Jennie's Threads

I am so sad to see the end of January - I have had a fantastic month with my sewing and I really hope this continues into February. Here are some of the things I've been working on: Although we are on a break from the Farmer's Wife , I've made five blocks - two I had cut out before Christmas, one replacement (two still to do), one monster block that I had totally abandoned in July and I still don't like) and a 6" version of Swoon. As mentioned, I gave in to the communal swooning by joining the Swoon Along - it's up to 765 members. I've made 3 in the original 24" size, three in the 12" size, which I love, and my mini 6" Swoon. I signed up for the Chasing Chevrons quilt along before Christmas and finally made a start in January. I finished this quilt top last week and I have decided to back it with flannel and no wadding. I also signed up for the Oh My Stars Quilt-along before Christmas. I got the fabric for this project as a Christmas present...

So - I signed up for the Free Motion Quilting challenge from Sew Cal Girl.... The January challenge was leaves. The video tutorial was exxcellent. My skills, not so much. This is my first attempt at Free Motion Quilting. It's not tooooooo bad. But I am definitely not going to be risking it on a quilt anytime soon. Lots more practice is needed.... I'm happy with the shape of some of the leaves, but not others, and trying to go back over stitches seems to be a bit of an area for improvement. This is the view from the back Hopefully one of these tutorials each month will help me improve.

The yellow tablecloth that I rescued from relegation last week is finished!!! I hope you like it, Mum. Last week as my project for the Friday Night Sew In I pulled out this beauty that I had been ignoring because I had to do some unpicking. The unpicking took ten minutes and I quilted over half the quilt top last weekend. This weekend I pulled it out again, cleared my sewing table and quilted the rest of it. It only took a few more hours. Then it took that time again to sort out all the thread ends. This morning I could see the finish line. While Nadal and Djokovich slugged it out in the tennis, I made my binding, attached the binding with my machine and then stitched it all down by hand. This is the fabric for the binding before I cut it up - isn't it gorgeous? Unfortunately I bought it before I appreciated the importance of knowing what the fabric was, so I have no idea - all I can tell you is that it is a batik, it's very pretty and I had the last piece ...

Today I finished the Chasing Chevrons Quilt Top from That Girl That Quilt . I struggled to get a good photo of it as it is dark and my quilt-holder-upper is not home from work yet. I'll try again at the weekend, but I'm too excited to wait till then to share it! I have been working on this since last weekend when all of a sudden, the end came into sight! On Tuesday night I finished the last of the Chevrons, cut the plain squares and decided on a layout. The final piecing went together very quickly and I'm so pleased with how accurate my seams are. Although quite a straightforward pattern, I learnt a lot from this design: 1. It was the first project I started on my new machine where seams and seam allowances mattered, so I've learnt the spot on my machine for a perfect quarter of an inch (doesn't mean I hit it every time - sometimes I miss it) 2. A new way of making four HSTs at once . Although the technique results in bias edges, I was careful with them and they did...

After the success of Friday Night Sew In I have had a good weekend. Yesterday I helped out Linda and Aunty Barbara with their jelly roll sampler quits and made a block for each of them using their fabrics: Here are the scraps from Aunty Barbara that I stitched together - sunglasses please! The finished "block" is 4" and I have no idea what I'll do with it, but it's better than throwing the scraps away! Yesterday evening I completed another 15 Chevron blocks for my Chasing Chevrons quilt . I think I have about 15 more blocks to make - here is last nights results. Today was all about Swoon . I was lying in bed thinking through a comment I made on the Flickr group - how about a six inch block for my Farmer's Wife Quilt .... I did the maths and here it is. I broke the block down to be 8x8 smaller blocks - each of these is only 3/4" square. The pieces were fiddly, but my seams are pretty good and the end result is fantastic. I'm not sure I ...

