CHRISTMAS CHEZ MOI

Here he is, my Santa that guards my home over the festive season.  He is opposite my main front door.  He was made by me from a Debbie Mumm pattern during the 1990's but finished for the millennium and is signed MM on his feet.  I love him & it feels Christmas when he arrives
Above him is last years Santa from Sweden - Tomten, he has a pottery hat and big bushy beard lol

Here is my wonderful tree, talked about in a previous post, my son chooses and buys and delivers our tree each year & also takes and disposes of it, what a wonderful Christmas gift, I forgot to photograph our lovely fairy made of feathers which is at least 50 years old.  Underneath the tree is my Santa sack made this year using my Accuquilt dies & guarded by one of my stuffed Santa's that are all over the sitting room

Next to the real tree is number one of two of these trees, made when my children were young, the other one has elastic on to tie sweets on, but it has gone awol in a bag in our attic along with the tree skirt, the Christmas stockings & an advent calendar with pockets & various other textile pieces.  I guess one day the bag will turn up.  I think I will add some quilting onto this tree onto the red before I pack it away, I remember running out of time the year that I made them and this one is only sparsely quilted

Our lovely friends popped in this week & bought me these gorgeous flowers

The year before my lovely mum passed away in 1993, she along with my children & myself sewed this Navitiy set.  Joseph is missing - for many years baby Jesus was missing too.  A mouse eat Josephs head & we also assumed Jesus as well, so for many years a star lived in the crib.  Then a couple of years ago buried in a bag was Baby Jesus.  I sewed Joseph out of plastic canvas, it took ages.  My mum sewed the 3 wise men, along with the scene is an angel & a snowman which all have meaning to me.

This is the pressie that I made for my great nephew who is aged one this Christmas as an eye spy quilt

This is the reverse

I spied this on the front of a magazine, altered it by using a clutch of fat quarters bought at Duxford in November, some of the fabrics are also in reverse

I do hope that you have enjoyed seeing some of my Christmas preparations.
I have sent out no Christmas cards at all this year, not to family or friends.
I have made a donation to Diabetes UK - in the name of the people whom are precious to me.  This may seem odd, but bits of paper that end up in the rubbish & the extortionate rate of postage does not say Christmas to me.  Research into this horrid decease, to me, is a much better use of cash.

In light of this I wish you a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS, do take time to reflect just what Christmas really means.  I am listening to Carols from Kings as I write this, Hark the Herald Angels sing, Glory to the new born KING.
Every good wish xx

TOWN, ABBEY & STITCH

This is the old maket  place in my market town of Kettering, this was the starting point for one of my Stitched Scapes workshops

A couple of interesting interpretations (wow thats a word!!)

Ive just watched the program on Westminster Abbey & it reminded me of these pieces of work, just a snippet of the full piece.  Whilst we were sketching an old git told us that using a ruler was cheating, I actually felt like swearing at him...some people

Here are a couple of images of another of the Stitched Scapes

Again a sliver of a temptation

Such lovely work, I do try to make the workshops as interesting & diverse as possible.

Back to the TV program.  I last visited the inside of Westminster Abbey in 1991, the first week that Spirit in the Sky was number 1

That was fun finding the video.  I was working in London & a lad working with me didnt eat any dinner for a week to save up and buy this single, he was already so tin, I felt so sorry for him I offered him a sandwich which he looked at as though it was dirt, said nothing & slid away, Ive never forgotten it, I was astonished so I took my sandwich & walked to Westminster Abbey & sat on the green that they showed in the program & eat it & then walked into the abbey, in those days it was free, how wonderful.

Funny how a blog post takes on a life of its own isnt it.  This was going to be about my town.  Ive changed the comment settings, thanks to Lyn who pointed out what was rong, now hopefully I can get comments again.

