Month: June 2018

NOT LOOKING FOR PERFECTION

On By LucieIn Freemotion Quilting, patchwork & quilting, Quiet Goals for 2018, Quilt Making15 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had a super-duper day. My Sarah and I have been enjoying lovely lazy summer days. I hope our glorious summer days last thru the whole season.

I’ve been working hard on my latest quilt project, My Sweet Dresden Town. There are only a couple more blocks to draw and stitch. Well I thought I’d take a little break from that in order to work on a UFO that’s been in the pile for some time. In fact, it was so low in the pile that I had to dig around to find it.

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This project consists of a sandwiched piece of calico to which I added some colour blotches which I planned to add some freemotion quilting to in order to give it some definition. So, with my Sarah’s advice I chose a nice pale green thread, Aurifil 50wt. And then I prepped my sewing machine and got down to the nitty gritty.

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I outlined all the colour blotches in a medium grey thread …..

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And then switched to the green thread to fill in all the negative spaces. I kept the design simple …..

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While I was stitching I felt quite disappointed at the jaggy bits I was stitching out. I haven’t done any freemotion quilting on my domestic sewing machine in a long time but I persevered …..

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The more I filled in the negative spaces the better it looked. And once I was done I felt really good about what I accomplished. I no longer look for perfection. As long as it’s better than what I started with I’m happy. Well I’m definitely happy with what I did today.

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Now that I’ve had a little taste of freemotion quilting on my domestic sewing machine again, I feel like doing more. I have a little idea of what I’d like to do next time but that won’t be for a while. I have a To-Do List as long as my arm to finish up before I start another project.

I just realised today that there are only three days left of June!!!!! Next week is Sarah’s graduation ceremony. I can’t believe it. I look forward to whatever life has in store for us both.

So, I guess that’s my report for today. I had some well deserved fun freemotion quilting a long time UFO. Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be great. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy doing. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x

SLOW STITCHING

On By LucieIn Applique Work, English Paper Piecing, New Designs, patchwork & quilting, Quiet Goals for 2018, Quilt Making11 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I’s been a while. I was so busy having a good summer that I haven’t posted a report in a whole week!!! How dare I have a good time. Life is a little more carefree these days. I’ve been enjoying every minute of every day. And sleeping, well I’m sleeping so well nowadays. I wake fresh as a daisy in the morning.

So, I guess you might all be wondering if I’ve been doing any sewing. Well the answer is yes, I certainly have. These lazy summer days lend themselves to slow stitching. Not only have I drawn new blocks but I have been prepping them and securing patches in place by machine at my favourite slow and measured pace. And once I have sewn the patches in place I take the time to have a good look at my work. In the old days I didn’t have time to do anything slowly never mind admire it.

We’ve had loads of sunny days in the past week or so but I wanted to make sure that no matter what I could enjoy my days. So, I stitched this simple sunshine to remind of the good days ahead of me …..

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Here’s a little preview of the block …..

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I can’t show you the whole thing because it’s missing some stitching in one section. I’m really looking forward to finishing this particular project because I want to longarm quilt it to see how it all comes together. However, I still have a long way to go. That’s the only thing about this slow stitching stuff, it takes a while to bring to fruition.

I don’t do any machine sewing in the evening. Evenings are for quiet armchair projects. I’ve always got some English Paper Piecing on the go. My favourite is hexagons of course. I’ve shown you this project before but it has grown since the last I posted about it. This one is an ongoing project for which I have no specific use for. It’s just one of those projects that I’m working on because I can.

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It’s warmish and the pollen count is very high in my little corner of the northeast of England. I’m hiding myself away from the pollen and the UV rays. The kids are still in school here. I think the school year ends in about three weeks. At the moment the parks and shops are pretty quiet but watch this space once the kids break up.

The most wonderful thing that happened to me last week is that my little car went in for it’s annual service and came out with a clean bill of health. Yahoo. I’m looking forward to our next road trip which should be The Festival of Quilts in August. Only a few weeks to go now.

So, I guess that’s my report for today. Life is treating me and my Sarah with kindness at the moment. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something you enjoy doing. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x

DRAWINGS COMING TO FRUITION

On By LucieIn Applique Work, Longarm Quilting, New Designs, patchwork & quilting, Quiet Goals for 2018, Quilt Making5 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you all had a great weekend. I spent mine doing plenty of sewing by attending a sewing session with some like-minded ladies. We had such a good laugh. I find that laughing is the best medicine.

