Unto Us A Child Is Born

Happy Christmas

Madonna and Child circa 1909 by Marianne Stokes (1855 - 1927)

Wolverhampton Art Gallery

A Picture for Sunday - Looking Out Towards The Blaskets

Have a bit of geology... taken on the same beach and at the same time as two previous photos (a hillside and a yacht sailing by).  One of the Blasket Islands can be seen on the horizon. 

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 119 - Christmas is Coming

Time to take a break from quilting and get into gear for Christmas...  Over the past week or so I have made five quilt sandwiches - four for the Secret Project, and one for a cot quilt.  Quilting, however, will have to wait for a while.  Both my children will be home from Ireland within the next few days and somehow I suspect life will soon be a whole lot noisier.  I'm not complaining.

This will be the last link-up before Christmas.  The next link up will be on the 5th January.

The quilt that caught my eye in Week 118 was Donnalee's Christmas quilt.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Place Your Bids by Email!

The annual 12 x 12 Exhibition is now on show at Midsomer Quilting, raising money for the local hospice, Dorothy House.  Entrance is free, and many of the quilts are for sale by auction.  Just to feast your eyes, here are two that aren't - Three Hares by Stephanie Brown...

... and The Mystery of Christmas by Justine North.

If you can't visit the exhibition but would like to make a bid, all the quilts that are up for auction can be viewed on Flickr, where you will find the email address.  Bids from abroad are welcome - just remember to bid in £ sterling!

Here is the Flickr link, which has been playing up a bit, so I am typing it out in full to try and avoid glitches.  Just copy and paste it into your internet search box if nothing works from here.

flickr.com/photos/112636268@N06/sets/72157673661160554

A Picture for Monday - Steep Holm

Not that I'm obsessed with sunsets or anything, but I only have to drive eight miles for this view.  This picture is taken from the same spot as last week's, just looking in the opposite direction.  Steep Holm is the island on the right.  We can see it from our attic window on a clear day, and perhaps one day I will actually go there.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 118 - Creation Day One

It's all about capturing the essence - at least, that's what I tell myself. 

After grappling with Day Three of Creation (not for sale) for the exhibition at Midsomer Quilting, I made a second quilt to put into their charity auction.  There were only four days left until the deadline for delivering the quilts to the shop, so I had to dream up a way of representing a momentous event in bits of cloth and ribbon within a 12 inch square.  How could I depict light bursting forth from the darkness?  With gauze ribbon - how else?

The finished effect is a bit of a laugh.  Astrophysics meets the Pony Club.

I quite like the 3D effect, with the explosion of light firing out beyond the binding.

Little mother of pearl stars and glass beads in the centre catch the light.  This is the only quilt I have ever made that looks better in a photo taken with flash than without.  You can see how the gauze ribbon glistens.

The quilting is pretty basic, just a free motion swirl out to the edge.  The lengths of ribbon all emerge from buttonholes at the centre, explode across the quilt, and then disappear under the binding.

I hope someone makes a bid for it in the auction.  It will certainly brighten up their wall!

Here goes for week 118...

A big vote of thanks to Yanicka for linking up last week with her beautiful birds quilt.   If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and have a closer look.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up to Sarah's blog Confessions of A Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Nina Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

A Picture for Sunday - Clevedon Pier at Sunset

Gorgeous colours on the Bristol Channel this week.  Wales looks positively romantic in the pink mist in the distance.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 117 - Creation, Day Three

Now finished and in the annual 12 x 12 exhibition at Midsomer Quilting, which runs from the 2nd to the 19th December, is my interpretation of this year's challenge.  After spending months without any inspiration on how to tackle the theme of Mystery, Myth or Magic,  I decided to dive straight into the Book of Genesis for the biggest mystery of them all - Creation.

The third day looked the easiest one to try, but having stitched landscapes in the past, this time I had a few interesting dilemmas and limitations.

Firstly, how should I depict the sky, referred to in Genesis as the firmament, a great dome that separates the waters above and the waters below?  A rainbow seemed to be the best solution, giving a natural arch, and by breaching the cloud it puts some water above it.  The sky above the rainbow is a single shade of dark blue, whereas below it I gave myself a free rein to use atmospheric sunset shades above a misty sea.  I wasn't going to let the fact that the sun wasn't created until the fourth day prevent me from using these colours; after all, light was created on Day One.

Next, I had to think about the land and the newly created plants.  I decided to keep the hills relatively bare, with just a hint of green to suggest grass, and put the emphasis on a few plants in the foreground.  Having used a rainbow in the background, a symbol of God's covenant in the Old Testament, the choice of plants was obvious.  The wheat and the vine symbolise the New Covenant, and the red flowers are there for just for the sheer delight of adorning the scene.  They are the lilies of the field.

All the free motion quilting was worked in Gutermann's Sulky Cotton 30 in variegated colours, using my 1945 Singer 15K treadle.  To give a little relief to the trunk of the vine and the wheat stems, I used my 1888 Willcox and Gibbs Automatic.  This is a chain stitch machine, with the chain appearing underneath the work, so I had to sew from the back. 

Because there is only one thread, the colour of the variegated thread changes more frequently than along a line of stitching made with a lockstitch machine.  This gave an interesting effect in the colours of the bark.

For the ears of wheat I sewed on tiny straw coloured beads, and added stitches for the spikes on the grains.

I bought beads in a nice plummy shade for the grapes.  These little bunches took only a few minutes to sew on.

