Quiltification

Keeping Up

2012-01-23T15:18:00.000Z

It's been quite a busy week on the sewing front, and although I haven't managed to finish anything (yet), I have made progress and decisions. Before Christmas, one of my friends at work told me that she is expecting her first baby in April. I've decided to make them a quilt and I think the My Happy Garden fabrics from Cloud9 fabrics that I've been saving for something special will be perfect. I've added Kona solids in snow, coffee, lemon, azure and cactus from Simply Solids and Prints to Polka Dots. I've yet to decide on a pattern but there's plenty of time.

Also this week, I signed up for the Made in Cherry quilt along hosted by Pins and Bobbins.

I decided to dig deep into my stash for this quilt, and have come up with a range of Japanese style prints in blues and greens, some of which I bought before I returned to the UK from Oregon in 2000! Luckily I still love most of them. I'm planning to use natural linen for the background. If it turns out well, we might send this quilt to Mr Q's cousin as a belated wedding gift.

My biggest obstacle to keeping up with this quilt along is Mr George. He really loves fabric. Mostly he just lies on it, but when he imagines it is fighting back, all hell breaks loose!

Look at those teeth and furry back legs!

Still, I have managed to cut all 180 squares and 40 triangles that I need. Next up is laying out the squares and deciding on a pleasing arrangement.

Other sewing this week has included a roman blind for my sewing room which I will photograph when it's up (hopefully at the weekend) and starting on some curtains for Mr Q's study.

Oh, and I replaced the wheels on my longarm machine this weekend. I have been planning to do this for a little while, but it turns out that the guys at Gammill are much stronger than me. I had to wait for Mr Q to lend some brawn and wield some mole grip pliers before we could get the old wheels off. The new wheels are EZ-Glide wheels from Love to Quilt. They are incredible and give much more control on diagonals and curves. Once they were installed I wandered off for a cup of tea and this is what I came back to...

Thank you, Mr Q. I love you too!

First past the post

2012-01-16T19:27:00.000Z

My first quilt of 2012 is complete. That's not start-to-finish in 2012 - I'm not superwoman - but quilting and binding finished in the last few days.

I started this quilt a little while ago, having bought the fabric a while before that. The fabric is A Little Romance from Moda - one of the first jelly rolls I ever bought. The colours are well outside of my comfort zone; much girlier than I would usually choose, but I had my reasons. Firstly, everyone at my quilt group always recognised my quilts as those with bright saturated colours, and I wanted to show them that I could do something different. Secondly, I liked the idea of coming up with a jelly roll pattern that might appeal to people other than just me. Give me a few days, and I may even write it up as a tutorial.

I have found working with a single fabric line motivationally challenging. My two favourite parts of making a quilt are choosing fabrics and quilting. If you use a single range of fabrics, fabric choices are minimal to non-existent and I found that pretty tough. The only real choice I had was picking the backing - a bargain from Abakhan Fabrics.

The cats have been pretty involved in the making of this quilt. George helped with the block layout...

and the quilting...

Mmmm - a hammock

Bonnie has got to grips with the long arm quilting machine too...

It's like a tent under here - cool

The quilting has definitely been the most fun part. I spent a few dull meetings at work doodling on the agenda and minutes and deciding on a quilting design. I finally settled on free motion leafy swirls along all the sashing. A few too many starts and stops to be called efficient, but a whole lotta fun. A comment on twitter the other day made me realise that I don't have many close-up pictures of my quilting, so I'm determined to take more from now on.

Now that it is finished, I realise that this quilt has been growing on me. It's still a bit too pink for my taste, but who can argue with a single bed quilt from a single jelly roll and some sashing fabric? My cute, girly cat seems to like it too.

Surely it must be almost nap-time

New Wave

2012-01-12T00:19:00.001Z

The quilt group that my mum and I belong to meet every month to sew. Sometimes these days offer the opportunity to work on something that is already in progress - a time away from the distractions of home to put your pedal to the metal and get on with some serious sewing. But often they are workshops led by a group member when everyone starts a new project at the same time. In the past I have led a number of sessions - mostly teaching free machine quilting, or small quilt projects that I have designed. But on Saturday, everyone will be starting New Wave quilts, using the pattern designed by Elizabeth Hartman at Oh, Fransson!

The group members had seen this quilt that I made last year, and wanted to have a go at making their own.

When I run classes, I like to have a finished object on hand plus samples at various stages of completion, but as I have already given this quilt away I decided that I'd better make another. I picked out fabrics, arranged them in a pleasing order and got ready to cut, only to be thwarted by Mr George.

At one point I was considering cutting cat shaped pieces, but I decided to bide my time and he eventually moved on to a comfy bed somewhere else.

I diverged from the original instructions a couple of times. First of all, I picked an odd number of fabrics because I liked the balance it brought to the design. Second, I attached the plastic template I created to my rotary cutting ruler with masking tape, so that I could use a solid edge to cut against but still benefit from having an accurate template.

And third, since I hate wasting fabric, I cut the end wedges from 9" by 6" rectangles doing away with the need to square up the quilt top later on.

And then I started to sew. Until the feline inspector stopped by again.

Finally, after the promise of some tuna had been fulfilled, I was able to finish sewing the quilt top together. As with my first New Wave quilt, this one came together quickly and easily. I'm looking forward to quilting this in the very near future - it'll make the perfect gift for my friend's new baby girl - but only after the workshop this Saturday.

Perhaps you're wondering why Bonnie wasn't involved in the making of this quilt. She'd found her own colour coordinated sleeping bag, and was all tucked up inside...

Wooden!

2012-01-02T10:30:00.000Z

It's five years ago today since Mr Q and I walked up this aisle at the Merewood Hotel on Lake Windermere,

said "I do!"

and signed the register.

That makes today our wooden wedding anniversary.

Our wedding day was wonderful, surrounded by our family and friends. I walked up the aisle with my mum, to Etta James' "At Last", and Mr Q and I exited the room to Willie Nelson's "Bring Me Sunshine".

Mr Q has the glasses, so I guess that makes him Eric, and me Ernie!

It was a handmade affair. I made my wedding dress and (with the help of my mother-in-law) the bridesmaids dresses.

My sister-in-law sorted out my hair, and one of my friends did my make-up because I was terrified that if I did my own I would look like a clown!

My auntie made the most delicious chocolate wedding cake that the world has ever known and we used some of my late father's paintings of the Lake District on the wedding breakfast menus.

And our friends took the photos. This is our favourite...

Thank you, Mr Q, for being you and for loving me. Here's to many more years together.

Target Practice

2011-12-31T21:00:00.000Z

As the end of the year approaches there are a few targets I'm trying to reach. I managed to get most of my handmade Christmas presents completed in time, including a second pair of felted slippers for my sister. The pattern is quick and easy to knit, and they are oh so cosy to wear.

I don't really have clown feet - this is prior to felting.

The proto-slippers are currently in the washing machine shrinking to a useable size - I don't want her tripping down the stairs! I also finished leather phone cases for my sister and another friend. I used a free tutorial and some leather offcuts, adapting the pattern to fit both a classic iPhone and my friend's Droid 2.

The other couple of things I am knitting and planned to give as gifts are still on the needles, but they're getting closer to completion every day. However, my big target for the past week has been decluttering 100 items from my home.

Decluttered: items 39-62 await despatch

I've spent some time this afternoon scanning my bookshelves and I am now up to item 97. Only 3 more to find in the next 3 hours!

Window dressing

2011-12-28T18:30:00.004Z

After the tree went up, the weather started to get warmer here in the northwest of England. Christmas doesn't really feel like Christmas without a few flurries of snow or an icy draft or two, so I've improvised and added tatted snowflakes to the windows of our living room.

I had a little time on Boxing Day to catch up on some blogs, and to discover some new ones. One that really struck a chord was A Thrify Mrs, particularly her series of decluttering posts. Inspired, I decided that I might try a focussed declutter in the New Year - perhaps 100 items in the month of January. However, whilst cooking dinner last evening I thought I might get a little head start by decluttering the kitchen cupboards. Here's what I've managed to get rid of so far...

pestle and mortar - an unwanted gift as we already have one - I'll offer it to my sister, or take it to the charity shop
scales - who needs 2 sets? - this will go to the charity shop
a very grim glass plate - trust me, no-one else will want this - recycle
mixing bowl - again, I have several - charity shop
sparkly red plant pot - charity shop
very beaten up cake tin - bin
victoria sandwich tins that have seen better days - bin
broken bowl that I made in a beginner's pottery class - bin
a tiny hand towel - maybe someone with very small hands will like this - charity shop
holey tea towel - fabric bank
fridge magnet - charity shop
4 plastic plates - charity shop
4 plastic tumblers - charity shop
5 blue glass tea light holders - charity shop
coffee percolator (I don't even know how to use it!) - charity shop
a teacup and saucer - charity shop
2 shot glasses - charity shop
water carafe - charity shop
salad dressing bottle - charity shop
an old cake plate - charity shop
3 ramekins - charity shop
white rectangular plate - charity shop
2 glass tea light holders - charity shop
yet another tea light holder (this one takes 7, yes 7 tea lights) - charity shop
another cup and saucer - charity shop
a unopened packet of incense - charity shop
a tablecloth - charity shop
a tray cloth - charity shop
unopened bag of sparkly heart confetti - free cycle
a bag of foreign coins - charity shop
(-38) 8 cookery books - some have gone on amazon to sell, and the rest, you've guessed it, are going to a charity shop

At this rate, I may well hit 100 items by the end of the year! In fact, in the spirit of optimism, I've decided on a new target - 100 unwanted items will be gone by December 31st. New Year, new start and all that!

Light up my life

2011-12-22T10:36:00.000Z

I am not the greatest fan of dark winter mornings and short winter days, especially when the days themselves are rather damp and cloudy. Every so often the cloud lifts and we have bright, cold, crisp days which were just made for long walks followed by tea and cake in front of the fire.

Christmas (and the midwinter solstice) provide the perfect excuse for lots of extra light around the house, and it lifts my spirits immeasurably to see Christmas lights in people's houses as I trudge home from the railway station every evening.

Given my love of twinkly lights, you might imagine that our house would be fully lit up from roof to cellar, but you would be wrong. We've always put up our decorations quite late - a legacy from my childhood. My mother, a teacher, would be fed up with the idea of Christmas long before the school holidays began, and she would delay the decoration for as long as she could. My dad would be chomping at the bit and about a week before Christmas, he and I would scurry down to the local greengrocer to pick out a tree and spend a very happy afternoon decorating it together, choosing from an increasingly large collection of fairy lights and baubles.

This weekend, after some discussion about the environmental impact of Christmas decorations (during which Mr Q threatened to connect the Christmas lights to an exercise bike) we headed off to the nursery to choose the perfect tree. I spent a lovely couple of hours decorating it - far less lights than Dad would have had (with LEDs to keep the power usage down), and a sparser but more colour-coordinated set of decorations. I wonder what he would have made of that!

not a shiny carpet - newspaper covered in wrapping paper to catch falling needles

Elevenses

2011-12-19T00:48:00.003Z

It's a year ago today since Mr Q and I braved unbelievably icy conditions and an uncomfortably early morning to get to the airport on our way to my first ever Christmas in the southern hemisphere. It was a great trip and I really enjoyed spending Christmas with my Australian family. It was Mr Q's first Christmas at home in 10 years, and he enjoyed catching up with family and friends, and being warm in December.

I particularly liked my mother-in-law's routine of stopping for "morning tea". Whether we were having a lazy day or preparing Christmas lunch for 14, we would stop for tea and something sweet and delicious. So, in tribute to my mother-in-law, today I stopped for "elevenses" (the British version of morning tea). Jasmin tea in my new mug (from Illustrated Living) and homemade Victoria sandwich cake.

