Chubby Mummy

Shopping for Fabric?

2011-09-11T10:41:00.000+01:00

So I know its been ages since I closed this blog and starting blogging at TraceyPereiradotcom but I still have a lot of visitors coming here every week. Thank you. I hope you continue to visit. There are lots of tutorials here so hopefully you will find something useful.

I've been busy doing a lot of things since I last posted here namely building a business - or trying to at least. It hasn't been easy I can tell you in a depressed economy but it has been tremendous fun.

A big thank you to every one that has supported me so far. I have a long way to go and I am currently working on a new streamlined website that will be faster loading and easier to maintain for me. In the meantime I'd love it if you go to my current little shop here and see what I have. Comments would be great too!

I am based in the UK so if you are shopping for fabric in the United Kingdom do consider visiting my little online shop and if you are in the south of England near Portsmouth you can visit me (by appointment). I carry a range of Kona Solid cottons, Moda Precuts and yardage plus Pat Bravo and Melly and Me, a few wide backs and Aurifil and Valdani threads.

Need rotary cutters or batting? I have some of those too as well as my best selling Crushed Walnut shell Pin cushion stuffing! What a hoot, these tiny pieces of crushed walnut shells are ace for pincushions and fly out the door. Who'd have thought?

I also have the amazing SKIP STITCH blades for crocheting around fleece and other fabrics

I try to keep my prices as keen as I can and I have a bolt of the day -- (normally every week at the moment ..sorry) but it is discounted by up to 50%, so it is worth while taking a look to see what's on offer.

You can join the mailing list too if you like and keep up to date with all the latest additions, sales and the special specials I run for subscribers only.

Thanks so much for looking

and

Happy Quilting!

Love Tracey xxxx

you are the weakest link ... goodbye!

2010-08-03T21:28:00.002+01:00

So thats that folks .... this is the last post on
Chubby Mummy!

I have moved ! Please dont leave me though ....
click here to be taken to my new blog

traceypereira dot com

and

as a special thankyou you are welcome to download my summer bag pattern. It will be available over the summer during the transition from old to new blog.

I hope you enjoy it and if you do please click on the Follow Me button

and add me to your blog list.

Thanks so much for following me for the last 2 years (well almost in October).

You are a great crew and I would hate to loose you so

please remember to click the button !

See you over at

traceypereira dot com

Whats in a name?

2010-08-03T02:58:00.001+01:00

Well .. its been a long time coming I suppose but I have now decided that this is the end of Chubby Mummy . She has had her day and she will be retired .. quietly. But dont worry my loyal band of chubblyz ... I'm not going to kill her off completely .. just give her a bit of a revamp.You know a nip and tuck here and there ... ooh and a change of identity!

I'd love to say this is needed because she is no longer chubby but that would be a down and out fib! Or perhaps because the mummy is now a gran-mummy but that wouldn't be true either.

Nope .. the fact of the matter is my blog needs a more considered name. One that doesn't shock a mother when when she searches the internet and finds my blog listed amongst similar titles with less savoury content! Unfortunately the 'not so quilty element' of this list has grown considerably over the last few months and whilst it might be to some tastes its not to mine and I dont care to be linked to it .. albeit on a google or yahoo search engine. So .. dear chubs its goodbye! Arrivederci old pal, sayonara, so long!

So first up in this blog tweak ... I have a new link .. implemented over the weekend but unlikely to have been noticed as Ms. Chubs is now being redirected to http://www.traceypereira.com.

That was the easy bit. The more difficult bit is what to call the blog. Having made a bit of a faux pas last time I dont really want a repeat but I'm hitting a brick wall... no amazingly good blog titles are springing up saying "pick me"... which is a darn nuisance since I have now made a decision to end the old gal.

I found this over at Pro-Blogger .. a quote from a bloke called Ryan but who he is I dont know... (sorry Ryan) but I like your quote all the same .

‘As I mentioned the perfect name is easy to remember, sounds and looks good. But more importantly than these three is a name that is suiting. There is no such thing as the perfect name in the initial stages. It takes time and growth before a name can become perfect.…’

and Daniel Scocco over at dailyblogtips says the blog name should satisfy 3 rules:

1. It should describe your blog
2. It should be easy to remember
3. It should be equal to your domain name

Well lets think about this Chubby Mummy described me ok but not the blog, it was a short, sweet title that was easy to remember I guess but it didn't equal the domain name -- that was chubbymother because chubbymummy was already taken. So uhm .. it failed on 2 of those rules.

So what to choose .... ????

You'll have to wait I'm afraid because I simply don't know yet!

Updated : Ok I have a name ... its not too imaginative but I like it ....

Welcome to my new blog : Tracey Pereira dot com!

Ooh "L" ... plates have gone!

2010-07-27T22:54:00.000+01:00

Today is a good day .. My daughter passed her driving test .. first time ... which is quite unheard of in the UK, my DIL is currently in labour with our first grandchild and I am guest posting over at Mega-Crafty! On top of this I found a good deal on the car insurance for said daughter (Can you believe one company quoted £6000 ... yes thats six thousand? Yeah .. I don't think so.. thanks all the same) and I got new spec lenses that allow me to see without craning my neck at some ridiculous angle to see the computer screen!

Life is good today! But baby p ... you really need to hurry up ...your poor nanny is getting fed up of waiting to put a name and date on your quilt ! Yes alright I'll make another pair of shoes while I wait!

Uhm yes ... the baby quilt. Thanks for the advice on the letter fabric. It was all taken on board, processed and thrown back in the air I'm afraid. I decided that I actually really didn't like the tumbler quilt enough so guess what ? I made 2 more tops and let the mummy and daddy decide which they wanted. They choose the hedgehog quilt and if you pop over to Mega-Crafty blog you can see the cushion I made to go with it. (The other quilt has robots on it .. I liked but mummy wasn't so keen ... so I'm glad I asked.)

Meg (who has never met a craft she doesn't like) is hosting Sewing 101 on her blog Mega-Crafty this week and has asked a couple of people to guest blog .. including me! I was thrilled! Meg is a brilliant crafter and has some pretty nifty inspirational ideas. I downloaded her paper-making tutorial recently and can't wait to give it a go. (Maddy and Christine if your reading this we need to rearrange that play date that had to be cancelled!!!)

But how cool to be a guest on another blog? Of course I had a minor panic attack whilst I was trying to decide what tutorial to do. I was vacillating between the cushion cover and a peg bag. In the end common sense prevailed .... pegs aren't a common item across the pond! Truth be told they aren't that common at Chez Tracey's sometimes although I have been very very good of late and feel very housewifey pinning out my basket of freshly washed laundry and I do admit a passion for bright white 'scratchy towels that smell of the outdoors'.

Speaking of bright white ..why is it when you peg washing to dry outside any residual stains are bleached out by the sun? I know its bleached out but what is the chemical change that happens to make stains disappear? Answers on a post card please! I did read on a forum recently about using Hydrogen peroxide to remove stains (which presumably works on the the same principal as sunlight) ... but does anyone use HP and what do you do with it ? I ask because I have a bottle of it. Not sure why but its in the cupboard and I dont plan on bleaching my hair anytime soon.. although no 3 son may as he died his hair BLUE for the holidays. (No please dont ask he's 14 ... does that explain it?)

Well I am off to catch some z's before we are woken in the middle of the night with some news ... hopefully!

Hey Mr P if you read this ... you could be going to sleeping with a Granny tomorrow .. oh el!

The MAN-drawer!

2010-07-11T23:55:00.000+01:00

We have a comedian here in the UK called Michael McIntyre who I think is just amazingly funny. He pulls his material from real life which is why it is probably such side splitting material. One of my favourite stories is his rendition of " The MAN-drawer!"

You will no doubt know this drawer because EVERY household has one. Its the HOUSEHOLD MAINTENANCE drawer - the drawer that holds the spare light bulb for the lamp (that has actually been thrown away) and the AA batteries that you THINK are charged, the spare fuse for the power board (that was replaced with a new consumer unit last year), the international plug adaptor for Ouagadougou ... (? its the capital of Burkina Fasu) , the swiss army knife and endless spare headphones (that have lost one earpiece), a flash light, plasters and headache pills etc.. etc...We ALL have one of these drawers right? Its the MAN-drawer .. the drawer that in the event of emergency you could go to war with AND keep an attacking army at bay.

Well ... we have several of these drawers and they ALL reside in the dressing table I share with my hubby. So, you can imagine my face when said hubby announced he needed more space in this SHARED unit and suggested I get rid of some of my clothes.

"Oh look the Samaritans are collecting for charity on Tuesday ... why dont you have a clear out "

Yes, right ... I know what you are up to Mr P! (there are no flies on me you know!)

Well as it happened I was quite happy to accommodate this request as I had had it in mind to do a 'clear out' for a while .... and I did! Way too many bags were filled with the remnants of a life when I was smaller than I am today. Too many good clothes will be sitting on hangers in the charity shop because I got too fat BUT thats ok ... I am happy to move things on AND to a better place than residing in space that is the poor relation of the man-drawer. But a few of my nicer things are on EBAY as of this moment.

Now if you have ever EBAYed you will know the time and effort that is required to sort, photo and load your wares, but I have been rewarded in the past with few extra readies that have certainly helped fuel my hobby and fill my "fabric drawers" or my "notions drawers" and I am hoping that this little green felted beauty will help this time. I thought I would show you because I know you all love textiles and this wearable piece really is lovely (and if it doesn't sell it WILL be unpicked and used in a project somewhere along the line). Made by Irish knitwear designer LINDA WILSON ... I love her stuff but I dont think I go anywhere these days to warrant wearing it.

Mind you if I were to place it in my LADY- drawer it may not help defend a country against invasion but it could surely help decorate it!

one thousand fabrics and not one thats right!

2010-07-05T18:55:00.000+01:00

Argh! Can anyone tell me why it is that you never have that one piece of fabric you really need in your stash? It always seems to be the way - Murphy's Law as they say. So ladies I need some help ... can I make do with something out of my stash or do I really need to go shopping?

I posted a short video of the little baby quilt I made today for impending grandson no 1 but I need some input about fabric for applique letters. I want to add the babys name to the bottom border and offered up a couple of fabrics for audition. None of them are really grabbing my fancy but I would like to use something from the stash if I can. Not that I'm a cheap scape but its that feel-good factor you get when you know you really are stash busting! So please have a look and let me know your thoughts.

Excuse the photo btw - its an iphoto one which isn't so hot but I am quite impressed with the video.

The daddy btw - No 1 son is immortalised in the screen print on the left hand side - just above the dotty blue fabric. One day I'll do something with that!

come on England !

2010-06-27T12:22:00.004+01:00

Wholecloth Blighty design available from Digitech Patterns : Currently on sale

Well its all England fever here today as England play Germany in the World Cup! I cant say I am a football fan in general but I do support our boys on an international level. So to all our boys over in South Africa today ... all I can say is this ... keep calm and carry on!

EMQE, Cathy Franks and city chic messenger bags

2010-06-22T17:40:00.004+01:00

I had a great week last week spending 7 days with old and new friends at the European Machine Quilting Expo down in Castletownbere in Co Cork. Ireland. The lead teacher this year was fibre artist Cathy Franks and she was a delight --- all 4' nothing of her .. lol. I took all her classes and really enjoyed them. She is sooo enthusiastic and passionate about her work and a very good teacher. We played with all sorts of goodies, including Tsukineko inks, paint sticks and colouring pencils, messed about making 'flash and trash', couched with wool and made complete quilts directly on the longarm frame! Who would have thought to piece and add borders, let alone iron directly on your frame. Amazing! I loved it all.

I taught 2 classes as well. A Frenzy of Fillers and my City Chic Messenger bags. I was very impressed with my students and they all did a super job. Annie and Claudio -- or the kids ... as I called them because they are soo young did an amazing job making their bags having done very little sewing ....ever ... at all, Sherry over at Irish Quilting learnt to topstitch and Valerie was thrilled to install a zip. I really enjoyed teaching this class, plus I also got to make a few myself.

Today I have been messing about with Aperture 3 and created a slideshow of the bags I have made. I'll be putting them on sale over at chubbymummy.co.uk later this week. Hope you enjoy the slideshow. It was fun to make.

Keep Calm and Carry On !

2010-06-09T09:24:00.003+01:00

It's very late but I feel very happy that I quilted out the blank samples for my students at the EMQE next week. Just got to get sorted with all the other stuff now!!

I'm also testing out if my iPhone can send video ... If it does take a sneak peak at one of my latest designs quilting out. I am using 3 designs from my Blighty set for this years freehand filler class over in this Irish retreat for longarmers.

Yeah ... it works - I just love my Iphone! Sorry the quality is naff but it was 2.30 in the morning and the lighting in my studio - whilst good for quilting is most certainly NOT good for video. But now I know it works I will try another one! In case your wondering what the design is ... and I was .. white thread on white is not a good combo at the best of time for photos ... it is Script and says KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. Above this is a Union Jack (with the correct proportions I should add) and above this a George VI crown. These designs, along with 4 others should be available to download from Digitech Patterns and Intelligent Quilting very soon.

