Awesome Ocean mini quilt

You know that I love a good sewalong and quickly jumped on the Elizabeth Hartman sewalong organised by Gnome Angel over on Instagram. Unfortunately the sewalong stalled due to ill health and my progress stalled too.

I had lots of blocks sewn but nothing put together. Our Wednesday morning quilt group had a Christmas challenge t make a small quilt to go into shoe boxes for Romania. I didn't win the challenge, however I realised I could put some of the blocks together and tha would make an etra mini quilt to donate.

With a purpose for the quilt, I decided to start with the blocks from the pattern Awesome Ocean. All of the blocks had low volume backgrounds but I chose a plain white for the sashing. Once the various sashings and borders were cut, it was quick to put together.

A quick look in the cupboard in the room my long arm is in and I found a piece of Bitten by Ikea tht was just the right size, quickly loaded it onto my long arm and two passes using a pantograph called Froze by Anne Bright and it was ready for binding. Such a myriad of colours meant that it had to be a rainbow stripe to bring together the assorted colours.  I machined down the binding as it will well used.

I do love a striped binding and keep all of my multicolored stripes together. My husband and I are planning a return to Pour L'amour du Fil quilt show in Nantes in April so I will be on the look out for more striped fabric, amongst other things.

Improv Xmas tree finish

I started this quilt in December using a tutorial by Amy Smart. I purchased some extra Christmas fabrics from sewhot.co.uk.

I love the mauve feathers. I initially thought that I would make a square quilt.

However I changed my mind to make a rectangular lap quilt. A bit of moving blocks around my design wall, I made one more block and it was soon together.

Distributing the red blocks around the quilt was challenging and I ended up with two adjacent red trees. I then quilted it using a trees pantograph from Anne Bright.

I like the the mix of fabrics by different designers including Me and My Sister, Tula Pink, Aneela Hoey, Cotton & Steel and more. I then machined down a red stripey binding for another finished project in 2019. I am pleased with this quick finish, however I seem to have cut every tree the same, so much for being improv.

The backing was a piece from stash designed by Eleanor Burns. There's just enough left to back one further small project.

Felt mat - sheepy

My husband and I are planning a trip to France to attend the Pour l'Amour du Fils quilt show in Nantes as well as visiting a family friend. I bought this felt kit three years ago at that show so it is good to have it finished. It didn't make it to my UFO list of twelve items for the APQS challenge but it is a finish nevertheless.

Two friends who I haven't seen for more than a year will be at the show so I am looking forward to seeing them. My husband will come into the show with me, but prices are quite high there and tends to be lot of linen and Japanese products so my spending is usually modest. Until I have tidied my craft room I shouldn't be buying anything anyway.

Lone Star - first finish of 2019

In January 2018, I challenged the members of Jersey Modern Quilt Guild to finish their oldest WIP and bring it along to the January 2019 meeting last weekend. It is a stunning design that needed to be finished. So I worked on it last week and it was ready for the meeting with two other UFOs. Many members had got out their oldest UFO, reevaluated it and put it back in the cupboard.

Most of the quilt was done when I pulled it out of the bag. It had faltered as I didn't like the foundation piecing technique demonstrated in the class which used freezer paper. Luckily I had all of the fabric still in the bag including sufficient of the navy fossil fern for the binding nd a small border. There was just one fabric that I ran out of in the corner foundation pieced blocks which I just substituted and moved on.

The quilt was then loaded on my machine before I broke my ankle in October and has remained thee untouched until January. following an operation, I didn't sleep for a week, so I needed to reestablish my sleep pattern, so that my brain was sufficiently clear to do justice to the quilt. I usually use computerised designs, but this is mostly free motion and ruler work.

There's nothing like jumping in at the deep end.

It is now finished and ready to enter into our local Eisteddfod in March. Though I still have a few other projects to finish for the show. The backing is an Elizabeth Hartman fabric for Robert Kaufmann in 108" wide for backings. 

I am now catching up on customer quilts so that I can quilt either my Christmas Trees quilt or my Violet Craft lion next. The Christmas Tree quilt needs a few more blocks sewn but would be a digital pantograph but the lion is free motion again. decisions, decisions.

Q1 2019 finish along

There are some new entries for me in the finish along and some that have been hanging around for almost a decide. This year I  plan to finish everything that was started before 2018.

