W.I.P. Wednesday

I'm so glad I "signed up" to the W.I.P. Wednesday because it did make me sit down and apply myself to my new broken Star quilt for my friend Cheryl. However, with a young kitten in the house my time was seriously limited and anyone who has had one of these bundles of fur will know they never sleep when you want them to!!
However, I've got a bit of the centre of my friend's quilt done, although it HAS driven me a little mad!! I just couldn't seem to get the whole thing to sit flat and fit together neatly, but I think I've got it sussed now. Funnily enough the very first Broken Star top I made when I was VERY new to piecing went together pretty well.
Maybe I'm losing my touch!!
Here's my progress for this Wednesday.....



Hopefully you'll see a big difference on it by next Wednesday!!
While you're here, feel free to pop over to my cycling blog I've just started.( Click link top left) This is my new hobby! Hhhhmmmm......pity I can't cycle and sew at the same time. At least I'd be away from the kitten's little teeth and claws!!



Don't worry, he was only yawning!!
Back soon!

Broken Star Quilt Started

Hi, as promised yesterday I'm going to show you the very early stages of my new Broken Star quilt for my friend Cheryl.
As previously mentioned I had free reign with the colours so it took me a little while to decide fully on which colours I would use. This may have been due to the fact that my first Broken Star quilt top was very bold and bright. In fact I called it "Fire Star" but didn't finish the quilt as I was not happy with the quality of sewing. I had started it at the beginning of my "quilting life" and had not as yet discovered Freezer Paper as a backing. The paper I had used had a bit of a sheen to the surface like magazine pages. Here are three photos of that first unfinished quilt top.....



And now the new quilt colours which may seem a bit dull compared to the colours in the above one but they are brighter in real life. The turquoise is a great fabric, nice and fresh and bright, followed by a beautiful lilac/pale purple fabric. The next fabric is a rich purple and I think sits very well between the paler purple and the bright sunshine yellow. Here's how it came out in a photo......



To test my colours I always use my trusty little "peeper"!! Have you discovered how useful a door peeper is in quilting yet? You can buy them for a couple of pounds in most hardware stores. Here's the one I use. I attached a piece of string to it so I can keep it round my neck and not lose it while I'm playing with colours!!



Try this little gadget. It really works. Just have a look at your quilt or selected colours through the peeper. It's always best to have your coloured pieces already cut so you are actually looking at a test piece instead of just pieces of coloured fabric. You'll soon know if there are any glaring "no-no's" in your quilt.

Please tell me what you think of the new colours for the Broken Star quilt. Have you used this combination of colours before and how do you feel it worked in your project? And I'd be delighted to know if there are more door peepers out there being used in quilting rooms rather than in doors!!!

Until next time, which should be soon, thanks for dropping by. Please let me know you've been here and follow so I can visit and follow you too.

Kate

My First Comissioned Quilt....Yay!!!

I have to say I'm quite excited that someone is trusting me enough with a pile of fabric and some wadding to make them a quilt they will treasure!! The person who has asked me to make the quilt is a very dear young ( MUCH younger than me!!) woman with a growing family. Her name is Cheryl. She says she doesn't mind what colour or pattern it is, so I have free reign!! Dangerous!!
No, seriously, I am SO looking forward to making this quilt and I've already been auditioning some purple and yellow fabrics to make a "Farmer's Wife" quilt. That's the plan at the moment!Here are some of the fabrics I've pulled from my stash........


And here are some blocks I may use. The border will be a rich, dark purple and nice bright, rich yellow, which I'm hoping will give the quilt a bit of "ZING"!!



My other project is going to be decorative cushion covers and I recently found the perfect companion fabric to go with some lovely fabric I bought about 10 years ago. That particular fabric is the mustard and red pattern fabric for which I found a red and tan stripe fabric. The colours have not come out as bright and true to their original colours so as you look just think "mustard and rich red"!! It's hard to explain what I have in mind so please keep watching this space for my progress. Here are the fabrics and ribbon.....



And finally for today a couple of pictures from our little garden which my husband tends with much love.......


Himalayan Poppy. A lovely little flower which has survived strong winds and rain here this summer.


This darling little flower is actually a wild orchid. We didn't pinch it from the roadside!!! We can only presume a bird "passed" a seed while it was feeding in our garden. Aren't birds delightful! They sing out of one end and "sling" out of the other end!!!


This gorgeous pink poppy only came out yesterday so I thought I'd get a photo while it was still reasonably fresh. We've had red, pink and salmon pink poppies this year so far, thanks to hubby!


Last, but by no means least, the unstoppable snow in summer plant.
I like the contrast of the snow white against the green foliage.

Well, that's all my news for today. Thanks for stopping by. Please follow so I can follow your blog too and see what inspiration we can share. Back soon.

Cushion Covers

Hi just showing you a couple of things I've been doing in the last week or so between other quilty things and waiting for my op.
The cushions are for my sister's suite. There are 4 cushions in the set. She's really pleased with them. The fabric was originally a pair of curtains from a charity shop and I bought them knowing what I was going to make them into. Here they are......



That's Brodie Bassett posing alongside and making sure the cushions don't fall over. He's a great help!!!

And these little guys are going to be a large quilted cushion cover for my husband who has arthritis of the spine and needs something quite large and soft at his back while he watches TV..................



I have plenty other projects in the pipeline so come back soon or follow to see what's doing over here in Sleepy Hollow.
Thanks for visiting. Please let me know you called by leaving a comment.

Blue and White Snowball Quilt Top Finished!!