Yesterday was Friday Night Sew In . I could have chosen any of the current WIPs (of which there are many) but.... ...I have a few projects sitting in the relegation zone at the moment - they are currently on my WIP list but if I ignore them for much longer they may have to be relegated to the UFO list. The Yellow Tablecloth was one such project. It's not that I don't like it - I love working with these colours and it's for a very special person - my Mum. I have mentioned the Yellow Table Cloth on my blog before, but I don't think I told you the background: In August 2010 we went on our normal summer holiday to Sidmouth in Devon for the folk music festival. You can't have a summer holiday in Britain without at least one rainy day (if you only have one then you are very lucky). At Sidmouth 2010 the Wednesday was the rainy day. Mum and I were half way down the high street when the heavens opened, so we dashed into the nearest shop, a news agents. I have never seen suc...

I couldn't resist another block in the Swoon quilt along . The fabric just kept looking at me and the yellow and green..... this is heaven. Again the fabric is Happy Mochi Yum Yum with a beautiful red background. I've also been working on stars and chevrons and hexies this week. Tomorrow is Friday Night Sew In , so I shall have to think about which project I want to focus on. I'll be back on Saturday to show you what I did!

.... it must be nearly spring - there are daffodils in the shops! I've had a busy weekend! All of those things I wanted to do, I've done. Yesterday I posted about my first swoon block. It took me a while to complete, but hopefully the next blocks will get quicker. I then felt an urge to play with my Farmer's Wife quilt . I picked block #24 Country Path. I first tried this block back in July and it nearly ended my Farmer's Wife journey before it had really started. I picked dodgy colours and didn't like it. Mum helped me pick a new colour scheme at Christmas but.... I can tell you three things for certain about this block. 1. It's better than the first attempt: 2. I still don't like it and 3. I am definitely NOT redoing it. I then did some more Chevron blocks . I don't seem to be moving forward with this very well. I think I need to set myself a deadline... I now have 20 of the required 60 and they are really pretty individually - it will be interesting ...

Fat Quarters picked, background fabric bought. I planned to piece my first block in the Swoon-along last night. Then I realised just how red the background fabric was, and put it in the wash instead. I did get most of the cutting done last night, and this morning/afternoon I have pieced my first block (the seam ripper was used a few time....). Here it is: I know that this will go down as a pretty stupid comment, but 24 inches is big! I mean, I didn't realise how big until the completed block was covering a large amount of my cutting board. I love it. I'm now off to make some blocks at the other end of the scale: 4inch Oh My Stars Blocks. PS. How cute were Archie and Charlie snuggled up together in the sun!

Lots of yummy fabric to report on today. As I seem to have developed a little bit of a thing for quilt-alongs.... I need some fabric to go with them: Earlier this week I signed up for the Swoon quilt-along . I haven't signed up to anything since. I decided to make this quilt for me using the Happy Mochi Yum Yum fabric that I got for Christmas - this fabric is just so summery, I love it. By chance I had bought exactly 18 fat quarters - it was meant to be. So today I needed to get background fabric. I didn't want white or cream, so I was thinking navy. This is what I've ended up with. Not quite navy. The red is less orangy in real life. I am now ready to start this project at the weekend. I've been reading all of the posts on the Flickr group and I'm now quite nervous about the cutting - I can't replace this fabric if I mess up. Here are the fabrics paired up as they will be in the blocks: What else have I signed up for? The Oh My Stars Quilt Along . ...

Yesterday I finally made a start on my latest new project for 2011 - the Oh My Stars Quilt . I'm using Moda's Dogwood Trail fabric and I'm making mostly the basic star block. I've made one pinwheel block and I really like it, so I think there'll be some more of them. Of the 111 blocks I need for the quilt I have made four 12inch blocks, four 4" blocks and one 8" block. 101 to go! As I said in my last post, when justifying my joining another quilt-along, I have finished a quilt top this year. Linda - if you're reading this, please stop now! This is the Melrose fabric from Red Rooster. The quilt went together really quickly but I had a lot of bother getting the grey points on the individual blocks to line up - no matter how many pins I put in they kepyt slipping - any tips? I was getting fed up of attaching borders after the third one, but I think it was well worth it in the end. I'll get the batting and backing later this week, and I think I'll...

