Monday morning

It is sunny outside and I've woken up feeling optimistic and happy. For some reason I started thinking about the song "Monday, Monday" by the Mamas and the Papas; anyone remember it? Well it was a long time ago (1966) so you are forgiven if you don't know it. I checked out the lyrics and find they are so sad- that's really weird. I'm not sure why I associate it with feeling good. I must never have paid attention to the words. Still, it is a brand new week full of possibilities.

First, the almost finished top of a table runner.

I took a class on foundation paper piecing with Jeannie Duncan-Farr at Cutting Edge last week. I love FPP- the way you just cover the paper and get accurate points. Jeannie had designed a colourful table runner with a flying geese border.

Jeannies table runner from the Cutting Edge website

 I had chosen an entirely different colour palette for mine and struggled a bit as I did not have any green for the leaves. Still, here are some photos of my progress.

I have pieced the whole top now but still need to appliqué the central flower. It will be interesting to see how everyone else got on when we meet tomorrow for our monthly meeting. I plan to start a new embroidery as it will be something that is easy to do in the garden while enjoying the sunny weather.

Mike and I took a trip to the National Botanic Garden of Wales yesterday and what a treat! The main aims of the garden are conservation and research that is accessible to all. This gem of a garden is only an hour away from Cardiff and yet I only visited it once in the year it opened to my shame. The planting has matured and there is something for everyone to explore; history, sculpture, plants in medicine, bees, glorious gardens and the largest single span glasshouse in the world that was designed by Norman Foster and partners. A few photos....

It was difficult to show the scale of the glasshouse because of the way it nestles in the landscape.

If you are planning a trip to Wales try to get to visit the garden. Something here for everyone.

Have a great sewing week,

Catherine

I'll be linking to several link parties this week and I have the links in the sidebar on the right;

A brand new to me Monday link party Monday Makers run by Nurdan of Hug-a-bit Quilts. It would be nice if you could drop into her party and show some support.
Anything Goes Mondays seems to be missing this week.
 Linky Tuesday (Freemotion by the River) and So Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts.
 Esther Aliu's WOW and WIP Wednesday (Freshly Pieced)

Paper pieced butterfly and Quiltfest

Malvern Quilt show this was a great shopping opportunity; basting pins, fat quarters, two kits, threads… I found it difficult to stop. One of the many things I bought was an Olfa rotating cutting mat. It's been on my wish list for ages but the price put me off. There was a bit of a deal and a freebie blade thrown in too at the show so I took the plunge. It had a first outing yesterday with a bit of paper piecing.

I have been following The Tartankiwi for some time. I just love her paper pieced New Zealand birds and animals but it was her butterflies that caught my eye last year. I downloaded the 5" Butterfly block from Juliet's Craftsy store last year and this seemed a good project to use up my scraps of purple and try the mat.

I was a bit daunted with the tiny pieces and had to check that I had printed the pattern to the right size as they looked so small. I used paper piecing for Lexie's quilt but this was a whole lot smaller, (5"eek!)
I refreshed my memory on the technique first with the many excellent tutorials in the blogosphere.  I was soon up and running. I pressed each tiny seam and the pattern came together fairly well. The only difficulty I had was when joining the 4 pieced squares to the body as the printer paper was rather thick. This may be easier with Vilene Stitch n Tear stabiliser. I used pins to position the matching points in order to line up seams as accurately as I could.After a couple of hours I had my first butterfly. Next time I will try to pattern match the wings but I've fallen in love with paper piecing!

I just need to embroider the antennae, add a wide border and will quilt this weekend.

***Update***** Quilted into a small gift for a special friend. I'll reveal all next week!

Mike and I travelled to Bristol yesterday to visit the Bristol Quilters triennial exhibition Quiltfest 2014
There was a stunning array of over 100 quilts and wall hangings all beautifully displayed in the hall, classroom and refectory. There is nothing better than eating home-made cake surrounded by quilts!
One of the displays that caught my eye was "Chinese Whispers." Groups of three people were shown a postcard for two minutes only then were given time to design and make a miniature quilt with what they could recall of the picture. The postcard and group of quilts were displayed together and it was interesting to see the different interpretations of the same picture.

