New to Me in April 2014

It's the 25th of the month so time to have a look and see what has been tried for the first time this month.

First up for me this month was joining a Quilt Group!

I came across an advert for a new Quilt Group in my local supermarket, so decided to take the plunge and join in. The class meets every alternate Wednesday and by the time that I came across the notice had already met twice, so I have a lot of catching up to do!

The group were tackling Ohio Stars last week, so I decided to work on the same block and try and catch up with the rest at home, so this is my first Quilt Group block. It was so much fun to spend 3 hours with like-minded individuals, that you will probably not be surprised to hear that I didn't get the block finished before we had to pack up for home :)

My second New to Me for April was creating my first ever downloadable applique template!

I created this Cafetiere and Mug Cosy tutorial for the Terry's Fabrics How-to blog and had to work out how to create a downloadable template for the Armchair Applique. Being somewhat technologically challenged that was no small ask let me tell you! However, I managed it in the end and you can find the instructions and the template here






By the time you are reading this I will be hopefully, well into my third New to Me for April and should be busy admiring buildings like this!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registan

We are travelling along one of the ancient Silk Routes, visiting cities such as Samarkand and Tashkent along the way so I hope you will excuse me if I don't reply to your comments straight away :)

Now it's your turn to share what you have been up to that is New to You this month.

As ever please help to spread the word by linking back to this post in your post and/or adding the blog button to your sidebar.

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Check out the other links and leave a comment along the way. The emphasis of this link party is to celebrate the trying of something new, whether it works out exactly as planned or not, so a little encouragement here and there would not go amiss! 

The link will remain open until 23.59GMT on April 30th, so you have plenty of time to try something new and link up and join the party :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew April Link Party

  

With Winter all but out of the way here Christmas past is an almost forgotten memory and Christmas to come seems like such a long way away. However, Paula and I continue in our efforts to encourage you to get ahead this year with our monthly Link Party.

This month we have a lovely mini winter-themed Cross Stitch kit for one lucky linker, courtesy of the lovely Rachel at

http://www.raystitch.co.uk/

To win, all you need do is link up a Christmas- themed or gift project that you have created this month and you could be the randomly drawn winner. So, not only will you have one reason for feeling smug by having a Christmas project done and dusted already, but you could be a winner too :)

This month's Link Party is hosted by Karen at Practically Pippy, who happens to have been the winner of last month's thread bundle from Fluffy Sheep Quilting :) Don't worry winning the giveaway doesn't mean that you will be asked to host the next Link Party!

As ever I would like to thank all of our lovely prize sponsors for their generosity in supporting our efforts to make this your most organised Christmas crafting year yet!

  

I do have a Christmas gift project made and tucked away for December, but it has to remain secret for a while longer, so all I can show you is this sneak peek!

Liberty and Lace, weren't they just made for each other? There is also a bit of linen and Lizzie House in this project too, how much alliteration can one person fit in a project :) ??

Head on over to Karen and get linking up those projects!

As ever you have until the end of the month to link up, so there is still lots of time to finish off that project that is on your to-do list every December but then put away every January for next year! This year we are going to be so organised we won't know what to do with ourselves in the run-up to Christmas :)

Dicing with deadlines!

Months ago I signed up for the fourth round of the

The deadline for sending out the blocks for this round is April 15th. Needless to say I have left making my blocks until the last minute!

As ever the requests for the blocks are a great test of my stash. This quarter the requests included

Jewel tones,

Bright, bold saturated colours

and bright, happy colours!

I hope these hit the mark :)

Can't wait to see what wings my way too. I think with one more round, which signs up on May 1st, I will have enough to make a quilt!

Linking up to

Yorkshire - God's Own County!

We recently celebrated my husband's birthday with a family weekend in Yorkshire, and had a lovely time visiting some of the "Jewels in the Crown" of "God's own County" as it is sometimes known as. Yorkshire folk are nothing if not proud of their roots :)

We stayed in this village called Sutton on the Forest, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book, so has been around for rather a long time!

Walking to the local pub, as you do, we came across this plant stall which had, amongst its other offerings, some Yorkshire rhubarb for sale.

Yorkshire is famous for its rhubarb, and has the growing area known as the Rhubarb Triangle within its boundaries. Forced rhubarb which is grown in sheds and picked by candlelight is a delicacy prized by many, although perhaps like mushrooms it is best not to dwell too much on what the rhubarb is growing in! The euphemistically named "night soil" covers a multitude of sins :)

Apparently you can hear the rhubarb popping as it grows, and you can even take tours of the candlelit sheds! You live and learn :)

York is also famous for its Minster, one of the largest Gothic cathedrals of Northern Europe.

The Minster has had its fair share of damage and destruction throughout the years and even as recently as 1984 was hit by a lightning strike, which destroyed a large part of the roof. On a sunny Spring day though it is the most beautiful building to see and contemplating the work involved in building it just takes your breath away.

Another thing that would definitely take my breath away, would be riding around the Yorkshire Dales on a bicycle! No such problem though for the professional cyclists who will be tearing around those hills and dales when the Tour de France takes a detour through Yorkshire this summer. In case you are wondering what this has got to do with anything, have a look at this.

A challenge to create a sewn block relating to York/shire and cycling! How could I resist ??

Linking up to

Back in the groove

The deadline for the fourth Round of the Scrappy Trip Around the World Bee is fast approaching, and the first of my blocks from my fellow Bees in Hive 4 arrived in the post this week.

This great block from Maureen in Michigan was a timely reminder that I needed to get into gear and start whipping up those blocks.

So with my trusty Sizzix machine in hand I have started slicing up 2.5" strips for my blocks.

One of the challenges for me with Bees is selecting the fabrics, it always takes me ages to finally decide. This time around though I am making blocks for two Bee mates that I have already made for in previous rounds, so in theory that should make the decision making process a bit easier. We shall see if that turns out to be true :)

One block down, four more to go!

Linking up to

March Round -Up

I am not sure if the old adage about March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb is true around here, but there has certainly been both lion like and lamb like weather this month in this neck of the woods.

The daffodils are all blooming though, so all is right with the world.

My projects completed this month have been a bit of a mixed bag.

1. Completed Draught Excluder, 2. And Sew On complete, 3. Completed Coin Tidy, 4. Fat Stash Brit Bee block 2, 5. Fat Stash Brit Bee request, 6. Clock close up, 7. Green hearts, 8. Sashiko pouch with polish, 9. Fat Stash Brit Bee Block 1


Bee blocks, family requests, a new pattern for my fledgling Craftsy store, a Christmas gift to tuck away and a completed quilt! Do you get the feeling that I am a bit of a butterfly, flitting between projects? Well, you wouldn't be far wrong :)

Hope you have had a good month too.

Linking up to

Lily's Quilts