Great Big Fabric Hug

A little while back I told you all how I was liberating more of my Bonnie & Camille fabrics to make a quilt for a friend.  Well, I just managed to finish the binding last night for a final finish of 2017 - here it is:

Late night finishing shot.

As you can see the light wasn't much better in the daylight.

I knew when I laid this one out that it would be hard to part with and I was sort of right.  I ADORE this quilt.  I honestly think it's my favourite quilt ever made by me.  You already know the fabrics sing to my heart, but I love this pattern too. (Thanks to Just Jude for her inspiring Autumn Boho quilt design which set me to work.)

When I quilted this I wanted to try something I hadn't done before.  So, inspired by Yvonne (Nellie's Niceties), I used the curvy stitch on my machine to quilt in a grid pattern.  A few lines in I admit I started getting nervous about whether it was going to work, whether it was overkill on this quilt that I want to retain an 'unfussy' feel on, but I ploughed on reminding myself that often in quilting you have to think bigger picture and see the whole thing not just a part before you can assess. (Yes, I know that's risky.)

Crinklicious!

I'm so glad I didn't reach for the stitch ripper though.  The quilting has given it so much texture and crinkle! I only wish I could capture it properly on camera for you to see.  I will definitely be using this stitch to quilt again.

If this quilt wasn't going to someone who will appreciate it, then there is no way I could let go of it.  But it is going to someone lovely and deserving and it is exactly what I wanted it to be - a great big hug for her.  It's going to her very soon with all my love and blessings and I hope it makes her feel as special as she really is.

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2017 FAL: Quarter 4 Finishes Link Up

It might be hard to believe but we have made it to the end of the fourth quarter of the 2017 FAL and it's time to link up your Q4 finishes!

The 2017 FAL has a community of bloggers across the world jointly hosting the FAL. Our hosts are:

• Nicky - Mrs Sew & Sow - Great Britain

• Abigail - Cut & Alter - Great Britain

• Izzy - Dizzy Quilts - Canada

• Ella - Throw a Wench in the Works - USA

• Lucy - Charm about You - Great Britain

• Sarah - Sew me - Northern Ireland

• Judith - Just Jude - Northern Ireland

• Felicity - Felicity Quilts - Canada

• Marci - Marci Girl Designs - USA

• Karen - Capitola Quilter - USA

• Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada

• Sandra - Sew of Course - Ireland (also Social Media Director)

  Before you link up, let's give a huge thank you to our fantastic sponsors:  

Just Jude Designs - 2 PDF Patterns	Sew Sisters Quilt Shop, $25 gift certificate	Charm About You - 2 PDF Patterns
Fat Quarter Shop, $50 gift certificate	Elven Garden Quilts - 3 PDF Patterns	Tartankiwi - $25 gift certificate
Blossom Heart Quilts - 3 PDF Patterns	Mad About Patchwork - $50 gift certificate	During Quiet Time - 3 PDF Patterns
Happy Quilting - choice of 3 patterns	Cooking Up Quilts - 2 PDF Patterns	Sew Sweetness - 3 PDF Patterns
Knotted Thread, $30 gift certificate	The Littlest Thistle - Camp Bag Pattern Pack	Green Fairy Quilts - $15 gift certificate
Quilting Jet Girl - 2 PDF patterns	Sunny Day Supply - $30 gift certificate	Make Modern Magazine - 3 six month subscriptions
Clover & Violet - $30 gift certificate	Sew me a Song, $20 gift certificate	Imagine Gnats - $40 gift certificate
Studio 39 Fabrics - $25 Gift Certificate

InLinkz.com

The 2017 Q4 link for your finishes is now open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs - you only need to link on one blog for your finish to appear on each blog. Link-up "rules":

• Add one link for each finish. If you want to link a round up post of all your finishes, use that link to enter one of your finishes and then link the rest of your finishes separately. Please, only one link per finish, as your link is an entry into the randomly drawn prize draws.

• Please ensure that the photo or blog post you link up contains a link or reference back to your original list so that we can verify your entry (make sure it is from the appropriate quarter). Feel free to tag your photos #2017FALQ4yourname (substitute your name), this makes it easier for us to match your finishes with your list.

• Please become part of the FAL community. Please check out the links of others and comment. We all need encouragement so let's applaud each other. The 2017 FAL Facebook page is here and follow us on Instagram @finishalong. 

• Our hosts will also link their finishes to share in the community, but they are not eligible for any of the prizes.