YouTube Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

free pleats with every quilt!

2010-04-23T09:44:00.003+01:00

As she turned over the newly stitched quilt she saw it. It leapt off the quilt backing and waved at her ...

"Hello, I'm Mr Pleat. Are you pleased to see me?"

"No I am not ..." she exclaimed.
"Who invited you and how did you get here?"

"Oh.. I came when you weren't paying attention.
You know when you thought everything was going so well and you would have this quilt done and off the frame in record time ... do you remember?" He sang cheerfully.

"Oh yes" she said as she sighed deeply and wondered what on earth she was going to do about him. Mr Pleat was not a visitor she welcomed but he was right ... he came at her own request.

"Oh bloody hell ... I can really do without you today.
If I close my eyes and count to 10 can you disappear?"

"No, I don't think so."

"No, I didn't think you'd be so accommodating."

"So what shall we do then?
Can we play let's get agitated, or let's get annoyed?"

"No .. go away."

"Please play with me ...
I love it when you get all stressed out. Pleaded Mr Pleat.

"No ... its not going to happen today.
I wont be playing either of those two games because you wont be here long enough".

God it felt good to be in control for once. No more heart sinking moments for her. She was queen of the pleat and he would be banished forever!

"What do yo mean ... I'm not that easy to get rid of.
You will have to unpick .. alot and you know how much you hate that.. then you will have to do something with all that excess fabric .. ha ... thats no easy task.
So, tell me ... just how are you going to get rid of me?"

"Easy ... I will have to unpick a few stitches yes ... but not too many. And that excess fabric ... no problem ....
I will use SPRAY STARCH."

"Spray Starch .. what are you talking about?"

"Oh dont you know that old trick Mr Pleat?
You are history mate ... a few shots of spray starch and 30 minutes to dry and you will shrivel away into insignificance"

" Oh no ... please don't." pleaded Mr Pleat.
"Its my job ... I have to be here to make the quilt look awful!"

"Good bye" she said as she took the lid of the Robin spray starch can!

get knitted!

2010-04-15T09:10:00.003+01:00

Years ago when I were a mere child the in-vogue playground phrase was to

"get knotted!"

I've no idea where this phrase came from but it was meant as a mildly offensive term and used to tell someone to "go away". I mention this only because a picture of this super cool knitted bus cozy landed in my email this morning and it just made me think "get knitted" ! (Yes I know .. tenuous link but its the Easter holidays and my brain is kiddy mush)

Isn't it fabulous and what an amazing idea? Why you would want to do such a thing is another question but since it has made the world a whole lot brighter ..WHY NOT!

So don't say "get knotted" say "get knitted"

You can see more pictures of The Mexico Bus at Magdasayeg website here : Knitted Bus

Thanks also to Handmade Spark for drawing my attention to it!

Classic 1956 Singer Sewing Machine TV Ad

2010-03-27T03:36:00.004Z

Boy .....

they don't make sewing machine adverts like this anymore!
Does anyone have one of those automatic zigzaggers,
they look really snazzy!

Quilts 1700-2010 at the V&A

2010-03-18T18:23:00.004Z

Yesterday I had an amazing opportunity to visit a preview of the Quilts 1700-2010 exhibition opening on March 20 at the V&A in London. The exhibition runs until 4 July 2010 and I would highly recommend you make time to visit it.

Quilts 1700-2010 is the V&A's first major exhibition devoted to quilts and patchwork and explores over 300 years of British quilt making. It shows around 70 quilts from a cot quilt made in the 1690's to recent example from contemporary artists such as Tracey Emin.

"To Meet my Past" by Tracey Emin 2002

Mixed media installation comprised of a four poster bed,

mattress and appliquéd linens and curtains

As far as quilt exhibitions go this one is very different. Curated by Sue Pritchard, the exhibition is presented chronologically and thematically with contemporary works woven throughout the themes : The Domestic Landscape;Private Thoughts;Political Debates;Virtue and Virtuosity;Making a Living and Meeting the Past.

As you walk through the 2 main exhibition halls the quilts tell a story of life and love, birth and death as well as political debate and national identity. Historic events and personal narratives are woven together and the inclusion of related materials like a makers diary and an embroidered box bring life to the quilts and their quilt makers.

I was particularly intrigued by the inclusion of sound and video clips into the exhibition. This added another dimension to the show and proved an excellent way to showcase less conventional quilt related art works. It was also a welcome counter to the low light levels which was necessary to protect the old textiles but was not conducive to best quilt viewing.

Great effort has been made to display the quilts and many have been placed on bed mounts to showcase them as they were originally intended. Unfortunately for me I felt the mounts were too harsh and the softness and drape of the quilts was lost as they lay slab-like on a box ... instead of a bed. The addition of a head pillow or an eiderdown underneath the quilts would have added height and structure to the quilts and increased appeal, but then maybe textile preservation prevented this.

HMS Wandsworth Prison Inmates talk about Fine Cell Work

The works of several contemporary British quilt artists are included in the show: Sara Impey, Dinah Prentice, Michele Walker, Pauline Burbridge and Jane Forgan, as well newly commissioned work by Jo Budd and one by the prisoners of HMS Wandsworth. Founded by Lady Anne Tree Fine Cell Work is a charitable organisation that teaches needlework to the inmates of some 26 prisons around the UK and watching to the video footage accompanying the quilt you immediately get the sense that this needlework means a lot to them. I was particularly captivated by the Wandsworth quilt. ..look closely at the detail and you get a snapshot of an inmates day in a simple hexagon block.

Allow yourself a couple of hours to go through the show. There is a lot to see and hear and to top it off when you get outside you will be directed through a shop (of course) with a fantastic line of 18 fabrics that have been designed with Liberty's of London to commemorate the exhibition.

Did I buy any? Yes of course!

Check it out in the museum shop here!

frills, parachutes and split personalities!

2010-03-02T00:30:00.001Z

New house cushion by me!

What on earth am I talking about today? Any guesses? Oh go on .... have at least one guess. I'll wait ......

Nope your wrong ... they are all types of quilt border!

I was cleaning up my computer yesterday and I came across a tutorial I wrote way back in 2001 (and updated in 2007) on how to apply quilt borders and these are some of the names I gave to the borders on quilts.

The Frill is a border that has more fabric in it than the middle of the quilt and it makes a pretty frill.

The Parachute is a border that has less fabric than the middle and makes the quilt centre balloon up like a parachute.

The Spilt Personality is a quilt in 2 minds and has a combination of frills and parachutes.

and the

Trapazoid is a quilt where no 2 sides are parallel.

Just my nicknames but all of them are so blinkin annoying when you are a longarm quilter (or indeed any quilter that uses a frame system).

Poorly applied borders can really give us stand-up quilters the hibby-jibbies for a very good reason ... they make it more difficult for us to quilt and if we don't recognise the issue before we start quilting we can easily get caught in a less than pleasant position!

I once had a quilt that had a 7" difference in the width of the top and bottom borders. I was a novice quilter at the time and had failed to measure ALL four borders. As a result I loaded it onto the frame and started quilting merrilly away with a heavy duty complex pattern. Before long I realised the quilt was not lying on the frame well anymore and a huge pleat was going to happen if I carried on ... I think I said "crap" or something like that when I realised the only solution to put this right was to take the quilt off the frame, unpick all the work I'd done , reapply the borders correctly and requilt. I reckoned it was 3 days work! Never again have I done this! Lesson well and truly learnt.

So big TIP : Measure ALL four borders and make sure the opposite borders are the same length before you start.

Anyway, having received many beautiful quilts with poorly applied borders I decided to write this step by step guide to help the borderly challenged. Now its available to all of you too!

Its here in full or you can link at the top of my blog or through my sidebar links. Please feel free to download or pass the link on if you think it would help anyone you know!

Quilt Borders

Quilt Borders for Square Quilts by Tracey Pereira

just a messin with my iphone

2010-02-28T20:23:00.004Z

I am in love with my iphone ... its my life in my pocket ! Phone, camera, ipod, facebook, flickr, bookclub and so much more. Did I tell you I love it!

Today I downloaded the most amazing app from thebestcamera.com
It is truly truly truly amazing! In one sweep I can take a photo, manipulate the image and send it in one press of a button to facebook, flickr, twitter and thebestcamera site as well. Whats more it costs next to nothing .. less than £2.

So today I was messin with my camera . The felt flowers are one of my favorite things in my kitchen. You can get them here.

the secret life of the sewing machine!

2010-02-24T10:17:00.002Z

My hubby frequently tells me not to talk to my tools and equipment but sometimes I am convinced they are sentient beings .....especially my longarm that really dislikes working on Sundays!

I found this video on youtube today .... its 10 minutes and an ideal coffee break moment!

If you like this you can see part 2 and 3 too here and here

the award of the cheesy green dumpling

2010-02-16T01:54:00.004Z

Cheesy Green Dumplings
Ingredients:
1 packet semi-dried, vacumm packed or fresh potato gnocchi.
1 jar green pesto
cheddar cheese - around 2oz per person

Method:
bring pan of water to a rolling boil
add gnocchi to pan
wait approx 3 mins while all gnocchi rises to the water surface
(as soon as gnocchi floats it is cooked)
drain water

place 1 teaspoon pesto per person onto the gnocchi
grate 1oz (ish) cheese per person onto gnocchi
stir all ingredients together

pile gnocchi mix into bowls and sprinkle with more grated cheese
use parmesan, cheddar or any cheese you like

takes about 10 mins to make!

Tonight, just as I was about to shut down for the evening I received an unsolicited breed of email. Akin to the illustrious chain letter I was asked to send a quick recipe to the first person named on the list then forward the note I had received to 20 other people. 20 people! 20 people ... I had to question if I had 20 names in my contact list that I could send the email to! My first reaction was to bin the letter .. then I thought about the person who had added my name to the list. I like the lady and don't want to upset or be rude to her so I decide to send a recipe and forward the note on BUT not to 20 people, just 10. I do as instructed and send the note with a preface from me saying I don't like chain lettery type emails so they shouldn't feel obliged to take part etc...

I feel better now and start to think about bed .. then I remember I still have to forward the blog awards I received recently and that I'd said I would do that last week! I feel very bad again. So now I must come clean with you... you see I have been procrastinating because I don't like blog awards much either.

God, I am such a grumpy old women ... but you know it just smacks of something un-British to me. We just don't do the congratulatory admiration thing very well really here. We do pomp and circumstance reaaally well but not adulation. Mind you, I will confess that my inner child is still jumping up and down like a demented cat saying " yeah ... someone thinks my blog is interesting enough to give it an award" but there is this bigger voice saying in a big deep voice " well thats very nice but lets move on with the order of the day"

But, I do want to say a BIG thank you to Diane over at DEsigned by Diane Evans for passing me the award of the Zombie Chicken and to Meg at Mega Crafty and Elissa at Not Just Handbags for awarding me a double dose of the Sunshine award.

I am truly honoured that you have bestowed these awards upon me.

Now, if I am correct I believe this means I need to forward the awards to as many as 29 bloggers (5 for the Zombie Chicken and 12 each for the Sunshine award). Well I think that pretty much covers everyone on my reader list so congratulations you are all awarded a Sunshine Zombie Chicken combo and quite rightly so!

I expect some of you are thinking " this girl is not taking things seriously.. strike her off the list", and if you are, I am sorry ... I dont mean to be Mrs Grumpy- Bum but I have always been the maverick of the pack. However, in true maverick fashion I would like to instate a new award ...

"the award of the cheesy green dumpling"

awarded for the best post of the day!

So drum roll please.... todays "cheesy green dumpling" award goes to Jodie over at Ric-Rac because I liked her post about the gorgeous Mr David Tennent of Dr Who fame ... ooh!

sew amazing!

2010-02-13T01:35:00.012Z

Don't you think this "tinternet" is really wonderful? I do. I found these 2 super animations tonight showing how a lock stitch is formed on a sewing machine. I discovered the top one whilst looking at this rather lovely selvedge blog but the source originates from Wikipedia and the second one I found at this blog.

feeling lovey dovey ....

2010-02-11T00:31:00.001Z

I absolutely love this cover of Taylor Swifts Love Story by Jon Schmidt

feeling slumpy!

2010-02-08T11:25:00.000Z

Postcard Exchange No 1 from Emma

(photo taken with my iphone!)

