Nosy Parker in the Neighbourhood

I'm linking in to Kat's Nosy Parker in the Neighbourhood over at Diary of a Flutter.Kat this month. I missed the Christmas link up because, well by the time I thought of doing it I was done with talking about Christmas and just never got around to it. Kat gives us a bunch of questions to answer each month and then those who wish to join in, link up and tell all about the subject of the month. January is all about our sewing spaces.

1) How long have you been sewing? Are you a first generation sewer or was the knowledge handed down to you? Basically tell us about your journey...

About five six years ago, after trying a few other crafts unsuccessfully, I asked himself if I could have a sewing machine. A friend got pregnant shortly thereafter and I decided to make something for the baby. My quilting career was born. I knew nothing, but that didn't stop me. I very quickly discovered the joys of shopping for fabric online and was instantly addicted. The sewing was secondary to the buying for a while. No one I knew sewed. My mum never sewed anything. Until I found my LQS and took a few classes I was winging it. I don't think the world of blogging had been born yet, and if it had I was clueless about that too.

I did bravely hand quilt it though. With varied success.

2) Where do you sew?

I sew in our dining room. There are no other options in this house. I dream of having a sewing room. In this dream the room is big, with every toy and bit of storage I could ever want. Meanwhile I have this -

Admittedly it is not perfect, but it's better than nothing. And it beats the conservatory in the last house we rented where there was no electricity, or heating, or lighting so it was either too cold, too hot, too bright or too dark. I didn't get much sewing during those two years at all!

I have a small cutting mat I keep on the table for while I am working. It proves equally useful for piling stuff on to shift it when we want to eat in the dining room. When I am required to cut larger pieces of fabric I use my other cutting mat on the floor. This gets pushed under the rowing machine when not in use. The rowing machine is useful for stacking fabric on as well. Beats having to exercise on it!

3) What does your sewing room/area look like today in it's real state. Take a picture of it if possible and show it to us real :)

Well, the above shows some of the tale. I am currently planning on cutting that purple Enchino into charms for the Somewhere Over the Rainbow Charm Swap, and there is a yard of pink somewhere waiting the same fate. On the table are the bird fabrics, and Judith's blocks and a few other items. By the machine are the fussy cut birds waiting for sashing.

And on one of the chairs is my growing stack of Heather Ross fabrics which have not been cut into yet. I just like to have them there right now reminding me of the quilt I am going to make soon and they make me smile each time I see them.

4) What is the first thing that you made which you were really proud of? Show us pics of your favourite project.

I am so used to parading Wonky Stars, or one of my Pips quilts when asked this so I am going to go off piste and show you the scrappy blue quilt I made with leftover two inch scraps. It isn't big but I think it is very, very pretty and I love the way it went together - without a plan as per normal for me. Just started piecing the scraps in an experiment and the next thing I knew I had a quilt top I loved.

5) Do you always stick to the "rules" when you sew, or are you more improvisationally minded?

Rules!? What rules?  Think that about sums it up.

I have been making it up as went along pretty well from the beginning. The use of patterns in my quilting is almost non-existent. I will look at other people's quilts for inspiration - and there is some pretty amazing inspiration out there - and I will often take parts of an idea that suit me. Even when making a traditional quilt like an Irish Chain pattern I have just worked out the maths and the cutting requirements for myself. Yes, there have been mistakes along the way, and sometimes those very mistakes have become projects that I loved. Live and learn.

A year ago this blog didn't exist, I was just starting to read other people's quilting blogs, I had never sewn a pillow or a cushion, a zipper in any of my projects, done a swap or found out just how much finding a quilting community online would brighten my life, infuse me with new found love of sewing and experimenting, and generally open my eyes to a whole new world.

I like it!

Susan

Catching Up and Resolved to Sew

This was one of those days I seemed to spend much of my time catching up. Catching up with a good friend over a cup of tea. Catching up with emails because I fell way behind again. If I missed yours - apologies - I sort of zoned out after a while. I also caught up on a few more bird blocks for One for the Birds. I now have twelve thirteen fourteen blocks in total. It's a start.

My favourite from today is most definitely this one -

I also notices, in the process of reading and replying to emails, that a number of you differed in my opinion of how hideous my Christmas fabric was. I will now stop hiding the truly fugly ones behind the more palatable ones and show you the horrid truth. There really are some crackers in there!

Now, if any of you have a hankering after the above I am more than happy to swap some for some Heather Ross or bird fabric. Trust me on this, I would give you great big pieces of these fuglies in return for small pieces of coveted fabric. Just a thought!

