July furtle

Flipping heck .... we are now almost in August ... but then 2020 has not been a normal year has it?? Lets leave it at that ...

So wot we been up to crafting wise??

Well the Lloyd dude kept me company most of July, Lloyd is a cool Llama, one of a kind, his quirky ears never fail to make me smile. So I finished this Michael Powell book mark !! I love these little pieces, he is such a nice man and his designs are always so nice bright and cheery.

I have wanted to do Lucy Engels Broken paperclip for quite a while now but could never decide on what fabric to use, i then hit on the idea of Japanese!! I will admit to making a total pigs ear of it didn’t follow instructions and had to take so much out ... but I’m happy with the final result.

Major excitement !! I can now travel unlimited!! So duty called and I visited my mam, no sign of tiggywinkle I think the virus did for her.

The Glasgow modern quilt guild did a post card swap! I decided to go teensy tiny and did a 4 inch granny square, it wasn’t as bad as I thought must do more small stuff.

I got a book!! I love Carina’s patterns, looking forward to getting stuck into this one!

It’s been nice not having to commute, I can go for a walk every morning and see the seasons change.

Oh how much do I love this pattern! Injabullo bag, fabulous pattern by Karlotta Pink. Sooooooo quick to make i was inspired by falling shoes aka Lovely Ruth who made loads of lovely ones! I think this Helen Steele hand printed fabric is perfect for it.

I wanted to use up this cork fabric along with some of my favourite Japanese fabrics in an open wide pouch for a chum 😀 love how it came out.

Mark does his usual sterling work with my siblings together quilt! I was queen bee in may and got all these fab blocks from my bee mates, I think they make a lovely quilt!

I went to the thread house virtual retreat! Love this pattern, painted village by Karen Lewis, I thought it would make a lovely Alice Caroline sos quilt.

And finally we got a new chum!! Meet Bert the bat, how fabulous is he?? Another loved addition to our Betttis bairns household. 

And that’s it folks, keep safe, wear a mask and drink gin (but not with your mask on 😉)

First finish!! Q3 2020 FAL Michael Powell bookmark

Michael Powell is such a lovely man. I love his designs they mean so much to me, I have the little cushions I made when I was having chemo, they remind me of what is important. I always try and get a book mark or one of his designs at the FOQ, it’s one of those rituals I associate with it. I know exactly where his stand is and head right for it every year. I hadn’t fully realised how much I was going to miss it but now it is hitting home.
Hey ho!worse things happen!
This was no 4 on my Q3 FAL list! I had forgotten how quickly they came up!!

roadtrip

Well that was an adventure! Strangely familiar, strangely different. As of the 10th July I get to travel unlimited. Which is nice. I took the opportunity to visit my mam. I hope things continue to get better but who knows, folks predicting winter spikes etc so I'll take the chance now! 

Well I couldn’t go up North without visiting my favourite graveyard. Love this graveyard so much. So many loved ones rest here. I always say hello.

These gravestones are not for loved ones, these date from 1679! Just a reminder that we are only here for a moment so lets make the most of it.

Well it wouldn’t be a trip to my favourite beach if I couldn’t have a paddle!

Hydration as ever is crucial, but I couldn’t find the evil twiggy winkle .... maybe the virus got her?

I love this beach so much, my happy place

open wide pouch in cork

I do love a contrasting bottom :-) I bought a fair bit of cork fabric from the lovely Viv - Purple Stitches at the FOQ last year and at Harrogate as well. I have been meaning to use it in some open wide pouches as a contrasting bottom for a while now.
So this weekend I finally got round to it. I made one for a lovely chum which i cant show as it is a present! But I also made this one for another friend who has been struggling with lockdown, the cork worked beautifully and how pretty is this with one of my favourite Japanese fabrics!

My lovely chum Ruth has made many of these Injabulo pencil cases (but its a lovely little clutch!

I used up some cherished fish fabrics from Helen Steele! those panels are just the right size for this!

Im very happy with the result!

Painted village quilt

No 13 on my 2020 FAL list Q2 I had such a fun time at the Threadhouse retreat and one of my main reasons for signing up to it was because it had the Painted Village pattern by Karen Lewis. I knew immediately when i saw it that i wanted to do it for the 2020 Alice Caroline quilt sos. I have contributed to the quilt sos for 3 years now and its a lovely way to use up my liberty stash, but dont tell mini mini bud!!!! This year they cant go to Europe as normal so they have chosen the Hestia Organisation which supports victims of domestic abuse.

I love playing around with the liberty fabrics!!! These liberty doggies look way to interested in the tress!!!

and finally my lovely Scoobs did what he does best - holds quilts!!! this will go off soon when i have done the other two i have promised.

Quaffle

Goodness me! I just realised I had left this as draft and never got back to it! 

Well, in the early stages of lockdown I felt really bad, i felt I wasnt doing anything. chums were making masks, making scrubs and work was just so full on I had no time or brain capacity to take on any of this. so I felt bad.

Then my lovely chum Sheena asked me how i would feel about raffling off a quilt I had donated to the charity she fund raises or - Link Living. Well I am so full of admiration for the work of Link Living, helping the homeless. It breaks my heart that in this day and age we have so many (any!) people living rough on the streets. So I jumped at the chance! Here was a way i could help. So we set up the charity giving page and off we went!

Remember this quilt? yup I raffled off the farmers wife quilt.

And what a raffle (or Quaffle as it became known as!) it was!!!!

so many lovely people, I had thought I could possibly raise £200??? too ambitious?? not in the least! we raised £1,183 squids!!!!! how totally awesome is that!

I knew the person who won it, and old librarian friend, Carole Gray who i had lost touch with, she saw it on twitter, what a grand way to reconnect :-)