerity measures!) is the 2.5″ quilting die from Sizzix for my Big Shot that I’ve had for a couple of years now. It will be my first quilting die as opposed to the standard paper/felt cutting ones so I’m looking forward to giving it a go and taming the scrap drawer! I think I’m going to make mine a postage stamp quilt with blocks alternated with solids though. Looking forward to a bit of simple piecing!
This morning before work I went to the sorting office to collect a parcel. I hoped it was my mini quilt from Brit Quilt Swap 3 but when it was handed over it felt like sticks of dynamite and was in an unassuming cylindrical shape with a label saying it was from an architects in Scotland. Puzzled, I drove into work and opened it at my desk. Despite being misleading to look at, I had got my quilt from Jeanette (Hobby lass on Flickr)!
I’d been watching the group and all of these mini quilts that I liked and was hoping were for me one by one went to different people. I really wanted one with a picture, rather than the sort of mini quilt that I had made as that’s more my thing and I planned to hang it on the wall. Luckily for me, I hadn’t realised that there was another pictorial quilt in the works as Jeanette hadn’t posted WIP pictures, so it was a really nice surprise when it arrived!
I opened it at work so I didn’t have my camera on me, so please excuse the phone photos…
I’m really happy with it, it’s very me and I really like the applique leaves and the button eyes! I have chocolate too but who knows how long that will last on my desk!
Thank you Jeanette!!!
I still have two spots left on the borders bee! Read this post for more information if you’re looking to join a UK quilting bee. So far our members are me, Gina, Wendy, Marie and Nan.
If a bee is too much commitment, then you might be interested in a swap. The Brit Quilt group has started up again and round 3 is a mini quilt round. If you fancy a secret swap and want to make a 12-24″ square mini quilt, get signed up ASAP. Here’s the link to the group.
And this is my mosaic for my lovely secret swapper to get an idea of what I like!
And of course a blog post wouldn’t be complete without a WIP picture, I am doing another secret swap and if I show too much the person who it is for will know I’m her partner so it’s just a sneak peek of a sketch that is going to be transfered to a useful homeware item 😉
I decided at the end of last week to enter this year’s Festival of Quilts in the Pictorial category. I’ve never entered a quilt competition before (you could say I’ve never made a quilt without flaws too) and I’ve also never made a pictorial quilt which makes this decision slightly crackers, but nevertheless it gave me an excuse to start on an art quilt that I’ve wanted to do for a few weeks (see this post for when the urge started!). It will be amazing to see my work on display with all the other fantastic pieces!
Here’s what I’ve done so far… I made an image map from the photo on the wall and then made freezer paper templates over the top before pressing, cutting and sticking… (starting on Fletcher first):
HOWEVER I am going to be a bit short on tonal brown fabrics for Penny – though I have lots of fabrics that a re largely brown, they have too many other colours in with them- and being a bit strapped for cash I’m going to have to not buy new. The fabrics I have used so far are already in my stash or scrap box. So, this is where the second round of Lucy’s Fugly Fabric Party comes in (OK so it technically doesn’t start for another 4 days but I like being early to the party, and it will still continue over that time, so there :P)
Have you got some browns that I can have? I don’t need a lot- up to a fat quarter size of a couple of different styles in a few shades is all- in fact charm squares are probably going to be just fine for some parts. Ugly is fine as long as they’re brown, so break out your icky batiks, solids, fossil ferns, marbles, etc and send me them! In return I can offer you an equal amount of colourful and pretty fabric scraps, charm squares (including spare Pezzy Print) and FQs, or a couple of pounds if you prefer, just drop me an e-mail (kerry_l_wilkinson(AT!)hotmail.com) and we’ll go from there.
If you want to see how I’m progressing with the doggy quilt, I will be uploading pictures to Flickr (little box over there –> ) rather than updating here all the time and boring people who aren’t actually interested…
Thanks for your help!
P.S. Would making a pictorial quilt in this way be of interest to you as a sewalong later in the year?
Since Jen posted this on the Flickr group pool I had an inkling it was for me. There have been another couple of hedgehoggy themed pouches, but I just had a feeling! I also really really wanted it to be mine, and it is, hurrah!
It’s double sided so we have a hedgehog on one side…
And a fox on the other- and it’s got a lovely hedgehog lining and I got some AWESOME scraps. Sullivan- who knows a lot about pouches as he has four of his own that he sleeps in (without zips)- approves (of the hedgehog side anyway)! I think he might be slightly boss-eyed… or maybe that’s normal for the morning? He prompty fell asleep in his toilet after this photo so I think he’s possibly slightly special.
I love it, thanks so much Jen! 😀 I feel inspired to try a bit of paper piecing again (lord knows last time didn’t go that well)- and Jen has been kind enough to send me some good starting points via Flickr mail. How kind is she?!
I was naughty and skipped Fencing last night because I desperately wanted to get my Mouthy Stitches swap finished. I’ve been working on this pouch on and off for a month, getting intimidated by various elements (and angry hedgehog under the sewing machine) a various stages and hiding it in my WIP drawer for a bit.
Each panel is separate and I made it up as I went along which means Y seams and yes I may have had to go back over a few of them…. The outer fabric is a tough duck canvas (which frays like you wouldn’t believe) with little patchwork squares of Kaffe Fassett fabrics- because I know my partner likes his designs, at least some of them. The zip has a little keyring pull on it which has a couple of pieces of matching fabric in too. I wish the shape was a bit more rigid, especially at the corners, but I think I would have had to use boning or buckram to fix that, and I didn’t. So it is what it is…
My pouch seemed a bit boring when there were so many other beautiful and more complex designs being completed (click here for the group pool!), but as a relative newcomer to patchwork, who has recently discovered a dislike of paper piecing and only having ever made one pouch previously, I didn’t want to push it too much. So I decided to have my first ever play with perle cotton last night and herringbone stitched around, which I think works. I must confess to having done all of the stitiching whilst propped up in bed with the radio on, a bottle of pear Rekorderlig and a half finished bag of marshmallows.
