UFO

Here is my Hexagon Star as a finished flimsy. I had less than one short edge left to appliqué.....at least now it's finished. I first posted about this quilt here in January 2012, but it goes back longer than that (2008 I think). It was my first hexagon project and something of an ugly duckling for a long while. I started it mainly to practice hexagons and use up scraps. But of course then I had to buy a big enough background piece........so much for being thrifty.

I have enough batting but need to get something for the back. I had thought about a pieced back like this........

........but I just don't think it will look right. Since it's a scrap project I'm trying to avoid spending too much on the backing. What sort of backing would you look for.......striped, floral, what colour? All suggestions much appreciated.

Here is my little pincushion from last week looking a bit flat.

School holidays have started here - yippee! We are off to Bathurst tomorrow to see Man of Steel (no chick flicks with 3 boys) and visit my parents.

Happy stitching.
Susan x

How was I supposed to resist?

I just could not leave the kit for these two pincushions behind when I was in Bathurst yesterday. Tilda fabric.....very different for me, and the most divine quote.

Do I need two more pincushions? Some questions should just not be asked.

Susan x

Clamshells

What's a girl to do with a day off? After getting some of the boring jobs out of the way I sat down and finished my clamshell purse. I know I complained a lot about doing these clamshells but I do rather like the finished look. So there may still be a clamshell quilt one day, but with clamshells much bigger than these!

I think I have used every last scrap of the charm pack now, so I'm feeling very thrifty.

I have also pulled out my hexagon star UFO. It only needs the border hexagons appliquéd on, so it's easy to work on and doesn't require much thought. I wonder what made me put it away when it was so close to being a finished flimsy? Maybe because it's my first hexagon project and it shows the whole learning curve.

The chair by the warm fire is calling me......

Susan x

Clamshells

I have been slowly working on my little clamshells. Finally got back into the sewing room today and my two pieces are ready to be made into a purse.

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday afternoon.

Susan x

What I made for Kerry

I joined the Friends in Stitching online group this year, and one of the requirements is taking part in the birthday gift swap. You can imagine my surprise when I found out my partner was Kerry from Cottage on the Hill....yes the Girls Day in the Country founder. What do you make for someone who has their own patchwork shop?

After lots of thinking and mind changing, I decided to make the Pockets to Go caddy in Prairie Rose fabrics. We had to use a saying and a button, so I put that on one side and some fussy cut hexie flowers on the others. I liked it so much I made one for myself that you can see here.

I hope Kerry had a lovely birthday, and enjoys my gift as much as I enjoyed making it.

Susan x

A finish.

I finished quilting and binding my nephews 18th birthday quilt today. The sun was out but it was windy so it was a bit tricky getting a good photo. It is squarer than it looks.

I am thrilled with how the straight lines of quilting have turned out. It has given the quilt a nice weight and feel.

The pattern is from Crazy Mom Quilts, and I really enjoyed making it. Great design for a gift quilt and easy to do.

I am finished a bit ahead of schedule, mainly because it's hard to do hand quilting at the last minute. This particular nephew shares his birthday with me, so it's extra special.

I hope you find some time to sew over the weekend.

Susan x

What was I thinking?

You know how much I love my little hexies........well I thought I would love little clamshells too. I had some small scraps of Petite Odile so spent some time last weekend dabbling with them. I think it will become a little purse, and then no more little clamshells. I like hexagons better.

I had a lovely afternoon at home yesterday and finished the quilting on my nephews quilt and started the binding. Planning to finish it tonight.

Hope you have a happy weekend.

Susan x

And the winner is.......

Thank you all for leaving such lovely comments on my Giveaway post. I wish I could give everyone a prize. I used the highly technical method of writing numbers on little bits of paper for the draw. Thanks to Mr 11 for doing the honours.............

The Esprit De Noel charm pack goes to Number 43, the lovely Peg at Happy in Quilting.

And my little hexie purse goes to Number 13, Elyte at Tea, Fabric and other things. This seems ever so fitting, as it was Elyte who gave me the idea of a small purse made of small hexies in the first place.

Thanks for taking part.

Susan x

FNWF

FNWF wasn't quite as productive as I hoped, but it was good to get back to my hand quilting for a while. I'm hoping to finish quilting my nephews quilt today because it's a lovely rainy public holiday.

Yesterday we went bush walking at Newnes in the Blue Mountains. It's part of the Wollemi National Park, and there are lots of ruins from the old shale oil refinery. It was a lovely day out.

I also finished my nine patches for June. I really liked these two fabrics when I bought them, but not so sure now that they're made up. I guess that's the beauty of a scrappy swap.

Back later with the winners of my giveaway.

Susan x

FNWF

Friday Night With Friends will see me back quilting.....I got my thread today.

Hope to see you there.

Susan x

A little giveaway

Anyone who knows me will know that patience is not one of my virtues (unless you're talking about hand quilting). I thought I'd have a giveaway for the second anniversary of my blog, but that isn't until August. Then I thought my 300th post wasn't too far off, but I can't wait for that either. So today's the day.

I received so many lovely comments about my hexagon purse that it seemed right to use the leftover hexies (and a few more) to make a little giveaway prize. My little purse has a spring clip closure and is about the size of this new French General charm pack. It's called Esprit de Noel and "fell" into my cart when I was shopping at Patchworks Plus.

So to win the purse or the charm pack just leave me a comment on this post. Please make sure you're not a no reply blogger.

I'll announce the winners on Monday.........to celebrate the long weekend we're having in NSW.

Susan x

Lunchtime stitching

This is where I stitch during my lunch break.........not bad is it. It's part of the new extension and renovation of Mudgee Library. Great place to work too.

Susan x

Stalled

My nephew's quilt has stalled because I've run out of quilting thread! A little annoying because I've really been on a roll with it. Hoping to get some more at the weekend.

In the meantime I finished this sweet little house block from The Simple Life. It pretty much sums up my weekend.

I hope you have a happy week, and find at least a moment to do some stitching.
Susan x