Jennie's Threads

 I've had a few recent finishes - mostly smaller pieces and mostly not on my list to finish this year (because I've only just started them!) - lots and lots of pouches! Here's a round up... Three pouches I made for the kids for our holiday - all are the Seamingly Sane Pouch pattern, but I used the pattern add-on to adjust the sizes and customised with some straps and in one case, a pocket. These three pouches are made for our work Yubikeys when we travel to protect them - it's a slightly adjusted Aneela Hooey pattern - the peas are an inside joke! I knew I had pea fabric for a reason! A couple more Seamingly Sane pouches - the smaller one was a birthday present for my Dad, and the floral one was for me to protect my diary when I travel. Seven pouches made entirely from my scraps to hold EPP pieces pre sewing! This is the Peekapouch pattern by Sweet Cinnamon Roses. This is the Not So Little Zippy Pouch by Fabric and Flowers. The pattern is a bit of a challenge, but this ...

 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...

 I've fallen in love hook, line and sinker with all of Corinne Sovey's patterns! I started piecing Christmas Cheer alongside Hocus Pocus - some of the techniques are the same, but there are also different ways of creating a similar look - whilst this quilt looks straightforward it makes use of multiple techniques - applique, foundation piecing, inset circles and regular piecing.  I pieced these blocks during our weekly guild zoom sewing sessions on a Monday night - whilst the last year hasn't been the easiest, this is one of the besy things to come out of it. I spend more time chatting with this lovely bunch of sewers now than I ever did when we could see each other in real life, and I really hope we continue with these sessions once the world rights itself! Three of us were busy piecing this quilt and it was lovely to progress together. I adore the backing of this quilt. It was a duvet cover I picked up at Asda last Christmas (or maybe even the Christmas before) and it is...

 It seems so long ago now that lockdown started and here we nearly are again in the North East. Do you remember the first few weeks when rainbows appeared everywhere? We had a few in our living room window and in the porch. A symbol of hope and friendship during the most extraordinary times. We would take the kids out for a walk and they would look for the rainbows and point them out excitedly. About that time, Kristy from Quiet Play released a pattern bundle which contained a foundation pieced rainbow. I didn't hesitate, and bought the pattern immediately. I made it into a cushion with the beautiful Speckled fabric for the background and some fun weather fabric from Dashwood for the backing (I posted this to Facebook at the time and the back got more attention than the front - I'll forgive my non-quilty friends, but not my mother!)

 I made another two pouches in the last couple of months. If you've ever come across the pouches designed by Aneela Hoey , you'll know how amazing they are, and as soon as she released the patterns for the Flip Pocket Folio and the Four Pocket Case they went on my list! The biggest struggle was deciding what fabric to use on the outsides. I started with the Flip Pocket Folio and decided to use a pattern by Berene Campbell (designer of the Hello friend block I used for a cushion and a pouch ) - I love the Stitch On banner pattern but to make it fit I had to shrink it to 50% - that made from pretty tiny piecing, but the pattern is so good that it went together beautifully! Lots of pink on the inside and this is the perfect pouch for all my hand sewing threads. Aneela's instructions are very clear and the vinyl sewing went without a hitch - though I can recommend  a teflon foot! For the second pouch, the Four Pocket Case , I used a mini charm pack of Tilda fabrics from The C...

It's a well known fact that Alison Glass designs the best fabrics - turns out she runs pretty good sew alongs too. Last year was the Trinket Sew Along and this year was the Mini Series sew along . I was a bit on the fence to start with... the cost of the patterns was a little high... but in the end I couldn't resist. There were nine patterns sewn over 9 weeks each made up of the tiniest foundation piecing. And in order to complete the sew along, all nine had to be made into finished objects - that was the challenge. I pieced four of the blocks using a rainbow of fabrics and a black background from speckled which has a copper fleck. These four became canvases for Joshua's bedroom wall. The flying geese were paired with the Love pattern from @quietplay, released earlier this year to raise money for those affected by the Australian bush fires. I made these into my first Retreat Pouch which was a gift for Linda. The crossed geese pattern was the block I struggled with the most...