The Q4 Finishes link will stay open from now thru January 6 at 11 pm EST - link up your finishes early and if you have a last minute one, add that one later so you don't miss out. The prizes will be awarded as soon as we can verify all the entries and do the drawings. We will post the winners on each hosts' blog.

And don't forget to start making your 2018 Q1 lists as the Q1 list link opens on January 7, 2018. More details about next year's Finish A Long will be announced soon.  Hope you will join us.

An InLinkz Link-up

Siblings Together Scrappy Rail Fence Quilt

Twenty-two months after starting to make up scrappy rail fence blocks I have finally finished a quilt for Siblings Together!  Not exactly speedy, I know, but a finish is a finish! 

I tried some large orange peel quilting on this one just for something different.  It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but it does the trick and it washed in better than it looked initially.

Still attempting to use up my stash this year, I inserted some leftover yellow backing from another quilt into a long piece of yardage and even managed to get it pretty straight! (You can tell by the column of orange peels being more or less evenly positioned - phew.)

Albeit that I think my original intention was for this to be my contribution to Siblings Together 2016, it's still for the great charity and I'm sure it will be happily received as one of the 2018 quilts.

Elf-made update

I know you've seen these before but I thought you might like to see the finished sewing I did for CT's Christmas stocking 'in situ' as it were.  I apologise that the pics are grainy night-time ones again but I can only ever seem to be free to get pics when it's dark!

Here's the main event -

The kitchen has her little oven gloves, tea towel, apron hanging on the side (I just added a Command Hook there) and I crocheted a little dishcloth, too. I'm so pleased with the kitchen window tulip view and relieved that I measured properly and it fits!

 CT went with the flow for Christmas - you know, pots and pans on the go ...

... plenty of dinner to be made!

Dolly is now snug as a bug in her bed with pretty linens.  I kind of wish I could crawl under there myself for a bit of a nap after the exertions of the past week!

I love that the Ikea products leant themselves to a bit of prettifying and personalisation, mostly as an excuse for me to sew something for CT ;-)

Now that Christmas is over I'm looking for new excuses ....

Merry Christmas

Bonnie & Camille Around the World Quilt Top

I thought I'd share my Around the World quilt top today after the Sunday night's marathon to get all the piecing finished.

I love how it looks but am very relieved to actually get it to this stage and just be able to fold it and put it away for a while.  To be honest, I choose a fairly silly way to construct the quilt, working in rounds and piecing the rows with partial seams as I went along.  It all made sense in my head and in a way still does since I didn't have the space to lay it all out before hand and keep it all in situ as I pieced the quilt top in sections (which is the way I would choose to do it next time).  However, in practice it meant I had strips of 2.5" squares growing and dangling and sometimes coming apart as I worked at other rows.  I think working the quilt up in this way simply meant too much handling for such small pieces and there was much fraying and unravelling and many, many loose threads travelling across my house!!

You may remember that I chose this quilt as the first project to make on my lovely vintage Singer.  She did a smashing job stitching beautifully on my beloved Bonnie & Camille fabrics.  So, I am considering her officially christened now that the top is fully pieced, and I have been broken in to using her.  I even managed to stop the phantom foot pedal work about half way through the piecing!  I think that I'll move back to my other machines to finish the quilt off though.  I'm not sure I'm up to quilting a whole quilt top on her!

As I say, I have now folded and laid away the quilt top for a little bit while I decide what to do with it next. I need to work out how I want to use this quilt - lap quilt? sofa throw? wall quilt? bed topper?  I'm not really sure yet, but I'll let those thoughts percolate while I see if there's still time to squeeze in a finish or two before the year closes.  I'm dreaming of a Christmas break where CT lets mummy sit on the sofa for an hour occasionally.  Never gonna happen, but you know, a girl can dream!

Quick Make Drawstrings

Aneela Hoey's Stitched Sewing Organisers book has a pattern for a drawstring bag and I fancied trying it out.  It didn't take too long to make but I made a bit of a mess of my hexagon tab ends for the drawstrings.  Being impatient to finish I switched them out for some squares ones, which I didn't manage a particularly neat job of either, but hey ho!

This pattern is a bit more involved than other drawstring bags I've made but I would make it again.  It has a darted bottom which gives it a really nice shape and the overall size of the bag is a good medium sized gift bag, I'd say.

No sooner had I set my bag down than a little pair of grabby hands ran off with it!  CT had so much fun pulling the drawstrings and hiding her little things inside that, of course, I had to stitch her up one of her very own.  Perfect tiny treasures bag!

