Stitch Gathering 2015 - Goodies

I was well and truly spoiled at this years Stitch Gathering.

At the notions swap and I received a fabulous EPP kit.  My lovely partner had included pins, thread and some wee scissors.

I was so thrilled, it is a such a great, well made pouch.  I've already been able to move all my EPP bits and bobs around the house with ease and it's meant I've made great progress on sewing up my hexies.  So chuffed.

The goodie bag this year was another treasure trove.  I counted 17 fat quarters!

And finally, I was once again given an excellent name tag - this year, there were extra pouches and places to keep stationery!

Thanks to all the sponsors of the event:

Michael Miller
Cloud 9 Fabrics
Coats UK
Dear Stella
Lewis and Irene
Blend Fabrics
Duck Egg Threads
Love Patchwork and Quilting
Pilot
Nairn's Oatcakes
Aurifil (particularly as I won a pack of ten spools of thread in the tombola!)
My Bearpaw

Stitch Gathering - FMQ and Free Stitching

I was VERY excited when classes for the Stitch Gathering were announced and it was confirmed I had been allocated a place in Trudi Wood's FMQ class.  Trudi discussed the whole process of successful FMQ, including needles, threads, feed dogs, gloves vs. no gloves, which wadding to use and the best way to use it, and how to sit.  All that before you've even started - it was fascinating.

It was a short workshop so we were drawing patterns and getting used to making the shapes without lifting the pen off the paper.  

These were a couple of my favourites.  Since then my work notebooks have been covered in doodles and I tried a new flower technique on my #schnitzelandboominiquiltswap mini (more than on that soon!).  It was such a great class and really gave me the confidence to move beyond the stipple!

The next class I took was on cutting freehand  - throw down your rulers, they have no place here! 

Again, it was a great class for expanding my skills and building on last year's attempt at sewing curves.

I practiced by making blocks for the scrappy block swap I participated in.  Here's all my blocks together:

I definitely picked great classes this year and really enjoyed being able to actually finish them in the time allotted!  One day, I WILL finish the rainbow triangle quilt I started at the very first SG....

Stitch Gathering 2015 - MEGA PINNIE

One of the classes I took at the Stitch Gathering was learning to make the MEGA PINNIE!

It's a large pin cushion designed by Sheila Donnachie which can hold various notions and help to keep your work station neat (or in my case neater).

There was some pre-sewing to do and I finally found a use for my first EPP hexagon.

I achieved a PB at the Stitch Gathering this year by actually finishing something I'd learned to make! I was glad I did the quilting of the panels in advance as I would not have had enough time to do everything in the class.

Here's how it came together:

It now has pride of place on my sewing table and stores everything I need to hand - mainly scissors, the rotary cutter and, best of all, thousands of pins!