Forgot to show you

My quilt backs are usually uninteresting because I generally rely on something economical like good old Ikea Nummer (heard a rumour that it was going out of print, but it's still available, phew) so I have rarely shown them but forgot to post this one which I actually really love.  It's the back of Wild Geese, which I made with fabric gifted by Michael Miller to people taking part in last year's 'Glitz' challenge, and as the back had to use Michael Miller fabric I put together all the bits left over from the front, together with three other fabrics from that range.

It's hard to capture the lovely sheen of these pearlised fabrics - the result is subtle and pretty rather than brash.  It would actually make an okay front without the ghost geese from the quilting on the front, but I like them anyway.

What with the various storms we have been having and the fact that we seem to live in a small localised wind vortex it was hard to keep this from blowing away while I took pictures, which is an embarrassing enough process when you are overlooked by all the neighbours' windows.   It was more successful than my attempt to take pictures of Building Blocks, when I rushed outside to catch a rare moment of favourable light despite being desperate for a pee (TMI?), locked myself out of the house resulting in having to pull my daughter out of maths, and then dropped the quilt in the mud.

Also forgot to post this little artist trading card, though you might have seen in on Very Berry Handmade. Its new owner seems to be happy with it.  

There is lots of ATC loveliness in the Very Berry ATC group on flickr.

Winter Comforts received

Look what I got in the post today!  It is my card in the Very Berry ATC swap.

Isn't it lovely?   It was made by Ann.  She said in her note that it was inspired by a drawing she did for her baby's nursery, which was part of a set of 4 representing the seasons.  This is the winter season and features a mummy owl hugging a baby owl on a snowy day.

I think it is magical.  It has such beautiful details - look at their little faces and the way the baby owl is snuggling up.

Thank you Ann.  The card is now sitting on my bookshelf making me happy.

ATC: Winter Comforts "Being Cosy"

I've finished another ATC card.

The armchair, antimacassar and floral cushion and wallpaper suggest that a little old lady lives in this house, but she is a sparky old lady who likes cats and books.  Having been for a good stiff walk in the snow she's about to settle down with Pride and Prejudice and a nice cup of tea (it is just a little too early for a dry sherry).  She has just gone to fetch the biscuit tin.

Very Berry Handmade ATC Swap: Home Sweet Home

Yesterday I posted a pic of the wonderful Artist Trading Card I received from my partner in this round of the swap organised by Ali Very Berry Handmade.  The theme for this round is "Home Sweet Home", and here is the card I made for my own recipient.  It is called "Waiting to be Let In".

I hope my partner likes cats!

Do check out the other cards in the flickr group - they are really amazing.  It is hard to remember that these cards are only 2.5 x 3.5 inches - it's a fun constraint, and it's always fascinating to see how each member of the group takes the current theme and runs with it in their own way.

Very Berry Handmade ATC Swap - Winter Sparkle

Once again I'm taking part in the Artist Trading Card swap hosted by Ali Very Berry Handmade.  The theme for this swap is Winter Sparkle.  I was all set with one idea but when I was riffling through my fabric I came across a tiny remnant of robin fabric that I'd bought last year and forgotten about, so I got distracted.

It's not at all what I had originally planned so I think I'll probably have a go at the first idea too.  It took me a while to understand why ATCs are so addictive but now I'm completely hooked on the challenge of tiny pictures.

Bass Rock ATC

Thank you for the encouragement over this card - I didn't try to unpick but finished it off by sewing round the edge.  It's now going off to my secret partner, so I thought I would show a little bit more of the place it is inspired by.

We are lucky to have some beautiful beaches near us from which the island in my card, the Bass Rock, is visible from different sides as you travel down the coast.

It is one of a group of islands/rocky outcrops, most of which are volcanic in origin.The top of it looks white because of an enormous colony of Northern Gannets.

It always looks beautiful and fascinating whatever the weather, and these beaches are some of my favourite places to "get away from it all", which is the theme of this swap.

Thank you to Ali for once again organising this lovely swap. It was a lot of fun making this card and I was so pleased when I found out who my secret partner was.  It goes off with thanks for bloggy encouragement and enthusiasm!

The Bass Rock: tiny Oakshott scraps, fused, and machine embroidered.

WIPs

At the moment all other projects are on hold because I am working on ideas for the 4th Artist's Trading Card Swap organised by Ali of Very Berry Handmade.

