Pressies From Seville

Look what arrived in my post yesterday ...

Fab pressies from my eldest son who is currently living in Seville, Spain.  They're for my birthday which was four weeks ago but he wasn't expecting the parcel to take quite as long as it has to get to the US.

There's a beautiful card, a notebook, a roll of blue ribbon and 3 gorgeous quilting weight fabrics.  A note in his card says that his Spanish girlfiriend added the fabrics (she knows I quilt) and he thought, well why not, but this got me very excited as my family haven't bought fabric for me before.

I'm wondering what to make using them and I'm thinking that the colours will go great in my bedroom so a cushion could be a good call, then again maybe I'd like a case for my crochet hooks or a travel wrap for my quilting tools?  

Decisions, decisions :)

Let's Get Acquainted

Last week I was asked if I'd like to move forward my 12 November slot on the Plum & June's Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop to Thursday, 11 October. I jumped at the chance - not a hope of me creating a new tutorial by then, I thought, but I'd just posted one that same evening and maybe not that many would already have seen it, so with that sorted, here I am.

For anyone who doesn't already know me, I'm Chris, I'm English, and I've been living on Manhattan's doorstep since 1 August 2011.  Thank you for visiting, and an extra big 'hi' to anyone who's also taking part in the P&J LGA Blog Hop.  Thanks also to Beth, who is Plum & June, for organising what has turned out to be one heck of a fantastic 6 month Blog Hop marathon :)

View From My Roof Garden

Tatty the Havapoo

For 20 years, I've been married to my worst enemy, Simon - since this Blog Hop started, I've wanted to say that as I can't quite believe just how many quilters are "married to their best friend" ;).  It's Simon's fault that I'm living in America and that I've given up so much to be here.  I admit I've done quite a bit of kicking and screaming along the way, but the problem is I kind of like it now and don't want to leave, but let's just keep that between us as there's a lot more mileage, yet in him not knowing!

I have one dog, Thatcher (known as Tatty to her friends and named after a woman I have much admiration for - Margaret), and then there are my three children.  Jack is 23; he graduated from uni in July and has since completed an intensive teacher training course and started teaching English at a school in Seville, Spain. 

In the middle, I have Joe, who is 22, and he too graduated from uni in July.  He's about to move to live in London as he's an aspiring actor, so if anyone knows of any roles suitable for someone bearing a remarkable resemblance to a young Hugh Grant, send me an email.

My youngest is Flicky, she lives here in America with me and today is her 18th birthday.  This is a significant birthday in England as you are now considered an adult in all respects and legally old enough to buy alcohol.  Unfortunately for Flicky, we live in America, so she won't be celebrating her big day in quite the same way that all her friends back in England celebrate theirs.  Still, I hope this shout out for her via my blog will ease her disappointment to some extent, but somehow I don't think so!!!

These photos were taken in Manhattan on Christmas Eve 2011, the last time the five of us were all together.

As is the way in my day-to-day life, I've just realised that I'm talking on and on about my family and haven't told you anything really about me, so ...

I've been sewing and knitting since I'm too young to remember.  I watched my mum knitting and then when I was about 7 I had a go myself in my bedroom.  I made a jumper for my teddy bear, Bruno, using scraps of Mum's leftover wool, and I remember how shocked she was when I showed her what I'd made as she'd had no idea I'd been watching her and learning.

I have always been artistic and creative but was pushed down a more academic route at school, as we pretty much all were back in those days.  I tailored my own clothes in my teens and 20s and then made everything for my babies as they were born, and finally, in 2006, I gave up office-based work and went back to college.  I studied Art & Design, following my creative dreams, later specialising in Ceramics and then moving into Textile Art. 

When we moved to the States, I booked myself on a quilting course and started quilting 1 year and 6 days ago today, and I haven't looked back; I've written more about learning to quilt on my blog post My Very First Ever Quilt.  I started blogging on 28 April this year, and you can also find me on Facebook, Ravelry and Pinterest - please come and have a look :)  Hopefully, my green card will arrive any time now, allowing me to set up my Etsy shop and start selling my work as my current visa doesn't allow me to earn money.



I'm an NYC Metro Mod Guild member, and I'm in their Mod Bee with my Queen Bee month, December, coming up fast.   When I'm not quilting, I can often be found at my LQS in Manhattan, searching out fabrics, attending classes and chatting with friends.  I also like to go to the NY Philharmonic Open Rehearsals on Wednesday/Thursday mornings. If you're visiting NYC and love classical music, this is an excellent way of seeing a concert for $18.




