All the C's

 The next reveal for the latest Endeavourers Challenge is due today. Unusually for this quarter's project we had no theme to work to, which sounds like it should have made life easier, but it really didn't! Being a procrastinator at the best of times, having free rein to choose a topic for the Challenge just ramped up the procrastination :)

 

Finally, and I do mean finally, I decided to create a companion piece for an earlier Challenge piece "Making Waves", which was my project in November 2020 for the theme "The Sea". 

 

 Making Waves was inspired by the sea in front of my sewing room window, All the C's was inspired by the island, Great Cumbrae, that I can see beyond the sea from my window. Great Cumbrae (first C!) is an island 2 miles from the mainland, accessible only by a 10 minute ferry journey from Largs. The island has one town, Millport, and two iconic landmarks that are represented in my little quilt.

The first of these landmarks is the rather bizarre, Crocodile Rock (Second C!), which sits on the shoreline just at the edge of the town. The painted crocodile face is reputed to have been put there decades ago by a drunken local on their way home after a boozy night out! 

 

Whether that is true or not, it has become a magnet for children of all ages who visit the island. We recently took our grandsons there, who were delighted to have the opportunity to clamber all over a crocodile and live to enjoy a hot chocolate in the nearby cafe :) He is rather magnificent, isn't he?

The second iconic landmark is the "Cathedral of the Isles", (Third C!) Britain's smallest Cathedral, which is tucked away in a leafy corner behind the town. The Cathedral was built in 1851 and consecrated as a Cathedral in 1876. 

 

The college building attached also now functions as a retreat venue open to the public. Apparently the organ in the Cathedral is of particular note and concerts to showcase it and the marvellous acoustics were regularly held in pre-pandemic times. 

Not only did I wait until the last minute before deciding what to make for the challenge, I left it until I was on holiday in France to actually make it! I had grabbed a bundle of furnishing fabric samples, felt scraps and shirt oddments before we left and used various bits of them to create my version of Cumbrae. You can see which were used where in the photo above.

The final touch was the addition of three of these upcycled (Another C?) fluffy pompoms from a curtain offcut to represent the sheep on the island :)

As ever, this was another fun challenge even when I left it so late that it was only finished the night before and I was writing the blog post as the deadline arrived! 

Head on over to the Endeavourers blog to see how my fellow Endeavourers approached this no theme Challenge. 

 

 

Hunt for Roses

 It is time for another quarterly reveal from the Endeavourers Art Quilt Group. We were down to the very last suggested theme for this quarter which is Emotions/Feelings. I am sure that you will not be surprised to know that even although I knew that this was the only theme left, I had zero inspiration for much of the last three months :)

Finally I decided to use the language of flowers as my representation of an emotion, and the emotions/feelings I chose to depict were Joy and Gratitude, which is symbolised by a pink rose. This quote might explain why that might be -

“Historically, rose petals were valued for their medicinal qualities than their aesthetic qualities. Rose has antidepressant properties.”
― Amy Leigh Mercree, The Mood Book: Crystals, Oils, and Rituals to Elevate Your Spirit

 

Despite the restrictions and difficulties of the past two years, when I was trying to pick an emotion to depict I realised that actually I have a lot to be joyful about so a pink rose was the perfect fit. When our youngest son announced his engagement to his lovely girlfriend last week, well that was even more reasons to be joyful! 

I wanted to use a couple of New to Me techniques in this little quilt as well as trying to use what I had on hand. My local textile group has started off the year with a challenge to embrace "renewal" so this quilt is also my nod to that challenge too. 

The background fabric, which is a rust-dyed scrap given to me by a friend at a recent workshop, gave me the idea to base the quilt on a page from a vintage book of botanical illustrations. So, I was quite happy to embrace the "imperfections" to help convey the feeling of age and all that goes with that in a book. The fabric for the petals is taken from these now redundant work shirts of my DH. I was very happy to discover such a range of pinks for my rose :)

The rose stem and leaves were painted with these Inktense blocks and pencils. I had never used the blocks before, and as you can see from the colours above, my original intention was to paint the rose as well as the stems. In the end though only the stem and leaves were painted.

The Inktense pencils and blocks are water soluble, but on fabric can spread more than anticipated when diluted with water, so Aloe Vera gel is suggested as a medium that will allow the spread of the colour but stop the bleeding associated with water. As I needed clear lines for my illustration, I applied the colour to the fabric with the blocks and then used the paintbrush dipped in gel to intensify the colour. The colour is fixed when the fabric dries. 

I downloaded the rose template from here and traced it on to tear away stabiliser. During the first lockdown here in the UK I watched a Zoom demonstration by Gillian Cooper, who used a reverse applique technique to create a puffin applique notebook. This was, finally, my opportunity to have a go at that reverse applique technique! 

