Sunday Blues featuring Handmade Monday 51
Posted: January 29, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: life, moda, needlework, patchwork, quilt 24 Comments »
It’s a soft, grey, January day here in old Plymouth town and there was some talk of snow on an earlier weather forecast. I will believe it when I see it.
I have just checked the metoffice site and there is a weather warning – perhaps, perhaps not. It looks like my travel plans for tomorrow may be cancelled. I was quite looking forward to a day out – what a shame.
Friday saw the arrival of some lovely bits of fabric on which I have spent far too much money. I bought some more fabric for a bag (3 different designs). Included in this stash is a new jelly roll which, as a pennance for indulging myself, I had mad an agreement (with myself) that I couldn’t start it, couldn’t even unroll it, until I had finished the Puttin on the Ritz jelly roll.
I started out to make another small quilt but I had 15 strips left and once I had started sewing it was clear that it wasn’t enough. So this is what I made instead.
It’s a baby changing bag 14x12x6 with a matching changing mat, comme-ca:
So now, as well as finishing the Boy Blue quilt, I can embark, comparatively guilt free, on new quilt journeys. I have some lawn prints waiting to be turned into a pinwheel quilt, I have some Sherbert Pips collection which are going to be one with stars made of 4 patch blocks and half square triangles and I have the Morris & Co ones which I am keeping for me.
They will form the quilt for our new bedroom in what hopefully will be our dream new home. If you all send prayers or positive thoughts or good vibes I’m sure that can only help.
When you’ve finished with all that malarky – why not pop over to Wendy’s Handmade Monday, I know Ros‘ tutorial will be one not to miss. Happy Sunday everyone.
Goodbye Ruby Tuesday
Posted: January 27, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: etsy, handmade, life, moda fabric, needlework, Phoenix Trading, quilt 9 Comments »
I actually managed to finish her on Monday but owing to the dismal weather and me being involved in lots of voluntary things this week, it has taken me until now to post here. I am very pleased and also a litlle bit bemused as to why these quilts have adopted genders!
As said before Ruby is made from 1 charm pack of Moda Ruby with 5 inch border of an aqua and cherry fabric from the Ruby range. this has also been used for the backing fabric.
It is bound in an ice blue plain cotton from the Bella solids range. I don’t have a particular thing for Moda although I do love their fabrics but I’m trying to make my quilts work together and at the moment I lack the experience to be able to tell if different manufacturers’ fabrics will work as well together. I’m playing it safe, if you will.
It is stipple quilted in the colourful central panel in
my own unique messy style using a variegated pale grey Gutermann Sulky thread and in places it has been unpicked due to tension problems when I was nearing the end of my reel. It looked more like crochet than sewing. The batting is Warm and Natural. I’ve used it for the others too but again this is down, really to a lack of experience in anything else. Another happy accident. It seems to be well regarded but I just found it originally at a good price for what I wanted (a cotton batting). I thinking of using Heirloom wool batting for commissions – I suppose that depends on the price the client is willing to pay. I have one in mind for myself which will use wool batting and William Morris fabrics. For our new house 
.
I am satisfied with the overall standard of finish. I just have to work out now how much to sell them for. I have a craft fair next Friday at the Roland Levinsky Building in the University of Plymouth and would like to get them on my etsy shop over the weekend with some other bits. So if you have any experience in this (pricing quilts for sale) please contact me. Ruby measures 36″ square. It has been washed and has that slightly wrinkled quality that I love.
I’m currently working on a new project for next week’s craft fair and will hope to post the results on Sunday for next week’s Handmade Monday – next week is busy again with a day at Bristol with the Phoenix team, a day interviewing for this voluntary thing I’m doing and the Craft Fair on Friday – I think Thursday may be a bit fraught.
Oops-a-daisy Baby – Handmade Monday 50
Posted: January 22, 2012 Filed under: life | Tags: baby, grandchild, handmade, handmade monday, heirloom, moda fabric, needlework, quilt, sewing 26 Comments »
I’m very excited. Oopsy daisy is finished – yay me! It’s made from a charm pack of Moda Oops-a-daisy designed by Keiki, about a yard and a half of matching yardage – I chose the ladybird on cream ground design – if someone knows the name – I would be delighted to add it. It was going to be bound in plain red bias binding but due to my own inability to read a product listing correctly, when I went to collect the binding from Hulu Crafts in Modbury, I discovered it was not the right depth to bind my finished quilt. A rummage (well it was actually a bit more dignified than that but you get the idea) through their collection of fabrics drew me to the red spotty Marshmallow and Cherry Eggs by Momo for Moda and I bought a metre. I have used about half so will be able to incorporate it with some of my other scraps to make another quilt top.