Out of season

2011-11-30T14:30:00.003Z

Do you ever feel out of sync with the seasons? I'm feeling a little like that at the moment - we keep hearing about the glorious Queensland weather from Mr Q's family as we cosy up in woollen jumpers and thick socks. And then there is the bizarre and unexpected urge to spring clean - in the depths of winter. To empty out drawers and cupboards, sorting and editing the contents. In the last week or so, clothes and books have all been through this process, and the spotlight is now firmly on my crafting space. It's probably apparent from this blog that I am a serial starter (and a quick look in the kitchen cupboard will also show you that Mr Q and I are cereal starters too!). I have a few unfinished knitting projects, but the largest number of works in progress are definitely in the quilting pile.

I am sure that my Christmas break will involve some culling of fabric and craft supplies, but before that happens I am digging through the box of unfinished quilting projects and seeing what I can complete.

So this week, I have been mostly quilting this quilt.

I started piecing this quilt in the summer of 2010, using a jelly roll that I'd purchased a couple of years before. The fabric is A Little Romance from Moda. I wanted to create a simple quilt using just a single jelly roll and some sashing fabric. The top went together quickly, and then I stalled trying to decide how to quilt it. Finally, a border quilting design in Christine Maraccini's Machine Quilting Solutions caught my eye. Getting the quilting to match up at the corners provided a little challenge, but I am very happy with how this turned out. Just the binding to do now. And perhaps a quick write-up of the quilt as a tutorial?

So what else is in the finishing pile?

To be quilted...

A colourwash Irish chain that I started in 2000
A traditional red and white "Double X" quilt that I started as a wedding quilt in 2006, before Mr Q told me he's not that keen on red and white!
A French Braid quilt that I'm making as a raffle quilt in aid of Friends of Gawthorpe - hopefully I'll show you that finished next week
Two Harmonic Convergence quilts made from Ricky Tims' book

Tops to be completed...

The daisy quilt I showed you in an earlier post
A Strips and Curves quilt from Louisa Smith's book
Some curved pieced leaves that I designed years ago and have never put together in a quilt
A fossil quilt that I started in a class with Anja Townrow
A Single Girl quilt from a pattern by Denise Schmidt
A table runner that I started in a class last summer

And my thought for the day? Finishing is fun - even though you sometimes you have to admit defeat and let sleeping cats lie.

Sock it to 'em

2011-11-22T09:44:00.001Z

Earlier this week I attended a workshop with my mum at Alston Hall, near Preston. The workshop was run by Fiona Morris, and we learnt how to knit a sock from the toe up. For the non-sock-savvy amongst you (and I was among your number until the workshop), knitting socks from the toe up is an INNOVATION. Always a fan of innovation, I really enjoyed learning how to (i) do a Turkish cast on, (ii) knit on two circular needles simultaneously, and (iii) shape wrapped short row heels. As I am a slow knitter, I decided to make a teeny tiny sock so that I could attempt all these new skills under the watchful eye of the tutor.

sock in progress - on TWO circular needles

the finished sock - too small for human foot

I will definitely try knitting socks again and have been trawling ravelry for an appropriate pattern. Oh, and did I mention that I love this yarn?

On Sunday, Mr Q and I rode our bikes to Cedar Farm. In an attempt to avoid having to cycle around a big motorway junction, we took to the back routes - country roads and muddy bike paths in equal measure. My plan had been to bring you pictures of the English countryside in Autumn - all mists and mellow fruitfulness as the poem has it. Sadly we couldn't really see beyond the mist! After about 12 miles of cycling we reached Cedar Farm, and treated ourselves...

the reward!

Mr Q enjoying his muffin

Anxious that the weather was really drawing in, we didn't spend much time looking around. We nipped into the little deli to buy chorizo for our dinnertime paella, but had to miss the vintage fair that was going on :-( We took a more direct route home, past a local beauty spot where on a clear day you can see all the way to Blackpool. No views today, but at least the ice cream van was still open for business!

a local viewpoint - yes, those are fog lights!

Lazy daisy

2011-11-16T13:35:00.000Z

For a while now I've been thinking of linking up with Work in Progress Wednesdays at Freshly Pieced. But every time that Wednesday rolls around I find that I don't have anything photographed or blogged, or anything in progress that I'm feeling enthusiastic about. This week, however, is different. I spent Saturday with the quilting group that both my mum and I belong to and was able to get some uninterrupted sewing time, without the distractions of Mr Q :-) and the never ending cleaning and DIY of the renovation project we call home. And without the helpful intervention of my two cats.

So how did I spend this valuable time? Well, I designed the daisy petals for this little quilt, and started cutting out the white fabrics. I am so happy with how this is coming together. When it is complete, it will be a gift for a friend who has just had her first baby. Everyone I have shown it to so far, assumes that my friend's new daughter is called Daisy. She isn't. Design inspiration struck when I remembered my friend's wedding stationery - pretty pale green paper with small, scattered daisies. I hope they'll love it as much as I do.

Fossils on my mind

2011-11-15T18:28:00.001Z

subtle textured trilobite on a hat

You may know that I am a palaeontologist. My day job involves studying fossils, and teaching undergraduate students about them. As well as teaching, I also do palaeontological research, with my chosen specialised subject (to coin a phrase from Mastermind) being fossil sea urchins. I am particularly interested in mass extinctions - times when many different organisms all went extinct within a short space of time. The most recent of these events was at the end of the Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs (and lots of other creatures) came to a sticky end. However, the biggest ever mass extinction occurred at the end of the Permian period, about 250 million years ago when over 95% of all species alive at the time died out. One of the groups that bit the dust back then were the trilobites - marine creatures distantly related to crabs and lobsters that had more than a passing resemblance to woodlice. I am a big fan of trilobites - they come in lots of different shapes and sizes. Some are ridiculously spiny, others totally smooth. Some had eyes on stalks, other had no eyes and were completely blind. It all sounds a little like science fiction, doesn't it?

For a long time, I've thought about mixing science and craft. I have designed several craft projects that link the two parts of my life, but I always seem to put them off, worried that I don't have the time or skill to do my vision justice. Maybe, just maybe, the tide is turning now. A couple of months ago, I came across Hannah Ingall's trilobite hat on Knitty, and decided to knit it for myself. With all the tricky design work done for me, I could concentrate on learning how to knit bobbles, and how to simultaneously manipulate circular needles and cable needles. I cast on a couple of weekends ago, and on Saturday night after my weekly fix of Strictly Come Dancing, I cast off and sewed in the ends. I have been wearing my trilobite hat pretty much non-stop since then.

Trilobites on my mind. Well, on my head!

Except when Mr Q has stolen it.

Mr Q in the stolen trilobite hat

For those who like to know all the details, the yarn is Debbie Bliss Luxury Donegal Tweed Aran in a charcoal colour way (15) knitted on a 4mm circular needle. My reasons for choosing this yarn were several...
1. It's soft, cosy and rustic looking.
2. I lead field classes in Donegal looking at rocks of trilobite-bearing age.
3. The colour is similar to the rocks that many trilobites are found in.
4. The tweedy colours, and angora texture mean that the trilobite is quite subtle, disguising any mistakes, and preventing my students from immediately thinking that I am a total geek. They'll have to be quite observant before they are able to think that!

Grey days

2011-11-07T14:38:00.000Z

We have had some beautiful crisp autumn days over the last few weeks. But there have also been some very grey days too, reminding me that winter is well on its way. This is the perfect time of year for knitting, and I seem to have been inspired by the grey skies in my choice of yarns.

First off the needles is this cowl for my sister. She is a fan of all things ultralight, and I thought I would make her a warm but featherweight item. The yarn is Debbie Bliss' Angel, and the pattern is Abby by Amy Singer on Knitty. The whole cowl weighs less than an once but it packs a very cosy punch. This was my second lace project, and my second time working with circular needles. I hope Kath likes it.

Now that the circular needle is free, I have cast on the Trilobite hat by Hannah Ingalls, also on Knitty. This hat is for me - the perfect field attire for a palaeontologist. I have completed the cephalon and am now working my way along the thorax. I took a photo of Mr Q modelling the half-finished hat, but he has pleaded with me not to show it. You'll just have to wait to see the completed hat in a few days time.

Autumn days

2011-11-05T12:51:00.001Z

Last weekend Mr Q and I ventured south to Gloucestershire, the county of my birth. It seemed appropriate as it was the closest weekend to my birthday. As a kid, one of my greatest birthday treats was a walk through the glorious autumn colours at the Westonbirt Arboretum followed by lunch at a nearby hotel. I thought that after 20 years away, I might be allowed to relive my childhood memories. I was worried that it might not be as spectacular as I remember, but in fact it was better. The colours of the leaves were truly breathtaking...

Friends reunited

2011-10-17T19:58:00.003+01:00

This week has not seen much creative activity. The reason? My good friend, Amy, has been visiting from Oregon where we met as grad students at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology.

It's been a brilliant few days, and we've had eight whole years to catch up on. There's been a lot of talking, gossiping, laughing and silly accents. Some sightseeing, hiking and shopping. And a little crying too. She's gone now, and I miss her terribly, but it won't be eight years until I see her again.

Highlights of the week include a hike around Malham, taking in Janet's Foss, Gordale Scar and Malham Cove...

...cultural treasures like the Walker Gallery in Liverpool, Lancaster Castle and Speke Hall...

...and Bottom Drawer Quilters' biennial exhibition where we caught up with my Mum and saw some beautiful quilts.

Great week. Do I have to go back to work?

Flower power

2011-10-03T17:47:00.000+01:00

I am a child of the seventies, and well versed in flares, shaggy hair and ponchos! I am so, so glad that I am a child, and not an adolescent, of the seventies. The shame of those stylistic choices, if they had indeed been choices. Luckily, I can blame my parents for my appalling pre-teen apparel. To illustrate my point, here's a photo of a six-year old me, rocking a bowl cut, some polyester slacks (which I am almost certain had ricrac around the bottom of the trouser legs) and a vivid T-shirt covered in large green apples with orange trim. In the background, note the patriotic Union Jack shopping bag! In the foreground, the first fossil I can remember finding - a piece of fossilised wood in the Libyan Desert.

and so another palaeontologist is born

Why the sudden seventies reminiscence? Well, it's twofold actually. This week, I spent a very enjoyable afternoon with a class of 25 six and seven year olds talking about fossils. They had wanted to meet a real, live palaeontologist and I was glad to oblige. I thought the photo above might encourage them to look for their own fossils, rather than thinking that it's something only professional fossil hunters do. They thought I was a boy, but other than that seemed quite inspired.

The second reason is that another big theme of the 70s was flower power, and I've been creating a whole garden of Japanese folded flowers (known as kanzashi) which I will turn into brooches to sell at the exhibition that I mentioned in a previous post. I still need to add brooch backs to most of them, but I am very happy with how they turned out.

Blooming marvelous!

Finally, I have also started quilting one of my unquilted tops. Here's a quick snap of what I've achieved so far. Freehand leafy swirls in the centre of the rectangular blocks and in the sashing. I still have to work out how to turn a corner. I'd better save that for an evening when I'm properly awake.

Exhibitionist!

2011-09-24T15:17:00.001+01:00

The quilt group that Mum and I belong to, Bottom Drawer Quilters, have our biennial exhibition coming up next month. As well as trying to complete a few quilts to go in the show, we have each been tasked with creating some small items for the sales table. That's right - there will be retail opportunities, along with refreshments, a raffle, a tombola, demonstrations. All the proceeds will go to Pendleside Hospice. Here's what I've made so far...

