More bags and a thank you

Before I get to the sewing and my first link up to the 2013 FAL Q4 finishes party with Leanne I'd like to give you all a big THANK YOU. I've been touched by all of your lovely comments (I will get 'round to replying, promise;-), writing that post wasn't easy (hitting publish was even harder) but I'm so glad that I did. Now that I'm better I hope that I can put the last few months behind me and just file it under 'Experiences that make you stronger.' However, we don't think that our family's complete yet so there's the possibility that it could happen again, but at least now I'll know what to look out for!

Anyway, pleasantries over, lets get on with this finish shall we?

Last week I showed you a bag/tote (could someone please explain the difference to me?) that I made for Anwen's friend's birthday.

I'd made the bag out of fabrics that I'd managed to source quite cheaply and thought that if I ever built up the guts to sell some things at a craft fair, something like this would be a good addition. One slight problem - this one bag took me seven hours to make! But I did wander, would making in bulk speed up the process?

Short answer - YES.

Long answer - I made four in 10.5 hours, so that's just over two and a half hours a bag. Still not fast enough to make these a profitable make, but better than seven hours apiece!

A horse for Anwen

So the first one is very similar to the one that I made for Elen although I used a regular quilting cotton instead of a home dec weight fabric and it shows (first lesson learnt)

I quilted this one in the same blue/green variegated Gutterman that I used on Get Shirty. Unfortunately I finished these on December 23rd and needed to get them wrapped asap so couldn't wait for some decent light to take pictures. You'll just have to take my word for it when I say that there isn't enough contrast between the thread and the fabric colour! I raw edge appliquéd a horse from the same fabric as Elen's bag but this time I chose a pink horse and I must say I do like it!

Next

Butterflies for Esyllt

This one's the same size as Anwen's bag but as I didn't like the quilting on that one I decided to change it up a bit. I started off with a variegated pink Gutterman thread and quilted some organic straight lines at varying distances. I then filled in the gaps with different shades of pinks/purples/lilacs in whatever Coats Cotton, Coats Moon, Gutterman and Aurifil threads I could find in my stash.

Close up of the quilting (sorry again about the light)

I must say I really like the effect - it's changed the overall colour of the bag I'm sure that I'll be doing this again. It's just a shame that I couldn't get a decent picture to show you. Just to mix it up a bit and to stop me getting bored of the horses I raw edge appliquéd some fussy cut butterflies from Cocoon by Valori Wells onto the front of the bag and free motioned on some antennae. I only bought half a meter of this fabric but managed to get it into so many projects and I've still got loads left! I have to admit that I'd already fused the butterflies to some Bondaweb and cut them out in front of the telly a few weeks ago so the time taken isn't included in the 10.5 hours it took me to make these bags.

Number 3

Cute little heart bag

Now this one's my favourite. Main reason? The quilting. I used a 12wt variegated cotton by Aurifil (4663) that I got in one of those little sample packs in a giveaway. It's beautiful. The way that it catches the light is magnificent and it just brings the whole bag up a level. I have to get some more of this thread! For this one I just added two little felt hearts that I'd cut using cookie cutters as templates.

Number 4

Beautiful thread

Somehow I managed to forget to take an individual picture of number four but it was exactly the same as number three, I just swapped the colours of the hearts. So instead, here's a close up of the quilting on number three :-)

As I mentioned earlier, I made these as Christmas gifts. Anwen was really pleased when she opened her horse bag as she'd wanted to keep the one that I'd made for Elen.

Anwen gave the butterfly bag to her best friend Esyllt. Poor Esyllt, she was still waiting for her birthday present.....

Remember these UFOs?

Leap pad pouches

Goal number 2 on my FAL Q4 list. I started them in June/July last year and they were meant to be birthday pressies for Anwen and Esyllt who had their birthdays in July/August. I'd used a washable pen to write 'Esyllt' on the fabric before FMQing it but when I went to wash it away it didn't go - it just bled all over the fabric and looked awful. I threw them both to one side and decided to try and do something about it when I was in a better mood. I didn't get around to it - I think that I'd just lost the love for them.

But then, when I was going through my pile of ufos, compiling my Q4 list, I noticed that the blue pen marks had faded considerably and was barely noticeable. So I popped them on the list in the hope that the girls would receive them in the same year as their birthdays!

I only just managed it! After I'd finished making the bags I raw edge appliquéd the butterflies on, quilted some back panels and added a zip and lining.

