Raising money for Guide Dogs

This is such a late Happy New Year to you all. Since Christmas our family at home has expanded and now we have six adults, two little ones, four years old and an 8 months old, a small dog and the occasional guide dog puppy in training.... My time is no longer my own everyday and I am in training as a full time granny.... loving it but rather too tired to write the blog at the end of the day!

But today I have something other than quilt making to tell you about. Daughter Katie is cycling on her bike. It is 10pm here and she is still cycling. It is so cold and foggy and she is still cycling just now. And as her mum, I am worrying, as Mums do, so I am writing this blog to let out some of that worry.

Katie is a student Guide Dog Mobility instructor. Her second year of training involves a move from Lancashire in the west to Lincolnshire in the east and, to raise money for guide dogs, she is cycling with her own dog Nemi all the way home.... Here she is before the day she started....

Katie and Nemi practicing for her bike ride

She has a special dog seat so Nemi can sit in front when she is not running along...and a coat for her if she gets cold....

Nemi

Nemi is a lovely dog who was rescued from just outside Rome.... she is a Dashund crossed with something else and a very brave and fast runner....

I am not sure Nemi will need her sun glasses....

Add caption

This the bike route of 120 miles... in January.... in the dark some of the time....but with lots of bike lights and a friend to follow her.... and Nemi's collar with flashing lights too...

Katie and Nemi's cycle route from Atherton to Lincoln,

She has lots of experience and is a competent and capable young woman and I am so proud of her. If you would like to see the rest of her story, just follow this link www.justgiving.com/lancstolincs/ and you can see lots of other pictures.

Tonight she has cycled 85 miles in one day and tomorrow she will cycle the rest of the way to Lincoln. We will be there with champagne, balloons and a big banner at the end of her journey to celebrate. So far she has raised £778 pounds, and this will go to training a puppy to be someone's eyes next year.

But tonight as her mum I am just worried for her safety on cold icy dark roads. 

Katie and puppy

Please think of her tonight,

Thank you,

Sue

Christmas Angel

It is Christmas Eve and the house is quiet. All is done, carols have been sung and now we wait. Thank you all my readers from all over the world for your company this year, all your kind comments and friendship. These are things which make the world a better place for us all. This is my Christmas Angel, newly made and I am expecting great things of her... a little light dusting, perhaps a batch of mince pies in the oven, some of the less difficult ironing maybe...

 

Christmas Angel by Green Star Quilts

So I would just like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and every blessing for the New Year,

Kind regards,

Sue

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Retro fabrics cot quilt finished

This week I have finished the retro fabrics cot quilt. The sewing has been a welcome respite from Christmas shopping ( I never seem to know what to buy), writing cards ( I leave it until the last minute every year as I don't enjoy it) and super amounts of fudge making ( more fun especially the testing  and tasting part...), anyway the sewing is such a delight, so I kept putting off things until I had finished this quilt...

Here is the finished quilt, sorry it's such a fuzzy picture:

Retro fabrics quilt by Green star Quilts

I have quilted it in straight lines in the ditch at about 2 inch spacing and then a tiny kiss in the middle of the central cream coloured squares. The binding is cream American quilters calico. The wadding is 100% cotton and preshrunk.

Retro fabrics quilt by Green star Quilts

The fabrics are unashamably pretty and girlie....

Retro fabrics quilt by Green star Quilts

When it is folded you can still see all the lovely colours ....

Retro fabrics quilt by Green star Quilts

The backing fabric is a soft pink and cream double stripe:

Retro fabrics quilt by Green star Quilts

Retro fabrics quilt by Green star Quilts

Retro fabrics quilt by Green star Quilts

Retro fabrics quilt by Green star Quilts

The colours remind me of spring flowers, daffodil yellows, primroses and tulips.....
Just right for a springtime baby....
The quilt measurements are 43 x 43 inches and 109 x 109 cms.

All fabrics are 100% cotton including the wadding which as been preshrunk.

This quilt is for sale on my website www.greenstarquilts.com on the Buy Now Quilts page.

I hope all your preparations for Christmas are going well, I'm sure you are all more organised than me. I have friends who had done everything by the beginning of December, but me, I go for the mad rush at the end... and handmade things for friends wherever possible. We have a £10 limit for presents for our family and  many gifts are homemade or charity shop treasures. Husband disappears into the garage for days to make cork table mats from bottle corks and there is a flurry of knitting hats and gloves going on secretly by daughters. We all feel Christmas is more about family then presents, especially when it is a struggle for many people to make a special time for their loved ones this year.