I was a bit worried about it clashing with the cream ladybug pattern but although the reds are not an exact match the range of other colours in the quilt make it an acceptable “happy accident”.
The finished quilt is approximately 32 x 38 so would make a lovely cot quilt and could be used as a play mat. It has been machine echo quilted but the centre has a hand quilted heart motif where a baby’s initial could be added if required. It has been washed on a gentle cycle and line dried – although given the weather today, I’m not quite sure how!
It has a quilt label in toning colours with my name and the year.
In other news, the thread from Cotton Patch took over a week to arrive – I didn’t pay for the express delivery so perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised but it does irk me when companies take over a week to actually despatch something. I know it wasn’t their most lucrative order ever but I have spent quite a bit with them in the last few months. Whine over.
I’m a little early posting for Handmade Monday (well early for me anyway – and apparently a bit too early for Wendy, too) but I’ve got a busy week and the opportunity for crafting may be limited to Monday only this week – so I’m trying to save it. to try and finish Ruby – if I get her done I’ll try and post pictures too. I’ll add in the link later because all those talented people are well worth a visit.
Repost: The Origin of the She Weevil
Posted: January 17, 2012 Filed under: artist, life | Tags: blogging, family, Fay Weldon, life, names 6 Comments »Reposted from my old blog which is all down the side there somewhere but not all in very easily accessible format. Reposted for thescroobiouspip, who asked, and if I may say has some explaining to do in the name department!!! Anyway, this old blog has been going on and off for quite a long time now so if you have a spare decade feel free to peruse.
Originally posted February (perhaps 19th) 2005 shortly before John had his first stroke. I am a marginally less bossy blogger than I was then, it appears.
The origins of the She Weevil
SheWeevil, she-weevil, or sheweevil: all variations of She Weevil which in itself, in case you haven’t realised, is a direct reference to the She-devil. If you are unfamiliar with the fantastical works of Ms. Fay Weldon then blogger off to the library and get familiarised. Alternatively go to work on an egg.
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil was adapted for television by the BBC in 1986 and I missed it for reasons that will become apparent further on in (read! You blog exploders, read!). During this discourse I am completely discounting the American cinema adaptation with Meryl Streep and Roseanne Barr.
During the summer of 1986 at the age of 17-and-a-lot I had the ___ fortune (fill in the blank yourself) to join the Women’s Royal Naval Service. Don’t get me wrong, it was something I really wanted to do at the time but for various reasons they weren’t right for me and I certainly wasn’t right for them. I joined up on 9 June 1986 and spent the first five weeks of naval life banned from watching the television like all the other girls I joined up with. From HMS Raleigh I went up to HMS Dryad to do my Radar training. I bloggered about quite a bit and had to re-sit my final exam. Once I’d passed I was sent to work in the Cunningham Tactical Trainer. All of this time, through the summer and on into the autumn I watched virtually no TV.
After awhile I realised that I was being called She-devil by one of the hookies over in Cook Building. I didn’t know what or who he was referring me to but it didn’t sound good. When I found out I was even less impressed. I suppose with the benefit of hindsight I see where he was coming from but to me at 17 Julie T Wallace did not conform to the stereotype. At 6’2” with short red hair and flashing green eyes, neither did I but maybe I wanted to more than I knew.
Anyway. Now I’m thirty-six. When I started writing sheweevil I was thirty-five, I’ve had three children and am more Julie T Wallace than she is herself. I sometimes scare myself and often scare men. They don’t like the fact I look down on them – physically at least. I sometimes feel like a giantess and people’s children point and I get mistaken for men. Which is odd really as I certainly am more than ample in the boob department. They generally can’t believe a woman can be the size I am.
Okay now I sound like the incredible hulk. I’m not green, just a bit browned off. In my head, where I am self-deprecating in a dry and mostly humorous way, I’m a bit she-devilish but not quite, I am more me than that; more she-weevilish.
Are you getting it yet?
Phoenix January Launch
Posted: January 17, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cards, family, january, life, party, Phoenix Trading, plymouth, valentine Leave a comment »
As well as making lots of lovely things I am happy to be an independent trader for Phoenix Trading and I sell their beautiful cards, gift wrap, stationery and gifts , sometimes with my own stuff and sometimes on there own.