Esyllt's pouch - Awful, awful zips

They are far from perfect - between the two layers of batting I'd used to give the leap pads extra protection and my lack of experience of making pouches, the zip ends are awful but their fit for purpose and most importantly finished!

Just the right size

As I don't believe in giving empty pouches/bags as gifts I put a little necklace with the appropriate initial pendant with both pouches and put the pouches in the bags (wrapping each layer of course!).

I gave one of the little heart bags to my niece for Christmas and Marged got the other one. She's been carrying it around lots since Christmas - today I even found a reel of dental floss inside it! - but somehow or another I haven't managed to get a picture of her carrying it :-(

All together - good for showing the different sizes - once again I forgot to write down the finished dimensions!

I might as well add one more finish to this post...

Now that horse fabric makes a very nice fussy cut but when I bought it it was with cushions in mind.

Yet another night time photo.

These were a very quick make, one and a half hours from cutting to stuffing (total, not each) and made ideal Christmas presents for Elen and her two sisters. And just to make sure that they didn't fight over which was who's I backed them in different shades of the same dotty print (also a home dec weight cotton) The one shown above is actually a dark purple, it's just the very bad light that makes it look brown, honest! The others were a lilac and a fuchsia pink. If I were to make these again I'd make them slightly smaller so that they's look a little more 'pouffy' but overall, I'm happy with them. I still have quite a bit of this fabric left over - I'm thinking home made lampshades for Christmas 2014?

And that concludes my Christmas sewing. Well, almost. There is the small matter of my Dad's Christmas gift.........(not yet started).

Linking up to Leanne

And because I think that it's a great idea to have a linky party for completed Christmas makes I'm linking up with Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts for Sew Cute Tuesday

2013 - The best and the worst of years

2013. What can I say?

(I must apologise in advance. This is quite an intense post (well it was to write anyway) please feel free to scroll down to the montages of my work below)

It's been a tough year. A very tough year. 

(At this point I feel that I need to apologise for the rambling nature of this post and the standard of my English (and French). English is my second language and although I count myself as fluent I sometimes find it hard to explain myself clearly and struggle to find the right words, especially if there isn't a direct translation from Welsh. This is where the French comes in - sometimes it's just easier to swear!)

I'd been feeling a little down in the run up to my return to work after my maternity leave with Marged. There had been days where I'd cried non stop for no reason whatsoever ALL DAY.

For no reason whatsoever.

Endaf wanted to know what was wrong but I couldn't answer him. There wasn't really anything wrong. I just felt like crying and couldn't stop! I was also constantly tired and was ready for bed as soon as we'd finished our evening meal, this was so unlike me, I'm a real night owl and my neighbours often ask me what on earth I was doing until 3:00am that morning!

This went on for around a month but came to ahead about three weeks after I'd gone back to work. So far I'd managed to keep my 'face' on outside of the house. If I felt that I really needed a cry I would pull over between appointments, have a good cry, get it out of my system, put my 'face' back on and get on with my day. One day I'd had one of these cries on my way to work and was at my first appointment trying to smooth things over between a contractor and a client. Whilst I was talking to the contractor in the kitchen the client called for me from the lounge. I put my 'face' on and turned around.

"Don't you bloody laugh at me!"

That was it. The 'face' slipped and I turned into a blubbering wreck. Luckily I'd known the client for years (hence the way she spoke to me) and somehow I managed to sort things out between her and the contractor (all the while tears were streaming down my cheeks) before driving straight to the office. I gave a short run-down of what had happened to HR and told them that I was going home and that I didn't know when I'd be back!

This had been the kick that I needed to get some help. I managed to get an appointment to see my GP for the same day. She prescribed three weeks off work and that I go back and see her in a week later, after I'd had a chance to cool down and write a list of everything that was bugging me! When I went back to see her she tried to diagnose Post Natal Depression but I wasn't having any of it. Marged was seven months old by the time I started showing any symptoms and I didn't have any of the bonding issues that I associated with PND. I told her that I'd researched my symptoms (depression, tiredness and feeling cold all the time) on-line and I thought that I had Thyroid issues. She tried to talk me out of it but agreed to blood test.

When the blood tests came back normal and after she explained that bonding issues only affected a small proportion of mothers with PND I was willing to accept her diagnosis. She also explained that the most likely reason why my symptoms hadn't surfaced straight after birth was because it had been triggered by changes in my hormone levels when I stopped breast feeding Marged at six months (this was also the time that my lovely pregnancy hair fell out).

