Jennie's Threads

Here's my latest quilt top finish. It's a mini version of the Power of Nine Block of the Month by Rebecca Mae Designs. When I first saw the quilt back in December I knew I wanted to do it - I loved the setting. But I had no purpose for the quilt. Sometime I'll make quilts with no purpose, or rather, for me. But I couldn't justify this quilt on that basis (especially the cost). I decided to shrink the block size to 6" down from the original 12" and the shrink the sashing similarly. I was expecting the blocks to be pretty familiar, but with the exception of the favourite Churn Dash and a another couple, each was new to me. Most used the square in a square block or flying geese units with clever colour placement and created fabulous blocks. Here are a couple of my favourites I have to confess that I didn't follow the instructions from the point where I read to cut the fabric to one-sixteenth accuracy for the 12" blocks... I looked at ...

I absolutely loved Mia in this sleep suit when she was little. Shehas long since outgrown it, and all of the other clothes the same size are packed away for the future. But I couldn't just pack this one away. I kept it and another one out and planned to make a toy for her. An today I finally got round to doing it! My favourite sleep suit on one side, And a matching one on the other, plus a few ribbons from my stash! And Mia seems to love it - it's the perfect size for little hands. You can find the pattern here .

It's been ages since I actually missed posting for WIP Wednesday... the post was half written but never got finished. Mia and I are spending a week with my parents and because my daughter does NOT travel light, my sewing machine did not make the trip. So last week I prepared some of the blocks from Dear Jane which need hand sewing. And whilst I was preparing I also stitched one together on the machine which had been hanging around for a while. So far I've been doing applique. And of course because I don't have my machine here with me, I keep finding projects I want to make. Now. I've been sketching out some plans and I'm going to spend next week playing with fabrics - I predict at least four new starts! But in my defence I have finished a lot recently. Mia was four months old on Tuesday! I can't believe how much she has changed. She also learned to roll this week - she's mobile! And I've signed up for a swap - I know I said I wouldn't...

Nap times this week have been spent on embroidery - I'm working on the Rosalie Quinlan block of the month Best Friends Forever and this morning I finished the first embroidery. It will need a bit of a press... This was the first time I've used hanky linen - it came pre-printed - and I really like it - its a shame I can't find it locally. And on Monday my little baby girl turned 1 month old! That went fast! And this is my favourite photo from late last week! I figure Mia is my biggest WIP at the moment! Linking up with WIP Wednesday

Nappy 1: I'm grabbing five minutes while Daddy does the nappy change to blog about my Sunday sewing. Of course, if Miss Mia decides to pee just as the nappy comes off again, then I may have ten minutes, while Daddy fights her into another sleep suit. If not, I may need a few nappy changes to get this full post written.... Daddy teaching Miss Mia to stick her tongue out! On Sunday morning Miss Mia had a nap and Mummy did some sewing - three Farmer's Wife blocks - not particularly difficult ones but linked with the theme of four patches. Homeward Bound Northern Lights  And Prairie Queen I also picked up some Safari Moon fat quarters when we introduced Mia at the local patchwork shop on Saturday - I'm thinking of using this colour scheme for my Toes in the Sand quilt  - I finally got my hands on the pattern last week. Nappy 2: I didn't quite get the post finished in one nappy change. But Miss Mia did come down stairs in a different sleep ...

I am seriously going to enjoy nap time. Unfortunately nap time is a little elusive at the moment... Mia fed for 5 hours straight this afternoon. Such a cute grumpy face! But yesterday she napped and I stitched with some good friends. I started a new project - some English Paper Piecing - easy to pick up and put down again. The project is Patchwork of the Crosses . I hadn't heard of this pattern until a few months ago when Sharon started the same project. It looked interesting and I read up the background of the pattern. The original quilt was made by Lucy Boston , an author, quilter and gardener who lived at Hemmingford Grey - a manor house in Cambridgeshire less than an hour away from where I grew up - doing so much American style patchwork I was totally sold on something so local for me. I started pinning to my EPP pinterest board and then picked my current favourite colour palette and lots of fabrics from my stash. So the plan is initially 9 feature blocks and...

***warning - lots of photos*** It is the first of March and therefore time for a review of what I achieved in February. There was some sewing for the first 23 days - I finished the quilt for Baby I made progress on the quilt for a friend's Baby and I finished my Thread Along Quilt  top I made some Dear Jane blocks (you can see them here , here and here ) and some Farmer's Wife Blocks And then on 24th February I went into labour and 12 hours later at 11.26pm we welcomed Amelia Lily to the world. Mia for short, weighed 9lbs 1 oz (4110g). We came home on Thursday after a few days in hospital and now we are juggling feeds, nappies and sleeps. Three hours old I love how suspicious she looks in this picture... We had a very handmade home coming with a knitted cardi and blankie from Grandma - my name was mud as the blanket was over 230 rows each with over 230 stitches plus a border.... I don't knit so I don't really understand - Grandma made sure I ...