Some Sad News

I found out yesterday via Facebook, that our lovely fellow liberated quilter, Roz, died last Sunday.

She suffered quite a severe stroke last October/November and, although in a care facility, seemed to be on the up.

She was a very very dear online friend to me. We "met" via Tonya and struck up a firm friendship. We chatted via email about this, that and the other and had a laugh, mostly at my expense.

I shall miss her very much.

Dear Roz,

These are for you my friend.

Courtesy of Google Images

xx

Creating a Mess!

Greetings from a gorgeously warm South West France! I think we've missed out on Spring and Summer has arrived!

To celebrate I started creating chaos in the sewing room.

The plastic tub holds triangles of all shapes and sizes

Couldn't be bothered to clear the decks or swap the walking foot on Emma 1 (on the right) for the 1/4" foot so got out another machine. She hasn't been used for sometime and I wondered why. Now I know. She chews fabric! Definitely does not like string piecing.

So I started with this

This is a 5kg plastic tub and that is the top layer.

I'm finding all sorts of treasures which I'm keeping. You know how much I love batiks and I couldn't bear to use these beauties.

Yes, I know the square top left is not a batik, but I want to keep it for something special.

But I'm having fun piecing together odd shapes,

ironing, cutting and seeing what happens.

After about 3 hours solid sewing (with the odd interruption when The Old One turned off the electricity supply without telling me!), I created these.

I'm looking forward to hearing what they whisper to me.

I must tell you something funny.

For some weeks now I've been turning my Parts Dept upside down looking for some specific crumb blocks which I was sure I had. Somewhere.

Imagine my surprise when they turned up in Blogland! Pat had them! You can see what she's done with them here. I did have to mention that the block bottom right in the last photo is a house and it's now lying on its side!!!!!

On to more mundane things for family readers.

We're slowly recovering after the Big Freeze. The Old One has spent the last 3 days up a ladder trying to join pipes together where they burst. He's working in a tiny space and soldering new joints proved impossible so he's using special joints. We've finally got cold water to the main bathroom! However, when he did the hot water run he found 4 small bursts further along the line which meant hauling out The Very Big Ladder, climbing down into a very small space (lucky that he's small and thin!) and finding the leaks. I personally feel it would be easier to replace that particular pipe run, but he's adamant that he can fix it! We shall see.

Just one more thing before I sign off and start cooking supper.

The Liberated Quilters Yahoo Group (see link in sidebar) has got some astounding blogger'esses and they are churning out some wonderful stuff.

We've created a special blog so they can show off their work to the world. Click here and then click on any of the blogs which interest you. Some you may know already, but others you won't. Enjoy!

And on that note, I'll love you and leave you with a recent photo of a local church, processed with my new find, The Gimp.

Nontron Church

More soon.

Wordless Wednesday

Cherry Blossom

P is for?

I'm making another name banner for a dear friend.

Just hope the colours are okay.

More soon.

Wednesday's Wall

I had to plan and write the first round for this year's Liberated Round Robin. I promise you - when you've spent hours planning what to do for everyone else and you get to start, it ain't as easy as it sounds.

I thought and thought and thought and eventually came up with this for starters.

Made up of pieces sent to me in the 2011 and 2012 Worldwide Swaps.

It grew a bit bigger and then I started slashing.

This is the result.

 

Umm - needs something else - a bit of Chartreuse Green perhaps?

I forgot how much fabric stretches when slashed. Nothing matches! That's liberated for you!

Now that's out of the way, and the second round isn't due to be published until April, I can catch up on quilting chores.

More soon.

And Another One

Crap photo - sorry. 

Thanks to Sally at Salsy Safrano Quilts and Lori at Stitches n' Giggles.

I can see houses!

Getting overwhelmed with Spring jobs and the Liberated Round Robin 2012.

More soon.

I've Discovered Another Hobby

and it's quite possible I'm going to get addicted.

I've started geocaching.

It's all Julie and Pippa's fault, and now that the warmer weather is here I'd rather be outside than in.

I  found my first cache on Friday in our sleepy local town.

No not these, but the cache was hidden in the same tree.

There are quite a few round here. A lot more than I thought. So if you don't hear from me for sometime you'll know what I'll be doing.

More soon.

And Another One!

I've started clearing the decks.

Get rid of some of those projects which have been hanging round in plastic boxes waiting to be finished.

Yesterday afternoon I got the Batik Cabins out and decided to Get It Done!

I got the idea of using the black and white as spacers from Gwen and Freddy's Collaborating series. It needed somewhere for the eyes to rest on. There was too much to look at and my eyes were going all over the place.

This one is going to be a lap quilt for me (about time too!).

I've still got a few blocks left and thought I'd finish them up using some of the newer additions to the batik stash and making a smaller quilt.

I was interested in what people said in my Gotcha post.