So if you are doing a marvellous impression of Superwoman combined with Santa at the moment, then remember to look after yourselves and take some time out with your sewing ,

Kind regards,

Sue

Vintage wooden cotton reels

Last year I was given lots of vintage wooden cotton reels from my Aunt's huge stash of all things to do with crafts. She was a very talented needle woman and over the years she had tried Everything and I do mean Everything possible to with needles, crochet hooks, threads of all sorts, buttons and and wool. Lace bobbins, pins, a vintage Singer buttonhole attachment which looked like an instrument for torture, every size of knitting needle possible and hooks for mending stockings to crocheted rugs.... yes, and it all came my way in lovely old leather suitcases, wooden boxes, carrier bags .... all jumbled together. Some people might have been horrified, but for me it was total delight. I sat on the floor, boxes and cases on one side, the bin and a plastic ice cream box for sharp things on the other and opened each container one by one..... yes, I can sense that your fingers are tingling just like mine were.... I didn't know what would be in the next box either...

So there were a lot of wooden cotton reels, thread discoloured, some half used, some in good condition with still bright colours...

vintage wooden cotton reels

These are things I remember from my childhood with huge delight. The feel of them, the bright colours, the wonderful names for the different shades and the beautiful designs for the manufacturers label on the little circle on the top of the reel. Oh the romance of Capri Blue, St Jame's Rose Pink or Chartreuse Green and as for Fiesta Pink, well it's a great favourite.... I wonder who had the job of thinking up all the names...

vintage wooden cotton reels

But what to do with them now? Can the thread be used or is 60 years beyond the sell by date do you think? To throw them away is not an option, they will never be made again in all their glory, the plastic ones are just not the same..... 

vintage wooden cotton reels

so I started to play with them....

vintage wooden cotton reels

Things got a bit more Christmassy....

vintage wooden cotton reels

Creativity began to run away with me..... yep, that's Fiesta Pink in the middle...

vintage wooden cotton reels

Actually the reels also ran away at every opportunity in all directions too.....

vintage wooden cotton reels

Little wooden stars from Lakeland Plastics shop were added....

vintage wooden cotton reels

A shaft of sunshine made the gold thread sparkle.... then add a red wooden heart.....

vintage wooden cotton reels

So I just wanted to know what you think.... Can I use the thread, or should I keep them just for the colours.... Have you any ideas for what to do with them? Are they treasure or am I just being silly? I would love to hear your ideas.....

This week I am finishing the retro fabrics quilt, doing the quilting now and I intend to try out Rita at Red Pepper Quilts  binding technique. I'm sure you all know about her lovely blog, but if not, just click here. I hope you all have a great weekend, not too much Christmas shopping but maybe a little rest, with some Christmas carols and a glass of something warm and mulled with cinnamon maybe, try not to feel overwhelmed by all the things you have to do on your lists,

Kind regards,

Sue 

A retro look scrap fabrics quilt

Some of you may know that I am a Project Linus UK co-ordinator in Lincolnshire. If you don't know about Project Linus UK you can read about it here. We get some lovely quilts donated and I am constantly amazed at the kindness and generosity of our volunteers who make the quilts. This little quilt measuring about a metre square came in recently....

Scrap fabric Project Linus UK quilt

It was simple in design but the use of the vintage scraps and fabrics stole my heart. The quilting was hand done in an all over clam shells pattern and it felt soft and gentle to touch. I must admit it stayed in my sewing room waiting for a Project Linus UK label to be sewn on for a few days and each time I looked at it I loved it more. 

So I decided to have a go at making a similar quilt just to see how the fabrics went together and why the over all effect was so pleasing. Here is the first block which measures 6.75 inches:

 

Retro quilt block by Green Star Quilts

This is the centre, which looks a bit wonky here! The  strips of yellow and cream where cut 1.5 inches wide.
 

Retro quilt block by Green Star Quilts

Then the log strips, cut 1.5 inches were added in a Courthouse steps pattern. These are the fabrics plus lots of scraps from the ever growing stash, which I used for the logs.....

 

I love the use of bubble gum pink and that lovely lilac colour too. Here is the top so far:

Retro Quilt by Green Star Quilts

I am convinced it wouldn't work half so well without the bright yellow in the middle of the blocks although maybe a dark pink, mmmmmmm, I just don't know.....

Retro Fabrics Quilt by green Star Quilts

 Well anyway, it just makes me feel happy looking at it and I can't wait to finish the top. As to size, I think I will just keep going until one of the fabrics runs out, so we'll see.....

How are you all this week? Christmas shopping complete and presents wrapped? Cards written and ready for the post, pudding made, cake in the tin, decorations up ? Hmmmm I thought not...... bet you are all in denial and still in the sewing room like me! Well I hope so anyway!

I have one more commission to complete for Christmas orders and then there is a huge amount of tidying up to do and fabric to put away. In the New Year we should all post photos of our tidy sewing areas!

