Jennie's Threads

This month's blocks for the Round We Go quilt were definitely my favourite so far - I love that entwined star. Look at that space in the middle, just perfect for a little bit of fussy cutting.... which I did in three out of four blocks. I also made some really good progress this month with appliquing and quilting the blocks. I've still got a long way to go, but I laid them all out this month to take stock. Still loving it and still up to date. All of month nine blocks are prepped and ready!

I love this project. I love the fabric, I love the colours, I love the feel of the pieces and how easy it is to sew together. I'm also love that I am up to date. And I'm learning to love the fussy cutting - which I embraced this month! So here are my blocks And all seven together. This is definitely going to be a quilt for me! And my next blocks are prepped and ready to go!

Jessica turned 2 last Friday - I swing between hardly believing that she's two already and not believing that she's only 2! She is stubborn and independent and clever and mischievous and sometimes a total minger. But she has the cutest smile and gives the best cuddles. She is definitely going to be comedian of our family! She recently moved into a big-girl bed (some nights she even sleeps through in it....), so needed a quilt and The Kittens quilt by Elizabeth Hartman was just what I needed - she loves "Meows"! I started this on a bit of a whim, as part of the #elizabethhartmanalltheanimalssal on Instagram - I hadn't originally planned to do this part of the sew along. But I got tempted. Inevitably. On the plus side, everything except the wadding came from stash. The background I used was left over from some baby Fancy Forest quilts, all of the fabric in the faces came from my stash, and the backing is a duvet cover I picked up on sale last year. Kittens and ...

You may have heard rumour that my WIP list has hit 100 (and beyond). So in order to avoid serious problems with "The Committee", I'd probably better get it down to the 90 mark again, hadn't I? Let's hope that at least some of this list is achievable this quarter: The Kittens Quilt: I started this on a whim last quarter, but Jessica has just got a big girl's bed, which needs a big-girl's quilt, so it's quite fortuitous really. It's a finished quilt top and I'm hoping to get it  quilted and bound before Jess's birthday later this week. Fancy Forest was on my finish along list last quarter, but I lot momentum. I still have quite a long way to go, but the designer, Elizabeth Hartman, recently released first peaks at her latest patterns, and inevitably a few have been added to the list, so I'd better get moving on this. Awesome Ocean is another Elizabeth Hartman pattern. I made really good progress on this during March and thorough...

It's been quite the quarter, hasn't it! I only have five Finish-Along finishes to celebrate this quarter. I think the first quarter is always slow because there's so many yummy things to start...But I do want to celebrate progress on a few long-term WIPS this quarter - although they aren't eligible as a finish, they are definitely closer than they were! Certain people will be horrified to hear that my WIP list currently stands a nice round 100 - with a couple of interesting items from Instagram threatening to push it higher still! Here are my finishes: First up my Gypsy Wife quilt. I finished it on my birthday and I love it! Such rainbowy goodness! The other large quilt finish was my Summer Sampler 2016. Obviously this one has been around for a while, but those colours and fabrics are just so summery, that given the snow we've had recently, I felt it was the perfect pick-me-up! On the subject of Summer Samplers... my 2017 Summer Sampler is sitting unloved...

This year I've been sewing along with Angie @gnomeangel in the #elizabethhartmanalltheanimalssewalong with varying degrees of success. The first project was Fancy Forest - a project from my list. I made the foxes, the bunnies and a few hedgehogs and then I fell behind. The next planned project was The Kittens, which I decided to pass on. Then up was Awesome Ocean, another project from the list, and one which I had already bought the background for. February rushed past in a blur and I didn't make any blocks. March started, and looked like heading in a similar direction! And then @gnomeangel launched a challenge. The Kittens and Awesome Ocean during March. One of each block  to a tight schedule. Well, I love a challenge. So I bought the pattern for the Kittens Quilt, because Jessica will love (not sure why I discounted it in the first place...). I even had fabric already in my stash for the backing (and wait until you see the backing fabric!). There are five kitten pat...

You may have noticed from my blog over the past 6 months of so that I quite enjoy making pouches designed by Aneela Hoey... I took part in the #stitchedsewingorganizerssal and discovered I that her patterns were wonderfully easy to follow and the end results were brilliantly useful. So when she relaunched her All-in-one box pouch a few months ago it went straight on the to-do list. As far as I could tell, it was the like the boxy pocket pouch pattern in her book, and that was mega useful. But with a pocket with see through insides on the front. Perfect for threads... I decided to make it ready for my latest trip to Oxford so I could fill it full of EPP projects and sew on the train and in the hotel room. For the body of the pouch I picked out a linen type fabric which was slightly heavier weight than regular quilting cotton. I added some Les Fleurs roses from Cotton and Steel and a couple of coordinates. I then decided to make life harder for myself and add a pocket to the back in ...