Granny Squares

There's been a lot of chat in Blogland over the last weeks about Granny Blocks, which I believe started here at Bee in my Bonnet.

No, I haven't joined in Great Granny Along, but it did remind me of something  lurking in the  'Quilts in Waiting' drawer , and thought I'd show you my version of this quilt block.

From a pattern in Australian P&Q listed as a signature quilt, when I can't remember, but certainly a number of years ago.  The top has been waiting to be backed since October 2011 (hanging my head in shame !!) and to be honest, I'd forgotten how pretty it is so - I think it must be time to do something about it, don't you ?

Maybe a good pressing would be a start :-)

'Inter'National Quilt Day

This*  is  is how I spent my afternoon

What did you do ?

* Moda Bake Shop Recipe

Something Quilty!

Just for a changed, a couple of quilty photos :-)

I first saw this sewing machine mat on Jane's blog and ordered the pattern from Tazzie
straight away! Then the pattern turned up again on Jenny's blog a couple of posts ago as part of her September challenge - make a sewing machine mat to match the cover from last month - and although I am very pleased with my mat I don't think I'll be joining the challenge, but do go along to have a look at the other colourways being shown !

My colours look very wishy washy in the photo because of the sunlight and are a lot brighter in real life BUT I am NOT going to complain about the sun as we are enjoying the most lovely Indian summer at the moment (albeit a little breezey !) with temperatures in the high 20s and long may it continue I say !



Next up is my Little Bouquet Quilt Along piece finally finished! I had a lot of fun(and frustration!!) making this but not sure if it's something I would try again. Once I thought I'd got the hang of the roses they didn't turn out too bad but what a lot of 'snipping' to even get them to look this good - I really don't know how Cherri managed to get hers so perfect, she must have infinite patience!!!



Finally, a finish from Susan Brittingham's Upside Down Appliqué class that I took with QU some time back




Had I realised how much free motion satin stitching would be used, I don't know if I'd have been so keen to join! It certainly gave me a LOT of practice and a lovely wall hanging at the end of it all!! The shading beneath the wings , tail and on the breast was done using tulle and/or organza and the difference it has made is quite pronounced ! Another fun course and one I would certainly recommend !

Bloggers Quilt Festival

I still haven't posted about the trip to the UK , but just don't seem to have the time to get organised with photos etc at the moment! My tummy bug (now gone thankfully!!) has set me so far back with the day to day tasks of washing, ironing, cooking, rounding up dust bunnies(!) etc etc!! All totally boring but even I can't ignore them any longer :-)



One thing I have managed to do, and that is to catch up with most of my Blog reading and discover all about the Blogger's Quilt Festival , brain child of Amy at Park City Girl, so thought I would join in! If you'd like to know more, go along and visit Amy straight away!

This is the quilt I'd like to show

which I wrote about on this post, so please follow the link to find out the story behind it ! Out of all the quilts I have made to date, this is still my favourite!

The sun has decided to come out after several days of torrential rain, so maybe I'll get lucky and manage a few of those photos this afternoon !!

Birth of a Monster!!

Sometime weeks ago, Kate had a block 'clearaway' on her blog and I swapped this mini...








..for 9 of these blocks!




For the last couple of weeks I've been laying them out, shuffling them about and having finally decided on a setting, spent hours debating on what to use to try and complement the many colours in these scrappy blocks!! I think I must have pulled every piece of fabric in my (modest!) stash before coming up with a combination that I thought might work and then set out to try another 'first' for me - on point settings!


Now, anybody with an ounce of sense tries out new techniques on small items - yes? You won't be surprised to hear then that starting out on 15 inch finished blocks was not a good idea but one guaranteed to cause big problems!! No rulers long enough to cope with diagonal cuts ; no square ruler big enough for the job either (20.5 is my largest!!); no single cutting mat that big , arms not long enough (!).......need I go on ???


