Amaranth

Several months ago I decided to tackle my Simply Solids bee quilt at one of our #nintendo guild meet-ups.  This was just the right motivation to get me to complete the top.  Yes - I finally got my 'Amaranth group' Simply Solids Bee quilt TOP completed!

If you were in the Amaranth group and kindly made me a block - thank you!!   To make the top a little bit bigger, I decided to add sashing and corner stones to help define each block but now I am not so sure that was a good idea.  Sashing should be straight and knowing me it will look all wobbly and  that is not a good look!  Fingers crossed it turns out straight looking once quilted!

The next issue:  how should I quilt it?!!

Happy days - this only took two and a bit years to get to this stage but now that it is now a flimsy, I can do the happy dance [and discretely add it to the pile of unfinished quilt tops].

Catching up with my belated thank you's

I certainly have neglected my blog for a while now.  Sorry for that!  I am attempting to get caught up and share with you all the things that have been going on recently but these things take time...apparently!  I blame Instagram!!  And the full moon in September!

• Thank you to Lisa of In the Boon Docks and Fat Quarter Shop for sending me an awesome "Sew What" pink t-shirt and 4 mini charm packs from a giveaway on Lisa's blog!!  I WILL eventually get a picture of me in the t-shirt - I promise!

• Carrie of believemagic sent me a wonderful mini quilt called Disco Girl.  I won this in her Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day/Week along with a Creative Girl Art Quilt and pattern pack.

Picture from www.believemagic.com/journal

Picture from www.believmagic.com/journal

• Rachel of mammafairy sews, a fellow HipBee member, threw me a lifeline when I posted about my sewing difficulties at making a Burda tunic.  She offered to save the day and finish my tunic for me!  I had truly abandoned it thinking it would be the most expensive sewing fail to date, so I took up her offer in a flash!  Rachel finished it beautifully - and returned it to me with a pincushion and some needles too!   So very kind - thank you Rachel.  [picture will be added soon]

• Lucy of Charm About You drew my name for a £100 gift certificate to Wayfair several months ago  Thank you so much!  I managed to spend my certificate on this realllly cool storage thing!

Picture from Wayfair

• Thank you Heather and Megan of  Quilt Story for the three baby patterns sent to me in September - I am going to be very busy once I get my sew-jo back, sewing all these amazing things! 

• Speaking of patterns - thank you to crazymomquilts for sending me her Waiting Quilt pattern in her draw celebrating 250 quilts! 

• In the A Lovely Year of Finishes July, I won a Clover & Violet Lucy Hobo purse pattern - thank you so much!

• July was a lucky month because I also won the Celestial Star pattern.  I watched Diane's sew-along with interest and plan to make my own Celestial Star one day!

So, here we are in 2015 and I am just starting to get a bit of a sewing done.  Feels really good to be making a mess again!  I will catch up with what I accomplished October, November and December SOON!

Happy New Year!

4th quarter FAL recap

Here is my original goal post.  Guess what!?  I was completely and utterly unrealistic - again!!  I thought that I would be able to accomplish 10 things in three months.  However, I hadn't factored in losing my sew-jo in September.  The full moon knocked me off course and I never fully recovered from that!

So, I only managed to accomplish two things.  Here is my absolute favourite finish:

4 Things quilt - Love Affection, Attention and Praise
(quilted by Trudi Woods)

4 Things quilt by Amy Cavanagh

Over on Instagram, CurlyBoy hosted the #IGMiniSwap.  I was in Flossys Group and this is the mini I made for my partner:

I made one mini swoon block for the centre (pattern by Camille Roskelly) and gave it a Goosed Border (pattern by Jeliquilts).  I picked three of my favourite colours (green, aqua and navy) as my partner liked those colours too!  Paper pieced, hand quilted, hand bound and washed to become crinkly, I wanted to keep this one for myself!

So there you have it.  Two out of ten.  I'm ok with that!

Linking to Finish Along 2014.

Nesting Boxes

Aneela Hoey not only designs fabric but she creates patterns too!  She asked me if I would be a pattern tester (ages and ages ago) and I said YES PLEASE!! 

I made a set of Nesting Boxes and they turned out fabulous!!  What a clever pattern!!!  Very easy to follow with great diagrams.  This was my first time using Fast2Fuse and I loved the firm result!  Perfect for these boxes.

You can put ANYTHING in these boxes!  Spools of thread, Sharpie markers, pins, zippers, candy....

These would make perfect gifts for teachers, neighbours or for the hard-to-give-to men in your life.  They can be coin, cuff link and key catchers!  I made mine in gender neutral/masculine fabrics.

I am not sure what Aneela will be doing with her PDF patterns in her Etsy shop come January 1st 2015 when the EU VAT mess begins, so I recommend that you purchase this pattern ASAP if you want it! 

Thank you Aneela for letting me test this pattern - it is brilliant!!

