Maccabags!

Quilts + blogs - what a happy combination

And what eater-uppers-of-time! I have been touring around the blog world this week, with much success I think (see for yourself - there's links coming up below). Been finding loads of quilting sites so I've ended up spending loads more time than I actually have - seeing tutorials, looking at gorgeous quilts, and zinging out into associated Flickr pages. Wow - there's so much out there! Makes me motivated to make one right after the other - the only roadblock being the Day Job.

As proof:

1. Rachel's p.s. i quilt - she has loads of good tutorials and in particular this Disappearing 9-Patch one fascinates me.

2. Mid-Ohio Quilter- lots of quilts, lots of good links out to other quilt-centric sites; featured in the Moda Bakeshop - see next item. 

3. the Moda Bakeshop is somewhere I regularly spend lost hours - an unbeatable source of tutorials. Also go to the Moda site to see the latest collections (yummy!) and also to find many many free quilt patterns to download.

4. Marty's Fibre Musings - arty quilts and links out to all sorts of other neat sites and Flickr groups.

5.  Also found lately because I FINALLY treated myself to a book that I have wanted for ages (and don't understand why I never bought it): French General HOME SEWN (available on Amazon wherever you may be). To get to the point - here's the site: French General - not a quilt site per se, but a must-visit if you love textiles. (And the book is beautiful).

6.And finally,A Quilting Life - check out the gorgeous handbag in the August 11th post (there's also a link out of this post to the handbag pattern).

I think this may be the first time I have ever published a post without a photo. or image. Enjoy anyway - there's lots of photos where these links lead ....

Unintended Hiatus

  Well - it's been awhile. I didn't really intend to stop posting; but it happened. Went away on holiday and then got busy and then, and then ..... I haven't even been doing a lot of blog reading, let alone writing, and I have missed it!

Don't you love summer? Although, I must say for this week the commute home from London has been hotter than ****!  Meltdown seemed entirely possible, and I did notice that some people were decidedly grumpy. Other people seemed so cool and collected! How do they do that?

My garden loves summer, too - here's a happy basket that the guy below hasn't  visited (yet).

 

And apparently. I can do random.

Here's my very random quilt - which is now 2/3 of the way to being complete. The strip at the side is about to be joined, and then I will have three more of the same.

The quilt outdoors. Better light. Very RANDOM!

I have been making it using this quilt-as-you-go method.This project feels like it might get completed - and I am anxious to start another, which I am going to make with a Moda Jelly-Roll, probably the cover-quilt from Pam and Nicky Lintoot's book Jelly Roll Quilts:  

Obviously photographing quilts is quite different from taking pix of handbags - I am going to have to do some blog-roaming to find good ideas for effective shots. Handbags are much easier probably because I usually don't make queen-size handbags ....

So - I am off to do some work before I break to watch the tennis. It's Roddick vs Murray, and although I quite like Roddick, GO MURRAY!!!

You Will Need to Smile

Guaranteed to make you grin - also bet you can't decide which is the cuter -  good puppy gets a cookie or panda bear having a Zen moment!?!

 

Both of these photos are from here.

Missing In Action

I cannot believe that I have not posted for over a month. This is not a good thing. I have been busy, but really, I wish I had found time to blog.  ;o(

In the interim, the crafting has not stopped:  have made a lacy shawl for myself which needs a crochet edging but I can't and so will have to learn or find someone to edge for me. And some pillows for some friends. And I have started knitting yet another scarf - but the sun coming out and promising Spring dealt a blow to the knitting-snugglies motivation. I have been on a visit to France, where I bought fabrics for an Amish-style quilt, to add to the pile of have-to-make-this-up-soon fabric for bedroom drapery. I have been working really hard - in the current environment it seems a good idea to keep the head down and be super-productive. It's hard, though - my company had managed to hold out for quite some time but has finally been forced to let some people go - we have banks as clients and they have obviously had to curtail their spending (in order to honour some ridiculous bonus payments?). So yes, I am keeping my head down and being productive, but that really doesn't necessarily mean anything at this point - some really talented people have been made redundant - leaves me wondering how exactly we will cope when business starts to flow again. We can always hire, but we have lost so much knowledge that we'll need some time to rebuild. Which is part of my job, so maybe I will be in te right place to survive through this bad time. Knock (several times) on wood.

Anyway - on to more cheerful things. If my readers have not deserted me, you may remember that a while back I made some drapes and some soft furnishings for my friends  Alex and John.  I had fabric left over and was wondering what to do with it. Since then I made one more cushion for them and then decided to make L.A. Magoo:

A&J have not seen him yet, so I hope they approve. He is made from a pattern from Melly and Me - follow the link to their blog where you will see all sorts of good stuff, and also a giveaway if you are quick! My Magoo is called L.A. Magoo for the moment because he is made from A&J's Laura Ashley fabric - we'll have to see if he gets renamed when they take back to their flat. I will miss him when he is re-homed!

Here is Silly Bunny - one half of Silly Bunny and Silly Bunny. She is not complete;she needs some blanket-stitches around her face. And her companion is not  cut out yet - she (or he) is to have the same plaid body, but will have different arms, legs and pantaloons.

 This bunny is also made from a Melly and Me pattern.

Encouraging Awards and White Cat/White Snow

Look what came my way! I must give a big thanks to Kyoko. She gave me this award. I love her blog and it makes me feel happy, and yes, encouraged, to receive this from her. But I also owe her an apology because she gave me the award over a week ago, and I have not done anything about it until now. I have my excuses, but I can only say that the lateness in doing something about this should NOT be an indication that I didn't care about it. Au contraire - I'm both delighted and flattered.

