Busy hot days and 'wild quilting'

My husband loved his jeans.... and then he got some holes not even I could fix. So naturally I ripped those suckers apart and made my little guy some very nice jeans!! I got the pattern from the last Ottobre. The pattern should have been with fine linen but it worket well with jeans.

 Now my husband is hiding his other trousers and wearily eyeing up my sewing corner!

I have been quilting like crazy with almost every spare moment I have and I am getting there slowly. Looks good huh? My little monkey goes in regularily to my corner and swooshes over my fabric and picks it up for a walk through the flat. I don't mind... I just laugh and tidy up.

I so wished I had got hold of more variants of Military fabric... but it still looks good. I wasn't too sure what to do with the back... so I just made it up- 'Wild quilting'!! Got scraps, put them together....

Ripped random sized lengths of fabric....

And somehow it just worked. Now I have to make lots of it. More 'wild quilting' as I don't believe I have enough of the green.....

Also on top of that I am playing with the idea of making my own t-shirt prints. I got a silk screen... I have textile paints... it's all too easy sounding. Need to research a little more. Some cardboard templates cut outs maybe....  Help, anyone?

Hayfever...

For the first time in my life I am suffering from hayfever... It is bloody awful! I don't like living in a big city and Berlin is definately a bowl of dust. It doesn't get a nice clearing wind, when the wind blows it just stirrs up the muck. Of course it is a really green city, don't get me wrong! Very pretty and lots of plants but maybe thats the problem. Too much of everything and not enough space for the pollen to go away.

Never in my life had a problem. Damn.

So amongst the tissues and the sneezing I have been busy!

 

I have been trying to get hold of different camo types- it's actually quite hard and the more exotic are expensive.. I have American, British, German, Navy, forrest and Marine. I would love some Arctic but I can be happy with what I have.

Looking good? Taking ages but getting there slowly....

Of course it helps when I don't get distracted and make him a pair of cammo trousers....

Wow, disaster zone! Everything just creeps off the table onto the floor and slowly works its way accross the living room. I am doing a little of everything- shirts and clothes for the bug (please notice the Ottobre magazine- it is SO good) and the hacking up of the army stuff....

Great statue, shame it has lost some teeth!

This made me laugh. Makes you wonder what 'everything' is...?

Felled at the last hurdle!!

A few swear words left mx lips as I found I had not enough batting to put inbetween my quilt. I was working on the assumption I had enough scraps to baste together... sure, enough scraps but all different weights.

So I can only bow my head and say, I did not finish that damn quilt in time.

But I can show you where I got to!

 These were the numbers in their glory ironed and finnished. Talk about scrap busting. I was very pleased all I managed to use up.... and sad too. Some great scraps in there.

I also finished qith my lucky 13. Never had a problem with this number- and it looks nice in red!

 The number four was a little lost in spots and white so I had to stitch around it with a dark thread so it was easier to see.

Asparagus break....

And my numbers in finished but not quite completed state. I also realise I never got a picture of the letters together- oh, well, never mind a small picture of them placed on the floor is ok too.

Ok... so things I would change on a next quilt....

• I know its a kids quilt but next time I will use less of a wilder colour plate- it was a good scrap bust. I can see dresses, pjamas, shirts..... wow, so many projects and old clothes!!
• Check to see if I have enough batting in the cupboard!!

I promise to put a picture up when it is done. Might take a while now I have to go and buy batting. Talk about a spanner in the works.

Junking, hedghogs and burpy

Look what I found in a junk shop.... I just love it! A staking metal hedgehog- you have just got to love the design of it. By walter Bosse- anytime between the 20's and the 60's. I need to research more. I enjoy the simple fact my rumaging is teaching me something.

Not that my son finds it terribly interesting... but thats ok.

Some lovely berlin graffiti that I found on my travels over the past few days... not that I encourage it but I like the graffics and ideas.....