First up, 12 houses from a pattern in Quilting Arts Gifts 2010. Because of the roof, door and window colours I chose, these remind me of the board game, Monopoly.

HOW much if I land on Mayfair (or Boardwalk in the US)?

It's possible that Monopoly is bubbling just below the surface of my brain after a recent chat with my sister about the game. As a child, Kath devised the fiendish strategy of buying up all the cheap property, the utilities and the railway stations - a strategy which she was convinced should always win her the game, and generally did when she played against friends and family. Strangely though, every time she played against me, her devilish strategy came to naught. Despite my seemingly haphazard approach to the game, I always won.

getting on the property ladder

I'll admit here, as I admitted to her recently, that my modus operandi was not the slightest bit random. What she failed to notice was that I was always the banker, and paid myself an exorbitant salary. Ok, I embezzled wildly. Sorry, Kath! In the interests of full disclosure, I should probably also tell you that I used to cheat at the card game, Cheat.

With those ugly revelations off my chest, let's get back to the items I've been making for the exhibition. Next, 12 Christmas tree ornaments. These are also from a pattern in Quilting Arts Gifts 2010.

Do they remind you of poker chips? Or is that a story for another day?

Next up, three small bags for organising jewellery when you're travelling. This time I used a pattern from Quilting Arts Gifts 2009. There are eight separate sections inside to prevent tangled chains and unpaired earrings.

for organising jewellery on safari

Finally, a book bag made from unbleached calico and curtain fabric.

The quilt show is at St Luke's Church, Brierfield (near Burnley), Lancashire BB9 9JL. It's open from 10 to 4 on Saturday October 15th, and 12 to 4 on Sunday October 16th.

Righto, I'd better get back to the sweat shop.

Cosy Toes

2011-09-14T10:05:00.001+01:00

Autumn is definitely in the air in the northwest of England. It's been wild and windy over the last few days, with a few torrential downpours thrown in for good measure. At least that provides a good excuse for staying in and making things.

I recently completed knitting and felting these slippers, from a pattern I found through ravelry. I love everything about them - comfortable, cosy and so quick and easy to knit. I think I'll be making another pair for my sister before Christmas.

the ultimate cosy toes

Our house can get a little draughty and chilly in the winter. We are adding insulation everywhere we can, but there comes a time during the autumn when the heating has to be switched back on. This year, we are planning to delay the inevitable central heating switch-on for as long as possible. Our secret weapon? Wearing more jumpers. Oh, and the occasional evening use of the gas fire in the front room. Mr Q loves the fire. The cats think that (after sardines) it is the very best thing in the world.

dreaming of sardines

When they are awake, the cats love to help with my crafting activities. Over the past few weeks, I've been working methodically through my stack of unfinished projects. Firstly, a good friend of mine has just had her first baby. Inspired by the stationery that she used for her wedding invitations, I am making a quilt that will look like a field of daisies. Here's Bonnie helping me arrange green squares to make a field.

Bonnie helpfully rearranging squares

Mr George likes to help too. He does less rearranging, more quality control. He signals his approval by lying on things. Here he is approving of my layout of rectangle blocks for a different quilt.

Mr George approves

And here, with the rectangle quilt top completed, and the green squares coming together nicely, Mr George indicates that these fabric creations are very comfortable indeed.

All these quilts are for me? How kind.

It feels good to be working through these unfinished projects. Hopefully, more to show you soon.

Going downhill like the clappers!

2011-08-30T11:54:00.000+01:00

This weekend Mr Q and I travelled south to visit my sister. We've been a little lazy since returning from our holiday in Yorkshire, so we decided to dust off our walking boots and go for walk in the countryside. To test our resolve, my sister chose to lead us up one of Bedfordshire's most prominent hills - the fantastically named Sharpenhoe Clappers.

It was a fantastic walk with beautiful views over surrounding downland, an Iron Age hill fort, the sound of the wind in the beech wood, abundant fruits in the hedgerows and an enormous packed lunch (a tribute to my Dad's legendary packed lunches).

Back from the back of beyond

2011-08-27T19:18:00.002+01:00

Mr Q and I are back from our holiday in the Yorkshire Dales. We had 7 idyllic days of castles, walking, cheese, crafts, waterfalls and gardens in Wensleydale and Swaledale. We stayed in a 17th century cottage with a truly amazing view across the valley. It was extraordinarily peaceful - no mobile phone coverage, no sound except sheep baaing, and so dark at night that you couldn't tell if your eyes were open or shut.

Here are some of our highlights....

Looking back, over my shoulder*

2011-07-27T21:35:00.002+01:00

I've just been exploring in the Mac App Store and have come across a little app called Collage Maker which allows you to create photo collages with relative ease. Here's the result of a little playing around - some of the quilts I've made over the years.

A look back at some of my finished quilts

* in the words of Mike and the Mechanics which Mr Q has just played for me :-)

...and relax!

2011-07-24T19:43:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy couple of months. I've been marking exams scripts, teaching a fieldclass in Donegal...

the view from one of our field areas in Donegal - the mountains are actually in Sligo, with the tops of them made up of Carboniferous coral reefs

supervising dissertation students in Fife...

the famous Rock and Spindle near St Andrews, Fife

with the bonus of fish and chips from an award-winning chippy...

Yum!

sorting through all the files that have proliferated on my computer over the last year. I still have a few heaps of paperwork to sort through, and a little more university admissions work to do, but finally I feel as though I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Mr Q and I will be going on holiday next week and I have already started to relax. I have finished knitting a birthday scarf for one of my nieces...

the skinny cabled scarf in progress - I found the pattern on ravelry

and have found time to sit down with Mr Q, tea and cake...

Slurp! The cake is Cinnamon Apple Crumble Cake from Waitrose website.

Hooked!

2011-05-03T22:25:00.000+01:00

I was warned that this might happen! I always knew that it would be dangerous to dally with another hobby, but I ignored all the danger signs and tried a little light crochet.

The results?

1. A Queen Anne's lace scarf for my mum, completed with the help of a fabulous tutorial. I used Twilley's Freedom Spirit DK for this and the subtle colour variations look great in the finished scarf. Although it was baking hot when I gave Mum the scarf, she wore it anyway! I'll have to make one of these for myself.

Mum's scarf in progress

2. A couple of felted hexagon coasters made with the left over Twilley's Freedom Spirit DK. I used the Hexagon How-to tutorial at Attic24's blog, and then manually felted the heck out of them in the kitchen sink! I love how these turned out. Perfect for preventing cup rings on the bedside table from my weekend morning cups of tea.

3. Substantial progress on a cushion cover using the Copenhagen Pillow pattern by Yvonne Eijkenduijn. All the centre circles are completed, and I've even started crocheting them together, but then I got sidetracked by making a large granny square for the back of the cover. The yarn is Sirdar's Calico in a range of pastel shades.

I think I'm hooked!

Holiday!

2011-05-01T20:56:00.001+01:00

My apologies for the prolonged silence - Mr Q and I have both been off work for the past 10 days and as he usually works away during the week, we've been relishing our extended time together.

We spent a few days staying in a cute cottage in North Wales. The front door opened straight onto a beach, and the back of the house was just a few metres away from the 15th tee of a golf course. It was a beautiful spot, and we were lucky to have warm, sunny weather for most of our stay.

Walking down to our cottage by the beach

You may (or may not) know that Mr Q is a bit of a castle fanatic, so we explored both Harlech and Conwy Castles whilst we were away. They were built in the 13th century by King Edward I of England, whilst he was battling the Welsh. We really enjoyed clambering all over the walls and towers.

Mr Q outside of Conwy Castle

the view from the King's Tower at Conwy Castle

Conwy Suspension Bridge - note the castellated piers to blend seamlessly with the castle

Mr Q on the walls at Harlech Castle with Snowdonia in the background

A life lesson on the wall of Harlech Castle

We also visited the village of Portmeirion, famous for its starring role in the 60s TV series, The Prisoner. It really is a very bizarre place. Built over a period of 50 years between the 1920s and 1970s from salvaged pieces of older buildings, it looks something like a Mediterranean village, and has been used in lieu of such places in films and TV dramas. It's weird because it really is like a film set - no-one lives there and the only shops sell souvenirs and icecreams. You can rent some of the cottages as holiday accommodation - maybe that's something to try in the future.

And finally, I got to visit the spectacular Bodnant Gardens. No words except "Wow!"

Taking care of business

2011-04-14T19:16:00.000+01:00

I'm just about to head up to my craft haven and sew some more cushion covers for my etsy shop. I've been a little lax on replenishing stock recently, but over the weekend I spent some time cutting fabric so I'll be able to set up a production line to sew a bunch of covers to list.

My sister has been encouraging me to branch out and add more lines to my shop - things like draught excluders, coffee press cosies, iphone covers and the like. (Lightbulb moment - maybe these are items that she would like me to sew for her?!) I've stuck with cushion covers because they are easy to make and they sell pretty well, but in all honesty they don't really scratch the creative itch. One of the difficulties I face is finding time to experiment, produce prototypes and hone designs. I know I have it in me, but I have a demanding full time job which regularly fills more hours than I would like.

Enough grumbling. Last night I had hoped to meet up with a Wigan knitter, but unfortunately she was unable to make it and so a free evening opened up in front of me. While I caught up with Masterchef on the TV, I sewed this....

OK, so it's another cushion cover. But it is a new design made from in linen and silk dupion in luscious orange and pink. What do you think of the prototype? Is it an idea worth pursuing?

Square dancing

2011-04-11T19:40:00.004+01:00

My father was a great fan of square dancing. I remember (with no small amount of horror and shame) that he owned one of those cowboy string tie things. Incidentally, I've just googled "cowboy string tie" to find out their proper name and it turns out that you can call them cowboy ties, string ties, bootlace ties, or indeed cowboy string ties. I'm giggling about this as I write.

Crochet - a - rainbow (or part of one, at any rate)

So, what has all this square dancing talk got to do with this blog? Well, I've been doing square dancing of a different kind - crocheting granny squares for Sarah London's Crochet-a-Rainbow charity project. It turns out that they are just a little addictive. I've made 27 so far, and counting.

20 squares

Thread ends

Stripe up the band

2011-04-05T19:53:00.000+01:00

My apologies for the terrible pun in the title of this blog post! The gorgeous Noro yarn that I showed you in my last post is now a scarf - just in time to be wrapped up and sent to my sister for her birthday. I followed this pattern by Brooklyn Tweed using two skeins each of Noro Silk Garden 47 and 272. I love how this turned out, and see other versions of this scarf in my future. Mr Q was eyeing this one covetously, too.

All this knitting (along with all the tidying up of my crafting space) has fired up my yarny enthusiasm. A while ago I discovered Sarah London's brightly coloured blog and her Crochet-a-Rainbow appeal for victims of the Queensland floods. As Mr Q is a Queenslander, I was very touched by her appeal (which she has now expanded to Christchurch and Japan earthquake survivors). Sarah is asking for granny squares which she will sew into blankets. Having dusted down my crocheting skills just a couple of weeks ago, I have taken up the challenge. Three squares so far, and more on the way as I use up odd balls of wool from the bottom of my knitting bag, along with a couple of discounted, discontinued colours found at the Black Sheep Craft Barn near Warrington on Saturday. I'm sure these granny squares don't count as the start of another project, do they?

Embargo

2011-03-22T20:18:00.002Z

Mr Q thinks that I start far too many projects and finish far too few. He's probably right, although whenever he challenges me, I tell him that it is all about "the process". "I craft to clear my mind and cleanse my soul." "The finished items are just a bonus." And while all of these things are true, he still has a point. It would do my mind and soul good to see a job well done, to enjoy crossing something off the list. Last weekend, Mr Q suggested that now was the time to turn over a new leaf; that in the spirit of spring cleaning I should consider purging all of my unfinished projects. I smiled at him weakly, and suggested a compromise - a look at what is lurking in the box of unfinished objects and an embargo on starting any new projects until a certain proportion of the others could be completed.

