I was right! - Reene's FAL Q2 round-up

My FAL Q2 list was totally unrealistic! I started off well...
1. Hexiestars cushion - Tick

...then I got side-tracked by a new found love of EPP. Tessellated madness and cartwheels took over and everything else went to the dogs ;)
2. Jess's cardigan - I've made progress on this but haven't touched it for weeks much to Jess' disgust!
                               
3. HipBees village quilt - sadly untouched again! It has made it's way to the design wall, ready for when I have some free time to play with it.
                              
4. HipBees Denyse Schmidt Strings quilt - there has been progress on this! The top is finished but it's still waiting to be quilted. Maybe I'll get round to it next quarter :)

5. New York Beauty project - I finished this! Woohoo!

6. Amish with a twist BOM quilt - I've made progress but still got loads to do. Something like another 30 log cabins to make. I'll get round to it one day ;)

                               

Final score, 2 out of 6. Could do better! Oh well in reality I've got loads done this quarter it's just a shame that most of it wasn't on my list :) I'm off to check out how everybody else did with theirs. Catch you soon x

Unrealistic - Reene's FAL list Q2

Oh look, I'm just scraping in under the wire again! Joining the fun with Katy and pals at the Finish Along 2014. I have a tonne of secret sewing to do this quarter so my time for finishing projects just for fun will be limited. Even so I would love to see the following projects finished very soon!
1. Hexiestars cushion - I haven't got a whole lot to do for this to be a finish so I should be able to knock this one out of the park quickly :)

2. Cardigan for Jess -  After many years as a non-knitter I have finally mastered the basics, more or less! In my infinite wisdom I decided to knit Jess a cardigan with cables and a fancy pattern, yep, I have lost my marbles. Jess is very keen for me to finish this one so I ought to get on with it. I have the back and left front completed. Still to do is the right front and the sleeves. I'm hoping this will be doable this quarter! I am currently contending with reverse shaping. There are no instructions in the pattern for that so it's a bit hit and miss...

3.HipBees village quilt - My fabulous bee mates have been waiting too long for this to be a finish! This was started way back in August 2012 and I'm fairly ashamed that it's not done yet.

4. HipBees Denyse Schmidt string quilt - Another HipBee quilt to finish. This one only needs 1 more block to finish it!

5. New York Beauty project - I started this one in March 2012 so it's really about time I finished it! I think it will have to become cushions as they will go perfectly with my new footstool ;)

6. Amish with a twist BOM - This BOM started last year and I've got a shed load of Log Cabin blocks to complete before I can piece this monster quilt together.

Well, that's more than enough to be going on with! I'm linking up with FAL Q2. Off to do some sewing now, catch you soon x

Chock a block

In preparation for my stay at Costa del NHS, and the following period of inactivity, I've been churning out blocks, Chock-a-block style. In the process of uploading photos I found one I hadn't shown you in July. This first one was for Tanya's July HipBee block. We were asked for trees...on reflection I'm not really sure how tree-like this is but Tanya was kind enough to humour me ;)

 Fiona sent some rather lovely Amy Butler for her August HipBee block and left us to get on with it.

Sarah kicked off the second round of HipBees by asking for 2 concentric box blocks.

  I think this is going to be a really striking quilt.

 Then I've been working on blocks for my Amish with a twist BOM quilt. There were many, many half square triangles!

I've still got 36 log cabins to make for August's BOM but they'll have to wait until I'm up and doing again because I was utterly determined to finish a hand-sewing project that I started last year in June! I'm ecstatic to be able to show you my completed Love Spring Carnival cushion :)

I'm ridiculously pleased with this cushion! Love by Amy Butler is my all time favourite fabric range. It was the first designer fabric line that I purchased in its entirety when I started patchworking seriously in 2010. Crazily the majority of my stash was used in projects that were gifted to other people so to finally have a substantial project in my possession is very exciting! I used an Amy Butler Rowan thread  in a green to quilt it.

I can't decide where it will live permanently so for now it's been auditioned in the family room...

 and the living room. It's fair to say that this cushion will be my friend whilst recovering from surgery. It's a mammoth 24" square, so perfect for propping me up in bed :)

Confession time: I've recently tracked down the majority of the Love range and bought myself a new stash :) I'd like to say I'm sorry for doing it but I'm not in the slightest!

So there you have it, I've got one more full day at home to finish binding a wedding quilt and cook a zillion meals for the freezer for post-op mealtimes. I go to the Costa del NHS on Wednesday and am expecting to be there for at least 3 days, possibly longer. Yvonne will no doubt keep you updated on progress at some point as I'm not expecting to be up to blogging or anything much else for a good few weeks. Positive thoughts, prayers and other good wishes will be very welcome for the op and recovery. See you on the other side x

The week so far...

So the week started off like this...

...my fat arse crushed my 24" omnigrid ruler. At least the biggest piece was still long enough to be useful! It needed to be useful as I've signed up to this rather lovely Block of the Month. This is the first month of 6 and there were a staggering 13 blocks to make! Lots of strip piecing so super quick but heavily reliant on my ruler.

 Oh, and I almost forgot to mention flying geese...56 of them! It's a good job I'd had a bit of a break from them after the Marcelle Medallion.

This is going to be a monster 102" square quilt! Even though I have treated myself to a very indulgent new machine, to improve my mood when quilting anything bigger than a lap quilt, I still won't be quilting this sucker myself!! See how I snuck that in there ;) I'm expecting delivery of the new beast on Monday...literally cannot wait! Catch you soon x