My Heart is Moondancing...

I have wanted to do a Quilt-Along for a while and then I came across this:

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2010/06/qal-5-week-one.html

I loved the blog and the plan of the quilt and for a few days I thought about it loads until I decided that I would definately do it! Quilt number...(eh...lost count, but who was counting in the first place???!!!)

I love the part of the process where you fall in love with a pattern and then you think and think and think (Kaffe would hate me if he heard this think think business!!!) and then there is a beautiful moment when everything clicks into place and it all makes sense...

Well, I had that moment on Thursday night when I decided that if I was to do this Quilt-along I would have to use fabric from my ever growing stash... I had a quick look and I stumbled on a kit that I bought in France last year...

I do not need an astrologer to tell me that I will never learn French or get to use the fabric for that specific pattern...and it was perfect...just perfect...soft and girly and sooo pretty..It's called Moondance and it is by Jenean Morrison for FreeSpirit.

I have been cutting and labelling my fabrics including the background, a gorgeous soft calico I bought from Carol:

again, well organised but will I read the whole pattern?!!!

In the course of last week I have also made a couple of my Lady of the Lake blocks for another quilt!!! Yes, there is no danger of me ever getting bored!

I am using my stash of Amy Butler fabrics and these are so delicious I have to concentrate not to drool over them!!! I heart them lots!!!

Amelie

Quilting in 30 °C...

My machine is almost on fire but since I had to go into the office yesterday I will quilt today no matter what the weather conditions!!!

Saturday night after a very disappointing visit to B&Q I made up my own design wall (my own design wall, WOW...am so happy!!!) ...and of course I had to try it out and up went an Authentic charm pack!!!!

This is soooo cute it is unbelievable and since there is a baby on its way for one of my closest friends baby charm quilts are a necessity (as are ALL the new projects am starting at the moment!!!)

Then late last night I put up my French General quilt that I have been working on for a while now. To my great shame I must have missed some part of the intructions and then had to re-cut every block twice...

I will read the full pattern instructions in the future

I will read the full pattern instructions in the future

I will read the full pattern instructions in the future

I will read the full pattern instructions in the future

I will read the full pattern instructions in the future

 x 100

What a pain in the neck...some of the love has gone to be honest...

Anyway, maybe by the time I finish it the love will be re-kindled!

I need time, bags of it...the list of unfinished quilts is growing as is the planning of new ones...

Amelie

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread....

Idiom Definitions for 'Fools rush in where angels fear to tread' : this idiom is used where people who are inexperienced or lack knowledge do something that more informed people would avoid.

I used to be a thrill junkie when I was younger but thrill-seeking adventures finished a long time ago for me, or so I thought UNTIL Saturday evening when I decided to try something new...

oh the thrill and joy!!! does't it look gorgeous? all made from selvages...

Obviously it has not been put together yet!!! ha ha, that will be the funny part! If i manage to get enough selvages together I would like to attempt a Lone Star out of this (am I totally cuckoo? I fear so!)

The other great thrill is this:

I rescued this Orchid from the office. It was practically dead, all dried up...Despite the fact that I am not at all green-fingered I was convinced she would pull through... and after a few months of tlc, ahhhhh my heart sings again and again...

Amelie

The Master & the Class!

Kaffe Fassett    :-)

What a gorgeous man he is and how lucky was I to construct something under his very experienced gaze?

We planned to make a Snowball quilt. Worked manically all morning on the background squares and having decided that magentas and hot reds were going to be my thing, I came up with some construction which I was terrified that he would come along and tear apart!!!!

He took one look at my quilt and it went from this:

to this: (one look!!!!! a few nanoseconds....see if you can spot some differences like the purple and white dot have vanished!!!)

and finally to the big moment of the day when Kaffe spoke individually about every quilt in particular relation to the choice of colour for the tiny squares that will finish off the Snowball quilt: (please excuse the bad camerawoman job...i was standing on a chair and was trying to get the whole thing in over people's heads!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NkNFD3gnnc

Liza Prior Lucy was also there helping the confused students like myself along and here she is holding up a wonderful applique quilt she has made with Kaffe's fabrics (WOW):

We talked about colour, we talked about Kaffe working day night with little sleep and disliking people who 'dillydally'(my word!) people who take loooooooooooads of time to think about what goes where as opposed to putting everything up on the design wall (I need one esperately!!!) and then working until it all blends well together.

