Scrappy log finish (maybe?)

Yeah! I managed a second ALYoF finish!

Back at the start of the month I set my goal of finishing Mali's cushion before the end of the month and yesterday I did the last little bit of quilting, inserted a zip and sewed the cushion together. Unfortunately I wasn't home during daylight hours today so I only have a night time picture to show you.

I quilted the front with a variegated pink Coti thread that I bought at festival last year since I couldn't find an Aurifil one anywhere (I've since bought some from the lovely Cindy).

The crosshatch with the lines around 1/4" apart does take time but I love the texture that it gives. I find that marking the lines with a Clover Hera marker makes things a lot easier and my lines end up being so much straighter than if I tried to 'wing it'!

I decided that I was going to back the cushion with a FQ of a green floral from Posy but couldn't decide if I should quilt it with the same pink thread as the front or a variegated green Aurifil so I put it to the masses on Instagram...

...and the answer was a definite green. On the front of the cushion the variegation in the thread isn't obvious but on the back I really like the extra something that it adds to the overall effect.

Unfortunately the night time picture doesn't show the quilting as well as it should.

 Whilst I was basting the front and back for the cushion I forgot that I usually prefer to add the zip to the back of the cushion. By the time I remembered I'd already cut the fabric and the batting so it was too late so I just added the zip to the bottom of the cover.

I can't say that I'm 100% happy with this finish. I can't quite put my finger on it. It might be that it doesn't have any white in it, which I do like in my quilts, or it could be the absence of Mali's name on the front. I must admit that I'm toying with the idea of adding it to the blue fabric......

But for now I'm calling it finished and linking up with Melissa and Shanna.

Work in Progress Wednesday

In an attempt to stop my posts about finished items (few and far between as they are) from getting quite as long in future I'm going to try and blog more about them along the way.

So today's Wednesday and I actually got some sewing done last week!

I've tried my best to make Anwen's friends a little something handmade for their birthdays. I started last year when I made Mali a little zippy pouch.

It was around the time that the Economy block was all the rage on instagram and I knew that I didn't have the time (or the fussy cuttable stash) to make a full quilt. Making this block out of my Aneela Hoey stash seemed to satisfy my sheep like tendencies a little :0)

Anyway, I've managed to make each member of Anwen's closest group of friends either some kind of pouch or cushion cover for their birthday and now we've come around to Mali's birthday again.

As she got a pouch last year I decided to make her a cushion cover this year. With her birthday being at the start of the year it's coincided with another ...along on instagram. This year it's the #scrappylogcabinqal . With a quick baaaaa I dove into my bag of Aneela scraps and pulled out all the strings. I started with a fussy cut little rabbit and then just added the next strip that was closest to the size required. I didn't pay any attention to value and little attention to colour (I just tried to make sure that I didn't have two of the same colour/print touching) and before long I had a cushion top.

It's around 18.5" square. I've bought a 18" cushion pad thinking that quilting and the actual cushion seams will take this down to around 17". I do like to overstuff my cushions.

You'd think that since this was last Tuesday and Mali's party was on Saturday I'd have basted this straight away in the hope of getting it finished, however, Mali would have to wait as someone else had already been waiting a lot longer....

And she's still waiting. Anwen went to the party on Saturday empty handed. Luckily Mali and her mum both know what I'm like by now and know that she will get something eventually. In the hope that Mali doesn't have to wait five months like Esyllt had to though I'm going to make Mali's Cushion my February goal for ALYoF.

And linking up with Lee for WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

And with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

Wish me luck!

Millie's Quilt. Finished

Yes, you read that right - I actually finished something!!!

This quilt started life as a little pile of Wee Wander that I bought from Natalie and Tracey at Pin it and Stitch at Quilts UK in Malvern last May. Unfortunately the girls had sold out of some of the prints but they were kind enough to point me in the direction of Little Laura's Haberdashery who had a few of the larger prints.

When I bought them I didn't have anything specific in mind I just knew that I needed these fabrics in my stash!

