Monday 31 January 2011

Slow Progress

 Finally I've got up the courage to make a start on my Pineapple quilt!  It's been backed for a couple of weeks now but I still couldn't make my mind up on how to quilt it but eventually decided that 'less is best' and just follow some of the straight lines.   This turned out to be a good decision as once under my machine it seemed even larger than I originally thought  !


I also decided to use the Janome as its a long time since it's seem the light of day. I just can't seem get as good results  with my FMQ on this machine as with the Bernina but its OK for everything else, and for all Janome users  out there-  I am sure its me not the machine :-)

After two long sessions I have managed to get all the anchoring lines done and have just 2 rows to finish on the white sections, but today it's back to some gentle piecing as both my right arm and shoulder are suffering
from wrestling with this monster!  I think that finishing this quilting is going to a slow process, as little and often seems to be the best way of tackling it without disabling my right arm :-)

My Mug Rugs are finished and ready to go to my partner in ...? and as its a secret swap, this is the best I can do for a sneak peek




 I  don't think I've given too much away do you ?


Monday 24 January 2011

Been Playing Again

I've often looked at Tessellation quilts and wondered at the way they go together and how difficult it would be, so over the weekend I decided to have a try and see if I could work it out from a photo - Voila!






Another little quilt just under 12" x 16" and in need of a good press. (it does lie flat in real life - honest!) It took me a little while to work out the angles etc but it went together OK in the end.

I must say this about quilting, tackling  projects like this certainly keeps the old brain ticking over, and it looks like Lucy Doll has another quilt in the pipeline !

Sunday 23 January 2011

Bad Blogger!

Yes, I'm afraid I'm turning in to a very bad blogger indeed  -not only is my blog turning into a weekly event , but I also keep forgetting to tell you what's going on in Blogland.

I didn't mention this

                                                                Mug Rug Swap


over at Quilting Gallery , not that I  think this was very serious as even without my help (!) there are 330 participants from 25 countries, now you can't get more international than that!

Sunday 16 January 2011

What A Week!

It's been one of those weeks when I haven't time to catch my breathe, but I've got very little to show for it! Most of the time has been taken up with visits to the vet both planned and not planned!

First off it was time for William's annual jabs and a follow up x-ray after the scare we had following his last stay at the cattery.  Don't think I blogged  about it, but he was a very poorly cat having contracted a virus there which affected his lungs.  This has now cleared up, but two days later my poor little cat was attacked by one of these


Coypus ,  which are in the stream at the bottom of the village - well, I think that's what they are and they are HUGE!  The local farmers lay traps for them because they are very destructive, but there are still plenty around , I saw 2 just the other day when I was crossing the  bridge.

After all the rain we've had lately  the drainage ditches,  which abound around the fields and roads in Brittany, are full to brimming and I think Will must have fallen into the ditch at the bottom of the garden and was very unlucky that Mr Nasty was around too!  This is the only explanation we can come up with as he was very, very wet and covered in mud when he came home and there are no other cats in the vicinity that might have attacked him.  Thankfully,  his rabies injections are up to date, but he still had a huge abscess and nasty cuts on his rear end which have needed treatment consisting of several visits to the vet.

I do have one (small) finish to show - one of my Christmas presents was this book


and I used some of my scraps to make this little quilt



which is just right for Lucy !



There is a story about  Lucy, but that'll have to wait for another time :-)

Sunday 9 January 2011

Every Cloud....

...has a silver lining!  Well, that's how the saying goes and it's certainly true about the last number of days when it has rained & rained and rained! Because the weather has been so dismal there has been nothing to do except sew, sew, sew and now I have my first finish for 2010!





Scrappy Sister's Choice all quilted and bound - first UFO off the list and also my first quilt without a single stipple stitch in it !  I've quilted the blocks with a kind of 'flower' motifs out from the Pajama Quilter DVD/workbook- they don't quite look like Dawn's but not too bad.  Border 1 has a vine of small leaves,  and border 2 is a combination of  flowers, leaves and ribbons would you believe!  Probably not the best quilting you've ever seen, but on reflection no worse than my stippling was when I started and that's quite reasonable now so maybe if I keep practicing...............?

Block 2 of the Civil War quilt is up if you are taking part, - here's mine



I do wish I could take 'square' photos then my blocks would look square too, maybe it's time to nag DH again about the promised portable design wall .

I got so carried away with the first block on Barbara Brackman's blog  last week that I failed to register that the book she is referring to was on my bookcase


Needless to say it's not longer on the shelf but being  perused with more attention than the last time around :-)

Monday 3 January 2011

Couldn't Resist!

How could I possible not join in the Civil War Quilt block a week being offered by Barbara Brackman on her new Blog ? Even if you are not a fan of Reproduction fabrics, I am sure it will make a lovely sampler quilt - me, well it's no surprise to hear that I'll be sticking with the original theme:-)

Block 1 - Catch Me If You Can







I've just realised that I didn't post a photo of my last finished  for 2010



My Half Hexagons -  I finally finished the binding just before Christmas! My excuse for taking so long with the hand stitching is that I did get a bit sidetracked during the build up to the holiday with bits and bobs for the grandchildren and what seemed like endless stockings to sell at my Cat Charity Christmas Fayre - but done it is now !