Jennie's Threads

Well here it is - my first quilt finish of the year! This is the Skill Builder block of the month, which was run by Pile O'Fabric back in 2013 . I started this quilt on 17th January 2013 and the last time I touched this project (according to my blog) was April 2014 . I had to give my study a good tidy over Christmas and came across the blocks I'd made and was surprised how much I'd already done. I packed it away again, finished tidying, moved on. But those blocks kept coming back to mind so I dug them back out. I even managed to find the box of fabrics I'd carefully curated all those years ago - wow there were some treasures in there! I worked out that if I was content with a 16-block layout, instead of the originally planned 20-block layout, and if I was happy to use the "spare" block created by one of the techniques, I only needed to piece two more. So I did. Both were foundation pieced: Then all the blocks needed to be quilted - I hadn't made as much p...

 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...

This is the quilt I was going to finish when I finished my Tula Nova. Luckily I had a day off a week later and this was top of the pile! Two years after I started it, my Fancy Forest quilt is now a finish! I started this quilt as part of the Elizabeth Hartman All The Animals Sew Along hosted by @gnomeangel in 2018, but I only got as far as the foxes and the rabbits. In Autumn last year, I picked it up again and pushed it over the finish line - a finished quilt top. I love the rainbow effect - which I wasn't sure was working at the half way point. I love the owls - I've made loads of these blocks now, yet I still managed to sew one together wrong. I was away at the Sewing Shindig Retreat that weekend, so I couldn't just recut the pieces I messed up. We had such a laugh about my little mistake, which I didn't realise until I'd finished piecing my owl, that I decided to leave him and not redo. So I have 7 mean owls and one slightly sheepish one! I think he's...

...there was a duck! Obviously! As you saw in my last post, I had an absolute ball at Sewing Shindig back in September. It was such a good weekend! On the Sunday morning I did a class with  Mrs Moog a.k.a. Lesley . She makes the most amazing pouches from recycled fabrics and free motion embroidery. I love the puffins! Her class was on free motion embroidery. It's a technique I've done in the past and enjoyed, but not for a long time. I had a plan of what I wanted to make, but we had to start off with practice practice practice. Lesley provided scraps and off we went. I started off with some words... my sister-in-law's favourite saying. Then I tried some doodling - this is the duck I used to doodle at school - It's pretty much the only thing I can draw. It went pretty well... I added some words... I was quite please.... I added some leaves. Not bad. In fact I was pleased enough with it that I wanted to do something with it. Instead of carrying on free motion...

I finished this quilt a few weeks ago - even though I'm not blogging very regularly, I am sewing lots still, and even finishing a few things! This is Lisa the Unicorn pattern by Elizabeth Hartman. I started it over a year ago... but ignored it for long periods of time. I got the quilt top finished towards the end of my maternity leave, then ignored it some more, until a few weeks ago when I finally got round to basting it and quilting it. The manes are all selected from my stash and the faces are made from Dashwood Twist in either gold on white or silver on white. When it came to quilting, I free motioned pebbles on the unicorns face, match-stitcks on the manes, spirals on the horns and a large scale stipple on the background, all in matching threads. This is now squirreled away in a cupboard until Christmas when it will be Jessica's. If I get a quilt for Mia finished between now and then! This is a Finish Along finish. You can find my original list here . ...