Well December just flew by! My work load soared this month, with for 2 weeks me eating, sleeping, thinking and breathing work. I have also driven over 1,000 miles around the country in 5 days visiting people and delivering presents - as relaxing as the visits themselves were the traveling did turn out to be rather knackering. I hav however managed to set aside some time to squeze in some D of E work (quilting) although very little sewing has actually happened. The last few weeks have consisted of prep work here and there; searching for and ordering fabrics (yes more lol), lots of measuring and designing and cutting out, as well has giving my sewing machine a once over and preparing bobbins in the colours I will need. This may all sound very organised but I would probably describe it more as organised chaos. It's the day before Christmas Eve and two items I wanted finished for Christmas are still in bits. I am getting there with the organisation though, even if it does seem a long time coming. I am developing lots of ideas to get myself as a whole a bit more organised. (I can be very organised when I want to be for example, one birthday present for next may purchased, wrapped and left with relatives - go me!) I do need to get myself properly sorted - in fact I think it should be one of my tragets for this skill.
I shall explore the ways I can do this in relation to the quilting in a future post, now however its time to clear a space to climb into bed.
Friday, 23 December 2011
Sunday, 4 December 2011
The Hungry Caterpillar quilting update
I'm quite excited this evening, as yesterday and today I have managed to finish off the hand stitched quilting on the 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' panel I referred to in a previous post as panel 1. The long panel with the caterpillar and the sun. Started hand stitching this back on the last bank holiday weekend in August, but work and other non sewing projects (including my gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition) took up most of my time and so could only do bits here and there. I've been doing more and more sewing on this over recent weeks and this week in particular I feel I've stepped my sewing projects on the whole. Here is some evidence of my work:
(Sorry the pictures aren't bigger, when put up to the next size they don't sit right on the blog and spill out onto the right hand side section. However I have found today that if you click on one of the pictures you can see them much bigger without losing your page.)
I have to confess that the blog has been helping keep up the project excitement - just hope I can keep it all going - brimming with enthusiasm at the mo.
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| Panel 1 - The Sun, hand stitched |
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| 'Panel 1' - The caterpillar - hand stitched |
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| 'Panel 1' A close up of the caterpillar - hand stitched |
I have to confess that the blog has been helping keep up the project excitement - just hope I can keep it all going - brimming with enthusiasm at the mo.
Saturday, 3 December 2011
A book review and a Top Tip for keeping track of fabrics
A very quick, simple book review of: A pocket posh tips for quilters.
Buying this book was a little bit of a spontaneous thing and so when I got home I was a bit concerned that like the 'do it youself' books purchased in the past, it would get put on the bookshelf or in a box and not seen again for some time. However I was also quite excited and eager to take a peek inside.
The cover - I have to say this is what really grabbed me in the shop not the title, but the style, the colour and texture. I love the way its held together with the elastic and the size too makes it a cute little pocket guide. The cover in the style of a quilt makes you fairly certain what its about before you read the title (especially when its being sold in a fabric shop.)
Inside - The book is organised into really useful, well throughout sections, from getting organized and fabric choices to better stitching and sewing machine maintenance. The tips are short and to the point but descriptive where needed, there is also the odd diagram thrown in too.
It really is the kind of book you can flick through and refer back to whenever you need to. I think I love it already.
Index Cards
Yesterday I mentioned sharing an idea I got from this book as I flicked through it. There are in two new ideas I implemented yesterday evening. (One I will save for another post)
One that came directly from this little gem of a book was to use index cards to keep a record of the fabrics you have brought:
You can take these cards with you when you go fabric shopping so that you can match up fabric and cotton colours (nothing worse than getting home and realising you were close in your guess but not close enough!)
Keep the cards relevant to each project together that way its really easy to pull out the cards and see what fabrics you already have and think about how you might use them.
Buying this book was a little bit of a spontaneous thing and so when I got home I was a bit concerned that like the 'do it youself' books purchased in the past, it would get put on the bookshelf or in a box and not seen again for some time. However I was also quite excited and eager to take a peek inside.
