Some Customer Quilts

 

I had an enjoyably busy week working on customer quilts and also making a sampler with some fun OESD e2e designs. One of the quilts only just fitted on the frame but I got through it in the end:)

Mixed Makes Week

I made all sorts of different things this week, not all of them easy or useful. At work I have made some ruffled samples to prepare for a forthcoming class. People seem to have mixed feelings about whether ruffles are IN or OUT;)

I tested out the new 790 Ultra to see if it did all that it claims to. It performed very well but I think if I had several thousand pounds to spend I would still opt for the top of the range 990 which has a camera and can do pretty much anything.

I gave 2 new Bernina x Liberty edition owners a condensed tutorial so they could go home and play with their machines.

I had a longarm DIY pupil for the day who opted for a computerised allover pattern on one of her quilts.

I rummaged in my tattie growing box to dig up some respectable spuds which I roasted in the air-fryer. There is a pint-sized red hollyhock in the back garden and lots of miniature tomatoes.

I spent a long evening making damson jam. My kitchen looked like a murder scene as I had to get all of the stones out of the small plums. Bright red juice was splattered on the tablecloth, me the floor and I am glad to report that Nessie kept out of the way. I have 5 kg of special-offer sugar left so I really hope I can forage a bumper crop of brambles!

On Sunday morning I spent a most enjoyable couple of hours doing a fused glass class with my work pal, Jo. She made a cute greenhouse and I copied the teacher’s example flower sun-catcher in blues. It was really fun to go and do something different and after it has been in the kiln I will have something to hang in my kitchen window:)

12 Days Straight

This weekend I have been recovering from working 12 days straight, including FoQ. When I worked for myself I could unwind gradually and last year I headed up to Glasgow. This past week was far too long and I did very little at the weekend, even going for a Sunday afternoon snooze.

Nessie went for a hair-do but the groomer insisted on leaving her ears shaggy so she now looks like a gremlin. 

I made some mindless Hama beads to finish off my kitchen doorway but when I move I will have to repaint because I stuck them up with a glue gun and the paint will come off.

It has remained hot so I have had to water every evening but my Padron peppers ℅ Matt Wilding are coming along. I had a few tatties from the bargain seed potatoes but they are a floury variety so a bit disappointing.

I made some more vegan ice cream in the Ninja Creami - rhubarb and custard flavour, which was delicious. All it took was a drained tin of rhubarb, a carton of Alpro vegan custard, a bit of pink food colour, a spoonful of vanilla paste and a splash of Oatly cream.

I was sent some catwalk photos from the FoQ fashion show of me showing off my coat of many colours.

This week I might make foraged damson jam and cut out a dress pattern but it is forecast to be hot so I might just do nothing at all apart from evening watering;) 

FoQ 2026

Another Festival of Quilts is already over! I first attended as a visitor with 3 small children in tow in 2006, represented APQS for a few years and Bernina UK Q-Series long-arm machines for the past 10 years. I think I missed 3 shows in all those years, possibly 2007, 2009 and 2020 (like everyone else). I do not have a complete set of pin badges for every year and this year they were sold out by Day 2. I took quite a few photos of competition quilts and their labels and decided to put them in a Flickr album rather than cluttering up the blog. I hope they did not get too jumbled up. There are also plenty of posts from folk on Instagram - my photos were a bit rushed, taken first thing before the show opened. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sewlinzi/albums/72177720334973766/

It was a busy, friendly show with plenty to see and buy. I even spoke to some non sewing ladies who came up on a coach trip from Essex for a day out.

The Bernina UK team had a huge upgrade to the Moxy hotel this year which is on the NEC site. It was enjoyable to walk to the show and stroll to a choice of restaurants in the evening. I am happy to report that I got taken out for curry in the city centre and that every mouthful was delicious.

Although I did not have a quilt in the show, I entered the fashion show at the last minute and was cheered loudly for strutting down the catwalk in my quilted coat. I believe that I should have won the Kaffe Fassett iron but it was awarded to an American participant who won’t be able to plug it in at her USA house;)

I was a bit naughty scootering around but I did not run anyone over. I probably should not have been flying my mini drone first thing in the morning but I was not causing a public nuisance. 

My  silly scooter tour is on YouTube. 

https://youtu.be/HCcHMrNXooE?si=JJ_SjDcQvydZ7VUn

Nessie had a super holiday staying with a friend, demanded much attention, ball throwing, biscuits and made herself very comfortable on the beds.

I got back to my house at 11pm, went to bed then was up early to start work again at 9.00am on Monday morning. By Saturday I will have worked 12 days in a row - zzz!