Next UFO ...

Though hand quilting is still my priority, sometimes I just itch to spend quality time with the Bernina, so I've picked up another (recent) UFO - My Rajah-ish project.

I had already sort of prepped all the 1" finished triangles for the next border (and a subsequent border) but I still had to cut most of them apart and trim them to size. Do you remember a while back I said I would leave them on the cutting table and work a few at a time so it wouldn't seem like such a chore? Well ... never happened!

Sometimes you just have to get your head in gear and commit yourself to something until it's done, so that's what I did - and because I've used five different red fabrics, I organised them into groups for each border:

Doesn't really look that interesting does it? But it makes sense to me and that's what matters :-) I like scrappy, but it has to be controlled scrappy, so I don't want any of the same reds abutting each other and sorting the fabrics out appeals to my sense of order.

After a few machine piecing sessions, I got four of the borders together and they're stitched in place:

Next up is another pieced border - without checking the pattern I think it's in the same style as the green pieced border - so if I can find enough fabrics I'm happy with, I might make it green again. And then there's another border with the red triangles. I think I made 340 or so of the triangles for this quilt - and there were a lot of them in the HOQH project too - so I really don't mind if I don't see any 1" finished HST's for a good long time.

It's predicted to be rainy here for a bit, so I see lots more quilting and piecing in my future - I'll be sure to keep you updated. Chatter soon! xox

Rounding the corner ...

Just a quickie post to share that I'm rounding the first corner hand quilting on Phebe's border ... this is slow going!

It's actually really hard to see the quilting, but it's there, and I have a whole lot more in my future. It's a shame that hand quilting isn't especially blog worthy, but I'm looking forward to a finish, so I'll keep plugging away.

Tomorrow, I'll get the tub down that has all the bits and pieces for the Rajah-ish quilt, and I'll figure out where I'm up to - happy days! :-)

Thank you so much for the lovely comments on my completed quilt top, I'm thrilled with how it came out, and it was great to hear from you all. Chatter soon!

HOQH Top Complete :-)

When I finally got organised to stitch the border to my quilt top in place, it didn't take very long at all, and I have to confess, I'm super happy with how it turned out:

It's a really grey day here, so the picture doesn't do the colours in the quilt justice - also I'm not a great photographer (but don't tell anyone haha). But so you can see it better, here's a little close up of the border print:

Now that it's all done, I've delivered it to Lizzy ready for her master long-arm skills, so it won't be long before this is a top-no-more. The backing is a pretty toile fabric, and in my haste I didn't take a picture to share, but I'll do that when it comes back to me.

A few lovely readers asked what the border print is, so I snapped a piece of the selvedge before I tossed it away:

This is not a new fabric - I think I bought it when I was in the USA last time, which was 2015 - but you may still be able to find it if you're a fabric sleuth. There were five border strips across the width of the fabric, so I still have one left to make a nice table runner or some such pretty thing.

While I'm still hand quilting away on the Phebe quilt, I'll pick up the next machine project too - I've decided that I'll finish up my Rajah-ish quilt top before I start anything new. I'm so close to finished on that one also, so it will be fun to see another finished top in the not too distant future.

It has been so lovely reading all the comments you're leaving. I do try and answer personally whenever I can, but sometime email addresses don't come to me. To that end, I'd like to say a big hello to Evie, Linda, Lisa, Monique D, Quilt Granma, Pam M, Terry and Sjoukje. Thank you for your comments!

Well, that's it from me for now ... I'll check back in really soon :-)

Border Reveal

It's finally time to share the border print I've chosen for the HOQH quilt top. I've cut it all out, but nothing is stitched in place - I really wanted to audition it before I got busy sewing, just in case I didn't much care for it.

As soon as I can find a few hours together, I'll be firing up the Bernina, because I'm supremely happy!

Please forgive the hurried photo, it was late at night and I was so anxious to see if it was going to work. Now the only other decision I'll have to make is what to use for binding.

My lovely friend Lizzy of Jacaranda Quilts has agreed to quilt it for me, and I could not be more thrilled, she does such lovely work. If I'm focused I'd like to have it in her hot little hands by the end of the week.

Things are a bit crazy here at the moment for various reasons, but I'm sure there will be stitching time, and then I can move on to the next UFO (or start something new) and get some more hand quilting done too. I'll check in again, hopefully with a finished quilt top - chatter soon!