I had one of those weeks last week ... you know ..one of those when you just feel 'slumpy'. On a scale of 1 to 10 I 'd say it rated a good 8, or maybe even 9. My poor dh who has witnessed maaaany of my slumps over the last 20 years usually grins and bears them for the most part, despite the fact that I have been known to take on the guise of evil personified and display the tender characteristics of the Wicked Witch of the North, Miss Trunchball * and Aunt Spiker ** rolled into one. But not last week ... I managed to bring his boiling point well and truly below his norm and he let me know it too. Mind you, the fact that he has recently acquired a mouth full of teeth-straightening wire may have played a large part in his mood too. Add to the mix that he has also stopped smoking, given up drinking red wine and eating curry .. its no wonder his mood was compromised. His week wasn't made any better either by the anonymous arrival of a Metal Mickey poster on his desk at work as well. So all in all we had a great week between us .. NOT! I am sure you will be pleased to know that marital bliss returned over the weekend and the world is good for both of us again. I have no doubt that this is normal behaviour in a lot of households so I shall make no apologies or excuses but as we start the run up to Valentines Day I do want to say how much my dh means to me. I would be lost without him and as my daughter once said to me ... he is the cheese to my macaroni! So dh if you are reading this ... here is a virtual hug!

*Matilda

**James and the Giant Peach

Right - sloppy stuff over ... I shall move on!

Last Friday I had coffee with my good friend Emma. She is a brick. She listens so patiently I am sure I will wear her ears out one day. We recently started a postcard exchange and when I got back from our Friday meet I found her first card on the door mat. I love it! To keep all the cards nice AND to display them in a way I can see them ... I have brought a 'picture pocket' display to hang on the wall.

I got mine here. They have several sizes but I got the one that has 40 pockets and holds a total of 80 4" x 6" photos. At the moment I am also storing the birthday ATC's exchanges I make before I ship them off. I can think of lots of uses for these picture pockets too. Buttons would look fab in them I think, sewing sundries, or even just filled with samples of your favourite fabrics. I just think they are such a cool, simple, cheap and inexpensive 'do-daddy' that works! (Wish I'd have thought of the idea!)

This week I have a special task to do too.... I have been lucky enough to receive several blog awards over the last couple of months which has been such a thrill ... so a big big thankyou to everyone who has passed them on to me. But I have been very delinquent in forwarding them! Seeing as I am currently in the mood for 'sharing some love' this week will be the week for despatch. So watch out .. you may have a little something on the way to you!

Until later then ...

.. lets face it

2010-02-02T23:54:00.001Z

ATC, originally uploaded by teepeequilts.

somedays words fail me ....

world war 2 : poison sewing needle bomb !

2010-01-25T14:37:00.000Z

Oh my - who'd have thought it .... back in WWII the British Government assisted by Canadian and American scientists developed a new and lethal bomb made from poison infused sewing needles! I came across this article recently in the Danger Room and couldn't quite believe what I read ... but yes it appears to be true.

Apparently the bomb never made it into full production because it had "little penetrating power" .... Now speaking from personal experience I can honestly say it hurts ALOT when you stab yourself with a needle but maybe I'm not as thick skinned as those weapons men?

You can read the article here in the Danger Room

Snow Dyeing

2010-01-22T09:58:00.141Z

I am not a great lover of snow or dyeing but combined they aren't half bad!

Trudi over at Quilting Prolifically inspired me to have a go at what turned out to be great fun and it will be a good reminder of our snowy weather in early 2010.

I haven't done a great deal of dyeing before and its something I prefer to leave to the professionals like Dye Candy. But I did manage 3 metres of what actually turned out (now I look at it two weeks later) OK..ish. I really thought it was all pretty yuck to begin and vowed to leave it buried in the cupboard but on reflection I can see some promise in them. I even used some of it to make a postcard for my exchange with Emma over at QuiltFish ... but I'm not going to show you all of postcard cos she might be looking!

Now ... as I am not an expert on snow dyeing I have no idea if this is the prefered method of snow dyers or not but the method I used was simple and worked for me ... here is what I did.

First soak your fabric for at least 10 mins in a solution of soda ash. I used 1 cup of soda ash in half a bucket of warm water. While the fabric is soaking prepare your dye solutions. Again, I no idea if this is the correct method but mix 1 teaspoon of Procion dye in a half a cup of warm water. I mixed up 5 separate dye colours .

Once the fabric has soaked, wring it out and lay it loosely in a tray.( I have an amazing tray from Lakeland Plastics that is designed to soak your oven racks and trays in and is perfect for dyeing in too.) I laid my 3 separate fabric pieces along the tray, buried it under 2 large buckets of icy snow, then chucked my chosen dye colours on top of the snow. (Technical or what?)

Now wait for the snow to melt and the dye to filter through the snow and onto the fabric.

(I could only wait 5 hours for my snowy/dye before I got too impatient - overnight may have been better)

Carefully pour off the excess dye/melted snow solution and remove the fabric. (Use plastic gloves to stop your hands going strange colours!)

I placed and sealed each metre piece of fabric in a separate zip-lok 'boil-in-the-bag' plastic bag and literally boiled them in a large pan for 20 minutes. (I left my placky bags in the water until it was cool enough to handle - several hours).

Take the dye fabric bags to a sink, open the bags, drain off excess dye concentrate , then wash fabrics in very hot water and synthrapol until the water runs clear.

Tumble dry, iron and admire

...and possibly even use it!

.. dip your toe in

2010-01-11T11:21:00.008Z

This 5 minute video by Box of Crayons is having an airing around the web at the moment ... I just love it!

"out for the fun of it?"

2010-01-06T12:22:00.001Z

Last night saw heavy heavy snowfall in Hampshire UK. Many were forced to abandon their cars and walk home whilst others were trapped in their cars on the motorway for up to 10 hours. We knew the snow was coming ... we could see a big red alert circle on the weather map - just above our house! What's more we knew what time it was coming - it was forecast for 5 o clock .... it arrived at 5 o clock too! It just dumped! This is so unusual for the south of england - both the snowfall and the accuracy of the weather!

Dh made it back from work by 8 o'clock - he left work, just a 15 minute drive away at 6. He did remarkably well but then he drives a Landrover Defender! He arrived home feeling sooo very pleased he had a car that could drive in snow that he forced me to go out with him for a snowy drive ... sheer madness considering state of the roads and the snarl up of all major and minor traffic routes. But like intrepid explorers we donned hats and mittens and ventured out. Kids in tow.

Town and countryside was quiet ... no traffic - nothing could get through! It was white and peaceful and really quiet beautiful but then we had transport that moved efficiently through the snow. We were warm and cozy inside our little aluminum can on wheels. I felt so very very guilty ..... until we passed another Landrover driver who stopped .. wound down his window and said ..

" out for the fun of it then?"

p.s I forgot to mention .. I took my camera along with me and snapped like a pro -- I sent this one to the BBC where it made it onto the main webpage and its since been syndicated around the world! How cool is that!

ta very much ...Fat Face!

2010-01-03T23:45:00.001Z

No I'm not being rude .... really! I made no resolutions this year until I came across a label attached to a new dress from clothing company Fat Face. I've been a fan of this company for several years now and I love them even more now they attach such profound statements to their clothing .. ta very much for the inspirational message (and the opportunity to make a great ATC!)

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T01:18:00.003Z

Happy New Year 2010!

icy weather - brrrr!

2009-12-22T10:37:00.001Z

"Feathers for Lorna" December 2009

"Feathers for Lorna" is my entry for the Colemore Quilters Christmas Challenge this year. The challenge was to make a 24" piece incorporating our own interpretation of the theme LOG CABIN and to use the green floral fabric 'somewhere' in the quilt.

We had 9 months to make the piece ... so please tell me why I waited until 3 days before the deadline to start making this piece? Amazingly the piece went together very quickly although if I am honest it is rushed and not the best in places.

The background is actually Court House steps blocks but thats still a log cabin right? Getting the right block size to make a 24" piece was interesting too! My math skills have suffered in recent years somewhat but I got there in the end ... or so I thought. In my rush I forgot about QUILT SHRINKAGE! Dah!

Quilt Shrinkage
For those that don't know ... quilt shrinkage is normal!

As you make your quilt it will naturally loose inches in seam allowance variation, pressing, quilting and laundering. Your choice of quilting design and the density of this design are probably the most significant factors (assuming you can sew a consistent seam allowance) but other factors like using unwashed fabric with steam pressing (as opposed to dry pressing) will shrink the fabric and the addition of surface appliques and trapunto will also add to the shrinkage rate. Together all of these processes can have a significant affect in reducing the size of your overall quilt top.

How much extra should I allow for my quilt top?

Making a quilt top to an exact size can be difficult BUT if you enter competitions you will need to be aware that SIZE is critical and your quilt can be rejected if it is not within the size limitations of the competition. Often the rules have very tight tolerance too of maybe +/- half and inch.

Experience will dictate to you how much extra you need to allow on your quilt top BUT as a general rule try allowing an extra 1" for every 2 feet of quilt. Sounds alot right ? Believe its not! My piece ended up shrinking 2" with the trapunto, quilting and blocking. So my 24" piece was 22" ... when I layed it down for blocking... aargh!!

.. but don't fret if your top gets too small ..

Fudge factor 1: add an extra border before quilting...

If , like me you forget to make the top bigger than the required finished size ... don't panic and fly into a rage! You have options. First of, if you remember before quilting you can add an extra border. I thought if this but didn't want a border on my quilt so I washed and stretched the quilt a little. I had to wash the quilt anyway to remove the trapunto water soluble thread so whilst it was damp I pinned the piece out and stretched it to 22.5".

Fudge factor 2 : square to the back and batting only...

It was still 1" too small though BUT I had extra backing and wadding all around the quilt top so I squared the top up to 24" on the back and backing only. (Normally I would trim the top down to size as well)

Fudge factor 3: make extra wide binding ...

Now all I had to do was to cut extra wide binding strips. In this case I cut 4" strips instead of 2.5" strips for the binding and I had plenty of width to play with and finish the piece to 24".

I learnt a couple of other things with this quilt too! The feathers are a quilting design I drew up for my sisters wedding quilt a couple of years back now. I have wanted to make an applique of them for a while and I thought this would be a great opportunity to test them out. I enlarged the original design and manipulated the proportions a bit first though. Then I fused the feathers, machined buttonhole appliqued the edges, and trapuntoed behind them.

Learning exercise No 1 .... reduce the FUSE

I really enjoyed the trapunto but I made the mistake of having fusible behind the entire feathers instead of just having it around the edge. As a result they are a little stiff.

Learning exercise No 2..... be PATIENT

Fusing appliques is fast BUT with such a large design (the big applique is 20") there is a problem with peeling back the fuse paper and ironing in place. Be patient! Also watch the edges of the applique. Mine got a little ragged in places as I positioned then repositioned the applique before fusing permanently.

So there we have it ... my challenge quilt 2009

"Feathers for Lorna" (24"x24")

It is SOOOOOO cold here today and the roads are dangerously icy. I am just glad we don't have to go anywhere this morning. Its pj's, cartoons and cookies for us this morning instead!

out of my control...

2009-12-15T09:08:00.011Z

Today's post is somewhat of a blog reply to a couple of other blogs I follow and the thread amongst them is similiar. Each of them have written about or had things happen to them that they have had no control over.

link hijacking

I'll start by mentioning something I found highly amusing yesterday evening. I followed a link on a craft blog I really love and got a bit of a shock. The link was wrong, or I suspect hijacked, and it diverted to a fairly innocuous porn site. Although I was shocked somewhat I did find it very funny particularly as the 'proper' link was to something very Christmassy and I had a vision of naughty elves keeling over laughing as they played a joke on Santa ... anyway a quick heads up to the blog owner put things right. Now I say I was laughing BUT aside from the fact I know this would have been highly offensive to some people the question I am now asking myself is .... How many of my links have been hijacked? Hopefully none! But, unless I go and check them all I won't know unless some kind person tells me.

inappropriate blog comments

On a similar note I experienced my first bit of porn spam on this Chubby Mummy blog last week in the form of a comment. So I have instigated comment moderation for a while which will stop anything nasty getting posted without me knowing. Unfortunately when I choose my blog name I didn't think about any 'adult' connotations - silly me !

inappropriate google ads

I recently brought the domain chubbymummy.co.uk to start listing my shop items in. As with all new sites there was a short delay waiting for it to be activated and it was parked by the domain suppliers in a holding site with google ads but unfortunately they were porn site ads . Of course you had to click on the ads to go to these sites but non the less I was horrified. Unfortunately at the time there wasn't a great deal I could do about it. A sharp letter afterwards to the domain supplier MAY have helped but I decided it wouldn't be worth the hassle of writing as I only experienced the problem for a couple of hours before the site was activated.

Some of you may have noticed I have google ads on this blog - I don't select the ads - google does that - and on occasion I have seen some odd ads come through - like band saw sharpening when I blogged about rotary blades. Obviously the google algorithm for selecting the ads is based on blog content so I am apologising now if any inappropriate ads come up on this site because I have mentioned the P word, but rest assured IF they do I will be taking action this time!

So lets move away from the problems of unsolicited porn and onto something else ... The POSTAL system ... not blog posting ... real letters and parcels!

lost parcels

A few weeks back I read a blog posting about a lost shipment from a quilt shop. The issue here was not so much about the lost parcel but more about the attitude of the shop owner to it, which in brief was very negative. There is no excuse for a negativity however I would like to respond to this from the shop keepers point of view.

