Welcome to 2019

As the new year kicks in we've all been enjoying a bit of family time before the daughter returns to Uni and usual work routines restart.  I've been reflecting on 2018- personally and sewing related.  A lot is changing. The sudden Craftsy marketplace changes for indie designer patterns like Sew-Ichgio has been a shock (we are still using Payhip), and I'm seeing many UK quilting shops struggling or closing.  There's been a magazine closure (Sew Now) and things are very challenging for magazines generally.  Even Flickr, where my blogging journey started, is changing its terms and reducing the free storage availability.  I'm currently working through the last 9 years of photos and deleting until only 1000 remain; it's a melancholy experience.  I like to have things to look forward to but I am not a 'goal setter', I'd rather let things evolve and see what happens.  I am thinking that its a time for me to return to what I like best- small piecing, freezer paper pieced picture blocks, Japanese fabrics and using fabric stamping again.  It feels like a new set of thoughts but I must've had this in mind when my family asked what I'd like for Christmas...

I discovered Rose Garden Patchwork- a UK quilt shop with lots of Japanese fabrics, accessories, notions and books, during the September #GreatBritishQuilter photo-hop and fell in love with it.   Shop owner Lisa posted some IG pictures from a Suzuko Koseki book that I hadn't seen before and she helped me out with the link to Amazon Japan, Chic and Mannish was a Christmas present from my brother.  It's a great book with quilts, bags, pouches and purses.  Lots of inspiration...

The wooden magnetic storage block was from my mum, bought from Beyond Measure.  I drop my scissors and my stiletto a lot so I was keen to find a safer storage option- there's a hollow area underneath with extra space and it's a beautifully made item.

These are some of my favourite fabrics from Rose Garden Patchwork.  My sister bought me this bundle and Lisa had a Christmas offer so there were extra fabric squares too.

So, whether you are a goal setter or you'd rather travel where the wind takes you, Happy New Year!  Meanwhile, I'll be watching Marie Kondo on Netflix and looking forward to seeing what unfolds...

Comfort and Joy

I start the year with trying to get as many Bee blocks done as possible.  Tomorrow, back to the day job.  I ma lucky, I love my job and realistically I am unlikely to earn my living through stitching bits of fabric together, but it is with a little reluctance.   I was invited to join the Cocorico bee (very similar to Ringo Pie) and I needed to get Melinda's block done first.  Her theme was Vintage/Cute Christmas, I wanted to get it finished before Christmas completely disappeared.

I had to drag this block kicking and screaming from deep inside my creative internals.  I had a vague idea, the jar shape was already in my head but it wasn't till I free pieced the string tied around the rim of the glass that I felt it was working. Only then did it make me smile and I could see it all working.

My usual letter stamps and red Versacraft on linen.

The tag shape came about from a lovely set of 'Kodomo Margaret' Japanese stationery stamps that Damian bought me for Christmas.   I stamped onto Kona stone and used needle turn applique to stitch it on with a little perle thread to link it to the jar.

And then I went on a little stamping marathon, address stickers

 cards, the Eiffel towel postal stamp was a little gift from Ayumi x

labels- love them!

These stamps are not the easiest thing to find, but this shop sells the brand.  

Lunch Bag Tag- Mini Tutorial

In amongst the fun sewing of pincushions and Accuquilt- more of that soon, it has been interesting and surprising- has been more mundane but necessary back to school labels and badges.  I had a very dull time edging and attaching a blazer badge.  Labeling a lunch bag is a challenge.  Scrawling on a name looks a bit tacky so I came up with a little cotton tape tag and a bit of stamping.  It is a quick and easy handmade touch to an everyday school necessity!

You will need:

Versacraft ink pad: a must- it heat sets with an iron

Cotton twill tape: needs to be able to fit through the end of the bag zipper

Rubber stamps

Thread, scissors, zipper machine foot, standard foot.

To make:

Cut your tape so it is long enough to fit your child's name/initials on twice plus an inch added at either end.  Press the tape in half and stamp the name either side of the fold line as in the pic below.  Allow to dry and press with a hot iron to set the ink. I have had a few queries about how long to press and the permanency of the ink.   Tsuenko/Versacraft advise prewashing the fabric to get rid of sizing.  I use my iron- which is a mini travel iron with 3 heat settings- on its hottest heat.  Once the ink has dried, I put a bit of cotton fabric over the top and press for around 5-10 seconds, maybe a bit longer.  Sometimes a little bit of the ink transfers on to the fabric.  How long I press depends how long I think the fabric can take it- I don't want to scorch it and the iron needs to be on its hottest heat, like you would use for cotton or linen.  I don't use any steam.   Then I iron onto the Versacraft directly for about 10 seconds on the printed and the reverse side and leave to cool.  I haven't used Versacraft on clothing or anything that gets frequently washed but I have done quilt labels and washed the quilts a few times on 30 and 40 degree light programmes and they come up fine.   I have read that you should leave it a few days before washing and that a tumble dry would assist the setting process. 