So, let’s start with a bit of progress shall we. I did some drawing recently and this is what I produced from said drawing …..

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The patches in this block still need to be secured in place. My sewing machine gives me a really good blanket stitch. The good stitched along with a little bit of patience produces a very good block. I can’t wait to see how this block will look once the patches have been sewn down. Does everyone recognise the landmark I have included in this block??? I call this landmark Rusty Rita better known as The Angel of the North. I plan to add one or two more local landmarks in the rest of the blocks that make up this current project.

You might remember I produced another little block from this project for framing purposes. Sarah was adding colour to an otherwise very plain wooden shadow box frame last week. Well the paint is dry and the block has been blocked and inserted into the frame and this is how it looks now …..

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This morning I flashed up my longarm quilting system and had a little play. I did only freemotion work this time. I stitched to my heart’s content. It’s so satisfying to stitch and watch the patches start to pop. And depending on what wadding you use, you can create some great texture too.

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It’s been a great day in my little world. The work I’ve been doing lately has been very fulfilling. I’m already considering which of my UFOs to work on next. I have one or two quilt tops which need custom quilting and I have plenty of new ideas that need to be drawn and brought to fruition.

Today was my Sarah’s last day at uni. She drove down to Hartlepool first thing this morning to remove her display from the Degree Show. When all her work was removed from the display boards she sent me a photo of the blank space. It was quite a sad time. Although our new life officially started some six months ago, today was our real beginning. I think there are some exciting times ahead.

So, I guess that’s my report for today. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy doing. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x

TIME TO FRAME

On By LucieIn Applique Work, New Designs, patchwork & quilting, Quiet Goals for 2018, Quilt Making12 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had an enjoyable day. I’ve spent most of my day mooching about. I did a few chores and I did a little bit of sewing.

Let’s start with the little bit of sewing I did this morning. I believe Susan asked in one of her comments if my Sarah and I would be working on projects together. This next project shows how we work together. This simple apron which I stitched up today was made using one of Sarah’s designs which we had printed up. This cotton twill is the perfect weight for aprons and bags. This apron is a little gift for someone who needs cheering up at the moment. I’m quite pleased with the finished result. I’m planning on making one or two more aprons using Sarah’s fabric in the near future.

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I’ve been missing fine hand appliqué work. My latest whimsy is fusible appliqué and there’s no hand stitching involved. Just to prove to myself that this latest whimsy would look just as good done using freezer and fine hand stitching I did one block …..

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And I went on to add a little hand quilting in the ditch and blocked it ready to frame in a shadow box frame. My Sarah added a little colour to my plain wooden frame and it’s drying now. I’m looking forward to seeing how my little quilt will look once in the frame.

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I was tracing template shapes on Bondaweb this afternoon. Before I put the templates away I placed them on the layout sheet which I drew a couple of days ago. My drawings look so much better with colour on them. Even cereal box cardboard templates look good! In fact, my blocks look a lot better than my drawings. Colour and pattern bring everything to life.

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It’s been a lovely day in my little world. We’ve had a steady blustery breeze blowing all day due to Storm Hector but the sun has been bright and cheerful. I enjoyed the time I spent in my sewing room creating something using Sarah’s fabrics. I wonder what tomorrow will bring. Being creative is my passion.

So, I guess that’s my report for today. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy doing. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x

BLOOMING GRADES

On By LucieIn Applique Work, New Designs, patchwork & quilting, Quiet Goals for 2018, Quilt Making, Random14 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you all had a super weekend. The last couple of weeks have been busy in my little world. My diary seems to be filling up more quickly nowadays. There’s always some place to go not to mention the chores and craft tasks on my To-Do List.

I have been pretty busy with designing new blocks and sewing. Here’s a little progress on my current project …..

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I sat quietly and sewed all the roofs and doors on my Dresden Neighbourhood blocks over the last few days.

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And once the that sewing was done I cut loads of piano keys, well actually, I cut strips and joined them together and then cut sections to form a piano key border. And after doing some more sewing this morning this is what the piano key border looks like now …..

