Fancy Foxes!

I spotted this pattern on Instagram a few months ago and went on the hunt for the pattern.  I love these foxes.  Full of character, especially the dude with the glasses! 

In December we had our annual "Show & Tell Evening" at The Quilt Shop.  I needed to make something quickly since I had given away almost everything that I had made in the past year and had nothing to show! I did have my Storm at Sea Quilt top but nothing completely new and finished!

I decided to make the Fancy Foxes Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman (Fransson) in lap quilt size.  It meant just 4 simple blocks. 

Today I grabbed my mini-models to take a few pictures of the finished product.  They did their best to hold up the quilt for me to take a picture but it's very difficult when the quilt is bigger than you!  Sams eyebrow though (on the right), makes me laugh everytime I look at this next picture!

Two evenings and it was done and dusted!  I handquilted it with Perlé Cotton No. 8 in a simple heart design and used my scraps for binding.  The backing is another fox print - super cute little foxes that look like their are looking for mischief (just like the new owners of this quilt)!







On the front the quilting is subtle but it shows nicely on the back and the colour works very well with my backing fabric!





 
 
 The only thing I didn't get round to doing before the Show and Tell was sewing down the glasses.  I wanted to do it by hand with a buttonhole or blanket stitch and finally almost 6 months later, I pulled it out this week to do that and the boys having been having fun with it since!  It's hard to see the details of the stitching in this picture.......  I love buttonhole stitching though - and I love doing it by hand instead of using the machine!





It started to hailstone mid-photoshoot, hence the big black dots on the quilt...........the boys loved it though!  They were dressed for the weather, unlike me - I was out in my pj's since I've been sick all week!

You can see they love it!  They were watching tv here and most possibly mid-wrestle but still, they were snug as bugs!

Modern Quilt Guild of Ireland - Sept '14 Quilting Retreat

Cindy - Organiser Extraodinaire

Last year I joined the Modern Quilt Guild of Ireland, drawn in by the most gorgeous creations I kept spotting on facebook.  They are a very active group, hosting meet-ups, swaps and getting involved with Bee Blessed.
Due to location and/or bad timing, I haven't had the chance to meet up with any of these stitchery-queens until last week.  I wasn't working, I didn't have family commitments and if I do say so myself, I deserved a day out doing something I love, so I signed up for the Quilting Retreat which just happened, very fortunately, to be in my hometown! 

From the outset, I was very impressed with the organisation.  Cindy, from Fluffy Sheep Quilting e-mailed me with a schedule for the day, directions, times, carparking details, food details and so much more.  Honestly, she thought of everything!  The room that was booked in Galway University was comfortingly close to the carpark so we didn't have to hump our machines and gear too far into the campus!


I'll be honest, I was nervous!  I'm well used to some of these girls online personas from instagram and facebook and deliciously pretty flickr pictures but to meet people in person!  Ooooh, that scares me! 

I encountered Anneliese from mailfromthecheekymonkeys first when I got to the room and she said "Oh, you look different to your pictures"!  Seriously, that's everyones nightmare, right?...... I mean we all just put our somewhat-passable pictures online but we like to think that in real life, we look like our "best" pictures.....right??  She's a sweet chick though and I relaxed pretty quickly.  Cindy arrived in the room then and there was a bit of organising to do before everyone else arrived. 

Anneliese & Eva  (& Kristina in the background)

In total, we were a group of 14........ a nice, comfy group from Galway, Portlaoise, Limerick and Cork.  There were three shops represented - Fluffy Sheep, Pippablue, and Wrap It.  So, we had lots to check out, some fabric to pick up and even some gift options!!  All three shop owners were sewing alongside us for the day too which was nice, it was great to put faces to these store-fronts and get to know them a little bit.   

We received really cute tote bags full of goodies which was a really lovely surprise!  All of the sponsors of our little retreat were very generous.  They included......

Aurifil - a fab selection of different weights of thread!
The Crafters Basket - a pack with some charm squares, ribbon and buttons
The Quilt Shop Tuam - some gorgeous fabric and a money off voucher
Fluffy Sheep Quilting - more fantastic fabric
Lisnaweary Quilts - yet more delicious fabric
Pilot - an erasable pen

And that wasn't all, we also were given a selection of vouchers for online purchases from other shops like Vibes & Scribes, Slaney Handcraft, Rags for Linda, and Seams Sew Simple.

Our super tote bag of goodies!!