This is my first card for this swap - I have a few ideas and have volunteered to be a swap angel, so I will have to make at least two.  The theme is "Getting Away from it All" and this scene, which I also photographed for my blog header, is one of my favourite places to do that.  It shows the Bass Rock from the coast.

This is where I have got with it - I'm not sure whether to call it finished.

It is not quite as wonky as it looks from the photos but I had difficulty turning it and I think I may have to unpick it and go back to the drawing board.  Or maybe I have to learn not to be too much of a perfectionist!

Thought it might make you laugh you to see how shamefully messy I am.  The card is only 2.5 x 3.5 inches, but it took this to create it.

I am very happy to have been invited by Nesta of the lovely blog Ella and Nesta's Little Room to take part in a Round the World Blog Hop.  Each blogger on the hop writes a post answering some questions about their creative process and gives a mention to a handful of other blogs.  Nesta has her own Blog Hop post today - please check it out, and if you are visiting from there hello:-)   I'll be doing my own Hop post next Monday, so I hope you might come back and see what's going on here.

ATCs again

Another couple of cards for the Very Berry Handmade ATC swap.  I think I'm a bit obsessed and you might have to bear with me (or not) for a bit because I keep thinking of other ways to represent the theme of the swap, which is autumn.   I do have an excuse in that our car failed its MOT (the knell of financial doom for UK people) and I'm therefore on a fabric buying embargo.  These ATCs, at 2.5 x 3.5 inches, are fantastic for using up the tiniest of scraps - in this case Oakshott.

Fairly Random Thursday

The chaos involved in WIPs.  Lovely Oakshott.

I highly recommend the book one of my children has left on the floor.  Olivia - a lovely story about a pig, by Ian Falconer.

I used some of the tiny offcuts of Oakshott and managed to complete an ATC for the Very Berry Handmade ATC swap - tiny Oakshott chrysanthemums.  Not sure if I am happy enough with this one - the corners are a bit dodgy.  I should have followed the excellent instructions here instead of trying to bag it out!

Who'd have thought anyone would need instructions for using pins!  (They are nice pins though.)

New to Me in May

I'm linking up today with Fiona at Celtic Thistle, for New to Me in 2013.

This month, I've been making Artist Trading Cards for the Textile ATC swap organised by Ali at Very Berry Handmade.  I have to admit that until I saw the one that Ali had made, I didn't really see the appeal of ATCs, but the challenge of making something so tiny (at 2.5 x 3.5 inches) is such an interesting one, and possibly I'm slightly addicted. It's the kind of project which keeps you lying in bed at night plotting.

It's a fun way of trying out new techniques on a small scale too.  I posted this one earlier this week, which was made using a mixture of piecing, and reverse applique.

Then I made this one, which uses curved piecing on a really small scale, together with some machine and hand embroidery.

Then last night, inspired by all the Union Jack quilts popping up, I made this Liberty one just to see if it was possible.  It's also by way of a tribute to our swap Leader!

I wondered if I might be able to foundation piece it, but chickened out and went for applique in the end.  I sewed it together using Bondaweb as a foundation though, which meant that when I sewed the backing on face to face and turned it right side out I could iron it to affix it to the backing fabric for a bit of rigidity. I think it would look better pieced so will have to pluck up courage.

Thanks to Fiona for spurring me on to try something new! In the bloggy world of quilts where I lurk it's fun to see what new things other people have been getting up to too.

New Leaf

I'm not very good at signing up for things because it takes me ages to think about a project and then to get on with it, but I couldn't resist the Textile ATC Swap at VeryBerryHandmade, partly it's such lovely idea, and partly because these Artists Trading Cards are so small at 2.5 x 3.5 inches that it seemed a manageable commitment.

Small doesn't mean fast at all!  It took me the whole afternoon yesterday to make this, but it was so much fun.

I'm now totally hooked and as I'm not sure whether my secret partner would like it I'm going to try and make another couple.  Incidentally, the theme of the swap is Something New - so this is a new leaf, possibly as in "turning over a new leaf" and getting my creative finger out.  You can see progress of all the really lovely ATCs in the flickr group.

By the way, if you are looking for something to sign up to without any commitment and accompanying guilt what about the Me Me Me Bee which Moira Kettle Boiler is running - read more about it here.  Inspired!  No deadline, no-one to make for but yourself - I can cope with that, but only after I have finished the pay-it-forward gifts I owe.