The Treehouse

Sunday Sewing

The rest of the family have been out splashing about in boats today so I've had plenty of lovely sewing time. Yesterday while they were splashing about in Coniston I made a couple of GFG flowers and did a little bit of stitching on the sunflower wall hanging. I made another GFG flower this afternoon when it was too hot to be in my sewing room and did a little more stitching of the poem on the sunflower.

I've not stitched any of these for quite a while and it was lovely to get back into the swing of things with them. I'm going to try again with the one-a-day and see if I can get them finished off...then it'll be onto the next ring and then the diamonds. No pic of the sunflower just yet, I'll wait until I've finished stitching the poem.

I made another 3 Summer Bow Ties this morning and stitched them together with the one that I made on Friday - I really like the look. I saw this layout on Jodi's Pleasant Home blog and it convinced me that I needed to make some bow ties!

I did quite a bit of cutting out for the bow ties as well so that I can sneak in the making of one now and again during the week :)

Finally, I made this month's Henrietta Whiskers block and it's another very sweet one - I'm getting spoilt for choice for a favourite block now!

The applique is only stuck down at the moment so I've the treat of stitching that to come as well as the little bit of embroidery that's on the block.

On Friday I picked up my two cross stitches that I'd taken for framing and I'm very pleased with both of them.

 

The teacups are my favourite stitch so far this year, it's a shame I can't get a better picture of them.

I'm itching to get the next block for the Designer BOM sewn, it looks lovely - hopefully I'll fit it in over the course of the week. I had thought I might get it made today but a Henrietta Whiskers block takes quite a well to prepare. I'm away to enjoy some of the evening sunshine with a glass of wine now and then perhaps some stitching on the Library later on.

June Stitching - overdue update!

June has flown by in a flurry of cricket, netball, bowling and various other activities. The sunshine has finally arrived and we've spent this weekend enjoying the garden and bbqing. It was a little quiet on the stitching front in June but I did manage to squeeze in plenty of work on Vignette - part one is now finished and part two is halfway complete. I think this may be a long term project as I can't seem to keep up with the pace...that has absolutely nothing to do with the amount of projects that are on the go of course :grin: 

I've finally managed to complete the blocks for the Pennsylvania Dutch quilt - here are the final two...

This is block number 7, called Field Furrows and below is block number 12 which is called Journey's End.

I like both of them - now to sew it all together and catch up on some Civil War blocks.

I have managed to stay on track with the Henrietta Whiskers block of the month - here is June's block and then a picture of the first two rows sewn together.

I'm really enjoying stitching this quilt, it's an absolute pleasure.

I also stitched the first block of the Fat Quarter Shop's Designer Block of the Month which is called Sweetpea. I wasn't going to join this BOM as I really have enough going on but...it's made with Fig Tree Strawberry Fields fabrics and Joanna of Fig Tree is my favourite fabric designer of all. 

While in the garden this weekend I spent some time with my current cross stitch project which is Once Upon a Time...an Owl and I accomplished quite a lot. I just have a few leaves, the rest of the owl and the moon to stitch and then this will be ready for framing.

No photos of the last two projects or Vignette just yet as my little gadget for transferring from camera to computer has gone on strike! Hopefully my in house expert will be able to persuade it to co-operate when he gets in tonight :)

I spotted a QAL for the Farmer's Wife quilt early on in the month and was sorely tempted to join in. So tempted that I dug out some favourite Fig Tree fabrics and put them to one side ready to get going. I did promise myself that I wouldn't begin until the PD blocks were completed and as they're now all done I can get started with a little farming!

Lincoln's Platform and a Bunch of Blooms

I've been working on my Vignette In Stitches quilt since finishing My Garden the other day - I should have had the first part completed before now really but I'm almost there now. I'm hoping to be able to go and collect Issue 2 soon, I know it's en route to Patchwork Chicks so hopefully not long before it lands...the sneak peaks all over blog land are wetting my appetite! No pic of my Vignette yet I'm afraid I forgot :o

Today I made last week's Civil War block - Lincoln's Platform. I enjoy making these on a Friday morning just in time for the next one to appear!

 

I think a plain red would have been better in hindsight...but that's always such a wonderful thing!

I've been making a flower a day this month as well, here's the most recent bunch of blooms...

The purple and green are my favourite colours in this line of fabric.

I managed to slice the top of my thumb while making coleslaw this evening - I'm hoping it's not going to slow down my stitching too much!

 

Next Friday is the March Friday Night Sew In - not sure what I'll be sewing yet but I've a few things on my list! It's not too late to sign yourself up for a night of lovely sewing :)

 

Back on Track

well, almost! I've still the book reviews to write. I wanted to get last week's Civil War block made before the next one is posted so I sat down this morning and made 

Birds in the Air

I enjoyed myself so much that I made a Pennsylvania Dutch block...

The Road Home

and that one went so quickly that I thought I could fit another one in and I did...

At A Crossroads

Only two of these left to make now and then the borders to put on - I feel as though I could head towards a finish of it this month perhaps...maybe!

Last night I completed the first part of the brickwork on the Library as well - I want to get the first part of the words done and the first few leaves and then I can take a break from it...I've some secret stitching to do :)

Friday Finishes...

I'm good at starting new things...and bad at finishing things! Sometimes the pile of things needing finishing nags at my conscience and today and this last week it was shouting! Matthew's poor quilt - almost reached an anniversary in the making so last Saturday I took it to the crop with me and did the hand stitching on the binding. I do enjoy doing that but my fingertips were quite sore when I'd finished. No sooner had I put the last stitch in it (finished it off after I got home from the crop) than it was on his bed and being snuggled under - he loves it :D and is waiting for a matching pillowcase :o To be fair, this wasn't a Friday finish but it's been lingering about for so long it wouldn't have been right not to celebrate its completion. He's sleeping with it on top of his duvet at the moment, I think he must be sweating pounds away during the night, lol! It will be great in the summer though...without the duvet!

