Friday 24 March 2017

Spring at last and a Woodland Quilt


At last and at least for today it has been springtime in the garden. I have spent coffee time, lunchtime and afternoon time, well really quite a lot of time actually, sitting in the summer house, in the sun, reading a book. This counts as a holiday day for me! Throughout the day I have walked back to the sewing room and cut out a few squares, sewn a bit and then trotted off down the garden to my sunny chair again. 
It all started when I realised that the view from my window had changed to this:

view from the sewing room window
Yes it's a terrible photo, the windows need cleaning and a car came past at the wrong moment, but the sky is so blue and the Camellia tree has come into glorious flower. It is so beautiful, so exotic looking and so, so pink and frilly!
Camellia flower
Who could stay in doors on such a day? Who could not take her coffee down the garden path and find a comfy chair in the sun? 

Summer house built by a very clever husband!

I'm reading How to Measure a Cow by Margaret Forster, her very last book, recently published after her death and it is so gripping. It is the book club choice this month and I really recommend it.

But of course there is sewing going on too and I am making a cot quilt for Kerry with a woodland theme. This is a new design for me, prompted by some owl fabric I have had for a while. Farmyard animals didn't seem right, so here are my new animal designs to go with owls.... a nightime scene.....

woodland animals by Green Star Quilts
I haven't finished the detail stitching yet, so  there will be antlers to add and eyes and ears to come.
woodland animals by Green Star Quilts
Back in the sunny seat, book in hand, I was joined by someone I hadn't seen before. A beautiful Comma Butterfly kept me company on and off all day.

Comma Butterfly
On the  apple blossom too...

Comma Butterfly on apple blossom
What a lovely day it has been, lots of sun, a good book and small amounts of sewing, just perfect, we all need a day like this at times.

I hope you have time for a rest day too this week,

Thanks for visiting,
Kind regards,
Sue

Friday 10 February 2017

A memory quilt for Catherine

This week I am making a memory quilt for Catherine. Her little boys' outgrown t shirts were in the attic for a few years and now I am turning them into a quilt for them to use everyday. It is so, so satisfying to turn a big bag of clothes into a beautiful quilt which will be really useful, to empty their attic a bit and give them something to remind them all of happy baby days too.

Memory quilt by Green Star Quilts
Almost all the t shirts are strippy, just a few plain ones. I have cut squares of 4.5 inches and when I started to put them up on the design wall, I realised they looked like African Kente cloth. I turned alternate squares so the stripes alternated and then added a thin strip of grey fabric between each square to continue the modern Kente theme. The grey fabric helps to stabilise the stretchy t shirt fabric too.
Memory quilt by Green Star Quilts
The white strip between the bands of colour looked just right, I love the modern style of this quilt...

Memory quilt by Green Star Quilts
It was all a bit slow to stitch together, but here is the finished top:

Memory quilt by Green Star Quilts
I kept some of the little pockets to add interest and you never know when the tooth fariy might need somewhere to put the tooth or the money..... The quilt is layered up now, pinned and ready to quilt....
Memory quilt by Green Star Quilts
Here in my oh so tidy sewing room (Ha Ha!! ), the quilt is under the sewing machine being quilted in straight lines before the binding is added. It is not quite finished yet but I am really pleased with the way it looks. I have appliqued a sweet little car from one of the
 t shirts at the bottom of the quilt.

Memory quilt by Green Star Quilts
I'll hope to show the finished quilt during next week. My goodness, we could really do with lots of quilts here in Lincoln. The weather is so cold, I hate to moan as I can see that lots of you in the US have loads of snow and we just have horrid stingy sleet to battle through. Daughter's little dog Nemi is having an operation on her leg today. We are all worried and hope it goes ok, so it is good to have lots of sewing to do, as a distraction, sewing is brilliant! Still, we have brave snowdrops out in the garden along with aconites and despite the cold, the mornings are lighter and things are beginning to stir after the dark months.

Happy quilting this week
kind regards,
Sue
Ps. I am linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts and I can't wait to see her new book soon.

Thursday 26 January 2017

Owls in the Tree quilt


It's far too late to say Happy New Year and so far it's a year that I have seen much of from my bed, after being struck down with a cold and horrid cough which seems to be going on and on..... Husband is very kind, but I'm sure he is also very tired of my coughing and sputtering. Today he has gone to London so I can cough away with disturbing anyone and I have also spread a big quilt, in bits, out on his office floor, so I hope it is stitched together by the time he gets back. To be fair, he never minds tip toeing round the edges, if I don't get quilts quite off the floor in time, it's one of the many things I love about him!
I have also been using my owl fabric to make a little quilt. It has taken a while to use this fabric from the Ten Little Things Collection for Moda Fabrics. that's because I couldn't bear to part with it! The quilt has a woodland theme and I picked the colours out to be bright to match the main owl fabric. 