The stabiliser was pinned to the back of the background fabric and sewn from the back. I built up the rose from the outside in by attaching a piece of shirt fabric at a time with a small dot of fabric glue and stitching the outline of a petal before turning the stitched piece over and trimming back to just outside the stitched line. 

 Once the rose was complete I turned the piece back to the front and, using the stem and leaf part of the stencil, free machine embroidered the outline of the stem and leaves. The stabiliser was then torn away and the leaves and stem painted with the Inktense block and pencils, with more detail in the leaves added with some fme once the paint was dry.

As you can see above the rose was lacking a bit in detail, especially in the centre, where the fabrics were very similar. I, therefore, quilted around the rose petals with a deeper rose pink thread in the needle to accentuate the rose petals.

Instead of the botanical rose name below the flower I embroidered this phrase that I found online as it tied in with my theme of gratitude - "When life throws thorns hunt for roses".

I couldn't envisage this piece as a quilt and keeping with the idea of it being inspired by a botanical illustration, I decided to frame the piece in a picture frame instead. Fortunately as well as supplying the shirts for the rose petals my DH also painted the picture frame in a colour called "Stone Rosie", which seemed particularly appropriate too! 

So, once again another Endeavourers Challenge has been met and once again, I am really looking forward to seeing how my fellow Endeavourers have responded to the challenge. If you would like to see their responses too, you will find them here . Prepare to be inspired :)

As ever my thanks go to Catherine and Janine for organising another excellent Challenge!

If wishes were horses ...

It's the first of the month and the reveal day for the next challenge of The Endeavourers Art Quilt group.

The theme for this quarter was "Wishes", well that certainly taxed my poor brain! Once again the hardest part of the quarterly challenge was actually coming up with something in my head that would fit the theme, the second hardest part is then trying to create what is in my head :)

Fortunately, in all of my musings on the theme of "Wishes" I came across this old Scottish proverb "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride". The saying was mentioned in a collection of Scottish rhymes and proverbs in 1721, although it had been around in a slightly different form since 1628! For some reason I could not get the saying out of my head so I had the idea for the theme all I had to do now was create it!

And here it is, my "Beggars would ride" quilt response to the Endeavourers Challenge.

The quilt backing is loosely based upon a Bargello arrangement with the greys of the town/city home of a beggar gradually becoming the greens of the countryside where horses can roam. The greens were quilted with fan shapes to represent the rolling hills, whilst the greys were quilted in a squarish grid pattern to represent cobblestones. The darker greys were more intensely quilted than the lighter ones.

The horse is appliqued with two shades of hand-dyed silk (sadly not dyed by me!). I used an outline from a colouring book for the shape as my drawing skills are definitely not that good. Sheer luck resulted in the dyed fabric on the head resembling an eye, as the supplier only had a small piece of the silk shade that I ordered so there wasn't enough fabric to allow for any fussy cutting!

I tried to create the mane with hand embroidery but couldn't get the flow right as you can see here, one thread was too spindly and more threads meant the fringe was clumpy (!), so eventually I tried free-form machine embroidery to get the look that I wanted. I also wanted the horse figure to seem more solid nearer the ground so the tail was created with some textured embroidery threads, which were couched down after the silk applique pieces were raw edge machine appliqued.

There is some evidence that registered beggars in Scotland around the time of the proverb may have worn "Beggars Badges" that granted them safe passage between parishes and the right to beg for alms.

My "Beggars Badges" were created from empty tea light holders and an empty soft drink can! The washed and dried metals were embossed and then die-cut before being stitched to the quilted background. I like to think too that in recycling these tins I am giving a small nod to the times I have chosen to represent :)


As ever these challenges take me in directions that I cannot predict but thoroughly enjoy whilst taking them!

Head on over to The Endeavourers to find out how the rest of my fellow Endeavourers have interpreted this theme, I am sure that you will be amazed, I always am!

Luckenbooth Cushion

I have been playing with my new toy, the EQ7 software and it is definitely challenging my poor brain! Still they say that it is good to keep your brain active with puzzles so I console myself with that thought when I am baffled.

One of the things that I wanted to do with the software was create my own patterns for fusible bias applique. I love Celtic Knotwork patterns and would like to recreate them in fabric.

