WIP Wednesday

I'm playing more catchup today with stuff I've been working on in the last few weeks. If you follow me on Instagram you'll have seen these pics already but I hope you won't mind having a little peek again! I hope you'll excuse that the photos aren't wonderful. November and December are so dark and dreary here, its practically impossible to get good photos when you are at work during daylight hours.

First up - my Made to Measure quilt. This one was on the back burner for a little while until I faced up to doing all those HSTs for the big 8th border. I finally got on with it a few weeks ago. Here's what the layout is looking like - ignore the quilt top full of creases please!

 

Once I had them laid out, I pieced those flying geese strips pretty quickly actually. I'm really happy with how they look - I used 4 different low volume prints as the background, and it worked exactly as I hoped. 

Now I just need to do the star blocks for the corners (more procrastination here, avoiding those teeny tiny HSTs for the little stars) and then one more border for which I have a Road 15 text print, and I'm actually done with the quilt top. This is another mammoth 80" x 80" quilt, so I'll try the table basting method again on this one and I've decided that I'm going to hand quilt this which has me excited and terrified in equal measure, and means it probably won't be done before next summer.

Speaking of mammoth quilts, Swoon is almost done. I sewed the binding on the front last night and plan to spend the next couple of evenings curled up on the sofa, handfinishing it on the back. Apart from the piecing, handstitching the binding to finish is my absolute favourite part of making a quilt. 

 
I see a lot of hand stitching in my future in the next couple of weeks. I'm having keyhole surgery for gallstones on Friday so I have lots of time to fill in the next couple of weeks recovering. I've been working on Aneela Hoey's Cherry on the Tree Swing embroidery pattern for the last couple of weeks, picking it up here and there in the evenings, and its not perfect but its coming along nicely. This hoop is for baby Rachel's room, along with a few other things I am making for her.

 

Beside Cherry on the Tree Swing, I also bought some lovely embroidery patterns from Lilipopo, including this gorgeous  Carol Singers one which I'm planning to start next week.

Image by Lili Popo

So that's my WIP Wednesday. Linking up to Freshly Pieced with lots of very talented ladies, and looking forward to seeing what everyone else has been up to.

WIP Wednesday

I've a few things going on right now, despite the madness of trying to get ready for back to school and fitting in visits and activities for the kids before the end of the holidays. The biggest of them is this baby girl quilt which is a custom order. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you'll know I found the quilting very challenging on this one for a number of reasons. Thankfully I'm past it now and ready to hand finish the binding over the next couple of evenings.

I also started to piece together the hexies - thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I'm thinking panel for a bag is what I'm going to do but might change my mind, and I probably have enough to do some of the smaller suggestions too.

After making lots of projects for other people, today's sewing is going to be for me - another Swoon block which I almost have all the lines marked on ready to sew. Today's other project is to try to troubleshoot my machine problems - see how nice she looks here? But she has turned into a monster the last few times I quilted on her so I need to spend a bit of time sorting her out.

Thats about all the WIPs! Don't forget to enter my great giveaway for Stash Fabrics here.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

WIP Wednesday

Its been a productive week here at FairyFace HQ, I think maybe the sunshine is making things flow easier and faster! In any case, I have a lot of projects that I've managed to finish/make significant progress on.

In addition to some very satisfying finishes, I have been making progress on my Made to Measure quilt (from the Handquilted with Love book).

 

This is the first medallion quilt I've made and I'm really enjoying the process.  After making the centre and the first border, I decided to add a teal/aqua border with orange and purple pops as I didn't want to get stuck in a pink and orange colour scheme. I doubted this choice a bit, and I really wasn't sure about the purple border 3 when I was making it. But now that I've put on the grey Loulouthi last border (I have been hoarding that print for just the "right" project for a long time!) I am delighted with how its looking, I love the jewel tones. The next border is going to return to pinks and oranges again - the brighter the better! But all those HSTs, especially the teeny tiny ones for the star cornerstones, make for a lot of work so I might take a break for a few days.

I've also been basting hexies in the evenings when I'm sitting down in front of the tv. I cut these from fabrics in my scrap bin one weekend using my Go! Baby when I was trying to make some room in it - I have over 400 of them! I gave some to a friend, and started basting the rest. Not sure what I'm going to make with them yet, but I need a new cushion cover for my sewing chair, and I'm thinking I may use them for that - particularly as there are so many favourite scraps from lovely projects in there. They're small - the sides are only 1" long, but because they are that size, they were perfect for some of the teeny tiny scraps I had.

I'll keep adding to them until I decide! I have a lot more than I need though so I'm running a little giveaway for 100 of them over on Instagram where I am @sewfairyface - head over there and check out my photo for details of how to enter.

