You'll just have to believe me?

It's now too big for my small design wall and my empty floor space so you'll just have to believe me that I finished piecing the whole of my 'jewel box' quilt.....

I know I could have done the pieced border quicker with strip piecing but you know I am pleased with how the border came together and 'seams' more accurate pieced in the more traditional way.

I also love how Karen colour co-ordinated her latest book to match my quilt....lol....

It always amazes me!

Take a look at this simple jelly roll quilt top....forgot to get a photo of the whole top before I started, sorry...but it's simple right, nothing fancy! Basically it's a colour graded quilt working with the colours from the jelly roll.

I had some glazed cotton that matched so well that I just had to use it for the backing and binding....I bound the quilt while still on the frame....even that little end bit, it can be done on the frame even though it's a bit tricky.....you have to be very careful of your fingures and take just one stitch at a time...mind you wouldn't want to do this on a show quilt....

But what really amazes me is the difference a bit of quilting can make.....

 

That's an all over 'freemotion jelly feather fill'....

Just goes to show....it's the quilting that makes the quilt!

Access all areas?

Well, when you're away from home you still have to have internet access, so for my recent trip I realised quite late in the day that I needed some kind of protection for my 'netbook'. I thought I would make a quick pouch, which turned into a bag, which turned into a quilted bag with double padding and pockets....not as quick as I had intended!

I didn't remember or have time to take loads of photos....

Here are the two main pieces already quilted.....

This inside pocket is made up from pieces of fabric from my first ever freemotion quilted quilt, it has wadding/batting and backing fabric and is stitched in the ditch, there's also an interior hidden full size pocket.

So there's room for my power cords and USB sticks, mobile modems etc. to be stored in a separate pocket so that my netbook doesn't get scratched.....

It's already been to Birmingham and back and protected my netbook well.

How can we live without the world wide web?

FoQ 2011....

What a wonderful time I have had....I've seen Festival of Quilts from all sides as a spectator and behind the scenes helping and watching what goes on when you rent a stall/booth.

I had the wonderful pleasure of being driven from my own doorstep directly to Birmingham by Linzi (Linzi Upton of 'The Quilted Yurt' fame), how lucky am I?

We travelled down on Wednesday to set up Linzi's stall demonstrating the APQS Lenni longarm quilting machine.

I went to lectures and took classes but most of all I had the whole four days to drink it all in. What a fabulous display of quilts, themed, traditional, art, pieced, wholecloth, hand quilted, machine quilted and longarm quilted.

What a privilege to be able to enter the show floor at 8.30 in the morning and study the quilts before the general public arrived.

I am amazed by the number of people I met and already knew through my blog and the forums, you know who you are, it was great to meet you all!

What a shopping experience too....I am not going to divulge all of my hoard here but there were many bargains to be had!

We attended the fashion show, what a wealth of talent, a spectacular show!

The Tent Makers from Cairo were amazing....the quilters sat cross legged and seemed to make quilts without patterns using huge scissors and sewed so fast, they can make a small quilt all by hand in around ten days...

Tent Maker's Quilts from Cairo

Here is a selection of my favorite quilts from the show....

I may come back later and edit in the names of the quilt makers!

Firstly from my travel companion Linzi.....

'The Hare'......

And 'Celtic Connections'

Winner of Pictoral quilts 'Hot Africa' by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga

The Rhinoceros by Pam Holland....I attended a wonderful class with Pam....

 

Look at that eye in close up....all those tiny hexagons...

Ammonoidia by C J Barnes.....amazing, looks like leather but isn't!

Aren't these two handsome fellows?

If you know me then you know I have to include a wholecloth....but this little beauty is only around 8 inches square...honestly!  This quilt won the Miniature class and was made by Kumiko Frydl from Texas....Blue like Wedgewood!

Before I knew it was Sunday and time to dismantel the Lenni and pack it back into and onto the Landrover but we stayed on another night. 
We had been directed to the most wonderful 'Brummy Curry' House where we ate till we were stuffed on two separate occasions.....I would like to say how impressed I was by all of the local Birmingham people who we met during our trip, they were courteous and friendly, it was a pleasure!

I had a great time, Thanks Linzi!

And the winner is......

Guess where I am.....Festival of Quilts 2011, Birmingham, UK....the over all winner is 'Octopussy' by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga from the Netherlands.....so very well deserved!  It's beautifully quilted too, I'll try and get a better angled photo in the morning????

I've taken a host of photos today but will post more a little later!

Lauder....

Lauder is the last of the Border Common Rings held on the first Saturday of August...

It isn't held to commemorate a victory over the English in Battle like many of the other Towns. The Cornet leads his followers round the Marches/boundaries of the Royal Burgh of Lauder with a halt for refreshments at the Waterin Stane and a Toast to Her Majesty. On leaving the Waterin' Stane the cavalcade makes for the Burgess Cairn, the only

surviving cairn, where the Cornet places a stone upon it and on return reports no encroachment on Burgh Land.

Again....here is Kyle with his Dad and Granda....

Following on behind were these three Hunt's Men with ten couples of hounds....not to hunt but to run along side....

Where's Granda???

  

At the Waterin Stane...looks like whisky.....must be to toast the Queen.!