FNSI August...the results

As often happens I went slightly off plan this FNSI, but the lure of finishing the last four rows of my RBTL knitted shawl first of all was too great.

No photos of the finished article yet as I've still got ends to sew in, a hole to fix (!), and I would like to figure out how to wear it (although that may take a while).

Then I got on with unsewing the naughty corner baby quilt.

When I quilted it a few weeks ago this was the result...

Possibly a bit hard to see but puckers and pleats everywhere. I can live with the odd one but this is a mess and it's a gift so I've unpicked the quilting, will re-baste it more securely and then quilt again. I might be able to do some of this on Sunday when I'm supposed to be making curtains.

Now im off to see what everyone else has been up to.

Friday Night Sew In - August Sign Up

It's the third Friday of the month tomorrow which means...

... Friday Night Sew In...

...the virtual sewing group where participants from round the world spend their Friday night sewing or other crafting and then share what they've made with the group via their blogs.

If you want to join in all you have to do is sign up with Wendy of Sugarlane Designs HERE.

I haven't joined in in a long while, so if nothing else comes up I will be quilting the baby quilt and probably making some more blocks for the Sparkle Punch Quilt. 

The 1718 Coverlet

You may, or more probably may not, be aware that the Quilters' Guild in the UK have a patchwork coverlet from 1718 in their collection. Due to age and fragility it isn't displayed very often. I first became aware of it when it wasn't displayed in the American Museum in Bath ( cold weather = burst pipes = flooded display area), although I do think it was eventually displayed. As a side note it took me more than four years and a move away from Bath before I found out the American Museum had a quilt display (still haven't visited).

Anyway, where was I?

The coverlet was billed as one of the exhibits at the Festival of Quilts.

To protect it it was laid down and under perspex. Amazing that this was hand sewn in 1718 from scraps of silk.

The guild have done conservation and a lot of research into who made it and how. They've even had an attempt at reading the papers which are still in the quilt blocks. There's a piece of original linen on the back so these aren't easily accessible.

To give an idea of what it may have looked like originally the guild have made a copy...

Made in 2004 by members of the Quilters Guild

And as a bonus, if any were needed, they also had some patchwork seat covers from the 1700s on display.

We didn't have a show guide so we thought that was all for the 1718 Coverlet.

We were wrong.

The 1718 Coverlet 300 Years On - Susan Gilby

There was the 1718 Challenge category for quilts that either fully or partly reproduce the quilt, using the quilters own style while keeping the spirit of the original.

Interpreting 1718 - Helen Ginns

There was a surprising number on display, which is obviously not reflected in the number of photos I took! The amount of work that must have gone into each one is amazing.

Festival of Quilts 2018

It's that time of year again...to travel up to Birmingham, to be amazed how big the NEC is, to be awed by other people's quilting skills, to buy fabric that will sit waiting for years...yes this weekend was the Festival of Quilts.

Just a one day visit, but plenty of time to spend at the NEC due to an early train and stopping overnight in the city. No classes or lectures booked so a hope of being able to see everything (not achieved) and a shopping list to avoid impulse buys (emphatically not achieved, however, in my defence, some of the things I bought should have been on the list as I had been looking for them).

Anyway enough waffle on with a tiny selection of the quilts (in no particular order)...

My Favourite Things - Katy Whitby Last

Overall Winner

Lost in Translation II - Mary Palmer

La Flor y Nata del Patchwork - Retorno Al Paraìso

A panel from Ladies in Stitches - Mere Men

Toni's Love For The Doctor - Jennifer Strongman

A Medley So Strange - Pascal Michalski

What A Relief - Brenda McDonnell

Casino Vernier - Phillipa Tait

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - Roz Rossitter

Close up of A Labour of Love! - Jenny Otto and Frances Meredith

I See You - Elita Sharpe

DE AQUI...EL CIELO - Carmen Santamaria

And last but not least the obligatory shot of my shopping...

We had a really good time as always and looking forward to going again in a year or two.

Ultimate long term project

It's probably evident that I take a fair while to finish projects. The RBTL is in its 7th month (although hopefully I'll have some news about that soon), Sparkle Punch quilt and the Mystery Blanket were started in 2012, as yet my cross stitch projects haven't surfaced (usually a sister adopts them).  But there is one project that has outlasted them all.

This is the result of 31 years of French knitting, with significant input from my sister's, but I do the odd bit too now and again and I try and keep the yarn supply going.

I was given the cotton reel and my first yarn leftover when I was six, and due to deciding it should be a rug, it's still going. Every now and again there's nervous and optimistic talk about how it becomes a rug but so far no more than that. 

At this rate this project is going to become an heirloom without being finished!

A Crafter's Holiday

We've just returned from a few days in Fife, visiting my sister and mum. Unusually for me I haven't taken any scenic photos. 

My sister, being a true crafter, decided that during our trip to the nearby coastal towns of Crail and Anstruther (both worth visiting if you're in the area) we should go to Pittenween and visit her favourite yarn shop. (Luckily for those in the group not interested in knitting Pittenween is another cute fishing village).

The Woolly Brew was not the largest yarn shop but really well stocked. I got somewhat distracted by the sock yarn but I did notice a good selection of patterns, a wall full of yarn other than 4 ply sock, gifts for knitters and knitting tools. What I really liked was how there was a pattern available, often through Ravelry, for every item on display.

