One Monthly Goal February

My goal for February is to work on my Magic Cubes wall hanging. 

Photo from the pattern

At the beginning of January I made a list of UFOs and gave 12 of them each a colour code. The plan is that when the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is announced each month I will work on the UFO with that colour code on my list. This month's colour appears to be is yellow, and my yellow UFO is Magic Cubes.

I started this in a workshop five or six years ago. Unfortunately the organiser of the workshop failed to mention that it was foundation paper piecing or I would never have joined. FPP makes me nervous; I've had so many bad experiences, especially cutting pieces back to front! I chose to make it from fabric I'd dyed myself, which I consider precious and was really afraid to cut, especially considering my record on cutting for FPP. That, of course, I see now was a totally unfounded fear as in home-dyed fabric the dye is equally distributed on both sides of the fabric: there is no right or wrong side.

My colour plan

At the workshop the first action was to make Paterno templates of all the pieces as preparation for cutting.

The next stage was to colour all the pieces on a layout plan, according to my own idea, and available fabrics. Then cut them out and stick them onto another sheet of paper. I chose this colour scheme, based on the left hand photo on the pattern sheet, because I thought it gave the most 3D effect.

Now I'm not so sure!

 

That day I made pieces 1, 2, 4 and 5, and cut all the large background triangles. There is a lot to be done, and it's making me tired just writing about it!

This remains, however, my goal for this month: to work on Magic Cubes (which, in this colour formation, look more like hexagons!) whether I have to unpick or not. Whether I finish this month or not, I have to beat it somehow!

I'm linking to 

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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.

Shoo Fly Blue is finished, ... and a goal for January

 Happy New Year everyone!

I hope we will soon have shooed the covid pandemic into submission, and that the world has become a safer place.

My one monthly goal for December at Elm Street Quilts was to finish my Shoo Fly Blue quilt. Unfortunately I didn't finish completely, but stopped at 23:50 h. on New Years Eve.

The situation at 23:50 h on 31/12/2020! So near and yet so far!

Yesterday another 30 minutes had the last yard of binding sewn down, and finished. It is now labelled, quilted and bound! And even washed!

 

It measures 49" square, and is made from scraps in response to Bonnie Hunter's Leaders and Enders Challenge 2019-2020. The sashing, triangles and binding fabric is Stof, basic in blue.

For the Quilting I was greatly helped by the tips given in two books I bought recently: 

• Stitching Pathways by Wendy Sheppard and 
• 25 Days to Better Machine Quilting by Lori Kennedy

From the first I learnt the importance of stopping frequently to look round and decide which direction to go next, and from the second good hand positions, and why.  I'd seen how to position the fingers on the quilt before, but no-one had ever given a reason, so I never fixed it in my memory. There is much more in both books; I still have to work through them thoroughly, and am looking forward to more improvement.     

For January my goal is to sort through my boxes of UFO's and make a plan of action for them. Some pieces will be destined to be finished as originally planned, and some to be repurposed. I am still resolved to start nothing new this year, until I've had UFO -> WIP -> FINISHED + empty boxes!

In addition, as my quilting goal for January, I hope to finish making the blocks of the bead curtain throw I was making for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge last year. I have to go back to some of the colours as my scrap bins didn't have enough to make more blocks in the relevant months. With any luck I'll get them sewn into a top, complete with setting triangles. 

I'm linking to:

           

    

Click on the buttons to see more works in progress.

Stay healthy and safe.

Happy sewing 

Marly.

One Monthly Goal for December

My goal for December is to layer (and maybe also quilt) my shoo fly quilt. This was also on my list a few months ago. Since then I've straightened the edges and added a border (but not taken a new photo!).

I bought the backing fabric and replenished my supply of wadding at the end of September, when we were out of lockdown for a few weeks. In the meantime I have finished one QAL top, and am nearing the finish of three more. For them I'm going to have to buy backing fabric online; not my most successful method of buying, as the colours inevitably fall short of my expectations.

I'm linking to:

 Click on the button for more December goals.

I wish everyone a good December. For most of us it will be quiet, with the number of guests restricted by Covid regulations. The upside is that we will have more time to contemplate the meaning of Christmas or of Hanukkah, and to enter into their spirit, without the hassle of entertaining on a grand scale.

Keep safe and healthy

 

Happy sewing

 

Marly.

Christmas table runner

 

 Finishing this has been my One Monthly Goal for November.

I managed it!

Here it is: quilted, labelled and bound.

detail of embroidery and quilting

with a pretty Danish fabric for the backing.

The pattern, including the embroidery motifs, was from a QAL by Jacquelynne Steves. I thought about the quilting for a long time, and then, as time was running out, I went for a meander. I used off-white 50 wt thread (Aurifil 2309) on the off-white triangles, and very dark green (5012) on the rest. I used off-white quilting thread in the squares with embroidery. The embroidery was done with 3 strands of  DMC stranded cotton.

By the way, that's not black fabric there, but very, very dark green. It's darker than I expected when I ordered it online!

I'm linking this post to:

 

Click on the button to see more November finishes 

 Keep Safe and healthy

Happy sewing

Marly.

Rainbow rows - finished top

For the past year I've been participating in the quilt along organised by Irene of Sugaridoo, and Bernina Sewing Machines.

This month's assignment was to sew the top together, either completely, or in three sections of four rows each, to make quilting easier. Here are my three sections, laid out as they will finally be joined after quilting.

This quilt is enormous! Too big for my camera lens!

Irene gave the instructions for a new row every four weeks, and included reverse appliqué and foundation piecing as well as "ordinary" piecing. As well as the written instructions on the Bernina blog, she also published a YouTube video to reinforce the instructions. I learnt a lot from doing this and my phobia over foundation (paper) piecing is largely dispelled. 

Speaking of rainbows: how about this one:

I don't think I've ever seen so complete a rainbow. It continued round to the tree tops off to the left, although it was less well defined on the left hand side. There was also a reversed "shadow" rainbow above; something I had never seen before! Unfortunately it had faded before I could take a photo.

 I'm linking this to: 

  

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Stay safe and healthy

Happy sewing

Marly.

 

               

OMG November

 My goal for November is to finish my Christmas table runner which still needs quilting and binding.

Fa La La Table runner, pattern by Jacquelynne Steves

My goal for October was to quilt my Shoo Fly top, but progress was nil! It will reappear in the New Year, when I hope to have a little more time, and more inclination to quilt. Now I just have to concentrate on working out a quilting plan for the table runner.

I'm linking this to:

Click on the button to see more November goals

Stay safe and healthy

Happy sewing

Marly.