2020 UFO update

Well how did I do? I had six UFOs at the start of the month with the plan that I should be able to finish three this month. I only managed two but that's better than none. 

I had edited my UFO list to remove any projects that I have added to my 2021 Guild UFO challenge.  I am looking forward to the restart of the Finishalong challenge on Instagram in 2021. 

1. TQS BOM 2012 - all of the papers have been taken out and it's ready for quilting. what to put in the big plain sections is my main dilemma. Much of the quilt has a lot of detail so in those sections the quilting will be kept simple.

2. Tate Modern quilt which was our challenge March project which is now ready for quilting.

3. The light by Barbara Ana designs

4. Spellville by Barbara Ana

5. Chinese Zodiac  by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery - complete

6. Alaska Rainbow - complete

WIP Wednesday - cross stitch projects

The list hasn't reduced much but at least I am keeping up with the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery Christmas wreath SAL and I've finished the Chinese Zodiac pattern by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

WIPS:

1. Spellville by Barbara Ana - no progress

2. Spring Sampler by Durene Jones, on my 2021 UFO challenge list so it will be finished this year.

3.  We're all mad by Fiddlesticks 

4.  Christmas wreath club by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery - November and December are complete and it is now put away until the next installment on 18 January.

5. Merry  - a free pattern by Hands on design. 

6. December Cottage  by Country Cottage Needleworks

Kitted but not started:

7. The light by Barbara Ana

8. Jolly Claus by Stitching with the Housewives

9. January by Hands on design - I finished December

Monday make - Ho Ho Ho

 

I just couldn't resist this little reindeer wreath. It wasn't finished for Christmas, but it is now ready to be fully finished now that the stitching is complete. It fits into a hoop that I already own but I'm not sure whether to paint the hoop red?

The linen is 28 count crystal helix which was leftover from the Frosted Pumpkin Chinese Zodiac pattern, this pattern is from the same designer. Now I need to work on my December cottage from Country Cottage Needleworks.

Happy Christmas

 

Happy Christmas to you all. Yesterday was the last day of advent and saw the advent sewalong draw to a close. All of the instructions were posted daily on Instagram.

I used the final panel to make a Valentine themed cushion finished with a red and hite stripe from rley Blake Designs.

And of course, I used Kam snaps to close the cushion on the back and alternated red and pink.

My advent cushion is almost complete. Next week I will sew in all of the ends and Kitchener stitch the top edge closed.

WIP Wednesday - Christmas wreath

 

Part two of the Christmas Wreath pattern by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery was released on Friday and by Sunday I had finished it and put it away. Can I keep up with this stitchalong? Unfortunately the main colour for the bow was from my stash but it took half of a skein of DMC so I had to purchase a full skein.

Next month the pattern starts in the bottom left with the wreath and some baubles from the preview I've seen. But for now I am going to work on Ho Ho Ho, also by the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

Monday Make - With Thy Needle and Thread

 I finished this last week apart from the colonial knots for the baubles / tree lights. That was never in my plan. After coming out of isolation, I retrieved my tool for attaching hot fix rhinestones from a friend. I love how it has come out. The colour of the linen can be better seen in the next photo.

Pattern: Merry Minty free from Brenda Gervais' FB page

Fabric: Picture this Plus 28 count opal coastal

I stored the project in this bag which was a Christmas present made using fabric by Kate Spain.

This was a Christmas project in more way than one, as the hot fix tool was a Christmas present from my family a few years ago. I love that the Scandi motif on the tin the tools and rhinestones are stored in coordinates with the border on the pattern.

Friday finish - Chinese zodiac

 

I am absolutely thrilled to have finished this project the day before the second month of the Christmas wreath arrived in my inbox. Both patterns are by the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.  I plan to get it framed next year in a similar style to the previous oriental pattern I completed (also by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery). My son bought the even weave for me in Las Vegas and I am using the leftovers for another Xmas pattern which I started last night.

It's now time to put away these flosses and use the box for another project. I want t find the perfect sized tin to contain my scissors, thread gloss and needles as I can then move them from project to project rather than always trying to find the last project that I worked on.

Today I'm going to work on month 2 of the Christmas wreath but first we are heading into town as we are out of self isolation after my daughter received three negative tests.

WIP Wednesday - advent calendar cushion

I am still enjoying knitting on my advent project every day. It's a simple project of circular knit stitches and take me about an hour to knit six to seven rows.

I will enjoy the project even more when I move on from the green section. Even the turquoises are greener than I'd like. I am over half way complete and I plan to Kitchener stitch the top rows together for a seamless finish. Or that's the plan!! I might look for a cushion pad on Friday, if the results for Lizzie's day 10 test comes through. Fingers crossed.

Monday make - Alaska rainbow

 

The Alaska Rainbow sewalong with Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket quilts was taken at a nice pace, making four each of two blocks every week. I was pleased with my fabric choices (list at the bottom of this post) apart from running out of the oyster colourway. However I substituted another fabric for the middle blocks and it adds another dimension to the project. There were a couple of mistakes in the pattern and it was difficult to see from the diagrams when to use the oyster and cream backgrounds, but I am pleased with the final result.

I quilted the project on my Handiquilter Avante using Christy Dillon' Fast feathers pantograph which was a new purchase. I wanted an open design without too much overstitching so as not to dominate the quilt pattern.

I tend to gravitate towards striped bindings and asked for help choosing on Instagram. I was also limited by the fabric in my stash as I don't tend to buy much yardage. In the end I went for the Libs Elliott pink to pull the pink in the centre out to the edge and it works. I am a slower binder and set off all gung ho that I was going to quickly finish this project, in the end I scheduled in an hour a day for four days and it was soon complete and allowed me time to work on other projects too without becoming overwhelmed.

