"Lime Twist" with a Twist.

I decided to make the Lime Twist quilt from Quilt Now issue 6. Except as 2015 is the year of the stash reduction I am using fabrics I already had. I had this pile of fabric already together wit the scooter fabric as background but never quite decide what to make. Well now I have. 

In my last post I mentioned I was going to Henley to "only" buy fabric for the back of sweet Drunkard's path quilt. That plan went slightly wrong. I did go to Henley and I did buy back fabric and then I looked at the FQ packs. I think that's where I went wrong. 

 All that talk about not adding to the stash was forgotten. This will make a great boy quilt.

I will be able to incorporate some of the stash. Look the orange and green go really well. I am sure I have some blues that will go as well. So actually it will help reduce the stash - it will really. I think Mr Made By Frederica believed me.

Good Friday Finish

Yes, I know it's Easter Sunday today and Good Friday is long since gone. I did however finish this on Friday. I really like how this Sweet Drunkard's Path has turned out. It's only small 110cm square but super cute.

I had declared 2015 the year of the stash buster (yes, I know all years are proclaimed as such) and was planning to piece a back from the stash. However the top is all stash, no new fabrics used, so I might just treat this super cute quilt to a new back. Lady Sew and Sew have the big polka dot fabric in their sale and also some others that might be suitable. I think a trip to Henley is in order. It's Easter Holidays, so the daughters and dog can come and we will have a walk by the river after the fabric shopping.

It's better weather today, so I will try and get some outdoors shots to show it in a better light.

Happy Easter everyone.

Work in progress round up.

A quick round up of my works in progress:

Quilt back for the shirt scrap trip quilt. I have booked the basting table and tomorrow is the it will get basted.

 Finally cut into some fabrics I have been hoarding for about a year. This will be a sampler quilt. The fabrics are Tula pink saltwater and Karavan by Valori Wells and other fabrics from my stash that I think match.

I started a skirt for myself during half term. Probably progress has been slower than I would like.

 Village haberdashery Star block of the month. They are on instagram as starbotm. Can't seem to find hashtag on my keyboard. I am such a techno wizard - not.

 Again finally using some fabrics Karavan fabrics I bought about a year ago. It was a really good deal at Lady Sew and Sew; a giant fat quarter pack, which worked out at £1.50 per FQ. Bargain.

I am trying to improve my curved piecing. The fabric choices are a little cute. My daughters love it though. I worry that is is too sweet and will cause dental cavities. We will see how it turns out.

Linking to Freshly pieced WIP Wednesday.

Resolutions for 2015

Apologies for the long absence. I have been a little bit busy with Christmas etc. My blogging is sporadic at best, so here comes my first resolution: Blog once a week. 

• Join the Finish Along 2015. This year On the Windy side is hosting it.  Let's hope this will spur me on to have more finishes. 
• Get better at curves. In a view to achieving this I aim to finish this winding ways quilt. Only nine blocks, so not too hard. It should then be big enough for a baby quilt. Luckily one of my friends had a brand new baby girl on new year's eve. 

•  Quilt my rowan red and aqua log cabin quilt. I have the back. I have the binding. I just need to go out and buy the wadding. 

•  Quilt Shirt of my back scrap trip quilt. This top has been finished for almost a year. Better get this sorted. I have everything I need I jus haven't done anything about it. 

•  Make eight bibs. Two for each baby due at husband's work. This needs to be a Q1 project as all the baby's are due between now and March. 

Not overly ambitious I know. There is a whole long list of other things I want to make and need to make. I am fairly sure that the daughters have outgrown most of their summer clothes and then there are the dress up days at school and school disco to consider too. 

I would like some new skirts. Husband wants a quilt to take in his car. I know there are at least three quilts I have pulled fabric for. I also started a red white and blue scrap quilt, which is making slow progress. 

Wish me luck with all this. 

Scrap Fest 2014

 The quilt top for Scrap Fest 2014 has been declared large enough by my daughters. It covers a 9 year old child, just. If you look closely you can see her toes and the top of her head.

I am not sure if it needs a border. It's an all right size for a lap quilt (120 cm by 140 cm). I will need to think it through an see what I decide. I also need to raid the stash to see if I have anything for the back. I probably have some Ikea fabric I can use up.