Image from Etsy/comfortstitching

Jane's Little Boxy Bag

 Oooo look what I made!!

This is "Jane's Little Boxy Bag" by Projects By Jane.  What a clever pattern!  Thankfully the pattern had LOADS of pictures for me as I am a visual kind of gal!  Pictures are worth a thousand words so thank you Jane for all of the photos!  I think the hardest part of making this bag was picking the fabrics! 

This is a roomy bag.  I would describe it as 'boxy-petite'.  You can use it as a craft bag or even as a handbag!  Sturdy construction, jazzy shape - this is a fun bag!!

This bag is fully lined as well - I do love a  bag with a lining!  The only thing I would do differently next time is make longer tabs.

As hard as it was to give it away, I was happy to give it to a work colleague as a thank you present.  She was thrilled!!  I will definitely be making more of these!!

Jane has an Etsy shop - stop in and check her patterns out!!  I would highly recommend this pattern.  Thank you for being so clever Jane!  I really enjoyed this pattern. 

 

Blogger's Quilt Festival - 4 Things

Amy of Amy's Creative Side is once again hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival and I have decided to enter a second quilt - my "4 Things" quilt.

In-progress picture

This quilt is very special to me.  I had initially sketched how I wanted this quilt to look and I am so thrilled that it came alive and was better than I had hoped or even imagined!

Night-time picture of completed quilt - I will add a daytime picture tomorrow

I chose four words that mean a lot to me: LOVE; AFFECTION; ATTENTION and PRAISE.  I often feel these four things are the things I miss (and want most) from the people I love - especially from my mother who sadly passed away 14 years ago.  I miss her and I miss the simple things like an affectionate or comforting hug from her.   

Amazing quilting by Trudi Wood

My four favourite colours are red, aqua, green and navy blue, all represented in this "4 Things" quilt.  I also love these four things:  quirky birds; wonky houses and trees, plaid and wonky stars - all represented in this quilt!  I have included dragonflies, mushrooms, clouds and a May calendar - four more things that I love.  My favourite colours are repeated as little hints in the binding.

Hint of colour in the cross-hatch binding

Because this is such a special quilt to me, I decided that I would send it to be quilted by Trudi on her long arm frame.  She did a spectacular job and the four words repeated in the quilting is amazing.  You have to look closely to see them, which makes them even more special.

The four words re-appear in the quilt as subtle quilted words

The backing and another hint of colour on the binding

This very personal quilt means so much to me and I am happy to be able to share it here. 

Quilt stats:
Pattern:  Love, Affection and Praise were pieced free hand and the word Attention were letters from the Quilters Cache.  The bird is an adaptation of the McCalls bird pattern.
Fabrics:  A variety of low volume, text, solids, scraps, hand printed fabrics, Oakshott
Thread:  Aurifil
Size:  56 x 69"
Quilted by:  Trudi Wood

Entering this quilt into the Original Quilt Design category.
Thank you Amy for organising this amazing event!

 

Blogger's Quilt Festival - NYB

Amy of Amy's Creative Side is once again hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival and I have decided to enter my New York Beauty mini quilt that I made for the Modern Traditional DSTT Challenge.  My original post is HERE.

This is definitely one of my absolute favourite mini quilts that I have made.  The invisible thread straight-ish quilting still makes me so happy when I look at it! 

I absolutely ADORE paper piecing but curves are something I still need more practise on.  I enjoyed the challenge sewing these curved pieces but my seam ripper was used quite a few times!  Here is a photo to show the size:

Mini quilt stats:
Pattern:  Ulas Quiltseite
Fabrics:  Dear Stella and Timeless Treasures
Thread:  Aurifil and Invisible thread
Size:  20" on each side = 80" total perimeter
Quilted:  At home on my Husqvarna Viking

Entering this NYB mini quilt into the Mini Quilt category.
Thank you Amy for organising this amazing event!

#starplusqal

Ooo - I love this quilt!  I love the colours, the shapes, the size -- and now it will be part of a quilt along!!
 

Picture borrowed from Machen und Tun

The very clever and talented Claudia of Machen und Tun has designed the most fabulous quilt called Star Plus.  Purchase it on Craftsy.

Over on Instagram there will be a quilt along and I am definitely joining in. Check out @gingersnapsquilts IG feed for more details (but here they are in case you want those details now!):

•  Who wants to joins us in a quilt a long using the new amazing star plus quilt patten by @machenundtun ? Get your pattern and fabric now! Cutting begins next week. The QAL will run the entire month of November ending December 1st. That gives you an entire month to get your quilt top completed and over a week to grab your fabrics and start cutting. Who's in? Prizes will be awarded AND you will have a finished quilt right in time for Christmas! Use #startplusqal when posting your progress!! Pattern can be found on Caftsy :)

I have been picking my fabrics this afternoon - not sure if I should go with all my favourite colours or stick to greens and whites??  Decisions decisions!!