I don't like the idea of my photos being copied without my permission, but it happens. I found one of my really really old photos on a web site for the local town a few weeks ago, pinched from one of my Flickr albums. I wrote and asked if they could either acknowledge me in the text, or remove the photo.  I haven't heard back, the photo is still there and there is no acknowledgement.

Watermarking photos doesn't solve the problem because people will copy them regardless, and, again, it is a compliment because if people see your watermark on a photo on someone's blog/Pinterest page/web site, they'll want to know who took it and search to see if they can find you.

I suppose the one thing about Pinterest is that the photo does link back to your blog and, as Cheri said in her comment, it is a sort of compliment to one's work.

I think this subject will run and run, as will the copyright issue.

Heigh ho - the trials of blogging!

To round off this post, I thought you'd like to see how I store my flimseys(ies) (how do you spell that word!).

When The Young One was younger little, we were given the clothes hangers that jeans hang from. You know the ones - the one's with clips.

We've collected quite a few over the years and the other week I suddenly had a brainwave (yup - I do get them occasionally!).

There we go. Hanging in a nice colourful row in the wardrobe. Dust free and relatively crease free.

Job done! As The Old One said.

And on that note I'm off. Got a sewing room to tidy up and need to think about my string quilt project for Brenda's String Thing Along, not to mention planning my block for the Liberated Round Robin 2012.

More soon.

Saturday Sewing & An Invitation

Et voila!

What do you think?

I might add another lot of borders, perhaps including more triangles, but this is joining the UFO pile as something very exciting is about to happen.

Read on.

You are invited to join in on the second Liberated Round Robin (LibRR2). 
The second Liberated Round Robin will commence in March 2012!

The quilters who finished the first LibRR were invited to collaborate in the planning of the second Liberated Round Robin. Clare, Mary, Pattilou and Jan decided they would each write up a section of the challenge for LibRR2.

Please sign up on this form to express your interest in joining in! You will receive access to post photos of your progress and to link to your blog or photo stream, you will receive a reminder email when each new step is posted to the site, and once you start posting photos of your LibRR2 you will be listed on the “Who We Are” page. (Even if you participated in the first Liberated Round Robin, please fill out the form.)

You are invited to join in on this online project. The emphasis this time will be for you to really stretch and to create a liberated piece! There are many different thoughts about what a liberated project is. Each author will be writing their guidelines so you get to know a little more how they interpret this kind of design.

You may use what ever fabric you desire for this project, and the end size is up to you. There is no need to match up colors to a focus piece of fabric - just pick something you like!
This time, in addition to following the guidelines for each round/row/part, we really want you to be open in how you order and size your pieces - so please do not sew them together until you receive directions for that step. There is no right or wrong way to do this - we want you to try to be open and liberated!

If you are interested in joining us for LibRR2, please use this form! (Even if you participated in the first Liberated Round Robin, please fill out the form.)

Pick and choose the suggestions you want to incorporate in your project and sew. Use these ideas for one to four+ rounds or rows that will eventually surround your initial block. This time, please hold off sewing your parts together until April/May. That way it will be easier for you to be creative during this process.

It’s okay to combine ideas, add alternative blocks, insert separating borders, or cut and rearrange what you sewed between rounds. Please report back to the others on the blog to provide motivation and ideas!

If you get behind, that is not a problem. You will receive an email to remind you when a new step is about to be added.

Information about LibRR2 will start to be posted on March 2012.

Tentative Timeline (all Fridays)

• Mar 2- Invitation to LibRR2 (June)

• Mar 16- Initial Block/Part/Round/Row (Clare) (Time to sew Mar 16 to Mar Apr 5)

• Apr 6- Second Round/Row/Part (Mary) (Time to sew Apr 6 to Apr 26)

• Apr 27 - Third Round/Row/Part (Pattilou)

• May 18 - Final Round/Row/Part (Jan)

• June 8- Please try to post your flimsie by this date

• July 6 - Final Reveal Day - Please try to post photo of your finished project by this date!

If you finish your parts/row/round before the posted deadline, please post a photo and share your thoughts on the blog. Then move on to another project until the next step is revealed!

The idea is not particularly to create the perfect project, but to participate in an online event while creating a quilt! Remember we all learn from each other and incorporate ideas into our own interpretations.... The more we experiment and sew, the better our pieces will become.

So will you join us and have fun?

Look forward to seeing you there!

More soon.

Gotcha!

My lovely Texan friend Belinda has posted about her photos being pinched and appearing on Pinterest.

I admit to "pinching" photos from some blogs, but I know that the people involved won't mind. However, pinning photos from blogs without the owner's permission is surely an infringement of copyright?

Anyway, someone left a comment on Belinda's blog about how to stop your photos and tutorials being "Pinched to Pinterest".

Click on this link and follow the instructions. No more "Pinching to Pinterest"!

More soon.