Jennie's Threads

Well, this has possibly been my most productive quarter ever! But before we get into the nitty-gritty of the original list , here's a final finish: The mermaid embroidery panel is by @aimee_littledear and I've bought it twice now. The first one I have lost. It is somewhere in the house, all prepared for embroidery. One day I will find it... for now, this one is the replacement! Aimee's designs are beautiful ( all available in her Etsy shop ), and the instructions are so clear. Postage is a bit pricey to the UK, but if you happen to have a friend who would bring you a little something back in their suitcase, then the panel itself is very reasonable! This is the second I've embroidered. The first and third will get a mention below. And I might have ordered a few more panels.... thanks @moomimomma for holidaying in the US! So on to the rest of the quarter and the 10 finishes! Five of those were lap quilts! Here they are: Hidden Agenda - a rainbowfied Tula...

March seems to have been a really long month! But in a good way! I've got loads of sewing done, Josh has grown loads - he's ten weeks old now - and we've been away together for a weekend to the Lake District. Here's what I've been working on: I've had some finishes: Awesome Ocean And Ice Cream soda And a cushion for Jess . There's also been a couple of other finishes that just aren't quite ready to share yet... I received my Tula Pink Pinkerville fabrics and cut them all up to start my Meadowland quilt. I've been taking part in the Trinket SAL I've made some progress on my Down the Rabbit Hole quilt - I've put together the bits I'd already completed and spent quite a few hours preparing the hand applique on the next border. I made ten blocks into four items in a little self-imposed challenge. I kept up to date with the Shark's Dinner BOM and the Coming Home BOM and started the Geo Diamonds BO...

When I wrote my Finish Along list at the start of the year, I added my Ice Cream Soda quilt. At that point I hadn't even finished piecing all the blocks. I still had five or so blocks and 8 half blocks to piece, all the joining pieces to add to create a full quilt top, all the papers to remove, borders to add, basting and hand quilting and binding to do. Whilst I was enjoying working on it at that point, finishing it in this quarter seemed a little unrealistic. But I did! I spent the last few weeks of my pregnancy and the first few weeks of Joshua's life, piecing, piecing, piecing! Adding the joining pieces and putting it all together was something I hadn't been looking forward to - it's never fun to manhandle a large quilt. But I found a rhythm and I actually thoroughly enjoyed it! I made an effort to remove the pieces as I went which made it easier to manhandle and less of a single tiresome task at the end. The borders caused me some issues - I have no idea...

It has been a while since I talked about the Ice Cream Soda quilt on my blog, so here's a bit of a recap This was the block of the month programme from Tales of Cloth back in 2017. I didn't keep up but I did keep going. Even though I didn't touch it for the majority of my pregnancy, towards the end, it became my project of choice. I powered through the last ten blocks and the half blocks and I actually enjoyed joining all the blocks together- something I had honestly not been looking forward to. I think one of the reasons I really enjoyed this quilt, was because there was no plan, all fabrics were up for grabs and it was mindless sewing as the blocks were simple and quick to put together. (I am on the hunt for a new quilt pattern that ticks those boxes). The borders are the only machine pieced part of this quilt. And they were objectionable. I don't recall the last time I had to use the seam ripper as much and I have no idea why it caused me so much bother. Bu...

How is it April already? March just whizzed by in a blur - we were so busy with trips away, family catch-ups and sewing that I barely got a chance to keep up with my blog - so that means a flurry of blog posts over the next few days as I try and catch up and get linked up for the Finish Along. I sewed up a storm in the gaps between the chaos, so as well as a few finishes, there were a couple of starts as well - obviously! And my WIP list is pushing the mid-90s! I've fallen off the Aves wagon and I am about 5 weeks behind, but my word are they weeks ! Some really complex blocks and then some simpler blocks but in pretty high volumes! I really need to spend some time on this project in April otherwise it may never move forward. As usual, it's a foundation pieced block that's stopped me - I need to find a way round this kind of "hard-stop" in my sewing mentality and get over it. I have made some progress on my Curve Motion block of the month, but I'm beh...

Last year, you may remember that I sewed along with the Ice Cream Soda quilt along. It was created by Jodi at Tales of Cloth, an Australian quilt shop. Each month I received a tiny little package full of paper pieces, and the plan was to stitch up 8 blossoms (or part blossoms each month). Inevitably I fell behind, but I thoroughly enjoy these blocks. They are quick and easy to stitch, I'm using a totally random fabric selection, and they look so pretty. There's no complex placement so these are the perfect sewing for travelling! All of Jodi's papers are cut from recycled paper, and they are just a little bit lighter-weight than the papers from Paper Pieces or available here in the UK. At first I was dubious, but they are so easy on the hands. I'm also working on the Round You Go quilt, using papers from another Australian source - Sue Daley Designs. These are the total opposite, glossy and slightly heavier weight than most. And you really can tell the difference. I...

I know - another new project. And another EPP one at that! But I just get so tempted with things I see on Instagram... This is another block of the month programme, this time from Tales of Cloth, an Australian shop. Normally any kind of monthly club from overseas would be unjustifiable in terms of postage. But at just 10$AUS a month including postage, I just couldn't say no when I saw pretty blocks popping up all over the place. Each month I'll receive papers for 8 blossoms (or equivalent) and in the final month, the setting shapes, to create a lap quilt. Easy. And they are. I love the Dear Jane blocks, which I shared yesterday, but they are very fiddly - lots of small pieces means lots of easing to make the pieces fit together. But these blocks go together like a dream. I also have to say that these are the nicest little parcels - such pretty labels and paper! Whilst I'm working on a couple of projects right outside of my comfort zone, it's nice to have this on th...