Things Here Lately

Autumn is well and truly here now, although it has been very mild and pleasant outside, evenings are still a little cooler.  Here's a little bit of what I have been kept busy with, and enjoying over the past couple of weeks.

• The quilting plan for my Hexie pillow cover has changed.  Last night I decided the quilting I had already done just wasn't me.  Luckily I hadn't done any more since this post, so it didn't take to long to unpick.  Some tape for stitching guides was applied, a brighter thread used, and voila, a finished pillow top.

• Miss B celebrated a birthday last week, I made her a Spiced Honey Cake using this recipe.  Quite mild, not overly sweet, though I could quite happily sit there and scoff a bowl of the icing myself.

• Some good books have been read.  I especially enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing.  I have noticed that a lot of my reads this year are based on strong female characters set in the times of WW2.

• I had a quick trip on the train to Drapers fabric the other weekend.  The greenish/black fabric is tencel and is in the process of being turned into some culottes.  The navy cupro is probably destined for the same pattern, and I couldn't resist this animal print viscose which will be a top of some description.

• My tamarillos are slowly ripening.  My tree is quite laden and with them currently priced at NZ$12.99/kg in the supermarket I am quite pleased to be able to enjoy lots of them this season.

Wishing you all a wonderful May.

Holiday Hexies

I always take a handsewing project away with me, and my upcoming holiday is no exception.  Over the past few days, I have finished joining 1" hexies, removed all  paper templates, then appliqued the large hexagon shape to my cushion fabric, so it is ready for hand quilting. I've worked out what I'm going to do and quilted a little bit to see if I like it. 

Now the big question is, will any hand quilting  actually be done while I'm away?

I'll be taking a little break from the blog, while I have a lovely holiday with family.  Have a lovely Easter, I'll  be back here after then too.

***There may be the odd progress shot or holiday shot on my IG page too - link here***

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Seaglass Sampler Quilt - Finished

Image found here

It's a bit crumpled, but you can see the texture of the quilting

Vintage lace or tatting

Some time in 2016 my sewing friends and I started a sampler quilt. We each took turns to choose the blocks were were going to make.  Miss B thought she'd like her own sampler quilt,  so picked  her colour palette - which we called sea glass.  We set up a pinterest board of images which inspired the colours I used.  Who knew there were so many different colours of sea glass you can find.  Along the way, I started making blocks that I wanted to trial, I used some precious little scraps of fabric and a piece of vintage lace/tatting that was my Gran's.  For quite a while all these blocks sat in a box, while I got distracted with new projects.

Earlier this year I made it my goal to get all these blocks pieced together and turned into a quilt top, the aim being that Miss B would receive it on her birthday at the end of April.  Epic fail on my part, but I can now report that the Sea glass Sampler quilt is finished.  It has been randomly hand quilted in 2 variegated blue threads, that mostly blend in with the denim backing, but highlight the fabrics and blocks on the front. Binding is a very vibrant green and periwinkle print from Tula Pink.

It's a little crumpled and crinkly  in these photos,  as it was fresh from the dryer after spraying with water to remove  my marking pen lines.  Tonight it will go on Miss B's bed, where I am sure Meeka will appreciate it too.

Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE

Welcome to another Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE.

Winter has well and truly hit New Zealand now, so I am finding it quite pleasant to snuggle under Miss B's Sea Glass Sampler quilt and slowly stitch away in the evenings.  I guess it all works towards a finish and a really special quilt, but it feels like quite a daunting task ahead of me still.  Even though it's not all quilted, it is at a point where I can probably bind it, which would make it slightly less unwieldy to handle and stop the raw edges from fraying more due to all the handling.

Lately Auckland Libraries have been getting lots of new quilting and sewing books in, I regularly peruse the online catalogue and request ones I am interested in before committing to buying them.  It feels like Christmas some mornings, when I arrive at work to a lovely pile of requests that have arrived for me. These books have been interesting browsing , I am particularly liking Flossie Teacakes English Paper Piecing book, and feel that this may need to be added to my collection.

Now it's your turn to share, it doesn't matter if it's embroidery, a quilt, applique or epp, or some other stitched or sewn project,  It can be a start, a finish or just a wip. Photos only or as many words as you like. All we ask is that you follow these guidelines when linking up:

• Link up any post from the past week that features  a sewing or stitching project you have been working on.

• Somewhere in your post, please link to this one.

• Also please take the time to read and comment on some of the other linked posts, it is always nice to know that people are reading what you have written, and we are trying to encourage people to keep blogging and reading blogs.

Thanks for joining me for this  Sew, Stitch, Snap SHARE

Works in Progress

Miss B asked me when her quilt was going to be finished.  Thought I'd better pull it out and do some more quilting on it. Luckily it's been cold in the evenings, so it's quite pleasant to be snuggled under it stitching away.

