Intentions for 2015

Definitely not resolutions, which I don’t make, because I never keep. Intentions feel less restricting, less set in stone and I don’t feel like a failure if I don’t keep to them. They’re just ideas for a path to follow, but it doesn’t matter if I stray into the woods.

Reading ~ There are lots of reading challenges around the internet, some have a very specific list of books, others are a particular number to complete in a year. I wanted something that was open to interpretation and a friend posted this one on Facebook, which looked good. The bonus being she has set up a “Reading Group” page, where we can share the books we’ve chosen to inspire and encourage each other throughout the year. It’s for 52 books, which I know I won’t read in 12 months. Instead I’ve set myself a target of 26 and I’ll combine categories for the books I choose. First up is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It’s over 500 pages and a Pulitzer Prize winner to boot. I’m enjoying it very much so far as I did her previous novels.

Crafting ~ Card making is a given. I have to come up with around six card ideas and a 3D project every month, for classes and, of course, the cards I need myself for friends and family. Sometimes I can combine the two, which is handy.

I played around a bit with Project Life last year, but didn’t really find a way to make it work for me. I think it was possibly the 12x12” page protectors. They seemed a bit daunting, having not scrapped in a long time. I’ve now got some pages in a 6x8” format and will give it another go.

I’m looking forward to putting my Friendship Quilt together this year. I’ve been looking online for possible sashing fabrics, but I think it’s something that I need to see “in the flesh” to make a decision. I originally thought white or cream, but some blocks have one in the background and some the other. Now I’m thinking a silvery grey, like the fabric I used in Amy’s block.

I went a bit headlong into dressmaking last year. Starting with a simple skirt, great, then realising it needed lining and not being sure how to approach that. Moving on to a fairly complex dress and coming to a halt with the zip and how to finish off that centre back seam as neatly as the others. There are so many great sewing blogs out there and it’s tempting to want to make everything you see, but there’s no point if a. it’s beyond your current skills and b. it’s not something you would wear in real life.  With that in mind, I’m going back to the simple A line skirt pattern. This time making it in a lightweight denim, which won’t require lining. I just need to get a finished garment under my belt and stop faffing!

Blogging ~ Three posts a week, a monthly tutorial and the return of SIPIDI! I hope some of you will join me with the last one.

I think that’s enough to be going with. There is a lot of change on the horizon this years. Mocks begin for my boy next week, followed by the real thing in May. He has offers from three of his four choices so far and hopes to get the grades to go to university in September. At the same time my girl will be sitting her GCSEs and she is hoping for a place at Art College. New directions all round. My main intention will be to keep us on an even keel through it all. Anything else will be a bonus.

Do you have grand plans for the year ahead? I may have seen them on your blog already. If not, then point me in the right direction in the comments.

A Year of Making ~ 2014

I’m starting the year with a look back at some of the things I made during 2014.

My favourite project from last year was, without doubt, the Friendship Quilt. From January to October I made squares and sent them off. I found photos of most, but there always seem to be one or two that get forgotten before popping in the post.

Then, in June, it was my turn. Such a lovely feeling when each one arrived. Carefully chosen fabrics and lines of stitching. All different and yet fitting together. Again, I couldn’t find photos of all of them. I’m so excited to sew them up into a quilt top, once the last two have arrived, as a reminder of our lovely blogging community.

I carried on teaching my original class and started a new one in May, which filled up very quickly. These are a few of my favourites from the past year. I’m looking forward to starting again next week, with a “Back to Basics” session.

Finally the sewing projects. To my shame, 5 of these remain unfinished. Can you guess which? Yes, the dressmaking! I seem to be incapable of making an item of clothing as the pattern intends. There is always an element I want to change, but I don’t have the necessary skills so I end up getting frustrated and moving on to something else. I need to change that and I’ll tell you how I plan to go about it when I blog my “Intentions” next week. 2015 *will* be my year of sewing. I’m determined.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday #281

Wednesday comes around all too quickly, but Tuesday came first and that meant a fun day out with Jan and Julia. Of course, I realised too late that I should have snapped what I was working on while I was there, because there would be nothing happening at my Tuesday afternoon kitchen table.

