Friday finish amongst friends

Welcome to TGIFF, the link party that celebrates that great feeling you get when the last stitch in a project is sewn and all that is left is to stand back and admire!


My Friday finish has not only been a long time in the making, but has also involved several lovely quilters in the process, the (virtual) Neighbourhood quilt.

The blocks all came my way as part of the Star of Africa Bee and have been joined up since November patiently waiting for me to knuckle down and get them basted and quilted. I have to admit that basting is absolutely my least favourite part of making a quilt, so I always put it off!

Being the arch procrastinator that I am, I should really have been basting the Up, up and Away quilt that I have said that I will finish as part of my 100 Day Challenge but, as you can see I put that off by quilting this instead. There is a logic there somewhere :)

I flexed my (underused!) FMQ muscles and quilted a crazy paving-like pattern in the solid sashing and then a meandering leaf in the tree borders. I did not want to detract at all from the blocks so have simply echo quilted around the block borders, time will tell whether that was a wise decision or not.

The backing fabric is a vintage find by Karen and I had just enough to back the quilt. I used a toning thread in the bobbin for the quilting on the back. Although I am pleased with the look of the quilting on the back, it did mean that where I have hesitated (!) in quilting the meandering leaf with the white thread you can sometimes see a tiny dot of the darker bobbin thread. The answer to that is probably not to hesitate but then I run the risk of passing out through lack of oxygen :)

Thanks Benta, Irene, Janine, Jen, May, Nicky, Patti and Veena I couldn't have done this without you!

That's my Friday finish now it is your turn to show and tell :) 

Check out the other linkers too, a little bit of applause is always welcome and add the TGIFF link/button (on the sidebar) to your post and spread the celebrations!

An InLinkz Link-up

My (virtual) neighbourhood

Many moons ago I joined the Star of Africa Bee and found myself being challenged every month to come up with blocks like this

and this

My creative muscles were really stretched! The time limits were too (for everyone) so it was only a couple of months ago that I received what I am assuming will be the last blocks for me from this Bee.

So, they hung about in my sewing room whilst I decided what to do with them. I knew from the outset that the final quilt would end up in France, but whether as a wallhanging or a throw I hadn't decided.

Then I went to the Festival of Quilts and these fabrics leaped off of the shelves and into my basket :)

A plan was formed!

and here is the result. The sashing is Kona Jade Green, the borders are Jolly Farm Trees by Makower and the corners are paper-pieced patterns by Kristy at Quiet Play

My Bee mates did a wonderful job with their blocks, I am delighted with how this quilt top has turned out and I hope that they are too.

The backing fabric for the quilt has been waiting patiently in my stash for the top to be completed, it is the result of another virtual friendship as I bought it from my fellow blogger Karen , who occasionally sells vintage fabric finds. I knew as soon as she listed this fabric that it would be perfect for the back of my SoA quilt so I snapped it all up :)

I am now psyching myself up to the hated task of crawling over the kitchen floor on my hands and knees to get this basted. Ideally I would like to have this finished before my son and daughter-in-law come back for a visit in a couple of weeks so I need to get that basting done sooner rather than later.

As well as being a testament to the creative diversity of Quilting Bees it is also a great reminder of the friendships that can be forged through those same Bees. Although I did not receive all of the Blocks that I was scheduled to from the Bee, those that I did were from ladies that I am delighted to call friends, who have enriched my virtual life in so many ways.

Thanks Benta, Irene, Janine, Jen, May, Nicky, Patti and Veena


Linking up to  Crazy Mom Quilts

 

Good things come to those who wait!

A long time ago, so long ago we were still living in Latvia, I joined my first ever online Quilt Bee, the wonderfully named Star of Africa Bee, set up by the lovely May. The Bee was made up of quilters all around the world, who were a wonderfully creative bunch.

Instead of having a particular block to make each month we had a theme, and when it was my turn to be Queen Bee I was very much taken with Schoolhouse block quilts, so asked my Bee mates to send a block that represented houses from their neck of the woods.

As with most things life got in the way, deadlines slipped and Bee mates fell silent in Flickr, but recently to my surprise two blocks arrived in the post from the aforementioned May, who has most definitely had lots of other things on her mind recently.

Aren't they just the cheeriest blocks? Thanks May, I really appreciate you thinking of me in the midst of your upheavals.

With the arrival of these two blocks I now have enough to put together for a quilt top.

Who knows I might manage to finish 2 Bee quilts this month, keep your eyes peeled for that blue moon :)

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Confessions of a (bad) Bee

One of the joys of blogging for me is to connect with like-minded individuals around the world and having the opportunity to take part in online Bees is an added bonus. The first Bee that I signed up for, in my early days of blogging, was the Star of Africa Bee set up by May. The Bee was inspired by a board game and included quilters from all the corners of the globe. At the time the Bee was set up I was living in Latvia so was very glad of the chance to spend time with other quilters even if it was only virtual.

The blocks requested by my fellow Bee members were always challenging as I strived to represent themes such as home for Sana or a postcard for Leanne so as the Bee went on the timescales definitely slipped. Eventually though I had only one block left to make to complete my Bee commitment. Irene in Guatemala asked for a block on the theme of music, and this is what I finally came up with for her.

