What Was I Thinking??

I decided to join a block swap on UK Quilters United, the Facebook group has a block swap subgroup, just making 6 blocks to swap.

These are just a couple of the cross blocks I made, this was on top of my bed quilt, but the choices I made aren't random enough, so I will make more to swap and keep these ones because I will want to make something with them.  These will just add to the collections of blocks I found that I have, so why on earth made me choose to join a block swap - I must be mad!!!

This is what I've also turned out this weekend -

Some blocks from a Classic Meets Modern sew a long from back in 2014 (I thought it was just a couple of years ago!) from Sew at Home Mummy.  I didn't follow this past Month 5! I think my intention was to make some blocks edged in purple fabrics to make a new quilt for our bed,  I though we could do with a new quilt.

Another were some quilted blocks that I was going to donate to Little Island Quilting's Soy Amado quilts, however this quilt collection is now ending (or may have ended).  Do go and have a look at the  blog, there are some stunning quilts photographed at various sites in Guernsey.  Anyway, here are the blocks

They are all 12.5" square.  No doubt I may find some more blocks that could be quilted to make up as a Linus/Teenage Cancer Trust quilt

I also found some smaller Sweet Sixteen blocks, I think two are mine and 3 from Benta, they are 8.5" square.  Not sure as yet what I am going to do with these.....  I think 4 more could make a good size for a small baby quilt?

But I also dug out this little bit of hexie sewing, which already had some wadding attached and a pice of fabric for the backing.  So Saturday morning saw me cut the backing roughly to size and machine sew around the hexagon pieces and a little way in from the edge of the piece.  I then trimmed the backing fabric with enough to turn a hem over to the front.  I took the piece of sewing to my friend Brenda's to slipstitch.

 A finished item, yay! A small table runner, which is now on our coffee table!

And that's the back.

In my last post I showed some yarn that I had from Easter and also a skein of yellow yarn inspired by crocus colours.  Last Wednesday I decided to wind the skeins into balls.  Really pretty they looked too.  I don't have any fancy equipment like a swift or wool winder,  I just put the yarn between the back of two dining chairs and wind.

 The yellow yarn looked too nice just to be made into socks, so I am trying something different, a shawl.  The pic below is when I sussed the pattern and made a start.  This is from the top down so starting with two stitches and then spreading further out.  The pattern is called Springtime Bandit by Kelbourne Woolens  on Ravelry.  The designer made this from Aran weight yarn on larger needles, but this is 4 ply so smaller needles are used.  So far I've done one extra pattern repeat than the pattern suggests to extend the depth and about to start on the third phase of the pattern.  I am really enjoying how this is growing.

On Sunday I went with my Mum to Brockenhurst Needlework Fiesta, which was quite busy when we got there.  Mum did buy a little bit of fabric but there isn't much in quilting supplies there, it is mainly  embroidery based.  So we stopped by Sammy Miller's Motorcycle Museum where one of the craft shops on the site has a limited supply of fabric but she found the fabrics she wanted.  But I managed to get some items at the Fiesta.

Some low volume fabric (back to the blue and white blocks in the block swap) some metallic thread, as I don't often see that around.  There was also a seller (just the one!) with some yarn, more Head Over Heels - resistance is futile!

April Happenings

April is a busy month, mainly because at work it is tax year end.  I'm finishing my job at the end of the month so just this week and next to go!  

Friday before last David and I went to a Twenties themed Murder Mystery at my youngest son's local community centre near Chandler's Ford.  There were seven of us in all taking part and we were nowhere near guessing who did do the murder as a team on another table got that.  Anyway David and I don't normal do dressing up but managed to cobble together to make up outfits.

A selfie taken just before we went to bed!!  We hadn't taken a photo earlier on or during the event!

Before Easter I saw on Instagram that Lucy Lockett was promoting an Easter egg filled with surprise yarn mini skeins (20g) and other little bits and bobs.  I looked forward to opening the little parcels of yarn with a little Easter joke (think Christmas cracker jokes with an Easter theme!).  Here's a pic of what I opened on Easter Sunday and at the end of the week

Not sure what I'm going to make with them all but they do look colourful.

I'd also treated myself to some yarn from Lay Family Yarn in a delicate Crocus colour way

I love the pale buttery yellow with specks of orange, violet mixed in.  I'd like to make a one skein shawl with that, but haven't found the right pattern yet.

On the sewing front, I've recently made another vinyl fronted pouch.  Some time ago I made one using the instructions from Aneela Hoey's book of Stitched Sewing Organizers.  

Then I saw an article in the West Country Quilter, newsletter of Region 4 of the Quilters' Guild of the British Isles written by the editor about a workshop making Posh Pockets, which looked to have a patchwork pieced back to the pouch.  So I made a pouch which had a flip and sew quilt as you go back and vinyl front with square edges.  Big enough to hold A4 sized print, say a pattern.