I had to wait until the middle of the afternoon, when I had a chance to dust off my sewing machine. I finished a long overdue something, the trimmings of which can be seen at the back and began a quilt square for October. The very last one. Can you believe it? Those Wednesdays keep rolling around and a year of Friendship Quilt square making has been and almost gone. I’m feeling a little bit sad about that.

I’m linking up with Julia and the other desk sharers….eventually!

Note to self: if you schedule a post for Tuesday, because you are going to be out, it helps if you actually put Tuesday’s date on it! Never mind it will come in handy for another day instead. Have you guessed what that “Q” might be now?

A Friendship Quilt ~ The Leftovers {a tutorial}

So, you joined a Friendship Quilt square exchange. You bought way too many a few fat quarters and now that the project is almost three quarters of the way through, you realise that you have rather a lot of a little leftover fabric. What to do with it?

Enter the tissue holder. A very simple beginner sewing project. A great way to practise 1/4” seams. OK, it’s a bit late for that one, if you’re a Friendship Quilter. A last minute teacher gift or Summer Fayre fund raiser. A useful project from scraps.

I’d seen a few tutorials online, using the same fabric inside and out and then I saw these with a contrast binding at the opening. I pinned it for future reference, but when I looked at the instructions, it seemed like a lot of work for such a small project. I thought, ‘There must be an easier way.’ Do you know what? There is.

You’ll need a 5 1/2” x 7 1/2” rectangle of your inner (plain) fabric and 5 1/2” x 6 1/2” in the outer (printed) fabric. No need to cut a paper pattern. I just used my rotary cutter, but forgot to take a picture of the fabric pieces before I sewed them together.

Place the rectangles, right sides together, matching along one of the short edges. Sew a 1/4” seam. It doesn’t really show up here, but I’ve turned it over for the next picture. I matched my thread to the lighter fabric.

Now line up the other short edges and stitch another 1/4” seam.  As you can see the lining will bulge. Don’t worry, that’s how it’s supposed to look. The plain fabric is longer so that it shows on the outside to give a contrast trim. Turn right side out.

Centre the outer (print) fabric to give yourself a narrow border (approx. 1/4”) of the lining (plain) fabric on each side, as shown in the top example. Turn over. Press with the iron on the reverse so that it’s nice and smooth, as pictured at the bottom.

Fold in half by bringing the two borders together. Finger press at the top and bottom of the fold to mark the centre point. Unfold. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get those little creases in the centre to show up, but trust me they *are* there.

Bring the right hand side in to the centre mark and the left hand side to meet it. I didn’t actually pin my own, but this is the best place to put them so you can sew both ends, without having to remove the pins. Sew a 1/4” seam across each end.

Turn right side out. Push the corners out with a chopstick, or similar pointy stick. I like to take the tissues out of the cellophane before putting inside, but if you’re making these as a fund raiser you might prefer to leave them sealed. Try not to get too carried away, once you realise how easy they are to make!

I made these from my leftover floral skirt fabric and some plain blue cotton I had in my stash. If you’re cutting from a fat quarter and the long edge (22”) is intact you can get four out by cutting a 6 1/2” strip (outer) or 7 1/2” strip (inner) and then chopping into four 5 1/2” pieces.

I’ve never written a sewing tutorial before so if anything is unclear please shout and I’ll be glad to help, if I can. Happy sewing.

ETA Some of the photos show both sides of the project, or two stages, at once. I did this to avoid the post being too photo heavy. I had two sets of fabric pieces, to illustrate the different steps, which you won’t necessarily. Apologies for the confusion caused.

Sunday Stash ~ What is Terracotta?

