A Little Bit More...

And so the ticking and sticking continues...

Line Dried section 5 complete...

While this quilt looks huge in the photo it really isn't... I think it's about 60" wide... and there is another row of sections to come along the bottom.

Not on the list but I've been adding to the Giant Granny Squares...

And inbetween it all adding a few more little nine patch plus blocks to the collection.

Just as a reference to the scale... 19" blocks compared to 4.5" blocks :o)

My friend Monika and I went on a shopping road trip and I added some new low volume fat quarters...

Some homespun solids that just grabbed my attention (note neither of these photos actually represents the colours... probably somewhere in between).

I got a large section of fabric to start the pieced back for the Homespun magazine BOM top I completed using Tilda fabrics.

Some other random fat quarters...

A few more low volumes...

And this lovely mustardy coloured FQ.

While this week has been very low key... back to work after the school holidays and battling a mild cold which I've found draining... I have managed today to print off the instructions and pattern for a new skirt!!  It's the Love Notions Allegro, short skirt version (elastic waist and pockets - it's talking my language)... and I'm going to use the fine cord fabric I bought in June.

Ideally I'd like to get this finished before Winter ends as I think it would be great with tights and boots.  But we shall see what happens... no pressure!!

Already the middle of July

With just a blink we are already half way through the month.  My July goals are very much a continuation of a theme...

Another scrappy Cloudy Day Sampler block

Another Summer Sampler 2017 block...

Quilting had been progressing throughout the month and I'm now hand sewing binding on this Double Nine Patch scrap baby quilt.

Two charm packs of Bonnie & Camille fabric are part of a "she'll be right" experiment where I'm going to chop it all up and hope for the best.

Keeping with the pre cut and Bonnie & Camille theme I purchased a layer cake of At Home fabric and spent a couple of weeks trolling through pattern possibilities.  I finally decided on a giant granny square layout that needs 4 x 5" squares of three different fabrics for each block.  I struggle to get my head around precision cutting and piecing layer cakes... they tend to just have so much variety in their sizes... that I like to keep it as simple as possible but something that allows the fabric combinations to shine.

First step was to sort the layer cake into subsets of 3 fabrics with good contrasts and clip with my wonder clips.  Sometimes this is the hardest part!

Then the three fabrics are sliced into 5" squares and the background fabrics cut... creating a 19" finished block.

I am just loving how this is turning out.

Still to come for my goals is Line Dried section 5, appliquing the next section of Timeless Traditions, basting Nadias quilt, sewing a skirt and getting some more Sweet Escape blocks sewn.

June Goals... part 2

Continuing on from the last post it has been a cracker of a second half of the month.  Slipping through on the last day of the month... I got all my June Goals ticked off!!  Big woohoo indeed.


The combination of ticks and stickers seems to be a psychological winner and very satisfying.

I got all my rows of The Proverbial Quilt sewn together... just need to assess on the bed and decide whether it needs a floral strip on the top, and contemplate side borders to make it more useable.  It really has been a ray of sunshine and fun during our dreary winter days.

In Line Dried news section 4B was attached to 4A all ready for next months section 5.

My goal to sew the stems on the second to last section of Timeless Traditions was achieved!

And squeezing in just under the wire was Sweet Escape... sewing together the blocks for the second quadrant.

My One Monthly Goal for July is to quilt and bind the Double Nine Patch scrap baby quilt (already basted as part of my June goals).

Check out the other participants HERE

I'll fill you in on the rest of my July goals next time!

All the things... little by little

Sometimes just choosing the easy block makes for some quick and simple sewing.  The next 12" block in the Summer Sampler 2017 series... Plaid Star.

Joining the sew-along for Sugar Bowl Crafts scrap blocks during lockdown... I may be the slowest participant ever... finally my two blue blocks have been joined by a purple one and you can kind of start to see the finished effect of those lovely variations of depth of colour.

This purple block has a few fabrics from the second ever quilt I started (and did eventually finish)... so many memories!

My goal for this month was to get a few more rows sewn together on The Proverbial Quilt.  I managed to get all but the last row of text attached!  It is such a cherry project... especially on gnarly rainy days like today.  AND I managed to cut out the rest of the strips!  So close!

I made some progress on my Starburst Cross Quilt.  I had always intended to attach plain borders.  I was so glad that my organisation skills from all those years ago meant I had the rest of the fabrics, leftover backing and the half completed final block all in the same box!  After finishing that last block and sewing together the top, it reinforced the fact that a 5 x 5 layout of 12" blocks makes a pretty petite 60" quilt!  Adding 4" borders still wouldn't add enough area, so 8" borders were on the agenda.  I realised that this matched the size of the centre star... and new star cornerstones were created... allowing me to showcase that troublesome red print in a third location.

Finally balance... and while I had initially thought those large plain borders might need a bit of applique to busy them up... the plainness has grown on me.

YAY... a finished top!

The sixth block for the Happy Cloud Sampler was another simple sew...

And I've slowly been adding a variety of black and white prints to the design wall for the background sashing.

I've still got plenty to keep me busy for the last part of the month... fingers crossed that as many goals as possible can get ticked off.

Wild and wet start to June... Starburst Cross Quilt

June has started with a wet and wintery beginning... a change from the drought conditions during summer and the still hot and somewhat humid autumn.

Wet does not entice me to enter my sewing shed, which is in a separate building to my house.  But today I disappeared into my ME space (which is long overdue a clean and sortout), pulling out an old project and making some final decisions regarding it.

My Starburst Cross Quilt has sat in a pile of blocks for years... and years.  It is made from fat quarters... each pair of FQ makes two blocks with opposite colour placements.  I started with a bundle of 18 FQ, part of a range plus some coordinates which I added to allowing the creation of 25 blocks to make a 5x5 layout.

Upon laying the blocks out I discovered the three different yellows I'd used clashed... and the two blocks of each fabric meant there were only two red blocks... where 3 blocks would create a more pleasing balance.

This one?  Hmmm, no... too many heavy looking fabrics in the top right.

Hmmm... still not happy.

Finally I came up with this layout.  Bonus was it used all the blocks I'd made, even though I thought they didn't all go together (particularly the yellows).  The florals are spread out evenly... as are the soft greeny/blues.  Although I realised after there is a strong dark stripe down the right hand side... I am determined it shall be sewn together.

On the one hand I am quite cross with myself... these fabrics are so delicious, I feel like I haven't showcased them due to the pattern choice... and/or using too many similar fabrics and clashing yellows.

On the other hand I am just glad to finally be sewing this one together.  I think I have missed the One Monthly Goal link up, but this is my chosen goal for this month.