Tuesday 24 July 2012

Little pretties

My head is way too full of ideas at the moment!  If I sat down and wrote a list of everything I want to do right now it would fill pages and pages...
For the moment I'm trying really hard to keep things small, and to get some W.I.Ps out of the way first, but it's not easy...  temptation is everywhere...  

I had to order some solid to finish a project, so, whilst I was at it, I ordered some solids to make a quilt I've had in mind.  Seriously, I did well just stopping at *one* of the quilts I have in mind...  Anyway, when I received my solids, Annie (at The Village Haberdashery) also sent me these...


These are charms of Hope Chest prints.  Now, to be honest, I'd seen them in the shop and skipped past them, they just didn't really appeal to me.  I've looked again at the on line pictures, and, well, they are pretty, they just don't really appeal to me.   I'm blown away by how differently I feel towards them seeing them in real life though!  They are LOVELY!  I must have taken dozens of photos of them, and it still wasn't coming across in my photos either, but they really are gorgeous.  

On the right are my favourite prints - the cross stitch one especially.   I don't really do cross stitch much, something about being faced with the blank canvas and having to count the position of every stitch, it just makes me sooo tired and sleepy.  This print has all the stitches marked for you!  I'd love to get a bit of this roses print though, Annie has even put together a matching threads kit especially for it....  
How cool is that?  All the work done for you (practically).  

I got some other lovely post too, the smallest, cutest little brown packet, which contained this wee cracker!



A brilliant wee thread catcher from Helen!  She's awffy lovely is Helen.  It's in use already as I'm currently working on these as my sofa project.

warming up my epp...



Hopefully I've got enough hexies here to do a nice cushion.  There are certainly enough here to have given me some nice callouses already...  

Upstairs in the cupboard I've managed to get this months bee blocks done, just in the nick of time.  Fiona sent us all a parcel with some treasured fabrics - favourite lines, vintage sheets, table cloths, doilies - all fabrics with special memories for her.  Some of them were very difficult to cut into!!  She asked us for 12" blocks of low value fabrics, with a 6" block contained within the 12" which would be a traditional quilt block done in high value fabrics.   I knew Fiona trusted us, but boy oh boy I felt the pressure on this one!  I just really wanted to do a good job for her.




I like my blocks.  I do...actually, I'd like to keep my blocks!  I could easily have sat up there and made another two!  However, in the interest of learning, I do think I messed up a bit with my high value choices in the first block.  The brown is an area which should be secondary to the bits I've done orange, but the brown is so dark it really jumps out first.  Also, the text print is, I think, detracting from the orange too.  Its so funny how different things look when its large chunks of fabric as opposed to small block parts.  
I do think that Fiona is going to end up with the most beautiful quilt though.  Everyone's blocks so far have been so lovely.

Quick question before I go....  Does anyone use Spotify?  I got a bit lost into it the other night....  I love making playlists, I love that it has so.much.music to choose from, I love that I can sit and listen to whole albums without actually buying them, but is there some kind of point to it all that I'm missing?  I'm on the free download at the moment, and its bugging me already that I have to be online and at the laptop to hear it...  And to pay to download songs is so expensive.  And OMG the adverts....  that is so unbelievably annoying.   Is there any other way to share the playlists than Facebook?  I hate that I've been on it one night and already I'm trying to justify in my head signing up for a monthly contract...
No.  No!  I wont do it.  I need Cd's in my hand.... I hate only having a download.  I don't like digital music players.  Don't get me wrong, dead handy on journeys (says she that rarely leaves the house) and fun for making playlists and "mixtapes".  But only as an "in addition to Cd's" kind of a way...  Mmmmm Mixtapes...  That reminds me, that's another quilt I *need* to make...

(if anyone wants to have a nosey at my first mixtape on spotify I don't know how to link to it.... but... I've tweeted it.  Yes, I'm on twitter.  If you think I sound pretty clueless about Spotify you aint seen nothing yet...I'm on twitter as sleepinsarah.  I don't tweet much, I don't know what I'm doing there, I can barely remember to charge the phone up...)

26 comments:

  1. Love your bee blocks! I agree those will become part of a very lovely quilt.

    You've intrigued me with your talk of Spotify... I'll put it on my list to check out. I'm also tempted to find you on twitter, but on the other hand I've tried not to get caught up with such things. Too much to keep track of online as it is. I'd never get anything real done.

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  2. I love how techy you are in a totally inept sounding way. Do keep the phone charged if you are going to twitter, soon you will instagram too. I am on twitter as well but have only tweeted about twice. Not sure yet of the point. I totally love your blocks and fabrics too.