I found these in a flea market. Isn't it funny when you spot something you see it everywhere? Like the owls? My brother and myself started a 'who can see more game' that then started including elephants, squirrels and oddly camels. There were ALOT. My camera batteries had died or I would have taken photos. But I bought these keys... I want to make a necklace or two. If I find more small keys maybe a bracelet.

 This randomly appealed to me. Just like the colour of the brick and the patterns within.

 One of the many churches I wondered past with my brother. I just liked the angle.

Of course... last but not least... my letter rug quilt thing. I decided the colours were tooooo much so I hacked off the edges around the letters and log cabin styled around them in white. Just to be on the safe side I made sure the letters were resonably random so I can maybe use other fabric for the other letters. Looks good, need to iron and trim.. I have no idea why I make things so difficult for myself.

But then- where is the fun if it is too easy???

Quite a few projects on the go!

I love it when there are a few projects that are being dabbled in all at once! The only problem is that completing them takes quite a little longer- up side you don't get fraustrated and stuck in a rut.

This is something I really need to get a move on and stop just admiring my finds. I went home to scotland and I found some really lovely beach shells and stones. I would like to make a mobile with them. Toying with the idea of using an old lampshade to hang if off but I need an old lamp shade first!! 

I have seen quite a few of these on various crafting sites and was really nosey to see what it would look like and how hard they woud be to do.... I am in the middle of a jersey rag rug. Nicely enough there were some old sheets that would have been thrown so I grabbed them and ripped them up. I think that was the most annoying part- it takes a while ripping it up. I was maybe toying with the idea of dyeing them...

I saw this really great quilt on 'http://www.bettycrockerass.com/2011/04/modern-log-cabin-quilting-by-susan-beal.html'. I loved the way the light came through it and thought I could maybe make a really nice curtian! I am trying out the fabrics and the colour combinations. The fabrics were hard to find- and my big mistake could be that they are not cottons... I am really taking my time with this one as I'd like to make a good job at it.... might envolve getting other material.

 

And lastly my hunting gallery continues. With my proto-type Rhino head I sewed it up and will mount it on the wooden board I cut out. Just a little humour for my brother... he he he!

Baby blanket done!

It is not perfect... lots of little errors but hey, if the baby can spot them I will be impressed!

I put a really simple top stitch pattern on it so that it would keep a softer and 'ploffy' look and feel to it. This is the first time I cheated and used bought binding tape- normally I make my own but I have to be honest and say my patience was wearing thin at this point. The weather is hot and sticky... just the thought of cutting the fabric down and ironing it makes me break out in a sweat!!

 

Sewing frenzy!

Not finished the quilt but damn pleased how it is turning out.

 The bag worket really well but I messed up the handle.... the rivets on the one side were not so even. It was really tricky as it was so deep down the bag...  but I am quite pleased over all. The fabric was some left overs that my mother in law gave me.. I have a feeling from the material and the odd hooks on it that it was a cutain (eek!)

New beginnings!

I saw a great quilt idea on 'Crazy mom quilts'  and she shows a really great tutorial. I have to say it is really good at eating the scraps you can't part with (who doesn't collect a little?!) but I think my quilt idea might even need some new fabric to help push out some of the colours I am working with. But I am digging my heels in as the whole idea is to work with the hoarded scraps!

This is the idea of the colour pattern with the pieces I had- I originally thought light on inside and dark outside and then vice verca. But now I have arranged it so that there is only colour in the inside and white/s on the outside.

So working from how I did it: It was suggested using paper... I thought I would prefer to use stabalising fabric as some of the materials I am using fray nastily and I hope over all it makes the quilt  little more secure since there are thousands of little seams!!!

So I also decided to make just squares as the triangles were madly fiddly BUT I will use it when my scraps get nastily small.

SCRAP BOMB! I think my poor little sewing machine is drowing!! Have you ever noticed how you really favour one or two colours? Blue is absolutley one I love but strangely I adore green but its hard to find!! I have a few odd scraps in green but blue, oceans of blue!

So this is how the squares look- although I got creative sewing smaller pieces into strips.

Then I cut them into triangles....

 

Lots of little triangles!!!

But a long way to go!!