Stitch Tease Scrappy Clammies

A few weeks ago, we were sleeping practically fully clothed under a duvet and a thick blanket and then a week ago, it warmed up...and now it`s hot and already feeling a little uncomfortable to sew.  I`m hoping the temperatures will drop a little as I still have a lot to do before I finally down tools for the summer months.

I have finished my Stitch Tease blocks.  There are eight amazing women in this bee. The theme for my quilt is scrappy curves. I have asked for blocks measuring 25" and so I made 2 so that there will be 9 in total.

I had a bit of a wobble a couple of weeks ago when my creative mojo took an unscheduled holiday. I thought of other things I could have as a theme but I kept coming back to curves.  So yesterday, I tried again with Jenny`s ruler and made this block.  It measures 25". Despite its crack courtesy of the postal system, the ruler was wonderful and super easy to use.

Then I returned to the clam shells and used the template for the Lemons & Limes block in the Modern Blocks book.  There wasn`t much wiggle room when it came to squaring up and I can`t say I loved making this block as it was quite consuming but I love the result.  

Scrappy Clamshell block

Each bee member has purchased 1 yard of fabric, a piece of which will be used in each quilt so that all the quilts are linked.  I chose English Plantain from Across the Pond by Cloud 9 and used it in both blocks.

English Plantain by Cloud 9

Love it or hate it, these blocks feel very me.  Now they are off on a magic carpet (far more reliable than the world`s postal service I find) to the lovely Katy in Glasgow who hot from her Curves class with Rachel is sure to come up trumps. She`s also an amazing paper piecer!

My Modern Muse - Leanne at She Can Quilt

We`re in the last week of the My Modern Muse series and  I have loved finding out more about everyone`s quilty stories. The series will be taking a break in April and then I plan to bring it back in May on a once a month basis.

Today I am so delighted to have Leanne from She Can Quilt with me...and boy can this girl quilt!  She has come over for the day from her native Canada and I took her to the beach at Oualidia on the Atlantic coast for the day. On windswept sands, Leanne told me a little about her quilting journey.

Annabella: What inspired you to take up quilting?
Leanne: Although I resisted quilting for many years and focused on other fibre arts (knitting, crochet, weaving, spinning, needlepoint and embroidery, etc.), one rainy school spring break 2 years ago this week I was drawn to the sewing machine at my cottage. A trip to the local quilt shop sealed the deal. My kids and I played with HSTs for a week and created my first quilt. I did start sewing on a machine when I was 5, so it was always just a matter of time before I became a quilter.

Annabella: For those who don't know you, how would you describe your style?
Leanne: All over the map. I am drawn to many styles of quilting and have yet to settle into a style. I like precise paper piecing, I like improve and modern quilts. I like working at a tiny scale and had a great time making my kingsize quilt for my own bed. I love working with solids, with a single designer's fabrics and scraps. And I am sure that next week there will be another thing I want to try, so I think I am still finding my style.

Annabella: When you are off line, where do you draw inspiration from?
Leanne: Books - about quilting, sewing, knitting, architecture, art, fabric, nature, science, and photography. I also like to just look at the world, on a large and also tiny scale - there are patterns and colours everywhere. Music, and words and memories also provide me with inspiration at the most unexpected times.


Annabella: Aside from your immediate family, who is your greatest creative inspiration and why?
Leanne: I guess I get the most inspiration from nature - from animals and plants, the sky, the stars, the wind, the ocean, from fire and lightning, the beach and the mountains - I could go on and on.

Annabella: Which blog do you find a constant source of inspiration?
Leanne: There are a so many blogs that I follow and I am always finding new ones. I never know which one will be inspiring this week. I could not possibly narrow down the list to one or two. I also should mention that I find the quilters on Flickr to be amazing too.


Annabella: Tell me about one of the quilts you have made.
Leanne: I would love to tell you about all of them, but I will mention a little mini quilt called Shattered. For this one there really was a light bulb moment. I wanted to make something for the Tangerine Tango Challenge, as I just love that name, Tangerine Tango and it is the colour of this year over at Panatone. I was playing around with a paper pieced block from the Mystery QAL, and then my friend Hadley (Flying Blind on a Rocket Cycle) mentioned in an email that she was "shattered". Well, Canadians don't say that but I know the expression and it set off the Rolling Stones song Shattered in my head. It all came together and I made the quilt over a couple of days. You can read the longer version of this story here on my blog.

