Sunday, 22 September 2019

Loosing and perhaps regaining my voice?

I really dont know where to start, this blog was started way back when i wasnt feeling too well. Depression, anxiety? who knows, probs just menopause kicking in! :-) I wanted to use it to keep a track of all the gorgeous quilty stuff in my life just to look back on when feeling down. Recently i just look at my posts and all i see is  - Mark holding a quilt - finish number XX
End of.
Is that what my crafting life is? I dunno, is it instagram? has that taken over? dunno.
When i was in yoga this week the teacher was talking about loosing our voice, not literally but the feeling that we cant speak, feeling gagged or our words are trapped. I realised i have been feeling that for a while. Gagged by my own insecurities, feeling i have to 'BE' a certain way. I think it all came to a head when a group i am in had a challenge, i entered my quilt, a modest offering but in the round up video of them all, every single one on the table was in shot apart from mine. It was there i could see the corner of it in one shot but you could hear it being shoved out of the way, then shoved a bit further. I played and played and played that video over and over and over again. Now the poor person who took it probably shoved mine out of the way to get a better shot and forgot to come back to it. But I couldnt see it that way and that when i realised how insecure i am about my own quilting.
And thats when i realised I needed to give myself a huge big slap and get over myself!!!! and stop feeling I cant even talk about my quilts on my own blog because i 'dont feel good enough' my quilts have changed lives, I know this, they have provided comfort to people in times of bereavement, they have comforted children in times of distress, i know this i have been told. I need to remember that being 'modern' or being this that and the other is not my goal. My goal is to make fun bright quilts which bring people happiness and that is just fine and dandy.
As a reminder, this is one of the first quilts i ever made. It was from a class called 'points to ponder' it was meant to help you be more accurate and it was a great skill builder class and i had great fun, probably about 2009? It will forever be Sammys quilt to me, when i was a Project Linus co-ordinator i was handing over some quilts to a respite care home. They were lovely ladies. One was telling me about Sammy, Sammy had a very serious condition but he loved his linus quilt he got, he played with it all the time. When he sadly passed away (just 5 .... no age at all, it was already breaking my heart) well when he passed his mother wanted to give his linus quilt back to the respite care home and the lady told me they had been using it as a play mat ever since (maybe about 6 years?) anyhoo, she pulled this quilt out to show me and it was this one:

I had donated it to Project Linus in about 2009, this was about 2016 so for 7 years my quilt had been loved played on and brought comfort to Sammy, neither of us could quite believe it, i started to cry but the woman said 'oh please dont be upset, Sammy loved his quilt!'
Thats a result. So this is a reminder that I dont need to fit into a box, I just need to make what i love and carry on doing what i love which is making fun bright quilts to cheer me and others up.


Thursday, 12 September 2019

Siblings together, my quilt for 2019

Righty ho! more finishes! this was no  15 on my Q3 FAL list but i have just realised i put the wrong picture against it! May was my month for the siblingstogether quilt bee im in I chose a nice way to use up 2.5 squares, make a 9 patch with them, then put together with a LV square and make 2 HSTs simples! border is a nice fishy Kaffe Fassett i got on the indie burgh craft crawl last year.
Ower Scoobs, posing as ever for his #husbandsholdingquilts action!!





Monday, 9 September 2019

Using up those charm packs!

Yup, another finish! i had a manic finishing session on holiday, this is no 9 on my Q3 FAL list  3 Janet Clare charm packs. Sometimes you just need to highlight the charms and not worry too much about cutting them up into teeny pieces!
Oh Scoobs you wee minx!
Thats better!

Thursday, 5 September 2019

yet another charm pack quilt!

Its a good job my scoobs adores his #husbandsholdingquilts duties!!! on my 2 week holiday i had a manic finishing of quilts couple of days. This was  no 8 on my Fal2019 Q3 list using up 2 charm packs of Deb Strain Bee Creative. pattern by Sew Me - Sarah Elwood, super easy to use up these lovely charms with sashing in Japanese fabrics. Not great pictures, i need to work on that!
In other news, Scoobs has gone walkabout! off for nearly 3 weeks. I miss him but am so glad he is having lovely adventures!