The kettle never got a chance to cool down as we tucked into the lovely fare that the women brought - there was chocolate, brownies, buns and flapjacks to name but a few, but we promised ourselves we'd work it off........ eventually!

As the afternoon wore on, we got right down to work, there was a queue for the ironing and cutting tables at times as we all wanted to go home with something substantial accomplished. 

Áine, Ruth & Erin (& Cindy, well her reflection anyway)

I was working on my Storm At Sea quilt variation.  I got my head down and worked away but didn't get half as much done as I thought I would.  An 8-hour sewing day is not something I get to do often but I guess I did more chatting than I realised!

Storm At Sea work-in-progress

I did finally finish this quilt top this week though, well, at least, I finished the paper piecing side of it, I just need to add a couple of borders to "grow" it a little and then I'll bring it to the blog in all it's glory! 
 
The last thing to mention about our lovely Quilt Retreat though was our little part in Bee Blessed.  I had heard the name before but really had no notion what it was.  When we got our details for the day however, we were asked if we would like to make a couple of blocks for "Bee Blessed" and our colours were to be green & blue on a white background, with the finished quilt being for a boy.  The world was our oyster as regards design, as long as the blocks were 12.5" unfinished.


 I decided to make a little row of  houses with different characters in the windows and doorways - because every neighbourhood contains all sorts, right?  Even monkeys and pirates!!!  However, I didn't double check the size of my pattern and ended up doing a bit of re-jigging to make it size up properly but it worked out ok in the end.  

My second block was a simple colourful star.... nothing to write home about but it fit in well.  In the end, there was quite a lovely selection of blocks, I think it will make a lovely quilt and can't wait to see them put together, it's the first time I've been involved in a community quilt!

My poor blocks could seriously do with a proper iron......whoops!

If you are interested in learning more about Bee Blessed....... click here.   Sarah can answer any questions!

So that was our day...... a lot of sewing, a bit of shopping, alot of chat, even more coffee n' cake....... it was BRILLIANT!  Can't wait for the next one!

Relaxing Sundays!

It's been a while......... I feel like I'm not accomplishing anything if I don't blog about it and show the world but I have been working away.  Slowly, yes, but working all the same.  Today, it's a beautiful sunny Sunday morning, and we have the day off!  My husband and eldest son are out, my twins are sleeping and finally I have the headspace for a little blog.

My lovely friend had her fourth baby recently.  Her last gorgeous baby was 9 months old before I finished a blanket for her.  Now granted, I was new to quilting then, and new to sewing at all for that matter, so it took me time to work up the courage to cut the fabric to begin with.  When this bouncing little man was born though, I got stuck in straight away.  I kept it simple and went with a bright brick design with his shortened name appliqued on and also added an elephant in minky so he has something soft to rub.  I bought some gorgeous, thick, super-soft fleece on sale at The Quilt Shop to back it and give it a nice bit of padding for and an extra cosy factor and this was the finished product.......... 

His mum sent me this picture of baby Olly snuggled up a few days later.  Nothing gives a crafter more satisfaction and pleasure as seeing something they have made being used!

I have also been working away slowly on my Economy Block Along, I had some help at my tuesday class to chose a beautiful blue border from the quilters shadow range by Stof.  I love this blue, I used it last year in my seaside quilt, it's really lively!

Once again faced with the daunting task of basting another quilt, all be it a small one, I decided to try using the curved safety pins for the first time.  I bought a pack of 40 for just €4 and it was the perfect amount for this lap-sized quilt!

WOW, consider me converted!!!  The whole lot done in about 15mins.  This would have taken me an hour or more if I was to use basting stitches!So with that done, I've started hand-quilting it.  Yes, I'm a sucker for the handquilting.  It's relaxing and the scaredy cat in me likes how very little can go wrong!

So with one quilt basted.........and so bloomin' fast, it was time to finally baste my Swoon quilt......  I LOVED making this quilt, I LOVE the top and yet, it has sat on a shelf, folded up for the past 9 months because I really couldn't face basting a kingsize top by myself.  A few of the girls in the Tuesday Night class I attend offered to help me out and we laid it down and it was done in no time whatsoever with this fabulous new-to-me method of basting!!

Aren't these ladies just amazing!  It's a wonderful thing to be in a class where the group is so willing to give up a night of their own work to help you out! 


I have so much more to show and tell but time is of the essence for me right now and I'm helping out with a really cool project and need to get working on it while the boys are still sleeping!

*watch this space*