Vignette progress

Whilst recouperating from my day surgery op on Tuesday, it was the perfect time to stitch some more of this Block of the Month whilst putting my feet up.

The original uses a range of fabric by Lecien which is not readily available in Europe so I chose the following:
Patterned fabric - FQ stack by Moda called It's a Hoot by Momo
Script fabric - Sunkissed by Sweetwater for Moda
Spotted fabric - Moda essential dots in Lipstick
Background - Moda Marbles in baby white - although it is actually cream / off white

For the label I tried printing the pattern on to the fabric which I'd ironed onto some freezer paper. This worked reasonably well, but I hadn't realised the bounding box was 6" but the unfinished size was 7" so I've added in the turquoise frame to cover my mistake. Just a few stamens to add to the flowers in the label and then it will be time to trace the stitchery border. This I will be doing with Frixion pens which I saw on a blog which iron off. I have tested them on some scraps and they really do work. And you can buy them from Amazon.

sketch support winner

I can't quite believe I won the sketch support challenge and keep returning to look at the lovely prize. Here's the prize which includes some of the impossible to find baker's twine. I only managed to find three identical packets ( brown and red) in Florida and it was a Jillibeans product too like the prize.



It looks like a lot of the product I've won is also in the March 2011 Gogo kit so I can play along with the challenges with the product I've won.

Needle case

We returned from Guernsey earlier than planned yesterday so I was at a bit of a loose end. I had seen a needlecase on Sew She Sews which I put together quickly using leftovers from the sail riggers bag in January. I took it to quilting last night, and I was helping with the demo, Anne, a new member, offered to hem the binding. the original pattern has the binding being machined on, but I didn't have enough fabric left over to make a 2.5" binding so it had to be 2" and handstitched.





Great news yesterday - I was picked as the winner of last week's sketch support challenge with my Blues Brother layout and have some lovely Jillibeans Soup goodies coming my way, including some lovely corrugated letters in pale blue (I love the green and white versions I already own).

Stitching giveaway

Go along to the Vignette blog to particpate in the giveaway for a copy of Leanne's stitcher keeper pattern. I received a copy of this pattern last week and would love to be able to sew this pattern along with a friend.

LOAD13 forbidden journey

The same Ali Davis sketch as yesterday. I was going to do some dimensional dots instead of the circle of paper, but I moved the template and made a mess, so I covered the mess with the BG basics paper which I inked and did a circle of gems instead. Thanks to my sister, Joanne for two matching gems to finish the layout I started at yesterday's crop.

I didn't want to cover the themed Harry Potter papers too much so kept my embelishments to a minimum - some HP letter stickers, BG die cut journalling spot, Prima flower, chipboard button, baker's twine, Queen & Co die cut felt and bling from the grab bag we got in December.

Only one more crop until Gogogetaway.

LOAD 12 blues brothers at universal

Twelve of us at today's crop and it was lovely to catch up with ladies we haven't seen for a while. Everyone is always given a warm welcome even if you haven't been for a while.

Some photos from Universal with some stash purchased in Florida (die cut circle, star paper, jumbo ric rac and dotty thickers from the Disney outlet). I have almost finished another layout which just needs some more bling which I know Joanne has as we got identical grab bags from Queen & Co which I collected in Florida.

LOAD11 encyclopedia g

I can't believe I'm actually managing to keep up with LOAD, today is day 11. I still haven't received my picturepack for my Picturemate that I ordered 10 days ago. No response to e-mails either. I think I'll order another so that at least one will arrive next week. I miss my Picturemate.

LOAD10 encyclopedia z

Inspired by today's LOAD prompt I've started my a to z on what I thought was the easiest letter - Z. Julie Andrews may think it's easiest to start at the beginning but I am not inspired by the letter A yet.

Photos not brilliant as I'm still waiting for printer ink and I'm not used to the other printer. Never mind, I've chosen tomorrow's photos too which is a bonus - letter G. What do you think I've chosen for the letter G? Two words and a prize for anyone who guesses them both.