In June one of my husband's co-workers had a baby girl and I knew that I had to make her a quilt but between the all day nausea, constant tiredness and already too long list of WIPs/UFOs I didn't manage to make a start until the beginning of August.

I'd previously fallen in love with Susan's HR Fanclub Quilt and started fussy cutting some of the prints. As soon as I'd done this I decided that I wanted to add a few different solids. I had a look on-line to see if I could find anywhere that gave suggested matching Konas but all I could find were a few websites that named coordinating Cotton Couture. I don't know of anywhere in the UK that supplies Cotton Couture so I decided to wait a week so that I could compare colours in person at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham.

I took some scraps of the different prints with me and with the help of two lovely ladies picked out Carnation, Candy Green and Dusty Blue as the best matches.

Picture courtesy of Anwen, aged 6.

As soon as I had the solids it didn't take me very long to get going again. In fact, as the beady eyed Nicky pointed out on IG I still had the entry stamp from FoQ on my hand! I was quite determined to get this quilt done, even if it did mean sewing with a toddler on my lap, and managed to get the top finished within the first two days of getting home from Birmingham.

Not sure how to quilt it I hung it up on our bedroom wall with some Washi tape and hoped that inspiration would strike.

This is where baby brain kicks in. I didn't take any pictures whilst I was quilting it and without the aid of 'Date Picture Taken' I have absolutely no memory of when I actually quilted this quilt. All I know is that I posted this picture of me adding some hand quilting whilst watching the GBBO final on iPlayer on the 13th of October!

I had a bit of a nightmare quilting this on the frame. The frame is set up in the attic where I have just enough headroom between the eves to use it. Last winter it was far too cold up there to do anything other than quickly grab a bag of hand-me-downs for Marged so the frame got neglected. When the weather got a little more spring like I went up to quilt my Soy Amado quilt (still not blogged that one properly) and noticed that there was mildew on the leaders. Thankfully I quick wipe with a damp cloth removed this and the frame didn't seem any the worst for wear. However, when I went to quilt this at the end of summer it became apparent that the changes in temperature that the frame was going through up there had warped the wood a little. It meant that the wooden runners which the sewing machine runs along during quilting didn't give as smooth a ride as usual. I also noticed that the pole that holds the quilt top in place didn't stay 'straight' when I was winding the quilt on. This combined with the quilting pattern I'd settled on and the fact that I was only quilting the background left my blocks very 'baggy' and I had gathers in some places.

The picture above shows the block which was most affected by this.

Tempted as I was to follow Susan's lead and pebble the background I knew from experience that although it gives stunning results it takes a very long time. I wanted something that was relatively quick but wanted to venture from my usual stipple. In the end I decided to go for a variation of the stipple. I think that I've heard it called the 'Riverbed' in the past but I'm not sure.

But I couldn't leave the quilt without at least a little pebbling so I pebbled around Millie's name.

I'm really glad that I did this as I feel that it makes Millie's name 'pop'.

The main reason why I'd left the blocks unquilted was because I wanted to add some hand quilting.

I kept it quite simple with just two lines running through the solid sashing. I used a matching colour thread in half the blocks and a contrasting thread in the other half. (Perle no8). I love the look of this chunky quilting but I think I could do with making the stitches a little longer next time - it might look a little neater on the back! (A vintage sheet, as if you needed to ask)

As I said in my goal setting post for ALYoF I made and attached the binding on Benji's Due date and then neglected it until January.

I sewed the binding down in short sessions here and there. I posted a picture on instagram and asked if anyone else tacked their binding down first. It turns out that I'm alone in this - most people seem to either use Wonderclips or binding clips or just keep the binding in place with their thumb as they go.

I've tried both of these methods and they just don't work for me. I find that clips get in the way of my left hand and make sewing uncomfortable. I can do it by holding the binding in place with my thumb but find that I'm having to adjust it all the time and that's not enjoyable either. I do enjoy hand sewing so really don't mind tacking the binding down first and it makes actually sewing the binfing down properly a breeze and gives me a neater finish.