I begrudgingly agreed to try a course of antidepressants. WOW! The change was almost instant (despite the doctor warning that it could take a few weeks for them to take affect). I was able to better control my work/life balance and most importantly I had a little energy again!

I've got three draft blog posts (the first was written in June - before I returned to work) where I've tried to explain what was going on in my head, but I've never been able to hit publish.

So why now? Well,

It's been a good year. A very good year.

As hard as the past year has been it's shown me just how lucky I am.

1. I have the most amazing husband. Truly amazing. No I'm serious. The best of the best.

We've always had a bit of an unhealthy relationship in that we never argue. It doesn't matter how much shit I throw at him, he just keeps on standing there, my rock. This has really been tested during the last six months. I was putting so much energy into keeping my mask in place during the day at work and at the school gate that I was exhausted at home. I wasn't particularly nice to the girls but poor Endaf was really getting it in the neck. He was my punch bag (not physically). It didn't mater how much or what I threw at him he didn't run (when I'm sure that many a lesser man would have) and I really wouldn't have blamed him if he had - I was such a bitch to live with!

Instead he cried with me. He would ask what was wrong? What could he do to help? He would try to understand when I shouted back at him that there was nothing wrong. I had the perfect family and the perfect job and absolutely nothing to be depressed about. That was the whole bloody problem!

I've now been off the drugs for three weeks and I'm back to my old self. I still shout at the kids. I still shout at Endaf.  But that's normal for me. I haven't cried for no reason for a few months and I've even  pulled a few all night sewing sessions! (I still feel really cold all the time though! I've gone from the person that used to walk around in winter in a t-shirt to someone that always has a dressing gown on over her woolly jumper. I've been like this since I had Marged - I'm blaming the three infections I got after to the c-section. If you have any other possible explanations I'm all ears!)

We both work in a sector that closes down for Christmas so we've had two weeks at home together. This time together without the rush of getting ourselves and the kids out the door in the morning, the hassle of taking them to all the different after school activities, fighting with them over food/TV/clothes/bedtime (we've been super relaxed over the holidays and let them get away with murder - boy are we going to be paying for it next week!) has been really special and has shown me that although the last few months have been really tough they've bought us closer together and I really don't think that I could love him any more than I do right now!

2. I have the most amazing daughters.

The very lowest point of the past year was the Wednesday before I returned to work. It was half term week so I had both girls home. I was having one of my crying days and Marged wasn't having one of her best days either. At lunch time I couldn't be bothered to wrestle Marged into her high chair so I was feeding her her lunch whilst she was in her baby walker. Anwen came over and moved the baby walker and I lost it. Completely.

"What on earth do you think that you're doing? Can't you see that I'm trying to feed your sister? Why can't you just leave her alone?"

"But Mam, I just wanted to give you a 'cwtsh' because you're sad."

I'm the worst mother ever. My four year old daughter had shown maturity and compassion far beyond her years and I thanked her by shouting at her! Of course I apologised over and over again and tried to explain that Mam wasn't feeling very well and that she was really tired and really, really sorry for shouting at her. I hugged her as tightly as I could and told her how much I loved her and how she was the best little girl in the whole world. She wiped my still flowing tears away.

As much as we tried to shield her from my illness it was sadly unavoidable for this sweet little intuitive girl not to sense when things weren't quite right. More than once, if I was having a bad day, she would ask me "Are you feeling tired again today Mam? Would you like to go to bed?" I mean, she's five years old. She should be playing with her dolls, not worrying about her mother's mental health! But it really is amazing how much of a pick me up a cwtsh and a kiss from this little girl is.

As for Marged. Well, she's just Marged!

The main drawback that I've found of being a working mum is that I seem to spend so little time with Marged (she goes to bed and hour and a half before Anwen) and the time that I do spend with her I'm either trying to feed her, change her or clean up after her so I end up not really spending any time with her at all.

I feel that I've really gotten to know her again during these last two weeks. She's growing up to be quite different from Anwen. She's more independent and will quite happily keep herself and her dolls entertained. She has however got a very mischievous side (when she was born I said that there was a twinkle in her eye that told me she would be trouble) and will make sure that you're watching when she's doing something that she knows she shouldn't be doing and give you a little smile that tells you that she knows that she's being naughty - makes me laugh every time!