The lilies of the field are each made up of three tiny dark red beads, which make me wonder whether they are in flower or have already gone to seed. I honestly don't know, but does it matter?  Let the viewer decide.

So that's my interpretation of Day Three.  I have also made a second quilt for the exhibition, representing Day One, and which I shall show next week.  All I shall say at this stage is that is completely unlike this quilt.

Here goes for week 117...

A big vote of thanks to LeeAnna for interrupting her Thanksgiving weekend and linking up her beautiful quilt of autumn shades .   If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up to Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Nina Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

The Mystery Wall Hanging Has A New Home

If you remember reading about the Mystery Wall Hanging, then you will be interested to hear that it has now crossed the Atlantic.  My sister in law, Mary Ann, offered it to her brother Bob, and he gladly accepted.  However, he lives in Baltimore, rather a long way from Surrey, so he has had to wait a few months.  Rather than risk putting the hanging in a packet and trust the post, we decided it would be best for Mary Ann to take it with her the next time she visited him.  She made the trip to the USA earlier this month, and yesterday I received a message from Bob, plus the photo.  Here is what he said:- 

We have hung it over the stairs so we see it every morning as we come down to breakfast! 

I deliberately captured the "Good Morning Sunshine"  plaque on the lower wall though the text is a bit small to see.

The hang arrangement is interesting.
Without thinking about it much I bought the wooden dowel and figured I would have to cut it to size or get some hooks etc.
We had not even decided where to hang it at this point.

Just for giggles I threaded the dowel through the loops and placed it over the stairs.
It was just the right size to wedge there. No cutting needed. Must be divine providence.

So that's where it will hang.

Definitely a happy ender!  Thanks for the picture, Bob!

A Picture for Sunday - Leaded Glass

Painted glass at Tyntesfield.  I love the repair to the broken pane at the top right.  Nothing like a strip of lead to fix things.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 116 - Rain and More Rain

Eerie timing... the day I stitched the pouring rain was the greyest and wettest for a very long time.

And I mean wet.  This is just down the hill from our house.

The project for the 12 x 12 exhibition is now complete except for a bit of hand stitched detail, so if the daylight improves I should have photos to show next week.

Meanwhile, I am working on a second, super-quick quilt for the exhibition.  It too shall remain a mystery for the time being...

... but I can tell you that there is some rudimentary free motion quilting and four buttonholes.  There shall be no buttons to match.

Here goes for week 116...

The project in Week 115 that caught my eye was Gwyned's ice cool creation, Siren's Song.   If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

A Picture for Sunday - Fan Vaulting

Extraordinary fan vaulting on the ceiling of St Malachy's church in Belfast.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 115 - A Few More Lines

When children leave home and both end up in Ireland, sewing has to wait its turn.  Last week I had six days away visiting my daughter in Belfast and then my son in County Wicklow, so there isn't much difference between this photo of my 12 x 12 project and the last one, except perhaps that this is a worse photo.  The weather is rubbish, and my camera can't cope with the poor light indoors.  Perhaps I shall have something rather more fascinating to show next week.

While visiting my son I was delighted to be able to give this boy or girl quilt to my future daughter in law's sister for her brand new baby boy!

Here goes for week 115...

The project in Week 114 that caught my eye was Bernie's lovely colourful baby quilt.   If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

A Picture for Sunday - Tyntesfield Chapel

Dreamy Victorian Gothic.  This chapel and the adjacent house and estate are visible from our upstairs windows, which probably explains why I have only just got round to visiting them.  This video is fun, too.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 114 - Steady Progress

Not finished yet, perhaps about a third of the way there... It will be done by the end of the month, and I shall keep it secret from now on because I am making it for an exhibition in December.  All shall be revealed soon enough.

Here goes for week 114...

A special welcome to Paula, the first blogger to link up from Brazil.

Paula has enjoyed a quick quilting course recently and is thrilled with the results, and I can see why!  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia, Ireland and Brazil have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

A Picture for Sunday - Short Days

A glorious sunset over the Bristol Channel, taken just before 5 o'clock last Tuesday.  The days are getting shorter.  The idea of hibernating is rather tempting.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 113 - Not Pink

Girl or boy?  That's the burning question when making a quilt for a baby that has not yet been born. 

I pieced all the strips of squares some months ago and stashed them away with the intention of making cradle quilts specifically for baby boys, so none of the prints are the slightest bit girly and the colours are strong and functional.

Some of my favourite nursery prints have made a reappearance - planes, trains, and toys pegged on the line...

...and there's a little bit of fun and nonsense in the binding.

The blue and grey butterfly print backing is a definite nod towards a baby blue colour scheme, whereas the quilt top has a pink look about it.  The funny thing is that there are only the minutest touches of actual pink in one or two of the squares.  It's all a matter of perception.

The fabric strips between the strips of squares are a cream colour with a grid pattern printed in dark red.  The border fabric is a tiny gingham print in rusty red and beige, averaging out to a colour I associate with too much fake tan.  But if you think girl, and look at the quilt as a whole, you see it as pink.

So, job done!  A baby quilt for a boy or a girl with a shifting colour perspective, achieved by accident.

I shall be going away visiting next week, so this quilt will find its way to its new home very soon, by which time the baby might have already arrived.  All the quilting was done on my 1945 Singer 15K treadle, and the piecing and binding on my 1916 Singer 99K.  The 100 year age gap between machine and baby should add a little entertainment value.

Here goes for week 113...

The project in Week 112 that caught my eye was Karen's quilt made from a rescued vintage top - gorgeous!  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France, Macau, Russia and Ireland have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up to Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Nina Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.