Musical Blues

Yes, another post! I thought that I would add another edition - and show you another entry that I made, for a different competition. This quilt is called Musical Blues - it was made for a competition of the same name - for the Spring Quilt festival. By entering the competition, I got a ticket to the show as well - and we attended it at Westpoint, Exeter. Keith and I went along, and I didn't get a prize, but at least my work was shown! I had decided a couple of years ago that I was going to make a quilt using musical fabrics. The problem was the pattern. I doodled during a meeting, and came up with an idea. I decided to use colours and bias binding / satin ribbon to show certain symbols. You can see the piano keys, and next to it is a block to show the sharp symbol. Next to that is a block showing 2/4 time. Under that I have tried to show bars, with an angelina fibres to show a crotchet rest. On the very left is a block to show 2/2 time - the triangles. Under that is a block - 5/4 time, and then a natural sign. The block next to it shows crescendo and diminuendo signs - interlocked. At right angles to that is a stave with an angelina treble clef, and a double sharp sign. The bottom row shows wavy stave with a quaver, and my attempt at a bass clef sign. Next to that is a block with 3 colours - to show 3/8 times.

I quilted it using free motion quilting, and quilting the names of different colours of blue together with names of dance rhythms. I also quilted musical terms into the piece as well. I used sequins to dot the 'i's in the piece. The name of the challenge was 'Rhythm and Blues'.

Catch 22

Hi there!

Today, as I'm off school due to a viral infection, I thought that I would put a bit more on this blog. I've chosen one of my 'darker' pieces today - Catch 22. I did this as an entry for the Quilting Arts calendar competition 2008 - so was making it is 2007. I really quite like it, although I suppose it looks fairly freaky. Here it is to show you what I mean:

if you've never read Catch 22, I suggest that you do so - I've read it many times - it was a set text for A Level English. I shall now explain the quilt to you. The face is a yellowish shade, that is always just short of being jaundice. One of the yes is a black eye, and this ties in with the feathers in the cap. One of the officers was obsessed with black eyes and feathers in his cap - everything was either good for him or not. The red pennants are for another officer who was obsessed with marching, and desired to win them at the Sunday parade every week. The foot is the one from the Monty Python cartoons - I consider Catch 22 and Monty Python to be alike in the zany-ness. The toes, and the gums are painted purple - because that was the cure for all ills in the camp - to paint toes and gums with gentian violet solution. One of the characters wanted apple cheeks - so my quilt has apple cheeks. There are reels of Egyptian cotton, as Milo Minderbinder was buying and selling Egyptian cotton - the cotton is from the King Tut collection. The m&m packet (image printed on treated cotton) signifies m&m enterprises (Milo Minderbinder again). The letter with all the words blanked out shows the letters that Yossarian censored while he was in hospital. The mouth is dark inside, because of a description of someone in the hospital - the description goes: "The colonel was gorgeous. He had a cavernous mouth, cavernous cheeks, cavernous, sad, mildewed eyes." It was the best way to show the cavernous mouth. One of the officers who sorted out rooms for the soldiers on leave - and he lost an eye by someone throwing flowers during a parade. The cat is sleeping on someone's face - Huple's cat sleeps on Hungry Joe's face. There is a sack of potatoes with the 'Dove' soap in there, for the time the squadron was poisoned when cakes of soap were mashed in to the potatoes. The flies are there in the eyes for the flies in Appleby's eyes, which Appleby can't see, because he's got flies in his eyes. How can you see the flies in your eyes, if you've got flies in your eyes??

The eyes are wobbly ones and on zany spirals, because that is the effect Catch 22 has on your head! Finally, the 'person' cut in half is Kid Sampson, who was cut in half by McWatt - who decided to fly low - as usual.

All of the items in the quilt are my lasting memories of that book. It didn't get any where with the challenge - and I suppose it is not so surprising as it is rather gruesome. However, it was conceived and made at a time when I was suffering with depression - quite severely.

Why did I stick with it, and why have I shown it to you? All the quilts are a part of me, and this one used many new techniques - Angelina film, printing on fabric, using Heat 'n' Bond to create moulded flowers, and fabric painting. I did quite enjoy making it, and I think it shows some of the lighter side of the book, the grim nature of it, and the zany-ness of it too! Not bad, for a quilt 24 inches square.

I almost forgot!

Just a very quick note - Tuesday is a special day - mum and Caro fly off to Singapore and then New Zealand - and I get my quilter's cupboard - I ordered it in July - and it's arriving - and that means that I've got to sort out my sewing room to make sure that there is room for it! I really must go and cook tea now - thai style vegetables this evening, with quorn. And then some sewing - or cutting out fabric at the very least!

Happy in my room!

Happy in my sewing room - a place where I can get creative - and for those of you who haven't looked at the Westdene Changes site, here it is again. It looks a bit different now, as I have the quilting frame at the end where the TV is in the photo. Yes, this is a room just for me, where I can indluge myself in fabric - and frequently do!

