Naughty, naughty...

I've had a busy few days (don't talk to me about kids parties!), but on a recent trip to the Fabric Guild to pick up a little extra wadding for my Monochrome Quilt, I was a little distracted with the Polka Dots and books, and purchased some of both, whoops!  

The blue background dot was £2 a yard, madness, and as the lovely Jennie (my Guild sister) that I bumped into said, at that price, who could say no!!  

I know, I succumbed to the lure of the Patchwork Please!, I have seen so many fantastic projects, especially this one, and well, knowing my love of books, did you think I might resist?

It's not going to help me get my sewing room organised, but despite it's fugly appearance and being rammed to the rafters, I have managed to give it a little tidy up and organisation, and am planning on getting a little sewing done in the next day or two.

 

And so on that note, my Monochrome Quilt, how on earth am I going to quilt it, any ideas?  I genuinely have no idea, and as a sampler, it's kind of thrown me, seriously, keep it simple, but what do you think?

And finally, in my busyness of the last couple of week, I forgot to mention the beautiful fabric winnings that arrived from my Stitch Tease 2 bee mate, Marit, just over a week ago, aren't they lovely.

Marit is a very clever young lady quilter, and I can thoroughly recommend a little look around her blog.

Right, back to the binding of my hexy quilt, I'm over 3 quarters of the way round, yay!

Ange x

And There's More...

Last week, myself and these lovely ladies were Getting Acquainted on the Plum and June Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop, and what a fab week.  

http://owensolivia.blogspot.com/

http://www.13spools.com/

http://wasntquiltinaday.wordpress.com/

http://studioloblog.wordpress.com/ 

http://www.yeahimadethat.com/

http://robotmomsews.blogspot.com/

kitchentablequilting.blogspot.com

I have met and "spoken" to some fab ladies, and seen some amazing quilting and sewing, so I figured I might do a little synopsis of some of my fave bits/quilts:
Owen's olivia has a fresh, modern style, check out her stunning room makeover, that wood panelling looks amazing, and I would LOVE to have that as my bedroom. I'd think all my birthdays came at once- but then my bedroom is currently a murky brown/dark purple, and makes my stomach turn every time I see the wallpaper!

Owen's Olivia Room Makeover

13 Spools- well I'm already a big fan, Amy is a clever lady, and having recently come out of hibernation/anonimity she is definitely spreading her wings- you'll find lots of great tutorials and quiltalongs, and check out the quilty eye candy. This is one of those quilts I wish I had made, and I want to make, now!  Amy, how about a little tutorial on this Bargello technique for us, you know you want to!!

Black Jag, stunning

The fab Robot Mom, she sews you know!?!  Knocking it out of the park this week with a tute on how to laminate fabrics, and a heads up on how to sew them as they're a little tricky, definitely worth a "pin" for later even if you're not planning on using it right away.

Robot Mom Sews

And finally, Erica at Kitchen Table Quilting, and her Briar Rose Single Girl Quilt- gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous (and backed with minky!). 

Erica, Kitchen Table Quilting

 I have already been salivating (not literally) over this fabric line, and can't wait to get my hands on some when it is released next month- can't imagine cutting it though, I'll probably just stroke it for a while, although this lady has tempted me with a Briar Rose sewing play date, and as they say, I can resist everything except temptation!  And whilst you're there, have a look around, the 2013 and 2012 quilts are stunning, all of them, every single one, and I'm not jealous, honestly, much  that is a lie!

So, onto this weeks quilters/sewists, I've already managed a visit to them all, and I can confidently say, all killer no filler here (especially the fab Sarah at Duck Egg Threads, my first bloggy friend- we started blogging within days of one another).  
So, what are you waiting for?!?!  Get yourself blog browsing asap:

Friday, June 14
Julie @ Jolie Maxtin

Melissa @ Melia Mae Quilting

Adrianne @ On The Windy Side

Molli @ Molli Sparkles

Laura @ Little And Lots

Sarah @ Duck Egg Threads

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Cari @ There's A Thread

Valerie @ Between Quilts

Ange x
p.s apologies for any spelling errors, after a crazy afternoon at a kids party I figured i deserved a few glasses of vino!
 

