Something fresh

You know that Belle & Sebastian song, Don't leave the light on baby? I feel like i have sung that first line to myself several times over the last year or so.

Not that anything is majorly wrong, but you know when you feel like things just haven't been going right? I find it can really kill your creativity.

I had a load of lovely crafty projects on the go, but i feel as though most of them have come to a grinding halt. And this has probably contributed to the 'not going right' malaise. It has also contributed to the lack of activity on here.

So today, i decided to start something new.
Something fresh.
Something simple, that doesn't require me to umm and ahh too much. I'm using a pattern* (so i don't have to think about it too much) and scrap fabrics (so i don't have mini periods of complete paralysis whilst trying to cut into a fresh batch of fabric).

And here are its beginnings.

Bright and pretty. Pieced from scraps.

I hope its a good omen for things to come. I shook hands with a chimney sweep today too, so that should help.

* the pattern i'm using is from Anna Maria Horner's (BEAUTIFUL) blog. Saw it, loved it, going to make the baby version so I'm not working on another massive quilt for the next 20 years. It is called the feather bed quilt. Here is what i hope it turns out like...only smaller.

Haberdashery jealousy

When I heard a haberdashery shop was opening up on our small high street around the corner, I was really excited...but I was also a bit sad. I had been nursing a dream for the last two years or so to do the exact same thing. Then, when I heard this morning, they would also be offering classes as well, I slumped into a bit of a jealous heap frankly. This was my dream business!

To cheer myself up, I had a look at my favourite blog, Yarnstorm by Jane Brocket (I have raved about her here and here before, she is awesome, and her blog always makes my day) and spotted her latest children's book offering, Ruby, Violet, Lime. On the cover, was a photo of some cupcakes with lime green icing. I needed some of those lime green cupcakes in my life, I couldn't be sad with those in my kitchen so I set to baking, and this is what I got. 

Hummingbird Bakery vanilla cupcakes with a bit of food colouring in the mix 

I think some of the plants on our terrace were influencing my colour choices subconsciously.

See what i mean?

My husband's pride and joy - Abutilon. Very pretty.

I still feel a bit sad, but it has mostly been overtaken by feeling a bit sick from a cupcake induced sugar overdose. But seriously I don't think I can let myself feel jealous anymore just because I didn't get around to starting such a business myself. And I didn't start my dream business for several reasons. It doesn't mean there is any need for me to let go of this dream, just because someone has realised theirs around the corner from me. I think I will try and pick up some tips and tricks from them and their experiences, and you can pretty much take for granted that I will be down there enrolled in all their classes. Fingers crossed they start a sewing group. I dream of afternoons spent like this. If they don't, does anyone want to start a sewing circle with me?

I was probably a bit too 'green' to start my own haberdashery business just yet anyway.

Quilting and instant gratification napkins

I have started a quilt - and i have probably bitten off a bit more than i can chew, but when has that ever stopped me?

I was shopping in Cath Kidston several months ago, when i spied the most beautiful quilt i have ever seen in my life! I don't know exactly what it was that made me love it SO much, but i think it might have been the use of white with the immense variety of pretty patterned colourful segments that pleased my eye. I am a pattern junky, and this quilt was overloaded with different types - all very retro, although i cant know its age, a lot of the fabrics remind me of my granny's linen cupboard, anything from 30's to 70's.

I think it is kind of a 'charm' quilt in that there were no obvious repeats in the fabric (there were a few though, it took me a good while to spot them), however i don't know that the white 'background' really fits with this. I wish i had some kind of quilt mentor who could answer my questions - in fact a quilt course at university would be brilliant, there is so much to know and learn! The other thing i especially loved was the 'floral' type arrangement of these patterned segments. I stood for ages trying to work out the pattern exactly and how it broke down into squares.

You might ask why i didn't just buy the quilt? Well at close to £500 it was a bit out of my budget, but i was determined to have something similar.

And so, after taking a few trips to fabric shops around London and to the Eternal Maker in Chichester, i have finally worked up the courage to try and make my own.

First of all, i needed to work out the pattern. I did this by using my finger and hand to measure the original pieces and then went from there - not an exact science, but i think i have got it right to the inch. I then got out my old school geometry set and employing both compass and protractor, started sketching away a plan. I had to remember all of the triangle rules and what angles i needed for each corner -  whoever said you never use maths again after school must have never tried to make up a quilt pattern before! Once i had this all sorted, i washed and ironed and folded about 12 different fabrics and began cutting.

