Just the One!

Tucked in under the wall, but a sure sign that Spring IS on its way !

Mixed Bag

Don't you just love it when one of these arrives in the post box ?

A little battered after its long journey, but,  thanks to La Poste who always take the trouble to patch up any 'broken bits' ,  everything  arrived safely

Lovely aren't they ?

FMQ Challenge

I decided to join in SewCalGal's Free Motion Quilting Challenge 2012 - well, anything that will help me improve has got to be worth a try !  With a lesson each month from a list of very impressive teachers, even I can't fail to learn something :-)

Rather than make the suggested sampler quilt, I thought to make up a 'sample folder', an idea suggested in Patsy Thompson's DVDs. Why am I  using this idea - well, a while ago I managed to 'click' on the wrong box when ordering wadding, and when my parcel arrived instead of the natural I was expecting, I had a whole load of black !

This has been lurking in a dark corner screaming 'stupid' at me everytime I look at it, so what better way to try and reduce it than this

First sample attempt complete with a couple of wobbles,but think this might be a better one to keep

Not perfect by any means, but I am quite pleased with the uniformity of the stitches and the spacing even if some of the shapes are a bit iffy.

I have the folder

 

Now all I need is to dig out some fabric to cover it !

January's lesson,  by Frances Moore, can be found here if you'd like to see it, and it's not too late to join in either!

'Super'market !

Who says supermarkets are boring?  Well, not my local one and if you don't believe me, lets go shop !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj3LLZO4TLw

   

First Finish

I've mentioned Angelika in a previous post and my first finish for this year is another of her creations that she has generously shared with me - a tessellation table runner.

This has got to be one of the easiest patterns I have ever played with, so next step has to be to try  the technique on a quilt  -  all agreed ?


Edit Note:

Before anyone starts thinking 'copyright' , perhaps I should explain that when I mention someone sharing a pattern with me, these are not commercially published patterns but ones that have been developed/designed by that person, and as such are not available for sale.

Birthday Blog!

Well, here we are again at the start of another year and would you believe my Blog's 4th
Birthday !!

My first post was 1 January 2008 and yet looking back it seems like just the other day - where did those years go?

During this time I've learnt a great deal not only about the lovely people I've met in the blogging  and quilting communities, but also about myself.

I've experienced the generosity of on-line quilters who share their knowledge and patterns with me and everyone else.  I've learnt that there is always someone out there willing to help when help is asked for, someone to encourage you when you're doubting yourself, someone to laugh with you and sometimes to cry with you.

I've learnt to have confidence in myself and my work and not to worry too much if everything isn't perfect (!) but to enjoy my quilting time and not put too much pressure on myself.   I've learnt not to feel too alone in this little corner of Brittany because there is so much more out there for me to learn and enjoy if I just go look for it.

I know it's usual on these occassions to offer a giveaway, but I've decided instead to send a little gift to the ones who have supported me most with comments over the years, so Suzanne , Sue and Jane, please let me have your address when you have a moment.

To all my other followers and readers a great big ' Thank You' for dropping by - its always good to know that you are out there !!