Testing my stash again.

Today is the deadline for sending out blocks for Round 3 of the Scrappy Trip Around the World Bee. Needless to say these blocks were completely ignored in the run up to Christmas, so putting these blocks together was very last minute!

Again the requests for the blocks were a real test of my stash, but I think I managed to meet them, just :)

First up a request for black and white blocks with one strip being a colour but not a solid.

The black and white face fabric was a sale purchase before Christmas, which was intended for something else entirely!

Then an easy one, shades of green

This request was bright, bright, bright! I hope it is bright enough :)

Another straightforward one, blue, aqua, orange and teal.

 And finally the toughest test of all, French General fabrics and/or colours of which there were surprisingly few in my stash. Fortunately my LQS had a couple of FQ's of French General fabrics, the red, text and brown so once they were in my basket I was good to go.

These blocks are surprisingly quick to make and it is definitely fun seeing how the various fabric choices change the look of the block.

The next round sign-ups opens on February 1st, you can find details of the Bee here if you fancy testing your stash out too.

Linking up to

  

Christmas Sorted!

Were you like me this Christmas past, full of good intentions and then burning the midnight oil trying to get everything finished in time? Or maybe, you discovered some great makes in the run-up to Christmas but didn't have the time to tackle them and by the time you get round to Christmas crafting this year you will have forgotten what they were.

Well, let me introduce you to Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew, our latest monthly Link Party that is going to make you the most organised you have ever been by the time the big day dawns, well as far as crafting goes anyway:)

Paula of Mud, Pies and Pins  and I were bemoaning our lack of organisation in our Christmas crafting and wondered how we could make things different this year, when we hit upon the idea of hosting a Christmas/Holiday craft Link party every month. The idea being that if we made one or two things every month then by the time December arrived we would be so organised we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves!

The Link Party will open on the 18th of each month and will remain open until the end of the month to give you plenty of time to link up your projects.

Each month there will be a tutorial from ourselves or some very crafty guest bloggers to give you ideas for a gift or home decoration to make and hide away, so that by the end of the year you will have a host of handmade gifts and decorations all ready and waiting.

In addition, we have some great prizes lined up for the Link party, so there is an added incentive to link up, as if you need it!

Some of our lovely sponsors

                                    

The Link party will kick off on January 18th with a tutorial for some truly, lovely home decorations by Paula at Mud, Pies and Pins, and the added incentive of the chance to win the Ornamental and Sew Seasonal pattern bundles from Quiet Play's Craftsy Pattern Store when you link up.

So, what are you waiting for grab the button and get crafting and I will see you on the 18th :)

2014 FAL - Q1 Starting out again!

It is the start of a new FAL so time for optimism and wishful thinking :)



This year's FAL is being hosted by the multi-talented Katy otherwise known as The Littlest Thistle. Check out her post if you want to join in the fun.

Having only managed to finish 2 out of the 6 finishes I was hoping for in the last quarter of 2013, there are plenty of UFO's hanging around my sewing room patiently waiting for their turn on the sewing table. One of the 2 finishes I did achieve was a long-standing BOM so in an effort to continue that momentum I am putting the remaining 2 outstanding BOM's in my cupboard top of my list for finishing this quarter.

First up,the wallhanging I have been paper-piecing monthly with Quiet Play's BOM



I had the last block of 9 left to paper piece (the photo below only shows 7 blocks as I haven't taken any photos of them altogether since I made the 8th block), but have decided that an 8 block wallhanging will fit better in the space available. So instead of paper-piecing the last block all that I need to do is add the sashing, baste and quilt it. Doesn't sound too difficult does it?

Second, another carry forward from last years FAL, the Craftsy BOM quilt top.

All the blocks are made (and have been made for months), the sashing fabric is purchased and waiting to be cut up so I just need to knuckle down and do it! It would be great to have this finished in time for my son and daughter-in-laws house move in the Spring, especially as it was also meant to be a Christmas present!

The third project I would like to finish this quarter is the cushion I planned from the New Zealand Falcon pattern by the very talented Tartankiwi.  Our local rugby team are known as the Falcons, and the males in this family are mad-keen rugby fans so it would be a fitting addition to our current collection of cushions.Would be nice to have it finished before the end of the rugby season too :)

The fourth project I really would like to finish this quarter is the Bargello quilt that I started in a class last August.

Again, all this needs is borders, basting and binding! Can you tell these are my least favourite parts of making a quilt??

The next set of projects have all been in my head for ages but I have never actually written them down anywhere, so I am hoping that by blogging about them I might actually get around to making them. So my fifth project for this quarter is another cushion, this time with some Celtic Knotwork applique. I know exactly what I want to do with this so I just need to knuckle down, draft up a pattern and sew it!

I am going for broke here with a sixth, seventh and eighth project :)

The sixth is another cushion, this time with Linen that I brought back from Latvia and some lovely Liberty fabric that I have been too nervous to cut into!

Again I know exactly what I want to do with this, I just need to sit down and do it!


More Liberty fabric and some vintage linen in the seventh project for a secret project that I am really excited about, that will, hopefully, be revealed later in the year.

And finally (thank goodness I hear you cry!) a Christmas project (!!!) using these cute fabrics. The reason for this project will be revealed rather sooner than the one above in the next couple of days, but let's just say now that I am planning to be the most organised I have ever been for Christmas this year :)

I think that is more than enough to be going on with, don't you?

One of my resolutions for 2014 is to use up my stash, and completing all of these projects will certainly help me to do that.

Well, that's the plan wish me luck :)