The UFO Challenge update...

This year each of the Sunday Stitchers has a list of projects that we will work on each month. The UFOs are numbered 1-12 and each month a number is drawn and we each work on that numbered project on our list. And then we bring that item along to the monthly meeting for Show and Tell; it may be finished or there has been progress but still some to go.
February ( which was #12) was my Hexagon Liberty cot quilt which I made progress with. I even brought it along to the March meeting as I had continued to add rows...

And after the March meeting I worked for a week or so more and added 2 orangey/yellow rows, but they aren't fully Stitched in place yet.

March UFO number had been #10 which was to start using the long hexagons that I'd cut out of Christmas fabric quite a while ago. I had thoughts of a table runner, wall hanging or tape topper but no real plan. For Show and Tell in March, I had this much done...

During that stitching day I worked on another row...

The squares in the middle might end up being little Christmas embroideries or maybe just cut out of gold/silver/white fabrics...that decision can be made at a later stage. But in the month, my pile of cut out hexagons started to become 'something'!
April's UFO number was 9...experiment with making different styles of granny squares from a lovely book I received for Christmas one year...


But I had already started working on a knitted blanket for our newest granddaughter, Abigail. Realistically  I could have crocheted squares from the book and made Abi a blankie that way and put the knitting aside. But the knitted one had become such a challenge that I was determined to keep doggedly onward with it. But I didn't have time for both...so...

I tampered with the list! 😉( Aussie readers might get the nuances there!)
This blanket is taking me a lot longer to knit than I normally take on such a project. Making mistake after mistake...especially with the lace part...so much frogging!  I really had to 'take myself in hand' to make progress with this project. Each row in the lace pattern repeat was different.  All those old strategies and memory aids came into play; I made checklists of the 12 row pattern and marked off each row. This was after I inadvertently knitted the same lace row twice...duh!
I started counting the stitches after I completed every row...with some form of 'Knitters' Dementia', I was forgetting the occasional 'yarn over' stitches in rows...lethal!  And of course the missing y o would be near the beginning of the row, not at the end! I sat in a room by myself with no DH, iPad or TV. On the fiddly rows I said the instructions out loud as I knitted...bad eh? 🙄
The only strategy I didn't use was the 'life line for lace knitting' as I figured I had the 4 rows of white garter stitch in every pattern repeat that I could always frog back to, and where it was easy to pick up the stitches again...no wretched y o stitches to manage! So it wasn't one of those all over lace patterns...
Photo taken from the internet showing how the life line works where you can unpull the knitting to that row and the stitches will be 'live' on the piece of yarn.

So here is a front view of the progress on Abigail's blankie; the Bounce Blanket by Tin Can Knits. This is a Canadian company and I'm grateful to You Tube videos for explaining some terms/abbreviations that I wasn't familiar with...

This project will be put aside for a fortnight as DH and I are heading off on holidays from Thursday night and believe me, this isn't a holiday project. I will take some easy crocheting instead. 

Friday Night Sew In...

Last night I finished stitching a couple of hexie flowers...I had already stitched the 6 hexagons on to the centre one, so it was just the 6 side seams joining those hexies to each other.

And I also did some knitting...the 'scraps' project, 'Knitted Minestrone'. I'd finally finished the latest block of black garter stitch (boring!) and so last night I started the next scrappy block.

Earlier in the month in my FNwF post, I wrote about the Mystery Ball of yarn ( a ball of all different yarns in the one ball) that I was going to use. At the same time I'd been searching cupboards and shelves for a similar ball of yarn that I had bought at an Open Day at the Qld Spinners and Weavers many, many years ago. I couldn't find it! Yet, yesterday when I went into the disaster area that is my sewing room, there it was sitting on the table where I keep my second sewing machine! 

 Found in time to be part of my Knitted Minestrone throw! Now the difference in price of the Mystery Ball and the Magic Ball certainly reminds me of how long the latter has been waiting to be used; $19 vs $8. I bought 2 of the latter and the other one was used in a project ages ago.
Thank you to Wendy for once again hosting FNSI. There were 54 of us who signed up this month and it's easy to visit all or a few of the participants. Just use Wendy's Linky 'thingies' on her post here.

Hexagons again!