And that is where we were until I bought this fabulous Noro Silk Garden yarn from the equally fabulous Fibre and Clay yarn shop in Knutsford, Cheshire.

I managed to resist its charms all afternoon as I "purged" my crafting space. But as evening fell, I admit that I succumbed and started knitting a present for a friend. Since that friend may be watching, I can't show you what it is yet, but believe me when I tell you that the Noro yarn is working its magic.

So, one new project started. Until, that is, Mr Q mentioned that every time he turned the fire off he risked burning himself on the handle of the ash pan cover. A couple of hours later, and the burn threat is no more.

Some might call it a potholder, but I think I've made a cute little 8 inch square quilt that protects fingers from harm! Here it is in pride of place by the fire.

Two projects started. One finished.

But then, as I browsed through flickr early last week I discovered a whole world of crochet that I never knew existed. Wow! Wow! Wow! Inspired by riotous colours and intricate shapes, I spent some of Tuesday evening following this African Flower crochet tutorial to make this.

I can't tell you how happy this makes me. I have never done much crochet - I remember making a cushion cover out of dishcloth cotton when I was about 11 under the tutelage of my cousin. But until I retaught myself last year I hadn't picked up a crochet hook since. But since seeing the amazing colours and shapes that are being created all around the world, I can see how easy it would be to get hooked(!) As if I need a new hobby.

So, three projects started. Two finished. Quite a successful and productive embargo, don't you think? Time to get back to the knitting.

Red letter day

2011-03-06T22:07:00.000Z

Inspired by the progress being made by members of the "Single Girl Support Group"I have decided to start a single girl quilt of my own. I don't plan to formally join the group, since the warning that it is for "serious single girl quilters only" made me feel a little unwelcome. Work is likely to get in the way of me keeping up, and I am already a long way behind schedule. Anyhow, I am planning to make a queen sized quilt for our bed out of red and white fabrics leftover from another quilt I made a few years ago, along with some other cute red and white prints that I haven't been able to resist buying. The background will be natural linen which I have ordered from the US, and hope will arrive this week.

The pattern involves cutting lots of individual pieces using templates and scissors. So far, I have cut somewhere about one third of the pieces that I'll need. As you can see, the different pieces are all subtly different from one another.

One flick of a cat paw could spell disaster, so the pegs and vintage cutlery tray are my way of trying to keep it all cat-proofed!

After all that marking and cutting, and a walk through a sunny (if somewhat chilly) Wigan, Mr Q and I settled down to scones, jam, cream and tea/cappuccino in front of the fire. Pure bliss.

Wake up and smell the coffee

2011-03-06T20:38:00.000Z

A couple of years ago after my mum had been to a workshop on circular bargello quilts, she offered to show me how to make one. In one afternoon, I cut all the strips of fabric I needed, sewed them together into panels, and under her supervision, cut segments and completed one quarter of my small circular quilt. Then I stalled. Other potential projects teased and tantalised me, and my quarter circle languished in a box on my sewing room shelf. Until a few months ago, when I pulled it out and finished the piecing. A short hiatus followed as I puzzled over how to quilt it. Finally, inspiration struck and I can now present my finished "Cappuccino" quilt, complete with free-motion quilted steamy swirls.

the finished quilt, measuring about one metre across

steaming cappuccino quilting

I'm not much of a coffee drinker - much more of a tea or hot chocolate girl myself, but somehow "cappuccino" seems like a much more appropriate name. Maybe that's because most weekend mornings I get up and make Mr Q a cappuccino to drink in bed, to aid in the horizontal to vertical transition, or because the word cappuccino is pronounced so differently in the town where we live (Wigan) and the town where Mr Q works (Hull). We know this through prolonged exposure to coffee shop culture in both towns.

Finishing school

2011-02-13T17:29:00.003Z

I've been spending the day at finishing school. Or, to be more accurate, I've been in my sewing room trying to finish some of the myriad of projects that I have on the go. I've just ducked out for a cup of tea, and to show you a couple of the things I've finished...

First up, this bookmark is adapted from the Big Cross in Mary Konior's Tatting with Visual Patterns. I changed the stitch count of each ring and chain to make the whole thing a little smaller. Perhaps I should call it the "not so big cross" bookmark. It is tatted in Flora size 20 thread in black, and Tatskool's hand-dyed size 20 Rainbow Bright. I am thrilled with how this turned out, and hope the recipient enjoys it too.

Edited to add: the recipient (my sister) thinks that this bookmark skates the fine line between kitsch and genius. She says that it makes her smile every time she opens her book. Result!

Next up is Snowflake number 2 from Barbara Foster's Festive Snowflakes and Ornaments, tatted in size 20 Lisbeth thread. That's all for the moment - I'd better head back to the coal-face!

A little bit of this, a little bit of tat...

2011-01-24T14:39:00.000Z

I'm back to tatting snowflakes - there are so many patterns available and I love their elegance and simplicity. This one is the Circle of Crowns snowflake from Jon Yusoff's Tatted Snowflake Collection, tatted in size 20 Lisbeth thread. I love all the designs in this book, and plan to complete them all over the coming months.

In other tatting news, I have just received two parcels from Australia full of tatting goodies discovered on eBay. The first parcel contained these two vintage tatting booklets - one from Australia and the other originally from New Zealand. There are some pretty designs which I think could be updated to make chokers and bracelets. The second parcel contained this gorgeous acetate tatting shuttle. Aren't the colours cheerful? I think I'll load this up with thread later on tonight and start tatting a little something.

All fired up

2011-01-16T12:19:00.000Z

Just before Mr Q and I headed down under for the Christmas break, we had a new fireplace fitted in our living room. Although it is nowhere near as cold as it was in December, we are enjoying the instant warmth of our new fire.

Before

This is what our living room looked like on the morning of the installation. We live in an 1890s house, so this 1950s fireplace (although the height of fashion when our predecessors updated the house on moving in) looked out of place.

After a day of extreme noise, cold and dust, this is the end result...

After

The wooden fire surround is an early 20th century mahogany surround which was an absolute bargain on ebay. The cast iron insert came from a specialist fireplace restorer in Manchester. It is an Aesthetic Movement original from the 1870s or 1880s which has been beautifully restored, with a bespoke living flame gas fire made to fit. I love how the arch at the top of the mirror matches the arch on the cast iron insert itself. I could take the credit for matching them, but in fact it was a case of pure serendipity. It took Mr Q and I several hours of prowling the fireplace warehouse to pick this one out. We both made compromises from our initial choices, and thankfully we are both delighted with how this looks. There is still plenty to be done in here - new carpet, new curtains, new plaster and paint, but I am beginning to see our vision coming together.

There and back again

2011-01-15T13:54:00.000Z

Since my last post I've been to Queensland and back. I had planned to post while I was away but I was busy recovering from (suspected) swine flu, visiting family and friends, and generally kicking back. And then there was the drama of all the flooding. Almost everywhere we visited was hit by floods within days of us leaving or, in the case of Mr Q's grandmother's town, while we were there. I was astonished at the speed with which the water rose, engulfed the road, and lapped at the gates of her retirement village. In the end, we were lucky to make it to the airport, and since we've been home I've been feeling guilty that we escaped while so many have lost so much. To that end, I will be donating all profits from my etsy shop to the Queensland Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal this month.

Finally, I'll leave you with a couple of images of the contrast between the UK when we left in December and Queensland on the few glorious days we had - a difference of over 40 degrees C!

Wigan, December 2010

Sunshine Coast, December 2010

Wigan, December 2010

Texas, Queensland, January 2011

Inside of the train window, Wigan, December 2010

Glenlyon Lake, Queensland, January 2011

Off the Rails!

2010-12-09T20:26:00.007Z

Off the Rails is the name of my new quilt (see more photos of my finished version here), not my state of mind. Well, not quite. It's been pretty busy at work for the past couple of weeks. I'm still trying to catch up after a couple of days off with the 'flu. The students are facing a number of end of term deadlines which means lots of questions and reading of drafts for us lecturers. I am looking forward to a long Christmas break - three weeks on the other side of the world with Mr Q's family and friends. I can't wait to switch off my phone, stop answering my emails and relax in the warmth of a Queensland summer.
Before that, I promised you a quilt pattern so here it is....

Off the Rails quilt pattern

Fabric Requirements
This pattern uses 2½ inch wide strips of fabric. You can use pre-cut 2½ inch strips such as Jelly Rolls or cut your own strips if you prefer. One Jelly Roll (40 strips) will make a lap quilt 48 inches by 60 inches. You will also need 3 yards of (42 inch wide) fabric for the backing, and ¾ yard of (42 inch wide) fabric for the binding.

Cutting
1. Cut each 2½” strip into three, to give three pieces each 2½” wide by approximately 14” long.

2. In order to stay organised while you are sewing the blocks, make two piles. On Pile A, place two identical 2½” x 14” strips, and put the remaining strip on Pile B.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for all 40 strips.

Sewing
Sew the blocks

4. Take two identical 2½” x 14” strips from Pile A and sew them either side of a different 2½” x 14” strip from Pile B. Press both seams in the same direction. Use a variety of fabric combinations to make a total of 40 strip units.

5. Neaten one end of the resulting panel, and then cut into two 6½” x 6½” blocks. Make 80 blocks in this manner.

Assemble the top
6. Referring to the quilt assembly diagram, lay out your blocks in a pleasing arrangement alternating horizontal and vertical rail blocks as shown. Blocks are arranged in 10 rows of 8 blocks each.

7. Sew the blocks into rows. Press the seams of alternating rows in opposite directions so that they don't add too much bulk when the rows are sewn together.
8. Sew the rows together.

Finishing
9. Prepare the backing fabric by cutting two pieces of fabric each 54 inches by the width of the fabric. Join them as shown in the diagram below.

10. Layer the top, wadding (batting) and backing fabric.
11. Tack (baste) the layers together and then quilt as desired.
12. Trim excess wadding (batting) and backing.
13. Cut binding strips. Cut 7 strips 2½” by the width of the fabric.
14. Join binding strips to form one continuous length.
15. Attach double fold binding using your favourite method.

Christmas is coming...

2010-12-06T21:28:00.000Z

...and I've finished a quilt. I pieced this quilt a couple of years ago from Moda's Christmas Past fabric line. It sat unloved and unquilted until I added some holly leaf quilting and added the binding last week. Mr Q loves it and so do I. I've finished it just in time to snuggle under in the run-up to Christmas. We need all the warmth we can find at the moment - it is unseasonably snowy and icy in our neck of the woods. Brrrr! Poor Mr Q - being a native Australian he really feels the cold (and also believes that Australia should be winning the cricket).

I am thinking of putting together a tutorial for making this quilt. It uses exactly one jelly roll of fabric and is quick and easy to put together. I'll dust off my pattern-writing skills and see what I can come up with.

Everything is coming up roses

2010-11-26T17:08:00.001Z

I've been having a little break from tatting snowflakes and have been tatting roses instead. This first attempt uses Jeanne Lugert's 3D rose pattern in size 16 Ancora Prestige thread. It is constructed from a long chain of split rings which are then gathered up by pulling a thread through the picots. I like the effect although it is perhaps a little bulky in the centre for my taste.

Next up is a rose inspired by Krystle's flower pendants and earrings which I love. This one is tatted in Yarnplayer's snowflake thread in size 20. I think I'll be experimenting with this design a little more. I like how it turned out and it has increased my confidence with making lock joins.

