Merry Mouse meets Vintage Sheet.

I decided to add the rows I'd made from my vintage sheet quilt into my Merry Mouse Quilt.

It just looks like it was meant to be,

and that way I finish two quilts at once.

I'm really pleased with it, and can't wait to do some more.

But today is a gardening day!

Merry Mice Again.

I had a lovely e-mail the other day from a lady called Gloria from Australia.

She'd come across my Merry Mouse stitcheries while looking at some of the old posts on my blog.

She asked me for details of the publisher etc, and let me know that she had managed to find one of the books on e-bay.

Which reminded me that I have been planning to make these into a quilt for so long.

So I have finally started.

And you know how much I love to start things!

Finishing is another matter altogether.

They are from the Merry Mouse series of Patterns by Pat and Gloria, published by Doubleday in the early 1980s.

So I thought I'd use borders and lots of sashing and follow the look of this quilt from

Little Chicken Feather (Annie Downs).

I have some lovely gellato coloured fabrics to use.

And I think this might actually be the last quilt I start - for a long time anyhow.

I finally feel like I have enough quilts in my life.

But I will finish the three I have on the go.

This one will go into my Grandma stash.

It will be the very first thing in my Grandma stash.

Not that I am expecting to be a Grandma for a long time yet.

If ever.

But this quilt will be so special, because these stitcheries have such a story attached to the making of them.

They could really only be given to a Grandchild now.

Maybe I'll do some more tomorrow.

I'll let you know how I get on Blog Chics.

Rainy Day Truce.

Sunday spent by the fire while it rains outside.

I'm stitching in the ditch in red embroidery cotton on this cot quilt.

I want it to look vintage and handmade, and cuddly, which is why I'm hand quilting it.

The Tail Cat and Marigold have called a truce for the day because they both felt inclined just to sit by the fire.

So if you pretend the other one isn't there it all works perfectly!

And when you nick off out to the kitchen to see what's available, someone else gets your posie!

Two in a basket is even cosier.

Graham's idea of phone a friend perhaps?

Oh Marigold you have such a dirty face! I am affronted!

I found some Brambly Hedge china on Trade Me, which was very exciting, because I've always wanted some.
This one is "Winter."

And this one is "The Meeting."

Spent the evening climbing over engines, ladders and various gear box parts with Hubby measuring up the Granny HQ kitchen.

Brain storming solutions for hiding the electric fence controls, and the water filtering system,

while still keeping enough bench space and keeping the look that we want.

We have come up with a cunning plan, which I won't bore you with, but I think it will work very well.

Watch this space.

Quickly while it's not raining.

Hello Blog Chics.

It's been a while. Real life has been all consuming. Most specifically keeping up two big gardens and two sets of lawns, in the small intervals when it doesn't rain, and rain, and rain!

And then there's the ever present problem of trying to get the washing dry. I confess at times I have just piled it into the car and taken it into Mum's and put it in the dryer.

Most reluctantly, because I am an ardent fan of line dried washing - especially when I have a lavender enclosed meadow to hang it in.

AND - I've been forcing my way through an extremely boring assignment for a paper I'm doing for work. Sooo boring, mostly about legislation and medico legal considerations. Put you off the whole business if you let it! But I've finished it all thank goodness, so onto better things Blog Chics.

I'd hate anyone to think I was moaning. On the contrary. I am totally consumed with it all in a good way, and I love the house and both gardens, and I even like my job. I just have no time for anything else because of the rain!!!!

And no blogging! I've had a few goes and deleted them in the embryonic stages because they were just not worth reporting. Or the photos were rubbish. Might resurrect a couple and put them into a different context when I feel more creatively inspired.


This has been my one source of creative inspiration lately, and I have really had to be disciplined and psyche myself into doing it because it's good for my soul. A bit like that assignment!!! My soul is ABSOLUTELY not improved in the slightest way since the assignment, I can assure you.
But it has been slightly buffed by my foray into the world of "Material Obsession Two".
But again it has taken on a character building flavour, as while I admire pieced quilts, and the use of colour in this book, I have had to challenge myself to actually take it on.
It's very spatial, but once you've cracked the formula it becomes boring blog chics, and the only buzz you get is from choosing the colours. But I suspect it's a bit like weeding, when you're finished you're pleased you put the effort in because it looks great. And it will use up all the random things in my stash that are not my kindred colour palette. I imagine it will become a favoured picnic blanket!




Give you an update soon when I've had time to get batteries into my camera!
Today I am happy to report some watery sunshine has penetrated the standard grey of the 'Naki skies, and I can even see three quarters of the mountain through my kitchen window.
The question remains ... to hang or not to hang - the washing !

Morning Talk

Do you remember morning talks at primary school?

This post is going to be a little bit like one of those,

because I have nothing particularly important to say, and a random photo of my cat!

So it's mostly about how my friend Claire who is a stitcher /quilter extraordinaire invited me to a stitching group with a couple of other ladies who both happened to be called Michelle.

I enjoyed it so much, and it was nice to meet new people called Michelle!

All I could find to take was my Christmas Beatrix Potter cross stitch. And that was just lucky because I found it behind a chair in my knitting basket.

I managed to complete a small area of brown hedgehog.

This is what they are all making, with their own choice of fabrics, colours, threads etc etc.

This one is Claire's. I just love it, and am feeling re-inspired, but I still have to find all my stuff!

It's here somewhere.

I think I'll do mine in silver threads with shabby chic colours. Surprise, surprise!

And I really, really want to get some bunting made for our housewarming party.

But time is of the essence, and I probably won't have any left!

I have made some more curtains from tablecloths. My life is complete blog chics.

There are just not enough days in the week at the moment.

A Quilt Binding.

Yesterday I picked up my beautiful "pretty in pink" quilt from the machine quilting lady.

There is so much detail in it, she's done little clouds mostly, which is perfect for the "bitsyness" of the pieces.

So I thought I might do a little tutorial on quilt binding; the Magpie Chic method.

Might not be how the experts do it, but it's a way that I've worked out over the years that works for me.

I start by trimming off the excess wadding, which is easy when it's been machine quilted right round the perimeter.

I auditioned a few pieces of fabric that I thought would suit as a border.

I chose this one.

I cut 4" strips for my borders usually, along the length of the fabric if i can, but width ways if that's the only way i can make the fabric eak out. It takes quite a lot of fabric. About a metre- ish - for a quilt this size. Just measure perimeter of quilt to work out how much you'll need.

Then add up how long you can make your 4" strip by sewing all your cut strips together.

Add about 10cm for overhangs and foldovers. If it's a bit longer than the perimeter of your quilt, then you have enough fabric.

Press the strip in half, right sides out. Pin to wrong side of first corner with about 1cm overhang.

Sew with usual quarter inch seam.

Then press both sides of seam flat.

Use a 1cm overhang at each new corner so that you can turn raw edge under like a 1cm hem when mitering the corners. I mitre the corner like folding gift wrapping paper.

Press all the seams flat as you go, and the mitred corners.

I find pinning one side at a time, then hemming that side and that corner before moving onto the next one is the best method.

The Magpie cat finds sleeping on the pin cushion the best method.

Then just hem stitch each side as you go, on the wrong side of the quilt. Make tiny stitches, so they are not visible.