This has been a perfect quilt to work on during these difficult times as it is so cheerful and you can work on it in bite size pieces. We are on day 7 of self isolation with our daughter so my husband was available this morning for quilt wrangling duties as he is working from home.

If you're interested my fabrics which are numbered as per the pattern are as follows:

1. Carolyn Freidlander for Robert Kaufman - also used for the backing
2. Kimberley Knight grid 2019
3. Alison Glass for Andover Fabrics
4. unknown
5. Wilmington prints
6. Fossil fern
7. Desert song by Mara Penny for Moda Fabrics #13306
8. Giucy Giuce for Andover Fabrics
9. Lizzy House for Andover Fabrics
10. unknown
11. Giucy Giuce for Andover Fabrics 2019 #9243
12. Alison Glass for Andover Fabrics 2015 #8138 sphere
13. Lizzy House for Andover Fabrics 015 #8182
14. Bernatex 2306
15. Triple S flutter series for Sew Group Int
16. Lizzy House for Andover Fabrics 2015 #8182
17. Alison Glass for Andover Fabrics
18. Lizzy House for Andover Fabrics 2015 #8182
19. Libs Elliott for Andover Fabrics 2018 9012 
20. Alison Glass for Andover Fabrics 2018 ornament #9119
21. unknown
22. Cotton & Steel basics spring 2014
23. Miss Kate by Bonnie & Camille for Moda  #55094

Freebie Friday - advent cushion

 

I am pleased with how my advent calendar project is progressing. Last week was all about the pink and now I have knit through the reds, oranges, yellows and am now on the greens.

I adjusted the number of rows I'm knitting from five / six to six / seven. The size looks roughly about right so I will now continue with six rows of each. You can see from my scraps above that where I knit seven rows, there is barely any yarn left. I have been very bold and started throwing out the ball bands as there is so little left and I should just add them all to the box of Scheepje yarn that I didn't choose to add to my advent calendar. I am looking forward to seeing what the next two weeks brings.

This is day 4 of 10 of self isolation with our daughter. She had one University exam online yesterday, one today and two early net week so the time will pass quite quickly. I have just one customer quilt left to load on my long arm and then I can try and finish two of my own projects.

WIP Wednesday - Chinese Zodiac

 

I am bored of all of the little decorations on this project. I knew that was going to happen as all of the fans are finished and the animals are almost finished. I am working on the bottom right quadrant which is month 4 of 8. The pattern is by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. I am also working on other cross stitch projects but I do need to finish this one as all of the others are fairly small. The recommended gold thread is a Petite Braid and Matt picked up in Las Vegas for me. It is much more forgiving than othr metallic threads I've used before.

In other news today is day 2/10 of self isolation with our daughter. I would have bought in anything she asked for but she didn't and is now craving sugary sweets and ice cream. Fingers crossed that the friend who has to collect two Christmas quilts, which I am long arming, can oblige. Lizzie's Day 0 test at the airport was negative and can look forward to another test on day 5 and day 10.

Monday make - Hands on design January

 

I have focused on this small Hands on Design December pattern from "A Year of Celebrations" and it's finished. I love those cute elf legs.

And I have even put December away, kitted up January and I now need to move my focus to another project. I have five customer quilts to long arm this week. Next I need to chose a binding for my Alaska Rainbow quilt.

Friday finish - 2020 advent calendar

 

My Opal advent calendar has come out of storage for 2020 and I filled it with a rainbow of Scheepjes mini balls of wool from Wool Warehouse. I bought these from a friend who was raising money for a local cancer support group.

I had a false start as I was trying to fade one colour into another but the joins were very visible so yesterday I decided to start again. The colours transition so well that they don't need to be faded from one colour into the next, the wool does that for me.

I have cast on 200 stitches onto a circular needle using the Turkish cast on. That means no seaming at the bottom of what I hope will become a rainbow cushion. I am using a size 3mm needle and if my maths and tension are correct I need 5.3 rows of each colour. I will review this after ten colours and do five rows of some colours and six of other. This is a great evening activity as it is just plain knitting in the round.

WIP Wednesday - Cross stitch projects

I am feeling a little more comfortable about the number of my WIPs. However I need to tackle and finish some of the easier projects this month to bring the number down.

WIPS:

1. Spellville by Barbara Ana

2. Spring Sampler by Durene Jones, found in my 2021 UFO challenge drawer, exactly where it should be!!

3. Chinese Zodiac by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

4. We're all mad by Fiddlesticks 

5.  Christmas wreath club by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery - November is complete and it is now put away until the next installment on 18 December.

Kitted but not started:

6. The light by Barbara Ana

8. Jolly Claus by Stitching with the Housewives

9. Ho ho hoop by the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

10. December by Hands on design

11. December Cottage  by Country Cottage Needleworks

I need to continue working on the Chinese Zodiac by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery to finish it ready for framing and do some stitching each day on a smaller WIP too. 

December UFO update

I have edited my UFO list to remove any projects that I have added to my 2021 Guild UFO challenge.  I am looking forward to the restart of the Finishalong challenge on Instagram in 2021. I need something to look forward to!! So I have one month in which to finish these projects. Surely I can get three finished this month??

1. TQS BOM 2012 - all of the papers have been taken out and it's ready for quilting. what to put in the big plain sections is my main dilemma. Much of the quilt has a lot of detail so in those sections the quilting will be kept simple.

2. Tate Modern quilt which was our challenge March project which is now ready for quilting.

3. The light by Barbara Ana designs

4. Spellville by Barbara Ana

5. Chinese Zodiac  by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery

6. Alaska Rainbow - pattern by Landry Basket Quilts. All of the sections are complete and ready to sew togethr. Not sure how to quilt this one.