Jennie's Threads

I LOVE this quilt. But I didn't always. Regular readers will have heard the story before, but I'm going to tell it again anyway! This quilt first appeared in an issue of Quilt Mania back in spring 2015(!), and a friend managed to snag me a copy. There was a little bit of a quilt along going on Instagram and, well, you know me! I decided to replicate the original feeling of the quilt - totally scrappy. This was a new look for me: all the fabric all over the place! First up was the sky. I forget just how many 1.5" squares I needed to cut, but I multi-tasked: I cut it out the same week as I cut the background for my pixelated heart quilt . So whilst it took a long time - a ridiculously long time - at least I was killing two birds with one stone. And despite the size of the pieces, the sky area came together quite easily. I struggled more with the "city" - trying to get a good balance of colour. But I really enjoyed the freedom to use any fabric and t...

January's APQ Resolution project was number 6. For me that was My Small World designed by Jen Kingwell. Here you can see it at the start of the month. I'd finished quilting the sky and started on the rest of it. And here it is today. It isn't finished, but I feel like I've made some really good progress: most notably I've bound it. This makes it a bit more manageable to continue hand quilting it. I picked the dark binding - Architextures cross hatch in black and grey by Carolyn Friedlander - to act as a frame to control the riot of colour in the quilt and I think it works. There is still quite a bit of quilting to do in the middle section but the end is in sight now, so I'm hoping I get there soon and don't just shove this project back in the cupboard. I may have ordered some more quilting cottons to help keep interest in this project alive! In my defence, they are the same cottons I use for all my embroidery including the #1yearofstitches! I use #...

The guys over at American Patchwork and Quilting have just launched the 2017 UFO challenge. This isn't the first year it's been run, but it's the first time I've been aware of it. At the start of the year you list out 12 lingering projects that you want to finish in no particular order, and then each month, a number is announced. Whichever quilt is listed against that number is the project you focus on for the month. Now you know me... I have plenty more than 12 projects hanging about. But this sounds like a great way to pick up the long-forgotten, unloved projects. So here is my list. 1.Gravity Quilt 2. Double Wedding Ring Quilt 3. Skill Builder Quilt 4. Aspen Glow 5. Lucky Stars 6. My Small World 7. Architextures and Botanics Sampler Quilt 8. Uncle Terry's Quilt 9.Vignette 10.Zodiac Block of the Month 11. Summer Sampler 12. Twit Twoo. It's a mixture of the really old, and the not so old. Some are projects I only started in 2016, some are proj...

Last quarter was unsuccessful because I hadn't planned. When I wrote my list my mind was elsewhere and the list didn't include much that was achievable, and certainly didn't include much that inspired me over the last few months. As such, I didn't have many finishes to share. But I know how important the Finish Along is, not just for getting me to finish things, but also for getting me to be creative and find time to sew, which in turn keeps me sane in between the dirty nappies and bottles! So with that in mind I've planned this next quarter a lot more carefully! However, that doesn't mean that the list will be any shorter! So, in no particular order, here are the plans: ABC Embroidery: This project is pushing my embroidery comfort zone with some new stitches and I'm thoroughly enjoying leaving the backstitch zone behind. It's rubbing off on other embroidery projects too which I'm finding quite exciting! I've done A-G and I need to start thinki...

You may consider me foolish to even attempt a finish this quarter...  I know I won't get much opportunity to sew in Baby's first few months, but I'm hopeful for the odd hour of Daddy time when I'm awake enough to safely operate a sewing machine. I have no idea what project I'll want to work on if I do get the chance, so I'll list everything. Again. But the first project I'm listing is new to the FAL list: it's Mia's big girl quilt. For the first 5-6 months, Baby will sleep in our bedroom, but after that she will move into the nursery and Mia will move into her new bedroom and a full size single bed. Which means Mia needs a big-girl quilt for her big-girl bed in her big-girl bedroom. I have two blocks finished, and lots more to make. Another new project is one that I cut out just this week: It's a while since I fell head over heels in love with a fabric line, but Paperie from Art Gallery really did get me. It's not at all my normal choi...

A lot of my sewing time recently has been dedicated to this project and I'm really pleased to say that I now have a finished quilt top. I have mixed feelings about this quilt. As I said last week, I have loved putting it together. It's been a real workout for the brain cells, as some of the instructions are more than a little vague... and I've tried to find ways to avoid templates at all possible opportunities. I've learned a lot. Most importantly: I love freezer paper! I've used it so much for this project: for all my applique, for foundation piecing any units that stray from squares, rectangles and half square triangles, and for creating those few templates I couldn't avoid (curves). I've definitely improved my applique and freezer paper is the key. I create and cut out a template (without seam allowance) from the freezer paper, iron the shiny side to the wrong side of the fabric, then cut the fabric eye-balling a quarter-inch seam allowance....