One down and seven to go...

My first journal cover is finished. Not that it was such a big job, it was more a matter of finding the time (not to hard) and actually sitting down to do it (much harder). Now that I have made the first one, I expect the next 7 will come together just like that...
At least I know some areas where I might go wrong, so I can improve on my design. The feature that made me want to try my hand at this in the first place, was the built-in pencil case. Especially if you were to use it as a sketchbook, the possibility of having lots of pencils or crayons at hand would come in handy, I thought. As I mentioned before, I got the idea from a store bought journal cover a friend of mine had, but I have made so many changes from the original that I have made it my own.
On the next one I'll even put the zipper in the right direction, so that it opens from the top. I noticed what I had done when I first stitched it in, ripped it out and restitched, only to find later that I had done the same mistake twice! Never mind, I'll make sure next time. I'm thinking that the pencil case would be even better if it were lined, but I'll have to think a bit about how to do that. A button or snap on the pocket flap might also come in handy, but the flap is so stiff that I don't really think it is necessary.
So what do you think? A handy gift for budding artists and good friends?

So there it is, my Haunted House Quilt up on the wall, and I'm not going to mention it again ;-) I think I've said so earlier, that this was a kit from Keepsake Quilting, so this has been more like painting by numbers - or cutting by numbers, rather. For once I didn't change a thing about the pattern or any of the fabrics (although I did have a go with some bleach and ended up with some pink fabric for another project...). But it was fun to do. I love the fabric used for the background - such a wild and wonderful autumn sky, you can almost smell the bonfires and see dead leaves swirling about in the crisp night air. There isn't a lot of stitching on it - the blue/black is cut in one piece (apart from the witch and bats, of course) and that was the main job. The outline quilting was quick and easy to do, and then it just had some marinating to do before I added the binding...
So, that's one down and on to another - I stitched the triangles for my little floral quilt together today, and now I need to add some appliqué hearts before I stitch the rows into a quilt. Indiana Jones is going to keep me company tonight while I do that - it has been one film after another today, so I have managed to get a lot of hand stitching done - re-basting my Sunflower quilt is one of them. I had cut the batting too small and had such a hard time getting it all together that there was no way around it - the stitches had to be pulled and the batting extended so I could smooth the top out all the way to the edges. Much happier with it now!
That brings me back to my ever recurring problem of going from finished top to finished quilt. I came across a quote from a Himalayan Sherpa the other day. I forget his name, but it went something like this: "When you get to the top, you are only halfway". That's an apt reminder for us quilters too, I think, only slightly re-frazed: "When you have made the top, you are only halfway". I must keep reminding myself, it's so easy to get distracted by another idea once the top is done.
But then that's half the fun, though, isn't it?

Golden opportunity

I just had to buy this little dress from the thrift shop. I might be depriving some little girl of the chance to be a princess, but it has been hanging in the shop window for ages without takers and I honestly think it is too dark and sombre for a little girl: It is in a coppery, greenish shade that wouldn't be flattering at all. At least that's my excuse. Because, dare I say it: I'm going to cut it apart! I thought the fabric would be great to play with in a quilt, adding that shiny holiday feel without the problems of working with metallics.There are two different fabrics (real polyester - 100%!), one smooth and shiny and one matte and wrinkly, so I can see several uses for it. There is enough fabric so that I can share with friends as well :-)

I have been away for a few days, so things have been rather quiet here, but I'm proud to say I finished my Haunted House quilt for Halloween and tomorrow I have made time for sewing, so I will be back!

Holiday spirit...

I woke up to a world all beautifully dressed in white today. I couldn't believe it - after all the rain and wind we've been having, it was almost eerie to see everything covered in snow. Since we turned the clock back this weekend it was lighter than usual when I got up, and even more so because of the snow. And so quiet, because there was almost no traffic (I discovered where everybody was once I got on the bus!). I was much too tired to remember to take a picture, though, and now it's all gone! Not that I'm complaining, as it was at least a month too early for my liking. But it did seem to get me in the holiday spirit, because look what I came home with: the latest issue of Christmas Ideas.

I have just leafed through it so far, but I stopped on this page - I quite like these Christmas trees in all their simplicity - I might just have to get out my stash of green fabric and see if I can make some of these - it seems like a quick project.

Talking about quick projects - ehrm... still working on my Haunted House quilt, but I'm almost there: I've finished the quilting and prepared the binding, so I should be able to get it up on the wall by Friday, unless it is hexed...