When I was very young (a very long time ago!) one of my great-uncles played the accordion and no family gathering was complete without at least one or two tunes from the old squeezebox. so that is what I ultimately decided to depict in my block.

As for the confession of the title, well I am thoroughly ashamed to admit that this block is one year, that's right one year late! My guilt is assuaged a little by the fact that I am still waiting for several blocks from the Bee and it was my turn to receive them nearly 18 months ago! Most of that time I have to say was taken up with actually trying to decide what to make for the theme, the actual making itself once I had decided upon the accordion didn't take that long.

So, I am wondering what is the longest time period that you have waited to receive or send a Bee block? I am hoping that I am not the only one who is this tardy, but perhaps I am. When do you decide to cut your losses and give up on receiving a block or swap? In my first ever swap I never received the swap despite being promised not once but twice that a swap angel would be stepping in to replace my negligent swap partner. It certainly made me more wary of swaps ever since.

I cannot claim to be entirely innocent of negligence though. I totally misread the instructions for the Siblings Together Quilt Bee ,that I joined this summer, and discovered too late that I was supposed to be making 4 blocks for Jo in June to kick off the new Bee year. As Jo wanted to take the finished quilt top to the Fat Quarterly Retreat in July and I was in France without access to the block instructions (or any suitable fabric!) the quilt top was completed thanks to extra blocks from Jo without any input from me.

Thankfully, not all of my Bee activity has been so shameful this last month.  I have completed my first ever granny square block for Hannah in the Fat Stash Brit Bee,

As well as this Liberty Cat block to add to her quilt for her cat-loving friend.

Then in a burst of Bee activity I finished Ashleigh's blocks for August in the same Bee.

Ashleigh sent us the panel in the centre of the block and some matching fabric and asked us to make up blocks from them. So I added a border of 2.5" squares around the panel, mixing in fabrics from my stash.

Then as I had managed to get a bit carried away with cutting the 2.5" squares I was able to make a second block to pop in the post with the first.

Although I mucked up entirely the first month of the Siblings Together Quilt Bee in June, I have managed to redeem myself a bit by completing the Snowball blocks for July in time for Jane

And the log cabin block for Sue for August, so fingers crossed that I will manage to keep to the timetable from here on in!

Now I feel a lot better for getting those confessions off of my chest :)

Happy Mail

There has been some decidely happy mail heading my way recently.

First up was this lovely block from Nicky, for the Star of Africa Bee.

I asked my Bee Mates to make a block on the theme of houses, and Nicky came up with this wonderful representation of Eilean Donan Castle for me. Didn't she do a fantastic job on this block? The Castle sits at a point in Scotland where three sea lochs meet, and I think Nicky has captured the iconic image so well. The Celtic Knotwork pincushion was an added treat! Thanks Nicky.

I have at least one more block to make for the Star of Africa Bee and this has spurred me on to knuckle down and get the block done, hopefully, before the year ends.

Another happy parcel arrived this morning and unlike the Bee block, this one was a complete surprise!

Now isn't that a nice package to receive out of the blue!

Ages ago I posted about this seagull cushion that I had made for a Blog Hop.

In the comments, Pam at Threading My Way mentioned that her relative would love a cushion like this, so when I discovered that I had accidentally bought the cushion pattern twice, well it made perfect sense to send the spare copy to Pam.

I thought no more about it, until the package arrived this morning with a note from Pam telling me that she hoped to have finished her cushion by the time the package arrived!

Thanks Pam, the Australian soap smells gorgeous and the sewing-themed fabric will be perfect for a project for my (almost) revamped sewing room :)

I have also had some happy e-mail too, when I was the lucky winner of the Giant Chevron quilt pattern by the Elven Garden, in Jen's recent giveaway. Jen made a wonderful red, white and blue solid version of the Giant Chevron quilt, and Jess has some beautiful versions of her pattern on her blog here This is, apparently, Jess's first pattern release and if this is anything to go by she is definitely one to watch :)

Hope you are getting more than just bills through the post too!


If you are looking for the November New to Me link up you will find it here

Linking up to

Bridging the Gap

I have no idea why but I seem to be on a bit of a roll with the blocks for the Star of Africa Bee, which as regular readers know require a lot of brain activity on top of the sewing required. We are in the middle of redecorating and shifting rooms around, so maybe getting the Bee blocks done is really procrastination on the shifting furniture front. Whatever it is, though it's working :)

Back in May, Leanne asked for "a postcard block - a block with anything that you might find on a postcard from where you live or your country". Eek! where to begin? I live near the Roman Sites of Hadrian's Wall so thought about trying to come up with a block to represent them, but eventually decided that my ability to replicate a pile of stones meaningfully was next to non-existent!

So with ancient history out of the question, maybe something more modern was called for. Coming into Newcastle upon Tyne by train from the South, the sight of the Tyne Bridge from the High Level Bridge is a welcome sign that I am nearly home. So I decided to have a go at representing the Bridges on the Tyne for my block for Leanne.