I am weak. And I am bad. And I cannot resist temptation. On the plus side, I haven't yet joined up to any new quilt-alongs in 2012 (the ones that I have started in the last week were all committed to in 2011 so don't count) and today I even finished a quilt top (I'll take some photos and blog about it in the next few days). So today I joined the Swoon-Along . Take a look at all the beeee-yootiful blocks on the Flickr Group or on Katy's blog I have two options: For Christmas I got a fat quarter bundle of Happy Mochi Yum Yum which could be used to make a quilt for me. Or I want to make a quilt for my (kind-of) Granny. But I have no idea what colours I would do it in. It is definitely time for bed, so I shall think on it for a few hours!

My first week of 2012 has been very busy (despite work)! I'll split it into two posts (partly because I haven't yet photographed some of my finishes. I did some of the embroidery on the Quilt Aid block I am doing, but I now need some more threads. The rest of the block involves tiny half-inch hexagons. I've never seen the attraction of hexagons before, so I've never done any. I have been missing out. I bought myself a basting glue pen from Sewline and had a go. I love them. I've made four and have another 8 to go, but I see far more hexagons in the future. They still need to be appliqued round the edge. I returned to the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along last night. We're on a holiday break at the moment, but I had prepared two blocks before Christmas and wanted to make them up before I lost any of the pieces. Here is #101 Wedding Ring - a nice citrussy number (more of that orange!). And #76 Saw Tooth. I was worried about the amount of black in t...

Tangerine orange is the colour of the 2012. And it has been noted by Erin at Two More Seconds that it isn't a common quilty colour. I am growing to love orange. this time last year, if you had asked me, I didn't like orange. Then I started the Farmers Wife Quilt and accidentally found myself first buying a lot of orange fabrics and then wanting to use them: looking back over the 58 blocks I have made so far, some of my absolute favourites are orange: So, if you ask me today, I love orange - it's so fresh and bright. And it looks gorgeous against black. So I am taking the challenge to make a tangerine quilt. I'm going to make a mini (limited to 30" on the longest side) and the rules are orange + a neutral + one other colour. I have some ideas.... horribly garish ideas! Isn't it wonderful! Check out the Flickr group for the rules, some orange inspiration and, as we move towards the deadline (beginning of March), the entries.

I have been very enthusiastic today. Not only is this my second post of the day, but it is only the 2nd January and I have already started three new projects in 2012. I know, I know - you're supposed to finish a project before you start new ones - I wish I had the self control to only have a few projects on the go at once. But I don't. And it is not one of this year's resolutions. So my first new project is one that I first blogged about in December, here . It is Quilt Aid . This is 12 blocks, each designed by an Australian designer and sold as kits (the fabric is Ruby from Moda). I got involved because my local quilt shop, the Fat Quarters , is the only UK shop stocking the kits and because they are really pretty. I got four of the twelve blocks as Christmas presents, and it's my birthday soon, so I'm hoping for a few more! Although I need to buy them all fairly soon, I'm going to work on them as a block of the month. For January I have picked the ...

I have spent this morning playing with the Chasing Chevron's Quilt-along from That Girl... That Quilt. I signed up for it when it was first announced, but I knew I couldn't start it till the new year. It is now the new year, and yesterday I cut all of my fabric and started stitching: I've decided to use fat eighths and fat sixteenths that I bought on my summer holiday in Sidmouth. Most of the fabrics are Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics but are from different ranges.... I think they go together. I was really worried I wouldn't have enough fabric. I have enough for two quilts... I cut all the patterned fabric and the background fabric I needed to make the 240 (yes 240) half square triangles. Using the fantastic tutorial that is part of the quilt-along I'm making four HST at once and using starch for the first time! The background fabric is Cat's Meow from Benartex. I have completed 15 blocks and I am so pleased with how they look (the stripey fabric had been wo...