There were too many quilts to show them all here but I was impressed by the sheer range of techniques and the skill displayed. My favourite was "Chinese Journey in Three Parts" by Stephanie Crawford. This exquisite quilt won first prize in the Festival of Quilts UK 2013 and it was easy to see why. Amazing stitching.

 Also loved "Garden Path" by Christine Franklin. Made in vintage Liberty florals.

fantastic appliqué detail in Garden Path quilt

Jan Hassard had several  of her own quilts on display including "Stripping the Garden" There were a number of "Infinity Square" quilts from a class taught by Jan. Well done for finishing- I will have to get on with my "Cascading Logs." It is still on the design board after all this time.

Stripping the garden appliqué detail

So much talent and inspiration on show so well worth a visit.

I'm linking up on June 1st to Lily's Quilts for the Small Blog Meet. This is for blogs of less than 50 followers who would like to get to know a few more people. I have 40 followers now and would just love to pass the magical 50. Please take a look at what I have been up to, leave a comment or even become a regular reader. I write the blog to record my own progress and have 'met' some fantastic people through it.

Also joining in the fun for the first time at the Sew Darn Crafty link party at Sew Many Ways run by Karen.

Have a lovely weekend, I'm going to chill and quilt.


Catherine

Bloggers Quilt Festival; my first entry!

I am so excited this weekend. I have never entered a quilt in a show, lets face it, I haven't made many quilts! I am going to enter my version of the Hummingbird quilt that I made for my granddaughter in the small quilt category of the Bloggers Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side.

The quilt is a paper-pieced pattern called Hummingbird from Rita of Red Pepper Quilts. The fabrics are from Nel Whatmore's Secret Garden in Linen and I love the brightness especially of the backing.

I had the top long arm quilted and was so pleased with the result. Its now in pride of place on my granddaughter's French day bed.

If you are a new visitor to my small blog, thank you so much! I'm so enjoying my contact with the blogging community. If you are a follower already, thank you for your patience with seeing the quilt again. I am so proud of it. I will be blogging again after a busy weekend about my visit to the Malvern Quilt Show and progress on my Triangle Quilt.

Enjoy the beautiful sunny weather this weekend,

Catherine

Foundation paper piecing

I've been impressed with some of the blogs using this technique and thought I'd try a new technique to me. I came across the Hummingbird block and quilt made by Rita at Red Pepper Quilts and it seemed it would kill two birds with one stone. A new technique for me and using up some scraps from my stash that were left over from making bunting for my granddaughters.    

The instructions were fairly easy to follow and I made a few practice blocks. It seems counter-intuitive to cut pieces larger than needed then trim afterwards but I have to agree the results are pretty good. Accuracy was all in our beginner's class…... 

…...After thinking things over last night I've decided to make a single bed quilt for my eldest granddaughter Alexandra. She's four now and my daughter has ordered her a French style daybed. It should have arrived before Christmas but will be here in February. She is having mostly white bedlinen so I think that a feminine quilt on top would look fab. I have ordered a Nel Whatmore Secret Garden Fat quarter pack in the linen colour way and some Spectrum Plain in latte to tone with it. I like the look of the Secret Garden; feminine but not too much of a baby pink. Pink has been Lexies favourite colour to date. Should that be discouraged? I'm not so sure.

So, waiting for the fabric to arrive…..

I'm sitting in bed enjoying my breakfast this morning. A treat from my dear husband. I can see frost on our neighbour's roof and I'm in no hurry to get up. The joys of retirement - not that I do it much!

Browsing through links on blogs I came across the following post and as I agree so much with Catherine who blogs at Knotted Cotton I am going to join up.
I think I am a bit of a Type A, obsessive personality and when I find a new interest it tends to take over my life; knitting, family history, sewing, quilting and now blogging. 



Crochet class tonight so I'd better have a practice doing a couple of squares and trying to remember all the stitches. Don't want to be the dunce of the class and hold them all up!

Catherine