Monday 13 August 2012

Quilts I've made

Well it is time I made another retrospective post about my passion for quilting.  Bags are great for small time projects but I generally need something larger to work on.  It was therefore no surprise that after my first quilting workshop that I should set out to make a larger quilt.  I knew nothing about the craft and it was very much a learning process as I went along.  It took nearly two years to complete that first quilt - but there were many smaller projects in between.

The first quilt then was the one I made for Mum.

 This is Mum's quilt in her flat - I chose the colours from her carpet to make it in.  Also to learn I chose to do a sampler quilt and I learned a lot from doing this.

This detail shows a couple of the blocks in the quilt and also the machine quilting which I did myself.  I really had to commit to learning how to do it but it was well worth it.  Also while I made this quilt I upgraded my machine!!

The second quilt I made for Liz, my daughter.  She wanted it in black and white and I wanted to do a quilt which incorporated a Ricky Timms convergence.  We chose the fabric together and the construction of the border was very much a team effort.  I love the finished thing - it is very striking to look at and Liz loves it too!!



 Mind you I could have cursed when she said she would like a design on the back!!!!

So this is the reverse side - not so bad for my second large quilt and only about eighteen months this time from start to finish!

Then I had to make a quilt for me - I loved doing this one - probably because it is mine!!!


 And of course I had to make mine reversable too!!

This was much quicker but still over a year.

Now I am working on another quilt for Liz - this time for her to use when she is camping.  It is a real fun quilt and features some crazy VW's in the design.  I used a lot of ideas from Kathleen Guerrier's books for this one.


At the moment it is in the quilt sandwich stage waiting for me to committ myself to a couple of days at the machine - maybe this holiday. . . .

Finally I have the fabric and design for a pair of quilts for my Ex-husband to use in his French house.  I have washed the fabric and cut out some of the pieces.  This is a suggestion of the idea.  It is called a French Braid Quilt - apt I thought seeing as it will be going to France - one day!!







Oh well that's all for now.  Another day I will post about my smaller projects!!

Friday 27 July 2012

Bags galore!!!

Oh well it is time to get down to the first of my retrospectives.  Perhaps beginning with the bags I have created is a good starting point so here goes with 'Bags Galore'.

The second quilting retreat I attended Judy got me hooked on making bags.  I still use that first bag even though it is looking rather shabby these days.



So of course when I came home I had to make another one, which became Kath's bag.


Then came the bag I made for Summer school's silent auction and ended up as Sue's bag!!



The next one went into a silent auction at church and became Lynn's bag.



This was Celia's bag - I call it my daytime / night-time bag.

                             
                                
                                                                      Daytime

                                  
                                                                night-time

This is the bag I made on this year's quilting retreat.

                                

                     
                                                 

Well that's it - I did say bags galore and I'm not sure if I missed one along the way.  And I am making one at the moment for this year's summer school. . . .

Sunday 22 July 2012

My new blog

Well I don't know how this is going to work out but in the last two or three years I have gone from someone who did nothing creative outside of my work life except for maybe a bit of knitting or crochet to someone who can't stop creating and finding new skills.  It began with quilting first and this sort of set me going as I then added creative writing and then painting in watercolour and more recently doodling.

To begin with this might be very retrospective as I look back through various projects until gradually I catch up with myself into posting more current work and projects. But first a backward glance at the variety of stuff I am engaged in (when I am not working as a full time Unitarian Minister that is.)

This was my first real quilt which I made for my mum - it took nearly two years from start to finish but it was worth it. Large quilts still take a long time but I only really have one day in the week when I can get down to sewing.  I have joined a quilting group which is a great help. There will be more pics in another blog to catch up on more current quilt projects.




This was an early watercolour (postcard size) - I just love working in watercolour.  I don't go much with drawing first but tend to just paint straight onto the paper.


W-i-n-d   
 
A favourite time
I remember dad.
Is winding wool
             arms extended
             aching as you wind
             swinging round past outstretched hands

Surely. . . 
               here my love for yarn, began
                         in the feeling of the textures
               as you wound.

I remember when
I did the winding too. . . 
               first tight
               then loose. . .
your gently swaying arms allowing me
                to keep a flow
                a rhythm
                in my winding.

Thank you for this memory, dad.
               another time
                I might have chosen
                to write another wind

but today
               it is winding wool. 

                   -o0o-


This was one of my first poems - written from the scribble of a free write (subject w-i-n-d) in one of Judy Campbell's writing retreats. (That lady has a lot to answer for - she is the one who got me quilting too, and now each year I go on a writng retreat and a quilting retreat with Judy.)  Since those early days I have joined a local writing group which meets once a month and I go when I can to open mike nights when I read some of my own work.  I have started to try and write short stories too and maybe I shall post one of those . . .  sometime!!.


Finally my latest craze is doodling.  My friend Lynn Holland introduced me to this and she really has got something to answer for because I really can't stop doing them.  Sometimes called 'Zentangles' or 'zendoodles', either way they are crazy, fun, therapeutic and totally, totally addictive.







          
 Well that's all for now.  I shall have fun posting on here occasionally.


 


Sure