3. I've rediscovered sewing!

I've always been a sewer. Even when I hadn't picked up a needle for five years (except to mend) I was still a sewer. It's what you are, not what you do. Still, during 2013 I've rekindled my love affair with patchwork. It all started with Maged's Quilt (although I started it in 2012 I still feel that 2013 was the year that I really fell back in love with sewing). It's been great for giving me some 'me' time when I was feeling low and filled a little void that had been there since I stopped sewing regularly around ten years ago.

4. I've discovered the on-line sewing community.

Although today is the first time that I've really gone into my dalliance with PND (I've previously only mentioned it in one or two comments or in emails) the on-line sewing community really has helped me through the last few months. If only for the opportunity to escape into someone else's world for a few minutes whilst you're reading their blogs, the sweet comments I've received on my own blog/IG feed or the real pick me up from receiving free fabric through the mail!

So again, why write about this now and not last year?

As you can imagine it's very difficult to write about such a personal matter and put it out there where anybody (even my boss - God I hope not!) can find it and read it.

But I've come through it. I went through hell and came out the other side (I hope) a better,stronger person. And I write this in the hope that if someone reads it and something strikes a cord with them they go and ask for help straight away. Don't do what I did and bury your head in the sand. Don't let it get to the point that I let it get to.

There's no shame in asking for help. There is however a great deal of shame in shouting at your daughter for wanting to give you a hug.


Right, onto quilting business. This post was SUPPOSED to be about my year as a quilter. Maybe I can still salvage a bit by showing you a few montages of my 2013 makes:

Completed quilts

1. Anwen's Quilt 1 (finish unblogged) 2. Get Shirty (front) 3. Summer's Little Hen
4. Cara's Quilt 5. Get Shirty (back) 6. Marged's Quilt
7. Cian's Quilt (unblogged) 8. Caleb's Quilt (back - finish unblogged) 9. Caleb's Quilt (front - finish unblogged)

Quilts in progress

1. Kaffe Snowball 2. Ella's Quilt
3. Anwen's Quilt 2 4. House Quilt

Other bits and bobs

1. Echo Bag 2. Lunch Bag 3. Dona direidi 4. Blueberry pincushion 5. Ironing board cover
6. Birthday badge 7. Bright cushion 8. Christmas totes and pouches
9. Horse cushions 9. Angel Dress 10. Horse tote

I actually got a lot more done than I thought I had, although there are quite a few items that I still haven't blogged about properly and as three of them are finishes from my Q4 FAL list I'd better get cracking!

As you might be able to guess, this post took quite a while to write. I actually stated on Janurary 1st with a view to link up to Lynne's Fresh sewing day. What the heck, I'm late for everything else - I might as well be late for this!

And I'm going to link up to her Small Blog Meet to as although I appreciate every single one of my followers, there are definitely less than fifty of you!

I hope to be back soon with a few of those finishes and my list of goals/things I'd like to try for 2014.

Untill then - Keep dancing quilting x

A pre Christmas birthday gift.

Anwen's best friend outside of school (our friend's daughter) had her eighth birthday in early December. Every year I ask "What would Elen like for her birthday?" Every year I get the same reply. "As long as it has a pony/horse on it she'll be happy".

This would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that this is the same reply that everyone gets before her birthday and before Christmas, and with every year that passes I'm more and more concious that there's a chance that I'll get her something that she already has or that someone else will get her the same gift!

With this in mind I've had my eye out for horse themed fabric for months so imagine my delight when I stumbled across this during my Christmas shopping a week before her birthday (how I found myself in a fabric shop whilst Christmas shopping I have no idea ;-)

Stampede (Muti) by Clarke and Clarke

It's a home dec weight 100% cotton and I was sure that I'd be able to rustle up something out of it so I bought 2m at £9.99 a meter.

Around a week later I thought that I'd best get started. I timed myself and over the course of a day it took me seven hours (actual sewing time) to turn a small fussy cut piece of this fabric, some raspberry coloured fabric from Ikea and an old pillowcase into this.

I started by quilting the main fabric backed with a layer of cotton wadding with organic straight lines spaced unevenly apart with a variegated Gutterman Sulky thread. I LOVE the effect that this gave.

I then raw edge appliquéd the fussy cut horse.

Made some piping for the first time in over ten years!

And lined it with an Ikea pillowcase that I got in a car boot sale for a £1 (complete with matching fitted sheet and duvet cover destined for quilt backs)

And then boxed the corners.

And then we had a finished bag/tote!

Which Marged modelled all too happily. (She's walking quite well now, and keeps Mam VERY busy!)

Although it is a little big for her ;0)

All it needed to finish it off were a few horsey themed knick knacks and I was done.