Decisions, decisions.

After a week and a half of no bath (no shower- but we didn't have one anyway) we have tiles, and a bath- with no taps- no shower, and not even a hole in the bath for taps, yet.  

So, you could say I'm a little "ripe" now, but fortunately I have a lovely friend who has given me a key to her house with the express instruction to go and de-stinkify whenever I want, yay!  The bathroom will be finished tomorrow, well, the bath SHOULD have taps and the shower should be fitted, and I can't wait to go and get clean whenever I so desire.  You don't miss it until you don't have it, and oh how I miss it!
So, inbetween bossing around workmen, making decisions about stuff I never knew I needed to care about (the colour of grout!), sealing tiles- let me give you a little warning about Travertine or any real stone tile, they're high maintenance, sealing before fitting, special cleaning and then regular re-sealing, snore- I have finally managed to get in a little more sewing.

The quilt top of my Craftsy BOM 2012 is now all sashed and ready to be basted.  After months of never quite getting round to making the final 4 blocks, I read this post by the fab Lucy and had an epiphany.  Who is to say I need to finish those last 4 blocks, so what, I have 16 blocks which is more than big enough for me to make a sofa quilt, for MYSELF, so I sewed it together, and so far, the quilt police haven't come to arrest me.  I'm thinking, sometimes, you've just got to give yourself a break. :o)

It's not perfect, some of the points are lost, it's not 100%, but I learned a lot making it last year, and soon (hopefully) I will have a quilt of my very own, for all of the sofa surfing I do. 

Alongside this, I have been working on the binding for my Hexy quilt, busy busy, and I'm about a quarter of the way round joining it.  The it needs to be sewn down and quilted to hold the edge layers together, this is progress, real progress. :o)

Right, back to my sewing, can't stay here chatting 

Ange :o)

Lets Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop 2013

Hello if you're a new visitor to my blog via the lovely Beth at Plum and June and her 2013 Let's Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop- try saying that fast after a glass of wine!

The hop will be lasting for 2 months (June and July), and is a great chance to get to know some new fab blogs, here is the list for the first week:

http://owensolivia.blogspot.com/

http://www.13spools.com/

http://wasntquiltinaday.wordpress.com/

http://studioloblog.wordpress.com/ 

http://www.yeahimadethat.com/

http://robotmomsews.blogspot.com/

kitchentablequilting.blogspot.com

I can already recommend 13 Spools as I've been reading Amy's blog for a while, she's just re-branded and was previously The Cute Life, and as 13 Spools is just starting to set up some fabulous tutorials.  The others I am just starting to have a nose around, but they're looking great so far :o)
 
So, let me tell you a bit about me. As it says over on the left there, I am Mum to a cheeky 4 year old girl, living in middle England, sunny Leicestershire to be precise, in the borough of Charnwood- which edges onto the National Forest, and the city of Leicester.  My blogging has been a bit of an odd mix of sewing and decorating for the last few months, as we moved to a wreck of a house, with a lovely garden, but more decorating than you can shake a stick at!

I first decided to try quilting about 2 and a half years ago, I had the urge to create, and wanted to make a quilt for my little girl, so I started this hexy quilt.

I am now nearly 2 and a half years into it, and I just need to attach the hexagon shaped binding, just!

When I discovered quilting blogs and Flickr about 12 months ago, it was a total revelation, I have learned so much from them, and made some fantastic friends, does it get any better than that?  I don't think so :o)

Most recently I have entered my first quilt competition.

Been involved with the start up of a Modern Quilt Guild for the East Midlands

And made some flags for the To Boston With Love campaign.

And if you come back, I can't guarantee that I will always be talking about sewing and quilting, but at the very least you'll get to know a real person- and chances are you'll get to see some pretty fabric! ;o)

Ange x

http://owensolivia.blogspot.com/

http://www.13spools.com/

http://wasntquiltinaday.wordpress.com/

http://studioloblog.wordpress.com/ 

http://www.yeahimadethat.com/

http://robotmomsews.blogspot.com/

kitchentablequilting.blogspot.com

Finish Along, The (Sorry) Story So Far...