Sew (I like that - sometimes I think I'm so clever!), you want to know what I've been up to recently. Well, I've spent an obscene amount of time over the past two days looking at facebook. But in the mean time, I have made a quilt for my cousin's baby, I've finished a bag - one that I started in February - did a course at Step by Step - it was a course called Strip and Flip. I've also made placemats and a table runner, and have started cutting pieces for advent calendars, and looked for the fabric to make Christmas stockings. This photo shows the quilt I made for Thomas - my cousin's baby. I pieced it while we were still in the flat, and decided on pastel colours as I didn't have any other fabric in the flat that I thought was suitable. The pattern is probably one that people will recognise, as I have made several other quilts in the same pattern. I had a couple of charm packs in the falt with me, so I used them for the quilt. I had a jelly roll that I used, and I just had to cut the strips to the right size - decided by the size of the inner blocks. I made it more or less an 'I Spy' quilt - one to help learning. Oh dear - that must be the teacher coming out in me. I quilted the quilt using the quilting frame, which was great fun. I've got several others that need to be quilted, but I feel that I must dye the backing fabric first. I will have to take some more photos of other projects so that I can show them off as well. That will be all for the moment - I have to cook tea, and get some sewing done too.

Aunt Christine

Well, here I am again - having just published the Westdene changes post. I thought I'd give you the pleasure of seeing some photos. Over the school Easter holidays we went to the Isle of Wight, and I was able to meet my niece, introduce myself to her, and give her the quilt.

This photo was taken just after I'd picked her up for a cuddle, as she'd been in the Moses basket and was crying. I was quite happy to hold her and try to calm her down. You can see that she's not looking too happy. She did calm down, which led to suggestions that we should go over to the island in the summer, so that others could enjoy some of the festivities! I suspect that we will not act on those suggestions, but we have made the offer of hospitality in Westward Ho! to Maisie and her parents.

Doesn't Grandad Banks look happy! And a natural as well! The photo of Maisie in the basket shows her with her sock off - she didn't manage to keep one on - as soon as you replaced one of them, she managed to get rid of the other one! Anyway - the photo on the right here shows Maisie and her mum (Charlotte - my step-sister), after she had come back from the chiropractor. Maisie was as good as gold for the chiropractor, which was to the surprise of most people I think!

Anyway - the reason for this blog is to show off my handicrafts - so I'd better get on with it!

The photo on the left shows Caro with the quilt I made for her 30th birthday this year. This photo was taken in February, just after my sewing machine went a bit funny - it's all sorted now! Anyway, the photo was taken before the quilt was finished - I took it up to Caro so she could see it. The photos following show the finished quilt - both front, back and the label as well. Some of the photos show the quilting as well, which took quite some time to do!

The next set of photos show Maisie's quilt, with the label.
I was pleased with how the quilts finished up - and as you can see, I've kept to my usual habit of using really bright colours.

So, what is the next project? Well, I've started a bit of cross stitch. I saw some pieces that would make some good presents - so I'm not going to say any more about them, but I also saw some that would be good for the music room. I got them from the website 'House of Patchwork' - it's no good anyone else looking for the bargains on this particular website, because it closed down - the bargains were the closing down sale. So, I've augmented my stash considerably now - but I had to do it - I mean, a girl can never have too many quilts. That's all for now - keep looking back for more updates.

Great Aunt Christine

I thought I'd add a quick post today before getting on with the school work that I've been putting off for some time. I've let Caro know about her quilt, and she wasn't very happy - she probably thinks that I'm not as far on with it as I am - I'm going to take the quilt and the label up to show them on Friday, so that she can see it and see the progress.

So, the title - Great Aunt Christine - I did a bit of picture organisation yesterday so that I have all my photos on my laptop. In October 2005 I became a Great Aunt - Keith's (and my) neice gave birth to a baby boy called George. I offered to make a quilt for him, and the offer wsa accepted. I used a pattern that I had made twice already, called Bright Eyes, that was in a copy of Patchwork and Quilting magazine back in about 2001 / 2002. It's a great pattern that allows you to showcase the 'special' or 'conversational' fabric. With the wide range of fabrics available, the only problem is trying to decide which fabrics to use - or rather - which you are going to (reluctantly) leave out! I chose bright colours - not due to the title of the quilt, but because I don't do pastels! - except in special cases. I understand that bright colours help babies to ... - that they are good for them in some way. I used different conversational fabrics, so that later George can use the quilt to learn words for different things - I suppose a bit like an 'I Spy' quilt. With the number of strips I had, I was able to make a cushion as well - and use the other conversational fabrics which I hadn't included in the quilt. I used the sewing machine to piece and quilt the piece - using my Elna 6005 Heirloom Edition. What follows are the pictures of the pieces, the label, and my great nephew and me!

