Jennie's Threads

This is my final finish of 2019, and I really didn't think I would make it! This is the Summer Sampler which was run a four-month-long block of the month by Sarah Edgar of Pretty Fabrics and Trims. Everything about this project was beautiful: the instructions were beautifully presented, the fabrics absolutely gorgeous, and the patterns are lovely: little blocks, mixing all my favourite techniques: applique, English Paper Piecing, hand embroidery and some machine piecing. And then there's the beautiful little extras - a touch  of lace here, and a button there... it's far and away the prettiest thing I have ever made! It's also quite the departure from my normal style, but I have adored every minute I spent working on this project - so much so that I have signed up for two more blocks of the month from Sarah. The quilt finishes at 18" x 24" and is entirely hand quilted - using the 12w Aurifil provided as part of the kit. I'm hoping to get this up on...

Every year since 2016 I've joined in with @gnomeangel and her sew along to sew 100 blocks in 100 days and each time it has been great fun. The first three years we used the Tula Pink City Sampler pattern. Some of the blocks I made are now finished quilts, but not all of them. That did not stop me joining in again this year. A new pattern, designed by @gnomeangel and @skyberries called the Kinship Fusion Sampler: a mix of 8"x 8" and 8" x 4" blocks. I started with plans to make two quilts: one rainbow one using my stash and one batik one. The batik one is still very much in progress and I wasn't able to keep up with a block a day for this quilt. But the rainbow one is now all together as a quilt top. Now I need to decide on a backing and get it basted, quilted and finished!

I started this quilt five years ago. My plan was a sampler quilt of 6" blocks from a variety of sources using fat quarter bundles of Architextures and Botanics, the first two fabric lines from Carolyn Friedlander, along with coordinating Kona solids.  I made 20 blocks then moved on to other projects. Fast forward to 2018 and I was looking for a fabric plan for the final instalment of 100 days 100 blocks quilt-along hosted by @gnomeangle using Tula Pink's City Sampler book. Having made it a few times I was out of ideas for new colour palettes. It was a logical step, therefore, to pick up the Architextures and Botanics blocks and finally make enough for a finished quilt. In the intervening years, Carolyn had released a few more fabric ranges so I added in what I had from Doe, Carkai, Friedlander and Gleaned, as well as the newly released colours of some of her classic Architextures prints. I found out that I was pregnant with Joshua just before the quilt-along kicke...

You may recall that for the last two years I've participated in the Instagram-based quilt-along for Tula Pink's City Sampler hosted by Gnome Angle. The basic premise is that that you post a block a day from the book in order each day for 100 days. And of course by day 100 you have a pile of 6" blocks! The 2016 blocks remain in piles, unsashed and unfinished. However,the 2017 blocks were finished quite promptly after the end of the sew-along as Christmas quilts for Mia and Jess. The 2018 quilt-along started in July when I was feeling particularly rough with this pregnancy, but I forced myself to join in - it was the push I needed to do at least a little bit of sewing, and I figured that by the end of Summer, my energy and sewjo would be back and I would regret not joining in. My energy and sewjo are only just coming back now, as we post our final blocks, but I don't regret joining in at all. I'm glad I did some sewing over the summer! Rather than start a n...

Earlier this year, @Gnomeangel hosted another round of #100days100blocks - 100 blocks in Tula Pink's City Sampler block in 100 days. And last Christmas I'd collected together a bundle of Garland fabrics from Cotton and Steel. A match made in heaven! Half way through the quilt along I decided that rather than make one large quilt - we already have quite a few Christmas quilts - I would make two smaller quilts and give them to the girls at the start of advent. We do advent books, where each day the girls unwrap one Christmas-themed book from under the tree. My romanticized vision is that we can snuggle up with the advent quilts and read the advent books! Obviously that's unlikely with two toddlers.... but a girl can dream. Each quilt is 43" x 57" and made up of 48 blocks. I sashed those blocks with Kona pepper and swore lots - I hate sashing. The backing is an Asda duvet cover, and when I realised it wasn't big enough to back both quilts I swore so...

Whoops! I may have fallen behind on sharing these blocks with you (we're up to block 38 today!). I'm following along with the Tula Pink City Sampler quilt along again this year, and I'm using Garland by Cotton and Steel, along with of the C&S basics, and the coordinating Kona solids. Here are blocks 11- 15 And 16 -20 I think it's going to be quite a bright quilt, don't you?

Angie @Gnomeangel is at it again. Another fabulous quilt along. Another 100 blocks in 100 days from Tula Pink's City Sampler book. Let's not talk about the unfinished version I already have of this quilt, shall we!  Instead, let's start about the new one! My plan for #100days100blocks2017 is a Christmas quilt using the Garland collection from Cotton and Steel. I'm not much of a fan of traditional Christmas colours of red and green, but Cotton and Steel have added aqua, blue, pink and coral to the mix and I love it. Here are my first ten blocks: #100days100blocks2017 #garlandcityquilt

Whilst 2015 was all about swaps, 2016 was all about blocks.Lots of blocks and lots of projects. I had an original target of a block a day for the year - 366 blocks. I smashed that target by June. So An obvious new target was two blocks a day for the year - 732 blocks. But by October I had made 755 blocks and I started looking at 1000 blocks for the year. I needed 111 blocks in December to hit this target. And I struggled. Christmas sewing started to take priority, and I could feel that target slipping away. So close. And something I would probably never achieve again, at least not for quite a while, as 2017 will see life speed up and fill up as I start a new job. But of course, the end and start of the year sees loads of new projects and sew-alongs spring up and Molli Sparkles announced his Honey Pot Bee and a wild card early block - Diary of a Quilter's Christmas Tree block. I started making a few of these blocks on a bit of a whim, and finished up with 76 of them. By New...

Well that month flew by, didn't it? I got loads of sewing done - not just blocks, but actual, real-life finishes! The #100days100blocks ended on 24th November and I have 178 blocks now waiting to be sashed. God bless black Friday - I managed to get the fabric for sashing at a reasonable price! It's a shame that I hate this next step, and the idea of sashing three quilts does not fill me with joy. I think I will put this off until the new year! I've also been working on my Splendid Sampler blocks ( see my last post ), and the #365quiltchallenge blocks - the  next border is just about ready to share! I completed my first two Farmers Wife blocks in a few months too. I've made good progress on the Modern Building Blocks QAL - lots of little blocks left to go on this one - this is the top half of that quilt But the finishes! So from the top: my Bee-utiful Mini quilt ; Hugo's quilt ; Goodnight Improv quilt ; Jane Austen cushion ; Orla's quilt ; ugly Chris...

Here's our final installment of 'ten things about Jennie'! Block 91: Fight I've just learned that one of my best friends has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She has a hell of a fight ahead of her. It took me a long time to decide on a name for this block - it was nearly "Cancer Sucks" - too many people I know have been lost to cancer. But the thing is that other people I know have to fight against other illnesses too, so "Fight" is inclusive of them too. Block 92: Grandad Reeds This is for my maternal Grandfather - the one who called me poppet, served apple pies and was the eldest of six brothers, who went to war and all came home. His mission in retirement was to earn as much from his pension as he had from his salary. And I believe he achieved it! He passed away in 2008. Block 93: Ben This is for my husband's cousin. He is Jessica's godfather and one of the undateable - see below! Block 94: Mrs. MacBeth During...