Monday, 15 March 2010

Shhh - she says she wants to make a quilt!


Mothers day is always lovely, but this year I really did get just what I had always wanted.....

My biggest Small Person (aged 6) announced she wanted to make a quilt. Of course I was all nonchalant, not the pushy parent at all (as if! I squealed with joy and then bustled her into my sewing room - you are MINE now! ha ha ha ha ( bond villain laugh!))


She chose all of the fabrics out of the scrap bin, my heart was bursting as she sat trying out fabrics, making changes. Shyly she showed me her final pile, we talked about bright colours making light colours stand out more when they are side by side, we talked about pinky pinks and bluey pinks, it was special.

I cut the squares out with the rotary cutter and she has been painstakingly hand stitching them together after much deliberation of the placement, I daren't move them ( hence the Sylvanian family caravan in shot!).
I think I have Mary Ingals from Little House on the Prairie to thank for this. She is often described as 'sewing nine patch blocks'. I love those books, my big Small has been reading them on a loop for two years now, we never tire of them.

She is having me photograph each stage and she is writing a book for her friends about how to make a quilt. Isn't that fab! If quilting is a journey, just think how far along it you can get if you start at 6? I'd better up my game or she'll be overtaking me in no time. But I guess accepting that is what being a mother of daughters is all about?

Friday, 12 March 2010

Interplanetary, most extraordinary....

The Little Robots quilt got some satellites, I'm rather pleased with them actually, it's all basted up and ready to hand quilt over the weekend. What do you think? The back is pieced with a strip of the stripy colours on the front and Kona solid, I think it's Olive. I want to get it finished so I can take it next week when I go and visit the new Little Man. Very busy this week with Make Do & Mend work. I have a secret I've been keeping for a month or so now, but can blog about it next week. Better go before I tell, I'm a useless secret keeper, see you next week...!

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Little Robots

A lovely friend had her baby at the weekend, a little boy. I had promised to make her a quilt for him, but as she didn't know what flavour she was having ( he was no 4 and she has some of each so lovely to have a surprise!), I was a bit caught out on ideas.


She had picked out this Kokka Robots fabric before as something she liked. I was suddenly seized by the urge for bright bold stripes on this grey day. I just love the feeling of putting together a complete stash quilt, just pulling colours into a big jumbly pile on the bench before inspiration starts to make itself clear. I'll applique the spots this evening at MakeClub. I'm excited about quilting it, I think it's going to be fab. Got to run, school run in the biting cold beckons!

Monday, 8 March 2010

New Toys


The less said about last week the better, lets just say in the battle of Us v's the SickBug, the sickbug won hands down!
There was a lot of nesting under quilts.......

Just a little bit of sewing.........

But lots of ideas buzzing about whilst checking out my new quilty toys........

18 degree wedge ruler and circle-in-a-square ruler from creative grids

Linen samples from Ada and Ina

Block Tool for rotary cut blocks

Liberated Quiltmaking II by Gwen Marston

Where to start???!!

p.s I also managed to work out at last how to add extra pages to this blog ( so easy when you know how) so you can now see all of the quilts I have made in this three year long quilting adventure.

Wednesday, 3 March 2010

In,Out, Shake It All About

Oh the joy of family life. I have three lovely kids. They are a source of constant joy to me, i don't like to moan but etc etc ( fill in the rest!). But today I have one who has just (rather dramatically) lost her front tooth, one who is (rather dramatically) teething her baby teeth, then to top it all, Boy-in-the-middle spent the night throwing up with his second sickness bug in a month. Now any one of these things on their own would pass without comment in the rich tapestry of family life, but three together, in the same night, now that adds up to very little sleep indeed. yuk.

I am comforting myself with mindless repetitive piecework preparing applique shapes. It's remarkably soothing to the tired mind: trace, iron, trim, stick, repeat....................yawn.


p.s I thought I'd show you my very lovely sewing purse. After extensive research to find the perfect storage for portable sewing kit I can confidently say this is it. It's just big enough ( needle book, pins, thimble ( leather and metal x2), scissors, thread conditioner,thread) sturdy enough ( lovely baby cord), and always makes me smile (I do love a goose!), you can buy them from Isla B Baby here as well as lots of other delicious things at the More Than a Mama Fayre in Berkhampsted, Hertfordshire,UK on Friday 26th March.

Tuesday, 2 March 2010

Bought To You By The Colour Yellow

Today.....

The sun is shining, spring is in the air.
I bought myself gerberas, happy sunny day to me...happy sunny day to me...

I planted my window boxes with soon-to-be-sunny-yellow-primulas


I dug out my Spring door wreath

I started a new quilt

Oh the happy-skippy joy of the new!


p.s Don't forget Mad March Sale continues at http://www.makedoandmendquilts.etsy.com and http://www.makedoandmendquilts.folksy.com. I need to make room at Quilt HQ for more newness to come....

Monday, 1 March 2010

Mad March Sale

The sun is shining, it's March, spring is a-coming, it's turned my head.

Let's have a Make Do & Mend Mad March Spring Sale!

Head over to my etsy site or folksy site and for one month only all my quilt kits are £45 or $70US so if you've always wanted to make a quilt but haven't dipped a toe in the water, or you want to convert a friend(!) now is the time to buy a kit and get quilting.

Happy March to you all x