Down a Country Lane

Recently I was lucky enough to be given this old embroidered picture. It was worked by a relative of mine sometime in the early 1960's. The image would have been ironed onto the fabric from an embroidery transfer, as was usual at that time.
The stitching may have been slightly squashed by the glass, but I don't think that detracts from the picture.

At first glance it seems almost naively done, but if you look at the way the walls and thatching have been filled in with solid stitching, I think that shows real skill.

And just look at the flowers!

I think it's a lovely vintage piece, and the family connection makes it extra special.

These are my pink and brown blocks so far:

Really it's pink, brown and cream/beige. I've also put in some pale yellow to "act" as cream. The pattern I'm using is called Tintype by Liberty Star. It won't be very big, only 30 x 40 inches. A nice size for what is really an exercise in colour. These will be 5 inch blocks.

The weather has been a lot cooler here in the last couple of weeks. I like that sense of a new start that comes in September, and it's so nice to wear something cosy and be comfortable.

This creeper grows up the front of our house. We have to cut it back to some extent every year, so it doesn't get too high and start growing on the roof. In September before the leaves fall, the colour changes from green to bright pinky-red.

Thinking Small

I do find myself drawn to small quilts lately. This one is only 9 inches square.
I thought about hand-quilting it but I find it difficult to hand-quilt through a lot of intersecting seams, so I just machined it. I think the diagonal lines complement the patchwork.
When it was finished I realised I'd put two of the same blue spot print close together, but never mind. Too late now! The pattern is from Small Quilts for Framing by Jo Morton. I'm not planning to frame it though.

It's just right for some very small people to sit on.
Say cheese!


These are a few of many I made for my two girls in years past. The bunny on the left is a bit more recent. The patterns were by various designers but I think most of these were by Farmyard Creations.

Here are some pictures from my rain-soaked garden this morning.

Have a great weekend:)

Pink and Brown

I've been thinking for a while now about making a quilt in predominantly pinks and browns. These are my fabrics sorted into lights and darks, with a few mediums thrown in on either side. Actually I think I've got more browns than pinks.
I also like the idea of a blue and brown quilt.

On a different subject, I've seen the book Sew Pretty Homestyle on a number of blogs recently, and I decided it was a necessary addition to my library. It's beautifully photographed and has some very pretty ideas.
I wanted to try out the fabric rose pictured on the cover, and wondered if it would work in wool felt. Here it is on my denim jacket.

I shortened the pattern for the small rose by a couple of inches so it would fit on my piece of felt, then gathered and rolled it according to the instructions. The petals are folded back to give a softer look. I held a steam iron close to it for a few minutes, without letting the iron touch the felt. I don't know if this will help set the folds, but that was the idea:)
I pinked the edges of my leaves so they would be serrated like a real rose.

Folk Hearts

I went to a quilt show this morning, but it was so unimpressive that I'm back already. The Harrogate show is easy for me to get to, only a 40-minute drive, and the Harrogate area is very pleasant, but I have to say I thought the show was rubbish. (That is in no way any reflection on the individual quilts on display.) A few years ago it always seemed really good, but now sadly it does not justify the £8 entrance fee.

The photo is my finished Welcoming Heart pillow. This is my version of it. On the original pattern the heart applique is a pocket for dried flowers, and it's intended to hang. Mine is all flat applique and will be a cushion (as long as no-one actually sits on it and squashes it, lol).

I made this pincushion using a pattern from the same book:

I added some buttons to mine. It was quick to make and I was pleased with the way it turned out. The centre heart is from a piece of hand-dyed cotton velvet I bought at a general needlecraft show a few years ago. I knew it would come in useful one day!

Crocheting and Other Things

Here's my latest crochet, two potholders, this time new ones for my own kitchen, if I can bring myself to use them!
A potholder is a really fun thing to make if you want an instant gratification project, because you have colour combinations and stitch patterns, all on a small scale.
For anyone who is interested in the patterns, the square one is from Heirloom Thread Potholders by Annie's Attic, except I made a straightforward double-sided one instead of the "pocket" version in the pattern. There are lots of nice ones in that book. The watermelon one is from Kitchen Basics in Cotton published by Leisure Arts.
I used 4-ply cotton for both of these, but I used it doubled for the watermelon.

This is some wool applique I started on last week. It's the Welcoming Heart pattern from Folk Heart Threads by Need'l Love. I'd forgotten how much I like wool applique! Once you start doing it it's difficult to stop.

And I've just taken these muffins out of the oven, made with blueberries from our garden. The recipe is from San at Gypsy Quilter. I haven't had one yet but they look and smell lovely.

The NEC and Retail Therapy

On Saturday we took a trip to the Festival of Quilts at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. This photo was taken outside the entrance to the halls where the show was held.
It was about two hours' drive to get there, but worth it to see so many quilts beautifully displayed in one place.

Here are just a couple of shots of the exhibition.

There were lots of vendors there, and it would have been wrong not to take the opportunity to stock up on fabrics. Here's my pile of goodies.

The two reels of thread are a shade I use quite a lot in machine quilting. It blends in with mid-tone fabrics and doesn't stand out too "white" against dark colours. (The patchwork in the background is a tablerunner.)

Sometime this week I'll wash them all. Do you pre-wash? It's a process I enjoy. I like to see pieces of fabric pegged out on the washing line.

I'm not usually too keen on ironing clothes or sheets, but ironing fabric is different! I take my time and have a proper look at it, and read what it says on the selvage. I cut off all the straggly frayed threads from the sides and make a pile of them on the end of the ironing board, and then think how nice the different coloured threads look all together.

Maybe I need to get out more:)

Have a great week.

Tagged (not really)

Not much to show you this week, but I did decorate this tag to go on a friend's birthday present. I made her a card last year, so this is the year of the tag.
It was a fun exercise playing with all those different textures. I might make more of these.
The letter K is cut out of wool. I was determined to include some rick rack in it somewhere.


The Laundry stitchery in my last post is one I made a couple of years ago for my utility room (laundry room). It was from a book called The Blue Book by Diane Arthurs. It was intended to be done in blue but I did mine red:) I can't remember where I got my copy of the book from, but Colonial Crafts have it listed in their Stitchery section.