Memories

One year on and she is still missed as much as if it was only yesterday.

Storage Solutions

I'm trying to blog every day this week and hit a mental block today as I'm tying and binding Quilt #26 for a little girl in GA.

So I decided to blog about how I store all those useful tutorials that I find online and want to keep, without having to search through my bookmarks every few days.

When I first started doing this I had everything stored in a cardboard foolscap sized folder, but couldn't find anything!  I then started an index system, but couldn't keep up with the indexing (sigh).

A couple of years ago The Young One had to start using A4 plastic inserts for keeping loose leaf papers in so she didn't lose them (she has to keep everything from 6° upwards - reams of paper everywhere!).

At rentrée these inserts are sold by the 100's for centimes, as well as the loose leaf folders to keep them in.  Some have the inserts sealed into the spine and it's these which provided the answer.

The top one is for odds and sods found on my blogging and internet travels and the other two are pretty obvious.  I thought Tonya suited purple and I think of Bonnie as a blue person.

This is a photo of some of the stuff in the unclassified section

 

and this is an extract from Tonya's folder showing how I print the pages to save paper (and ink).

Each tutorial is in its own plastic insert so all I have to do is take them out of the insert when I need them.  In Tonya's case, they are filed in numerical order.  The photo shows her first letters tutorial.

They are stored with my quilting books, take up hardly any space at all and the best bit is I know where everything is.

I've also got one for loose leaf recipes which is kept next to the cooker.  It's my very own recipe book.

Heigh ho - back to the binding (yuk!).

Wordless Wednesday - I just liked it :-)

Retreat Progress II

Up with the lark this morning and am drooping at the edges already.

Got the chores done, caught up on mails, what the Liberated Quilters across The Pond worked on while I was making ZZZzzzzzzzz's and then hit the ground running!

First task of the day was to get Blueberry Fool off the design wall.

The top border was fine - fairly sped along with that - and then hit the slow lane big time.  I  just couldn't get the right hand border to go .  The colours wouldn't settle and kept on glaring at me, no matter where I stood.

So I finally settled for this.

Still not happy with it and the outer borders are going to need cutting down AGAIN (sigh).  Also forgot to add the other "blade" in the bottom right hand corner.  Suddenly remembered at 10.00 pm last night, by which time it was too late!

Then started on another AAQI top. 

All my tops are being made from scraps out of the bins and this one came from a lovely heart batik Tonya gave me for the Quilts 4 Leukaemia quilts.

I'm not at all sure about this.  I think it may be a bit too scrappy.   What do you think?

It is exactly 9 x 12 so I hope that by the time I've bound it, it isn't over-size. 

I'm going to give things a rest for a bit.  A quick walk round the block to clear my head and stretch the legs (and shoulders) and then a spot of basting and hand quilting I think.

Retreat Progress

First off a little top for AAQI.

Taking a photo of it on the ironing board cover has given me an idea for the binding.

Look at this!

If you go back a couple of posts you'll find a photo of what it looked like at 11.00 am.  It's now 19.00 and I've only got two more borders to put on which will be tomorrow morning's task.


I've got an idea for another AAQI quilt - L o V e - but the O will take a bit of time.



More tomorrow as I'm signing off - supper needs to be cooked.

Virtual Online Retreat

Pulling out fabrics from the stash, piecing like mad, finishing long outstanding projects, tying quilts and generally having fun.

For a whole 48 hours - woo hoo!  (well - not quite.  I will have to sleep at some point!)

I love it!

I really love it!

The quilts are gorgeous (especially a certain one on page 123).  The Checkerboard Medallion on page 63 really caught my eye.  Actually most of the quilts in that chapter have.

I have to say that I'm not a huge basket fan.  Somehow they don't "do it" for me, but Gwen's are gorgeous to look at.

I haven't had a chance to read it through properly yet.  Why is it that when you want to sit down with a cuppa and Gwen for a couple of hours all hell breaks loose and you end up charging round the countryside doing errands.

I've done a bit more on Halloween Houses.

Try as I might, I cannot get the cobweb quilting to show.  See if you can see it by clicking on the photos.

I've got a bit more to do on the centre - words, etc - and then I can start on the outside.  I think this could just be finished in time for Halloween 2010.

On a more serious note (and quite sad actually), at French class yesterday we had to read, translate into English and then discuss in French a letter written by Guy Môquet to his family before he was shot by the Germans.  Very very sad.


You can read about Guy Môquet here and a copy of the letter here.  Don't click on the last link if your French is not good.  The English version can be found here.

 I do vaguely remember Mr le President trying to get the Lycées to read this letter out to the students at each rentrée in September, but the teachers refused.

Right- Périgueux beckons.  Yet another day gone without reading Gwen!

More L O V E

Some people have said that they think doing letters as 8-1/2 inch blocks may be too big. So I've altered the rules a bit.

Take a look at Tonya's Rumspringa quilt (here).

Could you do something similar in red and white?  Block still to be the same size.

Is this ok with you all?

Wordless Wednesday - Waiting (or Patience)

copyright www.azurs.net

L O V E is ..........

.......... the sweetest thing.

So how about spelling it out in red or white letters?

I was thinking of a way of jazzing up the Quilts 4 Leukaemia quilts and came up with this idea.

The next appeal for blocks is Tonya's wonky letters (click here for the tutorials).