This week's finishes include my Kona tumbler quilt:

And my triangular Echo placemats:

I also tackled one of Ayumi's lovely projects in her book Patchwork Please! - the Prettified Pincushion. I found this a little bit tricky to make - mainly because of the tiny little blocks, and working with the Essex linen was a bit different to cotton. (I also think baby brain had a significant contribution to my messing up the blocks more than once). But in the end I rescued it, and it turned out very pretty and is sitting proudly on my sewing table.

So that's my very productive week. Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced! 

WIP Wednesday: The Resumption of Normal Service

It's Wednesday! And feeling human for the first time in almost 4 months, I am doing a WIP Wednesday post...and it feels great! I actually have some projects to report on. I have ideas whirling round in my head. Life is good :-)

In Progress:

I have gone from a big fat zilch to suddenly being busy again.

First up - I am just about done finishing the binding on the Princess Charming quilt. Can't wait to get this one washed and dried and finished. Hopefully before the weekend!

I started a cross stitch project - the Fellowship of the Ring. I'm loving my Gandalf - hope the rest go as well :-) More details on the pattern here.

And lastly - I am finally making real progress on  my little boy's quilt. I started back at the start of May, using a pattern in the Block Party book which I loved and thought would work perfectly to mix in all the different fabrics he told me he wanted in it.

 After a few sessions of marking out circles on the Bondaweb, and making the applique circles, I got a bit discouraged. There were just so many of them,to make a whole quilt, rather than a few blocks, and it was so, well, so BORING. So I procrastinated. A lot! Its a project that has been stalling my energy in all sorts of ways - even having the fabric stack I had pulled for it permanently in my WIP basket, taking up mental and physical space. So, feeling more like myself this week I decided to tackle this project, mainly to stop the constant guilt every time D asked me was his quilt nearly done. But I was clever. I enlisted help. My lovely hubbie, taking pity on his pregnant wife and her sore back, sat down beside me and cut the circles from the Bondaweb as I traced them - well over a hundred of them.

Then I fused the fabric and he cut out the applique circles. All of them, while watching a dvd. Serious brownie points for him this week! A joint effort and in no time we were done.

Once the boring bit was over, I had lots of fun laying out my blocks, and fusing on my circles. That bit is all done. All that remains before laying out the quilt top is to zig zag stitch all the circles to secure, and that is more than half way complete. I am back in love with these blocks again! Can't wait to see it come together now. I'm thinking a strong turquoise blue sashing between the blocks would bring it all to life - but I'm open to suggestions if you can think of another colour that might work? I don't want to go with a deeper gray as my little man loves colour and I think it would make it too sombre for him.

So, did you notice my little news in there in the middle of all that? My biggest WIP project? Yes, we have another baby on the way - hoping he or she will arrive safe and well in early January! And I just can't wait to get making some cute little projects once I get a bit further along :-) This also might explain why I have been missing in action for most of the last few months - but I'm hoping that now I am feeling more myself again, it will be back to (almost) normal for the next few months, all going well.

Stalled Projects:

There are a few projects I need to move off my stalled list and onto my progress list so I think maybe its time to start listing them.

Starflower Bee quilt top needs some extra blocks to finish
Ruby Crazy 9 patch lattice quilt top awaiting quilting
Tumbling Blocks quilt top awaiting quilting

Oh -it feels good to be busy and inspired again. I have a lot of projects I can't wait to get working on too!

I'm linking up today to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced - pop over and check out what everyone else is up to!

WIP Wednesday

It's Wednesday and I actually have some progress to show you this week, which is a really nice feeling after the last few weeks!

Completed this Week:

My Solids Swap package went in the post on Monday. This package has a little bit of a journey to its destination and I'm hoping that it doesn't take too long. I think my partner will be happy with it!

In Progress:

I managed to make progress on 2 big projects this week.

First up, I got all my pieces for the Stained QAL cut from my Little Apples FE bundle. Thanks everyone for your advice on the sashing options. Hadley suggested I use a yellow print rather than a solid and I think, after looking at it again last night, that this might be the best option, so I'm off to the local fabric shop after the school run this morning to try to see if I can find some yellow dotty fabric. I'm keeping the Coal as a reserve option, but my gut feeling is that it might be too dark for a little girl.

