Not much to show....

It has been another busy couple of weeks since I last posted.  We are to move house again(!) shortly and, I have been trying to get a few things sorted out ready for the move.  Luckily, we are only moving locally and as we already have the keys to the new house, I have been able to slowly start moving a few things across.  I was also away for a few days this past week visiting family, which was nice.

In between times I have been adding a few more rows of stitching to my Kantha project.

This is a SAL organised by Alison Glass and it has been a lot of fun to join in with.  I am hoping to get some more rows added over the coming days.  It is a 'slow stitch' project so there is no rush and I am enjoying the pace of it.

I have also been working on getting my 'secret project' finished and I have managed to get started on binding it.

I am hoping to have that finished this week.

We are enjoying some beautiful weather here this week and I hope you are too!

Until next time..... 😊 xx

There has been lots going on this week....

Firstly, on the sewing front, I have managed to added a few more lines of stitching to my Kantha quilt.  This is a SAL project hosted by Alison Glass.

I am enjoying finding pockets of time to add another line of stitching and, I love how the stitching looks on the back of the quilt.

I also found time to make a few more handmade cards. 

I have been having so much fun making these and they are a perfect quick, creative project when you don't have much time to play with!

Next, I made a start on the quilting of a secret project I am making, so I can't show much of the quilt top!

I had a lot of fun mixing walking foot quilting and free motion quilting and I am looking forward to being able to get this finished over the next week or so.

Lastly, we had a few days away at beautiful Lyme Regis with our son, daughter in law and two granddaughters.  

This part of the south coast of England is called the 'Jurassic' coast because many fossils have been found here from the jurassic period.  

We searched the beaches to find our own fossils and while we didn't find any to bring home, we did see some ammonites in some of the bigger rocks.  It is a really fascinating place.

It is here that Mary Anning found some very rare species which are still exhibited in the Natural History Museum in London.

We visited the marine aquarium at the end of the harbour where we fed the fish and learned all about starfish and crabs.

The harbour is know as 'the cobb' and is very pretty.  It has featured in a number of TV and film productions including, the French Lieutenant's Woman starring Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep, a version of Jane Austen's Persuasion and more recently, Ammonite starring Kate Winslet.

All in all a very productive and enjoyable week! 

Until next time....  😊

A busy few weeks....

It has been a busy few weeks since I last wrote.  We had a lovely weekend away in Chester which was very nice.  While we were there we visited a beautiful house being looked after by the National Trust called Speke Hall.

This was originally a Tudor Manor House but, after falling into disrepair, was renovated in the Victorian era.  It is beautiful both inside and out.

The gardens were lovely too and we were lucky enough to catch the bluebell woods at their best.

We also visited Chester Cathedral which is also a beautiful building with a very pretty central courtyard.

As far as stitching is concerned, I have been working on my Alison Glass SAL project.

I have added some words stitched in chain stitch (not sure if the photos show the words very well) as well as adding the first few lines of kantha stitches.  

I am really enjoying the pace of this project!

In between stitching I have also been making some handmade cards.

I really enjoy working on them as an alternative to stitching.

Hope you find some time for creativity this week.

Until next time.... 😊

Is it really May?

I really can't believe that we have reached May already but, it is not surprising that the time has passed by quickly as we have had a lot happening.

We had all the family here to stay over the Easter Weekend which was a lot of fun but busy!

Then we had a lovely weekend away at a niece's wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding and it was so nice to be able to catch up with extended family.

It hasn't left me much time in the sewing room but, I have managed to piece together the top and back of the quilt I am making to use for my Kantha Quilt in the SAL organised by Alison Glass that I am participating in.

This is the front.  I'm all ready now to start the stitching.  Here is the back....

Sadly, since all the excitement of Easter and the wedding, we have had the very upsetting task of saying goodbye to one of our dear little dogs, Dexter.  He had been my loving, loyal and constant companion for the last 14 years.  I am devastated to have lost him and so is his poor little sister, Poppy.

I leave you with some photos of them both.  Until next time xx 

Since my last post...

I had a bit of a quiet week as far as sewing projects were concerned the week after my last post as I was away visiting family for a few days.  However, since I got back I have been quite busy in my sewing room.

Firstly, I have been auditioning fabrics, threads and potential layouts for the SAL I have joined.  This is to make a Kantha Quilt which I have long wanted to try and is hosted by Alison Glass. I can't wait for the SAL to start now later this month.  I am happy with my choices of fabric and thread.

My little granddaughters have become very enamoured with dressing up and have been building a collection of costumes to play with. 

I wanted to contribute to their dressing up corner, so I made them my version of 'Moana'.  I hope they will enjoy playing with it. I am hoping to add more to the collection in the future too!

Lastly this week, I have started work on a special secret project.  Here is a sneak peek. I am not saying more for the moment but will show you the finished project a bit later in the year!

Hope you are all enjoying a lovely weekend! 😊 xx

Making progress on my Metro Tiles Quilt....

This week I was determined to get into my sewing room and start working on my Metro Tiles Quilt again.

This pattern is designed by Gourmet Quilter and I started it in November 2021 and have had it looking at me from one of the tables in my sewing room since I added row 2 and basted the next row of tiles also back in November 2021.

I did start work on finishing the edges of the next row of tiles earlier this month but haven't shown you the progress that I have made since then.

I have now finished and added the next row of tiles and as I was originally only going to make 18 of the 50 tiles from the pattern and make a smallish rectangular quilt, I had added a corner triangle to the end of the row.

However, while planning the following row of tiles, I discovered that I had two spare setting triangles and that, if I made a square quilt instead of a rectangular one, I could add another row of tiles (which will make 25 of the 50 tiles from the pattern) without having to add more than those two extra setting triangles.

I then had the job of swapping the corner triangle that I had added to the finished row with a setting triangle instead. Not an easy job as the 'grouting' had to be unpicked and unstuck and the blocks unpicked but, I managed it.

This weekend I have fused the appliqué for the extra seven blocks that will make up the middle row of the quilt.  They are layered and basted but will need to have the appliqué edges finished.

I am really pleased with them and I can't wait to get started on finishing the edges and slowly building up the next row.  As this is a QAYG quilt you can add each block as it is finished as shown below. (The third row of the quilt)

Hope you all get some creative time this week.  Until next time..... 😊 xx