Friday, March 28, 2008

A bit of productivity


Hooray for the Easter Holidays, I've had a week off work and I've been able to get to my sewing machine and actually make something - and boy does it feel good! I'd been wanting to make one of these little doorstops for ages -the tutorial is at Oh Fransson! which I found via Jane's blog, Sew Create It when she made one. They really are a doddle to make, so as well as making one for our kitchen door I made some for presents too. It's a lovely pattern with nice clear instructions. I didn't line mine with fusible fleece (didn't have any) but I used some pretty curtain fabric that has been maturing in my stash for a while (well, it's plaid - how could I resist - I knew I'd use it eventually) and the flowered middle squares are cut from remnants from fabric sample books that I bought for 10p a page and again have been maturing for a couple of years (see, it was an investment, for every piece of fabric there comes a season if you wait long enough).

The doorstops have a zip at the bottom so you can take out the filling and wash it. Do you think I've got enough zips? This is my zip stash. I get them for 10p each - usually they are about 3ft long so I can only make things where you can cut the ends off - like these doorstops or the quilted bags I've made before. Have you seen the price of zips? I just feel I might as well get a lifetime's supply at that price. (I think I might have a stash problem - what with fabric, ribbons and zips, but it's harmless.)

Guess what I used for the filling? I didn't want to put loose beans in because some of them will be presents for homes with animals and small children. My original plan was to just sew up the beans in a bag and put that in but then I saw these bags of rice at Sainsburys for 43p and one of them popped in unopened is enough to weight the bag (I do pop a bit of wadding in the top of the doorstop to keep the shape).


We went to Market Harborough today and look what I found at a Charity Shop - a book on quilts and a vintage Laura Ashley dress and a child's dress to cut up for patchwork. Things are looking up.

Monday, March 10, 2008

I am still here ...

... haven't given up blogging or quilting, just finding it difficult right now. Other aspects of my life (mainly work) have kind of taken over. Can't say I'm pleased about it because I'm not, I always said my quality of life would be diminished if I didn't have some kind of creative outlet that was just for me. I am struggling to find a work-life balance (not helped by the kitchen upheaval - pics to follow in another post, or the bout of flu that I'm just getting over).

This is the sum total of my quilting efforts since Christmas, though I have to say I am ridiculously pleased that the lines so far have all come out straight. Next I'm going to meander in the squares created by the grid pattern.

I would also like to thank those of you who have e-mailed to check on me - it is much appreciated, as is this lovely table mat that Anne sent me, just to cheer me up!

This doesn't seem much of a post after over 2 months without posting but hopefully I'll get back into swing of things before too long.