Rainbow Bow Ties is finished.

             


Click on the buttons above for my posts about these projected finishes.

My third finish for the 2019 Q4 Finish A-Long is Rainbow Bow Ties, my Rainbow Scrap Challenge for 2019. This is also my OMG goal for January 2020.

At something like the eleventh hour I finished sewing the binding down. I spread quilting the swirls over the previous two days. I used the design "swirls" from the book, "Stitching Pathways" by Wendy Sheppard. I found her technique of stitching a short distance and stopping to decide where to go next a real help and an eye-opener: "Why didn't I think of doing that?" instead of just letting the machine run on into increasingly  more hopeless places. This became a relaxed and interesting experience.

Close up of swirls; some more swirly than others, but we're getting there!

The idea for this quilt came from "Make Modern" magazine in 2018.

Fabric from stash, with some new neutral additions

Wadding 100 % cotton

Thread for piecing Aurifil 50 wt assorted colours

Thread for quilting Aurifil 50 wt colour 5011 (light khaki) 

I'm linking to

       

                                    

Click on the buttons to visit the link ups.

Happy sewing

Marly.

Hand-knitted sweater

 

 

        

This is my finish for the two link-up's above. Click on the images (OMG at the end of December, and FAL at the beginning of January) for my goal-setting posts.

Finally all the ends have been darned in (there were a lot!) and my husband's sweater is finished!

The pattern is Evo, by Natasja Hornby of Moonstruck Knits. The sweater is knitted in one piece from top to bottom. There are no seams, and only the stitches for the neck ribbing were picked up right at the end. All that then remained was to darn in the ends. I am trying to use up my wool stash, and this wool was bought by my mother in the UK more than 50 years ago! In those days wool was sold in 1 ounce (oz) balls (roughly 30 g) and there's not much yardage in 30 grams! My mother was always afraid of running out of wool so I've still got loads left. I wonder if my husband would like a matching hat (just plain; no cables!).

The front and back panels are done in a twisted cable. I'm OK with straightforward cables but this was a new stitch combination for me, and I'm sure there must be an easier way. Nevertheless I persevered, and it's now finished, about six months later than I expected. (We just went out for a walk and he assured me that it is very warm: those cables serve their purpose!) The upside of the pattern is that while the side panels and sleeves are in reverse stocking stitch (all purl), the pattern included instructions for turning the work inside out for the sleeves, which were then knitted in stocking stitch (all plain) which I can do much more quickly. This made no difference to their appearance.

I shall be linking up to:

when they come online in the next week or so.

With my best wishes for Christmas and 2020,

Happy sewing

Marly.

 

Overlapping Octagons is finished!

Overlapping Octagons is copied from a photograph of a quilt made around 1950 and featured in the book "Unconventional and Unexpected, American quilts under the radar", by Roderick Kiracofe. Making a replica of a quilt in this book was a challenge issued by Sujata Shah about a year ago.
Unlike the original maker I used the sewing machine throughout, although I now think I would have been faster sewing all those y-seams by hand. I chose to use red to meet the criteria of another challenge; about the same time the Ad Hoc Improv Quilters issued the challenge: "Red is the new Neutral"

The Y-seams are not only at the four corners of the red squares but also at the X joins of the string sections.
In this photo the octagons are maybe easier to identify.

Originally I tried using hourglass blocks as cornerstones in the string sashing. That didn't work as the hourglass blocks became too visible as hourglasses and didn't blend into the octagons. The seams also became very bulky as five fabrics came together at one point, as opposed to just three now. In the original the fabric in the "sashing" continues into the "cornerstone" so I went with that, as you can see in the picture above.

I used fabric scraps throughout. I started with red and blue 19th century reproduction fabrics - the ones that have been hanging around the longest - but soon used up that lot (hooray!!) and moved on to the more recent fabrics. Just two colours - red and blue - became very boring, so quite early in the process I introduced small pieces of other colours among the blue strings.

fabrics: scraps from stash
measurements: 38" x 44"
pieced with Aurifil 50 wt light grey
quilted with Aurifil 40 wt dark blue, dark red and bright red

 Although this was intended as a small lap quilt my DH has claimed it for the wall above his desk! 

Finishing this quilt was my goal of the month this month, (and last, and the one before!) but now it really is bound, labelled and all the threads are buried!
It is also the first item on my Q4 list for the 2019 Finish A-Long, hosted by Sandra at Studio sew of course.

I'm linking to: 

              

Click on the buttons to see more scrappy quilts and goals achieved. 

Happy sewing

Marly.

Clam-Up Pouch

 

This is my second finish for the 2019 Q3 FAL, and the third on my list. My projected list of finishes can be found here.

I started the Clam-Up pouch at a workshop at Quilters Palet in The Hague. The pattern is by By Annie. I almost finished it at the workshop, did a little more when I got home, and then left it to mature for ten days before sewing down the bindings on the inside by hand - 15 minutes work at the most! I think it's a useful pouch, one that really opens wide.

