8 More Sleeps

Well, that's term 1 done and dusted. Thanks to those of you who made it to the social this afternoon especially for being such good sports and joining in the games!

My beginners are well on the way now with almost all quilts layered up and ready for quilting - it never fails to amaze me how different they all look - this particular class has worked extremely hard and I think I might have to give them a bonus project before the end of the session.........

Pic'n'Mix has reached the sashing stage now and for those of you who might be thinking the blocks are looking a bit busy, soldier on - the sashing makes a big difference.

When you come back in January we will be getting stuck in to our Flying Geese borders.

Will now take a seasonal blog break.......
Merry Christmas everyone!!

11 More Sleeps

Hi everybody, sorry I have been a bit out of touch in the blog......last weekend Allan & I were off to a rather smart wedding in Dumfries which necessitated an overnight stay so that was last weeks excuse.

Yesterday I made a last minute change of pressie for someone - as I have told several of you, I gave myself permission not to feel I had to make heaps of pressies this year but yesterday I got the Tone Finnangar book out and scissors etc and this is what happened -

This is my lady Santa, and I wish I had started a bit earlier and made a few - she's lovely!!

Hope to see lots of you on Thursday afternoon at our "social". If you can't make it, or you don't have a class this week, I will take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Christmas and look forward to getting back together in 2010.

No Time to Chat

I think there is a slight patchwork connection here................

That Monday Feeling?

Feeling a little sluggish? Not too energetic?
Watch this and you will instantly feel energised...................

Fabric Alert!

Anne from the Thursday class is seeking some of the above fabric - we have none left in the shop.
Can anyone help?

Quilts of Valour

I am posting the above info received today from Frances McArthur, our Ayrshire Guild rep.

Can I just emphasise that I am posting from a humanitarian point of view and not a political one.

If you click on the image it should open a larger view.

Play School update

Yes, we played all day at todays workshop!
I still have paint on my arm like a 5yr old.

The workshop was a chance to experiment with making marks & shapes on fabric, using stencils & masks and with a variety of fabric paints, and crayons.
We also painted Bondaweb and tried out a few different fabrics to iron it onto - quite a few instant art pieces were created - beautiful!!

Changing subject - the sewing machine sold - thank you to all who responded.

The Go - Between

Today I am acting as a go between for a lady who has been in my class since 2004. She has recently purchased a new sewing machine and has one to sell.


It is a JANOME DECOR EXCEL 5024 - it has 24 stitches incl buttonhole, needle threader, walking foot and 1/4" foot. She describes it as being in excellent condition.
I have just done a bit of surfing and several outlets, including John Lewis are still offering this model for sale, the cheapest I saw was £229.
THE PRICE OF THIS CAREFULLY OWNED MACHINE IS £45 - a no brainer as you would pay this for the walking foot and 1/4 " foot alone!

Play School

My next workshop is Sunday 15th Noveber - just a week away - it will be a day of playing about with some different products and techniques which some of you dabbled with at last years Journal Quilt module.

There are still a few places left so if anyone would like to book a nice fun day out please contact me.

Allan and I have finally bitten the bullet and sacked AOL - we have been with them for years and years but lately have become increasingly unhappy with the service so we are moving to BT. Hopefully this will be a smooth transition............will email everyone when I have a new email address.

Wet Start to November....

Yuk, what a horrible day - good excuse to sew!

Haven't been blogging lately as I succumbed to what can only have been - man flu!! Have coughed for a fortnight and think it might be coming to an end now, thankfully.

It's been a busy few days - Hallowe'en madness in the shop with lots of mad last minute costumes being planned. It is interesting that most folk buying the bits and bobs for costumes are adults, lots of grown-ups out there dressing up. Think the kiddies are having theirs purchased ready made!!

On way home from work last night, saw my first Christmas Tree in a shop window display - eek!!

On the subject of Christmas trees...................


For those of you in class this last two weeks, you will remember my wee wall-hanging. This first saw the light of day in 2005 at my Christmas in July workshop along with several other projects. It is a super gift which can be knocked up from all your Christmas scraps and if you click on the download buttons on the following documents you will be able to access the pdf files for 3 tree patterns plus the instructions. You can then save these files and use as many times as you wish. When printing from the pdf file, go into "advanced options" and tick the box which says print as image, otherwise the seam allowance won't print. Blog Coaster & Trio Hanging Trio tree 1 Trio Christmas Tree Trio Fir Tree
Finally, I finished my patchwork pup! I made mine with 3 1/2" squares so he is quite a size............will bring him to class if I can fit him in car..........he is called "Scraps" and will be a Christmas gift for our wee nephew Evan, who has just been visiting today - Allan and I feel like we should now be lying down in a darkened room, such energy!!

Foundation Piecing

Over the next 2 weeks all my classes will be enagaged in foundation piecing. For the beginners this will be an introduction, for others, a refresher and for many, old hat!!

In prepping for one of my classes I remembered Carol Doak's website. She is undisputed FP expert and if you check out her website (look left) you will find lots of free patterns to download for personal use.

In the meantime, looks like the weather is turning to a quilting front....................

Rural Views..........

