100 BLOG!

Wow -- I just noticed that I have 100 followers on the blog. 

THANKYOU!

Let's celebrate! 

Use discount code 100BLOG to receive 10% off your order from QuiltmeHappy

(Valid through June 17th)

Let's hear it for the Red White and Blue!

If I didn't sew I think I would like to be a photographer,
or a stylist or both maybe?  

This was a fun vignette of the red, white and blue "Jub-a-olympic" fabrics 

and trims I have in the shop. 

Taken with my iPhone and no additional lighting.

I love my iPhone

I also love iCloud and mobile syncing too!

 ICLOUD is magic  - really  - its sorcery I tell you!

 I take a photo on my phone and then magically it arrives on my desktop computer too. 

No messy uploading or anything!    

Don't you love technology?

I added this to APP to my phone to yesterday too. 

Mobile PAYPAL

I know some people don't like paypal but I love it. 

Its quick , its convenient and simple! 

With this cute app it will be a even quicker and easier to send and request money.

Feeling Blue

Makower BLUE : Currently 20% off here

I've had a summer cold like no other this week

 and 

it looks like I may have lost this quilt forever!

I'm sad I liked this quilt :(

I drove 5 hours to and from

Essex


on Monday to collect it

from

this now extinct magazine.

I was asked to collect.
 I went.
It wasn't there.

 It's in Bristol they said! 

 A man is looking for my quilt in Bristol but its not hopeful.

I'm very sad! 

But on the upside THIS quilt may be found!

It was made by 9 different people 

as a 

charity raffle quilt.

It could be that this quilt was
NEVER 
raffled off!

It may come my way !

If it does ...

 I
WILL
raffle it off!

Want to buy a ticket? 

What charity should the proceeds go to?

The Winner is Jo Jo!

Last month I ran a little competition for Sibling Quiltmakers to have their quilt top long arm quilted. The competition closed today and after a random drawing the winner is :

 Jo Jo!

Thank you to everyone who entered and to those that brought backings and other fabric from my Quiltmehappy shop too.

If you want to see some of the Siblings Quilts pop over to the 

flickr group here. 

The Quilts  are gorgeous! 

The fabric selections and designs are all lovely and I haven't seen an ugly one amongst them. Infact I have been quite inspired by quite a few!  

If you would like to help but don't fancy making a quilt, you can also contribute a donation now too.

 Jump to LilysQuilts posting here to find out how. 

Many thanks again and Jo Jo ... you need to contact me! 

Going Vintage

I've got a bit of a fascination with 'Vintage stuff' at the moment. Maybe its an age thing? Who know's but I've found a couple of vintage style tea-dresses that not only fit but suit! 

Today's ensemble is a Turquoise and Orange Monsoon outfit. 

I love this dress and even my hubby passed comment so it must suit because he NEVER comments on the leggings and tops I normally wear (lol !) 

I been wearing this vintage brooch with it that I found at boxesintheloft 

 I love it!

The dress isn't vintage but it is vintage-inspired and I like that the designer looked to the past to make something new and fresh.  It's a bit like this ticking stripe fabric from Makower. 

Its new but based on a very old design.

Traditional ticking is thick and sturdy stuff used for mattress covers and pillow cases. In fact the word Ticking comes from the Latin THECA meaning cover or case. 

Ticking's very closely woven using a 2 and 2 twill or herringbone weave. 

I'm not a weaver but I think a 2 and 2 weave is where the weft thread (the thread that goes selvedge to selvedge) is passed alternately over and under two warp threads (the threads that go down the length of the fabric) with the bonus of a reversible weave pattern.

My mum had ticking pillowcases and my nan had a mattress covered in it. It was one of those utility fabrics that you weren't supposed to see.  Well you don't see it very often on new pillows today but it is still available and quite fashionable in home decor. Red ticking is popular for french-inspired rooms and blue ticking provides a seaside feel. 

(I noticed Clothkits currently have the heavy weight version if you are looking for it btw!)

Working with traditional ticking in patchwork is not the easiest  but not impossible.  I used it last year in a commission quilt and it looked fabulous with a bunch of Cabbages and Roses linens.  (even if you did need a few muscles to lift the thing when it was finished.. lol) But working with a medium weight quilting cotton that looks like the real thing is much easier. 

So it's great when a designer takes a vintage design and updates it for modern living. 

Not sure I fancy a ticking tea dress but I do have my eye on this one from Laura Ashley!

HUSSIFS!

It seems hard to believe that the humble sewing needle has been around in various forms since early cave man days. 

At one point in our history needles were so highly prized they were
included in wedding dowry's and locked away for fear they would be stolen. 

Pins were equally as valued and from around 1700 pin cushions
were a commonplace way to store them. 

Today a quick sprint around the internet will reveal a thousand and one patterns and designs for functional and novelty pincushions. 

 I expect we can all lay our hands on at least one pincushion in our modern sewing kits too. I think I could probably find  5 or 6 in mine.  I  have the same number of needle cases as well as tape measures and scissors, stitch unpickers, marking pencils and rulers.

 Name a notion and I might well have it already. I'm a bit of a notions tart at the best of times but what I don't have is a 

HUSSIF

Another new word for me (see new word "distlefinks" a couple of weeks ago). I had to go away and look up what it was. (Check out this good post )

A Hussif  is quite an old term, probably originating in Lancaster and going back to the 17th century and is a contraction of the word "Housewife". or pocket sewing kit!  

Popular in Regency England, most households would have a Hussif. Made from a roll of sturdy cloth, or decorative silk depending on your status, the Hussif would contain needles, pins, a thimble, a card of thread, small scissors or pocket knife as well as a few replacement buttons. 

I don't have a Hussif.  I have a plastic box!  - Well several plastic boxes actually! 

My plastic boxes aren't nearly as pretty as a roll of fabric and certainly not as organised as this pattern I found on Folksy from the Little Corner Shop.  Designed by Julie this PDF pattern has pockets and places for scissors, rotary cutters, pens patterns and more.

How cute would this kit be made from this Half Moon Modern Scissor fabric ?

or this Alexander Henry Home Sewing is easy Fabric?

 It even includes a little pincushion which you could fill with 

crushed walnut shells available from my Quiltmehappy shop!  

So lets hear a massif hurrah for the Hussif!

Bobbin filling!

One of my pet hates when piecing a quilt is running out of bobbin thread. Stopping to refill the bobbin, when you're on a sewing roll, is just really annoying.

Over the years I have somehow managed to loose my spare bobbins. They seem to be a bit like bic biros, or odd socks ... where do they go?

I did buy a bag of beautiful colourful bobbins from the Pfaff dealer last summer at the FOQ. They cost quite a bit too .. almost £20 I think but they were pretty (I'm so easily caught !) so you can imagine I was more than a bit miffed when I realised they didn't fit my machine. And here I was thinking a bobbin was a bobbin was a bobbin... Not so, it appears each domestic machine manufacturer has ones to fit their machine. Now that's something I didn't know before.

Anyway after struggling with just a couple of spares I but the bullet and brought a pack of the correct sized bobbins and now I'm all set. I spooled off 9 bobbins of Aurifil 50wt in colour 2800 and now I'm all ready for an afternoon of piecing. And if you're wondering why I choose 2800 which looks light green on the spool it's because it blends so well with so many fabrics.





I also found the perfect place to store those spare refills too!

Now I'm a happy bunny today.

Happy Easter Monday!



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