Another Crumb Purse

Another purse today, using up more crumb blocks and charm squares cut from leftovers.

This time, the main colour is purple.

I have one more frame to use, and that will be the end of purses for a little while.  I haven't chosen the fabrics yet, so it's  going to be a surprise.

Crumb Block Purse

I'm slowly getting to the end of the purses.  This time, the purse is truly made of scraps and leftovers.

The front and back are from crumb some 41/2" crumb blocks I had, 

the sides, and the lining are from  leftover fabric cut into charm squares.

 

The crumb blocks presented a new challenge to sewing these purse up.  As there are no straight lines to focus the eye, it made it difficult to see if they body was lined up straight with the frame.  It was worth persevering though, I like having a unique back and front.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge

This month, the colour chosen for the rainbow scrap challenge was grey to black.

I didn't have many scraps, but I did get one block made.  There isn't a colour for next month, so I've managed to get at least one block of every colour throughout the year.  Now I have to decide what to do with them.

I've also got another crumb block to add to my collection.  Once I've got some other quilts finished, I shall have to think about settings to use these up.

October Star Blocks

Terry was ahead of me this month with her star blocks, but it's still the first week.

Two more blocks to add to my collections,

and a crumb block too. 

Pop over to Terry's blog and you'll be able to catch up with all the other participants.  There is a list on her sidebar of all those taking part.

Bits and Pieces

Last week was definitely one of "those weeks" in our house.  It was a week of anticipation and expectation which, combined with a general feeling of being under the weather, wasn't conducive to much productivity.  What I did try, ended up going wrong, so I was undoing much of what I did.

 

In the end, it was worth it.  On Saturday, myself and Number 1 son were on the train down to Bristol to pick up a car!  You can't believe how much difference it makes to be mobile again after four and a half years!  Monday was spent ferrying the boys to and from college.  After working out it took up three hours of the day, they are back to getting the bus, there is a limit to this taxi service!

 

Anyway, now that's settled, I can get back to a routine.  First, here is the round up of the few bits and pieces that did get done.

Another crumb block to add to the collection,

four more granny blocks for my blanket,

and the white work is mounted onto a canvas.  I like the texture of this canvas, it has a linen look to it.

 

All being well, the brain will be back in gear this week, and I can catch up on a few more loose ends.

Back Stitching

Whenever I sat down to do the back stitching on the owl, someone would come, or would phone.  By the time they'd gone, Daniel would be back home.  It seemed to take ages before I could get this section finished.

It's now done and a start has been made on the foliage that goes at the top right.  Just a little bit of that to cross stitch and outline, and I can turn over to the last page.  It's only about a third of a page, so I'm hoping it won't take too much longer to do.

Before he went out, I did get two more crumb blocks done to add to the bag.  It won't be too long and I'll decide on sashing fabric and make up a quilt.  There's just a couple more projects to finish up first.

Hitting the Jackpot

At the beginning of most days when I'm sewing, I sort out the scraps and leftovers of the day before.  Sometimes I don't get anything much to show for it, sometimes one block, but some days, it's like hitting the jackpot.

This time, I got four crumb blocks big enough to cut and add to my growing pile.  I can't remember getting so many at one time.  I don't think it will be too long before I'll have to think about putting them together in one quilt.

I've even done the string block for this month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge and made a start on the crumb blocks.

Scraps

Having finished the top for In Full Bloom, it was time to tidy the sewing table and deal with the leftovers.  I had some pieces big enough to go in my stash, lots of 21/2" squares to go in a future project, and even managed to get a crumb block.

That left the way clear to do something else, but first, the afghan.

The instructions were found, the third quarter made up and joined to the fourth quarter.  That gave me two halves.  These now joined together to form the whole afghan, just an edging needed to finish it.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge

I've finally got to my blue scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and have my six blocks made up.

It seems blue has been used quite a bit in the last few weeks, so even though it's been late working on the blue blocks, it's been a blue month.

I have my string block, and a crumb block too.  In just over a week, we shall find out what colour we'll be using for August.

What a change a border makes

To be a useful size, I needed to add borders to the flying geese units.  This served a two fold purpose, make it bigger, and to make the flying geese look more attractive.

I was going to do a border in three colour, but chose to repeat the blue.  You can't really tell in this photo, but there are lighter tones to the dark blue, which match the colours in the centre.  This is now ready to be sandwiched and quilted.  Fortunately, the other colour I bought, is big enough to use as the backing, and I've just got a piece of batting leftover from a previous project that is the perfect size.

