A few more things checked off the ever long list ...

The holidays are drawing to a close, so I only have a few more days to check so many things off the list I drew up for myself. TBH, I don't think I'm going to get there, but there won't be any consequences - I know I've been a busy bee and worked hard :-)

Tonight after our visitors went home, while I watched the last of the tennis I put together the mini nine patches for next week. They're always super fun, and at 1.5" finished, they really don't take too long:

I keep saying I'm going to make them more scrappy, and then I don't. Let's see what happens going forward ... I have an abundance of scraps, I'm sure I can work more variety in if I choose.

Also this week, I finished up the Placemat Medley pattern for my Etsy store. It was something I hadn't put on my to do list, but it was a fun undertaking. I'd love it if you'd go check out my Etsy store, maybe you'll see something you'll like, and that'll make me super happy.

And there were a few of the OPA Sampler blocks too:

Block 28 - Steps to Justice

Block 43 - Flying Doves

Both these blocks were so very easy, and all made from scraps. Block 28 from scraps that were literally on my cutting table, I hadn't even sorted things away after finishing up with the placemats. 

It's my hope that I'll be able to spend some extra time in the sewing room this weekend, I'm sure I'll have some free time, and lots of things I'd like to complete. 

And last of all for today, a big thank you to the Chookshed Stitchers ladies for being so welcoming when I joined in on my first Zoom chat with them today. They've been so kind to invite me many times, and I had a lovely (albeit brief) time with them today. I'll be sure to visit with them all again xoxox

Whew!

I made it back to my blog after a busy weekend, I'm relieved! Last week was also busy, but inbetween all my commitments I did manage to get some stitching done, thank goodness!

I've made a further two placemats, and I'm just loving this 'new to me' serpentile style quilting. I'm aiming to put together a placemat pattern medley for my Etsy store, I hope to have it done this coming week - I'm almost there.

And with some of the leftovers from the pink and brown placemat, I put together a further ten blocks for the tiny nine patch challenge. This challenge is so much fun!

A little fabric came into my life this week:

Elm Grove Patchwork is having a sale on their Di Ford Hall fabrics, so I indulged a little. The border print on the left is something I only ever had a small amount of, and I just love it. The fabric on the right is the one with the lovely peacock as well as some lovely flowers for broderie perse. I'll use it in my Morrell quilt when I get back to it.

And these cute fabrics will be put into use making a quilt which will be for our new grand baby arriving in May. Colour me excited!

I've also put a few more stitches into Lily Rosenberry when I've had the chance:

Last picture for the day, we had a dinner party last night, which was just so lovely - I managed to get a picture of the table after I set it, but didn't manage to take another single picture of the night. Something I do too often!

It was a super late night, and I was feeling pretty tired this morning - I did get myself moving pretty quickly though as I had a cafe lunch to go to with some of my lovely tennis friends.

 

I'm hoping to get more sewing time this week, as I don't really feel like I've managed to get through enough of the tasks I set myself for the holidays. I did manage to get the bathroom area painted that I wanted to - but the blocks and the quilts, I haven't done enough of those. I'll get close hopefully - let's see what this week brings! Chatter soon :-)

Weary ...

No big post from me tonight, I'm just so very weary after a super busy week. So I'll share one of my favourite piecing projects from the week:

I've made a start on Taryn from Repro Quilt Lover's tiny nine patch challenge. These are 1.5" finished blocks, so very sweet and tiny. Our lovely quilting friends are posting all kinds of beautiful images over on Insta if you spend any time there. Check out the hashtag #tinyninepatchchallenge and see what all the fuss is about.

I'll check back in on Sunday evening. as tomorrow promises to be a busy one again - chatter soon! xox

OPA Sampler Blocks

Whew! I was tapping away on my laptop earlier today and suddenly realised that it's Friday already! When I'm on holidays the days do seem to blur together, but they fly by too. So, I had to have a think about what I've been doing this week ...

I made several OPA Sampler blocks:

Block 26 - Virginia Reel

I dug the tan and the brown fabric from my newly organised fat quarter drawers. I'm amazed by how much lovely fabric I had hidden in the depths of my stash, it will be so much easier to use it now.

For this block I used the freezer paper piecing method, I just love how stable it keeps all the pieces, and this one had plenty of bias edges to tame.

