Wednesday, September 5, 2007

In the Pink

I'm sure these colours were following me around today as I walked around the garden. The wool has been wound from the hanks and I hope to start the warping process today.


Thank you all so much for your welcoming words, Ian (my DH) keeps logging on to my blog and calling out excitedly "wow, you have another comment". He does the same with tinyhappy as well, in fact it takes him quite a while to have his breakfast in the mornings now, he reads all the new writings on Melissa's blog . It makes him think that we aren't so unusual after all, there are lots more crafty ones like us out there in blogland!

Some of you mentioned that the quilt in First Entry was difficult for a first attempt. May I assure you that it was incredibly easy.I know that you could all have a go at making one , it is so much fun. Firstly I didn't have many fabrics so had to use scraps of cotton that I had left over from dresses and skirts etc and the background cotton was a cotton sheet that I cut up, the center of each flower is a boring green or pink that I had hand dyed using a length of calico and I used the English Paper Piecing method. I LOVE this method. I cut hexagon shapes out of old birthday cards (you get to read all the lovely birthday wishes again) and then cut slightly larger ( about 1/4 of an inch larger ) hexagons of fabric. Tack the fabric hexagon on to the paper hexagon and when you have a few of these you are ready to sew them together.I kept all the hexagons in a tiny little box and took it everywhere went. In those days all the children were young and we had music lessons, visits to the swimming pool etc etc, so I could get quite a few sewn up whilst waiting.

This is another quilt that I started in 1996 and finished in 2003 ( I loved working on it so much that I was quite reluctant about finishing it )


The pattern was from the cover of Quiltmaker 1996 and I have changed things a little. Again I used scraps from clothes and hand dyed some calico for the appliqued flowers
This little bird I included because we once had a canary called Jellybean and I loved making this border with the scalloped edges. This quilt uses the Drunkard's Path block and is an easy one to hand piece (not so easy on the sewing machine ).

7 comments:

kimberlee said...

How GREAT it is to have you in blog world, oh mother of tiny happy (we're not worthy) I am sure you have many tips and wonders to share with us.
I didn't grow up with a crafty mother so now I am crafting at 25 and I am never confident in what I am doing. I will be reading carefully.

can I add you to my blog roll?

cheerio,
kimberlee
ps your quilt is amazing, I just started on this week and hope it doesn't take me quite as long as your took you :)

Anonymous said...

Hi! I remembered Melissa telling me about your 'grandmother's flower garden' quilt when I was working on mine. I love how the flowers stand out against the white. :) my flowers were all over the place! Here http://tablecalender.blogspot.com/2006/12/new-vintage-quilt.html, if you'll like to have a look. (blush..)

The quilt you show here is so intricate! :) It really shows how patient you are.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sally, I'm so excited by your quilt post I'm almost bursting (!).. thinking about starting a handsewn quilt, as you say you can take it anywhere to work on.. i have an old scrap I started as a child I must dig out! your quilt in this post is just gorgeous - loads of work... I wonder if you would like www.treasuredquilts.co.uk I like seeing what she has there and find it v. inspiring.
Just taken part in my first scrapswap (will blog on this) and so excited I've been teamed up with a quilter!! (*^") x

feistyurchin said...

It's so nice to meet Melissa's mama and it's clear where she gets her clever, crafty disposition!

Your quilts are amazing. I gave quilting a stab last year and just didn't have the patience so I'm in awe of anyone persistent enough to finish a quilt large enough to cover an actual bed, rather than just a couple of chilly knees.

Anne said...

Just looking in to say how much I enjoy your blog. I am not as creative as my daughter (Caireen) but feel inspired to start something new. Anne.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely quilt! I love scrap quilts. I found you through your daughter's blog, too. I can't remember how I found your daughter's blog, though ;)

Gill said...

Hi, No wonder Tamsin and Melissa are so clever with such a talented role model. I'm enjoying stopping by your blog, I hope when I've done my job of raising four great kids that I can tackle some quilts. Also I'm dying to knit baby shawls but with so many interruptions from children I can never follow the patterns. Nice to "meet " you.