This is what I made - that's the front

and the back

 Big enough to hold an A4 size piece of paper, this a tree I drew out which I used for an appliqué.

Really quick and made in an afternoon.  There might be more of these made in different sizes in the future.

This weekend I delved into the really untidy, overloaded wardrobe in my sewing room and came across some block that made last year in a workshop at Pauline's Patchworks.  I mentioned about this here.  I made these last April, and didn't take things any further as sometimes I was desperate for time to sew and a workshop fitted that need.  Anyway I dug out and got sewing into rows and rows are in the process of being joined together, just two rows left and a quilt top will be done.  Here's a pic taken yesterday with the top spread out on the spare bed.

It looks as though it will be a single bed size so it may end up being a charity quilt.  Wait and see.  Also in the pic is another zippy quilt which I made on Saturday morning, which adds to the charity makes.

Looking forward to making more things but I'm asking myself if I will have enough time when I finish work!

My Solo Finish A Long

I started of the year with a list of my own Finishes as I couldn't find and was too late for the Finish A Long 2018.  I decided that I would start a Solo Finish Along, a list of which is on my sidebar.

I have finished a lot of things at the end of March which I can now deleted from my list.  This has been a handy aid for me to keep track what is outstanding.  I know there will be ongoing items like the pouches, which is fine as I make the odd one now and again and I have several in my collection which will go to charity sales.

 I may do a little tutorial about these as they are quick and easy to make.  Oooh, haven't done one before that's something different!

The Woodland blanket is growing too.  I'm on the 4th part of the colour changes in the CAL (crochet a long) which was designed by Lucy of Attic 24 blog here. I'm crocheting the Random colour way in this CAL and to keep track of the colours I've copied and pasted the changes onto Notes on my iPad and each time I've finished the two rows of the pattern in each colour I've put an asterisk next to the colour's shade.  Here's a pic of the progress so far,  Folded in half lengthwise you can see all the ends on the left hand side to be darned in - I haven't darned as I go.

Third item is the wallhanging with the 'beanstalk' which I've not done anything more about.  It still looks the same, just ridiculous with the stem and leaves all out of proportion with the rest of it.  I have roughly drawn a tree on paper which I can transfer once the 'beanstalk' has been taken out. I should crack on and get this out of the way.

Fourth item is something new to this quarter and is a black/grey and orange/yellow sixteen square blocks.  Nice and easy to cut strips, sew, re-cut and sew again.  I'd like to think these colours would suit a teenage boy and would go towards Project Hope.  My progress as at yesterday was 15 x 12" blocks and I think 20 would be a good number to make. Eventually I would quilt as you go method and join with sashing strips.

So that's my outstanding projects for this quarter of my Solo Finish A Long.

Changes..

It is so easy to be taken in by social media, one thing leads to another and another path is taken.  This time its embroidery, which I do dabble in now and again and when I saw the Good Intentions SAL (Sew A Long) by @chrissie_crafts and seen her video tutorials on You Tube I joined in.

It was to have a word or words of what your intentions would be this year and I decided on the word Changes.. , reasons of which I will go into later.  It was a few weeks into the SAL so I did several of the techniques in one afternoon!

The stitches used so far were backstitch, couching (the brown twiggy wreath), fly stitch for the leaves, woven wheel for the flowers.

There were some lazy daisy stitches for the small leaves and flowers, then a few French knots in flower colour thread and also in the word too.  This was all done just before and around the Easter break, then I bought some felt to back the embroidery after finishing off and trimming the fabric.  I used a light beige Grunge fabric by Moda, which has a mottled effect and sets off the colours well.

If you'd like to see what others have made go and have a look here

As for Changes, well this has been and will continue to be a changeable year so the word seemed appropriate to me. I took the decision to retire at the end of last year.  I am 62 and of an age when women of around my age had found their State Retirement Age was increased from 60 to 65, then again to 66,  but I am lucky enough to have a small Local Government pension and also saved to enable me to retire earlier.  I gave my notice in January to work 4 months so I will finish work in three weeks time at the end of April.

In January my Dad became ill and died just the day before his 95th birthday, so that was the first of the changes that have come this year. My Mum seems to be coping well but there are things that still need sorting out.

My sister, her husband and son are hoping to move down to Dorset from Berkshire. They have found a bungalow that they like and the legal stuff for the sale is going ok but the purchase looks not to be so it could be a little while before they move, but we hope not. So that is another change.

My daughter Sarah (she was married last September, see here) is expecting her first baby in July and after a gap of 8.5 years since the last grandchild this will be grandchild no. 5.  She will be starting her maternity leave at the end of May so the changes continue.

I'm hoping that going forward that David and I have time to do more things together as well as our own interests.  Changes is just a reminder of what this year will bring.