I'm delighted to say I have finished the top of my blue and white snowball quilt. I have enjoyed every second of this English Paper Pieced quilt and am looking forward to hand quilting it. English Paper Piecing and hand quilting are definitely my favourite ways of creating a quilt. So here's a pic of the quilt for you.....



I cropped quite closely on the photo to spare you the sight of my husband's little legs below the quilt. He very good-humouredly held the quilt up for me, even though he was watching something "important" on the telly!!

I will be using a simple quilting pattern on it and will keep you up to date with my (slow) progress! But come back soon for my other postings. Thanks for calling by today. If you're not yet following, please do so I can follow your blog as well.

It's Been a While

Yes, it's been a while!! It feels like ages and it's definitely been too long, but I've had several months of bad health and still don't feel good a lot of the time. But it's nothing that can't be fixed and I'm awaiting surgery which will make a huge difference.
Here's a peek at how the Dresden Plate is coming along, although I've got more done than this photo shows.....


I've enjoyed every minute of this one and can't wait to get it layered and quilted up.
I've also almost finished the Snowball Quilt top. I'll try to put photos on tomorrow.
Needless to say I have other projects going on at the same time. I will let you see the very first beginnings of a purple Broken Star quilt I hope to hand make. It will literally be the fabrics you will see and I think you'll really like them.
There's so much more to share but for tonight, that's it folks because I'm off to bed to have a good sleep and make an early start on my quilting.
Take care and speak soon!!

My First Attempt at Variable Star Block

Hi again.
I've been busy these last couple of days trying to master the Variable Star block. For some this will be a block you could do with your eyes shut, but for me it was a great learning experience. It also MADE me use the sewing machine!
So here they are........







And now I'm off for a nice cup of tea and a couple of Digestive biscuits!! That's my reward!!! LOL

Liberated House Block for Block Lotto

Here's my very first attempt at a Liberated ( or Wonky) House block.
My eyes were going wonky by the time I'd finished. This little fellow was a challenge as I do nearly everything by hand, over freezer paper and with exact geometric shapes!!I'm not quite delighted with it but I'll share it anyway just to encourage others who may think they can't do other things too!!



Catch up with you soon.

Sale Fabrics I Couldn't Resist

First of all, a warm welcome to my new followers!!

Yesterday I visited my local fabric store which was having a sale. Although there were lots of different things in the sale section I headed immediately to the fabrics like a demented homing pigeon and got my beak into the autumn colours!!!

These are the fat quarters I came away with........



The red one is "Turn of the Century" designed for Exclusively Quilters. It is such a pretty little paisley fabric!
The delightful little spotty fabric is "Country Kitchen Spot" by Makower UK.
The green is one of "Florrie's Favorites" - A Florence Peto Collection by Froncie Quinn, endorsed by Shelburne Museum for Red Rooster Fabrics.
I'm not sure what the next fabric is as there was no selvage attached to it. Perhaps if you know the name you could let me know as I would gladly have more of this design. I may be able to get the name of it from the shop if they still have some left.
I adore the next fabric which was designed by Jo Morton for Andover fabrics. This is a beautiful cinammon colour. The very last fabric is the same range but in a nutmeg colour. Between those two fabrics is a scrumptious rich brown and rust fabric but without the selvage edge again :>(

I think I would like to use these fabrics for either the grape basket or flower basket design but they would be stunning used in the Fons and Porter Oak Leaf Quilt.

I can visualize the red paisley as a basket and the spotty fabric as the 'flowers'. Here's a basket pic to help you visualize it too.......





Off now to get a cup of tea and do some more stitching. Two of my favourite things!!

Insomnia Gets The Quilts Made!!!

Well, here I am blogging at 7.45am after being awake all night. This is nothing new for me but it is SO annoying. But on the plus side, I managed to finish all my 32 '9 patch blocks' for my snowball quilt. All hand sewn over freezer paper. My absolutely favourite method for patchwork. Here's a photo of the quilt top so far. It was difficult to get the proper angle for photographing as all my floor space is quite small. But here we are anyway...........



Next is the 'simple' task of making about 124 corner pieces for the snowballs and the snowballs themselves. A few more nights of insomnia and it'll all be finished!!! Ha ha!!
Click the follow button and join in the snowball fight!!!

Catch up with you soon.

Snowball Sneak Peek!

I've been working steadily on my snowball quilt and thought I'd just post an update. All hand sewn with freezer paper templates, I am REALLY enjoying this project. I even sit up in bed with a lap tray and sew while DH is reading!
Hope you like the pic. Should have all 32 9 patches done by the weekend and then on to the corners of the snowballs and the snowballs themselves.

Snowball Quilt for Winter Maybe?

I have been auditioning fabrics today with the possibility of a Snowball Quilt to be hand-pieced over the next 2 - 3 months. I have some lovely blue fabrics which would combine with a cream snowball very easily. Do you like them too?



The Paisley fabric is simply gorgeous but is a slightly different shade of blue than in the photo. I am so looking forward to working with these fabrics and the small 2 inch squares that will be hand sewn together to make the 9 patch squares between the snowballs.

But first I must finish some bright floral spool pieces. I bought the bright floral 4 inch squares as they were so cheerful but then didn't quite know what to do with them. Now I've decided to make the spools with black fabric between each. Here are some of the VERY bright spools so far.





I chose black as I thought it would really set off the bright colours nicely. Hope it works!! Just off now to do some more.
Wherever you are, I hope you're having a peaceful weekend.