Scrappy Hoop Swap

The order of today was to make a start on the latest swap I've joined on flickr. It's yet another hosted by Heather of {House} of A la mode The Scrappy {Hoops} Swap looked like a fab and quick project so being me I dived straight in. Thankfully so far it has been super quick. I pieced this fabric for the hoop in about an hour. I had no real plan in mind and just added fabric to fill holes as I went.

I'm now deliberating what to embroider on the background. Here's the short-list: vintage hat with a feather, mannequin or hat stand. What do you think?

Pop the champagne...

I've finally finished the Crosses Quilt!!! I'm so pleased to have finally finished this one. I am going to miss looking at the beautiful fabric though....good job I've still got plenty left :) After much deliberation I chose to back the quilt with the red spot fabric and then pieced two strips of fabric for each side of the spots as it wasn't quite wide enough. I quilted with clear thread in a cross pattern...well sort of...I got a bit lost along the way but the clear thread is forgiving.

The end result is lovely even if I do say so myself, however, I was not impressed when I discovered a not so deliberate mistake. I'm resigned to it showing that the quilt was made by me and not some robot.

Onwards and upwards...

I've been practising...

Things have been ticking over very slowly here since my op but I'm steadily feeling more like sewing. I've finished one item for the SavVy Seasons Swap, a table runner, and I'm hoping to be able to do a few small extras to go with it. I was very excited to be able to use some of Aneela Hoey's fabulous Christmas fabric for my swap partner.

I've been practising my crochet skills and I'm now happy enough to post photographic evidence. It's very addictive and I don't get anywhere near as upset about unravelling yarn as I do about unpicking thread in quilts!

I've made a few blocks for the Fresh Modern Bee 2 on flickr and I'm looking forward to taking part in another flickr swap this week, The Scrappy {Hoops} - modern swap. It should be quick and fun to do...I hope!

We're still here!

Hello All. Have you missed me? I haven't been very productive for the last week or so due to having minor surgery. In order to pass my time in recovery I've been relearning crochet and there's no way I'm posting pics of those disasters! I'm really missing my fabric and sewing machine.

Yvonne, on the other hand, has been super busy and has finished her charity quilt for CLIC!

Follow the link to flickr for more photos of this baby in progress.

I'm hoping for a speedy recovery so I can take part in the Pickledish Quilt Along with Comfortstitching. I'm already weighing up possible fabrics and will reveal them to you very soon.

Ugly children

Today I have been adding details to the street scene that I started for the SavVy Seasons Swap. I decided to be clever and embroider the detail but unfortunately when it comes to faces I am rubbish and as a result I have the beginnings of a street of ugly children! See for yourself!

Thankfully in real life I have been blessed with a very beautiful child :)

Apologies in advance if it's a little quiet round here for a while, I have a busy time ahead. Please don't think we've run off and abandoned you :)

Starting on the seasonal swap.

Well I've been a very good girl this week and finished the bridesmaid's dress alterations and the quilting of the Crosses quilt! As a reward for being a good girl I've started work on my SavVy Seasons Swap item. I'm hoping that my partner will be pleased with the finished article. So far it is coming together quite nicely but working without a pattern I'm expecting trouble at some point :-)

Here's a sneaky peek at the early stages of the project.

I'm so happy to have finally finished the quilting of the crosses quilt and it is now awaiting the binding. Maybe this weekend....

Busy bees

The last week or so have been very busy, hence the silence. Amongst the daily activities associated with family life I've been creating a pin-cushion for the Scrappy Pincushion Swap Round 2, trying to finish the Crosses quilt, trying to progress the Nicey Jane quilt and preparing for the SavVy Seasons swap.....oh and altering a bridesmaid's dress. Frustratingly the only project I have managed to finish from this list, so far, is the Pincushion. I am pleased with how it has turned out though so that does give me some cheer.

My attempts to finish the Crosses quilt have been thwarted so far by the seemingly unending hunger for thread that the cross quilting design demonstrates. To add to my frustration I had decided to use a clear thread as I thought it would be more forgiving of my wobbly quilting, alas the thread is prone to snapping without notice and being clear I don't always realise that I have quilted nothing. To top it off I had foolishly added clear thread to a bobbin that had a small amount of white thread left on it.....I'm sure you can guess what happened. Yep, that's right the top thread picked up the white thread and being on the back of the quilt I didn't notice until I came to the end of a run! NIGHTMARE!! Cue 4 hours of unpicking. Not a happy bunny! Any way, all moaning aside, I have now bought masses of clear thread to complete the quilting over the weekend. I hope to be able to post a picture of the finished quilt very soon.

Yvonne has been very busy also and has finished her quilt for June, after suffering similar heart-ache from the quilting. Her next project has been inspired by Rosemarie's Cancer Killin' Quilt. Yvonne plans to create a quilt/wall-hanging to be auctioned in aid of CLIC, a UK charity for children with cancer. Keep an eye out for photos of her progress in the coming weeks.

Well I think that's about all for now. I'm hoping for more progress on my list of projects in the next week so please check back soon. Happy sewing all.