I'm counting down the days and weeks to QuiltCon, Austin, Texas, in February and hope to meet up with lots of you there so I can put faces to all the wonderful people I've met through blogging.  Be sure to let me know if you're going too :)




Here's a quick list of answers to Beth's original suggested questions for the Blog Hop:

Favourite quilting tip(s)
Using 2 small spare pieces of fabric, chain piece on and then off your main fabric piece saves thread, and the machine foot doesn't have to go up and down as it stays engaged.  That's hard to explain in writing, so I'll have to sort out a photo tutorial!!!

Favourite blogging tip(s) 
Don't write long wordy posts - this tip is very tongue in cheek as I'm the world's worst  ;)

Favourite fabric (or wish list fabric)
Currently, Aqua La Femme by Melissa Crowley and a Betsey Johnson plaid that I'm using to make a lofty quilt for Flicky to take off to uni with her next September.

Favourite craft book
Piecing, The Piece o' Cake Way by Becky Goldsmith & Linda Jenkins
a 'how to' quilting book recommended by my first quilting teacher, the fabulous Christine Janove.

Favourite book (or book you are currently reading)
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Both of my two grandads, as teenagers, fought in the WWI trenches and survived The Somme.  This book gave me my first insight into what shaped them as men and helped me understand the subsequent impact on their offspring ... my family.

Favourite children's book
Unless he was working, my Dad read to me every night while I was growing up, and every night I asked for the same story - Old Mister Glue-Pot from Tales of Green Hedges by Enid Blyton. 

Favourite quilting tool
I can't pick one as I have three that I love so much I did tutorials on using them.
June Tailor's Shape Plus Cut Ruler and Bloc-Loc and Rotating Cutting Mat

Favourite music to listen to work to
The Wanted, Neon Trees, Cee Lo Green, LMFAO, Katy Perry, Jesse J, Ed Sheeran, Olly Murs, Taio Cruz, oh and better mention One Direction as Flicky and her friend Maud run a fansite about them, Maud and the Dods.

Favourite TV shows to work to
The Great British Bake-Off

Strictly Come Dancing
Project Runway
The Good Wife

Binding
99% of the time, I machine the front binding and hand sew the back.

If I'd only known 
What excellent, encouraging people are out there sharing the same interests and equally keen to share their knowledge with you too.

Other people on the Blog Hop this week and next:
Tuesday, 9 October: Amy from Sew Incredibly Crazy and Foster from Foster Reviews It
Thursday, 11 October: Marit from Sew, love, live
Tuesday, 16 October: Vicki from Quilting Lodge Blog and Liz from Dandelion Daydream



The official theme of the Blog Hop is novelty prints. Fortunately, I posted a tutorial last week using 2 novelty prints - Echino Deer Patchwork in Purple and Circa 1934 by Cosmo Cricket for Moda. Here it is, A Laminated Mug Rug, for those who are still awake to finish reading this!

and finally, finally


Happy 18th Birthday, Flicky xxx

Play Quilt And Matching Dog Set

In March this year, the most wonderful little fluffy person came to live with us, her name is Thatcher (yes, she is named after our British ex-Prime Minister, Margaret) and she is known as Tatty to her friends.  

It was a difficult decision for me as I was still reeling from having my chocolate button-eyed poodle, Lucy, put to sleep 12 months earlier.

Tatty is a Havapoo (Havanese and Toy Poodle) and she is the happiest, friendly and adorable bundle of dogginess that you could ever wish to meet.  Her arrival immediately turned our apartment into our home and now we wouldn't be without her!  She's also given my daughter, F, hours of fun trying all her teddy bear's clothes on her: can you spot St Trinian's Tatty; Cowgirl Tatty; Harry Potter Tatty; and Dumbledore Tatty and there's even a very British Tatty in there too.

My eldest son, JA, did spot another likeness, though - Tatty looks uncannily like that dreadful Scottish export, Susan Boyle!

Anyway, back to more serious matters - Quilting!  I immediately set about making Tatty her own quilt - doesn't every dog deserve a quilt?  Well so far Tatty's got two, one for her pram that I've posted about previously (yes, you did read that right), Tatty has a pram and she goes to Doggie Daycare in it once a week at Fuzzybutz in Hoboken so a big shout out here for Vicki and her team who are just amazing :)

But this post is about Tatty's play quilt.

I made the quilt using some old cushion covers from the kid's TV room in our English home and backed it with a piece of faux fur that I had in the bottom of my stash.  I didn't put batting in the quilt as the cushion covers were thicker than quilting cotton and the faux fur gave the quilt plenty thickness also.  I quilted in the ditch, completely ignoring the 8" rule, and I have to say that the quilt's holding its own well.  It takes a constant battering from Tatty and frequently reacquaints itself with the washing machine and tumble dryer and it's not showing signs of wear yet.

