Posted fabric!

I'm not posting it - instead I received it....from pinkcastlefabrics.   


This is the first time I ordered from them and I must say I would certainly be happy to order again!


So do you want to see what I got?

I was tempted by some greys

By some oranges/yellows

And these two

I love these little foxes - not so keen on the ones in the garden which are stopping us from taking our wee pup out in the garden - apparently until she has had a week after her second set of injections she may catch some deadly disease from those foxes so we are keeping her safe inside and only taking her out carrying her!  She seems quite happy with that....for now.

Purse finished! At last!

Don't the days speed past when you have a puppy and other things to distract you?  

If I were a brilliant or organised mama for the In the Frame Purse Swap I would have finished my purse ages ago and would have sent it off at the beginning of the swap posting window, however it turns out that I am as big a prevaricator as ever and have left everything till the last minute!

Ah well I cannot change the habits of a lifetime I suppose but I hope the wait will be worth it for my partner.

I decided early on to go with big balls for my partner and that got me making the baguette purse designed by Lisa Lam from her kit!  

I liked it but thought the purse frame could cope with a bigger purse - more bang for those bucks if you like!   Well this started me playing and trying to see how to make a puffy purse but bigger to fit this frame.  

In the meantime I played with hexagons and star stitching on my front and backside!   Painful believe me!  I added compressed foam ( from lovely Lisa Lam's u-handbag website) and stitched in cotton perle through both layers. 

I got those done in good time but still hadn't quite got the pattern shape right!  Oh no tragedy in the making??  Well what would you do?  Go back to a pattern that works of course - made by an expert like Lisa and work from there!   So I did go back to the baguette pattern and enlarged it !  Then I made a prototype just to check it was working and this is what I made!  Could be ready for next year's Fat Quarterly Retreat??

Taking my new pattern I tried to fit it to my worked front and back  - big oops!  They didn't seem to fit.  Lots of frustration but later a bit of clarity - I would just add more fabric in the right place!  It worked, not without birthing pains, but here it is...

Big and mouthy for easy access - I can imagine some stitching project stored in here - different balls of cotton perle perhaps, all easily seen ....

It took quite a while to pick my lining fabrics but I hope I got them right.  The fabric in the middle just seemed to echo the stars on the outside of the purse!

This is the quiet side of my purse  - a lone stitched star surrounding a hexy....

This is the loud side - a rainbow coloured ring of hexies with a star stitched  inside.  I am happy with the result and hope my partner will be too!

What about the extra you ask?  Well, that is finished too - in fact that was finished first and took quite a while to make but you will just need to wait as I think it gives too much away to my partner!  

Archie Mail!

I have to confess to watching ANTM - or America's Next Top Model! I don't know why!  I have also watched the Brit version too - it is pretty awful as people can get very bitchy about each other - well it is a competition and all that!


But when they get a communication from the host model about the next challenge they all shout out Tara mail or whoever!


But I am shouting out Archie mail or Helen mail or even more appropriately Wonder Mail!  


Helen has been a secret squirrel of late and I think she is trying to make me tidy - does she know what a challenge that is??  I told her I chuck threads I cut off on the floor and tidy up afterwards if at all!  


So she has made a fabulous Union Jack thread catcher - I am so thrilled I may actually use it though I will have to then turn it over onto the batting side away from her lovely stitching!  Thank you Helen!  And Archie!

But that's not all - enclosed was some fabric


A daisy print for my collection and sometime project!  I am getting closer to having enough fabrics - I just need to finalise the idea!

A strip of Kona dusty blue!  Well remembered Helen - I checked on my rediscovered colour card.  This is so I can add to my school house Kona sampler - yes before I bought the colour chart I decided to make my own colour chart with every Kona colour I bought - I must get back to that project as I love the blocks and enjoyed making them!  The sampler quilt will still be made!  I think I managed to make one block out a 2.5" wide strip half the full width of fabric - plus the background fabric - so it doesn't take much!




