Jennie's Threads

We got back from a fantastic week away last night! Today feels very quiet in comparison. Our holiday started with a trip to the Village Haberdashery - what a fabulous little shop, lovely staff and perfect fabrics. I did a little stash maintenance work, and picked up some more Aurifil colours too. There's some Coats threads and Art Gallery Fat Quarters I picked up in Sidmouth as well. We then spent the rest of the holiday at Sidmouth Folk Week in Devon.  If you've followed my blog for a while you will know that this is an annual pilgrimage. Of course, this year was a little different as we introduced Mia to ceilidhs in the Anchor gardens (and the rain) Morris Men on the sea front... Patchwork Morris Men And concerts in the Ham Marquee.The ear defenders didn't stay on long and the only concert she didn't like involved a banjo! Some of the highlights of the week were concerts with Calan, Kathryn Tickell, Jarlath Henderson, Oysterband, the April Verc...

I've picked my Siblings Together quilt as my goal for August for ALYoF. This was created by the Siblings Together Bee 2 - all lovely ladies in the UK, and once finishes will be donated to the charity of the same name. I got the quilt top put together and basted in July, but didn't get to quilt it before my holiday. Since Mia was born I've been trying to slear my sewing desk of commitments, so I can sit and enjot the time I get to sew with projects I want to work on - things for me, things for Mia, things for friends. This is the last thing left to finish, and it's so close now. Linking up and crossing my fingers it will get finished!  

I had a great month! How was yours! I started a lot of new projects, but I finished a few too! My starts include some of my finishes and: a mini Tula Pink alphabet quilt A post card quilt - I've been waiting for inspiration to strike on the quilting - and it might just have struck in the last few days! And some mix tape blocks ...but I didn't intend to "F the world" #accidentalfussycutting My finishes: Nested Churn Dash Quilt - I only started this at the start of the month, but really enjoyed it... ...especially the quilting a Tula Pink City Sampler Mini quilt, which I used as practice for my big City Sampler quilt and to get use to free motion quilting on my new machine Another buggy blanket for Mia which is effectively a decorated muslin cloth which I can use to cover Mia's legs when it's sunny. There are two loops sewn into the binding which I can use to attach it to the buggy so it doesn't blow away in a summer gale breeze...

I finished of my City Sampler cushion earlier this week, but I don't have a cushion pad big enough. Today I gave up thinking I would get that sorted this side of my holiday, stuffed it with other cushions and took the last few [bad] photos. I loved making this project - every last step of it! I picked 10 of my favourite blocks from Tula's City Sampler block (nine for the front and one for the back), then picked out my current favourite fabrics in mint green and peach which just a hint of silvery grey. Piecing the blocks was so quick - I love the instant gratification of these blocks! I added the grey sashing as my first act with my new machine. I then let the top sit for a couple of weeks until I built up the courage to free motion quilt on my new machine. I'd had a go in the shop when I'd first got the machine, and had issues with the tension. I felt I needed some time at home to play, and I quickly found the right speed and, most importantly, tension for me. S...

When I first saw the nested churn dash blocks pop up in Blogland I wasn't sure about them. It took me a while to realise that the reason I didn't like it is because the outside rings were too skinny - I'm more of a chunky girl myself! What I mean is that a traditional churn dash block is based on an even nine-patch where the length of the bars is the same as the shorter sides of the triangles in the corners. These churn dashes have long skinny bars and chunky corners. So I ignored these blocks for a while. And then I saw this . And I was totally inspired to make my own. No single block for me - oh no! Two 24" blocks, two 16" blocks, seven 8" blocks and fourteen 4" blocks. This was a great way of using the ten minute slots I get during the day - the ten minutes between feeds, nappies and naps when my daughter is happy - cutting all the pieces, then gradually piecing all the blocks. I pulled a huge range of fabrics from my stash for this pro...

Buoyed by my success earlier this week with a zip I decided to jump in at the deep end and make myself a Sew Together Bag . Four zips! My first zip attempt Except I ended up needing 6 zips, because I didn't secure the ends of zips and the pulls came off. Apparently that is terminal, so there was swearing and unpicking involved. And a trip to Hobbycraft to buy more! I have learned my lesson! Apart from this epic self-inflicted stupid fail, and despite being somewhat inexperienced with zips, I was amazed at how easy this was to put together. There were a few steps where I referred to the fantastic tutorials and photos from the Quilt Barn sew-along  and there was one step where I totally didn't understand the fold instructions for the zipper ends, so fudged it. This is definitely the hardest thing I've ever sewn! I can't wait to fill this with some hand sewing for my holiday next week! The fabrics on the outside are Pam Kitty Picnic, Dreamin' Vintage ...

At the weekend I mastered button holes . Today I had a go at zips! And whilst my first ever attempt isn't perfect, I am dead pleased with it! I made the key pouch from a tutorial by Fabric Mutt . he tutorial was so straightforward and the photos were perfect for a zipper virgin! I made one little addition - a strap and button - with another button hole - to keep my cards a bit more secure. The fabrics are Dreamin' Vintage from Art Gallery and Kona Solids. The lining is Moda Essential Dots in light grey. I did a touch of hand stitching on the back in perle cotton.