Leaves and Sunbursts

So 'Hummeltje' is finished, and is winging its way through the postal system as I type.  My client chose meandering leaves and sunbursts for the quilting designs, and I've got to say, it was a good choice! 

I do love the way the orange applique sings against the green.

I have really enjoyed making this quilt.  I know that every element holds a special meaning, and for me, that is what keeps me sewing.

Top Completed

The fabrics arrived yesterday for the borders, but unfortunately not in in time for me to work on them.  I suggested using Oakshott fabrics, as I love the way the different coloured warp and weft threads create a sort of shimmer.  I haven't worked with them before - little did I know the treat I was in for.  It is such a beautiful fabric.

  I just love it.  It adds just the right amount of depth and texture to a solid colour.  It feels almost silky. and was a dream to sew with.

 I used the colour Alboran for the borders with Flame for the applique.

 I used a YLI thread for the quilting, which is a burnt orange and sagey green variegated colour.  It work well against the two vibrant colours.

I have started thinking about the quilting, so had a little play this afternoon with some ideas.

Now it's time to rest my aching shoulders.  I wonder if I can persuade my husband to give me a massage?

Green and Pleasant

Today I started sewing the 'Hummeltje' quilt.  This part is quite fast, so it's always a bit of a motivator.  The fresh greens are looking great together, and there is a feeling of vibrancy. 

Here is today's work.

 Sewing the patches together to form rows.

 Rows all ready to be sewn together.

Completed centre.

I would like to work on the borders tomorrow, but as the fabric isn't due to be delivered until tomorrow, I'm not sure I'll have time.

Hummeltje

I have a lovely new custom order I am working on right now.  Three sisters want to give a quilt to their niece or nephew, who is due to arrive very soon.  They have fond memories of their own childhood quilts, and would like to give this first baby in the family something similar.  I love the idea of this, and feel very honoured to be part of the process.

As two of the sisters are in Holland, and one here in the UK, this seemed like a good place to share my progress reports. 

Here is the design that we have worked so hard to bring together.

It's a very traditional pattern, and the palette of greens works very well. 

Here are some of the fabrics to be used.

 Some of these didn't pass the audition.

Today I started the cutting.  It's always exciting when you start to make little piles of fabrics.

(The orange didn't make the final cut I'm afraid)




Here is the final layout.  I needed to jiggle a few things around.  It's very hard to make something look random, as true randomness often looks unbalanced.

Please excuse my little tags.  I have to mark everything carefully so that I dont misplace anything.

Unfortunately my camera has not captured the true colours very well.  It's a very bright and vibrant colour mix.  It's not a collection of colours that I have worked with before, but I am so enjoying this.

Tomorrow I will start joining all the little squares together, and will post some more pictures in the evening.

A Little Explanation

It's been a while, hasn't it?  The summer has passed in a blur of busyness.  We have had a tricky year, and it's only now that I feel we are starting to get a handle on it. 

The spring started with my father-in-law being diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.  This didn't come as too much of a shock, as it was what we had suspected.  However, with my mother-in-law also having AD it did make things rather difficult.  It's very hard to manage a situation like this when you are one hundred miles away.  Yet, with the help of a strong Social Work team and a team of carers we coped. 

May saw a two week hospital stay for both of them, and we knew that our system was starting to break down.  In July we moved them to a care home, just a mile away from our house.  This proved to be far more traumatic that we could have imagined, but we are now starting to see some improvement.  They seem to be mostly happy, and importantly, much healthier.  It's great that we can drop in whenever we feel like it. 

Whilst this was rocking our family boat, it started to become apparent that my daughter's school was not working for her.  She was approaching the end of Year 9, and about to start her GCSE syllabus.  We had to move very quickly.  Fortunately we managed to find her a lovely new school, who had a vacancy for her, and seemed to be the right fit for her.  She started in September, and my goodness!  The change in her has been quite startling.  She is really happy and doing so well.  WE went to her first parent's evening last week, and heard so many positive things about her.  We were so proud.

I did manage to find time to sew as well.  I had a few custom orders over the summer, which I managed to fit it around everthing else.  It was touch and go at some points, but I got there in the end.

Some pictures from the last few months.

 My son, as a chimney sweep for the local festival.  His school won!

 Our Holiday to Northern Spain.  We had such a fun time, and we can't wait to go back.

 My daughter's first day at her new school.  Very smart uniform!

I'm hoping to have a bit more time now to blog again, and I have a lovely project to tell you all about.