So - having received the award here is what I am supposed to do next:

1) Put the award on your blog - DONE

2) Put a link on your blog of the blogger who gave you the award - DONE

3) Nominate 5 other bloggers - here is where I thought I would do something a little different. I spent some time on the weekend following links from comments left by others on my usual favorite blogs and sometimes linked onwards from wherever I found myself. I wanted to find some blogs that I had never seen before - and out of those I used my own little ranking criteria to decide who I wanted to pass this award on to.  My criteria: blogs often, shares stuff, lots of photos, instant interest-factor to make me want to read more. I found some good ones - too many to nominate, and the whole very pleasant exercise took ages!

 

So - here are my choices. These people may be a little surprised since they will not know I have ever been to their blog until I leave a comment as I pass on the award. Let me say right up front that if I give you an award and you don't enjoy this process - then I will not be offended in the slightest. I know that some people like doing this and some others don't, and I believe strongly that everyone has a right to feel however they feel and that's the end to it!

 

My choices - in no particular order:

 

Where Ava Dreams  -

Varied topics, great photos, thoughtful and informative; also the author is moving to Canada soon and although I don't live there right now, that is my home - I only hope you'll come to love it like I do!

Turkey Cookies 

Crafts, Life, Cooking, Knitting, shares a lot with links to tuts, recipes, books, etc 

Burrow House

Tutorials, great photos, links to books and how-to's

Renee Knits Too

Books, Knitting, Quilting, Giveaways, Recipes

Zebra Knits

Gorgeous KNITS!!!!!

4) Leave a comment on their blog notifying them - I'm doing this next ...

5) List 5 things that I'm addicted :

a. My kids

b. My cats

c. Japanese craft books and fabric (well, any kind of fabric, really)

d. The Wire (currently working through Seasons 1-5 as slowly as I can make myself go)

4. Cheese, most shellfish, Jif peanut-butter on toast

 

And now for a switcheroo of subject:

SNOWING SNOWING SNOWING

I have lived in the UK for a little while now, and having grown up and spent most of my life in Canada, I have snorted with derision at what has sometimes been called a snowfall here -an inch or so of dryish stuff that disappears by lunchtime. That's up until now; I live in Kent, and it has been snowing great wet clumped together snowflakes for the past day and a half. Even by Canadian standards, this is the REAL THING.

See my middle cat wondering what in the world has happened! Probably the same kind of thoughts that the UK National Rail peeps are having right now. (Although this kitty also was born and partially raised in Canada, I'm quite sure he doesn't really recall the Canadian winter).

 

 

Inauguration Fun

My daughter sent me a link to this site where you can turn photos of yourself, your baby, your partner, your cat - whatever you like - into a poster which looks like the newly-legendary one from Shepard Fairey.

Below: my dearly-beloved-and-now-posterised-first-born. Try it - just for fun!

2009!

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

And may 2009 to good to you and yours.

 

No New Year Resolutions this year - aside from losing weight and saving more money, hanging on to my job and being sweet, loving and positive to everyone.

(The usual. Not to make those things sound banal. But I will try harder this year to be good to myself and everyone around me).

So - now it is ok to show the bags that were made for presents this year - each of m neices got one and I think they did like them. I will do a tutorial on these very soon, because they are fast and easy and I have learned a new trick with wadding which I will share with everyone. I alo knitted like a fiend this Christmas - scarves for my brothers-in-law and their brother. But I did not take any photos of them ...).

Camels for Kerry to take back with her to New York, and pears for Meg to take with her to Sydenham Hill!

Cute little pigs for Jo, home from Berlin and going where we know not next and Russian dolls for Canadian Alex to take to her UK home in the 'Sham.

 

And for Zoe - Kentish geese!

And finally, for Kristy - hopefully safely back with her in  Columbia.

 

It was lovely making all these bags for my favotrite people, but the best part was having them all at my house for Christmas so I could give them to them in person. 2008 ended on a lucky note for me!

 ;o)

A Very Merry Christmas

Two days left. And not a post to be seen here in all of December. I have been reading my favorite posts but have been crazy at work - can anyone tell me why I don't get ready for Christmas in August!?!

I made four bags on the weekend and should be making three more - but no time now.

To all my readers  (if I have any left  after no posts this month):

Here's to a Happy Christmas and may 2009 hold lots of good things for all of you! 

xx

FULL

Here's a little story.

My work friend, Gillian, is expecting a baby later on this month.

My blog friend, Jo, just opened her new shop, FULL of handmade things.

I obviously had to check FULL out immediately, so I opened each of the "departments" and oooh'd and aaaah'd. Baby section last, bibs ahoy, and now Gillian is about to receive two very sweet and very well made dribble-ons for her new little one. Re-sult!

BEFORE (complete with treat from Jo)

AFTER (replete with treat from Jo)

  

Love these cats! My kitty, Jello, must have posed for the cat-sipping-from-sink scenario; this is exactly the look he gets on his face when I say "Jello! Get down from there! I'm counting to THREE, Jello! One ... Two...." 

The bibs are backed with terry and have poppers to fasten. The second bib is made from fabric which is the dog version of the cat one. They are both really sweet, and non-gender-specific - Gillian has chosen not to know whether she's having a boy or a girl.

Anyway, thanks, Jo, and anyone who's reading, check out the shop. If she has not sold it yet, there is a lovely shopper - a simple design with a pleat - but Jo has made it special by using a print fabric behind the print and placing it so that it looks like there is a geisha girl peeking out.

Perhaps I will ask the December mum-to-be to send me a January photo of babe in bib!