IT'S OFFICIAL, I'M A COMPLETER FINISHER; WEY HEY GET THE FLAGS OUT!!!!!!!

After looking at my ever growing pile of UFO's for an increasingly long amount of time I decided that for my own sanity, the several years overdue birthday prezzies and promised quilts had to be finished and passed onto their new owners... get this people... before I started anymore projects.

Well I almost stuck to my word, I did manage to slip a few small projects into the mix but here are some of the main things that I got round to. I'll try and get round to adding the other smaller stuff in due course.

The first one you see here is one I slipped in, its a Leanne's House BOM and I've called it Annie's Garden. This is because I stitched some of it at my Grandma Annie's bedside this summer in the days before she passed away. She would have really loved it. Only the top is complete so far but as its not promised to anyone except me the rest can wait.

This quilt is the first one that I ever machine pieced and is a pattern I found in a book called Great American quilts, it was designed by Mary Anne Keathley. If you look closely it is an optical illusion, the flat squares look like 3D cubes. I made it for my dad it took me 5 years to make and was only 3 years late for a significant birthday. If anyone from the quilt police is reading this I would like to unashamedly admit that absolutely nothing is perfect on it but I am wonderfully proud of it... so there!

The next one is a Lynette Anderson design called 'Christmas Friend's' I made it this year for myself and it was surprise surprise ready for Christmas. Since this photo was taken I unpicked the quilting in the snowman block and replaced it with a lighter vermacelli which looks much nicer. I also embroidered a nose on the snowman. Loads of people have commented on it so I am really pleased with it.

The next one is not really a favourite of mine. I did it for my niece's baby, it was only 5 months late but then I don't think that 6 months was really enough notice to knock out a masterpiece was it? She wanted something beige and brown, as all the trendy mums seem to want nowadays. This was my attempt at introducing colour into the poor child's monotone nursery. The lesson I learned from this quilt was don't tell people your making them a quilt then a)they don't know when its late and b) they don't get any creative in put.

This next one is a favourite of mine though the photo doesn't do the colours any justice in reality it looks a lot fresher. It is a design by my old teacher Sue Taylor Propst who has since moved to Colorado USA. It is my first attempt at using all plain fabrics and I really like it. I presented it to my mother in law in October, a mere 2 years late for her significant birthday. It is called 'Madeira Wine' because all the 3D grapes were made and stuffed individually by the pool on holiday in Madeira. The centre block is a design by the Tinney family from Alabama in the same Great American Quilts book as my dad's quilt.

The next two quilts were made in a sampler class taught by Lesley Johnson at the Immanuel Hall in Oswaldtwistle. We were supposed to be making a double quilt but mine was for my Grandma's 90th birthday; so as we weren't sure if she'd get there or not I made her an oversized lap quilt and a matching single quilt for my mum's significant birthday (also this year.) Both were completed in plenty of time and Grandma's was given to her rather early which was a good call as sadly she didn't quite make it to 90, we lost her in June. Both quilts now belong to my mum. This one is in the same fabric as the one above but photographed in a different light it looks rather different.

In March I went to a workshop run by my friend at the shop where she worked. It is a design by Jenny Reyment. I enjoyed doing this wall hanging and really boosted my confidence in doing folded patchwork.

Well that's all for now but if I shape myself I will put some photos on of the smaller projects that I have been diddling about with this year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

As you know I'm in various fabric postcard exchanges, well these two photos are from a fibre book page exchange that I did. The theme was secret garden so the blue part is a block called secret garden and the silk ribbon embroidery is my English country garden. I joined them together to form something like a birthday card, the blue one on top and when you opened the card up the flowers are inside. I sent it to Mandy Stokes in Texas.

I have been considering buying a new machine for quite sometime now because the 'C' on mine is so pathetically small. No need to do it now because I have just inherrited this beauty from my Grandma. Look at the size of the 'C' its awesome. Not only that but isn't the machine georgous and it still works!!! By complete fluke I've got all the attachments too, pleating foot, hemming foot, ruffling foot the list just goes on and on.