Sunday, 1 September 2019

Pia Panda! another finish :-)

This was finish no 2 on my list for Q3 It is no secret that i love Pappersaxen - Jenny Haynes and was delighted to be a pattern tester for this cute Pia Panda quilt, what better way to use up some gorgeous Japan Crafts fabrics :-) my scoobs as ever doing awesome #husbandsholdingquilts action!


Saturday, 31 August 2019

August furtling!

Well i was a total wipe out for July, sorry Mini Archie! so im delighted to be able to join in for August, did i just say august???? where is 2019 going to!
right lets see whats on the camera roll shall we? Ahhhh I was up at my mams, working on my Tresna scarf and realised i had forgotten my cable needle, quick furtle in mams stationery drawer and i found this teeny pencil which was the fair dab! this shawl is going to be a long standing one on my FAL list but thats ok, im easing back into knitting.

 totes not craft related but i got a new job and a new dress for the interview and i think i look GORGEGOUS! (listen if we dont say these things to ourselves then we cant say them to others either, thats my motto! Anyhoo, new Head of Learner and Academic Services for Heriot Watt University and very proud of it too. For someone who was thrown out of library school in 1984 ive dont not too shabbily thank you very much :-)
this bunch went to a birthday pawty!!!! the lovely Sue and Mr David invited us all to sweet Boos birthday pawty,  we had a blast thank you!

 There were a fair few finished too, I pattern tested for Jenny - Papper Saxten and this is my version of her Pia Panda quilt. how sweet! all done in Japanese fabrics, I have just donated this to Project Linus in fife, sadly a childrens hospice had a fire (no one hurt) but they wanted quilts so this is one i donated to that.

 Oh my Scoobs! you are a twerp! but i love you, we took a lot of finish pictures before he left for his epic hike across sweden, this was made from 3 Janet Claire charm packs. simple to make but verey effective. I will blog about it separately for the FAL. This too went to the quilt drive mentioned above.
 Now thats better behaved my Scoobs! This is made from 2 charm packs of Bee Creative by Deb Strain. Its a pattern from Sarah Elwood - Sew Me so straightforward and easy to make, again just got sent off to the quilt drive mentiond above.
 Well it wouldnt be August without the FOQ!! here was Mini Mini Bud on the train.
 Me and my Farmers wife quilt!
 A detail of lovely Kims quilt, the green liberty was a donation from me, so nice to see this quilt, i saw it being made at our Killearn sewing days,
 I went personal shopping for Elaine - Greenandscratchy, great fun shopping for someone else!
 Look to the right of the person in the aqua top, thats a Lucy Engels quilt! stunning
 *blushes* part of my haul, i did go a bit batshit crazy ....
 Amanda - Metro quilter made this quilt top, you read it by going round not left to right, how clever!
 OK i have blogged all about how Mini Bud was the main attraction and him meeting up with all his loving Aunties ..... but this was a very special meet up, I have know Jane - two wednesdays since the days of twitter, I think she might have even known real life Bud on twitter! it was Helen and Jane who persuaded me to give Mini Bud his own instagram account, i know he may neglect it a bit ..... but he still loves seeing his chums on there. Meeting Aunty Jane was very special for him (and me too !)
 Awwww - Anuty Sharon too!
 The only thing which would have been better than meeting Aunty Cath would have been if the great BC had been there too :-)
fun and games at the gin bar!
 Jen Kingwell folks, yer actual Jen Kingwell !
 My panda pouch goes away but only till November because this year i am going to Harrogate for the first time!

Couple of late additions. The Balloon quilt is almost done!!! 
 I may have also bought from  Hazels destash ... cant resist a charm pack!


See you next month!

Monday, 26 August 2019

New York Beauty - at last!

Number 1!!! yup numero uno on my FAL2019 Q3 list New York Beauty , pattern by JoAvery, MyBearpaw. I have wanted to do this for ages, I bught a few FQ bundles of Tilda with a leaving present voucher from my old job. I just love tilda so much. As you can see from my (old ham of a) husband its quite a big quilt,  just the perfect size to go to siblings together!
 And talking of jobs! I've got a new one, and i just wanted to show off my interview frock :-) Head of Learner and Academic Services at Heriot Watt University. For someone who got thrown out of library school in 1984 thats not bad going!