SHORT SHARP SEWING FIX

Hello my lovelies. I trust that you’ve all had a super-duper weekend. I hope you made the most of the last weekend in July. Can you believe that the month is almost over!!!!!

Last week I started working on a new little project. Every now and again I need a short sharp sewing fix. Short sharp means a small project which can be completed quickly. You might remember me posting this photo last week …..

Well I have completed this project by adding some of this …..

Which I added some simple freemotion quilting to …..

Boy did I ever enjoy quilting this ……

I set aside that little house panel to add some freemotion quilting to this …..

Then the magic started. I layered up the two components and added some pockets and then went on to bind the piece …..

Can you work out what it is yet?

I plan on flipping it over the arm of my chair and keeping my remote controllers and anything else that I feel the need to keep close to hand while watching TV up in my den.

When I bought these four fat quarters I had absolutely no plan for cutting into them. I don’t buy fabric as often as I used to, so when I do it’s because I really need it to finish something off or I just really like the fabric selection.

It was a quiet weekend in my little world. My Maisie girl dog had dental surgery on Friday and needed to rest from the trauma. Maisie is doing very well all the while healing up nicely. She looked like she’d been thru the wars when I collected her from the vet hospital Friday evening. Maisie is a few teeth lighter and my wallet is much thinner.

So that’s my report for today. I’m pleased with my latest finish. Life really does get better with every stitch I take. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy doing. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x

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STILL MAKING LIFE BETTER

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’re having a really good week. It seems that I’m not the only one who is having a splendid summer. The weather is still glorious here in my little corner of the northeast of England. We’re experiencing record breaking high temperatures here. So, I’m sticking to light chores and staying out of the sun. It’s not so bad riding in the slow lane.

I have been playing in my sewing room lately. I dragged out some autumn colours to make a table runner. This selection of fabrics come from the fabric I uncovered while redecorating my sewing room last year. All free fabric. Now I feel justified in buying a few new fat quarters because I managed to make a project without buying any fabric. In my quest to design and make something in a flash, I kept the whole thing rather simple. Here’s a little look at what I produced …..

 

I enjoyed the process so much that I’m rejigging it and working on another project. This project is pieced using four new fat quarters and some background fabric which I already had in my stash……

You’ll have to come back to see what else I add to this and how it will be used.

Last weekend, Saturday into Sunday morning my fridge/freezer decided to pack in. My whole freezer defrosted and I lost quite a lot of food. The fridge/freezer was ten years old so I guess it didn’t owe anybody anything. Needless to say, that I headed out on Sunday morning fridge/freezer shopping. The sales assistant lady was so helpful in trying to find me the best buy for my money by comparing all the different appliances. And in no time a new fridge/freezer was bought and paid for and a delivery date was confirmed. The new appliance arrived on Tuesday afternoon. It purring away as I write this post. For once, there was no drama surrounding a challenge. Perhaps life is easier when you make your own decisions.

So far, it’s been a pretty good summer in my little world. I tend to keep to myself these days. Putting your house and home in order takes time and a lot of effort. I spend plenty of time being creative, dreaming about new projects and recording new ideas. The only problem is that there isn’t enough time and energy to do everything I want to do in a day. As always, my goal is to make life better one quilting stitch at a time. And it’s working rather well for the moment.

So, I guess that’s my report for today. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something seasonal. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching,

Lucie x

GLORIOUS LAZY DAYS

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’re all enjoying this glorious summer. These lazy days of summer take me back to my childhood in Montreal. As children, my brother and I spent the whole summer playing outside. My goodness life was so simple then. Nowadays we have to do so much adulting !!!

Have you been doing any sewing lately? It’s a little bit warm to be sewing any big projects so I decided to treat myself to another wee project fix.

A few years back I pieced a little thread catcher loosely based on a bluebird. This is the original project.

Well as it happens, I have been asked several times if there was a pattern for this Bluebird Thread Catcher. The short answer is that there wasn’t a pattern. I made it up as I went along when I originally pieced this bluebird. After another recent request for the pattern, I decided to got for it. Katherina, this one’s for you.

In order to produce some kind of pattern, even if it’s a rough one, I had to produce another project. Here’s the new prototype. And it’s rather easy to make.

So, if you’re at all interested in making this little Bluebird Thread Catcher click Bluebird Thread Catcher  to be taken to a PDF pattern which you can print off. Please note that this pattern is for personal use only. You know the drill.

So, it’s been a pretty good week in my little world. Every week things to be falling into place. Sarah has found short term employment. The heat seems to have eased off a little so my Maisie is more comfortable these days. And we’re sleeping quite well. I’m going to pull the barbeque out and we’re going to have super duper grilled chicken on skewers for our evening meal tonight. I’m enjoying these lazy days of summer. Winter is just around the corner so let’s make the most of the glorious weather we’ve got.

