A forgotten finish!

Hello! I was having a browse through my latest blog posts when I realised that I had forgotten to show you my finished 'Sew a Little Happiness Every Day' Sampler quilt.  The idea behind this quilt came from the lovely Sarah of Pretty Fabrics and Trims, who started a sew-a-long earlier in the year in order to create something positive in the rather trying circumstances we have found ourselves in.  You can read her original blog post about it here. 

I really loved the idea behind the project and found it a lot of fun to add some stitching every day to the grid that I had drawn. I showed my progress along the way in earlier blog posts here and here. 

I eventually decided that I had added enough embroidery to the project and, leaving some spaces free so that the whole thing didn't look too busy, I set about layering it into a quilt and adding some machine quilting.  I then added some binding and I am really pleased with it.  It is never to late to start a project like this, so why not sew a little happiness for yourself?

Since finishing this little quilt I had my daughter to stay for a few weeks so, I haven't chosen a new project yet to start on, which means I don't have much else to show you apart from a little quilted camera case which I made for myself last week.  It is for the new camera that I had for my birthday recently.

Have a lovely weekend and until the next time..... 

Two more little finishes.....

Just popping by to share with you two more little finishes that I have had this week.  They are both relatively small projects which is exactly what has been needed as I have found it difficult to get motivated recently!!

The first is the little project that I had started and run out of thread for which I shared with you in my last post.  It is called 'Home Sweet Home' and is a pattern designed and shared by Laura Wasilowski.

The second is a little Japanese-inspired rice bag.  The idea for this bag came from a pattern I bought which was designed by K Z Stevens.  However, I adapted the pattern to suit myself, so mine is a little different to the pattern.  

Hope you all have a lovely weekend and until next time.....

Some finishes to share.....

Hello! Hope you are all fit and well! Today, I thought I would share with you some finishes that I have achieved in the last month (since my last post!) or so!

First, as I mentioned last time I participated in a stitch-a-long designed by Sue Spargo and which she shared on Instagram and Facebook.  The pattern was called 'Toned Down Sampler' and consisted of 90 one inch circles which were then embellished with embroidery stitches which Sue released on a daily basis.  I have now finished this project including quilting and binding it.

                                         

If you do like Sue's work I should perhaps mention that she has announced a new stitch-a-long project which is to start at the end of August, so visit her on Instagram or Facebook to find out more!

I have also now finished another of the stitch-a-long projects that I mentioned last time called 'Queen Poppy'.  

This is a project designed and offered by Laura Wasilowski.  She has lots of marvellous stitch-a-long projects you can join in with on her blog including one called 'Pretty Spool' which is the latest.

I am currently working on another of her projects called 'Home Sweet Home' but I am waiting for some new thread as I ran out of the colour I was using!!

Next, after much deliberation, I decided that I just couldn't cut into my 2020 Challenge piece hosted by Anne Brooke of H-anne-Made, so in the end I just trimmed it up and made it into a small wall hanging.  I love this piece of work, there are so many details to look at!

Hope you've been able to stay creative!  Until next time.....

What's been happening?

Hello! It has been another long while since I last posted and I can't believe we are still living in this rather strange World!  Hopefully you are all coping and are keeping safe and well.  

I have found that stitching has certainly taken my mind off of what has been happening and would like to share with you the progress that I have been making with some of the stitch-a-long projects I have joined in with and which I mentioned in my last post.

I have filled in a lot more squares on my 'Sew a little happiness every day' project which has been hosted by the lovely Sarah Edgar of Pretty Fabrics and Trims.

I have completed all except one of the daily circles on my 'Toned Down Sampler' project which was a stitch-a-long designed and offered by Sue Spargo.  This project has now finished but, I think the pattern and kits are available from Sue's website. I am hoping to get the last circle embroidered and the project quilted (which will smooth out the background.... I used a piece of felt which really hasn't been strong enough to support the embroidery) later this week.