And not only that but she also sent me some pezzy charms -  shriek now 'cos they are brown!  Yup Helen is not a big fan of brown - me, I'm not so picky!  Ok it's not my favourite colour (except in puppies of course!)  but I think it has it's place!  No idea where they will end up as yet!

And here just because I can, a totally gratuitous puppy photo!   Maddie is a chocolate roan cockapoo - though I think chocapoo suits her better!

There may be a few of these to come!   


She is already a cheeky little girl!  And we have heard her voice today - yips, ruffs and quite assertive barks when she thought a dog brush might attack her even though it was playing dead at the time.  We all know how devious brushes can be so I think her's was a wise decision to be suspicious of it!


We are wondering at her preferred diet though - toilet roll - the paper and cardboard, newspaper and yesterday we were siting at the dinner table having our meal when my son suddenly burst out laughing - she was tickling his bare feet - guess she likes cheese then!



  

Meet Maddie!

Not a block of a Highland bull this time but a wee energetic fluff ball!


It seems we like brown in this house now....

And here is the girl who is over the moon to have a puppy at last!

I have discovered today how difficult it is to take photos of a constantly moving object.  I'm hoping I can improve!

Meet Hamish!

I have been catching up on my bee blocks again.

First of all my block for Scrappy? Sew bee it! for Jeanne

I used Kona Pepper as the background which is almost black!  The scrappy bits will wander all over Jeanne's quilt like a colourful roadmap and she will connect them up with her own blocks if necessary!  This was fun to do and not too taxing!

My siggy block - bit like a window - but someone has been scratching the glass...I did a bit of free motion stitching..

And now for a more recent Bee the Star of Africa bee set up by May.  This bee is all about travel of the virtual kind!  We bee members are scattered across the world but are coming together in quilts!  I love that idea!

We are making blocks relating to our country and as there are a couple of other Brits - Janine and Benta ! - I decided to go all Scottish!

Patti set us the challenge of 8.5" or 10.5" square blocks in warm colours to reflect our country with a dotty border.  Now when I thought warm colours an image immediately popped into my head....I have just been prevaricating about getting on with it.  So do you want to meet Hamish??

Here he is 

I need a drawing to work from and this was inspired by a card that I gave to my husband actually!  Strange choice I know!

Here is Hamish in rough! Trying out the colours - odd choice there too!  But Highland cattle are that colour and the lilac represents a Scottish hillside covered in heather.  I take my Scottish representation seriously!

I added a dotty border as Hamish's big horns just wouldn't fit inside ...

Stage 4 was bonding Hamish to the background, stitching him on and adding a bit of hairiness and his nose!

And here he is finished!

Look at that face!  Would you get into a field with this guy?  Apparently Helen would as she is convinced she could stand between his horns and not get injured!   I am sure she could pull that trick off but I have never been tempted I have to say!


Now I just have to convince Patti she wants a Highland Bull in her quilt - or make another block!

Village Vintage fair

Cousins from Scotland are visiting at the moment and so I thought I would take one daughter and her similarly aged cousin to the Village Vintage fair at Cuckfield!


Well they raced round in about half an hour and so I sent them off to visit the village as well!


But in the meantime I chatted, viewed and bought

I think I'd like someone to come into my home and stage it like this!   And then other days I prefer retro or modern!  I am a bit fickle like that....




This is what the girls took a fancy to

And here is Michele hiding from my camera!  Just about the lovliest stall holder you could ever hope to meet!

She was laughing as ever though it may have been something to do with the liquid in her mug rain having stopped!


And do you want to see what I bought??


You do??


I am glad!  I was going to show you anyway!


A couple of vintage trimmings - to decorate a purse or two!?

Some green glass vases

A vintage linen tablecloth with applique

Yarn made from recycled fabric - silk, cotton and linen!  Some knitting may be in the offing...

And a wicker basket - I prefer these to plastic boxes for my sewing projects

That's the whole haul.  The Cath Kidson silk dress got away this time ...

Happy Birthday 12 year old!

Somebody had a birthday recently!  


Somebody is 12!

Who needs cake when you can have ice cream!