....cute ducks and chickens

It's amazing, I can while away a couple of hours at a time just browsing online looking at fabrics, I just love it! There are so many gorgeous fabrics out there I could spend a small fortune if I am not careful! Needless to say I have a stash of lovely material I have bought online just waiting for the right project! Looking on Ebay I couldn't resist these little ducks and chickens on  this really cute fabric called 'Tabitha' in sorbet by Ashley Wilde. I couldn't wait to use it but what for? I know, an apron, no a cushion, no an apron, in the end I decided to make a rectangular cushion to sell on Folksy as I haven't put anything on there for ages.

 The back is made in two pieces and fastened with 3 white buttons

 And I still have enough fabric to make an apron! 

Shabby Chic

My home is a beautiful Edwardian cottage, with a good deal of the original features still in place, stripped pine doors, high ceilings, waxed floor and skirting boards, anything shabby chic suits it very well indeed. Which brings me to my latest patchwork quilt.

I absolutely love these premier Japanese fabrics by Lecien called 'Durham Anew' and designed by Barbara Riddle. The fabrics are soft to the touch which makes them easy to handle and have a romantic and vintage look. Perfect for that shabby chic look. I was lucky as I bought them as a fat quarter bundle which had a good selection, however when I needed to add to it I could only find selected fabrics as most of the the suppliers seemed to be American not UK based.

This was my first attempt at machine quilting and probably my last. I think the quilt was too big for my machine and it made it difficult to manipulate, in future I will go back to hand quilting, it takes longer but I think I like the end result better. I designed it to sit on top of a double bed and is made up of blocks of 4 x 4inch  together with 3inch strips and 12inch blocks. I did make a boo boo cutting them out as I did not take into account some of the seam allowances on the smaller squares...  :( oh dear...

still the finished quilt looks gorgeous I am very pleased with it and it suits the style of this old house.

Back again!

Yes I am back again and I will not not be so tardy in future. I have been busy creating and crafting and believe it or not I have also, since August, been very busy at the Gym trying to tease this poor ole body into shape and yes we seem to be getting somewhere (but where who knows!) Enough she cried of this fitness stuff and lets concentrate on more meaningful matters such as beautiful fabrics and gorgeous knitted creations! I have to tell you about Katie, my  clever crafty niece who has just set up a facebook page full of lovely crafty stuff with loads of step by step guides on how to make gorgeous bits and pieces, have a look and be inspired http://www.facebook.com/pages/Turquoise-Textiles/261810973846354