Eventually, after getting DH to help with the drafting and cutting of a couple of templates from some very sturdy card, clearing off our dining table and taping together several cutting mats and praying that the multiple rulers didn't move off line under pressure , which was achieved by virtually lying on on top of them across the table (not a pretty sight I assure you!!) setting triangles finally appeared !! I am sure some of you out there know an easier way to cope, but this was the best I could come up with on my own - nothing about this dilema in any of my books or mags!!


The top is 4 ft 8 " x 6ft 8", a lot longer than I'd thought it would be even though I only used 8 of the blocks !! At one time I was going to make additional blocks to try for a better setting - then it would really have been a monster!!


So, without any further ado, some not brilliant pics (mainly!) because of its size , this is my latest UFO !!

The sashings are chocolate brown , the corner stones quite a strong pink and the setting triangles are tan with a small red/brown all-over folky heart pattern even though it looks like polka dots from a distance!

Now that's over with, all I have to cope with is - how many sleepless nights will be spent worrying about quilting it!!!!! May even manage better photos then too!!

Claim to Fame ?

Wow!! I got my name into print - how exciting is that, and I didn't even know about it!!!


February 2008 I joined in a fibre postcard swap being organised by Susan Lenz for a proposed exhibition called Cyber Fybers . Susan was inviting you to swap a FPC or ATC with her for display at the exhibition and some 400 worldwide swappers joined in , together with a number of invited well known textile artists - Maggie Grey to name but one! Can you imagine organising and controlling a swap of this size (!) but Susan managed it and the exhibition was opened on 9 January this year. Susan very kindly kept us all up to date with frequent postings as to what was happening, but once the exhibition closed, I have to admit I forgot all about it!


Imagine my surprise this morning when, not expecting anything at all from the US, I received an envelope with a return address in South Carolina ! Inside was this magazine


with a note from Susan, directing me to pages 22-26

where I found my postcard (bottom - far right with the 'vine') and my name!!

I don't even mind that it's spelt wrong on this occassion!!

My card was made of silk snippets with gold sewing machine cord and FME leaves stitched onto water soluble film - I thought it was lovely (!!), but never thought it would make it into print !! What are the chances that out of all the entries mine was one of those fortunate enough to be photographed .

Another Mixed Bag!

This hasn't been a very productive week sewing wise ! Most of it has been spent running around the countryside trying to choose a new bed as one of ours has really given up the ghost and has to go!!




This all started with a crack appearing in the ceiling! We live in an old (approx 250 years) house and like all us 'mature' beings, it does have a few wrinkles showing :-) Repairing the crack has led to redecorating the bedroom,which has led to a close examination of the bed... and so it goes on !It is now accelerating into a major 'spend'!! We all know that it won't end with just a new bed - oh no, there will have to be new bedding, curtains and carpets/rugs, after all, how can I possibly use the same old stuff with a new colour scheme ??



DH is not a happy bunny at the thought of all this money being spent (!) particularly at the moment when, like all British ex-pats in the Euro zone, we are suffering from the chronic exchange rate!! But then I wasn't the one worried about the little crack, I could have lived with it, but he insisted that it needed doing, so now he must live with the 'spending'!! (Didn't I do well !!!)


I haven't been wasting time though, I have been turning some of this mess





into this


which will eventually (I hope!!) turn into something like this but even more scrappy, but when that'll be is anyone's guess !


I've also made this

which can be found here - so you see, not totally unemployed! ( If you do feel tempted to try this I, and many others, have found that it works better if you put some kind of 'container' in the centre before trying to stuff it - this helps to keep the shape and stops it folding in on itself ! (in fact my yogurt pot is still in it !)

After this post, Jovita kindly offered to make another angel for my DGD, which was very kind of her ,but I only said yes after she'd agreed to do a swap for some fabric. Thursday she arrived

with a travelling companion !

Thank you, Jovi,they are both very lovely and I am now going to have one very spoilt grand-daughter!!! How did you know she loves purple & pink - or does that apply to all little girls of a certain age??

