7 Day Quilt Challenge

A 7 Day Quilt Challenge has been doing the rounds on Facebook the idea being that each day for seven days you post details of a different quilt you've made.  I was nominated for the challenge by my friend Karen Moore Haynes.

The seven quilts I chose don't showcase my work per se but they hold the most meaning for me and I've been sharing them daily on my made by ChrissieD Facebook page.

 I've decided to share them here with you too, in one post rather than seven!  If you'd like to know more about each quilt you can click the images to go to the original posts

QUILT 1

My Very First Ever Quilt - October 2011

Wait Till You See What My Mum's Given Me!

You all know that I've just been over to Scotland to drop Flicky off at the University of St Andrews, crikey this is my third blog post today so I'm thinking you might all be very well aware of that by now!  What I haven't shared with you yet is that while we were there Simon and I drove down to St Helens, England to spend 5 days with my Mum.

please excuse phone camera/instagram quality but I so love this pic of us both :)

We laughed and cried, ate and drank far too much and slept too little while we were together but we just had the best time.

It's strange to visit and Dad's not home, I think because I live so far away it's easy to imagine he is still there and visiting makes the truth all too real.

Just look at this next photo, Mum wearing the birthday apron I made for her and holding Dad's Memory Quilt made from his shirts which I sent to her last Christmas.  It was wonderful to finally see her with them, I know she loves her apron and wears it every day (she'd want me to be sure and tell you that it washes beautifully) but I hadn't like to ask her about the quilt, I wondered if maybe it upset her to use it as it had never been mentioned since she unwrapped it last Christmas.

Turns out I couldn't be more wrong.  Mum keeps the quilt on the back of Dad's chair, which she has taken to sitting in to watch television and when she's chilly she wraps herself in it.  When I say Dad's chair - I mean Dad's chair - that chair was bought when they got married 56 years ago, it's been reupholstered several times but through all the years no-one but Dad sat in it.

Mum also tells me that in the last couple of weeks her brother has also been wrapped in the quilt while watching football in Dad's chair.  I love that not only is the chair being well used but, through the quilt, Dad's shirts are still sitting in the chair - probably sounds very strange but there's something very comforting for me in that!  The quilt has had a couple of trips out to be shown to friends and has even been to the hairdressers - now it wouldn't be wrong to say that that quilt's getting out and socialising more than Dad did but maybe it's not keen to go either and Mum's just making it ;)

Now on to my best news - just look what my Mum gave me

This is Mum's sewing machine - bought for her by her Mum when she was just 19.  Grandma, a trained confectioner, hoped that Mum would develop a creative flair but she was to be disappointed, the machine wasn't used until I started to 'play' with it when I was young and then made clothes and bedding on it as a teenager.

It's a 1954 Singer 99K

I particularly love that it says 'made in Great Britain' around the base

It needs some loving care - Mum has had it in her garage for so many years now and wasn't actually sure if it was still there or had previously been disposed of.  It was there though and it is just how I remember it.  There's some rust - but I think it's pretty superficial and the veneer on the back of the wooden base is peeling away but amazingly it still works - so fingers crossed I just need to sort myself out with a US power cable and a new bulb and I'm away.  I'm so excited I just can't tell you.

Bringing the machine back to the US with us was lots of fun too - we put the wooden case in our suitcases to go in the plane hold and carried the metal machine section in our hand luggage.  After scanning the bag with the machine in, as expected the bag warranted a physical search and we engaged in some very pleasant conversation with the security staff about the origins of the sewing machine and how wonderful it is that it is being passed down through the generations.  That was well and good until our BA flight from Edinburgh to Heathrow was delayed so we would miss our connecting flight back to Newark so we were moved on to Virgin flights instead (I have to say here that the BA and Virgin staff were simply excellent throughout).  Unfortunately this meant we had to leave the departure lounge and collect our cases (already in the BA plane hold) which were returned to us at the arrivals' luggage carousels.  Then we had to start from scratch at the Virgin departures desk and go through security again.  So at security for a second time the sewing machine was pulled again for a physical search - this time the conversation was along the lines of how can something so small be so heavy - a point really worthy of note as you wouldn't want to drop this little beauty on your foot!