Annabella: Do you pin? Where can people find you?
Leanne: Yes, I pin under the name she can quilt, and you can find me on the internet generally under "shecanquilt".  I was so pleased to get an email from Pinterest last weekend advising me of their new terms, given all of the recent discussion. I am hoping these terms along with more careful use will make people more comfortable. I do not spend a lot of time on Pinterest yet, but I use it to keep track of inspirations that are not linked to Flickr, where I can put my inspirations in my Flickr favourites. Oh, and my tumblr blog, which is still new, is also she can quilt.

Annabella: Is there a there a design or technique that you would like to try?
Leanne: I would like to do more improv piecing and I want to make some quilts which have a lot of negative space. I am working on understanding the concept of less is more. I also want to focus much more on the quilting part of making quilts - straight line quilting, free motion quilting and hand quilting.

Annabella: Do you have a colour palette you come back to again and again?
Leanne: Not really, I am still exploring all colours, and colour combinations and there are many more to go.

Annabella: Why do you think quilting has become so popular again?
Leanne: I don't actually think it was ever not popular, at least since the early 1800s. I think that the internet has connected a great number of quilters who have a much more modern and fun approach to quilting and that has had a wonderful impact on the craft which is what makes it appear that there is a new popularity.

Annabella: Who is a creative inspiration that you would most like to spend 30 minutes with?
Leanne: This is another very difficult question. I would love to meet Gwen Marston or Ingrid Press. It would be fascinating to talk with Barbara Brackman about William Morris and other historic fabric designs. I would love to hear Kaffe Fassett talk about colour or Jinny Beyer explain designing quilt blocks. I could go on and on, there are so many creative inspirations for quilters.

Annabella: What is your favorite fabric line or designer?
Leanne:  I could never pick just one, in part because there is such a diversity of style. I love the whimsey of Heather Ross and Aneela Hoey, the colour of Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler, the boldness of Lotta Jansdotter, the uniqueness of Jay McCarroll, Tina Givens, and Tula Pink, the modern beauty of Denyse Schmidt and Kate Spain and the artistic approach of Laura Gunn. I will stop there, there are many more that are my favourites, and I have not even mentioned the "solid" designers.

Thank you Annabella for having this lovely discussion with me and for hosting this wonderful series.
Thank you Leanne - it`s been my absolute pleasure and I can`t wait to see you again in June at the FQ Retreat! If you don`t know Leanne`s blog, do hop over there and say `hi`.  She is so talented and her blog is chockablock with eye candy of a quilty nature and there`s tutorials too!

Pink Castle Blogger`s Bundle Contest

Chesil Beach Bundle

1. Buoyancy in Deep
2. Diamond Dandy in New Day
3. Arabesque in Ivory
4. Jewels in Purple
5. Micro Dot in Blue
6. Living Lattice in Dusty Blue
7. Stripe in Light Turquoise
8. Mill Plain in Dogwood
9. Lace in Mud
10.Basket Weave in Tan
11.Town Square in Mist
12.Little Flowers in Liquorice

There is a great contest over at Katy`s in conjunction with the wonderful Brenda and Pink Castle fabrics.  All you have to do is design your own bundle of fabrics from those Brenda has in store (either her website or the etsy store or both) and you get the chance to win it! The contest is open until the end of the month.


I`m calling my bundle Chesil Beach after the beach in Dorset, England near where my granny lived.  It reminds me of the colour of the water and shingle there....on a sunny day obviously.

There are already over 135 bundles entered! International entrants are welcome and you can enter as many bundles as you like. So leave what you`re doing and go select some fabric...but not before you hide your credit card.

Please Someone Tell Me...

...where on earth did March go?  I know it hasn`t finished yet, but all but in my view!

My mosaic for Lynne`s Fresh Sewing Day is going to be fairly minimalist but I have managed to tick another couple of essential sews off my list.

First off, here`s my `block` for Kat in the do.Good Stitches Bee.  I`m in the Care Circle - an awesome group of women from around the world.  This month Kat asked us to make one super big block, which could be made up in to a quilt for the charity she is involved with called Blankets of Love. You can read about it here but essentially the quilts are given to sick or premature babies at the Perth children`s hospital to give some comfort to the families who can take them home at the end of the child`s stay.  How wonderful is that?

