Filling the silence....

...with the sounds of the sewing machine. Hubby and daughter are away for the night so have the house to myself - have spent all day sewing WOOHOO! Peace, perfect peace, with takeaway food, the laptop entirely to myself and loads of sewing with no interruptions. Aaaaaaah. I will miss them tomorrow, but so far today, so good :)

And I'm finally tackling the pink/brown quilt top that has been lying on my design floor for ever. Phew. Currently sewing the rows together, with cider alongside and some choons on the puter - like this:

Different, but cool.

Aaaah. The silence! (Is unnerving, so will crank up the stereo.)

Ciao, I have some stitches to produce :) xx

In praise of the internet

Hallo. Apologies for the lack of blog posts on here lately. At the moment I am stuffed to the gunwales with snot, with throbbing sinuses and a rumbling toothache thrown in to boot.

Part of the joys of being diabetic, I reckon. Your immune system is shot to hell, because Diabetes type 1 (which is what I have) is caused when your body attacks itself and knackers your pancreas, so no more insulin, hello injections for ever.

 

Which is fine, except my immune system likes to keep itself amused by throwing huge viruses at me every so often. Hence my overwhelming tissue usage and my amazing ability to power a wind turbine with my sneezes.

Nice.

Oh, and a filling needed replaced the other week, got replaced, grumbled ever since, and there is now extended root treatment in my near future. And I hate going to the dentist. (shudder)

Ha! If only....

But, I am powering away on the mitre blanket, seeing as I am mostly anchored to the couch. Have got 6 blocks by 7 blocks done and working in the 7th row. Still looking good, and its keeping my lap toasty warm as I knit.

And thank you everyone in blogland for continuing to post beautiful pictures of your work, and thank you lovely bloggers like Crazy Mom Quilts for giving people a showcase to let them be admired. Yay for the internet when you feel rubbish!

Much snottery love to all xxxxx

Mine, all mine MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Well, I bought it!

It was due to be delivered sometime today, so I planned my house tidying around it.

Luckily it came just before lunch so I had ALL AFTERNOON to play, and have been playing more tonight.

It's very fancy. It's very sensitive; my old machine was basic, but a workhorse, could handle most things with some low level grumbling and occasional outright refusals; this one takes negotiating skills and gentle handling, and paying attention to the instructions. (Would I be wrong to throw in some male/female comparisons here? Just saying...)

The range of stitches is astounding compared to my previous 22, and the feet! Oh the feet! I have no idea what some of them do, even after reading the manual. And boy, you have to read the manual, there's no getting around that. And it's programmable - I have to admit, so far I've skipped these pages, and gone straight for the buttonholes, stitches and basic tension wrangling. (reviews here and here)

I've got 30 days to return it if its not suitable, and I think I willl def need a few to get used to it, see if we get along. My pink/brown patchwork

is still on my design floor, so am putting the Husq through some simple piecing. I must admit the patchwork foot is a wee treasure - 1/4 inch lines marked on it and everything!

More later. Will keep you posted on the compatibility with the Fankle/Crabbit Quilter lifestyle :)

Starting - and ending the search, just like that

Am on the hunt for a new and fabby groovy sewing machine. So far, have been absolutely struck by this little baby....(drool, sigh)....I want...

Ta-DAH!! 

The Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 875Q - and have just been informed by a dealer that it's been discontinued (gasp!)

BUT that a new version is coming out in September (phew!)

Check out the youtube video of this little beauty working. Am totally smitten. I hope the new edition is as lovely!
I may still be tempted. Am not one to let old editions put me off!

Woohoo!

 Finally all the strands of my various activities have come together at last to allow me to post a Friday finish! Even though its actually Saturday over here, I'm sure it's Friday somewhere in the Universe, so feel completely justified :)

 I've been doing all the usual holiday things: driving family around to see others, driving us around to see family, being driven mad by my family, you know, the usual. School's back on Monday here in South Ayrshire, and I am frankly thrilled, and I suspect the Blighter is too, because mum and dad are, lets face it, nowhere near as much fun as your friends. Phew.

 In the meantime though, I have managed to finish a couple of cushions, which I totally love. Check (ha!) these out:

This check patchwork cushion looks a lot more golden and yellow (and nicer) in real life. The wee green trees I love, and the apple fabric is one of my favourites ever :)

This log cabin cushion started off because I couldn't fit the centre flower square into a design I was working in, so I decided to put in as the centre of something else. I love this too, the simplicity is very satisfying. And again, the colours are less washed out and more golden in real life too.

The reverse of both cushions is a rusty orange cotton canvas with a tweed effect, and I am smitten with the buttonhole attachment on my machine - so clever! (And nothing to do with the fact I'm nervous of putting in a zip AT ALL)

I've also been beavering away on my new sock mitre blanket, hang on, I'll see if I can get a decent picture of this:

Toes included for scale - the squares finish up at about 5 inches square. Still enjoying it :) Will keep you posted...

As Promised

Finally, a picture delivery as promised :)

Here is the original mitre sock blanket - see if you can find the patch, essential after a tangle in the buggy wheels Grrrr.
Measures just under 4 ft x 3 ft.