As you know I have a little online shop. I am not a big concern and when I get an order I am ecstatic and jump to the shipping process straight away. A short while back I got an order from a lady in the US at 1.30am UK time. By 9am UK time I had wrapped, packed, invoiced and shipped this order ... it was in the royal mail shipping system and out of my control now! Yep .. it got lost. Well I'll restate that .. the royal mail went on strike and all deliveries went to pot. Now I will qualify by saying in the past I have always experienced good service from the UK Royal Mail and deliveries to the States normally take 5 working days -- which I think is pretty good. So when I placed this particular parcel in the mail I was confident it would be delivered. To this day I have no idea IF the parcel has reached the lady because she has not responded to my email to let me know, although she was very happy to email several times with short sharp (but not rude) emails to advise the item had not arrived after 10 days.

The point is this, both the lady and I choose to accept that the mailing system would work. We both accepted a system that was out of our control.

Now, there were things we both could have done to bring that system more into our control - but we didn't. The lady brought the item and accepted my shipping method. She didn't advise me she needed the item by a certain date or that she wanted (and was willing to pay for) a tracked system. I also accepted the method would work. I don't use a tracked system or a signed for system because it adds significantly to the price. It costs £3.75 extra to have an international parcel signed on receipt. This is a significant adder on a £10 item. It also doesn't mean the item is assured of being delivered BUT it also doesn't include tracking - that would have been £11.25 extra!

The whole issue of mail and shipping is worthy of a separate blog posting maybe to be covered later.

So, todays blog is a bit of a mix but its all about CONTROL. Accepting that some things are out of our control is difficult particularly when you are a bit of a control freak like me but I'm going to follow Yoga Santas lead here and 'chill out' a bit!

Happy Christmas everyone!

p.s as I've been listening to Ricky Tims Christmas in a small Town while I've been writing. You can listen to the whole album for free for 24 hours today - go here to listen. Its a lovely album! Thank you Ricky!

Tip 7 - look after your dogs - feed dogs that is!

2009-12-12T06:46:00.012Z

I am actually quite amazed how many sewers do not know how to gain access to the feed dog area of their sewing machine and more surprisingly WHY this is so important. But then if you have never been told I suppose you wouldn't know ..... hence todays tip :

learn how to remove the sole plate and clean your feed dogs

Ok I hear you say ...."what exactly are the feed dogs and where is this plate? "

Lets begin by sewing a simple seam on a piece of fabric. Take your hands off the fabric and let the machine do the work. Do you notice how the fabric is travelling through the machine ALL BY ITSELF ? Well the reason this happens is down to the FEED DOGS. They are used to pull the fabric forward (or backwards) through the machine. Put simply, they are the 'drive wheels' of your sewing machine and without them your fabric won't move (by itself!)

Find your dogs!

Your feed dogs are quite easy to see and locate. Lower your needle and look at the sewing bed where the needle disappears into the guts of the machine. (If you can remove your pressor foot that will help you to see more clearly). Either side of the needle you will see a slot just over half an inch long. Got it? Now raise your needle. As you do a set of ridged teeth should start to poke through the slots. These are your feed dogs. Lower the needle again and watch as the ridged teeth disappear. The action of these ridged teeth - the feed dogs - coming to the surface and then disappearing is all part of the mechanism that moves your fabric through the sewing machine. Amazingly simple really isn't it?

Feed dogs are a much underrated aspect of our sewing machines but the truth is we do rely on them so lets look after them.

The Sole Plate

Surrounding the feed dogs will be a metal plate (on some machines this may be plastic). This is known by several names ... I call it the Sole Plate but your sewing machine manual may call it a Slide plate , Cover plate, Feed dog plate or Pressor Foot plate amongst others. We are going to remove this so consult your manual and discover how you do this. Every machine will be different. Most domestic machines have an easy 'pop-off' mechanism but if you are using a semi-industrial models you may find you have to unscrew the plate in some way. Take your time with this and READ the manual ... you don't want to damage this plate. BUT don't be afraid to do it either .... !

Get out your duster

Right ... once you have removed the plate be ready for a shock! You will looking into the guts of your sewing machine now .. ta dah! and yuck ... see all the dirt and dust and lint build up? Oh yes .. it will be there sure as eggs are eggs and we need to get rid of it! Use your brush from your sewing kit to clean out all those crevices and if you have one get hold of a new clean stencil brush (or household paint brush) and get deep into the machine with it to remove all those stray threads. Pay particular attention to your feed dogs. Look at the grooves between the teeth and the teeth ridges ... often you will see a build of lint that has 'felted' up. Get this out ! Left in place ... it WILL gum up your machine.

Canned Air

I don't recommend using canned air by the way .... it can send lint and theaad further into the machine and can deposit some moisture on metal parts that could (I suppose) start the rust up. Your choice of course but I wouldn't use it. Its just another expense too and nothing that a good brush can't cope with.

So now your feed dogs should be nice and clean. Keep them this way! Depending on how much you sew you may need to give this area a good clean once a month or more. So give your feed dogs a treat ... they will thank you for it!

So to recap : today's tip is:

learn how to remove the sole plate and clean your feed dogs

Tip 6 - clean your bobbin case!

2009-12-10T17:40:00.012Z

Today I thought we would start the tip with a little tutorial and take a look at one of the major causes of poor performances in our sewing machines ... its a tricky little devil and one that left unchecked will leave you tearing your hair out as you experience poor tension and thread breaks as well as erratic stitching, noisy and clunky machine motion. Its called LINT!

You have probably all heard the term I am sure and if not in connection to a sewing machine you will have seen it in your pockets. Its that fluffy stuff that seems to come from nowhere ... so just what is it ?

As the sewing thread passes through the workings of the your sewing machine to form a stitch it will be physically tested. It will be subjected to a number of linear and rotational stresses as well as frictional strains. As a result it may begin to weaken. Eventually this weakening can cause the thread to loose integrity and it will start to shred and eventually break. Before it gets to this stage though microscopic amounts of the thread surface may start to peel or break away from the the main strand and it generates something called LINT.

Just how much lint a thread generates depends on a number of factors including such things as the type of thread ( natural or manmade), the thickness of the thread, the length of the spun fibres, how smooth the thread is or just how 'slippy' the surface is to name a few. Dye colour or chemical affects applied to threads also seems to affect a threads linting capacity too.

Some threads are free linters and others are not but if left unchecked it WILL build up and start to play havoc with your machines performance. So my advice is to remove it - regularly!

Lint and the Bobbin Case ...

There are several areas where lint will build up but lets start by looking at the bobbin area.

Take your bobbin case out of the sewing machine and remove the bobbin. Put the bobbin to one side. Now take a good look at the bobbin case itself. Is it free from fluff and loose threads? Well if you have done any sewing at all recently the answer will most probably be NO (unless you have cleaned it already of course!) Get your small cleaning brush that came with your sewing machine and give it good clean out. Use a Q-Tip and wipe out any dirt and dust build up on the back of the case. Look at the thread tension bar on the outside of the bobbin case and check for trapped threads too. Use a pair of tweezers to get any small tails caught in this area.

Then when it is clean just give it the once over again and be happy you have a lint free bobbin!

Look how much lint I found in my bobbin today ... and that was after just one full bobbin of thread had gone through my machine!

So to keep your bobbin rotating freely and to avoid bobbin tension issues clean your bobbin each and every bobbin change!

So to recap ...todays tip is :

Clean your bobbin case EVERY bobbin change

irish flood quilts

2009-12-07T22:41:00.003Z

Hello Chubblyz ... no tip post today ... I'm busy making disappearing nine patch blocks to send to Irish Quilting magazine for the flood relief program they are coordinating at the moment. If you have time they need blocks, quilts and supplies.

If your live stateside you can send donations to Rachael over at P.S I Quilt (who is very talented and has a wonderful blog btw!) and produced the button for this project.

If you are in Europe send donations to :

Irish Quilting Magazine
Flood Relief in Action
Berowra Djouce
Roundwood
County Wicklow
Ireland

Is anything like this being done for people of Cumbria?

Tip 5 - rotary blades and kitchen foil!

2009-12-05T18:53:00.006Z

So lets paint a picture .... you have had a great day sewing and everything has been going well ... your on a roll and looking forward to getting your project finished. Just a few more blocks to make and you'll be 'cooking with gas' ...or maybe not. Your rotary blade is beginning to get a bit dull and you find your fabric strips are not cutting cleanly. The top fabric layer might be ok but your having to do a double cut to avoid those tiny pesky litte tie-threads between the lower fabric strips. You really need a new blade but you haven't got one to hand .... aargh!

Don't panic ... do you have a roll of kitchen foil on hand? If you do then this tip will help tide you over until you can go shopping for a new blade.

Take a sheet of kitchen foil, place it on your cutting board and then chop away with your rotary blade .... chop , chop,chop ,chop chop. The action of cutting through the foil will help sharpen up the blade just enough to help alleviate the pesky threads problem. Its not an alternative to getting a new blade I'm afraid but it is a temporary fix!

So todays tip is:

rotary cut a sheet of kitchen foil into small bits to put a temporary edge on your rotary blade

Tip 4 - drink!

2009-12-03T09:10:00.007Z

Todays tip is a really a little bit of common sense .... but something we often forget to do.

Stop to take a water break every hour!

Now I am the worlds worst offender with this tip ...but I am now making a very conscious effort to follow my own advice.

As a longarm machine quilter I am use to standing on my feet for long hours and can easily work for 3 or more hours at a time without a break. BUT my body does not thank me for it.... my legs and shoulders will eventually begin to ache, my eyes will hurt, my head might even spin a little and I could even feel a little dizzy. I will also start to loose concentration and may even eventually start to make mistakes. Well if I haven't stopped to draw breath and rehydrate myself is that so surprising? No, of course its not!

A short 5 minute break every hour to stretch my back, neck and shoulders and take on board some fluid is a very simple but effective method to help your body keep in tiptop form and working at its best!

So recapping again, todays tip is :

Stop to take a water break every hour!

Tip 3 - use a surge protector!

2009-12-03T09:09:00.005Z

Today it is not just computers and stereo systems that contain expensive electronics ..... your sewing machine, overlocker, embellisher or quilting machine is just as likely to have them too! How do you know ... well if it has a display panel it has electronics ... its thats simple and todays tip is for you:

Use a surge protector to protect your expensive electronic devices

A surge protector is a device to protect your electronic devices from being 'fried' by sudden and unplanned surges in power that are significantly above your usual country voltage level (220-240v in the UK/Australia/Europe, 110v- 120v in the US/Canada). Most electronic equipment is designed to cope with some voltage overage but nothing of any significance so it is best to protect them from the possibility.

A common cause of power surges is lightning but this doesn't account for most power surges experienced in the home. More likely is the sudden demand for power when switching on power hungry equipment like electric kettles, fridges, air conditioners, garden shredders, compressors and motors. These sudden power drains can cause either immediate or gradual damage to components. These together with other possible causes such as faulty domestic electrical wiring or problems with the supply grid equipment can mean an uneven power flow and result in power surges. So protect your precious electronics (sewing machines, computers and stereos) with a simple power surge protection strip. They aren't expensive and are available in many home departments.

I wont go into how they work here but rest assured they will protect your equipment from expensive repairs and downtime. BUT a word of warning ... make sure your surge protector has an illumination light on it. If this light does not light up when you plug it into your mains supply then your surge strip has taken a power hit already and you will need to replace it.

So todays tip again :

Use a surge protector to protect your expensive electronic devices

Tip 2 - match your needles to your thread!

2009-12-02T18:39:00.011Z

Its been a blustery old day here in Blighty - very cold and lots and lots of rain - so much heavy, heavy, heavy rain in fact I thought I was going to be marooned in my studio... which would be heaven IF I had a loo in it! So the first of todays tips is (tongue in cheek) a note to self .... make sure you have a wee before you go to work!

On a slightly more serious note I want to chat about NEEDLES today !

If you are new to sewing it is recommended that you change your machine needle at least every 8 hours of sewing. Some people even recommend changing it every project, which is sound advice if you can afford it. In the general scheme of things needles are cheap in comparison to fabric BUT they can be expensive, particularly the ones I like to use ... which is a Schmetz Metallic 80/12. I use this needle as a general all rounder because it is good for general piecing, good for embroidery work like satin stitch and it is good for quilting. It has a large eye, a stiff shaft and a generous groove down the front as well as a reasonable size scarf at the back. The anatomical parts of the needle all have a function and I will come back to these in later posts, but if there is one tip I can give you about needles today ... it is this :

TIP : Choose your needle to suit your choice of thread (as well as the fabric)

In fact I would say that your selection of machine needle in relation to your choice of thread is probably THE key success element in any sewing project.

A bold statement perhaps and one that contradicts popular sewing manuals where we are told to choose a needle that suits our fabric. Well yes .. we do need to consider the fabric as well... you wouldn't want to choose a big heavyweight needle (say a size 18 plus) to sew a fine sheer fabric or indeed a flimsy lightweight needle (size 9) to sew a denim. We may even be told to select a thread that is similar in weight to the fabric BUT we are rarely told to select a needle that suits the thread !