I'd love to be able to say that Elen gushed over this when she opened it but Grandad arrived as she was unwrapping and he had new riding boots! Oh well, you win some, you lose some!

The materials for this came in on quite a low budget which made me think that I might be able to make some to sell (should I ever feel confident enough to sell at a craft fair) but seven hours? For one bag? I really enjoy sewing (read: love sewing) but for me to sell my makes I'd wan't to make at least approaching minimum wage for my troubles! I wander if I could speed things along a bit if I mass produced?........

My little angel

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Mine was lovely, as soon as the day itself arrived, why, oh why do I set myself impossible targets?

There were many VERY late nights in the run up as I'd decided that I wanted to make as many of my gifts as possible. There was also the small matter of an angel to dress!

On Sunday Anwen was an angel in the Sunday School nativity. So on Saturday I started on her dress....

Now this is the third year that Anwen has been an Angel (she's also been a horse (?) and a star - thankfully the school sources their own costumes :-) . The first year (when she was three) I made a ramshackle dress without a pattern out of an old cream sheet. Last year I bought plenty of fabric to make her a new dress but when she tried on her old dress to see how much bigger I needed to go I decided that 'slightly snug' would do and that I'd save myself the bother.

This year there was no doubt that a new dress was needed so a got out an old pattern (Burda - sorry I'm too lazy to go and find it for the name) that I'd previously used to make the bolero Anwen wore to our wedding went went looking for the fabric that I'd bought last year. And I looked, and looked, and looked. Despite having a good tidy up of my stash a few weeks ago I couldn't find the fabric anywhere! I could find a scrap of satiny fabric left over from making a bag to match my wedding dress, but I like an angel dress to be full length - not to the knee! There was nothing for it I would have to make the 60min round trip to my LQS which in reality would mean 2 hours lost sewing time by the time I'd gotten ready (what, you actually brush your hair even if your not leaving the house?) and factored in chatting time at the store.

I decided to call in to the butchers in the village first and then popped into the charity shop opposite to see if they'd had any more vintage sheets in (they had!). Well would you believe it? They had the most disgusting shiny cream sheet! Now how someone could have slept on that was beyond me, but it had definitely been used as the nasty bobbling on one half of the sheet showed. But the other half was pristine! Endaf was most surprised when I arrived home after only twenty minutes!

Despite me not having followed a pattern since making the aforementioned bolero three years ago (with a LOT of help from my mum) the dress came together quite easily until I started putting the zip in....

ummmmm...Don't think it's supposed to look like that!

Out came Mr Seamripper and with a little gentle persuasion we got a result.

Well, as long as you don't look too closely at my top stitching!

As soon as I'd hemmed it we had a little fashion show in the garden.

Please excuse the 'camera smile'

Not too bad, even if I do say so myself! Now you see those wings? It's just a piece of cardboard spray painted gold and edged with some marabou - but can you imagine how big they looked on her two years ago? (She was three at the time!) Oh, and what do you think Endaf found in the bag with the wings in the attic? Only two meters of fabric, what else!

Anyway, we enjoyed the performance immensely, and Marged even managed not drown the kids voices when she was shouting her sister's name!

Just one last picture showing Anwen in front of the pulpit/organ in our beautiful chapel. We really are so lucky to live so close to such a beautiful building with such a strong and healthy Sunday School. x

and we have a WINNER!

So last night I asked husband dearest to pull a name from the hat (or Coco Pops bowl even)...

and doesn't he look ecstatic to be a part of my little giveaway? 

and this is what came out..

just in case you can't read my scrawl in the terrible night time pic is says Katherine.

So it looks like my little charms are going to be crossing the Atlantic to Calgary.

Speaking of those charms, I've spent most of today turning pillowcases into 5" squares

I hate the light at this time of year - believe me the colours are actually a lot brighter that this.

When I took this picture I'd only managed to cut 18 different prints but an afternoon without the kids means that I now have 23 different prints cut into charms and I haven't even started on the sheets themselves! As mush as I want to carry on I have some handmade Christmas gifts that I would like to make so the sheets are going back into the attic until after the big day.

Hopefully I won't leave it quite so long before posting again but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you!

So just in case I don't 'see' you before the 25th

Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda

xxx

Hello again! (and a little giveaway)

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. Congratulations Katherine!

Here we are again, over a month since my last blog post. I could blame myself and the fact that I'm essentially a lazy person, but instead I'm going to blame Instagram :-)

I have actually done quite a bit of sewing and have quite a few things to show but I thought that I'd break myself back in gently with a short post.