Finally, here's a design from Yarnplayer's Up and Tat 'Em pattern book which I completed in size 20 black Flora thread with Swarovski crystals. I'm planning to put this on a cord and give it as a Christmas present. This was my first foray into using paperclips to keep picots open until needed. I am enjoying learning all these new skills.

Please be seated

2010-11-20T14:45:00.001Z

My sister and I have a number of things in common..... We both have dark hair, enjoy the outdoors, and share the same parents. We also both like handmade items, along with secondhand and vintage homewares. When we spend time together, we like nothing better than scoping out junk shops, markets and craft fairs. A couple of years ago, my sister unearthed a pair of IKEA arm chairs for a bargain price at a charity shop. The frames were sound but the bottle green covers had seen better days. This week I finally completed the new seat covers that I had been promising her. Here is the first one newly installed.

Also this week, I learnt a new tatting skill - the self-closing mock ring - and used it to complete the floret snowflake from Jon Yusoff's Tatted Snowflakes Collection. I love this pretty little snowflake, and a self-closing mock ring is so much easier to make than to say!

A load of old tat

2010-11-16T20:59:00.002Z

Just one piece of tat, actually, and it's only just completed. This is Eileen Stafford's snowflake tatted in size 20 Lizbeth thread. I like the way that the long chains overlap each other. Also on show today are two quilts that have been finished for a while but which I have only just managed to photograph. The first was inspired by the colours of the winter landscape in the Scottish Highlands - I call it Highland Fling. The second is a quilt I designed to use large-scale fabrics that don't deserve to be chopped into tiny pieces. This particular incarnation of my "Room with a View" quilt has Japanese style fabrics in the "windows".

Highland Fling

Japanese Windows

Sitting pretty

2010-11-15T15:15:00.000Z

About 18 months ago, I told you about this chair that I picked up for a bargain price on eBay. The style, with wooden slats and a reclining back, is known as a Morris chair, so I thought it was only right to use William Morris fabric (also found on eBay) to make covers for it. Despite being designed over 100 years ago, I think the big scale and graphic style of this fabric give it quite a contemporary look. I went for the black and taupe colourway so that it will sit happily anywhere in the house - at the moment it is in the corner of the dining room, where I like to relax with a cup of tea and a good book. I'm sure it'll look even better when the ancient patterned carpets are finally sent on their way to carpet heaven (or hell!).

Something to show at last

2010-11-07T21:55:00.001Z

I've finally finished a piece of tatting! It's been a while since I've picked up the shuttles and when I did, this fella was still attached, looking a little forlorn and crumpled. It is the "Eleventh day of December" snowflake from 24 Snowflakes in Tatting by Lene Bjorn tatted in size 20 Lisbeth thread. I plan to make more from this book over the next couple of weeks, although they will not be in order - I'm going to get Mr Q to choose his favourites instead. The only problem is, he has a knack for picking out the trickiest designs.

Along with getting on with some tatting, I've been restocking my etsy shop with some old favourites and some new designs. This psychedelic cushion cover might be made from my favourite fabric of all time! I'm almost tempted to redecorate my whole house so that this cover would look at home! Talking of redecorating, Mr Q and I have booked a date for our new fireplace to be fitted in the living room. I'll show you some before and after photos as soon as it's done.

Tea for two

2010-09-19T21:21:00.001+01:00

There's definitely a chill in the air. It may be time to put summer clothes away and get the knitting out. I'm not a fan of short days and cold, damp weather but I do like Sunday teatimes complete with homebaked goodies. Today we had a big pot of tea, homemade scones, homemade plum jam and clotted cream. Slurp! For those of you wondering what clotted cream is - it is the southwest of England's greatest export - delicious, thick cream with a crust on top. I could eat it with a spoon from the tub, but that's probably because I myself am an export from the southwest of England and it reminds me of home. Mr Q learnt about clotted cream on our first trip to Devon together about four and a half years ago and has never looked back.

We deserved today's cream tea. This morning we were rudely awakened by a large chunk of ceiling collapsing in the hallway. Several hours and lots of cleaning later and the hall and stairs look ok again (if you don't look up, that is). We've been waiting for the roofer to repair the roof for a few weeks now - perhaps this will help us move closer to the top of his list.

Home and away

2010-09-11T21:16:00.001+01:00

Being an Australian, Mr Q thinks that holidays in England are exotic. I'm not convinced but I like to indulge him, so we have just returned from a fabulous (and somewhat exotic) week's holiday in East Sussex, where Mr Q and I indulged our love of all things old (and my love of all things floral). We stayed in a very cute and well equipped little cottage that had previously been a cart shed, and spent our days exploring castles, palaces, towns, beaches and gardens. Here are a few of our highlights...

In order of antiquity we visited the battlefield where the Battle of Hastings was fought in 1066; Bodiam Castle (complete with fish-infested moat and charmingly calligraphic graffiti); Great Dixter Elizabethan house and Christopher Lloyd's justifiably world-famous garden; the Prince Regent's extravagant Royal Pavilion in Brighton; Rudyard Kipling's home; the Kent and East Sussex steam railway; Sissinghurst Castle Garden created in the 1930s; and the fabulously modernist De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill which currently has Anthony Gormley sculptures inhabiting the rooftop terrace. It was ace! I feel relaxed, rejuvenated and revitalised (and full of culture).

For the horticulturally minded amongst you, here are some pictures of Great Dixter and Sissinghurst gardens.

I loved the exuberant planting schemes at Great Dixter, although they were tricky to photograph successfully. Mr Q found the planting a bit too chaotic for his tastes, but I was thrilled by the juxtaposition of colours and shapes. Like jazz, he said. Exactly, I said. My favourite part was the Exotic Garden. Mr Q preferred his cappuccino. Oh, the irony.

The gardens at Sissinghurst were more formally arranged, with huge yew hedges dividing the space into individual "rooms" which contained relaxed but more colour-themed planting schemes. Here are a selection of the oranges, greens and pinks on show.

What a wonderful way to spend a week. My head is full of colour inspiration.

New beginnings

2010-08-17T20:11:00.004+01:00

I feel as though I've been in a bit of a creative rut recently and whilst my sister was staying with me last week an idea came to us that might help end my creative drought. My sister has been working through Keri Smith's Wreck This Journal and has found that having instructions on each page has allowed her imagination free reign and has helped prevent "journal block". We thought that we would try our own take on this idea - my sister is going to set me tailor-made tasks that will help me achieve some of my creative goals.

The first challenge that she has set is to create a brooch using buttons. My first idea is inspired by dominoes and liquorice allsorts - not something I've ever though about in the same sentence before! I've glued together several layers of coloured felt and then sewn on mother of pearl buttons.

My second idea uses fabric left over from my bridesmaids' dresses three and a half years ago. My original plan was to sew a few small black buttons into the centre, but I think the sparkly pewter coloured beads look better instead.

I have a third idea that will use several subtly coloured shell buttons sewn onto linen with decorative embroidery stitches around them. I'm enjoying the challenge and I feel as though I am justified in ignoring some of the housework in order to try and kickstart my creativity.

Home again!

2010-08-02T16:33:00.001+01:00

After 27 hours of travel, I am back home. Mr Q met me at Manchester airport, and the cats met me on the doorstep of our house. I am tired but happy. It was a successful trip and we have collected several hundred fossils - mostly snails and sea urchins - which will help in my research and in my PhD student's project. I was anticipating trouble at customs and had made sure that I had all the paperwork in order, but no-one raised an eyebrow or asked any questions about the large number of tiny well-wrapped packages in my hand luggage.

I enjoyed my last day in Australia - I spent it wandering around Melbourne. I went to the botanic gardens, took photos of Flinders Street Station (apparently my mum learned about it while studying geography at school) and managed to find time to visit a beautiful yarn shop, Woolbaa, in Albert Park where I found Jo Sharp yarn and pattern books to bring home as a souvenir. I also rushed across town on the tram to stop at one of the best quilt shops I've ever been to, Patchwork on Central Park, in Malvern East. Although the fabrics were predominantly from US and UK manufacturers, they had a fabulous selection of modern, bright, funky designs.

On the long trip back (I watched 7 movies!) I did a little tatting and crochet. I'll sew the ends in and then I'll be able to show you the tatted snowflake that I've been slowly working on.

I'll be back in Australia again at Christmastime with Mr Q, visiting his family. It'll be my first Christmas in the southern hemisphere and the first time Mr Q has been home for Christmas in ten years. His mum is already planning Christmas dinner!

Just my point of view

2010-07-29T15:43:00.000+01:00

All the fossil work has been done and I've spent the last few days driving from Adelaide to Melbourne. I knew it was a long way - but it really is a LONG WAY. We stayed overnight in Mount Gambier and then in Lorne, stopping off at a couple of quilt shops and scenic spots along the way. After battling the wind, the rain and numerous tourists, I managed to get quite a few pictures of places along the Great Ocean Road, including the twelve apostles (some of which are shown in the photo). It really is a beautiful part of the world. In Lorne, we ate very well at The Maple Tree and Moon's Espresso Bar and visited Erskine Falls. Just two more days until we board the plane for our long flight back to the UK. I'm not looking forward to the flight but I can't wait to see Mr Q and my two cute kitties again.

Up a creek without a paddle

2010-07-18T06:40:00.000+01:00

I've spent the last few days visiting fossil localities along the mighty Murray River. I love the landscape here - the river cliffs, the vegetation that looks so alien to a girl from the northern hemisphere. The birdsong sounds so different too - the morning chorus here is a symphony that surprises and delights me - full of whoops and whistles. And the birds themselves are spectacular. I've seen sulphur crested cockatoos, galahs, pelicans and many others that I haven't had a chance to try and identify. I can't get over how different it all is, and then I return home to my rented cottage in the evening and am surprised all over again - the television is almost exactly the same as in the UK - Dr Who, Silent Witness, Doc Martin, Midsomer Murders. It's a small (and crazy) world!

Down under

2010-07-12T12:34:00.001+01:00

I've been off the radar for a while - marking exam scripts, attending lots of end of year meetings and leading an undergraduate fieldclass to Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. Now I'm spending three weeks in Australia, again for work. Today I spent the day at Maslin Beach, south of Adelaide, studying the Tortachilla Limestone and its fantastic fossils. Fun times! As you can see, the scenery is beautiful and the weather was fabulous. I can't believe they call this winter.

Extreme Quilting

2010-06-06T21:34:00.002+01:00

Mr Q and I spent part of this weekend with my sister Kath. We visited a couple of antiques and collectables fairs where I scored a cute vintage blue and white polka dot apron and a big box of vintage buttons. We ate yummy food, courtesy of my sister and assorted restaurants and tea shops. And in between all this I sewed down the binding on this storm at sea quilt which I started piecing nine years ago, unquilted and requilted a couple of months ago and then promised to Kath.

The last couple of feet of the binding were sewn in the Tree Cathedral in Milton Keynes - this is an area of parkland with trees laid out to mimic the gothic splendour of Norwich Cathedral. While I stitched furiously, Mr Q took panoramic photos with his iphone including this 360 degree view within the cloisters (Kath and I had to keep moving!)

New Wave Quilt

2010-05-25T12:30:00.001+01:00

A few months ago, I discovered Elizabeth Hartman's blog Oh, Fransson! Among her many beautiful quilts and tutorials, I found the fantastic New Wave quilt pattern. With friends expecting a new baby I adapted the pattern for a smaller size and set to work with Heather Bailey's Fresh Cut fabrics. I thought I had plenty of time but Amber was born very early. I finished the quilt at the weekend and it will shortly be on its way to its new home - delivered before Amber was due to make her appearance in the world. I really hope she and her parents will like it.

