Sunbonnet Sue or Sunbonnet Sam

Which one should I make was the question that I asked a friend of mine whose son and daughter in law's second baby is due in about 5 weeks time.      She was unable to answer my question as the parents to be want a surprise at the end.    Not very helpful when trying to make a wallhanging for the new baby so I will just have to wait and see like everyone else but in the meantime I went ahead and made "big sister" one so that she will feel included when the time comes.   It was very easy to pick colours as like every little 3 year old girl purple and pink are her favourites.   I hope I picked the right shades of purple and pink for her wallhanging.

While making the first wallhanging I did pick out some colours suitable for both a "Sue" or  a"Sam" which will be revealed early March.

Linking with Oh Scrap.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

A cup of Tea

I have spent far too long gazing at the Northern Lights in Canada while the rest of the group on tour has been sipping tea in England and almost getting ready to move onto the next destination.     Today has been much cooler to the point that  I can now think about sewing and adding another mug rug to my collection.   I knew that I had the perfect fabric to represent sipping tea and after going through my fabric boxes of course it was in the last one that I looked in....typical.   You can see what JoJo had in mind for our tour of England here and this is my interpretation

Next month we are moving onto Israel and I am curious  to know what JoJo will come up with to represent our travels.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

FNSI

Thanks Wendy for organising the first FNSI of 2017 and despite the fact that the weather has not been conducive to much sewing lately due to the constant heat wave that has been hanging over us I did make a start on my new tote bag using the pretty cat fabric that I was gifted during last year.  

As you can see there is still a lot left to go - the lining needs to be cut and sewn as well as the handles and looking at the weather forecast for the next few days there will not be much sewing done again. If you would like to see what all the other crafty people achieved please pop over to Sugarlane Designs and you will not be disappointed.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Row by Row

Today has been the coolest day we have had for over a week so it was a good opportunity to head to my sewing room and make a start on sewing up my 374 squares.    I was very surprised to see just how quickly they sewed up into rows......I now have 18 blocks across and 21 rows sewn.

I was so motivated that the iron was turned on, seams pressed open to reduce the bulk as I put the wadding on when appliquing each circle to give extra weight for the stitching  and 3 rows are now sewn together.

Only 18 rows left to go however this is going to be very slow going from now on  as I have decided to do this quilt as "quilt as you" a technique I have not done before.  I have spoken to a few of the ladies at my quilt group who have done QAYG but they used sashing between the blocks and rows and I do not want to use sashing as it will break up the design of the quilt being a "calendar".   With the help of "Mr Google"  I did find a video showing what I thought was possible but I will need to make a couple of adjustments to fit in with what has been sewn so far and in my mind this should work....hopefully or else it is back to putting on my "thinking cap".  

Linking up with Oh Scrap

Back soon with more progress photos of my version of QAYG and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

What have I created!!!!!!

Is what I said to myself when I had a play with my 366 daily circles plus 12 extra blocks  with a letter on each one of them to represent every month of the year making a total of  378 squares to be joined together.   I have been kicking around quite a few ideas for many months - would I make 2 quilts each one representing 6 months of the year and join them back to back - no was the answer.   Would I go with the blocks down in columns  - again another no.    So after doing my maths by dividing, multiplying and adding I decided to go with a "calendar" style quilt - blocks for each day going across the quilt with 18 blocks  across and 21 rows down.    Each block was trimmed to 4 1/2" for a 4" finish.   This is what they look like all laid out and ready to be sewn.

See what I mean - what have I created!   Tomorrow is making a start on the sewing up process.  Wish me luck.     After making these circles for 366 days I am now finding at some point of each day I am thinking what fabric would represent today - this challenge was very addictive.

Linking with Building Blocks and Oh Scrap

Back soon with some progress photos and in the meantime.

Happy sewing all

 

First finishes for 2017

Last night was FNwF and it was a good opportunity to finish off two items that I had started late last year.   Firstly  I will apologise for the quality of the photos - it is a very bright sunny day and trying to find a spot to photograph with the right light was just about impossible.    The colour of the bag is actually a very dark navy almost black but has come out quite pale.    Hubs is delighted with the result and especially all the pockets that I put both on the inside and outside of the bag so he can access whatever he needs easily - particularly the mobile phone.

A girl cannot have enough nighties in this hot weather and especially when there is such cute fabric around with  rabbits in teapots and cups.       I made the nightie a size bigger for Miss M as there is nothing worse than being restricted in night wear.

It looks like there were lots of  busy people last night creating some lovelies and the place to check it out is here.    Thanks again Cheryll for hosting another fun night.

