Jennie's Threads

Well that was rather an unplanned hiatus - I didn't mean to go silent for a month... it's just that we've been quite busy and the sewing I'm doing at the moment hasn't been particularly share-worthy as I go. But I'm back and have some blocks to share: first up the Sharks Dinner blocks for July: And for August I love these blocks - they use unusual shapes and are a new challenge each month - mostly deciding where to put which fabric - I'm not use to such a limited colour palette! I now have nine blocks made (the first eight pictured above), and a couple have been appliqued to the background already. The last block comes in November, which theoretically leaves December for putting it all together. I think I'm going to pick a small element from one of the blocks and make it up to go into the middle of the gaps above where four blocks come together. What do you think? The blocks are all designed by Elisabeth at Shark's Dinner and are ava...

I'm still going strong with this block of the month... here's month 6's offering! I think this might be my favourite block so far.... And guess what!? I quilted one of the blocks this month too!

We are now onto month five and block six of the Sharks Dinner block of the month and I'm really enjoying following this one. Here is my sixth block: And miracles have happened this month - I actually started to applique the blocks to a background fabric: three are now attached and papers removed. Next step is to start some quilting!

March seems to have been a really long month! But in a good way! I've got loads of sewing done, Josh has grown loads - he's ten weeks old now - and we've been away together for a weekend to the Lake District. Here's what I've been working on: I've had some finishes: Awesome Ocean And Ice Cream soda And a cushion for Jess . There's also been a couple of other finishes that just aren't quite ready to share yet... I received my Tula Pink Pinkerville fabrics and cut them all up to start my Meadowland quilt. I've been taking part in the Trinket SAL I've made some progress on my Down the Rabbit Hole quilt - I've put together the bits I'd already completed and spent quite a few hours preparing the hand applique on the next border. I made ten blocks into four items in a little self-imposed challenge. I kept up to date with the Shark's Dinner BOM and the Coming Home BOM and started the Geo Diamonds BO...

Well, I'm still going strong and keeping up with the Sharks Dinner Block of the Month. Here is block 4. I've picked out a background fabric and if I don't start the applique and quilting soon, I know I'll regret it, so hopefully there'll be some movement on that front next month. For more information, check out Shark's Dinner blog here .

Just a quick post to boast that I am also up to date on the Sharks Dinner Block of the Month. Here is my third block. I struggled to properly capture the colours of this block. This is with a filter applied that better reflects the colours - pink and orange are hard to photograph. In real life it's bright and vibrant and not as yellow as it looks! The advice for this quilt along was to mark your pieces so you know which bit goes where. The pieces themselves have many edges and many angles and a couple of different ways of going together - most of them wrong. I religiously marked up my first block and it went together like a dream. I was lazy with my second block and learned my lesson. The third block was marked up to within an inch of its life and it went together like a dream. Of course I haven't started the applique and quilting process. Soon!

It's the start of the year and there's loads of temptation out there in the shape of new blocks of the month, and there's no point in denying the fact that I love a good block of the month or sew along. But will you believe me if I say I didn't intend to do this one? No? Didn't think so. But I was struggling to pick a colour palette. Fabric Fox had a Christmas/New Years sale and I picked up a fat quarter of a Cotton and Steel floral print in pink, orange, red, cream.... and happened to also buy a couple of matching fat quarters totally by chance. They sat together on my sewing desk and answered the call! January was a two-block month: block 1 And block 2: I'm going to applique these blocks on to a black solid and hand quilt them individually with perle cotton. Just need to pick up the black. You can find all the details for these blocks over at Shark's Dinner.