The relationship between the sewing needle, fabric and thead are quite complex but in the simplest of terms all we really want is for the sewing needle to open apart the fibres of the fabric JUST enough for the thread to glide easily through it without making a hole or damaging the fibres of the fabric itself. If we can do this then we stand a better chance of getting a good stitch formation and avoiding skipped stitches and poor tension.

So, take a good look at your needle and your thread. Look at the eye of the needle first. How big is it? Can you get at least 3 strands of your thread through the eye ? No ... the needle eye is too small and your thread will struggle to pass through easily .. even resulting in it fraying and breaking.

Now look at the shaft of the needle and find the groove that runs down the front of it. When the needle is in the machine this groove will be facing you. Thread your needle as normal and look to see how the thread lies in the groove. Does the thread sit comfortably in the groove? No... your needle is too small for the thread and the needle will not be able to carry the thread smoothly through the fabric. This may result in the fabric puckering or even skipped stitches as the needle is unable to create a wide enough passage for the thread to pass through. The stitch formation will not be good and you may even experience tension issues. To avoid these problems, try a larger needle.

So .. lets recap ... if your needle has an eye large enough to take 3 strands of thread AND a groove deep enough to allow the thread to sit in it you have made a good needle choice. The needle will now pierce your fabric and create an opening between the fabric fibres just the right size to accommodate your thread and allow it to glide smoothly through.

So todays tip again is : Choose your needle to suit your thread (as well as your fabric).

Advent Calendar Tip No 1 - mucky irons!

2009-12-01T17:48:00.008Z

yucky iron!

and here is the clean iron!

Yikes.. we are on the run up to christmas already so that means its time for me to do a special project! If you were following my blog last year you would know I did a project 'Santa of the Day' project photographing one of my tree ornaments each day for 24 days. (I collect Santas to put you in the picture). Well this years project will be a little bit more crafty. I hope to give you 24 hint and tips about some aspect of sewing. Could be quilt related, might not be ..not sure yet .. I haven't planned out the whole 24 days! Could end after a few days even but anyway let us begin today with a tip about 'mucky irons'. Watch the video of me (without laughing please)to see my sterling tip about using HOBBRITE!

After doing the vid I read the back and it looks like Hobbrite is a UK brand only. More info here at their website. However I am sure similiar products exist in the US and overseas. It is a very gentle cleanser that removes burnt on residue. (Not burnt-off as I said in the video - der!) I use it on my glass hob and on the glass door and base of the oven and it works beautifully to remove burnt on crap without scratching the surface. So I thought it would work for the iron ... and yes it does - without too much effort either! Sometimes I cant believe how smart I am!

So to clean your mucky iron use Hob Brite for sparkling clean hobs AND IRONS!

btw ... my family and friends are sure to disown me when they see this attempt at a home-grown video! Sorry peeps! Its just a bit of fun of though ... filmed using photobooth on my mac!

I felt like making a bag

2009-11-09T23:49:00.005Z

I love the idea of kits! Particularly bright and cheery kits that look all coordinated, have lovely notions and include pretty frou frou bits and are all wrapped up in crystal bags and tied with lengths of silky ribbon. They just beg to be brought and there is no denying it... I am a sucker for them, BUT I rarely ever make the kit . They look too pretty to be opened and it seems wrong to disturb the contents. Its almost sacrilegious to undo them. So, I am unquestionably thankful to Bev Beattie at Knitting4fun that this kit was not packaged. I came across her stall at the Festival of Quilts in August and asked if she would put a wool kit together for me so I could knit up one of her stall samples .. a felted bag. I like the idea of knitting - its quite portable and keeps me happy when DH wants me to sit and watch TV with him. I am no master knitter but I did really enjoy making this baby and the fact that any mistakes would be hidden in the felting process made it all the more enjoyable. I even got a thumbs up from DD when it was finished and a whoo hoo from DH. The knitting - worked on circlular needles, is mighty big to begin with soon shrinks up as it felts in the washing machine. Felting is a process that never fails to amuse me too.. it is just such an amazing process.

a hen and pig story

2009-11-03T19:54:00.010Z

Funky Chicken: Painted Quilt Sample

A Hen and Pig story

.....One day a farmer decided to eat eggs and bacon for his breakfast. On hearing this the farmyard hen clucked excitedly as she spoke to the pig. " Isn't it wonderful to be part of the farmers breakfast", to which the pig replied " well that is ok for you to say ... you are merely involved in his breakfast ... whilst I am totally committed!"

This is an old fable that has been knocking around motivational programmes for well over 50 years buts its still relevant today. What's more, its relevant to individuals as well as groups or teams of people.

The Nature of People

As adults we can, for the most part , choose which activities we want to be involved in, either at a group or individual level, but just how committed we are to completing these, or even just working on them may be a different matter. The school PTA 'committee' is a perfect example. Of the 7 or more officers only 2 or 3 do the bulk of the work. Some of that is down to mis-direction, or poor delegation on the part of the chairperson but equally these under-utilised committee members could also speak out to volunteer for more work.

Of course, the nature of 'people' is that some will push themselves forward whilst others will shrink back, something we can exhibit at an individual level too! We will push forward with some activities yet find excuses not to do others. Sometimes we can even expend alot of energy trying NOT to do something. Alot more sometimes than if we JUST DID IT ... think teenager and excuses not to clean room! Think also me ... I have a presentation I have to prepare this week. Its done in draft on paper but I have actively sought out reasons not to powerpoint it - why? Because at this point in time I am not totally committed to it. Please note I said " at this point in time". It will get done because whilst I am not committed fully to this particular activity yet, I am fully committed to the larger activity it is part of!

Our Goals

We all have goals with different priorities. Some goals will have a higher priority than others, some will rank low, some will chop and change priority rankings over time, some we will choose to put "on the back burner", some we will give false rankings too, some will be forgotten, some will become irrelevant and some will be struck off the goal list altogether!

We will have goals covering many aspects of our lives -

work and personal goals

life and family goals

finance and money goals

creative and artistic goals

health and beauty goals

educational goals

your blog goals

your travel goals

your book-reading goals

long and short term goals

big and little goals

sensible and silly goals

and so on..

At this point in time my goals are in my head. They are not written down and as a result I cannot balance the important from the frivolous. I don't really know what I am aiming for and I'm running from one activity to the other - being involved but not committed. So I am making a committment to you now..... by the end of the year I will have a working "Goal Journal". It will capture my goals at age 49. It will be flexible enough to adapt to external influences but rigid enough to give me a sense of purpose and direction- NOW! It will be mine and I will make no apologies for it!

Thats stage one - Stage 2 is to sort the wheat from the chaf ... but we'll come to that part of the farmyard later.

A Goal Journal?

Now I am not sure how this exercise is going to go...but do you fancy having a go with me?

Why don't you join me this week and think about your goals.
Choose just one 'goal area' to start - an area that doesn't take too much

thinking about ideally ... say health and beauty but whatever you choose. What are your goals in this area? Write them down. Don't think too long about them -
just write them down and get them OUT of your head and onto paper.

Make yourself a GOAL journal.

Realistic and Achievable?

Now take a long hard look at your goal list.

Are your goals REALISTIC and ACHIEVABLE?

Don't set yourself up for failure before you have even begun. For example ... I had an initial goal to make two new items for my shop each week but I know some weeks I have family commitments that stop me getting to my sewing room so I changed the goal to :

"Make and add at least 5 new items to my shop per month"

Now I have a realistic and achievable goal.

Have a go - start small but remember they are YOUR goals, no one elses so dont let anyone 'take the mickey' out of them. BUT it is good to share your goals - because once you have, you have started the process of being committed to them. (I learned that in this weeks homework from Laura Bray!) I am now committed to making 5 new items per month!

Let me know how you get on. I'm not going to come back to this until the first week of December so you have time to think about things but are you up for working on a goal journal with me?

the M mode on my camera!

2009-10-30T00:29:00.000Z

Today I turned 49. I have just 365 days left before I can wear a red hat! Do I feel my age - NO! ..well I did this morning when little man woke me at 4am to wipe his snotty nose and get him a glass of water .. but asides from minor inconveniences like this I feel good. I need to loose more than a few llbs of course and I would love to loose the jowls if I was game-enough for a face-lift but I am, for the most part, quite happy with my aging process. I am happy, have my health and thankfully an enquiring mind! The day I stop wanting to learn or try something new will be the day I hang my boots up.

Todays learning experience was how to shoot photos in manual mode! My husband who is a keen armchair photographer asked "why ? " when I had a perfectly good Auto mode on my camera? Well auto just doesn't hack it for some shots I am told and anyway I have never used the manual mode on my D90 before. Actually, I have never shot a photo in manual on any camera. Before digital I used an instamatic - which definitely proves I am of a certain age! Thankfully, DH who knew better than to interfere with my 'mission' was keen to extract and pass on a plethora of useful knowledge from his vast data banks. He set about explaining the ins and outs of F stops, depth of fields and aperture settings and yep you guessed right - it meant absolutely nothing to me at all! All of his carefully worded explanations went right over my head!

I am a hands on person it seems and there is only one way for me to learn, and that's to get on and have a go! Well, the beauty of a digital camera shooting in manual mode is of course that you can ditch the crappy photos straight away and try again! Good job too but after more than a few failed attempts it didn't take very long for me to grasp a rudimentary understanding of aperture and f-stops OR how much light you allow to reach your cameras senses and how big a hole you allow the light to pass through!

My choice of subject matter was probably not for the beginner though but no one told me that until after my workshop! A fresh bouquet of flowers for said DH and a self-portrait!

What did I learn ? 1. I had fun! 2. You don't need to use flash 3.You can isolate certain parts of your subject from the background 4. you can create different moods by allowing more or less light in 5. I had fun!

You really should give it a go! One final word - if you haven't already ....READ YOUR MANUAL!

p.s the hat was a gift from dh - its green!

a change is as good as a rest!

2009-10-27T11:56:00.000Z

Wire Tap Pro by Tracey Pereira 2008 12" x 12"

a change from the normal soft fabric quilts I usually make!

There is a saying that a change is as good as a rest! I agree. Today prompted by my homework from the online course I am doing with Laura Bray at Katydid-designs I have updated my blog. I have been wanting to make it into a three column blog for a while and then spurred by a comment from Alesha on the course forums I found this link for a Three Column Blogger. I followed the steps in the tutorial and hey presto I found my way around the HTML and have updated the blog somewhat. I was quite proud of myself too because I changed the width of the page to make the whole thing less cramped. This is of course a bit of a risk because not everyone has wide monitors yet. 660px is the standard I think to cover all eventualities but I increased mine to 900px. I know you can go bigger but I this is ok at the moment to space the three columns out nicely. Oh - just to make sure those with smaller monitors can see all the relevant stuff, I placed all the info and widgets I really want people to see is in the first 2 columns - that way if the 3rd column does get cut off my readers should still be able to see my posts and links to my website etc.

So ... what do you think?

Did you notice I have also added a link for facebook networked blogs? This seems to be an up and coming way to read blogs. So, if you have facebook feel free and add me to your friends list!

Have a great day!

birthdays

2009-10-26T11:17:00.007Z

We had a birthday this weekend ... our little man turned 6 and asked if he could have a birthday party ... well of course he could. He hasn't had a party before(other than a family tea) so we arranged a Halloween theme party in our garden.

little man in undersized transformer costume!

We filled the garden with pumkins and gourds (the greengrocer almost dropped off her high till stool when I asked for 20 of them! along with a dozen butternut
squash), DH turned the garage into a spiders den and we borrowed straw bales from the local farm. I decorated the fence with my party bunting, the trees with paper pumpkin bunting, dangly witches, scarecrows and placed witches brooms here and there. We had lots of outside games including vegetable skittles and a parsnip shy (like a coconut shy but with parship targets and potatoe missiles!), made a huge bath of gooey jelly bath with creepy crawlers inside (plastic), apple bobbing, did pumpkin carving and biscuit decorating. 20 kids, a carry bag with hotdogs and chips, a treasure hunt to find a bunch of brooms that would break the wicked spell cast by a naughty witch to hide the birthday boys cake and 2 hours of mayhem and madness BUT we all went home tired but very happy! and to complete the picture homemade quilted party bags of course ! Witch and cauldron, spider and cat and bat are patterns are by Candace West from Ellen Munnich quiltrecipes site, ghost, pumpkin and flying witch are ones I digitised myself.

filled party bags

Last week I also got a complimentary copy of Fons and Porters Love of Quilting Dec issue. They contacted me back in the summer to include a picture of the Mini Job I quilted last year (a quilted version of an original artwork by artist Tony Smith). I was very happy with the article although they do have me down as a computerised quilting system designer --- wish I were that clever .... no, I just design a few patterns for them very now and again!

