The Sleepy Hollow Quilt

I love Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow and have seen it umpteen times. Watching it again a few weeks ago I noticed for the first time the beautiful patchwork quilt gracing Ichabod's bed - how had I never noticed it before? I suspect it's something to do with focusing on Johnny Depp. Which is natural. I guess that now with a patchworker's eyes though, the quilt drew me in. I thought about it for a long time afterwards.....but figured that with so much already on the go I really couldn't, shouldn't, wouldn't begin a new venture. And so here I am - with a new quilt on the go. Ahem.
I wanted a very definite look - the size of the triangles, their elongation and of course the colours. I wanted a muted palette....perhaps colours I wouldn't normally put together. Flowers had to figure ( of course, when do they not? ) and a little abstract patterning too. The paper templates I am using are approx. 4 x 6 inches. With regards to the fabrics I am extremely lucky in that most of what I chose I had in my stash, buying only the gorgeous gold piece, and even when i bought it, I had no idea what I'd use it for, I just had to have it.

The quilt that fired me up! At least, I think it was the quilt.....

My choice of fabrics. I have started basting some, hence the discrepancy in sizes here....

Golden yellow...flowers....gilt....hhhmmmm.......

The plan is to use 8 triangles each of 11 different fabrics and then have a selection of oddities which I think work well - the small pile in the centre of the photograph. The rows of patterned triangles will be interspersed with plain triangles - perhaps a warm cream calico....I'll decide on that when all these babies are basted.

My new girls!

When I lost my beautiful Gus a few weeks ago I felt like I'd never smile again. Having lost a few cats over the years, it's a familiar feeling and one that pet-owners will recognise. I knew that I'd adopt again but the time had to be right and of course, the cat had to be right.

So a little way down the line, may I introduce my beautiful new girls Lily and Willow, 2 young sisters rescued from Haworth Cat Rescue. It's such a long time since there were youngsters in the house - the last few cats I've taken on have been middle-aged to elderly. Part of me wondered what on earth I was doing to take on two potential nutters and naturally I was worried how my older cat Nutmeg, would respond to high japes. My worries were largely unfounded. Meg has seen so many comings and goings and is largely unperturbed by their arrival, and Lily and Willow have been such fun and brought a lot of much-needed laughter. They are stunning girls, such lovely temperaments and up to all kinds of mischief but very funny with it. They are great companions and enjoy watching what I'm up to when I'm working on a project. They are strictly forbidden from my sewing room - how long this ban will last though remains to be seen...

Post Christmas post

Another festive season safely out of the way and once again, despite being a very good girl, a distinct lack of Hugh Jackman or Fernando Torres to unwrap on Christmas morning. Ggrr. But seriously, as always I was blessed in many other ways - I have few true friends but what friends they are - generous, thoughtful and kind beyond belief.
I intend to dedicate a post or two to share a couple of the Christmas presents I made for these special people. For my wonderful friend Rosie I made a cushion cover, choosing a simple hexagon/flower arrangement in lovely ditsy cottons. It has a simple envelope fastening at the rear.

The cushion cover itself was quick to whizz up. The most time-consuming part ( other than the patchwork itself ) was placing the design just so and then stitching it in place with invisible thread - which as the name suggests can be tricky stuff to work with because it's er, easy to lose sight of! I'll definitely return to cushions as gifts - watch out people you have been forewarned. Read and forget.....

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For Kath I ran with the Leeds Rhinos theme, which never seems to fail, and I made a large tote bag in blues and yellow. I used the Patchwork of the Crosses design which was new to me, but I totally fell in love with how effective it turned out. I would love to make a quilt with this block but just this one took quite a while to put together, so not much chance of using it on larger scale projects unless I sprout extra arms at some point.

I couldn't resist adding to the theme by knitting this hot water bottle cover in Rhino colours. I like the challenge of coming up with handmade items in these colours! Already thinking of her next birthday/Christmas gifts.....