The fabric for the moon seems to work all right after all. Once the witch was added it turned out that it was just the right shade. Just in case you think I'm a wonderful needle-turn applique whiz, I must hasten to add that the applique is of the raw edge kind, done with fusible web. I've used Steam-a-seam Lite, which is great for this kind of project because it is a bit sticky, so I could easily place and adjust the pieces and make them stay put while moving on to the ironing board. The borders were added and the quilt layered with batting and backing before the pieces were stitched on with free-motion stitching through all layers.

Medieval court(house) steps

- Yes, I have to confess - I have started another quilt! As if I didn't have enough going on! Well, I'm not going to finish this one in the first couple of weeks, for sure... And I must admit that I signed up for the log cabin workshop mainly to spend time with friends and have fun, which I certainly did. It has been ages since I took time out to do nothing but sew and chat, and this was just what the doctor ordered, and I'm full of inspiration again!

Although traditional log cabin quilts can be very nice, I don't normally have the patience to make more than a few blocks before I'm bored to tears, so I must admit I cheated. Because if you look closely, these blocks aren't Log Cabin after all, but Courthouse Step blocks, in fact!
I have had this quilt lurking in the back of my mind for ages, and used the workshop as an excuse to get started. The centre squares are from a Mulberry fabric with an alphabet of illuminated letters in a somewhat medieval style. The letters have lovely illustrations of people, animals, flowers and leaves, and I had fun choosing the right kind of fabrics to go with them, while adding some rather unexpected ones. You'll find handwritten manuscripts, flowers, the signs of the Zodiac, exotic fish, for a medieval banquet, mice (because those draughty castles must have been full of them), gilded ornaments and chequerboard tiles.
In between the chatting, laughing and sharing of ideas I managed to finish these twelve blocks, and have another six on the go. I'm going to make 25 in all, so I'm more than half way there. Wouldn't you know it - after more than 20 years of quilting and having provided quilts for the beds of all my sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews I still haven't got round to make a quilt for my own bed, so this is going to be the one!
Two lap quilts and a bed quilt for myself - 2008 is turning into rather a selfish year, isn't it? ;-)

All this, and no sewing machine...

Two quilts layered and ready for quilting, one being stitched together + the start of a new book cover, and my sewing machine isn't here...
Don't worry, she is OK :-) She's just away for the weekend! So am I, really - during the day at least. We are in the middle of a log cabin workshop at my guild and have had lots of fun stitching together today. The only problem was that I got home full of inspiration, but having left my machine in the classroom, I really can't work on any of my WIPs right now. Which shouldn't be a problem - I could use the opportunity to tidy up in my sewing room - my sewing table looks like someone vomited fabric onto it, but knowing myself I don't think that's going to happen right now - I wouldn't be here blogging about it, but in there doing it then, wouldn't I? ;-)
I've got dinner in the oven, and will probably settle in the sofa with a good movie and this slow cloth project instead. It is heavily inspired by Jude and Kim's work, but I haven't got really good at tearing myself away from all the (self- imposed) "rules" of sewing yet, so I guess I will end up with something more structured. But at least it is a step in a more organic direction, which is fun to explore, so I'll keep at it from time to time and see where it takes me...

Spiralling plans

A friend of mine came over last night and showed me a new notebook she had bought, with a practical, but (dare I say it?) unattractive cover. It was made from a stiff grey, kind of hairy felt, but the cover itself had some features that we both liked, and my mind immediately started playing with the idea. I tossed and turned last night, but came up with several features that would improve on the design, and make an even better book cover. Stitched up in some pretty fabric this would be perfect Christmas gifts. As my work day dragged on ( it's not that I don't like my job, but when you're "itchin' to be stitchin' " the workday seems soooooo long...) I doodled in margins and on post-its and came up with more improved features, so in the end I will probably have a design so far from the original that inspired it, that I can truly say that it is my own design. Now I only needed to find some cheap notebooks to go with them.
As luck would have it, I had a "shopping date" with a friend after work, and in the first shop we walked into, they had a special offer on spiral notebooks - 4 for the price of one - so I bought 8!

As this was the first shop we entered, I came to regret it - 8 notebooks are quite heavy... But at least it slowed me down a bit when it came to the rest of my shopping plans, so you could say I saved two times over ;-)

I came home too late to start work today, but tomorrow is another day, and then we will see if this idea of mine is any good!

Some of this - some of that...