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Now this project is really coming together. I sat at the table for several hours today and drew the next blocks. I managed to draw two 12” x 24” blocks!!!! All that’s left to draw is four 12” x 15” blocks to complete the drawings for this project. I am truly enjoying this one. It’s so very different from my other Whimsies.

Quite of few of you will know that my Sarah and I started a journey which we named Operation Taking Flight a few years ago. The Operation was us getting ready for Sarah to fly the nest. It kicked off four years ago when Sarah started taking driving lessons and then subsequently went off to university. Well today I am so pleased to tell you that Sarah received her grades for this, her last year of university. She has graduated with honours. It seems that all the hard work and despite someone’s best efforts to derail Operation Taking Flight, Sarah has smashed it. She’s ready to face the big bad world now.

Last Friday, we had a girl’s road trip. Three us drove down to Sarah’s uni to see all the work displayed in the Degree Show. I must tell you that some of it was a real eye opener. I got Sarah’s permission to take a few photos of her work. So, here’s a little sneaky peek at her display …..

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I can hardly believe that three years of university has come to an end. There were times when I thought it would never end. Now we really get to start moving forward.

So, I went out into my garden this morning to sweep and prune a few straggling bits of growth. While I was out there I went into the secret part of my garden to see if my roses needed deadheading. No deadheading required just yet but I did cut these beautiful roses to bring inside as there were masses of blooms!!! They smell every bit as good as they look.

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It’s been a good productive day at happy stitching manor. My little visit to the secret garden yielded some beautiful blooms and my short session in my sewing room produced some good progress on my new project. And my quiet time using pencils, rulers and templates produced some great drawings for the next step in said project. Being creative is my favourite thing to be doing.

So, I guess that’s my report for today. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something you truly love to do. Until next time,

Let’s on keep on stitching.

Lucie x

WALKING IN THE SUNSHINE

On By LucieIn Applique Work, New Designs, patchwork & quilting, Quiet Goals for 2018, Quilt Making, Random6 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all have a grand day. It’s been a busy one in my little world. I spend several hours today in my sewing room playing with my longarm quilting system. I can’t show you what I worked on just now. However, I can show a little bit of progress I made on my Sweet Dresden Town …..

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I posted a photo of cut up Dresden Blades last week. I have since cut the Blades different lengths and joined them together giving the units a good press to form this circle. I’ll be adding roofs and doors. I also made even more progress by drawing a few blocks to go with the large Dresden block …..

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I find these blocks very happy blocks. You will notice that I have kept the blocks simple, as usual. I find less is always more. I also appreciate cleans lines, that’s what drives me to keep my blocks simple.

I’m quite excited about this project. Once again, it’s a little different from what I have designed in the past. So, watch for more progress reports about this new project.

All is well in my little world lately. Everything is ticking over nicely. I sometimes wonder when things are going to start going wrong again but the main cause of things going wrong is gone. How lucky am I to be able to enjoy life as it comes again? I recently read an interesting quote and it goes something like this; you never know that you’re living under a cloud until you walk in the sunshine. I can’t tell you said this first but it certainly has given me something to think about.

So, that’s my report for today. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something that makes you happy. And perhaps do it in the sunshine. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x

WHIMSICAL SHOES

On By LucieIn Applique Work, New Designs, patchwork & quilting, Quiet Goals for 2018, Quilt Making, Random18 Comments

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’ve all had a super day. I’ve been a bit busy in my sewing room today. It’s going to be a short report because I need to go back to the project I have been working on all day but first here’s a little peek at what I’ve been playing with …..

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I spent a few hours drawing whimsical blocks over the weekend and now I’m going to spend a few hours bringing my drawings to life. Isn’t is amazing what you can do with a few scraps of fabric.

Do you love shoes? I love shoes but I find it difficult to find shoes that don’t hurt my feet. While I worked in my sewing room today I wore these …..

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They still hurt my feet so I don’t wear them very often. I reckon, if I wear them in the house I might be able to break them in a little better and knowing that I can take them off makes me feel better about wearing them!!! I do love the whimsical look of these shoes.

So, I guess that’s my report for today. I’m going to head back into my sewing room and get on with being creative. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something that makes you happy. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x