Mini Patchwork

I set some of my friends the challenge of producing several pieces of postcard sized stitched work, either embroidery or patchwork.  Thought it was time I made a start on my own ones. I have been trying to use up lots of scraps of fabric since Lockdown.  These are 1" half square triangles in cream and white shades.

Now started to add layers and machine stitch.  Hand stitch next I think and perhaps one or two small beads.

Bits and Pieces

This week the iris in the garden have unfurled to reveal all their inky loveliness. We have also got lots of baby birds in the garden coming to get fed or be fed at the feeders.  I am finding it very difficult to concentrate and work on anything at the moment so decided to make a small hanging using up scraps of fabric from some instructions I saved from a magazine a long, long time ago.

A Bit of Distraction

I have actually been doing a bit of sewing this week, but having to take care because my shoulder is still not fully recovered. I have discovered that machine stitching and ironing really aggravate it, and hand stitching is almost as bad. I have got round to making 4 place mats out of scraps of fabric that I have had lying around for ages.  Disappointed my stash has not decreased much.  Shall have to think of some more little projects to do.

Also done lots of (hilly) cycling this week as the weather has been nice. I even got my Whyte Victoria hybrid out for an airing. So different to riding my LIV road bike.  Lovely countryside and did a bit of exploring whilst I was out.

View towards the Malverns

We have got a new cycling challenge this next week.  Silly/ Rude signs we see out on our rides and I found this one at Clive's. Someone (perhaps the person who suggested the topic) had been storing up lots of them ready for an opportunity to use them. Mearse Lane was one that came up but they missed the lane linked to it - Dogbut Lane. My friend Eileen split our sides laughing when we drove past them some time ago on a trip to a friends. In fact I was laughing that much I do not know how I drove the car.

Kitchen Cupboards

I keep drawing cutlery at the moment to keep myself sane and busy. Moving on to stacks of plant pots later this week.  Still managing to get out cycling thank goodness, but wonder how long it will be before we are told not to go out at all.

Managed a bit of stitching this week.  I am still using up leftover fabric.  I have a second quilt top pieced ready for quilting and then lots of other pieces which may be enough to make a hanging or smaller quilt.  I have got a bit hooked on making these circles.  They are quite easy to do and can look very effective. They certainly use up small scraps of pieced fabrics.

Tiny Log Cabin Squares

The deadline for the next piece of work for our Yorkshire Travelling Sketchbook (which currently takes the form of a 'Hussif' with 'Twinchies' as inserts) is looming on the horizon.  I thought I had better get on with something for it so have produced several 2" foundation pieced log cabin squares.  Just got to choose the one to use and then finish it off into an acceptable and embellished piece of work.  Of course, cycling keeps getting in the way of work as I am making the most of being able to get out in the open air and sunshine whilst I can.  Lonely cycling on one's own though!

Bittie Quilt

Having been left with lots of sample pieces and fabric leftovers I decided to put them to good use and make another small quilt.  It has taken up an awful lot of time and I am not sure how large it is going to end up being.

At least some of the plants in the garden are looking lovely and cheerful like these pansies which were a present from one of my friends.

I am still here ....just

I do not know where the time goes …. still cycling as much as I can fit in between the wet weather, which is occasionally rewarded with lovely views towards the Malvern Hills like this.

Also finished and delivered a quilt that I made as a present for the lovely lady who got me cycling who has recently got married.

Making some progress with printing at the moment too ….

Not all cycling

I have been making a another quilt, which has taken up quite a lot of my time.  Now ready for quilting, but also using up all the spare bits to make another quilt. The picture above is before I added another white border to the outer edge.

Managed to fit in several cycle rides too.  This was Bredon Hill Loop on Saturday and we are outside Pirton Church and almost back to the start at Croome Park. A total ride of 27 miles. We had quite a laugh on our journey as we had to stop so that one of the cyclists could buy some free range eggs at a roadside gate. Has to be a first!

I am looking so happy as I have just come up a short hill coming out of Pershore.

Wednesday's Fitness Ride saw us do a nice slow climb up the Malverns to one of the Wells.

Star Gazing

Stupidly I have started a new quilt this week.  It is going to be all turquoise and white and not too large. I have been persevering with getting the points lined up which has meant some unpicking and restitching along the way. Other household jobs need doing at the moment so have had to put it on hold for a while but may get some more done at the weekend when DH is going off on a jolly to watch the Mintex Rally somewhere in Yorkshire.

Much prefer the darker squares, but will not find out effective they are until I start to join all the squares together to form the whole quilt.

Purple Patches

Whilst up in Yorkshire I took the opportunity to catch up with some of the 'Yorkshire Travelling Journals' from previous years. I had tried to photograph the pages as I went along but of course once they have passed on you do not see them again before they return to their owners. Hopefully I have now captured some more of the pages. These were from August 2014.

