Tah-Dah

Completed at last!! I decided I would make a lap quilt for my sister, so that she could cuddle into it, after chemo. I did the simplest pattern I could find - a central square, with borders all round and then joined together. Her favourite colour used to be blue. I just hope she hasn't changed her mind! There was no way I could ask her, without letting the cat out the bag.

I used to make a lot of wall hangings and small samples, for when I was demonstrating a technique, so I used to stipple these examples using what is now called micro stippling. I always hand quilted larger objects. Because I wanted to get this to my sister as quickly as possible (the chemo started last week), I decided to machine stipple it. I always use a large herringbone stitch to baste the sandwich together (you can see a great picture of how it looks on Lynn's blog, 'Nebraska Views' here), but when I have fully basted one way completely, I turn the quilt and baste at right angles. It doubles the work, but ensures the quilt layers will not move during machining. I forgot to take a picture of the quilt, when I had finished basting it. I found the stippling really hard on my neck, when I started. I was tensing up, trying to manoever the quilt, but I bought a pair of machine embroidery gloves, when I was at the Sewing and Hobbycraft Exhibition, and they made life so much easier! They have rubber 'bumps' on the palms of the gloves, and they grip the surface of the quilt, as you lay your hands on top. I was able to quilt for longer periods of time, and my neck did not get so sore. I stippled using a dark blue thread. This is a picture of one of the blocks below. It is not, by any means, perfect, but it got me started again.

Thankful Thoughts

I have a couple of friends, who send me funny emails every day. I must admit I enjoy a good laugh, and I have a quirky sense of humour (a typical Glaswegian!). Occasionally I get an email from one of them that makes me sit up and think. Appropriately enough the email I got today is called 'Think'. I hope you enjoy, if that is the correct word, and I hope it makes you think. (see below)

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, ' If I could only see the world, I will marry you. ' One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend. He asked her, ' Now that you can see the world, will you marry me? ' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn ' t expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: ' Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine. ' This is how the human brain often works - when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations. Life Is a Gift Today before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who ' s crying out to GOD for a companion. Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who went too earl y to heaven.. Before whining about the distance you drive - Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet. And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job. And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and think: you ' re alive and still around. Till next time. tich

UFO and Another Giveaway

My Bernina sewing machine embroidery module is working its socks off at the moment. No pictures yet, but I will take some soon, to show you what I am making. I pulled out a couple of UFOs to finish off, recently. I have a lot of these Shoofly blocks lying about. I used to teach Patchwork for Beginners, when I lived on Mainland Scotland. This was one of the first blocks I used, to show how to sew shapes together. I sewed on a border and stipple quilted the block. I am more used to very close stipple/vermicelli quilting, but I made it much further apart this time, to see what it looked like. I like it. I am going to make it into a cushion, but will have to wait till Monday or Tuesday to finish it, as I want to put some cording round the edge. I might be lucky and get some in Kirkwall, when I go over on Monday.

One of my favourite blogs is Nebraska Views. Lynn is such a talented lady, and she passes on what she knows in a great blog. Recently she blogged about the sites Quilter Blogs and Quilting Bloggers. I went across to these sites and spent ages looking at loads of wonderful blogs. I joined both sites, and the hits on my site have increased significantly. They are great sites and I thoroughly recommend them. Thanks, Lynn.

Have a look at Bejeweledquilts. This is the last week for the Inch Worm fabric giveaway. It is fabulous! Fabric to make the jars for the quilt below, and there is still time to win the quilt as well. It would look so nice in my hall! I want it! (See below)

Must go and have a cup of tea.

tich