Been Shopping.

As is often the case, I uploaded my pictures in the wrong order! Moya and I went shopping yesterday, I had some particular fabrics in mind. I spent more than I should have and then came home to find treasure on my doorstep.

I left a comment on Karol Ann's blog and was automatically entered into a draw and was delighted when she emailed me to say I'd won. She sent me these pretty fabrics which arrived while we were out.

This photo has washed them out a bit, they are not really this pale. I have left them on top of the drawers where I keep my fabrics. I'm hoping for inspiration, and I've had one or two ideas already. Thank you Karol Ann.

What did I shop for? Well I had to get a couple of fat quarters for my 'Another Little Quilt Swap' but I'm not showing those! Instead I'll show my other purchases. This first bunch is for DS2 quilt. Like his brother he has helped to design it and had input when it came to choosing fabrics. He selected the black and white/grey fabrics with dragons on. On our design we had included red and yellow.

They both have hints of red about them, but they are very different reds, and only the black has any yellow, so I had a hard time finding just the right fabrics. I'm glad I went to a real life store rather than an OLS. We ended up with a red batik as it has both shades of red and a yellow tone on tone with a hint of gold. It looks a little firey. Moya wanted me to get a very bright orangy yellow, which looked very firey, but.........No, I'm happy with my choices. I have batting for it and I'm hoping that the grey/blue which I used to back his brothers will also serve here.

These next fabrics I bought just because they were there in the shop.

Moya and I both bought a fat quarter of the butterfly fabric, it was too pretty to resist. The white is a batik, it has the palest softest hints of sky blue pink about it.

This one I found in the scrap box, there are three pieces all about 3 x 15, also too pretty to resist at £0.50.

And a lovely piece of Kona fabric, Moya picked up some of these too.

We ended our trip with lunch in an old train station, well, the station is still used as a station in the summer and all year round it is Greens Vegetarian Restaurant. We're not vegetarian, but we do enjoy their bakes and salads and it's fantastically good value.

Well I'm off to play with my purchases and make a start on something. Have a great day.

Me time.

No, I didn't get any yet, but I'd pay for some.

Work has been hideous, I could go on, for hours at length, but I won't.

I finally got DS1 quilt finished, here's a not very good pic. As soon as I put the last stitch into the binding he took it off me a wore it for the remainder of the weekend.

I snatched it up quick this morning and got a picture, it's a bit scrumpled looking, but at least it's done. The blue sides and red top and bottom were his own idea, as was the bitsy binding. I think it's safe to assume he is delighted with it. Now his lil bruv is looking hopefully at his fabric chioces and wondering how long his will take. I've got news for you pal, yes I have two days off work, but, today I'm going out with Aunty Moya, and tomorrow I have to do some study.

I have my partners name for the 'Another Little Quilt Swap', I've incorporated my ideas with her likes and preferences and I need to go shopping, so Moya and I are off to a real bricks and mortar quilt shop today. While I am there I also need to get some yellowy goldy kinda colour for DS2. After a bit of fabric shopping we'll do lunch then I have an appointment, so we're back home to Ramsey.

I'm off to read some of your blogs before Moya arrives.

Have a great day.

The votes have been cast.....

And the unanimous decision is that it's a pie/cake slice thing. LOL That will do me!

There is no answer, it came from an internet shop which sells only stitchy/quilty stuff. It does have the shops name and address printed on the other side, but thats it.

For those of you who asked about the fur baby who appeared in the corner of an earlier photo here he is............

My DS is holding a toy dog. He used to sit on my bed, but my Mum says dogs shouldn't be on beds and she bought a basket for him. His name is Dulux, after a certain brand of paint. My nieces and nephews all love to play with him, they drag him out of the bed and move the bed around the house, he pops up all over the place. He actually lives in front of grandads chair, he used to live on the other side of the room but he got in the way of the permanently erected ironing board! Hmm, nuff said!

Hunney and I are still looking for a pussy cat, but we have to be sure to get the right one. As we live in an apartment we would have to find a house cat as there is no way a cat could come and go as he pleased here. It would not be fair to keep a cat in if he really wanted to be out.

Too busy working to have time to do anything quilty, but I don't start work til 3 on Friday, so look out.

What is this?

Moya got this free with some purchases, but there is nothing to explain what it is used for.

My first guess was a spatula, for the kitchen, then she explained that it came with fabrics. LOL


There's no prize for a correct answer, just the satisfaction of knowing you helped.

We had a great day.........

Yesterday. My sister Moya came over and we had a brain storming session, helped each other out with a few ideas, swapped magazines and books, showed off one or two finishes since our last get together, Oh! and we did some sewing too. LOL

I finally got Trailing Hearts 2 finished. Grandads chair once again has the honour of modelling it for you. I had to order more fabric for binding so had put it away for a while. I've had it finished for a couple of weeks now, but had never gotten around to burying the threads.