The other project I managed to move on was my Skittles quilt. The quilt police would be vastly unhappy with my backing on this one! I used a whole cloth piece of Klona solid, its a pale purple shade, and I had a Saffron Craig Magical Lands panel I wanted to work into it. But I didn't want the panel all in one piece, as there is so much movement in the quilt top. So I cut it into uneven pieces, echoing the shapes on the front, and then, instead of piecing them into the backing, I appliqued them on. I didn't have enough fabric to piece them, which was my main consideration, and I didn't want to order more. I actually am pretty happy with the result, even if it's the lazy woman's way out :-) I hate the way it looks all crinkly in this pic - its actually basted pretty well!

However, one of the reasons I didn't want to spend ages on the back was that I wanted to hand quilt this one. Once I had it backed, I quilted around the blocks using stitch in the ditch. Then I took it off to my sofa last night and got started on the hand quilting using a deep purple perle cotton. I love how its working!

This is a project I want to have to work on for a little while, so I'm in no rush to finish it. It's perfect for picking up on an evening I am to tired to do any sewing at my machine. And I love quilting with perle cotton. I just need to find  my thimble, as my finger is still sore this morning!

I'm linking up to Lee's WIP Wednesday. You should pop over there and visit the other talented ladies linking up!

WIP Wednesday

I can't believe its Wednesday already, the days are just flying by! Here's what I've been up to this week.

Completed:

My Fresh Pinwheels baby boy quilt. I was really happy with this one, and a little bit sad to let it go!

 

In Progress:

I have a couple of projects in progress this week. One is my Ruby quilt. I am making this using Oh Franssons! Crazy 9 patch lattice pattern, but sizing it up a bit. This quilt is made in multiples of 9, and I had 42 pieces in the layer cake. I really need the 45 blocks to make it the size I want and was cursing myself until I remembers some large scraps I had leftover from my Bliss cushions. I dug out 3 and cut to 10" squares and they work perfectly with the palette of the Ruby.

 I love making these blocks and am flying through them, I have 36 out of the 45 done - 27 of them last night in my own version of Ruby Tuesday :-) and will get the rest finished today. I love how they are all different, and I love the movement in them. Even darling hubbie who was doubting the requirement for another sofa quilt in the living room is now converted! I'm hoping to get the quilt top assembled this week and need to order some more batting before I can then move it on.

I am planning on piecing the back of the Skittles quilt and basting it this week too. I have an Egyptian cotton sheet for the back, and I have a big panel of Saffron Craig fabric that I am planning to piece into the middle of it. The colours are similar to the front and I think it will be a nice feature on the back.

Then, the plan is to machine quilt along the block outlines, stitching in the ditch, and hand quilt the rest of the quilt, around each of the print fabric pieces. Its promising to be super cold this weekend here, so this is the perfect project to have on the sofa in front of the fire.

I am also making progress in my ideas for my partners in the For the Love of Solids Swap and the Mouthy Stitches swap. I have this lovely rainbow of solids for my FTLOS partner and am watching the response coming in on Flickr to see what she thinks!

And I have this option for my Mouthy Stitches partner, which I think will work, although I also have another idea in mind for her, so must do a pull for that too and see which she prefers.

Starting Out:

I am starting another quilt this week too - nothing like having lots to do. This is the long awaited quilt for my son D. D is mad about trains so I have a nice train print to feature heavily for him. We went through my fabric boxes last night and this is what we picked:

Nice, right? But he also picked these:

Now, they just don't go with the rest. He loves purple. He loves the letters. How am I going to do this. I'm thinking I will put them on the back. What do you think? It is his quilt, for him, but I won't be able to make it if I hate what I'm working with, I never can get projects finished if I don't love them.

Any advice?

I also signed up to the Doll Quilt Swap 12 - my first time doing this swap, there are some great guidelines there to challenge your creativity and I am looking forward to it.

I'm linking up to the talented ladies over at WIP Wednesday. See you there!

WIP Wednesday

Time for a little catch up!

Started this week:
 
This week is all about table runners in my house. I started on two this week - one for the Modern Christmas table runner swap, and one for a gift for my friend. The Christmas one was a bit of an experimental process but I'm really pleased with how its looking and just waiting till the weekend to quilt it. I know now that my partner is going to like this, but need to make a decision on how to quilt it. I could go in the white space with zig zags, which would seem a natural choice, but the trees are cut on slightly different angles so it might be a bit tricky to get it looking right. I'm liking the idea of straight line quilting too. Still pondering this one!

I also pieced and started to quilt a runner for a friend. She is not into crafty stuff really at all so this is a little bit of a reach. I want it to be very modern and understated looking. She loves bright colours, particularly orange and purple, but I don't want it too look traditionally crafty so I went for pops of colour against Ash grey Kona. The squares radiate out from the largest one in the centre towards both ends, getting smaller for each square.