As on most weeks I am linking up with Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts because I find her so inspiring and she writes such a lovely blog which you can see here,

Happy sewing this weekend, the weather forecast is terrible here so I hope there are good plays on the radio while the sewing machine wrrrs along,

Kind regards,

Sue  

Quilts for a Fairer World

At the Festival of Quilts this year I met Ruth who owns The Fair Trade Fabric Company based in Southall, Nottinghamshire. She is passionate about her huge range of Fairtrade fabrics which are grown to organic standards and mostly produced in Gujarat, India. The Fairtrade label enable the weavers, dyers and growers to earn a fair wage, ensuring their health and family welfare.  Aside from all this, the fabrics are fabulous, soft and with a homespun quality which is so attractive. There is a rainbow of colour available with her fabrics and you can visit her on line shop here at the Fairtrade Fabric Company

This is the first quilt. a cot size 114 x 84 cm:

Fairtrade fabrics quilt by Green Star Quilts

 I love this quilt and daughter who lived in Norway for a while was very taken with it. The fabric is from a pack sold by Ruth called Highlands with one extra fat quarter added in royal blue plus 1 metre for the backing. The binding is pieced from all the tiny scraps, I used just about every inch of the fabric from the pack.
 

Fairtrade fabrics quilt by Green Star Quilts

The backing fabric is a handloom woven 100% cotton, vegeble dyed fabric also from Ruth. This fabric has a slight variation in colour within the stripes due to the hand woven element. The mountains bit is a printed fabric which I have quilted around. I love the tiny Nessy monster who swims in the lake.....

Fairtrade fabrics quilt by Green Star Quilts

 and the eagles and the hunting lodge, the boats as well as the mountains...

The wadding is 100% cotton, unbleached and made without chemicals for the Simply Cotton Company. I have tried to make this quilt as kind to the world as I possibly can. The fabrics are bought from a Fairtrade company and the wadding is unbleached cotton. I haven't found an organic cotton wadding yet. I thought about bamboo wadding which is organic but would make the quilt very expensive. I will continue to think about that but if you have any ideas, please let me know.

 Here is the second quilt:

Fairtrade fabrics quilt by Green Star Quilts

 This cot quilt measures 90 x 102 cm 35.5 x 40 inches and uses the Living in a Box pack from Ruth plus a metre of fabric for the back and sashing.

Fairtrade fabrics quilt by Green Star Quilts

 

Fairtrade fabrics quilt by Green Star Quilts

I love the bright vibrant colours of this quilt plus the sweet song birds in pink and green. I don't normally show the back of the quilt but this fabric shows up the quilting so well....

Fairtrade fabrics quilt by Green Star Quilts

Fairtrade fabrics quilt by Green Star Quilts

 

Fairtrade fabrics quilt by Green Star Quilts

And the last photo.... oh, these colours make me feel so happy....

 

Fairtrade fabrics quilt by Green Star Quilts

Please consider making a Fairtrade fabric quilt, the drape and softness of the fabrics are lovely, they have been very easy to use and we all need a fairer world don't we?

Happy quilting this week, do let me know if you have found an organic cotton wadding,

Kind regards,

Sue

soft colours quilt finished

I am so stiff from my Pilates class, it doesn't seem to get any easier, but surely it must be doing me some good! Natural bendiness is not one of my gifts, but I keep on in the hope that one day I will wake up with a super trim waist and smooth, slim legs, an inch or two longer would be good too..... well a girl can dream!

But I have also finished the soft colours quilt and taken lots of photos before it is posted off to Wales where a little girl will open the parcel on Christmas morning. So here it is and I am really pleased with it:

Soft colours shabby chic quilt by Green Star Quilts

The quilt measures 46 x 60 inches and has 100% cotton wadding which gives a lovely soft drape.

quilting detail 

The quilting is straight line grid 1/4 inch from the ditch of each square and row. I quilted some swirls and tiny hearts and stars in some of the squares to give a random effect....

quilting detail

More lovely photos, I do so enjoy taking these....

shabby chic soft colours quilt by Green Star Quilts

shabby chic soft colours quilt by Green Star Quilts

 

shabby chic soft colours quilt by Green Star Quilts

I really enjoy adding the tiny random quilting designs, making the squares like mini quilts all by themselves....

shabby chic soft colours quilt by Green Star Quilts

 Thank you all of you who left a comment last week. Lots of you like the bigger format pictures and I do too, so I will carry on using them. What I love about quilting blogs is that all the comments I read are so positive and friendly. The thought that we reach across the world to leave a kind comment, a sort of virtual postcard, for someone we have never actually met cheers me everyday. The world needs so much more kindness at the moment don't you think?


Anyway, I am getting through my Christmas orders, amazingly I am in line with my calendar, one more quilt and a cushion to go, then lots of tidying and a big attack on scraps and oddments of leftover fabrics. I hope you all have a productive quilting week too,

Kind regards,

Sue