Because I put the top piece on last, I needed to cover the joins on the inside with bias tape, I am hoping my partner doesn’t look too hard at the corner where the ends meet as it’s a total dogs dinner, luckily because of how the zip is inserted, it’s not easy to see this area. Yeah, that’s how I meant it to be, honest! So it’s a bit like looking into a cave, but the lining fabirc is also Kaffe Fassett- however it is one of my favourites in my collection and I was a bit sad to have to use it! it did go nicely with the rest of the colours in the design and the purple zip though. there’s also a felt panel at the back for jamming needles and pins in- yes this is a pouch intended for sewing projects (LARGE ones at that- this bag nearly fills a shoe box!).
And of course there’s a 1/4 metre of scraps included too (and NOTHING ELSE as per the rules, though I was so tempted to put some chocolate in- sorry partner!).
I really hope she likes it- luckily my partner is a frequent commenter so she seems to like it from the picture. Fingers crossed!
I got a nice bundle of pressies yesterday which made up for me spending an entire week making chocolates (including 3 days booked of work at last minute). So whilst the carpet fitters were in putting down the new carpet you can see in these photos(!) I was crammed in the conservatory with the crying dog and all the furniture opening my packages and it was just the pick-me-up I needed.
Firstly I decided I was going to be naughty and open my secret santa gift from the Crafteroo forum. I organised the partners so I know who sent to me, which is slightly cheating! Anyway thanks SO MUCH Ali, I am thrilled with what I got!
A hedgehog pin cushion, a hedgehog make-up bag (how did you know mine was dilapidated?), some gorgeous print fabrics and a book!
For those that are wondering, “Why the hedgehogs?”, I am on the waiting list for a baby african pygmy hedgehog of my own in the new year 🙂
I also received three charms in the post which I will attach to a bracelet when they all come in. These are from an X Factor Sweepstake that we had over on the Craft Pimp forum. We were all allocated an act- some got another when theirs left as there were 10 of us in the swap and 12 acts- and I got Little Mix, who won! So I get a charm from each of the other participants- lucky me! 😀
From left to right… Jo, Vic, Fiona
I can’t wait to see what else come! My OH particularly likes the metalwork one by Jo, but my photo is a bit pants at showing them off. I’m very pleased with what I have so far!
I have a huge quilt to get done in time for Christmas, I hope to show you that soon!
It’s been confirmed that Amiee has received my package so I can now blog what I sent in the Crafteroo button swap!
I made my very first book. It was fine up until the point where the cover wouldn’t take the impression of the buttons underneath particularly well so I added a load more glue. And then the glue got all the other pages a bit damp and I had to iron them with kitchen roll between each leaf. Twice. Anyway I’m pretty happy with my first attempt at bookbinding 🙂
I also sent her some (pretty badly) covered buttons, some wooden buttons I love that I stitched onto scrapbooking paper and stamped with whatever stamps were in my desk at the time, and also a box of trufflepiglet chocs- most of which were champagne truffles with little buttons on top! I originally made red buttons with popping candy inside, but the damn things did not like being demoulded!
In other news, I have started on a farmyard quilt for OH’s baby half-brother’s first birthday next month. Here’s the first block of eight. This means I have two patchwork projects on the go at once which can only end badly :S
Also I had a fight with a bowed Billy bookcase and put the back on sideways, sawed off the excess (taking the end of my thumb off in the process) and getting OH to drive in some screws to stop the damn thing collapsing again. Oh and before then I glued on some Ikea goat-based fabric I liked but was too big for my usual uses with bookbinding glue. That worked a treat! Anyway this bookcase can actually hold the weight of books now. Who’d have thought it?! Try and collapse your way out of that, Billy boy!
Also my last day working on the magazine is tomorrow! I decided to go back to a 9-5 job so that when I’m at home the time is MINE, and also so I can do crafty things again without feeling like I don’t really want to. It’s really nice making your hobby into a job, but when you have to deliver projects all the time and so many of them, you really lose the drive to do anything for yourself! This was the problem with PennyDog, which is why I’m streamlining (again!) and changing the way it works later this year. So I am crocheting and quilting and bookbinding, all the stuff I wanted to do but never had the time to. It’s nice 🙂
I have received my swap parcel from Kara, and I know now that she has received mine, so I can now blog it!
Here’s what I sent:
A diamante skull brooch (because she loves rhinestones) and a Bracelet made with pieces from fashion magazines (because she loves fashion photos)…. I also sent a gold leaf ring which isn’t pictured here.
Now I should have photographed the packaging too, because my swap gift came in a cute little chinese takeaway style cardboard box! I received this cherub necklace, and my absolute favourite is this apple themed ring- it has a vintage style graphic inside and is beautifully shaped. I even got a little tip on the best sandpaper to use for enlarging the inside a little- thanks Kara!
It has got me thinking though, this ring seems a lot less fragile and a lot nicer finished (and less residual smell!) than a lot of my rings turn out, and as a big advocate of polyester resin, I’m starting to think I should convert to epoxy. Yes it’s a bit more expensive, but if I’m happier with the results I could probably sell my work for a pound or two more to cover the difference. I know that one of my grievances about the bendiness of epoxy can sometimes be a useful property too, though I believe it’s probably operator error as to why that seems to happen to me! I will be stocking a special epoxy resin myself later in the year, so maybe then is the time to convert.
Love it- thanks Kara!
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PennyDog Patchwork (and illustration, recipes, other crafts...) 