I was sitting at my sewing machine stitching some triangular blocks together, and just realized that the things right next to it really mirrored my scatter-brained approach to quilting lately. Some stitchery-blocks, a piece of denim and the pattern for my haunted house quilt, and just out of sight to the left, my little blue bucket filled with colouring pencils, gel pens and paintsticks. I haven't been able to settle down to any one thing lately and seem to be flitting from one project to another, adding a few stitches here, a few stitches there. Well at least I'm doing something. And those stitches will add up and I will finish something one of these days... I had better concentrate on the Haunted House quilt, actually - it's that time of year. In spite of not really celebrating Halloween, I have one Halloween quilt already, and this will be my second one. I've been telling myself that it will be the perfect quilt for my cousins daughter, but it might just stay put here... There's more Halloween inspiration over at Dover - subscribe to their emails, and you get to download free samples from their books every week. This friendly witch is from a whole page full of Halloween images added this week.

Look - knitting!

I'm such a bad blogger. I have been working on this little scarf for a while now, and it never occurred to me to post about it! There could have been pictures while I was casting on, knitting the first rows, unravelling the first rows...
Never mind, it's here now, and it is amazing. The yarn, that is - I can't get over how the colour changes in the two very different balls of yarn makes it change all along while they still work so well together. The yarn is Noro Kureyon, and I found the instructions here. When I fell for the temptation to buy this yarn I stupidly bought only one ball of each colour, so mine isn't very long, but still just right for chilly autumn evenings when you need something warm and comfy tucked round your neck for an evening stroll.

Floral stitcheries

TGIF! It's been a long week, or at least long days at work, and little energy left for quilting, just a little light stitching and knitting in front of the telly. But at least I'm more than halfway there with the stitcheries for the little rose quilt. I'm using the new variegated DMC cotton floss, and I love the colour changes this brings with little effort on my part.
I'm off to dance the evening away with my hoover and mop, leaving tomorrow free for some serious crafting. I have a haunted house, a dragonfly and some sunflowers waiting next to the sewing machine...
And, yes - I did mention knitting! But that's for the next post ;-)

Not too bad after all...

After all the fuss about that moon fabric I just went ahead and used it as is, thinking I could create a lighter effect when I quilt it. But, you know what? I think it will be all right after all! I just have to stop looking at the picture of the original!
I don't usually buy kits, but I loved the effect of that brown swirly fabric used for the background, so I just went ahead and ordered it. I suppose that using a kit I was more hung up about the thing looking like the original than I usually am - I usually make a point of doing my own thing, and find myself going off on a tangent somewhere in the middle of a project, but not so this time. The moon looked really dark on its own, but when I put it in place on the background, the effect was much better than I had anticipated. Once I add the witch I'll see if I get enough of a contrast, but I think it will be OK after all.
I went ahead and did some freestyle embroidery on my dragonfly as well, and although the silver foil didn't stick evenly on both sides, it doesn't really matter. I used a variegated thread in silver, copper and teal for the stitching. As you can see this is not a common dragonfly, but rather a dragonfly lady. I based it on a picture of a piece of Art Noveau jewellery I found in a book, and although I had to simplify it a bit, I think you get a sense of the original. This is going to be the center of a square in square block for a friendship quilt, but it is a secret so don't tell anyone... ;-)

This and that...

I have been experimenting a bit with fabric paint, diluted fabric paint and paint sticks to make my moon fabric softer and lighter, but I can't seem to get the effect I was after - the paint either becomes too dense or too subtle, and it turned out that the paint stick I had was beige, not white, so that's just 'blah'. I might just stick with the fabric the way it is, or maybe quilt the moon with some pale yellow thread before I add the witch and bats - that might just do the trick. The piece that I bleached is in the upper left corner in this picture, just to show how different it is from the original - where the h*** did the pink come from??
I'm also experimenting a bit with transferring foil to fabric as seen on the Quilting Arts DVD. I can't seem to get the foil to stick every time I try, and I don't know what I'm doing wrong, so I must try some more, and maybe check that DVD again.
I'm experimenting on a dragonfly quilt block for a friend - and if I don't totally ruin it with machine embroidery tomorrow, there will be some close-ups.
And no, I haven't abandoned this one yet. I finally got around to layering the quilt today, so I can start quilting - this is one of the stages I dread the most, because it's such a struggle to do on my own with a big quilt, but once I'm ready to quilt, the rest should be a breeze. Now it's only a question of finding the time to quilt...

