Plans for this week

Our daughter, Lizzie arrived back home yesterday evening and we have two plans for the week:

Stitch up the Frida shirt; and

Spend a few days in France including a day at Pour L'Amour du Fil in Nantes.

I am going to use this light cotton from Seasalt with a fish motif. I feel that fish was the motif in fabrics and homeware for 2025. I have had this fabric for some years, but it is now prewashed and ready to make into a shirt. I plan to make the long-sleeved version so long as I have sufficient fabric. I will need to be careful where the circle motifs are positioned on the front of the shirt!

Paris je t’aime 5

I made good progress on section 6 of Verushka Zarate's pattern. There are only a few flowers to applique in this section so I will leave them until section 5 is complete. I have even completed one part of section 5 already. Do I keep going or wait until after our trip to Nantes to continue?

Be careful what you wish for!

 

For our group UFO challenge in March, I had completed Autumn by Barbara Ana. Lizzie is visiting in April and we are going to Pour l'Amour du Fil in Nantes together, so I was hoping for an easier UFO than in March. Unfortunately, number 4 was picked which was Winter by Barbara Ana and I had not put one stitch in this piece.

I have surprised myself this week and made good progress on the piece. I have finished the face and started working on the crown. My next aim is to stitch to the extremities of the piece on the left, right and top. I would estimate that I have completed about 50% of the stitching but my progress has been a bit scatter gun.

Lizzie arrives on Sunday afternoon, so more good progress is needed this week. Our joint project whilst she's home is a Tilly and the Buttons shirt and Lizzie has two quilts to put on the long arm. A little ambitious, I think, as we are away for three days which leaves only two days to sew.

Preparing your quilt for quilting

The maker of this quilt was very specific in her requests which I appreciate:

* Pantograph is Sally by the seashore

* Green thread

* Deadline

The backing fabric (a Tilda fabric) was 4" bigger than the quilt top as was the wadding. I recommend the Robert Kaufman app for calculating the size of backing that you need to purchase as well as how much fabric you need for the binding. It's always a good idea to prepare the binding before the quilt is ready to be bound, so that you don't have to think once the quilt is trimmed. I have 20.5" square quilt ruler that I often lend to customers to help with the trimming process.

I recommend that you pay particular attention to pressing your quilt ready for quilting whether by you or your longarmer. Another good practice is stitching around the whole of the quilt 1/8" from the edge so that seams don't come undone and it stabilises the quit.

Paris Je t'aime 4

Having finished my March UFO challenge, I decided to work on section 3 (my fourth section) of Paris Je t'aime by Verushka Karate. It is a small section so perfect for me whilst still nursing a cold. I also added in a few blocks for section 6 so as to make more progress. The top half of the quilt is now finished and looking great.

I usually store my scraps folded into the main piece of fabric, but I am now keeping the scraps separately so it's easier to see them and use them up. 

Autumn by Barbara Ana

 

Autumn by Barbara Ana was my March project for our group UFO challenge. This last week, I have been full of cold so was surprised that I got this finished. At the beginning of the month, I hadn't started the project so there was a lot for me to stitch. I fell that perhaps I should start working on Winter next so that it isn't a blank canvas. Tomorrow, the next UFO will be chosen but for today I'm going to work on Honey of a Tiny Town which is nearing completion.

Paris je t’aime 3

I am doing this project one section per month in 2026. My priority projects were my customer quilt to be long armed and my UFO challenge cross stitch. However, my long arm is playing up so a new cable has been ordered which I hope will arrive today or tomorrow (mail boat permitting). Then I left my cross-stitch project - Autumn by Barbara Ana at the Eisteddfod and didn't want to make a special journey to pick it up.

Unable to work on my priority projects, I prepped the applique for the third section of Paris je t'aime by Verushka Karate. It came together quicker than expected and is ready to be stitched to section 2. Section 4 is small and has no applique so should be a quicker make. I like how it's coming together and the less pressurised pace of one section a month.

Jersey Eisteddfod 2026

The Creative Arts Festival of the Jersey Eisteddfod opens tomorrow afternoon. It has been a week of hard work taking in over 600 entries just for our section, adjudicating the items, writing certificates and displaying the items. 

I was sent home by my team on Friday morning once we had completed the photographing of the trophy winning items. We had displayed all of the junior and adult entries, so my team completed the job by displaying the trophy winners entries in what I call "The Winners Circle".

All I've done today is to add coloured stars to three entries which are eligible for a visitor's choice award and added laminated copies of the judge's summary of her experience around the display. All ready for tomorrow and I am scheduled to steward on Friday morning so I will take some cross stitch with me to work on, just in case it's quiet.

Eisteddfod preparations finished

 We are just about ready for the Eisteddfod which opens on Thursday afternoon. Time now to work on a customer quilt and my March UFO. Number 3 was selected for March which is Autumn by Barbara Ana. I am putting all four seasons on one piece of linen. Spring is almost finished, summer had a small start and nothing had been worked on for autumn and winter. I worked along the bottom of summer to find the start of autumn.

Progress is slow as I have been suffering with the nauseous side effects of a medication. I have reduced the dose, so I'm hoping I will feel better this week. I set myself small tasks on the project to finish it in twenty days, but realistically, I just need to work on it steadily.

Croak Couture cushion

 

I was so pleased to get this cushion ready for submitting to our local Eisteddfod on Friday. We have worked for free for three days so far and have another three days to go, however we are making good progress.

