Goodbye 2012

So things have been a bit quiet around here the last few weeks and i just wanted to pop in and say hello. We have been the house of the Virus. Even the dog has had a virus and had to have a wee holiday  at the vets getting IV fluids and medication.

Christmas ended up being very quiet, and New Year is not going to be a party, as I have been in bed with flu for the last few days, and it looks like my husband is going down with it too.

I've been enjoying seeing some lovely mosaics popping up of things people have made over the last year and although I fancied doing that (for about 5 seconds!) I just can't be a***d!

I did manage to finish the quilt I showed in my last blog post so I'll show you that instead

It was for my sister and brother in laws' Christmas and I made some matching bunting. I used a flannel sheet as backing so it's lovely and soft and cozy. Hopefully it's the perfect festive movie quilt :)

I also received a very very sweet pouch from Hadley in the Brit Bee secret Santa, but I haven't taken a picture of it yet. I'll save that for another post but Thank you Hadley I love it :)

So that's it for 2012, see you in 2013!!!

Love
Fiona x

Festive Hexi Stars

Yesterday I suddenly took the urge to make a Christmas quilt. I have plenty to be keeping me busy (gift buying, gift making, card writing etc) but I couldn't fight the urge!

Last year I bought a bundle of Delighted by the Quilted Fish in the black Friday sales, and it has been whispering to me ever since. I persuaded myself it wasn't too insane to randomly start another quilt if I could make it quickly, so I decided to go big :)

I'm still not tired of hexagons, and this lovely quilt by Jeni at In Color Order had caught my eye a couple of weeks ago. I went with great big hexagons (each side is 7") and added some equilateral triangles so there was a big of a starry effect going on (and so I could piece it without cutting the hexagons in half and avoid y-seams) It wasn't quite big enough for my liking so I added a couple of borders. Now it measures just over 70" square, and I'm rather happy with it :)

If I can manage to get it quilted in time I'm going to give it to a special person for Christmas (who hopefully doesn't read my blog!)

Do you like it? I do :)

Happy Thursday!
Fiona x

In the name of the Wee Man!

"In the name of the Wee Man!" is my Granny's favourite saying when she can't believe her eyes/ears. It makes me smile every time I hear someone say it :)

It's what my Granny would say when she opened her curtains this morning

Kids on the way to school this morning. Brrrrrrr!

Murphy and his BFF of the way home from school this morning :)

My completed Granny Square Quilt in the garden this morning!

Yes I've finished it :)

And I'm really really pleased with it

I finished the binding last night, so I couldn't resist a wee photo shoot

Isn't it pretty?

Quilt details:
Inspired by the amazing Jolene's Granny Quilt
Blocks are make with my scraps and the background is an ivory solid I bought from here
Backing is a print called Tea Cakes by Verna Mosquera
Binding is It's a Hoot by Momo
Quilted in straight(ish) lines approx 1" apart on my sewing machine
Quilt measures approx 40" x 50"

I'm going to get this listed in my Etsy shop and I'm seriously considering making another one because I really loved making it :)

Happy Monday!
Fiona x

Fresh Sewing Day :)

Fresh Sewing Day :), a photo by Fiona @ Poppy Makes on Flickr.

Our computer has decided it's had enough and appears to have kicked the bucket, but I was actually organised this month and had my mosaic all ready for Lynne's Fresh Sewing Day.

November was a busy month of sewing and tidying up. I'm looking forward to December.

I've never posted from my phone before so don't know how this will work, but fingers crossed :)

Happy December!
Fiona x

More forgotten blocks

I'm still on a mission to tidy up my sewing stuff, and yesterday I discovered some more forgotten blocks hiding in a bag, in a storage bag under the sofa.

Months ago I fell in love with Jolene's stunning Granny Square quilt, and vowed I would make one. I loved making the blocks but for one reason or another (probably a frantic tidy up because visitors were due) they got bundled away and forgotten.

I made 9 blocks before they were shoved in the bag, so I decided to whip up another 3 blocks and turn them into a little baby quilt.

I've just finished cutting backing and wadding and I'm about to get my pins out and get basting. I can't wait to quilt this. I'm tempted to do some more FMQ practice, but I think it would be really pretty hand-quilted too.

Hope you all have a good weekend!
Fiona x

My finished Swoon!

So it seems I am on a bit of a roll when it comes to finishing things off :)

Drumroll........

I finished my Swoon quilt!!! Yay!

I hadn't expected to be quite so excited to be finished this, but I am and I love it!

It has actually been in use on my bed for a few weeks now with raw edges - it's getting cold in Scotland! But yesterday I managed to get the binding on and it's now washed and dried and looking very pretty if I do say so myself ;)

 I had originally decided to hand quilt this, but after I started, I realised it was just going to join the queue of quilts waiting for me to finish the hand quilting. So I left the centre block with it's perle stitches and machine quilted the rest. I quite like that the centre block looks a bit different to the rest - and it's a little reminder to me to think things through before I start something!

It shrank a little bit when I washed it, I think about 2", and ended up at 78" square. I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 wadding and I really really love the weight and drapeyness of it. It's thinner than some other cotton wadding, but I prefer that, and it's really lovely and soft once it's washed.

The backing is my favourite print from Joel dewberry's Heirloom line and I decided to bind it in the same print as the backing (I actually made the binding from the lengths of backing I trimmed off after quilting) I stitched the binding down with my machine, using my new machine binding skills :)

I've started binding using strips that are 1 3/4" wide rather than 2 1/2" and I really like the finish of binding this way and it uses less fabric. Would any of you be interested in a tutorial on how I now do my binding?

For those interested
Pattern is Swoon by Camille Roskelley
Fabric used is Heirloom by Joel Dewberry in the citrine colourway, and a couple of Painter's Canvas by Laura Gunn.
I used white cotton poplin rather than quilting cotton for the white background and I like how crisp and fresh it feels.
I used Empress cotton thread to  quilt it - love it, it's my new favourite - thanks to Alison :)
It's quilted by me, trying out various quilting patterns a la my Angela Waters book

Now I need to tart up my bedroom curtains so the co-ordinate with the new quilt, and make my bedroom a bit prettier, but first I have promised my husband I will hard-wire ethernet cables round the downstairs today, so the internet will be faster and we can stream movies through the Sky box. Sigh...... better go get my hammer, drill and cable clips ready. I would much rather be playing with fabric!

Happy Wednesday
Fiona x

Modern Hexagon Baby Quilt

I managed to finish one of the quilts I rediscovered the other day!

The Hexagon blocks that begged to be a baby quilt have been transformed into a sweet little baby quilt/playmat measuring approximately 48" square. I used the Merry Go Round Pattern by American Jane to make the blocks

I machine quilted it following the seams of the blocks, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The hexagon pattern really shows up on the back of the quilt.

This is also the first time I have managed to machine sew a binding that I am happy with :) I used the green Eyelet print from Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy because they remind me of little seedlings - perfect for a baby quilt I think!

I am more than a little bit in love with this quilt and briefly considered having a fourth child just so I could use this quilt! However I have come to my senses and have listed it in my new little Etsy shop, and I'm hoping it sells before I get broody again ;)

Fabric used is mainly It's a Hoot by Momo for Moda and the backing is a print from the Bliss line by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.

I've also added more destash fabric to the shop if anyone is interested - Thanks to everyone who has helped me tidy up so far! The discount code opening10 still gives you 10% off anything you buy :)


Happy Monday!
Fiona x