 I've spent the day with my friend Heather, showing her how to make a little box-bag, like this one that I made for her birthday a few months ago.....  .....unfortunately we had an awful lot of talking to do first, so didn't really start sewing until after lunch.....  .....and in no time at all, she'd produced this fab little bag - this looks really great :)
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 I've finished the machine-applique on these placemats, and the binding is on (hei hei Eva - I used the "Eva method" tor this!!), and they are ready to use.....  .....Hanne puts some lovely kits together for small projects like this.....  .....I especially like the lace trim on these, as along with the muted colours, it gives it an aged feel.....  .....I was up late last night getting these finished.....  .....hmmm - wonder what my next project will be??
 I bought this kit to make some placemats from Lappedilla while I was in Norway, and decided to make a start on it. It's an AnnAKa pattern, "Kaffekverna" - (translated means Coffee Grinders)......  .....firstly, there was lots of chainpiecing - my top tip is to use a medium shade of grey for the piecing, so you don't have to keep changing the thread colour when you are doing lots of projects.....  .....then there was lots of machine quilting on these, and decorating the placemats with a strip of lace - another top tip is to dab a tiny drop or two of Roxanne's Basting Glue onto the back of the lace and lay it on the top of the placemat - it saves using pins and getting stabbed!!.....  .....and I've been using this "Pellon" wadding for my tablerunners and bags - this one is fusible, and yet ANOTHER top tip is to iron the pellon to the wrong side of the backing fabric, then lay the runner etc on the top and either spray-baste with 505 spray, or pin-baste, using withever method you prefer (I tend to spray-baste small projects, but you do need a well-ventilated room).  .....I'd bought a mini-iron from the Chilford Hall Quilt Show last November, and it was perfect for ironing on all the applique pieces.....  .....I used a blanket stitch and my trusty walking foot. There is a lot of machine applique on these placemats, not something I'm brilliant at, but thought the only way to improve is to practise, practise, practise.....
 Yesterday my friend Jane took me out for lunch at the Suffolk Food Hall. I'd never been here before, but will DEFINATELY be going back again - it was fab!!  .....there is a fishmonger, butchers, deli counter, fresh baked bread and fresh fruit and vegetables, coffee shop, restaurant .....  .....there was all sorts of yummy food on the menu (we had Flowton Eggs Benedict, followed by a HUGE slice of lemon cake - sorry no pictures - we gobbled it up too quickly!!) Thanks for a great day out Jane - it was just what I needed :)
 While I was in Norway, I was on a course with AnnAKa, and it was all about using a 60 degree triangular ruler. The first day we were learning all about making half-hexagons, and Ann's sample was a beautiful runner with "Cupcakes" that looked really nice.....  .....however, I wanted to try something a little bit different, so I chose lots of brown fabrics from Lappedilla, using a mixture of cottons and batiks, and quilted several of the "chocolates" with a spiral pattern, and quilted lots of straight rows on the borders.....  .....I added some large "Suffolk Puffs" (also known as "Yo-Yo's") made with the Clover Yo-Yo maker that I bought from Quilters Haven, and used leftover scraps of fabric for these. Oh before I sewed them on, I dabbed a bit of "Roxanne's Basting Glue" onto the back of each one, to secure them to the runner, so I didn't stab myself with those fiddly little applique pins.....  .....and this is my finished result - it looks FAB-U-LOUS, even if I say so myself!! My very own "Box of Chocolates" - calorie-free!! I haven't quilted all the hexagons - I thought it would add a bit of "texture" to leave some plain - so left the batik ones - but I might go back and add some quilting to them - what do you think??
 This is my latest creation - I know, I know, I have got a HUGE list of started projects that I had planned to finish before I started yet another one, and will crack on with those another day, but when I saw this Jelly Roll on Saturday, I just couldn't resist it - it's "Sunkissed" by Sweetwater for Moda (this is my third Sweetwater Jelly Roll - I can't bear to cut up "Authentic" and "Pure" just yet!!) - and the pattern is called Mexican Fiesta Eggs (this pattern was part of "The Breakfast Club" programme, and I've taught this class at Quilter's Haven, where the Jelly Roll also came from). It was made with just one Jelly Roll, and there are enough strips left over for the binding too. This is about 41inches square - now it just needs to be quilted - and goodness only knows when I might feel like doing that - now, where has my list of "projects-still-to-finish" gone to.....  While I was busy posting pictures on my blog of my trip to Norway, I didn't actually show you what I had purchased!! Firstly, I bought a kit from Hanne's shop, Lappedilla, to make these 4 placemats - I'd already got this AnnAKa pattern called "Kaffekverna" (Coffee Grinders) - now I have the fabric there'll be no excuse in getting these made.....  .....oh and another kit, this one is to make this beautiful bag "Rosa på shopping". This fabric pack includes some beautiful velvet - although I might use some leather handles that I've already got rather than make fabric ones.....  .....and some linen for tablerunners, (I just LOVE this turquoise one), some fabric for a toilettry bag, some backing for stichery and some flexible adhesive stuff - (a bit like fast-2-fuse but not as thick) as it would be good for making covers for folders, etc and some clear plastic - AnnAKa uses this a lot in her patterns, so now I'll be all ready for a super crafting session :) .....  .....then there was the trip to Quiltegården in Trondheim, where I bought some linen for stitchery, and this beautiful necklace (I know, don't faint, but I actually bought something NOT fabric-related hehe) - Merete wore a beautiful necklace which I admired, and she told me they were available at Quiltegården and I couldn't resist buying one.....  .....oh, and this ribbon was from the haberdashery store in Otta.....  .....and this is for my Norwegian breakfasts - some brown cheese - if you haven't tasted this, then you MUST - it's delicious - and some crisp breads, and something that I add to my waffle mixture - don't really know what this is in English, all I do know is that it smells very VERY strong - and some Norwegian chocolate - yummy!! (sorry - no picture of the Norwegian chocolate - I've already eaten it!!)
 My friend Pam, who works at Quilter's Haven, now has her own blog!! Pam makes beautiful quilts, and is a really good teacher (I've been on some of her classes) so hop over to her blog and have a look.....as you can see from this picture, her work is so neat.....this is a block from "Vignette" magazine, by the Australian designer Leanne Beasley..... I can't wait for the next issue to arrive !!
 While I was in Norway, I visited Eva's quilt group and they were making these cute little makeup bags. So when I got home, I thought I'd have a go at trying these out - not too bad for my first attempt!! I've made these for 2 of my daughter Beth's friends, Holly and Chloe - I hope they'll like them! They were very easy to make, and I shall definitely be making more of these.
 Sadly my trip to Norway had come to an end, and I had to return to England. I had got a very long journey ahead of me, as my trian left Otta at 11.38 and I finally arrived back home at 02.45 the following day!!! The rail system is fantastic in Norway, and although the journey took over 3 hours, my train went straight from Otta to Oslo airport.....  .....after a very speedy check-in process, I was soon in the departure lounge - where I happily spent the next few hours browsing the shops and eating a meal.....  .....I had a wonderful time in Norway with Eva and Hanne, and it was great to see Ann again - and I made lots of new friends - Merete, Heidi, Elin and Siw - thank you to all the ladies who I met, you were all very kind and made my stay so enjoyable - I'm looking forward to meeting up with some of you at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in the summer.
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 About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! 
 
 
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