Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2014 - Octastring quilt

While the great and good of the quilting industry have been hustling at International Quilt Market I've been busy putting the finishing touches to this quilt with the sole intention of being able to share it in Amy's  Blogger's Quilt Festival. My Octastring quilt has been a long time in the making! Apologies to regular visitors for re-visiting familiar territory, I'll keep it brief ;) I designed the block in 2012, originally intending to use my Flea Market Fancy  and Hope Valley stash, but quickly ran out of steam for the project.

A year later I had a light-bulb moment, why not get the ladies of the HipBees to make the blocks for me?! By this time Denyse Schmidt had released yet more fabulous fabric ranges to plunder for this project. I threw in prints from Shelburne Falls and Florence to supplement the Hope Valley and Flea Market Fancy. I received 10 fabulous blocks and added 2 of my own to complete the lap-sized quilt top. I'm a sucker for a secondary pattern!

Then, as is usual for me the WIP got put to one side yet again. It sat like this on my design wall for way too long! The problem was mainly that I felt the top needed a border but I didn't want anything too big in case it detracted from the design.

Finally, last week, I added a 2 and a half inch solid border and cracked on with finishing the project! I pieced a simple backing for the quilt using some of the scrap remnants from the original block construction and some yardage of one of my favourite prints from the Flea Market Fancy reprint.

I did a very simple quilting treatment as there's so much going on in this quilt already with all those prints. I used a nice aqua blue Aurifil thread for some straight line machine quilting then echo quilted the octagons with chunky hand quilting and Perle 8 thread.

The finishing touch was the self-binding, slightly fiddly but well worth the faff.

I'm absolutely delighted with how the quilt has turned out and I'm so thankful to my fabulous bee mates for making it happen!
This quilt finished up at around  45" by 58", so perfect for keeping my lap warm in the evenings when watching tv. I can't resist leaving you with the finished quilt again :)

I'm linking this one up to the Original Design category of the Blogger's quilt festival. If you like it maybe you'd be able to see your way clear to voting for it or maybe even nominating it for a Viewer's choice award. Either way it's well worth visiting Amy's site to check out all the other awesome entries!

If you fancy making an Octastring project yourself, you'll find the Octastring block details on our website.
Thanks for visiting today, I hope you'll visit again. Catch you soon x

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

Commitment issues

I have no less than 5 projects on the go at the moment. I don't know why I'm being so fickle, maybe I'm just in a rush to try all the ideas that entered my head while I was out of action :) I've recently joined Instagram so apologies to those of you that follow me there as a lot of what I'm going to show now has been aired over there in the last week or so. [Yvonne's on there too but she might be a bit quiet as they've just moved house and have no broadband]
There's been quite a bit of progress on my kites, diamonds and stars EPP project. I've decided it will be a cushion so I've only got one more set of shapes to piece :)

The lovely ladies of the HipBees have been dutifully returning their October blocks to me (I showed you 2 here) and I've been whipping them up into finished blocks as soon as they pop through the door. So much for taking my time over this one ;) It's shaping up to be another contender for my all-time favourite quilt. You can see the individual blocks here. I'll do a nice post showing the individual blocks when I do the final reveal...whenever that might be.

There has been a trial run of Christmas tree decorations using crazy scrappy patchwork. This is definitely a work in progress as I can't decide what I want the finished hearts to look like. I've got another one ready to put together which I'm going to trim with mini-pompoms.

Today I've been having much fun with some gorgeous Laurie Wisbrun prints and bright solids but I can't show you much detail of this project yet. Here's a sneaky peek for now :)

Finally, I've been crocheting in the evenings whilst watching tv so there is wool all over the place in our living room :) I've only got dodgy phone camera pictures of progress with this project so I'll have to get some better pics of that before I share it here. I'll leave you with photos of the most awesome birthday cake in the whole world ever!

 My gorgeous and talented sister-in-law made this for my 38th birthday, complete with replica Sneaky Stars quilt!

I should have taken a pic of the inside because it had multicoloured layers. Jade has some seriously excellent cake making skills! Even more amazingly, this cake was wheat and gluten-free. I'm almost looking forward to next year's birthday for another cake ;)  Catch you soon x

Addicted

This week has confirmed to me that I am addicted to fabric and sewing. The first indication of the level of my addiction came with the arrival of my new sewing table. Excuse the mess I'm too tired to tidy but just about rested enough to do a small amount of sewing ;) We decided against going down the homemade route for the craft table and instead relied on good old Ikea. This monster is nearly 5 foot square, no more scrabbling around on the floor while basting quilts, woohoo!

