2013 and all that

I knew this blog had fallen down a hole but I did not realise how deep it was until I looked at the postings just now!  I see I have not even commented on the success of my second photobook and I remembered this morning that I also have one half made of Venice so I shall have to do a posting about those.

I have had a rather peculiar autumn because my muscular condition (Inclusion Body Myositis - potentially rather nasty) has played me up and prevented me from getting on with things.  Now I feel I must pick up life again and get back to some art textiles.  Getting out to take photos is more difficult, though, as I have to be so careful about walking on my own.  So here is an update on what I have made (or not).

The two new bed quilts that I sent off to be long-arm quilted are now finished and on our beds.  My husband's was made entirely from scraps as a winter project in winter 2011-2012.  It began as a square lap quilt and I had to extend it when he said he wanted it on his bed, hence the wide borders at top and bottom.

It is interesting how an activity like this shows you the colours you usually work in as I had no trouble putting together lots of leftovers.  It is just a simple nine patch.  As my husband is extremely fond of cats I chose a quilting pattern of cats which I think is very effective.

My quilt was made from pre-cut fabric as we are too far from places to choose fabric in shops.  I used Hoffman batiks and bought jelly rolls and large squares.  It is a big five foot wide bed so I had to buy two packets of each and have quite a few leftovers.  I suspect I could make another quilt if I combined the leftovers with cream of some kind.

It has taken me a while to get used to the colours in this one as I do not usually do pinks or purples but they have worked well.  The quilting pattern is floral to reflect the flowers of various kinds in the fabric and the binding is pieced from the leftover strips.

The main problem I have with this quilt is that it is too big to fit in a domestic washing machine.  Our older cat suffers from IBS and has 'accidents' which is one of the main reasons for replacing the old one.  Now I find I have to whip the new one off and put the old one on if I think he is going to have an 'episode'.  I am not terribly happy about sending the new quilt to the cleaner at the supermarket although I know I shall have to at some point.

And here is my December calendar photo so that you can see what Penzance is like at this time of the year.

This was actually a storm a couple of years ago when the waves were so high that I got completely drenched when I ended up in the middle of one as I was trying to take photos.  We have had plenty of days like this this year but I have not been down to the Prom to look at them.

I will try and post about the photobooks but in the meantime Happy Christmas and I hope to be a better blogger in 2014!