Jennie's Threads

 Do you remember the list? You know - The List! My List of all of my works in progress. I did a bit of a review recently, ticking off what I've finished, removing what I won't ever do and, of course, adding on a fair few new projects I've started since the last review. The total? 102 projects! Could 2023 be the year I actually finish more than I start? Unlikely! But let's start with the best intentions. Helen at Archie the Wonder Dog is running a bit of an informal finish along - Fettle Those Finishes ! Create a list at the start of the year, and laugh at your optimism at the end of the year - you know the form! Helen has also added the year she started her projects... I have not, though I will admit that the earliest project is at least from 2012! And so here is my list! I've tried to find photos of the projects, but some have progressed since the last photo I could find. Many haven't. 1. Norah Quilt - hand quilting has commenced but progressing slowly - I made...

Last Summer I joined a block of the month programme run by Sarah Edgar at Pretty Fabric and Trims. It wasn't my normal sewing - it involved Liberty Fabrics and ditsy florals and applique.  But it also involved English Paper Piecing and embroidery which definitely is me. I absolutely loved every minute I spent working on this project, so I signed up for another block of the month - 12 blocks over the course of a year to create A Happy Little Year quilt. The blocks are chunkier than the Summer Sampler - after all I'm making a full size quilt rather than a mini quilt, and the fabrics aren't Liberty, but still very different from what I would normally pick. There's EPP, applique and regular piecing and the blocks are coming together beautifully. Receiving the package each month is such a treat - full of pretty fabric all beautifully wrapped up, and the instructions are always clear and beautifully presented. It's a brilliant mix of blocks I can throw together with an ho...

I recently did a bit of pattern testing for Laurel at Porcupine Stew Threads . Laurel designs EPP patches, which are just a bit more challenging than your average EPP pattern! I'd been looking at her patterns for a while, but postage from the States made it very expensive, so when she announced she was looking for pattern testers for her new PDF patterns I volunteered straight away! And this is the result: Isn't he lovely? I used some Ruby Star Society, Lizzy House and Giucy Giuce for the tans in his mane, then a Moda spot and a random cream for the lighter sections. He's appliqued to a Libs Elliot background. The design is fantastic and I love the result, but this isn't a pattern for the beginner. I adored making it because it was more challenging than a regular EPP design, and I would definitely make more of Laurel's pattern for exactly that reason. The biggest struggle I had was making those fine EPP points crisp and accurate - there may have been a small ...

I can't believe it's been nearly two years since an epic day out in Huddersfield with the amazing Tula Pink. That day at Simply Solids was pretty close to the best day ever: a morning lecture by Tula where we got to see some of her quilts - and the amazing quilting by Angela Walters - and then an afternoon workshop with her starting work on the Tula Nova pattern. The centre that I made that day became a cushion, but I redid my centre and kept going with a rainbow or stars around it to create my final Tula Nova. All of the print fabrics are Tula All Stars with Pompoms and Stripes. The solids are all Kona. This was my first real time working with Tula Pink fabrics. I'd long been a fan of her patterns, but not her fabric. After this day I was a convert. We won't discuss how much Tula fabric I now have, nor how many of my current WIPs are Tula WIPs! But this was the start. The medallion is all hand pieced using English Paper Piecing. I learned about fussy cutting to...

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...

Well, it has certainly not been my most productive quarter! My original list contained a mere 17 items, but apparently I need lists of far more in order to be productive! I have just three finishes - the final of which is this hoop. And I cannot beleive it is only now being added to the list of finishes! I made this EPP block way back at the start of the year: it was a trial block for the Alexandria quilt designed by Jodie @talesofcloth. I trialled Zuma fabrics by Tula Pink and didn't feel it would work for the whole quilt, so I started again. But this little centre remained, unloved. I took about half an hour to applique it the background fabric, which is Tula Pink Designer Solids in Cajun. That was several months ago. And you know what, it took a whole 15 minutes to put it in a hoop and call it done! Also finished this month was the moth pouch: I changed my plans a few times with this, but eventually decided that done was better than perfect, and I love the result! Mostl...

Earlier this month I started a new project - I know that's very unlike me! It's a Block of the Month from Pretty Fabrics and Trims : three five inch finished blocks per month for 4 months over the summer, mixing embroidery, applique, English paper piecing and machine piecing (and eventually hand quilting too). I had saved up the blocks for the first two months to make on holiday, enjoyed making them while we were away and then came home to the next three blocks, which I haven't made yet. Here are the month one blocks: And the month two blocks.  (ooops - I picked the wrong pink on my photo editing programme for one of those didn't I!) You may be thinking, this isn't Jennie's normal thing... you're right, it isn't. But it reflects my changing tastes. Or rather my extending tastes (I'm not turning my back on rainbow and Tula any time soon. But I'm finding myself drawn to pastels and florals and vintge-y looking pieces mor...