Thespian Thursday

So the school production is over! All that work! Now just a memory!

I managed to get some snaps of the costumes, but from a distance

Good night!

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Sweat Shop Slog

Dress Rehearsal tomorrow = panic today, followed by marathon production of extra costumes!

Just keep sewing, just keep sewing!

Just a few pairs of trousers, and a few tops

And just a few more

That's it, I'm done - time for bed!!!

I just hope everyone has a costume !

Real life (including replying to comments and reading other peoples blogs) will restart after the final performance!!!

Madly Multi Tasking

Thirteen more alarm clock mornings until the summer hols, but still lots on my to-do list.

I've been embroidering some work shirts for a customer . . .

while I've been tidying up some embroidery designs the kids at school at have done . . .

and playing with some new transfer paints planning a new class at Chertsey Museum

Paint a picture, and then iron onto polyester . . .

(yes that really is the result from ironing my paining, and no I can't paint a pic of a VW campervan, but I *can* print on from Google images, and paint within the lines!)

Selfish Sewing

After another long day at school I came home tonight and actually sat in front of my sewing machine!

In between sewing more trousers for the school play (dress rehearsal on Tuesday, we're not ready!) 

and making covered books as a thank you to the mums that have helped 

I actually managed to sneak in fifteen minutes of selfish sewing !

I've started randomly joining strips from the aqua/ teal/ turquoise/ brown and white FQs given to me by Lisa and Jackie

Only in pairs so far, but it's a good start!  Gorgeous gorgeous colours!

Another 14 alarm clock mornings and the madness will be over for a while

Fabric Fun on Friday (part 2)

After my last post I had a bit of time before I needed to set off to teach the covered journals, so I made a few more - they really are doable in 20 minutes or so!

Here are a reporter's notebook (spiral bound at the top), a small hardback notebook, and a travel pass (that'll be the one with a London bus on the front!)

I also had a piece that I made about 3.5 years ago: Kate North was hosting a Stay At Home Round Robin : she gave us monthly instructions as to size and location of a piece and we added or created what we wanted.  I made three and I have no idea what happened to the pink or the blue, but I loved the black/white/red piece but had no idea what to do with it - until today!  It was the perfect size to become a ring binder cover

After I'd had loads of fun making these I let the Chertsey ladies have a go too!

From the same samples, the same set of instructions and the same resources box I was amazed how very different their covers turned out:

Fabric Fun on Friday (Covered notebook)

Thanks for sticking with me through the tale of the yellow hexi quilt - we are done with it now, except maybe for a photo of the gorgeous boy ON his quilt!

We have now entered the last month of school in England, and life gets sillier and sillier for the next (yes I've counted them) 19 days, so not much sewing will happen.  However, a class to teach tonight, and a project I've never made before meant I had to find some time to have a little practise.

The session is one of Chertsey Museum's Craft and Wine (subtitled by the manger "the drunken sewing club"), and we will be making covered journals.  The photo used for the advert was this one . . .

. . . which was a birthday pressie from Jackie - great for the ad, but I still needed to make one myself.  Jackie doesn't blog, so I couldn't copy from her, so I really hope the lovely lovely Plum doesn't mind that I have blatantly copied from her blog!

The PDF is here and I have publicly attributed the photos and most of the text to her, but to prove I really did make one, here are my photos:

Before turning

And after

There is something very satisfying about using the legs of a discarded pair of jeans!

Secret Finish Part 4 (Finished)

I have to say the finishing took *forever* but was so worthwhile; I love the effect!

It should have gone to baby Aidan when he arrived, but I tactfully asked Jackie about entering it in the village craft show - the conversation went like this

So it got entered in the village fair craft show and got one of these:

Response from my daughters? Well you've set the bar for all future children haven't you?

Secret Finish part 3 (finishing)

How to finish a hexi quilt top?  Jackie and  I asked Google, and loved this finish from Badskirt, so I thought I'd give it a go.  I now think another time I would be happier doing this where the hexagons were a bit bigger than these little whatsits.

