WOOF, WOOF, WOOFA.....

Thanks Cheryll for keeping us on track with our WOOFA projects

For these I am slowly working through projects that were UFO's at the beginning of the year... some of them ongoing for some time, others fairly recent

Field Journal was started last year.... and because of Covid disruptions Kate and Pam from Cottage Garden Threads were not able to do them this year... but we will be getting more next year.... 

....so I am trying to get last years up to date!!!

These two were done this month..... I really need to make more effort and do more if I am to be up to date by year end....

The other UFO I worked on (was also #6 for the Brisbane Sunday Stitchers UFO challenge)

The stitcheries for United Stitches by Rosalie Dekker were all completed a while ago.... but I needed to make the 4 patch blocks and put it all together.....

Happy to have this cheerful quilt hanging up in my sewing room now....

I started something new.... even though I have too many projects its a bit like a reward for finishing something isn't it????

These are very easy simple stitcheries, designed by Ella & Skysie.  I have done this pattern before and they make a sweet baby quilt

they still need little patches on them.. but I haven't decided on the fabric choice yet

I think I am just starting new things so I have lots ready for UFO challenges next year?????? 

Righto, Gotto Go... very busy quilting presently and been enjoying some gentle hand stitching in the evenings....

Have a lovely rest of the week.....

a finish

Very pleased to say we have had a bit of rain... hoping there will be more this week...

This is my corner where I do most of my sewing... little bluebird stitcheries and some quite heavy quilting

This week I finished off my United Stitches quilt....

The stitcheries have been done for some time now and I had some fun piecing the little 4 patch squares together..

United Stitches was preprinted on linen and designed by Rosalie Dekker ....

I quilted in the ditch around the stitcheries and curves in the 4 patches, small scrolls in the thin border and rope in the larger border

This has now take it's place in my sewing corner.  It seems to cheer up that area a bit more with the colour

Embroidery this week has two new blocks for Field Journal

fun getting back to these.... I have neglected them for a while...

The quilt was a UFO which is now finished.... my Sunday Stitchers #6

Righto, Gotto Go..... a Friday to enjoy

I hope you have a lovely weekend

Summer tops.....

This top has quickly become a favourite and I have made a few new ones for this summer....

This one is made from Native Nursery fabrics

It is called Bondi top by Sew to Grow

I got my pattern from The Quilters Angel as well as the fabrics (except the Christmas fabric) 

This one is done in a Liberty inspired lawn and will be lovely and cool

... and this one is for Christmas!

I always grumble my way through December (sorry Christmas lovers) so it's appropriate!!

This weekend I finished another block for my Love quilt and sewed on the borders this morning

lovely to have had 10mls of rain last night... predictions are for lots more this week... I do hope they are right!

Righto, Gotto Go.... have a lovely week....

Coffee, coffee, coffee.....

Hubz and I enjoy our coffee ...... 

We still have our pod machine and I do use it every now and then but a few months ago we got ourselves one of the drip machines..... like the ones we used to have way back when ....

So we experimented a bit with coffee beans and used our grinder so it was fresh...

Now it is really fresh....

A selection of Green beans purchased... we got Ethiopian, Kenyan and Brazilian ones

This is how they look.... green....

Hubz roasted them in a popcorn maker.... if you are interested there is lots on youtube and we had to experiment a bit with amounts so the beans would turn.....

It is interesting hearing the crack and then watching the outer chaff go off, then watching the colour change and waiting for a second crack....

Here are some of our first home roasted beans... they get sealed and wait a few days before grinding... there is a definite difference in the smell of coffee developing over this time....

Here is our home grounded coffee.... you can see bits of chaff in it that were still there (it was our first attempt after all)

We are still experimenting a bit on the amount of grind to the amount of water but I have to say I am pleased with our first result.... I recently started having black coffee as my first thing in the morning drink and this coffee is certainly very smooth....

