A finish in no man's land!

Well fellow FAL-lers (Finish-A-Long - a group of people trying to finish their UFOs) I was disappointed not to finish my spools quilt by the end of March but I have now finished it in No-man's-land: that bit of time between the end of quarter 1 and the beginning of the next!




And here it is - now named Spooling Around thanks to the fabulous Helen!

It would have been finished on time but for a bit of unpicking of quilting required to smooth it out at the back.  It is pretty plain with just two fabrics and shows up any misdemeanors and some little pleats just didn't add to the attraction....love the pattern on the back now though!


Of course the sun didn't come out today...but Maddie did!

Linking up to the Finish Along and Finish it up Friday

FAL, Fail, Finish?

 Not as bothered as I might seem about actually finishing off my FAL list as it was quite a long one!  

Out of six projects on my Quarter 1 list I did manage to finish these three

I gave this quilt to my friend Eloise for her birthday in February as she seemed to like it!



Is it a quilt, isn't it a quilt? - no it's a pouch which I love all the more cos it is done and dusted!  Only had two blocks to start with and ended up with a new use for them.

And this project started with one heart...

and finished with 12!  A table runner in dolly mixture colours...

But I did make good progress on these two - 

The Wonky House quilt started out in January as a pile of blocks but now all are sewn in strips and quilted as you go!  I just need to stitch those rows together and I'm planning a border too!  I have one other strip which hasn't been attached yet.

And my Spool quilt is so close to a finish I can almost taste it!  Had a few wee issues with some tiny pleats on the back which I am unpicking and putting to rights!  Then I'll be binding it and it will be finished!

But no progress on this one which remains my oldest UFO - thinking it might be fitting to finish the year with this one - first in, last out!  The main problem is I am swithering between FMQ and handquilting it and just cannot decide! 

It is all hand appliqued using the needle turn method - and some of the HST sashing may even be hand pieced!  Any suggestions?

I think there may be a few finishes in Quarter 2!  I do hope so!

Linking up with Leanne at FAL HQ - will I see you there?

My March in Fabric!

Fresh Sewing Day is upon us again!

How does it come round so quickly ??  And indeed I am a day late but what is that between friends?



It seems I was quite productive this month.... a couple of birthday present cushions

A couple of double sided pouches!  Still love that birdy/feather one which I sent off in a swap!

And some bee blocks...for others

And some blocks I am asking for as Queen Bee - here are my samples

And some other blocks - just cos!

And this is a block I made from the Butterflies at the Crossing sub units (in the previous mosaic top right) and for the moment I'm calling them Tulip star blocks .....unless you come up with a better name....

And if I make them into a quilt they might look something like this...

What do you think should I go for it....?  They are a bit of a challenge for me  but not impossible...

Linking up to Lynne - you should too and look at what everyone else is up to!  

Tiptoe through the.....

.....HSTs....with me!?

I have found another block I can make with a charm square and I confess a little bit of trimming!

Cut a 2.5" strip from the charm square and pair with the background strip - in my case some white!   Make into four HSTs.  2 HSTs paired with a white and a print 2.25" square make a tulip style block!  I got two out of each charm.   These little sub-units are 3" square unfinished....

Make four in different prints - I've chosen purple,yellow, green, blue and pink for a bit of a Spring feeling.  

Add a bit of sashing in white with a central square and you get a block called butterfly at the crossroads among other names!  And a quilt like this!

Not sure if I'll follow this layout but I'm definitely loving the spring colours!  

Another charmer!

And here is another charmer!   Or a block made from charm squares - no waste, just a few extra scraps added in...

Just need two contrasting charms this time after all we don't always get two the same in a pack of charms do we!?

I like the X+ block and I think these blocks have a similar feel to them!  



Start with your two charms face to face and sew round the edge as yesterday! Cut into four just the same as before!   You are making a pinwheel with a bit extra.

Dive into your scraps and find some strips.   Cut 4 x one and three quarter inch squares from two different fabrics !   I picked some colours out of my HST fabrics and repeated them.  Plus one more square of a third fabric the same size!   Nine little squares in total...

And put them together like this

So simple it doesn't warrant a tutorial really!  Hardest thing was choosing the fabrics ....but I loved doing it so much this happened....

Looks like I'm making a quilt or something....

I enjoyed using some DS fabric and others that had a vintage look about them.  Was going to stick to blue and green but then pink and orange sneaked in to join them....do colours do that to you or is it just me?

Of course if you want more of a X+ look and to make life easier you can replace the three squares in the middle of the horizontal strip with a piece which measures one and three quarters by four and a quarter inches (1.75x4.25")!  

I found this block in a lovely Japanese book - yes all words in Japanese - but photos and diagrams to show you how to put your blocks together 

Get it here from amazon.com.   Have to say it helps having EQ to draw up the blocks but graph paper and pencils work too!

How charming!

Yes I have signed up to another charm swap!

But actually I have piles of charms sitting, waiting for something to happen to them....are you the same!?  If so I may have an answer for you.

Struck by this dilemma and wondering what block to ask my bee mates for in Scrappy? Sew bee it!, I decided to use a block made from charms.

It is a variation from the book 5,500 Quilt Block Designs - no 39, p 45 if you want to look it up!  

I replaced the centre HST with a square.  That was tough wasn't it but it means I don't need a third charm square of each fabric just an extra small square from one!  I do cut charms from my own stash fabrics with the idea of actually using them - haha!  So I use a stash charm as the one that I need that extra square for.

So here is a tutorial - it is very easy though, I'm sure you could work it out yourselves!

Requirements:

You need four charms or 5" squares plus one 3 and a quarter inch square!  And that's it!  

Method:

Using  Jenny Doan's video on how to make 4 HSTs out of two charms I stacked my two charms right sides together - one light, one dark x 2!

I then stitched a quarter inch seam around the edge of both of my charm square pairs

Cut the squares first on one diagonal and then the other

Hey presto - 4 little HSTs from each charm pair!  Total of 8!

This comes with a warning - 
these HSTs are on the bias and will s-t-r-e-t-c-h if pulled so be careful sewing them together!  And if you use directional fabric you will get them going every which way but as you see here I don't mind that!

Now we need our extra square and here is the layout

And here they are sewn together

My HSTs came out at three and a quarter inches.  My block is eight and a half inches square or thereabouts!

I have tried these in prints with white, print and low volume - the centre square being the light colour!  But I have also made them with the middle square as the dark one!  I have used solid, text fabric, geometrics, dots and a large scale print, low contrast, high contrast - I love them all!  

Most of all I like trying out different combinations!   Some I have to say have been unpicked and re-assigned!  

It seems I like rainbow colours and two quite complimentary colours in the same block but with a different value!   Though there are exceptions - the lime and purple one for instance !

Here is my little ensemble so far!   15..... and counting!  

Think I may need at least 41 in total for my quilt!   Luckily I have my bee mates to help and lots of charm squares.... 


Actually I am having so much fun I am being kind to my bee mates letting them join in!!  I used to hate HSTs and now I love them....sigh!

Who loves a rainbow charm swap?!

Me of course!

And a few other friends!

If you do too then why not sign up with the Fluffiest Sheep Cindy for some swapping fun!

Better be quick as there are about twelve places left .....and counting