A little while ago I signed up for the second Hexie Downunder Swap...I know, I know...I said I wouldn't...but I did.

This project was 'put on the back burner' while I worked on the Christmas Secret Santa swaps but these were all 'done and dusted' last week. So, armed with the list of preferences of colours etc of the others in my hexie swap group, I got to work cutting out etc.

As with The Hexie Downunder #1 swap, I found my Amelia jelly roll ( and remnants of the Amelia charm pack) offered the variety of colours and designs requested. As you can see, the jelly roll is getting smaller; it's been used for a few projects now and there's still some left. I also used other fabrics from my stash with only some pastel spotted fabric needing to be purchased as the person who requested this had been in my group for the first swap and I had already used the only 2 dotty pastel fabrics I had. 

Progress so far...viewed from 2 different angles...all hexagons have been cut out; some have the papers glued in place and some are joined into flowers.Still a lot to do...we have until December 31 to have sent them but my goal is to have all these finished by mid next week...well before Christmas. 

And these are the hexie flowers I've received so far from members in my group...

Very pretty...my colour choices were purples, blues or teals. 

Friday Night Sew In...

Last night I joined in the November FNSI, hosted by Wendy over at Sugarlane Quilts.

I worked on secret sewing again...

I finally finished 'Stage 1' of this project; a strip of fabric made of hexagons...

This will form part of a drawstring bag...for a fellow knitter perhaps??

The pattern is by Judy Newman and I enthusiastically follow her instructions for joining all those hexies...no papers, no tiny over stitches...just running stitch. It's quicker than the normal EPP.

A little peep at the back...

Also last night I worked on my stitching project which will be incorporated into this drawstring bag...and now I only have one tiny section to stitch and I'm finished that 'Stage 1'...yay!!!

I'm on target to have these items completed and in the mail early this coming week; all ready to head off to my swap buddy.
Here is the link to Wendy's post where FNSI ers signed up to join in...you will be able to see what other bloggers achieved by using the links in the sign up widget. I can guarantee you will see some amazing projects.

Friday Night with Friends...

First Friday night of the month is FNwF in Blogland and after missing the August one, I was determined to join in this month!

I continued to work on my hexie flowers for an Instagram swap that I signed up for. The plan had been that I would work on the project while we travelled so that when we arrived home, I would have them all ready to post. Didn't happen did it? I needed better light and my magnifier was definitely needed, neither of which I had with me, so progress was extremely slow. 

I had glued a number of hexies to the papers whilst on holiday so have been doing a few stitching sessions this last week. Last night during FNwF saw the most progress...but still a lot to do. The flowers in the foreground were a request for 'mix it up'; others wanted the 'petals' cut from the same fabric and the other pair were 'eye spy' with 'mix it up' petals. 

The flowers ( we have to make 2 for each person in our group of 17 people) have to be sent to the members of the group by September 30, but I had received some before we left on our trip on July 22 and there were another 7 lots waiting for me when I got home last week. They are all so beautiful; the fabrics used are so pretty.

First photo is the hexie flowers I received in July...

And the ones which arrived while we were away. It was like Christmas opening all the envelopes! :-)

We had to list the colours/ themes etc that we wanted. No surprises...I asked for blues, teals and purples :-)

Oh well, instead of writing about stitching these, I'd best get on and stitch some more! 

More animals!

I've written about the 'horsey' themed parcel of goodies that I've sent off to the northern hemisphere, and now I'm posting about another recent project. And surprise, surprise...hexagons are once more involved! Lol

Yes it's a mini quilt and this time the featured animal is cats...

The cat fabric that I chose dictated that the hexies were 1 1/2 inch and I moved completely out of my 'comfort zone' by using a lot of autumn colours. The fussy-cut cat hexagons used such colours and other fabrics I 'auditioned' just 'jarred'!! I don't have a lot of browns/autumn colours in my fabric stash but this Grab Bag pack of Cherrywood Fabrics came in very handy. I had bought this pack which features so many colours, a few years ago now but hadn't used many of those autumn shades.

The backing I used was also from my stash...

But when I came to put the binding on I found the chosen fabric didn't look too good at all. So I searched through the stash and was just about to give up and buy something when I remembered my Kaffe Fassett bundle...I didn't expect to find anything in that lot that would suit...but I did...

