Create.....

As ever the New Year makes you think about a fresh start and what you want to achieve. When I look back on 2016 the achievement in my work life was huge but creatively I really suffered, I hardly made a thing and I miss sewing.

For this reason my 2017 word of the year, my mantra, is

 I need to create and be creative in order to keep myself balanced and focused. My work life is getting busier and my children need lots of my time too, so eeeking out moments of creativity are really what I need to be doing to keep me happy! Otherwise it all just gets a bit stressful this life malarky, don't you think?

Over the festive period I was struck down with Flu, so we pretty much just had PJ days the whole time the kids were off school! I managed to get some sewing in which has already made a difference to my well being.

These are blocks from a Block of the Month club I signed up to in 2012, I'm getting this quilt finished as a priority! I've now made 5/12 block and have a further 2 blocks cut out and ready to sew.I'm hoping it will all come together quite fast as I have the quilt finishing kit and the backing kit too.

I've also been doing a lot of work on my English Paper Piecing projects. I've been working on the Patchwork of the Crosses BOM all year and had got a few months behind, I've managed to catch up a couple of months in the last few weeks so I'm very happy!

This is just one month worth of blocks so as you can see it's quite labour and time consuming but I really do love it.

I've also started working on a La Passacaglia paper pieced project too, it's going to be made in really modern fussy cut fabrics which are in total contrast to the gorgeous Liberty fabrics used in the Patchwork of the Crosses quilt.

 

So having had a good start to the year, lets hope it continues and I can crank up my productivity and get my sewing fixes!

Happy New Year everyone!

The Smalls

This past week has been all about the smalls!

Jett has been so poorly, we've spent a day in hospital and what feels like the rest of the week cuddled up on the sofa with bronchilitis. Thankfully he's now much better.

 

Hunter on the other hand has wowed us all with his handwriting, he just loves writing and practices every day. His teacher has rewarded him with 'Star of the Week' for his beautiful handwriting, he was so proud of himself.

We also got Hunter's first school photo this week, how cute?

 

With Jett been so poorly the only sewing I've managed has been hand sewing. I've worked on both my Patchwork of the Crosses BOM and my New Hexagon Millefiori quilt too.

PS: I know the bottom hexie is on upside down, I've corrected that now! D'Oh!

Looking forward to more sewing time this week!

A Sewing Catch Up!

I thought I'd been doing so well with my sewing and quilting and I was, until I realised I haven't blogged any of my makes or finishes!! Oh well, you can't have it all can you?!

Here's a little round up of what I've been sewing over the last few weeks:

 I've been working away on a Star Wars Quilt for my hubby!

I joined the Patchwork of the Crosses Block of the Month from my friend Jesse's shop, Sew & Quilt. I'm really enjoying this one and so far I'm keeping up each month!

 

I sewed up some samples for Dashwood Studio's out of their cute fabrics! This is the Butterfly Blouse pattern from Oliver & S in Nature Trail Geometrics with a Flurry Frill!

 

I've chain pieced some Flower Garden Mini Charms for a secret project I won't be able to share much more of!

 

And I finally conquered re-threading my overlocker and finished my Schoolhouse Tunic! Wahoo! I'm very happy with this, can you tell?

I'll be back at the end of the month with a round up of my quarter one finish along finishes!!!

2016 Finish-A-Long!

Since I've decided that I'm going to try and get some selfish sewing done in 2016, I thought I ought to sign up to the Finish-A-Long to give me some goals this year!

This year there are a whole host of hosts, click on the image above to take you to Nicky's blog post to find out more.

This first quarter I have decided to try my hardest to get finished on these projects:

 From top left we have:

1) Spring Carnival EPP cushion - requires hand quilting & turning into a cushion.

2) The New Hexagon Millefiore Quilt Rosette 1 - nearly complete and rosette 2 is started, hoping to finish both.

3) Fat Quarter Shop 2012 Mystery BOM! - Hoping to finish piecing all the blocks.

4) Schoolhouse Tunic - All cut out and part sewn, hoping to finish.

5) Economy Block Quilt - just requires binding and gifting

6) Cotton & Steel Cushion Kit - to make up

If I'm honest this list is a bit over ambitious as I have so much work sewing to do too but I really want these WIP's finished for good!

Are you taking part in the 2016 Finish-A-Long? 

A Little Sewing

Now that we're all settling back into the routine that the new school term brings, I've found a little time for some sewing.

I'm trying to work on some longstanding WIP's as well as new projects and sewing for the shop too, lots on the go always!!

I've found time to finish up this gorgeous pin cushion kit that the lovely Jessie sent me, if you don't know her, Jessie owns the gorgeous fabric shop Sew and Quilt and has just released her own range of paper pieces.

This gorgeous hexie flower pin cushion is available as a kit in her shop now, along with many other lovely kits and paper pieces.

