And the winner is...

A wall hanging!

The owls are finally finished.  I've used the same fabric for the backing and binding, so it was all very simple to finish.  I've added two hanging triangles on the back and it's all ready to go.

 

I don't think Jonathan's cross stitch will be completed as quickly, it hasn't been out for almost a fortnight.  I should rectify that this week, and work on it at least one day.

Peacocks

The peacocks haven't been seen for a little while, but you may remember, these were the trigger for one of my ledger pages.  I quite like the style of these peacocks, they remind me of Assissi work.

I've  finished the cross stitching, but that's only the first stage.  I need to look at fabric now, and make this up into a smal wall hanging.  I'm hoping to find some with peacocks on, for the backing.

Decisions, Decisions

The fabric arrived, and I had some time to make progress on the owls.  They've been trimmed and fabric added.

I had thought I'd make a cushion cover.  It would be a large cushion, but that doesn't matter.  We like large cushions, but then I had an idea.

What about a wall hanging?

 

Now, I don't know what to do, a cushion, or a wall hanging?  I have until the batting comes to decide.

Old Treasures

On one of my sort outs, I found some projects that needed finishing.  One of them was a hardanger piece I did at a workshop held by Craftastic, our local craft shop.  It was the first time I'd done hardanger, and it was great to have someone show me how easy it was.

This was the second piece I started in class.  I finished it at home after buying more thread, but then it was left, it needed beads.  I bought beads, but somehow, it got forgotten.

In my drive to get these odds and ends done, I got it out again, and added the beads.  Like a good girl, I didn't put it away again, it went straight to the sewing table.

I sorted through my fabric, and I had just enough of the red to make it up into a wall hanging, complete with hanging sleeve.

Tiger Wall Hanging

This was a top I put together last year, in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

I found a piece of batting in my bag that was the right size, and a piece of fabric from a previous quilt that was big enough for the backing.

I did quilt in the ditch around the tiger squares, and then the outline of the darker green.  I've put hanging triangles on the top corners, so all I need to do now, is hang it.

There is still a larger quilt with tigers to do, but that will have to wait a bit longer.

Another one done

I'm gradually working my way through the quilt tops that need to be completed and made up.  This one has been there for some time, I think I did the centre some time last year.

Do you remember this little fellow?  It's hand stitched, then raw edged appliqued onto the cloud fabric. 

I had enough of the dark blue leftover from Jonathan's quilt to do the binding, I just had to buy some for the backing.  Sunday was spent sandwiching it together, quilting, binding and finishing.  It's now been washed and dried and ready to hang on the wall or to be used by a little man sometime, somewhere.

I like Mondays

My friend's daughter came again for a couple of hours for some more sewing fun.  When I last saw her, I gave her a little cross stitch to do, and this week, we made it into a little wall hanging.

Something simple, and quick, but the smile at the end was worth it.  I could get used to this.  The good news is, she's coming back next week too.

At Last

A day when I could finish what I started!

I'd been keeping all my buttons protected in a bag since the end of the Buttons and More Classes, but I wanted them to be somewhere I could see them and be inspired by them.  They can remind me of what can be done and to incorporated other buttons in future projects.

The background is silk, to go with the main fabric in the buttons and the buttons are tied on.  I've now to find a suitable spot on my wall to hang it, and then I need to think of a project for the remaining silk.

An Apple a Day

Now that I have an apple in my collection, I think that is all the easy fruit options done.  Next stage will be to find some recipes and get them stitched up.  I think I am going to go for some traditional recipes, using a recipe book that used to be my great grandmothers.

Pretty Pear

The next in the fruit series, a pear.  A lovely simple shape to applique which suits me fine.  Hopefully, it should be joined by an apple today.

Plums

The next in the fruit series is plums, and fortunately easy to do.  They are quite an easy shape for applique, and just needed the addition of stitched stems.

Jonathan brought home some plums last week, ripened a lot earlier than we are used to, but a delicious crumble nevertheless.  I don't think the crumble recipe will make the wall hanging, I think it might be jam.

Thank You, Terry!

The wonderful thing about blogging, is the help you get from fellow bloggers.  I know that my quilting has come on in leaps and bounds because of  their help and I'm eternally grateful to them.  Other times, they make suggestions on how to best finish projects, and these ideas are gratefully received.  On the odd occasion, they even suggest how to take a project further, and this is what Terry did last week.

When Terry saw the cherries, she suggested that I did lots of  different fruit and make a wall hanging.  Now that, for me is quite a challenge, I don't do drawing, but the next morning, I sat down and came up with a few more passable drawings of fruit.  The next stage is to make the blocks, the first one being an orange.



This idea hasn't stopped with pictures of fruit, more of which will follow, but I have thought of incorporating it with recipies for the featured fruit.  So thank you, Terry, I think I have a bit of a project on my hands.  I am going to enjoy seeing where it takes me.

Garden of Tulips

It's been a great week this week for getting things finished.  After a big piece of batting arriving in the post, I could get the tulip applique wall hanging finished.

I've used the same stripey fabric for the binding, which I hand finished.  As this could be used for a table topper or a wall hanging, I put in a hanging sleeve.

So glad to have something else completed to clear some space.  Next thing on the list is a pile of flying geese units.