Kat suggested a block but also said we could make whatever our heart desired as long as it was in child friendly fabrics.  So this morning I raided my rainbow charms for yellows and oranges and made this HST mini, measuring 24".

You don`t have to be in the Care Circle to help Kat and Blankets of Love.  You can donate orphan blocks, backing fabric, wadding and mini quilt tops, quilts or donations so that resources can be replenished - just click here for more information.

This is a great bee and I love being part of it.  It`s my turn in April to come up with a design so I`m wracking my brains as to what we shall do.

I have also started making blocks for the 4x5 Modern Quilt Bee.  This is a bee where you sign up each quarter and change your fellow beemates every time, making 5 blocks of the same design in everyone`s nominated colours.  I`m in quite a quiet hive this month and while I have received some beautiful blocks, I`m not sure I`ll sign up next quarter. I have enough to be getting on with!

I chose the Four Acres block designed by Solidia Hubbard from the Modern Blocks book.

Despite this being a simple block, my trusty seam ripper came in to its own after I misread directions.

Still, here is caretaker Leigh`s block.  Her colours are orange, golden yellow and grey.

...and Amber`s block.  Her colours are hot pink, tangerine and lemon yellow.

Now I have next week to dedicate to my starter blocks for the Stitch Tease  - an International Mystery Quilt Bee.  I should have made way more progress on this one by now and promise to be better next month girls.

Hope you`re all having a great weekend!

My Modern Muse - Di of Random Thoughts Do or `Di`

Today`s it`s the 7th installment in  the My Modern Muse series, and I am super excited that my wonderful bloggy mate Di of Random Thoughts Do or `Di` has come all the way over from Southern California to chew the fat and tell me what she loves about quilting and what motivates her to create her beautiful quilts. If you don`t know Di, pop over and say `hi`.  She is a super talented sewist, an awesome cook, a terrific photgrapher and has the most beautiful family. She`s also the brains behind the Stitch Tease Bee!

Today I took Di away from the normal chaos hustle and bustle to a quieter spot in Marrakech. Here`s what she had to say.

The Pharmacist`s Club, Marrakech

Annabella When you are offline, what things in life inspire you to create your beautiful quilts?
Di Seeing things in a magazine, nature and architecture. I'm not very creative but I am a wonderful copier, putting my own spin on things.
 
Annabella  Apart from your immediate family, who has been your greatest creative inspiration in your life and why?
Di My godfather/uncle was a very creative man. He always was my cheerleader whenever I would make something. My best friend from the 6th grade (she's still one of my besties) and I would make all our clothes. We would fight over who got to make the outfit on the cover of Seventeen magazine. So being competitive inspired me too. Usually the magazine would come out and within two days one of us would be wearing that outfit to school!

Seventeen Magazine 1970 (image courtesy of www.forties-fifties-sixties-love.tumblr.com)

Nowadays, it is all my blog friends who are so creative and innovative and always create a spark in me that keeps my sewing machine running at a frenzied pace.

Annabella Which blog do you find a constant source of inspiration? 
Di I hate to name names because there are so many, but the ones that I read all the time are Lily's Quilts, I'm a Ginger Monkey, Where the Orchids Grow, Freshly Pieced, Ellison Lane, Pink Penguin and all the girls in my Stitch Tease bee.

Annabella Is there a piece of music you love to listen to while in your sewing space?
Di I've discovered Spotify and it is a wonderful resource for free music. Right now I love Rumer, Adele and Amy Winehouse. I usually listen to an artist over and over again and then I jump on another genre. I also enjoy pop country music like Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. I am a sucker for the old standards, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Annabella The quilt you brought with you is one of my favourites.  I know it`s very special.  Can you tell me why?
Di Circle Me Back 2 Amsterdam is a recent favorite. I made it last year but bought the fabrics in Amsterdam 9 years ago when I first began to quilt.

Circle Me Back to Amsterdam quilt

This quilt is special because I designed it based on an inspiration from a bag Ayumi at Pink Penguin made. It is made with linen and I used the quilt as you go method to quilt it. I learned so much by making this quilt. I sleep with it on our bed every night. It is really warm and makes me smile every time I see it. It is a wonderful way to remember our trip to Amsterdam, too. You can read more about this quilt here.