So, I guess that’s my report for this week. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing some seasonal that you enjoy. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x

GLORIOUS DAYS

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’re all enjoying a glorious summer. This past week has been quite over whelming in my little world. Between celebrating a birthday and my Sarah’s graduation ceremony everyday life seems quite mundane. I would like to thank each and everyone of you who sent messages and gifts to congratulate Sarah in her success. We don’t have any family here in the UK so every card, email and comment sent was so appreciated. It makes Sarah’s success so much sweeter knowing you all celebrated along with us.

There wasn’t much sewing going on this week as you might imagine. We were in and out all week doing various things and waiting in for a couple of technicians to fix a couple of things. However, this morning I decided that I really needed to do some machining. So, I cleaned the bobbin area of my Brother sewing machine and changed the needle from universal to a topstitch. I lowered the feed dogs and placed my Supreme Slider mat on the bed of the sewing machine. And in no time, I was off on a magic sewing ride. I stitched some twisted ribbon designs, swirly circles, some dinosaur ferns and some funky leaves. I used some Aurifil 50wt thread in two different colours and I chalked diagonal guidelines to keep me on track but apart from the guidelines everything was freehand stitched. I was so good to let loose and be creative. Freemotion quilting is like is like drawing with thread. My Brother sewing machine chugged away while stitching all kinds of swirly designs. It was very satisfying. I have promised myself another machining fix soon.

The weather is still summer glorious here in my little corner of the northeast of England. My little Maisie was struggling with the heat last week but she’s had a haircut on Friday and is feeling much better. As I understand it, my hometown is very warm and people are dying in the heat. So, to all in Montreal, this includes my own family, do take care of yourselves.

So, I guess that’s my report for today. I hope to be back sometime this week with some sewing news but in the meantime, I’m taking full advantage of these glorious days. Winter was so long that it’s wonderful to be able to enjoy some warm sunshine. I hope you all have a super cosy evening keeping cool. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x

GRADUATION SEASON

Hello my lovelies. I hope you’re all enjoying summer. One day is melting into the next and before we know it summer will be a distant memory. Soooo, let’s all make the most of summer while we can.

I don’t have much sewing progress to show you today. The only bit of sewing I’ve done recently is bind a quilt …..

I machined the binding onto the front and hand finished it on the back. It’s been rather warm in my little corner of the northeast of England so sewing anything that sits in your lap can be a little uncomfortable. However, I persevered until the whole binding was hand finished.

As the title implies, today was my Sarah’s graduation ceremony. So if you’re not in the mood to share in this proud momma’s joy stop reading now.

Sarah did three years of degree studies. Six months into her first year of studies her father decided to leave the family. Despite all the dreadful months of divorce wrangling Sarah stuck to her guns and worked hard. There was one period of time last year when she wanted to give it all up but somehow, she found the strength to carry on. Today my Sarah graduated with honours.

It was an early start for us today. Sarah had to be at college approximately 90 minutes ahead of the ceremony to collect her cap and gown. The college is situated some 45 miles away and we had to collect a couple of guests on the journey down. So, we left the house at 6:50am. We made such good time as there were no traffic jams along the way.

The ceremony was lovely. There were a few entertaining speakers. And once the speeches were over each student was called up on stage one by one in alphabetical order. Every student made it up the stairs onto the stage without tripping over. The parents and loved ones clapped and cheered each student. For me, it was like a dream. In fact, it all felt a bit surreal. The tears just kept coming and wouldn’t stop. When my daughter climbed those stairs, smiled and shook hands with the Dr. Graham Robson, Chair of the Board of Governors, Cleveland College of Art & Design, my heart sored. After three years of hard work, major family upheaval and plenty of difficult times, finally the thing that Sarah worked so hard for was awarded to her. 

It’s funny what goes thru your mind while graduation ceremonies are going on. One of the things I was thinking about ….. oh goodness, did I teach my Sarah to shake hands with her right hand!!!!! Well of course I did but at the time I just couldn’t remember. My Sarah is turning 22 next month. I just hope that I have equipped her with all the tools she needs to live a long, happy and healthy life. Well done Sarah. Now it’s up to you to make something good of yourself. Be creative, be yourself. Operation Taking Flight is complete and we’re now looking forward to whatever comes next.

I took a couple of photos of Sarah after the ceremony with my phone …..

So far, it’s been a beautiful summer. I have been enjoying travelling in slow lane for a few weeks now. And I plan to carry on for a few more weeks. Now that graduation has come and gone I hope to settle in to a bit more creative sewing. I have a few projects to finish up and a few others to record on paper and develop.

So, I guess that’s my report for today. I hope you all have a super cosy evening doing something you truly enjoy doing. Until next time,

Let’s all keep on stitching.

Lucie x