I’m joining in with a meme, that I just came across this evening, on Mary’s blog. It’s enjoying a temporary home there this week, but is usually hosted by Molli Sparkles.

A little while ago, a scrapbooking friend of mine challenged herself to create 30 page layouts before she bought any more paper crafting stash. I thought this was a great idea and pledged not to buy any more Fat Quarters until I had *actually* finished a quilt top. I have stuck to my promise…..so far!

Today I spent some time going through my stash, looking for fabrics to fit the July brief for the Friendship Quilt project. Jacky’s colour scheme is terracotta/rust and green. For some reason I find terracotta quite a difficult colour to interpret. The two fat quarters above seemed to fit the bill, although on screen they look quite orangey and having searched online just now to find the name of the fabric line, I see the colour of the feathery print is tangerine. They are both from the Moda Flora collection by Lauren and Jessi Jung, for those of you who like to know such things.

The next two are half yards that came, in a bargain bundle, from The Eternal Maker. According to the selvedge the patterned fabric is “Texture Stripe” by Laura Gunn for Michael Miller. The other fabric has a lovely silky texture and a shot appearance. I’m thinking perhaps this is Oakshott fabric. I’ve never seen any before, but have read about it on Kerry’s blog and it seems to fit her description. I wish I had more of it as it would be perfect for dressmaking.

So that’s some quilting fabric that I’ve had around for quite a while now. This next one is some gorgeous fabric I spotted in a basket, outside a local charity shop, while I was doing a post office run this week. I have no idea what the fibre content is. It is quite heavy and has a wonderful drape to it. A silky feel, but a matt finish and although it’s not cotton, it doesn’t have a man made polyester feel about it either. Any suggestions? I got a the whole 5 metre length for just £6. Bargain!

They also had this 3 metre length of crisp printed cotton for £4.50, which will be perfect for a fifties style sun dress I have in mind. I’ve not worn white since having my first born almost 17 years ago. Time to live dangerously.

I hope I’ll be forgiven for sneaking in some dress making fabrics, along with the patchwork stash. They were too good not to share. Have you added anything new to your fabric stash this week, or dug out some old favourites for a new project? Perhaps you might like to join in with Sunday Stash too. There *may* be prizes!

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #263

My desk looks just the same as last week so I won’t bore you with it, nor the details that led to the complete lack of crafting (or blogging) over the last few days.

However, I do have one or two lovely things to share with you. Another quilt square arrived on Saturday morning, accompanied by some of my favourite chocolate. Deb cleverly took her inspiration from my blog name/header.

Then, yesterday, this little beauty arrived. It has caused Deb a bit of anxiety on its travels as it took longer than expected to get here. Well worth the wait and it came on just the day I needed a little cheer in the mail.

At lunchtime I had an unexpected delivery of some goodies from By Hand London. You might remember me sharing a link to their Kickstarter project a few months ago. This was a reward for pledging. I just love the Anna dress in the illustration. It’s on my “To Sew” list….one of these days. Probably without the thigh high split!

So, that’s me, for today. Hop on over to Julia’s place for more lovely deskers.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #262

Pretty much the same rubble as last week, with a few additions.

The purple lidded box, that I take to class, was dumped on the desk when I got home and has remained there ever since. While I was unloading the boot, I noticed the MDF Christmas tree, top right, that I won in the WOYWW crop raffle. I have plans for that, but I really can’t think about ‘seasonal’ projects when we are just getting some sun.

My clutch containing hexie sewing bits and bobs, that I took to the South West Stitchers meet up on Saturday. Always a great day out, with good company, delicious cake and free flowing coffee and tea. Oh, and some sewing!

The little scrap of blue and white spotty fabric was tying up a bundle of loveliness that arrived last week from Sian. The very first square for my very own Friendship Quilt. I may have been a little bit excited and unexpectedly a little teary. I can’t wait to see what else my month brings.