One thing that doesn't work for me though is trying to hand sew whilst nursing. Trying to take a picture of this was even more difficult!

Anyway, I was soon finished and and with my husbands help I got some photos outside on a dry day!

But it wasn't finished yet. I needed to add the crinkle factor so I popped it in the washing machine along with a colour catcher and crossed my fingers. By the time it was out of the tumble dryer it was dark outside again and we haven't had a dry day since so you'll have to make do with a picture taken on our living room floor.

And lastly one of my favourite pictures as you can really see the crinkle added by the wash on the back.

Linking up with A Lovely Year of Finishes as this was my goal for January.

And nearly forgot that this was on my FAL list and is therefore my first (and hopefully not last) finish of Q1. Linking up when the time comes with Adrianne over On the Windy Side.

Edited to add:

Turns out this was my last finish of Q1 :-( Adrianne you can find my goal setting post here and I hope that it's OK that I haven't written a recap/end of quarter post, I just haven't got the heart to do it with such a looserville number of finishes.

Here we go again

As you may be able to guess by the lack of blog post I didn't manage a single finish in Q4. Nope, I didn't manage to sew the binding onto Millie's quilt. 

During the 2014 FAL I only managed to finish six items that I'd listed on my goal setting posts and only managed to link up four of those finishes! However 2014 was a year were although my mojo was well and truly intact the time and space to sew was very sparse so I'm counting the 2014 FAL a success.

This year I'm not planning on getting pregnant so nausea shouldn't be a barrier to my sewing. I'm also not returning to work as I now have two children under school age and wouldn't be able to afford the childcare. So in theory I should have a lot more sewing time.......but then I do have three young children and don't have a dedicated sewing space so I'm not expecting five finishes a week either!

Taking this into consideration I've taken some items off the FAL list for now as I'm sure you're bored with seeing the same old pictures (some of them have been on the list since Q3 of the 2013 FAL!) and kept the list to what I REALLY want to get finished during the next three months. There are however a few that I just hope to make some headway on and have added them to the list on the off chance that I get a finish.

So here goes....

1. Millie's Quilt

I managed to sew one side of the binding down on the day that I linked this one up to ALYoF before I fell asleep on the sofa! I've since managed another two sewing sessions during which I finished a side a time so I literally only have about forty inches to go. If I don't manage that in three months I need shooting.


2. Benji's Nursing Cushion.

How I acquired this fabric needs it's own blog post. I plan on turning it into a new cover for the 'V' cushion that I use whilst nursing Benji. I currently have the plain cream one that came with the cushion and a lilac butterfly cover which I made whilst nursing Marged.


3. UKminiswap Quilt

Despite being very late sending off my #igminiswap quilt (another unblogged finish) I signed up for another swap. I've decided on what I going to do and gave my partner a choice of vintage sheets or rainbow. I'm still going to make both versions and keep one for myself. hopefully this will keep my partner guessing as to who her partner is :0)

4. Liberty Pouch.

Either this gets done this quarter or I throw the fabric out.


5. Kaffe Snowball.

It's been loaded on the frame for four months now. What is wrong with me?

6. 150% 241 Tote

I use my first 241 tote everyday but find it a tad small. I cut this one out at 150% but think it might be a little big. I'm not sure if I'm going to sew it up like this or cut a smaller version out of. Time will tell.

7. Anwen's Quilt Side 1.

Ready to go on the frame. Snowballs are in the way ;0)

8. Heol Petal Quilt.

I really like how this one's looking but I very much doubt that I'll get it done by the end of the quarter.

Right, so that's it. Eight goals. Guaranteed one finish. The rest, I can but hope.

Linking up with Adrianne at On the Windy Side for the first (and hopefully not last time)

Hoping for a finish

I started the year with a blog post, a short blog post, but a blog post none the less. I am hoping to write a little more often during 2015 but I'm making no promises.

In the hope that it will encourage me to write a little more often I'm going to try and link up with Shanna and Melissa for A Lovely Year of Finishes every month. A great by-product of this of course is that I should have a finish every month to show for it too!