So here is my version of four of the seven Bridges crossing the Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead. The Bridges are from top to bottom - Tyne Bridge, High Level Bridge, Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and the Swing Bridge.

This block is winging its way to Australia, so it seems appropriate that it has a version of the Tyne Bridge there, as it was apparently the model for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which was built 4 years after the Tyne Bridge.

And here is the block with the original postcard that inspired it.

I am delighted to have another tick on the list of outstanding blocks for the Star of Africa Bee and now need to come up with a plan for the music-themed block that Irene asked for in July :)

If your holiday photos are of bridges or other industrial structures this year, then they could be the perfect subject for a mini quilt entry for the

At 10.5" by 8.5" this block is too small for an entry, but extended to the minimum 12" by 12" I might even get all 7 of the City Centre Tyne Bridges into a quilt :)

Linking up to

Coming up Roses

There is a bit of catching up fever going around here at the moment it seems. This time I have been working on another Star of Africa Bee block, those ones that frazzle my brain on a regular basis :)

Although I still haven't worked out how to do the blocks requested for March and May, I do know what I want to do for them. Veena's request for June, a flower block to represent your country, had me stumped though. Then whilst downloading Kristy's Stash Cupboard block for August in the And Sew On BOM, inspiration struck!

Ages ago I had downloaded from Craftsy  a free pattern for a stained glass applique block of a rose inspired by the Glasgow Architect and Artist, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Well if that wasn't perfect for a girl born in Glasgow what was?

I have always loved the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and have had a book of his designs for a long time with the exact intention of translating some of them into stained glass applique blocks, so there was never going to be a better opportunity to give it a go.

My version of the rose will be soon be winging its' way to Veena in India.

My original intention had been to use ready-made fusible bias tape for the stained glass applique, but my local quilt shop was out of the black 1/4" tape that I needed. They did, however, have the equipment needed to make my own bias tape instead. So a quick trip to the shop and I was ready.

 

 I found making the tape really fiddly at first, and discovered very quickly that a full-size iron is not the easiest of implements to work with when you are dealing with 1/4" wide fabrics. Fortunately, my fingers survived intact - just! 

Now that I have the bias tape maker and the fusible tape I shall definitely be casting around for inspiration for some stained glass applique projects. 

And speaking of inspiration, perhaps a visit to a museum or church will be your inspiration for a stained glass applique mini quilt entry in the

 

If you haven't already come across them all of the details of the competition, including the lowdown on all of the fabulous prizes up for grabs, are available here or by clicking the Holiday Memories page link at the top of the page.



Linking up to                        show and tell tuesday

Bee blocks in, Bee blocks out

There hasn't been a lot of sewing going on around here lately, but in an effort to keep up to date with at least one of my Bees I have finally got around to making this month's block for the Sunday Morning Quilts Bee.

Julie asked for blocks for a Ticker Tape quilt from the book. The original quilt is put together with scraps of fabric attached to plain white blocks, quilted and attached at the same time. Julie asked us to stitch fabric scrap squares to a 22" x 22" white background square, leaving the edges raw.

The plan then is that Julie will stitch over the original stitching to quilt the backing, wadding and pieced front together. I wish her luck, I found stitching these squares and rectangles, very tedious! I wasn't sure about the original quilt in the book, when I first read it and now I definitely know that this quilt isn't for me. All those raw edges are too disturbing.

Having seen the other blocks that are on their way to Julie though, this will be a really colourful quilt.

So one block out, and two blocks in.

 

I have asked my Star of Africa Bee mates to make house blocks for my Bee quilt, and boy are they coming up trumps! Jen made this fabulous block based on her grandparents house, and shared the tale of the making here She has a photo of the original inspiration for the block and has definitely nailed it.

Irene sent this block all the way from Guatemala, complete with a description of the Spanish Colonial style architecture that the block is based on. The door fabric is an example of typical Guatemalan textiles, and the fussy cut flowers in the windows are adorable.

Although the Star of Africa Bee definitely taxes my brain at times, receiving such fabulous blocks with their stories makes the brain frizz worthwhile :)

So no change on the WIP list this week.

• In Color Order HST BOM - quilting started!
• Sunday Morning Quilt Bee all but 3 blocks received 
• Sunday Morning Quilt2 Bee 12 sets of blocks received
• Sunday Morning Quilt2 Bee blocks sent (on schedule)
• Star of Africa Bee blocks completed and sent (3 months behind schedule)
• Scrappy Trip Around the World Bee -  COMPLETED AND SENT
• And And Sew On BOM - four blocks completed (two behind schedule)
• Son's quilt  COMPLETED
• Paris Cushion - fabric received
• (Almost) Irish Chain quilt basted  
• 5 blocks of NY Beauty QAL completed and fabric cut for remaining 5 blocks 
• 18 blocks of Craftsy BOM completed (only 2 more to go!)

Maybe the rain we are being predicted for the rest of the week will mean some progress will be made on that list this week :)

The Link-up for New to Me in July opens tomorrow, so don't forget to link up if you have tried anything new this month!

Linking up to