LOAD8 fishing with grandpa

LOAD8 fishing with grandpa
Originally uploaded by libertyjsy

Struggling to keep up with LOAD as the printer ink I ordered a week ago hasn't turned up yet. I finished this with the journalling block and it's now in one of my new frames in the lounge. A late Xmas present.

I'm hoping that tomorrow brings a brighter and more productive day, firstly my sewing machine wasn't playing ball, then after Zumba I went to pick up the key for the hall which couldn't be found so can I come back another day, I couldn't park at the doctors to pick up a prescription and from then on the day just got worse.

Off to do some more knitting. Thank you Jenny for casting on for me, I've almost finished ball 2 of 3.

LOAD 7 pirate island

LOAD7 pirate island
Originally uploaded by libertyjsy

My Picturemate printer is out of ink and the replacement I ordered a week ago hasn't arrived so I picked a photo I love and not those I'd planned to scrap today.

LOAD6 month in review January

I'm up to date on my year in review 2011. LOL I did the front page yesterday and the January double today. I even managed to use some very new product (Harry Potter lettering) and some kit product I didn't like - the patterned border as well as the Heidi Swapp date sticker which I changed with some mini alphabet stickers.

We were very lucky to be so many from our year at the Beaulieu Diamond Jubilee Ball due to the work of Helen Cornish in the main. There was also a photographer who was printing the photos off minutes after they were taken and not too expensive either, so he sold 20 copies of this photo and it was in the jerseyweekly.com magazine as the only picture from the event.

LOAD5 month in review front page

The front page of the Scrapagogo project of a 6 by 6 album for a month by month review. At least I know what layout to do tomorrow. Perhaps January?

I painted the chipboard surround in pearl paint dabbers on top of some Basic Grey basics which I will use throughout the album to give it cohesion.

Block #1 Shoo Flies done

I was so pleased to get my fabrics earlier in the week, that I immediately cut into my It's a Hoot FQ pack to make the seven shoo fly blocks needed for block 1. Here's a picture of my blocks.



However I wasn't happy with the block I'd cut from the big patterned fabric (top right) so I made another block using a smaller pattern and will use the larger patterns for larger blocks and perhaps fussy cut the owls.



So I'm now catching up on some UFOs whilst I wait impatiently for:
Threads and needles from Sandy
Red spot and baby white moda marble from Fiona

LOAD day 4 Naples Florida

I know this started as an Ali Davis sketch at January's crop but I have no idea which one, so when it came to finishing it today, I just winged it. Lots of old Basic Grey used as well as some newer embossed Coredination cardstock and Basic Grey basics for background.

LOAD day 3

I can not believe (said in best Victor Meldrew voice) how long this simple layout took. Firstly I couldn't remember how to move text in PSE - but a quick look at a Jessica Sprague tutorial solved that, then I couldn't find the top left photo, so have used a low quality version from an avatar, then lastly, I couldn't print the middle panel full size. But it's now done, I just need to complete the other 27 pages in the album (A to Z plus final page).

OPAM February one done

I found this baby quilt in pinks and turquoises in my cupboard. I posted a boy version about six months ago, but the idea of this one was to demonstrate a piped binding. I decided instead to just finish it and all it needed was the binding so it was a relatively quick job and one I could do at Chez Soi on a Wednesday morning or sat in front of the TV.

The quilt is made up of squares of fabrics cut from all the fabrics I could find in my pink / turquoise / green colour theme arranged into alternate rows of pinks and greens with a simple border of fabric I had hand dyed for a backing and this was the left over piece.



I now need to go into town and pick up the keys for WI tonight and then do my LOAD layout for today. I think I really need to start the A to Z album otherwise it will sit in my cupboard unfinished for another five years.

LOAD #2 You & Me 2011

LOAD #2 You & Me 2011

A rare photo of Nick & Me taken in Florida last month. This is one of the pages from the May crop kit from Basic Grey Marjolaine.

Load 2/11 #1

Layout a Day is here again and I am planning to make progress on an A to Z album as well as use up and finish class kits. So here is Day 1 using a Scrapagogo class kit and a photo of Lizzie in Florida playing one of the three games of mini golf we fitted in.