See you in September

The summer break is over and the new season kicks off with one of Mdm Samm's blog hops. This one involved making three items and one had to include Riley Blake Design gingham. Mdm Samm does love her gingham and so do I and the RBD gingham is rather special. Our cheerleader for the hop is Shari from Living with Purpose

My first project is a quilt. Hannah who is a Young Leader with our Guide unit is leaving to go to university. She joined Rainbows when she was 5 and has gone through Brownies and Guides as well. She loved our unit project to make prem baby quilts so it seemed appropriate to make her a quilt as her leaving present. 

The next problem was what pattern to use. Hannah's name at Guides is Sparkie because she is such a lively, happy young woman. When I saw that Amy from Sew Incredibly Crazy was looking for pattern testers for a couple of her designs I jumped at the chance. The patchwork star was the perfect pattern and I was able to make the star from scraps of fabric left over from the baby quilts.

I'm sorry that the photos are a little dark but I had to take them in doors as it was raining and went very dark. The blue backing fabric is actually much brighter.  I chose fabric with musical instruments for the backing. Hannah loves her music. I pieced the backing using a strip of the blue from the front on either side.

I love the patchwork star.

The star and the border are quilted with a large meander and the rest of the quilting echos the star shape.

Amy's pattern was very well written and easy to follow so the quilt just flew together. I am so pleased with the result and I think Hannah will love it. Thanks Amy for letting me test your pattern, I love it

My second project was a cushion cover and this is where I used the RBD gingham. I love gingham as it always looks so fresh. In addition it always reminds me of my childhood as my school uniform summer dresses where always gingham. I used a pattern by Sarah Soward which appeared in British Patchwork and Quilting in August 2013. I chose the medium red gingham for the flowers.

Again I'm very happy with the result. I had a FQ of the gingham and have enough to make a second cushion cover. This will be made over the next few days. My son suggested I make two more but with the gingham as the background and use white for the flowers. I machine appliqued the flowers and found it a little tricky going round all those curves.

My final project was a summer dress. I've had this fabric for a while but hadn't got round to making it up. I chose a simple shift dress style by McCall. Their patterns are easy to follow and go together well. I didn't need to alter the pattern to get a good fit. My only problem was that no one was around to take a photo of me wearing it. I'll see what I can do over the next few days.

So there are the projects I've been working on over the holiday. I have also managed to finish another dress that I started last year and put away for some reason and I'm currently making a pinafore dress. As the weather here in London turned wet and cooler in August I picked up my knitting again and I've been busy trying to finish John's jumper. It's nice to have a break from work and be able to catch up with some projects.

Now you need to visit the rest of the hop. Here's the list of today's participants.

Thursday, September 4Jane's Quilting
Life in the Scrapatch
Sew Many Yarns - you are here
Gracie Oliver Arts
Everyone Deserves a Quilt

I hope you've enjoyed visiting today, it was lovely to see you. I hope you'll come and visit again soon.

Lyndsey

At last it's Saturday

I haven't had a chance to write a post all week as it's been too busy with work. I've managed to snatch some time to make a couple of blocks and to continue my knitting but it has mainly been late at night when I really don't want to start using the computer.

I have managed to make the 9 nine blocks for the rainbow scrap challenge. The colour for May is green. I was surprised to find that I haven't got a lot of green scraps but I found enough. Each month I am making 4 blocks.

I haven't had time to complete the hexie block yet but here are my fabrics.

I'm hoping to get this stitched whilst chilling out in front of a film tonight.

In my May goals I planned to start the corset quilt by Bobbie G Designs. I purchased this pattern before Christmas and have collected the fabrics  ready to start. 

I still may start this quilt but I decided to start the Austen Family Album quilt. The blocks are appearing weekly on Sundays at Austen Family Album which is run by Barbara Brackman. I loved making the Votes for Women quilt that she run and since Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors I decided I wanted to make this quilt.

I asked my husband for his choice of colours and he has chosen blue, greens and pinks but the pattern must be appropriate for the period. I didn't want to use specific vintage style fabrics as I love mixing and matching. I managed to get the first two blocks made but I am still behind.