But the instructions were great, and the finish went well

* Add a border of hexies around the edge, right sides together

* Cut the backing and wadding to the same as the outline, and flip the extra border over to the back leaving a zigzag effect on the front . . .

 . . . and also on the back

Then slip stitch onto the back - and *then* its finished!

Secret Finish Part 2 (quilting)

I'm really not a quilter.  I don't much enjoy machine quilting, and I'm quite sure life is too short for hand quilting, but for some reason I got it into my head that having hand pieced this quilt I should hand quilt it too

So I spent the next month doing just that

Jackie is very kindly including me as an honorary Grandmother (she gleefully told me six months ago "We are going to be grandmothers"!!!!) so I felt the baby needed to be in touch with its Norwegian heritage - so I've used my favourite Michael Miller Vikings fabric for the backing

I had pretty much finished the quiting when I went to visit Jackie in February.  My plan was to sacrifice the edges of the outer hexies, and finish with a straight yellow boarder - bish bash bosh - it would done in plenty of time . . .

However - Jackie and I played around with some ideas for finishing *her* hexi quilt, which made me rethink the finishing of the yellow quilt

so tomorrow I'll show you how I finished the edges of the yellow hexies

Secret Finish Part 1 (piecing)

Back in January I showed you a recent photo of the Yellow Hexie Quilt that implied it was still a way off being a completed top, and therefor a long way off being finished.

Since then I haven't shown you any more photos and haven't even dropped any more clues.  The quilt was being finished for a baby; both under construction at the same time, but baby's grandma is my best friend Jackie.  Like the very best kind of best friend she is a loyal reader of this blog, but I wanted the quilt to be a surprise.  Jackie has now seen the quilt, and has taken it for baby Aidan, so I can share the rest of it's story here:

So the work had been plodding on, and the photos had been taken, but until now, unshared!  The earliest post about this top is March 2013, but it was actually started a year or so before that

18th January

20th January

All pieced :-)

Tomorrow I'll show you what I decided to do about quilting

Sunday Shopping

So today Jackie and I went to Sandown - lots of inspiration, a little bit of chatting (!), and loads of shopping!  I managed to restrict myself to purchases that are actually necessary to complete existing projects (well almost restricted!)

From the top: two linens for the red linen quilt, red essential dots to bind the Irish Chain, wood for an idea for an aunt, sea grass, sand, sky and rocks for a lighthouse quilt I've been asked to make, purple essential dots to bind the giant lone star, (we'll gloss over the grey dots) and dotty red oilcloth for another boxy bag!

Oh, AND 

Fusible binding for a friends' stained glass project, buttons for a tshirt adaptation, replacement thimble, and some transfer dies.

This all has overtones of comfort shopping though,  as coming home from Sandown also meant taking Jackie to the airport :-(

Thanks for a great weekend, How long until Festival of Quilts????

Saturday Sewing

Another fab day with Jackie :-)

She helped with with some decision making: the rainbow charms

(now ready to be chain stitched)

Another decision made - the aqua fabrics have been cut ready to piece

And these cotton pieces have had their future decided, and they have been washed in case of shrinkage:

We made another two boxy pouches: so that's some Christmas pressies sorted,

Jackie learnt more tricks with my embroidery machine

And made a pressie for the new grandson!

Not bad results for one day eh?

Tomorrow ... Sandown!!!!

Friends on Friday

(And Saturday and Sunday!). Jackie is here this weekend, for a three day weekend and the challenge is on to see how much we can pack in!

So today Jackie had a few hours unsupervised in my kitchen, so I came in from work to be greeted by this

And this

And this!!!

( to be fair, this was the view after supper, they were complete when I got home!)

Then we went to Chertsey Museum and made these with the lovely ladies, 

followed by shopping in Hobby Craft, and then a spot of making!

Jackie helped me make a boxy pouch

We made button bracelets

And she learnt how to use an embroidery machine!