Yes Still Crafting but Changing

I may have disappeared but I have been crafting my little fingers to the bone, there has been a lot of family and smallholding stuff going on, pop over to my other blog if you want updating on all that.

New additions arrived in the family a few weeks ago 11 weeks early so little dresses hats and quilts have been made 

I have also been getting to grip with something else, a couple of years ago I bought a long arm quilting frame and machine from a fellow blogger, try as I might I couldn’t get results I was happy with following the pantographs, well just before lockdown I have a lovely PPI payout, I was mulling over the idea of upgrading the quilting system to make it user friendly.

Then we went into lockdown, all the craft fairs were cancelled, I had boxes of stock all made so didn’t need to make more, 

so I thought ideal opportunity to work on the quilting white elephant that was taking up a lot of room in my cabin.

I invested my payout in a computerised robotic system to work on the long arm.

I have been spending my time during learning the software and how to top quilt on the long arm

This the front and back of one of the quilts I have done,

I have now top quilted two quilts and about to start my third, I have another two in the box to do, I am loving quilting again, it has been a bit of a learning curve and I do hope that by the end of the year I can offer a top quilting service.

If this works out then I can vastly reduce the amount of craft I do, which do take a lot of preparation and very exhausting at times. 

Any craft fairs I go back to doing my stock will greatly change as well including more of what is produced here on the small holding something I have been striving to achieve. 

More on that in my next post. 

Still Being Fishy

There seems to have been a bit of fish theme going on in the cabin of late.

This week I was doing an underwater wall hanging

 it was a fairly easy one to do 

all the characters were done in applique using scraps from the scrap box

The background was strips of fabric put together to give the impression of the sea

It didnt take that long to do and made a small dent in the scrap box.

 

An order for a customer

Another dragon dream catcher has been made

This time in light airy girly colours.

 

I have been playing around with an idea for another dream catcher

Here is a preview glimpse of the idea, its not been fixed down yet still some work to do on it 

An idea in the making.

 

 

 

 

 

Whats A Girl To Do ............

Whats a girl to do when all you get is rain ? the answer is easy craft of course.

That's what I have been doing over the past few days.

I have been working on some ideas for the Christmas Fair in the village this October.

Bottle Aprons to glam up that bottle of brew that's been given as a gift, I have about 8 different designs worked out, they are all embroidered onto felt I thought £2 each.

Scented Gingerbread Men Pomander's, they will be impregnated with a Christmas spice oil £2.50

Pocket Tissue Holders I am doing them in a selection of colours and they come with a pack of tissues inside, £3

Candy Cane Mice and Owls £1.50

So that is what I have been working on the past few days, I have some other ideas as well.

 

When I went to the quilt festival the other week I was really taken with a quilted panel on display there, I didn't buy it but have thought about it since getting home, I took the details of the company selling it and the other day I went onto there web site and it was there at the same price as it was at the show, I ordered it in fact I ordered the kit.

This is the panel Autumn Harvest its about 4 ft long so difficult to do it justice in a photo

The kit contained everything needed to complete the panel, wadding, backing fabric, binding fabric, gold gems and gold thread. £22 from Stitch Witch

There is no chance it will get done this year a project for the new year perhaps. :-)

 

45 Done 35 to go

Unless I miss counted I now have 45 blocks of THE QUILT done and 35 to go 

 Got another three done today so headway is being made, I might even get another done tonight yet.

I also made two fairy doors for my daughter, they are made from air dry clay using a mould.

She wants them plain so she can paint them herself.

Air dry clay is very lightweight they will be easy to post.

Her idea is to put one in the little ones room fixed to skirting board so she thinks the fairy's live there, I have some little key charms I am going to send with the doors as well.

The second one is for her friend.

THE Quilt Again

 Two more blocks done today on the quilt

 This quilt is becoming a bit of thorn in my side

 I really really want to get it finished, but now I am bored with it

 I have got half the blocks done now, I need to just pull out the stops and get it finished

 At the quilt show I got this kit for a wreath, I had in mind to do it for Christmas but having looked more at it I don't think its Christmasy enough, I still like it very much.

 It comes with everything and is in gold and red,

I did also buy an extra wire ring so will have to give some thought to a Christmas wreath.

Quilt Festival 2015

It was a lovely day out at the Quilt Festival held in the NEC, one day is not enough time to get around it all, there are quilts from all round the world on display as well as lots of stands selling goodies, everything from fabric to pins and much much more.

 This just a very small selection of some of the wonderful items on display.

I didn't buy a lot this time a couple of books, sewing needles a lovely kit to do a Christmas wreath and few bits of fabric, I always take my shopping trolley to events like this to save having endless bags and usually my trolley is bulging but this time my purchases sat sadly on the bottom, there was a lot of things I could of bought but was sensible this time, I have so much stash I really need to make an impact on it before buying more :-)

Chocolate Box

There has been a lot going on the past few weeks but I have been sewing

I wanted to start using my collection of jelly rolls, they ave been lingering around for some time.

A jelly roll is 40 strips of co-ordinating fabric they are 2.5 inches wide and are cut the full width of the fabric, the great thing is all the colour co-ordinating is done for you, there many many books out there on making quilts from jelly roll strips.

This was the first quilt I ever made from a jelly roll a long time ago now

It was made from a batik roll and I have this quilt hanging on my living room wall.

It was made from this book and is called Bars of Gold.

The quilt I am doing now again comes this book

They call it Blue Lagoon mine I am calling Chocolate Box as its a mix of browns

It is really easy to do, a light and dark strip sewed together, then cut to 2.5 inch rectangles then turned top to tail and stitch together to make squares they will then be stitched to plain colour to make up strips again, strips joined into a quilt top.

I have been working on it in the house, as many of you know my dog has been poorly at the moment she struggles with the step into the cabin so I brought one of my other machines up to the house so I can sew and keep her company, Martin has now re-done the step so it is easier for Kara to manage so we can now craft back in the cabin together, well I craft she sleeps :-)