2011 Eisteddfod

On Friday I visited the Eisteddfod exhibition to see how my entries had fared. This is a walk through of some of the entries.

The prize winners including Astra's Makower butterfly. A worthy winner but Jane would like to know what the tune on the edge played as.




Sue Jones beautiful Hawaiian quilt on the left with lots of hand quilting.



My "Behind the rainbow" quilt from the Jan Krentz workshop which got a platinum. I'll be interested to see the points awarded as platinum is 95 and over.



Janet Grady's Jan Krentz quilt - I call this one the difficult class. Mine is still in pieces as I haven't done the paper piecing. However all my diamonds have been sewn and blocked.




My black white and red quilt got a silver and my topiary tapestry cushion a silver, not surprised with the later as there was a mark on it.



Ella's quilt which won Astra's 20 anniversary challenge.




Alex's four seasons embroidery. Alex has definitely found her voice in embroidery. She has always preferred hand work to machine work.




A scarf which was awarded gold. Pretty but as I've made one of these in two hours I know how easy they are.




The Caesarea Quilters quilt for Trees for Life and a lovely chicken quilt (of which there were two very different versions).




Cath Challinor's lovely Japanese quilt which wasn't given a high enough award IMHO.



Sarah Matlock's cute doll.



Judy Bailey's Jan Krentz quilt. Very different colours and quilting to my version.

Patchwork party progress

I purchased fabric for the border yesterday from Fiona. The red goes well with the fabric but isn't a shade of red I'd usually buy. I now need to calculate how much backing I need using the same red as the border joined with stripes of jelly roll and a label.



Off to Zumbathon this afternoon. It starts at 1pm which means an early lunch.

March 2011 Friday night sew in

Whilst Nick and Matthew went to ATC, I sat to sew on my Vignette block 1.




Elizabeth joined me and subjected me to Comedy Relief on BBC1. I managed a few slow flowers and stems on my block but no great progress, I'm still finding my way on making the stitches all the same size. I'd like to finish this block in March so that I have two months to finish the next two blocks which are even larger, or so it seems, than this block.




One of Moica's button bracelet kits arrived today. That's going to be fun to put together. I might replace the green buttons though as I never wear green.

Pinwheel party centre finished

Now I need some fabric for borders. I had spotted a lovely yellow that Fiona had but now that there is yellow on the outside of some of the blocks. I'm now not so sure. I'm going to see what Fiona has on Saturday and take it from there. I have plenty of jelly roll left to do some scrappy borders so it will grow quite quickly now.

As I can't sew anything more on it today. I've been surfing for machine quilting patterns. I think I've found one called fascination that will suit. What do you think?

Monday finishes

A few easy finishes for a Monday morning. All I needed to do for this scarf which is very chunky was sew the ends in. Easier said than done when the wool is so thick.



Whilst looking in Linnea of Sweden for fabrics, Lizzie and I saw a canvas with coloured mother of pearl buttons spelling out the word love for £55. I had two canvasses from an unsuccessful class so they were painted red and cream buttons stuck on in a heart shape. I have then sewn them on as I like the look and the buttons won't fall off. This is for the Beaulieu Craft stall at the summer fete. How much do you they should ask?



And last but not least, a gorgeous scarf from wool sent to me my Claire as a get well pressie. Just my colours. The weather might be a bit warm to wear it today unfortunately. This only took two hours to knit and I finished it off this morning with the last few rows and sewing in the ends.

March 2011 crop

Four layouts finished at the crop yesterday. The first should have been a quick finish but I spilt a bottle of flavoured water everywhere and I had to replace the kraft background. All I had to do yesterday to start with was replace the two draft printed photos with properly printed photos. This is layout is based on the February Blueprints to go from Scrapagogo.



My second layout was based on Shimelle's 2peas class 4 by 6 photo love. I've used almost all of that sheet of star paper which is very usable and most of the packet of Tim Holtz tickets. It's good to use stuff up.



Another quick layout was the February pages for Year in review which is also a Scrapagogo inititiative. I think I will continue to use the Basic Grey basics each month for the background as they are a good neutral background with a bit of interest. As the layouts are only 6 by 6, it only takes half of a sheet of paper and a few embellishments.



