Appliqué cushion workshop

We had another workshop here at the weekend, which reminded me that I'd not blogged about the previous one - oops!  In September three clever ladies spent a day at the Vicarage and went home having made an appliqué cushion top, quilted the top, and learnt how to insert a zip concealed behind a decorative flap on the back of the cushion.  They all went home with a nice squishy cushion and feelings of accomplishment!

 Mena...

 ...Barbara...

...and Gill all looking suitably pleased!

I'm re-running last Saturday's workshop this Saturday too, for a couple of participants who were on holiday, so when I've got everyone's pictures I'll do a post about that too!

Adventures with my staple gun!

 

I've always used a ironing board for all my patchwork-pressing needs: it didn't really occur to me to do anything else.  Over the summer holidays I acquired a staple gun and had an idea, all in the same week - and now I'm the happy owner of a pressing table, that can double as a cutting table.  I don't know how I managed without it, especially for pressing quilt tops and backings before quilting them - you can see in the last photograph that a width of fabric fits easily.  I used a cheap Ikea table, tin foil, part of an old woollen blanket and cotton furnishing fabric. I tested the cover fabric carefully before using it of course, and it's fine with the heat of the iron. I did give myself staple-gunner's wrist making it, but it was worth it!   It was a real boon at the cushion workshop we did last month too, although I scared the ladies about bondawebbing their appliqués onto it accidetnally, so we had to cover the cover!  Pics of the workshop results coming up soon... 

Changes

Changes afoot in the Vicarage!

For the last seven and a half years I've worked in the office of a local CofE Primary School.  It's been a lovely time and I've made lots of great friends amongst the staff and also the parents of the school.  I've worked three days a week, term time only, and so enjoyed a lot of free time to devote to Vicarage Quilts.

Tomorrow I start a new job, working for the Diocese, and it's full-time: no school holidays and five days a week.  A big adjustment!  I'm really excited about it but I think some things will have to change in the way I run my little business.  I'm going to stop quilting big quilts for example (anything over a lap size), and whether or not I can take on commission quilts and banners will depend on what else is going on at the time.  However, I'm carrying on with workshops and little makes, and small quilts.

On Friday evening we had my leaving do at a local restaurant and I decided to make each colleague who joined me a little heart keyring to say thank you for - well, everything.  I put their menu choices inside the cards, and used them as place markers. 

As you can see, there were a lot of them, and I also made some for those who couldn't be there on the night.  Surely it's normal to make thirty five keyrings in the last week of your job, when you're tying up all your loose ends and training up your replacement?  No?  That will be why I felt tired last week!