Slow Stitching - Shapes

While we can't get together for our meetings (it's been a year since our last monthly meeting because of Covid19) we have been sending out a regular email to Flowerpatch Quilters members with any news and a monthly challenge. For February I devised a mini slow stitching workshop that everyone could do, or not, as they liked, at home. I really enjoyed doing it myself and completed six 6" blocks.

My own idea of slow stitching is that when you start you have no clear plan in mind and just let the applique and hand stitching grow. The most difficult bit is actually getting started! For that reason I suggested cutting out a circle; square or rectangle; and a triangle and sewing these to the background. The full instructions / suggestions can be found in my printer friendly pdf file - Slow Stitching Mini Workshop

I have sewn my six blocks together with thick thread to make hinges. They can now be hung vertically in a single line, or folded concertina fashion making a "book". This is closed with a strip of cute house fabric and a button. To make this work I sewed three buttonholes in the strip and as I do very little normal type sewing, this was scary and exciting for me. :) I don't know why I was concerned - I just pressed start and the machine beeped when it was finished - I love my new machine!

This pic shows my blocks and on the back you can see the strip hanging down. The top of the strip has one of the buttonholes as a hole to slip over a nail or hook.

And this pic shows them folded into my "book" -  neat and tidy.

All in all a very enjoyable project - so much so that I've now started on slow stitching concertina book 2 with the theme of flowers.

Happy Stitching - Anita x

Connections A4 Quilts

 Like many I really missed going to Quilt exhibitions last year with every one cancelled from the Spring. My friends and I always go to the one held at Westpoint in Exeter, by Grosvenor Shows, at the very least. Each year they do a journal quilt challenge and we often enter a pair of A4 quilts, but sadly these were only displayed at one or two shows. Here are the two that I entered for the competition:

"Connections" immediately made me think of all the ways that we talk to our friends and family, and exchange ideas, photos etc. I'm sure you recognise all the symbols.

Below this are some smart phones with their screens lit up.

Then there are the connections we make when we press the on switch and the buttons we use to control DVDs etc

And below these are a bank of batteries and their connecting wires

The 2021 Journal Quilt Challenge has been postponed until 2022 and the title is "Home".

Lots of time then to think of something good to sew - Anita xx

Slow Stitching Circles

I've had a lovely time stitching circles and half circles in the evenings as in my previous post. I didn't really want to stop! They are all raw edged, with lots of embroidery, and thicker threads couched down around the edges, etc. The most difficult bit has been deciding what to do with them - to display them nicely. I did wonder if a simple regimental positioning would be best ..... and I'm still wondering, but I settled on a sort of vase of flowers.

I started by pinning a few rectangles of cream fabric on some calico, backing it with wadding, and then quilting from top to bottom with wavy lines. I thought the applied fabric would make the background a little more interesting but they don't really show up much. I appliqued the circles onto the calico, sewed the stems, appliqued on the vase and then sewed the thin wiggly lines in brown. The stems are thick green cotton thread which is couched down, and the wiggly lines are whipped straight stitch.

Here are a few pics of the individual "flowers"

And the vase.

The half circles sewn to the top and bottom of the vase were originally intended as leaves, but they morphed!

This was a really enjoyable experience apart from all the decision making once the circles were sewn - sometimes you feel that you haven't got another decision in you! That's when sewing gets put to one side, and may never re-emerge! :)

Happy Stitching - Anita x

Recycled Denim Bags

It's always the knees of denim jeans that wear out and after patching one time, enough is enough. I usually save the backs of the legs for future patches and sometimes the denim pile builds up so that I can make a bag ...... or two.

I made two bags before Christmas.

This first has a panel of appliqued red leaf shapes on the front, which I have embroidered. I sewed a flange of red and yellow striped fabric around the panel and used the same fabric for the long handle. The bag has a zip closure at the top, just like a pouch and a boxy bottom.

The back of the bag has a handy zipped pocket.

This second bag is a tad more sedate and the panel has appliqued circles, a fabric insert and white hand stitching.

