Normal Service...............

...........has been interrupted.

Whilst most of us take a wee blog break over the festive season, mine may have been a bit longer than some.

I tend to keep my blog posts to quilty matters and only occasionally let personal stuff slip in, this is such an occasion.

A week ago today whilst thinking of parsnip purchases etc.........I managed to nag my OH into phoning the doc.
He was due to attend hospital today for a procedure. Don't worry, I am not going into details but suffice to say, no parsnips were purchased, Christmas was put on hold as a doctor's appointment morphed into a hospital admission..............which lasted locally until yesterday when he was transferred to Glasgow for his procedure today..........which has taken place with great success.
One more sleep in a hospital bed and I will be able to take him home, bringing to a close, in a most dramatic fashion, 2013.

I know obviously I am not the first to witness at first hand, and be grateful for, the giant machine that is our NHS (National Health Service).
I imagine I won't be the last to send up a quiet thank you........or even a great big shouty one!!

                                   

                       I wish all of my friends and family a Happy & Healthy New Year.

Not Many Sleeps Now................

My last classes took place last week and I thought I would pop a few pics up - our final project of the term was a Block Book and quite a few were completed in class, a wee bit of prep having been done at home! Some ladies brought all eight projects for an inpromtu show & tell - I have not named these photos because, as predicted I can't guarantee matching all the names to pics correctly. After a week, brain fade has set in and I thought I might as well offend everybody together - lucky you all know what I am like!!

The Sew A Long has been great fun and I have had such positive feedback - I have to admit the idea was inspired by last year's Zakka Sew A Long. Thank you to all my ladies who supported the project this term, your blind faith is just wonderful. Some of you are unable to return in January and some others are joining me, for The Bag!!

I think I need to accept that little personal sewing can be done now as I am trying hard to tidy the sewing room and convert it into a guest bedroom..........agghhhh!!

My final project of the year was a quick stocking.

Judging by the reduced frequency of my posts these past few months, not sure I will manage another before Christmas Day so let me take this opportunity of wishing all my readers everywhere, a very Happy Christmas and a Guid New Year.xx

Freefalling

As we hurtle towards Christmas I expect most of us are extra busy, tempers fraying, mine over spilled today because I had forgotten to keep an eye on some apples that were meant to be gently cooking.............
All is calm and quiet now at Chez Bluepatch, Home Alone is on telly and I am reflecting upon another sewing week, here, & in class.
As this term has progressed the projects have become just a wee bit meatier so my picture haul has dwindled as projects were not quite completed in class. I have a few though..........this is Maggie's Book Cover which would be a perfect gift for a wee girl (Maggie has three big sons and 3 grandsons!!)

and here is her Term 1 so far...................

The final project of Term 1 is a Block Book, something like mine, below, that was fashioned from an orphan block.

Susan got hers done in class -

and has heaps to show for her Term 1 -

On a personal sewing front, I got another week in the Mystery quilt under my belt - more circles, a recurring theme!! I had to re do the stitching around the top right block as my fussy cut included a sliver of white and when appliqued onto the white background, the circle lost its shape!

I had a lovely package in the post this week. The Stingy Bees are doing a Secret Santa and I got mine from Nicky - she and I share a love of green so she did me proud with some scraps. We all made fabric envelopes but this package held so much more - thanks Nicky,

I managed to finish up one of my FAL 4th quarter projects, an EPP'd Christmas cushion. Today was my deadline as it made its way off with visiting family to be handed over as a Christmas gift.

I used some of my oldest scraps in this project and enjoyed fussy cutting those kitties.

This month's Queen Bee in the Stingy Bee is Janet and she chose a super block called Scrap Jars, perfect for scraps. (funnily enough).  I think these will make a brilliant quilt.

Returning to class things for a moment - I have only one week left before we break up for our holiday and then in the New Year my lovely ladies will be returning to make this bag - The Overnighter!!

I have laboured for many hours in the planning and construction of this baby, and many of the techniques required have been covered this term in the wee projects we have done. (method in my madness!!) And I think I put my holiday fabric to good use!

And finally - a few years ago I bought an old fashioned rose, called Sophie's Perfume, to mark the passing of our beloved puss, Sophie, a cat with attitude. 

Sophie when she was a kitten - 1992

The rose bloomed and smelled divine. I never moved it from its pot as we were destined to move house. This we did back in 2010 and sadly the rose has not thrived, to the point this year that I took a shrivelled root from the pot and instead of chucking it into the compost bin, I thought I would give it one last chance.............as the weeks have gone by I have witnessed the shoots of regrowth and this week - yes this week in December - it is coming into flower.

A rose with attitude.

Cyber Fun

Think it's about time I posted what I have been up to and the first of a new month is a good time to do it. Last night I took part in an online Baby Shower for Sarah - this was masterminded by Rhonda. I have yet to try Skpe and left office work before the days of teleconferencing so I was amused and in awe of the whole concept of being online with blog friends and acquaintances from all over the World. Sadly there was only space for 6 webcams and although I managed to get my ugly mug up there, I learned later that no one could hear me! Even though I had a wee icon saying people could, ah well, next time. So, for weeks we have had a secret Flickr group making pressies for Sarah and her "bean". I decided to make Noodlehead's divided basket - I at first thought it would be good for nappy (diaper) storage but chose to make it in some linen I had in my stash when I saw the words printed on it - not very babyish, but might be useful later on for Sarah. Poor Sarah was unable to get her broadband working last night but managed to join the party by phone so we could hear her opening her gifts.

I had quite a busy November both with class stuff, Bee stuff and some personal sewing.

I made blocks for Charlotte in the Stingy Bees.

