Welcome to my blog. I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures - in stitch and otherwise! And I hope that you will leave a comment so that I know you have visited.

Monday 22 September 2014

World Wide Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to my blog.

Last week I was nominated by Sheila to take part in the World Wide Blog Hop. Sheila has become a good blogging friend over the last eighteen months and produces some beautiful work. She also hosts a couple of postcard swaps every year and it has been lovely to meet some new friends this way.

I am a quilter and embroiderer - neither take priority - and spend most of my spare time making and creating. I have been sewing for as long as I can remember and in 1980 I joined a City & Guilds embroidery class and around the same time I also became a member (founder member) of The Quilters Guild of the British Isles. At that time there was no City and Guilds for patchwork and quilting - it was part of the embroidery course. So nine years ago after we had moved to France, I took a distance learning course and completed the City and Guilds part one course.

1.What am I working on now?

My main project at the moment is a four seasons wall hanging in crazy quilting. This is the first time that I have done any crazy work and so I am learning a lot as I go along. So far I have completed 3 of the 4 panels.

Winter



Spring



Summer


Now that I am learning more I shall go back to the first two blocks to add more stitch as I feel that they are looking a little sparse!

I have recently returned to hexagons - my first quilt was a hexagon quilt, I had no idea there was any other kind of patchwork! The hexagons I am working on are 1/2" which are tiny but lovely and I am using a pack of samples from Strawberry Fayre so feel very virtuous making something out of nothing.



As usual there are many other works in progress! A quilt that I am hand quilting, a Dear Jane (doesn't everyone have one of those) a handbag, some Christmas presents, a mystery quilt and there are always postcards either in progress or waiting to be made.

2.How does my work differ from others of it's genre?

Not all of it does! But I do like to take a traditional technique and see how I can turn it around or use it to make something unusual. For instance, having seen a lot of hexagons around in the blogging world I got the itch to do some myself but wanted my work to be different and to use up some of the fabrics that I dye myself. And so I made this cover for my sewing machine which combines hexagons with handstitch, another favourite technique.



Again, looking for a way to use a variety of hand dyed fabrics I made these two panels 'in the style of crazy patchwork'



3.Why do I create what I do?

Because it's out there to be done and I love the doing!

4.How does my creative process work?

I like to work from photographs of which I have many! I am more interested in colour and interpreting that in any way I can. For instance my recent series of pomegranate postcards


and this 'Pink' wall hanging which was based on a pink, mop headed poppy that we have in the garden.




Sometimes I make sketches or designs but more often than not my work evolves as it goes along.

A few more pictures of past projects. First a book wrap for a project about part of my garden.



A clutch bag that I made for a competition.


Two small quilts - Peace River I and II


And so the blog hop continues - I have to nominate two bloggers who will post next Monday. My nominees are

Susan of Sew Susan blog
is a brilliant artist and produces some amazing, and sometimes quirky, work
Do go and see what she is up to.

Jennie of Jennies Threads blog
is a prolific patchworker and quilter who has a gorgeous 7 month old baby, Mia.
Her work is colourful and fun - I hope you will visit her.

Also nominated for the blog hop by Sheila is
Annette In Stitches and Seams blog
She is posting today so I hope you will go and visit her too.

Thank you so much for coming to visit - I hope you will drop in again.

12 comments:

  1. Wow Lin your blog hop post was fab. Don't know how i'll follow that haha X:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. lovely post Lin,
    great to see all your wonderful creative pursuits.
    You are one clever chicky

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a great post Lin. You are very talented and do such a variety of different and beautiful things.
    Congratulations on finishing a City and Guilds course. That would be something I would one day absolutely be thrilled to do.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello Lin,

    I can tell by this post you love colour. I love the little clutch you created, I bet you get some lovely comments when out with this. Great to hear some background to your quilting and creating.

    Happy days.
    Bev.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great post Lin, I loved seeing some of your past projects - you are one talented lady!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful work Lin, I love them all, especially your machine cover XXX

    ReplyDelete
  7. you really do some beautiful work. The sewing machine cover is just gorgeous

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such a wonderful post Lin , nice to read a bit more about your creative process and see some of your very creative work , your crazy patch work is stunning and your hexies are too , love your work !! Thanks so much for sharing and taking part in the hop . Hugs Sheila

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lin, your projects are gorgeous...your Seasons' panels are exquisite and I have loved your sewing machine cover since I first read the post where you wrote about it just after it was finished...it's a real work of art :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. How delightful to learn more about you!! Your work is so very beautiful and you have such imagination. I esp. love the sewing machine cover!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You do some beautiful work. I'm in love with your sewing machine cover!!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Please leave a message so that I know you have visited - I reply to all messages left here.