That all said she's safely home with us now and I couldn't be happier - thanks Mum, I love you xxx

Related Posts:

In Memory Of Dad
Happy Birthday Mum
Beyond The Edge Of Nowhere 

Visiting Edinburgh? Drop Into Avery Homestore  

In Memory of Dad

Last night my Mum and I were chatting on Skype and she asked me if I'd mind very much if she opened her Christmas present from me early.  I understood immediately why she'd want to do this - you see she knows that her present, which arrived safely and has been sitting under her Christmas tree now for last the last two weeks, is a Memory Quilt that I have made for her using my Dad's shirts.

 Mum knew that seeing the quilt would be quite emotional for her (and for me too) and so we decided that she'd open her present right then, just the two of us together over Skype.

It was a very special time for both of us and I can tell you that Mum loves the quilt and we had a lovely two hours chatting with her wrapped in her Memory Quilt in England and me wrapped in my Juicebox Sofa Quilt in America.

I am thrilled to now be able to share photos of the quilt with you here on my blog.

For My Dad

18 August 1925 - 5 May 2012

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

Disclaimer:

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

 

Posting A Very Special Package

Yesterday I ventured to the Post Office in Hoboken - it was my first visit since I've lived here and I was posting a very special package to my Mum - my Dad's Memory Quilt.

I spent ages wrapping the quilt

and then wrapping the postage box in beautiful Martha Stewart Xmas postal paper

but the guy in the Post Office didn't like the way I'd wrapped it - he cut off my string, told me my tape (which I had carefully placed over every seam on the parcel) wasn't good enough and then he covered pretty much the whole box in white, red and blue United States Postal Service tape.  Next he added a smattering of stickers and stamps and then an enormous customs form - pretty much the size of half the box.

I'm so glad I took these photos so my Mum can see just how I'd intended her pressie to look when she received it because I can assure you it no longer resembles this in any way - but I guess if it's going to arrive safely and in one piece I shouldn't complain!

I understand it'll take around 10 business days to get to her so I'm holding my breath until she's got it and it's under her tree waiting for Christmas Day.

Today is Thanksgiving and, although we're not American, we are, of course, celebrating.  Flicky has gone over to Macy's to watch the Thanksgiving Parade with our house guest, Claire, and I've been cooking Cauliflower Cheese and Banoffee Pie to take over to Thanksgiving Dinner at Ivete's (Rose Smoke) later this afternoon.

and

Tatty, being an all American puppy has asked me to pass on a very special message to you all :)

Is It Possible To Crochet With No Hook On Your Hook?

It's been a good week, lots achieved and a particular highlight has been testing the paper pieced butterfly for Juliet of Tartankiwi and judging by the fantastic response I've had, I think you all love it too!

I've had a big finish as well - My Dad's Memory Quilt is now complete and will very shortly be winging its way across the Atlantic to my Mum.  For now I still can't share photos with you here - I promise I'll do that right after Christmas but you can take a look at it on my Facebook page

There was a wonderful moment this morning when I was going through posts on all the blogs that I follow and started reading a post on The Lazy Quilter that talked about Miss Chrissie and Miss Sarah.  It took me a moment to realise the post was about me and my good friend, Sarah of Quilt Candy as we have become the first followers on Erin's great blog.  Erin lives in Brisbane, Australia, and has been blogging since August but has only just discovered how to add the 'followers' button to the side of her blog, which I'm very glad to know as I couldn't understand for the life of me why no-one else was following her.  Anyway, Erin has a really great voice, funny and quirky, and deserves a few more followers if you'd like to pop over and visit her.

Another great new blog that I've come across in the last week or so is I Taught Myself Patchwork which is brilliantly and humorously written by F (Fleur Bleue), an English quilter now living in rural France and sharing her experiences with us.  I've laughed out loud many times reading her posts and that, for me, is as good a reason as any to keep going back for more. 

I've started crocheting a throw this week using the acrylic/mohair wool I brought back from Rhinebeck in October.  Initially it was going to be a keeper but I've had an idea of someone to give it to and I think they'll appreciate it more than me so we'll see if I think it's worthy of being given away once I finish it.  Another reason to give it away is that Tatty is totally obsessed with it - or so I thought, but turns out it's my bamboo crochet hook that's the real object of her desire.  Tatty had her friend Abi around for a doggie playdate on Thursday afternoon and while I was busy chatting with Abi's mum the inevitable finally happened - has anyone out there had any success crocheting with a hookless crochet hook?  I switched to one of my metal hooks, which was of no interest to Tatty whatsoever but I had to go back to using another bamboo hook (I have a whole mountain of crochet hooks!) as it's so much nicer once it warms to your fingers and takes on the oils from your skin - after a few uses it just glides through the wool.

