January to March 2022

An update for this year so far. A left over since my last post from 2021 is a set of crocheted Christmas trees with a metallic sequin thread and yarn. They are not yet made up into bunting but that's the plan.

You can just about see the sparkly yarn

I used a pastel rainbow yarn to make a Fronds scarf, by Joanne Scrace from The Crochet Project, as a present for a friend. I have made several of these using different yarns. It's a lovely pattern to crochet, looks complicated but is very easy to follow. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture. I also made her a pair of Dragonfly beaded earring's from a kit by Totally Beads, no picture for those either! 

I finished another T-shirt quilt for project Linus. I started this one Oct/Nov last year and hoped to get it finished by Christmas, but life got in the way.

In January I finally started a BOM from Little Patchpockets called Bamboozled, these are foundation pieced 3D blocks. In the past I have found foundation piecing trying, as 'thinking backwards' seemed to be required. The instructions for these blocks are brilliant and I find myself enjoying the process and am very pleased with the results so far. I did decide to cut the strips 1/4 inch wider as some of my seam allowances at the beginning were a bit scant.

Bamboozled progress so far

I came across a Stitch Witch pattern, shadow appliqué Dahlia, that I had started July 2020 and thought it wouldn't take much to finish it. I made it into a small wall hanging, echo quilted around the dahlia and added a rainbow coloured binding and some beads. I have a couple of pieced dahlias that are from a Paula Doyle workshop, these also need finishing, but I can't decide what to make with them.

I came across a picture of a felt chicken ornament on Pinterest when looking for Christmas inspiration. There was no pattern so I made one up as it seemed simple enough. This is the result.

Through the end of January to the end of February I made three Project Linus quilts. The first was from a pattern on the PL website. It's called Lancashire Linus Double Cut Scramble. Pink and red are not my favourite colours, but I liked this quilt and most of the fabrics have been used in previous projects usually with other colours. I normally choose a dark or bright colour for borders, sashing and bindings, this one has cream and I think it goes well with the pinks and reds, a bit girly. It is backed with cream fleece and quilted in the ditch.

The second one was made with a 'Split second' ruler, it cuts curves into two fabric squares, you then make up two four patch blocks with alternating fabrics. I have made several different sizes with this ruler from table runner to lap quilt size. This one I managed to cut one of the curves in the wrong direction. Fortunately I noticed the mistake in the first pair of blocks I cut, and made the same cut in the rest of the pairs. I doubt anyone else would notice and it didn't make a difference when sewing it together. These are my favourite colours blue, green and turquoise. It is backed with pale blue fleece and quilted in the ditch.

The third quilt was from a pattern my quilting group (Quilters of Sutton) are using to make a group quilt for Linus. I liked the block so much I decided to use up some of my scrap box to make one myself. This block probably has a name, but I have no idea what it might be and I could not find it on a Google search. It starts with one 5 inch square of background fabric and two 3 inch squares from scraps. You stitch the 3 inch squares to two adjacent corners and end up with a house shape in the background fabric. You can then sew the squares together to make different patterns. I didn't have enough of any of the border fabrics used to do all four borders, so I made each one a different colour which fitted nicely with the multi-coloured scraps. It was backed with cream fleece and quilted 1/4 inch from the scrap triangles. The binding is navy with multi coloured stars.

Here is a small crochet bag with a beaded strap. I lined it and added a zip.

Crochet bag 8 x 5 inches

I have also made some bunting for Jubilee party's. I am not entirely happy with the choice of fabric, but it is OK. I do like the bunting panel fabric.

I made some Sashiko samples for a demonstration I did for my quilting group. I think my my stitches are a bit on the large side. I will make the dark blue 4 inch squares into coasters and the 6 inch purple ones into a table runner.

I also started a crochet along from Lucy at Attic24, the Harbour Blanket it is nearly finished. I thought I had used a larger crochet hook to make my foundation chain, but the bottom edge is several inches smaller than the top one, so maybe I didn't!

I have bought some dress making patterns, a jumpsuit, dress and top. I have seen some nice fabric for the jumpsuit but have not yet ordered it. Hope I can make the time sew them.