So, we're 2 months into the 3 for the Finish Along, and to be honest, progress has been pretty poor.  The list went a bit like this.....
1. Chevron Quilt.  Well that one is done, I wont bore you with it again, but if if you missed the original post, click here.


2. Hexy Quilt.  The top is all finished, and the binding hexys are all joined in side strips, I even managed to cut around the outside of the hexys through the excess wadding and backing, ready to add the binding.  And that's where it stopped, it can't be that hard to attach the binding, but it's stalled at the moment.  


3. Craftsy BOM Quilt 2012- After reading this post, I've decided not to make the final four blocks, I haven't managed it in 6 months, and I need a sofa quilt, so a bit of extra sashing and borders, and it will be big enough, yay!  No movement here yet.


4. Siblings Together Quilt- No progress, it just(!) needs basting, quilting and binding, not much to do really then- and did I mention it has lots of brown in it?


5. Crochet Blanket- Still in Granny Squares, nuf said!

Needless to say I will be trying to make progress on these asap, but no promises, as today we are mostly having bits of  bathroom ripped out and put back elsewhere

 

It's carnage!

Ange x

The Social Butterfly gets Acquainted...

Well, hardly a butterfly, but you know what I mean, after 2 days playing out with sewing friends, I'm having a more (relaxed?!) day at home today, and preparing for the Lets Get Acquainted New Blogger Blog Hop hosted by the fantastic Beth at Plum and June.  It will be 12 months in August since I started blogging, so I most definitely consider myself a new blogger.

Not much sewing completed in the last few days, as Friday I headed with my little one to Susans house for a play date with her daughters, It's fair to say everyone was exhausted by the end of the day, and I was impressed with Helen and Emily's ability to cope with the demands of an over-excited and over-exuberant 4 year old!

Helen takes a well earned break, and Emily has passed out off camera somewhere!

We had a fantastic picnic in the park, I especially enjoyed the fantastic chocolate cupcakes, you can see a picture of them here, thx Susan :o).

And yesterday I had a fantastic day in the sunshine in sunny Parwich, a beautiful village in the Peak District, with the ladies of the East Midlands Modern Quilt Guild.  

We spent the day outside on the Village Hall sun terrace, with a talk from the Contemporary Quilt Guild, and then a nice bit of sewing time. I was lazy and just took some hexys to baste (as Susan had knackered me out on Friday), but there was quilt basting (Kerry), Weekender Sewing (Liz), more Hexy basting (Wendy), hand sewing (Lynne), HST prep (Mandy) binding (Trudi), Bee blocks (Moira) bag making (another one Di, really?  You'll get a reputation as the Imelda Marcos of the bag making world!) chatting, banter and CAKE.  Oh yes, the pot luck lunch seemed to involve more tea and cake than other food (there were some delicious salads and pasta), perfect in the sunshine.  

We even had a guest visitor, the lovely Sarah from Duck Egg Threads who was holidaying just down the road.  It was lovely to finally meet Sarah as we started blogging at the same time, and she has been a great support to me whilst I was trying to figure out how this blogging thing works!

And of course, as you would expect, there were some fantastic show and tell items brought along (all photos stolen from elsewhere) including this stunner by Mandy (but the finished version)- I'm not ashamed to say I stroked it a LOT!

Made With Love By Mandy

And this beauty by the extremely talented Trudi, I had a prolonged stroke and cuddle with this one too

 

And a plethora of Weekenders, including Di's second one, a Weekender mini- fabulous!

 And because Di is a massive over-achiever, her latest quilt top- stunning, the horrendously names Rainbow Sprout

So a great day was had by all, even if some of those same lovely ladies ended up a little burnt in the early summer sunshine, whoops!

Until next time
Ange x

And the winner is...

Right, it's Saturday (not Friday) and here is the winner for this months competition, Mr Random Number Generator has picked.......

Leanne!  Well done Leanne, send me your address and i will get the book sent out to you :o)

I have decided to take a little summer break from the competition, as I have a lot going on, and I need a bit of time to refocus elsewhere, but will be back in September once my little one starts school (gulp, no mummy tears here honest!).

Have a good weekend
Ange x