Rainbow Paintbox Quilt Top

Rainbow Paintbox quilt top finally finished

It is great having the week off work

I have been finishing all those projects hanging around

This one just needs the batting, back and binding.................

 I hung it next to my oil painting which is 40" x 40"

I painted it a few years ago, you may recognise the painting

although it could never pass for a fake! as my painting to too flat compared to Matisse

(sorry Matisse, but you were a little sloppy and never seemed to cover the canvas in paint)

Anyway its a take off of the 1939 The Music by Matisse.

Mine is a similar size to the original.

A man after my own heart, can't work in small scale!

Anyway so you don't get confused above photo is the original painting by Matisse

The below photo is my painting

I have never shown anybody on my blog my paintings before....

Now to complete my argyle quilt......

After trip to Sainsbury's

Kx

Postage Stamp Doll Quilt

 Doll Quilt

88 x 2" (2.5" pre-sewing) squares

approx 18" x 22"

With a matching 5" x 8" pillow

Hung over my own 1970's doll cot

from when I was once small!

Although I love those prop beds as seen on Etsy, as it would be easier to photograph

I may now have to tackle a full size postage stamp quilt,

may take a while......

Don't Laugh....

My first attempt!

Yesterday I did a 2 hour beginners course in learning to crochet.

It was at my local wonderful sewing shop

The Owl and the Sewing Cat

The lady who taught 6 of us has the patience of a saint, but she did mention that she also used to teach special needs so I guess we were in the right hands.

Being a total left hander she new she was going to have trouble

(that's why my mother gave up trying to teach me knitting and sewing years ago....)

So I was bullied into doing it right handed - OK so asked to try.

The problem I had was my hook stayed in one position and I moved the wool instead, not the way you are to do it and I was slow, I am a fast learner so picked what I was 'meant' to be doing quickly, chain stitch the double onto treble, which if you squint your eyes enough you may just be able to spot them on this masterpiece I made.

Then in the last 1/2 hour it was suggested I go back to doing it left handed, as I think right handed crocheting was never going to produce a granny square in the near future(oh I can't wait to make one of those one day).

So left handed it is now, but my brain had to go back to the beginning and do it reversed.

Anybody wanting to learn, go to a class, drink tea, have a laugh and one day soon you will be better than me.

Kx

44 Purses later

 A marathon 44 Purse making session

Each one different

ready for my craft fair next week

Nothing like a craft fair to get me making goodies

I have been slack for over 6 months!

I have just uploaded the photos of each one to flickr

as I thought showing 44 purses and 88 photos would be a bit much!

blondedesign

These are approx 4.5" x 4.5", I used a stack of my 5" quilting squares.

Zips I purchased last year from Etsy - I think Zip it..

Lining fabric mainly the cheaper printed fabrics I use to back my quilts

(the ones on the larger rolls in quilting or fabric shops.).

The zip end covers are bits of bias binding!

Kx

Finished Seed Quilt

Seed Quilt

I finally managed to get out, to take some pictures now the rain has stopped

And what a perfect day to take them.

Although you do get a few strange looks taking the photos!

Anyway the fabric is Echo by Lotta Jansdotter 

5" squares in a 9 x 9 block

Stitched in a spiral pattern

Yellow candy cane bias binding

The reverse shows the free hand spiral stitching

 Laid out flat

Hope you had a great weekend

Kx

WIP Seed Pod Quilt

Seed Pod Quilt

My first attempt at spiral stitching on a quilt.

Quilt is a 9 x 5" squares quilt.

Quite a bit to do, still cotton bits all over, edges need straightening and bias binding added and then cross fingers and stick it the wash!

Sorry after pinning this at 10pm last night, I started sewing the spiral at 11pm, (put machine on a slow walk, as didn't want to vibrate next door out!got half way through had tea at midnight and finished at 1pm.

2 Hours!!! of slow stitching.

I put this away for a few months as I didn't like the too many greys - thought it had no depth, but then last night I had a brain wave and thought the spiral stitching would liven it up a bit, and now I love it. I will be doing more abstract stitching from now on..

I am a away for a couple of days so took this from my phone at 7am, before running out the house!

I will get to finish it Friday Night.

Kx

Make - 8 Pointed Star

The Lemoyne Star

Sewn the easy way, no fussy sewing

(OK I am not a fan of my stripy point, but as I am going to be making another 8 of these for a quilt, I will live with it!)

