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My Cheddars top that I have been working on was inspired by Lori and her Quilt-a-long. The top is together, the backing ang and wadding cut, so now I have the joy of deciding on the quilting.

 I maybe going down the machine quilting route, as there are a lot of seams close together, and I have a new Juki Sewing machine, and I am keen to see how it performs on the quilting front!

Here is a close up of the Cheddar fabric I choose from my stash. I didn’t have a plain one  so I used this print instead.

The bowns were from my stash, and there is a mix of bold prints along with the smaller ones. The light fabric is a ‘Little Quilts’ shirting print, which I had in two colourways, and I used both in the quilt.

 Take a look here and you can seee how others got along with theirs.

Thanks Lori for hosting the Quilt-a-long!

I have spent my last three days at the Ardingly Quilt Show, on my stand (booth?) talking to quilters and quilting and talking some more. It is such a friendly show, and as it is ‘local’ to me I see so many familiar faces! I just love it!

I took some of these blocks to quilt:

They are called ‘Fannys Favourite’ and it is one of the quilts for the next Quilting-on-the-Go book I will write. Great portable quilting, and I got lots done. People are so interested in watching Hand Quilting!

There is always a lovely selection of quilts and some that appealed to me were made as group quilts by the Beckenham Quilters. This is a block from an Kantha inspired piece:

I have always really enjoyed sewing that type of block, so it was a treat to see a whole quilt made from them.

This was another favourite, in wool work:

And a close up of the Dorset Buttons:

They are a great embellishment for this type of work. I think they would look  great on the quilts Sue Spargo makes! I have used them on String Quilts too  and they just fit right in!

I am now off to unpack from the show (Ugh!), and then finish sewing my Cheddars quilt!

Well, certain projects stalled this week:

My ‘Cheddars ‘ are still on the design board. (Sorry Lori, I know others have finished and quilted theirs!), but other things got put on top of them!

It seemed a quicker option to see what this block looked like made up:

than complete the ‘Cheddars’ , and all because I read on someone else’s post that the little quilt (24″x 24″) has 500 pieces in it when finished! Gulp! Mind you, they had finished, and quilted theirs, so they had a moment to count them!

I did finish this top though:

It is a version of the ‘Japanese Stars and Lanterns’ pattern that I have coming out at the end of the month. This one is made from Makowers Flowers, and has really been a breath of sunshine on yet more grey and drab days here.

I have also been enjoying Kathies post about the Amish quilt book. What caught my eye on the website for the publishers was their selection of cards, and this in particular:

Now isn’t that a quilt waiting to be sewn?

There is lots going on here in the sewing room ( well, isn’t there in everyones, I hear you say?) So here is what I have done this week:

The Ninepatch Pinwheels have gone together to give a nice fresh spring like quilt. Although the weather here is set for  a bit more snow I have seen spring like tips of daffodils peeking through the grass.

If you are in need of a bit of quilting inspiration and the company of other quilters coming out of hiberation, then come along to the quilt show a Ardingly  29th to 31st January to see some quilts and shop. Come and Say ‘Hi!’ to me as I will be there too!

Or if you want something to look forward to later in the year I am teaching in France in September. Doesn’t the thought of some warm sun, being catered for all week and some sewing just appeal right now!

I made this little block this week and although I love it, the colours are what I am seeing in the sky right now. It would be nice if the sun came through, just to remind us what it looked like!

If you want to see some colour, go over to Sarah London. I just want to crochet everything I see on her site! Because it’s not like I have anything to sew around here!!

Well, we are sort of getting used to the snow. Apart from the obvious inconveniences that people are facing, I still quite like the snow! I know some people are experiencing difficulties with getting along with daily lives, but I have to confess that we are lucky in where we live as I can walk to most places, and I can work from home. So apart from the feeding (constantly) and entertaining of my son, and trying to encourage a bit of home study (as the school suggested!), I have sewn. A Lot.And ordered fabric. And ordered a book.

The book was the new one by Keiko Goke, and as Amy suggested I got it from Yes Asia, which worked very quickly. So I am being inspired by Keiko’s beautiful work each night as I read it in bed! (And I ordered some of her fabric from Glorious Colour which is on its way, but I see she has a second line out now, so I need to keep my eyes open for that too!)

I finished putting this quilt together:

I miss calculated the number of hexagons that I needed for the size of quilt I wanted to make, (by about 100! Wah!!) So I figured turning one into a pincushion wouldn’t hurt:

And I quite liked the look of the quilt, ‘Road to California’ (page 61) in the book ‘Treasures in the Trunk’, so I made one of the blocks to see how it looked:

I am pretty happy with it, so I feel a quilt coming on……eventually, so don’t hold your breath! Sadly unlike Victoria over at Bumblebeans, I don’t seem to find that blogging about it makes me more likely to sew it!

