Thursday, September 26, 2013

English Country Garden - My Union Jack Quilt and a Giveaway

Where did the week go, is it really Thursday, I lost a day somewhere!
I have not blogged for some time! House hunting and  moving and a sick dog! .
So apologies up front this is going to be a long post.
Here is a sneak peak of what I am about to share!
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Where did the week go, is it really Thursday, I lost a day somewhere!
I have not blogged for some time! House hunting and  moving and a sick dog! .
So apologies up front this is going to be a long post.
When I started my first quilt what I really wanted to make at the time instead of a 9 patch block was a union jack quilt.  But being new to quilting I could not find a pattern for one, I came across the Victory garden quilt pattern online and absolutely loved that version but inexperience put me off making it. 
Victory Garden

Then I played around having a go at paper piecing a few months later and managed to make a Union Jack Cushion.
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I absolutely hated the paper piecing aspect of it and it took me absolutely hours to make with an awful amount of mistakes and wasted fabric, so I gave up. But not before trying one more time using traditional colours.  I never did do anything with this block!
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BUT that Union Jack quilt would not get out of my head and so when it was my month  for the Stars in their Eyes Bee I decided to have another look online to see if I could find a pattern.
I also played around with Union Jack Pincushions, more photos in the link.
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BUT that Union Jack quilt would not get out of my head and so when it was my month  for the Stars in their Eyes Bee I decided to have another look online to see if I could find a pattern.
I found one on an online store Whims and Fancies  but it was not the right dimensions so asked  Soma the designer of the pattern if she could make me a pattern with the true proportions - 1:2 of the flag.  She designed a flag for me that has a finished block of 8x16 inches.
Unfortunately I ended up needing it slightly bigger and didn’t have time to get in touch with Soma to redraft it again for me,  so instead I ended up using this pattern designed by  Traceyjay Quilts.  It is not the true 1:2 proportions that I originally wanted but pretty close. The block measures 12x18   So if that doesn’t bother you then I recommend using that pattern as its also free. 
But if you want to make your flags authentic then I would use the Flying Union Jack Pattern by Soma of Whims and Fancies, the proportions are true to the Union Jack Flag, having 1:2 proportions and it is only $2.50 and I am sure if you want a different sized Union Jack then Soma would be happy to oblige. Its also an easy pattern to follow.
Flying Union Jack - Paper  Piecing by soma1773
And be sure to also check out her gallery Whims and Fancies on Flickr . If you’re a Doctor Who fan (which I am) Soma and a friend did a  Doctor who along (sew along ) for a Doctor Who quilt.  Here are a couple of blocks included in the quilt along.
Cyberman Doctor Who Quilt Pattern Weeping Angel Doctor Who Quilt Pattern
I really wanted to take part in this but at the time I had a sick dog and was moving house, but you can still take part and find more details here.
GIVEAWAY
Soma has kindly sponsored a giveaway of  one of her paper piecing patterns. 
Geese around the Sun
Geese Around The Sun - Paper Piecing Geese Around The Sun is a star and flying geese quilt pattern to make an 18" x 18" wall hanging. So if you would like to win this pattern: Here's How to enter
  • Leave a comment telling me about your experience of paper piecing and what if any projects you have completed using this method.
  • Follow me on Facebook, there is a button at the top to do this.
  • I will randomly choose one winner from all of the entries below.
  • This giveaway is open to everyone, all over the world.
  • I will randomly choose a winner by 10pm CST on 10th October.
And if you want to start following me that’s OK too Smile
Somas other patterns are also available at  Whims and Fancies on Etsy  and Whims and Fancies on Craftsy
So now the big reveal of my Union Jack Quilt
If you follow me on instagram or flickr then you may have already had a sneaky peak of this quilt.  I managed to do a photo shoot the other day,
This quilt would not have been possible without all the fantastic friends in the Stars In Their Eyes Bee.  The blocks these ladies put together are absolutely gorgeous and I love each and every one of them.
Thank you so much. I love my quilt!
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Thursday, September 5, 2013