So, last night I was off to Barr to give a wee talk to the Upper Stinchar WRI. It's many years since I was last in Barr (as a rent collector!!).........I took the coast road and what a beautiful evening it was as I drove down, Ailsa Craig was standing very clear and dramatic as the sun was setting.
As I turned off the road at Old Dailly, the sign said 4 miles, apparently I was following "the corkscrew". The windfarm was a new sight since my last visit and as I climbed up into the hills they became larger and larger until I was surrounded by turbines, they were turning quite slowly and with the contours of the hills the whole effect was quite spooky - I am sure there is probably a quilt in it somewhere!! After a very long 4 miles, I arrived in the village, feeling somewhat mesmerised by my twisty drive.

The ladies were very welcoming and seemed to enjoy my quilts - if any of them are visiting this blog, many thanks for the invite and for your hospitality.

My return journey was dark, and incident free..........

Half Term

Sunday, and I am thinking of all the things I want to do this week when there are no classes on................think I might be overestimating my capabilities!
I keep thinking of things I would like to make for Christmas - those of you from the Thursday a.m. class will have seen (pink) Carol's lovely Patchwork Pup which was imaginatively named "Patch"- well I want to make one for my wee nephew for Christmas and have already purchased the fat 1/4s. I did a bit of searching on the net to see if I could source a free pattern for you all and found a great slide show of completed pups at flickr. (email me for link) It also has some diagrams of the construction of the pup - basically made from heaps of squares, Carol's were 2 1/2" - I plan to cut mine 3 1/2" so we'll see what size he turns out. I first came across the pattern when dear old Margaret Clark was working from an original 70s pattern in class......about a year ago.

Try this link for a tutorial. quiltastic.typepad.com look under "stuff animals" on left side of column.

Meanwhile one last pic from last Sunday, courtesy of Lorna & Delia.

Tinternet

Well, following all our recent problems with internet connections etc, we have just had our phone line - the extension bit - renewed, as apparently it was the cause of all our distress.......we shall see.

Hopefully I can now access my blog at regular intervals so keep on visiting. Will post some more feathered friends in a bit........

Stuff a Goose for Christmas

What a lovely day we had yesterday creating geese inspired by Tone Finnanger's book "Crafting Springtime Gifts". 15 ladies attended the workshop and by the end of the day we had 15 different character geese produced! It was possibly the quietest workshop ever, concentration levels were at an all time peak. As usual the weather outside was beautiful - don't forget, if you are planning an important event, check out my workshop dates, I think the good weather record must be at about 99%. Have a look at some of the photos from yesterday.........I have had some more sent by Lorna but unable to access our mail at the moment - any recommendations for a reliable internet provider??

Raffia

Poundland now out of raffia - I imagine there might have been a run on it...............you don't need much, I am sure there will be plenty to go around.

Before I forget, does anyone have a copy of Magic Patch, "Born to Quilt" ? I have a buyer in one of my classes if you would like to part with your copy.

Autumn

What a glorious morning - sun shining, leaves dropping, my favourite season..........

Welcome Kate - nice to meet you. I am very new to blogging as you might imagine - how did you come across the blog? Just interested. I will take time later to have a look at your blog. Small world this quilting community isn't it.

Another snippet for the goose makers on Sunday - Poundland has raffia!!

For those of you who are booked on Sunday's workshop, here is a little visual inspiration.................check them out next time you are on the Auld Brig, family of five - delightful.

Am just back from a wee shopping trip to Costco! Picked up my first Christmas pressie, sorry, no pressure!

So good to see first response posted, thanks Nan. Sounds like you enjoyed the quilt show, it's a while since I was at Ingliston, maybe now that there is Loch Lomond and the Festival of Quilts to go to, we are all being spread a bit thin.

Have been busy prepping for this weeks class - at the end of two weeks I'll post any comments for those who have missed the class.

Also making last minute prep for the workshop on Sunday - it's "Stuff a Goose for Christmas" and everybody seems to be looking forward to it - I think it will be a very relaxing day.

Told the kids that I had created a blog - Jenny said blogs aren't for old people - huh! And Stu just implored me not to send him a link...........they should be proud of their mum, keeping up (just about) with all this new technology.

Planning Permission..............

To all of you who have been involved with the "Cottage" pattern problems..............you will know I have been creating and sending pdf files and experiencing a few wee problems.
For those of you who have printed off the pattern and found it to be not exactly 9" here is a solution kindly discovered and shared by Pat Harvey - thanks Pat.

When you select “print” in Adobe Reader 9, a print “dialogue box” opens.

One of the options is “page scaling” – half way down the box on the left.

If this is set to anything other than “none” then Adobe will adjust the size of the diagram to fit neatly on the page. The exact size will depend on the maximum usable area on the page – which will depend on the printer and some of its settings (and these will depend on the printer make and model).

So, select “page scaling” = NONE – and the print size should be OK. The alternative “fit to printable area” appears to be the default.

Debut blog

Well, imagine this, me, a blogger!

If you are in one of my classes, welcome to my blog - hopefully we can use this as a forum to discuss any little problems or niggles arising from class.

Please feel free to post any comments on your quilting life, interesting events, places visited etc........

Visit often, and let's see how it goes.