Cold turkey in July!

Due to these not working.............

and not having any of these.........

we weren't able to make these...............

Bummer!!
Sorry ladies...................

For Sale

Once or twice in the past I have used my blog as a platform for a friend to sell her sewing machine - I realise that this will really only appeal to those of you who are fairly local but I think todays "offer" is too good not to share with you.
Both of the followng machines belong to a friend/former colleague.they are both Janome machines and she is parting with them to trade up to a new model.
First up - the Janome 6600 - this is a real workhorse, metal bodied beast of a machine - it suits being kept at home as it it really too heavy to cart about to classes. It  has heaps of stitches, memory, the wee man inside to cut your thread (officially known as an automatic thread cutter), a wide bed to take quilts, and it comes with an extension table.This machine also has a built in walking foot. This machine is about 3/4yrs old, is in very good condition, and the price asked is £650. (it currently retails at £1095)

  

I have two close friends who each have this model - they love it!
Next up is the Janome 300E - it is a dedicated embroidery machine - it will not perform as a sewing machine. This baby is for all the creative embroidery jobs you never thought you would be interested in! Having a separate embroidery machine in your sewing room means you can have it chugging away at one end of your sewing table while you happily quilt at the other end.Once you master these machines you can start to incorporate some embroidery into your quilts........Sew Materialistic also run classes in machine embroidery.

The 300E is the forerunner to the 350E current model that retails for £999. This machine is in great condition, is about 6yrs old and £350 is the asking price. It comes with customising software and a flash memory card.
(I have one of these machines in my "stable" - love it)
So that's the sales pitch - if anyone is interested please email me and I will forward to the seller for you to negotiate.

Blogger's Block

Have not been in right frame of mind this week for blogging, not sure why, probably too busy making hexies..lol.
I have my first workshop of the new season coming up on Sunday - it's Christmas in July and those coming along this year will be the first to try my very own creation - it's an Advent Postbox

I might even produce a saleable pattern for this if there is any demand ...........might even manage to produce a better pic!!
I thought some of you out there might like to see some of the progress being made by the lovely ladies who are participating in my Mystery QAL - join in any time HERE
With their kind permission, here are some shots of the unfolding mystery............

So these have been made by Jennifer, who blogs over at The Enchanted Bobbin. - aren't they looking good together?
And these are from Hadley over at Flying Blind on a Rocket Cycle - same blocks, so different, that is the Magic of the Mystery QAL!!!!

Great job ladies, keep going............
.........more progress reports later.

Upping the Ante

No more nice Miss! It's the next instalment of the Mystery Quilt and this time I am increasing your workload!!
If you go to my Mystery QAL page HERE you will find the link to this week's instructions - there are two blocks to make this time, PLUS a little extra, what I call infill strips. The blocks in this Mystery are of different sizes and need a bit of help to become a whole quilt. In a couple of areas I have popped in panels of plaited fabric. Now when I originally did this project in class I was able to demonstrate plaiting so I am going to have a bash at a tutorial - this will be my first.

Select at least three different fabrics, cut into strips of 1 1/2" x 4 1/2".

Place two strips right sides together at right angles - stitch together using 1/4" seam.

Press open.

Place next strip across the seam just sewn, and stitch together.

Press open.

Continue adding strips on alternate sides until your strip is long enough for the infill strips - we will be trimming to 15 1/2" long so you need a good bit longer than this before trimming away the angles.It builds really quickly tho, so no complaining.

Now we need to think about trimming.

I have stuck a bit of masking tape along the 45 degree line on my ruler for the photo.....align this with the first seam line.

and cut.

Our strip needs to be 3 1/2" wide - a 3 1/2" ruler is obviously brilliant here, centre and trim both sides.

Now just the top to trim

Voila!

Plaited strips can be put to use in lots of places - borders, strippy quilts, table runners etc. You can vary the width of strips you use and mix different width too, a great stashbuster. You can even cut blocks from a plaited strip.

Enjoy.

Easily Led

Come to the conclusion that I am easily led - one minute I am trying hard to achieve a "modern" quilt...........

That's my wonky 9 patch pieced and ready to layer up........jury is out on this one...................
 Next minute I am making hexagon templates and hand - stitching, and I think I might become addicted....no pics yet but I did make this today for a friend - used up the last tiny scraps of my vintage caravan fabric....

Note the shape..............I am lost.

Go Baby

No luck winning the Accuquilt Baby  on Lily's Quilts? Never mind, hop over to Want it, Need It, Quilt, for another chance.

So make like Austin Powers, and Go Baby Go.........

Block of the Month

There is a modern BOM starting over at Sew Mama Sew - it has been inspired by this book,

which I don't have but have to say it looks very interesting.
Anyway, if there is room in your life for another project, this might be a good 'un.