Have yourself a merry little Christmas

 It is hard to believe that we are celebrating the end of another year, it was lovely to get together again, something that has not happened very often this year for various reasons. Janet and Caroline arrived safely, Amanda was coming later as she was working this morning. Chris, you were missed, hope the Tuesday puppy is on the mend.

After a couple of cups of tea and banana muffins we got down to some sewing, you have to love those RUB boxes they are so good for the organisation of quilt projects.

Caroline was busy working on a couple of projects with a Christmas theme - some table mats with foundation piecing, each tree was slightly different. Not sure I would let anyone near these with food!  Also a table runner with friendship stars. These were both classes with Janet at Needle and Thread, I think

Janet was busy hand sewing some square in a square blocks using a foundation. They are very pretty with a lovely range of fabrics.

Amanda arrived for lunch and after lunch we continued to sew. Amanda was working on her hexagons which has grown in size every time we see it.

I was working on hand quilting a double wedding ring quilt which you can see on the chair in the background. I had hoped to have this finished by Christmas but it simply is not going to happen.

 Of course as it was nearly Christmas we had lots of presents to open. It is always exciting to shake, squeeze and prod the parcels, wondering what delights are contained within. Everyone always makes such an effort to choose such lovely gifts.

After another cup of tea, and a little more sewing it was all too soon time for the girls to head off home.   

                                                                      

As we have all been finding it tricky to meet up weekly, next year we have decided to try meeting once a month, that way we are hoping we will all be able to keep that day free. So hopefully there will still be regular blogposts but just once a month.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2014!

December Again!!

 It was a day of bindings.  Janet was finishing her Kansas Trouble table runner, whilst visitor Janet was also finishing a binding on her quilt.

Cake, as usual, features somewhere in the day!! - Watch out for low fat, calorie recipes in the New Year - have we heard that before??

Janet's birthday, better late than never!  The dorothy bag made in memory of a late friend, Chris Thurlow from a pattern given to me by her in a past workshop.





Our visitor had some lovely examples & has been very prolific.  This quilt was made up from Red Rooster fabrics, "A Year To Crow".

Meanwhile, the finished Kansas Trouble table runner by our own Janet.  Love the way it went together - a workshop to do, I think!

 Again, our visitor at work.  The above panel, again Red Rooster Fabrics, Let It Snow & the table mat from a set of African Birds from Out of Africa.

As Some of us have reached the age of in built central heating, I did not have the radiators on.  Caroline was feeling the cold so we wrapped her in a quilt, of course!!

My effort for the day - Fabrics from "Worn & Washed" purchased at Sandown about six years ago, made up & left in a drawer!  Thanks to Yvette at Needle & Thread otherwise it would never have been quilted.

The recipients were delighted so it was worth it in the end!

Where did November Go?

Here we are at the end of November, where did the last four weeks go? Or the past eleven months?

Caroline was the first to arrive this morning, as she would only be with us until 12, as she would be teaching this afternoon.

Caroline was followed by Amanda and Chris soon after. Alison had other plans today.

With our tea this morning, we had a Carrot Cake, which Caroline had bought - a very nice cake.

Caroline brought me an early birthday present, a patchwork book, that uses precut fabrics, book marks showing the buildings of New York and some cat themed sticky notes.

Amanda was making the borders on her Jacob's Ladder quilt, there is a photo last week's blog. 

Chris was continuing to make hexagons.

I was making a Mini Travel Bag by Brenda Walker, a kit I had bought last year at the quilt show at Duxford.

For lunch we had Chicken and Vegetable soup with Ciabatta and Apple and Blackberry crumble with custard.

After lunch Chris had a 'show and tell', the quilt pattern is 'Going for a Spin' by Sue Harlan.  It was made using a split stripe fabric.  The split stripe fabric (a wide stripe that has a row of flowers, where the colour changes) has been fussy cut in each of these patterns to create a special effect. This fabric is no longer available.

Until next time. 

Remembering how to blog ...

Well it has been such a long time since I wrote I blog post that I had to refer  to remind myself how to upload an entry! Keep your fingers crossed that it works - I guess if you're reading this I've succeeded.



Janet and I spent the morning alone, chatting about all our ideas for quilts and browsing some of the magazines available to us for ideas. As always, matching stash fabrics to patterns is the sticking point. I was looking for quick and easy stash busters and was able to put post-it notes on a few ideas.