The pattern came with issue 2 of Love Sewing, along with a free tape measure. How many of these does anyone need? I’d rather have a slightly cheaper cover price, or extra magazine content personally. How about you?

The washing machine is bleating at me so I’d better make the most of the sunshine and get the next load on the line. Looking forward to catching up with you all, over at Julia’s, once it’s coffee time. ETA: There’s no linky today as Julia is poorly. I’m sure you’ll all join me in wishing her a speedy recovery.

Only one more exam left, Physics for my girl tomorrow, then we’re done. Thanks to everyone who has left good wishes for her.

PS If there’s anyone, among my readers today, that fancies taking part in the “Ever Expanding Blog Hop” that I was part of yesterday, please leave a comment to that effect and I’ll tag you in.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #256

Back to the kitchen table today….

I’ve done my chores, been out for a coffee and catch up, with a friend who I’ve not seen in a while. Now I’m all set up for an afternoon sewing session, once I’ve had my lunch. I have a whole bunch of pieces, ready cut, so that I can make myself a set of duplicate blocks, as I’ve mentioned before.

These are two of the three most recent blocks, which went to Beverly, for her Caribbean theme and Amy, who chose seaside colours, worn and washed. Deb is yet to receive hers and I don’t want to spoil the surprise so I’m keeping it under wraps for now. It’s been great seeing them all pop up on Instagram, as they’ve arrived at their various destinations. Did I mention that I LOVE Instagram!

All the colour schemes are different and I’m starting to think about how I will pull them together in the finished quilt.. My own theme is “Anything Goes”, which I hope will give me a selection of colours, to add to the 12 I will have here, by the end. I want to make a lap quilt, for snuggling up with on chilly Autumn evenings. I need to work out how much extra fabric to add, either in the form of simple sashing or with added “cornerstones”, which is what I’m leaning towards right now. How lovely it will be to sit and think of all the wonderful women around the world who helped make it.

Not so short and sweet today. Sorry! Head on over to Julia’s place for more desks and I’ll be back on Saturday with my Month in Numbers.

Coffee and a Catch Up ~ April 2014

It’s that time of the month, when Abi invites us all to sit and have a cup of tea with her. Come in out of the rain. I’ve got a treat for you today.

I was talking pancakes on Friday. It occurred to me then, that they are very similar to the drop scones my Mum used to make sometimes for Sunday tea so I rustled up a batch in time for your visit. We mostly like syrup on ours, maple or golden?

I can’t believe we are now half way through the Friendship Quilt project. Are you taking part? It’s been such fun choosing fabrics, to suit each recipient’s chosen colour scheme. Those *might* be the trimmings from Deb’s block, which went in the post on Friday. I’m hoping that the postal system will get it to the USA a bit quicker than the one I sent to Australia, which is still out there somewhere after a month. 

I’ve stuck with a log cabin block for everyone, although I’ve been changing up the design a bit. I have a stack of strips and squares cut, ready to make duplicate blocks for myself. I love the thought of having a little piece of fabric in my quilt, that will also be in another, somewhere else around the world. I’m already thinking ahead to May and chose this fabric as the starting point for (the other) Deb’s Springtime colour scheme. I’ve set up a Pinterest board with all the blog posts, I’ve noticed, sharing blocks for the Friendship Quilt. If I’ve missed any, please let me know.

In other sewing news, the dress is coming along slowly but surely. Some hand sewing is the next job, which is not really my forte, slipstitching the waistband in place on the inside. The alternative is to stitch “in the ditch” so that the stitches disappear into the waistband seam on the outside, but they would show on the inside and (in my opinion) spoil the neat finish I’ve managed so far. Do you sew your clothes, or have plans to start? I commented on the Sewaholic blog the other day and that resulted in Linda visiting me. She has recently begun dressmaking and made her first dress a few months again. By some strange coincidence Linda chose exactly the same fabric as me! How I love the connections in the blogging world.