I decided to start off with something easier though :)

Luckenbooth Cushion

The Cushion applique is based upon the Luckenbooth symbol with two entwined hearts beneath a crown. The Luckenbooth symbol is an ancient Scottish love token, which was often given to brides on their wedding day. There is a legend that Mary, Queen of Scots gave a Luckenbooth charm to Lord Darnley when they married, but as that marriage ended rather violently we will dismiss that as a bad rumour :)

The applique Crown was fused to the background fabric and then blanket stitched, the heart applique was made with bias strips which were also fused and blanket stitched to the background fabric. You can see both of these more clearly below.

I made my favourite button closure for the back as the perfect buttons were just sitting in my button tin waiting to be used!

They are Japanese shell buttons from Woolmouse , which I bought when we visited the Market Hall in Richmond, North Yorkshire last year. I knew they would be perfect one day!

Whilst the fusible applique was straightforward, the corded trim was a bit of a nightmare! I found the trim in my stash, it must be several years old, but I couldn't have found a better match if I tried. Although I have attached piping on a cushion and bags before, I have never attempted to attach cord and such large cord at that. I discovered that my usual method of attaching with a zipper foot just didn't get close enough to the cord, so when the cushion was turned out the cord tape was still visible. It took another attempt with the piping foot, which was balanced precariously on top of the cord (!), to finally be able to stitch a line close enough that the cord tape didn't show. 

Updated to add that the pattern for this cushion is now available as a free download in my Craftsy Pattern Store

 
If you have tried something new too this month, don't forget to link up to

The link up closes at 24.00 GMT today January 31st, so you still have time to link up no matter where you are in the world!

There is still time too to link up to the first monthly link party for

One lucky linker will win a copy of Quiet Play and Blossom Heart Quilts Ornamental and Sew Seasonal Bundle, that's 25 patterns up for grabs. So, if you have made a Christmas gift to tuck away for December or finished a Home Decoration project that didn't get finished in time for Christmas 2013, head on over to Mud, Pies and Pins to link up before the link party closes at 24.00 GMT January 31st too.

This is my first finish for the 2014 FAL and we are still in the first month, so I hope that bodes well for the rest of the Quarter!

It is also another project for the brilliant me,me,me Bee dreamt up by Moira at Kettleboiler to encourage us all to remember to make something for ourselves now and again.

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts

Adding to the WIP list!

A couple of weeks ago I spent a very enjoyable day at my LQS tracing and cutting and generally playing with fabric. The time just flew by!

I was at a Christmas craft class where we had several projects to pick from to work on on the day. Naturally I picked a project, an Applique Christmas Tree wallhanging,  that was unlikely to be finished in the time and so it proved.

This was as far as I got on the day!

Now I am hoping for a quiet moment (!!!) in the next week to tackle the applique otherwise it may well become a Christmas WIP for next year :(

What do you think the chances are?


Linking up to

Pleasant Pheasant

I have fallen seriously behind with my Star of Africa Bee blocks, so this weekend I have ignored all of the other projects littering my table and only had eyes for a Star of Africa block :)

Part of the reason for the backlog with this Bee, is that each block is different and depends upon the theme requested by the Queen Bee for the month. The standard of blocks produced by the other Bee members is so high, that my brain freezes every month trying to come up with something appropriate. Once I have come up with an idea it then takes me even longer to work out how to put it into practise!

In April, Cindy asked us to make a block that reminds us of home. I had already made Sana a block of the Angel of the North when she asked for a block to represent coming home.

So I needed to come up with something different for Cindy. Time to get my brain in gear!

After pondering over and discarding lots of ideas, I finally decided that the family of pheasants who live at the bottom of our garden were the ideal reminder of home, so I would try to represent a male pheasant in my Bee block.

I can't take any credit for this photo sadly, as they fly off every time I try to take one ;(

The male pheasant is frequently seen strutting his stuff in the garden in the morning, and has a very self-important and puffed up air about him as he does so :) The much smaller female seems to trail along in his glorious wake!

Deciding what to do is only half of the battle with these Bee blocks, the next, and much harder, bit is working out how to do it.

After weeks of deliberation (or procrastination depending upon your viewpoint) and the discovery of the perfect fabric for his plumage in my stash, I finally got down to business and sketched out an applique outline for the block.

And here he is!

The applique pieces were fused to the background fabric with Steam-a-Steam and then free-machine embroidered around the edges to add definition and reinforce the bond. Cindy asked us to add our name and location to the block background so I embroidered these on once the applique was complete.

I am delighted with how this turned out and think that I might use the applique pattern to make a cushion cover for the autumn.

Next up is a postcard block for Leanne, the block should represent anything you might find on a postcard from your neighbourhood, so more wracking of brains required :)

I can definitely call myself a slow blogger in respect of the Star of Africa Bee, so I am linking this post up to this month's link party, which is hosted by Martha, and to the Let's Get Acquainted Link party, which is hosted this week by Em

 

Knotted Celtic Neckwear

So remember this sneak peek of my current project? 