Block 27 - Conundrum

Whew, this block is heavy. With half inch finished strips, so it's all seam allowance on the back too. There were a couple of options for this one, and I chose to make the Chinese Coins version. Additionally, I chose to leave off the super narrow strips that were to be put on the sides, and instead made the two outer coin stacks a quarter inch wider. They won't look quite so obviously difference once the seam allowance is used up. Had I planned further ahead, I probably should have made each coin stack an eighth of an inch wider and made it more even. Oh well!

And this is the final block I made this week:

Block 48 - Cactus Basket

Another block perfect for freezer paper piecing. The fabric I used for the basket is a super oldie - it's from the tub of fabric that lovely Pam Holland gifted me. I took a photo of the selvedge, as it really shows the age of the fabric. Super basic, and before web addresses etc ...

I've been working on other things too, but they either don't seem newsworthy or I haven't been able to take pictures just yet. For example, I've had some lovely William Morris roller blinds made for our bathroom areas, and one is installed in our ensuite (but who wants to see bathroom pictures), and I'm getting the main bathroom ready before the other one can go in. Today I steamed off the wallpaper border in the w/c before I can paint in there (hopefully tomorrow). This job is one of the things I really wanted to achieve in the holidays, so I'm super glad it's getting done.

Also, I've been putting together a few placemats - I'm working toward a placemat medley pattern for my Etsy store. I'm really getting there, and only have one left to do.

So, that has been my week so far. I hope you've been having a great week ... what have you been working on?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year lovely friends. I hope you were able to ring in the new year in a fun way, and that you spent New Years Day doing things you'd like to do throughout the rest of the year. We had a very late night celebrating, and so slept in a bit late on January 1st, but I made sure to spend some time in the sewing room, some time tidying (don't want to be a lazy bones on the house front in the coming year) ... and honestly because I've slept since then, I can't remember anything about what I spent the rest of the day doing ... Oops!

Before I get busy sharing the (very little) stitching I've gotten done this week, I want to catch up some mail things. Late last year was hectic for a bit and I was pretty laxe responding to comments from lovely readers. Sorry about that. There were a couple that needed responses, and I had no way to contact the person that asked the question, so I'll endeavour to do that here:

On the checking things of the long list post, a reader (I think) named Alla asked about the tree skirt that I made and whether it was crazy patchwork. Your comment came to me as an anonymous one, and there was no email address supplied, so I couldn't get back to you. Anyway, thank you for the nice comments on my work, the tree skirt isn't crazy patchwork, I think it's probably just called 'patchwork' and then the patchwork top is quilted. Thank you for your interest!

Last week Terry commented asking about the rectangular placemats, thank you so much for your note. It didn't have an email address for me to contact you, but I'll be happy to send you the details. If you pop me an email, I'll be able to get that done for you.

Also, I am still having trouble leaving comments on some blogs, and I don't really know how to fix the problem, so to my lovely blogging friends, I'm so sorry I can't leave notes for you. Okay, I think that's the major part of email tidy up done for now. After I'm done here I should probably check to see that I haven't missed any that need moderation too!

In the sewing room, I didn't get much actual sewing done this week. I've been working in the evenings on a little hand quilting here and there, and even managed to get out to the border in a few areas:

I love hand quilting in quiet times. My stitches and marking aren't always even and perfect, but in the big scheme of the quilt, I love how it comes together in the end. This picture isn't where I'm working right now, but it was the last one in my camera and gives you an idea.

I've been working on some placemats too. It's so much fun to have a quick finish. I'll share more as I go along. I have some ideas about where I'm headed with these.

And a gratuitous Rowley pic - he's growing into be a big boy. But with that size is a gentle heart - he has a big bark, but I've never seen him be a grumpy dog - ever!

Today was a busy day, I took down all the Christmas decorations and dismantled the tree. And put all the Nutcrackers away for their eleven month slumber. The house always feels very bare once this is done, but I do like how clean and tidy it all feels. All that up and down, bending and stretching has me feeling really quite tired, so I won't be long out of bed tonight.

Last of all, I just wanted to mention one thing if you're still with me. I do tend to post pictures and a video here and there on Instagram a little more frequently, so if you're interested, follow the link at the top right of the page and follow me there. I know not everyone is into Instagram, and that's totally okay, I'll still be posting here. But I will say there is a wonderful quilting community there, and because it seems to be much faster to post on Insta, there is so much to see. 

And on that note, I'll end off here - hope you've had a lovely week, chatter soon! xox