 Janet was unpicking the sample on the left. She had made the triangles with a 60 degree triangle ruler. I thought this pattern might be useful for a jelly roll and as luck would have it, found not one but two such rulers in a drawer!

When Amanda arrived for lunch she had this UFO with her (I think it has made a blog appearance before but it's so lovely it deserves another post!)
It was made in a class at Needle and Thread and is a Jacobs Ladder pattern.





Amanda and I both have long-term hexagon projects. They are English paper pieced and make an appearance every now and then. I had been cutting fabric for hexagons earlier in the day but haven't joined mine as Amanda has done in this photo.

Janet was also cutting - a Thimbleberries scrap project - watch this space!

There will hopefully be a full gathering of Tuesday Girls before Christmas!

Cool Conservatory

Well, it was a great day for us as we were all able to make today.  It was a little too cool to go in to the conservatory today so I pulled back the curtains and stayed in the dining area instead. Alison, who travelled up from Hampshire and most of us, who are much more local, arrived around 11.00 am.  I had boiled the kettle in readiness.  Waitrose Heart shaped shortbreads in Lavender and Rose varieties, along with a gorgeous chocolate ganache covered cake and an apple crumble cake courtesy of Morrisons', were on the table.  Chris, who had taken the Tuesday Puppy to the vet for her vaccination, arrived about 12. She was the recipient of a lovely bag and matching notebook, which Amanda had made for her birthday, in just the right colours too!

We chatted amiably about many things and looked at some of the items we were working on. I had been given, as a gift, two packs of Liberty Lawn prints.. the blurb says it is enough to make two 70 x 80 quilts.  I am not sure this would be possible, but I will wait to see.  It all depends on the pattern I follow. The girls gave me plenty of advice so will consider it all.

Janet had a sample quilt she was completing for Needle and Thread, then went on to another project, cutting apart some half-square triangle squares.



Alison was appliqueing a beautiful felt snowman candle mat and Amanda was working on her hexagons.  Me.. prevarication ruled yet again and so although I got out my new little 'take it anywhere' Janome, I didn't actually get going with the sewing!  It is still set up waiting for that trial run! I should have been working on daughter's red, black and white friendship braid quilt top!!! Chris was working a grey shawl she had knitted.  It was quite beautiful and we all had shawl envy!

Lunch was of the soup variety - I had roasted a batch of vegetables and blended them ready with some stock... I baked a loaf of sundried tomato and parmesan bread, also had some French Bread which I heated up. A sprinkling of pine nuts (I'd run out of croutons) completed the first part of lunch.  Desert was a baked apple, courtesy of MIL who was gathering Brambley's weighing more than a pound each. One was so large I cut it in half!  I stuffed the centre with Demerara sugar, pecans, sultanas, raisins, chopped apricots (I placed one large one in the bottoms to stop leakage), then a sprinkling of cinnamon, orange juice and zest, and a squirt of golden syrup. The fragrance when I got it out of the oven was just amazing.  The orange really came through. Custard was warmed through and a very pleasant desert was eaten with gusto by all.

Tea and sewing followed but sadly 3.00 pm arrived all too quickly, thus I had to say goodbye to the Tuesday Girls until another day.  I had a date with the gym later to work off some of the hideous number of calories eaten!

Together again at last - well, some of us!!

We started as usual -banana, choc chip & peanut butter muffins & tea of course!

      

Janet had some show & tells.

Two table runners put together on her recent retreat.  The first, Kansas Trouble fabric, using a pattern from Yvette at Needle & Thread in Horsell.

The other is a sampler for the shop - Bow Tie pattern in Sandy Gervais, an old Moda range.

She has also been busy with a friendship braid quilt in  'All Spice Tapestry' by fig tree, using a jelly roll.

 I have also been busy making blinds & curtains.
I did manage to make this cushion for my two cats.  The panel is from a set bought by Chris on one of her  holidays & shared between us.

 Ipad cover for my husband who is a football referee & a Rangers & Liverpool fan.

 

Chris was trying to knit a shawl but Tuesday cat Archie had a better idea!!

These Christmas trees are made from plastic milk bottle tops, polyester wadding & fabric.
Very effective & probably the only decoration I will have time to make this year!!

Chris managed to retrieve her knitting from the cat.  Work in progress which has the correct number of stitches now!

A lovely relaxed day, time to catch up & finish off a few projects.
Hopefully we will all be together again soon.
Until then...