There are five new product launches a year with the biggest being in January and before Christmas. If you missed the beautiful Christmas stock why not have a gander at the lovely new and wonderful existing ranges over on my trading site - delivery is free and you can pay by paypal, cheque or cash in person.
Are you in or near Plymouth? Why not book me for a party or fundraising event? Leave me a message here or on my trading site.
Email me your name and address with the subject line Phoenix to fimacmorris@aol.com to be entered into my January Launch Draw for a chance to win a £10 Phoenix Voucher and a small handmade gift.
There are some lovely cards and accessories suitable for your Valentine or anyone else in need of some love and our blank Chocolate Bar card just needs the addition of the words ”love you more than chocolate” to be the highest compliment anyone can pay. In our house we normally say dust because we have so much of it.
Progress
Posted: January 16, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: family, handmade, life, monday, needlework, quilt, red, sewing, Winter 26 Comments »
I normally like to show you something finished for Handmade Monday but due to a TMD (a Thread Miscalculation Disaster) on Friday I couldn’t finish quilting the top of Ruby although, as you can see, significant progress has been made. The thread is now on its way from Cottonpatch.
I haven’t quilted this by hand, I’ve used my new toy: a free motion embroidery foot for my Singer 1507NT. I haven’t followed the usual rules about not going over the lines and perhaps it looks a little messy to some but I’m pleased with the overall appearance and the back looks as good as the front.
What I did finish was the quilt label – I wish my photography was up to snuff but you can just about make out my name. The date I suppose is somewhat premature but it has to be finished by 2 February (as does Oops a Daisy) as I have a Craft Fayre on 3 February.
I have finished a couple of other things in the last week as well – and they will be adorning my stall too; they are all available for sale in my etsy shop as will my Phoenix Trading cards. Let’s pray for some good luck and some good sales – the washing machine died over the weekend and this morning we found a puncture on the car!!!
It is the coldest day of the Winter so far – I woke up cold and thought the heating had failed to come on – it was on just not making much impact on the frosty morning – wherever you are keep warm and enjoy the sunshine and if you want something to warm the heart go and visit the talented crafters over at Handmade Monday 49.
Coming around again
Posted: January 10, 2012 Filed under: artist, illness, life, minigallery, new year | Tags: art, creativity, new year, recovery, stroke 5 Comments »I now have Carly Simon’s dulcet tones ringing in my head but reflection on what’s gone and what’s yet to come seems to befit this time of year. This time last year I was in a very bleak place emotionally and my confidence was at a low ebb worn away by months of high anxiety. 2011 for all its slings and arrows has been quite healing in many ways. We have had help from a lovely psychologist specialising in brain injury who has helped us to have a better understanding of what’s going on. It doesn’t always help to know why something is happening but it never hurts.
A combination of this and my own craftiness (you can take this as cunning or my incessant need to make things) seems to have had the desired effect an inspirational effect on John and his initial small decorative efforts have stretched his artistic muscles to the point where, as I write, he is in the shed painting again. Not only that but he has renewed his Minigallery subscription and has done most of the adminny bits he needed to do to get it to go live. These are huge, seven-league-boot steps forward and I don’t think any of them could have been achieved if I was still going out to work.
I am sharing my own personal favourite which I am linking to – not everyone is comfortable with the human form, so if you aren’t don’t click please. This was painted back in 2005 from a drawing done of me back in 2004 or 2003 and it sold very quickly, too quickly to a lady in London. I wanted to look at it for a bit longer; who doesn’t want to see themselves so beautifully depicted?
Handmade Monday 48
Posted: January 9, 2012 Filed under: life | Tags: crochet, handmade, needlecraft, needlework, quilt 21 Comments »
Though, in truth, only about my fourth I think. This was the Christmas present that made the supreme sacrifice and didn’t get finished until yesterday. A substitute present had to do but then a bottle of Chanel No 5 is always an acceptable substitute, n’est-ce pas?
It is crocheted in Mano Del Uruguay lace weight wool in baby alpaca, silk and cashmere in a shade called Iris (perhaps it lost something in the translation) which is much more cracked black pepper than rainbow. I used a pattern from Cute and Easy Crochet by Nicki Trench and adapted it, figuring that the recipient (John’s Mum) would prefer a scarf sized scarf rather than something 64 inches wide – I’m still sure that’s a misprint.
