Retreat sewing....

A lovely weekend was spent with the wonderful Sunday Stitchers from Brisbane...  I was very blessed to be able to go along and spend my weekend days with them....

Thanks Sunday Stitchers.....

The main thing I had wanted to get done was this Fat Quarter Quilt.

The pieces were all cut so it was a matter of choosing which fabric and doing lots of stitching

16 fat quarters and it makes 16 nice bold blocks... a lovely easy quilt for using fabulous fabrics you don't want cut into small pieces.

Tim Holst fabric pack and pattern from The Quilters Angel who have an online store

Thanks The Quilters Angel ....

Of course being away from home I had to make sure Hubz had something to do.... We have this large brick facing wall with no windows (it's behind my oven and fridge and pantry cupboard in the kitchen)

Hubz drilled in the concrete and attached a tight wire for me.... 

... so now I have a lovely place to hang my finished tops and quilts for photograph taking!  

Thanks Hubz.....

This morning I found some backing to use... and I had already bought some of the same fabrics to use for binding....

I want to get this one quilted soonish as it is a gift....

Then I got onto sewing up smaller pieces I had pre-cut...

... and made them into two sweet baby quilts

... and this morning I cut some strips and made up the binding so it is ready when I get to them....

Pre retreat we had been given instructions for cutting a couple of pieces of fabric and we were helped making up lovely little snap bags using cut up tape measure... some Hubby is now missing his tape out the workshop!!!

Thanks Alison and Maureen ...

... then I started on my next big scrappy project.... the red and cream pineapple blocks.

I got quite far but still have a few more rounds to do till they are big enough.

I am doing 25 x 10" blocks

The Sunday Stitchers had Show and Tell for the last UFO which was #5 and for me that was finishing a pair of socks

These socks were done but had been given away to my daughter... made from lovely  Bendigo wool

I have enjoyed making the socks, and I enjoy wearing mine so I will do more... one day.  I have always loved the idea of hand made socks and wanted to learn to make them.  Jane, my friend in UK

has video workshops and so I joined in a couple of years ago and that really helped my confidence.  Access to the video's is ongoing so if I forget what I learnt I can go back.... 

Thanks Jane....

The next UFO challenge is #10... which is my Mouse Quilt......  

Quite a lot of work needs to be done for this.... which includes finding where I put the instructions...

Stitcheries were done quite a long time ago and I am going to be using my Tilda left over from other projects pieces as it is not a big quilt/wallhanging....

Righto, Gotto Go.... after a relaxing weekend which finished with a shopping trip to a local quilt shop and some yummy lunch yesterday I have work to do....

It's a bit owlish round here.....

I got back to Field Journal this week with this sweet gum nuts and leaves.... the nuts are done with two strands and the leaves in one.....  and the colour is Sweet Gum in Cottage Garden Threads

For my next round of my Love quilt there is a bit of EPP to do.... so I pulled out this project bag I bought at a quilt show some time ago.... (yes the sheep are upside down)

Inside are ziplock bags sewn into the centre seam.... very clever idea

so I have put the  different sets into separate bags....

... and it's all ready for pick up and sew.....

I pulled out my owl mat this week as someone asked about it..... its from a few years ago when I did a challenge withing a quilt group.  WE had been give a small piece of fabric (The multicolour one that looks like drops) which we had to use 80% of what we were given and add to it...

I did mine with raw edge applique and rather a lot of free motion quilting....

... and this is what it was all about..... if you look back at the picture the first owl has his eyes closed, the second one has no ears and the third one has its' beak tied....

This Monday a few of Thursday morning girls got together (things have had to change!) and one had made each of us these gorgeous little owl pincushions.....

 

Today in between quilt jobs I have my Gail Pan BOM fabrics out to cut background squares and circle for applique - it's a good get up and stretch activity....

Righto, Gotto Go... a retreat instruction has been sent for us to take some fabrics for a surprise project... so I better go and dig some out.....  after my coffee that is!

Bits and bobs....

A fair amount of fiddling around has been happening...