Owls in the Tree quilt by green Star Quilts
Owls in the Tree quilt by green Star Quilts
Around the edges of the main panels are  bright squares with deer, fireflies, stars, birds and foxes.Egg yolk yellow pieced stars break up the squares and some are quartered to give interest to the quilt:
Owls in the Tree quilt by green Star Quilts
Toadstools, ferns, stars and leaves.....
Owls in the Tree quilt by green Star Quilts
 I wish I had more of these fabrics, but I have used every scrap and it is no longer available, oh I do wish they would reprint it! Here is the backing, a white with pale blue polka dots, another favourite fabric. The binding is a pale grey and white stripe:

Owls in the Tree quilt by green Star Quilts
Here is the finished quilt which measures 102 x 102cm , 40 x 40 inches. It would make a lovely baby quilt, or a wall hanging or sofa throw for an owl enthusiast....

Owls in the Tree quilt by Green Star Quilts

This quilt is for sale on my website here at the bottom of the page.

So this is 2017 and without being political, I think we will need a huge amount of kindness this year along with tolerance and prayers for a better way. Please let's encourage and support each other whereever we are,

Kind regards,
Sue 

Friday 23 December 2016

Happy Christmas from Green Star Quilts

It is Friday and the Christmas shopping is done. Well I am done with Christmas shopping really. This is the time I love the most, when there is no time left so anything else needed must be home made as I can't bear the shops anymore. We have a very low key present policy here, so there are lots of home made biscuits wrapped up and practical gifts for DIY enthusiasts. But this year I want to share with you Judy's lovely idea for candles...

Christmas candles 2016
She has done this with a much deeper bowl but it still looks lovely in a shallow one. So take a vintage cut glass or moulded glass bowl, just the sort you sent to the jumble sale but can buy back again in a charity shop! Wash and dry it until it sparkles. Fill half full with aquarium gravel from a general shop like Wilkos, (yes I know it looks like biscuitcrumbs for Santa's reindeer in the photo) and then sit as many tealights in the gravel as you like. I used red and white ones which were scented too. When the candles are lit the glass glimmers and sparkles beautifully especially in the dark. So it is just a bowl of light and hope for 2017 because I think we really need that more than presents this Christmas.

Christmas candles 2016
If you have little ones around at Christmas you can use battery electric tealights for safety.

So just to wish you all a very Happy Christmas. thank you for reading my blog, listening to my ramblings and sending messages of encouragement for quilt making. As the local
co-ordinator for Project Linus UK I have given away 425 quilts to children in need of an extra cuddle this year. It is a huge tribute to the kindness and generosity of the quilting community here in Lincoln area. Well done and thank you so very much, I hope it just balances the scales of compassion just a little bit in this world today. 

Happy Christmas 2016

Thank you also to Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts, her Finish UP Friday link sets my quilting compass every week,
Happy Christmas everyone,
kind regards,
Sue   
















Friday 16 December 2016

A Picture quilt for Ada



It has been a huge honour to make a quilt for a customer in America. The quilting community in The States is vast and multi talented so to be asked to a quilt for baby Ada was a big surprise and I felt I must do my very best as it might be seen by some very clever quilters!!
Karen, a proud Granny to be, gave me a list of things to add to the quilt which meant a lot to their family, she also sent over some treasured fabrics to be included. I am just going to show you some highlights, I had such fun making it all fit together.....

Picture quilt by Green Star Quilts
There was a Celtic Cross, some books, a Dala horse from Sweden .....

Picture quilt by Green Star Quilts
Picture quilt by Green Star Quilts

A Picture quilt by Green Star Quilts
Here is the finished top of the quilt:

Picture quilt by Green Star Quilts
The pots of flowers in the nine patch blocks came from Karen's dress fabric and there is a dove flying in the top corner: 

Picture quilt by Green Star Quilts
So here is the finished quilt which I hope will be a real treasure for baby Ada who surprised us all by arriving two weeks early!

Picture quilt by Green Star Quilts
Although it isn't a Christmas quilt, it does seem a bit Christmassy, I think it's the stars which sparkle in the night sky!

