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.

 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.