My 200th post :)

I don't like wishing my life away but I have been so looking forward to today since like Monday afternoon! It's Friday and I have been sewing this evening since I got home from work and I intend to sew ALL WEEKEND toooooooo!

Only a little finish to share ... I've made another Pants Bag for my Kansas friend Carla @ Creatin' in the Sticks ... well, for her daughter actually who is a huge KU Jayhawks fan (yeah, I had to Google them too!) and here are they are having a grand time in their colours: 

So out of these fabrics:

And inspired by Maria's super houses, I made this:

And now there's going to be another owner of a Pants Bag ... they're getting everywhere!! 

Some progress on my Macmillan Cancer Support charity quilt which I started quilting tonight. I've done some straight line quilting along the sashing (ugh, my least favourite type of quilting) but I'm not sure about it ... why does it ruche up and get stuck over where the seams join -  am I going too slow / too quick? 

And all those knots to bury:

DH thinks I should now stipple the butterfly blocks and borders ... hmm, we'll see!

And so this is my 200th post! Who'd have thought it? Not me, that's for sure. Like quilting, I'm still an amateur at blogging - I make mistakes, I get stuck in a rut, I think everyone is much better at it than me and it's not always pretty but I love it! And I love my followers - they really make it worthwhile - so I'm going to put all their names in a hat tomorrow morning and the winner will receive these 4 Christmas fat quarters I especially bought this week as a little thank you from me:

Have a fabby weekend, whatever you're up to. Linking up with Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts and Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict:

Busy Bee!

Busy at work, busy at home ... so busy that the deadline for this round of the Strip Bee Quilt jumped out at me and I had a bit of a panic when I read everyone's emails on Friday night saying they were ready to post ... how did that happen?!

Just a reminder, there's six of us involved - from all over the UK - who have never met (hoping that might change one day), each adding a 40.5" strip to each others' quilts as they get passed from one quilter to the other. This was my strip  - which I passed on to Amy @ Cloud CouCou Crafts:

Round 2 - I received Fran's @ Patchy Rose strip - stars from a star:

And tonight, I finished adding my strip (Round 3) to Maria's quilt @ sew love to sew which had been to Fran before coming to me. Aren't Maria's houses the greatest? 

So, next week, I think I'll be receiving either Julie's @ Mack and Mabel or Sarah's @ Quilt Candy quilt and will have 6 weeks to add my strip ... it's such fun! I can only say that now I've finished - this time yesterday, I wasn't so calm but I only have myself to blame. 

We're not supposed to put pressure on ourselves but when I received Maria's strip from Fran, what she had added was so amazing, I just felt I had to 'step-up' and decided I wanted to paper piece either bird or butterfly blocks. Yes, I know - silly woman!

It's not like I've paper pieced that much before - a couple of square in squares cushions and Pants a Bags so ... SERIOUSLY ... what was I thinking?? I bought this pattern off Craftsy (very reasonable) by Linleys Designs:

and it worked very well but the first block was wayyyyyy too big for the quilt and some of the pieces were so small, I didn't see how I could reduce it in size - that was yesterday morning! So, back to ye old faithful Google Images and I found a couple but they weren't quite what I was looking for. You know what they say about necessity being the mother of invention? I made my own! 

We're only supposed to post sneak previews of the strip before passing it on but I don't think Maria will mind if I share with you the ingredients of just one block - I drew my pattern, cut out some templates for the wings and background, sorted through my scraps, paper pieced the wings, unpicked LOTS and made a heck of a mess:

But, it was worth it - all done before dinner tonight and it will be in the mail tomorrow! I have really enjoyed my sewing this weekend - I pushed myself, I found a solution, I had to take my time but I cracked on with it and am really really pleased with how it all ended up - hope Maria will like it! Just need Glinda to wave her wand again and for my sewing room to be tidied!!

WIP Charity Quilt ...

I have only made a little progress on my Macmillan Cancer Support charity quilt (started here) - I did an hour last night and hoped to have finished the top tonight but after a 14 hour day at work, my weary legs can't make it up the loft ladder! 

I was going to go with a more fancy border but thought there was enough going on in the quilt without adding lots more seams ... well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! Here's where I'm up to:

Linking up with Lee's WIP Wednesday, hosted  this week by the 'Paper Piece Princess' herself  Kristy @ Quiet Play - she really does the most amazing work - very inspiring. 

