Ho,Ho, Ho and on We Sew - the wine edition!

I know that it seems crazy to be thinking of Christmas when, here in the Northern Hemisphere, we are just heading into summer, but believe me my quilty friends you will thank me come December!

Welcome to another Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew Link Party!

As ever our mission is to have you all organised and calm by the time December 25th comes around, and to help us we have gathered together a great bunch of bloggers, who are posting tutorials for gift and home decoration projects throughout the year, you can find all of the previous tutorials by following the link at the top of the page. This month, our guest host is Ruth, who blogs at the lovely named Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner  As a stalwart of the Modern Quilters Ireland Group and an avid Bee member and magazine contributor to boot, Ruth has so many strings to her bow that my head spins just thinking about them :) Head on over to Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner to see Ruth's gorgeous So Frosty quilt pattern, which definitely proves the adage that a "quilt is not just for Christmas!"

Of course, it wouldn't be a Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew Link Party without a giveaway and this month's giveaway comes courtesy of the lovely people at the Fat Quarter Shop

                                                             

                                                               

This month one lucky winner will get to pick their favourite from the Fat Quarter Shop's range of mini charm packs, and all you have to do is link up your Christmas or Holiday makes for June to be in with a chance of winning. The winner of last month's Japan Crafts Mini Rice Bag Kit was Ruth, who has an Asian-themed meeting coming up soon at her Guild meetings, so the timing of the win couldn't have been better!

As you know last month I treated myself to a new craft book (well new to me anyway)

So, I decided to have a go at one of the projects from the book for my Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew make. As a regular wine gift giver and a recycler of paper gift bags I am always wary of being caught recycling a gift bag to the original donor, but this month's project should avoid that embarrassment :)

 The centre involved some reverse applique, which I have never tried before so not only a Ho, Ho, Ho but also a New to Me, two birds comes to mind!

I brought lots of Christmas linen/cotton fabric back from Latvia, so I can easily whip up a few more of these gift bags before December, well, in theory anyway :)

So, now it is your turn to share your Christmas and Holiday makes over at Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner

As ever, a big thank you goes to our generous sponsors who have provided us with such lovely giveaway prizes throughout the year.

http://www.patchworkelephant.com/

Linking up to Sew the Library at Weekend Doings

And Quilting On!

Having completed the HST BOM this month already, I am all enthused to tick another one of the list!

So this week's sewing has all been about my And Sew On BOM wallhanging. Having decided not to make the final block to have instead a 2 x 4 arrangement of the blocks, I dug out some appropriately themed fabric for the sashing  and some calico for the backing. The back will rarely see the light of day, so it made sense to use a plain, basic fabric for the back.

Apologies for the odd angle of the photo, the quilt is presently draped across the top of the sofa bed in my sewing room, and no I haven't taken to sleeping with my sewing machine!

I have quilted in the ditch around the blocks and straight line quilted the sashing blocks and borders, but now I am a bit stuck. I am not really sure how to quilt the blocks. Whilst quilting the sashing I was watching Leah Day's  Free Motion Quilting Class on Craftsy, so was feeling all ambitious about tackling different Free Motion Quilting patterns in the various blocks, but I am not 100% convinced that that is the way to go, so suggestions would be very welcome :)

Recently, Catherine at Knotted Cotton was looking for someone to go halves with her on a purchase of Oakshott Cottons. Having never bought any Oakshott before, it seemed like the ideal opportunity to experience the loveliness of these fabrics without breaking the bank! This bundle of loveliness arrived in the post this week, and I have been admiring them ever since. Now I know what all the fuss is about, they are just beautiful!

Post of a different kind, but no less welcome, has been pinging into my email all week too. The list of giveaway sponsors for the Ho,Ho,Ho and on We Sew Link party just gets longer and longer!

This month's giveaway is the wonderful Ornamental and Sew Seasonal Pattern Bundle from Quiet Play's Craftsy store

The Link Party is open over at Mud, Pies and Pins until the end of the month so there is still plenty of time to get started on your Christmas and Holiday projects and link them up to be in with a chance of winning.

If you are looking to add some Christmas Fabric to your stash check out the Christmas Sale at the Fat Quarter Shop. Check out too the generous sponsors we have lined up for you in the coming months!



That's enough WIP's to be going on with for now I think :)

Linking up to