I'm so Excited!

I'm a busy bee getting my outstanding sewing jobs out the way in time for the Christmas Quiltalong this weekend (haven't you heard?).

The scarecrow is still faceless - I like him - although my mum says that it is the creepiest thing that she has ever seen, and my neighbour jumps every time he comes round the corner into the courtyard.  But Domino cat is quite happy to share his company - I thought I saw him on his lap, but perhaps that was a trick of the light...

The camera case has moved on a-pace - I've taken on board a tutorial on how to bind internal corners and was making great progress this evening, until I realised my binding strip is too short. *Sigh.

I did measure, but didn't account for enough for the corners, I guess.  So, a joining strip on tomorrow, binding finished and sewn down; a velrco opening strip to be hand-sewn on, and we're done!

And THEN it's time this weekend for Christmas Quiltalong! Hurrah hurrah!  So the plan here is to join in with a spot of Christmas season quilting.  If we can do a little an often on our festive projects we won't be are less likely to be running round like the headless turkey come December!

And if you want to really join in the fun, well, QuiltSue has thrown down the gauntlet and set us all a CHALLENGE!  Will you pick up the gauntlet?  Can you come up with a Christmas project within the size parameters not using red or green fabric?? Oh my!

On the first Christmas Quitlalong weekend in June over at Joanna's we all fainted with the tricky nature of this one - but are we to be defeated? NO! Heads were scratched, plans were made, fabric was pulled and designs contemplated.

This will be the second session - and I can't wait to see what we've come up with!  It's not too late to come and play along with us - the more the merrier (and I'm not just talking about the sherry. eggnog, bucks fizz etc etc).   There will be decorations, nibbles, party hats, cats, festive drinks - maybe a challenge or two, maybe recipes - who knows!

I'll have a Mr Linky set up on my QAL page this Saturday morning - do sign up any time over the weekend when you can, and come and join the Christmas party!

Summer Sunshine and Christmas Fun

Here in the UK we can truly say that SUMMER HAS ARRIVED!

We've stopped saying to each other, 'Well, I suppose that it's not exactly cold, but you wouldn't call this the end of June, would you?', and - as of last weekend - have started saying, 'It's SO hot I haven't the energy to do a thing!'

But then we are Brits and love having a good moan - and all the better if it can be about the weather!  I'm not moaning though, oh no!  I love the long summer evenings and wall-to-wall sunshine - hurrah!

It does mean that I'm doing more in the way of gardening and less in the way of quilting, but I'm quite happy to swap my hobbies with the seasons - after all, there's plenty of days when 'rain stops play' outside and I'm tucked up in the attic room with my fabrics.

I haven't been totally idle with my needle and thread, though - this camera case for the Next-doors has given the ol' grey matter some exercise - this might be the sort of thing that Trudi knocks up in half an hour, but it's a first for me; and the learning curve has been how to bind the opening, given there are a couple of inside corners to bind. I think I've cracked it now, and will hope to have that finished for the weekend.

Also to be finished for the weekend is this chap.

He's for our Scarecrow competition at the allotment site - I need to give him a bit more hair, make sure he's sewn together strongly enough; and give him a face of course, and then he can sit and relax amongst the pumpkins with his fork, and a beer.  Marvelous fun!

And why all this activity to get ready for the weekend?  Well can you believe it - it's the July Christmas Quiltalong weekend!  I'll give you all the details a bit later in the week, but playmates new and old, you are all invited over to my place this weekend - we're gonna have a party!

A Lovely Surprise!

Although I haven't been doing much in the way of sewing this week, I have not been idle!

For a start, I found a cutting plan for the star block which I want to use in the Christmas QAL challenge, and I have printed it out and put it with the fabrics ready for next month's QAL weekend.

And then - most unexpectedly - whilst in London for a girls' weekend away with big sister Helen we came across this quilting shop!  Hurrah!

Now I think that quilting shops of any size are sadly lacking in my part of the world - we have a small shop about 3 miles away, but apart from that, only one other of any size in the whole of the City of Birmingham - and that is on the other side of the City from me.

So you can imagine how pleased I was to just walk down a road and trip over this one!

I did a little light shopping and came away with a 'bargain bundle' - a mix of no less than a yard of coordinating offcuts for £8.  That compares to most fabrics here being in the range of £10-£12 per yard.

Lovely, that'll do me - I wonder what my bargain bundle will become...?

Christmas QAL - June - post 7 (final)

Once I persuaded Oli cat to shift his furry backside off the candle block layout that I've drawn up, I put all the pieces in a plastic bag safe for sewing together next month.

I thought I'd make a start on the cutting list for the star blocks too, but I soon ran out of steam.

This was partly because I was struggling as to the how much fabric to allow for the quarter square triangles; partly because I'm going to invert the two fabrics used for the stars so they are slightly different on each block, but mostly because I was scoffing far too much of the Chocolate Saltine Toffees that I made from Joanna's recipe that she posted yesterday.

So that's it from me for this month - nearly bedtime here, and the cats need rounding up for supper.  Hasn't our first Christmas QAL of 2013 been fun?

Using the whole weekend has worked really well for me, as there has been time to plan, and blog, and go round the world to chat to all the others; and this has fitted in with all the 'stuff' that needs doing!

A big thank you to QuiltSue for setting such a fiendish challenge!  I've had such fun visiting everyone, including new friends - and hasn't Joanna been a great hostess? The fabric giveaway is a lovely surprise too!  I've had a fabulous weekend, so thank you Joanna - and to you all - for making it so.

Christmas QAL - June - post 6

Well you lot are enough to lead a girl astray, I must say!

As the universal opinion is 'go for the fun cutting and piecing' rather than the more sensible 'get all the complicated cutting list sorted out for the other blocks too', I have gone with the flow.  All these quilters cannot be wrong.

Fortunately Oliver cat arrived after I'd put the rotary cutter safely away, and he was just in time to 'help' me check the fabrics against the cutting list.  That's if you count sitting on the block pattern 'helping'.

Oh - I've been baking too, and the Christmas Saltine Toffee is in the fridge setting - I may have to sneak a peak in a mo ...

Christmas QAL - June - post 5

Good morning everyone! How are we all on this Sunday QAL morning?  It's warm with sunny spells here, and I can tell you that as Lesley says, it is a great day for quilting!

Thank you for all your help on my HST conundrum last night - that's another query ticked off the list.

I'm in two minds today about how to proceed with my blocks -

• I can cut all the fabric for the candle block, then start to piece it, so I get the block put together (the fun option) 

OR

• I can sort out the cutting list for the two star blocks, which will involve more head scratching as I try to resize one of the blocks that we used on the Scatty Stars QAL quilt a couple of year's ago (the sensible option).

I'll wrestle with my conscience whilst nipping up the road to the shop - there are Ritz crackers to buy for baking...

Christmas QAL - June - post 4

OMG!

Joanna has posted a recipe for Chocolate Saltine Toffee - and it looks FABULOUS!

I love the idea of the salty/toffee/chocolate mix and now I've found the UK equivalent of saltine crackers (Ritz or Tuc, just to save you looking it up, girls), and if I nip into Aldi when I go for a paper in the morning, I'll get some in, and get baking!

I'm off now for the night - it's day two of our QAL weekend tomorrow, and for me, there's cutting to be done!

But I'll start the day with a cup of tea, and I'll come an visit all the blogs of our intrepid QALers.  If you're taking part in the Challenge, or just stitching along with us on another project, can you make sure you're signed in to Mr Linky on Joanna's QAL page?

Otherwise, how am I going to be able to nose around and see what you've all been up to...?