April 2002 plans

Allowing for four days away in France, these are my plans for April:

1. 1988 Prairie Schooler Santa

2. UFO challenge - let's hope it's another quick make this month. If it's not chosen, I should make the Christmas sweater tub for a quick finish.

3. One branch of Christmas Tree by Barbara Ana. I am behind by my March branch so I should aim to do half of one more branch.

4. Free block Friday - ten blocks made and I have found a fun setting so no need to make two more blocks

5. A Ziggy stardust inspired cushion for Lizzie. I have drawn up a pattern in EQ8 so it would be a quick make.

6. One block a day on my Karlee Porter class from 2021.

Plans for Pour l'Amour du Fil

I am still hand stitching the binding on my feathers quilt, which I'm hoping to finish this month. However one thing we have done is book our trip to Nantes next month which is in three weeks time. 

The ferry from Jersey takes about 90 minutes but the timetable is based on the French travellers coming to Jersey and there is a return evening boat only on a Sunday and we left it too long to book this sailing. Never mind we have tweaked our plans and we will get to France on Easter Monday at about 10.30pm. Everything would be closed during the day so arriving at night, having eaten dinner at home, works for us. 

We will then travel down to Nantes which takes about 2.5 hours. we stayed in two Ibis hotels previously, one near the exhibition centre and one near the station. My father is coming with us again and he would prefer a Mercure level hotel and in the town centre, so we're trying a different hotel this time but Dad has already expressed a desire to go to the Neapolitan restaurant near where we stayed last time as we couldn't get a table reservation in November. I hope it's as good as it smells. We stick wit Ibis as apart from the Mercure in Aberdeen, they tend to be reliable and we are now gold members after last year's trip as we stayed in France for a week.

The exhibition has free entry from 4 until 6 each evening so I think Dad and Nick will come for a potter one evening. I am uncertain whether to take a class, but I am tempted by the improv class with Australian Jessica Wheelahan. There is a materials charge of 15 euros to pay on arrival. I was also interested in a class with Brigitte Heitland but a materials charge of 25 euros seemed a little high.

We have no other plans for our stay as we did Machines des Iles last time, so any recommendations would be appreciated.

Friday finish - project organiser bag

I have at last finished my Project Organiser bag using the spool block designed by Quietplay. The block was my March UFO challenge. I used 2.5" squares of hand printed fabrics by Karen Lewis and Lou Orth. There is one random square which was printed using two screens designed by Lu Summers.

I used Bosal between the lining and patchwork and did a simple criss cross and stitch in the ditch quilting. The lining is a favourite Tula Pink fabric.

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The binding is premade and perfect for the project. Now I need to get on with some other March projects so a Prairie Schooler Santa and my Feathers SAL quilt are next inline to be worked on.

 

Christmas Wishes

 

Less than a month ago, I received an unloved UFO from YouTuber BumbleStitches. It feels like this is all I have stitched in this month. Nichola had stitched most of the first three blocks and I completed the rest. I am pleased to have finished it and plan to take it to the framers tomorrow. I am thinking of a fancy red frame but I will see what is recommended.

Monday make - project organiser bag

 

Eisteddfod closed at 4pm yesterday and most entries have been returned to their makers. I’m not sure how the people who didn’t collect thought that their entries were being returned? DHL?

I did sew yesterday morning and added the binding and zip to the Project Organiser bag by Minki Kim.

The front of the bag uses an orphan block designed by @quietplay and the reverse is a checkerboard of screen printed fabrics. Just the binding to hand sew now. That will probably wait until Wednesday stitch day.

Friday finish -1984 prairie schooler Santa

 

Last week was very busy with judging the needlework section of the Jersey Eisteddfod.

It’s a long time since I’ve worked a 9 to 5 job for five days of the week. I was absolutely shattered every evening but having had Saturday off I am feeling a bit more like myself. So on Sunday I broke out the 1984 Priory School of Santa and spent an hour finishing it.

I'm now going to start one of the Santas I should be working on. I'm also waiting for the delivery of some mesh to finish my March UFO challenge.

Friday finish - Casserole Quilt

 

Pattern by Elizabeth Hartman

Background is Robert Kaufman dyed metallic linen in colour Fog from Sew Hot

Flowers are made using Luminance by Alison Glass from Olive & Flo Handcraft

Xs are fabric by Karen Lewis

Backing from Sew Hot

Classic Baptist fan stitched in Superior Threads Granite

Note to self, use a 2.25" binding when machine stitching your binding down. 2" is just a bit too small.

WIP Wednesday - Christmas wishes

 

There's no crafting going on here this week. I've given myself permission to take it easy as I'm working at our local eisteddfod 9 to 5 this week and I'm just not used to that anymore. The junior needlecraft section was completed yesterday so onto the adults today.