Last night was our Kettering Embroiderers Guild Christmas meeting with Kumi Middleton

Kumi is such a delightful artist & her panels & bags were so beautiful.  She is with us again in January where we will be making a panel for a bag by sewing machine, if you would like to come to the meeting but dont know what to bring then please email me or add a comment with email address & I will send the requirements

Do look at her blog & Etsy shop, she has such an interesting method, we have had Kumi as a speaker before & I made a couple of cushions using her ideas.  She also sells pieces of kimono fabric in bundles which is a real delight to buy and use, they are not silk but are interesting fabrics because they are different.  I shall try then with my other Japanese Taupes.  I woke up sometime in the dead of night trying to wrk out shapes for bags lol

The little pieces are so skinny, the balance, proportion & feeling of space as wonderful & not easy to achieve, I am looking forward to next months meeting.  I actually want to start now, but am on a mission to finish a quilt called Spring Flowers that I have been teaching this year.  Just the hand finishing to do now.

I have also been designing the wallhanging Arched Window that I am teaching after Easter.  I have the fun part of choosing the fabrics to come, I am going to sneak in some of Kumis fabric that arrived home with me last night, along with a large pressie and 3 small ones & some lovely cards.  I am going to keep them until Christmas day.  I am very fortunate to have such wonderful friends

Ive got Titanic on the Tv as I type, Jack Jack Jack, good job that I love that name (my Fathers name) but oh dear such over acting.  My lovely Christmas tree bought by my fabulous son is next to me, I must take a photo, tomorrow perhaps, all my Christmas pressies are done, Ive made quilts, given money & gifts of time.  The shops are so stuffed with stuff that its disgraceful.  I watched Kirstys Christmas program where she spent (or rather channel 4 spent) 20 pounds on gold leaf to decorate a few pears.  I was incensed at the waste.  I have sent no Christmas cards, I do feel that a charity could do with the money much more.  So thats what I am doing.

Thanks for reading x

 

 

 

 

 

LOTS OF LOVELY BIRDIES

Here are the bird photos that I promised to show.  Steph has said that she likes them, so I am very happy


This is the orginal bird that I made as a sample it is as near as I could get to the original bird, I have not added any beads yet

This is also mine, mark two, needs alot of stitching.  The brown fabric with the splodges on is potassium permanganate & lemon juice and all the other fabrics are hand dyed.  The cotton fabric is a bit thick and I would have preferred using batik fabric as alot of the others did.  But these are a type of fabric that I do not own a stash off, dont really know why, perhaps 2013 will be Modern quilting and batik year??

Now I am not really sure whose all of the following are, bad me, I do know a couple

This one I know is Carols because she embroidered the tummy instead of chipping it, excellent idea and so effective, she is an ace embroiderer

I really like the pink areas on this one

Vibrant chipping here

I know this is Ruths, cause its the other way round, she meant to do this & I wish that I had done that with my mark 2 then they could have kissed, awwww

Great branch & neat chippings

Lovely use of batik

Again lovely brown batik

Finally Sallys psyco bird, such fun with its sparkles
I am really looking forward to seeing what they all do with them & will take clearer photos, I hope next time
I dont understand what has happened to my comments as I know some of you have commented & they are not showing up even in the spam, hey ho
I have a frozen face today after a trip to the dentist, I am dribbling & had to eat rice pudding on my own for tea!  Such a funny voice too, I guess that he gave me enough drugs for two people as 5 hours later I am still frozen up lol  Thanks for reading
PS.  I am sorry if you would have liked to do this day, I was restricted by the size of the room & had to stick to those that I knew would not be working.
 Its a one-off, a sort of pressie from Stephanie Redfern

STEPHANIE REDFERN BIRDS

I am a subscriber to WOW - www.workshopontheweb.com  In the September issue was a workshop by Steph Redfern - http://stephanieredfern.wordpress.com/

Steph has allowed me to show my friends how to do this and this picture is the result

I could only invite those that were not working & whom I see really regulary because of lack of space

A wonderful flock of birds, all individual in colour and fabrics.  I changed around the method a bit as I didnt want to copy Stephs own method, altho I think her method is the best.  I am looking forward to seeing what  they do with them

A HUGE THANK YOU  to Steph for allowing me to do this, please check out her blog and follow all the wonderful work that she produces.  I am a real fan, there are very few current textile artists that I admire & she is my favourite

I have more pictures on my phone, when I can find the lead then I will post them x

SP12

AMAZING, WHO WILL IT BE??????????  We are voting Jessica Ennis, but I think it will be Bradley Wiggins, however maybe David Weir?  What a line up...what a year

So glad that Lisa has been elimated out of Strictly, dont mind who wins now, hmmm maybe I would like Lewis ....so many decisions, all to fill in the time and keep my mind off of problems.  O am looking forward to secret squirrels.