Anyway it was put away in the last minute quilt and jumper frenzy – oh there may have been some cooking in there too – who makes two Christmas cakes, I ask you? When I took it out again I found that I had made a mistake and that one end wasn’t true so I had to rip it out and start again to about 1 1/2 inches from the beginning. It does feel gorgeous – I blocked it yesterday and think I prefer the before version but that’s me just a messy so and so.
I hope she likes it anyway – and perhaps you will too.
Welcome to every one visiting from Wendy’s Handmade Monday over here; and to all my new quilty friends please pay Wendy’s blog a visit; lots of other clever handicrafters over there.
St Distaff day blues
Posted: January 7, 2012 Filed under: family, life, love | Tags: baby, charm pack, craft, etsy, hand quilting, handmade, heart, heirloom, moda fabric, needlecraft, needlework, quilt, sewing 7 Comments »
I thought I would share with you my latest little creation which was originally going to be called the Putting on the Itsy Bits Ritz quilt due to the combination of Moda and Makower fabrics used, but will, from now on be known as the Little Boy Blue quilt.
It is made from about 2/3rds of a Moda Putting on the Ritz jelly roll and about 1 1/2 yards of Makower Itsy Bits yardage. This is not because I am the devil may care, throw caution to the wind, kind of woman, it’s because the lady in the nice fabric shop had matching fabric but couldn’t sell me any due to her block of the month club. Frankly it would have been better to tell me she hadn’t got the matching yardage. Anyway the Makower is a very near match and is for the back only, which will be stippled, so is not really a problem.
Being on a budget, I am always looking for ways to make my fabric purchase better value for money and have been busy looking at prices of the different precuts. In the UK layer cakes and jelly rolls seem to be between £25 and £30 ($39-$46) and charm packs £8.50 – £11.00 ($13-$17), in fact it seems to me that the retailers sometimes just swap the dollar sign for a pound sign. Imagine my delight to have found a secret (well I suppose not if I’m sharing it with you) stash of delightful charm packs.
At this point a drum roll feature would be excellent WordPress, let me introduce, Melody from Fort Worth, Texas and her Etsy shop Melody of the Heart. I currently have, winging their way to me, 9 charm packs in three designs for a total of £62 ($93) including shipping – which works out at just less then £7 a pack – I haven’t found better value anywhere else at the moment but if you can do better …. Please pay her a visit; amazing value and a lovely friendly service too.
In other news, I am just waiting now for some batting so that I can complete Ruby and her friend. I am currently hand quilting Little Boy Blue (see below) but am waiting for a free motion quilting foot and my try machine quilting Ruby to see which I prefer.
Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby
Posted: January 2, 2012 Filed under: family, happy, life, love | Tags: craft, etsy, moda fabric, needlecraft, quilt, quilting, ruby 4 Comments »
The light is still not quite right to photograph this to reflect the lovely colours but I will include the swatch in a moment. I have used a single charm pack from Moda designed by Bonnie and Camille called Ruby. This was my first attempt at cutting into the patches (four patch blocks). I have pieced them randomly without much attention to the overall design and I like it. Next time though, I will be planning more carefully and piecing with purpose!! All over pinwheels would be particularly suitable for a boy I think. The panel here looks quite Cath Kidston in colour whereas the palette is actually fresher and more modern looking, see swatch below right.
Anyway, the panel is approximately 26.5 x 26.5 inches. I’m trying to work out how I got there but next time I’ll write it down as I go. The charm pack yielded 10 4 patch blockswhich were cut on the diagonal to give 40 triangles which were sewn back together to give 10 squares – I used 9 blocks to create a square quilt top.
I’m waiting for my backing and binding fabric to arrive but I will be using the one pictured to the left (the aqua coloured with apples/cherries) to create a deep 8 1/2 inch border, it will also be used as the backing fabric. The quilt will be bound in the same aqua colour but a solid version.
I will be using Warm and Natural cotton batting again (if it ain’t broke …) as I have been pleased by the finish of Hannah’s quilt and it was quite easy to hand quilt.
I will be hand quilting this one too – the middle panel will have a stipple pattern like the one to the right 
and the border will be echo quilted on either side of the border fabric and then have the lovely ducks (left) to further decorate it. It will be approximately 35.5 inches square when completed and will be for sale in my etsy shop.