Last page for the day which just needed the journalling to be added today is a sketch support two pager for which I used the scalloped paper plus the papers and stickers I received yesterday morning from Sketch Support for a challenge I won about three weeks ago. I was delighted with the prize, but disappointed I spilt some water on it and there was no alpha or twine. I love the corrugated flowers and the button stickers.



Another good crop - thank you Jenny for the French biscuits and the loan of the Martha Stewart grass punch and knitting needles. Thank you to Joanne for helping me clear up the mess the water made.

FNSI March

Once a month Heidi hosts FNSI (Friday Night Sew In). As Nick and Matthew are both at Air Cadets on a Friday night, I plan to join the FNSI for the first time this month. Now what shall I sew? I think perhaps I might work on blocks 2 or 3 of Vignette as issue 2 should arrive tomorrow.



Perhaps if my magazine doesn't arrive, I'll have to continue to work on block 1. My list of projects in progress seems to be growing not shrinking!!

Getting bigger

Here's how far I got yesterday. Having thought I would do a five by five grid of blocks, when I had done all the X blocks (double pinwheel), I decided I had enough fabric to make the quilt 5 blocks by 7. There will also be enough fabric left to do a border and binding.




I have all the X blocks part sewn, apart from one, so I have decided to take a break today and my aim today is to add my photos to my instructions to make sure I have all the photos I need. Then tomorrow I can recommence sewing and I should finish the X blocks and hopefully all of the Y blocks too.

Today I am celebrating the end of two weeks of post-op injections. I can leave the house whenever I want!! So the plan this morning is to:
Find the alien invasion cache which had disappeared
Go to quilting and do some stitching on my vignette block
Pick up dinner from M&S
Book car in for the warning lights
Pick up key for Saturday's crop
Do banking for Nick

And then add photos to my instructions. It's going to be a full on day.

Progress from day 1

And don't the blocks look pretty. However I've just spotted some unpicking that needs to be done. The block on the bottom left has the wrong fabrics paired together on the outside, which means I have a mismatched block upstairs too.



Shower next and then on with the stitching.

Feeling more like myself

Lorraine led a very successful cardmaking workshop on Saturday as a fund raiser for St Helier Sirens WI. We had spoken about me perhaps doing a similar fundraiser by running a jelly roll workshop. Three ladies on Saturday's course, said please do, so I think the dice is cast. Despite being very tired last night I ran up a test block and did one of my infamous line drawings with a cutting scheme for one block.

Last night I got to thinking, if I'm doing notes for the workshop, perhaps I could write a pattern. Then I had a look at how to develop an E-book. Perhaps I should just make the quilt first and then think about patterns. However whilst waiting for the nurse to come this morning and give me my penultimate injection, I have written up the pattern.

After the nurse came I headed off to buy two jelly rolls (Lovely by Sandy Gervais for Moda) from Fiona at You Neek Quilting. Then I braved the not too big crowds at Waitrose for the first time. Loads of different products. All too inviting.



Time to have lunch and start some cutting to test my pattern - "Pinwheel Party".

Vignette celebration

To celebrate the publication of issue 2 of Vignette there is a giveaway of fabric on the Vignette blog to make one of the projects in the magazine.

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.

Sail riggers bag

I joined a group called OPAM, one project a month to try and get some projects finished in 2011. Whilst my rainbow quilt is almost finished, it has been taken away to be judged for our group's 20 challenge. Even though it isn't finished to my satisfaction, it still looked very striking.

So having joined OPAM last Friday, it came as a shock that we had to finish a project in January. So I grabbed my bag of goodies bought at Queen Anne's Lace in Kissimmee which consisted of a pattern for the sail rigger's bag by Ev SPires Designs, fabric and iron on wadding which was new to me. I finished the bag today having bought some velcro in town this morning to finish off the project. I made one mistake by adding wadding to the inside pockets but I'm happy with how they turned out and I haven't added a solid base to the inside of the bag as I didn't feel it needed one.




I am pleased with how the bag has turned out and may well offer it as a class through CQ. I have also listed all of my projects in progress and found one or two which I had completely forgotten about which brings the total to about 12 including two projects I am just collecting patterns and fabric for at the moment. I found a simple baby throw in tuquoise and pink in the cupboard, which will probably be the next thing to be attacked as it just needs binding which I can hand stitch at Chez Soi on Wednesday. Then back to my rainbow quilt when it's returned on Wednesday. I need to finish it in time for March's Eisteddfod.