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I first came across Odile Balleouil at L'Amour du Fil in Nantes. She is a French fabric designer and uses different fabric bases combined with lush, detailed patterns. Not my aesthetic. However, over the last few years, I've purchased a few fat quarters and a scrap bag with no idea of what they will become.
I spotted a free pattern was available here for hanging baskets which were a perfect project for our Guild's demo on Monday. I used ribbon for the hanging straps and instead of printing two copies of the pattern, I cut the fabric on the fold.
Dancer by Barbara Ana is my UFO challenge piece for February. Some of my chosen projects have been started in some small way. This was kitted up by I didn't even have all of the threads.
I have made some progress this week with a middle start and I have worked down to his jumper at the bottom and up to the houses below the cartouche at the top. The houses and keys are definitely part of Barbara Ana’s aesthetic. Next I will do the cartouche at the top and then work left to complete the ear. The darkness of the fabric means that I can’t work on it at my Wednesday morning group, but I a, focusing on it at home if the afternoon.
I have surprised myself and got this piece stitched in five days. I am not a quick cross stitcher. The pattern is Valentine's Day Quaker by Primrose Cottage which can now be purchased as a digital download here. I bought the pattern and two skeins of Priscilla's Peppermint from Peakside Needeworks. The pattern specified three skeins and I already owned on skein. However, I didn't even use two full skeins, despite some unpicking due to dodgy counting.
I have been under the weather since last Wednesday so have been focused on this piece and getting customer quilts quilted. The last quilt of three is now ready for collection. I am a little disappointed that I haven't mounted the piece yet, but my husband has sanded the sentiment off this square board from a charity shop, ready for me to paint it. I think he's done a great job and it doesn't need dry brushing which was my plan, so I just need to finish this and two other Valentine projects in the next two days.
Seek banner by Happy Sew Lucky which is foundation pieced.
I am already three blocks behind on the Folk Art sewalong so in February, I plan to stitch the January and February blocks. I hope that we can join a few of the blocks too, but I’m getting ahead of myself!
I have my Easter tiered tray to complete and I will try to finish one item a day rather than try and finish it in one day.
Number 8 was chosen for our group's UFO challenge, and I'm concerned that this could be quite big and time consuming. Especially as I want to have a new start and join the sewalong for the Valentine's Quaker by Primrose Cottage which was just released as a digital download on 1 February, the day after I ordered the paper pattern!! However, it needs three skeins of thread which I didn't have.