 

I've been enjoying making the Blackbird Designs stockings and the first 5 of them are now completely finished. They are unbelievably cute and small when they're finished off. I'm a bit behind with the actual cross stitch on this project (keep getting sidetracked by other loveliness) but now that I see how lovely they are when finished off I shall aim to catch up after Easter.

 

I thought I'd give them a trial run on a tree in the garden! It wasn't easy to photograph actually, the wind kept blowing them about, lol!

I had my Baesco bag finished by last weekend as well - I was just lacking some twill tape to catch the corners. I did take it out on Saturday and it fits a lot of stuff inside it - this morning, I've sewn the tape on and it really is a nice finishing touch and makes the bag hold a lovely shape. Had to photograph this one indoors as it was raining by the time this was finished.

 

I love it - and of course, it's made from Rouenneries. I went on a little trip to my LQS yesterday...lots of lovely new fabric and bits and bobs since my last visit. I found the chunky wide rikrak that I've searched every corner of the globe for and quite a few colours...I restricted myself to two colours and I also bought a new bag pattern!

Last night I finally finished Anne Rices 'The Witching Hour' - what a marathon read that was! Good story but it's a bit strung out and no happy ending! Luckily for me, Sue has promised me the load of books two and three so I can find out what happens. I was all set to read Carole's Black Dahlia when I finished this but another bookring arrived yesterday morning and I've been looking forward to reading it - The Secret Scripture. Read a few pages last night but my eyes were drooping so I'm not very far into it yet.

I found a copy of Just Cross Stitch with the LHN 'He is Risen' pattern in it early this week and I'm stitching on that at the moment and hopefully will finish it in time for Easter...well, I'm hoping very soon really as I spotted Danybrod's lovely Easter bunny and egg yesterday and I would really like to make those before Easter as well! 

 

 

Sunday Afternoon Sewing

Have spend a very pleasant afternoon with my sewing machine while listening to DD playing her flute and occasionally singing along in a fairly out of tune fashion - tuneful singing and paper piecing do not go together, lol! 

Had a lovely little parcel yesterday morning from the Fat Quarter Shop. It was month 1 of a BOM that I signed up for. I did that at a point in time when I had few projects on the go and had recently begun to wonder if I'd made a mistake and taken on tooooo much. Well - no mistake was made, I knew that as soon as I opened the parcel and saw the fabric. It's Wiscasset by Minick and Simpson and it's very, very lovely indeed. In keeping with my 'do not get behind on BOM' rule I set to it last night and printed 1/2 square triangles onto the fabric using my Inklingo cd - love that, so glad I got it working :D This month's block is called Prairie Star and it went together super quick this afternoon :D

 

This afternoon's Dear Jane blocks - first off...A2. I was terrified of this one but it's turned out not too badly.

 

 

and a Jason's Jacks for a Dear Jane Winter Holiday swap. Got a couple more that are almost finished and just needing some applique doing on them.

C1 - Trooper Green's Badge

This one turned out well - finally, a successfully paper pieced block!

 

Cardigan has progressed - just needs its sleeves sewing on now...that's tonight's job with another episode of Bones. We're trying to relieve the Sky Player of some of its burden, we record far more than we make time to watch!

A1 - Pinwheels Gone Awry

Learned quite a few lessons from this block! It was the first one that I started to make (because of the pinwheels of course)...on my birthday, ages ago. I abandoned it after I'd paper pieced the first two rows and sewn them together. It was too lumpy bumpy and the seams weren't matching. I pulled apart the first two rows and put them in my Rainbow Jane box for a later date.

Today was the later date - I have quite a few blocks left to make for this month's Rainbow Jane so I thought I would try to finish this one off.

It's not too bad I suppose - hopefully the lessons that I learned while making it will mean that Flowery Jane gets a better Pinwheels Gone Awry!

There was progress made on the cardigan last night - at last! Just need to cast off the button/buttonhole band and sew up the rest of seams and then I'll be wearing it - woo hoo! Would have been more but DD needed a scarf knitting - her class are sending Christmas gifts to an orphanage in Bulgaria. It was difficult to know what best to send really as there was a list of things that weren't to be sent. We opted for some fashionable woolly gloves and a scarf like the ones I showed on here a little while back, this one was lilac and grey. No picture as it's gone off to school this morning to get gift wrapped.

I bought a nice little book of cardigan patterns the other week...there are a few in there that are calling my name and they're knit in lovely soft, non-scratchy merino wool - the children don't like proper wool...it itches when they snuggle up.

An Afternoon with Jane...

t's been rainy and wet here again today. Not fit for going anywhere at all so with jobs and DS' badminton done this morning, it was an afternoon indoors with a little television, a little surfing and some sewing. I finished off that starburst block this morning...only had the little triangles to applique onto it and this afternoon I've made a Bachelor's Buttons for both Flowery and Rainbow Jane and a Sweet Tater Pie for Rainbow Jane...I would have made one for Flowery as well but the material hasn't arrived for that block yet. I'm having fun with these little blocks although I'm no expert at making them it's all a fabulous learning curve and I'm enjoying it.

Bachelor's Buttons for Rainbow Jane...I LOVE that fabric.

This is one of my favourite blocks, not because of the colour (I'm not big on red) but because I LOVE pinwheels. Can't wait to make it for Flowery Jane now. I finally got my windows printer drivers installed on the Mac this afternoon so that I could print from my Inklingo triangle cd and that is what I used to make this block - really super quick and easy.

and finally, a Bachelor's Buttons for Flowery Jane. I did both of these using reverse applique which was a new thing for me - turned out to be easier than I thought :)