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  3. Bee blocks are most gorgeous. Most GorgeeOus, Sarah! Espesh 2nd block, you really hit the nail on the head with that one :-) haven't tried Spotify as I'm an iTunes kinda gal so no help there then, lol. Am not much of a Tweeter ( more of a Twit really) but I shall go check you out :-)

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  4. beautiful blocks, and Annie really is the loveliest, isn't she?

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  5. Love the bee blocks!!! I too want to keep the ones I made for Fiona. I am thinking this is going to be a phenomenal quilt - but not if we all keep the blocks we made.

    And you know I don't have a clue about Spotify, Twitter or sod all else!

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  6. Great blocks!
    No idea on Spotify - and don't Tweet from your phone, that is way way harder and impossible to follow than on the 'puter!

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  7. Hi, Sarah. I see you've been super busy. Lovely fabrics and the blocks are really cool. I especially like the use of text prints within them. Fiona is going to have an amazing quilt. Also really liked your three finished quilts (argh! you put us all to shame!) in the previous post--great designs, colors, and fabrics. Very striking.
    best, nadia

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  8. Oooh, the blocks are so lovely! I really need to get around to doing them!

    And forget what Had says.. DO tweet from your phone. Its the only way to keep up!

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  9. Love the post, although cross stitch makes me feel the same way even without the narcolepsy...

    Fab job on the blocks, just in time to hand them over on Sunday :o)

    Not a scooby about Spotify though, however I'm with Hadders on tweeting from the 'puter, so much easier to see lol Handy to have the phone by your work area for when you experience a mid-sew panic though...

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  10. Yeah I like CDs too, I very rarely use Spotify as I don't want to be sucked in! And I'm with you on too many ideas. I designed two quilt patterns this week that I want to make, plus the mini quilt swap, plus 3 or 4 WIPs, plus an awesome idea for a solids quilt, plus another pictorial quilt....

    Those bee blocks are super cute by the way

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    1. Thanks! I've been trying to reply to you but its telling me you're a no reply blogger :-(

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  11. Sarah those blocks are so gorgeous! Fi will love them. I use spotify from my laptop while sewing, but I don't really know how to use it!!! I search for artists I like and then listen to whatever pops up!! Sorry, no help to you at all! And you'll soon be bucking the trend of not going out much! Jxo

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  12. love all that sewing, Fionas blocks look fantastic. Am now following you on Twitter - get tweeting!

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  13. Your bee blocks are spectacular! Fiona is going to love them! What fab designs!

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  14. Lovely blocks, no wonder you want to keep them :)

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  15. Such a funny post I was laughing by the end! I got some free music with my phone for a year..no I have to pay for it as the year is long over.

    Great looking blocks colour values are hard to determine in certain prints =D

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  16. Ooh, cross-stitch! I saw a pixelated fabric somewhere recently that I really liked. I quite enjoy counted cross-stitch, although no-one told me the first time that you have to do the top / the same way on every stitch. Wonk ensued.
    I've just come back to Spotify after getting fed up of the limits. My boyfriend has a subscription with his phone contract (one of those things you can wheedle out of them when upgrading) and he sends me tracks every now and then. If you right-click on things there should be an option to share by getting the http link to tracks or playlists. You can add other Spotify users but I think they're really trying to push Facebook so they don't make it obvious. If you can find where to do it I'm dichohecho on there :)

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  17. Helllleerrr....you busy tonight? Wanna date me?

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  18. i do spotify... kinda... i have a bit of the same complaints that you do. you facebook? i wanna be your friend there.

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  19. Hahaha you are funny!!
    The blocks looks amazing, I love that idea of the high/low volume and it looks so gorgeous!
    x

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  20. I love your blocks for Fiona - they're gorgeous! I'm so glad your little parcel arrived (I was worried about it getting lost!) and that you like it! I love the HV cross stitch fabric - have you caved and bought the kit yet?! I have no idea about spotify, sorry!
    P.S. A mix tape quilt?! I want to see that!!!!

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  21. i just saw your lovely threadcatcher on Lucys blog :-): it is amazing! And i LOVE your bee blocks!!!!! so clever.. i would have a hard time giving them away :-)
    have a nice Sunday!

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  22. Hey Sarah, love those blocks. Love having to think hard about placement and value. You did a really really good job x

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  23. Hello apolgies - have just got your message about the Japanese Charm swap on flicker ... have replied .. many thanks - G

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  24. Hiya stranger...I'm baaaa-aaack :) Love love love the blocks, and we are spotify users, but not often - we just use it for when you get that sudden urge to hear a particular song..(know what I mean?!)

    Can't believe you're tweeting too ! x

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  25. Your bee blocks are gorgeous! I haven't tried Spotify... I just listen to my old Sokol faves :o)

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