Annabella Who is a creative inspiration who you would most love to have 30 minutes of their time?  

Di Kerry of Very Kerry Berry, Ayumi, Suzuko Koseki...all the paper piecing wizards out there. They are my heroes.

Annabella  Do you have a go-to quilting book?
The two Material Obsession books are full of beautiful quilts and lots of inspiration. I also like Malka Dubrawsky's Fresh Quilting.

Annabella Do you pin? Where can people find you? 
Di Yes I do pin...a few too many fattening delicious looking recipes and lots of quilt inspirations. http://pinterest.com/ylmommyx4/  Sometimes I have dreams of quilts. When I was an avid cross-stitcher I used to have dreams of little x's chasing me all night long! But I love all the blogs and also search Flickr, Pinterest and Design Seeds for inspiration. 

Di`s Grannies with sashing mock up

Annabella  Do you ever get the quilter`s equivalent of `writer`s block`?  What do you do to get through it?
Di All the time! So when that happens I usually join a new quilt-along and get inspired to start something new.

Di`s Sewing Summit Challenge drawstring bag

 Annabella  What is your favorite ever line of fabric?
Di Right now it is Echo by Lotta Jansdotter. I love the feel of the fabric, the colors and patterns all equal a very beautiful line of fabric. I am using it now to make the Made in Cherry quilt.

Made in Cherry quilt

Annabella Who is your favorite designer?
Di I am not true to one designer and usually don't even pay attention to who designed the fabric. I can usually recognize a Denyse Schmidt and a Suzuko Koseki, but that is about all.
Thank you Annabella for honoring me to be featured in this series.

It`s been wonderful spending some time with you Di - thanks so much for taking part! 

Next week is the last week in the March series but I have a couple of crackers for you! Be sure to pop back on Monday and Friday.  In the meantime, have a great weekend.

Fragile - Handle With Care

No - not me!  Thank you to everyone for wishing me a hasty recombobulation.  I am feeling much combobulated thank you very much....even though my mum left this morning.  It`s always so lovely having her here - and not only for her washing up skills!  She is great company and a wonderful granny to Zaki.  We shall see her in a couple of months when we are over for you know what, and who knows - perhaps before.

Kasbah du Toubkal, Imlil

We spent my mum`s last day in the Atlas mountains around Asni and Imlil - about an hour and a half`s drive from Marrakech.  I was behind the wheel which was slightly nerve-wracking as I really only drive in town but we were counted out and counted in again.

We started off at the Kasbah du Toubkal in Imlil, which requires a very steep 10 minute climb to reach. The photo was taken as we were leaving, not as we arrived with red cheeks!

Some people were tired by the climb and a bit grumpy to have their photo taken yet again!

...but was soon back to his usual cheery self - revived by an orange juice!

There was still quite a lot of snow on the mountains...

After climbing back down the steep hill and eating a very yummy tagine at a basic but clean cafe, we drove a short distance back toward Marrakech and stopped for a drink at Kasbah Tamadot bought by Sir Richard Branson in 1998 and now owned by the Virgin group.

It really is a gorgeous spot and perfect for a cool drink in a shady spot.

A Fez Bonita

With prices for a double starting at just over 400 euros per night, we drank up, had a quick nosey round and headed home.

Rose petal strewn pools

I Spy with My Little Eye

The library

So after a lovely day and my mum leaving, I was in need of a pickmeup.  We hadn`t been back from the airport long when I heard the doorbell go. I knew it must be the mailman. With bee blocks winging their way, my For the Love of Solids swap package and curved ruler also due, I was excited.

It was my curved ruler from Jenny at Sew Kind of Wonderful! I love her curved labels.

It arrived beautifully packaged and with a huge `FRAGILE` sticker stuck across the front.  Except this wasn`t enough as some clumsy wotzit in the world`s postal system had obviously dropped it and broken it!

See that crack?  It`s right at the end of the groove for cutting! I have used it and it is so well designed that I can still cut with it.  However, the wonderful Jenny emailed me straight back and said she was sending me another as she was all about customer service.  I didn`t expect that at all and just love it.  So thank you Jenny and I`m sure it will arrive in one piece this time! I`ve got a feeling it`s going to arrive with more than one sticker this time!

For those of you who were so kind about my labels, they are from labelname.co.uk - easy to order, quick and very reasonable.  Win, win....win!

