Practical bags and lots of luggage

Off to Uni. Jenny has flown the nest and is off to Uni with the entire contents of her bedroom and a good half of the stock of the local shops too. We got there and went out and bought more, so we will have to hire a van to bring her home at the end of the year. Here's wishing her Good Luck in her studies!!
So to keep me busy, I went out and bought some fabric and a pattern to make something. A practical bag design by Tanya Whelan.
and very practical it is too - big enough for odd bits of shopping but quite smart too. The linen fabric by Lecien was lovely to work with and the greige colour is very up to date too.
I have also been out to a quilt show too - at The Quilters Cupboard near Durham. Lots of inspiration and good ideas.
like a block I'd never seen before on a sampler quilt....
and look how this stencil shape for the quilting completely changes the look of this block.

and new ideas --hitting flowers with a hammer?

add a little bit of machine embroidery and suddenly you have a work
of art. I would love to try this.
These sea horses by Maggie were great too - a three dimensional piece of textile art - a recent prize winner at the Harrogate quilt show.
This was my favourite quilt - but there was no name on it so I can't mention you by name but it is really lovely.

I really enjoyed my day out in Durham, Lovely to meet fellow quilters to get inspiration and new ideas, (and drink tea and eat lots of cake!!)

Happy Quilting xx

William Shakespeare and The Beatles

What have William Shakespeare and The Beatles got in common? Answer; They have all been turned into cushions.As I said last week, you can never have too many cushions . This week's project by Jenny was to turn her unwanted Red Nose Day T shirts into something she could keep as she didn't want to wear the T shirts again. Ironing interfacing onto the back of the T shirts has helped them keep their shape. We live very near a factory fabrics and furnishing shop, with all those different shaped cushion pads at £1.50 each , it is just too tempting to pop in and buy another for the next project.Recycling is in the air and Rosie has made a cheap fleece throw into a cosy scarf with a pair of scissors and a few buttons and ribbons.
And talking of cosy - keep your eggs cosy with this little egg cosy I have knitted. Guess which football team I support. I hadn't made a pompom for years - but its like riding a bike - you never forget.Before the weather broke I decided the garden needed a little livening up and so I planted these bright pink begonias - a little late summer colour was what the sign in the garden centre promised. Don't know what happened to the late summer though.I gave my granny's old garden seat a coat of willow paint to brighten it up too.and the new lavender bushes , although small, have a lot of lavender to be picked if they survive the wind.

And this weeks scenic shot is across the mouth of the Tyne looking from North Shields to South Shields on Sunday. The wind was just starting to pick up and was ideal for these little sailing boats.

Happy Quilting xx

You can never have too many cushions

I have finished my knitted cushion and am really pleased with it. The flash on the photo doesn't show the patterns too well but I love all the different textures of the squares. Inspired by Debbie Abrahams blanket pattern based on floor coverings. Apologies to Debbie for the addition of the Dalek but it was a special request from Jenny. (Dalek pattern from Ravelry)
I have really got the hang of ladder stitch for stitching the blocks together now and was surprised by the weight of the yarn when knitted up and put together. I would be a fantastic blanket but I haven't the patience to knit that many squares. The back of the cushion is fabric and my sewing machine coped very well with the challenge of sewing cotton and knitting together.I have made yet another pinny from Leanne Beasley's Apron Strings pattern - I think this is the 7th or 8th.
This time I appliqued the name onto the pocket, instead of doing an embroidery. I drew the letters free hand and used my machine for the applique and was pleased at the result.

Happy Quilting xx