This photo is a close up of one of the designs, I just love it. I thought that I'd use the machine as an ornament if I ever get a sewing room but on reflection its definitley going to be a working model, I can't wait to get time to play.

and as an added bonus the original instruction manual is with it too. The date on the manual is 1893 I'm not sure if that means its when the machine was patented or wether it reflects when this machine was made. I'd love to know.

Well here we are at last, the long long long overdue City and Guilds course work. (teacher is still waiting for the artwork but thats another matter)

On the left is my wall hanging its very small yet perfectly formed. In desperation to get it done, I used a combination of a greetings card which was a reproduction of a silk painting of Ingleborough and a flyer which showed the 3 peaks Ingleborough, Whernside and Penyghent, which are near my house. I drafted the 3 peaks on the flyer into the style of the silk painting and diddled it up using Cathedral windows. I've got to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the result. I may even give it houseroom!!!

This beauty is making its second appearance on my blog tho probably looked better the first time with the freezer paper still on. Using reverse trapunto I have written 'for the journey' and 'serendipity' I also drew footprints on the bag. Stuff the picky the pockets inside are well good and just right for my extensive collection of rulers!

(all hand dyed fabric)

Proof of my commitment to seeing things through (don't know when I aquired that skill or where I've stored it since i got it) but get a load of the clam shells... yes all sewn by hand the cushion and the fish with it's loose flippy flappy fins. Oh and I forgot to mention it's all dyed by my own fair hand.

This is my box with its lovely plush red interior and below is the foundation pieced lid... impressed? I was very impressed, I designed, drafted and turned my lovely rounded picture into a foundation piecing pattern. Again all hand dyed fabric (all of it) It was going to become a stable for a nativity scene but I didn't have the time so now its a box for keeping something in. Whats the something? I have no idea.

Finally here is the famous kite quilt, all hand dyed, designed and created by me
and now being snuggled into everynight by the lovely Leon. The quilt is being displayed by the lovely Natalie who will no doubt have something very unpleasant to say about my flashing her preety mug on my bloggy

Oh what a busy blogger I am today. It's my friend you see, she's having a competition and part of the entry conditions are that I post a link to her blog on my site, so here goes http://cottoncocktails.blogspot.com/ I'm quite excited about it all, can't wait to see who wins. Nice 1 Hazel x

Anyone for pumpkin pie? this has got to be the cutest pumpkin I have ever seen.

I'm dedicating this blog to my mother-in-law Muriel who is hiding behind Leon. Its a good job she can't even switch a computer on or I might be in trouble for this one tee hee!

Hello, happy halloween! or is that a bit American for a British blog?
This week has been really frought, we have survived a dose of Chicken Pox, Leon got them and then just to really make sure we weren't slacking he got a secondary infection, bless him, he was in a right old pickle. Grandad and I were beginning to think we would never get a full nights sleep ever again :( anyway he slept for 11 hours last night and even though he had me up at 6.30 life is looking a little brighter today :)

What has kept me chipper this week is all the lovely cards I have received, starting with this one by Ruthie Bishop in Clarendon Texas, its from the 'fall' exchange I did.





Check this beauty out, its from Sally Burke in Illinois for the 'halloween' swap, isn't it spooky?












Then I got this lovely chocolate boxy one from Trudy Soura in New York (my first from the big apple) I don't know if she made the embroidered flowers herself but I bet the tucks took ages to do. What a super idea!








This card came from Sarah Ellis-Steinbomer from Sevenoaks in the UK. I wonder if they still have seven oaks... didn't one blow down in a gale? Anyway she's used bleach to discharge some of the colour. I liked it so much I asked her how she did it because I might use the idea for my City and Guilds theme which is outer space, it reminds me of space clouds.

Last but not least, Pam Crawford in Maine, USA sent this one, without a cover on and it got all the way here without being damaged, that is incredible.

Thank you ladies for the lovely cards.

I've been busy finishing my City and Guilds work from last year, I had the hard word from the teacher last lesson so am pulling my socks up a bit! I've finished 4 of my 5 projects now and as soon as I've done the last one I will post all the pictures for you to see.

Once I've done that I will be able to start working on this years stuff lol. I'm only 2 months behind!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk more next time bye bye x