Mid April ...

Hello there again, it's nice to be checking in again, and so soon! And great to hear from some of you also.

I've been stitching away here - it's amazing how much I can get done when I have few other commitments. In fact, since we got home on the evening of the 18th March (and once we'd completed our mandatory 14 days home isolation) I've only left home three times to get groceries. It's a scary time, and I have so much respect for everyone that heads out to work each day to keep the country moving and look after us. Thank you!

On the piecing front, I've made three more blocks toward the HOQH project, and I'm going to try and make one each day going forward. Here are the latest ones:

Block 37 - Crowning Glory

Block 20 - Square and Star

Block 17 - Dove in the Window

The fabric for these blocks has all come from my scrap drawers - sometimes it's challenging to find pieces large enough or that go together well enough to work in the same block, but it feels like I'm making a free quilt. Of the 59 blocks, I have 22 still to make, so if I can keep my commitment to make one each day it won't take long to have them done. Naughty me, I've made all the easier ones, so the more challenging ones are still to be sewn. I always do that!

Also on the stitching front, I've continued hand quilting on the Phebe project - as I hoped, I finished that heavily pieced border, and I've moved on to the final border with stars and triangles.

For a day or two I didn't know how I wanted to quilt the stars - I was toying with a grid, but I'm quilting feathers now. The fabric is quite busy so I can't see my quilting very well, but I think it's worth the effort.

Because I didn't post much over the past few months, I can't remember if I shared how the quilting looked in the busy star block section, so I'll share a picture of that for you too:

Ooops, that pic is a bit blurry, sorry about that, but you can see some of the details anyway. I'm still just thrilled with the fabric for the sashing strips, I cannot imagine having used anything else!

And last of all for today, I thought I'd try over a while to catch you up on some of the bits and pieces from the last six months or so - this is the gingerbread creation I made at Christmas time:

It's similar to one I made year before last, and though I always want to make something more eleborate, last year we were on a cruise for the first half of December, and then with all the fires and heat here I simply wasn't inspired - so this was a last minute construction. I'm still pretty happy with it though.

There is so much more to share, and I'll work my way through my phone for pictures and check back in with you all soon.

Please stay safe and be kind to each other. Big love and hugs xoxox