DH said he'd hang my notice board back up in the loft at the weekend because I'm losing track of all my promised projects. So far, I know these are on my things to do list:

1) At least 3 new cushions for SIL's conservatory

2) Pants Bag for the daughter of a friend

3) Strip Bee strip (round 3) to add to Maria's quilt 

4) Two baby quilts

5) Table mats and runner and 1 or 2 bedroom cushions for dear niece

If only I could sew all. day. long ... ah well, one day *sigh* :)

New house presents :)

A flying visit to family in Chester this weekend and dinner with dear niece and her fiancé in their new (and first mortgaged!) house on Friday. They only moved in just over a week ago but it already looks and feels like a warm and welcoming home and whilst they already have quite a few 'Glinda Quilty Gifts', you can never have enough, can you Hannah?!!

Chester has a couple of fabric shops but this was my first visit to Liberty Bell and it was delightful. They were running a workshop at the back of the shop, I could hear all the chatting and laughter ... I so wanted to join in! We spent ages looking through all the deliciousness and finally Hannah picked out some fabrics for a table runner and placemats:

And for some cushions for their bedroom:

And a few fat quarters for me to add to my stash. I treated myself to a baby quilts book too:

Lovely lovely new fabric - now all I need is to find some more time in the day to make everything :)

Linking up to Sunday Stash with Alyce over at Blossom Heart Quilts

Not a lot of sewing ...

... in Glinda's Oz this week but plenty of laughter! Mutter is visiting until Friday and I'm in work all day so I can't really neglect her by spending all my evenings sewing in the loft! She had a lovely trip to Germany and the 7 Pants Bags were very gratefully received by our relatives. I wish I could have travelled with her - maybe next time.  Did I tell you she was from Hameln? What can I say - she just can't help herself:

Two hours in the hot tub after work with a couple of G&Ts wiped me out tonight ... no surprise there! I have retrieved my crocheting from the Isle of Man trip and have just about enough energy to add a few more rounds tonight: 

Crocheting is such a relaxing and sociable craft; I am so thankful Mutter taught me - and it is making for a very enjoyable evening - I am sat here crocheting, whilst Mutter knits and DH reads - there really is no place like home :)

Au revoir, ma petite quilt :)

Just to recap (full story on this post), I have made this lapquilt for my French 'pen pal' Lydia whom I met in a French hospital in 2011 when I broke my ankle skiing (ouch!) and she had broken her femur (double ouch!!) We hit it off immediately, even though she didn't speak a word of English and I had only learnt French up until I left school in 1986! It helped that through the pain and with little sleep, we both loved to chat :)

Lydia is a much better letter writer than I - I owe her like 3 letters ... so this is my penance / her reward. With tomorrow's letter, I will be sending her a little 'material hug from Jennifer' lap quilt. She is a very religious lady so I know she will forgive me.

In time honoured tradition, here's how it all started just over 2 weeks ago:

DH held the finished quilt up for photographs for me in the garden this evening:

Oh, do you see what I see? Look to the left:

A close up:

Look at me, let Mummy take your picture, Nell:

Nell, Nell, here my darling ... Harumph!

Oh well, she'll love me one day - returning to the quilt! The back:

And the label (it translates - 'our wonderful friendship, for Lydia, my spiritual Mother, with love and kisses:

Bon voyage! 

Linking up to Amanda Jean @ Crazy Mom Quilts and with Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict:

I scare myself sometimes ...

... with my unfailing blind faith that I can look at a pile of fabric, think of an idea, draw a rough pattern (and I mean rough!) and start cutting and sewing with an absolute certainty it will all work out in the end. I really am the eternal optimist * sigh *

Laura (from yesterday's post) is holding a Macmillan Cancer Support fundraising event in January and I am going to make a quilt for the raffle. This paragraph describes their work: 

"The Macmillan team is with you every step of the way. We are the nurses and therapists helping you through treatment. The experts on the end of the phone. The advisers telling you which benefits you’re entitled to. The supporters who make it all possible."

They don't have one logo as such but I did see did this image on Google:

There are many references on the Internet to the symbolism of butterflies ... too many for me to condense in any worthy way here but did you know the ancient Greeks considered butterflies as the souls of those who had passed away? And in ancient mythology, the butterfly stands for wisdom and everlasting knowledge? Fascinating reading and quite fitting a theme for this quilt, I think.

So here is my rough pattern:

My first strip:

A close up and some more blocks I made tonight:

Not sure yet how it's all going to come together, where to position the blocks, what size it'll end up at, if I'll have enough fabric. But that's okay - a few butterflies in my stomach along the way is absolutely fine by me :)

A new WIP, thankful to those who work at Macmillan and to Lee (who's not feeling too good - get well soon!) for the chance to link up: