Free Motion Friday (A Day Late) - Just Another Brick in the Wall

So the lovely Cindy set us the task of slate tiles for week 3 of Free Motion Friday.  I missed last week because of forgetfulness, and so I couldn`t miss this one.  So albeit a day late, here`s my effort.  First up is my initial go which turned into a doodlefest - you`ll see that my `slates` were a little wonky as I think I was tilting the fabric sandwich like I tilt my paper when writing.

...and here`s my best effort which although it`s more brick wall than slate floor, I`m not so unhappy with it.

So with my mum winging her way home in the big silver bird as I write, normal service resumes.  We had a lovely last afternoon together today but more of that tomorrow. For now I`m linking up with Cindy - pop over and see what the rest of the class got up to.  I`m off to watch some quality TV X Factor.

A Thursday Finish, A List & A Spot of Housekeeping

My poor mum who has been here for the last couple of weeks has been horribly sick since last Friday.  She`s been up and down but really quite poorly and there have been trips to the doc, laboratories for blood tests and mild suspicion of Typhoid panics but it looks like it is just a virus.  Thanks for all the well wishes.  It looks like she is on the mend and will return home to blighty on Saturday as planned.

With my mum sick and unable to get out and about, I did a spot of sewing and have a finish. There`s one quilt I`ve been wanting to tick off my mental checklist for quite a while and it is the Marrakech Rose quilt.  It`s one I`m really pleased with, and here it is.

The fabrics for the top are from centre outward - Kaffe Fasset,  Amy Butler, Jennifer Paganelli, Anthology, Alexander Henry and back to Amy Butler and Kaffe Fasset.

For the backing, I used Songbird in Lime from Bonjour by Diane Kappa and for the binding I used two fat quarters of my new Heirloom by Joel Dewberry.

I straight line quilted it.

and I`m very happy. Have I said that before? The design is based on Jane Brocket`s Russian Shawl quilt from her lovely and eye candy ridden book, The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making. I have always found Jane Brocket hugely inspiring as her quilts are big, bold and fun and she always emphasizes that the quilt doesn`t have to be perfect and that we should enjoy our quilts. I like that philosophy.

It`s lovely that exactly 2 years after taking up quilting, I`ve finished my 4th quilt - hmm, an average of one every six months - not a great average but one I hope to improve on. So I can tick it off the mental list and the list I`ve drawn up for Sarah`s Winter Stiching, which I`m linking up to.  The idea is to write down a list of what you hope to accomplish sewing-wise between now and next spring.  The idea being that what`s written down gets done. I`m not one for lists and it frequently gets me into trouble but here goes.

Quilts, QALs and Community Blocks*

finish the Marrakech Rose quilt

quilt and bind Deborah`s Union Jack quilt

make a quilt for my mum`s 70th birthday 

make a quilt for Baby Landen arriving next month all being well

finish blocks, piece, baste, quilt and bind Red City Quilt for the Duo QAL

commit to theDrunkard`s Path QAL

keep up with the Bloggers BOM

make monthly blocks for Bee Blessed and Quilting for Kids

Swaps &BeeS
make the final cut for The Scrappy Swap 2011
make a goodie for The Scrappy Swap 2011
make a tablerunner for The Modern Christmas Tablerunner Swap
make blocks for The 4x5 Modern Quilt Bee

Other Stuff
learn how to free motion quilt
finish Zaki`s rocket PJs using Susan`s `ugly` fabric
learn how to applique
learn how to piece curves

*last edited 6 November 2011

Have I forgotten anything?  Quite possibly.  I`m so excited to be starting on some new projects using some lovely stash. I`m linking up with Sarah at Fairyface Designs. Head over there and see what amazingly talented and creative people are planning for the next few months.

 

I`m sorry if you have tried to get hold of me by email and found I`m a no-reply blogger.  Thank you to everyone who writes and tells me that I`m one.  You see, I`m not meant to be.  I never edit my profile, my email address is listed and I`ve ticked the box but Blogger likes to randomly make me a NRB.  It`s highly frustrating as it`s completely random.  It`s a bit like a ferocious doctor`s receptionist (apologies to any doctor`s receptionists who are reading this post) - sometimes she`ll let you through, sometimes she won`t.  If anyone else has had this problem, do let me know what you did to remedy the problem.

Sometimes You Just Need a Reminder...

...of home.  While Morocco is clearly my home (it should be after 9 years), I can`t help feeling homesick for the sceptered isle from time to time. I nearly booked a ticket to go back for a week when my mum leaves on Saturday but in the end I didn`t. I made a cushion cover instead and saved the air ticket for a trip back over the holidays in December.

Union flag cushion in Amy Butler fabrics

Back in February, when I had only been blogging for a couple of weeks, I made this Union flag block using some lovely Amy Butler Love fabrics. Yes, yes I know.  It`s pink and green.  Quelle surprise!

At the time I wasn`t sure what I was going to do with it...I wasn`t sure whether to frame it and stick it on the wall or make it in to a cushion cover.  Today, a mere eight months later (did I ever mention I was indecisive?) it became the front of a cushion cover.

I straight line quilted it...

...and backed it in this zingy green fabric.  It is the twin of this Disappearing 9 Patch cushion.

A couple of Fridays ago, Julie at The Intrepid Thread was having a very silly 20 per cent off everything sale for 24 hours. To feed my fabric addiction, I ordered 11 fat quarters of Heirloom by Joel Dewberry in the sapphire colourway.   Today, the lovelies arrived.

Linking up with Sew Modern Monday - go on, hop on over and have a look at what creative people there are out there. Tsk. As if you didn`t know.

Sunday Selfie

So this evening, just as I was getting ready to go out for a bit with the fam, I picked up my camera for the first time in weeks and took a selfie.  It was dark  and so the image is grainy and looks like a photo from years ago but it felt good.

Linking up with tinniegirl after I saw Lucy`s mugshot.

Red City Duo QAL Quilt Top

Thanks very much for all the well wishes for the small Dino who is much improved.  Unfortunately, my mum has now succumbed badly to the lurgy and has flu and is generally unwell. While she has been out of action today and in between making soup and visiting the pharmacy, I have been able to make a start on my Duo QAL quilt top using my Moroccan Mirage fabrics.

The Duo QAL is being hosted by Rhonda and Rachel and the block they have chosen is based on concentric squares.  Clearly, they are not control freaks as they have left size and design to us, which is all very grown up.  I am hoping to make a lap size quilt and should hopefully have all the blocks cut in a couple of days. It`s decided to get a little gloomy here today so the photo was taken under electric lighting and so I`ll have a look again tomorrow to see whether the colours in the image are realistic.

I should really have practiced my free motion quilting so that I could link up with Cindy but completely forgot and as I was a major nudger for Cindy to host the link-up, I`m hoping she hasn`t gotten me down for a flaky goodfornothing wotsit! Tomorrow, I shall put something up and grovel unreservedly.

It`s not all flu and bed baths here.  There is good news.  I have had my hair cut and eyebrows waxed so I`m looking quite groomed (if you ignore my feet, which badly need a pedi) and I`m booked for a short visit to Paris at the beginning of December to visit my dear and real life friend Deborah. HURRAH!

A Sewing Malaise in Marrakech

So it`s been a little quiet here at Marrakech Towers the last couple of days - the thermostat on that sun is still turned up way too high and has zapped me of my creative mojo and good humour.  What with that and a sick little dinosaur to care for and visitors to entertain and provide for, not much sewing has been done in these parts.

Yesterday, I tried to come up with my `goodie` for my partner in The Scrappy Swap 2011 and made this little puffy pouch from scraps. I used this tutorial by the super talented Ayumi.

It`s lined with the fabric which you can see in the middle pleat.  I would like to say I whipped this up in a jiffy but what with the heat, evaporating mojo, fevers, lunches to prepare, plate spinning and magic tricks (okay I made the last two up), I struggled with the top part and so it didn`t meet the exacting standards of quality control and will remain on my dressing table looking little, puffy and pouchy.

I had some fun this morning trying to come up with a cohesive design for my partner in The Modern Christmas Tablerunner Swap being hosted by super good bloggy pal Susan.  I am not such a newbie at swaps now. I have learned that it is all about what your partner wants and it`s not for me to inflict my taste and wants on them.  So my partner likes traditional colours, trees, wonky stars and very fancy things, which I`m not yet up to doing.  So I came up with this design, minus the very fancy things obvs.

If I was making this for me, the colour palette would be more muted and Scandinavian but as I`m learning to be less me, me, me this is what I`ve come up with.

I`m sorry if I haven`t been to visit you recently or am late in answering your email but I am super behind and will catch up once the dinosaur is less hot and back at pre-school.

Bag Lady

Yesterday, I felt like doing a small achievable project, and so I made this tote bag...

...using the bottom two of these fabrics, which my lovely mum bought me as a gift and managed to squeeze into her suitcase...

 

and this pattern...

The fabric was a furnishing  fabric and together with the interfacing, it was a little tough going when seams crossed but we got there.  I made Tote A, as I liked the way the straps came down to the base of the bag.  It has an outer pocket on the front and an inside pocket. With a cardboard base under the lining, it is freestanding and very roomy.  Now that I have used the pattern once, it should be much quicker next time but it`s nice to do a small project, which is quick and produces something practical.

Today I`m linking up with Stitched in Color`s Celebrate Color event and Fabric Tuesday - hop over there and see what clever creative people have been up to.