Jitterbug

Now that the Bears Paw quilt is off at the quilters I have already started on my next one. Spent 6 hours yesterday cutting out the pieces for the next quilt. The assorted colours above are from one jelly roll so these came pre-cut at 2 1/2inches wide, I just had to measure the length to cut which was easy and fun.

Cutting out the white fabric was a bit more challenging though. It came as one big piece so it had to be cut down into 2 1/2 inch srips then cut to the relevant length. Turns out I didn't quite order enough of the white fabric, it is short by one 2 1/2 inch strip! I am actually planning on turning this into a queen size quilt though so I will need to buy more white fabric anyway. 

Below is a picture from the book I am working from which shows the overall pattern it will have when put together.

Mystery Folk Art

I have been itching to post about my latest folk art piece. Unfortunately I cannot post any pics as it is a Christmas present for my Mum, and I don't want to spoil the surprise :)

I have painted a few snow man designs for Mum for the last few Christmas's (she just loves snowmen!) so naturally I am painting another one. I am nearly half way through the design and I must say it is looking amazing. It's so surprising how the painting comes to life after just a few hours.

I have been taking photos after each day I spend painting so I can post pictures of the progress after Christmas, so you will all be able to see how it has come together then. I know Christmas is a little while away yet but I always like to make sure I allow enough time to finish a piece and avoid having to rush.

Candlewicking Cushions

Above are 2 cushions I made years ago. The technique is called candlewicking, which is basically a combination of colonial knots and stem stitch, at least that's what was used for the above cushions. The design came pre-printed on the fabric so it was just a matter of knoting and stitching over the pre-drawn dots and lines. It gives quite a nice effect. I rather enjoyed making these.

Buzzee Cats

I thought I may as well post up a pic of this embroidery I did a little while ago now. It's one of those projects that look involved, to those that don't know much about sewing, but it is actually quite quick to produce. It had quite a few french knots, which I always used to struggle with, but this design certainly gave me plenty of practice.

Bears Paw

Finally finished my quilt last weekend! Have been spending every spare minute finishing off the applique and sewing the buttons on for the eyes and bee hive. Admittedly it was a little more challenging than it should have been with 2 cats piled on my lap at the same time to keep warm! I'm very happy with the end result though. I chose the backing fabric (deep blue) and dropped it off yesterday to get quilted. Can't wait to see the end result when the quilting is complete and the binding is sewn on.

Bears Paw

Above is the quilt I have been working on lately. This is the first machine pieced quilt I have done. I hand pieced a small quilt when I was younger but this one is a lot more involved.  The 'bears paws' in the middle are all machined together. The bears, flowers and bee hives around the outside have all been appliqued on. This pic was actually taken a few months ago. I've since made quite a bit of progress on this. Will post up more pics later on. Am aiming to finish this in the next month or so. It will look magnificent when it is all finished and quilted. Have already been thinking about the next quilt I want to make. Can't wait!

Completed cross-stitches

Above is my cross-stitch collection. I started cross-stitching when I was about 8 years old. My Mum has always been a crafty person so she was able to teach me a lot growing up. The latest cross-stitch I finished is the teddy bears picnic, I really love this one. Am now about half way through the Santa cross-stitch which I posted a pic of earlier.