I have managed to sew together the beginnings of my first square; I have at least 41 more to go! So, I am definitely in this for the long haul. I am pretty thrilled with it - and i hope one day i will have something that doesn't look too far off the original. As a complete novice i have struggled a little with sewing the curved edges together, but i am finding that hand sewing, is not only very relaxing, but also very forgiving. I hope that i will be able to employ my sewing machine at some point to try and speed the process up, but I'm not sure if i will be able to control how well all of the points meet. In any case, i am not in any hurry, aside from wanting to see it all finished and laid out on my new bed.

To sate my hunger for instant gratification, i whipped up these two napkins for the dinner table out of some left over Cath Kidston fabric i had left over from a table cloth.

Very satisfying.

Finished quilt

Its a few weeks ago now since I finished my second baby quilt. The gorgeous girl smiling in the photo is the friend I made it for and you can see the finished product in her hands. It was a race to the finish line in the end, with all the tidying up of threads, washing and drying and the last bit of binding that still needed to be completed that day. I spent a good half of the day stitching away while watching a film (The Shipping News - no where near as good as the book in my opinion, and oh how I love that book) before giving it a gentle hand wash in the tub and praying the little bit of sun shining through the clouds would do its thing in time. It did, and the quilt was a success.

I still wasn't entirely certain of my fabric choice a fair way into making it, but it really came together and the binding really finished it off perfectly to accentuate the fabric on both sides. Subconsciously though, I think I knew it would work all along, because in the end, I had a very Autumn shaded quilt for an Autumn baby, complete with trees that have dropped their leaves. Meant to be, hey?

I was very proud to present it to the lovely couple. It was so touching when the mother and father-to-be were looking at it and realised the time and effort I had put in. In fact, I think I remember the mother saying, "Are you sure you don't want to keep it?!". I was certain, it was made for them especially and I hope its something they and their soon to be born baby enjoy in the years to come. 

Lots of love
P xoxoxoxoxox

My quilts

Following on from my Reading for Quilters post, i thought i would share some pictures from my first attempts at quilting. I went to a short course at The Make Lounge and had a brilliant time picking up the basics.  I'm sure i have raved on about The Make Lounge before, but it really is fantastic and i highly recommend courses there for anyone in London. I have been to a fair few of them so if anyone ever wants a review on any of the courses, just let me know.

The lighter one on the right was my first quilt, made at the Make Lounge, and the darker one on the left is my second. I am making the second as a baby quilt for a friend who is 7 months pregnant. By far the trickiest thing i have found about quilting is picking the right fabrics, and i wasn't sure i had got there with the 2nd quilt, but i think it all came together when i picked the backing fabric (in the last picture). Let me know what you think.

From my tiny bit of experience, i have found every aspect of quilting incredibly fulfilling, and creating something so beautiful, that have traditionally been passed down as family heirlooms gives such a sense of achievement. 

Both are still incomplete but i will post some more pictures once they are finished.

Reading for quilters

I have been learning the beautiful and relaxing art of quilting of late. Whilst searching the internet for help and inspiration, I have come across some lovely blogs as well as purchasing a wonderful book with one of the most beautiful covers I have ever seen.

I will start with the book first as it neatly segues into the blogs.

Jane Brocket's book, The Gentle Art of Quiltmaking is just beautiful, there is no other word. Her words are wonderful. I find her writing so enjoyable in fact, I actually read the instructions and notes contained within her book, instead of my regular morning novel on the tube. I think her quilts are amazing. I haven't had the opportunity to attempt one of her designs yet, but I can see they are not going to be terribly difficult and leave me feeling like a lost failure. Her focus is on enjoying quilting and she is very practical in her advice. I read more than once, lines like, "They say you should do x, but I just do y and it works just fine". As a beginner, it is lovely to be guided by someone not too hung up on the fiddly traditions, and focus instead on what makes it an enjoyable past time. The recommended retail is £20, but I picked up a copy on Amazon for almost half that.

http://yarnstorm.blogs.com/

Jane Brocket's blog, Yarnstorm, is another gem. Living in England with her family, Jane writes about wonderful European holidays, shares amazing and inspiring photos as well as reviewing books and recipes. She often posts pictures of quilts she has made, or blankets she has crocheted. I visit her blog every few days now to read her latest posts. Her photos are always amazing to look at.

http://annamariahorner.blogspot.com/

Anna Maria Horner's blog is another I love to look at. She loves her photography, and her kids and house feature prominently in her posts as well as cacophony of colourful shots of her materials and and sewing project she has on the go. Again I love the style of her writing. She has recently seen her eldest daughter off to university and I got a tear in my eye reading it. Makes me wish i had her life!

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/

I used some of Heather Bailey's fabric in my first quilt, Nicey Jane, and instantly wanted to know more about the woman who had created patterns and motifs that took me straight back to my childhood. Again Heather shares wonderful pictures and inspiring words and looks set to take on the world with her creative empire.

Happy browsing!