Feed Sacks....

I think I might have told you but last year I went on holiday to Oregon, USA. Whilst I was there I visited an amazing patchwork shop called Tater Patch and they had just the most amazing range of fabrics. What I was really looking for was feedsacks. Those 1930s style ones that people used to make into quilts; I thought they would be easy to pick up but when I was chatting to the ladies there, they said that quilting fashion had moved on from feedsacks and that there really weren't that many about these days. Then just as I was leaving the shop, one of the ladies suddenly asked me to hang on a mo. She ran downstairs and came back with 7 feedsacks. They weren't of the 1930s vintage but they were very pretty, cotton fabrics. She gave them to me as a gift and I have been trying to decide what to do with them!

Guess what.....my latest favourite magazine came up trumps again!

This design would showcase the fabrics but also would have a bit more interest than plain squares. First job was to unpick the stitching on the sacks.Oh boy, that took ages! And this is how I know these are not very old sacks as the thread was a synthetic fibre that melted when I ironed it! That done I had 7 lovely big pieces of fabric so I cut out all my bits and also sashing from some plain white I had bought.

I love to see all the "kit" for a quilt laid out, ready to go! Next I assembled the blocks; 9 of each design.

Finally I laid them out, following the pattern in the magazine and stitched them all together with the white sashing. By now it was nearly midnight and I had spent 12 hours on it (with a break to cook and eat dinner).

So there is the top! All done. I have NO idea what to back it with but I am thinking a white quilt in our house is NOT going to be a good idea! I love the way the feedsacks really feature. So there we have it: 3 quilts in 3 weeks (even though this isn't quite finished!)I think I might rest my poor machine for a bit now. Need some more supplies but Sandown is soon......

Oops I did it again.....!

Yep, I did that "oh I can do that, only take me an afternoon" thing again. Took me 4 days! But here is the final creative thing I made in my Easter Holidays. I was inspired by this front cover,

and this Pin on Pinterest. So I clambered off to the loft again and had a good old tidy up of all the trousers I have ever collected putting coloured ones in one suitcase, black ones in a fruit box and all the blue ones in a MASSIVE box. Then I made my selection of the largest and plainest pairs.

Then I had to plan my version

Next job was drawing around my circle template which I did in biro so it would show up. As this was going to be inside it wouldn't show!

This was where the slow bit started; it took me over 4 hours to hand cut out all those circles! 140 of them!

I then drew around my square template on top of the circle and used this as the stitching line to sew my circles together

A fair bit of ironing was required after each row and then I tucked my fabric squares into the pressed circles and stitched them down with a long, wavy zig-zag stitch

I mistakenly thought this would be super quick to put together but I added fabric after I had joined each row of circles and that meant that at the end I then had to turn the quilt through 90 degrees to do the other two sides of the square.

I bought a pack of 6 fat quarters in paisley to be my middles and they all pull it together quite nicely. So finally after 3 days machining and over 1000m of navy thread (yes really that much!) it is done! I love the back with the different denims and the faint wiggles...

And it looks great next to the other denim one too! I think of them as "Circles In, Circles Out!"

And as an extra bonus, some of those zig-zagged edges are going to go all lovely and frayed with use.....

More Easter things...

First I can show you our Easter Bunny....

He quite liked eating my Easter Tree! I have been whizzing on and now I have finished my 6 crochet squares too.

I have also made myself a skirt! This was quite easy but I did learn a new skill; how to put in an invisible zip. I have put zips in before but not invisible ones and I was quite pleased with how "invisible" it ended up!

I did have a panic when I had nearly finished and held the skirt up against me...it looked like it was going to be far too small! Luckily when I tried it on it was a perfect fit...especially as I am now loosing weight.. With a few more pounds off it will be even better.

Last thing to show you tomorrow I hope!

Getting square eyes?

Done some more of my crochet squares...you know, the REALLY bright ones. I am onto this months 16. Here are Linda's choice:

The one with the little squares took ages! These are Burnice's choice:

Now just got my 6 to do! Then I will be up to 54 out of the 100 we are planning! Oooo I am getting a lot of creative things done this hols. Got some more dressmaking under way too.....

A sideways move?

I LOVE the holidays! SO much time to do what I want to do! Especially now my littlies are biggies and don't require entertaining! So as well as my quilt I have ventured in dressmaking... A few weeks ago this magazine came free with a Sunday paper

In it was this dress using stretch fabric

I have never used stretch fabric before and in fact, apart from a brief excursion into making a skirt last year (which ended up too big really), I haven't done any dressmaking since I was at school! First I had to download the pattern and glue it all together. Loved doing this!

Then I pinned it all on to the fabric. I managed to get some very cheap at Fabric Land for my first practice

My fabric had a directional pattern so I did actually remember to compensate for that so I wouldn't have any upside-downy deer! Well I had to concentrate lots so there are no more pics of the process; BUT.....here is the finished thing!

I am very pleased with the fit, although it does make me look a bit pregnant in these photos, and I need to practise tying the tie bit, but all in all a success! I won't be wearing it as a dress however....don't have the legs!

Recycle, re-use.....

Ooo it's the holidays and I have been busy, busy!! First off I have made a quilt! Yes another one. And the best thing of all is that it hasn't cost me a penny! It began with me buying this magazine;

It is a lovely mag, with lots of nice, modern scrappy quilts; right up my street. Inside was this one designed by Allison Harris.

Well I thought to myself, I rather like that so what do I have in my house to make it with? I know...a loft full of old jeans! The pattern called for 8" squares so I went and dug out 4 pairs of (large, bootleg) jeans. I cut them into said squares...

Next I raided my scraps for 48 different fabrics and cut out the circles....

Next they were machined on leaving a raw edge to fray with use!

Next they had to be cut into 4 pieces and mixed up.

Then I rejoined them back into circles, with each quarter now a different fabric.

Next arrange "in a pleasing manner" and join together, first in strips then all the rows.

Instead of making a quilt sandwich with wadding etc I decided to back this with fleece. This I had bought a while ago for another denim quilt and luckily it was big enough.

I decided just to quilt to the left and the right of each block seam.

Finally I bound it using leftover backing from another quilt.

There...all finished! I think this one will be for picnics! Can't wait 'til it starts to fray...

More Craft Cabin Crochet!

It's coming along. I had quite a few squares to do this month so over the last few evenings I have knuckled down and got on with them. I showed you my six so here are Burnice's choice of six, executed in my oh-so-subtle colours!

Some look a bit misshapen but I'm sure that when they are all sewn together they will be fine!! Now Linda's choice; some of these caused me issues I can tell you, but finally they are done!

So that is 36 done now! Here they are all together.....only another 64 to go! I'm still liking the colours.....

Which is your favourite square?