This morning Tatty and I went for our daily constitutional down to the Colgate Clock looking out to the Statue of Liberty.  It was such a beautiful morning, once you've layered up and you're wearing your ear muffs, hat, scarf, gloves and full length, down filled North Face coat, so I snapped a few photos.

Top left - the Colgate Clock - they're busy replacing all the land that was washed away during Sandy, you can see Ellis Island and Liberty in the background.   Top right - that's my husband Simon's office on the river front and then I've taken the bottom photo from outside his building - that's the Jersey City to Manhattan ferry with 1WTC (previously known as the Freedom Tower) in the background and you can just about see the Empire State Building behind the ferry.

 Top right - I love this building, the Jersey City Powerhouse.  Left - Newport Town Square 9-11 Memorial looking through to where the Twin Towers stood.  Bottom right - I snapped this photo of the ground floor walls of my apartment building being dried out and repaired  after Sandy.  Oh yes, and that's Tatty sitting waiting patiently in her pram!

Well that rounds up my week and it's been such a good one.  I hope you've had a good week too :)

Another Week In Manhattan

Thursday - morning coffee with Christopher Columbus at his apartment on Columbus Circle.  If you're around NYC anytime through to 18 November be sure to visit this free exhibition - the artist Tatzu Nishi has built a temporary apartment around the Christopher Columbus statue on Columbus Circle and you can go up into the apartment and stay for half an hour.  Christopher is standing on his own coffee table!  For free timed tickets here's the link.

Me and my good friend W enjoying the view from Christopher Columbus' living room!

Saturday -
First meeting of the year for NYC Metro Modern Quilt Guild.  Good to finally put faces to people I've been chatting to via the blog and to meet everyone.  I took along my Dad's Memory Quilt to share in 'Show and Tell' and the group were so encouraging when they saw it.  You can see my quilt and all the other great quilts by following the link below (Mum - if you're reading this do just don't follow the link x).

 'NYC Metro Mod Guild 'Show and Tell' quilts - October 2012 
There's more photos also on Victoria's blog  Bumble Beans Inc (Guild President) - I'm sat on the floor on the right wearing a blue and grey stripped t-shirt and chatting to Maren from The Agitprop Quilter.

If you followed the link did you spot Lisa's 'Triangles Galore' quilt which includes my July Bee Block?  Well Lisa has finished her quilt now and you can read all about it here on her blog The Red Headed Mermaid.  I love that I can see my block in so many of the photos - the yellow star with a sky blue surround!!!

While I'm on the subject of my Bee Blocks - another Bee Block quilt has been completed incorporating my two June Bee Blocks - check it out here it's Kimberley's New York Beauty quilt.

Look what I won in the door raffle  

and here's are challenge for our December meeting - it's 1/30th of a Kandinsky painting and I can reproduce it in any media - paint/paper/fabric/etc and it doesn't have to be washable.

 Other News:  Here's a peep at an applique block I've made for a very special quilt - I'll tell you more about it another time :)

For details of other fabric, yarn, trim and notion stores that I've visited around the world along with the NYC stores I love, exhibitions and events I've attended and wonderful people I've been lucky to meet click the links below or in my side bar :D

Looking Back At My Week

Thursday - visited Karen Haynes, my tutor for the Sparkle Plenty quilt, who has since become a good friend.  Karen was home on bed rest awaiting the arrival of her twin babies so we spent the afternoon talking all things quilty and baby and girly.  I did marvel at Karen's rented apartment wall - I've never heard of this before - dare I say it "only in NY"? ... great idea though!  By Saturday those babies refused to wait any longer and thrilled everyone with their arrival - a huge welcome to Georgia Maeve and Weston Michael :)

Friday - Daughter, F, had her hair cut and dyed again - here's a peek at how it looks this time, I love, love, love it

Hair by Peter & Jess at Toni & Guy, Maxwell Place, Hoboken

Saturday - Got smashing news from my eldest son, JA, that this week he'll successfully complete his CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and has accepted at job at a language school in the centre of Seville, Spain, starting next week through to June/July next year.  Excellent news and we're all really thrilled for you JA, you deserve everything for all your hard work xxx

Took my first trip out to 2 Stix & a String, a new wool shop on York Street, Jersey City with E & M from my Jersey City Crafty Knitters Meetup group.  The shop is fab - Karen, the owner, is very welcoming as are the farmhouse kitchen table and chairs so you can sit, chat and knit and the yarns are sooooo delicious, I was spoilt for choice.  I finally settled on a great knit and crochet hat book imaginatively titled Hats!  I stayed a while at the shop and started crocheting the Bobbly beanie using Rowan Cocoon in Lavender Ice - it's an 80/20 Merino wool and Kid mohair mix and scrummy to use.  Finished the hat later on Saturday evening, it's going to be a gift for someone very soon so can't share photos just yet.