Key pieces of advice as I heard it on the day:

1. Get on with it and don't dillydally

2. Cut and put pieces up without too much thought (music is a good distraction)

3. Your eyes will fall in the hole of the fabric that does not belong with the rest

4. Get yourself a reducing glass, they are AMAZING. Best gadget to date!

5. Book yourself on a day with Kaffe...he is sooooo lovely

6. If you have not been to the V&A yet, it is a MUST.

I could barely sleep on Friday night after he said that he really liked my quilt!!! am such a baby! ;-)

Amelie

The Terror of Colour Choice

On Friday (25th June) I will be spending the day with Kaffe Fassett & Lisa Prior Lucy in the "Colour in Design" workshop at the V&A. How exciting is that?!!!! :-)

However, ever since I received the course outline I have been running scared as we have to prepare for the class by picking the colour scheme we want to make the Snowball quilt in. Now, that should not be too hard I hear you thinking? ha ha!

So, I have spend loads of time looking and buying a variety of fabrics, a lot of mental energy planning what I would like my colour scheme to look like and a lot of anguish over whether I have it all wrong!!!

Well, it is all layed out here and shortly I will be taking the rotary cutter to it...god help us!

 

Yellows, oranges, browns, bottom left

darker reds, top left

brighter reds, middle

blues and purples, top right

light purple to light pinks, bottom right

Does it look utterly mad?

Amelie

Quasimodo or The pleasure of the quilting pains!

I have been patchworking ALL weekend!!! Yes I have overdone it and I ache alll over!!!

Saturday I did the Kaleidoscope Hexagon class with the wonderful Carolyn Forster. She was such a friendly, approachable, helpful, lovely teacher, it was a huge pleasure to meet her...I had such a lovely time in her class, met some new people and I am in love with my new quilt:

aren't they cute? I heart them loads

I made 7 (only another 93 to go!!!!); they still need their middle parts done but I am sure they will look lovely when they are all joined together.

I have used Amy Butler fabrics for a modern twist. Well, I have been collecting and saving these for the last year so I am glad their time has come.

After the class I worked for hours on my French General quilt. Still loads to do here.

Today I started quilting about 11am and it is now 10.10pm!!!! I think I have had 2 breaks for food and that's it!!! My body is crippled from all the cutting and sewing BUT I am happy and that is what matters, no?

I have prepared 1 quilt ready for binding, 3 ready but the binding still needs to be cut and stared intensely at 2 more that need to be basted!

I even cut my new (number 14?!!!!) quilt which is based on the Eleanor Burns book "Quick Trip Quilts". I am doing a Lap size quarter trip in Kaffe Fassett fabrics, yummy!

Organised or what?!!!!

Time for bed, busy non-quilting week ahead, BUT another beautiful long weekend to look forward to starting with Kaffe Fassett's workshop at the V&A on Friday and a visit to Sandown on Saturday, and then, well, more quilting I expect!!!!!

Amelie

The Process Pledge: sweat and tears, mainly tears

For the last two terms I have been working on Ferret's sampler quilt featured on the cover of her Ferreting Around book. Ferret is an absolutely wonderful teacher and I adore her to bits and I am sure I have tried her patience many a times with my silly questions especially when it came to the Mariner's Compass parts of the sampler....OMG....I have been practically tearing my hair out over these, but tadahhhhhh, finally 1& 2 are ready, only 2 more to go!!! and I seem to understand foundation piecing a bit more than I did in the beginning..

and out of curiocity I just twisted the two around and my my my..

ain't that pretty?!!!! well, it would be pretty if it got stitched together properly!

I have promised myself that I will not put my best quilts up without their binding completed but I could not resist this teeny little preview shot of my latest Kaffe Fassett quilted by Ferret

thank you Ferret!

I now have 4 quilts waiting for their binding and 4 waiting to be basted and quilted!!!!

Amelie

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly!

The weekend is sadly coming to an end and I have not done as much as I would have liked to.

However I have managed to meet all of the above in the last 3 hours!!!

                                                     The Good
I skinned and put back together my first ever tablerunner and it looks really cute and pucker-free! It is now completely done, pheeeewwwww...

The Bad

Being very new to blogging, I missed a comment from Sarah Fielke on seeing her amazing quilts at Pur L'Amour du Fil....Sarah, if you ever see this, please accept my apologies!!!! It made my day to have a comment from you. Thank you.

The Ugly

I finished my Whirlygiggles quilt and guess what....my squares are different sizes and no matter what I do the seams will not meet properly :-(

It is sad sad sad. I am a bit upset with the pattern that never said anything about using a special ruler or measuring the blocks in a particular way. The "quilt police" in me rejected the quilt until the lovely Carol had a brilliant idea and thin white sashing is being cut as we speak...it might not all be lost yet.

Amelie