circles and squares

I am juggling way too many projects at the moment, and geting nowhere fast on most of them. I need to learn to say no. To myself. My mind races on faster than I can keep up.

So yes, I'm still hand quilting this quilt. I'm still enjoying it, but will be very pleased when it's finished. I'm nearly there. 

Quilting by hand doesn't actually take as long as you'd think - if I'd just get on and DO.

Want to see some more of my fabric printing adventure? Good.

These were both printed with the empty cotton reel again, and an old washing ball for the larger circles.

An old wine cork, I like this effect, I like the white peeping through where the ink didn't take. A block of foam, I liked it's  simplicity and this led onto the squares I did.

The finished fabrics, on their way to their new homes, on time!

Linking in with our creative spaces 

hand printing fabric

I have finally finished printing the fabrics for the handprinted fabric swap that Leslie Keating is hosting over at Maze & Vale. I've tried to work in my partners prefered colours, which are not my usual choices, but I like how they've turned out. 

I have really enjoyed playing around with simple shapes and mixing the colours. I used very basic tools in my printing, empty  reels of thread, old corks and cut out shapes from Mr's foam scraps. 

Never before has a Fat Quarter felt so enormous. 

It is incredibly satisfying to create your own designs on fabric.  I'm clearly very new to this, but I'm rather pleased how they turned out. 

This deep blue with silver highlights is my favourite.

But I like many of the testers too, I'll be adding some more images to my flickr page soon, there are many...

Playing along with our creative spaces. 

quilts and friends

Remember a while ago I showed you this mini quilt? It is now hanging up in the LMQG exhibition in the Brasserie (third floor) of John Lewis, Oxford Street. 

Don't they look great! I love that they are all so different and represent so many aspects of modern quilting.

I took the girls along to see them (and feel very proud and excited) and finally met up with my bloggy friend Flaming Nora, with the intention of having a proper grown up and civilised chat about sewing and crafty stuff. However four over excited children kept us on toes and I came away feeling like I hadly spoke to her, which always seems to be the way with little ones around.

It was great to put a person to the blog and Jane is exactly as I imagined, larger than life, funny and juggling more crazy projects than you can imagine. Generous too, she brought me this great notebook (gotta love a stamp) and a bag of scraps - you can never have too many... hooray! 

We all had a great day and Missy Big took a shine to the Ginger Ninja, I'm quite sure I saw her pinch his bum before we left... 

thank you ma'am

for 60 wonderful years 

Now I'm not really a huge royalist, but there has been something quite special about the Jubilee celebrations this year. People have come together and cheered and celebrated and really felt part of something quite magnificent.

I won't waffle on, but I've loved this Jubilee, and I don't want  this mood to end.  

We had a last minute party with just a few close friends. Which included 5 giggling girls making crowns.

A little too much cake...

and lots of happy memories.

Hope yours was as good. x