The cover - I have to say this is what really grabbed me in the shop not the title, but the style, the colour and texture. I love the way its held together with the elastic and the size too makes it a cute little pocket guide. The cover in the style of a quilt makes you fairly certain what its about before you read the title (especially when its being sold in a fabric shop.)
Inside - The book is organised into really useful, well throughout sections, from getting organized and fabric choices to better stitching and sewing machine maintenance. The tips are short and to the point but descriptive where needed, there is also the odd diagram thrown in too.
It really is the kind of book you can flick through and refer back to whenever you need to. I think I love it already.
Index Cards
Yesterday I mentioned sharing an idea I got from this book as I flicked through it. There are in two new ideas I implemented yesterday evening. (One I will save for another post)
One that came directly from this little gem of a book was to use index cards to keep a record of the fabrics you have brought:
- Cut a sample or use a scrap of the fabric and staple it onto the card. If you want to index a fabric panel - take a picture of the fabric (or find one online) and print it about business card size (size of samples/photo is completely up to you and will depend on fabric design etc.)
- List on the card all the details you have - design name/number, the manufacturer, type of fabric e.g. cotton.
- Also list where you brought it from, when you brought it and the price too (helpful to cost up items later if you want to sell them or to shop around for a bargain).
- I also put on the card the purpose for which I brought the fabric (that way if its put away whilst I find other fabrics for the project, I'm not going to use it by accident) or the idea I had in mind when I spotted the fabric.
You can take these cards with you when you go fabric shopping so that you can match up fabric and cotton colours (nothing worse than getting home and realising you were close in your guess but not close enough!)
Keep the cards relevant to each project together that way its really easy to pull out the cards and see what fabrics you already have and think about how you might use them.
Friday, 2 December 2011
1 reel of cotton? Hmmm. . .
As I was in Truro for a check up at the dentist I thought I'd pop into the fabric shop and pick up another reel of the green quilting cotton as I appear to have lost mine. I have been having a good clear out this week so there's a possibility it may have mistakenly been lost forever. Having had a good search I concluded the only way to avoid putting the very hungry caterpillar project on hold was to go buy another reel (I'm sure if I find the original I'll use it anyway).
So I popped in to pick up 1 reel of cotton . . . or so I thought!
Stepping into the fabric shop is for me a bit like stepping into a sweet shop for a child, the jars are simply replaced by rolls of fabric.
One reel of green quilting cotton turned into 2 - 1 green (as planned) and 1 purple (I figured get it now and the option is there, without having to make another trip).
It didn't stop there though. . .
Yesterday whilst having a look at another blog I picked up the idea of baby bunting to hang along the front of a crib or in a nursery - cool I thought and stashed it away in my brain. Seeing some lovely dusty blue polka dot fabric the idea came dashing back to the attention of my brain.
I loved the colours and so picked out 1/2 a metre of the blue and 30cm of the green to work with (with the green I was thinking it would working well in my patchwork quilting project in between some floral fabrics)
Still with the bunting thought dominating I checked out the shops bias binding range (I can't say there was the greatest range) nothing seemed to jump out at me as the perfect fit for what I had in mind. Although, with the theme of spots on my mind this did catch my eye and had to come home with me (looking more closely at the fabrics i want to use at home, it might just work)
Again it didn't stop here, knowing full well that my 'normal'/machine cotton collection can hardly be called a collection I went in search of some blues (blues happening in a couple of projects just now) I managed to end up with 4 reels of varying shades that should cover most bases between baby blue and navy.
One final item caught my eye as we were stood at the counter having fabrics and bias binding measured out and that was this little book . . .
OK so I couldn't resist, I need all the help I can get if I'm going to improve my skills and still love my sewing. Have had a little read and so far loving the tips! Might even share one I've put into practise already with you tomorrow.
So I popped in to pick up 1 reel of cotton . . . or so I thought!
Stepping into the fabric shop is for me a bit like stepping into a sweet shop for a child, the jars are simply replaced by rolls of fabric.
One reel of green quilting cotton turned into 2 - 1 green (as planned) and 1 purple (I figured get it now and the option is there, without having to make another trip).
It didn't stop there though. . .
Yesterday whilst having a look at another blog I picked up the idea of baby bunting to hang along the front of a crib or in a nursery - cool I thought and stashed it away in my brain. Seeing some lovely dusty blue polka dot fabric the idea came dashing back to the attention of my brain.