1. Jan Krentz star from 2010. This is now on my long arm and should be finished this month so that I can quilt some customer quilts as well as the fabric for item 11

2. TQS BOM Sedona Star from Jan 2012. Not yet pieced together but progress was made in 2018.

3. Lion from 2017

4. Tula Pink butterfly from October 2017. I need to move a few blocks and then quilt it.



5. My small world from 2016 which is pieced and partly quilted.

6. Five impossible things

7. La Fin du Monde which I started as a quiltalong late 2018, but the background fabric got lost in the post, so progress stopped.

8. Jo Avery Dresden plate - a Festival of quilts class in 2017

9. Tate modern quilt - this is my own design from a painting at the Tate Modern that I need to start again from scratch and cut templates.

10. Christmas tree quilt using a tutorial by Amy Smart

11. Catch all caddy- I have the Tula Pink fabrics but need to quilt them on my long arm. Possibly a project for JMQG rainbow retreat 2019 in March.

12. Miscellaneous Elizabeth Hartman blocks

13 Geeta Gamma globe

14. HST BOM  - I want to keep up with the blocks each month and finish it in December

15. Quilter's Planner BOM - I have made a start and may try and finish this one this quarter 

16. Tula Pink Hex on the beach

17. Oops I forgot the improv quilt from Poppyprint's class for London MQG.

I have more projects planned or on the go than I thought. however I now have no unfinished cross stitch projects, but I seem to have replaced them with knitting WIPs.

Cushion finished

I wanted to make at least one project from the book, Fussy Cutters Club, tat I purchased by Gnome Angel (Angie Wilson). I made my own templates to cut the pieces for this cushion as I reduced the size from the example in the book. Getting a quarter of an inch seam allowance around all three sides of the templates was more challenging than I realised. we are very lucky to have access for a small fee, to 3D lase cutting equipment at our local library.

 I tried out the Aurifil 80 on this project as well as the flat back stitch. I have the Tula Pink - hex o the beach project in progress so may try this technique again as I don't like seeing stitches come through to the front. we will see. Here is a tutorial for this technique - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfC9gOdiinU

I then quilted it in three directions on my Bernina and turned it into a cushion. I think I may try out the big tote pattern from the book next but I need to finish some other projects first. More on my Q1 2019 finish along list another day.

A finish too

I also finished a garment in Q4, however it is too long and too wide, even for me. So a finish for now but will need attention in the future.

I love the Tula Pink skulls so will have to fix this make to be able to wear it this autumn so time is on my side.

Where have I been

My last post was the items that I wanted to finish for Q4 of the finish long and then I disappeared.

At the beginning of October I fell and whilst it was initially diagnosed as a sprain, turned out to be a broken ankle so I was a good girl and rested up my foot in the orthopaedic boot that I was given. This meant no standing at my long arm and using the sewing machine was out too, but I did do some cross stitching which I will show you next week. one of the items I am particularly proud of.

I did finish this quilt - the pattern was by Abigail Sheridan de Graff which I tested for Abigail. My broken ankle didn't stop me from sewing on the binding.

I quilted this  on my long arm using an edge to edge pattern. It has since been gifted to my hairdresser as she loves Christmas and I hadn't given her a wedding present when she got married earlier last year.

 One of the reasons I was good an rested up was we were headed to the Caribbean on a two week cruise at the beginning of November. I can't fault the special assistance at Gatwick airport. I only took knitting with me on our holiday as I finished the cross stitch whilst resting my foot.

We were on P&O Azura and paid to use the retreat for the two weeks. well worth the investment as I could rest in the shade and my hubby could et full sun. they also served light lunches too, so no battling with the queues at the buffet, which  managed to avoid for the whole two weeks.

Q4 finish along

I only finished one item last quarter, but significant progress has been made on some projects. I need to start quilting my finished tops when my HQ Avante comes back from being serviced.

1. Jan Krentz star from 2010

2. TQS BOM Sedona Star from Jan 2012 - I have been working on this for my #100daysofufosewing so progress is being made.

3. Lion from 2017

4. Tula Pink butterfly from October 2017. I need to move a few blocks and then quilt it.


5. My small world from 2016 which is pieced and partly quilted.

6. Five impossible things

7. Test quilt for Abigail which I will work on next.

8. Elizabeth Hartman quilt along which I am probably going to leave at the number of blocks I already have made.

9. I want to make a project from Gnomeangel's new book and I have made some fussy cutting templates to use to make the we are all connected mini quilt.

10 to 12 some tops for my holiday and a shirt for Halloween in a Tula a Pink skulls fabric.

