The Treehouse

C1 - Trooper Green's Badge

This one turned out well - finally, a successfully paper pieced block!

 

Cardigan has progressed - just needs its sleeves sewing on now...that's tonight's job with another episode of Bones. We're trying to relieve the Sky Player of some of its burden, we record far more than we make time to watch!

A1 - Pinwheels Gone Awry

Learned quite a few lessons from this block! It was the first one that I started to make (because of the pinwheels of course)...on my birthday, ages ago. I abandoned it after I'd paper pieced the first two rows and sewn them together. It was too lumpy bumpy and the seams weren't matching. I pulled apart the first two rows and put them in my Rainbow Jane box for a later date.

Today was the later date - I have quite a few blocks left to make for this month's Rainbow Jane so I thought I would try to finish this one off.

It's not too bad I suppose - hopefully the lessons that I learned while making it will mean that Flowery Jane gets a better Pinwheels Gone Awry!

There was progress made on the cardigan last night - at last! Just need to cast off the button/buttonhole band and sew up the rest of seams and then I'll be wearing it - woo hoo! Would have been more but DD needed a scarf knitting - her class are sending Christmas gifts to an orphanage in Bulgaria. It was difficult to know what best to send really as there was a list of things that weren't to be sent. We opted for some fashionable woolly gloves and a scarf like the ones I showed on here a little while back, this one was lilac and grey. No picture as it's gone off to school this morning to get gift wrapped.

I bought a nice little book of cardigan patterns the other week...there are a few in there that are calling my name and they're knit in lovely soft, non-scratchy merino wool - the children don't like proper wool...it itches when they snuggle up.

An Afternoon with Jane...

t's been rainy and wet here again today. Not fit for going anywhere at all so with jobs and DS' badminton done this morning, it was an afternoon indoors with a little television, a little surfing and some sewing. I finished off that starburst block this morning...only had the little triangles to applique onto it and this afternoon I've made a Bachelor's Buttons for both Flowery and Rainbow Jane and a Sweet Tater Pie for Rainbow Jane...I would have made one for Flowery as well but the material hasn't arrived for that block yet. I'm having fun with these little blocks although I'm no expert at making them it's all a fabulous learning curve and I'm enjoying it.

Bachelor's Buttons for Rainbow Jane...I LOVE that fabric.

This is one of my favourite blocks, not because of the colour (I'm not big on red) but because I LOVE pinwheels. Can't wait to make it for Flowery Jane now. I finally got my windows printer drivers installed on the Mac this afternoon so that I could print from my Inklingo triangle cd and that is what I used to make this block - really super quick and easy.

and finally, a Bachelor's Buttons for Flowery Jane. I did both of these using reverse applique which was a new thing for me - turned out to be easier than I thought :)

F12 -Starburst

It isn't perfect but I quite like it!

1. Print hexagons DONE

2. Finish Bluebird block (some serious effort required) - STILL NO PROGRESS JUST SOME FRAYED FABRIC

3. Finish off cardigan (not much left to do) - STILL NOT TOUCHED THIS!

4. Make this week's DJ block - DONE

A couple of diversions...

I mentioned yesterday that my Tail Feathers parcel for the month had arrived. Now I had good intentions of working on this next week however...it was bugging me that I was a month behind. I vowed not to get behind on this project otherwise I could see that I would fall further and further behind and not finish it off. Due to a mix up with fabric in the kit, I had been unable to start work on any of last last month's kit and the correct fabric arrived with this month's kit. It was playing on my mind that there was two month's worth of sewing to be done so...I thought I would just cut out the pieces for last month's block before taking DD to the library and DS to football. I cut out the pieces for both month's kits! Football was cancelled due to the pitch flooding. We went to the library where I collected the 6 - yes 6, books that were waiting for me.

Now I had some free time because of no football. I thought I would just sew together block five.

 

I went a little further and did  the applique and ironed on the stitchery designs! Those little dots were a beastly to cut out. I thought about the pieces sitting there all cut out for block six. I thought I could at least sew on the borders.

 

So I did the lot! All that is required now is the stitching and they're complete. Next week I intend to put some effort in on the log cabin blocks.

