Brit Bee Medallion!

I can't tell you how excited I am to finally get to see, touch, stroke and drool over my Brit Bee Medallion!

This Brit Bee 'round robin' type project started almost 2 years ago (Sept'13). We all worked to the same design (thank you Hadley), made our own centre block, and then waved goodbye to it as it got passed along 11 more ladies to add borders and work their magic.  This means we have all contributed to each others medallions at one stage or another.

The medallions were exchanged in person among those who were able to attend Terri's Memorial Service yesterday.  For those of us not able to make the handover in person, we opened ours at the same appointed time!  A true bee event!

I'm ridiculously pleased at how well my Brit Bee buddies have interpreted my tastes and fabric likes from just my centre block and a few scraps of fabric!

The original inspiration for my medallion was the new wallpaper in my front room and the medallion is TOTALLY PERFECT in that room, right down to the little birdies in the corner stars!  Crazy perfect!

I have no clue how I'm going to back or quilt this beauty, so I think I'll just gaze at it a while longer!

And the other special post I received yesterday were THE BEST Millionaires Shortbread ever (thank you Trudi) and the sweetest ceramic medallion from Di!

I'll leave you with a glimpse at some of the other medallions (pic by Hadley).  Brit Bee forever!

Jude xo

Quilt Topping!

I've been in the mood lately to make quilt tops!  It's my favourite part of the quilting process (no, not the quilting!).

I had a commission 'boy' quilt top to make for a friend (she will do the quilting & finishing):

I had also acquired some Heather Bailey squares and just couldn't resist piecing them together!

Then there was the (not so) small matter of some flying geese borders on a secret Brit Bee medallion!

And with my latest Scrappy Rainbows quilt top and the Scrappy Stripping Quilt top made in recent weeks, I think that means I've a summer of quilting coming up!!

Wishing you all a great Easter weekend!

Jude xo

Getting Cosy!

I've been all about getting cosy these past 24 hours, because I've had no heating or hot water while my boiler was being repaired.

All sorted now thankfully!

Porridge, therefore, was most definitely on the menu for breakfast.  I use this microwave bowl cosy when I cook my porridge.

But after making a complete over-cooked and sticky mess this morning, I thought it was time I made a few more!

Again, I used this excellent tutorial, making another 10" cosy and a smaller 8" cosy.

These are the perfect size for using up leftover Layer Cake squares.  And because all the materials are 100% cotton (essential for heating in the microwave) they are completely machine washable!

So now I can make all the mess I want!!

I also got the next round of Brit Bee borders made - flying geese for Hadley's medallion quilt!



Only a few more rounds to go and we will reach the end of this epic & secretive quilt top marathon!  I can't wait to see how everyone's turns out!

Hoping you are all keeping warm and cosy!

Jude xo

No Chance of a Lie In!

It is half term week here in N.Ireland, but there's no chance of a lie in!  Oh no!

The Roads Service have taken up camp outside my house, with their pneumatic drills and diggers, hammering right into my brain from 7.45am each morning!!  I can even feel their vibrations right through my house!!   Aagghh!

There's nothing else for it but to get up and get sewing!

I've been pattern testing for a friend using these ....

... all will be revealed in good time!

Some Brit Bee Medallion sewing ....

.... again, can't show you the full picture, all top secret!

And a few hot water bottle covers, for New Year class samples (sorry, forgot to take a picture of the other one before it went into the shop where I'm teaching!).

This is made with cosy flannel and I'm pleased to finally get to use one of my recycled duffle buttons!

I also got my Bee Blessed block for November made (go me!) but more of that at the end of the week!

So I guess I have the annoying workmen outside to thank for my productivity!

Jude xo

Nooooooooooooooooo!

It's been a stressful week!

I'll spare you the details, but one of the worst things that happened was my beloved Pfaff sewing machine stopped working yesterday! 

In the 8 years I've had my machine I've never had any bother!  My Pfaff is not just my sewing machine.  It's my livelihood!  And of course, it decides to go on strike at the time of year when I'm neck deep in deadlines!!!

I've to ring my trusty 'Mr Sewing Machine Fix It Man' tomorrow and I'm holding my breath for a favourable and cheap outcome!

Before the worst happened, I managed to get my next round of Brit Bee Medallion sewing done.  As usual I can't show you much of it, but trimming teeny half square triangles with a teeny 2.5" square was actually quite fun!

And my beginner class have been doing some great sewing too!  But I'm having a few problems with flickr (of course!) so I'll show you their makes tomorrow!

I think I'll call it a day before something else goes wrong!

Jude xo

Spot the Imposter!

There's been a little more secret sewing in my sewing room this week, as well as another round of Brit Bee Medallion Mystery!

Jo's medallion

I've been a snotty mess this week, though feeling much better now.  But it has meant a few sleepless nights, so I thought I'd put them to good use. 

I got this journal cover made for my daughter's friend's birthday at 2am this morning.

And I got my tax return submitted at 1.30am earlier in the week!

I also did a few more stages of this class sample, at stupid o'clock this week!

This is the Overs and Unders pattern by Kim Brackett.  I made one for my mum's 70th last November. She likes it so much I couldn't ask it back off her again, so I decided to make another one using a Happy Go Lucky Jelly Roll.

Now the jury is still out regarding my choice of fabrics and background fabric (Kona Ash). I get a bit fed up using white all the time (even though it lends itself really well to the modern fabrics currently on the market), but I'm not sure I've got enough contrast here. 

It is a bright sunny day today, so the colours are more saturated in reality than you see here.  But I'm hoping when I get the borders on and get it quilted it might grow on me more.

And the imposter?  I slipped in 2 jelly roll strips that aren't Happy Go Lucky! Can you spot them?

Jxo