Homemade or handmade?

What is the difference between homemade and hand made? Is it that homemade has connotations of being somewhat amateurish, and perhaps a bit scruffy, whereas handmade has more of an artisitic slant?

I don't know.

But I do know that I like things that have been homemade/handmade.

These are necklaces made by Jo, out of antique / vintage / old - whatever you like to call them - beads and buttons. She makes them to sell, and then donates the proceeds to charity. These two were made for me, but when she handed them over, to my embarrassment, I hadn't got enough cash to pay for them.

But as we were in the LQS at the time, she was more than happy to take fabric instead (and who wouldn't?), so that I could pay by card, and with the new fabric she's going to make some Project Linus quilts.

And this was my favourite Christmas present:


made by my mother. It's not perfect - but what I like is that she took the time to make something personal (although it could of course be a reminder to get out in that garden and get planting...)

Finally - Mr Z&Z and I have been going to cookery classes for the last 5 weeks or so. It's all lottery funded, with the idea being that we learn a new technique, and then go home and share it with friends. We haven't got that far yet - but look:


my first ever quiche!!!

We now have a delivery date for our new kitchen - only ten weeks until I can cook in my own house again.

Late night Sunday rush

Today is the last day of halfterm, so I've been frantically been getting on with bits and pieces, before the hecticness of tomorrow sets in again.

Plans were slightly put on hold when we got up to see that this had happened - 4 inches of snow overnight - and no forecast of any such thing happening!

Photos taken at 10 am this morning.


By 10 am, there were 4 inches of snow in the drive - which yesterday had been absolutely clear!!
After a leisurely walk up to the shop to get some milk, and a call in at the café, I got on with finishing my red and white challenge quilt. For some reason, I didn't have enough cut for the border, so I need to get on with that next weekend.

Not a good photo, I'm afraid - Mr Z&Z was only willing to hold this up on the landing, and some random clothing appears to have crept into shot in the bottom right hand corner. It has tunred out to be pretty big - some of the other participants were commenting that they had found it to be too small. Perhaps we in the UK just have smaller beds and bedrooms?

I also got on with cutting up the bargain jelly roll that I picked up two weeks ago. So far I've made 110 4-patch blocks with it - and that's it.... It's going to go to a friend's daughter when (if) it's completed.

I offered my sister my trip around the world quilt from yesterday as a birthday present - she has alas declined it. I hope to see her next weekend, and will hopefully persuade her that it would look fabulous in her house. It's part of my campaign to persude her that homemade doesn't always mean that things have to look as though they've just been cobbled together.....

Saturday progress

Remember this from last week?

After some work last night in the Friday sew along, this is what it now looks like. I made another 4 blocks, to use up the fabric, and put a first border on it. I loved having to 'force' myself to get on and get sewing - especially with virtually nothing on TV, and I think the Friday night SewIn will need to become a regular feature in my diary.

I really liked doing this - it was quick and fun to put together. I don't know what to do now - whether to extend it any further or whether to leave it as it is - perhaps with another border on though??

I spent today sewing today at the LQS with some friends, and managed to get a lot of my red and white challenge completed. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten to put some of the blocks into my bag - so this was I far as I managed to get.

I wasn't sure about this - but it's really growing on me now! I need to just locate the missing blocks - and then I can get it completed!!

This is what other folks were up to:

This is Anna's first ever quilt - just waiting for the binding to be stitched down. This was accomplished over 2 days, which is pretty impressive!

And this is Tracy's Sunbonnet Sue - I wish I'd taken some more close ups, because the detail is phenomenal! Every one of the characters has been embellished in some way with beads and buttons. There's one little scene in the rain and Tracy has sewn on little sparkly beads for the raindrops! She's used rubbery fabric for wellies, and furry fabric for sheep. I really love it - it's destined to go to her 4 year old granddaughter - I hope the granddaughter appreciates all the work that's gone into this!!

Friday mublings

A couple of days ago I was looking at Susan's blog, and saw that she had arranged a date for Friday night, run by Heidi. I've also signed up - and committed myself to an evening of sewing!

I shall let you know how I got on.

I also picked up a copy of this magazine:

tempted by the cover photo.

Some very interesting articles inside,

All photos by Rachel Whiting for Homes and Antiques

as well as the instructions, by Kaffe Fassett on how to make a quilt.

As I love Kaffe Fassset fabrics, and like making geometric designs, I thought I'd have a go....

But 2 hours later, I still hadn't tracked down a third of the fabrics on the requirements list. I tried Doughty's (always good for a bargain), Cotton Patch, and even Glorious Color, which states boldly that it stocks every line of Kaffe Fassett fabric currently available!!

So Kaffe - you've either used something obsolate from your stash (understandable and commendable),or it's a new line,not yet available - but either which way, I can't reproduce your lovely quilt! What's more, it's from your new book - not yet available - so I hope that you've got everything else you need....

Of course, I could always substitute, and if I go ahead with this project, I will pretty much have to - but I DO feel a little aggrieved....

(Luckily I have more than enough WIPS to keep me fully occupied for the next six months or so....)

Wednesday snow

Since the start of the year it has snowed on each and every Wednesday. And today is no exception. Granted, it's just a sprinkling (so far), but it struck me as an interesting pattern.

Why Wednesday?

As far as I know, there is no snow at all forecast for next week, so perhaps the cycle will be broken.....

