Progress

You know when you decide to do some sewing and you happen to be wearing a black sweater, and by the time you've finished you realise it was a mistake? I always seem to get covered in threads!
I've been working on my blue scrappy sofa quilt and here's a glimpse.

Just the borders to put on now.

There's not much happening in the garden at this time of year, but things are slowly starting to grow, and I took a few photos the other day.

A couple of years ago we had to have a dying tree cut down, and toadstools keep appearing on the path in front of where the tree used to be.

There are lots of snowdrops out.

And even a few other spring flowers.

Hearts

We've had some computer trouble recently. It had been funny for a while, then a few days ago it crashed completely. It was only out of action for about 24 hours and the problem seems to be fixed now, but it had to be restarted from scratch, and in the process I lost all my email, EVERYTHING, past and current, and couldn't get it back. Oh no!
It seems to be running normally again now, fingers crossed.

I usually make some small Valentines for my daughters, and I used elements from two different patterns to make these hearts.

The idea for the hole-punched heart applique is from a Bird Brain Designs pattern, and the embroidery is based on the Sweetheart Sachet pattern by Crabapple Hill. I modified it slightly to fit my heart shape and added some buttons.
The heart is red felted wool and the cream overlay heart is wool felt. (Does that make sense?) I made the holes with a paper punch, the kind you hit with a hammer. That was great fun. I put a handful of dried rose petals in with the stuffing, and they smell lovely.

A jar of buttons just because it's heart-shaped.

Cutting, Piecing and Knitting

Isn't there something so satisfying about cutting squares and amassing a pile of them?

Especially when they start turning into 4-patches.

This will be a quilt for a specific purpose, and that's to go on the back of a plain sofa. I feel like freshening up the decor for spring.

As well as making squares, for a change I've been doing some knitting. I used to knit quite a lot before I discovered quilting. A long time ago!

This scarf is from Louisa Harding's newish book, Knitting Little Luxuries. There are also some very pretty fingerless mittens in the book.
One of the things I liked about this pattern is the matching flower pin. The flower is knitted in one long piece which is then spiralled up and sewn in position to make the flower shape. I must say I like the quirkiness of a green flower.

You can tie the scarf and then secure it with the pin.

I used a DK mohair, not the yarn specified in the book but a workable alternative. I haven't worn it yet, but I'm hoping it won't feel too scratchy because of the mohair, lol!
It did need pressing to make it lie flat. The lacy pattern needs a bit of concentration to knit, but the rows are fairly short and the whole thing only took a few days to complete.

I was thinking all I need now is some really cold weather, but there's snow forecast here for later in the day, so maybe I'll get some.

Strawberries on a String

I know I've posted about strawberries before, but these are slightly different. Only slightly!

The weather's been very dark and gloomy here recently, and it's been impossible to take photos unless there was a bright day, but bright days have been few and far between. I've been running to get my camera every time a tiny bit of weak sunlight appears.
I've also been doing some tidying up in my sewing room, reorganised it a bit and now it all feels much more ordered.

I saw a garland of plain fabric strawberries pictured in a magazine ad a few weeks ago, and couldn't wait to make my own version. It was my daughter's 24th birthday this month, so I decided they would be for her.
I used velvet, felt, wool and cotton fabrics and made a dozen strawberries all different. I tried to use a wide range of pinks and reds. Some have got beads for seeds, others have stitched seeds.
The bee pincushion is one I made a few years ago, and is a Pat Sloan design from an old Quilting Ideas magazine.


I strung the strawberies together with some green beads for stems, put some silk ribbon bows at the ends, and added a couple of tiny white strawberry flowers.
I left the threads at either end so they could be tied into loops for hanging as required.

It could be hung vertically, or from both ends a s a swag, or just arranged along the front of a shelf. It's a do-what-you-like thing:)

Ready for Christmas

What a difference a bright day makes! It's been so dark this week it's been impossible to take photos until this morning.

Our Christmas tree is up and decorated. Some of the tree ornaments belonged to my grandparents, and I can remember seeing them on their tree when I was little.

My snowmen and trees themed mantel.

The tiny tree at the extreme right was made by one of my daughters when she was younger.

I did get the pink and navy quilt finished. I thought the blue-grey borders might tone down the stronger colours a bit.
I used a Little Quilts pattern for the layout, but made my version smaller.

The pink and navy crocheted pansy is from an old Leisure Arts pattern. I glued a magnet on the back, so now I can have a flower on my fridge.


Here's where I take an end-of-year blogging break. I hope you have a very happy Christmas!

One Finished, Another Started

Here's my finished red and blue doll quilt. I had to wait for a bright day to take the photos.

Any machine quilting is so much easier on a small size quilt.

Like these colours?

From red and blue I've moved on to pink and navy. I thought I might just have time to get one more small project finished before Christmas preparations take over. Presents to wrap, mince pies to bake!

These blocks will be 2 inches finished. They look so neat because I make them a bit bigger than I want them, then trim them down, lol!

It's been cold here this week, and actually frosty in the mornings, but it's sunny as well. Cold, calm and bright is my kind of weather.

We'll be getting our Christmas tree this weekend. Hope there's some left!

Busy, Busy

I don't seem to have had much free time lately, mainly because Ive been trying to get some Christmas shopping done. My problem is that I trail around the shops looking, but end up not buying anything, so I've spent the time but I've nothing to show for it! Add to that the usual mundane tasks around the house and the lack of light, and where's the day gone?
I have done some Christmas shopping online though, mainly books.
I've managed to get some sewing done, but it's taking me longer than usual. I've made some progress, but not much, on quilting the doll quilt from my last post.
One of the things I like about machine quilting is that it forces you to slow down and think what you're doing. I've got all the straight lines in and I'm doing hearts on the off-white squares.

Are you sick of crochet pictures? This is just a bit of fun. I like baskets as a design motif and I'm finding myself increasingly drawn to all things old-fashioned and retro looking. The pattern was in my book of crochet potholders and I just couldn't help myself:) It was very quick to make. The leaves were my own addition. I'm loving the look and texture of crochet.
I'm not sure I can bring myself to actually use it for getting things out of the oven. My utility room has red as an accent colour, so I might just hang it up in there, where I can look at it whenever I load the washing machine.