Handmade rocks

 

This was the joint project Lizzie chose for the July MQC retreat. Neither my brain nor the sewing machine were cooperating so I returned home with the applique panel almost complete. I finished the applique whilst on a Facebook video with Lizzie yesterday and then after the call, quickly made the panel into a banner.

I used lots of Aurifil 40 weight threads and Ruby Star Society fabrics. The knuckles and creases are drawn on with a permanent marker and I have omitted the tattoo. Today I need to finish hand stitching binding to another retreat project.

Liminal quilt - month 1

I dislike being behind on a block of the month, so finishing month 1 of the liminal quit medallion BOM by Jo Avery for Love Patchwork and Quilting was a priority this week. It is out of my comfort zone so there was quite a bit of unpicking.

I am pleased with the result but should have chosen a different foot for my machine to stitch the cogs as it dragged due to having been used on vinyl with the addition of some washi tape. I now need to clean that foot and put away the blocks and fabric until next month.

Here are months 1 and 2 together. Month 3 looks like two improv spikey borders, which should be in my comfort zone. 

Liminal quilt BOM

 

I decided to treat myself to an annual subscription to Love Patchwork and Quilting and a kit from A Beautiful Thing to make Jo Avery's Liminal quilt. I had hoped to stitch the first block at the Modern Quilt Club retreat on 17 July but the kit arrived as we pulled out of the garage to head to the airport, so I left it behind.

There was no colour key in either the kit or the magazine, so my first task was to make my own colour key. Then I matched the colour key with the fabric, labelled the fabrics with my homemade alphabet pins and cut a swatch from the fabric which I stuck to the colour key. 

The magazine arrived last week with the instructions for month 2, so I decided to start with month 2 as it looked easier than the block for month 1. I made a couple of cutting mistakes, but I stitched up the blocks this morning. 

Perhaps I'll attempt month 1 this weekend which will be easier now that I have all of the fabrics labelled.

I just couldn’t resist

I saw Sherie of A Quilting Life speaking about the July block for her block of the month and I decided to make it up for my Stash bee quilt. I decided to use all of my chosen colours - red, orange and yellow. There are some oldies in the mix including the grid fabric which I bought in Boston in 2019, the red is by Aneela Hoey and the orange is by Elizabeth Hartman.

I now have three blocks made despite it not yet being my month to be the bee mama.

Long term WIP

 

This foundation pieced skull quilt designed by Helen Creasey has been completed for a few years. It is now out of the drawer and ready to be Graffiti Quilted. My plan is to multiple different pink threads for the background and quilt a different motif in each section. Energy is what I lack to get projects finished, so I plan to quilt two matching sections each day and hope to see some good progress over the next few months.

August #Stash bee blocks

I thought I was the bee mama for July but it turns out my turn is August. I am ready for my turn. I am asking for star blocks in reds, orange and yellows on a low volume background. I plan to make the blocks into an autumnal ladder quilt.

The first sample block that I made was the May Block of the Month pattern from A Quilting Life. The background is by Sally Kelly.

My second block is a simple Ohio Star on an OG Alison Glass text print background, and the centre square is an old Carolyn Friedlander print.

I am looking forward to receiving blocks in August.

Honey of a Tiny Town Framed

 

I picked up Honey of a Tiny Town from the framers on Monday, and I'm really pleased with how it has turned out. I didn't want to pick out the brown or the mustard yellow, so we chose a white painted frame with a blue mount.