Jellicle Cats

I love the generosity of bloggers.  One day out of the blue, I received a package from Terry, it was the most beautiful collection of batik cats.   Of course, I had to look for some special fabric to go with them, but I found some and spent a lovely hour or so playing.  The result was this:

 I made it in a completely different way to the wall hangings I've done before.  I pieced the cats, then made a sandwich with the fabrics right side together and some batting.  I made hangers and pinned them in place.  Using the walking foot, I sewed all the way around, leaving a space to turn it all the right way.

Once it was all turned out, and all flat, I then went around and sewed just inside the outer edge all the way around.  I was really pleased with how it turned out, and I hope you think I've done justice  to your wonderful gift.

Thank you so much for the gift, and the fun I've had putting it together.  Now I can enjoy looking at them every day and think of your kindness.

When you think you're finished

Over the last week or so, my quiet moments have been spent cross stitching, and it always feels like a finish when all the cross stitching is complete.

However, with this design, there is lots of backstich, long stitch and french knots to do before I can say goodbye to this one.

Eventually, there will be a set of two pictures made into a wall hanging, but it will take a little while to do.

Wall Hanging or Lap Quilt

The day started sewing half square triangles which I then  arranged to form these blocks, before I ran out.

Originally, the idea was to use this for a central panel of a wall hanging, but as it's quite big, I've begun to think of making it into a lap quilt.  If I did that the borders at the top and bottom would have to be a couple of inches wider than the sides.  As I don't have suitable fabric here to do borders, I shall think on it a bit longer.

There were some of the half square triangle blocks left over, but not enough to make a complete block.  I think eight of them are destined to be pot holders,  the other one can go into my crumb blocks.

Flower of the month quilt

There's nothing quite like a challenge to get things done, and the same is true with the UFO 2011 Challenge.  This months number corresponded with the flower of the month quilt.

 The embroidery blocks, ended up taking a little less than a year to embroidery, but then they sat and waited several months for something to be done with them. 

It took quite a while to work out what fabric to use, with a couple of aborted attempts.  It's not always easy choosing fabric online. In the end, I decided on something plain and dark, to let the flowers do the talking.  Then it was a choice of borders or just the sashing.  After having the blocks laid out with variety of fabric around them, sashings only seemed to be the way to go.  I've used a dark green, similar to the colour used in some of the embroideries.  Maybe someone cleverer at choosing fabric than me, might have found a more interesting combination.

A separate binding was originally chosen, but when it came to sewing it on, I just didn't like it, so went with the same fabric I used for the backing.  As I really like this fabric, so it wasn't a painful decision to make.  The hanging sleeves are also made from the backing fabric.  The binding was hand sewn to the back of the quilt.

Seventeen months after the first stitch went in, the flowers of the month are now completed in their own wall hanging.

Creative Tuesdays and Jennifer

This is another week where I've tied two projects into one.   The theme for Creative Tuesdays this time was Valentine, so Jennifer seemed to be the perfect project.

I've adapted the design from  Little Ladybug Creations and finished it in a slightly different way.  Unfortunately, I didn't have enough suitable fabric for the borders, so the quilting and finishing will have to wait for another day.

For the month of February, I need to get out all my red scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and it is UFO Number 8.  Before I can start on that, I need to do some shopping,  In the meantime, I need to catch up with this week Mystery Monday.

Some more blue

I've never used strings or selvedges before, they were always the bits I threw away, but I've been learning from the experienced quilters out there.  I'd seen some tutorials and blocks that had been made using them, so, while I was piecing the blue top, I kept the strings.  I was going to keep them until I had a few more, but looking at them, I thought there were enough for one block. 

This was the pot holder/pot stand that resulted.  I joined them directly to the batting and backing fabric, so it was very quick to do.  

 The other scraps that found a home, were these cat motifs.  I appliqued them onto some pale blue denim and made it into a little hanger.

In the smallest room of the house, there is a little strip of wall with a hanging nail already waiting.  It's only taken three years to find something narrow enough to fit.

The post man has been very good to me this week.  He's brought me the border fabric for the blue quilt, and yesterday the blue thread.  That means I can now start to get a few things finished.

2011 Rainbow Scrap Challenge

I thought it might be a good idea to get involved with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this year to empty my ottoman.  The colour for this month is blue, so I've collected all my blue scraps and have a little pile on the floor.  Throughout the month, I will try to work my way through it.

The first project was inspired by the next Creative Tuesday challenge which was "scarf".

 I came up the idea for this fun wall hanging.

The background fabric on the front and the bindings was some pale, lightweight denim that had been gifted to me.  It was just a remnant leftover from something else, so I hadn't known what I was going to do with it.

I've used white felt under the pieces of the snow man to give it a bit of dimension, and then, for the first time, I machine appliqued the pieces.  Once the pieces were attached, I went through the button tin, and found the eyes, nose, and buttons down the front.  The scarf is white felt with silver dots and snowflakes, especially appropriate, as snow was falling when I was working on him.  I also cut a fringe into both end of the scarf.

For the backing, I used some sky fabric from my blue pile.  I quilted around the outline of the snow man, and then some gentle wavy lines for the background.

Two challenges met in one project and smiles all round.