Bee Blessed Relocates

The sun was shining yesterday, but a thriving company of women didn't get to see much of it!

Bee Blessed has relocated to the church where I teach my classes!  And it certainly made a difference!

The vast floor space meant quilts could be easily basted and blocks laid out!

And we even have our own coffee area!

Two quilts are finished and ready to be donated.  One you can see here, which Sarah did an amazing job on. This one is going to a young man with M.E.

The second one is a beautiful Oakshott Cotton quilt made by Marion.  This is being gifted to a man who is ill and in need of some comfort.

There are a few quilts and cushions still being worked, but I will keep you up to date.  Thank you to everyone who has donated Converging Corners Blocks so far. They are really taking shape and it's going to be another fabulous quilt.

The next BB meet up will be on 2nd June.  I won't be able to make that one, because I'll be somewhere in the depths of London, sewing alongside my Brit Bee buddies while waving to the Queen as she floats down the Thames (at least I hope she floats)!

And before you hop on to the next blog in your reader, check out the wonderful zippy pouches my Friday class have made!

Apologies for the over-cropping by Mosaic Maker - I'm still trying to remember to take photos with this in mind!

Have a great weekend!

All You Need Is ......

...a 'Secret Squirrel' hat and mac!

Covert operations abound! Not allowed to tell yet what these will be!

But just thought I would produce some evidence that I have actually been sewing!

And my daughter has been busy too, producing adorable fimo charms & key rings for me to sell at my classes (just in time for the zippy pouches class).

Just look at this cutie-pie!

They are going down a treat in class, which has given my girl a real boost in confidence.

She has officially finished school now (eek!) and starts 5 weeks of GCSEs on Monday!  Seems like only yesterday when we were making pretend plates of food and funny monsters with the play-doh at the kitchen table!

Oh, and just before I go, one of my students has just started up her own blog (she's really been bitten bad by the quilting bug!).  I'd love it if you could pop over to Sew Fi and say hi to Fiona, and welcome her to blogland.

Got Me Some Moo!

I'm not usually one for jumping on band wagons, but I couldn't resist a little bit of Moo! (It's all Susan's fault!).

'Moo' Mini Business Cards

These are half the size of standard business cards, but the fun part is that you get to put your own pics on the fronts. 

And they come in a cute wee box which could easily live in your handbag (well one of my handbags anyway!).

What finally clinched it for me was the idea of swapping moo cards with other bloggy friends at the Fat Quarterly Retreat.

But this one is just for me!

Thank you for all your fab suggestions on how to progress the 'Wonky House for Pippi' Quilt.

In the end I've gone with a narrow white border, with coloured cornerstones.  I got the back pieced too, so I'll be basting this baby on Saturday at Bee Blessed.  I've a dreadful feeling that free motion quilting will be the way to go with this one!!

After days of beautiful sunshine here in Belfast, the awful weather has finally caught up with us on this Bank Holiday Monday!  We've had rain, hail, lightening, rain, and then a bit more rain!!

Hope you are safe and dry whatever you're doing!

Pippi-licious!

Here it is .... 

I love this quilt so far.  Mainly because it is a collaborative quilt, from all around the world.  But also because it is a Bee Blessed quilt, and will be going to a teenage girl struggling with M.E.

I'm going to call it 'A Wonky House for Pippi'!  It is fun, colourful, and tells a story, which all quilts should in my opinion.

I had 2 wonky house blocks leftover, so in true 'Nicky' style, I'm going to put them into the back of the quilt, to make the back as interesting as the front!

All I've done to them so far is add a border of colourful squares, to mirror the Pippi blocks on the front.

Now for the front, the big question is............. border or no border?

It is currently flaunting at a respectible 62" sqaure, I'm just not sure if putting binding straight onto it would look right. 

What do you think?

What a Star!

This month in the Brit Bee it's the turn of the hilariously funny, and true gem that is Terri.

Terri has sent the other 11 of us some fabric and a request for 8 pointed stars. 

I received some gorgeous yellows, aquas and grey for the backgrounds.  And here's how I used them:

'Orbit'

'Stargazing' from '99 Modern Blocks'

What is even more special about these blocks is that we get to hand them over in person at the Fat Quarterly Retreat!

I've also been doing a little alterations sewing on some trousers and tops I was given a long time ago.  It's soooo not my favourite kind of sewing, but needs must, and hopefully no-one will know that they've been altered when I've finished with them!

Btw, I forgot to tell you how I got on in last week's Quilting Gallery Wallhanging competition.  I'm delighted to say I didn't come last, which was my only aspiration!

Somewhere around the middle is always a cosy place to be!!  Thank you all for voting!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Pippi Needs a Pee!

I needed to make one more Pippi block for the Bee Blessed Pippi/Wonky Houses quilt, but I always seem to have problems with the legs!

The last Pippi I made had a wee problem with 'water retention':

And depending on how you look at this latest Pippi you will think she is either about to twirl around and show off her beautiful new dress, or she has a seriously dodgy bladder!

(Hmmmm, bit of a watery theme going on here.  Sorry about that!)

Anyways, we now have enough blocks to make a fabulous quilt top AND a cushion.  So I'd best get on with it as we have a very special teenage girl in mind for this one.

Just need a quick pit-stop at the WC on the way!

The Name of the Game!

My 'secret' FQ Retreat name tag swap partner has received her badge, so I can now show you who I was making for.

Mandy isn't a blogger, but has a wonderful flickr page called Mandalin18.

I haven't made a name tag before so thought I'd best stick to a fairly simple design, while trying to incorporate some of Mandy's favourite designers and colours.

I had added a removeable keyring filled with sewing related charms, but for the life of me I can't find the picture I took of them.  You can see Mandy's picture of them here.

It's such a relief that Mandy likes her nametag and I'm looking forward to meeting her and so many others at the retreat.

Excitement for the retreat has just gone up a notch now that we've all been sent our Schedules and Supply lists! Squeeeeeeee!