The first issue of a brand new magazine arrived last weekend. Among the many lovely projects and patterns in there, I came across this mini art wrap, which I’d previously pinned with the idea of making one for my girl. Next on the dressmaking list, is this cute sixties shift dress. It’s a reprinted vintage pattern and I’ll be making a plain version to begin with, but I think it would look good with the peter pan collar.

The children are back at school now after the Easter holidays, but it wasn’t much of a break for them this time. My girl has her art mock all day on Thursday and the rest of her exams the following week. My boy starts his AS Level exams soon too. Lots of revision, but we did manage to get out for an afternoon, over the Easter weekend. A walk in the sunshine, by the canal at Bradford On Avon.

Ah, its time for you to go now. Mind you don’t step on any of these as you leave. They are out in force after the heavy rain we had earlier. What news will you be sharing over our afternoon cuppa? I’m off to Abi’s place to find out.

Coffee and a Catch Up ~ January 2014

I’m linking up with the lovely Abi today. She invites us all to “Sit and have a cup of tea” with her and share our news.

Being British, we might well start by talking about the weather. Specifically, the endless rain we have had this month. I took this photo standing on the bridge, that leads across the river to the library. The water was sloshing right under my feet and was more or less level with the bank on the far side. We’ve lived here for six years now and I’ve never seen it quite that high before. Imagine if the library were to get flooded. In fact, no, I don’t even want to think about that. *shudder* Here in the South it’s been a very mild Winter without the crisp cold days and clear skies I love.

It’s mock exam season around here and with one embarking on his A Levels and the other her GCSEs, there’s a lot of revision needing to be done. Everyone needs a break though and not being able to get out much, we’ve been getting cosy and enjoying a film or a good board game and plenty of hearty casseroles. I’ve tried a few new recipes this month, some of which I’ll be sharing here, on the blog, very soon. Have you got a favourite tried and tested Winter warmer? I’m loving my slow cooker and it’s had quite a workout these past few weeks. So glad I bought it.

Have a look at this lovely selection of fabrics I received in the mail last week. I’m trying to be a bit more organised this year and get ahead with my blocks. The colours on the right are for Amy’s theme of “Seaside colours, washed and worn.” The silvery grey reminded me of driftwood. The two on the left are for Beverly’s Caribbean colour scheme. I already have some fabric in my stash to go with them. It’s so much fun picking out colours for everyone and I’m really enjoying this project. Maybe you’re joining in too. How are you finding it so far? Are you getting a little more adventurous as the months go by or, like me, sticking to a plan for everyone?

I’m a little late to the party, but in other news, I joined Instagram this month. Of course you may have already guessed that from the square photos gracing this blog post. The above being the almost mandatory lunch shot. I’m loving it. Beverly suggested that Friendship Quilt folk could post fabrics, that fitted their own colour scheme, to give others an idea of what they were hoping to receive. Does that sound like a good idea? I think most of you are already members, although not necessarily active ones. I am @angelfishcrafts over there and will be using the hashtag “friendshipquilt” unsurprisingly!

It’s been lovely to see you here today and I’ll be round to catch up on all your news soon. ‘Til the next time x

Peachy Keen

As I mentioned on Wednesday, I’m taking part in the 52 Card Challenge again. I was a bit hit and miss with it last year and thought by posting what I’ve made here, every now and again, I might be more inclined to keep up this time around!

The first challenge was to use stash you’d been given for Christmas. In my case, that was none! Instead I went for something new(ish) that I’d bought myself, the smaller of the two flower stamps. The larger one is an old favourite and both have matching punches, which makes things easy. Inspired by the peachy tones Alexa chose for her Friendship Quilt blocks, I made this card and a coordinating box*.

Last week, the challenge was to use a very bright colour palette, with many more colours than I would usually put together in one card. I managed to get them all in, albeit in very small doses, including a nod to the spots and chevrons in the picture.

