Friday, 30 October 2020

Goodbye Yellow!

 Angela gave us yellow as October's colour of the month.

 Ten 6" Scrap Snap blocks made this month:

All but the last two seams were leaders and enders while I was sewing a Christmas table runner. Both blocks and table runner top were finished yesterday.

This pattern was presented as the "FaLaLa" SAL by Jacquelynne Steves, and is available on her website until the end of this month (or so). Or at least not for much longer, as the QAL has finished and the pattern will only be available from her shop in future.  

I am not adding more borders as suggested in the pattern; that would be too much for my table. The blocks came together really quickly once I'd finished the embroidery. I haven't embroidered much over the last forty years !! so progress was slow. The satin stitch holly berries gave me the most distress, but these are the best ever - by me - though they wouldn't win any prizes! In the pattern some of the centre pieces had text in them, but as not everyone here reads English I only embroidered pictures.

My goal for October, to quilt my shoo fly quilt, didn't happen. I'm toying with the idea of having a UFO-only year next year; I wonder if I'll be able to resist the temptation of starting something new.

I'm linking this post to:

https://wendysquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/2020/05/my-quickest-quilt-top-ever.html
  

 
SoScrappy

Quilting is more fun than Housework


 

 



 

Click on the buttons to visit these link-ups.

 

 

 

Keep safe and healthy

Happy sewing

Marly.


Saturday, 17 October 2020

Some progress on several projects

For the last six or seven years (I haven't counted!) I've taken part in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, organised by Angela at SoScrappy. Speaking of rainbows, heading for my "Rainbow" box on Sunday I saw this:

 It was brighter when I saw it first, but I needed to grab my I-Pad.
The reason I was going for my rainbow box was to make an overview of my bead blocks:

  
I wanted to see how many more I need to make into a lap quilt.  I'm almost there! I have three red, two pink, two purple, one yellow and one orange that didn't fit on the wall, but I still need more for an on point layout with an odd number of blocks in each direction. Three more of both light and dark blue will make two blue columns, and one turquoise, and one green block will make the number of rows right too. I won't be making brown or black beads - this is dark enough as it is!

My other RSC project still doesn't look like much.
 
Clockwise from top right: AA units, B units, AAB units waiting, AB units ready to sew.


 
but the Scrap snap blocks have been serving as leaders and enders this week too.

I finally made a start yesterday on row 11 of the Sugaridoo Bernina QAL:


A year ago I avoided foundation paper piecing like the plague! Even though I had had a personal demonstration from Irene (Sugaridoo), herself! In this quilt along she has included several foundation piecing rows, and demonstrated two methods which don't involve tearing out the paper at the end. That's one headache less, but the process still makes me nervous.
 
Neither EPP nor FPP in the Hemisphere QAL organised by Sheila Christensen, but straightforward machine piecing. This is my block 13:
 
And these are all my blocks so far:


This is definitely not the final layout! The blocks are all too pretty to be stealing one another's thunder.
  
I completed three of the four embroidered panels for the FaLaLa QAL organised by Jaquelynne Steves.

 I don't like the fourth panel, so I will probably make a second star.

Finally this week, a trip yesterday to Aphen aan den Rijn (about 80 km round trip) to buy yarn for a shawl I intend making from the pattern of the Queen CAL by Tinna Thorudottir Designs on Ravelry (#tinnahekl).

The pattern uses seven colours in a small blanket, but I'm just using these two. I want it to be finished this winter, and it will be approximately one third of the size of the original blanket which would keep me hooking for years. Anyway with so many quilts, who needs a crochet blanket? Not me, at the moment anyway.

starting chain is a start!

Until I came to write them down I had no idea I had so many projects actively on the go. I'm not sure it's such a good idea to have so much on the go, and also know there are more waiting for attention.

I'm linking to: 

https://wendysquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/2020/05/my-quickest-quilt-top-ever.htmlSoScrappyQuilting is more fun than Housework

Click on the buttons to see what others are making.

Keep safe and healthy

Happy sewing

Marly.

Friday, 9 October 2020

Yellow's the colour!

Yes this gloomy month is brighter in the sewing room because of Angela's decision to make this the yellow month in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Here are my bead blocks:

 
 
My Scrap Snap blocks as yet look like this: 

 
There are 3 joined pairs of squares on the right; they are the only leaders and enders I've made this week because I've been doing reverse appliqué in row 10 of the Sugaridoo Bernina QAL (the link is to row 12, but there are links there to all the rows):

No yellow!
The blocks are all finished, but still have to be trimmed before joining in the row.
 
 
Not much yellow here I'm afraid!
 
I also spent some evenings embroidering motifs for the Christmas table runner SAL, run by Jacquelynne Steves.
Ah, more yellow!

The motifs all measure 4x4", too small for my embroidery ring, but the star puckered. I scoured the Internet for a 10cm (4") ring, and "scoured" is the word as most handwork suppliers had nothing smaller than 15cm (6"). I'm pleased the chosen supplier could deliver only 48 hours later. The wreath isn't puckered, just creased from the ring. I shan't be making any of the blocks until I've finished the 4 embroidered panels.

I shall link this round-up of this week's sewing to:

Wendysquiltsandmore

RSC 20

Oh scrap!

Keep safe and healthy 

Happy sewing

Marly.

Friday, 2 October 2020

One Monthly Goal in October


My goal is to layer and start quilting my shoo fly quilt. 

I made these blocks as leaders and enders between July 2019 and May 2020, in response to Bonnie Hunter's L & E challenge. I assembled the top in July, when I chose this as my goal of the month and posted the process here. For the last two months it's been hanging in my studio. Now it's time it was quilted. 

Last week I managed to buy some double width fabric for the backing so I'm all set to go. I think I will use an all-over swirls pattern to quilt the centre, with maybe a different design on the setting triangles, but that's a decision I'll be making later.

I'm linking this post to:

https://wendysquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/2020/05/my-quickest-quilt-top-ever.html

Click on the buttons above to see more handwork aspirations in October.

Keep safe; keep healthy

Happy sewing

Marly.