Another Little Quilt

I have had a few days on my own as DH took himself off on a little jolly for 4 days. I made the most of the time to piece this small quilt using a method to produce circles that I found in an Improv Quilts book. It made it so easy to get the circles to actually be round and neat. I am also still trying to use up leftover fabric.

It is not finished yet and is quite small and I assume it will make a nice small quilt for a cot or crib.

A Little Bit of a Diversion

As if I do not have enough unfinished projects already? Sometimes I just need to do something else, anything else, rather than what I am meant to be doing so I started to make a small quilt from some fabric I had left over from a cot quilt I made some years ago.  It has taken me two weeks so far and it is still far from finished.  I seem to end up unpicking almost as much as I stitch because I am not happy with the way the pieces line up. I try so hard to be really accurate with the seams and cutting and still they are never quite right.

Stitched squares awaiting assembly. I have now changed the layout around and added another column of patches.

2 replacement squares to be added as I am not happy with the original ones I made … guess I will have enough bits left for a Lap Quilt after this!!

Some of the stitched pieces laid on the ironing board awaiting the next step ….

Quilt Show

Found time to spend a whole day at the Harrogate Quilt Show last Saturday.  Loved this fishy cushion.

and hope to find some inspiration from this quilt which was designed using images from quilts created during the Civil War.

My favourite exhibit had to be this miniature quilt depicting snowdrops with all the shading created using machine stitching.

It was lovely to bump into lots of people I know and catch up with them. Perhaps one day I will get to live back in lovely Yorkshire.  I feel it is in my bones and miss it lots.

Festival of Quilts

Need to swap my proper bike for this one.  It would certainly give me a softer landing. Had two days at the NEC this week and caught up with some friends too.  Lovely break.

Loved these small hexagons wrapped around what seemed to be old dress patterns. It reminded me of caddis fly larvae. I believe they attach small bits of stones and debris they find in streams to themselves to protect them.

It must be Moth Weather

I had a few spare minutes yesterday before we went out for the day so I drew the outline of a moth onto some black card that I had been scribbling on trying out some white ink.  I then placed the cut out moth on top of the card and the card on top of an illustration of something I had saved to put in my sketchbook. Not sure where this is leading me too, but it is good to experiment and develop your ideas.

Progress on another little project is slow and last week I have managed to use my soldering iron to cut out hexagons of sheer fabrics to collage on top of the indigo dyed stitched pieces.  These are the leftovers above which I have adhered to a piece of fabric using the sticky powder you use to mend clothes. (It is like Bondaweb without the backing and the name eludes me at the moment) Thought my cut out black card moth looked like he needed feeding so popped him onto the fabric. Do moths like thistles?

This is the hexagon piece which I am really stuck on.  Handstitching is not working so shall have to resort to some machine embroidery first I think in a lighter coloured thread.

Little by Little

Finished this cot quilt off on Thursday morning.  I found it extremely difficult to piece and, although it looks fine from a distance, close scrutiny reveals quite a few bits that do not line up as well as I would like.  I have to start quilting the much larger version of it now, which is at least 2/3rds bigger than this one.

Triangles on my Mind

I thought I had finished piecing this quilt the other day, only to discover there was a row missing so I have been busy stitching another line of triangles.  All now completed and ready for the next stage.  I am also using up the triangles that were left to make a smaller, cot size, quilt.  I must be mad, but at least I can practice some quilting designs on it before starting this larger one.

Hexagons in the Blue

Last week I started playing with some bits of indigo dyed fabric and very small hexagons.  Not sure what the outcome is going to be but it may have several layers of sheer fabrics and stitch added to it next.  I really should be getting on with other outstanding tasks, but sometimes a little diversion helps me to focus on the other things I am stuck on.  This is also something I can pick up and add a little to when I have a few spare minutes.

Jolly Weekend

Had a jolly weekend for a change.  I cycled 12 miles from Malvern to Worcester on Sunday morning on quiet roads and then, finally, alongside the River Severn. Then DH picked me up, but I had thought about carrying on as far as Croome Park.

In the afternoon I visited the Ledbury Quilters exhibition at Tarrington and was treated to some lovely work.  There was a special display of work by the late Marie Roper who had been an important member of the group over the 25 years they have been in existence.

It's Finished ...One More to Go

Reverse of Quilt - Long Arm Quilted by Fathers Heart

At long last I have finished this quilt!!  It has been under construction for 10 years now and I was so embarrassed that it had taken so long.  Lots of good excuses which included DH giving up his job and being out of work for a year and then the upheaval of moving miles away from Yorkshire and buying a house that needed a monumental amount of work doing to it, which I seem to have had to organise. Time for catching up on my things now, although the house is far from finished.

Some of these appear on the quilt, but not like this