We started off with the Kenyan.... this next week it will be Ethiopian... will be interesting to note any difference

So there we go... our new home roasted coffee... I wonder if I bought Hubz a few coffee trees we can really become self sufficient????

These blocks were finished this week....

Betty Butterfly ....

Cheeky Monkey....

Lady bug in blue.....

Gentle Giraffe....

They need some borders/piecing which I will get round to some time....  I will need to do a bit of thinking so that I can make them sizes to suit ....

Righto, Gotto Go.... time to try that Ethiopian coffee. 

Have a lovely weekend....

Stock take....

I enjoyed reading Marina's blog where she did a 'stocktake' of her Works in Progress.... and I thought it was a good idea.... so I have done a sort of one 

Field Journal BOM

This was a BOM started in 2019 and run by Cottage Garden Threads... it is ongoing for those of us who wish to continue but this year has not run due to delays in getting the fabrics... but it is planned to start again next year.....

However, I am still catching up on 2019 blocks and I really would like to have them up to date before the new lot start...

I still have 9 little blocks and 2 big projects (so that's another 8 blocks)... That means I have done 25 of the little blocks.. 

Wish You Well BOM

This is a BOM by Gail Pan for this year and we get an email with our pattern at the beginning of each month.....

I am up to date with the stitcheries - these are the ones for October that I finished this week...

I snuck in a machine sewing day with a friend this week and put August's block together....

and sewed it with it's friends so this is the first 8 months

as you can see there are circles all around the edge and I have made a start on making them for all around the bottom 4 blocks ...  I find if I have these ready when it comes to sewing up the blocks its quicker and easier.....

Love Quilt

My machine sewing day helped with this quilt too by making up 8 of these checkerboard blocks.... they are 6" blocks so lots of little squares (made in strips though)

... next I will start joining checkerboards to some of the finished applique blocks

these ones were finished over the last couple of weeks....

... and this is where I am so far with these blocks...

That is all the square applique blocks... there are 8 rectangle ones to be done still and 8 more checkerboard blocks

Naive Melody Quilt

This is a new 5 month BOM I started last month via Lucy Engels on instagram.... we do 20 blocks each month 

as you can see there I still have 5 blocks to finish for this month

United Stitches

All the blocks are together and the quilt is quilted

... and waiting by my chair for sewing down the binding .....

The other project I worded on for my sewing machine day is these blocks which were prepared and so I started with the blanket stitching around the edges.....  they need a bit more stitching, tidying of stray ends and hand sewn eyes... and will eventually be make into little quilts

..... in general I am happy with my progress on these projects... which doesn't mean I am also a bit impatient as there are a few others I want to do!!!

Righto, Gotto Go.... the plan this evening is a few more Naive Melody blocks

The week.....

I do hope your week is going well....

Over the weekend I put the borders on this little quilt/wallhanging

and it is now pinned and ready for quilting.... I will go in the ditch along the main lines and add some curved quilting in the four patches.... then some texture in the borders......  it has moved to the top of my quilting pile for now....

I have more of the dark red spot for the binding.

I started working on a Bondi top using Liberty inspired fabric and Magpie came to chat.....

Something has spooked him/her and now Magpie is not visiting.... though I can her her/him singing in a nearby tree.....  not visited for a few days now .... (sad face)

I am even making my own bias binding ....... these are handy little gadgets though I am not an expert and I don't get even sizing always.....

One top is finished and several more are cut out... then I'll be ready for summer....  

I sewed up the needleturn for all these blocks (part of my Love quilt).... and then realised I have not done the bit of stitchery that needs to be added... so they are back next to my chair marked, stabilised and ready to stitch....

Sewing day with the girls on Tuesday and I worked on this embroidery, (part of Wish You Well BOM)... its a very sweet design... like a formal garden....

My pile of projects seems to be growing... not shrinking....

Righto, Gotto Go... today I am doing quilt job job.... and there is a growing pile of that too. I love that I spend the day sewing and I can call it 'work'....

... but first... coffee....