Loved making it and really enjoying working on #2 :)

PS

Got a new clock in the kitchen - How cool is this??! Its from Butlers, and its massive and I totally adore it!

Return of the Native

Been a quiet holiday for the blog, but I have been beavering away between family outings and driving miles around Scotland for holiday purposes.

M.M.B.A... AHEM, I mean, scenery...

I decided to take a couple of sock wool projects away with me. One was a Christmas present for a friend, so am not putting a pic up on the blog (just in case) but the other is a mitre blanket, and it goes something like this:

Various 4 ply (well, 3-4 ply really) sock yarn oddments, 3mm needles (yup, thats a tiny UK size 11 right there) and a basic mitre pattern which knits each square on as you go along. Totally addictive and great holiday knitting :)

Every other row is decreased by two, so as you get nearer to the finish, the rows are shorter and quicker - its like a race with yourself! And then you have to start another one, and then just do a couple of rows, and then another couple to see what the next stripe is, and then, and then...its 2 in the morning....

Let me know if you want the pattern, and I can rough out a copy :) I have done one already, but I cant seem to find a pic on the laptop - remind me to take a pic of that tomorrow and post it up!

When we came back home on Saturday from our holiday, I flew upstairs to my sewing room, possibly even barricading the door behind me, in case small whiny children appeared. Managed to crank out a couple of cushion fronts which are in the process of being quilted.

This log cabin came about from the centre square - couldnt find a place for a wee charm square and thought it would make a perfect centre. Looks like eyes peering out to me :) Photography shocking, colours bright and orange-yellow in real life.

this was taken in good light. Camera phone not liking, it must be a summer palette :)

Colours even more washed out in this one, but it looks fab really. Or at least it did until l tried grid quilting it. It seems that the walking foot is pressing down too heavily on the fabrics so they bunch up and pucker as you stitch towards the end of the squares where they join the next square. Short of getting a new machine, any hints or ideas as to how to stop this happening? Any and every comment gratefully received!

Hope you are all having a lovely crafty summer - and in fact you are, blogland is, as usual, filled with lovely things :D

XXX

Hmmm.

So its the hottest summer since forever, esp in Scotland. and I'm knitting. Go figure.

(it is hard to carry a sewing machine on my holiday though, so my only excuse is portability.)

Still creating, don't worry :D

Hope you are all enjoying your summer, whatever you get up to.

XXX

Global Warming

Thank flip it is now cool enough to sew. 

My sewing room is in the loft conversion, and the heat that builds up in there has to be experienced to be believed. I am not accustomed to such giddy celsian heights of mid-20 deg and can usually be found slowly melting into a greasy puddle before turning completely mental a la Dave's Syndrome (Black Books - fantastic). But without the beard.

So I've made my pal's wee guy a sun hat, after the success of my daughter's one. 

My daughter's hat

I used a cut up pair of jeans for the fabric, and it turned out - ok, useable but not as neatly finished as the first one.
Could have been due to the fabric, the bias stretch; the different needles and thread; or because I havent been properly sewing while the room's been cooking, so am a bit out of practice :)

Anyway. I wil try to remember to take pics tomorrow, and let you see for yourselves....

And for all you other peely-wallies out there, remember - slip, slop, slap!

(slop your fifth iced pint of water all over you accidentally on purpose; slap your other half for saying its lovely, what's wrong with you; slip into a coma as your organs turn into a puddle on the floor)

re: Woolfest

It. was. amaaaaazing!

Pics when I'm not so tired :D zzzzzzz

Woolfest!

WOOHOO! Going to this tomorrow and Saturday with my friend, cant wait!

Woolfest!

Will try to remember to take pics and not be overcome by wool fumes. (Ha! Fat chance!)

Note to self - when filling the car with magical and wonderful woollen purchases, try to leave enough space to see out of the windscreen......

Zombies

Am shambling along in a sleepy fashion, while barely alive. Not anything wrong, just lack of sleep, excess of child being VERY annoying, and imminent horror of summer holidays. I have done some sewing and knitting but am too lazy-arsed to connect the phone. And it keeps turning itself off and on again. Bugger.

See? Half-hearted.

More later......

Friday finish :)

Thanks to Crazy Mom, Friday finish for me - I've been meaning to do one of these for ages, and it is only recently that the right colour combination twitched my creative fibres :)

Finished top is 80" x 56" and I love it!

And because of the diagonals, I had loads of scraps left over, sitting waiting to be played with, so I grabbed some batting and started sewing bits onto it:

Cushion should finish at about 17" square.

And lo and behold, a cushion cover! Well, the front side of a cushion cover anyway. Quite enjoyed embracing the randomness of it. Am completely loving it, and have enough to make another one :D

Work In Progress

Friday Finish - only 2 days late! :D

I know, I know, bit of a cheek really :D but I have been looking after a sick almost 6-year old, so couldn't really get anything done before now. She's a lot better, started arguing back today after a day of being sick (Friday) and a day of lying on the couch shattered (Saturday). Poor wee soul. Kids are at their most forlorn when they're ill.

Anyway.