That's me outside 2 Stix & a String, 234 York Street Jersey City

Monday - October Bee Block fabric and instructions arrived.  Another great month with Queen Bee Bernadette giving us lots of freedom with the design so I'm already well underway with my planning.  I'll post about it separately once the block's completed.

Tuesday - Since I started blogging I've made some great blogging friends and one of these is Sarah of Sarah Sews Quilting Blog.  A few weeks ago we were discussing the merits of air erasable pens and I mentioned that my pen had run out of ink and I was having a bit of difficulty getting hold of the identical pen here in the States.  Turned out Sarah was having a similar problem on Jersey, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Normandy.  Within days a friend of Sarah's had picked up a couple of the pens in England for the two of us and Sarah posted it off to me, how fab is that?

Well this morning the pen arrived, but not just the pen ... Sarah also sent me these goodies - how cute are they and I'm loving the Kath Kidston Notecard?  Thank you, thank you, thank you Sarah, your timing is perfect - I need the pen to draw quilting designs on my Dad's Memory Quilt and also my Double Irish Chain Quilt, I'm so happy and grateful :)

Pop over to Sarah's blog and her Flickr page and take a look, she's studying for the City and Guilds Design and Craft Level 3 Certificate in Patchwork and Quilting with the The School of Stitched Textiles and her work is so fun, cute, crisp and simply perfect.

My parcel of goodies - thank you Sarah :)

The rest of the week - every day I've been doing some quilting on my Dad's Memory Quilt for my Mum.  My right shoulder is giving me some pain at the moment and each time I quilt it aggravates it further, so I've been doing it a little at a time but I'm not moving on with it as fast as I'd like.

Tomorrow - I'm so excited about meeting fabric designer Tula Pink at 12 noon when she does her trunk show in Manhattan - I'll take pics to share if I can

TULA PINK 

The fabric designer, quilter, sewer extradinaire, Tula Pink will give an insightful
talk about her love of sewing and the creative process that has allowed her to produce four fabric
collections, and become a national spokesperson for Bernina. Along with sewing and talking,
Tula will have an extensive trunk show to share during these free sessions.

And finally, for my round-up of the last week here's the latest posts and tutorials for you to check out as part of Plum and June's Let's Get Acquainted! Blog Hop:

10 Tips For Better Blog Photos from Holly at Bijou Lovely

Peak Hour Quilt tutorial from Jen at Closet Quilter

Reversible Coaster tutorial from Amanda at Fabric Engineer

Charming Hexagonal Table Topper tutorial from Amanda at Material Girl Quilts

Anna at Pink Padme
 Lina at Smultronbo's Pieceful

Another Busy Week

Trees & Bears Baby Quilt

I've spent the last week making a handful of baby quilts (four so far) and I've also started quilting my Dad's Memory Quilt, but I haven't been able to make progress with the Double Irish Chain quilt as the white batting I've ordered hasn't arrived yet.

 and here's a peep at one of the baby quilts.

Dad's Memory Quilt progress 
- usual story that all regular followers know by now:

"I can't post any photos of my Dad's Memory Quilt on my blog as it's a present for my Mum and she wants it to be a surprise so again I've posted some photos to my facebook page as my Mum doesn't have facebook and can't see it there."  

If you want to see how it's looking, just click this link :D

I can now give you an update on the July NYC Mod Bee Blocks for Queen Bee Lisa - Triangles Galore.  Lisa has now pieced the 12 blocks together and you can see her progress at The Red Haired Mermaid.  As always I love spotting the block I've made which in the photo on Lisa's blog is top right!


On Tuesday afternoon, my friend A invited me to attend a musical event held by the UN Women's Guild Manhattan Group at the UN Church Center, Manhattan.  It was a 9/11 Memorial Gala Performance to raise funds for needy children's projects around the world.  Concert pianist, Michael Fennelly and his wife, soprano Megan Weston entertained us fabulously for the afternoon and the programme was so wonderful that I've put links to the pieces here (although the links aren't by performed by Michael and Megan).