I quilted as I went with this one, stitching each round into place through the batting and the backing. I also did some work around the hearts. It has an old towel for batting and drapes beautifully.

Evidence of a busy day, planning, shopping, admiring new fabrics and the fact that we did actually get on and sew something! LOL
And here is what I achieved! All sashed and ready for borders, I did get a round of white borders on too, but didn't get a chance to photo that, we ran out of the flat leaving DD to vacuum up our mess and screeched to a halt at my work with seconds to spare! LOL We had a great day.



DS1 will be delighted I'll be layering and quilting this one tomorrow.



Moya has made a second Sun Bonnet Sue doll quilt. She has started to turn the backing forwards to self bind it and got a little frustrated with it as the quilting lines she is using as a guide are only in alternate squares and she was a little confused when it came to the corners.

I think with a little playing about we solved her problems and she will have this finished in no time. Her DD1 Amber has claimed this one since DD2 Lauren claimed the last one. I wonder if her DS Brandan would like one! LOL

One of Moyas friends has just had twins. She was prepared for any eventuality with plenty of blues and pinks from the Giggles range in lovely soft flannels. We got one of each! So she's been busy making 'His and Hers' quilts.

I took this before she put the three long blocks together. We then got stuck in and experimented with border styles and colours.
She really likes these little pinwheels. I'm not sure what my camera was playing though, these pics just don't show the true colours of the quilts.

Well that's all our news and gossip. I'm off to loose my shoes and sit at the sewing machine. The first order of business is to sew the crotch back into Hunneys shorts! Bet you're jealous of my glamorous lifestyle. ROTFL

Have a great weekend.

Finally! A Morning off.

It seems like an age since I had a morning off work. We have two shifts, 08.00 - 15.00 or 15.00 - 22.00. Needless to say when I work a late shift I have al morning and a good deal of the afternoon to myself and I can get loads done. I love it. If on the other hand I work an early shift, I really can'tbe bothered to do much when I get home, so I just do the minimum, usually some housework and cook the dinner. We don't have a set rota pattern, the duty just falls as it falls, so that explains why I seem to pop in and out of existence and post at random intervals.

Thanks to everyone for their comments on my nine patches, my lucky find and the mysterious bag I'm making with those patches of fabric! LOL I will show it, at some point. Don't hold your breath ok.

On to what I have managed to achieve over the last couple of days. This has been my first late shift in a long while, so I've maximised on my time this morning. Two loads of laundry, while I caught up with blogland, a quick wizz with the vacuum, and then onto some cutting. I cut all the sashing strips for my latest top. I got it to this stage before running out to the post office with two parcels.
When I got back I fastened all those bits together so now I have the six strips which go across the quilt. Did I mention that DS1 helped to design and choose the fabrics for this quilt? It is his quilt and he is keeping an eye on progress, so I'd better get on!
Horizontal shshing and cornerstones, here I come.

Oh!! and on the spur of the moment I signed up for ' Another Little Quilt Swap ' this morning. I have a few ideas already, but of course I'll have to wait and see if my partner has any preferences. I hope I can produce something wonderful for her, whoever she is.

Have a great day all.

Did you miss me? LOL

Sorry I've not been around, but, well LIFE!!

I've not been lazy though, I have a few small achievements. First of all I turned this collection of pieces into the body of a bag! It now needs lining and a handle attaching.


But I fell out of love with that, so I got on with a quilt for my boy. Here is the first offering, all of the nine patch blocks. Next I have to start cutting the sashing.

The other day while having a poke about in the Hospice shop I came across this beauty. It's a huge king size Blanket, it's very heavy, feels like cotton, with maybe a little wool. The label is all washed out so I can't say for sure. For £1.00 I wasn't leaving it in the shop.

I did think maybe I could use it as wadding, but after getting it home and washed I had second thoughts, I'll keep as a blanket for the spare bed. There is nothing wrong with it, not a ulled thread, no stains, nothing, except the washed out label!
It is white I assure you, don't know why it looks blue in this pic.

Life and work will continue to get in the way for a while, but I will plod on slowly when I have chance.

Have a great day.

Prem / doll quilt.

I have nothing of my own to show today, but I thought you might like a look at Moyas latest offering.

She bought a whole bunch of Sues off ebay and etsy. They pop up all over the place.

Just to take a break from her larger projects and to get a little instant gratification she whipped up this little treasure over the weekend, there is just a tiny bit of the binding left to go on.

And the back, modelled beautifully by Lala.

You can just see the quilting. I now have a piece of that backing fabric in my scrap basket. I'm not sure what she is going to do with this one, maybe Lala has claimed it for her dolls, maybe Moya has another idea in mind.

I'm off to get my coloured pencils out and play around with a few ideas for the Nautical quilt

Have a great day.