This is also finished (and has been for sometime but I keep forgetting to upload the photo !) so I am all clear and ready to start on the February blocks !

Shops in France are closed all day Sunday and many of them are also closed on Monday, so no bed "s-hopping" for a few days ,and who knows, I might be able to get into the sewing room for more than 10 minutes over the weekend !!!

A New Start !

I was up to date with my Noah's Ark stitchery until a couple of days ago, then the January block appeared, but as it is such a tiny thing I am sure it'll get done before too long - then just one more to go and time to put it all together - which brings me to one of my new starts!




I (as well as lots of others!) have found a lovely stitchery BoM at Capricorn Quilts which is going to be based on fairy tales - how nice is that- and I've decided to sew along with these to replace Noah's Ark ! I never thought I would admit to having enjoyed ' hand sewing' as much as this :-)





This is the second series I have found by the talented and generous Bea, I also stumbled across her Quilters' Blessings blocks about half way through the year. Unfortunately, there was a time limit to their availabilty and I missed quite a few, but once again, a very generous quilter came to my rescue and sent me the missing ones - thank you Annelies !! Please go visit Annelies' blog , she does some amazing stichery!



I am well behind with Quilters' Blessings as I have only managed 5 ( 2 more since the photo!), but will keep going and use them to fill in any spare time , but my main priority is to keep up with the monthly postings if I can !!






Another new start is that I've joined in Kathy's Gift of the Month challenge. This sounded like a great idea as I was full of good intention last Christmas to make gifts for everyone and as I left it until the last minute (as one does!!) so very little got done because of my various health issues!! Go along and have a look - maybe it will help you too!!



My third new start is the Shipshewana Amish quilt by Sentimental Stiches - I've made 2 blocks , but am a bit worried that there have only been 4 so far! I know that Gayle has been having some computer issues and really hope that all is sorted for her soon - otherwise what am I going to do with these









and all of this !!!




WOW! Only one photo turned by Blogger today !!

Catch Up

Back on this post I mentioned how much I'd enjoyed making the little bag from Stitchers Angels and that I was tempted to join in the Noah's Ark BoM - well, I did join in and have managed to catch up !





It is many years since I've done so much hand stitching (!!) and I am VERY rusty , but I've really enjoyed it and I'm waiting patiently for block 10 !




I think I can now put the little 'Noah's Ark' badge on my side bar with a clear concience!!

Working Overtime !

In spite of all the drama over the last few days, I have actually managed to get into my sewing room and finish off a few things !


Firstly, there is the Amy Butler 'Birdie Sling' which I had made a start on just before going to the UK.





This is a BIG bag! It was reasonably easy to put together in the end, and the fabrics were a delight to work with! It will probably end up going to DGD1 as she is 'in to' big bags at the moment.



Then my fabric postcard from Brigitte arrived , which I am ashamed to admit I had forgotten about (hanging my head !). Brigitte and I have been doing a little private swap for some months now and it all started off because we were the only 2 French residents in some of the Yahoo! FPC Groups taking part in the swaps.


My card from Brigitte is probably a better representation of 'Postage Stamps' than mine to her !








Being in a rush, the best thing I could come up with was to take a pic of an enamel wall plaque I have of an antique postcard, and turn it into a FPC using T-shirt transfer paper and a bit of FME , I only hope she likes it !! Don't now why the pic is so dark again !



Lastly, I was looking for some hand sewing to do whilst over in the UK , and came across Stitchers' Angels . Now I know the swap has been closed this long time, but I did like the little sewing bag that was on the Blog so I've decided to become an 'unofficial' angel , well at least for this bag !! Now it has been many a year since I used a needle to do anything more than sew down quilt bindings (!!) but I thought I could probably manage a bit of back stitching - Voila !!