Linking with OMG for January

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

100 Day Challenge

                                        

Is what caught my eye as I was doing some blog hopping and read with interest what this all about.

How does the 100 Day Challenge work?

1) Pick 3 specific Quilty/Craft goals - finish something old?  try something new?  declutter/destash?  easy/hard?  Doesn't matter, just be SPECIFIC.2) On Friday, January 6th, either leave your 3 goals in a comment in that day's Kick Off post, or write your own blog post with your intentions and link them up to the linky posted that day.3) Get to work4) Check in linky's will be posted at Day 30, Day 60, and Day 85.  (You can also tell us your progress in the comments section of the post that day if you don't want to link up).5) Finale will be April 15th (easy to remember as it is tax day in the US), when you will tell us how you did on your goals.

This sounds a great way to be committed but not overwhelmed as I have 3 items that came straight away to mind which I think will be achievable by  15th April.     

Firstly will be my 365 daily circles which I will endeavour to at least get all the blocks sewn together, secondly will be to finish off the rainbow scrap quilt and next on my list is to make a new bag for myself.   

If you would like to join in this challenge details about linking up  can be found here at  Quilter in the Closet.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

  

Best of 2016

                                   

It is nice to be able to look back on the year and see what has been achieved - or not.    I discovered that 2016 was the Year of the Small item as far as my sewing is concerned.   I did start a couple of what I hope will be "a quilt one day projects"  but below are a few of my favourite items that were finished and now enjoyed.

Firstly Cheers , good health

Was a set of placemats that were made for use when eating outside.

                                         
Secondly  The  Finish Line 

A UFO that had been sitting around my sewing room for a very long time and now sits proudly on the dining table of my son and daughter in law.

                                              

Next comes Cool Cats

A runner that I made for the piano from some very cute cat fabric that was bought for me from Japan.

                                                    

Then comes my origami candle mat

                                                

And last but not least Done and Dusted

A table runner that was the result of a "mystery train ride".

                                                        

Thanks goes to Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs for giving us the opportunity to share our work with others.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Waving goodbye to 2016

Which was not a particularly kind year health wise for a few of my family members and friends.   Nor was it a good year on the natural disaster front both locally and overseas.    Fortunately we were very lucky unlike some in our area and were not flooded during the heavy relentless  rain that continued for several days during June.    Quite a few of the homes and buildings  that were affected by the heavy rain and seas are still under repair today some 6 months later.     There has also been a lot of unrest worldwide so I am hoping for a healthier, safer, happier and better 2017 for all concerned.

On a happier note 4 generations of the family were able to join together and enjoy Christmas lunch. Hubs and I were able to get away for a couple short breaks during the past year and Miss M continues to be a delight -  we enjoy having her each Monday while her parents are working.  We  had a few repairs and replacements done around our home during the year which we are very happy with.   I also met up with my friend  as we celebrated our "40th friendship anniversary".    I purchased an overlocker during the year and wondered why I did not do this years ago.    How quick it is to sew up a garment.

Looking back at my sewing over the past year I achieved quite a few finishes and made quite a few starts which need to be turned into finishes during this year.      One of them was the Rainbow Scrap Challenge which I enjoyed immensely but only got as far as this before coming to a halt in November.  

Lengthwise it is about right but it needs to be a bit wider so that will be one of finishes for OMG being organised by Elm Street Quilts for 2017.     I also joined up with  Quilty Folk for the Quilty 365 challenge and pleased to say that I did complete 366 blocks - this year being a leap year - so that will keep me busy putting all those together.  Another one for OMG.

JoJo over at Through my hands blog came up with an interesting idea where we can travel the world with her and others as she takes us each month to another country.   All that we needed to join  was to apply for a passport for the fun to begin and so far we have sewn our way through Oregon - her home State, Hawaii, Canada and the current destination is England.     If you would like to see what this all about you can here.

I did start a messenger bag for hubs during December but due to all the Christmas/New Year activities I have not been near my sewing room for a few weeks.  I need to get my head around where I am up to as I have bits and pieces at various levels of construction.  This will be first project to finish off for the New Year.

I am looking forward to joining up with some more challenges as well as completing those set by my quilting group and of course sewing for Miss M.  Time allowed this afternoon to cut out such a cute piece of fabric for a nightie.  

I am embarrassed to say that I have not listed a couple of items which have been around for a LONG time but I might surprise myself and add them to OMG as the year progresses.

Linking with OMG at Elm Street Quilts.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all