I love English paper piecing

I had almost forgotten about this blog...

Lots has happened... new cat, 

new business which keeps me very busy! 

And on a personal level there have been good times, dark times and in between times...

and in the dark times I have an overwhelming need to sew 

so I resurrected an English Paper Piecing UFO...

Here are the progress photos...

My helper is always on hand...

It's a top now, but I haven't photographed it yet...

(as I have already moved on to another project (or two) :)  )

#stayhome makes

I used this pattern https://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/make-it-oversized-pouf-inspired-by-west.html , but obviously in a smaller size 

Binding bonding

Sewing the binding on a quilt 

when this little guy decided to squeeze in for a snuggle.

(I now have 3 Abyssinian cats, 

my favourite breed.)

#stayhomeandquilt

#stayhomeandsew

My son wanted to do some more appliqué.

He designed his own logo on illustrator,

Picked his fabrics from my stash,

found a suitable old t-shirt 

and used my machine...

Afterwards he took a photo 

and seemed very pleased with his new skill.

Rainbows #stayhome

My eldest son (15) and I

made a rainbow for the window.

He wants to learn to appliqué 

so I thought we could start with this rainbow

as a way to get used to my machine and the technique.

Now he has plans for more!

The cat on the quilt

This shows the quilt better, but not the cat. 

He has taken to sleeping on our bed a lot 

since we have all been home so much. 

I am yearning to make another triangle quilt, 

but I have so many other quilts to finish!

Today on the machine

Freehand leaves (my new favourite freehand pattern) 

on a friend’s quilt. 

My friend is making this quilt for her sofa.

 She has fallen out of love with it, 

but I am hoping that she will like it again when it is quilted! 

Quilting really makes a quilt IMHO 

The quilty cat knows a lot about that

That staying in stuff.

Here he is pictured on (mostly the back) of one of my favourite quilts.

It gets rotated on our bed with another favourite

#StayHome & Quilt

Sheep baby quilt.

I used a double layer of wadding/batting

to make it more snuggly.

Quilted with freehand loops and hearts

because I love babies....

Just the binding to do now...

... I appear to have plenty of time in my hands for that 😩

Freehand Leaves

Perhaps if I post from my phone, I might blog more?

Longarm quilting very freehand leaves....

Sewing for the Whirling Dervish

I have been dabbling with a bit of clothes sewing for my daughter.

I haven't done this in a long time as she didn't wear any of the previous stuff I made 

and I actually really don'y have the time, 

but occasionally I have to do something other than work or household chores...

I made her 2 pairs of shorts, but she is not keen on them. Even with pockets!

Then I saw this yellow cat fabric and thought that it would make a nice little something...

The dress pattern is from The Great British Sewing Bee,

a free pattern from the Daily Mail many moons ago....

The dress is a hit... a fudged the zip as I didn't have an invisible one, 

so I just used a regular one that I had to hand. 

And I didn't quite follow any instructions 

to get the zip in, but it works and she loves the dress. 

She has a party this week and if she hasn't worn it out by then, she plans to wear it.

Now to use some fabric from my stash and try something else...

Auction Of Promises

I started this blog many moons ago 

so that I could keep my Mom up to date 

with a few things, 

one being my hobby...

Somehow, since she died I just haven't felt the urge to blog 

and I haven't had the time to sew like I used to...

I now work full time, 

have 3 kids and pursue other hobbies 

which are time consuming including 

photography and wine tasting ;)

BUT, I finished this quilt recently

and decided to donate it to my children's junior school 

for their 'Auction of Promises'

so here is a quick pic with the snowdrops 

before I drop it off...

*****

Today would have been my Mom's 78th Birthday.

Quite fitting, that I did manage some longarm-quilting for a friend, 

but more on that if I manage to blog again :)

Rainbow Hearts Baby Quilt

A little quilt I made for a friend's granddaughter...

Brrummm brummmm.... Tractor Baby Quilt

I had a lovely time delivering this quilt today 

to a friend for her new baby.

I had made her another quilt that was a bit more 'neutral', 

but when I heard she had had a little boy....

Well! It had to be a tractor quilt!!

I longarmquilted it freehand

on my Nolting pro-24 machine with stars and loops...

And then I took a few photos as he gave it a trial run...

He is the sweetest little thing,

and his mother is under strict instruction 

that she can use it however she pleases

as it is completely washable and squash-able 

and made for use.

Every Quilt Tells a Story

Some more Longarming.... 

This time a gorgeous quilt, that has a sad yet beautiful story behind it... 

This quilt will be raffled soon to raise money for a Hospice 

where the initial blockmaker was cared for in her final days. 

The unfinished blocks were put together to make this lovely quilt 

at a later date by a very kind and wonderful quiltmaker 

and she asked me to longarm quilt it.....

I borrowed the quilt back to photograph it

and I hope I have done it justice.

Sometimes I do Quilt...

I have been so busy of late...

I changed jobs to focus on my photography

and ended up doing more than I planned!

Hopefully that will all calm down soon

and I can just take photos and make quilts...

In the meantime...

here is a photo of a quilt 

that I longarm-quilted for a friend. 

I took the photo on the patio of another friend.

One has to love sunshine and good friends!! :)

Work in Progress - Rainbow Hearts

I love making these hearts...

Now to work on a layout

Wordless Wednesday - New Project - Heart Block

Wordless Wednesday - Baby on her gifted quilt

The Night Shift

Late night quilting! 

I am just back from a late night shift at my studio

trying to catch up with customer quilts. 

I drive to my studio after the kids are in bed, 

quilt until I can't anymore, come home and get ready for bed 

so that I can get up in the morning to get the kids to school and me to work. 

My days are too short!!!

This customer quilt has been made by a lady 

who trusted me to longarm quilt 4 other of her gorgeous quilts 

that were needed by Christmas and this last one was made up with blocks 

started by a fellow quilter who sadly passed away recently.

 I believe this quilt is to be raffled to fundraise for the hospice 

that cared for the fellow quilter in her last days. 

Every quilt does indeed tell a story. 

This one of loss, of friendship and of the threads that bind us together 

if we are prepared to find inspiration in each others creativity.

I am still grieving, perhaps I shall grieve forever, 

but I shall also always create!