Hope you join in too!

The Fox Swap - received and sent

I love swaps.  You know that already, I'm sure!! I recently participated in The Fox Swap over on Flickr.  I followed along on Instagram too and each time a foxy item popped up I fell more in love. 

So when my parcel from my 'Twinnie' arrived I danced and danced.  Trash - you are the best!  Look what you sent me:

I love my new foxy neck warmer scarf kitted by your fair hands!  He is perfection!  I also love the pouches you made for me - terry cloth green [I LOVE GREEN] trimmed pouch with embroidery and button closure (very cleverly done) and zippy pouch with a foxy gentleman fox wearing very smart glasses and shiny ribbon detail (ah.may.zing).  Here are front and back pictures of these two pouches:

I really was spoiled - look at the handcrafted key chain, the cute eraser and artwork card:

Speaking of artwork, look the foxy way Trash decorated the packaging.  Isn't she clever (as a fox)?

I was so surprised that Trash had me as her partner and was so excited when I opened each item up.  Yup - she wrapped each and every item!

Thank you so much Trash.  You are one foxy lady and have created and crafted amazing original creations just for me.  I love everything.  xx

 ________________________________

For my partner KarinKasja on Flickr I decided to applique a fox first:

This cheeky fox is from a Kip & Fig fox pattern.  I picked some flowery orange fabric and some text fabric (I love text fabric) and fused it to the bag front - before sewing!!  See how I left the texty fabric sort of shaggy and textured?  Clever right!!?  I'm so lucky that the fox ended up exactly where I hoped it would after the bag was sewn - just off to the right side!  Aurifil #5009 was used for the satin stitch.  The pattern for the tote was the Michelle Patterns Grocery Tote in medium.  Hard to photograph but a fantastic bag. 

I added my fancy label inside the tote before I sewed it together (yes, I thought about that BEFORE I sewed it together - miracle eh?) which I think adds a nice finishing touch to the bag! 

Here is the whole parcel that I sent.

I had so much fun in The Fox Swap.  Now I am busy working on two more swap parcels for later this year.  I love swaps!!

September 2014 - month in review

September seems like forever ago!  I was busy working on de-cluttering and throwing things away.  The process of letting go of clutter, shredding old files, donating clothes and dealing with the toxic memories attached to 'stuff' has kept me away from my sewing machine.  I am hoping my "sew-jo" will return this month.

However, I did manage three things in September that I am super proud of!

• Simply Solids quilt top - thanks to a mini weekend retreat with the #nintendoguild at the end of August where I made some advances on piecing this top together, I FINALLY managed to complete the top early in September!  I hope I can get this finished before Christmas.

• I did some machine applique and made a Kip & Fig fox.  This was for the front of a Michelle Pattern Grocery Bag that I made for my partner in The Fox Swap.  I LOVE his eye and his cheeky grin, and I even love the combination of fabrics I used!  This was a difficult one to not keep for myself!!!

• Diamonds in Diamonds was a pattern that I tested for the very talented Aylin-Nilya.  I had not used templates before so this was out of my comfort zone but once I started I couldn't stop!  This pattern has so many possibilities - a very exciting pattern indeed and I will be making another soon!  I cut some of my precious Echino for this and I love how it turned out.  Now to make this flimsy into a quilt!

September flew by at lightening speed and I can't believe we are nearly in the middle of October already!  This must mean Christmas sewing season is upon us.  I've made a list of things I plan to sew - have you?

Happy October - and Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends in Canada.  

4th Quarter FAL 2014 - ambitious goals!

For the final quarter of 2014 I thought I should keep with tradition and write another long list of things I would like to complete over the next THREE MONTHS!  Three months sounds like a long time but when you are a project-magpie like I am then more things get started than finished!

Here are my slightly (hahaha) ambitious goals for the 4th quarter:

1.  Must make binding, attach binding, hanging sleeve and label on my 4 Things quilt

2.  Make a back, sandwich, baste, quilt, bind and label my Diamonds in Diamonds quilt

3.  Nat's Sew Together Bag

4.  IG Mini Swap Mini Swoon #flossysgroup for swap

5.  Sew Sew Modern 6 sewing machine cover or mini quilt for swap

 6.  Simply Solids Amaranth group bee quilt  - make back, sandwich, baste, quilt, bind and label

7.  HipBees bee quilt - sew 5 more blocks sew into a top, add back, sandwich, baste, quilt, bind, label

8.  Messenger Bag - I have had this on my list for a very long time!!  I need a new bag desperately!!  Wish me luck!

Picture from Michelle Patterns

9.  Grocery Bags for Christmas presents - I have already cut out pieces for five bags in the three different sizes

Image from Michelle Patterns

10. Big Bear - add paws, border, back, sandwich, baste, quilt, bind, label

WISH ME LUCK!!!!

Linking to The Littlest Thistle