As you can see, Finley wasn't going to move for anything when I was trying to see if this was big enough.  He did move his nose, as he didn't want it under the edge.

As an extra bonus, I even got another crumb block to add to my growing pile.

Our House

With Jonathan's quilt out of the way, it means I can go back and finish some of  the other quilt tops on my shelf.

The houses quilt I did along with Terry was next in line.  It's backed with the same orange as the chimneys on the orange houses, and the binding is a dark blue.   I thought having a dark binding was perfect for all the bright colours in the quilt.  There is a hanging sleeve on the back, so it can be used flat or hung on the wall.

Thank you Terry, it was fun to do this with you, and almost as good as popping round  for a sewing session.

I even managed to get another two bonus crumb blocks done too.

Another Finish

I know it takes longer, but I find it so satisfying sitting and doing the hand quilting on these small quilts.  It just seems to go with the feel of the fabric,

Once the hand quilting was done, the binding was added, and hand finished.  Then it's ready for washing and drying.  It then gets that lovely lived in, crinkled look.

As I expected, it's perfect for the computer table, and gives me a lovely surprise every time I sit down. 

I wasn't so sure of this when I had it laid out on the floor ready to piece, but having seen it draped over the back of the settee in one piece, I really like it now.

As a bonus, I got three more crumb blocks.  Still quite a way before I get enough for a decent sized quilt.

Leftovers

There were four blocks leftover from Jonathan's quilt top, which originally, I intended to use to make pillowcases.  Since I made the quilt, he now has a settee in his room, so I thought a cushion cover to match would go nicely.

I echoed the quilting from the quilt and simply finished with an envelope style back.  He'll now have a decent sized cushion to go on his settee.

With all the quilt trimming, I managed to get a couple of crumb blocks too, nothing wasted here.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge-Neutral 2

Out of the leftovers from the big blocks for this month, I managed to get a string block and three crumb blocks.

I now have one piece of neutral fabric left.  I shall get my thinking cap on to see if I can use it to make something useful, other wise, it will wait until next year to see if it will get any company.

More Pink

There is definitely less of this colour than any other I've done so far, so there is only one hexie flower,

a string block,

and one crumb block.

Not sure what I'll do with the rest, but the thinking cap is on.

More cross stitch magazines added to destash page

Yellow Houses

After a manic few days, I finally got to the sewing machine.  I cut out my fabrics and put together my yellow houses.

I think these are my favourites so far.

I also got another crumb block finished to add to my collection.

The pile is very gradually growing, but there is still some way to go before there will be enough for a whole quilt.

Hexagon Mat

I couldn't give up on trying a hexagon mat, so I thought about sewing it to some fabric, right sides together, adding some wadding and turning to the right side.

That was rather fiddly, and may not have been helped by listening to Bat Out Of Hell by Meatloaf!  However, eventually, I got it turned all the way through and then machine stitched around the edge to close the pocket, and make it all sit neatly. 

I did it, but I think I prefer it appliqued onto fabric, but you never know until you try these things.  The crumb block was much more satisfactory.

More Green

I am trying to mirror the blocks I made in red to end up with three rainbow quilts at the end of the year.

With that in mind, I have a green string block,

And three crumb blocks. By this time, it was beginning to get dark, so the colour is distorted, but you get the idea. There is still plenty of green, so I think I should get some bookmarks, and hexagon flowers made too.

Orange Houses

This month, Terry and I, and several others are building orange houses.  This month, I have two houses the same.

I like these ones a lot better than the red.  Next month is yellow, so I shall be looking out for some fabrics.

After building the houses, I even managed to get another bonus crumb block.  Keep going like this and I shall soon have enough for a quilt.

As Requested

The boys put in their requests, and sometimes they get fulfilled.  It may take a little time, but if I can make it, I usually do.  When I made my fabric book, Jonathan decided he wanted a book cover, and of course it had to be black.

At the time, I didn't have enough black to make it, so the idea was on the back burner.  After finishing the quilt last week, I had some black left over and, with a few scraps, I had just what I needed.

I used the same principles as I'd used in the fabric book, but this time, I made the closure loop from fabric and machine stitched to the back cover.

Inside, I used contrasting fabric and put some flaps either side for the book to fit into.  It didn't take long at all, and I'm fairly pleased with the out come.  Daniel thinks he'll love it, so we shall wait and see.

While I was at the sewing machine, I was a good girl and sorted the scraps as I went.  I've got some more 21/2" squares to go in my bag, some more to make red hexie flowers and another crumb block.

All in all, it was quite a satisfying session at the sewing machine.