I loved the colours and so picked out 1/2 a metre of the blue and 30cm of the green to work with (with the green I was thinking it would working well in my patchwork quilting project in between some floral fabrics)
Still with the bunting thought dominating I checked out the shops bias binding range (I can't say there was the greatest range) nothing seemed to jump out at me as the perfect fit for what I had in mind. Although, with the theme of spots on my mind this did catch my eye and had to come home with me (looking more closely at the fabrics i want to use at home, it might just work)
Again it didn't stop here, knowing full well that my 'normal'/machine cotton collection can hardly be called a collection I went in search of some blues (blues happening in a couple of projects just now) I managed to end up with 4 reels of varying shades that should cover most bases between baby blue and navy.
One final item caught my eye as we were stood at the counter having fabrics and bias binding measured out and that was this little book . . .
Thursday, 1 December 2011
The fabric hunt and The Very Hungry Caterpillar
So where did I go next?
For me the fabric shop itself is a great place to get inspired. I took a trip into town and took a leisurely wonder around our local fabric shop Truro Fabrics. I have to confess I got quite excited about what I found :-) Being a qualified primary teacher I couldn’t resist these.
Panel 1
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| Panel to make a bolster cushion/draught excluder |
Panel 2
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| Butterfly and caterpillar - cushion? |
Side A -
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| Close Up - Caterpillar side of the panel |
Side B -
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| Close Up - Butterfly side of the panel |
I've brought some quilting cottens in a yellowy gold, green, red, black and brown
The Plan
My plan is to quilt around the edge of the designs using the quilting cottons to make them stand out more. This will all be done my hand and will give me a chance to work on my hand stitching technique. I will be using back stitch for this, to creat a continueous line of stitching.
Aim/challenges of this - is to keep the stiches even and neat
- to choose which lines of the design to follow (especially with the caterpilalrs body segments)
Where to start?
Tell anyone that for 12-18months they will be working to develop a skill and regardless of the skill, most people will probably ask you - "Where do I start?" Well that really is the key question, because ask different people "Where do I start?" and chances are they will all give you a different answer. However given time most will probably come to the conclusion that deciding on you aims and where you want to end up is a pretty good base upon which to build. Helpfully the Duke of Edinburgh programme people provide a planner the skills section of your award. The most important bit of which is the goals/aims.
My Aims
This is often where the many different answers to the question "Where do I start?" come into play. In truth the answer all depends upon a number of things:
Some people may wish to plan out a number of projects to complete over the 12-18months whilst others may wish to take projects one by one and decide as they go along. This is what I plan to do.
However you choose to start you are guaranteed to do some research whether this be a visit to the library or trawling the net (what most of us think of when someone says 'research') or whether its more casual research, a visit to a fabric shop, paying more attention to quilted products already for sale. When it came to my research I did a bit of all of the above. I invested in a book which has some project ideas in and will help me focus on my technique, as books go it was inexpensive and began to inspire me just flicking through it.
I also spent time looking at fabrics, as well as (without noticing at the time) paying more attention to items made of fabric in shops and stalls.
(This is a back dated article - more to follow)
My Aims
- To design and produce a range of products based on Quilting
- To develop both my hand and machine sewing techniques
- To reach a high enough standard that the items I produce would be considered for sale.
This is often where the many different answers to the question "Where do I start?" come into play. In truth the answer all depends upon a number of things:
- Your skill level before you begin
- Your aims/goals
- You!
Some people may wish to plan out a number of projects to complete over the 12-18months whilst others may wish to take projects one by one and decide as they go along. This is what I plan to do.
However you choose to start you are guaranteed to do some research whether this be a visit to the library or trawling the net (what most of us think of when someone says 'research') or whether its more casual research, a visit to a fabric shop, paying more attention to quilted products already for sale. When it came to my research I did a bit of all of the above. I invested in a book which has some project ideas in and will help me focus on my technique, as books go it was inexpensive and began to inspire me just flicking through it.
I also spent time looking at fabrics, as well as (without noticing at the time) paying more attention to items made of fabric in shops and stalls.
(This is a back dated article - more to follow)
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