I made blocks for Bee Blessed -

Then there was my Secret Santa envelope for my Stingy Brit partner - can't show you the insides yet as I am not sure if it has arrived yet.............

I continued making blocks for the Mystery Quilt I am following through Spotlight, Australia.

I finished up some class samples.............this is one of my Mega Pinnies, this one is destined as a prize in Leanne's Finish A Long this quarter.

I got a label on to my flannel Christmas quilt -

And, I finished up my own Bee project - I was Queen Bee in the Stingy Brits in July - I asked the lovely ladies to make me Woven Ribbon blocks in colours to go with my Mod Pop quilt - aquas, oranges with LV background. The blocks were destined to be made into a runner for my duble width chest of drawers. But guess what - I got enough blocks to make another runner for the single chest & then, with the Siggy blocks and one last block, I made a large mat for my bedside table - so thank you ladies, This was the first Bee I have taken part in. What really struck me was how all the blocks played so well together, because this after all is a scrap Bee with blocks made from all the Bee's stashes. And I like that being part of such a Bee allows us to make friends online, and even get to know them in real life!

Lovely, innit?

And I am linking to Lynne's Fresh Sewing Day. - go have a peek.

Sewing A - Long

Following on from last week's post, I thought I'd share some of the trivets made in class during the last couple of weeks.

There was some fun fussy cutting going on. Some ladies chose to hand piece, most used machines and all those Y seams were executed perfectly.

This week and next, we will be making quilted book covers which, with a little theming and personalisation, will make super Christmas pressies. Here is my un-themed and impersonal scrappy sample - I have another two in the pipeline which I can hopefully share next week.

Keeping Busy

One of the interesting thing about my class schedule this term is that by having a different project each fortnight, it becomes more apparent how quickly Christmas is rushing towards us. Only 3 projects till Christmas..............
I showed off some Mega Pinnies recently, but here are some more - I think my ladies really enjoyed this one and you can see some are already in use -

The current project is the Honeycomb Hexagon Trivet - this comes with the option of hand or machine piecing with fussy cutting positively encouraged.
Here is my sample -

And already, we have one, hot off the press, made by Pat H.

Meanwhile, back in the bluepatch sewing room, I have been plodding on with the Mystery quilt I am doing - the Week 4 blocks were incredibly, well, patchwork-y, and I was having doubts - mainly with my fabric choices. I really just threw together some of my holiday purchases but after week 3 wasn't sure...........however once week 4 went up on my wall I got one of those little frissons of excitement so I know this quilt has possibilities.

Next up are my Bee a Brit Stingy blocks for Charlotte - she chose a block full of geese and once again I felt myself thrown way back to early patchwork days - you might also be forgiven for thinking these are part of my mystery, the colours fit so well. Oh, and well done to Charlotte for her great win in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival.

And lastly, I had a lovely parcel this week from the Fat Quarter Shop. Some of you will recall I had a super win in Leanne's Finish Along 3rd Quarter draw - $75 to spend. I took ages deliberating but came up with this lovely pile. The nice LV fabric on the left (an Art Gallery one by Pat Bravo), measures 4yds and is destined for the background of a new quilt project!!

This & That

Since my last proper post, it's been business as usual.
In class this fortnight we are making my Mega pincushion..........this takes a wee while longer than the class 2hrs to complete so I have only one completed photo for you so far - well done to Pat.

For those of you who may like to make this big pincushion this link should take you right to the instructions.

I joined an online Mystery Quilt - it's being run by Spotlight of Oz & NZ through their FB page and is Sarah Fielke's design. So far I have kept up and am on Wk 4 at the moment. It is meant to be done with Sarah's latest Spotlight collection but I thought I'd give it a go from my stash. I am enjoying having a wee personal project with no expectations or deadlines. Here is what I have made so far.

And I have a finish to report too! It's my traditional flannel throw - a Christmas pressie for someone special. I haven't used flannel before so took it slow & easy and stuck to a simple pattern. The back is pieced from flannel too and the wadding is 80/20. It is ever so cosy.

I have completed another make which I really enjoyed but am unable to share at the moment......soon, I promise.

Don't forget that voting opens on the 1st November in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival.......hint, hint.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival Autumn 2013

It's that time of year again when blogging quilters get a chance to participate in a wonderful online exhibition. I am in awe of the organisation that goes into this even, all run by Amy so a big thank you is due to her.
The exhibition is a great excuse to while away a couple of hours viewing lots of work from quilters all over the world so be sure to visit and vote for your favourites when voting opens next week.

I took part in an online sew a long last winter with Leanne and fell by the wayside quite quickly. My Mod Pop quilt became an as & when quilt project but it was destined for our own bed as a summer alternative and my colours were intended to evoke a beachy feel. I managed to complete it by the end of June.
Here it is, sunbathing - those warm summer days are but a distant memory now.

The pattern was purchased from Julie and I think it looks quite retro, reminiscent of the 60s. I used stash fabrics mainly and the eagle eyed among you will see a couple of narrow blue strips - I never, I mean never, quilt whole quilts anymore - I use QAYG methods and look for ways to join using whichever QAYG technique that might suit best. For this one, I constructed three separate panels and used narrow strips to join. You can see the three section better on the back.

And here it is relaxing again..........

And rolled to go.................

So, I am entering Mod Pop into the Bed Category of the Festival because it is for sure, a bed quilt.
It measures 80" x 85", I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 & quilted it on my Janome 6600 using Aurifil 50wt thread in, I think colour 2021.

If you have popped in from the Festival, welcome, and if you are a regular reader, do pop over and have a drool at all the super entries, such fun!!