Benta's Blog and some sewing

I have renamed the blog "Benta's Blog" as I am beginning to lose hope that I will ever get SLIKstitches back, and SLIKtemporary was chosen in a fit of pique!  I think the address will have to stay though, as I'm not taking the risk of messing with that again!

I have stitched the (hopefully) last block for the texture quilt, but no photo yet.  It is a mosaic type, raw edge applique, so needs to go through the wash and tumble drier before it looks right.

I have done some repairs on some silk and velvet pillow cases from Laura Ashley.    They had been marked down as waste as the silk had frayed at the seams, and the caretaker at school's daughter had been able to get them for her mum for free.

I had some pleated fabric in the right sort of colour, so added a strip to each pillowcase.

Very satisfying to do!

Texture Quilt and Pay It Forward ideas

I have finished the woven block for the texture quilt, and have made a log cabin.  I think there is just one needed now, and that will be raw edge applique: a sort of ticker tape block.  Then I might iron and square them all off before arranging them

I also started playing with ideas for the PIF gifts

 ... I was thinking of using one of these fabrics

 

or maybe one of these

or this one

Hmmm, time will tell. 

I did make a prototype of my PIF possible project - but Lisa said it was exactly what she wanted, and she loved the fabric - that was such a compliment, I had to give it to her!  I didn't even get a photo, but as both my PIF's read the blog I wouldn't have posted the photo anyway!!!

something pretty

Lisa suggested I sew something pretty, just because!

I picked up this jelly roll from Fabric Freedom (Aunt Grace, Circle of Friends, SOOOO pretty! It reminds me of summer dresses from childhood) and pulled out some white to go with it.

Did I want to do nine patch blocks?

Or scatter the patterned squares randomly amongst the white?

I started stitching each strip to white, and then had a brain wave.  I cut 8" off each pair, then stitched the remainder together.  At one end I added the patterned to the white to make an 8" strip of patterned / white  /patterned which I cut off, then I added the white to the other end (making white / patterned / white) so i made enough for two nine patches and left enough for 6 or 7  white / patterned pairs. (Makes sense to me anyway!)

 

Yes Mum, I know I'm supposed to do Hilary's textures first, but I needed some therapy!  I've had to stop with the circle of friends because I ran out of white fabric, so I did this one for Hilary: woven strips.

I think it's just a few more to go, so I think log cabin (maybe uneven log cabin? and maybe ticker tape (raw edge applique)

I'm also doing some liberated sizteen patch for Block Lotto, so I'll show those when they are done.

Too busy to blog!

I have been busy making stuff, and busy being lead down dead ends trying to revive the SLIKstitches blog.  The making has been fun, trying to get to communicate with someone at blogger reminds me of the saying "the impossible I can do at once, miracles take a little longer!

Anyway, enough whinging - I've mostly been working on blocks for the texture quilt, just 4 more to go, then I need to work out how to arrange them.  Here are some photos

Suffolk punches from A at Stitching Science (thank you A)

Not sure if this is smocking or pleating, but it seems to be called honeycomb smocking

This block is four squares of corduroy with the nap in four different directions

This is a very loose woven fabric given to me

This one is ripped fabrics with some extra threads pulled out.  The strip is made by alternating back and front of the fabric

and finally a pleated one where I have stitched the pleats down so there is a twist

shopping and sewing

So what shall I show you first?  Shopping? Or sewing?

Alphabetically, sewing comes first, so let's start with that. It's quite a time on the ferry over to Holland: about 7 hours, so I took plenty of hand sewing

This is beaded lace stitched onto a plain backing as another block for the textured quilt

 

This block was created a while ago, using fusible bias binding (the sort that is often used in black for stained glass windows) but hadn't been stitched, and now it has

Mother-in-law has a little table in the hall where she puts her milk (she still gets milk delivered daily from a milkman, so do we) as she closes the front door.  She puts it onto a cardboard beer mat that she brought home from a pub about 100 years ago, and it's fading.  She did ask me to bring over some crayons or colouring pencils to brighten up the colours a bit, but I thought maybe she needed a Milk Mat:

and finally I made six blocks for the June Block Lotto, I hope they are OK being hand stitched

A romantic story...

This post has nothing to do with craft or patchwork, but lots to do with romance...

15 years ago we had an au pair, Slavka, to look after the girls when Brian and I were both working. (she wasn't planned, but she and her best friend came over together, best friend worked for friends of ours while Slavka was put with a horrible family, so she came to us temporarily, but we fell in love and wanted to keep her) after 18 months she went home but we kept in touch, we've jokingly called her our oldest daughter!

About 4 years ago she got married, but soon after her husband cheated on her, and they split up. About the same time, nephew #1's wife cheated on him. Two years ago, first born daughter, Lisa, had an 18th, and invited *everyone* she knew, and Slavka was able to come. With a little bit of matchmaking from nephew #2, she and nephew #1 met, and fell in love, and she is now moving from Holland to Reading.

All say together, ahhhhhhhhhhh!

So on Friday we took the girls and the car to Holland. We shopped in Amsterdam, in the rain, on Saturday (I did get fabric, photos to follow) and this morning we packed every spare inch of space in the car (even leaving the girls behind, they'll fly home with nephew on Wednesday) with Slavka's stuff, and she'll follow in three weeks time.

I'm blogging this on the ferry, thanks to the Stena Line WiFi, and we have decided that ferry (one day upgrading to cruise line) is the way to travel! I have caught up on blog reading, hand stitched: two texture blocks, a milk bottle mat for mother-in-law, another two mini log cabin blocks for a 36 block wall hanging (3 to go, yippee), read some of my book, and had a lovely three course meal . . . Bliss!

This is a block for the texture block I am making. The four squares have been embroidered on my embroidery machine, and each has a very different feel to it.

This next one was also done on the embroidery machine, it hopefully looks, and will feel, like Dixie the guide dog when she was a puppy

And Dixie as an adult dog

and some pretty textured buttons

and some rikrak