Here the's photo which I tried to upload yesterday, and blogger was having none of it:

On Monday night I went to Nottingham Patchwork Group, and took these 2 photos of work that Iris has completed:


this has been in hand for a year or so, and is all hand quilted...



and this is a memory quilt of a holiday to Hawaii. I love the colours in this! This was Iris's first attempt ever at machine quilting - it's pretty impressive!!

Be thankful for the small things

The hecticness is threatening to come back - but hurrah, it's staying under control.

Above is a timely reminder of the need to slow down a little, and take some time to appreciate what is going on. As part of the fundraising for Haiti, one could order and have delivered (anonymously) a cupcake to anyone else in school on Friday. The one above was delivered to me at about 10.00am, with no guidance as to from whom it had come.

To be honest, I thought it was a wind-up.

It turned out to have to come from a colleague - who thought that the whole team needed a big cupcake shaped hug. A reminder that it's people who make life fun - not meeting statistical targets ......


On Saturday I went to a quilting workshop with Connie Cole, in Nottingham, to mae a small trip around the world. I've admired these for some time, but never managed to make one - it's all those small pieces, I'm afraid!!


I was very pleased to find out that it was put together with strip pieces, so after the initial cutting (and pressing - am I the only peson who loathes pressing?), it was relatively straightfoward, as long as you took it step by step.

These are my fabrics - not my usual choice at all ...

and these are Lyn's.

By 4pm I'd completed 2 blocks - they're on the left in this picture. The plan is to now make 2 more and produce a small wall hanging.

Lyn had also brought along her latest completed project. It's a BOM from Antique Angel, with stitchery as well as patchwork. Unfortunately, this particular BOM is no longer available.

I've been trying to upload a picture, but blogger appears to be a real go-slow at present - hopefully I can get one up later....

I've never tried stitchery, but I'm assured that it's very easy, so I'm going to have a go with one of the little kits that I picked up last weekend.

A New Year, (another) New Start

Since I last posted, 10 weeks or so ago, things have been busy, both at work and at home.

But about 10 days ago, there seems to have been a change (although knowing my luck, it's just the eye of the storm, and the hecticness will restart any day now...).

I made a last ditch attmept to get my red and white snowballs together for the deadline of January 31st, but it didn't work out.




This is where I'm was at last weekend , with squilions of half triangles and squares waiting to be sewn together. With some intense sewing, I've got quite a lot of the blocks assembled, and hope to get the rest done today.

However, I'm determined to get it pieced as soon as I can - by taking part in the challenge, I've been forced out of my creative comfort zone. I like my things to look as geometric and as symmetrical as possible - and making a scrapppy quilt is, for me at least, very uncomfortable. I found I could only relax when I told myself that I HAD to take the next scrap from the pile of cut triangles or squares, and use it there and them without dithering about whether it balanced or not, or whether it was a duplicate of one of the other fabrics already in the block. I allowed myself the chance to reject it if it meant having 2 identical fabrics next to each other, but otherwise I was ruthless.

And as I come to the end of making the 99 blocks neded, I find that it wasn't that hard after all, and that I have enjoyed doing it!! If I were to make one again, I think the key is really to have as many different fabrics in as possible.

Of the 40 of us to initially started, 7 managed to complete on time in terms of having their tops pieced, and of those, I think only 1 or 2 managed to get theirs quilted - so I feel a lot better about my own slower attempts!!!

Allyson has posted pictures of the completed works on her blog - go and have a look. I particularly like the green one, and at some point I'd like to have a go at a blue one. That would be when I've got the others out of the way - so in a few years time, I guess.

Buoyed up by my new confidence, I ventured out to the Quilter's Guild Regional Day at Epperstone yesterday.

At every Regional Day, there are always a couple of traders, as well as the Bring and Buy stall, where quilters can get rid of their excess stash / books / patterns, and raise money for the Guild at the same time.

THIS is where the real bargains are to be found. Quilting isn't a cheap hobby, with fabric now costing about £11 or so a metre on average.

And this is what I came home with:

2 packs of fabric. The one on the left is Liberty, and the one on the right is Kaffe Fassett;

4 books - the New Sampler Quilt book is brand new!!;

a Moda jelly Roll;

2 months of a BOM - I'll use these for friend's birthdays;

some foundation papers - a whole brand-new packet in fact - for the Kaffe Fassett design above. I have the book that the pattern is in, but this was up for £2 - which is less than it would have cost me to photocopy the necessary pages.
The whole pile came to less than £40. That's the equivalent of 3.5 - 4 metres of fabric, or 2 new quilting books.

Mind you, I then went to one of the other traders, selling goods at full price, and picked up this rather bizarre - but somehow irresitible kit;


and these three patterns for £4 apiece.

.... And finally - and luckily - I won a raffle prize of a new bag. It's sturdy (well, I managed to cram all my purchases in it!). It made it SO much easier to get my new purchases through the door when I got home.

The speaker was Louise Presley, of Hope and Elvis. Somewhat different to the usual speakers, and a different perspective on quilting, seeing it more from an artist's viewpoint than a crafter's.

I also made it to my LQS two weeks ago, for a day of sewing - my first such of the year, and Jo had brought these along to show what she'd managed to get done over Christmas....

For this quilt, she bought a Layer Cake, and used the fabrics to make hexagons, These were then appliquéd onto the backing fabric. I'm not a great fan of hexagons, but I do like thw way in which this has turned out.

And this is her 'flimsy' it's a sampler, and what you can't see in the photo are the little embellishments that she's added on some of the blocks. What I really like in this are the colours - not ones that I would ever choose - and the stars that she's put into the sashing.