So, what has been happening?

Well, it has been another busy week here.... everyone has returned home, so the house is full again which means that not a lot of sewing has taken place.

I have managed to start cutting out a few of the Farm Girl Vintage blocks that I am behind with and, I hope to cut a few more here and there over the weekend.

I did also finish the next task for my ICQC 107 Class which was to add a rose bush along the fence of the garden scene which I think is starting to look very pretty.

Have a lovely weekend!

My quiet week of stitching.....

So, what have I managed to achieve during my quiet week of stitching? Well, you will have seen earlier in the week that I finished my CQJP Challenge 2015 July Block and, as you may have seen in my last post, I also finished my Snow Happy Heart Block for August.

However, I haven't caught up yet with my Farm Girl Vintage blocks because I decided to concentrate on the latest tasks from my ICQC classes and, I am pleased to say that I have now finished the ICQC 103 class. When I say pleased, I am happy with what I have achieved but at the same time, I am very sad that the class had come to an end.  I have learnt such a lot and have had such a lot of fun!  Thank you Kathy Shaw!

Beaded Monogram

Since I last shared my progress for the ICQC 103 class, I have completed two more different types of monograms.

Silk Ribbon Monogram

Then, the final task was to add various stitches to several different seams. To complete this task I decided to finish one of the blocks that I have been working on and, I chose the block on which I had stitched the spider web motif.  Here is the finished block.

A few close ups of the seams....

I have also finished the next three tasks for the ICQC 107 class, so my background block now has three different groups of silk ribbon flowers.

I am happy to say that there are still a few more tasks to complete for this class which, I am really looking forward to.

All in all, quite a lot has been achieved.... now to work on my Farm Girl Vintage blocks!!

August Snow Happy Heart Block

Having a much quieter week this week has meant I have been able to finish off my Snow Happy Heart Block for August. The Snow Happy Heart patterns are lovely free patterns from Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs. Anne's pattern for August features a cute little snowman enjoying himself on the beach with his bucket and spade.

I thought that he looked like he was having a lot of fun, so I added the word 'Fun' to the background as well as the name of the month.

To add a little extra detail and, because it makes me think of waves on the shore, I added a piece of ric rac towards the bottom edge of the block.  I also added a few extra running and cross stitches to give more balance to the block.  I am happy with how the block looks now and overall, the quilt is looking very pretty.  Here are the blocks to date.

If you are interested in more details about the quilt feel free have a look at my 'Snow Happy Heart Quilt' page.  Click on the link under 'pages' in the right hand sidebar.

CQJP Challenge 2015: Finished July Block

After a busy week with lots of visitors, the house is quiet for a few days and it is nice just to have my own company for a while.  At the beginning of last week, I showed you the base block that I had ready to embellish for my July CQJP Challenge 2015 block. This is how it looked.....

Well, in between lots of activity, I managed to stitch a little here and there and this is how my finished block looks....

I am really pleased with it and I have used lots of the different techniques that I have been learning from Kathy Shaw's fabulous online classes.

From the ICQC 103 Class: Basic Surface Embroidery Motifs, I added a tree, an embroidered beehive and a monogram ('G' for garden!)  My motifs are not exactly the same as those that are stitched as part of the class but, are inspired by them.  In her classes, Kathy always encourages you to interpret your own ideas and then offers constructive advice on them.

ICQC 107: Miniature Silk Ribbon Flower Garden: is where I learned to embroider fly stitch leaves and revisited silk ribbon embroidered irises (the irises are also taught in the BCQC along with many ideas for decorating the seams)

I you are interested in taking any of Kathy's classes, you can find a list of the next registration dates here.

If you are looking for more inspiration for your own crazy quilt blocks, then I can highly recommend the Crazy Quilt Quarterly magazine written by Pam Kellogg.  I am not affiliated to the magazine but I have just received my Autumn copy and I am really enjoying it! 

I am hoping to have plenty of time to sew this week, so should have lots to share with you soon! 

I am linking this post to the latest stitchery link up at Super Mom - No Cape! Pop and have a peep at what everyone has been stitching! 

Lots of house guests....

Hello! I hope you all enjoyed the weekend.  It was very busy here but a lot of fun! I have a number of house guests at the moment, friends of my children and, it is great of fun to have young energy in the house!

July base block

It is going to be a busy week but, in between, I am hoping to get my CQJP Challenge 2015 block for July finished.  I am running behind but, as I have the base block ready to embellish, I am hoping that it will be an easy project to pick up when I have some time here and there.

Embellished blocks January-June

If I get the July block finished this week, I am hoping that I will also be able to get the August block finished before the end of the month too and get back on schedule!

A little sewing done.....

Very shamefully, I have to admit that I still have not having caught up with my Farm Girl Vintage blocks.  However, I do have a plan.... the week after next, I have a week home alone, so I am planning to make it a 'sewing retreat week' and catch up with all my outstanding projects!! 

As we have now moved into August, the latest 'Snow Happy Heart' pattern from Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs has been released.  I have downloaded my copy of the pattern which depicts a snowman on his summer holiday at the beach!!  If I don't get it done before, that will be on my list to finish up during my 'sewing retreat week' as well as the Farm House Vintage blocks!

I haven't been completely idle this week sewing-wise.  I have managed to finish the last task on my Kathy Shaw ICQC 107 Class Garden Trellis block, which was to add some long stemmed roses.  

They were fun to stitch and I really like how the finished block looks.  I now move onto the other background block with the fence and tree for the next tasks in the class.

I also managed to finish the first part of the next task in my Kathy Shaw ICQC 103 Class which was to design and stitch an embroidered monogram.

I decided to embroider two monograms as I am going to make them into a gift for someone later in the year.  I have shown you the monograms here but, I won't share the finished project for the moment.  I'll show you that later on after the gift has been received.

Talking of 'secret' projects, I did also finish up what I was making to send in my birthday swap with Leanne of Lizzie the Quilter and they are now on their way to Leanne in Tasmania!  I will show you them later too.

In other news.....

Poppy is doing very well and is starting to use her leg quite well.  She is having physiotherapy sessions to help her.  They include daily exercises that we have to do at home!!

The contractor has been to make safe my garden wall and clear up the rubble until it can be repaired properly.  Hopefully that won't be too long!!

From Janne (Norway)

Finally, I received another beautiful birthday swap block to add to the others I have received. It is another lovely block and I am looking forward to being able to piece this rather special 'Around the World' quilt top together.

Have a lovely weekend!

A surprise visit....

It has been an eventful few days here. I thought that I would be on my own over the weekend but, I had a lovely surprise visit from my son and his girlfriend which, was a lot of fun!  I had thought that I wasn't going to see them until the end of August, so it was nice to have them home. They are now back in Liverpool where they are working over the Summer and, I am on my own for a few days until my eldest daughter gets back from a trip away in Switzerland.

Since they left, I managed to finish the next task in my ICQC 107 Class by Kathy Shaw. This task was to add some foxgloves to my garden scene background.  I like the finished result.

This morning I thought that I would just get this post published and then head into my sewing room to work on a few projects.  However, fate thought differently! Just as I was ready to finish up here, a car drove through the back wall of my garden.  It is a bit of a mess....

Now there are a number of phone calls to make and some sorting out to do. Hopefully it won't take too long!