Thread through  the  lunch bag zipper end so the fold is furthest away from the zipper, tuck the twill tape ends in as you can see below held between my thumb and finger.  You can trim the ends here a little  if there seems like a lot of tape, staggering the lengths helps to spread the bulk.  You should have a sandwich of 4 layers.

You need to stitch this fold first.  I use a small stitch with a fine cotton piecing thread.  I have my zipper foot on and I move the needle to the far left.  Stitch and secure across the 4 layer sandwich.

I found it best to change my foot for the subsequent stitching and place the needle back in the centre.  Sew along the open edges of the tab and on the remaining fold line.

Nice!

Back with a review of the go!  Aurifil thread giveaway still on, I am loving the music recommendations, what an insight into different musical tastes!  And best wishes to all at Festival of Quilts, wish I was with you!

Sharing the Process

I am linking with Lynne on her new 1st of themonth feature, I am a day late but ready to play.  It is a sharing linky post, go and visit and for a little trip round some new blogs - I am sharing a bit of process on my latest quilt block for Ringo Pie.  It is Penny's month and her theme is all things kitcheny and I could barely contain myself.  She kicked it off with the most amazing Food Aid mixer block- she is queen of piecing.   I had too many ideas but I narrowed it down to baking.   My inital inspiration came from an old Cath Kidston catalogue and some pics I tore out of a 1980s Toshiba microwave cookbook.  Bad recipes but great pictures.

I made a sketch and put a few fabric notes.  I wanted to include vintage cherry fabric underneath so that had to fit in somewhere.  I do rely a lot on the image in my head more than anything else.  It helps to think what kind of representational system do you use?  (I am on a diversion here but hold in there, you may find it interesting).  Take a look at the sort of language you use- written or oral- if you are a Flickr user go and check out the comments you make on other peoples pics.  If you are a blogger read your blog!

Visual language- 'I see', 'take a look at..'- words include look, see, picture, view, clear, image, show,

Auditory language- 'I hear you loud and clear', 'describe that in detail', words include, feedback, resonate, hear, listen, sound, tone.

Kinaesthetic language-'I can handle that', 'get a load of this', 'Pain in the neck/butt', words include calm, touch, hard, soft, grasp, handle.

You may cross over these categories but one will dominate- interesting stuff!  

I am visual, I think in pictures so I don't always sketch out preparatory ideas or specific details, I see it in my head and just try and keep to the vision.  I only sketch it down if there is going to be a delay in making something. Hope that makes sense.  

This is my paper reference map for the piecing.  It is about 13 inches square and in pencil.  Graph paper is helpful here.  I sketch it first and then add straight lines with quilt rulers where I need them.  In this block I wanted a lot of free lines.

Now I chunk it up into pieces and sections.  I used to do stained glass and that helps to imagine how different sections will fit together.  Every piece needs a number.  This method is from Ruth B McDowells Piecing Workshop book and if you want to get into piecing in a big way I totally recommend it.

Here comes the freezer paper.  You place the freezer paper so the shiny side is on top (counter intuitive I know) and fix with masking tape.  I trace using a propelling pencil.  As the shiny side is the wax side it makes a nice groove with each line.

Flip the freezer paper over so the dull side is facing up, you can just about see the tracing lines underneath.  With coloured pencils (not watercolour pencils) I make tick lines between every join, often more than one and using different colours.  These are the reference points for joining all the fabric pieces.  I also add all the numbers and directional arrows to show the top of each piece.  It looks a bit crazy at this point.

Ready to start piecing, but don't cut all you freezer paper pieces out at once!  Start with a section, a chunk that can be completed.  The freezer paper pieces are ironed on to the reverse of the fabric so check your fussy cutting carefully- hey I didn't say it would be easy!   You can see how your paper reference sheet helps to make sense of it all as you go along.

First section completed. 

I used some different methods in  this block.  For some pieces I did the detailed piecing free hand and made it big enough to cut the desired shape out of- I did thins with part of the bowl and the wired on the whisk.

This was really hard, all those curves and odd shapes and I am always prepared to alter as I go along.  Fortunately Penny didn't want a specific size, this has worked out around 13 inches but sometimes the end sizes of blocks like these can change a lot by the end of the process.  I am also prepared for a bit of wonk and quirk in the end block which is a good thing because that is what I got!

The 'Jam' label was stamped and sewn on at the end.  

 Everthing ready to make cherry jam tarts.

