do.Good Stitches in the UK

I'm just popping in here quickly to let you know that Rachel of Stitched in Color is forming a new circle of do.Good Stitches that will be based in the UK.

I've been involved with do.Good Stitches for more than 2 years now and I think it's a great way to do a little bit for some very worthy causes. I've got to know some lovely people in the time I've been in the Joy Circle and we've made some beautiful quilts that have hopefully brought a bit of comfort when it's needed.

If anybody is interested in finding out more you can visit the main Flickr group here, or have a look at this blog post from Rachel last year. Rachel is looking for active Flickr-users who enjoy a modern quilt style.  Those that are interested can register here.

I think a UK based circle is brilliant, as we can keep postage costs down and make quilts that will be donated to local communities. If anybody has any questions about it, I will do my best to answer :)

Fiona x

PS. Thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post! I haven't replied to any of you yet, but I will :)

Finished Orbit QAL

I've finished a quilt! I showed the progress I'd made in the Orbit QAL that Lindsey of LR Stitched is running a week or two ago and now I've managed to finish!

I quilted it using a spiral pattern with my walking foot. I drew the start of the spiral with a pencil and started quilting from the centre. I hadn't thought through the logistics of quilting a spiral and realised after one circle round that I was going to end up with almost the whole quilt in the throat as I got near the edges because of the direction I'd drawn my spiral. So I ripped it out and started again, drawing my spiral in the opposite direction this time.

Above is a picture of the easier direction in case anyone is thinking of doing a spiral.

I really like this quilting pattern, although I got a bit bored and started spacing my lines further apart as I moved out to speed up the quilting a bit. But I quite like the way it looks now.

After a consultation with my 9 year old son, I was advised that the binding should be smooth and soft like his favourite quilt (aka my favourite quilt that I never get a chance to use because he has adopted it)

 So I used some Anna Maria Horner Voile to bind it. I have to give my boy his due. He knows what he is talking about when it comes to binding a quilt, and I LOVE this binding! It doesn't quite match any of the colours in the quilt and I think that makes it look better. The backing is an IKEA print I got for £2.85 a metre - bargain!!!

I tried to get photos of it on Friday when I finished but a certain rascal had other ideas!

My new quilt is now crumpled, covered in dog hair and what looks like chocolate, after a weekend of keeping my 3 little folk warm, and that's just the way I like it :) I'm going to let the kids and Murphy decide who it belongs to now ;)

Happy Monday!
Fiona x

Stitch Gathering Tickets are on Sale!

Tickets have gone on sale today for The Stitch Gathering Retreat in Edinburgh on 25th August this summer!

The Stitch Gathering is a day-long retreat being organised by the lovely Jo from Bearpaw blog and owner of the beautiful shop Avery Homestore.

There are going to be some fantastic workshops, being taught by Jo and some other talented bloggers. I'm going to be teaching a class on Simple Jelly Roll Quilts - Eeeek! and Jo has organised a whole host of activities including swaps, goody bags, lunch and discounted shopping! Tickets cost £95 and there are 65 available.

Simple Jelly Roll Quilts

You can find out more, register your interest and now buy a ticket on The Stitch Gathering website

I'm already so excited about a lovely day of sewing, socialising and shopping! If you're going, I'll see you there!

Fiona x

Tutorials

This is just a little page where you can find the tutorials I've published on my blog

• Clamshells tutorial
• 16 Patch quilt block tutorial
• Setting 16 patch blocks on a point
• Pom pom scarf at the Village Haberdashery
• Nursery Versery cushions at the Village Haberdashery
• Dinosaur Mini Quilt
• Sandwich wraps tutorial

Enjoy
Fiona x

Easily distracted?

What's a girl supposed to do when she knows she should be studying, but just wants to sew?!

Make a patchwork pencil case of course! That'll definitely help me learn stuff!

Easily distracted? ;)

Fiona x

PS Thanks for all your lovely comments on my last post. I will reply, but I'm supposed to be studying ;)

Orbiting

When Lindsey of LR Stitched announced she was running the Orbit QAL I fell in love with the pattern! I think it's the perfect pattern for showing off large scale prints and decided it was the perfect time to use my much loved Madrona Road fabric.

I pulled this bundle ages ago and planned to make an Autumnal quilt but suddenly it's almost spring and I wasn't feeling very autumnal any more ;)

I pulled out the browns and tried to make it a bit more fresh and this is what I can up with. The donkey Madrona Road print reminds me of an orchard so I tried to go for colours that made me think of apples.

I had a bit of a hard day yesterday and decided that chain piecing was the way forward. I got the quilt top finished off this morning and I'm completely in love! I really wish I'd made it bigger, but it was my last few scraps of a couple of those fabrics and I don't have enough to go bigger. Funnily the Madrona Road fabric is kind of lost and doesn't look as good as I thought it would, but that's okay.

It's a good size for snuggling at about 60" square, and is the perfect pattern for a quick feel-better quilt. I think from cutting to finished quilt top it took me 5 or 6 hours. It was a really good way to bring a little bit of comfort into a horrible day.

Now I'm planning how to quilt it :)

Have a good weekend!
Fiona x

So it seems I have a new obsession...

And that would be trying to free motion quilt! This fabric is Carnaby Street by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics and it's just gorgeous!

I'm on a roll and I'm really enjoying myself, but there are hungry children to feed and work to go to, so I'll have to leave it until tomorrow

Hope you're having a good Tuesday!
Fiona x