I've been a busy bee today - the long weekend has been a fantastic aid to sewing. And the sun has meant a request for a sun hat for said almost 6 year old.
Thanks to Riley Blake and April Cobb, I have a fantastic pattern to work from. Kt chose the colours, and off I went...

First I fused interfacing to the fabric, and then cut out some shapes:

Two fabrics, as the hat is reversible. Three pieces for the brim, three for the sides and one piece for the crown from each fabric, and interfacing ironed behind each bit.

Quarter inch seams used to sew the pieces together, then topsewn with an eighth seam to secure. You can see that on the back of the red spot. Then comes the hard part - sewing the round shapes together. Not v good at this, but got better with practice - black one is better than the red one I did first :)

Spot the deliberate mistake? Yes, I had to unpin this one ... Just as well my hubby spotted this!

I put the two hat pieces together WS out and sewed them round the brim. All the curved seams and the brim were 1/2 inch, cut down to 1/4 to reduce bulk with notches cut into them to ease the curves.
Leave a 3" gap, turn right sides out, and topstitch around the edge. Et Voila!

One reversible hat. It's a teeny bit big, but better that than the alternative! Took me a few hours over the day but I am really pleased with how it turned out. I love the colours she chose too, they look amazing together. I'd like to say she gets it from me, but I reckon the wee smasher has her own style. I'd love to show you her modelling prowess but she was in a foul mood by the time I'd finished so this is the best shot I have:

 Hehehe :D

My working space - take a peek!

I thought you might like a few pics of my sewing space - and it's nice to see how it looks without a pile of fabric and various haby mess on every single surface. I've started another quilt top too (although ongoing experiments with my immune system, thanks to the scientists observing our house and throwing lovely viruses at us all the time, have rendered me useless temporarily with a bad cold). Anyway, here's the situ just now:

Down a couple of steps into the sewing room, this is the first end of the room you see. It's in the eaves at the top of the house, and I keep forgetting this and banging my head. Only been in here 5 years, you'd think I'd know by now :) The table is going to a good home tomorrow, and my plan is to get a hammock in this corner, oh yes!

This is the main working bit - can't you tell by the puddles of sweat? :) The tables are foldable ones I found on ebay, and the shelves were here when we moved in. Perfect for my books, magazines, knick-knacks. Cutting mat and sewing in an l-shape, works really well, esp with the window there. Love the view over the fields too. Physio ball is IDEAL for sewing - very comfy to sit on, much nicer than a chair.

That is the bit of the roof I always bang my head on! Can you tell why? hehe. Have only just hung up my wee wall hanging, pinboard and thread holder. Havent painted the walls yet as havent found the time or energy - lots of other stuff needing doing in the house first. Threads and sewing machine accessories in the drawers there.

This is my little fabric colleection.... Paltry compared to some, but expanding slowly but inevitably. The wee blue boxes in the corner have my coloured scraps, the larger ones have other scraps and the baskets have various fabrics and sewing bits in them. Love spending time fondling the fabrics! I use the floor as my design wall :)

This wee corner beside the steps is for my craft show goodies. Need to build up that area :) Also ideal as a stage for my daughter to play dolls on. They usually end up with bandages on - heaven knows what they get up to in her head!

I always like to see other folk's sewing space so thought you might like to see this one. While it's clean and tidy. Which it probably won't be again for a loooooooooong time!

Latest project tomorrow...

A welcome return to productivity

Thanks to Crazy Mom I have a couple of yay finishes to show you :)

The first I have already mentioned here and am chuffed to bits about it. Really couldn't have been much easier (unfortunately I never took pics of the process - my all-singing, all-dancing phone is still new and I have yet to realise I have joined the modern generation that can take pics whenever they choose)

but I can show you the finished object and describe it to you! TADA!!!

This lovely looking item was covered in a stained ratty floral horror up till yesterday. I took the old cover off, pinned it to the new fabric and cut around it, and took the old gathering string off it to use on my new cover.
I then cheerfully rolled up the old cover and binned the bugger :D
Then I double folded the edges of the new fabric, keeping the gathering string inside the fold so I could sew it into the new hem and use it to gather the new fabric.
Worked like a charm :D
Here's a close up - cant remember who the manufactures is, but isnt it sweet?

So now I have a lovely new cover - and I found an excuse to use it.

Because I have ANOTHER finish!

This wee charmer is another cushion for my cousin, knitted in Rowan Kid Classis, Rowan Tapestry and backed with the same cord fabric I used for the first one:

Finished size about 18 inches square. Second use of buttonholes, I think these are slightly better than the first ones, although again not quite in a line. Better every time though :D
The stitch pattern is from one of my stitch books, 4 rows with two slip stitch rows, and another 4 rows with the slip stitch slightly offset, giving a wave effect. I used three colours, so every 12 rows another slight change. Here's Johnny! a close-up - 

The Tapestry is variegated, so adds another dimension to the pattern. I'm v pleased with it, and also with sewing it to the backing.
I used a 1/2 " seam and a walking foot and chugged my way through. Worked out pretty well. Am liking this experimenting!

You'll get a peek at my sewing room soon :D

PS It will never again be as tidy as it is in the photos....