Last Sunday I just cross stitched the day away after spending Saturday taking in the 400 entries for the exhibition. I am pleased with the progress I've made on Christmas Wishes by Little Dove Designs. Nicola sent me the UFO with three blocks out of six mainly complete. Now I have worked my way to the bottom of the piece and the red and white border is complete. I have also partly stitched the other three blocks. Unfortunately I'm missing one of the greens so I need to purchase that. I'm not sure what is the most efficient way to proceed? Start at the top and compete each block in order or work more on the bottom three blocks. 

Monday Make - otterly adorable

The pattern for Otterly Adorable is in the book Applique - the Sew Quirky Way. You may remember the other Sew Quirky pattern that I've sewn which was the cow on the recycled jacket. I hadn't planned to work on this in February but I did some prep at retreat. On Monday, I started picking fabrics which is the hardest part of these projects. 

Once pieces had been prepped and ironed onto the aqua speckled linen by Robert Kaufman purchased from Sew Hot, it was time to get out the Aurifil stash and start testing out some of the new stitch patterns on my Janome Atelier 7.

I was surprised at how quickly the project came together. Instead of using small slivers of felt for the claws, I used a satin stitch. I trimmed the project to 16.5" square and stitched it onto a matching square of navy fabric to cover the stitching.

Of course I used poppers on the back!! Hopefully this cushion will look great in my daughter's new apartment. But first I'm entering it into our local Creative Arts Eisteddfod.

March 2022 plans

March is a busy month with the Jersey Eisteddfod Festival of Creative Arts starting on 5 March with taking in work and putting up the stands. Then the adjudicator arrives on 6 March and we work flat out for four days. On the Friday we display the entries ready for prize giving the following Wednesday. The exhibition then opens for four days and gets taken down on the Sunday. There is a great team for the Needlework section which makes it go quickly.

I might finish some of the following in March:

1. 1988 Prairie Schooler Santa

2. 1999 Prairie Schooler Santa

3. UFO challenge - let's hope it's a quick make this month.

4. One branch of Christmas Tree by Barbara Ana.

5. Free block Friday - ten blocks made and I have found a fun setting so no need to make two more blocks

6. I've now received the UFO from Youtuber, Bumblestitches so only a little progress was made on that project in February. The project is Christmas wishes by Little Dove Designs and Nicola has stitched three out of six blocks. This is going to be my Wednesday morning project. However I am now waiting for the flosses I ordered last week.

7. Feathers SAL. The top was completed at retreat but still needs to be quilted and bound.

February 2022 achievements

 My plans for February included:

1. A second multi cooker cover for my friend Chris. Completed.

2. 2015 Prairie Schooler Santa. Completed

3. My retreat project for February was to be the Casserole Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman.I had to buy more background fabric but it is now complete.

4. I finished stitching a second branch on The Tree by Barbara Ana for Nitka Moscow. And have mostly unpicked the bottom row of the tree.

5. Clover and Violet Stitch Club pattern for February was a needle book.

6. Hoody test stitch. I completed it and took a few poor photos and then promptly dropped my lunch down it!! But I'm delighted that it's finished. The pattern is from ByGraziela and should be released this week. I am so pleased to have finished this project as it was always in my mind when sewing other things.

7. My UFO challenge project was 2011 Prairie Schooler sampler. I will need to start fully finishing them so they can be hung on a tree this Christmas.

Carrying forward to March 2022:

1. I've now received the UFO from Youtuber, Bumblestitches so only a little progress was made on that project. The project is Christmas wishes by Little Dove Designs and Nicola has stitched three out of six blocks. This is going to be my Wednesday morning project. However I have had to order in most of the flosses so am just waiting for those.

2. Feathers SAL. The top was completed at retreat but still needs to be quilted and bound.

Friday finish - needle case

I was immediately attracted to the first project of the  Clover and violet sew club. I dislike the needle case that I have so I opened my fat quarter stack of linework to make the case. Felt was delivered last week so it was a quick finish to add the poppers instead of velcro and add the felt to the middle.

Materials used:

Aurifil thread colour 2749

Fabrics by Tula Pink from linework and earlier ranges

Felt in the colour wisteria from Sew Hot UK

Cam snaps from Amazon.

The only thing I'd change next time is I would use interfacing and not fleece on the front cover so as not to loose my points.

WIP Wednesday Christmas Tree

 

I am working on the Christmas tree by Barbara Ana, at a rate of one branch per month. This is my second month being February and I have finished the fireplace, snowman and snowflakes. The third branch on the left has large poinsettias which I am hoping will be quicker to stitch than small figures.

I have also unpicked most of the fifth branch where I had made a counting mistake and will get to that branch in May or June. For now this piece will go away until March to do branch number three. 