Whilst we're talking paper pieces, I've also been working on my New Hexagon Mille Fiore Quilt, I've almost got Rosette 1 completed!!

 

The first rosette when complete is a huge 36" in diameter, the photo shows the rosette minus the final round. Those hexagons are been pieced currently.

 

 

I need to prep 12 hexagons like the one above and 6 of a different variety before I can add them to the rosette to complete it!

 

I'm so happy that I chose this mille fiore quilt along over the others that are out there, it's much less fiddly as the pieces are so much bigger!!

 

 

I've also begun working on my 1930's Farmers Wife Quilt-A-Long but I'll share those blocks in a post later in the week. This year long QAL commenced today and you can check out Kerry's & Wynn of Zakka Art's blog posts to keep you going!

 

September already?

I really cannot believe how fast the summer has flown by, can you?

Here's a re-cap of what happened over my summer.....

Luke Haynes came and taught at my shop Simply Solids!

We had a great family holiday to Cornwall.

 

That included a night at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant for our wedding anniversary! Yummy yum yum!

 

 I've done a fair bit of sewing, including mini quilt swaps, blocks for me Beehive Bee and some English Paper Piecing! I've nearly finished the 1st rosette of the New Hexagon Millefiore Quilt.

I also made and gifted this St Louis 16 Patch quilt, made from my much loved stash of Anna Maria Horner fabrics. The recipient was my nephew and his girlfriend and the occassion was the death of their son, my little nephew, Elliot. Elliot had won his battle with Leukaemia last year but he could not fight off meningitis and his life support had to be turned off on June 17th, that horrific day will stay with me forever. I made this quilt in the following days to try and keep myself busy and I know it will keep Elliot's mum and dad warm when they need a hug!

So what happened over your summer?

xxxxxx

Mini Quilt Heaven!

Since the start of the New Year I've signed up for a number of Mini Quilt Swaps over on Instagram! They were all so tempting I just couldn't say 'No' despite my heavy work load and family commitments!

The first swap has just come to an end and was the #rainbowminiswap. If you search the hashtag over on Instagram you'll see all the lovely mini's that were swapped around the world. 

These swaps are basically blind so you know who you are making for but you don't know who is making for you - exciting right? The idea is you stalk your partner across social media so you get a feel for their style and then make a mini to suit them. Here's the Rainbow Mini I made my partner Janine all the way from Australia!

 

I went for a Rainbow Churn Dash which I love! The background is Sketch Black/White and the Churn Dash are made out of Confetti Dots, both from Timeless Treasures. The mini is then quilted in Aurifil #4660 Pink Taffy which is variegated. I included a pouch filled with some fabric scraps, a couple of mini spools of Aurifil and some Soak Mini's. 

The same day that I posted my mini the Postman brought me my mini! How weird is that?

Isn't she a beauty? My partner Claire got it just right with the solids and the Anna Maria Horner fabric! I love it so much I'm going to put it up in the shop on our mini quilt wall! 

My next swap mini is for the #ukminiswap and this is what I'm working on

It's an English Paper Pieced mini using a Wafer pattern designed by my friend Reene who blogs at Nellies Niceties. I'm using Priory Square fabric which is from Art Gallery and available in my shop here if you like it!

I've started the quilting and this parcel will be wrapped up and posted by Monday next week!

As you can see I use a Hera marker for making my quilt lines, the tool basically puts a crease in the fabric which you then use as a guide for your quilting, genius right!

That's as much as I'm going to share on this swap before I post it as I don't want my partner to have seen it all before it arrives!

Finally for today a heads up my Scrappy Log Cabin Quilt is in Issue 10 of Quilt Now magzine! Woo Hoo!

 

I loved making this quilt and it really made a dent in my scrap bucket which is always a good thing! If you'd like to buy a copy of the magazine please head here but be quick as they never stick around long!

EPP anyone?

I was wondering what to post about today so I had a look through my Instagram posts for this past week and it became apparent!

I appear to have done a fair bit of EPP this week!

The top photo is the beginnings of my #ukminiswap quilt, which is a mini quilt swap that's been run over on Instagram.

The bottom hexies are a project I've had on the go for a few weeks now and I think I'll turn them into a cushion eventually. Looking at them like this I'm not liking the yellow flower, it's lost against the background print don't you think?

I've also been working on some comissioned pieces this week so can only show you sneak peeks! 

There have been some magic moments with the kiddos this past week too!

Jett had his eight week check and now weighs a whopping 13lb 8oz! He's also enjoying more awake time and some tummy time here and there.

 Holly's teacher sent a copy of this writing home on Friday after calling me to let me know how well Holly is doing at school! I'm so proud of Holly for this, she's pretty much cracked Hunter hasn't she? She could barely write her name in September and declared writing too hard, now she's wanting to write - this list was initiated by Holly herself!