My to-do list suffered a bit because of this other enthusiasm but at least I don't feel so far behind now.

1. Print hexagons DONE

2. Finish Bluebird block (some serious effort required) - NO PROGRESS AT ALL HERE

3. Finish off cardigan (not much left to do) - NO PROGRESS AT ALL HERE EITHER

4. Make this week's DJ block - FREEZER PAPER SHAPES ALL CUT OUT AND WAITING TO BE STITCHED TOGETHER

Back to the cardigan next I think...I'm avoiding the Bluebird block as there is a boo boo that needs correcting!

To-Do list progress

I got plenty of hexagons printed and cut last night - still have another colour to cut out and some fussy cutting for the centre of the next blocks to do. This morning I cut out all of the shapes for this weeks DJ Block of the Week which is F12, Starburst...that's a fiddly job but it's done now, just hope it stitches together ok. In Linda Franz's Writing Table Quilts DVD I noticed that Linda had a sort of padded work board to put her diamonds on...aha I thought, that would come in most handy. It's not always possible to sit down and stitch a block all in one go, there's bound to be some sporting event that requires attendance or something like that so...I got DH to cut me a piece of board on Sunday night and I've spent a bit of time this morning covering it with batting and black fabric. It works perfectly and Starburst is now pinned down onto it so none of the little pieces will go missing (hopefully!) in between now and tonight when I can start stitching it.

 

I've had a very satisfying post morning today. Postie has brought this month's Tail Feathers installment from Buttonberry and also several book rings...one of which is the next Kinsey Millhone book, K is for Killer sent to me by Cinderess on Bookcrossing. I was really ready for another Kinsey installment...I am trying to plough through Drood at the moment and I can't say that it's gripped me thus far at all! We're off to the library tonight and I know there are books waiting for me to collect. I'm hoping that one of them is the next Lilith Saintcrow book because I really enjoyed the first one! Such a pity that one cannot stitch and read at the same time really :sigh:

More cutting and then some lunch I think.

Patchwork of the Crosses #1

I've finished my first POTC block - I like it! When I first bought an Inklingo collection I had no intentions of hand stitching at all, everything was going to be done on my machine. That seems to have changed somewhat now and I've become rather addicted to hand stitching blocks! The pretty fabric at the centre is some that I got on my birthday trip out - this was my first attempt at fussy cutting with the printer - it's not absolutely perfect but I'm happy with the result. Going to print out some more more hexagons tonight - I've already started block 2! 

That's one of this week's goals completed. The other was to finish a Bluebird block that I started a little while ago...and I've thought of a few more since then!

1. Print hexagons

2. Finish Bluebird block (some serious effort required)

3. Finish off cardigan (not much left to do)

4. Make this week's DJ block (freezer paper is on the fabric, just needs cutting out)

Not sure that all that is do-able but I've not got an all consuming read on the go at the moment so it just might be.

 

Arent' they pretty? I looked at them for months before caving in and getting the download and I am so glad that I did.

Stitcher's Angel Sneak Peak

I forgot to post one of these. I hope my poor Angel friend isn't waiting too long because of the postal disruptions that are going on on.

 

I don't think my Angel friend knows who I am but...just in case I've only done a little sneak picture for now until I know that it's arrived safely.

Aunt Elsie's Phlox - E1

Another Dear Jane block finished last night, this one is all applique. I love the background fabric on this one - so pretty.

I finished two books by Cindy Woodsmall this week. The final part of the Sisters of the Quilt Trilogy - "When the Soul Mends" and also 'The Hope of Refuge" which was...I'm hoping, the first in a new series of books. I need another one now but the only one that I've not read isn't yet available over here - "The Sounds of Sleigh Bells" so I'll just have to be patient until the paperback is published.

I'm itching to start stitching one of those Biscornu that arrived last week...but I've got a Quilt Aid block that needs some attention and a POTC block that I'd like to get completed this week...poor Biscornu will have to wait

E2 - Merry May

completed last night - all hand pieced and hand appliqued. Just getting a few more bits ready now for another sewing session tonight :D