Taking a Trip on the Scrappy Band Wagon

When I first started quilting, I signed up to make a trip around the world quilt top at my local adult ed. I bought meters of lovely pink fabrics and looked forward to the course. Just before the day, the course was cancelled. The fabrics were used for other quilts and time moved on.
I have always fancied making a trip around the world, the one that got away..... Now blog land is a dangerous place. One little blog post here then I discussed with various quilty friends and then another post here and so many lovely ones here. I just couldn't resist any longer.

I rummaged through all of my scraps, beautiful fabrics from my mum's trips to Canada and some wonderful ones from my favourite shop in Brugge Delander.


It is so simple you cut your fabric into 2.5" strips then sew them together in a row of six. It is suggested that you cut your strips 16" long I have made mine 17" just to make allowances for wonky seams.



Then you sew the first to the last making a tube, cutting this into 2.5" rings.


You then unpick the tubes at varying intervals so that your fabrics "step". I seem to struggle with this so keep having to sew my tubes back up but eventually you end up with pretty blocks. I am up to 10 blocks and I think you will have to agree they are looking pretty!

Till next time
Arianwen x

Joining Up The Dots

I have been a bit leary of connecting all of my social stuff up. Perhaps a little too much information out there. Maybe I should of used alias's when I started - it is too late now. But I really like the quick updates that I get from certain blogs on Facebook So another snow day and I have been having a real play with the other venues of expression that are out there. Ironically I have managed nothing crafty the blocks from the picture were made yesterday. HoweverI have joined the technical age, become a member of Pinterest and given my Blog a face book page. Yeah me! You can find links on the sidebar to both hope you like them:)
Arianwen xx

Ahhhhh Snow Days

Like pretty much all of the UK we have woken the last couple of days to a thick blanket of snow. Yesterday it did look like we might have school today but we were blessed with several more inches over night. Indeed the local college has closed for the second time in 40 years and of course the schools are closed so we are all home. I love snow days, the delicious silence. I guess it is the lack of cars and the stillness of everyone snuggled inside in the warm. Of course the silence doesn't continue as soon as I put food out for the birds the air fills with their grateful song.
Closely followed by children tramping outside to play.

Snowman have been built and the sled has been dragged around the neighbourhood looking for the best hills (not really a problem in yorkshire).

But the thing that I like best is the cosy crafts, when everyone has had enough of the cold and the wet.

I have finished the body of Oriel I was glad to get it off the needles as it was starting to get really heavy. Don't you just love the way the cables change direction at the waist? I have also started on the sleeves for my Crushed biscuit, now these I am a little bit worried about as I am making them up, the original doesn't have sleeves, and I am just hoping that I have made them wide enough!
But the best bits of the snow days have been that both Oriana and Inigo have been playing witht the sewing Machine. If you are wondering about all the lovely flowers on the window sill they are a combination of cyclmen and Orchids. I love orchids as they flower forever which definately makes them more eccomical than buying cut flowers. Anyway I digress, Inigo has been fiddling with freehand machine embroidery and applique for his cushion for school and Oriana has been busy with a project that she bought in Belgium over a year ago.

Can you tell what I am yet?


And here she is all finished! Her name is Snow in honor of lovely snow days.



Till next time
Arianwen

A Little Knitting Update

Hello
The first week back at the usual house routine and I have been knitting furiously away on Oriel, my Christmas cast on. I am now at the waist even though I have lengthened it by a couple of inches. I am hoping to have it finished for the end of the month as I would like to actually complete NaSweMoDo for 2013 ( I failed dismally in 2012) but I do have a couple of other surprise things that I need to cast on. I will let you know about those in the next couple of weeks.

I have also managed to finish the back of the sweater for my brother in law. I was a little worried as when I finished the piece the tension on each of the sections looked really different. In some places it was smooth and in others it looked distinctly screwed up. I dunked it in water and left it soaking - it took ages to wet completely and then just lay it flat for days on end whilst it dried. It now looks pretty good I think. The pattern really is very striking and as soon as I finish Oriel it is back on the needles!

Arianwen xx

My Pretties

Over a year ago a company called Accuquilt got in contact with me and asked me if I would like to do a piece on their clever gadget ( at the time I didn't know that it was clever) but I couldn't get onto their site so couldn't see what they did and decided to ignore their offer. Shame! Anyway a good friend of mine BlueADT decided to save her pennies up and she bought one. So this weekend when she gave me this

I couldn't resist asking if I could have a go.
Now I had never seen anything like these scrap bags before, probably just as well really as I have a inability to throw out fabric or yarn so I really am going to try and use up as many of these as possible. Moda Scrap bags are like pick and mix, fabric yum. This range is called Bliss and it really is my idea of Bliss, beautiful colours and great slightly retro prints. What do you think? The bags contain long 2-3" strips sometimes with the selvage. Lets face it, straightening strips and then cutting them into 2.5" squares can't be many people's idea of fun but the Accuquilt meant no straightening and easy enough for 11 year olds to cut the squares ( Oriana and Inigo tried it out). It also cut out the triangles!!

Seizing the moment I started rummaging through quilt books andI was initally inspired by a quilt from a Jelly roll quilt book. I started putting all of it together butit was too busy I couldn't see the stars. So I now have five star blocks and I am going to start saving my pennies so that there are some plain blocks in between. So that is the start of my pretties Quilt.
Till next time
Arianwen x

Restless

Well three days into the new year and I am restless. This is the start of my Christmas knitting it turns out that it is a very easy to remember pattern which means that I can only manage a couple of rows before I am ready to move onto something else. I can't seem to settle to anything.I have started cleaning out drawers and dusting but I don't seem to have the staying power.
Every year at this time I take a new look at my blog, I started it so that I would have a diary of my accomplishments. Other people reading it turned out to be a bonus:)I started it in blogger because that was the first blog host that I came to on a google search but I didn't do any research. But I can never get it to look the way that I want. I fiddle with colours and format it has changed about twenty times today alone.


