Cupcakes completed!

I never really completed the cupcake story............
The cupcake wallhanging was the first of my 5 City & Guilds pieces.
You have already seen this but here it is again just as a reminder!

When I was doing my artwork I did a string print with pastels which reminded me of an Andy Warhol painting. I liked it so much I decided to make it up into another wallhanging.

I used the pleated cupcake cases as before and the appliqued tops. In fact the shapes are exactly the same as my first samples. But this time I have used lots of patterned fabric to give a completely different effect.

This is the completed wallhanging which I have called 'Andy's Cupcakes'.

I also made my two original samples into little quilts too!

If you are interested the development of the pieces and the artwork are in previous posts.

Maverick Stars Quilt

My quilting progress has been quite slow recently - I have been working on my Double Delight mystery quilt - but on Wednesday decided to have a go at Bonnie Hunter's maverick stars. I had been cutting some of my scraps into 2 inch squares so I used them. The blocks are not as scrappy as they could be as I used the same placement for each one but at least the stars came out different. However apart from the spotty all the fabric is repurposed/recycled from shirts. Then I joined them with some hand dyed turquoise squares (my favourite colour!)

Then last night I added a spotty border. The squares were 5 inches and this little top is just 25 inches square but will make a lovely baby quilt. Haven't decided on the outer border - I may do scrappy flying geese because I love them.

This week has been half term and DS1 has been staying in York with some student friends for most of it. This has given us both a bit of breathing space away from each other, given me time to fumigate his room and helped him realise what a great time he will have if he sucessfully completes his college course and goes to Uni. He arrived home last night with a gift for me from my favourite shop!! And he thanked me for cleaning his room!!

Forgot to post these earlier - bought in the flea market in Leeds on Thursday. I actually got 5 boxes each with 8/9 reels of thread - most are unused. A great vintage find!

And finally just as I sat down to write this post - the sun was setting over Barnsley - what a lovely sky!

Some more Leeds photos.

These photos were taken in the arcades in Leeds.
When I left University in 1983 my first job was working in the fabric department of Habitat which opened on Briggate Leeds that year.
The arcades were quite run down at that time but now they have been restored to their former glory and are full of trendy expensive shops.
These first two were taken in the arcade that forms the Victorian Quarter and this modern glass has been put into the ceiling.

Here you will find shops such as Harvey Nichols and Vivienne Westwood.

The next photos were taken in County Arcade which is more traditional.

A Visit to Leeds Art Gallery - Victorian Tiled Hall.

Today Geoff and I visited Leeds, we are both originally from Leeds, indeed I went to school just outside the City Centre and travelled into the city every working day for seven years of my life. My, how it has changed!
We wanted to visit the new Leeds City Museum which has a photographic exhibition of Leeds however free entry and half term holidays added up to long queues and we had neither the time nor the inclination to wait.
So instead we headed to the Art Gallery where we were able to visit the Tiled Hall which is being used as a cafe.
What a visual treat - it is a patchworkers inspirational dream, floors, walls and ceilings. Newly restored in 2007 it features stunning Victorian ceramic tiles and parquet floors.

These first two photos are a general overview of the cafe area.

Parquet floor tiles.

Even the ceilings are tiled - stunning hexagon patterns!

The bottom of the walls are done in these stripes of tiles.

Then my favourite - the walls - covered in these soft blue/green heavily embossed tiles.

Each tile is a slightly different shade - so randomly subtle and beautiful.

This just says to me - squares of hand dyed fabric with hand quilted motifs!

So if you ever go to Leeds, go to the Art Gallery for a coffee - you will not be disappointed. Here is the website link.

The Leeds Tapestry is also on display next door in the Library.

2009 BQL Challenge

I have been so busy with my City & Guilds pieces that I was not sure whether I wanted to join this new challenge. It consists of 12 quiltlets approx 12 inches square which are supposed to form a perpetual calendar.
However I decided to make the effort to complete the January challenge on the 30th and 31st January - but I am so glad I did!
I have decided that the challenge is a good thing for two reasons -
Firstly it gives me small hangings which I can hang in the house as I have none of my quilting displayed in the house.
Secondly it is a great way to try new techniques so really I can treat it as part of my course!
January's challenge consists of 3 sizes of circles fused onto squares. I used all my hand dyed fabrics for this one which gives a sort of bright yet muted effect. These are the squares laid out before joining.

I decided to quilt them in a circular pattern with space dyed thread rather than use a zigzag applique stitch which I felt would be too heavy.

This last photo has been played with using photo software - it is much brighter than the piece in real life but I quite like the effect!

January Birthday Block Swap

This birdhouse block was actually completed and sent last week. It should arrive sometime this week with Pat in the US.
The theme was birdhouses (again) and this time I decided to do a paper pieced block which is from quilterscache. I have used a selection of Kaffe Fassett fabrics for the houses and a woodgrain effect fabric for the roofs. The black 'holes' are hand appliqued.

Hope she likes it!