 For all you crafty-lovers, the Christmas Craft and Vintage Market will be held on Sunday 18th November. Will I be there? Definitely! Will I be shopping?? Definitely! Well who wouldn't when there's going to be over 30 fantastic stalls offering handmade and vintage jewellery, homeware, accessories, clothing, furniture, curiosities, food and Christmas cheer- so might see you there!!
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 Yes it really is that time of the month AGAIN!! This Friday is Friday Night Sew-In and if you go over to Heidi's blog you can sign up for this virtual get together! Then don't forget to check back on Saturday to see what projects I have completed. And there is a Flickr group you can join too, to show off your work and be inspired by the other members of the group. Now I must get my projects sorted out ready for Friday night!
 Last year when I went to the Autumn Quilt Festival at Chilford, I bought some fabric to make Mr F a waistcoat to wear when he goes shooting. Well I had put the fabric away and and busied myself making bags and quilts, and then Mr F reminded me he's going on a very special shoot on Tuesday - the one where he gets all dressed up in his posh shooting coat and his best moleskin trousers and freshly polished boots and his smart new waistcoat - what?? His smart new handmade waistcoat?? Oh dear - I hadn't made it yet!!.....  .....a few months ago my friend Sherry had given me a pattern for this waistcoat - (McCalls 2447). She had made one for her son and it looked FABULOUS. I was a bit wary of making this - for a start I don't really like sewing clothes as I'd much rather be making bags and runners and quilts, and secondly, although I have an O-level in dressmaking, I really don't like sewing button-holes. Anyway, as I was working to a bit of a deadline, I set too and soon had the pattern all laid out ready for cutting - I can't remember the last time I actually used scissors to cut anything, as I normally use my rotary cutter for cutting fabric! and this was the first time for ages that I wasn't using ¼" seams or using my walking foot.....  .....once I had matched notches and pinned fabric, my Bernina was soon whizzing along, sewing shoulder seams and darts and facings. (Philippa Naylor would've been proud of how flat my curved facings were - and it's amazing what fantastic results a bit of brute force and a steam iron can produce)!! Now as I said before, I really really don't like sewing button-holes - or rather they don't like me. However my Bernina soon had me converted as there were 5 of these dastardly things - and they all look PERFECT thanks to the automatic button-hole maker.....  .....I ran out of "duck" fabric for the back lining so used some left-over Moda from my stash. And I even sneaked a label into the side seam. Oh yippee my button holes are the perfect size for the buttons!.....  .....as you can see, I used the "ducks" fabric for the back, and I even managed to sew an adjustable buckle on too.....  .....and finally here is the very handsome Mr F wearing a stunning waist coat made by his incredibly talented wife - although Mr F didn't make a very good dressmakers dummy - he shouted if I jabbed a pin in him, and he complained about the accuracy of the tape measure when it revealed his girth was greater than his chest - hence this is rather a snug fit. Mr F will look VERY smart when he's shooting those pheasants and partridges ;)
 I follow several blogs, and one of my favourites is the stitchery queen Bronwyn Hayes - her blog Red Brolly is full of stitcheries and quilts and tales about Brutus the cat. Anyway, Bronwyn does interviews with fellow quilters/stitchers and today she's written all about ME!!! She introduces me as a fabulous quilter - that really has made my day!! She's added lots of pictures of my work, and a little bit about me too. I really can't begin to tell you how exciting this is for me - whoo-hoooo - I'm famous at last!.....  .....this is a Red Brolly pattern, and now the stitchery is completed it just needs some borders - and a backing - and a zipper - and hey presto it will be a beautiful gift for a friend for Christmas!!
 Are you wearing your poppy with pride?? This Sunday really is A Day to Remember. Watching the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance last night made me feel very proud to be British - and very lucky not to have lost a loved one. The Festival includes the traditional two-minute silence as poppy petals fall from the roof of the Royal Albert Hall, each representing a life lost in war. We have a very special nephew who has recently completed his training at Sandhurst, and as a family we are all immensely proud of him. Anyway, I saw this fabulous photo on the Lipsticks and Curls FB page and thought I would share it with you - "Image: 7th November 1953: Twin sisters Pamela and Pauline Chamberlain selling Remembrance Day poppies at Leytonstone, London". I really love these vintage photographs and this seemed so appropriate to share with you today.
 A few weeks ago, I was in Cyprus with Mr F and lots of his family to celebrate our niece's wedding. Michelle was one of my bridesmaids, and now she's all grown up and as you can see from this photograph, she was a beautiful bride. I really love this photograph of them, and wanted to make a very special present for them - so I set to work with fabrics and thread and lace and buttons.....  .....firstly I edited the photo into black and white to give it a vintage feel, then I printed the photograph onto inkjet fabric sheets, by EQ Printables, and added all my usual bits and bobs to make a truely unique gift. I used some vintage lace to trim this cushion, and some old buttons. Once the back and front had been completed, I machine sewed around all four sides about one eighth of an inch away form the raw edge to keep everything together, then added the binding.....  .....I used a double-fold binding, which was attached to front by machine and then hand-stitched in place to the back - I like to finish off by hand, as this gives a lovely neat finish. One of my labels as a final flourish? Of course!.....  .....congratulations to the happy couple Simon and Michelle! Thank you for letting us be part of your wedding celebrations! Hope you like your wedding present!