This week it’s a sketch challenge, if you fancy joining in. I’ve yet to make mine, but I’ll share it, along with Week 4, later in the month. Here’s to keeping up with good intentions….so far!

*You can find a tutorial for the box (in a slightly smaller size) here.

Intentions for 2014

It seems a little late in the month for a retrospective post, so bang goes my first intention for this month! Instead I’ll look forward to what the coming year may bring.

Project Life ~ I bought a small diary to jot down things that happen each day, as a basis for some pocket scrapping. I’m really keen to give it a go this year, having read with interest the blog posts of others on the subject, over the last year or so.

Instagram ~ I upgraded my phone a couple of weeks ago and for the first time I have a camera worth using. I’ve joined Instagram and am enjoying finding my way around there. I think it will also be a useful tool for PL and possibly a good way of sharing progress with the Friendship Quilt, for those that are on there.

Reading ~ Last January I began A Song of Fire and Ice, not really intending to read all the books published so far. That’s what happened though and I have about 200 pages left of A Dance With Dragons. This year I will be catching up with all the great books I missed out on. I’ve already downloaded one or two onto my Nook.

Crafting ~ There will definitely be more sewing in my very near future. I have plans for at least one other quilt, before I receive all my Friendship Quilt blocks in June. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to that. If you’re taking part, look out for a post, with some thoughts on that project, later in the week.

Blogging ~ I want to get out of the rut I found myself in at the end of the year and have some plans to that end. I also have an idea for a monthly meme, which I’ll share next week. I really hope some of you will join me.

One Little Word ~ Last year I picked ‘Connect’ and that worked well for me. This year I am choosing ‘Engage’ and I’ll talk more about that another day.

There you have it. Another fresh new year ahead of us. Let’s enjoy it together.

A Friendship Quilt ~ The Nine Patch Block

I found that there were a lot of tutorials out there for making nine patch blocks using a rotary cutter and ruler, but not much in the way of alternatives. Here’s my attempt at putting one together for anyone who doesn’t have those tools on hand.

Pick your fabrics and iron them. Make yourself a 2.5” square template. I made mine from a cereal packet. Draw around it onto the back of your fabric. I used a Frixion pen, because when you iron it the marks disappear. Pretty cool huh? Cut along the lines as accurately as you can. You’ll need nine squares, but you knew that. Right?

Lay the squares out in your chosen design.

Take the 3 squares in the left hand column and lay them right side down on top of the squares in the middle column.

Sew each pair together with a scant 1/4” seam.

Open out and press, being careful not to stretch the fabric out of shape. I pressed the seam towards the darker half of the block, you can press it open if you prefer.

Now take a square from the remaining right hand column and place right side down on the middle square.

Sew together with the same scant 1/4” seam. I’ve marked a line on the bed of my sewing machine, with masking tape, so that it stays the same throughout.

You should now have 3 rows of 3 joined squares. Press the seams.

At this point I’m hoping that the seams line up pretty well, which they do. Phew!

Now take the top row and place it right side down on the middle row.

Match the raw edges along the top and line up seams. Sew together.

Take the final row of joined squares and place face down on the middle row. Matching the bottom edge and lining up the seams. Sew together.

Open out and press. There you have a nine patch block. It’s not perfect, but I’m OK with that. It’s also not quite as crooked as it looks at the bottom right corner! You can see that the left hand edge is not level all the way down, but it’s more important to me to have the seams lined up in the middle of the block.

Any questions ask away and I’ll do my best to help. I have a Sizzix die that cuts 2.5” squares. If anyone taking part in the Friendship Quilt project, would like some cardboard templates, I’d be happy to send you some. The die also cuts nice neat squares from fabric, if you have a Big Shot. Just sayin’.

If you are planning to make a simpler Four Patch Block, then you would need to cut the fabric into 3.5” squares and join two pairs together using the scant 1/4” seam.

That’s it from me for now. I’m so looking forward to seeing what arrives with Abi over the course of this month.