The end is in sight!

First I would like to say thank you for all the lovely comments you leave here. I really appreciate you calling in and looking at my work.
I find it so interesting to see that many times you prefer the things I think I have got wrong ;0)
So thank you again and I hope you keep calling. It is like having you round for coffee!

Well we get the last of Lenna's lessons today and will learn different ways to make our mini quilts into a book.

These are my last two quilts for this book.
With all the lovely sunshine we have had this week they have a decidedly sunny and beachy feel.



The pattern on the first mini quilt looked so like a row of beach huts I just had to sit my lady outside them sunning herself.
The other lady is sat with her feet in the sea happy with her fishing day.

The top image is a gel transfer to fabric and the second image is printed on cotton.
I have learnt so much in this Mini Quilts class.

Nearly finished!

I struggled with these first two quilts. I'm happier now they are finished but they are not my favourites.

It may have been the fabric I chose to use. In fact I'm sure it was. It is a great piece but really stands alone, I didn't make it better ;0(
But I did learn to do a rolled edge and that was the aim of the lesson.

So long since I did blanket stitch. It was a good exercise and made me realise I should do a little more hand stitching.
Not always easy with these silly hands but a little more would be good.






















I liked this third quilt I want to show you.
I said liked!
Fred (the dog) liked it too.
Actually it was the leather he liked. He thought it tasted very good!
He did look so pathetic when he realised what he had done though.
Funnily enough the quilt was not damaged, neither was the image. He had very carefully pulled off the leather then the image from that.
I have been able to put the image onto another piece of leather but the gems remain missing and Fred and I know it isn't quite the same!

A couple more quilts.

Here are a couple more mini quilts.

I painted the background fabric for these quilts. They are stamped using a stamp I made for my Creative Journey.

The first one has a veil of turquoise chiffon that covers it to over half way.
The second has a silk hydrangea flower as an accent.

I thought the first would be my favourite but actually I love the softness of the second one.

Egytian Influence

These little quilts have an Egyptian theme. They include stamped images on fabric.

The first one has the image printed on cotton and sewn to the background.



The second has an image that is a gel transfer to fabric.
I have never been good at this on paper and could never understand why people raved about the technique. Well when I saw we were going to do this to fabric I laughed.
But Lenna's approach was so easy to understand. I followed her instructions to the letter with great success.


So now I am raving about gel transfers too!

Mini Quilts

I'm doing an online class on Mini Quilts with Lenna Andrews at Joggles.


I am enjoying this as it has got me to put a couple of my favourite things together. Fabric and vintage images.


I have used images like this on paper but not on fabric. I don't know why, other than I don't think I thought of it.

Felt a little weird at first using the collage techniques I have used so often but on fabric instead of paper but I am really loving it now.


These are the first two quilts I have made. They are 5" x 5" and the images are printed on paper.
I have sewn them on to the fabric. The verses are actually glued on as I didn't want stitching on them.

I love the courses offered at Joggles.
They are diverse and well written and give you lots of ideas to have fun and play.

I'm a lucky girl!

This is the gorgeous padfolio that Margaret my swap partner on FAF sent for me.

The pictures do not do it justice.
It is made from the most beautiful velvet dyed in every shade of purple and pink. My favourite colours. It has such a rich an luxurious texture - very, very strokeable.

There is a lovely detail on the top right hand side.
The whole feel of this piece is lush and I will feel very special using it.

Thank you so much Margaret.

Padfolio for Margaret

This is the padfolio that I made for Margaret at FAF.

It's always worrying when you send to someone you don't know very well. Would she like it?
Yay! She did!

I made the cover by laying various sheer fabrics over hand painted cotton. I covered it with a black chiffon scarf and did lines of straight and zig zag stitch on my machine.
I didn't like it, it seemed bland and not my usual colourful type of thing.
It went in the drawer for a few days.

I got it out a week later and zapped it with my heat gun - I really didn't like it!
It looked better then, but not finished.
I layered on more fabrics - not all sheer this time - and some Glitterati for a bit of sparkle. Trapped it all with some Burgundy tulle and sewed lines as before.
The cord is sari silk wrapped with rayon thread on my machine. I even made some fabric beads for the ends of the cord.
Err, they both turned out different and I'm sure I did the same thing. Oh well that is serendipity.
The inside is some cotton I got from the curtain shop in the scrap bin! I think it was quite a find.

Alice in Wonderland

These are the pages I did in Claire's Alice in Wonderland book.



I have always loved this story - although I must admit Through the Looking Glass is my favourite.
Living close to Cheshire most of my life I have always been intrigued by the Cheshire Cat and his smile.


The Mad Hatter's tea party has always reminded me of my own family's parties and gatherings. Just don't ask!

Feeling the needle!

I've been watching with envious eyes the wonderful creations made using the embellisher machines. I just love the textures created.

As there is no way that I can have one of the machines for the foreseeable future I invested instead in a Clover needle felting kit.

What fun!
Just great to get fibres and fabric and punch with the needles and watch the fabric take shape.

When I first started to cross stitch years ago I got such a kick of starting with a blank piece of fabric and putting a design on to it. I got the same kick with needle felting only better.

I made several pieces but liked this one the best. It made these two ATC's.