Jennie's Threads

We have just had a fabulous weekend celebrating Mia's third birthday. Third! Where did those three years disappear to? She is a little star: She is constantly talking, and her speech is so good; she is constantly busy with something - she wears me out just watching her. She loves fabric and quilts and Mummy's sewing machine. She loves dolls houses and little dolls (God bless Happy Land) - we bought her a castle dolls house for her birthday. She is also stubborn (don't know where she gets that from) and isn't keen on having her photo taken - so the one above is the most recent, nice one that I have! She refuses to potty train or give up her dummy. She also refuses to nap (except for when she's with the childminder - black magic, I tell you!). But every day with us, at some point, she will curl up on the sofa with a cushion and a quilt and "have a sleep" - during which time she watches TV and doesn't close her eyes. She picks which cushion and which...

I've finished this quilt before. Over 2 years ago. You can read about it here .  This is a quilt that fought back and nearly won. Two years ago I very nearly threw it in the bin. I started out by not buying enough of the sashing fabric - what are the chances of finding yardage of what must have been one of the most popular prints in the line, 18 months after the fabric was released? By some miracle, I did! I even picked up some more yardage in the post-Christmas sale that year to back it. Nice. So I had a pieced quilt top. I decided to use some wool wadding I'd picked up at a show. And here the story really starts. Firstly, basting wool wadding is IMPOSSIBLE. I'm a spray-baster. Wool is not. In the end we used safety pins. I hate safety pins. Quilting: I had a plan in my head. It didn't really work. So I decided on wibbly lines across the width. It looked DREADFUL. I've come a long way since then, and would now make a better job of it. But then. I did one line, ...

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...

May was a bit of a slow sewing month. Instead I've been enjoying time with this these two fruitcakes! Jess is now 6 weeks old, desperate to see whats going on and be involved, giving out great big smiles, and starting to chat away! I forget how quickly they start to interact. And speaking of chatting away, Mia doesn't stop! She's taken a liking to map-reading in the photo above! Having completed 43 blocks in April, I had a feeling May would be a drier month - just 27. But my running total for the year is still a healthy 283, so my 365 blocks in a year goal is well on track! But this month's blocks were more varied: I finally made a second Zodiac block. This project has been held up because I do freezer paper piecing and I had to replace my iron, and it just didn't get hot enough to melt the wax, making freezer paper foundation piecing a thoroughly unenjoyable experience. I've now replaced my iron so hopefully I'll get caught up o...

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...