Fun with FMQ

Not much time for sewing this week - its half term so I'm busy being a mum.  So far I've only grabbed 20 minutes to machine doodle this FMQ sample block as part of my C&G samples.

I have to say that for the second week in a row Blogger has played fast and loose with my photo - this sample is all white and doesn't have interesting colour overlays.....although perhaps that would be a good idea!

My biggest challenge on this was to get the last stitches in each block to lead me to the corner ready to move onto the next design.  I realise that if I'd stitched the grid in purple I'd have been able to overstitch from any point on the edge of the block which is something to consider for the next ones, perhaps!
Happy halloween!

Still making progress

 

 

I can't lie.  My handsewing still doesn't look how I'd like it to.  However, I am just about up to date with my TAST pages, which is cause for a little celebration!  As well as adding the final stitch to this page, at the weekend I managed the next six stitches on the next one of my pages too.

I've also (after trying just one beaded stitch) ordered a book about beaded embroidery stitches which looks lovely, even though I'm not sure that it's easy to find beads that are small but that have holes in big enough to fit needle and sewing thread through.....I'm hoping that the book will help guide me through the right choices!

Not much other sewing so far this week, but I'm hoping to settle down to some machine sewing later, now that I've ticked some other chores off the list for this week.

Finally, my bloggy friend Sarah, who is doing the same C&G course as me, has just set up a new Facebook page - Quilt Candy -  and is starting to showcase her lovely work.  Why not drop by and take a look and a like?

Hope that you are finding some pre-Halloween crafting time too!

Stich and burn

Not much stitching at all this week (but we have nearly put all the things that belong in the Living Room back into the Living Room, which feels like an achievement)

I'm trying to work out whether I can use the stitch and burn idea used to make this postcard to make a more complex image.  My cousin John takes fabulous photos of birds, including some wonderful bright yellow warblers, and I'm wondering whether or not I could use yellow, white and brown voile layered and burnt away from stitching to try and re-create one of his pictures to make an image to go onto a cushion cover......  I might just have to give it a shot next week.

Planning some scrap booking, then hand stitching and maybe a little paper and pencil work for the rest of the week, so that I can try and catch up my TAST stitches again, and start on my Mod 6 design stuff.

Hope that you are having fun crafting or sewing!

Phew!

This isn't a great shot, but taken by DD1 it's the best shot that I have to show something of the quilt show, with my 'flower tree' hanging in a lovely position at the Landmark over the weekend.  It's a lovely building,  large, light and airy.  The quilts were displayed very well by the team of volunteers on Thursday.  Over 600 people came through the doors, so we are hoping to make a good donation to the Royal Marsden.  If you were one of the people who came along, thank you.   We appreciate your support.

 The quilts are all home now - despite two people seeking me out to see if I'd sell the flower tree!

Seeing the quilts piled up like this (mostly backings showing!) explains how I get through the lovely graphic fabric with birds and trees on so quickly.  Perhaps I need another trip to Ikea to stock up on it!

Too worn out even to watch a recording of Downton Abbey yesterday(!), I was saving my energy to go to the quilt group meeting in the evening, where Lesley had made kits and led a mini-workshop on how to use copyright free designs to produce interesting pieces.  Both of these are unfinished but a little more stitching should see them done.

Happy stitching!

Only One More Day!

No, not to see this sample of machine quilting (the photo that I failed to upload last time) - this is merely a distraction (which at the time of being photographed was wet and slapped onto the window so that I could really see the stitching lines.

There is only one more day left to go to the Richmond and Kew Quilters Show at The Landmark, Teddington.  It will be open tomorrow (Sunday 7th Oct) from 10am until 5.00pm, with raffle draws in the mid to late afternoon.

Don't miss out!  There are some fabulous quilts there, including a couple of mine (somewhat less fabulous) and quilts belonging to both Avril and Benta, amongst many others!  If I can entice you further, there is splendid cake, craft and sewing bric-a-brac stalls, local traders......what's not to like?

Hope to hear that you've been along and enjoyed it!

My One Top Tip for Needleworkers.

So what is this one top tip?  It's this.  Don't - actually, let me rephrase that - DO NOT eat Jaffa Cakes at your sewing machine unless you can guarantee that you will be able to keep all the small fragments of chocolate from melting on the side of your hand and transferring themselves to your hitherto pure white quilting......

 

Actually, I do have one more needleworking tip:  even if you think that you are going to pick up your cross stitch again in a couple of hours, I recommend that you store the needle either in a needle case, or really close to the edge of the fabric, NOT either in or close to the stitches that you are making.  Otherwise, if, say you 'file' piece of work for 10 years and then want to finish and frame it, you may find that you have two unattractive rust dots on the fabric to deal with.  Go on, guess how I know (and then don't wonder that the lovely 'Australian Alphabet' I stitched some time ago has such narrow borders within the frame).


Turning away from those warnings, though (and perhaps picking up some bicarb in order to get rid of the chocolate mark) maybe these sampler pieces will encourage you to get quilting too?  These patterns are all made with the walking foot (rather than free motion quilting).  Hmmm.  Pieces?  just the one, I'm afraid.  The other sample photo that I wanted to load doesn't seem to be playing nicely with blogger, so you'll just have to wait until another day to see that one.  Only one sampler piece after all.  Oh well, more sewing to show you next time instead, whilst I go off and have a mini-celebration for passing Mod 5 of my C&G course!