Quilt Festival - Fall 2009

2009-10-13T00:19:00.001+01:00

Its Autumn ... I know it is because I have had to put the heating on the last couple of evenings. I like Autumn though. Its my favorite season. I love the colder mornings and the mist that floats off the hills with it and seeing a wardrobe of wooly jumpers hit the streets before they get covered up with winter coats. This morning was bright and sunny and I sat, coffee in hand, watching a rather fat wood pigeon gorge itself on the seeds of a spent sunflower and I was inspired to share with you a quilt I finished for my cousin Emma over at quiltfish. Its called Fields of Gold. I should probably show a quilt that is made entirely by me for Amy's Autumn Quilt Festival but I love this quilt and I think its appropriate for the season.

Emma is an excellent piecer and has a eye for design and colour but flounders (in the nicest sense of the word) when it comes to quilting as so many people do. The phrase Quilt as Desired can give even the most accomplished piecer a dose of the 'hibby-jibbies'. What does it mean, Quilt as Desired ... I dont have a clue... help.. Thats when she and many others have handed their quilts over to me.

As a longarm quilter I've quilted lots of quilts for other people and with it comes an expectation that because you quilt all the time you will instantly know how to quilt it. Well I hate to dispel that myth but we need time to think too! Sometimes a quilt will speak to you straight away and it shouts how to be quilted. Other times it clams up and says nothing for the longest time. Fields of Gold spoke to me quite quickly - it said Sunflowers almost immediately but I also saw barns and a vision of a scene from Witness in my mind. Something I probably could have quilted but not a scene that Emma, the owner of the quilt, wanted. As a 'for hire' quilter, even when you have a working partnership that allows you to quilt whatever you want, you have to be mindful that this quilt will never belong to you. It will be on loan to you for a while as you work on it and you may be lucky to share a place in its provenance if it travels a show circuit. But it will never hang on your wall or rest on your bed, so the relationship you have with the quilt will always be different to the one the owner has. You need to be respectful of the owners tastes and quilt vision (if she has one) but occasionally it is possible to take a risk and quilt a design that you really feel would suit the quilt, even if it means 'pushing' the owner slightly outside of their comfort zone. Not always an easy decision for the contracted quilter. Anyway in the case of Fields of Gold I was fairly sure what Emma would and would not go for and I think the 'dropped jaw' and teary eyes said it all when she saw it fully quilted and I can tell you, for me, there is no better reward than this reaction.

Fields went on to enter the UK Festival of Quilts 2008 and took a 3rd place in the two-person category and also a 3rd in the longarm quilting section. This year Emma tried for a juried place at Houston but sadly it didn't make it. I do think she should try for another show though - what do you think?

The quilting designs btw are mainly my own and available here

begin everything - finish nothing

2009-10-09T01:03:00.002+01:00

Tracey Pereira

GCSE Art Rowan Pereira 2009

I thought it was soon but when I checked this morning I discovered I had missed an anniversary ... one of my own in fact. My first full year of blogging was a couple of days ago. It hardly seems that long.

Now I could ramble on and tell you facts and figures about who visited, from where and all that jazz but its "Hakuna Matata!" .... or in English .... "its in the past!" .... In truth, I don't do nostalgia very well at all I'm afraid ... unless I've had a glass of something ... which isn't often because as much as I like a drink, it doesn't like me... my feet swell up - how strange is that? No, I prefer to look forward and really like the idea of starting new things. I'm one of those people that enjoys the process of doing or making something more than the finished product. My garden is a good example ... I like the clearing of the land, the digging and the constructing much much more than the maintenance of planted beds. I suppose its rather zen-like in so much I enjoy the journey more than the destination. Anyway this was on my mind yesterday as I considered if perhaps the blog had now come to its natural end ... after-all I had started it, nurtured it a little, learnt about widgets, html,layouts and links and to all intents and purposes all I now have to do is to post a blog here and there and maintain it.

This was my thinking until I read this article by Jerry Fresia discussing 5 ways to grow as an artist.

Now I'll be honest, much of the article went over my head but a comment by Picasso on 'finishing' hit a cord with me.

".........As soon as the freshness evaporates (we are bored or lost or acquire interest in something else), stop. Do not think in terms of finishing. Picasso lectures eloquently on this. Finish is the death of our work because it means we are painting an expectation or “to be like” and that puts the brakes on painting to see and feel more deeply. Every beginning is a new prompt, a new point of departure. Begin everything. Finish nothing. "

So you see .. I think this gives me the permission I need to start as many projects as I want to and to have the many WIP's that may follow BUT more importantly it also gives me permission to have them without guilt or a need to complete them, making the UFO a sanctified being!

So where am I now .... looking forward to starting more projects and what better place to remind myself of what I have started (but not necessarily finished) than my chubby mummy blog!

quilt-embroidered velvet

2009-09-28T12:44:00.002+01:00

Have you ever worked with velvet? I hadn't until this week .... not even in the velvet revival of the 1970's when it seemed every fashion conscious die-hard had a jacket with big BIG lapels. My friend had one and I was very envious but I didn't earn enough money working in Mr Beestons local deli to make a velvet jacket - let alone buy one, so I had a good old Crimpolene number instead! Still the wide lapels, nipped in waist and vented back but it was a poor second to Alisons' true velvet number! So, when when I found this gorgeous lilac coloured cotton velvet last week I just had to buy it and have a go at making something. A bag will be easy I thought .... ha ha ha ! The velvet fairy must have keeled over in hoots at that thought! NOOOOOOO it is not easy to work with. It slips and slides like a slippery eel I can tell you ... and apparently cotton velvet is supposed to be much easier to work with than silk velvet!

I knew I had to watch the run of the nap and had already thought to use my even-feed foot but it still slips. I eventually realised after a couple of rips that pre-basting with needle and thread is an absolute MUST for working with velvet. Pinning just will not hack it. It is the most bazaar fabric out. But it is gorgeous which is why I persevered and made not one but 2 bags!

Quilting the birdy embroidery was a doddle. I didn't even stabilise the fabric for that - just loaded it on my long arm frame and hey-presto it was done. One cute, very subtle green birdy sat on a tree branch -- design courtesy of One Song Needle Arts.

The bag design is kind of my own although I think I must have been influenced by one I saw in a book by Tone Finnager. Anyway I had a couple of these round handles and had been wondering what to do with them for a long time and I thought they would be perfect for this bag. There is something very sumptuous about velvet. It drapes sooooo well and has a degree of sophisication about it no other fabric has - which is very funny considering I allocated one of them to be a knitting bag! (My knitting is not sophisicated I can tell you!) No seriously, I think they are lovely bags and would make perfect gifts for someone. Which is why I have put them in my shop!

Talking of shops ... the Buzz bag has buzzed off to Denver this morning and I am buzzing to think someone else likes what I made!

moda

2009-09-23T10:17:00.003+01:00

I'm growing increasingly interested in marketing and how social media networks have a key role to play in the design and development of company marketing. I found this Moda promo video today. I thought it was pretty good in telling their story .... what do you think?

buzz bag and winners!

2009-09-21T18:20:00.001+01:00

Do you remember the wasp spider I blogged about here? well I just kept thinking about her yellow and black colouration. So much has it been on my mind that I am being drawn to yellow and black fabrics now and when I found this floral abstract in Blendworths I was just leaping about the place. I think it has some linen in it but I cant be sure - is there a way to tell? It feels like a blended mix ... almost a bark cloth even. Anyway its lovely and I have enough to make a couple of things from it. Today I made a 'buzz bag' , so named in honour of my garden spider and I have popped it in my shop for sale.

I also want to say a BIG thank you to everyone who entered my booty giveaway. If I can be candid - it wasn't a tremendous success and its just as well I am thick skinned enough to continue blogging. I am not sure why some blogs do well and others pale into insignificance but then we can't all be Attic 24's or Crazy Mom's I suppose. I had hoped that I would get a dozen or so suggestions but hey ho I like the ones I got ... we had Blippers, Chuboots, Kozys, Chubblies and Sloots as suggestions. I liked them all! So who to give the booty giveaways too? Well guess what - you are all going to get a pair! I have the 3 'development' pairs that are shown in the blog to giveaway if any of you can use these sizes BUT I will make bespoke pairs if they are no good for you. I know Bilbo who suggested Chubblies wanted 10" ones ... so you will get a special pair. But can you other ladies please contact me and let me know what size you would like too and an snail mail address I can post them to please. To get a size measure your feet in inches from heel to toe and add 1".

As a reminder the 3 booties in the picture are :
The red pair are BIG! and will fit an XL adult size (12" toe to heel) , the green are child large (8.5" toe to heel) and the pink Infant large (5.5" toe to heel)

make do and mend

2009-09-20T08:50:00.001+01:00

I found a book called MAKE DO AND MEND this week that is full of reproductions of the official Second World War instructions for keeping your family and home afloat on war rations! ISBN no is 978-1-84317-265-9 published by Michael O'Mara Books Limited.

Its a nostalgic collection of propaganda leaflets that were published by the Government of the day and made available to millions of British people during the Second World War to help them make the most of fuel, clothing and household shortages.

I have been really fascinated and amused by all the advice they gave about repairing, recycling and reusing .... all good advice that interestingly enough is so very relevant today. Advice such as ...

"keep the lids on your saucepans .. this is most important. It takes 15% less gas to bring food to the boil in a covered pan ...."

and

"your cup of tea ... rationing has cut down on those cups of tea. Which means that this in itself has cut down on the fuel problem. Nevertheless, you can still make tea in the economical way. For example, never boil more water than is needed. A half-filled kettle comes to the boil in less time than a full one - an thus saves time as well as fuel .."

then there are practical tips on washing ...

"mend all holes and tears before washing .... a stitch in time will be appreciated"

(I wondered how many of us actually mend holes at all today? )

and on unpicking clothing to refashion and make something new to wear

" How to unpick : Take off buttons, snaps, etc.. unpick collar, cuffs , trimmings, etc.. Take out sleeves and any linings, let down hem and unpick large main seams, take off seam bindings, let out pleats, gathers or darts. Always pull out stitching threads as you unpick, and unpick "neatening" of turnings to preserve their full width. This often makes the difference between skimping the new garment and getting the new pattern pieces cut with room to spare".

Well I bet NOT many people do this anymore. I used to think taking old clothing to the charity shop was better suited to my lifestyle. I HAVE unpicked things to use the material to make quilts but I use the term 'unpick' very loosely -- generally I rotary cut the bit of fabric I want and leave the seams intact because its not worth the effort. I suspect I am not the only person who feels like this too. With raising mountains of 'waste' clothing around the world charity shops are no longer requesting clothing anymore. My local oxfam for example only takes books now. Cheap imports have created and continue to fuel huge clothing surplus's. Its cheaper to buy a new t-shirt now than to wash it! and talking of cheap ......I had a quick crawl around the market yesterday and found a bag stall selling really nice designer looking bags. There was a great messenger bag I really liked and it was only a tenner. I was so tempted to buy it but stopped myself. The stall holder would probably have got it wholesale for a fiver which meant after you took the materials out of that the poor person making it maybe got paid 50p! Its about time the government did something to stop all these cheap imports. I know it great if you cant afford much but overall its just not healthy for anyone!

well anyway I could get on that soap box for some while but I wont ....

This book is pretty good and if you get the chance to see it it is worth a read if for no other reason than to see what millions of people HAD to do, not just for the period we were at war but many years afterwards until rationing ceased. I am lucky to have been born well past that time, but its a shame the principals that were employed then because they had too were so quickly forgotten in a new generation.

By the way ... my boots giveaway finishes tonight. I've been a tad disappointed that more people haven't taken part .... are they really soooo gross?

boots giveaway

2009-09-16T22:03:00.000+01:00

I can't say that I am a slippers kind of gal at all. I tend to pad around in bare feet or woolly socks most of the year in the house. Well its starting to get a bit chilly now in the evenings and I was thinking about socks and then my thoughts turned to silly socks and the result was these booty style numbers. I've made several sizes now, following the pattern directions but making minor adjustments here and there until by the time I made the last pair today I threw the pattern and instructions away and did my own thing. I still want to make some minor adjustments but I'm not far away from making a batch for my Chubby Mummy shop. The question is "what do I call them?" are they boots, slippers or socks or something else? Ideas will be much appreciated and as a mark of thanks I am going to give away the 3 pairs in the photo. Thats 3 lucky winners (or not so lucky if you don't like them !) So ... the give-away will run until Sunday evening 20th Sept 6pm UK time and all you have to do is to comment on the blog and tell me what you would call the boots ! If you have a preference on booty .. let me know that too!

The red pair are BIG! and will fit an XL adult size (12" toe to heel) , the green are child large (8.5" toe to heel) and the pink Infant large (5.5" toe to heel)

spiders!