Disaster Strikes

I had a restless day yesterday. I started early to get to work on Caro's quilt, and then my baby - my Elna 7200 sewing machine - started making loud noises and the lights started flickering on the machine, and it slowed down, speeded up, slowed down as if it was going to stop entirely. I phoned Step by Step to check I could take the machine in. I got there quickly, and Anne performed exploratory surgery on the machine, but could find nothing. I've had to leave the machine there and it's going to be examined by sewing machine technicians. This is serious stuff, as the sewing machine has a larger 'arm' - making it ideal for quilting, and has a start / stop button so you don't have to use the foot pedal and try to keep an even speed. I have my other Elna - 6005 - which I can also quilt on, but it doesn't have a start / stop button, so I'll have to practise first to get used to using the foot pedal to set the speed. I also had to go mountaineering in the house to get my other sewing machine extension table, which was put away in the far corner of the living room (the store area at the moment) - that was really hard work trying to get to it without injuring myself or having boxes fall down on me.
On a different matter, the course I went on on Saturday was called Strip and Flip bags - it was great! I really enjoyed the day and will have to spend some time finishing the panel - once I've finished the panel I shall put a photo of it on this blog, and when I've made the bag I'll put a picture of that on here as well. I'll put more details of the workshop on the post with the photos. I really need to get on and do some school work - marking books and writing reports.
Do have a go on the survey - just for a bit of fun, and check the links I've added - I particularly like the Charity Focus and Daily Good sites, which have some lovely stories and quotations.

It's lovely in the sunshine

It's a lovely sunny day here in Westward Ho! once again. I'm keeping an eye on the shingles to make sure it's not coming back with a vengeance, and this involves getting up early in the morning. That's not entirely true, I get up early to make the most of the coolness in the flat before the sun comes into the flat. I love having the sunshine and the blue sky, and the heat, but the heat is not comfortable for quilting - well, it wouldn't be, would it; sitting under a quilt with the sun blazing down into a room that is effectively a greenhouse.

Anyway - the next installment of my endeavours. Today I'm going to show you a competition entry.

This is a bag I made for the Patchworks competition back in 2004. Patchworks is a shop in Scotland, and you paid about £6 for some fabrics that you made into whatever you wanted. You could add other fabrics as well. I can't remember which charity the competition was raising money for - it may have been breast cancer. I used one of my favourite fabrics - the chocolate one - twice; once on the outside, and then again on the inside for the pocket. I used and adapted a pattern from Barbara Randle's book - Crazy Quilting with Attitude, the bag also appeared in Popular Patchwork several years ago. I adapted it by adding a single shoulder strap on the gusset, and by creating a flap so that the bag could be closed over the top, rather than in the middle - I thought this made it a bit more secure. I used the stitch and flip method to piece the bag, and added ribbons and couched decorative threads for embellishments. The use of ribbon served two purposes; one was to use the means of tying the fabrics together for posting, and the second was to hide an unsightly join in the fabric. I couched the threads using invisible thread to add some movement to the piece, and used the colours of the fabric pack. I used some of the embroidery stitches on the machine along the ribbon, and along the gusset.

The bag didn't win any prizes, but it was fun to do, and I stretched the limits of my skills to achieve something that was attractive, practical and useful. It made me think carefully about what was required, and how to achieve the finished product - it was an exercise in creative thinking and problem solving.

That's all there is for now - check again soon for the next installment.

The Start

This is the start of my patchwork blog. I shall be adding things as they occur to me, and as I'm doing the work. I won't be posting my ideas here; I'm going to be selfish with my ideas and keep them with me only, until I have realised them in patchwork - I don't want others pinching my ideas - although I doubt that any of them are totolly original. Still, I like to think that they are. And besides which, the work that I produce may not live up to your expectations of it if I tell you my ideas first.
The first item I'm going to show you is the piece that I produced at the weekend, during a workshop called 'Stitched Herbaceous Borders'. It's a piece that uses the technique of free machine quilting, and is embroidery really. I haven't really done any machine embroidery before, and I have a large variety of quilting threads, but have very few machine embroidery threads - only a few rayon threads, and all of them are in storage at the moment.

I shall have to post the photo later, as I seem to be unable to post any pictures at the moment. Watch this spot!

And here it is with the picture added! I decided on the flowers and plants I wanted - fuchsias, sweetpeas, tulips, Wedding Day rambling rose, antirrhinums (excuse the spelling), lavender and peonies. The crayon like background was done by using some oil type fabric paints - maybe in future if I try again, I will try using Markal Shiva paintsticks, or even some of the setacolour fabric paints I have. It may work using Angelina fabric - that would add a very different effect. The person leading the course said that watercolour pencils could be used - so that would give me a chance to use the Caran D'ache pencils - if only I knew where they were!

Watch out for the next post!