The front

The back

A close-up of the quilting

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2010-05-22T15:13:00.001+01:00

After a bit of a quilting hiatus over the past couple of years, I have recently come back to it. In the time I've been away, blogs have multiplied dramatically and since my return I have really enjoyed looking at the wonderful quilts (and other crafts) that are being shared on blogs around the globe.

For the Blogger's Quilt Festival, I am sharing this quilt that I made about 4 years ago. It is called "Firestorm", but it may equally remind you of leaves against a crisp autumn sky or coral polyps in shallow tropical seas. It is completely pieced, including the L-shaped thin fuchsia borders which proved a bit of a challenge. Quilting was done in a range of metallic and rayon threads, using a variety of free motion patterns and some couched threads in the dark central patches.

And the story behind the quilt? Not long after I'd met Mr Q, he suggested that I make a blue and orange quilt. I fancied trying my hand at curved piecing and so the two ideas collided. I remember sitting with my Dad, picking out the fabrics together and sewing up some test blocks. Between us we decided on the third fabric selection.

1st attempt

2nd attempt

3rd attempt

I decided to enter the quilt in the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham that year, but plans were derailed when my Dad died very suddenly. Finally, I managed to finish the quilt and it just made the deadline for the Festival - with Mr Q and I speeding along the motorway to Manchester to drop it off at a quilt collection depot with minutes to spare. The final picture is of my Mum and I at the Festival of Quilts in 2006 in front of my quilt! It didn't win any prizes but it was exciting to see it hanging there! It now lives on my office wall at work, where my students often comment on it. Some even ask if they can take it home with them.

The postman rings twice

2010-05-13T13:02:00.000+01:00

I'm at home today, working through a stack of marking. It's not my favourite part of being a lecturer, but even dream jobs have their downsides. Happily, the postman chose today to deliver the book I'd ordered - Knits Men Want. As you can see, it's currently on the table waiting patiently until I can escape from the marking long enough for a quick read. I have even made a cup of tea in the hopes that I won't have to wait too long! Just a quick flick through has justified the purchase of this book - simple timeless designs with lots of options for different weights and types of yarn. I've been thinking of knitting something for Mr Q recently, but he is quite difficult to please and I have struggled to find something he'd like.

I have forayed into "Knitting for Mr Q" territory before, but after the amount of time I spent knitting it, I wish he'd wear it more. The article in question was a stripy jumper from a Jaeger leaflet - that's the image from the book, not my own Mr Q. I made it in the suggested colours, approved by none other than Mr Q himself. He was happy. I was happy. Until a thoughtless friend flung a spanner in the works with just 6 small words uttered within earshot of Mr Q. "It's a good job he's colourblind". Well, his confidence in wearing the multicoloured stripes was destroyed. He was convinced that the whole world was laughing at him. I hope Knits Men Want will help repair some of the damage.

Can you spare a minute?

2010-05-07T21:01:00.002+01:00

Monday was a public holiday and Mr Q and I (together with my visiting sister) took the opportunity of visiting a National Trust property - Erddig in North Wales. It was very busy but very enjoyable. I particularly liked some over-the-top Chinese wallpaper in the one of the bedrooms and I think my sister's favourite bit was lunch in the restaurant! The gardens were beautiful too. They included the most perfect apple blossom on some of the oldest apple trees I've ever seen.

Experimental

2010-04-07T23:11:00.000+01:00

Some time around Christmas, my mum bought an embellisher machine. She'd seen them and thought they were cool. I'd seen them and thought they were cool, but thought they were out of my price range. So mum bought one for us both to share and left it at my house for me to play with. Thank you, Mum, you're the best! Here are the results of my first playtime...

I call this first one "Ignition Sequence Start". There will be embroidery and beads added before it's finished.

I'm intending to embroider daisies on this "lawny" one. The base is part of an old cardigan which had seen better days and could only have been salvaged with leather elbow patches. I am a scientist, but I think that would be taking geekiness just a little too far.

This third one reminds me of rock formations or Australian aboriginal designs. It is also needle-felted onto old clothing - this time one of Mr Q's jumpers which met an undignified end in a laundry related incident. Oops!

Also today, I spent time in the garden digging and planting potatoes and onions. I think I'm going to have to add some quick cropping plants too - I am not known for my patience.

The heart of the matter

2010-04-05T22:54:00.001+01:00

I finally retrieved a tatting shuttle from the bottom of my workbasket and completed the Queen of Hearts motif from Mary Konior's Tatting with Visual Patterns. We've been to several weddings over the last few months and I'm all out of heart motifs to attach to wedding congratulations cards. It's my first motif for my second 25 motif challenge.

Also on the finishing front, here's the shrug I've been working on since January. The yarn is Noro Iro and the pattern comes from Jenny Watson's Designer Mini Knits. I fell in love with the pattern but then couldn't find a stockist for this particular yarn here in the UK. Kaleidoscope Yarns in Vermont came to my rescue with an unmissable offer at the end of last year - 20% off that more than paid for the postage. Here I am posing in my new shrug before heading out to dinner at my mum's house. How do you like our original 60s? / 70s? wallpaper?!

Domestic goddess

2010-04-03T14:17:00.000+01:00

I am off work for a whole week. Hooray! Next Saturday I will be heading off to Pembrokeshire to lead a fieldclass for first year undergraduate geologists. It's the first time I have been in charge of a fieldclass so I am a little anxious but I am not letting it spoil my holiday time. Mr Q is home from work too so we are enjoying some lazy days together.

I've been working on a few crafting projects - I'll add details in a later post - and have been reading and cooking and watching movies and cycling too. Yesterday, I tried a new recipe discovered in the pages of the April issue of Country Living magazine. Here's the last portion of rhubarb flapjack crumble served with a cup of tea for elevenses. I'd share with you, but I'll have to wolf it down before the cat comes over to investigate.

After the storm

2010-03-29T15:48:00.001+01:00

I started this quilt in 2001 - just after I'd left Oregon but was still returning to visit 2 or 3 times a year. The top went together quite quickly although I pieced a lot of it by hand, sitting in planes and airport departure lounges.

Then came the quilting. I started quilting by hand with concentric circles centred on the large square blocks. It looked ok but didn't set the world alight - not so much storm at sea as raindrops on a stagnant pond - so I put it to one side and moved on to other projects.

And then, earlier this year, I made a decision to complete as many of my unfinished projects as I could to clear space for new projects and new pursuits. And so, I spent a few snowy evenings snuggled under this quilt removing the hand quilting. I was surprised by how neat and even the stitches were and in some small way I was sorry to see them go, but my mental image of windy, wavy swirls kept my mind on the task and my hand on the seam ripper. I've spend the last couple of days sewing big swirls and I am very happy with how it has brought this quilt to life. Just the binding to go, and my list of unfinished quilts will be one item shorter.

Shrugging my shoulders

2010-03-22T21:57:00.000Z

I had planned to finish knitting this shrug this evening but look who got here first! I just had the collar to complete but I guess it will have to wait until Bonnie finds somewhere else to curl up and nap.

All's well that ends well

2010-03-03T19:32:00.000Z

Last year, I was asked if I could quilt a vibrant log cabin quilt top for an acquaintance of my mum's. It took me quite a while to complete and I struggled with a few confidence issues along the way, but I am very happy with the way it has turned out. Here is the finished quilt - which I returned to its owner at the weekend.

Lessons learnt:
1) the fear of going wrong is far worse than making a mistake, ripping out the stitches and requilting
2) if no-one gives you deadlines, make them for yourself
3) if you push yourself, you can achieve far more than you ever thought possible.

Even with this philosophical outlook, I don't think I'll be be quilting for others in the near future. Crafting is my escape from the stress of work, so I think I'll keep the pressure off, hone my skills and work through my stack of unfinished projects.

The promise of spring

2010-02-20T09:57:00.000Z

I'm afraid I've been neglecting my blog for the last few months. It's been a busy time, mostly extricating myself from under a very large pile of marking. Finally the marks are in, the students have (mostly) passed and I have a little more time. In celebration, I taught myself to crochet last weekend. And here are the results of my labour - 3 flowers made in a soft and cuddly bamboo/wool mix yarn.

I'm thrilled with how they turned out, and if I can keep churning them out, I plan to make a scarf out of them for my niece's birthday.

Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!

2010-02-05T11:58:00.000Z

Well, yesterday was an exciting day. On my way to work I popped into the newsagent's to have a quick flick through the home and craft magazines. And I am thrilled to report that one of my quilts has been published as a pattern in issue 14 of Sew Hip! magazine. This is so much more fun than getting a scientific paper published!

I think they could have done a better job at photographing it though - the design doesn't show up as well as in my quick snap below....

Brrr!

2010-01-11T22:04:00.002Z

It's still chilly here in Wigan with an inch or two of snow lying on the ground. And it's been a bit glacial in our house. Mr Q and I spent some time this weekend adding extra insulation to the loft at the back of our house, lagging the cold water tanks, and putting in boards to create a storage area. It was a dirty job but we'll hopefully start feeling the benefit. Next on the list is the front loft, and blocking the draughts that sneak through the floor of the living room from the cellar.

On the crafting front, I've sewn a hat from a kit for my sister, and a clothes peg bag for her too.Then, since it's been so cold I turned to knitting trying to finish some projects I'd started a few years ago. First up, I finished knitting all the pieces for a short tied cardigan. Now I'm just waiting for a circular needle so that I can complete the border. In the meantime I've knitted the second arm of a jumper (all pieces now completed) and I'm finishing the front of yet another jumper. This last one shouldn't take long - the knitting pins are 20mm in diameter and there are less than 30 stitches in each row! So I should have 3 new hand knitted garments to wear within the next few weeks. Mind you if this cold spell continues I'll be wearing them all, one on top of the other!

The Road to Wigan Pier

2010-01-03T18:54:00.002Z

I've not posted for a while. I had been hoping for a quiet Christmas and New Year with plenty of time for crafting, but unfortunately it didn't happen quite like that. Mr Q and I have spent a lot of the past two weeks traveling around a snowy England - from Scarborough to Hull to Milton Keynes to Cambridge and back to Wigan. The shovel in the boot of the car has seen some use, and I've managed to lose my mobile phone somewhere along the way!

I spent Christmas Day visiting my sister in hospital. She was discharged on Boxing Day and since then we've been looking after her here in Wigan. We are really hoping that 2010 treats her better than 2009. She must be ill - after years are rebutting all my suggestions of crafty hobbies, she has started cross-stitching! We had our Christmas lunch and opened presents on the 27th. The goose needed major surgery before it would fit in the oven but it tasted delicious.

Today was the first day that Mr Q and I had to ourselves and we spent this afternoon walking along the Leeds - Liverpool Canal through Wigan. Wigan was built on coal, canals and cotton, so it seemed only right that we should explore the canals a bit more. We walked the Wigan Flight section of the canal from Wigan Pier to New Springs - just a couple of miles but with more than 20 locks! The towpath was fairly treacherous after all the freezing weather but we really enjoyed exploring more of our adopted hometown.

Plodding along...

2009-11-26T00:50:00.001Z

It's slow going here in Wigan, but I have managed to complete the second block for the Joseph's Coat quilt along I'm taking part in. I'm a bit behind the pace, but I have simultaneously been looking after my sister who's been in hospital and teaching first year undergraduate palaeontology. I am so looking forward to my Christmas break - just me and Mr Quiltification and time to knit and sew and tat...

Roses are red...

2009-11-11T20:29:00.002Z

Roses are red... or pink or yellow or almost any colour you can think of. I love roses, though I am not overly successful at keeping them alive. This one is red and pink and yellow - a little like the Joseph's Coat variety of rose. The pattern is "Wild Rose" from Mary Konior's A Pattern Book of Tatting and it is tatted, appropriately enough, using Yarnplayer's size 20 "Roses" colourway. It should last longer than the ones in my garden.