I have finished the stitching on this piece for  Natalie Birds banner.... still have a few more to do

I thought I'd show some quilting I did for an all over request.  I noticed some butterflies in the fabric and so did a meander with butterflies.....

when it was all done I went back over the meander and through the middle of the butterfly to create a ribbon effect....

Looks so much nicer with the ribbon instead of one line.... this is how it looks from the back... gives a lovely texture but still light quilting ...

I am preparing for a retreat with the Sunday Stitchers... my lovely Tim Holt fabrics have been cut for the block shapes.... in the middle are some pretty fabrics I will sew together for a baby quilt and in the big box is my next red and cream pineapple quilt.... I cut up all that was in my scrap baskets for them and will see how far they go....

I then messed around trying to make a template I can use (instead of EPP) some little half dresdens....

The first one is far too big but it has the right amount of blades.... the second one is the right size but only 5 blades... but I feel I can manage that size so will stick with that.... they are for a later border on my Love quilt....

This week I want to start cutting pieces for this round.... elongated hexagons and squares.... they are small and fiddly but I've procrastinated long enough....

Righto, Gotto Go.... we had some lovely rain yesterday and when the fog lifts we will be out and about today.... but in the meantime I smell the fresh coffee and I need some ....

Have a lovely Sunday...

... and they are done....

I have finished Hubz's crochet blanket.....

the edges are wavy... I'm not a very good crocheter.....

and don't ask me what happened about what colours went where.... it looked in control when I started!!

... it's made of Pure Wool... quite heavy really ... but he is happy with it....

.. the real colours are just not showing in the picture... that chair is much more taupe/beige/brown that that....

.. and I have quilted and bound this 9 patch quilt....

an all over textured quilting 

... after a wash it will be a lovely soft cuddly quilt....

I joined in with Jane from Loopy's Place facebook group for this quilt.... she gave us tips and assistance all the way through via video links.... and of course there is the added bonus of sewing with others and making new cyber friends....

I have pulled out my banner to work on in the evenings....  

Righto, Gotto Go.... the day to enjoy.... hope you have a wonderful rest of the week....

August FNWF

Thanks Cheryll for hosting FNWF last evening......

We had a nice little shower of rain in the afternoon.... lovely.

I worked on the crochet border for my blanket.... each round takes a while now but I am impatient of having it lying around now so determined nothing else till it is done..... a few more rows of double crochet to give it a border and it will be done....

Hubz found some footy on TV which I don't really like so I just crocheted and got lost in my own thoughts.... then the game finished and he found cricket on TV, which I like, but that got rain delayed, and then we turned to golf which I don't mind but I had trouble keeping my eyes open....

But I got one round finished and that was my goal!

... woken up to a misty day, so I have stoked up the fire and I'll go and play...

I did treat myself to this pattern and fabrics this week from The Quilters Angel....

Nice simple blocks to show off fabrics and it will be a perfect man quilt... I am going to cut out the pieces as this is what I want to make at retreat with Sunday Stitchers ladies in a couple of weeks time.....

Gotta love a pile of delicious fabrics to play with....  and then I will visit and see what all the others who joined in last night got up to....

Righto, Gotto Go... hope you have a lovely weekend

A gift....

My lovely friend Michelle had a birthday last week.  Stuck at home as there has been virus nearby, but Mr Postie was very good to get her gift from me exactly on the right day!

This cushion pattern was a project provided in the Field Journal Club (the lovely little botanical prints that I have been embroidering)

Each of the houses was done in a different main colour

... using the Cottage Garden Threads which are very prettily variegated....

I love all the detail added to the houses....

I used some civil war fabric I had with colours that matched for the applique and back of the cushion

It is only a small cushion with the idea it would be a nice one for Michelle to rest her arms on whilst she is stitching......

.... but it a good football size too if she needs something to throw....

The patterns are sweet and I loved stitching them... 

Take care everyone, keep safe, keep stitching

Righto, Gotto Go..... food to cook.. one pot roast chicken and vegetables tonight