I have used 5"squares, this makes the star large,

feel free to use what ever size squares you like

Cut 8 White Squares

Cut 8 single squares of patterned fabric

(I have used 8 separate fabrics, you could use less)

Cut all your 8 patterned pieces into triangles

Cut ONLY 4 of your white ones into triangles

Leaving 4 white squares

Now rearrange your pieces

with the four white squares in each corner

(bit of a puzzle, but but fun)

Next taking your middle pieces

sew press and trim as shown

making 4 squares

Taking the outer pieces join each patterned triangle to adjoining white triangle

press and trim

You will now have 16 squares again!

Starting from the top row, sew your squares together,

So now you have 4 rows of fabric and press!

please note your four white corner pieces will be slightly larger,

but I wait till I have finished to trim the edges off.

Last but not least join your rows together

And press and trim

Kxx

Organising........

After six months off from sewing for others, I am rejoining the sewing community with fresh ideas!!

With so much DIY in our house and sewing I need to do for myself, every thing had been abandoned as all I was doing was Working long hours, sewing and sleeping, I didn't see the rest of the world...

Rather than expand on things I used to make I am honing them in, and really have fell in love with my quilt making, loads of things in the pipeline.

Do you like my new (or rather vintage) pigeon hole shelves, cost me a pretty fortune BUT well worth it, now all I need to to do is get hubby to wall hang it.

Now i can see what colours I am short on, talking about colours does anybody else find it hard to get yellow fabrics? the ones that are out they are just, boring!

Kxxx

Blue All Squares

Blue All Squares

My sewing this week has been poor!

I finished the top at the weekend, and have just based it, just need to sew the top to the bottom and add the binding.

It is 9 x 9 5inch squares, should end up about 42" square, perfect for a baby boy!

Kx

A Couple of my favorite things..

I love my red spotty jug

Daffodils in spring

My thrift cup and saucer

And the biscuit tin from M&S

The most expensive tin of biscuits I have ever purchased,

they were divine, but I purchased them for the tin!

Kx

Orla Kiely Inspired

Take some Robert Kaufman Quilters linen

(received these in the post yesterday from USA, and I am not disappointed)

Purchased from freshsqueezedfabrics at etsy

They are 100% quilters cottons, with a printed linen look, wonderful.

They came to $44.00 (£28.00) for the 8 1/2 yards!!

$61.44 (Under £40.00 including delivery).

I thought I would have to pay extra on import duties, but somehow they managed to pass though and land on my mat.

Inspired by this, Orla Kiely

One fab pattern from The sometimes crafter

Retro Flower Quilt pattern

Which I purchased last week, ready to go,

 I will use as a base but turn all the petals in the same direction

To get this ish, which may or may not have black lines

Also will have rounder petals

(but anyway its the inspiration)

The fabrics close up, aren't they just scrummy.

Kx

Finished Candy Floss Pinwheels Quilt!!

Candy Floss Pinwheels Quilt

Finally finished!

Why candyfloss, its just happy, summer, fun fairs, and a yummy sweet shops!!

Made with 48 Pinwheels

Each one in a different pink inspired fabric!

Bubblegum pink spotty binding

from blondesbackyard

All scrummy designer fabrics, some you might reconise

 Just wing it by Momo for Moda, Its a Hoot by Momo for Moda, Soul Blossoms by Amy Butler, Ruby by Bonnie and Camille from Moda, Central Park by Kate Spain are just a few to name.

WIP Pile of Pinwheels

Work in Progress

25 pinwheels (100 quarter pieces)

ready to sew the next step and add to these ones

Kx

Metro Modern Baby Quilt Finished!!

Metro Modern

Half Moon Modern Metro for Moda 

Forgot to post this yesterday!!

33 charm size 5" squares

halved to make 66 and teamed with 66 Kona white triangles

backed in a red polka dot fabric

34" x 34" finished

Finished with Candy Cane red bias binding from my Etsy shop blondesbackyard

Quilt up for sale in my Etsy shop blondedesign

I truly love the primary colours in this range the colours just pop, I will have to stock up on these.

Kxx

A Mini Rainbow of Pillows 'cushions'

Finally finished putting these together, after waiting for the inner pads to arrive in the post,

so I could then get them photographed.

(trying to find a long empty plain wall to do this ended up being a nightmare, sometimes Victorian houses, with pretty fireplaces and no spare spaces, makes me hank after a 1970's super square white box!

No red pillow, as my red stash was low, and no purple, so need to stock up on some of those fabrics.. then the rainbow would have been complete, instead I have a light pink one instead!

Blue 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion

Blue 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion

Green 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion

Green 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion

Yellow 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion

Yellow 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion

Orange 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion

Orange 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion

Pink 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion

Pink 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion

Light Pink Valentine 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion

Light Pink Valentine 16" x 16" Quilted Cushion