Again, the back has a zipped pocket.

These are links to two previous post about similar bags:-

2 Sashiko Bags and More Sashiko - More Bags

Happy New Year to you all - 2021 must surely be better than 2020!!?? - Anita xx

Snowman and Robin

It's almost Christmas day and despite all the awfulness of this past year, I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll never grow up!!

I did do a little sewing this year for Christmas and some lino printing, too. This is my second attempt at the "Let it Snow" Snowman.

I enjoyed making the first one so much and was so pleased with the result, that I wanted to do another straightaway, but this time using the sewing machine to do the applique.

This is my first Snowman with the applique sewn by hand

and side by side to compare.

Can you see the difference in his face? I have changed the shape of the carrot nose by adding a curve at the base, and then given him some eyes - I like him so much more.

This is a link to a printer friendly line drawing in case you'd like to make your own Snowman. It has the original carrot nose and no eyes. - Let it Snowman  .He'd look lovely in Redwork.

As usual I lino printed some of my Christmas cards. I love the process and Christmas gives me the excuse to have a go. This year I printed a robin in 2 colours. They look so jolly all lined up on the kitchen table as they dry.

This pic shows the first printing and the finished robin.

I also printed a robin on some fabric and this one is on some soft packaging which feels like a cross between paper and fabric. I added a fabric breast (a bit too dark) and stitching, then went a bit OTT with the borders!

Another year fast approaches and let's hope for better times for everyone - Anita xx

Book of Flowers

 I'm forever trying out new to me things in sewing and I end up with lots of "experiments" which I want to keep, if only for future reference. I decided to turn some of them into a book - a bit like a sketchbook.

One of our challenges at Flowerpatch Quilters this past year has been called "Meadowsweet" so this is my cover.

Inside we have some machine embroidered seed heads

A couple of stitchings over a lino print of the amazing hollyhocks I had growing by my bird table in the summer

A lake scene with yellow flags in the foreground and more seed heads

Finally this is the back which was a fun picture of my back garden that I sewed after getting a new sewing machine - I had so many different stitches to try out!

Every time I make a book I seem to find a different method to put it together. This time I sewed  two of my individual pictures back to back, zig zagging around the edges. This made 4 pages with a design on both sides. Then I sewed two pages next to each other sewing on some tape, front and back, to make a hinge. The same for the other two pages so that I now had two signatures. Finally I stitched through the hinges to join the signatures.

Notice how I have sewn to the side of the centre line so that my book closes easily and the pages meet nicely at the edge. Amazingly it worked a treat and was simple to do.

These are the links to the two other fabric books that I have made:

Love to Stitch book

Seasons Book

Happy Stitching - Anita x

Fabric boxes and Invisible zip

I am loving making these simple fabric boxes

 - so much so that I have to tell you about the super tutorial on Tina Craig's "Seaside Stitches" blog. It's written so well. This is the link: Fabric Box Tutorial . I'm sure you'll want to make some too!

I made all mine starting with an 8" square and I sewed the corner triangles at 1.5". They measure 3" x 3" x 2.5" high. This one is linen with wood slice buttons.

Another thing that I have been reading about online is how to put an invisible zip into a cushion and I really wanted to have a go. I already had one side of a cushion cover made. It's a little strange as it was mostly made from some leftover blocks of a quilt, which I cut up and sewed back together again. That's why it was put to one side for some months. By using an invisible zip closure both sides of the cushion can be the front - if you see what I mean, so I set about making another side for my cushion cover.

This is my finished cushion showing the side that I made most recently. I sewed the circle blocks by reverse machine applique using the freezer paper method.

and, do you really want to see the other side? Well here goes

I think the best bit about my cushion is the amazingly good job I made of putting the zip in - it being my first attempt. :)

I followed the brilliant tutorial on Sew Katy Did and followed Katy's advice to go back and re sew closer to the zip teeth. This is the link to the tutorial - Invisible zip

There's always something new to try in sewing - Anita x