Bag finale!

I have just realised that I have four more bags from the British Quilt List Bag Challenge of 2008 to show you. Among them is my favourite bag of the whole year.

The September bag was a very pretty bag, lovely pastel fabrics made into log cabin blocks and rearranged on point. This was also the month for embellishments and like many others I used buttons and lace to complete my bag. A first for me with bags, this one had a zip in the top. This was a really good design, which I would like to make another one of in different fabrics.



Octobers bag, this is my favourite bag of the year, I am not sure whether it is because of the fabric or the design but I love this bag made of half square triangles in batik fabrics. The photo does not show it off at its best angle, the top is as wide as the bottom and it has side ties to pull in the top edge. It has not been used yet as I am saving it for my holiday. I think they will see me coming!



Novembers bag was much more practical, a messenger bag with the flap covered in small half square triangles. This time I used shirt fabrics with calico (that’s muslin in the USA), a brilliant bag for carrying files or magazines. The handle is good and wide so I daresay it would be good for carrying a laptop as well.

Decembers final bag was a non-patchwork bag, a drawstring bag with handles. As I have commented on each bag I have posted I must really admit to not liking this one. But many of the ones that were made and shown on the BQL website had a much better choice of fabric and looked much, much better than this one here.

You must remember that this is a personal choice. Occasionally I also do bag designs for my students and myself so I really admire Kandy who has designed all the bags for the BQL bag challenge 2008. Not only did she get many people to join in the challenge and therefore make bags they never would have dreamed of making without her. Kandy also used many different patchwork techniques in her designs and many different bag-making techniques as well. She has my thanks and admiration for what she has done for all the members of BQL, which of course includes me. Indirectly she also raised a lot of money for the Quilters Guild of the British Isles as in August of last year at the Festival of Quilts at the NEC at Birmingham there was a bag Tombola and many of the bags donated to it where from her designs. Thanks Kandy.

Time to Spare

I am really enjoying Judy’s Quilt along, that’s when I give myself enough time to do the sewing. This time I have finished the latest step with time to spare. I guess it is back to when you are really busy you tend to get more done.

On Thursday I am off shopping in the morning with my mother and then the rest of the day I have the wonderful company of my grandson. I pick him up from nursery and enjoy his chat and play until his Mum comes home from work. My husband and I are off to Durham on Friday to pick youngest son up from University for the Easter break, staying over in a room in the ‘Castle’ and then travelling home on Saturday with a car full of gear. Much of which I guess will need washing when we reach home. Sunday, Mothers Day in England, I have been invited to my eldest son’s, which is a great pleasure, as I won’t have to cook the family meal.

So you see I won’t have time to do any stitching for the next few days and knowing that today has been a ‘get it done’ day. One of the results of that is that I have finished step four of the Quilt along. I did get a lot of other things done too, like the teaching samples for next week, which is also a great relief as they quite often don’t get done until Monday morning.

I am getting to like this one,

By the skin of my teeth

Monday morning and the sun is shining, getting ready for work I spied these little fellows in the garden.



And these were a gift from my grandson two years ago for ‘mothers’ day, still bringing me a smile.


A bright spot always raises the spirits and there is nothing better than the bright hope of spring around the corner




But onto why this blog is by the skin of my teeth. I had been continuing with the cutting and piecing of Judy’s Bears in the Farmhouse Quilt along and really enjoying the progress I was making, despite the last few days being so busy that I had only waved at my sewing machine in passing. I had also been looking around at other blogs and seeing the colour choices other participants had chosen and half wishing that I had chosen a more exciting focus fabric. My fabrics are decidedly subdued even by my standards. I thought I would sew a few blocks this morning and was thinking that if I did a few each day they would soon be completed so I would get the next set of instructions. I then thought that I would just check Judy’s last email to see when this stage should be finished. That’s when the panic set in, they had to be finished by today, Monday 9^th March and I was just about to set off to work.

This is where I got to by teatime.





And with a bit of concentration here’s where I am now, luckily I have just finished the second step in time, whew, by the skin of my teeth.




They could be more exciting but I still like them. What do you think so far?