Purple Tweed I-Pad case

I made this neat I-Pad case in purple tweed for my son's girlfriend after Christmas. It's padded and the I-Pad fits in snugly.The hard wearing tweed will protect her new favourite accessory. She chose a vintage green button from my Grandma's button box to fasten it. I think that tweed would be excellent for lap-top and Kindle covers too.

Liberty bird in the bush summer quilt

I made this small quilt in the middle of summer using scraps of dressmaking fabrics, cottons and satins to add texture. I was drawn to the teal and lilac colours in the Liberty fabric and thought that the green polka dot pattern complemented it well. I haven't found a home for this quilt yet . Let me know if you have a place for it.

Nine Squared Birthday Quilt

My eldest son's girlfriend turned 21 in July 2011 and he commissioned me to make her a quilt as he was leaving for a year abroad in sunny climes whilst she was facing a long cold Northern  winter in her student flat without him. I wanted to make something dramatic so chose the combination of royal blue and red chevron tweed with plain teal . All the tweed came from Norman Mackenzie's weaving shed  in Carloway on Lewis. I backed it with a bright red lining.As someone once said a quilt is a 're-usable hug', it was a great present for a very special person.

Fifty Golden Pieces Quilt

I made this in October for a very dear friend who turned 50 this year. He is passionate about the Highlands of Scotland and mountain climbing and had set himself the goal of climbing 50 mountains in his 50th year. However, family circumstances intervened and he had to concede the challenge for the time being. In the meantime I put together fifty pieces of Highlands & Islands beauty for him, in the shape of a quilt comprising 50 golden patches of Harris Tweed. I laid the pieces out in the imbricate or overlapping pattern of pebbles in a highland stream, then overlocked each piece. I  used a lovely cotton wadding which made the machine quilting very easy. It is light but the tweed adds the warmth. Our friend now uses it to keep snug on these winter evenings.

Floral 50th Birthday Quilt.

It was my eldest sister's birthday in June- her fiftieth so I needed something special for her. She had told me that she was re-decorating a room in greys and blues. I had a piece of blue floral furnishing fabric, in fact I think that she had given it to me last year. I decided to make a quilt using the flowers as the panels and alternating the front and back of the fabric for the seperate rectangles. I used a beautiful blue moleskin cotton for the strips and for the edging, a co-ordinating silver and blue curtain fabric. I couldn't wait for her to see it. We gathered at Arley Hall on a sweltering hot day and she unwrapped it as we ate a delicious picnic.
Now it's my second eldest sister's 50th  birthday this summer and she has hinted that she wants a quilt too!

Brian Boru Bodhran Case

A Christmas present for one of my sons, this dark green padded case comfortably carries his large bodhran . The Harris tweed will be hard wearing to withstand all his travelling around the country to different gigs and his busking around the cities of the North- East. I added a pocket for his beaters and another smaller one for the allen key. He was very pleased with the outcome.  Note: Brian Boru was the High King of Ireland.

New Year's Whistle Case

A very talented young whistle player came to the house to celebrate the New Year with us. In return for his tunes I designed and created a four-compartment padded whistle case for his beautiful Chieftain whistles. Started and completed 1st January 2012, whilst the rest of the house nursed the collective hangover. The tweed is a deep blue pinstripe woven by Norman McKenzie at Carloway, Isle of Lewis. I attached the Centenary Harris Tweed label to the front as we were just one day into the new year. 

The Sound of the Isles Quilt (Harris Tweed)

Harris Tweed Pieced Quilt; completed 7th September 2011.  Based upon the Feedsack Scrap Quilt idea but adapted to suit the tweed. Strips sown together then overlocked and overlapped, this adds an interesting texture. Given to my son as he started a folk music degree course at university.