Catching up and NewFO time

The last two weeks have been a little manic and so I've had very little time to sew. However I have been to see the orchid exhibition at Kew Gardens and yesterday we drove to Norfolk to see a large Rook roost. We went last year and it was a little scary particularly if you remember the film The Birds, but this year I really enjoyed seeing the large flock swirling around the sky before they finally went to roost in the trees.

So let's start catch up with my round up of February and my NewFO project. My goal for February was to finish my bird quilt. The quilt sandwich was all made and ready to go, all I needed to do was the quilting and the binding.

I have had great fun working on the quilting turning the brown strips into bark and using a random leaf pattern around the birds but unfortunately there is still a lot of work to do. So my only goal for February is incomplete but I'm not feeling down or sad as it will be done this month.

I did start my NewFO . We went for a walk by Hampton Court and just across the road was a quilt shop that sold Star Trek fabric. My son had asked for a quilt featuring some Star Trek fabric so this became my NewFO for the month. 

I haven't got very far with just this one section put together. I have cut out all the fabric which is unusual as I normally cut as I go along. This finished section is 24 inches square (when trimmed).

I must have been in the mood for cutting out as last Sunday I sat and cut out approximately 300 1 inch hexies for my English Paper piecing project and then I cut the fabric. Today I will get on with stitching them into flowers ready to add to the quilt.

I said earlier that we visited the Orchid exhibition at Kew Gardens. I thought you might like to see some photos. The orchids were on display with some being shown as they would grow in the wild and others just gathered together to look pretty. The display was in the Princess of Wales Conservatory which is always at least 21 C so was very pleasant to visit on a cold winter day. I've also mixed in some other photos we took ether because we liked the colours or patterns on the leaves.

The conservatory is built into the bank and has different areas to be able to display plants from different areas of the world. Each area has its own micro-climate.

I love the reflection of the hanging orchids in the water droplet.

Getting the pics of the hanging globes was difficult because of all the glass.

I love the shape and colours of this plant.

This is a real Robin sitting and singing his little heart out. He had a lot of competition as there was piped sounds of tropical birds to give the display more atmosphere but this little fellas song was a delight.

This area had a Victorian plant explorers camp all set up. The display covered the half term holiday so there were lots of children visiting and they were all fascinated by the camp. They were also encouraged to draw the flowers which many of them really enjoyed and meant they have something to show and tell when they went back to school

These flowers were so pretty and delicate.

I love the play of the water drops on the variegated leaf (or is it a petal?).

This plant certainly knows how to use colour and pattern to have impact.

The trip to Kew finished with lunch in the tea room - perfect.

As well as joining Barbara at Cat Patches for her NewFO party I am also linking with Sharon at Vroomans Quilts for her Let's Book It challenge and Lynne at Never too hot to Stitch for her Something Old, Something New Challenge.  For Sharon's challenge we have to try and use a pattern from one of our books or magazines that are sitting on the shelf. This month I continued to work on my double wedding ring quilt from the McCalls Annual 1999/2000 issue which has been sitting in my project folder on my computer since 2003. This is going to be a slow project. At present I'm working on the arcs and I only have 6 to show for my time. I will take a photo when the pile is a little larger. Until then here is the first one I made last month.

I had intended to start a new quilt from my Jane Austen Inspired Quilts book but having found the Star Trek fabric that quilt took priority. Maybe my March project will be to start a quilt from this book!

My Something Old for Lynne's challenge was to work on and finish the bird quilt. Not quite a finish but it will be in March. My something new this month was non quilting. I set out to try three different cake recipes. I only made 2 and they were yummy. I will post the recipes soon.

For now I need to get ready as we are planning on visiting the Paul Klee exhibition at the Tate Modern. It closes on March 7th and I am determined not to miss it. Later this evening I have my hand stitching all lined up and ready to go.

I hope you are having a good weekend with some time for sewing. I'm hoping I will have more time for sewing and to post on my blog this month. Maybe my Something Old this month should be to try and reorganise my life!

Lyndsey