I just love cherries!

Enjoy your weekend x

Pillow Party

I am hoping I am just in time for March Pillow Party over at Stitched in Color!  I finished this over the weekend for my nephew's 6th birthday next weekend.  I started with the print in the middle, 'Tasty Retreat' by Michael Miller.  I wanted to show his love of the outdoors; camping, exploring, messing around.  A log cabin style seemed to fit in with this nicely!

Possession is important when you are 6 years old, hence the property stamp- Versacraft ink again.  The other prints relect his interests- Lush dots for paint, a bit of Kumiko Fujita for the essential foods in life- biscuits, milk and cereal, and the other prints are for the outdoor life- wood, water, frogspawn- was my train of thought.

For the straight line quilting I used this rod thing that came with my walking foot to see how it worked.  I have not tried it before.  Great results, very straight lines but you can only quilt one way, maybe I have missed something here, I like to stitch in alternate directions for straight line quilting. 

  I also used the stitch in the ditch foot for my label following a tip I saw on one at Melissa's post as part of March of the Tools participants- it sews right to the edge of the label with ease.I loved this technique!  So easy and so useful.  I will be using this for top stitching on clothes and for stitching pockets down.

More tools, I found a great new chalk pen, the Signet marker, with loads of different colour refils at a quilt show on Friday.  The vendor got it out of the packet and showed me how good it was, less than £10, I was impressed! I used this for the first quilting line and to put in a lapped zip.  I used the sewing machine maintenance brush to remove it, worked a treat.  You can buy it in the UK with the same seller, Pauline's Patchwork, they have an excellent pen and marker selection!

I have been looking for something like this for ages, a good purchase with all the colour options and refillable too so no waste.  Nice and pointy too, the chalk sharpens with a pencil sharpener for a precise line.

I am sure Ted doesn't read my blog so I haven't spoilt his surprise!  He does love cuddly stuff so it should be well received, and a portable box of watercolour paints too so he can paint on the go.

Have a great start to the week x

Stamps

I am becoming a big fan of stamps.  I don't really do papercraft, I am too impatient and careless, but stamping on fabric is so satisfying and after the difficulties I had with standard pigment ink which I could not set heat set, I  was relieved to discover Versacraft, stamp ink pads designed for fabric and easily set with an iron.  It is a dream to use.

This alphabet is the one I use most, Hero Arts Clear Design Bird Branch Alphabet.  I like the font and the plastic clings securely onto the mount.   I have 2 sets, I managed to lose letters in my early stamping days- I have learnt to be more careful.  On Etsy, there are many hand carved stamps available.  I was lucky enough to stumble across Tommie's shop.

That's her work above, the heart sewing machine, the love letter and, custom for me, my blog name, button and spool, beautifully carved and mounted on to wood blocks.  You can see how beautifully they stamp.

The little building and modern sewing machine stamps are carboot sale finds from my friend and carboot companion Kathy.  She has generously given me the machine one.  It's metal so pleasingly resilient and finely detailed.

And this is what I do with them!  My Doll Quilt Swap label- recipient's name obscured,

A cotton tape label for a new bag (will show more soon)

Stamped straight onto the back of a new cushion, and a button tag (more of that another time too)

on the other side of the button is the spool, my favourite.

There's more on my Doll Quilt creation- it's almost finished...

I hope you had the best time you could have over Christmas.  Some of my lovely goodies below...

The bag was from Damian and custom made by the very talented Mia.  The fox reminds me of Lottie and the whole bag makes me smile.  She even included a little foxy keyring.  Mia sent me the beautiful Snowman coaster/mug rug as a pressie too as a thank you for taking part in her advent blog makes- she is such a sweetie x

This little bundle is from Lula- she knows me too well.  The compass and protractor are because I am always cadging these things off her when I am in the middle of a quilting sewing idea.  A compass with its own pencil leads- I love precision stationery!  Ayumi knows this too- she sent me a surprise gift which just reached me just in time to go under the tree.  Cooking cute writing stuff and an amazing Martha Stewart stamp set with loads of letters and gridded mounts, circle ones too- stamping and typography heaven.  I have so many plans for this, she is so generous x 

Our Christmas day was good but lots of family and extended family is a bit exhausting and I feel a little haunted by the ghosts of not so good Christmas' past so I am often a little tense.  We still had snow which made for a beautiful post lunch dog walk.

Boxing day was wonderful, just me, D, Lula, my brother and mum.  I do the food and drinks- soup, bread, crisps,olives, rocky road, fruit cake plus cocktails and juice.  Eating, drinking and playing board games- 221b Baker Street .  Have you played it?  A great game for adults and older children- relaxing, thoughtful, quiet and funny- although that could've been the participants...