I have been quite busy over the last couple of days. I finished the happy birthday banner and today it is up as we are celebrating our older daughter's birthday. Unfortunately Kathryn is currently living in Paris but we have spoken to her today.


I have started the quilt that John bought for me at Alexander Palace last year. I was looking for a pattern but we ended up buying the kit as the fabric was just the colours I wanted and back in October I really didn't have any time to be choosing the fabric. 

The kit is by Sunflower fabrics. The instructions are easy to follow and the fabric quantities are very generous. I have never made a Dresden plate block before. The cutting out was lengthy as I needed 180 blades but the first block went together well.

I decided to finish all the blocks before sewing the squares for the sashing.  When we bought the kit we chatted to the lady on the stall and when we told her about the Guide quilt project she very kindly donated a bundle of quarters for them. We have already used some of them.












Earlier this week an elderly lady that we are friends with asked me if I could use any material scraps as she is moving into sheltered accommodation and will not have the room to store it. I readily agreed and collected 5 black bin bags. In one of the bin bags there were two pieces of patchwork that had been sewn by hand about fifty plus years ago.

Some of the patchwork is in a sorry state with holes in the fabric and stitches that have been pulled apart. Lucy was very taken with them and has asked if I can restore them somehow and make them into a quilt for her. I have made a start by gently washing the pieces. Once dried and lightly pressed I will be able to see how much can be salvaged. From my initial look at them I think that the best thing to do will be to conserve the areas where the material is still good as blocks and create new blocks to co-ordinate with it using sashing to pull the new and the old areas together. Beth, who gave them to me liked the idea of them being given a new lease of life. The fabrics used were all left over bits from sewing projects and Beth told me the story of what some of the fabrics had been used for


In the evenings I have been working on the final baby blanket I am knitting for Project Linus and finished the small area of my millennium sampler which celebrates Captain Cook exploring Australia.