Both blocks are square but the lower one sure looks like the right hand side is wonky. The blocks finish at 12 inches and they will run for 36 weeks.

I want to make a cover for my machine so that I can leave it set up without it collecting cat hairs from Picasso when he decides to investigate. I have a case / carry bag but this is heavy so I only use it when I am putting the machine away for a while when we go on holiday or if I'm taking the machine somewhere else. Ages ago I bought this fabric because I loved the sewing machine on it. I also have another sewing fabric in my stash which I must hunt out this weekend.

That's pretty much what I've managed this week. I'm going to walk Scamp and then I have the rest of the day to get on with my various projects. The walk should be fun as it is very warm out although it is quite dull. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Lyndsey

September NewFO and review of goals.

Oh where did September go? I have hardly got started on my projects this month and here we are with no more time. So how did I do on my goals?

Goal 1. Quilt my Anniversary quilt and give it to my friends.

The top was all finished and the quilt sandwich made at the beginning of the month. It should have been an easy goal BUT you have to take into account that if it can go wrong it will. When I started the quilting I thought it was going to be easy. My machine had been sewing very nicely but it had made an odd grumbling noise a couple of times. As I put my foot on the pedal it groaned and snapped the needle and the stitch was awful. I tried everything I could to get it working properly but in the end I rushed it to the service doctor. My machine was gone a week and a half and now I was running late with other commitments. Sadly goal 1 will move to October's list

Goal 2 was to complete my project for the Pin It blog hop at Sew We Quilt. This was a really good hop with lots of lovely pin cushions appearing everywhere. Henry, my cockerel and Mouse took centre stage on my blog.

So goal 2 was a success. Yippee! On the down side Picasso has run off with mouse and I can't find him anywhere. It's a good job I hadn't put any pins in him. Henry is proving to be a very useful pin cushion.

Goal 3 was my September NewFO. Apart from my pin cushions I have two other NewFO's this month. First I started the baby quilt I had been asked to make. During the first week of the month I was asked if I would be interested in teaching a beginners quilting class with the possibility of further and more advanced classes later. Being me I said yes (and then panicked later!) Anyway when planning what to make I decided to use the blocks from Moda.. the cutting table size matters blog hop. This had 9 days worth of designers showing how to make and use different blocks. The cutting instructions were given for a variety of sizes which is such an amazing resource. I decided to use these blocks for my quilt and then the photos could be a teaching aid in future.

The top is finished and I just need to quilt it which is a job for this weekend. I have also made several other blocks from the hop for use in another small quilt. I'm taking this with me tomorrow when I teach the first class. For this class we are sticking with blocks made using squares and rectangles.

My second NewFO was made for the Crazy about Wool blog hop at Denise's blog Pieced Brain. For this I made a skirt and showed a photo of myself. 

I was really pleased at being able to match the seam so well.

The icing on the cake with this hop was that I won the Blogger's give away from the sponsors Denise had found. Lovely packages to look forward to.

Goal 4 was to complete the blocks for my Votes for Women quilt. Unfortunately due to the machine being in for service and repair this didn't happen but I did add several more blocks to the collection. Nearly done now. In fact it should be possible to finish these up in October.
Here's 4 of the blocks I managed to complete. The blue on these pics is actually violet / purple.

Goal 5, my final goal was to complete my first block for the 'It's a dogs life' quilt. I was also using fabri solvy for the first time. What a genius invention! It worked really well and because I cut off all the excess sheet I could when I washed it out it dissolved very quickly and didn't leave any sticky residue.

In fact the first block worked so well I started on the second one. This one is very straightforward so shouldn't take very long.

So my score for this month is 3 goals completed out of 5. Not too bad considering the machine was out of action for a while. I'm linking this post with Melissa at Sew Bittersweet Designs for her September finishes party and  Barbara at Cat Patches for her September NewFO party.