Work in Progress

 Daughter 1 has finally finished her quilt top. It's not perfect. Some of the corners are cut off by the sashing but considering she is not 11 yet I think she did a great job.

 Also I think I deserve a pat on the back for not interfering with her colour choices or getting over protective of my fat quarter stash. I think she has chosen an Ikea print from the stash as back but I  want to be doubly sure before I baste this puppy.

Scrap fest 2014 has grown, maybe not as much I would have liked but the dangerous duo are back at school, so they don't have as much time to help. Also I have some work at the moment, so sewing time is limited. Great to have work but there is so much other stuff I would love to be doing instead. Mustn't grumble. I had better get on.

Scrap Fest 2014

 Rachel over on Stitched in Color is having a Fabric purge. I figured it would be a good plan to join in.

I have been trying hard this year not to buy new fabric and to only use up what I have. So far I haven't done too badly. I have made 4 tunics out of stash, a top for a friend's daughter, a skirt for myself and two dresses for daughters. On the positive lots of things no new fabric bought. On the downside though I have created more scraps.

I have emptied (some) of the scarp baskets and cut the fabrics into 2.5"scraps. The daughters sewed the squares into blocks for me. This was too random for me I have decided to add some cross or X type blocks to get over the random. I hope to get some more done but the weather has been too good to stay indoors and do much sewing.

Linking to the Stitched in Color "Purge".

Scraps

New set up with two machines

I have made painfully little progress this month. The Girls have been off school since 4/7 and I have managed to make a dress. I can't show you pictures because the daughter has worn it and it is in the laundry basket. 

I have however finally gotten round to getting my little Pfaff serviced. It was sewing forward fine but backwards no thank you. It needed a new step motor. Not a cheap repair I can tell you but cheaper than a new machine. I thought it would be worth it as in 2015 the eldest will go up to senior school and sewing is part of the curriculum. 

 The daughters needed to be kept occupied, so I set to cutting the odd shaped bits that are left over from dressmaking into 2.5inch squares. Brother there are a lot of odd shaped bits. There are the dresses I made, the dresses my mum has made and that means dresses for four granddaughters and one daughter and herself. There are some real vintage scraps.

There also leftovers from other quilts. Lets just say that there is a lot. Never ending as far as I can tell. 

Well better get back to being a peace keeper. The amount of squabbles pre teen girls can have is amazing. If the UN want to come and practice they are welcome. 

I am linking to Lily's Quilts small blog meet. Fingers crossed more will get done in August. 

Work in progress Wednesday - or why I would like a design wall.

 I think I need a design wall. That way I can keep track of my UFOs. I try to only have one quilt on the go at anyone time. This does not always work. For starters there are two quilts that need to be quilted.
After much uhming and ahing I have decided to make a log cabin quilt out of some lovely Rowan fabrics. Again if I had a design wall and not a floor the colours might have looked better on this photo.

 I got distracted by trying to sew curvy patchwork. This is mainly to prove to a friend that patchwork isn't just "cutting squares and sewing them back together".

 I am trying out a red white blue thing here. Might need an orange back for this one to make it really Dutch.

 I am helping my Eldest (10 years old) to sew her first quilt. It is very colourful. I am quite impressed with well she is doing.

Talking of the 10 year old. She has grown again and needs a new summer dress. Luckily I had this lovely Benatrx print stashed and will be cutting into that soon. I have traced the pattern and altered the back. She felt it was a bit bare for everyday but might like it with the heart shaped back for her leavers party next year.

So all in all I'll be quite busy. Fingers crossed there will be a Friday finish but I don't think there will be.

I am linking to WIP wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

Some bits and pieces and a new WIP

 I have a few finishes. 

Daughter 1's drawstring bag. 

 Bunting for my birthday. 

 The fabrics a maybe a little Kidstonque for my liking but the daughters told me I had to make it like that. 

My new WIP. I think I need to change the layout. There maybe some seem ripping going on later.

Nine patch made by a nine year old.

 This morning my nine year old daughter finished her last nine patch block and decided on her final layout.