Monday make - 2011 Prairie Schooler Santa

 I have finished the 2011 Santa by Prairie Schooler on 32 count Belfast in vintage stormy night from Peakside Needlecrafts. By my calculation I have 21 done out of a total of 38, leaving 17 to stitch. If I stitch at a rate of two per month, they could all be done for Christmas 2022. I have a few more that I need to purchase / source so if anyone has 1997 or 2010 to swap or sell, I would be interested.

I have prepped the 1999 Santa for March but first I need to work on Christmas Tree by Barbara Ana.

Sunday stash - Sew Hot

 We haven't had Saturday postal deliveries for probably five years apart from at Christmas and our local newspaper is now delivered by the post office. Imagine my surprise when I returned from Jersey Modern Quilt Group yesterday to find two parcels on the doorstep.

All of my prucahses are for projects in progress or to be started in March:

1. Essex Yarn dyed linen with silver metallic in the colour fog is to finish my Casserole quilt this week.

2. Essex speckle yarn dyed line in aqua is for an applique project which needs to be started and completed by 5 March.

3. Art Theory by Alison Glass is binding for my Feathers Quilt, I would have preferred the feathers fabric but Sew Hot only had a remnant left (also purchased)

4. Wool felt for my Clover and Violet sew club needle book. I appreciate that the felts are labelled but do wish they'd reduce their plastic usage as this order came in three plastic bags inside a plastic mailer.

Friday finish - small multi cooker cover

 

I made a second multi cooker cover for my friend Chris from another panel from a retreat goodie bag. Ironically we were going to have shakshuka at a retreat but some attendees were misinformed and thought that the eggs would be undercooked. However if they had seen this panel they would have known what it was and how it was cooked. The cover was requested as 34 inches round and 12 inches tall. Fortunately the linen panel was almost exactly 34 inches wide and 12 1/2 inches tall.

I quilted it on my long arm using the same pattern as I had used for the larger version. Then I bound it in the yellow to match the first cover as I thought it would be easier to bind the bottom first then I used my school girl maths to work out that I needed an 11 inch circle for the top. It fit perfectly.

I pinned it extensively and after having sewn the seam on my Atelier 7 ( Janome) I zigzagged the edge and turned inside out. Job done. I will be able to give this to Chris when she comes back from her three week holiday in Tenerife.

It is blowing a gale outside so today is the perfect day to stay at home however my husband offered to take me out to lunch so who am I to do refuse.

I was hoping my Sew Hot order would arrive today but I think not with boats cancelled. I had hoped to finish the casserole quilt by Elizabeth Hartman ready to bind at our Group sewing day tomorrow. I think instead I will cut out the pieces for the Hoody test which I hope to site together on Sunday and do some cross stitch.

WIP Wednesday - 2011 Santa

The 2011 Santa by Prairie Schooler is my February UFO challenge piece and is moving on at a slow pace. As we're now half way through February, I need to finish it ASAP so I can then work on branch 2 of Christmas Tree.

The morning after retreat

Three days of sewing, chatter and good food, it can't be beaten. Just what I needed. Our friend and chef for the weekend, Lara, did a LFT on Thursdya evening, Friday morning and Friday before leaving work to join us. Unfortunately the last test was positive. Sarah led some of the girls in a kitchen team but Laura's partner delivered the shopping and much had been prepared so the main decisions were how to change shakshuka into something else and what to have for breakfast.

My weekend projects were:

1. Alison Glass feathers.

2. Elizabeth Hartman casserole quilt. 

3. Clover and Violet Sew Club needle case

4. Back up was to prep  a Sew Quirky otter.

How did I do?

The Alison Glass feathers are now a completed quilt top. By Sunday morning I had run out of projects so I also removed all of the foundation papers.

The Elizabeth Hartman Casserole Quilt is now four large blocks, the top right block needs one row unpicked and rotated but it is almost complete. I cut a lot of 8" squares which I found that I had already cut which meant I didn't have enough fabric for the sashing, so I need to order more of the Essex Dyed linen in Fog today.

The Clover and Violet Sew Club needle case is complete apart from some poppers as I took the wrong tool to set them and I need to order wool felt to complete the case. If I made the case again I would just use interfacing inside the case as I lost my points on the outside.

I also started prepping the Sew Quirky otter, but ran out of sewing at about 12.30 so tidied up my gear early. We then had the raffle and I won the Vislene wadding. The Vislene was the only sponsored prize this year but we had donations and leftovers from previous years. We then had a slap up sausage sandwich lunch and headed home to sleep in our own beds.

What to work on today? we are half way through the month and I only have one finished item. I think today I will cross stitch before celebrating my father's 94th birthday (again) with lunch out and then tomorrow I will make the one pot cover for my friend as that should be a quick make.