Helen and Polly win GOLD!

Joyful winners!

Cool rowing . . .

Looks a bit cool and misty at Dorney Lake this morning for rowing whereas the first World Cup was held in brilliant sunshine at Sydney Australia in March when Helen Glover (Olympic champion) and Polly Swann ( my grand-daughter) won Gold medals in the women's pair.

Fans at Dorney were photographed with Helen and Polly this morning at second World Cup after winning their Heat.
Helen and Polly now go through to the A Final - to be televised Sunday on BBC2.
All the luck in the world, gals!

Quilting fabric v sheeting . . be careful . .

Here is a close up of the quilting fabric (WS) I used for the top and below it you can see white sheeting I used to back the quilt.
There is a vast difference in thread count and the reason the sheeting was more difficult to quilt - with its incredible tighter weave.

So disappointed - I could weep . . .

struggling

Very disappointed with the quilting on my latest UFO - winter version of the Popular Patchwork Singing Garden quilt which was my favourite of the three.

I bought some fine 100% white cotton from Empress Mills (Colne) to back the quilt - but it has too tight a weave. Lovely fabric and quite perfect for sheeting but not for backing a quilt. It is harder for the needle to pierce the fabric at high speed.
To add insult to injury, the charcoal Michael Miller Fairy Frost fabric I chose to piece the top has a metallic coating, as does the white Michael Miller Fairy Frost background tho' not as thick - makes quilting across seams wellnigh impossible.  And believe me, there's a lot of seams in this quilt.

The needle comes to a full stop when it meets a seam. Tried different size needles -  thought it might be my Juki, so tried quilting on each of my two Berninas and met with same problem.
Both fabrics are OK for appliqué or stitch-in-the-ditch quilting.

The beige Michael Miller fabric I used in the autumn version is not as thick and secondary fabric was a thin batik thus no problems with seams. Quilted beautifully.

It's such a shame. I intend to continue quilting as much as possible but it doesn't look right which means this quilt will never see the light of day.

Must be careful in future when choosing fabrics for piecing and backing. Make sure they do not have a tight weave or/and thick metallic coatings.  All that work . . . makes me want to cry . . . Boo hoo . . . .

There's a life beyond quilting when it's HOT!

You think you can quilt?

Ah yes, you think you can quilt - until you come across another quilter's Blog and then - WOW - realise you have a long way to go . . . .
Happened to me this morning . . . .

It may be HOT but it's lunchtime and I'm hungry . . .

Buy a Supreme Slider? DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!

Had a fit this afternoon when I received an email from a company which was advertising threads, plus Supreme Sliders at a cost of £52.95.
Yes, you read correctly - £52.95 or $82.28 in US money.

I paid £3.99 for the above Tefal non-stick baking sheet at either Lidl or Aldi (can't remember it was so long ago). I also use a sheet of it when doing appliqué or refurbishing Bondaweb that's come apart.

Looking at the above picture it's a bit 'Heath Robinson' but works brilliantly.  Quilt slides easily over the surface with no bumps or raised bits to hamper movement.
Used duck tape to keep the sheet in place after cutting out a small opening to allow the needle to function.
The extension table slips out to enable me to change bobbins - oil machine etc.,

Got the idea from Down by the River Blog whilst browsing online a couple of years ago.

SO DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!

Lovely lovely summer days . . .

Young starlings trying to keep cool

This is better!

Hurry up it's my turn!