I must say I enjoyed making it and in fact am considering having a go at the Noah's Ark
free stitchery BOM - fun to look at and nothing too big or complicated !! Well - its got to be better than watching repeats on the TV !!!

So all in all, quite a productive couple of days, and all that remains now is to clear up this mess before starting the next project !!

Bags & Birds and Whatnots!

I enjoyed making the bags shown in the last post, so much so that I splashed out on some Amy Butler fabric to try a couple of her patterns, and in the post this week I got :

I think I'll try this one and maybe this one , but when I'll get started goodness knows!!

I'm off to the UK for a few days on the 19th to spend some time with DD & DGD in Manchester, but before then I need to make the promised table runner to take with me for DD, at least think about my ALQS mini and get my September Birthday block finished and in the post !

The rest of the time will be spent shopping and making meals for one to stock up the freezer for DH as he's staying home this time to look after Megan & William - well, we girls need some time alone together every now and then don't we !!

One thing I have promised myself we'll make time for before I go is a trip to the cinema in Rennes to see the Original Version (with French subs !) of 'Mama Mia' and this is one time DH will agree to go without a murmur as he is a huge ABBA fan !!!

A photo I forgot to post on the Paris trip was this

I was amazed at the number of tourist in the square at Notre Dame standing with their backs to the Cathedral with their hand stuck in the air !! It seems that the latest craze is to entice the sparrows to eat out of your hand - and the birds were loving it !!!!!

Signs of Autumn

Although it is only the end of the first week in September, Autumn is making its arrival know in no uncertain way ! Whilst we haven't suffered quite as much as other parts of Europe , the weather over the last couple of days hasn't been fit for man nor beast - persistant torrential rain and gale force winds have been the order of the day.

This time last year was delight, all the trees turning into the most magnificent colours due to very warm mild warm days and very cold nights !! This year after the storms , we don't have many leaves left !

Even though there are still a few stragglers in the garden defying the elements

Most scenes are like this

...or this !

Part delivery of logs for the stoves , well at this rate you never can tell how soon we'll need them !!

Still as the old saying goes ' every cloud......' so at least this week some time to spend sewing !! My lovely friend Jeannie (no blog) has persuaded me to try my hand at a couple of other bags, so I found this and made this

Lining

The little wallet is a Lazy Girl Designs puchased pattern and not a freebie like this

This is the second one I've made, the first went to its new home and I forgot to take a photo ! They are just so easy to make and a great deal better than plastic bags ! France (like a number of European countries) actually 'banned ' plastic grocery bags some 2 years ago now , so here we are all used to taking along our own 'shopping bags' , and what could be nicer than this ! If you are looking for patterns by the way there's a good deal here .

Making a couple of bags doesn't mean that I have not done any patchwork - I have in fact finished putting my Tumbler top together and it is ready for quilting (don't ask when, it will have to join the queue with the other 5 that are waiting !!) and I've also chopped up my Layer Cake and made enough blocks for a boxed squares quilt like this , but I haven't had a chance to take pics of either of them yet !!

So all in all a good sign that things are getting back to normal at 'Chez Nous ' !!!

Growing Your Own !

I'm afraid that neither DH or I are what you would call 'gardeners' . Don't get me wrong, I like to be surrounded by flowers and shrubs and we both do our bit to keep the grounds looking pretty good but - we both lack the passion that makes what I think of as a true gardener !

Since moving to Brittany we've noticed that lots of our fellow ex-pats have taken up the tradition of a French 'potagerie' ( kitchen garden) and grow their own vegetables ,which they (admittingly) wouldn't think of doing 'back home' ! Me, I have nothing but admiration for them as I hate the thought of all that weeding so we don't have a veggie patch !!!

