Still no sign of Icicle

Out cat Icicle is still missing. She has been gone for over a week now. I am still hoping that she may be trapped in the garage/shed of a neighbour who has gone away for the holidays. We have posted leaflets through all the neighbour's letterboxes, put up posters in the village, contacted local vets, cat's rescue and the microchip company and I don't think we can do anything else but wait and hope. Bronwen is home from her trip to her Grandmother's and is missing the cat dreadfully. It's very hard to watch your child hurting.

Thank you for all of your kind comments. We have heard lots of hopeful tales of cats who went missing and just turned up out of the blue after worrying their owners sick!

A Quilt!

I have finally finished sashing and putting together the blocks of this surprising 4-patch. And I have found the border fabric, so maybe I'll get those cut out and put on tomorrow.



I'm quite pleased with how this one has turned out, even though it is not my normal sort of thing. It is very pretty and delicate ( my quilts are normally bright!) I hope that my niece will like it.



Thank you for all of the kind comments about Icicle, she still isnt home and we are trying to keep positive.

Feeling out of sorts

I didn't realise that it's been 2 weeks since I last posted - wow!
I haven't really had anything to say, and that's my excuse. Work has been busy and life has been even busier with stuff not related to quilting which all seems to have taken up loads of my time.

I have managed a little bit of stitching, but not really enough to post photos of. I did finish the centre of the floral surprising 4-patch, but am not sure what Ive done with the border fabric I bought for it! Anyway there's not much hurry as the long arm quilter I was hoping to use to get it quilted has a broken machine just now. Story of my life at the moment - nothing seems to be going right.

On a sad note, our cat Icicle has gone missing. She's been gone for 48 hours now and DD is just breaking her heart. We thought she may just be trapped in some one's garage, but she still hasn't turned up. Fingers crossed that when people get their cars out to go back to work tomorrow after the holiday weekend, she will come home.

Something a bit different.

I've been a quilter for about 8 years now ( is it really that long? ) but I have never been into embroidery. I like the embroidered and embellished look on quilts, but I don't have any idea about how to achieve it.
Last summer in Ireland we visited the ancient monuments at Newgrange and Knowth. The whole time I was there a quilt formed in my head. This quilt will be wholecloth, using fancy fibres and stitches to form the intricate carvings found on the stones. I can picture the texture and effects so clearly in my head. Trouble is, I don't know how to start. So I booked a class with James Hunting at my local quilt shop. We didn't have a project to do, but James was very inspiring, and has taught the woman who could only do running stitch and blanket stitch how to do these ...





James supplied us with fabric sketchbooks containing a variety of fabric types to try out different threads and techniques. I have discovered that I really don't like sheer fabrics. It must be the quilter in me, but I prefer to stitch on a substantial fabric with a thicker thread, I just could not cope with those fine thin things!

I've done a lot of classes lately, very indulgent of me, but this is the last for a while. Now I have to go off and finish some of them off! Back to quilting tomorrow!

It's a top at least!

A bit of a rubbish photo, as the wind kept ruffling the quilt - but here is the Crayon Box top. I'm so glad that this is one step nearer to being complete. I'm debating how I can quilt it ( and in a reasonable length of time!). I think I'll get the local Long Arm Quilter to baste it for me and then machine quilt it. I found some lovely King Tut variegated thread the other week, which I think would do nicely. I know it's a bit lazy getting it basted, but I really hate that part of the quilting process, so by someone else doing it for me, I can get on with the things I do like!



Bronwen has already laid claim to this quilt! She likes the bright colours and the good size of it. I can picture her cuddled up in it already!

Indulgence

I've had a lovely weekend. Yesterday Cardiff Quilters hosted the annual Doughty's Roadshow. They bring all of their fabrics to sell and we provide the space and bodies to help with the setting up etc. Being in a room full of fabrics, at very good prices, was just too tempting. I wasn't too naughty, just got a few more light FQs for my scrap quilting, wadding for some of the tops I have kicking around here and a very nice bundle of fabrics ( sort of natural stone-colours with a couple of focus fabrics ). I have no idea what I'm going to do with the letter, but a friend bought the same bundle so I think we will challenge each other to use them up. Our Young Quilter's challenge. She has a good idea for this, and will need to get going now she has her fabrics all ready.

Today is Mothering Sunday here in the UK. I had a nice lie in reading my book, with breakfast in bed supplied by Bronwen. Niall tends to sleep in himself on Sundays, so I didn't see him until much later.

This afternoon I have indulged myself with sewing ( while watching Jane Eyre on my little dvd player). I have finished the Crayon box top, made 2 more blocks for the Katherine Guerrier quilt from last weekends class an continued with putting the 4-patch blocks together. I've run out of 4.5 inch squares now, so need to do a bit more cutting out before I can finish that top. I had hoped to do some sandwiching as well, but that one didn't happen.
Sadly the light was gone by the time I was finished, so I cant post photos tonight, but I will later in the week. Maybe I'll have accomplished even more by then!