Bee a Bee

Last week it was all about being a bee. No, I have to disappoint you, I have not been a busy bee .. just making bee blocks for January. I have been so lazy that I forgot to make pictures of all of them. First of all there was the Modern Irish Bee. Ruth asked for gorgeous blocks in ash grey with 1'' scraps. The tutorial can be found at the Modern Irish Quilt Guild.

The Modern Stitching Bee was a bit more tricky. The center of the block should be scrappy blue surrounded by three wonky borders in grey, white and blue. Did you ever make a block the size 18.5 vs 24.5''? How big is your cutting mat? Exactly! Mine is 18 vs 24''.  So there was no way in cutting the block to the right size. The only thing I could do was putting the mat on the block and cut around. So sorry Katy but I hope you can fix this!

There was one more block I made but I was in such a rush to bring the envelopes to the post office that I did not make a picture. This block is for Sarah in Bee Blessed. I decided to use up all the "cabbage fabrics" and make at least one bee block a month for Bee Blessed.

Last week I have also been working on the EPP but I got stuck. I am not sure which of the two designs I should be working on. What do you think?

Linking up with Monday Morning Star Count 2014/3

Finish A Long 2014 Q1

It took a long time now to write the list but finally I got it sorted. I walked into the spare room where all the fabrics are stored and had a good look around. So this is my list for Q1 with Katy

1. Spider web block
Rhonda was so kind and drew it for me so now it just has to be made

2. Fussy cut blocks
It was fun taking part in the swap but now they need to be made into something gorgeous

3. Londonbag
I am going to London after Easter and I need a map and a bag

4. EPP
I started these some days ago without any idea what it is going to be. Lets see what it is going to be

5. Embroidery
I started it a long time ago and as the weather is not getting better stitching on the sofa might be a good idea

6. Blockusing
I made this as a trial run and need to make something useful out of it

Think the list is long enough now and with two birthday parties coming soon time is running out already. So time to get working!

Matchstickquilting

Do you ever get lost in the world wide web? When I saw Cindy posting about the meet up I did not have a clue that I never blogged about this Christmas present which never went on the travel. When I started this little place mat I had in mind to make it for a friend. The only problem was, I should have asked her before I started about her color preferences. When I told her "aqua and red" she straightaway told me, that are not her colors. Fine! I finished it anyway and love it.

I have never done so much quilting. It feels great! Thank you Leanne for showing it so many times and giving a lot of tips how to do.  Not only that I have managed it also the place mat feels incredible. The quilting gives a lot of stiffness to the piece and texture. I do not know how many lines I have been sewing taking care not to cross over but it took three bobbins to finish this one - that surprised me!

I used a variegating thread in aqua. It gives the grey background a lovely addition. For the back I used a white thread keeping it almost invisible so you can read the story (if there is one)

Kindl cover in skull, sewing case from May and my Grandfathers cigarette case which I love so much

This morning was a beautiful day so I finally could use the time when two kids are training to go down to the beach with the little one. We had a lovely walk and she was a great helper. The streets were really slippy and she was the whole way pretending ice skating and chatting I should not walk in high heels here. 

To be honest it was freezing cold. I really appreciate her help making this picture to show you the full size. She was really tough taking out her hands of the pockets. Thank you so much!

Now it is time to sit down and think about Q1 2014. There are some UFOs that want to be finished and some plans that need to become reality.

Trip around the world in "Cabbage"

This is what I call this quilt: "Cabbage"! Some already followed the story of this beauty on Instagram but the story started a long time ago. So come with me on a journey of fabrics. It all started with a fabric swap where I took two places. Nothing really dramatic. So I ask hub to bring me those two each one yard.



Really easy BUT I got only one fabric AND a bundle to make a specific quilt. And here we have the problem: the bundle is absolutely not mine (big flowers) and there was no pattern! Just a little tiny note what you have to buy extra and where to get the pattern. I do not tell you that it was very expensive and the minimum I would ask for spending so much money is a sheet with cutting instructions. There was nothing!!! So the bundle was put in the corner until a short time before Christmas when I decided to make my mother a birthday present. As I already made trip along blocks I thought that might not be that hard to figure out a whole quilt. I sat down and did some maths (I love that part) and started cutting and sewing. The first block came together really easy and it was faster than expected. I used some left overs of the squares to make a pillow with the kids.


I have to say the kids really had fun putting the stamp pad all over the hands. I was surprised the color war so soft on the fabric. So back to the quilt. The blue fabric should build the diamond and the border and this is how it looks like...

I have to be honest and the colors are amazing. Absolutely vibrant and stunning. I also admit the green is really one of my favorites. So if you ask now why this quilt got its name? The blue fabric is called Cabbage and it is a cabbage field in blue and green.

I am not sure if my mum would be impressed if I tell her these are not roses in blue and green so I just do not do so! As I wanted to have a reflection of  all the colors used I made a scrappy binding and I love it. It really rounds up the whole quilt.

Together with the blue border it is perfect. For the back I again used a fluffy blanket. I wanted to giver her something to cuddle into as she is always complaining about the cold weather. She is most of the time in the living room and the huge window lets the cold in especially in winter time. So now she has her own quilt to warm her up.

The quilting was kept very simple straight lines diagonally. I wanted to make an other spiral as on the pillow but it did not work out. The fluffy blanket got stretched even if I spray glued it to the batting. It was huge work to rip it and after some days I got the last kick and got motivated to finally finish it.

Nine days after the birthday the bundle now is finished to travel to Austria. She does not know that I sew and she has no clue that there is a parcel now with birthday cards from the kids traveling to her. I hope she will love it. My girl does ;)

Details to the quilt:

Name:  Cabbage

Made for: my mom

Fabric: Westminster Fassett

Size: Approximately70x72 inches.

Pattern: Trip Around the World using this tutorial with 3.5'' stripes

 

 

Q4 FAL 2013

I am totally lazy at the moment. The weather is crazy and does not help a little tiny bit getting me moving. So over Christmas it was terrible stormy and with this the natural light was almost not there. Not only that the daylight is fading at about 4 the whole days were grey grey grey not even with sunny spots. I had absolutely not motivation to sew but it is time to have a look what I managed to be done from this list

1. Modern Irish Bee Quilt - DONE
I had a lot of fun doing a photo shooting with this around in Galway. 

2. Modern Irish Quilter Quilt - DONE
Managed to finish it before Christmas.

3. UFO from Rhonda - NOT EVEN TOUCHED
no more words

4. Embroidery - FOUND IT IN THE PILE
and nothing more done

5. my boshi - Ripped it

No, this is not much and not sure if any of those make it on the Q1 list. I am happy with my quilt. Love to snuggle under this huge beauty and it makes me feel good.

Thanks to all the sponsors of the Finish-A-Long 2013  and thanks to Leanne for all the work. The tutorials you found are amazing and it is really fun to look around at all those finished projects!