Saturday's Class

The weather was really lovely on Saturday morning, like a summers day with temperature in the mid 20's. As Sara had gone to Spain with her grandad to have a go at skiing, yes we allowed her to go. She is home safe and sound and no broken bones!
So I went down into Lisbon on Saturday morning to see craft fair market which takes place at the beginning of each month in the Jardim de Estrela. I could only take these 2 photos of the fair, from a distance, as people don't like you taking pictures of their work.

And of course I had to take a picture of the trams which still exist in Lisbon.

Then in the afternoon I went over the river to Laranjeiras, which this Saturday was showing the ladies how to do Cathedral windows. I only managed to get a photo of Sofia's, as Carmen had left before I got a chance to take a photo.And Manuela who had already done Cathedral windows on another occasion decided she wanted to make a thread catcher/pincushion. Here it is almost finished. Just missing the buttons to be sewn on and the cushion filled up with sand, from the nearby beach of course.

All in all it was a lovely weekend, made especially nice with the return of our daughter Sara safe and sound.

Wednesday's Class

Today 6 of the regular ladies turned up and we continued with the bag that we started last week and managed to finish them.
This is Cristina's

 

and this is Manuela's (sorry for the poor quality of the picture but my nerve's were getting the better of me!)

And Fernanda was continuing with her New York Beauty. It is now ready for quilting.

Helena decided that she was going to make this little bag for her grandaughter who is only 2. So sweet.

Half way through the class we had a surprise visit from RTP (Portuguese National TV Station), to make a recording for their show - Praça da Alegria - on Monday 12th April. The ladies were not aware of this, Paula only found out Tuesday evening and called me, hence why my nerves were getting the better of me. Well, we will have to see how it came out on Monday!

Happy Easter

Well you most probably already guested who would win! Sara and I spent yesterday making the Hare from Tilda's Springtime Gifts book.

Sara traced the pattern on to plastic template and then on to the fabric. Mummy stitched the pieces together and then Sara stuffed all the parts whilst Mummy made the clothes. This project was really a joint effort. And just in time for Easter. All we have to do now is give the Hare a name.

Bag Class

Well today we had a full house, 10 ladies!!!

But first Maria Helena had to show us her finished New York Beauty top. Bearing in mind she only started this on Saturday afternoon.

How we managed, I don't know but it went smoothly and by the end of three hours the ladies had managed to get this far.

I am hoping that over the Easter holidays that I shall be able to start a project for myself. I have had this Jelly Roll since last year, so at least I hope to cut up the squares, etc.

But I have a feeling that Sara will be wanting to make her Tilda Bunny! Just not enough hours in a day.

Saturday's Class

On Saturday we had three ladies, so it was very calm. The pink lady (sorry forgot her name) was a beginner and was working on doing a rail fence, which will be for a cot bed.

Maria Helena and the Artist lady (oops again), who does some lovely painted Angels with fabric incorporated in her work, decided that they wanted to start making a New York Beauty, as well! By the end they had managed to do a block each.

Also Maria Helena brought her finished Sunbonnet Sue, which she ended up giving to D.Manuela.

New York Beauty

Two posts in one day! Today Marta who attended the New York Beauty sent me a picture of her finished work. Marta brought in her bag of scraps and produced this.

And she didn't spend too much time on deciding which fabric to put where and it came out really well. We said at the time, the more time you spend on choosing your fabric the harder it is. Well done Marta.

Sunbonnet Sue Needleturn Appliqué

Well yesterday we had quiet a few ladies for needleturn. The ladies were very quite and concentrating so hard on making sure the corners were smooth. Here is Helena hard at work.

By the end of the class Maria Helena (left) and Fernanda (right) managed to finish their work.

Maria brought in here finished hand applique using the Heat n

Bond and blanket stitch method.

And late last night Irene emailed her finished Sunbonnet Sue.

They were all done with scraps of fabric they brought from home.

Bunny Oven Mitt

At the special request of Paula, here is a Easter Bunny using the machine method of appliqué, i.e. Heat n Bond.

I love using the number 45 (blanket stitch) stitch on my Bernina 440QE, it makes the work so much easier. I did however enjoy doing Sunbonnet Sue with the needleturn method for a change though. I always like to have some hand work to do on an evening otherwise I tend to fall asleep!

Sunbonnet Sue finished

Today I put the finishing touches to Sunbonnet Sue and have decided that it will hang on Sara's bedroom door, after the class on Wednesday.

I also added some embroidered flowers.

New York Beauty Workshop

Yesterday we had a full day workshop on foundation piecing.

 The ladies were very quiet for most of the morning, what with having to concentrate so much!! By lunchtime they had managed to transfer the templates and finish one block each with the exception of Marta who had managed two blocks. Here is one by Marta (top) and Manuela (below).

 

  

We then had a lunch break and went round the corner for lunch, all except Sofia, who had brought a packed lunch. After lunch they started talking and said that they thought it had been a bad idea to go and have lunch, because they had lost the rhythm of working!!

Marta had brought her scrap bag and had decided to go for a scrapy NYB. Here is what she had managed by the end of the day. 

And here is Filomena's.

I hope to add photos when the projects are finished. Anyone interested we used two of the templates from here.

Sunbonnet Sue

Well as promised here is the needleturn appliqué that will be next week's project. The background is a 9.5 inch square. I think I will embroider some flowers for Sunbonnet Sue to hold in her hand. Now all I have to decide is what I am going to convert this block into!

Is it a pillow, a bag or just a block to hang on the wall? So many options and which to choose! I know one little girl who wouldn't mind it.

Classes

I have not posted the last couple of classes as they were so busy I justed didn't get chance to take any photos. However on the Saturday class Carmen popped in with her log cabin quilt finally finished, which I managed to take pictures.

The centre squares were all crossed stitched.

Not sure whether these pictures really show the work. I had problem with figuring out how to disarm the automatic flash. Now I know, thanks to DH.
I have been preparing the project for this Saturday's all day workshop - New York Beauty, foundation pieced.

Not a great lover of paper-piecing, all that paper to tear at the end and also I personally find it hard to see when aligning the fabric up, so I like to use Vilene sew-in light weight  interfacing which enables me to see what is going on and also I don't need to take it out once the block is sewn together. So all being well on Saturday, as it is an all day class I will hopefully get a chance to take some photos, fingers crossed.

Tomorrow I hope to show what I have prepared for the girls to do next Wednesday!