Sparrows Nest...

The Sparrows Nest block started in Susan Smith's class at Summer School back in January is an orphan block on longer...it was finished last night but it needed a bath before going out in public.  I always had it in mind to hand quilt the block with orange perle thread which I had yet to find in my travels, so coming across the spool of orange hand quilting thread at the charity quilt-in day a couple of weeks ago was close enough...

I used three different quilting stencils...starting with a circular petals design in the centre and dragonflies on each corner then decided it also needed something the sides and added a round petal flower...a bit of fun playing with different designs. Self-bound with the backing fabric instead of a separate binding, a thin poly batting and finishing at 13" square(ish) (it's a little bit not quite square).

A finish for OPAM for July...yay!...

Happy Stitching...

A Mocking Project...

On top of the project boxes was a screwed up pile of almost finished that has been mocking, taunting and generally poking its tongue out at me and calling me a slacker...and it was right...an hour, that's all it took to turn that screwed up pile of started ages ago into...

Ironing not included...

...a finished Sherbet Pips quilt top.  It only needed two borders sewn on (one of which was three-quartered pinned on already) and the corner squares cut and sewn in...and yes it needs a darn good ironing but I got excited and had to take a pic while it was spread out on the loungeroom floor...

Happy Stitching...

FNSI...There was a Finish...

Friday Night Sew-In last night and I started out by sandwiching and pinning this top which has been waiting patiently for a few years...

now ready for hand quilting with quilting thread I bought last Sunday at a charity quilt-in in the local hall...

pretty huh!...as you can see from the difference in colour in the orange one, which I've been using during the week, the reels have probably been "on the shelf" for yonks but as they were only $4.50 each and the perfect colours for a couple of small tops that have been hanging about for ages I figured they'd be fine and I love the wooden spools so they are decorative too...

Moving that top off the tapestry stand where it had been residing revealed a small applique/stitchery hiding underneath...this was gifted to me as part of a swap a few years ago organised by Karen of Mrs Martin's Quilt Shop...so I decided to sandwich that one as well ...

ready for hand quilting...or maybe just binding...mmm....

sudden change of plans...

some sucky free motion machine quilting...

a bit of binding and...

done!...

A finish...not sure yet whether it will be a wallhanging, a little table decoration or even a Christmas mug rug...I'll worry about that in December, right now it's a finish on the board...wahoo!

Rosie visited yesterday afternoon and bought me a present from her recent trip to the NSW North Coast...

gorgeous fabric...I love it!!...thank you Rosie...we didn't end up stitching but instead went for a trip down the street to the local habby so Rosie could look for wool (she is getting a grandbubby, so exciting), 4ply in "non-baby" colours, five balls, was the goal...we found a lovely one and Rosie liked three of the non-traditional colours...one they had enough of, one only had two balls left and was discontinued and the last they were out of stock...so we took a drive up the highway to another habby about 1/2 hour away to check out their wool...yay! the out-of-stock colour was found...but only three balls of the discontinued one...so a phone call was made to my local shop and guess what?...both shops had the same dye lot...how lucky was that...the local shop put the two balls under the counter and we picked them up on the way back home for a cuppa...a very successful shopping trip...there was a gorgeous Mohair in variegated colours that I would have loved but maybe I should finish the sock before I go off on a knitting or crocheting tangent...goodness knows I've got enough stitchy UFO's I certainly don't need any more yarn based ones!!!  And speaking of the sock, yes there has been progress...

The orange quilting thread has been stitching all week on a little something that may even get finished by the end of the weekend...this may be too much like progress, I might need a lie down!


Happy Stitching...

A New Bag for A New Project...

For a while now I've wanted to make the sewing bag in Anni Downs' Some Kind of Wonderful book but using whole fabric pieces for the front and back in place of the small squares and stitcheries that Anni created...not because I don't like Anni's design but I just had a different picture in my head for that bag shape.  Last Saturday was the day...it was horrible weather but just right for a sewing room adventure...a rummage in the curtaining fabric tub produced two pieces of sample book fabrics that went together nicely with complimentary contrasting textures and colours...this morning I put in a couple of hand stitches that I missed and popped in my started this week knitting project...perfect size!...

...and the knitting project?...while looking for something else I dived into the yarn drawer and this ball of sock wool just yelled at me...you've had me for about 6 years knit me up already!!!!...of course I didn't have the right size set of needles (what is it with having every other size but the one I want!!!)...but the local habby came good and so...

...growing very very slowly...a sock!...by next winter it may have a twin and I may have warm tootsies...

Hope your world is warm and toasty

Happy Stitching (or knitting)...

In The Pink...

The pink round of the hexie quilt that is...this is the last full circle of hexies...

The next step is to fill the corners out - two flowers in each corner to square up and bordered all around with half flowers completes the hexie portion of the centre of the quilt...the full flowers are underway, a scrappy mix of pink and green fabrics, the hexies are covered ready for stitching...

I have to say I'm not looking forward to the step after finalising the hexies...lots and lots of 1" diamonds and 1" triangles papers to be covered to fill in all those gaps in between the flowers...oh and the decision made on just what is going to go in the very centre...the first round of flowers go around a lovely toile picture or similar and I can't settle on a definite...oh well it will be ages before that becomes a problem...first of all there will be all those diamonds and triangles to cover!

*Edit:  thank you for the get well wishes...people power won and the cold germs finally took notice and seem to have vacated the building... :)

Hope your weekend is stitchy...

Happy Stitching...

Friday Night Sew-In...the Extended Version...

Friday Night Sew-In for June and because the cold germs still haven't finished moving house (hurry up already!) I took the path of least resistance and kept on with the hexie garden building...

The night started out like this...

lots of hexie flower "seeds" and a small pile of "flower heads"

and now the flowers have grown to this...

less "seeds" and more "flower heads"...getting there...

I flagged at 10pm Friday night (thanks cold germs very much) so I have "cheated" just a bit and used the "itistillFridaynightsomewhereintheworldextrasew-intime" and now I'm going with "itsSaturdaysomewhereintheworldputtinguptheblogposttime" and got in some extra stitchy time in between work events yesterday.

Thanks to the fabulous Hostesses Heidi & Bobbi for hosting once again.

Sit & sew at the hall today wit Kilmore Quilters and Rosie is coming across today to play...yay! play day :)  The hexie flowers have indicated a reluctance to leave the house so better go find something to sew so I don't just do the sit part!

Hope your Sunday (or Saturday in the other hemisphere) is stitchy...

Happy Stitching...

When Life Gives You Cold Germs...Make...

Hexies!!!!  Yep, when the brain cells are fried from too many cold germs taking up residence and having a Huge Party despite repeated requests to move on, hexies are just the right amount of easy without thinking that can be coped with...so now my "Summer School hexie quilt whose name refuses to stay lodged in my brain" has progressed and I have two rounds of hexie flowers...

 From this... (the colours are right in this pic)

 

to...

this...

(dreadful lack of good lighting today, very washed out colours)

...the pink hexies sitting around the outer all by themselves aren't anti-social...they are posing...they will be the centres of the next round...all the remaining flowers will have this plain pink centre (and all those hexies are ready to roll)...

Having now figured out just what my plan was ... and writing it down a little better ... and saving a back up, which means I told a friend of mine who doesn't forget anything quilt related! ... I am ready to go with the next round of hexie flowers and also to prepare the diamonds and triangles that are the web holding it all together...

Happy stitching...