just lovely

Veronika is just 'tying up loose ends' - we were thinking that this quilt is taking forever to finish, but actually, it was started last September and so only six months in the making. Also given that this is working for 2 hours a week, not counting school holidays and the odd family holiday back to her homeland, V is not doing too badly at all! :-)

So today, we introduced the 3 layers together for the first time - ahhhh.

And then quilted them together. For speed and simplicity, V is just quilting horizontally down each edge of the narrow panels. It looks great, I have suggested she might have a go at binding using this Tutorial by Heather Bailey, but the children might have to take priority over the Easter break and the quilt wait until mid April to be continued.....

Dawn has finished her cushion! She has embroidered her daughters name, birthdate and weight on the back - sorry, forgot to take a pic.

The picture in the book D used for inspiration, has a glittery rainbow. We have puzzled over the weeks the best way to recreate this, mmmmm.

Taking a trip to the local Craft Shop of Hobbies (you know the one) D bought a pack of 12 lovely glitter glue bottles. They work a treat and dried quickly. Sadly on closer inspection, I realised they were for paper crafts only and not fabric, so it is a cushion that will never be washed. As her daughter is 12, I don't think this is too much of a problem.

It looks amazing!
I hope you agree!

There is another page in the book to inspire the next cushion, very exciting work.

Windmills on sunny days

We have been working on this project since last september (I think!) and finally pulling it together. Sue has been working on the windmill, the sales will move with the help of a split-pin.

'Windy Miller' has been reincarnated to look after the mill and we think the 'Mouse with clogs on' will come and help soon too - the more the merrier.

We are just coming to the end of the Seasonal trees, they just need to be bound and quilted by hand which doesn't take long at all.

Kay has made a flock of sheep for the Windmill project, so she is now continuing with her upcycled quilt.

It is looking just great, a simple collection of colours but the scale is lovely and stitching is very neat. Well done Kay.

Lots of fab work here

Wednesday afternoon is continuing to inspire and delight:

Nasreen stitched and stuffed a quick ladybug pin cushion in a couple of sessions - she does look cute!

Audrey is making a lovely mobile from this great book for beginners, she started off using it as a design for an embroidery a bib for a new baby and is enjoying stitching these lovely characters.

Dawn is continuing her cushion with a teddy, the technique she is using works really well- fabric pens to draw and colour the design with embroidery to give detail and depth to the picture. Lots more planned for this one, come back soon!

Michelle's blanket has now got a ribbon edge and she is planning to make a beanbag to math this theme, good bold work.

If you twist your head (sorry!) you can see this finished quilt! Weyhey!! Well done Dawn, just lovely :-)
Keep twisting! This is Carly's Thomas inspired quilt, stitched in record time, I am really impressed with her 'can do' attitude, the ideas just keep on coming and Carly just gets on with them. Good work and planning the next project, I think she is hooked!

So, I am doing my best to keep up with these busy stitchers. Lots of great work and ideas and they all bounce off each other, an inspiring lot I hope you agree.

3-2-1 Blast Off!

There's a bit of a space theme going on this week- two projects are finished - hurray!

Kellie has made a door plaque for her son: very colourful, loads of detail (see his waving hand!) and beautifully stitched. She is now planning a 'princess' version for her daughter.

Close up of the detail, lovely work.

and.....

Rebecca has finished her mobile. The big, bold stitching works really well with these simple shapes and she has given her work lovely character.

There are some lucky boys out there with cleaver stitching mums. My boys will be jealous!

Shh

Some lovely new projects

Way back in January ( I know, I'm sorry) my group on a Wednesday doubled from 7 to 14!!

It was a bit of a shock to the system for everyone, but the established stitchers continued with their projects from before Christmas and the new stitchers all sat down and did what they were told thankfully and made pin cushions-and yes, I was too busy to snap them unfortunately.

Over the very hectic hour, I saw everyone, chatted and encourage them to think of a project. The established group were great at inspiring the newbies, which is what it's all about!

One week later.......

EVERYONE arrived bright and fresh laden down with bags of fabric and loads of ideas, great news!

Carly is planning a blanket for her baby son, just look at the size of the blanket stitch, tiny and so neat!

Maxine is planning a bean bag for her new baby, inspired by some big animals in the Center, she has put together a lion and is progressing well, more pics soon I promise.

Donna is making a door plaque for her daughters room, with life size hands on either side of her name.

Dawn 2 has been inspired by a children's book illustration and is making a cushion cover. She started off with just embroidery, but I suggested enhancing the strength of colour with fabric pens. This has worked really well I think and moves things on much quicker without loosing the detail and texture.

Kaylie started this week with making a pin-cushion for a friend, this was the result after one week:

By the following week Kaylie had made no less than 8!! Yes, there are only five here, the others were with their new owners. K had got completely carried away with french knots and strawberries and really enjoyed making this lovely yummy collection. Good to have you back Kaylie!

Dawn 1 is coming to the end of her project and this week started the long process of hand finishing the binding. She is already planning the next quilt and I wouldn't be surprised if it was started this week, I will let you know.

This is the layout of Michelle's blanket for her son, the middle panel is taken from a t-shirt I think and has inspired the 'space' theme for the rest, good work. Underlining- again! why?

I am really enjoying working with this group, we have to be strict on space and I am often pushed to give everyone the support they might need in the two hours, but the results are amazing and the whole group support each other.