Trees That Hold Hands

I absolutely love it when trees grow over and touch each other creating a tunnel. Since I was a child I had imagined that they were actually holding hands. When the sun shines it looks so magical but after dusk it changes dramatically and looks kind of eery. The second from bottom image is a tree tunnel shaped by trains in Ukraine! Apparently it's called The Tunnel of Love there...

A Cabin in the Woods & Other Inspirations

So, I've been thinking for a while about how I would love to go to Canada and live in a log cabin in the forest. A bear proof log cabin. Maybe with a gun. But then I figured I would really miss my family so decided that (frequent) a holiday('s) might be sufficient. But then I checked my bank balance (the dread) and came to the conclusion that a holiday to Canada would not be happening any time soon.

Looks pretty good, hey? I would have a little wooden fishing boat and wear a lot of plaid. 

These are some mountains in Banff I could ski down. But no matter how I present the idea of a trip to Canada to the Husband, we still can't afford to go. Yet. Cue another brainwave please...

Scotland.

It's a jolly sight closer. And cheaper! After spending a morning comparing images of Canada and Scotland I don't think you can really tell the difference, much. I have been to Scotland before and loved it but I still hadn't appreciated the beauty it really does have on offer. I am still planning on a Canadian holiday in a few years but I am totally ok with a Scottish substitute for now!


My tree quilt was stitched with a Canadian forest in mind. I find forests so inspiring, the range in height and colours of the trees and the trickling streams leading to massive huge lakes. I am planning some more projects of a forest theme.


What and where inspires you most? Would you be happy with a Scottish substitute?


xxx


p.s. this post is by no means sponsored by the Scottish tourist board!

A Very Clever Man & Other Things

So, as my earlier post mentioned, I've only gone and discovered quilting. Not what I would describe as 'fuddy-duddy' quilting but modern and beautiful quilting. Clean lines, simplistic yet complex and fabulous fabrics. To me that is a recipe for a wonderful quilt.

My main source of inspiration is a man called Kaffe Fassett. He is an amazing textile artist. Just google image him! As I am new (and slightly ignorant) to the world of quilting and fabrics I didn't realise that he also did a range of fabrics, which makes sense really. I only realised this when browsing his website and I saw that I had some of his fabric! I bought mine from Patch Fabric and  Haberdashery.


I was always slightly dubious about buying online as I wasn't sure if you could see the colours properly but in my experience of shopping at Patch, yes, yes you can! The fabric is of the best quality, orders are processed very quickly (I ordered at 3pm and received the order the next morning) and the fabric ranges are exactly the quirky and kooky style I favour.

How sweet is this Kaufman deer print? I unashamedly required that image from the Patch website. Here are some images of Kaffe's quilts to get you drooling...

Oh, the possibilities.

In which I get the quilting bug...

So I've had a long break and had a chance to figure out what it is exactly I want to do. Okay well, I'm still not certain on what I want to do long term, but short term I have got some fabulous projects to do!

I've given the commission work a long break. And actually, I feel happy about my decision not to return there - at least for now. I found my time was so taken up with trying to replicate somebody else's ideas that I didn't have time to dream up any of my ideas. I'll still sell what I do, and I will still personalise stuff, just not in the same way I was doing.

So the first project I started was this forest inspired tree quilt for my little Rory-kins. This little snap was taken 5 minutes ago on my iPhone as the boy was snuggled up watching Peppa Pig so not the best quality, I know! I need to get my camera and take some better pictures so you can see the colours.

I took my inspiration from the lovely Sharilyn at Lovely Design and this tutorial at The Purl Bee. I changed the original design to make it more my own. The only thing I kept was for obvious reasons the shape of the trees, the random placement of trees between the plain pieces and I loved the way the trees changed colour to reflect the seasons. I changed the size of the squares (mine are more rectangular) and the materials I used are, of course, different.

Whenever I saw quilts in the shop I always fancied one for my bed but always recoiled at the price. Having made one from scratch, I can see the prices are totally justified! This quilt has been 2 years in the making! It actually took me a year to find the quilting shop!! I had no idea it actually existed and spent so long trying to find green fat quaters I liked. But once I had started building the green fabric pile it got a lot easier. I did the majority of the work for this quilt in one week (the week before Christmas, no less) and for a first quilt I think I did pretty well!

I have even started colating more fabrics for the next quilt. A fabulous nautical affair in blues, whites and a dash of seaside-rock red. I can't wait to show you that. I also like the sound of an all white quilt, different whites and textures. Practical? No. Gorgeous? Oh yes! Think I have got the quilting bug.