With that, I have completed 25 motifs in the 25 motif challenge but I'm not ready to hang up my shuttles just yet.

Joseph's Coat Quilt Along

2009-11-10T21:12:00.001Z

This weekend I had the chance to start on my first block for the Joseph's Coat Quilt Along that Kellie at Don't Look Now is leading. I've not yet sewn down all my pieces but I enjoyed choosing my fabrics and arranging the pieces so much that I wanted to share my progress so far. I'm not sure I'll be keeping up with the keenest students, but I will plod along at my own pace enjoying the process as well as the result.

Green fingers

2009-11-02T17:58:00.000Z

Phew! That was quite a busy weekend. Saturday saw me exploring a nearby garden centre with a two-pronged mission. First, to find a suitable shrub for my next door neighbour in remembrance of her husband who died earlier this year - I bought her a camellia with pink double blooms. And second, to buy some plants for new window boxes at the back of our house. With the nights drawing in now, I ended up planting these in the dark with just the light through the windows casting an eerie glow over me (it was Halloween!). So when I woke up on Sunday morning and saw them though the window, I was very pleased with how they turned out.

On Sunday, Mr Q and I drove to Chester to an Art Deco collectors' fair. It was my birthday treat. Mr Q had overcome his ambivalence to chrome and geometry and was planning to give me some birthday money to spend on whatever Art Deco delights I wanted. Imagine his delight when all I wanted were some buttons! Not just any buttons, you understand, but fabulous vintage buttons that I plan to use as bag closures. Still, far cheaper than he had been anticipating. All in all, we were a bit disappointed with the fair - there were only about 20 to 25 stalls mainly selling decorative items and ceramics. I am a big fan of late 19th and early 20th century design, but I think I'd have enjoyed a bit more diversity than what was on show.

On the plus side, it gave us a chance to have a look around Chester city centre. I spent a little time and a little cash in Liberty Bell - a cute gift and quilting shop. And Mr Q bought this beautiful necklace for my birthday. I hope it's washable as I may never take it off!
Other than that, we performed our usual medley of chores and "homework", and I managed to get a few more cushion covers sewn for my etsy shop. And finally, I drafted the pattern for the Quiltalong at Don't Look Now that I am taking part in.

On a roll

2009-10-27T23:11:00.006Z

Two more balls of Rico Pompon Print yarn made their way into my house yesterday. This stuff knits up super fast - I only have about a quarter of a ball to go and I'll have completed one berry scarf for a good friend's birthday, one mauve scarf for my next door neighbour's Christmas present, and one peach, pink and red scarf for a nameless but very special family member. I hope they love snuggling into the unbelievable softness of their new scarves.

Gothic revival

2009-10-23T17:04:00.004+01:00

Yesterday's post brought this little beauty - a German tatting pattern book from 1920 that I managed to snag on ebay. Some of the designs are very pretty, but the thing I love most about this book (even more than the embossed cover design) is that it is printed in gothic script. It's almost like reading a book of spells. I shouldn't be so surprised really, because tatting is a magical thing - turning a length of thread into a thing of beauty with just a little sleight of hand!

I've just managed to find a few minutes to sew in the ends on yet another snowflake so that I can share it with you. This is the Lacy Snowflake from Vida Sunderman's Tatted Snowflakes. It is tatted in the glitzy size 10 Anchor Liana Metallic. That's number 24 in the challenge. Almost there!

Beady eyed

2009-10-10T18:13:00.008+01:00

This is the Frosty Snowflake from Vida Sunderman's Tatted Snowflakes. It's tatted in size 10 Anchor mercer crochet cotton with slightly opalescent aqua seed beads. It is number 23 in my 25 motif challenge and my second attempt at using beads in my tatting. I'm not sure why I've been so reluctant to use beads - the hardest part was threading the 100 or so beads onto the thread. I see more beads in my future...

Wednesday saw me knitting on the train on my way to and back from a meeting in London. I've now completed the scarf in Rico Pompon Print yarn. Barely off the needles, it was hijacked by Mr Quiltification who is modelling it in this sneaky photo I managed to grab. I think I've been commissioned to make him one of his own in more manly colours. First though, I'm planning to make some progress on a cardigan I started last year.

Outside the box

2009-10-06T22:30:00.004+01:00

Today's post concerns not tatting, not sewing, not even quilting, but knitting. You may or may not know that I am the world's slowest knitter. Well, I assume I am since I have never met a slower knitter although I've never had an official knitting speed test. Anyway, despite the speed issue, I am always tempted by pretty yarn, and have several unfinished knitting projects lurking in dark corners of the house. Today I discovered this Rico Design Pompon Print yarn in a range of delicious variegated colours. Each 200g ball knits can be knitted up into a 2m long scarf. I can't get over how quickly it grows - I am already a third of the way through the ball and am planning who to make scarves for this Christmas.

Twinkle twinkle little star

2009-10-03T17:43:00.002+01:00

Close to my place of work are a couple of fabulous shops - one sells upholstery fabrics at an outrageously good price whilst the other stocks all sorts of creative goodness - fabric by the kilo, threads, haberdashery, yarn, scrapbooking supplies... Since the majority of my colleagues are male I can pretty much guarantee that I won't be interrupted if I slope off to browse during my lunch break.
A couple of weeks ago, I came across a box of Anchor Liana Metallic - a size 10 mercer cotton with a glitzy silver metallic threaded through it. At £2.99 for four 50g balls, it would have been a crime to leave it on the shelf. Here is my first piece of tatting made using this thread - it is the Ribbon Snowflake from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman, and it's number 22 in my 25 motif challenge. I'll definitely be making a few more snowflakes with this thread - I like the subtle sparkle and it only takes a little more care than tatting with a standard mercer thread.

Snow is falling...

2009-09-30T23:19:00.002+01:00

The weather has definitely turned colder over the past few days. There's been wind, and rain, and misty mornings; all sure signs that autumn is on its way. Thankfully, there has been no real snow - just this one flake of the tatted variety. This is one motif of Mary Konior's "Flower Patch" from Tatting with Visual Patterns, made from my first outing with Lisbeth thread. I really like the stitch definition this thread gives, plus the firm body and slight sheen.

I've been a bit remiss on the crafty front over recent weeks. Hopefully, with the evenings drawing in I'll be able to spend a bit more time creating. With any luck, I should be able to get plenty done this weekend too - Mr Q will be at a conference so I shall have "home rule" for 48 hours!

Roses are red...

2009-09-14T13:59:00.004+01:00

Whilst on holiday in Cornwall, I spent a few evenings putting together this sample for a class I taught on Saturday. The design is an amalgamation of several different stained glass windows that I have spotted in and around Wigan. The simple design made teaching the technique more straightforward.

The class went well, and as usual I was amazed by the difference fabric choices make. Quite a few of the ladies went for pink roses and my mum made hers from a collection of hand-dyed and batik fabrics that looked spectacular together.

Holiday!

2009-09-08T23:56:00.001+01:00

From the photo you'd be forgiven for thinking that Mr Q and I (plus Mr Q's parents) were on holiday in a tropical paradise. We're actually in Cornwall and this view is inside at the Eden Project. Amazing, eh?

How do you tat?

2009-09-02T14:47:00.006+01:00

Yesterday's post brought a copy of Rebecca Jones' Complete Book of Tatting. I'd been contemplating this purchase for a little while and finally took the plunge, thinking that it would be very helpful to have a reference book to help with my regular tatting dilemmas. I think I've mentioned before that I'm a self-taught tatter and that I've never met anyone who can tat, or ever seen someone tat in the flesh (or perhaps in the thread), so I was interested to see the six different methods of tatting that Rebecca Jones outlines. Turns out that I use a seventh method - completely different to any shown in the book!

Anyway, I thought I'd give some of the alternative methods a go. I started by looking at method number 2, the "traditional method .... used by the majority of modern tatters" thinking that if everyone else is doing it, so will I. Unfortunately, I could not make head nor tail of the instructions - you seem to need not only hand-eye coordination but hand-hand-eye coordination. I was worried that I would end up with both hands tied together so I gave up and settled on method number 1, the "reverse Riego method". Something about Mlle Riego's name and history enticed me to try this technique and I found that I enjoyed it a lot - enough to tat a little motif from page 48 of the same book using a free sample of Altin Basak thread from Tatting and Design. This is motif number 20 in my 25 motif challenge.

I'd love to know - do you tat using any of the methods shown in Rebecca Jones' book, or do you have an original technique all of your own?

The heart of the matter

2009-09-01T20:01:00.008+01:00

Here is my motif number 19 in the 25 motif challenge. It is Jon Yusoff's Heart o' Daisies tatted in size 16 Ancora Prestige thread. My plan is to stitch it to some linen fabric and mount it in a frame as a wedding gift for a friend who got married last month. It took some concentration to complete all the split rings and make sure all the stitches were facing in the same direction, but I am so pleased with how it turned out.

I was tatting this while waiting for an optician's appointment on Saturday. Mr Quiltification was choosing some new glasses, and I was waiting for an eye test. The good news is that my eyesight is still better than 20/20 - the sad news is that I will have to wait until I can get the winged spectacles that will make me look intelligently frightening or frighteningly intelligent! It's a small price to pay for good vision, I suppose! Mr Q has chosen some very flash new glasses - I'll have to smarten up my act if I want to be seen out with him.

Rainbow days

2009-08-25T22:59:00.001+01:00

Your rainbow is shaded white and green.

What is says about you: You are a contemplative person. You feel strong ties to nature and your mood changes with its cycles. People depend on you to make them feel secure. Those around you admire your fresh outlook and vitality.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Luck of the Irish

2009-08-17T13:51:00.005+01:00

I had a couple of yards of Yarnplayer's Leafy hand-dyed thread left on a shuttle and decided to attempt this Celtic Knot Shamrock designed by Marilee Rockley. It took a bit of fiddling to weave the knot but I am thrilled with how it turned out. It is number 18 in my 25 motif challenge and a gift for my husband's 91 year old Nana who has a bit of the Irish in her.

Lazy daisy

2009-08-11T18:40:00.004+01:00

This is a little update to show you what I've been tatting recently. The webpage with the pattern on is no longer in existence but my print-out shows that it is called "Arlene's First Place Win". I'm tatting it in Yarnplayer's Leafy hand dyed green thread and Flora size 20 yellow and white threads. I've one more round of green to go before the final round of daisies around the outside. It is already the largest single piece of tatting I have completed.

Space to tat

2009-07-27T08:58:00.008+01:00

A couple of days ago, Krystle of KrystleDawne Tats issued a challenge to members of the tatting community to show off our tatting spaces. I don't have a particular spot where I consistently go to tat, just a small red silk bag with my latest project in that I carry around with me. I'm therefore choosing to show you the current contents of the silk bag, and the chair it was closest to, where I made my most recent double stitches.
Given that I tat most mornings and evenings on the train to and from Liverpool where I work, I could have shown you a photo of the train carriage instead but I'm sure I would have got some funny looks from my fellow commuters! They are puzzled enough by the tatting itself.

Treasure!

2009-07-26T16:35:00.005+01:00

Yesterday, I visited Gawthorpe Hall in Lancashire with Mr Quiltification. While he enjoyed the Hall itself (and took this fantastic photo), I met up with my mum and disappeared to the stable block for a look at some treasures from the Rachel Kay Shuttleworth textile collection. Rachel Kay Shuttleworth lived at the hall and was herself a talented needlewoman. She started to amass a collection of textiles which now numbers over 30,000 items, and is second only in the UK to the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection. On display were a range of accessories through the ages - shoes, hats, parasols, bags, fans, gloves etc. Many of the items were exquisitely embroidered and as a lover of period drama, it was a real privilege to see these beautiful antique items in the flesh.