Another finished block for my Solstice Dream, just a little bit more stitching and applique to do on the big centre block, then they can be all stitched together.

Linking up to Kokaquilts for another Sew, Stitch, Snap SHARE.

**Apologies to anyone who wants to comment and can't on my blog, or who I don't reply to.  Blogger appears to have made changes so that only Google accounts can comment, and for some reason comments are now not appearing in my emails - I am sure a lot of you are experiencing the same problems**

Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE

Welcome to Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE.

Firstly a little bit of news about changes to this fortnightly link up, before we get into the fun show and tell.

Linda and I have decided to take turns hosting this link up.  Rather than both hosting it on the same day, we are going to alternate, beginning Wednesday 2 May with Linda hosting the first one.   This takes some of the pressure off us to continually be creating, and lets us be able focus a little more on family, work and life in general. Who ever hosts the link up will now comment on your link too.

We hope that you will continue to join us both, we love seeing what you have been sewing, and are continually amazed and inspired by the differing styles and talents you all have.

So what have I been up to over the past two weeks.

• We've had a cold wintry blast arrive, so I have been enjoying sitting under the sea glass sampler quilt, stitching away - this time a kantha inspired panel. I'm not sure whether I like it, maybe  my stitches are too big, or I need some more rows in the gaps. I keep looking at kantha quilts for inspiration.  However, I think this quilt will have an amazing texture to it, when it is finally finished.

• Yes more blocks for my Solstice Dream Wall hanging - I've only 1 x 6.5" block and 1 x 12.5" block to go before I can piece them together - then it's onto the borders.

• Clothing sewing - this was a test run of the Kyoto tee, I haven't hemmed the sleeves or bottom of it, but I  now know the size is correct for me, and I polished up my frill making, attaching and neckband skills before I attempt the good version.

The one on the right, is the correctly sized block

Now it's your turn to share, it doesn't matter if it's embroidery, a quilt, applique or epp, or some other stitched or sewn project,  It can be a start, a finish or just a wip. Photos only or as many words as you like. All we ask is that you follow these guidelines when linking up:

• Link up any post from the past week that features  a sewing or stitching project you have been working on.

• Somewhere in your post, please link to this one.

• Also please take the time to read and comment on some of the other linked posts, it is always nice to know that people are reading what you have written, and we are trying to encourage people to keep blogging and reading blogs.

Thanks for joining us, and we look forward to seeing you all link up at Kokaquilts next fortnight.

Julie and Linda

Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE

The last couple of weeks have seen me flitting between hand quilting the Seaglass Sampler quilt under the somewhat watchful  and never helpful (needles and thread are great toys) gaze of Meeka.  I still have  a lot to do on this, I think my want to finish date of April 30 was overly optimistic.  Still working away on the blocks of my Solstice Dream Quilt.  Another 6.5" block done.  Hopefully in the next link up, I can share a photo of my sister's version of this.

Now it's your turn to share, it doesn't matter if it's embroidery, a quilt, applique or epp, or some other stitched or sewn project,  It can be a start, a finish or just a wip. Photos only or as many words as you like. All we ask is that you follow these guidelines when linking up:

• Link up any post from the past week that features  a sewing or stitching project you have been working on.

• Somewhere in your post, please link to this one.

• Also please take the time to read and comment on some of the other linked posts, it is always nice to know that people are reading what you have written, and we are trying to encourage people to keep blogging and reading blogs.

Thanks for joining us

Julie and Linda

Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE

It has been all about hand quilting with a little bit of colourful frippery thrown in  over the past couple of weeks.

• This cute little dilly bag was made very quickly, using a pattern from Broderie - available here.  Some beautiful Amy Butler, Joel Dewberry and Margot Elena fabrics, have all combined wonderfully together. It's not a big bag, but I am sure it will be useful for travelling with small craft projects, such as hexis or a little crochet.  I could also see a few made up in Christmas fabrics for reusuable gift bags.

• I loved playing with this fabric and the opportunities it gave me, for adding a little pizazz to the hand quilting on my sea glass sampler quilt.  Luckily I have used it a few times on the quilt, so there will be a consistency to the quilting throughout the quilt.

Now it's your turn to share, it doesn't matter if it's embroidery, a quilt, applique or epp, or some other stitched or sewn project,  It can be a start, a finish or just a wip.  All we ask is that you follow these guidelines when linking up:

• Link up any post from the past week that features  a sewing or stitching project you have been working on.

• Somewhere in your post, please link to this one.

• Also please take the time to read and comment on some of the other linked posts, it is always nice to know that people are reading what you have written, and we are trying to encourage people to keep blogging and reading blogs.

Thanks for joining us

Julie and Linda