Lynmouth Cliff Railway

So lifelike, and instantly recognisable, I knew this quilt showed Lynmouth Cliff Railway as soon as I saw it.  It was hanging near the entrance to the Where in the World Exhibition, which was held last December at Midsomer Quilting.

It is by Lorraine Bourne, and the description she provided for the exhibition reads as follows:-

  "My quilt is based on a photo I took.  It's constructed with raw edge strip work and confetti work, together with a liberal amount of appliqué.  I apologise to my son-in-law (on the right) for making him appear bigger than he is!  A listed monument, the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway links the two towns.  Opened in 1890, it's the highest, steepest completely water powered funicular railway in the world.  The views from the top are amazing - we loved it!" 

So here is the slightly enlarged son-in-law, who seems to be feeling the chill around his ears...

...and the man in front of him in the queue, keeping warm in his quilted jacket...

...and the lady in the shelter with the perfect "get a move on" expression on her face.

The jumble of undergrowth on the hill is a combination of raw edge strip work and confetti work, with added stitched detail.

This bicycle print makes me laugh.  Even though it is totally the wrong scale, I always think the bike is chained to the railings.

This is just perfection.  How many outbuildings like this have I seen over the years?  Hundreds.  The colours of the stone, brick and paintwork are exactly right, and thanks to this video I now know that this is where the driver makes his tea.

Because many of the quilts were up for auction, I was spoilt for choice when it came to deciding which quilts to bid on.  I ended up bidding on just two, this one and the Osborne Bull.  I was delighted when I found out that I had won both.  Making a frame for this quilt is now on my husband's list of pending projects.

Thank you Lorraine!  You have made an absolute treasure!

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 174 - Just One Sandwich

Elephant sandwich, to be precise. 

Another cradle quilt is in the making, but I shall be lucky to have it finished by next week.  After spending so much time concentrating on sewing and knitting and very little on housework (virtually none, to be honest) I am carrying on with the spring cleaning.  It is Lent, after all.  My husband was bowled over this week when he came home to see the stainless steel cooker hood gleaming as the manufacturer intended.  I won't show you a photo, because it wouldn't mean much without a picture of how dust-laden it had been, and I'm not showing you that.

So I am having another busy day today, having started with tidying the clutter all around the computer before the engineer arrives to fix the internet.  It is very intermittent at the moment, and wouldn't come on for most of the day yesterday.  But for the moment it is working, so the weekly linky is open, albeit a little later than usual.

Here goes for Week 174:-

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.
  
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 - Maximum Visibility

Just about fifty miles.  The two islands, Steep Holm and Flat Holm, are twelve miles away, and it is not often that the coast beyond, North Devon, can be seen so clearly.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 173 - Nearly the Same

But not quite.  This quilt is the near identical twin of the one I showed last week.  I had quite a few pieces left over after making the first top, so naturally I made a second.

In this quilt I put more emphasis on green, so this green on white floral fabric made an appearance.

Because this was the second quilt and some pieces had already been cut fairly small, they ended up being cut even smaller.

The wonderful teapots are on the back again, and the binding is the same print, but this time with a dark green background.

At the moment we are thinking about completely redecorating our front room - new carpet, curtains, upholstery... everything.... and I have made a rather worrying discovery.  Much as I love playing around with colours in quilts, dressmaking and knitting, my mind doesn't seem to be able to visualise a new colour scheme for an entire room.  Is it the scale?  Or the fact that I have to think in three dimensions?  Or is it the ever-changing light?  A combination of all three, probably.  Perhaps I should just jump ahead and think about the new cushions I can make and work back from there.

Here goes for Week 172.

The project that caught my eye in week 171 was Chris's Valentine's hearts hanging.  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.
  
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 with Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday
and Michelle's Romantic Tangle for Let's Make Baby Quilts.

A Picture for Sunday - Parallel Waves

Making the effort to take a trip out on a windy day was well worth the effort. On Friday my  husband and I wrapped up in several layers and had a late afternoon walk around Chew Valley Lake.  This part of the shore is wooded and relatively sheltered, and the waves blown in from the lake came as a series of regular parallel ripples which were fascinating to watch.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 172 - Tea Time Cradle Quilt

One of my favourite fabrics is making a reappearance - London teatime with green teapots and Union Jack mugs.  I have used it before with subdued blues and with also with a red border.  This time the theme was mainly grey and green...

...and lots of spots and checks.  This is the first time that I have used a black and white print in a quilt for a baby, which might have looked out of place, but it ended up toning in well with the grey of the border and with the black taxi.

For the binding I used a brown Christmas print, which shows tiny glimpses of toys and Santa Claus and should give a sharp eyed child a thrill.  The big thrill for me though is the backing fabric.  I am besotted with the teapots.  

I can't get enough of them.  But the big question remains - is the background grey, beige or green, or somewhere between all three?  It all depends on the light, which appears to have changed since the previous photo.

Here goes for Week 171.

Many thanks to Andrée for linking up last week showing her work in progress, quilting a top she made in 2015.  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.
  
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 with Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday
and Michelle's Romantic Tangle for Let's Make Baby Quilts.

A Picture for Sunday - Miniature Garden

With the ivy in the background giving a sense of scale, this inch high garden is a seasonal treat.  I have photographed this moss before in February.  With the low winter sun shining through it it is a bright lime green.  This little clump, with the tiny tussock at its foot, was so pretty I didn't dare touch it.

Palm Beach Twiddle Blanket

Yellow for the sand, blue for the sky and sea, cream because I still have loads of it to finish off...  This is the second coconut palms twiddle blanket that I have knitted.  I prefer the colours in the first one, but being much brighter this one may better fit the bill for a dementia patient.

The way the knitted palm fronds curl give the trees a windswept look.

Yellow buttons stand out against the blues...

... and blue ones against the yellows and cream.

Now that spring is on the way I am not sure whether I shall be knitting at quite the same pace.  I have already consumer tested these lap blankets for warmth while in the process of knitting them.  They are guaranteed cosy.

Linking up with Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 171 - Making Sandwiches

High time, too.  It is over a fortnight since I made this little quilt top, and I am only just getting round to making the sandwich.  We have been having the occasional day of blue skies.  It makes such a welcome change.  Suddenly colours have come back to life and I am getting the urge to start serious quilting again.  Perhaps the knitting season is finally drawing to a close.

Here goes for Week 171.

The project in week 170 that caught my eye was Margarita's Star Wars quilt, made for her son.  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.
  
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.