So the binding is cut from this very brightly coloured fat quarter, which just happens to have some autumn shades in amongst those bright colours.

I'm linking up here with Anthea over at Hibiscus Stitches blog for the Piece Yourself Together twice monthly sharing of EPP projects. 

Friday Night with Friends...

First Friday night of each month is FNwF where people from all around the world sit and stitch or knit and crochet and then write a blog post. 

I'm working on an Instagram Christmas in July Swap at the moment so that the items are all finished and ready to mail by July 13. 

Hexie table centre...

Another row to stitch on and then the finishing which takes a little while. ( I will put some iron on Pelon behind the hexies and then use an acrylic felt as the backing as I don't need to 'hem' it to shape) 

The main project is a cushion cover but I can only show a little peek as the middle bit will alert the recipient that it's for her and it's all a big secret. 

I sewed the last border on last night so now just have to make the cushion. 

And lastly I did some crocheting...

Such a lovely night crafting this week...unlike the last FNSI! Lol

Easter secret sewing revealed...

For a little while now, I've been working on a table runner for a swap at Sunday Stitchers. Late last year, I googled Easter Tablerunners and also 'surfed' through Pinterest looking for ideas. Eventually I actually purchased a pattern from the US...not a PDF download...an actual paper pattern. 

Loved the pattern, and even though I knew any fabrics could be used, I loved the fabrics used by the designer; I didn't have any of the fabric in yardage but I had a jelly roll and part of a pack of charm squares in the 'Amelia'. I had planned to use some 'grass patterned' fabric I had bought a few years ago, but it didn't suit this design. The table runner was a bit wide so I decided to reduce the size and to that end, I reduced the appliqué pieces' patterns on the photocopier. I even traced these on to Applifix and ironed the shapes on to fabric. And then...I completely changed direction!!

I bought an Easter themed charm pack and 1/2 metre of Easter fabric on EBay.

 I cut out hexies...lots of them! I stitched away using Judy Newman's method which doesn't use the traditional papers...just running stitch along the seam line...rather quick! 

Whereas before with the lovely SuznQuilts pattern, I had kept procrastinating, now I was 'on a roll'...that 'mojo' was back! 

I showed glimpses on Instagram and on my blog...

And yesterday we handed over the runners that we made for our swap buddies...in a twist, we all discovered that the person for whom we made a runner, was also the person making one for us! So I made this one for Cheryl...

The colours are brighter than in the photos...and I used that 'grass fabric' after all :-)

And Cheryl made this beautiful runner for me...I love it! 

So I now I have a lovely Easter Tablerunner to add to my collection of Easter 'stuff'. :-)

Finally finished...

Quite a while ago I wrote a few posts about a hexie project I was working on...a cushion using lots of floral fabrics. The intended recipient is a blogging friend's 90 year old mother. Her milestone birthday was in January...I worked away on the project but just never seemed to make much progress. 'It' would look accusingly at me from where it sat in a heap on my dining room table. But some days I just didn't feel like working on it...and there were lots of those days! Lol

Well I'm pleased to say that the patchwork top is completed and, as of this afternoon, the cushion has been assembled and sewn. This morning I bought some cushion inserts at the Spotlight 30% off sale and the Size 18/46cm was a perfect fit. 

May I present a 'Flurry of Florals and Lace'...

And now I have more time to concentrate on my secret Easter Project...an Easter Runner Swap with the Sunday Stitchers. 

Friday Night with Friends...

The first Friday of the month when bloggers from all around the world work on projects and then share/show and tell, via a blog post. Thank you to Cheryll for organizing this monthly event.

There hadn't been much crafting going on around here in the last 3 weeks and earlier in the evening, I didn't think I would have enough 'get up and go' to do some last night. But by 8.30 I found that 'mojo' and worked on that poor neglected cushion cover that I had started back in December. 

The last photo I had shown of it was taken at Sunday Stitchers on January 18...still lots to do at that stage, as hardly any centres had been stitched in.

In the first week of working in the election office, I stitched in my lunch break, filling in the squares in the middle of the hexies. But after that first week, it got too busy to stitch at work, and at night, I was too tired. 