Crossroads Quilt


The month before our pup was sick and the month before our lives got a little crazy house hunting and moving etc., I did start a quilt, and I did get it finished just before we moved.  So I can now say that while we lived there I made a quilt for every member of our household!
However, in all the craziness, I did not get a chance to take any photos of the completely finished quilt.
I made this quilt for my youngest son, another teenager! every time I have asked him if he wants a quilt he has always said he didn’t want one, he has his favorite worn out thread bear quilt!  But like I said I wanted to have made a quilt for each of us in our little family while living in that particular home.  So he didn’t have a choice, he was getting one!  As he was not interested in it, I just went ahead and made decisions on colour and pattern without his input! (even if teenagers can be difficult to please)
I named this quilt Crossroads, I think it’s the perfect name for it!
So without teasing you too much here are some photos.
The quilt top all pieced at our home before we moved
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And here it is all finished!
 
(I now have a perfect place to photograph my quilts! I am loving that white fence!)
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(oh no look at the deck! in need of some TLC it has now been power washed and stained since this photo was taken, only 3 weeks after moving in!)
 
Quilting Detail
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Quilt Details
Pattern  Power of 4 designed by Tony Jacobson for Fons and Porter’s Love of Quilting Magazine May/June 2013 issue.
I changed the pattern slightly by adding extra rows and 2 borders, the  inner border is Kona snow and the outer is Parson Gray., the original quilt size is 64 x 76 and I needed it to be big enough to fit a Queen Bed.
I gave my LAQ free reign when it came to quilting this quilt, and I love the pattern she chose, it really does give it a modern look and some movement to the quilt. Thank you Sue! If you need a quilt quilting then I recommend Sue, she does a fantastic job and I do know that she received quilt by mail all the time to be quilted.
This quilt was classed as being intermediate, but I found it extremely quick and easy to make, the most difficult part was making sure all the rows lined up, but that just required some patience on my part.
  • Fabrics used – Parson Gray for FreeSpirit by David Butler, Dear Stella, (will add more details when I find the selvedge edges!)
  • Border –  Robert Kaufmann Kona Snow (inner) Parson Gray (outer)
  • Binding – Kona Delph Blue
  • Backing – Gasp! A sheet from Target!
  • Quilting – by Sue Tuma 
  • Pantograph – Modern Curves by Anita Shackelford
  • Thread -  Signature Cotton in Oyster Shell
  • Batting – Legacy 80/20

Getting back to Normal

 

I’m back!

We eventually got moved, all I can say it was not without trials and tribulations!

But the most important thing to me during that time was my pup, so I wanted to share with you what was going on with him, in the hope that if you have a sick dog then you might remember this post and it just might help!

Murphy - stopped eating and drinking again and on the day of preclosing on our house we were at the vets for 2 hours with him, we were taught how to administer a subcutaneous IV and also had them re test his blood for Addison's (we had spent numerous hours doing lots of research to try and find out what was going on) as we felt that when that test had been done previously he could of had a false negative for it and they had not tested to see if he was producing ACTH which stimulates cortisol production.

We were convinced that he had secondary Addison's disease We then had the vet prescribe medication as if he did. Less than 24 hrs. later he picked up big time, we still at this point gave him IV fluids. We then had the removals in the next day (Thursday) and the following day drove to our new home.

Well when we arrived I gave him a bowl of water form the well. I had not seen him drink so much in 4 weeks!!!!!! He is getting better daily and loves our new home, he has plenty of room to run around and play.

Side effects of the medication include drinking and eating A LOT, which is exactly what we want at the moment as he lost a lot of weight. We have been slowly been reducing the dosage as prednisone can be hard on the kidneys.  Who knows we may even be able to take him off it one day and only give it to him if he is stressed.


We received the test results back and his levels for ACTH were 3.0 in a normal dog it should be 6.6 - 25,

So we have to give him prednisone which replaces his cortisol.


I am so happy that he is still with us and doing well. I know quite a few of you if not all of you have fur babies and what I would like to say is not matter how good your vet is, you are the best advocate for your pets, at the end of the day the vet cannot spend countless hours researching what could be wrong with your pet, luckily we were able to.

Addison's disease is a lot more common than you would think, but most of the time, cats or dogs die from it because the vet thought it was something else. Anyway just wanted to let you all know,

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