Last, but so not least, you probably will have noticed that there is the most amazing giveaway going on over at Very Berry Handmade. Everyone is blogging about it. And that's because it is a giveaway that beats most giveaways. Well, it's also because we all love Ali and her blog, and she's hanging out with us over at Mouthy Stitches. (Cindy and I are thrilled to be hanging out with the cool bloggers - Hadley always was cool.) The Resolved to Sew giveaway shouldn't be missed. Nor should the Very Berry Handmade blog. So off you scoot and go have a look. I'm all done here.

Susan

I Didn't Know...

... that I owned some of these fabrics! And my stash is small compared to most, I believe. I have sat here most of the morning, sorting, smiling, frowning, and wondering where some of it came from. I have sat and stared at some of it wondering what on earth I was thinking at the time. And here I thought I gave away just about all my ugly fabric a long time ago! Apparently not.

But there is still lots of fabrics I like. I have surrounded myself with storage boxes and have been sorting diligently.

Obviously I will have to 'borrow' space from the other storage unit sooner rather than later.

I have grouped together certain fabrics. Because they don't fall into a category, are brown/sludge, unbleached cottons, etc.

That one that looks red is actually a rust colour
and just doesn't seem red enough to make the cut to the red box for me.

Then there is a box just with solids in it.
There are more still to come I do believe.
And a whacking great big piece of Ash.

Still to figure out is what to do with the 'other' fabrics. There is a small pile, so far, of fabrics I am keeping together rather than sorting according to colour.

Fabric gifts, my Pips, etc.

There is a horrendously huge pile of Christmas fabrics still, despite my best efforts this past Christmas to use up some of them. Maybe there should be an ugly Christmas fabric challenge later on in the year. I'll supply the fabric!

I admit I tried to put the less horrible ones on top so you didn't realise just how bad it was.
Surprising how you can hide the ones with gold in them due to mortification!

I was also incredibly surprised to learn that I have a lot of Simplicity leftover from making Helen and Emily's quilts. I must have bought a lot! I might have to think of a project to use some of this up.

There is more to sort out, but the bulk is done now. This certainly focuses you, shows you what you have and what you desperately need more of. Especially in the colours. I need more reds, and oranges, and yellows, and purples - which are particularly hard to find - well purples that are palatable are.

If I get this task done I will be able to see the carpet again, which will be a shame because I am sure to get a visible reminder that it needs hoovering. Maybe I will leave my fabric out for another day. Just because I can.

Susan

Speak Swedish?

Needless to say, there was no fooling you lot yesterday. Of course I was off to Ikea, with much excitement and glee. First I dropped the girls in the centre of Milton Keynes with my dad and his girlfriend. They were having the girls for the night and then taking them to the pantomime today. I was getting to buy storage and my girls were gone. (Which was strange and very, very quiet. The girls both being out is a very rare thing around here.)

It took me longer to find a parking spot at Ikea than it did to do the shopping. What a nightmare! It's a good thing I knew exactly what I wanted and went in through the exit, back tracked to the correct place in the warehouse, got what I needed, paid and got out. I very quickly remembered why I don't go to Ikea on the weekends if I can help it.

But now I am the proud owner of this Trofast unit.

Just waiting to be filled. But look at the bigger picture showing location.

It fits perfectly under the stairs, still leaving room for the coats to hang, and right there beside it is another unit - full of hats & scarves, dance gear, and summer sandals - and I think that I can feel a mini coup happening in the future when some of those drawers become mine by mysterious happenstance. All I need is a little stealth.

Tomorrow, when I have them all back into routine I will do my final delve into the old toy box and get sorting.

Who knows what lurks in the bottom?!

And sundry other piles of fabric shall also be sorted. I live a dream that sewing will become easier, more organised, more sophisticated when all these fabrics are sorted, colour coded, and each in its place. I know I am living in a fools paradise, but a girl can dream.

I now have to girls to go and bring home again. I am sure I will be hearing all about the pantomime all the way home. I promise not to pass on all the details to you tomorrow.

Susan

One for the Birds

I have officially started One for the Birds, having realised that until I get the backing fabric for the Terrain HSTs that quilt cannot progress at all. I tucked it out the way and instead I took all the fabric I had featuring birds and started fussy cutting.

And then I began the enjoyable task of choosing the fabrics to sash them with. I love this part, delving through the stash, pulling out bits here and there and trying them on for size. I spend far too much time doing it, but it is just such good fun.

And my favourite one so far is...

That's another project started before the others are finished. Typical! Never mind, it's all good fun and that is the most important thing of all. We have a very busy weekend happening here so I would be surprised if work gets done on any of the projects on the go. And today I am off to do a small task that I have had on my list of things to do for a very long time. For me it is exciting. Doubtful it is to anyone else, but I am hoping that it makes my fabric delving and diving a more organised experience. And that's the only hint you are getting!

Susan