On the side bar you will find a new button. Madame Samm from Sew We Quilt has designed a cute button to show what type of blog Sew We Quilt is. She organises loads of blog hops covering all sorts of themes which enables all of us to sew and show folks what we've made. I love hopping around the blogs as you get so many great ideas for projects. I currently have a list as long as my arm with ideas that are perfect for some of my Christmas gifts. I just need to get on with the sewing. Madame Samm has lots of ideas for future hops so check regularly to see what's going on.

Now I must go and marshal my thoughts for my October goals. Realistically what can I achieve this month?

I hope you have enjoyed the last day of September and here's hoping that October will be a good month for sewing.

Lyndsey

September goals

Here we are at the start of September and the girls in my Rainbow, Brownie and Guide units are starting back at school. My teaching year at the University begins on the 16th September when we have new students in for induction. It's always a fun but tiring time as you get to know the new students and learn to spot the ones who are stressed by the whole experience. It's a stressful time of the year as the change from school to university is a big step in itself but often involves leaving home for the first time. There is also a lot of study materials to be organised especially as I am teaching some new subjects, so with that in mind I'm being careful not to overstretch myself with goals this month.

Last month I finished my Happy Anniversary quilt top and I have bought the batting and backing fabric. I went for a white tone on tone fabric for the backing and will use the left over red, grey and purple fabric for the binding.

Goal 1 is to quilt this top and give it to its new owner by the end of the month.

I am taking part in the Pin it hop next week. My day is the 13th. Therefore goal 2 is to complete my project. No pictures at this point.

I also take part in the NewFO challenge over at Cat Patches. I have a couple of possibilities for this. I want to start my own anniversary quilt and I have all the fabric ready to go. I have also been asked to make a baby quilt. The baby quilt will definitely be a NewFO this month and if I'm really lucky I'll have time to make a start on my anniversary quilt. I have been searching the baby quilt patterns and there are just so many lovely designs out there I can't make up my mind which to do. I'm visiting my local quilt shop this afternoon so the fabric choices will probably help decide the design. Baby quilt as my NewFO challenge is goal 3.

Goal 4 is to complete all the blocks for my votes for women quilt. I have got a little behind so need to get back on track. All the blocks have now been published so this is just a case of getting on with it. Kathryn, my older daughter, who I'm making the quilt for has recently moved and it would be nice to be able to complete her quilt this year. Here are some of my completed blocks.

My final goal is to complete my first block for my 'It's a dogs life' quilt. I made a start but haven't got very far as I was away for a lot of last month.

So 5 goals this month. Here's hoping I'm not being too over optimistic.

I'm linking this post with Melissa at Sew Bittersweet Designs for this months goal setting party and with Lynne Never too hot to Stitch for her monthly round up of 2013 The Year of the Finished Project.

The weather here in London UK is hot and sunny so I'm off to enjoy a little time in the garden as rain is forecast for this weekend. I hope the weather is good where you are and that you have some 'you' time for stitching or to just 'be'.

Lyndsey

1st Blogaversary, catching up and a give away.

Wednesday was the first anniversary of starting my blog. Unfortunately due to a problem with all the joints of my right arm I have been unable to do anything much for the last few days. Basically all my joints are red,swollen and very painful as a result of an acute episode of rheumatoid arthritis. However a birthday needs to be celebrated so I'm taking this very slowly and typing with my left hand only.

Little did I know 1 year ago that starting my blog would be so much fun or that it would make me get back into all my craft activities. I think my family, especially my dear husband John thought it was a fad that would go away after a few days or months at the most. But here I am one year on having made lots of friends in blogland, meet one of those friends in person and made lots of lovely things. Why would I want to stop?

As I haven't been able to sew anything I decided to show you four more blocks from the Votes for Women BOW at Grandmother's Choice. I'm really enjoying this BOW although I am always playing catch up.

So as it's my blogaversary I said I had a give away. I am offering these three fat quarters.

This give away is open to anyone and I will mail internationally. To enter;

1. Leave a comment on this post telling why you started your blog. If you don't have a blog then tell me what you like to read on a blog. 

