Owlish

Who can resist a cute little owly? He could be made in so many different colour combinations. He is just 3" tall and can even stand unaided.

I used various old dk from stash. The most difficult thing for me was getting the beak right. It took me several attempts to come up with a beak I thought was half-decent! But that's just me and my nit-picking of my own work. What's not to love about this pattern? It's from Etsy seller Amanda Berry who has several lovely animal patterns to choose from. I found the pattern very clearly written and super-accurate.

The embroidery in the background is an ongoing project I can hardly put down. For a while now I've been thinking about doing some "vintage" embroidery from an authentic old transfer. If you're a long-time reader of my blog you will know I can mull over an idea in my mind for months or even years before I actually start it! That was the case with this.

The transfer was one of a job lot bought on ebay some years ago. If you're interested in old transfers, ebay is worth checking out. It was fairly scruffy and tattered at the edges but the hot iron process did work, and it only needed minor touching up with a permanent pen. My stitches aren't perfect but I think that's all part of the character of this type of embroidery. Cottage gardens full of flowers are what it's all about.

Whatever you're doing this weekend, have a lovely Bank Holiday.

Birds

Birds have featured in a few of my projects over the years. Some of them are perhaps looking a bit dated now!

These two are from my folk art phase.

This one is several years old, but I recently gave it a makeover with a scrap of lace and a tiny glass button, and I like it better now.

An applique bird. . .

. . . birds in cross stitch. . .

Once I even tried my hand at a painted bird.

My latest bird is a knitted one in lovely Baby Cashmerino.

(Pattern by Sandra Polley.)

Just a Note

Edit: The instructions for the book cover and embroidery are in Samples From the Past Part 1, published by Blackbird Designs in 2000.

It's not very big, only about 4" x 6", and that's so it can easily fit in my bag. Before this one there was a different one which got full, but one book lasts me a long time, and this one's been going quite a while.
The cover was simple and straightforward to make. The embroidery design is an early Blackbird Designs pattern.
I use this book for jotting down creative ideas and notes I want to remember. It's not a journal of what I've made, but more of a place to keep ideas and possibilities. It might be something to make, measurements of a piece of furniture, something I've seen in a magazine, or just ideas for colour combinations.

There are some pictures from magazines cut out and glued in, but it's mainly notes and drawings. Loose pieces of paper can be tucked inside the front and back covers, and sticky notes can be added to the pages. Any little idea I want to keep in mind and not lose, goes in the book.

At the back of the book I write down quotations I've heard or read which appeal to me. Here's one I like by Christopher Morley:

"There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way."

Do you keep a notebook?

Washing Machine Trouble

I've been waiting in today for the washing machine repair man. Don't you hate that?
The problem was the door lock. A load of washing was stuck in there for four days and I couldn't open the door. Anyway he's fixed it now - apparently the door lock mechanism had come loose. I had to pay an exorbitant callout fee, and within a minute of him leaving I had the machine newly loaded and now it's humming away, after being unusable for four days in the heat. Sigh of relief.

It's been too hot to do any sewing and I've no current project to show you, but I've been taking some garden photos.

A lacecap hydrangea in dappled shade. This moved with us in a pot from our previous house, and now it's planted out in semi-shade.

Globe thistles always attract a lot of bees.

I don't know the proper name for these, but to myself I call them "giant daisies", lol. They were here when we moved in and they are good for cutting.

I've been asked to help spread the word about a new quilt swap. I'm a bit late with it but if you haven't heard about it and think you might be interested, check it out: Four Seasons Quilt Swap

Hollyhock Projects

After my last post I was thinking about hollyhocks as a design motif, and remembered I actually had some past projects featuring hollyhocks.

This is a wallhanging I made back in 1998. I know that because I made a label for it! A good case for labelling your quilts with the date.

How could I forget about this? It's on my kitchen wall and I see it every day!

The pattern was from Patches and Posies by Teri Christopherson. The applique is fused and hand blanket-stitched. This was before I got my Bernina. The machine I had then didn't do a blanket stitch, but I think I would have done this by hand anyway, because it's such a small quilt. I did have a walking foot for that machine, and there is minimal machine quilting on this.

It was fun to make. I particularly like the sun applique at the top.

This stitcherty with hollyhocks is from a Crabapple Hill pattern. It was one of a series and I did most of them. I should really do something with them. They were intended to be made into a quilt, but I can imagine them framed or incorporated into other projects.

Quilt Show Goodies

We had a fun day out on Saturday. My husband took me to the Spring Quilt Festival at Linton near Cambridge.
They have quilt shows there every year in March and November. It's quite a distance to travel, but it's worth it to me to do some shopping, as there is hardly anything in the way of fabric shops where we live. I usually buy my quilting fabric from quilt shows or over the internet.
The show was well attended, and it's always very interesting to look at the quilts on display. There were lots of vendors there, and I spent some money and bought these fabrics.

These aren't for any specific project, they're just for stash! Don't you love that big spot print?

Some finished projects to show you:

The pink crochet scarf and the bunny ornament I posted about a couple of weeks ago. . .

. . .and this fancy potholder for my kitchen. I'm pleased with the way this turned out. I used 4-ply cotton.

My husband says it reminds him of Cornishware pottery.

Multi-tasking

It's been a busy few days craft and sewing-wise.
I finished the purple crochet scarf and started another one in pale pink for my other daughter, the older one, whose favourite colour is PINK in all its forms.


I put some straight lines of quilting in on my quilt, so now it is stabilised and I can do the rest of the quilting at my leisure.

And I've been cross-stitching this sweet bunny and carrot design to make into a spring decoration.