Jennie's Threads

...for a few days at least! When I was in Budapest in March I got a text from my Dad: "Would you mind making some place mats like the ones you made Mum for Christmas for me to give to Debs when I go and visit them in July?" You can find the place mats I made for Mum here . I said "of course". When I got back from Budapest I actually spoke to him on the phone: "the reason I asked for place mats is because I didn't really have the nerve to ask what I really wanted...." "Ok - well ask away...." "Please could you make a double bed quilt instead of place mats?" Then I hear my Mum in the background: "You can't ask her that. She doesn't have enough time, she can't possibly make a double bed quilt by July". A challenge, you say? "Sure," I said. Now, we are not going to have a Farmer's Wife quilt by the end of June, nor are we going to have a Dear Jane, so I had a look round blog-land for a...

It's Wednesday again, so what have I been working on the last few days? Last week, Rachel at Stitched in Colour, announced Scrap Attack: String Fever. This was perfect timing for me.  About eighteen months ago I agreed to make a quilt for my Aunt, and she picked out the fabrics - blues and pinks. Then the fabrics sat in a box. And stayed in the box. I wasn't really sure what to do with them. I wanted something traditional, but modern, that would keep me interested (I get bored easily of the same block again and again if it isn't challenging enough). Lots of cutting, but I don't think I have enough yet... especially not  pink Then at Christmas I was given Hexa-go-go by Tacha Bruecher and I had a light bulb moment when I saw the quilt on the front cover. And Mum agreed that she thought my Aunt would like it - I did ask my Aunt last summer what she would like, and she said she trusted me and to do what I liked - Aunty Catherine, if you are reading this and don...

I've been working on a cushion cover/mini quilt for round 3 the Modern She Made Swap - It's wonderful getting back to some nice fiddly foundation piecing after so many loooooong seams in the run up to Easter. This is a 12" star block, from Carol Doak's 50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars. And a 6" block from Don't Call Me Betsy's Lucky Stars BOM. I'm really please with how these have turned out, but I'm still not settled on how the finished piece will look. Only a few more weeks before I have to be getting it ready to send, so I'd better put my thinking cap on.

A quarter of the way through the year already. Back in January I posted a very ambitious list of things I wanted to achieve.... I didn't do very well in finishing, but I did move some projects along... Pac Mania: is finished. And I have sent it to it's new home with a friend who has recently lost her husband. There were times when I wasn't sure about this quilt, but once it was completed and washed I was really please with how it had turned out - nice and crinkly. I'm linking this post up for this finish, but you can fid more information here . My only other finish this quarter was my Pembrokeshire English Paper Piecing mini quilt. This is also now living in its new home with my Mum. You can find all the information about the finish here : Rhubarb and Custard: Isn't finished. But I have made huge progress in the sashing. This project will go back on the list for Q2. Steph's Quilt: Isn't finished. But I do have a completed quilt top afte...

It is the first Saturday in April and that means it is time to share the fourth block in my BOM series! My April block is in my favourite green. You can find the instructions for the pieced section here , the instructions for the applique section here and some tips for preparing your embroidery here . Although the embroidery section looks like there are some large empty spaces, this is due to the fact I ran out of the thread I was using. When I get a chance to pick some up I will be adding a couple of flowers and some running stitch (all of these are included on the pattern). I will also be adding some buttons right at the end! You can find the embroidery pattern here , and you can find the information about motifs and stitches here . I hope you like this block and if you make your own version, I would love to see it in the Flickr group . And if you have any questions, just let me know!

...has been really busy. But I have still fitted in some sewing. On Monday I finished piecing my Colour Me Retro plus quilt. I've made it larger - from the original 20"x20" to 24" x 36" to make a small quilt for my beautiful new niece Ellie-Jo. But it turns out I haven't taken a photo of it, so here is the original 20x20 version... I've started working on a wedding present for a friend of Michael's. The wedding was mid-March... I'm making a set of place mats using what seems to be my favourite colour scheme at the moment.  I'm making some of the blocks from the Lucky Stars BOM. I love these designs. And I've started working on my swap item for the Modern She Made Swap. It's a star from Carol Doak's 50 FP Stars book. Well. It's a quarter of the star at the moment. I'm not totally sold on it yet, but I'll persevere with the other three quarters and see where it takes me. And I've been working on the...

That's the plan at least.... I've been making pretty little churn dash blocks - I love this block design, especially when the finished size will be just 3" x 3"! And I've been working on some applique panels - still some way to go - machine blanket stitch, some embroidery and lots of lovely buttons to add right at the end. All of these are for the BOM I'm designing this year. If you'd like to join in, you can find all the details here . February Block I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday, putting the kettle on and my feet up and going to check out what everyone else has been up to!