2. If you are a follower leave another comment for a second chance.

The give away will remain open for one week until 11.59 p.m. (GMT) Saturday 20th April  

I'm linking this post with Connie at Freemotion by the river. Go and see what folks have been up to this week. There is always lots of quilt eye candy and ideas.

I'm not sure if I will be able to do much sewing or anything for a little while but I will be taking part in the April showers hop on Tuesday 16th April. Come back then for another give away.

Have a good weekend and I hope you get some time for sewing.

Lyndsey

Catching up with BOW

Back in August of last year I started the block of the week run by Grandmother's Choice  called Votes for Women. I liked the idea of these blocks and the history that Barbara gives each week is fascinating. As my grandmother was a member of the W.S.P.U. here in the UK I thought this would be a good quilt to make for my older daughter who is also a staunch supporter of women's rights.

I started really well and managed to stay up to date until about November when I found myself a little short of time and one or two of the blocks proved a little tricky to make. These were the first six

I found this one very difficult and in the end it took three attempts to get it made. It's still not perfect so I may remake it in the future if I have time.

Later blocks included these two

When I looked at the block released on Saturday I realised that the BOW was already at week 30 and I had only completed 13 blocks. So today I set out to make at least four blocks.

Here are the four I managed to get done. I had to miss out one of the recent blocks as there was a template for it but neither of the printers would work, one needed more toner and the other would copy and scan but not print. I'll print the templates at work and make it during the week. 

Once I'd made these blocks I started cutting out the pieces for one of my new big projects. I haven't taken any photos so far but I will do that tomorrow. I also need to take photos of the lovely mug rugs I received on Saturday from my swap partner in Australia.

The weather here in the London has been very cold and snowy over the weekend so staying home and sewing was perfect. Going into work tomorrow to clear up some bits I didn't get finished and then Holiday until 4th April. Yippee. 

Don't forget the 'Stitch me up' hop continues tomorrow over at Sew we quilt. The schedule for Monday is;

MONDAY MARCH 25th

Beverly @That Other Blog

Betty@That Other Blog

Stitches to Sprinkles 

 Stitch Duchess' Crazy and Sane Quilting World

Bejeweled Quilts by Barb

Kathy's Quilts

Mountain Delights 

Tea and Quilts    

 Charlottes Creations

Quilt Obsession

The Slow Quilter

Cali Quilter

Little Pieces of My Life

Creating My Comforts

Enjoy.

Lyndsey

October NewFO

I am linking this post with Barbara at Cat Patches who has a brilliant monthly linky party about the new projects you have started in the month. No quilt here about not having finished an old project just joy at starting another quilting project. I love starting new things and I am really lucky as I don't have many unfinished projects.

So what have I started new this month. Well first I have linked with grandmothers choice to take part in the Votes for Women block of the week quilt. This started on September 1st but I didn't start my blocks until 5th October.  One of the blocks - Kansas sunflower caused me several problems but I managed to make a passable version of it. I may redo it in the future.

So by the 5th October I had also completed,

 and since then I have made,

I am making the quilt for my older daughter as she is a staunch supporter of women's rights.I am using green white and violet / purple fabric for the blocks as these were the colours of the Women's Social and Political Union in the UK of which my grandmother was a member.

I am still one block behind and the next is due on Saturday. I love all the history that is included with this block of the week. On Saturday I make myself a cup of tea and enjoy the read.

This month I also took part in the Wicked Blog hop and for this I made a table runner. You can read about what I did here. This was a start and a finish in the month.

Since the blog hop it has looked very seasonal on my dinning table. 

I had several other projects that I had hoped to start but my work and two trips away got in the way of my stitching. I shall be starting the first of these projects on Saturday so that means I will definitely have something to share for November NewFO link up.

For now I am off to the kitchen to bake a cake having just read Barbara's post at Cat patches about making a Maple-Glazed Pumpkin-Cranberry Coffee Cake. Yum, how delicious does that sound. Why not pop by and see what everyone else has started during October by either clicking here or using the NewFO button on the right of this post.