Farmer`s Wife in Your Life Notebook Cover

If you are hopping over from Sunni`s - welcome to my little corner of the blogasphere!

I was so excited when Sunni asked me to be part of her blog hop for her inspirational series, Farmer`s Wife in Your Life inspired by the book by Laurie Aaron Hird.

Today, I`m showing you a very simple notebook cover using a 6 inch block (6 1/2" unfinished).  I admit to having felt a bit of a fraud when I accepted Sunni`s invitation as I have never made a farmer`s wife`s block in my life but Sunni said it wasn`t necessary to use blocks from the book.  So I made a lovely simple one called Forest Paths from some scraps of Parisville, Moroccan Mirage and Lark.

There are lots of fabulous notebook cover tutorials already out there, so on the basis that there is no point in re-inventing the wheel, I used the wonderful tutorial by bloggy friend Cindy, which she wrote for the fab series {Sew}Get Started on other lovely bloggy friend Sarah`s blog! What`s so clever about Cindy`s tute is that it can be adapted for any size notebook.

I will show you how to adapt Cindy`s tutorial to incorporate a 6 inch block and pieced back for a standard A4 sized notebook with a half inch wide spine.

You will need 1 6.5" focus block (unfinished)
Contrasting background fabrics (approx.1 FQ in total)
Lining fabric (1 FQ)
1 piece of ribbon (optional)
1 small button (optional)

I started by taking the ugliest notebook I could find...isn`t it revolting?

I took the central block and added 2 strips of Amy Butler Soul Blossoms to the sides. (Block measurements are shown on the images.)

...and then added strips to the top and bottom.

front piece

I sewed together a strip of Lark and a strip of Soul Blossoms (which will form the back of the notebook cover) and added these to the left-hand side of the front piece above to get this - the notebook cover - front and back joined.

back and front pieces joined

Your sewn together front and back should measure 12 1/2" by 18 1/4". You need to cut your lining to the same dimensions. Now go and take a look at Cindy`s tutorial here for the rest of the instructions as to how to add the `pockets` and lining. There are also optional extras such as how to add a marker ribbon and front fastening button.

I made 2 contrasting `pockets`. These are the flaps into which the hard cover of the notebook slides in to. I used the same fabric as the right `pocket` for the lining.

...added a ribbon, which I received with an order from Marmalade fabrics...

...and a button to the ribbon from one of Zaki`s baby shirts I`m keeping for a future quilt...

...added one of my new labels to the back inside pocket...

...and after top stitching the cover, hey presto...

- an ugly duckling of a notebook became a swan!

Notebook cover (front)

Notebook cover (back)

I loved making this little block and with a copy of Laurie Hird`s book waiting for me at my mum`s in England, I plan to make a few more. So if you have missed the other inspiring tutorials in this series, here`s the list and the prizes you could win! 

Inspiration and Tutorials from Designers

Blog Hop

Week 1

March 4-Sunni is guest-posting on Jolly Jabber

March 5-Love Affair with my Brother

March 6-Craizee Corners

March 7-Lilypad Quilting

March 8-Love Affair with my Brother

March 9-Clover & Violet

Week 2

March 12-Mommy for Reals

March 13-A Colorful Life

March 14-It's Sew Kiki

March 15-Lilypad Quilting

March 16-Why Not Sew? Quilts

Week 3

March 19-Love Affair with my Brother

March 20-Echinops & Aster

March 21-Life's Rich Pattern

March 22-Ellison Lane Quilts

March 23-Love Affair with my Brother

Linky Party

Linky Party will be open from March 24-31 with 2 winners announced the next week. You can link up any project that is inspired by The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt and uses between 1-9  6" finished quilt blocks. The blocks do not have to come from the book. 
Please link up a blog post or Flickr photo for your entry.

Judges
 

Laurie Aaron Hird, author of The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt  

Michele Foster, Quilting Gallery

Sunni Bolger, Love Affair with my Brother

Prizes

The Intrepid Thread is sponsoring a FQ bundle of the amazing Cosmos by Dan Bennett for Rowan.

Fat Quarter Shop is sponsoring a FQ Bundle of gorgeous Poetica by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics.

Don`t forget the author of The Farmer`s Wife quilt, Laurie Aaron Hird is one of the judges so dig out your blocks, get sewing and link up your project next week.  Good luck!