Most of you already know that Sew Mama Sew are holding their bi-annual giveaway day/week at the moment. I thought that I'd join in the fun and have my own little giveaway here, after all, I've won a few giveaways in the last few months so it's only right that I give a little back.

So up for grabs I have two generous cut skinny quarters from my vintage Liberty stash and a little stack of 42x5" charm squares cut from my vintage sheet collection (made up of 21 different prints)

I haven't finished cutting them up yet but I wanted to get the picture before the sun went down!,
The charms will be cut from the pillowcase shown.

A closer picture of the Liberty on offer. (for some reason blogger insists on turning the picture upside down!)

What do you need to be in with the chance of winning this little bundle? Leave a comment. Any kind of comment. But if you can't think of anything to say how about sharing what your current vice is? (Mine's vintage sheets - I had a sort out the other night and was quite disgusted with myself when I saw them all together!)

My own little 'vintage mountain'.

I'm not going to actually going to link up with the Sew Mama Sew page as I'm scared that my little blog wouldn't be able to cope with all that attention! I've leave the giveaway open until Saturday nightish (14th December) and then pull a name out of a hat (or some other vessel) and let the winner know via email.

Open internationally.

No reply bloggers need not apply. (not sure what a NRBlogger is? Read this. If in doubt leave your email address in your comment.)

Thanks.

Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2013 - Cara's Quilt

You been on Instagram lately? You completely green eyed of all those lucky enough to make it to Quilt Market in Houston? Me too!

Thankfully, Amy of Amy's Creative Side fame came up with the Blogger's Quilt Festival a few years ago so that all of us mere mortals wouldn't feel that we were missing out completely! I've only been blogging since earlier this year and didn't have anything to enter in the spring festival and to tell the truth I feel as if I'm aiming a little high entering this year but what the heck - it's only a little bit of fun.

Cara's quilt is only the third quilt that I've pieced by machine, second quilt that I've quilted by machine and third quilt that I've actually finished! Taking this into consideration I think that it would be silly of me to enter it into any category where the piecing/quilting would come under scrutiny but there is a category for Quilt Photographer and although I'm under no illusion that I'm a photographer (I take all my blog photos on my phone) I happen to think that the setting that I chose for my quilt shoot is pretty special so I'll give it a shot!

And I was lucky enough to get a pretty beautiful day!

Last year my brother decided that he wanted to start farming. Luckily for him we were bought up on a farm and although my dad had been renting the land to someone else for the last fifteen plus years it was possible for my brother to take over the lease. So when he asked my husband if he could help out with the hay making we all went up as a family and whilst Endaf and Anwen were helping load the bales onto the trailer (or maybe Anwen wasn't helping as much as hindering) Marged and I took Cara's quilt for a little walk around the farm.

We started in the fields

and used some props

It was a beautiful day, boiling hot and the sun was high in the sky and shining brightly - maybe a little too brightly for a quilt photo shoot but undeterred I soldiered on and looked for slightly more shady spots.

Over some logs under a tree

Hanging out at the stables

But the direct sunlight was still finding it's way to the quilt.

and on the grain silo (with my brother's home made gates)

But eventually I found some shade

Very old shed door

Very new shed door

And then went into some of the outbuildings

Like the lambing barn

and the old milking parlour

I really liked the light in the old milking parlour so I took so a close up shot

and found that the tap was really handy for holding a rolled up quilt!

Then went back outside and got another close up showing a little of the piecing and the quilting.

And after the love that I got for this prop last time we stopped to make a phone call on the way home!

So there you are - a little wander around my childhood home complete with quilt picture overkill!

The Stats:
Pattern - my own
Fabrics - Scraps made by miss-cutting fabrics for Anwen's quilt and an unloved cream polycotton sheet
Finished sizs- 57"x 57"
Pieced - by me on my twelve year old domestic Brother
Quilted - by me on aforementioned Brother. The bulk of the quilt was quilted using a crosshatch design that I marked out first. and then I added a little organic straight line quilting.
Backed - with more of the cream sheet

Thread - pieced using a multitude of different threads using up old spools

            - quilted using mainly Coats 100% cotton in cream with a little Gutterman in pink thrown in.

Please remember to pop over to Amy's and visit some of the other blogs that have entered the festival.

And although I actually finished this quilt way back in the summer I'm celebrating the fact that I finally got around to writing a blog post by linking up to 

Over with Jen at Quilter in the Closet this week