I’m having another go at Abi’s clever idea.
The last time* I had short hair. Mistaken for a boy twice in one day. It’s been long ever since.
*Meeting the wonderful Una Stubbs, as Aunt Sally, in the summer of ‘81. Loving that the photo has rounded corners.
Here we are again, on the first Sunday of the month. Which means it must be time to join Sian From High in the Sky with a little something we treasure.
I pulled out this pencil sketch a couple of months ago, to show my daughter, who was drawing portraits for her Art homework. I was reminded of it again when I stayed with my best friend from Uni last weekend. We drank red wine and reminisced and the years just melted away. Friends like that are the most precious kind.
The paper is wrinkled and a little discoloured now, but the lines remain strong. It was drawn around this time of year, when we had not long moved into a house together, along with three other girls. We had all lived in halls prior to that and it was fun settling into our first proper house and making it home.
Five was the perfect number and we each took a week night to cook for everyone. Three of us were vegetarians and The Cranks Recipe Book became my new best friend. I learnt a lot about cooking on a budget in those first months and it was lovely to sit together around the table, after a day of lectures, sharing a meal.
On Saturdays, when it was my turn, I would cycle down Withycombe Village Road and come back with a basket full of paper wrapped chips. There’d be thick slices of white bread, generously buttered and plenty of tomato ketchup, waiting to be made into big fat chip butties. Happy days.
Three of us are still in touch, twenty five years after we first met and I couldn’t have wished for better friends to share those first years away from home.
It would seem I am ahead of the game. Not something you’ll hear very often from me.
I taught a class in Mere this morning and after lunch I settled down to make some boxes. All the supplies were together so it made sense to use them before putting away again.
You can’t see from the angle I chose to photograph, but it’s a two part box. The inner ‘drawer’ is made from kraft cardstock and it’s sized to hold three tea lights.
I’m going rogue this week and posting early. It’s OK, Julia said I could.
Hoping I have broken my bloggers block now and aiming to be back real soon.
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.
Thirty days hath September….allegedly….and I’d love to know where they went! We’ve been laid low by a nasty virus and it’s taken a while to get back on our feet. Today I’m going to share the colour schemes that everyone has chosen for their patchwork blocks. It’s a lovely selection.
Abi ~ Creating paper Dreams ~ Neutral with pops of colour
Alexa ~ Trimming the Sails ~ Peachy shades
Alison ~ Life in the Slow Lane ~ Teal/turquoise/cream
Amy ~ Over at Our Place ~ Seaside colours, washed and worn: cream, kraft, pale blue, muted denim Plain fabrics, stripes or spots
Beverly ~ BE Glorious ~ Blues, greens (think Caribbean shades) and orange
Deb ~ Paper Turtle ~ Bright colours
Deb ~ Debs World ~ Spring time colours: pinks, blues and greens
Fiona (me!) ~ Staring at the Sea ~ Anything goes
Jacky ~ Scrappy Jacky ~ Rust/terracotta and greens, but not lime green
Jo ~ Buckingham’s Palace ~ Blue and Yellow with white/cream
Jo ~ Sugar and Scrap ~ Pinks and turquoise
Sian ~ From High in the Sky ~ Creams, whites, tans and linens
As I said in the email, we’ll keep the posting order alphabetical, exactly as it appears here. Abi will be the recipient for this month and Alexa in November. We’ll take a break in December, I’m sure we’ll all have enough going on then. Resuming in January with Alison and Amy will be Miss February.
There are quite a few useful links and tutorials in these two posts from last year. I’ll be back on Monday with tutorials for a basic nine patch and four patch. Those I have found online all involve rotary cutting, which I’m assuming beginner quilters will not have the equipment for. Don’t worry they can be made using scissors instead.
If you’ve already started, just remember your finished block must measure 6.5” no matter what design you’ve chosen to make. Have fun with it.
Squeezing in under the wire, with the last of my scavenged photos.
12. A cloud in the shape of something
I’m going with the disappearing dragon as I’ve found nothing better. Not for the want of trying!
16. A windmill
At Bristol airport.
17. Candles
My boy on his sixteenth birthday
18. Your local pub/bar, coffee house or tea shop
A favourite Sixth Form hang out recently revisited.
19. A fisherman
He’s caught a fish in his hat. Does that make him a fisherman?
20. A dinosaur
The rarely seen Gromitasaurus.
21. A photo of you with an artistic tool
I don’t do much without this!
That’s it. Almost a full set. I’m not counting the dodgy fisherman. Thank you Rinda for keeping us entertained this summer with your brilliant Photo Scavenger Hunt. Looking forward to the next one.
I can’t tell you how delighted I am that so many people wanted to join this project and that some of you are giving patchwork a try for the very first time. There aren’t many rules involved, only that the finished blocks need to be 6 1/2” square. They can be made to any design you like and that will depend on the individual stitcher.
I’m (fairly sure) that I’m going to stick with the basic Nine Patch for everyone. My plan is to make two blocks, one for the person whose month it is, in their chosen colour scheme, and a second matching block to keep myself. I’ll then have 24 blocks at the end of the year, which will make a larger quilt.
You could choose to go a little simpler and make a Four Patch block. You would need four 3 1/2” squares for this one and in each case the seam allowance would be 1/4” to give you a 6 1/2” block once it was sewn together.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me their address details and colour schemes so far, there are some lovely choices among them. I’m already dreaming up a few ideas. I’ll get the list together as soon as I’ve heard from everyone. As for me, I’m going for the pot luck option and trust that it will be wonderful when it’s all sewn up.
I’m putting together a couple of tutorials for these basic blocks. Showing how I would do it with a ruler and rotary cutter and how it can be done just as easily with a pencil, scissors and cereal packet templates.
Have a lovely weekend.