By lunch she had sewn the blocks into rows and then the rows into the quilt top. She was helped by me with pining but she did all the sewing herself. She did find it quite tricky to girl handle the quilt top through the sewing machine without impaling herself on the pins. However she persevered and managed.

It's 1.22m by 1.53m, so taller than her. She would like it a little larger, so we are going to add borders. A lovely polka dot has been chosen; not from the stash but dear husband said it was outside my self imposed fabric buying ban. Love that he was enabling my fabric habit.

I am not sure if Daughter will be cutting the border, she is fine with scissors not sure I trust with the rotary cutter yet. The aim is to get it finished before Monday and maybe show the needlecraft teacher. She hasn't decided on that yet. Maybe it needs to be quilted first.

Work in Progress Wednesday - Triangles

Hello from a very wet Oxfordshire. Thankfully we are not flooded but many are. I have however found out that the putty in the dining room window leaks. Not sure how I will fix that but I will worry about that when it doesn't pour with rain.

 Last week I could finally start on a new project. Husband chose these fabrics for himself at the fat quarter shop. They were in a fat quarter stack called Garden for Olivia. I can't that stack anymore online but they do still have the fabrics.

 The grey batik check was also chosen by the husband. The pictures aren't too clear.

 The colours do look better in real life. But I have to make do with torrential rain and the design floor, so this is the best it's going to get.

 In the mean time the youngest daughter (nine years old) has decided to make her own quilt.

 I let her have free reign of my fabrics. Well all right almost. Fabrics that were sorted into projects have been banned.

She did all the cutting herself and the sewing and pressing. Not so much the pinning. The pins keep going in wonky into the fabric. She forgets to take the pins out and then hits them with the needle. One sewing machine needle and several pins have been lost this way. I now pin for her. The machine doesn't mind when the pins are straight.

I am linking to Freshly pieced. Hope you all stay safe and dry.

Work in Progress Wednesday-scrappy trip.

I have made some progress today. I made seven blocks today. I am worried that I am getting scrappy tripped out. After my first scrappy trip quilt I thought I could make loads more scrappy trip quilts. It was quick easy, used up lots of stash. Now I am not so sure. I like this one but it is such slow going. Maybe it's all the blue. Maybe it's that thought that I am only half way through. I will carry on. I hate UFO's.

Sometimes playing with lay outs inspires me to do more. I must get on and do some more.

I am linking to Freshly pieced WIP Wednesday.

Monday Making

I am making this little table topper for Christmas. Not sure we can get much more Christmassy than  stars and Pine trees.

Husband has a day of today and I promised to help move wood into the wood store. Hopefully more sewing soon.

Busy getting ready for Christmas.

 It's been a busy week. I made a skirt for myself and the oldest daughter (sorry no pictures yet). I sewed a load of little purses (all presents, so again no pictures) and these gorgeous placemats. You can't really tell on the photo but the blue is sparkly and glittery.

 This is what my table looked like today. My mother would like a Christmas table topper, so I am sewing up some stars and pine trees. Well that is the plan. 

I have also managed to make husband his wash bag. I hope he realises how much I love him. Not only was he allowed free reign over the stash but when he chose the lovely Heaven and Helsinki print I didn't object. He will have to show it off at every opportunity though and praise my skills.  Well there has to be something in this for me.

I am waiting for the Domino's man to come. Daughter 2 has asked for it as a birthday treat. They don't get fast food very often, so this is exciting. The fact that it is being delivered possibly more than the food itself. 

Linking to WIP wednesday over at Freshly pieced.

Taking pictures isn't as easy as it seems

 This morning I decided to finally sew these disappearing nine patches together. It wasn't raining, so quick let's take pictures.

 Now I tried indoors but the colours didn't look right, so outdoors I went. Hmmm well it would seem that the ground is muddy. No idea how that could have happened in the UK in Autumn. This then means that my favourite place to photograph (the outside furniture) is out of bounds.

 Not because this little quilt top would drape over floor but because the Schipperke will sit on it. Being a rather white quilt this would not be a good plan.

 On the washing line it went. So still not the right colours, as the washing line is in the shade after 12pm. Also it was windy, so lots of flapping to deal with.

Anyway; one quilt top. I think I will add a border. I looks like it needs one.