Not quite what I was going for...

unexpected result
Originally uploaded by crafty mathea

So I wasn't quite happy with that yellow fabric for the moon in the Haunted House kit in the previous post. I wanted a lighter, brighter version, like the one on the cover of the kit. Time to experiment with some bleach...
A few minutes later when I went to rinse it out - this is what I found: a pretty pink piece of fabric! Hm, interesting... - how did that happen? Now that could be an interesting colour for a moon, ("The night the moon turned the colour of blood..."), but I think I prefer the original dark yellow!
Luckily the kit had enough fabric for four moons, so I had taken the precaution of cutting it apart and carry out my experiment on one little piece, so there's still plenty of the original colour!
Well, back to Start, but with a pretty piece of pink fabric to add to my stash.
Now what if I add a bit of white fabric paint to that dark yellow...? Or wait - I have that white Paintstick...
- must dash !

Haunted

It must be the stormy weather we're having and the crisp autumn air that has turned my mind towards another world, because all of a sudden witches seem to pop up everywhere. I have all sorts of ideas about new things I want to make, and I see witches, broomsticks, cats and moons everywhere. Ideas of spooky castles, wise women, herb lore, spells and the like are everywhere: In books and movies, magazines and among the fabrics and patterns in my stash that grab my attention.
You might say I'm haunted by the images, and I'm not quite sure what's brewing, but there is a project or two lurking in the shadows I'm sure!
Ghoulies and ghosties and longleggety beasties, and things that go bump in the night are on my mind, and I'm sure October will take me on a creative ride down a mysterious lane. I'm going to have fun with it, I'm sure - starting with this "Haunted house" kit which has been left languishing in my stash for far too long. Then we will see which witch is next... :-P

Quiet evenings

So I've started another project :-) Not a very big one, though, I'm just making six small stitcheries to go in this quilt - or rather a much smaller version of this quilt. Just the right sized project for now, while I'm waiting to be overwhelmed by the urge to finish a much bigger quilt... Maybe this book can help me get my quilting mojo back - there's lots to be inspired by in there! And a very familiar name among the contributors...

Rations

There are wicked people about, luring me into their shops with special offers on chocolate and candy...
Now if I just take a few and put them in this pretty little bowl, maybe the rest will stay peacefully in the cupboard?
Or not...

Gridwork

So I went ahead with one of my ideas. I stitched some pieces of denim together by machine and used those narrow strips to form a lattice on top. I didn't use more than 5 strips either way, not the original 6, because I want to leave enough room to do something in the squares showing through the framework. I have just stitched it all together with a running stitch in white cotton so far. I'd like it to have a more frayed and worn appearance, so it's the washing machine next, I think...

Fooling around

There hasn't been much quilting going on here since I finished the Olympic quilt. Maybe that's just the way it should be - that I need to allow some time after finishing a big project for my mind to explore other options and not just dive into another quilt project right away, although I have several on the go.
I have been very inspired by Jude's whatiffing for quite a while, and after seeing this, I went to the trash bag and pulled out some denim strips I had just thrown out, thinking I might do something with them instead. I have lots of bits and pieces left of this fabric, and I just love the colours in it: along with the faded denim blue there are uneven stripes of white, darker blue, teal and purple. I'm thinking of stitching pieces together into some kind of crazy patchwork thing, adding a grid of cut off selvedges on top and doing some kind of embroidery through the layers. Don't ask what it is for - if it's for anything it is just for fun, I suppose :-)

At my guild meeting a few weeks back, there was a demonstration of different ways to use Paintstiks, and I made this rubbing on a piece of batik. It was great fun and very easy to do - you just place the rubbing plate underneath the fabric, rub the stick over and voilá, you have the pattern on fabric. I'm thinking I might just have to get some paintstiks of my own to explore this further.

Hm, I just realized that the paintstiks are actually the same kind we used in the eighties, when adding stenciled motifs to our walls was all the rage, so I might just have an old one in the basement, come to think of it...
While I was trying to find curtain fabric for my living room last year, this was one of the options. Luckily I had the sense not to buy the actual yardage, but I bought a table runner, just to see how the colours would work with what I had (and they didn't!). I came across it the other day, and have been playing with ideas about what to do with it. I like the funky flowers, but somehow, the idea of adding something to them, like embroidery or quilting or some other kind of embellishment is tempting.
And then there is this. Remember that fabric paper I made a while ago? I fooled around with it some more, cut some pieces, and stuck them to a piece of quilted fabric I had discarded from a handbag I made a few years back. It was quilted first, and then I managed to cut it into the wrong size, so I had to make a new piece. I loved the fabric, so I just couldn't bear to throw it away, and now I decided to incorporate it into a new piece of something or other. It needs more stitching and embellishment, but I don't actually know what yet, so I'm just fooling around with it to see what I can come up with.

