Piggy Bank, Hexies and Fabric

This week has been a bit of a roller coaster for trying to get things done. Monday saw the last of the assessment meetings at work and the only marking remaining for the summer are the resubmissions following referrals. Fortunately I don't have too many of those to come in so that gives me a little breathing space. Next up I've been trying to get everything ready for the start of the new academic year. To feel really comfortable the first three weeks work needs to be fully prepared. That's almost completed and so very soon I will be able to sit back and enjoy the summer.

Trying to get the day job sorted hasn't left much time for sewing but I have got my projects reorganised so I know what I'm doing. It's very confusing when I haven't worked on a project for a while and it seems to take an age to get my brain back into gear.

First up I reloaded the printer drivers on my computer. I haven't made the hexie blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for May, June or July because I didn't have any templates. I printed them out earlier today and sat watching an episode of NCIS whilst I cut them out. Now I need to get the fabrics from my stash and get cutting.

Valerie from Val's Quilting Studio invited me to join in with her Piggy Bank Challenge - money for quilting challenge. This seemed like a good idea as fabric is quite expensive. At the same time I was tidying my daughter's bedroom. She has moved into a flat with her boyfriend and some friends but seems to have left most of her belongings. On a shelf I found this cute piggy bank and I've adopted it for this challenge.

I had some change in my purse so he's feeling a little full. Hopefully by the end of June next year I will have a good amount to spend on fabric.

A couple of months ago I was asked to make a quilt. Lauren had the fabric she wanted me to use and she wanted different sized squares or rectangles. I decided the best approach was to make nine patch blocks and then cut them. This would gives squares and rectangles. I took some photos as I went along but at the moment can only find these ones.

I think the next steps are on my other camera. The blocks are large and so they went together very quickly. The quilt is all but finished, just a tiny bit of binding left to be stitched on by hand.

I also forgot to post the fabric I bought when we had our mini break. On the Saturday morning we went into Andover. There are two quilt shops in the area and we had planned to visit both but we spent so long in the one that we didn't have time for the other. A couple of the pieces are 1/2 metres whilst the rest are fat quarters.

I got some red fabric for the corset quilt I want to make. The gingham is Riley Blake and is for a blog hop I'm taking part in in September. 

The top two of these are for use in the Jane Austen family album quilt and the lower one I need for my grandmothers garden hexi quilt.

I don't have a particular use for these three but I like them. Do I need a better reason?

I particularly like the ducks and I do have another baby quilt to make soon. I could also use the leaf one in the Jane Austen quilt. I must try it with the other fabrics I've got.

Finally I've been making a T shirt dress.  This is a really simple design. Two pieces make the back with a central seam. Then there is the front and the sleeve pieces. The neck edge, sleeve and hem are finished with a simple narrow hem. I've still got to finish the neck and the hem. The fabric is cotton knit and will keep me cool in our current very hot weather. I'm currently working hard on losing weight so I wanted a couple of quick easy dresses that I could make from fabric in my dress making stash. I'll show you a photo when I've finished it.

Finally we have been having some amazing sunsets. I took this photo on my phone as we walked home on Saturday evening. Everyone was busy taking pictures on their phones. Unfortunately it doesn't do the sunset justice as it was so much better in real life.

Well that's all from me for now as I want to go and hunt the fabric for the hexies. I can then sit and do some stitching whilst watching something on the TV. I hope you've had a great weekend and the weather has been good for you. Here in London we have been enjoying a heat wave. I really hope it continues for a while.

Lyndsey