I machine sewed both sides of the binding and it only took an hour or so to make.  Tatty loves it and I'm guessing the people in the apartment below love it too though they don't even know it (we like her to eat her bones on the quilt as she makes a terrible noise when she drops them on the wooden floor).

My friend, P, pointed out that Tatty and the quilt coordinate - totally unplanned but I kind of like it "A Matching Set"!

And finally here's some more photos of Tatty enjoying life on my Juice Box Sofa quilt that I posted about previously and have just updated with new photo detail.

Disclaimer:
This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.

Wherever I Lay My Hat - Surprise Project I Revealed

Since May, I've been telling you all that I've been working on two surprise projects and I'm finally able to share them with you. I've been so excited for so long.

So here goes with Surprise Project I - this is a quilt that I've called 'Wherever I Lay My Hat' and is a gift to my eldest son, Jack, on his graduation - BSc (Hons) French. It's taken him four years, Years 1, 2 & 4 at Aston University in Birmingham, England and Year 3 he lived and worked in Paris. I loved visiting him in Birmingham but our time spent in Paris with him, being treated like a local rather than as an English tourist was very special and we have wonderful memories to share.

Before the ceremony, we gave Jack the quilt, his graduation gift from us, and he also received a generous cheque from Gran that will allow him to study for his CELTA Cambridge qualification in Seville this September.

The Graduation Ceremony was held at Birmingham Town Hall and afterwards, we were all taken on buses back to a champagne reception at Aston University.  It was a very enjoyable afternoon and the day was finished off with Gran treating us and our friends CB and JW to a fab evening meal at Pushkar Indian restaurant on Broad Street.  Jack, Flicky and JW then went clubbing in Birmingham whilst Simon, Gran and I went back to our very welcome beds :) .

and here're more photos of the quilt itself - which Jack loved so much he carried it to his graduation ceremony with him :)

I took my inspiration for the quilt from 3 fabric maps of London, Paris and New York - representing all the countries that have been 'home' to Jack during his degree.  I built the fabrics up using 2 English themed print designs of crowns and Big Ben's clock face, 2 French themed prints of Parisian images and advertising alongside some French song lyrics and then 2 prints of the New York skyline.  I interspersed these with a handful of other non-themed prints and solids in 3 horizontal bands for the quilt front and I repeated each fabric across the quilt back also.  Across the lower front left, I machine embroidered Jack's name, degree and study dates.

The quilting is alternating through horizontal and vertical on each fabric design and the 3 maps have diagonal quilting that turns back within each triangular section rather than crossing at the centre.  The quilt border has parallel quilting intersecting at each corner.

I named the quilt 'Wherever I Lay My Hat' from the extended saying ... that's my home ... as that is exactly how I think of my eldest son, who from the day he was born has been my little adventurer and explorer, always keen to learn more about everyone, everything and everywhere.  Now he's not so little and his adventures take him further and further. I hope his thirst for life continues and his time in Seville, and wherever life takes him after that, is successful and exciting, as well as everything he's hoping it will be and more. x

Related Posts:
An Actor's Life For Me - Surprise Project II Revealed

Disclaimer:

This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.

Graduation Times Ahead - So Excited!!!

Tomorrow we fly back to England again, this time it's definitely a trip of celebrations as my two sons, JA & JT are both graduating from university.  JT graduates from the University of Kent at Canterbury Cathedral on Thursday morning with an MDrama (Hons) in Theatre and Drama Studies and then on Friday afternoon, JA graduates from Aston University at Birmingham Town Hall with a BSc (Hons) in French.  

We're really looking forward to it although, daughter F & I are starting to get a bit worried that our NYC summer outfits might not be quite so appropriate for the current English weather! 

After the graduations we're travelling to the north of England to my home town, St Helens, to bury my Dad's ashes and celebrate his life. Our final week is in London, catching up with special friends.

I might have difficulty sleeping tonight, I'm so excited!

Shopping List? What Shopping List? Are We Supposed To Stick To The Shopping List?

How I pass a day in the City:

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

10 to 11 am

F's fab shoes

Sit in Think Coffee, Meatpacking/Chelsea district, drinking Earl Grey tea and eating smoked salmon cream cheese bagels with your daughter, F.  Discuss all the items you both need to purchase to finalise your outfits for JA & JT's (my 2 sons) university graduation ceremonies in England in July.  The shopping list includes:

• black suede summer weight shoes for F;
• clutch bag for F;
• cream strappy top for F;
• long sleeve 'floaty' cream blouse for F;
• nude summer weight handbag for C; and
• 2 cardi's for C to match each of  my 2 graduation dresses purchased last week.

Get a text from husband, S, telling me that No 2 son, JT, has been awarded first class honours for his MDrama degree in Drama and Theatre Studies at The University of Kent in Canterbury, England.  JT, we're so thrilled for you, you've worked hard and played hard and you deserve your success xxx.

