Vintage FQ's

I'm taking part in the UK & Ireland Vintage Sheets FQ swap, being hosted by the super lovely Mary, in January 2013.

I've been collecting vintage fabrics from charity shops for some time now, but am frustrated at how rarely I find any (esp. compared to my mainland UK counterparts!!).

During half term week, me and the kids spent an afternoon going through at least 8 charity shops, and I didn't find one vintage sheet, or anything resembling one!  Boo!

But I have enough gathered up to send 15 fat quarters to Mary this week.

When Mary has all the lovelies gathered in from the participants, she will redistribute them & I will get 15 different ones back! Win! Win!



What I really need in my vintage stash are more reds, greens & yellows (a few more pinks, purples and oranges would be nice too!).  Browns are not allowed in this swap, even though I love vintage browns! So I guess I'll just have to keep those for myself!

There is still loads of time to join in if you fancy having a swap!  You can join the flickr group here and post pics of your vintage fqs you would like to swap. There are also some lovely inspiration pics in the group of what you can make when you get your fqs back!

Have a great end to your week.

These are a few of my favourite ....

.....vintage scraps!

And I have put them onto this ...

My 2nd ever A line skirt, but this time, with lining!  Ooooooh!  Aaaaaaaah!

I was so inpired by the ladies making their skirts last Saturday, that I wanted to make one for myself. 
I dug out a remnant of navy wool and some shiney stuff I've had forever for the lining!

This was made using the same bespoke method we used on Saturday, drafting our own pattern from our measurements.

I put the zip in the side of the skirt with a wee button hole fastener.   

I was amazed at how easy it was to put lining into it (call me old-fashioned but I much prefer a lined skirt!). 

Sorry about the naff pics!  Will try to get some better ones when I can borrow another camera.

I had this made in an afternoon, and was so excited that I got another one cut out. But I will need a bit more courage to wear it in public!

I'm going to have to give my inner-hippy some serious talking to to stride out in this one!

Modern Maud Class & Pattern

My Modern Maud pattern has been premiering in my Monday evening class these past few weeks.

Just take a look at these beauties:

What I forgot to take pictures of where the sophisticated zippered inner pockets!  The ladies did a fantastic job stylising their bags, which have the additional features of a reinforced base & feet and a magnetic closure tab.

And if you'd like to have a go at your very own 'Maud' the pattern is available to purchase from my Etsy shop.

I hope you've had a great start to the new week!

Bee Blessed November Block

Apologies for being a wee bit late posting the November BB block.

Here it is:

This block was made by Sarah and in the absence of knowing its proper name, is called 'The Great Big Kiss'.

You can find the tutorial for it here as well as a stunning example of a quilt Sarah made using this block.

If you can spare a half an hour to make and donate one of these blocks, we would be so thrilled.  We would love it if you could use solid white for the background and one other fabric for the X (any colour). As always the blocks are 12.5" unfinished.

We have had some touching feedback recently from recipients of donated quilts.  Please be assured that your blocks are making quilts which are bringing comfort to folks in ways we could not have imagined.

As the theme of this post is 'A Great Big Kiss' I'll leave you with a picture from one of my favourite artists, Sam Toft, called Big Smackeroo!

Real Women Have Curves!

I co-hosted my first dressmaking class today.

We were making a simple skirt (A line or pencil) by taking our own measurements and drafting bespoke patterns.

This method means that you end up with a skirt that fits your dimensions exactly!  Just look at these lovelies:

This was such a lovely day, and seeing the excitment of these women as they learned how to make their own patterns and sew up skirts that fitted exactly was such a pleasure!

Well done ladies!  Enjoy your beautiful new skirts and wear them with pride!

Remember, Remember!

Well it's not the 5th of November yet, but it may as well be at the rate we are hurtling towards Christmas!

Last week I drove past several homes with windows already decorated for Christmas! And my friend then told me about a house she visited which had a Hallowe'en Christmas Tree (black with small pumpkin lights!).  That's a new one on me!

October was a busy month for me (aren't they all!) getting stuff ready for classes this term and next.  And of course a few all important birthday pressies!

Throw in a not so straightforward bathroom installation (ongoing), half term break, and continued trips to the physio, there's no shortage of things to be getting on with for November!

Wishing you a happy and peaceful start to your new month!

Linking up with Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day.

Double '00' Delights!

On Friday night I had a date with this guy:

He didn't disappoint!

And on Saturday I had a date with the gorgeous Bee Blessed gals:

There was much hilarity over the prospect of us making the quilters version of a 'Calendar Girls' Calendar!

Here's a quilt that Sarah made, all ready to be donated:

And just look at how well your crazy patchwork blocks are shaping up:

And to finish off the evening, me, hubby and 2 kids had a date with these crazy animals....

... while the birthday girl and her friends partied on back at the house!

Bag Update:  Once she got over the shock of how big the bag was, she loved it!

And this was inside it:

A new pencil case!

I hope you've had some wonderful dates this weekend!