2009-09-14T01:45:00.000+01:00

My hubby took these amazing photos of this spider he saw in our garden today. I have never seen one of these spiders before and my first reaction was to find out what kind of spider it was and to determine if it was poisonous. Its called a wasp spider and no they aren't poisonous. They are pretty much ground dwelling spiders so why this one was hanging from the arch of a rose arbor is anyones guess, although if you look closely you will see this spider only has 7 legs - so maybe she had experienced an encounter from an enemy and was beating a swift retreat? They eat grasshoppers and other insects , make weird shape webs, live in the South of England only (usually) and the female is 4 times the size of the male. By the size of this spider I would say it was female. The female also eats the male after mating - not so hot for Mr Wasp Spider but then Mrs spider dies in the winter anyway.

Its a pretty frightening spider to find I can tell you but I am quite thrilled to have it living close to us because they are so unusual and protected in Belgium - but not in England - odd!

wrist ache!

2009-09-09T18:07:00.000+01:00

Argh my hands are aching and my wrist is sore from sitting at the computer for much of the day updating this blessed online shop I'm trying to get going. Trudi from trudi-quiltingprolifically was very kind a blog or two back to highlight my free bindings tutorial and my shop. It was so lovely of her to do this but of course the shop wasn't really ready so I've been trying to set that right. It takes ages! If any of you have ever Etsied or Ebayed you will know how time consuming this can be for one or 2 items but I had 40 odd to put up and at 12.30 today I had only still only managed to sort out just a half-dozen of them. I'm still not finished but the last few will have to wait until after supper and the laundry is done. The shop is active though and I would love to hear your comments about it.

Passion Killers!

2009-09-07T16:13:00.000+01:00

Sew,Mama,Sew is having a Pyjama Party and I thought I would join in. I made these 2 pairs for myself last year BUT dh has stolen - yes stolen the car and truck pair to use himself! I used a favorite, but worn-out pair of pj's, to make the pattern by cutting them carefully along the seam lines. I am very short waisted with a big bum (I'd like to say I have a J-lo bum but my daughter would scream with laughter -- no its just a big bum) and absolutely hate it when jimmies (or trousers for that matter) are cut long on the front crotch seam and not long enough on the rear so you end up with a potential builders crack at the back (because there isn't enough fabric there) and heaps of excess fabric at the front that is ideal when your pregnant but annoying when your not. My favorite jimmies were just right for my shape and I was mortified when I started to wear them through. The 2 replacement pairs fit just right too - unfortunately they fit dh well too but luckily he drew the line at wearing pink cabbage roses. I made a master copy of the pattern on butcher paper and have kept them for this years crop! I have some great novelty prints I want to use - sure to be an ideal passion killer but at my age passion killers or not ... I'm comfy and warm!

Inspirational Wasps!

2009-09-06T01:03:00.002+01:00

We were unlucky enough to have more than one wasp nest in and around our house this year. This one was in the loft. I'm not sure what wasps do in the garden apart from be annoying but my family really dont like them and I am the only one brave enough to deal with them. I didn't like being a real wasp bully but once they started coming down from the loft and into the house they just had to go. Out came the foaming wasp nest destroyer and in I went - complete with long sleeves, rubber gloves and goggles! 24 hours later - one dead nest. 48 hours later one carefully picked apart wasp nest. These little creatures build amazing homes! Layer upon layer of perfectly formed paper hexagons capsules that house one individual wasp pupae. It makes me think of a Japanese capsule hotel and as annoying these little guys are .. I think they are quite inspirational!

New Shop

2009-09-01T02:41:00.003+01:00

I'm beginning to flag .. after a busy week of prep for the street market and No 1 of 3 BBQ's we are hosting this week over I need to flop in a big bath and relax. Only I can't .. it leaks and I'm waiting for the plumber to come. I hate water leaks ... its only a small leak but I cant fix it ( I did try !) It was whilst laying on my back at quarter to midnight the other night I came to my senses and told myself out loud (and in ear shot of DIY challenged DH) that I do not need to be doing this kind of thing anymore. I have spent a lifetime doing DIY things - I'm quite good at them actually but I'd rather not do them anymore thanks. I have other things to do like make textile stuff for the street market. So thats what I did but to be honest I think I would have been better off trying to plug the leaky bath! I enjoyed the day - the weather held and my stall looked very inviting but the fish weren't biting and I only made a few sales. I met some lovely people though and had a lovely cup of coffee from the cafe that my stand was close too. Several people took my cards too and I was very pleased when one lady announced that it was a delight to actually find a stand with something worth buying! My DH overheard her later telling her husband she was surprised to find me selling in a street market though. Well why not .. its good to try new things, although I probably won't repeat this experience. But I have a new one to try! This time its an online shop with BigCartel. If you haven't found them yet I am quite impressed. Designed for small crafty businesses to sell their stuff on line you get all the product display and selling features of Etsy but without the commission. They have a completely free service but you can only load 5 products and you don't have inventory control but for a small monthly fee you can load more products and have the inventory system too. I've lots of photos to take of the things I have made but I've test-loaded four products to see what happens. Of course I could be plugging a leaky bath again!

Festival of Quilts 2009

2009-08-27T18:31:00.003+01:00

Amy Butler Pillow Class, originally uploaded by teepeequilts.

I really enjoyed the 2 days I managed to get away to this years FOQ in Birmingham last week BUT ... and I hate to say it there wasn't a great deal that excited me this year and I feel so guilty for saying this outloud, but its true I'm afraid. Without exception Helen Godden's fantastic bleach painted piece piece - "Mother Earth" was the out and out winner for me and should really have taken best in show in my view.Quite rightly though it did win the Art section. It was incredibly well executed. Her control of the bleaching process to create light and shadow is masterly and her machine quilting adds great texture and definition. I loved this piece and would have spent a long long time looking at it if crowd control were to have allowed me. Unfortunately it didn't so I was pressed to move on ...but I have photos! I saw Helen at work with 2 other Australian ladies - calling themselves The Three Sisters on The Quilt Show some while back and admired there collaborative work then - but flying solo she really excels! If only I could paint with ordinary paint let alone bleach! Getting back to reality though I did enjoy the Amy Butler class I took on Friday afternoon. It was relaxed and very undemanding and I really enjoyed sharing a couple of hours sewing with my mate Emma. We were also lucky enough to have the run of a whole house for our 2 night stay while the owners were away on vacation so as a massive thankyou we left out spoils from the day on her armchairs in the conservatory. I hope our absent host likes them.

Today is GCSE results day here in the UK and I am so thrilled that DD has done well with 4 A stars and 3 A's in the mix. Well done Rowey!! But I am sad too - next week she leaves home to start the next chapter in her education. But we have a BBQ for 30 odd mates and a couple of parents before she goes - yikes!

The summer has been a long a lovely one with everyone at home -
even DH has been around! In fact its the first summer he has been in the UK for 3 years. So I am at least happy for this! So I wont mope for too long! In fact to celebrate what has been a very good summer I have made my binding booklet free to download for the whole of September. So tell your mates! Click on the link at the side of the blog and download it free from Lulu. Let me know what you think when you've had chance to review it.

Right I need to do some more prep for Saturdays street market. Keep your fingers crossed it doesn't rain!

Do you flitter?

2009-08-19T08:23:00.008+01:00

TP007 - Be Mine Motif

I read an article recently by the editor of the Professional Quilter, Morna McEver Gollet asking the question of Who are you being? I don't normally go with all this psycho-analysis stuff but I do think its worth while asking yourself what you are about every now and again IF for no other reason than to keep youself focused. I am quite happy to tell everyone that I am a 'flitterer'. I go from this to that and back again every few months and my flittering cuts across many aspects of my life from food to family. For the most part I think this is normal human behavior - some days we want to eat salad instead of chocolate, some days we are happy to to leave the housework undone, some days we want to walk instead of drive etc... but in crafting terms I am a serious flitterer and in quilting terms my flittering severity is off the scale. I like soo many styles, soo many fabrics,so many colours, soo many techniques and I flitter in and out of them all to a point that I cannot define my own 'style'. Of course I suppose I could say my style is 'eclectic' and let that cover it but is that a cop out? Probably. But then does it matter what our style is anyway? Do we need to confine ourselves to just one box ? Well I don't really think we do BUT I do know that you cannot flitter if you want to run a business. Customers need to be able to define who you are and what you do. They like, indeed need, to place you in a pigeon-hole. For me though just one pigeon-hole is too small .. I need the whole dove-cote!

Summer Projects

2009-08-08T00:25:00.005+01:00

(Click on the photo to make a bigger image)

There is something very nice about a British summer. I really quite like the mix of sunshine and rain, howling winds and humid weather ... and quite often all in on one week. Well that was this week. Hot and humid on Wednesday, cold and windy on Thursday, balmy and beautiful today. Infact today was very very beautiful and made even better by the absence of any noise in the house. With only one small body to look after I was able to potter around and take a few photos of some of my summer projects.

I've been busy making bunting and bags, cushions and pillow protectors and lots of other 'things' in the hope that I might sell a few bits at an upcoming craft market at the end of the month, but I'm not so fussed if they don't sell. Its been fun making things that I like and I will be more than happy to hang on to them. In all honesty I'm really not sure why I said I would take a table at the fair. Its not something I've done before so its new territory for me ...which is probably why I thought I should 'have a go'. But its not easy knowing what to make, how many to make or what price to sell it for! Then what happens if it rains? (The tables are outside). What if no one likes what I make? What if too many people like what I make? How much float do I take? What do I keep the float in? What about carrier bags ? Business cards, labels ... agh!!! Is it worth it? (Don't answer that question ...please!)

On the upside the latest issue of Sew Hip is out and my patchwork Summer Bag project is included. I made 2 bags for the project - one in turquoise/blue Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabrics and the other in yellow toned Heather Bailey Pop Garden. I like both fabric ranges but the yellow is so bright and sunny. I really liked the way the magazine styled the bag for the photograph too. I was in good company too this month with dear friend Emma Armstrong who has a table runner in the same issue.

I've got a bit of a crochet bug going on too ... Lucy over at Attic 24 is responsible for that. I'm doing granny squares at the moment with bright Australian wools. My tension isn't so good yet but its so lovely to be able to do something while sitting watching TV with dh. Its also quite restful on my ever failing eyes too. Mind you getting into bed earlier than I have been lately would go a long way to helping them too!

What summer projects are you working on?

Teacher Whitework Gifts!

2009-07-22T21:51:00.007+01:00

It was the last day of school for my little one yesterday ... his first year of school already over and done with. Where did that year go?

On Monday he came home with a huge bag of work, lots of pictures and letter tracings. He has come such a long way in a year. To say thank you to his teacher and classroom assistant I made them a whitework cushion. I used bleached muslin and quilted 2 different patterns at 16" square. One of the patterns was called Garden Gala (I think) but I dont know who by and the other is a Marilyn Badger pattern but I dont remember the name except its something WEDGE (because thats the shape of it). I've looked for both of them on the internet but cant find either to give you the link unfortuantely. I know I brought the Marilyn Badger design from Joanne Hoffmans site some while back but I couldn't find it today. So I am very sorry about that.

The Marilyn badger pattern was duplicated and flipped/rotated 4 times to form a full circle and I added circle echo quilting to make the square and I filled the space behind The Garden Gala design with a simple freehand meander. Then for some reason I decided to wash them before making them into the cushions. Unfortunately the designs dont show quite as well as they did pre-washing and the pieces shrunk considerably making the finished cushion come out at 13" square. Obviously there was a seam allowance in the making up but I was hoping the finished pillows would finish at least 15". Its always a good idea to make cushions a full 1" smaller than the pillow form to make them nice and plump and I was expecting to use the 2 16" forms I had on hand. But they were too big so I had to make a mad dash to my local shop to get to 14" forms ... the upshot of this being there was a sale on ... and I came out with a whole bag of extra bits too! Anyway they were delivered yesterday and I just hope they are liked. In the panic I forgot about cards so I recycled some of my little ones artwork but not before taking some photos of it all. I am so pleased I did this. I have always wanted to record my kids achievements like this but I've never managed to do it before. Now I wont feel guilty when those artful beginnings are consigned elsewhere in a few years time!

Seeing Red?

2009-07-19T00:25:00.003+01:00

School breaks for 6 weeks of summer holidays this coming Tuesday for my youngest and Wednesday for my next in line. DD finished a few weeks back after exams but No 1 son (who has been on permanent holiday for way too long now) its the reverse as he starts work! Today he travels to HMS Raleigh to begin his basic Navy training and I am not sure if I am happy or sad. On the one hand I get to have reduced food bills, washing and ironing and, more importantly, a spare room (or maybe even a sewing room ... shush!) but on the other hand I shall miss having him around, even if he does occasionally make me see red! But then he is no different to any other child I expect. Anyway today IS a red letter day thats for sure, and we shall all troop up to the rail station to see him off, no doubt looking a little like the von Trapp family as we all say 'adieu'!

With Operation Prom completed and my nieces wedding over (which was spectacular btw .. she looked gorgeous and the wedding reception was just delightful and NO I didn't make a her quilt although I did think about it for .. uhmmm for all of 2 minutes) I had a little time last week to start my modern day redwork projects. I've had a few of these in my mind for a while and want to explore more options but I'm pleased with these first off projects. I'm currently in the mood for making some quilty textile items so I quilted up some Osnaburg for a bag and some linen for a cushion. I like them both although DH wasn't so keen on the bag suggesting the fabric was a little "mend and make do" ... which is exactly why I like it. Mind you, its not unusual for DH to a have a different opinion to me, something that was sure to make me see red some years ago but now strangely enough its something I actually quite perversely enjoy!