We are very lucky though in respect that our French neighbours are generous to a fault ( also probably feel very sorry for our inadequacy !) and keep us supplied with a steady stream of seasonal produce. Lettuce by the bag full ; tomatoes by the bowl ; beetroot, radish and 'baby' new carrots by the bunch soon to be followed by courgettes (zucchini), , French beans and peppers ! Early potatoes are grown in the potagerie , whilst the main crop comes out of the field in mid September - last year we ended up with 6 sacks full for 2 of us !!!! So you can see that really we have no need to 'grow our own' vegetables and in my (lazy!) view this way is a lot less hard work !! However !! Like all the British ex-pats that I know, we do make one concession - and that is to grow a row of Runner Beans!!!

I can't even try to explain the difference between French beans and Scarlet Runners, but it's there ! At the moment our little row is producing so many beans that its our turn to supply the neighbours with 'English' beans, and they are going down a treat ! This is today's crop, a bit down on the last few days, but already we have a home for them with our biggest convert from 'French' to 'English', my 74 year old neighbour !!! Well , why not - after all there are only so many beans you can eat in a week !!!

I've managed to stay upright (!!) for 3 days now but am still on 'light duties', so I 've had a little time in my sewing room but have kept to smaller projects not to tempt fate too much !

A couple of Runaround Bags , such a lovely, easy and quick to make pattern, I just need to find my 'box of goodies' to make something to put on the zipper tabs.

QA inspection by the big boss, William !!

Plus a couple of trial Snap Happy Pouches

So not a totally wasted week after all ! Today I hope to finish off a couple of wall hangings that have been around for some time now !!!

Just to mention that I've had the results of my test, a couple of problems but nothing big, so I will write more about that later!

From Bad to Worse !!

Just when I was starting to think I was getting over the dreaded bronchial infection - wham !! - back it came again and this time even worse !! I really am fed up with feeling so terrible all the time, not to say feeling sorry for myself (and for DH who is getting the full force of my displeasure !!) Bed rest is all very well and good, but so BORING!!!!, there is only so much reading one can do and very little else !! At the moment I am waiting for the results of more blood tests to try and determine the cause of all this - honestly, I am begining to feel like one of Dracula's victims the amount of blood being drained from me !!! Moan! Moan!! Moan!!

I have to admit though that Sunday and Monday I had no ambition to get out of bed and that is a very bad sign (!) as normally I have to be strapped in, but all the coughing is really tiring me out( and making chest Xrays a bit difficult ) to say the least. Today is a lot better so far (dare I say it !!) so maybe the treatment is kicking in at last ! Its ironic really though - all this bed rest has given me such a bad backache, now I don't know what to hold when I get a coughing fit !!!

Sewing - well, that's become a thing of the past for the time being, but I did manage to get my Miniature Booty swap quilt finished and it will go off in the post some time next week. Also managed to get my August Birthday Block out in the post today as well as some red/white blocks for Clare . Not a great deal to show for 2 weeks is it , and no photos either I'm afraid, but just a little something to keep my hand in (when DH is not around standing guard !!!) . I did get a great big parcel yesterday with my batting and thread from Asding in the UK , so now I have no excuse not to get quilting once I am able !!!!

Mixed Bag

Firstly, a little of sewing , just to proove that I haven't been spending all my time gadding around the French countryside !!

A finish - Chunky Churndashes!!

Well, ready for quilting at least ! This is the third quilt I've made from Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville site and I've been very pleased with all of them ! My first was the Scrappy Bargello, which now resides with DS1, then the alternative setting Pineapple Blossom which you can see here , and now the Churndashes, so I certainly have a lot to thank Bonnie for . Now to try and get it quilted and the binding on next week !!

An Addition!

Two more borders on the medallion flimsy !

It is starting to look a lot better now ! Next step is 80 Flying Geese !! I wish I could take better photos of these quilts , they are just becoming too big (!) , but I am sure you get the idea !

And some information for anyone looking something to do during the next few weeks (LOL!!) - have a look at this site and the wonderful free workshops that are being offered , there is something for everyone. I promise you it has to be worth a visit ! There is also a logo if you'd like to grab it .