So that's all I have to show for my long silent period - although to my defense, things have been really frantic at work lately. But with all the preparations done, I managed to make a success of the three-day conference I hosted last week, the hired speakers did what was expected of them, and all the participants from near and far seemed well pleased with the outings I had arranged, so eventually I was able to let my shoulders down and breathe normally again, and actually enjoy myself. And now, after a quiet relaxing Saturday I'm here, ready to play, and what can be better than that?

I'm done!

Yes, I did it! Finished the quilt last night, that is. So here it is in all it's rippled glory. I really need to device some kind of method for hanging my quilts up for photographing them, so I can show them off to their best advantage - it isn't actually as rippled as it looks, although the dense quilting on the green strips and the looser curlicues on the floral strips won't let it lie completely flat. Never mind, it is to be a lap quilt to snuggle under on the sofa during the winter to serve as a reminder that there is such a thing as summer.
Here it is draped across the sofa for a closer look.
Remember I was inspired by the scroll pattern used as part of the Olympic design themes, but for continuous line machine quilting that pattern wouldn't have worked, and it would have become too dense, so the quilt would have lost its softness and drape, so I went with a much looser spirally pattern instead. I quilted alternate floral strips in red and blue thread, and did the green stripes in green thread, to provide some interest on the back as well.
This is the way I'll see it most, I suppose - as a rolling landscape of hills covered in flowers and grassy paths in between. I think I'll enjoy the view :-)

I have used a pre-washed Hobbs Heirloom Premium batting (80 per cent cotton/20 per cent polyester) which is a delight to work with and makes the finished quilt nice and soft. I know some people shy away from washing batting before it is actually in a quilt, but I have had no problems with it. I just put it in the machine, wash on a gentle cycle, pump the water out, run it through the spin cycle and let it dry draped over my drying rack, making it nice and fluffy.

- miles to go before I sleep...

- but I'm getting there. There hasn't been much time for sewing lately, but I'm doing the final lap on my Olympic quilt now: sewing on the binding and I'm determined to finish it before I go to bed. Pictures tomorrow!

Oh, there's food on my blog!

I really enjoy it when other bloggers share their favourite recipes, but somehow it rarely occurs to me to get my camera out to document the things I make in my kitchen. But this plum tart I made last Sunday was so delicious that I just had to share it, so to speak. It was really scrumptious served with whipped cream and a pot of strong coffee.

Plum tart
I used my ordinary recipe for pie crust:
1 1/4 cup of flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
100 g (3 1/2 oz) of butter (the original recipe calls for unsalted butter, and then you are supposed to add some salt - I don't see the point, so I just use ordinary butter and no extra salt and it seems to work just fine.)
3-4 tablespoons of water.
Mix the dry ingredients and crumble the butter into the mixture by hand, or use a food processor. Add water one spoon at a time, adding just enough to make it all stick together. 3 spoons is usually enough. Place the dough in the fridge for at least an hour. I usually make mine the day before I'm to use it.
Roll the dough out with a rolling pin and line a pie dish with it. Pierce with a fork all over. To keep the dough from bubbling and rising too much, cover with foil and fill it with dry peas or beans. Bake in a 425F/220C degree oven for 10 minutes, remove peas and foil and bake for another five minutes. Take out of oven and cool on rack.

Meanwhile it's a good idea to prepare the plums. I used slightly less than 1 kilo - you have to sample some before you start and while you are slicing, you know... Halve plums and remove the stones. Slice. Mix 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and spread about a third of the mixture in the pie crust. Arrange the plum slices in a nice pattern inside and sprinkle the rest of the sugar/flour mixture over. Bake for 10 minutes, lower heat to 350F/175C and bake for another 30 minutes or so. You will know when it is done by the bubbling froth along the edge and the nice jammy smell in your kitchen. Make sure you wait for it to cool down a bit before you serve it. Fruit burns on your tongue are not very comfortable... I bet it would be really great with vanilla ice cream instead of the whipped cream - I must try that next time...

And to add some quilting content: enjoy tart with some quilting TV. Hm, I must get one of those X-block rulers...