11 to 12 noon

F tries on shoes in Shoegasm and picks up an incredible pair of Chelsea Crew shoes - they're exactly what she's looking for.

12 noon to 1 pm

Watch F try on pretty much everything that's currently available to purchase at Urban Outfitters - F comes away with a dress, tie-dye purple shorts and 2 pairs of strappy sandals (yes, you're right, none of these were on the list but we both know she looks great in them and they're such a bargain!).

1 to 1.30 pm

Nip into The Container Store and pick up a necklace holder for, yes you've guessed it, F!  Leave F at subway loaded down with bags though none of it's for me - some use that shopping list proved to be!

1.30 - 3 pm

Meet up with my friend, W, at our Manhattan LQS to put together a collection of black and white fabrics with a splash of red for a table runner she's going to make.

Spot a laminate that I just have to have a yard of Kaffe Fassett Studio- Petunias Blue.  Thinking toiletry bags lined with the Early Birds by Jane Sassaman 'Poka Dot' that I've used with my Sparkle Plenty quilt and lime green zippers.  But I've also got a hankering for a picnic blanket using this laminate as the ground sheet, how stunning would that be?  Mmm, I'll have a think on that one.

Kaffe Fassett - Petunias Blue

Jane Sassaman - Poka Dot

3 to 4 pm 

Hot Lemon Ginger tea and none stop chin wagging at The Blue Dog, then jump in a taxi with W and you'll never guess where we're off to ... (some readers may recall a place in NYC that I've not been to yet but am very keen to visit) ...

4 to 5 pm

... finally, my long promised and awaited trip to Purl Soho and I'm not disappointed.  It's a really cute shop in a fab area with lots of other great shopping and eating.  Right opposite is Kiteya, Soho, a Japanese accessory and fabric shop so we pop in here first and I pick up a small canvas shoulder bag and a notepad - will be calling back again when I need to stock up on gifts and pressies.  Satisfied with our purchases at Kiteya, W and I cross over to Purl where we are greeted with a great selection of yarns and fabrics.

So PurlSoho, not as many fabrics to choose from as at my LQS, some fabrics are the same but enough are different and are current popular ranges so it makes it worthwhile to shop at both locations, which is good.  A bit pricier than my LQS also - a fat quarter is $3.50 compared to $3.00 but not too badly priced (nothing in NYC seems badly priced to me compared to English prices where retailers seem to think they can just change the $ to a £ instantly making all English prices 1/3 more expensive than the American price).

So here's what I bought:

I've got a bit of a thing for purple and green!

Loving the Avalon Birdie Spokes (Concrete) - it grounds all the other colours and stops them being too sickly together

Not my usual colour palette but thinking I should work outside my comfort zone sometimes just to see how it feels

5 to 6 pm

As we're walking back over to the West Side to get on the subway let's just recap that shopping list for today:

• black suede summer weight shoes for F;
• clutch bag for F;
• cream strappy top for F;
• long sleeve 'floaty' cream blouse for F;
• nude summer weight handbag for C; and
• 2 cardi's for C to match each of 2 graduation dresses purchased last week

Looks like we'll have to go back again another day - now isn't that a shame?!!!

For details of other NYC fabric, yarn, trim and notion stores that I love along with other stores around the world, exhibitions, and events I've attended, click the links below or in my sidebar

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.

Back To Some Much Needed Quilting

Me and My Babes

I've spent the last 5 days back in England for my Dad's funeral.  If these events can be beautiful then this one certainly was.  From the service to the weather, everything was perfect; a very appropriate and fitting goodbye to the wonderful and absolute gentleman that my Dad was.

It's strange but these last 2 weeks have also given me what is now a rare opportunity - the chance to be with all 3 of my children at the same time (can you still refer to them as your children once they're adult and towering over you?!).  With each of us scattered in constantly changing places around the globe it takes some arranging to even Skype each other across the many time zones.  These last few days have given us some sad but very special memories to carry with us always.

Dad's Shirts

I've brought Dad's shirts back to the US with me, I'm going to make a quilt for Mum to keep.  The pastel colours look great together and I'm looking forward to making it up for her.

I'll leave you with this link to a song that my Dad used to sing to my Mum when I was growing up, John Rowles 'If I Only Had Time'.  I've never been able to listen to it without thinking of him and crying so it was very fitting that we played it as we entered the church at his funeral.

Updated at 20 May 2014

You can read about the finished Memory Quilt here in

In Memory Of Dad

Related Posts:

A Terrible Week

Back To Some Much Needed Quilting

Will Blogging Help Me Sleep?

Posting A Very Special Package

In Memory of Dad