It has a light fabric for the lining; I really dislike bags, of any size, that have dark linings: I can never find anything, and what you really need is always right at the bottom in the darkest cavern.

I shall be linking this to 

at the end of September.

Happy sewing

Marly.

Two crocheted cuddly toys

 
 
This is my first finish from my FAL list for 2019 Q3.

For my new-born twin grandchildren I wanted to make something special. They are no longer new-born but seven months old and the toys are only now finished! I hope they haven't outgrown them already.

The pattern is a free one from the online yarn shop Hobbii based in Denmark.

I had a problem with the hats. The pattern suggested finishing off with a pom-pom but in my experience babies (and toddlers) pull pom-poms apart and eat them! I don't want to be responsible for that kind of mishap! It took me quite a while to think of an alternative that could be safely anchored. Now they have a sort of rosette in a contrasting colour to cover the finishing hole at the top of the hat. They don't have mouths, so they won't be answering back!

I shall be linking this post to

at the beginning of October

Happy sewing, and crocheting

Marly.

Finish Along 2019 Q3

My list for the FAL in the third quarter is:

1. Crocheted cuddle cloths 

 This looks finished, but only one arm is attached. And then there is the one for her twin brother!

2. Sweater for DH 

 Just needs sleeves and the neck ribbing

3. Clam-up pouch

 I only have to sew a binding down on the inside.

4. Sewing machine cover

using these blocks:

5. Cats and Dogs wall hanging

 - secret sewing -

6. Overlapping Octagons

All the vertical columns are joined, as are columns 3 and 4 to one another. Here is a detail from columns 3 and 4:

I'm linking up to Sandra Jansen at Studio Sew of Course for the FAL Q3 planned finishes link up.

Happy sewing

Marly.

Mini Wonders table runner.

              

My Mini Wonders Table Runner is finished and in use on the dining table. This is my first finish for the 2019 Q2 Finish Along list, and was also my one monthly goal for May.

The pattern is by Sheila Christensen and was published in instalments in six issues of "Make Modern". This design looks as if it might be EPP, but in fact it's ordinary piecing; all the pieces are cut from strips using a 60 degree ruler. The strips are either 1.5" or 2.5".

I quilted the border sections and the white pieces in the large hexagons with the walking foot and the setting triangles free motion.

 Fabric

The coloured hexagons are made using two fabrics in each of six colours. I used Alison Glass fabrics from various series.
The borders are white and three shades of grey.
For the binding I cut 2" strips of several of the fabrics used in the table runner,
The backing is "Basicgrey compositions" from Moda (the second word may be something else - it is so faint)
I both pieced and quilted with Aurifil 50wt. colour 2600, dove grey.

I'm linking this week to:

    
Click on the buttons above to view more new quilts.

I'm linking to "One Monthly Goal" at Elm Street Quilts,

and to 2019 Finish Along at Studio sew of course at the end of June.
Then you'll be able to view other people's progress by clicking on these links.

Happy sewing

Marly.

Finish Along 2019 Q2 list

My finish along list for the second quarter is short as I'm going to be without a sewing machine for a few weeks. I doubt whether my hands will be totally inactive, but there won't be much quilting done.

 

1.  The Mini Wonders table runner: pattern in Make Modern issues 19 - 24. I have three of the five blocks finished. this looks as if it could be EPP, but it's regular piecing with lots of tiny pieces with 60 degree angles.

1. 2.  Overlapping Octagons QAL with Sujata Shah. This photo is from the beginning of February, and even though I haven't done anything to it for the last month, it's quite a bit larger, and I am becoming an expert at Y-seams.

3. Bento bags: how many? No idea!

4. Sewing machine cover. I still have to make a start, although the materials are all ready and waiting.

While I'm away I shall be probably be knitting, or passing the time with EPP, but I doubt very much if there'll be a finish there!

I'm linking to

 

Click on the button to view this quarter's good intentions.

Happy sewing

Marly.

Squared Away finished!

Finally I've finished my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt from 2018. This is my third finish for my 2019 FAL Q1 list.

I expected to have it finished months ago, but with one thing and another it got passed by. Now however it's finished: labelled, quilted and bound, and as I write, in the washing machine.

The blocks were chosen by Mari (the academic quilter) and the monthly colours chosen by Angela (Soscrappy) and posted each month from January to October last year. I made two ten-inch blocks each month. I'm not making the RSC sampler this year, but am making bow tie blocks in the monthly colours, although I haven't posted about them yet.

I quilted most with free motion swirls, and added a single line of scallop stitch with my walking foot in the border. I recently bought Wendy Sheppard's book, "Stitching Pathways"  (click to read about the book - I'm not endorsing this supplier!) and found it very helpful. I'd stitched swirls before, but Wendy's breakdown of the process really helped me to stay ahead and relaxed.

Here are two more photos after washing:

I'm linking to

    

 

Click on the buttons to see more quilters' work.

Happy sewing

Marly.