The second indication was that about 30 minutes after the postman delivering this gorgeous package from Sarah I was "racing" up the stairs to sew them together on the machine. Yep, first time using the machine since my op but well worth the exhaustion! I knew it was a good idea getting the ladies of the HipBees to make string blocks for me :)

The third indication was a bit groundhog day...up the stairs to the machine I went this afternoon with this package of goodies from Amy. The result was equally pleasing :)

This is most definitely going to be a favourite quilt! Look how gorgeous they are next to each other :)

If I hadn't already been convinced of my fabric addiction the final indication was the overwhelming need to start another hand-sewing project having been woken in the middle of the night by an idea! I started with this tray of yummy fabrics (I've added more since this photo was taken)...

 and very soon these

became this.

I just love this combination of colours at the moment. I'm not sure how big this is going to grow but for now I'm just enjoying the process. Suffice to say I feel much more like myself now I've got some "proper" sewing done. I'm some way off wrestling with quilts but a cushion isn't too far off achievable now :)  Catch you soon x

Coo-eee

Long time no speak. Thank you all for your get well wishes! I'm slowly starting to recover following my surgery and 2 post-op infections. I'm not back to sewing on the machine yet but I have managed to do a bit of tapestry and hexie stitching so it's not all bad. My sick bed is rather welcoming so it's not a chore to spend time on it. Hubby hung my Marcelle Medallion for me last weekend :)

It's my turn to be Queen bee in the HipBees. I foolishly thought it would be less stressful to have the other bees sewing for me this month, knowing that I wouldn't be able to sew and not wanting to let anyone else down, what I didn't consider was the amount of work involved in putting the fabrics together for 11 people...anyway, 3 weeks after starting to put packages together they are finally ready for posting and will be on their way to the other HipBees tomorrow :)

I've asked the HipBees to make 8 small string blocks each for me so that I can finally finish a project that I started last year. Each package contains a lovely selection of Denyse Schmidt fabrics; Flea Market Fancy, Hope Valley, Florence and Shelburne Falls, some grey kona strips, a grey rectangle for writing their siggies and 8 -  5" squares of paper for use as foundation templates.

Half the bees will have predominantly red/pink/orange/brown fabrics with half as many blue/green/grey fabrics and the other half will have the opposite. Each bee member will make 4 straightforward string blocks like so...

...and 4 diagonal string blocks like so...

When the blocks come back to me I'll be constructing the larger finished blocks like so...

The centre of each block will house the siggie of the Bee member :) I'm really looking forward to this one being finished! I just know it's going to be another family favourite. 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Catch you soon x

Proof of life

I might not be firing on all cylinders at the moment but I've been doing quite a bit of secret sewing that I can't share with you yet. Here's a little sneak of one of the secret projects that I can get away with revealing :)  A rather lovely man quilt grew out of these yummy Parson Gray fabrics!

 

 I've managed to sneak in some bee sewing too :) This block is for Lynz's month in the HipBees. Lynz asked us to use a bit of our own patterned fabric in the block and I think my choices represent my taste fairly well; Denyse Schmidt, Tula Pink and Heather Ross.

I just had to include this little horse/donkey for Chook!

I'm sure Yvonne will be back very soon to amuse you all with her special brand of humour. I can't promise you giggles but I'll hopefully have pretty stuff to show you next time around :) Catch you all soon x

Finished

I've finished a few projects this week. First up, I joined another bee, the Simply Solids: a modern Bee, and this is the first month I've had to make blocks for it. Patti asked for this winged square block, it was super quick to put together so I made 2.

 Then I got on and made this whirlygig for Karen's month in the HipBees.

So with my bee commitments out the way I got on and finished the Marcelle Medallion quilt! I think it is my most favourite quilt ever. I was all set to take some nice photos outside when the heaven's opened...grrr. Instead I just took some dodgy shots around the house.

On the sofa

 It's quite a big quilt, definitely a great size for snuggling under while scoffing chocolate :)

On the bannister

On the bed

 I machine quilted a few straight lines around the borders, enough to fix it in place and then set to it with some lime green perle thread.

 I bound it with a brush stroke print from Summersville and backed it with my go to favourite, Nummer, from Ikea.

 You can't beat a pretty folded quilt :)

I'm quite sad that this one is finished now, I think I might have to make another soon! Catch you soon x