Jenny Haynes a weekend with Pappersaxsten

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd breathe, 😊 budsmam towers has been busy with a humungous Senior Fellowship application for the higher education academy. All very worthwhile etc etc but its taken up my sewing time 😱😱😱😱😱 also taken up my time to reflect on all the fun stuff which has been happening *tuts* So lets catch up and remember the fun stuff.

The fun stuff kicked off on the friday night with steak chips and wine with lovely Ruth, i call her lovely Ruth because she simply is lovely. We try to have a meal before any evening talks and i cant think of a nicer way to kick things off. 

How fab is this lady?? The sooper fab Jenny Haynes @pappersaxsten. 

Jenny came up for a weekend in Edinburgh, giving a talk on the friday night a class at Mybearpawcraft on the saturday and a class for the Edinburgh Modern Quilt guild on the sunday. What a fab talk and as with all our speakers its the chance to see some amazing quilts up close and personal. Love this one, especially as the amazing honeycomb quilting was done by the fabulous Tatyana Duffie.

Can you see the sooper fab Ruth @fallingshoes peeping out?? She was on door duty. Cuddliest fluffiest bouncer ever 😊

This was it, this was the quilt i wanted to make. The one which stopped me in my tracks when i first saw it online.

So, onto sunday where i pulled out some cute fabric and deployed Jennys wonderful templates. What a fab technique!

I managed to get heaps done in the class and then finished off the quilt at a Gartmor weekend, but thats another story 😊

   

Stitch gathering 2017

It all started so innocently ... with a Prosecco party  😊 lovely new addition to the Stitch gathering festivities! 

 

Look at Robins face, says it all! The now traditional pre gathering meal at Jamies Italian. Sitting across from me were these two lovelies, Lucy and Sandra, much laughter.

My name tag from lovely Jenny @patchworkmummy, it even had a cute wee needle minder in it, liberty capel as well! Cant beat liberty capel.

My lovely postcard from Catherine @knottedcotton poor Catherine was unwell and didnt manage on the day, hope youre feeling better now, i love my postcard.

 All of the postcards were amazing.

 My morning class, sewing mat with Julie Rutter @blackisleyarns

Lunchtime my minis from @bettistitches had a meet up with the lovely George Clooney pig who loves with @cat_haggart

Afternoon class with the ever fabulous Trudi Wood

And the best bit?? Meeting up with this gorgeous lady @lovenatalieuk as gorgeous in person as she is on instagram 😊 

Lastly but not least a HUGE shout out to the sponsors who always make this the goody bag capital of sewing retreats.

Thank you SO much - Aurifil, Nairns oatcakes, Dear Stella, Todays Quilt and Love patchwork, DMC, Duck egg threads, Michael Miller, Cloud 9 fabric, Blend fabric, Free spirit fabric, Lewis and Irene fabric, sewing quarter, and Dashwood studio. But most of all thank you Jo Avery - Mybearpaw, the stitch gathering is always the highlight of my quilty calendar.

Proposed finishes for Q4 FAL 2017

And we are out of the starters blocks and raring to got for Q4!! Q4eh? Blimey 2017 you are fair ramping on. This time I will remember to number my list! Make it easier ...  Number 1 Farmers wife, I am way further ahead than I thought, almost halfway! No excuse now, keep chipping away at it

Number 2

I had just the most fabulous time at a workshop by Jenny Haynes - @pappersaxsten learning curves, the blocks are made just need to be put together for a linus quilt

Number 3

I made a mini one of these for the stichgathering postcard swap, loved it so much i want to make a mini one for myself in Liberty.

Number 4

These are left over from the Petra Prins quilt I made last quarter I think they would look fab in this charm square pattern and I think I have enough fabric for it too!

Number 5

I was charmed into buying a fabric marbling kit at the knitting and stitching show this year. This is the sample the man let me keep. I so want to make a flying geese lap quilt like the one he had on display, I have done most of the prep to marble the fabric, just need to find the time to get down to it!

Number 6

 Sligthly more ambitous is finishing off this mahoosive liberty medallion quilt .... i have a few retreats coming up so you never know!!!!

Number 7

I seem to have aquired a rather unhealthy amount of charm packs .... Some of these are over three years old! I will not buy any new ones till I clear out some old ones, this will make a nice little lap quilt.

Number 8

My local church is always looking for sale items so these next charm packs will become table runners for them

Number 9

Table runners for the church sale

Number 10

Table runners for the church sale.

Number 11

Right now this is also ambitious but hey in for a penny ... i have done all the blocks from the todays quilter BOM with Jo Avery, now to put them together possibly for siblings together? 

Number 12

Just coz i dont like odd numbers i will add in another this is destined to make at the Katy Cameron Littlest thistle retreat in November, layer cake from Zen chic whats not to love!

 

   

   
   
   

Thistle patch retreat

Again rounding up some pictures. This was i think 2017?

 

Another FAL2017Q3 finish!

Oh my giddy aunt! Another finish????? Yep this is number 3 from my list of proposed finishes for Q3

I dont really do improv or wonky so this is my best effort! I had these batiks left over and really loved them so wanted to use them to  make a mosaic type block or quilt. I wanted to remind myself of our holiday in Barcelona and all of the Gaudi gorgeousness!

Edited to add this picture has gone awol!

So then the guild proposed an improv mini challenge and this was born. The pattern is Mod mosaic quilt blocks by Elizabeth Hartman. This is about as wonky as this very linear librarian can get :-)

 

Sewing day

I made a backpack!!!! Pandas natch, c'mon, it had to be. Pattern - Keepsake ring back pack by Sew Sweetness. I used up ALL the panda fabric ... well no of course not! I still may have some panda fabric left .... i wanted a small more handbag sized backpack i can use when i dont want my full work backpack.

But you know the best thing? The BEST thing ever? I now have a new sewing group. A laid back chilled, no agendas no bee blocks just rock up and do your own thing sewing group.

Im just so happy, when i moved down here in 2000 i had no network down here, just split upmy marriage, late 30s, concentrating on work and rebuilding my life. Sometimes now i look back and see how far i have come.

I dont make chums easily, im a friendly person but i am your classic introverted extrovert, or vice versa 😊 So i take my time getting to know folks, its just the way i am and im happy with it. Plus working 60 miles away from where i stay and also not having children means the normal routes to making connections are not there. So i have struggled at times to rebuild a network of chums.

So thats why i love instagram and twitter, random conversations end up with a fabulous sewing day! Kim - @kmj_creations suggested booking a village hall in Killearn which is 45 mins from me. A few more conversations later and 12 of us rock up, sew a storm, eat cake and generally have a laugh!

Even better? We now have two more days booked. 

 

Zippy tray - another FALQ3 finish!

Whoop whoop! Another finish from my FAL Q3 proposed finishes number 2 in fact! I have had the zippy tray pattern by Aneela Hoey for ages and always wanted to try it but never got round to it. I also had some of this William and Kate wedding fabric left over, i bought it because it was pretty not because i have an huge Royalist leanings! But i have a lovely chum who is a huge Royal family fan, she already has a table runner in this fabric but its her birthday and i wanted to use up the last of it for her present. I loved the pattern, i got a bit confused at one bit but stopped and read every word, that usually helps! Love it but had no idea it was so huge!!!