FAL 2017 - Quarter 3 Winners!

Today is the day we are privileged to announce the winners for Q3 of the 2017 Finish-Along.

If you are low on inspiration or maybe your sewing mojo has been missing lately, we highly recommend you visit some of the finishes from the third quarter of the year.  There are a lot of beauties linked up and ready to inspire you!

Thank you again to our generous sponsors. Without further ado, the winners - each picked by the random number generator - of the Q3 FAL prizes are:

The Q3 Winner of the 2 PDF patterns from Just Jude Designs goes to Jennie who blogs at Jennie's Threads and she made this colorful and cheery quilt.

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The Q3 Winner of the $25 gift certificate from Sew Sisters Quilt Shop goes to Marisa via IG @mmckee_10 and she made these creative patchwork curtains.

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The Q3 Winner of the 2 PDF patterns from Charm About You goes to Brenda who blogs at The Quilting Nook and she made this stunning dress.

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The Q3 Winner of the $50 gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop goes to Angela via IG @heartofcharnwood and she made this great quilt back! (The quilt is a surprise so she couldn't share the front.)

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The Q3 Winner of the 3 PDF patterns from Elven Garden Quilts goes to Katie who blogs at Karma Willow Designs and she made an absolutely beautiful Swoon quilt (and isn't this photo great!)

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The Q3 Winner of the $25 gift certificate from Tartankiwi goes to Heather who blogs at Quilting and Beyond and she made these fantastic quilted banners.

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The Q3 Winner of the 3 PDF patterns from Blossom Heart Quilts goes to Jenny via IG @silverbellsandcockleshells and she made this great BW Sailors Top.

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The Q3 Winner of the $50 gift certificate from Mad About Patchwork goes to Mercedes who blogs at LadyFriend Designs who made this lovely quilt.

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The Q3 Winner of the 3 PDF Patterns from During Quiet Time goes to Celine who blogs at Espritpatch and she made this perfect Ogden Cami.

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The Q3 Winner of your choice of 3 individual patterns from Happy Quilting goes to Sarah who blogs at Cedar Fork Stitches and she made this fantastic quilt.

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The Q3 Winner of the 2 PDF patterns from Cooking Up Quilts goes to Cathy via IG @cathyewbank and she made this super cute clamshell drawstring bag.

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The Q3 Winner of the 3 PDF patterns from Sew Sweetness goes to Joelle via IG @joellemaude and she made this fun and colorful quilt.

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The Q3 Winner of the $30 gift certificate from Knotted Thread goes to Kathy who blogs at Life in Pieces and she made this super cute quilt (love the butterflies!)

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The Q3 Winner of the Camp Bag Pattern Pack from The Littlest Thistle goes to Debbie who blogs at A Quilter's Table and she made this gorgeous improv quilt.

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The Q3 Winner of the $15 gift certificate from Green Fairy Quilts goes to Teresa who blogs at Aurea's Kitchen and she made this adorable dress and bloomer set.

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The Q3 Winner of the 2 PDF patterns from Quilting Jet Girl goes to Corinne at CorinneLouise via Flickr and she quilted this stunning pillow.

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The Q3 Winner of the $30 gift certificate from Sunny Day Supply goes to Linda who blogs at The Pieceful Kingdom and she made this gorgeous low volume quilt.

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The Q3 Winners (3) of a six month subscription each to Make Modern Magazine goes to

1. Jennifer via IG @CrimsonConfection and she made this pretty quilt.

2.  Kathy who blogs at Kathy's Kwilts and More and she made this great Dr. Who quilt.

3.  Helen via IG @archiewonderdog and she knitted these pretty (and I'm sure snuggly) socks.

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The Q3 Winner of the $30 gift certificate from Clover & Violet goes to Kate who blogs at Katie Mae Quilts who made this bold and very pretty quilt.

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The Q3 Winner of the $20 gift certificate from Sew Me A Song goes to Mary who blogs at Pondering It All and she made these super handy zipper bags.

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The Q3 Winner of the $40 gift certificate from Imagine Gnats goes to Pippa via IG @Pippaspatch and she made this sweet and scrappy quilt.

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The Q3 Winner of the $25 gift certificate from Studio 39 Fabrics goes to Andree who blogs at Quilting & Learning and she made this beautiful quilt.

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Congratulations to the winners and thank you to the sponsors!!  I hope you are having a successful Q4, be prepared to start linking up those finishes starting December 31, 2017.