And there was an extra special treat for me. My mum works as a volunteer with the collection and she had told the curator about my love of tatting. Waiting for me to delve into was a big box of antique tatting including several items tatted by the famous early 20th century tatter Lady Katherine Hoare. There was also a tatted tablecloth and several older pieces with no chains and all the little rings tied together rather than joined as we do now. It was fascinating, and I've been invited back to draw diagrams of those pieces that particularly caught my eye. I can't wait.

The cat sat on the...

2009-07-17T13:22:00.004+01:00

...chair.
Just a quick update on the home-front. Mr Quiltification and I have been attacking the house renovations with renewed vigour recently. On stripping the wallpaper in the back bedroom and bathroom we discovered a couple of leaks in the roof, and so I have just arranged for the back part of the house (the North wing, if you will) to be reroofed. This weekend we also took up the vibrant green, brown and orange 1960s carpet from the back bedroom and discovered some very old pieces of patterned lino underneath. Both have now gone to the tip, so we are left with bare floorboards while we decide what to do next. The electrician is due on Monday to wire in our shower pump. It's all go! Downstairs has seen a few changes too. We've found a new fire surround for the living room (gotta love ebay!). Also in the living room, the photo shows how happily our cat, Mr George, has taken to the Art Deco armchairs which I purchased on ebay several weeks ago.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

2009-07-02T23:00:00.004+01:00

We're experiencing something of a heatwave here in the UK. The sun has been shining, the mercury has risen, and Wimbledon has been almost unaffected by rain. In the midst of all this, I have been thinking of ice cream, ice crystals and snowflakes and I finally have another piece of tatting to show you. This is snowflake number 4 from Lene Bjorn's 24 Snowflakes in Tatting, made from Flora thread. I like nearly all the patterns in this book, and plan to complete as many as possible. This snowflake is also the 17th motif in my 25 motif challenge.

Back from the back of beyond

2009-06-22T14:42:00.005+01:00

I have spent the last fortnight in County Donegal in the northwestern corner of Ireland. It really is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I have the photos to prove it! We've been running an Advanced Geological Field Techniques class for geology undergraduates - it's been a lot of fun and a lot of hard work and the students should now have the necessary skills to complete their independent field projects this summer.

Whilst in Ireland, I had very little free time to dedicate to any crafty endeavours, but I did what every self-respecting crafter does when visiting a new place - I found the local craft supply shop and spent some cash. The Crafters Basket in Cliffoney, County Sligo had a great selection of quilting cotton, including some beautiful batiks which proved irresistable!

I've got a busy few days coming up - I'll be supervising student dissertation projects and taking part in our University Open Day. But with Wimbledon highlights to watch in the evenings, I should have a little time to tat, sew, knit etc.

Broken hearted

2009-05-30T17:51:00.003+01:00

Today as I watched the FA Cup Final (the very last match of the English football season), I finished tatting this heart with my broken shuttle. I had to make sure not to stab myself, but I completed Georgia Seitz's Basic Split Ring Heart without further mishap. The thread is size 16 Ancora Prestige and it is my motif number 16 in the 25 motif challenge. No more tatting for me today - I have a stack of exam scripts to mark. On the other hand, maybe I could reward myself with tatting therapy each time I complete 5 scripts - mark 5, tat a little, mark 5 more, tat a little more... By the way, Chelsea beat Everton 2-1 :-(

Ooops!

2009-05-29T17:18:00.010+01:00

Mr Quiltification loves Eric Clapton. A lot. So much so that every time he's on tour in the UK, Mr Q goes to see him, sometimes even twice. On Tuesday, we drove down to see him at the Royal Albert Hall in London. We sat in a box - something I had never ever done before and soaked up the atmosphere and the music. I am not a big Clapton fan, but I think I may have tapped my foot at some point during the evening!

Before the concert, we sat in the bar sipping orange juice, and I did a little light tatting. Then calamity struck - I dropped my mother of pearl shuttle on the floor. It broke. I looked sad. Mr Q said not to worry and that I should order a replacement. So I did, and here it is with the other goodies I ordered from Roseground Supplies. They've just started stocking the much talked about Lizbeth thread so I bought a few balls and I'm really touched that Roseground added a free sample of some variegated Lizbeth thread for me to try.

Please take a seat

2009-05-28T21:44:00.004+01:00

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I had my eye on a wardrobe on eBay. Sadly we missed out, but there was a silver lining. Whilst trawling through the antique furniture listings I came across a chair that was just begging to be bought. It's a Morris style arts and crafts arm chair. And it is truly fabulous. I have coveted one of these for quite a while, thought about trying to import one from the States (where apparently many of the British ones have ended up over the years) and even considered taking up carpentry so that I could construct my own! Imagine my delight to find an affordable one on eBay with the seller only 20 miles away from me. Needless to say I placed a bid, and happily I am now the proud owner of a truly gorgeous armchair. Over the coming weeks, I will be getting seat and back cushions made for it. In the meantime, it's a little on the hard side!

Door to door

2009-05-18T23:47:00.004+01:00

Grant and I moved into our house in the autumn of 2006. Since then, we've been slowly renovating the place, which had been a bit neglected by the previous owners. So far, we've had central heating installed, all the windows repaired / replaced and just recently we've had new front doors manufactured and installed. They were modeled on our neighbours' doors - they still have the original Victorian doors - and replaced the nasty glass doors that had been put in some time within the last 50 years. Here are our new doors after several coats of red paint. I am really pleased with how they turned out.

Spring is sprung

2009-05-18T23:14:00.005+01:00

In celebration of spring (although we've not seen too much in the way of sunny weather here), I've tatted this little bookmark. The pattern is Bina Madden's variation of Mae Taylor's floral bookmark. It's a little short (about 4 and a half inches long) but I plan on making another longer one at some point in the future. Since a recent thread exchange, I've been eying my quilting thread with a view to turning it into tatting. So step 1 in the quilting thread utilization programme was using Sulky Blendables 12 weight quilting thread for this bookmark. It's quite a heavy weight quilting thread and (as you can see in the photo) it comes in beautifully subtle variegated shades. It tatted up pretty nicely (if a little fuzzily), and is somewhere close to a size 60 crochet cotton.

In other news, my parents-in-law will be visiting from Australia this summer. We plan on getting the spare bedroom ship-shape before they arrive so expect some renovation posts over the next few weeks. I've got one eye on a wardrobe on ebay as I type this!

Hexagon heaven

2009-05-10T23:30:00.001+01:00

It's been a while since I've posted but I've not been sitting around doing nothing. I've been pretty busy - firstly taking 60 odd students to west Wales to learn about geology and then damaging a disc in my back. I've started a few pieces of tatting - the danger of buying some
new shuttles is that I can have several pieces on the go at once. None are yet finished, but I'm hoping to have a bookmark to show you in the next few days. In the meantime, here's a close-up of some quilting I've recently finished for a friend. I wanted the quilting it to look
like ripples on a pond and am pleased with how it turned out.

Mark my words

2009-03-24T21:41:00.005Z

Motif number 14 is this bookmark created using a pattern on Jane Eborall's blog. It gave me a chance to practice split rings and use some thread I'd received in the thread exchange from Jeanette Hasseman in Ohio. This is Manuela size 20 in a riotous rainbow variegated colourway. I'll be using this bookmark to mark my spot in Jane Austen's Emma which I have just started reading.

Show some love

2009-03-24T21:26:00.004Z

I've reached the halfway point in my personal 25 motif tatting challenge. Motif number 13 is Heart's Desire by Susan Fuller tatted in red size 16 Ancora Prestige. It measures about 4 inches (10 cm) across).

Mango mango

2009-03-15T20:23:00.004Z

Here's my first attempt at tatting with fine thread. It's YLI cotton machine quilting thread in the mango colourway sent to me by Stacey Houston from Washington state. What pretty colours! The motif is a variation on the Patchwork design in Mary Konior's "Tatting with Visual Patterns" that I have borrowed from the local library. I say "variation" but we all know that I mean that I made some mistakes! Still, since the whole thing only measures about 3.5 cm across, it's hard to see the errors.

Thread exchange

2009-03-15T19:38:00.008Z

I recently took part in my very first tatting thread exchange. I sent thread to all 4 corners of the globe (ok - Wales, Canada and the USA) and different threads miraculously appeared through my letterbox from the above mentioned 4 corners. Here are all the threads that I received - nearly all of them are types that I haven't tried before. The most surprising thing for me is that many of them are very fine. I never realised that many folks routinely use such fine threads for tatting. My usual tatting threads looks like rope in comparison to most of these so it'll be interesting to see how I cope. If I enjoy the fine threads, it will suddenly open up new and unexpected ways of using my machine quilting threads. What a great way to try new threads without much expense.

Transferable skills

2009-03-11T23:23:00.007Z

It's been a while since my last post but I haven't been idle. I've discovered that it's possible to have more than one project on the go at any one time. This is a concept that I've been at ease with in my quilting pursuits for some time, but have only very recently applied to my tatting. What I'm trying to say is that I have started a few things and have finished none of them. That is, until today, when I completed the last double stitch of this "Cobweb Doily" from Rita Weiss' Tatted Doilies and Edgings. It's tatted in Ancora Prestige size 16 thread and measures about 5 inches (13 cm) across. That makes 11 in my 25 motif challenge - almost half way.Another reason for the prolonged silence is that I have been working on some quilting (also as yet unfinished). I've almost finished quilting a top for my Mum which I'm hoping to finally complete by Mothering Sunday next week. Plus, I've been playing around with a small quilt sample made of hand-dyed fabrics that I started in a workshop with Barbara Weeks last week.

Scally cat

2009-02-20T21:36:00.003Z

I couldn't resist sharing this picture with you. This is our little cat, Bonnie, keeping warm under the table lamp! Maybe she thinks it's a sun bed. We've had Bonnie for two years now - she came from the animal rescue centre after she was found as a stray roaming the streets of Liverpool. She is very cute, very loving and very mischievous. She obviously has a strong affinity to her home town - a place well known for the fake orange tans of its female residents!

Motif number 10

2009-02-20T21:21:00.003Z

I've used a little more of ladyshuttlemaker's "Icicle" hand dyed thread to make motif number 10 in the 25 motif tatting challenge. This thread is lovely to tat with, very smooth and very tightly wound so that the stitches slide easily and the stitches all look neat and crisp. I'm a convert - I see more exciting threads in my future. The snowflake is the "Ribbon Snowflake" from Vida Sunderman's Tatted Snowflakes. It measures about 2 inches across.

As cold as ice

2009-02-12T17:43:00.005Z

The icy cold weather continues and in recognition of that, I broke out the "icicle" hand dyed thread that I recently purchased from ladyshuttlemaker and tatted another snowflake. This one is the Ribbon Floss Snowflake from Vida Sunderman's "Tatted Snowflakes". It measures about 4 cm (1.5 inches) across and is motif number 9 in my 25 motif challenge. I've left the ends so that it will be easier to hang in the window next Christmas - it's got nothing to do with laziness, honest!

Spread a little love

2009-02-09T19:07:00.002Z

As Valentine's Day is fast approaching I thought I'd try tatting a heart. This is Betsy Evans' Small Tatted Heart that I found on the web.

It's tatted in the bargain Ancora Prestige that I bought last week. The thread is size 16, and the finished heart measures about 2.5 inches (8 cm) across. The thread is very crisp and fairly smooth (but not wiry) making it a pleasure to work with. I like how defined each picot looks. I definitely got high quality thread at a bargain basement price.