Exsultate jubilate "Alleluia" - Mozart

Sonata in C Minor, D. 958, I. Allegro - Schubert

Vier letzte Lieder "Beim Schlafengehen" - Strauss (Richard)

Etudes, Op 10: No 1 in C Major; No 3 in E-Flat Major; and No 4 in C-Sharp - Chopin

La traviata "Addio del passato" - Verdi

La sonnambula "Come per me sereno ... Sovra il sen la man mi posa" - Bellini

Reminiscences de Robert le Diable - Meyerbeer/Liszt

The Pirates of Penzance "Poor Wand'ring One" - Gilbert & Sullivan

On Saturday I'm off to Quilters Take Manhattan at FIT, Manhattan, it's going to be really great and today I had my first peek at the house shaped quilts for the 'Home Is Where the Quilt Is' exhibition on display at The City Quilter - they're looking absolutely amazing and so inspiring.  Then straight after QTM we're heading out to Sea Cliff, Long Island to stay with good friends P&L - a much needed break and a way overdue visit, can't wait :)




And finally, for my round-up of the week here's the latest posts and tutorials for you to check out as part of Plum and June's Let's Get Acquainted! Blog Hop:

Travel Makeup Case tutorial from Bethany at Make Me A Quilt
and congratulations Bethany on your wedding this weekend :)

Log Cabin Hexagon Block tutorial from Tessa at The Sewing Chick

Fat Quarter Table Runner tutorial from Anne at SpringLeaf Studios

Chelsea from Pins & Bobbins

Related Posts:
Double Irish Chain Quilt - Strips All Sliced
Will Blogging Help Me Sleep?
Two Quilts and Making Progress
Project Update And Shout Out for The Agitprop Quilter
Triangles Galore Saturday

Linking To:

Project Update And Shout Out For The Agitprop Quilter

At my LQS with my Double Irish Chain quilt top

 Quick update on my two ongoing projects:

Here's a photo taken at my Manhattan LQS of me and my Double Irish Chain quilt.  Need to order some white batting before I can sandwich the quilt though - I think the white blocks are sooo very white that the natural cream coloured batting that I usually use may dirty its appearance.

Making good progress with my Dad's Memory Quilt - I've finished half of the top sheet and 3/4 of the backing sheet.  Regular followers will know the drill by now 

"I can't post any photos of my Dad's Memory Quilt on my blog as it's a present for my Mum and she wants it to be a surprise so again I've posted some photos to my facebook page as my Mum doesn't have facebook and can't see it there."  

If you want to see how it's looking, just click this link :D







I also want to give a special shout out to my good friend Maren (previously referred to as 'M' as part of that mysterious and unspoken blogging etiquette) who has this week decided to take the plunge and go 'live' with her quilting blog.  Be sure to take a look as she has such a witty and wry writing style which is incredibly refreshing! 

The Agitprop Quilter

Related Posts:
Double Irish Chain Quilt - Strips All Sliced
Another Busy Week
Will Blogging Help Me Sleep?
Two Quilts and Making Progress

Two Quilts and Making Progress

This last week I've made great progress with my Double Irish Chain quilt and also my Dad's Memory Quilt.

The Double Irish Chain quilt top is now finished and I've also pieced the back using some left over strips from the quilt top.  The rest of the quilt back will be more of the Oval Elements fabric in Petal Pink by Pat Bravo but, as I want to keep the ovals all running in the same direction, I need to buy more so I'll pick this up when I go to the final class at my LQS in Manhattan this Thursday.  Now I've added the borders the quilt is much larger than I'd realised.  The book said I'd be making a 50" x 70" quilt but this turns out to be the size of the Irish Chain section without borders (if I'd put my thinking cap on I'd have realised this - 5 x 10" blocks = 50" but I didn't) so the finished size is actually going to be about 66" x 87".

As regular followers will know, I can't post any photos of my Dad's Memory Quilt on my blog as it's a present for my Mum and she wants it to be a surprise so again I've posted some photos to my facebook page as my Mum doesn't have facebook and can't see it there.  If you want to see how it's looking, just click this link :D

Related Posts:
Double Irish Chain Quilt - Strips All Sliced
Will Blogging Help Me Sleep?
Two Quilts and Making Progress
Project Update And Shout Out for The Agitprop Quilter