I started to quilt it tonight and really love how the quilting is shaping up.I went for straight lines, with the print squares unquilted. The back is large strips of aubergine, orange, berry and ochre Kona (couldn't get a decent picture) and I'm using some of the lovely lavender coloured Egyptian cotton thread I got from Fi for the quilting on the back.

However, there is a problem. Have you noticed? I used 2 different lots of Kona Ash grey to piece this and there is a minor, minor difference in colour between them. I didn't notice it when I was piecing, it was only when I had it laid out to quilt that I realised it and I hoped the quilting would draw the eye away. I don't know what to do now - whether to continue or to stop, undo it and repiece the strips in. I'm not sure my friend will notice when its all finished, quilted and bound and laid out on the table. I am a bit of a perfectionist about stuff like this and its bothering me a bit to be honest so I would love to hear your honest opinions on it. it. My hubbie thinks I am quite mad to be so exercised about it! I will say that the camera and light exacerbate the difference more than it looks to the naked eye, but I did still spot it. But then, I am always looking much more at the detail than most people would and I know when you're in the process you tend to focus on the detail and the imperfections rather than the big picture. Urrgh. Opinions please!!

In Progress:

The red, pink and aqua quilt is progressing steadily (but no pics!) and I am almost finished cutting the block pieces, another cutting session should see me finished. Once I have finished the cutting, I am confident of moving this along quite quickly.

My Skittles quilt top is on my mind a lot this week, I think I need to start quilting it soon too. I have pretty much decided to largely hand quilt this one, mostly because then I can do it in front of the fire in the evenings :-) So, hoping to start on this soon!

Other Stuff:

I'm off to the Knitting and Stitching show on Thursday and, to my huge excitement, am meeting up with some friends there, not least my blogging buddy Cindy of Fluffy Sheep Quilting who I chat to a lot but have never actually met. Imagine how excited I am to be meeting her in real life!! So, I just can't wait for Thursday morning to roll around to set out to Dublin and hoping that I manage to pick up some lovely fabric too :-)

Ok, so I'm linking up the fab WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced - hop over there and check out the fab talent on show!

Wednesday WIP update

Another week gone, where does the time go? August is always a busy month, this year more than ever. Can't believe that my little boy is off to school next week. He is all kitted out with his uniform, his books, and his schoolbag. He looks so grown up with the uniform on! I am torn between excitement for him moving on to this new stage in his childhood and wanting to cry that he is growing up so quickly when I see him!

So here's the progress this week:

Completed this week:

I finished my mug rug for the Haiku themed scrappy mug rug swap and posted it off last Friday. I don't think my partner will receive for another few days, and I don't want to spoil the surprise, so here's a little sneak peak of the front:



And the back:


I must admit to shamelessly stealing the idea for this card from Susan who sent me a similar one with our little fabric swap a few weeks ago. I loved it so much, I've made a few versions for friends, and as I did a rainbow theme for this mug rug, I thought it fit in quite nicely. Inside the card was my (pretty amateurish) Haiku -
"Rainbow of colours
Like a smile after the rain
To brighten your day."

Which pretty much sums up my sentiments about this mug rug. I will reveal all later in the week.

I also finally sat down and pieced my Bee blocks for August - they're here. I really liked this double pinwheel block, once I got over the fear of messing up, and I even had enough leftovers to do 2 nice 6" blocks for the back for Jenna.

In Progress:

Besides the mug rug and the Bee blocks, this week was about two things for me - our Across the Sea QAL, and my solids swap item.

We are cutting the fabric for the quilt front this week for the QAL and next week, the fun really starts with the piecing. I really love the simplicity of the block and the way it lets the fabric shine through. Here's my trial block - I just love this print from Just Wing It!



I also made good progress on my For the Love of Solids swap.


My partner has liked some improv blocks showing up in the group pool so I have tried to piece some for her.


In addition to this first one which got a lot of comments at the weekend, I have pieced 2 more. This is going to be a mini quilt, with a Kona coal background. The 4th block element I can't show as I think my partner would realise immediately it was for her.






This is my first venture into improv piecing - I don't really know what I'm doing but I think it looks ok. Would love your feedback :-) I'm sorry about the pics which were taken indoors and the lighting isn't great. There are nine different shades of Kona blues in these blocks, and they do create contrast all by themselves, but I really like the pop of cerise/hot pink.

Last but not least, I'm guest blogging today over at Sara's fab blog Sew Sweetness about essential sewing supplies.


So if you are new to sewing and you want to know what you need in your sewing basket to get you started, head over right now and find out more!

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced where I know I will be in some super talented company, so head on over there and have a look!