One monthly goal for October

In October I aim to finish my Bead Curtain Quilt that I was layering at the end of September. Although it had been my goal for September I just did not have enough handwork time to get it quilted.

October is set to be a less hectic month than September was, so here's hoping for more progress.

I'm linking to

Click on the button to see more aspirations for October.

Stay safe, stay healthy.

Happy sewing

Marly.

My one monthly goal for September

 wasn't met! 😒 I wanted to quilt my beads quilt this month, but I'm still pinning it!

At the beginning of this month I wrote that I had reservations about finishing it. A difficult situation occurred in my extended family about four months ago, and I have had lengthy phone calls with my brother in the UK since (thank goodness for Skype). I thought I might have to go to the UK myself this month, but as my little part of the World was coloured dark red on the WHO Covid new infections chart, travelling was out of the question. I got some handwork done, but while handwork is my relaxation I found it difficult to settle to it.

I'm confident that this quilt will be finished in October, now the family situation in the UK has been resolved, not happily, but we are moving on. 

I don't think this qualifies as a September goal achieved, but I wanted to share my progress.

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 Click on the buttons to see lots of goals achieved this month

 and works in progress.

Keep safe and healthy.

Happy sewing

Marly.

September goal

 I needed a week to decide what would be my goal this month. A lot has happened in the last week, and not in my studio! Now I have a goal; I hope I can reach it this month, but have reservations.

Anyway, other commitments aside, I shall be quilting my beads lap quilt. I finished the top in January, and it has been hanging on the side of my bookcase ever since.

 

This was one of my two RSC projects last year. It's now time to layer and quilt it, ready to use when the colder weather comes in a couple of months. (Making a top of the other project's blocks may well be nest month's goal)

The trouble with planning to have a year of finishing UFOs is that it isn't interesting. To me a finished top is finished! The end! My hands are itching to cut and sew - just cut and sew! Instead I committed in January to finishing a UFO each month. Ha! That didn't last long, but now wish me luck as I pick that task up again.

I'm linking up to

Click on the button to see more of this month's aspirations.

Keep safe and healthy

Happy Sewing

Marly.

One bead top finished!

At the beginning of January I posted about my bead blocks that I made for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge during 2020. My goal for January has been to work on turning the blocks into a top. I had to make a few more blocks to get the on-point layout I wanted (an odd number of rows ensures small corner triangles). 

At the beginning of the month I wrote "with any luck I'll get the blocks sewn into a top, with setting triangles". Luck was on my side: I have just finished putting the top together!

Rainbow beads

I didn't have a pattern but a memory of a block I'd seen somewhere on the Internet. The large squares were cut at 4.5", the small at 2.5" and the background strips also at 2.5", giving 8" square finished blocks. 

• Total measurement of the top = 143.5cm x 173.5cm (approx. 57.4" x 69.4")
• Coloured fabrics from stash, 
• background fabric: Kona Charcoal
• thread: both Aurifil and Mettler 50 weight pale grey

Finishing this will have to wait as my maths didn't run to calculating the final measurements of the on point setting! I can only now order backing fabric.

For the moment I can start making my January blocks for Do Good Stitches Comfort Circle. They're foundation pieced - not my favourite technique - but "in for a penny, in for a pound!"

 

I'm linking this weekend to:

           

       

 Click on the buttons to see more works in progress.

Stay healthy and safe

Happy sewing

Marly.

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:

  

 

 

 

 

Click on the buttons to visit these link-ups.

 

 

 

Keep safe and healthy

Happy sewing

Marly.

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.

 

I made block 12 of the Hemisphere QAL at Quilting with Sheila

 

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.

Closing Red for the RSC

Each month Angela gives a different colour for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. This year September has been red.

I posted my red Scrap Snap blocks a few weeks ago, and here are my Bead blocks:

I'm not sure how many blocks I made in previous months, I think six, but this month I have made 7. I don't think they will be enough so I shall be making more of all the colours next year too.

This week I also made two red blocks for another project, the Hemisphere Quiltalong designed and hosted by Sheila Christensen, the Mystery Quilter: 

These blocks are regularly pieced; they're neither English paper pieced nor foundation pieced. All pieces are cut using a 60° ruler.They are still half hexagons here as they will only be joined when the quilt is assembled row by row. The quiltalong continues into December, so, if you're interested, there's plenty of time to join in.

I'm linking to:

Click on the button above to see 

more scrappy rainbow progress.

Keep safe and healthy

Happy sewing

Marly

 

Red Scrap Snap blocks

Angela at Soscrappy has chosen red as September's colour in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Here are my red Scrap Snap blocks:

Until yesterday they were serving as leaders and enders, but in my current projects I can easily chain piece so only need leaders and enders at the beginning and end of the sewing session. At the rate I was going over the last 18 days I wouldn't be finished at the end of the month! Moreover these pieces were taking up too much space on my sewing table. I quickly finished the last five once I'd finished yesterday's project, giving more space for the next cutting round.

I'm linking to

Click on the button to see more reds in action. 

Keep safe and healthy.

Happy sewing

Marly.

Red September

September's colour for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is red.

My red pieces for my Scrap Snap Quilts have been cut, but as yet none are sewn. 

I'll be sewing them as leaders and enders, but at the moment I'm sewing reverse appliqué that starts in the middle of a block, as part of the Bernina Sugaridoo QAL; no L&E required until I sew the row together. I hope that will be finished by the end of the coming week, so next week I should have more red to show.

I'm linking this post to:

            

Click on these buttons to see what others are making.

Stay healthy,

Happy Sewing,

Marly.

Purple Snap Scrap

Purple is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge colour of the month.

 

I posted a photo of my beads blocks earlier in the month, but here are my ten Snap Scrap blocks for August:

 

and here are all my Snap Scrap blocks so far:

 

 4 months Scrap Snap - provisional layout.

You can read more about them here.

That's all the purple sewing I've done this month.

Purple beads and more purple sewing

This month's RSC colour is purple. I've made my purple bead blocks:

and made a start on the Scrap Snap blocks from the fabric I had prepared last week:

one block finished

(looks blue here, but really is purple)

For the person who wrote last week that she didn't understand the blocks here is a summary of the process:

the second block in the machine

the next two ready to sew

the box of parts still to go

The blocks are made from the partly assembled units in the box. Each month there are ten finished blocks in the colour of the month, and each block has a different layout of the parts.

I sewed the first block as leaders and enders while making the bead blocks, which is why the second block, although nearly finished, is still under the needle. Next time I start sewing it will be the leader into the next seam. For more on leaders and enders check here.

I'm linking to:

     

and at the weekend to:

     

Click on the buttons to visit.

Happy sewing

Stay happy and healthy

Marly.

It's a purple August

Angela at soscrappy has chosen purple for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge colour this month.

No sewing in purple yet, but I've cut the purple pieces for the Scrap Snap quilt.

The first part of making the blocks each month lends itself very well to being leaders and enders, so that is how these will be sewn together.

I'm linking to

Click the button to see more scrappy progress this week.

Stay safe and healthy

Happy sewing

Marly.

Dark blue Scrap Snap

This month's colour for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is dark blue. No Beads blocks this month, I'm afraid, but here are my Scrap Snap quilt blocks.

These blocks work very well as Leaders and Enders, so as I needed more L&Es I cut dark green fabric and made May's blocks as well,

while I was sewing the blocks for the Sugaridoo Bernina QAL row 8 (this link is to the Dutch version of the blog, but if you click on the tab "taal" at the top right of the page you can go to the English and German versions of the post.) :

I'm linking to :

Click on the buttons to join the parties!

Be safe and healthy.

Happy sewing

Marly.