Thought a pink might be nice but really Blogger@s violent puce wasn't really what I had in mind.


Usually I end up putting it back the way it was before. This also may happen this time. The photos are also often a problem my little box camera just can't cope with the poor indoor light. I also keep being told that comments are virtually impossible to leave I have taken off the word verification again. Though I have already had spam so this could be fun. So anyway it could all change again

Arianwen xxx

Happy New year.

Our end of year was tinged with sadness at the death of our dear little guinea pig, Sanka. He had been our friend for just under two years. We had a visit to our local pets at home to buy cat food and found Sanka in the rescue section and it was love at first sight. we came home with him and rang around friends to see if anyone had a cage. A chirring, purring, jumping climbing ( he hadn't read the books that said guinea pigs cant jump )bundle of fun. Who liked nothing more than a cuddle and a bananna. He died at in the early hours of the 29th at the vets. There were a lot of tears many of them mine. New Year's Eve was spent in good company and today travelling home was blue skies and sunshine. So here is hoping for a bright, happy new year.
Arianwen xxx

Season's Greetings.

Hello, I hope you have had a very Merry Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year. Well it all came together here , despite my apprehension. Presents were made, the house was cleaned and the tree decorated, Father Christmas came and everyone had a good time.
When I was hanging up my favourite christmas quilt I realised that after I started it way back here I have never shared it with you the completed quilt that I finished in time for the following Christmas.

It is the only time Mario's parents have come during the Christmas Season and my Mil requested one straight away. I have to say I started immediately but then it got shelved for other things. Then last year I finished it's twin finally finished it's twin and forgot to show you that either. They are not exactly the same, the fabrics are different and how I finished them are also slightly different. I really do love them both. Mario calls them my Donkey quilts because he thinks Santa's little helper is too chunky to be a Reindeer. Cheeky!
I have to admit I do have a bit of a passion for Christmas quilts, I have two other hangings on the go. The first Santa's Helpers was from a Quilt Mania patten a couple of years ago. It still needs me to design a tree for it as I didn't like the original as it consisted of white rectangles and red buttons. A little minimalist for my liking.

The other a penguin was a a copy of a quilt that I saw in a magazine a few years back and fell in love with. They are both narrow enough to go on the back of a door. I had a little sew on on Christmas Eve but they are still not finished. I may try and complete the applique over the next week but I doubt they will be finished this year.
What I did finish in time for Christmas was a cute little hat for my Mum. It is pansy by Louisa Harding and it is not supposed to be worn quite like this but the crown was a little short for the brim to be turned but mum seems happy with it the way it is.

I also finished two sets of these snowball buddies.

They were really quick to make and really good fun. definately made by the bows and bells that the designer suggests you add.

here are some close ups
Rabbit

Bird

Mouse

Rudolph


I also got my christmas day cast on of Oriel by Kim Hargreaves but that will have to wait for my next post.

Arianwen xx

Thick and Thin

Hello,
well it is nearly here the end of the year and all that entails! I have to say I am most definately not ready. At the end of last month I realised that I am not going to complete the IntSweMoDo2012 challenge that I have in one form or another completed every year for the previous three years. I am not going to finish hand made gifts for Christmas either, yet again it will be i.o.u's or I might just save myself the stress and buy gifts. The house is not clean or decorated and I have lost my voice so am huddled inside infront of the fire rather than out and about. The upside is that I have cast on two wonderful knits. A thick and a thin. The thick is for my brother in law, he is the only person I know who can make use of such a bulky sweater. The yarn was a gift from my Auntie Sandi. Prairie wool designed for harsh Canadian winters.It is like knitting with a rough fleece it sheds and splits as I knit. My fingers ache after a couple of rows but is forgiven for the awe inspiring fabric that is produces. The thin is a lovely cheap and cheerful 4 ply from a local mill, woolyknitcrafts.com my fingers skip through the endless stocking stitch, my mind desperate for the tedium to end and the lovely fairisle yoke to begin. Neither will be finished until the new year and both will be shelved for my Christmas day cast on. By which time I hope that the house will be clean and decorated and the present situation resolved.

Arianwen xx

Shake Your Tail Feathers!

Hello,

Warning this post is long and photo heavy because I have had a really industrious week and a bit!
Soaking fruit,


Grating Zest



Measuring with my lovely new cups


Making wishes


Pouring .....



and finally ......baking the christmas Cake



Last Saturday I had a wonderful day on my annual jolly to Harrogate knitting and stitching show.



I fell in love with all of the knitwear on Jennie Atkinsons stall and she was really sweet and signed my book. There was a free pattern with the book which is really sweet and I hope to get around to making in the new year. I also splashed out on a clothkits skirt kit for me ( and I do mean splashed it was a bit pricey)to go with my brand new cardigan.


I figured I might as well copy it and make another from stash.

So last Sunday I finished off my Cardigan and made up the first of my skirts.

I am so happy with this outfit

It just makes me want to shake it

So till next time happy houselife!

Arianwen

ETA the lovely birdy measuring cups are from John Lewis I saw them on Cherry heart and fell in love both with the cups and Sandra's blog.