Lone star salsa

I have been participating in the #greatbritishquilter daily challenge on Instagram. Towards the end zone f last week, we were challenged to reveal our oldest UFO. finishing our oldest UFO is also the challenge I set four the Jersey Modern Quilt Guild too. This UFO dates back to 2010 as it was started in a workshop with Jan Krentz during the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud.

This project has languished as I didn't like the freezer paper method for the foundation piecing method demonstrated. All of the diamonds were complete, blocked and trimmed.

I gritted my teeth and decided to work on it at the Jersey Me de n Quilt Guild meeting on Saturday and I completed five more of the rocket blocks. Nothing sewn together yet.

Here it is now. The rocket blocks are complete and one count rent is sewn on. I made a mistake and printed the company energy black cost the wrong size so I reprinted the pattern, unpicked the incorrect blocks to reuse the fabric and have six of the twelve foundation pieced units complete. I am enthusiastic to get this finished by Sunday.

I also did a quick calculation and have sufficient client of the navy fossil fern to add a narrow border and binding. Happy dance.

August UFO

My UFO to work on was It's a small world by Jen Kingwell published by Quiltmania. I did leave it very late in the month to restart it, but I went to the Festival of Quilts for a few days at the beginning of the month, and if I am honest, I have been avoiding this project. 

Bank holiday crafting finish

I surprised myself yesterday by finshing my new project - the haunted birdhouse by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. 

I also added a frame of a purple ghostly fabric from my scrap bags and inserted it into a 5" frame. I now realise I have a number of other stitcheries that need framing so will add them to my 2019 UFO list.

And I added wadding behind the Stitchery before adding the borders and added four layers of a stiff pellon behind the Stitchery. Then I glued down the purple fabric and ironed a circle of felt onto the Pellon.

I now realise it's a little off square, but what haunted house isn't a little wonky and run down? Now yo continue with my August UFO.

Bank holiday crafting

Tomorrow is the last bank holiday in the UK, until Christmas Day. Whilst I have made good progress  on my August UFO, I decided that it would be a fun idea to start a small project yesterday. It is a small cross stitch pattern called Haunted Birdhouse by The Frosted Pumpkin.

Instagram is to blame as this new Halloween pattern popped up on my feed. Before heading to the supermarket, I quickly bought and downloaded the pattern. I printed the colour key and added the pattern to my Kindle downloads. I then pulled out a small thread box, added a pair of snips, needle and sourced the necessary threads form my stash. I had to substitute for several colours by referring to the project photo.

I have a plan to finish this over the long weekend by stitching out the black frame first, then today, I will do all of the white areas, then finish everything else tomorrow. I do one section of white and then a section of colour.

You can see that the black of the border is complete and I have made good progress on the tree house. Today I will finish the border and white sections.

Holiday prep

I am headed to the Festival of Quilts on Thursday but this year, I am staying in the city centre, as this was a last minute booking and the NEC hotels were silly prices. I regret having paid for a hold suitcase but it's booked and paid for so I will shop until I drop.

I always take a project with me to work on, even if it's just on the plane or at the airport. I bought some wool got my birthday last week from Dragon Hill Studios. I am using the metropolitan stripe colourway and divided it into two balls. I hoped that the cake started at the beginning of the grey stripe so wound off about 40 grams until I got to the end of a pink stripe. I then cut the yarn and wound it back into a ball so the yarn started with grey.

It's true that a striped yarn almost knits itself as you just want to get to the end of another stripe. I have knit a third stripe today and need to putting it away or it will be finished before Thursday.

I am just under an inch away from the heel turn. I think I will do the heel turn at my quilt group on Wednesday morning and then put it in my hand luggage.

July UFO - Christmas on gingerbread lane

I am so pleased to have finished all of my cross stitch UFOs and this is the last one by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

This is how this project looked just a few months ago. I now have lots of Christmas projects complete and ready to decorate the house in December.

This was my July UFO project for the APQS challenge, August's number will be revealed tomorrow. All f my remaining UFOs have quite a lot of work to be done to complete them.

Sweet bee socks

When I saw this pattern on the Sew Sweet Violet podcast, I wanted to make them for my beekeeper friend, Jane. Jokes of the Sew Sweet Violet podcast is also running a rainbow along on her Ravelry group,nwhy not make a rainbow version of the pattern? The 40 ends I had to sew in would, you'd think, be a good enough reason! I pulled out an unnamed skein of grey by Kate Selene along with the leftovers of the Mind the Gap colourway by Trailing Clouds.

They are finished and now soaking before being blocked and a few days late for her birthday, but she has hinted that I should gift her a pair of handmade socks, so they should be well received.