Crazy Quilt Journal Project 1

Well you know that saying about the best laid plans. I made the block last month so I would be be ready to start embellishing when the New year arrived, then it had an accident.  There was a bit of a gap on the seam so I decided to place a cat on it but the iron was to hot.

Of course it had to be a piece I got in a swap.

It came from here.

Oh well will just have to be a plain piece

The Offending cat

Put together again. Cat is much better there then where it was going to go before to cover the gap. So now its ready for the New Year

Babushka Wednesday 6

The centre block. The lace trim is hand made bobbin lace made by my daughter,  the one who the quilt is being made for should I ever finish it.

Hexagons of Scraps

hexagons of scraps

I made my first hexagon quilt when I was 6 yrs. old. Well it never got to be a quilt but it did  become a cushion cover that was used until it disintegrated.   I have probably made several million hexagons in many sizes but really like the 2 ½ cm (1"), as it fits nicely into the scrap that doesn't quite make it to a 6 cm (2 ½") square.  Well the scraps were starting to mount up so I  started on another UFO project,  these really are scraps and I don't want to make the usual grannies garden so for now will just make hexagons until I have enough to sort into colour groups, will see were it will go then. A self propelling  mystery.

Babushka Wednesday 5

This is my second favourite, I love the little one.

Babushka Wednesday 4

These four small blocks have to be put together, its not my favourite set but maybe it will look better when its sewn together.

Babushka Wednesday 3

This is one of my favourites, it was my first except it didn't play nice. I love the colours,  It was the second one I made as the first one printed out to small but I didn't realise until I had finished it. This one had an accident when I dropped the pen so has a beauty spot.

Snowmen Tuesday 49

Well Christmas is here once more,   all the snowmen are  out of there box  once more, naturally there has to be a snowman rug around, this one was made about 5 years ago.   I just can't resist those panels of blocks,  then can't think of what to do with them. this was easy as they were all square so snowball blocks for snowmen seemed just right.   I do have several other snowman prints that are not quite as easy to use, hmmm maybe next year.

Snowman knee rug

Crazy Quilt Journal Project - 2012, (Starting point)

Rough sketch of what I want to do, no guarantee as even when there my own inspirations I seldom follow through on them, the blocks are shaped in such a way that they can be made into purses or needlecases if they don't get put together.

Each  block has been drawn out on paper so that I'll have a bit of a chance of getting my fabric colour reasonably in the right place.  Each month I'll pick out a sheet randomly then when the blocks embellished use the sheet to finish of the blocks ( as in English patchwork)  When I have two or more joining blocks I'll sew together and embellish the seam.

I've marked each backing square in the same way as when I make the hearts for the Chains of Hearts group.    I draw the seam line one one side, turn it over and redraw exactly over marking.

I find if I used white or light coloured backing that I only have to place the block on a light surface (cloth, paper) to be able to see the first outline through the fabric so I don't need to use a light box or window to trace it.

I place and sew on the fabrics making sure I place well over the pencil line

I turn it over and machine stitch about ½ inch from seam line. Tack in a nice bright thread on the penciled seam line so I don't stitch past that point as sometimes I get carried away and forget to stop.  I always tack the seam line as I know from hearts I have received that sometimes its damn hard to remove machine stitch and just because thats suppose to be the seam line it doesn't mean it will be in the same place after embellishing.  I know some people like to leave at least an inch of seam allowance for that very reason but I find for me it limits the fabric I have as it needs to be so much larger and I also lose  the concept of the finished item as I tend to look at the block as a whole rather then just looking at the work area even though I use bright seam line thread.

Surplice trimmed off and its ready to start stitching,  As you can see I'll need to fudge, but a bit of lace will soon hide that mistake. Oh the joys of crazy quilting, you don't have to follow a pattern.  That block is  ready to start in the New Year.  Now if I can piece one block ahead of time each month then I should keep on schedule.   This is the last bit of stitching for this year so I can  start getting prepared for Christmas.

Christmas postcard

My  Christmas Postcard Swap that we have done  on Chains of Hearts this year is going to Jeni in England.  I hope she likes it.  Making postcards is not my favourite past time as I always have problems with the edge, even worse is the chance of making a mistake when writing on the back. I still have that to do so hope all goes well.

Babushka Wednesday 2

I may add some lace to this one at a later date or maybe some loopy embroidery around the scarf.

Snowmen Tuesday 48

Babushka Wednesday 1

I started well but like quite a few things its become a UFO.  All but one block is finished but then DD who collects Babushka and who its being made for said she wasn't keen on the border that was to go round it.   Its not that I'm blaming her for encouraging another UFO as I really didn't like it myself but I was all geared up for that border so each week you will see a block and by the time I get to number 10 it may be made and you never know I may even of started the border. I just have to plan it.   This was a  BOM from Angies Bits and Pieces in 2010

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Scrap flowers to be quilted

Scrap flowers

Flowers were paper pieced then appliqued onto the machine pieced background.   Not sure when it will get quilted, maybe next year.

Poor blog

Its so sadly neglected, I don't seem to of learned any shortcuts except how to schedule, as you have seen by the snowmen and I would much prefer to sew then write about what I've done.  But I've just signed up for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project - 2012 so it may become a little more interesting then snowmen, though I do love my snowmen and it was a wonderful way to see them through the year while they lay in there box waiting for Xmas to be unpacked again, but they are coming to an end except for one I found in an op shop and another my DD bought me so its just as well there are new happenings on the horizon. 

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Getting to the end of the year so have to double up.

Snowmen Tuesday 43

He used to have perfumed oil in him, now he's just an ornament until I can get new reeds and oil.

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Plays jingle bells.

Kitchen window

View from the kitchen window

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A glass bauble from my daughter

Spring has Sprung

So far we haven't had much Spring and the bulbs are not coming out all together but this heart planted about 4 yrs ago is still welcoming Spring each year.

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One of my tallest Snowmen, he's made so that he can have a teas light put in him.

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Davids I spy quilt

Poor snowmen have been visiting each week but I haven't got a lot of sewing done at all lately and as for the garden, the weather just hasn't been very nice.   But
a UFO completed.  I made the blocks for this quilt a few years ago when I started to make a quilt for our daughter, it took it on a life of its own as the blocks multiplied when Son wanted one too.   A great deal of time was taken finding novelty fabrics for adults.  Once enough blocks were made they were spread over the floor and they each picked out a block in turn.  Daughters was made a few years ago, spare blocks were made into a cat quilt for sons cats but this one, sort of lingered,  anything that could go wrong did, a block upside down., a tuck in the backing, an ink blot on the back when I place it on top of a pen.  But its finished complete with bag so it could be carried as hand luggage by son moving interstate as it didn't quite get finished quick enough to go with the furniture.

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The "flame" changes colour  but is bit to bright and changes to fast so we don't use the light. I think he has a cute face though.

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Music box, the little skaters go round the snowman.

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