I used the same background for this cushion as I used for the dalmatian cushion along with machine quilting lines 1" apart. The back is closed with star shaped snaps in a similar purple to the frog's mushroom cap. I  am looking forward to getting back to some crafting on Saturday.

Paris, je t'aime section 1

Whilst waiting for my black and white striped fabric to be delivered, I worked on section 1 of this project. I should definitely be able to finish this section in March as it's mainly just applique on some pieces to be done and then put the section together.

It's coming together nicely and I'm pleased with my progress. I am busy with eisteddfod adjudication this week, so very little stitching will be done. I'm looking forward to Saturday when we will have finished adjudication and displaying the work.

SQ Croak Couture

The second project I have to finish for the local Eisteddfod was Croaky Couture also by Sew Quirky.  Layering up the applique wasn't difficult, just time consuming. Again, I lost a piece of the applique - this time a nostril.

Between fielding calls about the eisteddfod, I have finished the applique and the jacket which was tricky. I now have until Sunday to quilt the background aqua speckled yarn dyed linen and make it into a cushion. Perhaps I might even remember to add a label to this piece.

Lola cushion

 

It was time to stitch up some of the Sew Quirky projects from the mystery box. I have included two Sew Quirky projects in the 2026 UFO challenge for our group. Even though number 12 has not yet been pulled, I chose the project t enter in our local Eisteddfod, and hand in day is this coming Saturday!!

I increased the design by 100%. The preparation takes some time as the pieces are small and fiddly. Though my biggest challenge has been losing one of the lenses of the sunglasses. I was determined not to prep the pieces again, so I kept looking for the piece as I worked on the other parts of the applique. Eight hours later, I discovered the pieces stuck to the underside of my slippers. That did make us laugh and it was a relief not to have to cut out the pieces again.

I used Glide threads for the applique and also added hot fix rhinestones to the centres of the flowers for some extra sparkle. The striped border picks up the black and white of the Dalmatian.

I closed the back of the cushion with snaps but totally forgot to add a label. I now need to work on Croak Couture, also by Sew Quirky, to enter it into the Eisteddfod.

Sew Quirky mystery box

 

The most recent Sew Quirky mystery box was called "Razzle Dazzle". You can order previous boxes here or pre order the next box due in April.

The box always contains a new fun pattern and a kit to make the project. This quarter's pattern is called Croak Couture and features a frog in a dazzling fringed jacket.

The specialty fabric this time was metallic vegan leather. the green shades are definitely more Lizzie than me. There are pattern weight, labels and a secret project which was a mini purse / pouch.

The sweet treat was yogurt frogs (long gone). Continuing the orange and pink theme was some strapping for bags, I'm told we have some of this already and a big embroidered patch.  Finally matching zips and bow zipper pulls.

Lola pouch by Sew Quirky

 

The Lola lunch buddy is one of my 2026 UFOs, but I have also entered it into the 2026 Jersey Eisteddfod, so it needs to be handed in by 1 March. I have enlarged the dalmatian applique from A4 to A3 and plan to make it into a cushion for my daughter. The pattern was in a Sew Quirky mystery box and came with a kit. 

I have substituted the metallic sunglasses for the gold as enlarging the pattern meant there wasn't enough and I added the aqua vinyl which goes well with the speckled Essex dyed linen I've chosen for the background. So far, I have prepped all of the pieces and fused them to the background. The fun starts now with adding applique and free motion stitching.

February WIP challenge

My February UFO for our group UFO challenge was my thimble blocks from a sewalong with @happysewucky some time ago. I chose the largest block to make into a project bag. I added a border of Kona in the colour breakers and then did a 1" cross hatch grid using a pale pink Ruby Star Society print as the backing.

I even remembered to add a little rainbow label into the binding. The Ruby Star Society + print was the perfect binding and accent fabric paired with a leopard print vinyl from Studio7t7 and a pink striped zip from Purple Stitches.

I may use some more of the thimble blocks for another project, but I now need to work on a project that I have entered for our local Eisteddfod.

Paris, je t'aime II

It's February so time to start another section of this pattern by Verushka Karate. I am wishing that I had done section 2 first as it is not big or complicated and only has one element which is appliqued. 

I know that March will be busy for me so I will stitch section 3 which is small and has no applique. Limiting myself to one section a month is working so far for me as it is a manageable chunk, and I can also work on other projects. I still have to find the pouch of leftover fabrics from La Vie en Rose which has many of the same fabrics.

January challenge

Number 7 was chosen as our group challenge for January 2026. hank fully I made a toile as the bodice of the pattern with its princess seams did not suit my shape. Instead, I used the Aspen dress and turned it into a pinafore. I tried the burrito method for the first time and drafted a facing for the bodice using the principles from the Noa dress. 

A different perspective

It is good to look at things with a different perspective. I often cut large volumes of fabric at our kitchen island as it is a better height for minimizing bending and it' a clear space which my sewing room is generally not clear.

I stitched up a quick toile of the Noa dress in a secondhand duvet cover. I am so pleased that I did that as the bodice did not fit at all. I also don't have the skills to alter princess seams so that the bodice would fit. I decided instead that I would make a winter version of the Aspen dress by Fabric Godmother. Having cut out the bodice and skirt, of course, there wasn't enough fabric for sleeves! So I have now altered the pattern for the Aspen dress to turn it into a Noa style pinafore. Wish me luck.