Last night I finished the sewing in the triangles on the 4 side edges, so only have the corner triangles to do. 

Now those white centres 'jar' the senses a bit don't they? 

That's because they are only meant as a background...

These sweet little hand dyed lace motifs will be stitched in place...

The lace comes from an Ebayer called Wattleinspireyou. This lady, Robyn Everson, 'rescues' old/vintage lace (lots of old tablecloths only suitable for cutting up) and unpicks the motifs and sells them to crafters. Sometimes they are sold as is, in the white and off white, but sometimes, the motifs are dyed...and the colours are gorgeous.before I retired, I bought a number of lots from Wattleinspireyou and they have been very useful. Robyn's Ebay site is here.

DH and I have our first full weekend off in 3 weeks now so there is a good chance I will get that lace stitched on and maybe even start assembling the cushion cover...yes I know I have to catch up on neglected housework! Lol. But stitching is 'food for my soul'! Lol

Friday Night with Friends

The first FNwF for 2015! (It's quite peculiar swapping the 4 for the 5 at the end of the year.)

DH and I started the evening together in front of the tv watching a show that we had recorded on BBC First...The Royal Bodyguard. We had both been looking forward to it as it starred David Jason. So we settled down to watch...and I was crocheting donated squares together for Knitting for Brisbane's Needy. 

After about 15 minutes of watching the show, I commented...'This is not very good...this show is rubbish', and DH agreed, saying that he wondered why it was advertised as a comedy because he hadn't laughed yet...nor had I. We continued to watch, ever hopeful it would improve, and all the while I was joining squares into long strips.  

No the show didn't improve so I googled reviews. Hmmmm...apparently it aired in the UK in 2011 and the Brits hated it...it bombed! So why does an Aussie Pay TV company inflict it on us? If I were a business advertising on this show's ad breaks, I would cancel the contract! Lol. 

So then I moved on to some stitching...some more work on the hexie cushion...

3 more blocks stitched together and a little pile of fabric hexagons stitched over papers. 

Cheryll, over at Gone Stitchin' hosts FNwF, so to see what other participants worked on, here's the link to the post where we all signed up http://stitchingcubbyhole.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/fnwf.html . Why not visit all or some of these clever ladies. :-)

Remember the Giveaways start tomorrow to celebrate my 1000 'first run' blog posts...who'd have thought it? Lol

Hexies Link Up...

Just a short post on a current project, so I can link up with Jess over at Life Under Quilts. http://lifeunderquilts.blogspot.com.au. A check of her blog shows that Jess loves EPP too! Lol

I started this project a while ago when a friend's elderly mother admired a cushion cover that I had made for a swap. I thought it would be nice to make one in floral fabrics...then somehow, the project got put aside. Good job I hadn't mentioned to my friend that I was making her mum a cushion! 

When DH was in hospital recently, I grabbed this bag of hexies and papers and sat beside his bed stitching. You see I found out that my friend's mum is 90 next month and I am determined that this lovely lady will receive a hexie cushion, by hook or by crook! Lol. I have had a 'light bulb' moment for those squares in the middle, something to make them look special...but it's a secret for now, lol. The photo shows the blocks that I have finished so far...still a number to go. The layout in the photo probably will be changed as I do more blocks and introduce a soft mauve and soft blue.

So that's my progress at the moment...

Friday Night with Friends...

First Friday night of the month is FNwF and I joined in this last one for 2014.

I've become rather 'hooked' on this pattern designed by Judy Newman...

Each time I make it, I keep thinking of other versions of it that might be nice to make. However, my second and third Dillybags are very similar...

Last night I finished the hexagon part of the third bag...

I also cut out the lining, pockets, bases, and the Pellon pieces...

That's as far as I got last night but I can show you the second bag I made for my Secret Santa gift at Sunday  Stitchers last weekend and it's very similar to the one I'm making now...for another Secret Santa gift! Lol.

And of course you must have a look at the lining...what great fabric for a knitting/crocheted themed Dillybag!

And like the gift for last Sunday, there will be some yarn in the bag as well!

And lastly a close up of my favourite knitting themed fabric...

I must go and finish my latest Dillybag now...:-)