Sneaking in under the wire

I had planned to write this post last week, stuff happened yada yada blah blah blah, you don't want to read a load of waffle. Neither do I want to type it. Not when I have the most stunning of stunning quilts to share with you.

Of course you may think, she's being rather conceited about her own quilt, but its not my skill that has added anything to this quilt, nay a mere child could have prit-sticked this quilt together and it would still be a looker. All because of the fabric and one lady, Heather Ross.

HR hoarders the world over will know exactly where I am coming from. If you love this fabric I really think you can do no wrong with it. Which is why I decided to make this quilt as simple as I could, by having no plan other than using as much of my precious stash as I could in the most economical way so as not to waste any of 'my precious'.

 

These fabrics have been secreted away, slowly added to by little splurges here and there and furtive swaps with good friends that at times felt akin to a drug deal, such was the rarity of the goods I was trying to get my hands on.

I took each piece of HR fabric, trimmed it to be square if it was not, removing only the bare minimum and then set to work framing each piece with random sized strips of other favourite designers until I reached a 12" block. Perhaps that is why I love this quilt so much. It might be simple with no plan other than to use my very favourite fabrics of all. It was painful at times to cut into fabrics held onto for so long. But the pain is worth the immense pleasure I now have of seeing them all together all the time, not hidden in a shoe box for 'one day'.



It seemed only fitting to finish this one off with some hand quilting action! Size finished is 72"x84" and I used a new to me wadding, eco cloud, a 70/30 blend from The Fabric Guild and I really liked it.



I have decided to make this quilt my very first entry into the Bloggers Quilt Fesitval because just perhaps if I love it someone else may too! So I have entered it into the large quilt category and i'm looking forward to joining in!

Screen Printing With Jane Foster

Last week I treated myself to an incredibly indulgent day....a full day workshop with the amazing Jane Foster, she of the screen printing talent!

I was so excited, I never really do anything like this, too busy teaching people myself and trying to earn money to be a pupil, but boy was it fun!

I went armed with pages of ideas and inspiration but I knew from the off what I really wanted to print.



Well it seemed only apporpriate, especially as I own several of them!

I added a little more detail, ate more cake and got set to printing.

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And I just kept going, it was addictive!



I went along with my very good friend Nicola and I think we both had the best time we've had in ages.



Jane was so lovely! Really inspiring and full of ideas and great tips and I really felt that when I left at the end of the day I was almost an expert ;-)

The workshop space was amazing, bright and roomy with bucket loads of inspiration and Janes makes covering every surface.  Honestly, I asked if I could move in! She has done a little write up on our workshop over on her blog.

Of course I couldn't leave without a copy of Jane's book, its brilliant!

Overall a very happy Emily went home that day! I do have a few pieces from the day for sale, if you are interested it is for a VERY good cause ;-)

I am have been working my little socks off for months, saving like a demon for a new sewing machine so I have better capacity on the quilting frame, I'm even not going to FQR in an effort to save (boohooo). I am really close to having enough.

So it seems only appropriate that I should sell sewing machine printed goodies to fund a new sewing machine!

I have two white tote bags and one pink bag for £6 each plus postage. I also have one panel left (the one pictured in the second photo below, £6 (which includes postage). If you would like anything just send me an email to emilylevey@yahoo.co.uk or comment below.

clearing a backlog

I have a problem, its a common complaint, with constant minor irritating symptoms, its called WIP.

I hate WIP, which for a quilter is quite a difficulty! I've been swamped under with work recently (not complaining) and very had little time to sew (much complaining). So with the bank holiday looming and a heck of a lot of planning and paperwork working done for a few days at least I am going to be pulling my finger out and cracking on with as much as I can!

First up is my Heather Ross quilt. I am so excited to get this done and be able to use it. After years spent collecting, stashing, swapping, secreting away in special hidden places, and ahem, begging, I am not prepared to wait any longer to use this quilt.




So I loaded it onto the frame last night and I have started to hand quilt it.




With very large crosses through each of the 12" blocks, I am calling it naive quilting, because honestly it just sound better than 'quilted in a hurried slapdash manner so I could use it quicker'. But also because I want a nice soft drapey squishy quilt when its all done.



So with a little masking tape to keep me straightish and a huge ball of cotton perle I shall have this quilt done by the end of the bank holiday! There is also the small matter of binding it, the second sleeve I want to knit to finish my cardigan on the needles and a little treat that's going to keep me busy tomorrow!

Hope you all have a productive and happy bank holiday weekend, I'll see you on the other side! Who knows I may actually find time to take real photos with a real camera instead of using grainy instagram ones!