 Are you all ready, cards written, presents wrapped, tree decorated, all ready to go in every way? Is it just me who is still dashing about hiding ready made Christmas food in the freezer and hoping the turkey will make it's own way into the oven.... I just feel it all starts too soon, it should all begin with making mince pies whilst listening to carols from King's College Cambridge on Christmas Eve. Then I love all the secret rustlings of coloured paper and 'You can't come in' shouts from behind closed bedroom doors. We have a £10 Christmas in our house, only that to be spent on each person but hand made gifts can be added on, this year I have new biscuit cutters and I plan to make boxes of reindeer shortbread.... if it works and it may not as my biscuits tend to have a mind of their own in the oven, I will tell you the recipe....

In the last week before Christmas I hope you all have a little time to slow down, sit down, wind down and enjoy the little, small things which make it such a special time,

Kindest Regards,
Sue 

PS. I am linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts, it's so kind of her to provide this link everyweek, thank you Amanda.














Thursday 8 December 2016

Memory quilts in Spring colours


This month I have made a larger than single bed size memory quilt for Lauren. Her children's clothes were such happy colours, sun, sand and seaside holidays kind of colours and they made a lovely modern style quilt which I was really pleased with, it is amazing how the colours all complimented each other and came together so well! I think we need a few of sunshine reminders at the moment. I keep thinking 'Nearly there,very nearly there ', as I draw the curtains at 4.30 pm, so early in the afternoon and nearly at the shortest day and then positive thinking all the way to Spring and hooray, new flowers in the garden and buds on the trees and sun, that lovely, delicate and so welcome spring sunshine!

memory quilt by Green Star Quilts


memory quilt by Green Star Quilts
There's something about memory quilts which makes me feel so close to the families I make them for, it is such a personal thing to send someone your baby clothes to cut up.The trust they have that I will make something lovely from them is a huge compliment and I take it really seriously.

memory quilt by Green Star Quilts
I really enjoyed doing the swiggly quilting ( this is a very serious quilting term) too !!

memory quilt by Green Star Quilts
I have just finished a second smaller quilt for Lauren too, made from leftover little pieces of fabric and some that didn't fit in the first quilt. 
memory quilt by Green Star Quilts
And tarahh, at last I have got the hang of machined binding and those tricky folded corners, even with a scrap pieced strip.... after I realised it is important not to get a seam on the corner..... impressive eh?




I have just sent off to the USA a quilt for Karen  and will show pictures of it next time. This photo is a little corner...The parcel hasn't arrived with her yet so I don't want to spoil her surprise! 

Happy quilting on these dark winter days, keep eating chocolate and don't over do the Christmas shopping,
Kind regards,
Sue 


Monday 22 August 2016

A Trip Around the World cot quilt

After eight months our household is slowly getting back to normal. Eldest daughter and young family have moved into their renovated house in up hill Lincoln with new floors, beautiful new kitchen and classy grey walls downstairs. Even Ronnie the Rubber Plant has gone to his new corner, although today he has had a little change of earth, courtesy of The Boy, now fifteen months old and keen to explore all gardening opportunities!  Younger daughter is renovating a house too with the help of her Viking, now fiance ( yes, we are utterly delighted about this recent news) and a small dog. All is going well.....

Our house is slowly returning to it's pre Christmas 2016 state, before The Return of Everyone and Their Furniture to us. It has all gone so well and in eight months and with five cars juggling for space on the drive, six adults, two little ones under five, not forgetting the small dog all at home, there have been no arguments and we are all still friends. We have been very blessed and I miss them all, but not the tiredness which was overwhelming at times! 

Quilts have been made and finished in minutes snatched here and there, but now I hope for more time to think and plan the commissions for the rest of the year.

A Trip Around the World cot quilt by Green Star Quilts
Here is my latest quilt, made for Chris to give to her soon to be born grandchild:

A Trip Around the World cot quilt by Green Star Quilts
I really love the thought that our Team GB is returning from the Olympics with so many medals and quite by chance I have made a sporty quilt in red, white and blue with cyclists, sports balls and London icons on it! How clever is that??!

A Trip Around the World cot quilt by Green Star Quilts
The quilt measures 50 x 50 inches, 127 x 127 cm and here is the backing fabric....

A Trip Around the World cot quilt by Green Star Quilts
This week I am starting a memory quilt commission and also gardening for England! The wedding next year (all very exciting !!!!) will include a big garden party here. That's not a 'garden party' rather a 'lots of people in the garden' party..... think woodland plus tables and chairs!  No pressure then, just a garden pulled up to National Trust standards.... from rather below the level of a meadow with jungle attached. I have just bid for and won a wooden garden table and chairs which will be my next renovation project too and we will need miles of bunting I expect..... 

From now on I hope to be back to blogs at weekly intervals, I have missed you all and the gentle fellowship of other quilters from all over the world, thank you for waiting for me to come back,
Kind regards,
Sue