No Sewing Just Sorrow

My dear little dog, Monty passed away last Friday.  He was 13 and a half years old and had been on medication for his heart for the past two years. 

I don't feel like sewing at the moment.  Here is a little thread painting I did of him a year ago, followed by a couple of photos of him taken when he was in his prime.

 

He was a real character and is very much missed.

Starting Sutton Grange

I bought the Sutton Grange pattern from the Petra Prins stand at the Festival of Quilts last August, but have only now started working on it.  I have decided to try not to buy and new quilting cotton in 2016 - or more realistically, I will only buy a metre when I have used 5 metres.  That's the plan.

Di Ford's pattern calls for broderie perse in the centre of the medallion and around the dresden plate.  I did try a couple of motifs from my stash, but wasn't happy.  In the end, I painted a stylised rose onto white cotton, using Derwent Inktense and Jacquard gold metallic textile paint.  I repeated a smaller version in each of the four corners of the second border.  Once the paint was set permanently, I appliqued the roses to the quilt.  I used some half inch hexagons to replace the broderie perse around the dresden plate.I've had fun adding some beads and French knots to the flowers.

I haven't really done much needle turn applique in the past year.  I've been rediscovering the pleasure of hand work.  Happy New Year, all! xx