Jacket progress

Half the front of the jacket done. This is laid out differently to the back and sleeves as you will need two front pieces. Each front piece must have its own Bargello pattern. It took me a while to get this right but once I had it figured it went together quite quickly.  I have all the pieces ready now.  Next step is to assemble the jacket.  I hope to have that done by Friday as I want to take it to Dublin to show it at the annual Quilters Guild of Ireland Conference next weekend. Pressure is on!

Patchwork Jacket

This is the beginning of a patchwork jacket I am making for my sister.  I promised years ago I would make her one, but it never happened. I bought beautiful fabrics from Starr Design Fabrics at the International Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, UK back in 2009.

Then I recently came across a video on You Tube about Nanette Weaver and her Fractured Bargello Jacket Pattern, which is sewn on a sweatshirt base.  I ordered pattern and I'm off and sewing.

So far I have the two sleeves done and I have just started the back.  I am very pleased with it so far.

More on this later.

Happy sewing.

The Bean Bag

This is an extra large bean bag I made this week for my sons friend. He loves it and I am very pleased with it. I found the pattern on Google.  It is by Joanna Armour and it is on the Michael Miller Fabrics website.

Here is the link: https://www.michaelmillerfabrics.com/index.php/fileuploader/download/download/?d=0&file=custom%2Fupload%2FFile-1366638614.pdf

Until next time - Happy Sewing

Teddy is finished too!

Hi again,

This is a teddy I started at a fabulous workshop at The Limerick Quilt Centre last July. I went to the workshop with my sister who was home from Australia on holidays. We had a great day.  I'm glad he's finally finished. He has been waiting a while.

I am very pleased with the finished product.  I re-learnt how to do blanket stitch and I also learnt how to do ladder stitch.  I found some great tutorials on the web.  What would we do without the web, I wonder.

This one is for my daughter Becky and I hope to make two more for my boys in time.

Well until next time - Happy Sewing.

I'm back!!!

It has been quite a while since I posted anything here - a whole year to the day in fact!! My how that year has absolutely flown by.  The joys of changing to a full time job and trying to keep a home and family has meant that my free time has been greatly reduced.  I have been sewing but only a little bit unfortunately.

The following photos are of two quilts that I recently finished.  The tops were both made at workshops run by my favourite local quilter Mary Palmer of Marimu Designs, a few years ago.

I found out a few weeks before Christmas that my sister-in-law and her first cousin were both diagnosed with breast cancer.  Both are undergoing treatment at the moment.  I decided to try to complete these quilts as quickly as time permitted.  Unfortunately I was a little ill over the Christmas holidays myself with shingles so that slowed me down a bit.  I finally finished them last week.  I am very pleased with them.

Hopefully I'll be back sooner the next time. Until then happy sewing everyone.

Easy Street update

I don't have a whole lot of progress to show on Easy Street.  I have been working on a few other things.  I laid it out on Monday night at our local sewing group and labelled each row.  I then laid it out again this evening on my bed (it's too big to lay it all out!!) so that I can take a photograph to enclose with my brothers' birthday card when I post it this week.  He is going to get an I.O.U. and hopefully then he will received it at the end of July or so.  That leaves me plenty of time to finish it - I hope.  This is my third large quilt in 12 months.  Not bad for someone who works outside the home part time and has 3 kids to run around after!!! Doesn't say much for the housework though......

Quilt for the Mater Heart and Lung Appeal

This is a quilt I have worked on recently with our quilting group the Scissor Sisters from Crosshaven in Co. Cork.  We were asked to make a quilt for a fundraiser in aid of the Mater Heart and Lung Appeal.  The fundraiser will be on Saturday 2nd March at the Irish Naval Base, Haulbowline and is being organised by a local girl Sarah Jordan who received a heart transplant in May 2012.

We decided to use the Jan Mullen Heartz pattern.  Each of us made 7 or 8 hearts using a selection of our own Batik fabrics on a pale Batik background.  I added the borders last week.  The quilt will be quilted by our local longarm quilter Mary Palmer and will be handed over at the end of February.  Overall we are quite pleased with how this turned out and are delighted to be able to help out.