I am pleased to say that my hormones are a lot less rampant than they used to be and my days of seeing red are fewer but I still can get quite agitated by some things ....such as

1. Having to pay to park your car for grocery shopping (even if you do get some of your money back at the checkout)

2. Traffic police and speed cameras (not that I am a speedy speeder but have been caught doing just 4 miles an hour more than I should have.... argh!!!!!)

3. Canned food tins where the ring pull comes off BEFORE you've managed to pull back the lid!

4. Phones that stop ringing just as you manage to find the hands-free set down the side of the sofa !

5. Kids who inform you they WONT be in for dinner AFTER you've spent hours preparing and cooking it!

6. Family members (usually dh) that sits on the bed .. just after you have finished making it up and got it looking pristine and wrinkle free !

7. Trying to find your 6" acrylic ruler buried 'somewhere' in the huge pile of fabric thats 'somehow' has mysteriously accumulated on your cutting table!

8. Trying to remember 'exactly' where you stashed those pre-purchased quilt-show tickets!

9. Having a fantastically great idea for a new quilt design only to pick up this months patchwork mag and find its already been done!

10. Running out of water in your pressurised steam iron just when your in the mood to get a project done!

What makes you see red?

Operation Prom - Mission Accomplished!

2009-06-28T09:22:00.007+01:00

Well after a hectic run up the Prom evening came off a treat. I enjoyed my day with DD and friend, ferrying them to makeup and hair appointments, last minute shopping and Starbucks!. Treated them both to a new lipstick and then headed home for final prep. The girls looked beautiful! We headed off to pre-prom drinks at 6, saw them into their New York Taxi at 7 then headed over to the Tithe Barn to see everyone arrive. One and half hours later all the kids were safely inside and enjoying a wonderful evening and DH and I headed back home - weary,happy and proud! What a spectacle to see the cavalcade of arrival vehicles. Vintage Rolls-Royces, racing Lotus, dumper trucks, Fire-Engine, motor bikes, and so on ... and the dresses ! Amazing ... everyone looked fantastic. How wonderful it was to catch the first glimpse of a generation of kids turning into young adults!

"I dont work in Series 1 - 5" !

2009-06-23T22:10:00.004+01:00

My five "Little Gems" (see more detail about them at the Quilters Guild site here) are almost ready to send out for the Festival of Quilts fund raising tombola. I just need to make the labels but as usual other more pressing things are calling to be done. This week 'Operation Prom' is delaying me. DD has her Year 11 prom on Thursday night and last minute alterations have been needed for her own dress and her friends. I use to make a lot of clothes - in fact I started sewing when I was 12 and had made my entire wardrobe within my first year. I went on to sew many many more items for myself and others after that! But for the last few years the only clothing I have touched is to alter the odd trouser hem. So dealing with a pure white Georgette and Satin and slinkly midnight blue polished jersey knit was a bit of a challenge for me. Mission accomplished though I can now move on to the terrifically important job of ferrying her around to get nails, hair and makeup done! Shoes, bag and jewellery were procured last week, dress only just before that (yes I know we left it late!) and transport (a New York taxi) was ordered by her prom dates mum ...so that was a relief! But my goodness what a palava these proms are! DH says I am like a kid dressing a Barbie doll ... well why not I say! I doubt I will have the chance again. With only boys left - one of which I don't think be interested in a prom anyway I am making the most of it!

So my little gem labels will just have to wait. I did have fun making them though. At only just 8 x 11" or so (A4 size) they are an ideal size to work on. I used them to trial a variety of machine applique, threads, quilting and edge finishes, plus they did double duty by coming with me as samples to the European Machine Quilters Expo the week before last. I had a great week over in southern Ireland and Beryl Cadman (organiser) did a fantastic job setting everything up. Linda Taylor was the principle teacher focusing on longarm quilting. Rick Taylor did THE most professional job teaching machine maintenance and Todd Fletcher was equally as skilled teaching several Digitising classes. I taught 2 classes, Expanding the Possibilities (Longarm class) and Finishes for Exhibition Quilts. I also took lots of classes, including a Feathered Star and a bag class (I'll show these in another blog) and had a jolly good break as well! I am looking forward to next years retreat now too but I will drive over next time! Having to debate whether to take undies or a rotary cutter so I didn't go over my 20kg flight allowance isn't my idea of fun! Although it was a good job the house we stayed in had a washing machine LOL!)

Sapphire Wedding Quilt Wins 1st place!

2009-06-17T16:07:00.005+01:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Yeah ..... I have just heard that Pam and John Sapphire Wedding Quilt has won first place in the traditional category of the Inspirations by Hungarian Blue-Dyed Textiles challenge. I am sooo thrilled for them. This quilt was a real challenge for me to quilt but soo worth it now! Pam called me this afternoon and I just had to scream out loud! Well actually I jumped up and down too! Then I phoned my mum, then emailed my Irish mates, then I told a lady who emailed a request to photograph my kitchen and then I told my hubby who very calmly said - " But of course it did"!

Tutorial: Blocking a Quilt

2009-06-04T09:16:00.015+01:00

It has to be said that "Blocking a Quilt" is not a common activity for most quilters. Me included! But I will always block a quilt before I enter it into a competition or exhibition. Other quilts such as utility, juvenile and baby quilts can most certainly be blocked but probably really aren't really worth the effort. Well certainly not in my household where they are frequently dragged into the garden , used as a tent or a parachute, or up-chucked on every now and again! But for heirloom quality show quilts I will always block them before I put on the binding to make them as flat, square and true as possible. Blocked quilts always hang, drape and show texture so much better than those that haven't. What's more a blocked quilt retains a memory of its size and shape and will travel much better too.

But to block a quilt means you will have to thoroughly wet the quilt before you begin .. (is that palpitations I hear?) Yep .. I said thoroughly wet your quilt! Now you are panicking aren't you, but don't worry though its not that bad and you will be so glad you did when your exhibition quilt romps home with a ribbon!

So what is Blocking and why do should we do it?

Put simply, blocking is a way to flatten out and ensure a quilt is square and true at all major visual elements such as blocks and borders. It will remove the built in stresses introduced into the fabric fibres during construction and quilting and will ensure the quilt hangs flat without ripples, puckers and waves. The drape of the quilt is greatly improved,particularly where heavy or dense quilting has been used and the textural quality of the quilting becomes much more apparent.

When we quilt, especially machine quilt, we add stresses, tension and possibly even some minor distortion into the fabric fibres and a good " blocking" will help to relax the fabric fibres and reduce/remove any distortions and size variation throughout the quilt blocks. Some quilt tops are not square before quilting. They might have 'wiggly' borders and/or individual blocks that are out of true. If we are careful when we quilt we can introduce a " little attitude adjustment" to help correct these problem areas and a good blocking prior to binding will underpin and support these adjustments.

On a practical note, techniques such as Trapunto often require a full wetting to remove water soluble thread and once wet the quilt will need to be laid out flat and reshaped before drying. Heavy quilting used to create faux trapunto effects also respond well to blocking as the wetted quilt will shrink up to accentuate the trapuntoed areas. If left unblocked the quilt may look distorted and hang poorly. However, once dried a blocked quilt should hang flat, square and true and retain this shape until the next time it becomes wet.

The Blocking Process

Step 1 : Half fill a bath tub with luke warm water. Not cold and not hot! Add at least 5 or 6 dye-magnet sheets - these are the sort that attract surplus dye floating in the water.

Even if you have a large capacity washing machine I would still advise using a bath tub for this step simply because you can see what is happening to your quilt while it is in the water and you can gently agitate it to remove soluble thread, quilting marks and any localised soiling.

I use Colour Catchers - available on the laundry aisle at Tescos and other supermarkets. I think they cost around £3 or so for a box of 12 . I also add a small amount of liquid soap such as orvus paste or similiar.

Step 2 : Add the quilt - keeping it as loose and open as possible. Leave it to soak for a few moments then agitate the water around the quilt and use the palms of your hands to gently agitate the quilt itself. Do not wring or maltreat the quilt at this point otherwise you stand the chance of breaking quilting threads!

Look at the excess dye in the water!

The dye magnet sheets will prevent this going back onto the quilt.

Remove the dye magnet sheets

Step 3 : Drain the water from the bath tub and refill with luke warm water.

Gently rinse the quilt and drain the water again. DO NOT wring the quilt to remove the excess water.

Let the rinsing water drain away. Gently pump the quilt with the palms of your hands to help with the draining process but DO NOT WRING! It will take 5 -10 minutes for enough water to drain from the quilt for the next step.

Step 4 : Place a large clean white towel or sheet in the bottom of the bath tub. Roll the quilt onto the sheet or towel. ONLY use the sheet or towel to support, lift and move the quilt.

Step 5 : Move the quilt to your laundry room and gently place it into the drum of the washing machine. Note: European front loading machines are big enough for a queen/king size quilt once they are wet!

Step 6 : Spin the quilt to remove as much water as possible.

Step 7 : Remove the quilt from the washer and place it in a bucket for support while you move to an area large enough to spread the quilt out flat.

Step 8 : Lay the quilt out on the floor.

I have a laminate floor in my studio that I am happy to put a damp quilt directly onto. (If you are not happy to do this securely tape a piece of plastic sheeting to the floor area first.)

Lay the quilt on the floor and gently tease the quilt into shape. I start at the centre of the quilt and use my hands to pat and tease the quilt outwards making sure it it flat against the floor as I do it.

Step 9 : Check for square.

You will need to check for square several times as you adjust and readjust your quilt. I pick a major design element such as an inner border first to check the squareness as follows:

Using a metal tape measure measure the diagonal right to left through the quilt. Make a note of the measurement.

Now check the left to right diagonal and make a note of the diagonal. Is it the same as the right to left? If it isn't then your quilt is NOT square. To make it square gently manipulate your quilt until BOTH diagonals are the same.

If you find your are having to stretch your quilt out to make it square use T-Pins if your base floor is carpeted to secure in place or use small lengths of grossgrain ribbon pinned to the edge of the quilt on laminate floors. These ribbons can be pulled out to gently adjust the quilt and can be secured to the floor with masking tape. Usually I allow a good 5"to 6" extra on the quilt top to account for any shrinkage during quilting and blocking so I prefer to ease in out of squareness as opposed to stretching it out.

Once you are happy the quilt is as square as possible, check for waviness! I use a 90 degree laser level to check this out. See the red line on the blue border? One you have positioned the laser you can tease the border in or out to meet the laser line.

A metre metal rule is also helpful in this straightening process. Be patient and take your time to get things as good as they can be. I think I spent the better part of an hour or more getting this quilt laid out the best I could. You can see how wavy this border was before I blocked it.

Once you have laid your quilt out and it is is as flat, square and unwavy as possible - LEAVE IT ALONE! Let it dry for at least 24 hours or longer. A fan will help speed up the drying process but do not move the quilt until you are satisfied it it thoroughly dry. The quilt is now ready to be trimmed, stabilised and finished with a nice binding. See here for details on how to stabilise and finish the quilt.

For details on how to launder a quilt look at the free download on my website here

More 'flaws' than Selfidges!

2009-05-29T06:27:00.004+01:00

Detail of "Ginger Bliss" 12" x 12" 2008.

(Cotton, bubble wrap and bobbin quilting)

As a child and young women my drive for 'perfection' would often lead to frustration, trantrums and tears. With maturity I have learnt to adopt a more 'laissez faire' approach to many aspects of my life and whilst I will always try my best I am now able to accept the notion of "let do". I have come to appreciate that perfection , like beauty, is very much in the eye of the beholder and what is considered a so called 'defect' by one will be viewed as a 'style element' by another. For many of us it is often a natural response to counter praise by drawing attention to our imperfections. I am not quite sure why we do this - perhaps to cover congratulatory embarrassment or most probably because we believe our mistakes detract from the work. We become focused on 'the parts' instead of appreciating the 'whole' . I am sure I am not the only one eho has heard the response " well if you hadn't have said ... I wouldn't have known" when pointing out a so-called mistake? I have a friend who is afraid to make mistakes. She is not able to 'let-go', let things be and develop her own style. She will accept nothing less than perfection and as a result makes very little. She is a follower of Seneca who said "quality is better than quantity" ? But there is also a view that suggests it is better to create imperfect work today than to wait until you have achieved perfection tomorrow. I now agree with the later view. Whilst my work may not be perfect I am at least creating and with each new creation I learn something new, improve a known technique, refine my skill base and become more familiar with my own strengths and weaknesses. All of my work has flaws in it. Yes I will 'rip' and redo major trouble spots but I will now question if it is necessary to do so beforehand and I no longer draw attention to them if I decide to leave them because they are the essence of what makes my work mine!