So very close!

Just a quick happy snap to share today - I'm so excited that but for the last border, this quilt top is together!

I'll fussy cut the border fabric out tomorrow, and then (hopefully) carefully stitch it in place. It needs to be done neatly, and I'm just the woman for the job!

Chatter soon :-)

Top Started :-)

I've started putting the top of my HOQH project together - and things have taken an unexpected turn. As it happened, I simply didn't have enough of the striped fabric I selected for the sashing strips - not even half of what I needed, so I turned to my stash to see what else I could come up with:

And this is where I'm at so far! Though the blocks are decidedly vintage, the checked fabric I chose for the sashing strips is a little more modern. And the setting triangles are from a Jane Austen collection from who knows when - but her era is early 1800's - so this is becoming a quilt for all times!

I've chosen a border print that will add a whole new look to the quilt too, but I'll share that with you when I get there. Isn't it fun how our quilts can dictate to us how they'd like to be made. It's so much fun! Chatter soon :-)

Blocks finished! Squeeee!!

This evening I stitched the final seam in the final block for the HOQH quilt. I'm super thrilled, because I think I started working on them five years ago! Whew!

Block 28 - Ocean Waves

I wish I'd used more contrasting fabrics for block 28 - I'm not as thrilled with it as I could be - it looks okay, and won't be a problem in the big scheme of the quilt, but it could be better :-/

Block 31 - Snowy Owl

Block 42 - Memory

I think this is my favourite of this final group of seven blocks. Maybe it's because purple is my very favourite colour?

I hunted through some of my strip bins to find some pretty purples, and found this selvedge on a couple of pieces. This fabric is clearly from DEEP STASH! I think the Sarah Johnson Collection came out in the late 90's? Maybe 1997 or 1998 - who would have thought I'd be hoarding fabric for more than 20 years??

Block 44 - Shoo Fly

Ugh - this is a group of fabrics that really do not go together well - illustrating perfectly that I don't always get it right when choosing fabrics. This can be my humility block *lol*

Block 45 - Grandmothers Favourite

Block 50 - Capitol T

Block 56 - Union Square

What a blessed relief it was to put this final block together - I'm really excited to start stitching the blocks to the sashing strips and see how this quilt top is going to look!

This is the fabric I'm thinking of using for the sashing strips - they'll be only 1 inch wide I believe, so there will be lots of fussy cutting in my future.

I like it! Now I need to decide on something cute for cornerstones, setting triangles and a final border. I'm sure my mighty stash is hiding the very perfect things.

Though I'm anxious to get hunting for fabric, tonight I'm going to put a few more quilting stitches in Phebe, I really don't want to lose momentum there as it's still a favourite project too.

Well, that's it from me, hope you're all doing well - chatter soon!

7 HOQH Blocks

Work continues on the HOQH blocks, I'm actually spending more time on them than I am working at hand quilting. I just can't help myself, it's so nice to spend time with my sewing machine. If I can get another block made today, I'll only have six left to complete - which is really exciting because it's been a while since I've put a quilt top together! Also, I promised myself I'd finish up this quilt top before I allowed myself to even think about the quilt I'd like to work on next :-) I know what it will be ... and I promise to share in good time!

So here are the blocks:

Block 10 - Smokehouse

Block 27 - Maggie's Wildflower

Block 29 - Fancy Contrary Wife

Block 30 - Star and Pinwheels

Block 34 - Birds in the Air

Block 46 - Thunder and Lightning

Block 53 - Eight Pointed Star

I've used some odd little pieces of fabric in these blocks, and some have come from deep stash! It's amazing how few scraps disappear when working on a scrappy quilt, I feel sure I'll have fabric into eternity.

Other than the usual things I do each day, this week I also did a little gardening. I planted sweet-pea seeds - it's a few weeks late for our side of the world, but hopefully they'll still be okay. It's getting ready to rain today, and will be wet for a few days, so they should get a good start.

Is anyone out there learning French at all? If yes, I just wanted to share that I found a nice resource with some cute free infographics and lots of explanations that can be used in addition to Duolingo. It's called A Cup of French, and you can also follow them on social media.

And last of all, I just wanted to give a shout out to a brand new reader - Tarja K from Finland - thank you so much for stopping by!

So that's it for today - hopefully I'll have something other than blocks to share next time :-)