On hearing about the shop I decided I would just look as I have plenty of yarn...

...

...

...of course once I got there I totally changed my mind.

It started off with the bottle of Eucalan, as I'd been looking for some anyway. Then before I knew it I had the two skeins of Socks Yeah, which I had seen on the internet and thought I would buy some someday. And then there was a lovely scarf which we all admired and suddenly the Zauberball became an essential. Lovely shopping trip though and beautiful yarn. Hopefully I'll get chance to visit again.


I thought that'd be the end of my crafty purchases but no, in St Andrews a compendium of quilt blocks called to me.

And the in the beer shop (another interest not often mentioned on this blog), I spotted this...

...and just couldn't resist!

Crafty upcycling

As this blog confirms I'm working on a knitting project which is eating stitch markers. I've used up all the ones I had, tried using random mini safety pin type things from clothes tags and even made some using beads and wires (work still required on my wire bending) but still I need more.

And then it occurred to me over the years I have bought many pairs of novelty earrings, several of which I would never wear again ...

All these have a convenient loop, perfect for putting on a knitting needle sized hoop...

And voilà, quickly created if somewhat quirky stitch markers. I know all of them may not prove useful due to the possibility of getting tangled in the knitting, but I am pleased with being able to make some unloved items useful again.

2000 metres of yarn...the ongoing saga of RBTL!

I have now been working on the RBTL shawl for 5 months...

...it's humongous...

...the colours work well together...

...and the end is in sight (if you have binoculars!).

Quilts are like buses...

...you wait ages and then three come along at once .

I can't believe I haven't blogged in almost a month. A combination of a holiday, family stuff, DIY and not taking photos has led to the break. I have been knitting and sewing when I can though. Still working my way through the RBTL wrap, still enjoying it luckily.

I have also been sewing and failed miserably to keep my self imposed one project at a time rule.

The Sparkle Punch quilt is coming on well, Elizabeth Hartman's construction instructions limit the number of seams to be matched in one go (lucky asvseam matching is a skill I don't really have yet). Ordered some quite loud backing fabric for this from Quilt Sandwich in hopes of finishing it soon.

I have also been commissioned to make a baby quilt for my partner's great niece

Not the best photo but fortunately I had these blocks already lurking in my stash so this will be a quick finish, hopefully next weekend.

And finally if I hadn't got enough to do I decided I needed to make a jelly roll race quilt.

I can't say too much about this, as it's meant as a surprise gift. I was a bit optimistic about how long the top takes to construct and then panicked slightly just before the last join that the top was going to be a funny size, but all seems well so far.

Pre-emptive buying!

I was going to title this post something along the lines of "oops I've bought more craft supplies" but I've decided to think of it more as saving money, through buying during sales, and being prepared so I have a project ready to go when I've finished all the others (written with a straight face).

Anyway it isn't like I've bought much...

Just a jelly roll and two more whirls. 

The jelly roll is for a jelly roll race quilt which I've actually started as it'll be a quick finish and I'd like to get it to the intended recipient as soon as possible. The whirls are for a crochet version of the RBTL and will probably be waiting to be used for quite a while as once I've finished the RBTL I must do a few more squares for an Arab blanket I'm making with my mum (it's been in progress for ages but also takes up a lot of room in my yarn drawer!).

Now all I have to do is stop looking at blogs, magazines, Ravelry, shops and the like so I don't find anymore things I have to make...

...yeah I don't think that's going to happen either.

An attempt at grow your own

As seen in a previous post I haven't managed to resist the temptation to try and grow things in the glass lean to of our house.  Two things I'm attempting to grow from seed are tomatoes and broad beans.

The taller plants were started in the lean to, the smaller ones were speculatively planted directly in the ground (I'd thought they'd died but apparently not as I've now got too many plants for the space.

These are half of the tomato plants. Although I think I started them a little late they seem to be doing okay. Hopefully they'll start to get chunkier soon, at the moment they appear to be engaged in some sort of who can grow tallest competition.

There's definitely still a long way to go but I'm hoping we'll have a few home gown tomatoes and broad beans by the end.

Gloucester Cathedral

I've visited Gloucester Cathedral several times and whilst always very interesting (the tomb of a king and a king's brother is there) and beautiful I've never taken any pictures before, although I often (including this visit) say I will bring my big camera with me next time for a proper photography session.

East window started in 1350s

I think two things inspired me this time, the mention of the cathedral in a recent history program and the fact the upper galleries and Lady Chapel were open and I'd never seen them before.

It's always cool finding new bits of a place you've visited before and this was no exception, the galleries give a different view on the cathedral, the Lady Chapel is beautiful and the whispering gallery is a little mind blowing.

Add to that cloisters, sunshine, good company, a musical concert warming up and a 14th century peasant playing golf and it all made for a pleasant way to pass a couple of hours.

And for those interested in such things bits of the Harry Potter films were filmed at the cathedral, I think in the cloisters.

RBTL - 3 months on

Still going. I think I'm about two thirds done, with about half the yarn left. Still enjoying it but seriously hoping it's not going to take me another six months...I've got plenty more things to do!