 No, it's not snowing outside yet, but It's Snowing! by Debs Strain for Moda is the fabric range that I have used for this tablerunner. Do you remember that I completed the pieced border as last months FNSI? This pattern is called "Festive Season" and is designed by Annie Downes, whose website is "Hatched and Patched".....  .....well I had a free morning today (due to having a very poorly car) so what better way to spend it than sewing? I used a white Mettler quilting thread and quilted it using the "stitch-in-the-ditch" method.....  .....I used a piece of cotton wadding for this runner, and spray basted the layers together with 505 spray before the I quilted it. I love these fun and funky fabrics, and even though they are not what you would call "traditional" Christmas colours, they look great.....  .....and this stripey fabric is fantastic for the binding. I added one of my labels, and then hand stitched the binding into place. I chose some Christmas themed fabric from my stash for the backing, called "Winterscapes" for Benartex.....  .....this runner is part of a Secret Santa swap that I am taking part in, and no, I'm not revealing who the lucky person is yet - all will be revealed nearer time! Now I need to get busy and finish the rest of my sewing as this swap needs a few little extras to be added before it gets posted off to the lucky swapee.
 While I was at the Knitting and Stitching Show recently, I was really excited to see this wonderful exhibit The Unfinishable. It has been made with a huge assortment of - as the name aptly suggests - unfinished projects, many of them which are several years old. These projects decorate the tent both inside and out.....  .....begun by two artists, Felicity Clarke and Hazel Connors, this project has been exploring the stories and reasons behind these intriguing pieces.....  .....I especially loved this panel - it reminds me of the girdles my granny used to wear, and is similar in style to some of the vintage-inspired cosmetic bags that I make, trimmed with old photographs and lace and suspenders.....  .....it was great to read the stories behind these unfinished projects. The Tales of the Unfinishable Exhibition is touring various venues over the coming months. The nearest one to me will be at the Forum, Norwich, in January 13-20, 2013. I'll definitely be going along to admire this again.
 My daughter Beth has asked me to make a cushion as a birthday gift for her boyfriend's grandmother as she'll be 80 years old. So I set too with the usual assortment of cream and white fabrics and trimmings and buttons, and the lace trimming is the very last piece of lace that was leftover from when I made Beth her Christening gown, 20 years ago! Beth and her boyfriend were very cunning and managed to get a photograph of Hazel emailed me to me ready to print onto fabric. The printable fabric that I prefer is the inkjet fabric sheets by EQ Printables. The photograph they chose was one that had been taken on Hazel's wedding day. I just love these vintage photographs - they look great teamed with lace and ribbons and buttons. I was amazed at how much Beth's boyfriend looks like his grandfather. And his grandmother looks absolutely beautiful.....  .....well what do you think? I emailed a picture of it to Beth, so she could see how I was progressing, and Beth was really pleased with it - I hope Hazel will like it too!!
 Last year I made a baby quilt using a pattern called "Pure Baby Boy" from the Moda Bakeshop website, and decided to make this pattern again for a little girl - one of my colleagues, Judy, has recently become a grand-mother again, and I had promised her a quilt for the baby. This time I didn't use a jelly roll, but some of the fabric from the Scrap Bag that I had bought from Glenroy Designs a few weeks ago. I trimmed the scraps into 2½" strips and then randomly sewed the strips together. These colours are so pretty. The fabric is Bliss by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.....  .....the white fabric that I used for the borders is also from Glenroy Designs, and I also used this white fabric for the backing too. I didn't use the "Pure Baby Boy" pattern exactly, as I made the quilt a little bit shorter, and decided to omit the inner border.....  .....once the layers were spray basted together, I marked 1" rows ready for quilting, with a Clover Hera Marker, and then I quilted in between these rows using the edge of the walking foot as a guide. I used white Mettler quilting thread for the quilting and used strips from the scrap bag to make the binding too. My favourite is this red spotty fabric, which looks great as binding.....  .....I also added one of my labels, which I machined into place on the back of the quilt in one of the corners. The dense quilting adds a lovely texture to this quilt, and when it is washed it will feel even snugglier.....  .....I love this red and aqua and together and I think this quilt looks super! I've got enough leftovers in the scrap bag to make another one of these quilts too - what great value for money!! The finished size of this baby quilt is 32" square. What do you think Judy? Do you think your little grand-daughter Jessica will enjoy being snuggled up in this quilt?
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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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