MAN FLU

Oh yeah......there is a line in Pride & Prejudice...'people do not die of trifling little colds' I love that line spoken by the hilarious Mrs Bennett (arnt we all a bit Mrs Bennett sometimes, I know that I am) when Jane rides to Netherfield...well my dear husband (not dear Wickham, but dear Folgate, hmmm not quite the same ring) has a cold, oh yes a cold.  After being woken up for the umpteenth time last night I sloped off to the spare room where I had a really weird night & a dream that at 7.30am he bought me a cup of tea, ages later I was looking for the tea only to find that it was 6.30 am, talk about disorientation!  We went to the Doctors, how daft with a trifling cold to be told hey its a VIRUS.  I dont ever remember the word virus when I was young, you had a cold, you had flu, you just got on with it but not a MAN, goodness me what a fuss.  Do you have one of these fusspot trifling men? Guess where Im sleeping tonight?  The room of the odd dreams, I guess its the solar system and stars on the ceiling brightly shining that did it, its odd 'ere int it...night all x

PAGES & GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER

Thanks for hanging in with me during my mini disappearances x
Ive swapped the blog around a bit to make it easier to follow
It seems from the replies that this format is preferred
Ive put the PAGES link back at the top of the blog with the CURRENT WORKSHOPS FOR SALE
These are all at very good prices.  I have experimented with video......oh dear...out came the old video camera and much fun was had looking a videos over 10 years old.  Filming Shelagh was done and now I am so sorry to all my students...ahhhhhhh, how do you put up with me....gabble gabble, silly faces and talking as though the viewer is about 5 years old...oh dear
So I tried the non facial video, just the weird this is what my hands are doing....ooooh very odd, stop the video and clean nails...stop the video and paint nails...stop the video and repaint nails without all the messy bits, hmmmm look at all the age spots, smother hands in cream, ah ha maybe try smouthering them in face base.....oh no now they look very weird and my desk is such a mess...oh I give up for today...sorry...might have to stay with written workshops, have a shuffty, see if anything grabs your interest, you can always email me:  shelaghfolgate@aol.com if you want more information on a particular workshop

PAMPERED CAT

I wanted to call this post pampered puss or pussy, but if I do that then I get lots of weirdo hits!!! so pampered cat it is.  The cat in question is my friend Lynnes cat.  She made this cushion in my classes, an exercise in small half squared triangles.  Just look at her neighbours cat, oh yes it seems to be the norm around here to adopt a neighbours cat!

Hysterical isnt it, she says she put it on the floor and the cat wont get off it and now sleeps on it, she did make it for the cat.  Lovely bit of patchwork isnt it, thanks for sending it Lynne, cheered me up no end to know there are other barmy cat people out there! x

FREEZE UP

BRRRRRR, I could just post that.  We managed to avoid the snow somehow.  I have been slouching around in the warm, doing a bit of patchwork.  I love Susan Briscoes book Japanese Taupe Quilt Blocks , insert picture and what!! blogger wont do it.  I highly recommend the book, little 9 inch finish blocks, lots of applique and the pieced ones are tiny squares, some good challenges.  Nothing on the 'lets try out and see' front is forthcoming at the moment, too much going on at home and work & other things, ah ha managed to get an image, must be the cold ha!
I will endeaver to sort out a newsletter soon, so if you are new and wonder what is happening, just a bit overwhelmed at the moment.  Its sad the 2012 will soon be over, such a lot of looking forward to the Olympics and then being Jubilee as well. Also now a future monach on the way. 
Back soon, thanks for reading, my camera is having a sulk!