Now you all know that I don't have much free time on my hands these days so I'm going to keep my goal realistic.

I spent my due date, all the way back on November the 3rd, making the binding for Millie's quilt. I then attached it to the front of the quilt, folded it neatly and placed it in my hospital bag.

I was fully expecting to be induced as Benji was showing no signs of moving and I'd been warned many a time that being induced can take a very long time and can be very boring. This in addition to the fact that Anwen took 37 hours to make an appearance made me think that I'd have some time on my hands and a quilt to bind would be a nice distraction. Anway, Benji was a good boy and arrived the day before I was due to be induced, also he didn't fancy dragging the process out - I was at my sewing machine less than twelve hours before I met him!

Needless to say, when I arrived home Millie's quilt was untouched and I put it to one side whilst I concentrated of finishing my #igminiswap quilt.

So that's my goal for January - sew the binding onto the back of Millie's quilt.

Shouldn't be too hard, after all I have a whole month to get it done.

Or maybe not.

Katy did such a great job of hosting the FAL last year that I really want to link up at least one project to her last finishes party. That gives me just over twenty hours during which I'll also have to make three school runs, take Anwen to gymnastics, prepare three meals, attend a swimming pool committee meeting and feed a small baby 5-6 times.

Oh, and sleep, I'd like at least two hours if possible please?

Like I said a realistic goal :-) I'd better get stitching!

Linking up to A Lovely Year of Finishes

Hello Strangers!

Just popping in quickly to say 

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Benji Dafydd Lewis
Born 2.12pm November 12th 2014
8lb13oz

Hopefully I'll pop in a little more often during 2015!

Q4 Goal Setting

Oppppps....it happened again. This poor blog is looking more and more neglected everyday! Thank goodness for Katy and the FAL or I wouldn't post at all.

You may have noticed that I haven't blogged my finishes for the third quarter yet and the linky has long closed. Unfortunately I only managed two finishes from my Q3 list but was planning to write a blog post last Monday - this has become a bit of a tradition for me, writing the post on the last day of the linky party and getting it in just under the wire......lesson leant.

Last Monday Marged, my youngest, was admitted to hospital with suspected pneumonia. Luckily it was decided pretty quickly that it wasn't pneumonia but a 'wheeze' (I suspect that the Bronchiolitis Marged had at four months has left her with Asthma but I understand that the medical profession are very weary of diagnosing this before a child reaches seven years old). She responded very quickly to the medication she was given but I still ended up spending the night on a pull out parent camp bed (oh soooo comfortable at eight months) instead of writing up my Q3 finishes!

Last Monday was also my first day of maternity leave so I do hope that I will have a little more time to blog before this baby arrives and still plan to share these finishes with you in the next few weeks.

ANYWAY........Q4

I've been a good girl and not started anything new during the last quarter which means this list is going to look a little familiar.

1. Millie's Quilt.

I've made some serious progress on this one and finished adding some hand quilting last night. I just need to choose a binding now and of course sew it on.

2. Liberty Pouch.

Those screwdrivers are still rolling around in a drawer with my bras.

3. Secret Quilt.

I haven't touched this one since my last blog post - it's still a pile of blocks waiting to be pressed.

4. Kaffe Snowball.

I loaded this one onto the frame over a month ago but haven't touched it since, really hope to get it quilted before the baby arrives.

5. Anwen's Quilt, Side 1.

As soon as snowball comes off the frame I'm loading this one.

6. Summer Solstice.

Realistically, this one will roll-over to next year, but I might as well add it to the list!

7. Oakshott Runner.

Really want to start on this one but want to clear the quilts above first.

8. Plus Quilt.

I can dream can't I?


So, were down to eight. I'm not going to hold my breath - I've signed up for the IGminiswap and joined the Siblings Together Bee 2. These have to take priority and I haven't even pulled my fabrics yet! Oh yes, and there's the small matter of the new addition - three weeks (I hope) to go!

Linking up as ever with the Littlest Thistle