Well here it is in all its glory - my contribution to the Ring your Neck Challenge organised by Rikka.

I have wanted to have a go at Celtic-style applique for a long time, so I am delighted to finally have used the technique. Beth Ann Williams' book Celtic Quilts has been on my bookshelf for years, so it wasn't difficult to know where to look when I finally decided that this was the technique that was going to be my challenge.

The background of the scarf is a purple dupion silk and I have backed it with some purple linen that I just happened to have bought on a recent linen shopping trip to Lithuania! The batiks for the applique were some of the first FQ's I ever bought, when I went to a patchwork and quilting evening class many years ago. It feels good to have finally done something with them.

Although the applique is far from perfect, I had trouble with remembering my "unders" and "overs" at times, I am so delighted with how this turned out that I will definitely be tackling some of the gorgeous cushions in the book in the not too-distant future.

This is the first of Rikka's challenges that I have taken part in and it really spurred me on to tackle something different so I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her challenges in the future.

There are some fabulous scarves already posted but there are still a couple of days left until the entry deadline on November 30th, so if you were quick you could still enter :)


Linking up to Make it Wear it and Threading my Way

Holiday Lane Pillow Blog Hop and a Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the Holiday Lane Pillow Blog Hop.

This is the first time I have taken part in one of Madam Samm, Sew We Quilt's Blog Hops, but from what I have seen she is definitely the Queen of the Blog Hop! This is the last one of 2012 for Madam Samm, but she has some exciting Hops already lined up for 2013, apparently, so keep your eyes peeled :)

The Cheerleader for this Blog Hop was the lovely Pauline, otherwise known as Quilt 'n Queen. Poor Pauline has been fending off the flu bug and coping with a laptop in its' death throes, but still managed to keep everyone on track, that is dedication!

The Hoppers on track today are

Thursday November 22

Apple Avenue Quilting

Hill Valley Quilter

Celtic Thistle Stitches

Quilt Doodle Doodles

Louzeekreativ

Tink's Mom

I Piece 2-Mary

Beaquilter

Ninis Patchwork

Hallbrook Designs

In all there are 95 Hoppers taking part, that is a lot of pillows (or cushions for we Brits!). 

As ever, and despite my best intentions,  I took this project right to the wire. The photo for the Blog Hop didn't really give me an idea of the actual size of this pillow - it is big! The pattern is by Jill Finley of Jillily Studio and is available here, but be warned this pillow eats up stuffing :)

 

The original pattern calls for a black background, but as regular readers will know my plain black fabric is currently skulking in a storage unit. So, yes you have guessed it, the son's shirt came into play again for the applique door! Instead of a night scene then I went for a dazzling blue Northern sky, just like the ones we loved in Latvia. Although you can just see a sprinkling of snow in the air with some quilted snowflakes dotted around, as it wouldn't be Christmas without at least a little snowfall :)

Now if you would like to make your own Holiday Lane pillow, today's Giveaway might just help to get you started. 

To win 6FQ's of Holiday themed fabric, all you need to do is leave a comment telling me what unusual fabric you have used in your patchwork. If you are a follower leave a comment telling me that too for an extra chance to win. 

The winner will be drawn randomly on Tuesday 27th November at 18.00 UK Time. If you are a no-reply blogger please make sure you include your email address in your comment, so that I have some way of contacting you should you win. International entries are, of course, welcome!

 

Giveaway now closed, Congratulations Beaquilter!

I shall look forward to seeing what other things I can requisition for my sewing until I am reunited with my stash :)

Bunting on a Budget

Another first! I have just completed my first ever guest post over on Lily's Quilts

Every month Lynne runs a competition to win £20 worth of supplies from Abakhan Fabrics for their Projects on a Budget series. Readers of Lynne's blog pitch their idea for a craft item made with Abakhan supplies and Lynne then selects her favourite to be made and written up as a guest blog post on Lily's Quilts.

Last month the theme was Halloween and my idea for Halloween Bunting was Lynne's pick.

Now as it happens I have a great Abakhan store at the end of our road, so with a bit of help from Will at Abakhan in Wales and Kristin in their Baltic Head Office in Estonia I was able to source my £20 worth of supplies in my local shop.

Here is a sneak peek of my Halloween Bunting



To see the completed bunting and get the tutorial head on over to Lily's Quilts

The theme for this month's competition is "Winter Warmers" so if you want to get your hands on £20 worth of supplies and get the chance to guest post on Lily's Quilts make sure you leave Lynne a comment telling her what you would make.

Linking up to Manic Monday   and  Sunday Showcase,