Do the whole word (LOVE) in upper or lower case, but DO NOT sew the letters together.  I'll mix the letters up when I make up the quilts.  One word for each quilt so I'm going to need loads!

Don't forget the block size - 8 1/2 inches unfinished so you can do lovely big fat wonky letters.

Are you up for it?

YES!

Bonjour,

Nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer que l'article suivant vous sera expédie plus tôt que prévu :

Gwen Marston "Liberated Quiltmaking II"
Date d'arrivée précédemment estimée : f�vrier 05 2010
Nouvelle date d'arrivée prévue : janvier 22 2010 - janvier 23 2010

Nous espérons que cette information vous apportera satisfaction.

Too right!

First AAQI Quilt

I finished my first AAQI quilt last night.

I've called it My Scrappy Mind because it has been made from scraps given to me, mostly by the Bebbington Appliqué Expert, as I call her.

This is the back - fabric given to me by Quilting Pixie Donna, who sadly has decided to stop blogging for the time being.

I  had an idea for another one, but have forgotten what it was!  Typical!

There's been some stash enhancement going on too.

I went into the remaining LQS on Friday to see what they'd got in the soldes.  Not a lot.  In fact nothing.  I was looking round for the "coupons'" basket which used to be on a table in the middle of the fabric room.  Now there is a sign saying that "from now on, due to thieving, please ask us for the coupons basket"!  Can you imagine!  Who on earth would want to steal FQ's!

So I came home with the gorgeous moon and stars FQ and the red one.

The rest is Kaffe Fassett bits and pieces from lovely Marit in Norway.  She saw my post about the lovely Kaffe Fassett stripes Wanda was showing on her blog, and very kindly sent me some.  Aren't they gorgeous.

Ooooohh - guess what!

Does this look like what I think it is.

Do you really think Spring could be on its way?

Yesterday was so gorgeous.  I couldn't believe the sun's warmth and opened every window I possibly could.  The Young One promptly went round shutting them all as she is starting a cold!

I think today is going to be lovely and sunny again, but probably not as warm. So .......

Wordless Wednesday - Wishing and Waiting

Yesterday

It's finally stopped snowing, but still freezing cold and, apparently, it's going to get colder.

Only 2 months to go and Spring will be here.  Thank goodness.

A bientôt

I'm in love!

The other day I was reading Wanda's blog - Exuberant Color - where she had posted photos of the most gorgeous fabrics I have ever seen - the Kaffe Fassett stripes.  They really are stunning.

So I'm  now on the hunt for some on Ebay and other places.  I think I've found an online shop in Orléans (just up the road LOL) which stocks them.  Expensive, yes, but worth every single centime just to be able to fondle them!

In the meantime, I'm going to have to settle for this.

The winter sales have started and I found this little beauty marked down by 50%.  

 I can feel V's Waverunner quilt coming on.

It's been snowing here on and off.  The Young One was sent home from school early last Wednesday and didn't go back until yesterday.  The school mini-bus couldn't get up the hill.

As I type this it's snowing again.  Big big flakes.  The Young One and I managed to get out on Thursday to do a mini shop.  Luckily we did as we certainly can't get out now! 

The farmer delivered our wood on Thursday too so we are hunkering down and keeping warm.

A bientôt.

Fooling About

Happy New Year everyone.  Hope you all had a good Christmas and celebrated the next year in style.

We had a pretty quiet Christmas, but I'm still recovering frm the New Year celebrations. (Note to self - don't drink so much of the fizzy stuff next year.)


In between eating and drinking I've been chain piecing blocks for the Blueberry Fool quilt and this is where I've got to so far.

Someone mentioned that they thought it was a lot different from Blackcurrant Fool, but I personally can't see the difference, except that the "blades" haven't been added yet.  There is a lot more dark and white than in the previous one and I'm trying ever so hard to provide contrast.

I winged it with Blackcurrant Fool and I seem to be planning this one a lot more.

I haven't started machining the blocks together yet.  I thought I'd wait and see how big it gets before getting fed up.  I'm thinking of stopping roughly about this size, will add the "blades" and then a small border to round it off.

After that perhaps I'll muck about with the purples and blues (there are still loads left over) and make a lap quilt for my Mother.  I asked her last year if she wanted a lap quilt and got a firm no.  When she was over here in November she said how warm quilts are and would like a lap quilt to snuggle under during the cold months.  Honestly!  So that's the next project sorted.

Isn't it marvellous about the Liberated Quilting Challenge!  I was approving membership applications to the Yahoo group most of yesterday and when I logged on to the internet this morning, found that my fellow Moderator, Nancie V in TX, had approved loads more.

I'm not at all sure what I'm going to do yet.  I did letters for Tonya's Priority Hope Challenge and I toying with the idea of doing a free-pieced rose similar to the one that Tracey did a tutorial for (here).

We've had the most extraordinary weather over the last few days.  3 nights ago there was the most amazing thunderstorm with torrential rain (in December!?!?) and now the temperature has dropped again and we are building up for a couple of cold days.

The skies have been amazing.

As have the sunsets

Woohoo - I've just realised - only 2 days to go before Gwen's new book is out.  I wonder what it's like?

Then there is February to look forward to when Bonnie's Adventures with Leaders & Enders comes out.  What fun we are going to have this year.

Until the next time.

Read All About It!

To celebrate 2010 Michele and I are throwing down the gauntlet to all liberated quilters.

Go here to read more about it.