I have also completed a further stitch-a-long project offered by the very talented Laura Wasilowksi called 'Frieda's Nut House' which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Laura is currently offering another stitch-a-long which I am also joining in with.  It is called 'Queen Poppy' and is a lot of fun!

I am still working on some other projects including my 2020 Challenge piece hosted by Anne Brooke of H-anne-Made.  I am currently deciding what to make this piece of embroidery into.  I am thinking of perhaps a book cover.

Well, that's most of my news so I'll finish my post here and wish you all a very happy rest of the week! 

In need of an update!

Gosh, it has been a while and a lot has happened since I last posted.  We are living in a completely different World!  Although there has been a lot to worry about, I have been trying to focus on the positives of the situation that we find ourselves in and, from a stitching point of view, one of the most wonderful things to come from the current situation is that there are a lot of very talented designers with time on their hands who are offering fabulous free stitch-a-long projects to keep us busy.  Of course, I can never resist a stitch-a-long opportunity, so I have joined in one or two..... in fact I may have overstretched myself a little!!

The first stitch-a-long I am participating in is one which actually started before the restrictions but which I am really enjoying joining in with.  It is a 2020 Challenge set by Anne Brooke of H-anne-Made.  This is such an easy project as it uses scraps and you can just pick it up and put it down whenever you want to or whenever you have the time.

Another project that I am really enjoying is by Sarah Edgar of Pretty Fabrics and Trims and basically involves adding a little stitched or appliquéd motive to a square on a drawn grid each day.  I have really enjoyed thinking of what to stitch and adding it! If you scroll down on Sarah's web page you will find a link to the project details which is called 'sew a little happiness every day'.

Yet another project I have joined is another daily stitching project being offered by Sue Spargo on both her Facebook and Instagram pages. It is called the 'Toned Down Sampler'. Sue is demonstrating stitches and adding a stitched sample circle to the sampler each day.

I have also completed two individual stitch-a-long projects designed by Hannah's Room and demonstrated live on their Facebook page.  The videos remain accessible after the live demonstration so are available for you to follow along if you would like to.

Lastly, I have also finished another pretty little stitch-a-long project offered by Laura Wasilowski on her website.  It is called 'Tools of the Trade'.  Laura is now running another stitch-a-long called 'Home Sweet Home' which I am also hoping to stitch!

Well, that's about all that I have been up to since my last post..... better catch up with today's stitching now!!

Stay safe and well!

A lovely visit and some hand stitching......

This time last week I had just arrived in the UK to visit my son, daughter-in-law and their sweet little family.  It was an absolute delight to see my latest grand-daughter together with her older sister.  They are just so gorgeous!

We also visited my father-in-law as we hadn't seen him since October of last year.  While we were there I saw the memory quilt that I made for him to celebrate his 90th birthday. 

He has it hanging in the kitchen.  As I looked at it, I kept thinking that there was something 'missing' from the scene..... something that I had felt when I finished it but, that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

I decided to add some hand embroidery to the lower edge of the quilt beneath the tree.  To me it seemed to 'ground' the tree and somehow balanced the whole quilt.  I was pleased that I had added the stitches but, more importantly, my father-in-law liked the additions too.  They were all stitched using variegated hand-dyed fine silk thread from Stef Francis.

While travelling I also managed to finish off my first completed project for 2020!!  I finished stitching a lovely design by Anne Brooke of H-anne-MADE. 

I really enjoyed working on this while I was waiting for various flights.  It made the time just fly by!  This was also stitched using variegated hand-dyed fine silk thread from Stef Francis.

Since I've been home I have trimmed off the excess background fabric and have framed it.

I now have three of these beautiful embroideries in my sewing room.  I love them all!!

Exciting news.....

Just a quick postscript to my last post where I was awaiting the imminent arrival of a new grandchild..... 

A big welcome to the World to my new granddaughter, Amelie Frances, who arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning.

And here is her sister's first visit with her.... so cute!!