Although I am now hand quilting the giant Hexagon Flower garden quilt that was in a post or two back! So I have a nice cosy quilt to sit under as I quilt it in the chilly evenings! Bring on the hot chocolate!

Well, we are getting back to normal here after the Christmas and the New Year holidays.

I managed to squeeze in some stitching, but first let me tell you that Lori is having a quilt-along over at her site. It is a Dolly Quilt called Cheddar  and Crackers. It is based on an antique quilt which I loved, that she had as her header sometime last year. I figured that I would join in as 1)I have never done a Quilt-along and, 2) I have never made a Dolly Quilt. So two new things for me in 2010! This is how far along I am  with it:

I think I have a chance of completing this as it is little, but I must now get out my design board so I can plan my layout.

One of the quilts that I put together (I had started it earlier in 2009),over the holiday was this Star Quilt.

I really liked the idea of grouping the four stars together as a block, and then adding wide sashing. I like  the top, but I think if I do another in this setting, I will use wider sashing to separate the four star blocks. I was not quite brave enough this time! I have also sewn all of the Ninepatch Pinwheels together now, but then got distracted by a hexagon top:

This is a follow on from my Hexagon themed tops I am making. (Yes, the Kaliedoscope Hexagons, are all complete, and some are sewn into rows already!)

So I don’t feel that I have left 2009 with too many incomplete quilts…. I have finished almost as many as I have started for 2010!

We had snow this week: this was part of my back garden last Friday.

I have been out feeding the birds most days now and they seem to be coping with snow, unlike the rest of the country here which lurches from one chaotic scene to the next! We’re just not used to it, and never really quite expect it to happen to us!

In the meantime we are heading towards Christmas and I have been doing batches of cookie baking as gifts for friends and visitors, and the odd cold delivery man who has ventured up our driveway!

Sewing wise I am working on these ‘Ninepatch and Pinwheels’ :

I started them way back in the Spring and then as with a few quilts that I start I seem to loose momentum and other things (quilts) take the lead. I am enjoying these blocks now and as everything is already cut they will be the ideal project to just sit and sew with no thought or planning!

The quilt is inspired from one in the book ‘Quilts from Virginia 1607- 1899′ (Schiffer Books). Page 91, if you have the book to hand!

Another book that you might want to have to hand is this new one from Keiko Goke:

I have admired this Japanese lady’s work for as long as I can remember and when I read this post from Jan at  Bemused I was over the moon at the chance to have another book by this amazing quiltmaker! The fabric she has designed looks great too. So my first task of the New Year will be to grapple with Amazon in Japanese and place an order at Glorious Color!

Wishing my blogging friends and readers and very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The work on the Hexagon Kaleidoscope is coming along. (Except that I don’t think I can spell it yet!!)

There was the planning…. so how big should I make mine?

Then there was sewing more, and more….

and now I think I’ve made 130, so…. only 70 more to go!!

As this is a quiet time of year (not)…..Christmas to sort, school shows to attend, supermarket chaos etc… and yet I spent the weekend moving everything in my sewing room into the middle, so that the decorators could move in to decorate this week. I have decamped to the dinning room table with the lap top and a couple of on going sewing projects for security!

As they say, I am ‘keeping calm and carrying on’!

Things of note this week have been seeing my quilt in a new book on the shop shelves:

This was a surprise as I have had no copy yet from the publisher! If you want a copy as it’s a great stocking filler check out The Quilt Room, or Amazon if you’re not in the UK.

I did get my copy of Sew Hip though and they have my quilt in there, issue 12!

Sorry that quilt needed an iron before I took the picture! Let me assure you it looks soooo much better in the magazine!

The Eternalmaker stock the magazine if you cn’t find it at the newsagent or your local quilt shop.

I also read an article recently on folding quilts on the bias so they don’t crease. This sounds a good idea as I am just not organized enough to roll them all.

And following on on my book theme…. You must get a copy of this book:

The Quilt Room are stocking it too! The American Museum in Bath have had a lovely quilt collection on display forever… I used to be at College in Bath and took every opportunity to see the quilts. I also brought all the books that they ever had published, and this one is the best by far! I know Kathie agrees with me that it is worth having!

And last but not least, I find this book really intriguing!

If it was out before Christmas it would be on my list for Santa! Although I don’t do much applique, I do love the books about it, and especially one as quirky as this! Have a look here at this great example!

And if you haven’t guessed by now I spent as much time moving books in my room as I did fabrics!

A while back I saw this quilt on Ebay… and I REALLY wanted it!

Needless to say, I did not ‘win’ it. I was disappointed, but thought that one day I would sew one of my own! One day!

Then this quilt was drawn to my attention:

This time I didn’t bother with the anguish of loosing, I just set about sewing my own! Those of you who have seen me lately will have seen me sewing the blocks, and if you want to make one with me then look out for classes in 2010 at The Quilt Room, Dorking!