It's been a while ...

since my last blog!  Here is a snapshot of our summer ...

It started with a lovely week away with David in this beautiful cottage in Scotland ...

of course, my sewing came too!

We were reunited with Tom after his six months in Zurich ... it's lovely to have him back ...

Poppy's best friend from school , Lizzie, got married and Poppy was a bridesmaid!  It was a beautiful wedding ... Many congratulations to Lizzie and Joel ...

We all went to WOMAD again!  And this time Annika (Tom's girlfriend) came  ...

Another beautiful wedding ... this time my godson, Craig, married Becky.  Pat in the green was my best friend at school!


The summer has, however, ended sadly as my lovely brother-in-law Mike is no longer with us.

Eileen and Mike at their youngest son's wedding last year

Apologies ...

it's Jo Colwill at Cowslip! Vx

Malvern 2016 ...

I like to take cash with me to Malvern Quilt Show - it gives me a budget!  I went with my friend Jennifer and we had a lovely day.  As always, Malvern was packed with lovely, lovely fabrics and SO many ideas!!!  I noticed that some of my favourite stalls were missing this year but there were some lovely new stalls such as Quilting Antics!   And ... very exciting ... we got served and chatted to Mandy Shaw from Dandelion Designs and Jo Colwill from Cowslip Workshops!  

I'm just finishing this Cockerel tapestry ... it's just like finishing a really good book ... I always slow down for the last bit of stitching to make it last as long as possible ... and although I have my next one lined up and ready to go ... it will take me a while to pick it up and get going!

Vanessa x

Pretty maids all in a row ...

How many bags do two girls need?

My friend Jennifer came over for the weekend to sew!  We spent Saturday making another bag each - we now have six bags between us!!!

The two newbies!

I saw this fabric and just thought it was PERFECT for a sewing bag - it's called Haberdashery!  The bag is Steph's design at Cupcake Cottons and I bought the fabric from Secret Garden Quilting. 

This is Jennifer's bag and the fabric is the model's own!  It's called Pretty Maids by Vanessa Arbuthnott and the lining is from Steph at Cupcake Cottons!

Archie - always willing to have his photograph taken!

Just want to say a big thank you to David for catering for the weekend!  Jennifer stopped over to watch Eurovision with us (which I have to say was a bit dull this year!) and David cooked a fabulous evening meal - thanks David!  Love you!

Bags and quilting ...

 

my idea of heaven!  I went on a sewing bag workshop last week at Cupcake Cottons and came away with this beautiful bag to keep all my sewing bits in ...

 Enjoyed making it SO much, I just had to make one for Poppy ...

and I'm now working on my third!

Vanessa x

Bits and pieces ...

my medallion quilt which I'm making with Steph at Cupcakes Cottons is coming along nicely ...

I met up with a dear friend this week - Chris Dodsley is visiting from New York and we spent the day together in Bath - non stop chatting!  Chris is an amazing quilter - check out her blog  madebychrissied.blogspot.com ...

Chris brought me some lovely gifts all the way from the USA!  Thanks Chris ...

Another dear friend, Sue Hayes, came home last week from a trip to Sri Lanka and she brought me these lovely fabrics - watch this space with what I plan to do with them ...

And finally, I went out with my friends from Bourton on Friday to celebrate my birthday and they gave me this lovely quilters travelling case ... thank you Sue, Maggie, Theresa and Lesley! 

I always take sewing with me wherever I go, so I know this case will come in really useful!

Vanessa x

And back to quilting ...

I finished my wreath just in time for this month's class! We used lightweight interfacing for the appliqué which gives a lovely puffed look.  I really enjoyed this technique but please don't look too closely at the hand stitching! 

This month we attached the scalloped border which was a bit of a fiddle in the corners but I got there.  And now I'm busy making half square triangles for the next stage. 

Really love this quilt - it's going to be very fussy!

Vanessa x