Jelly Snowflake QAL

After months of just hand stitching, in July I finally caved and unpacked my sewing machine and some supplies.  Without much of a plan, and existing WIPs yet to be rediscovered among packing boxes, I did start some new projects.  As well as the Scrappy Table Topper which I am using as a sewing machine mat, and my Applique Hearts Boxy Bag, I allowed myself to fall headlong into the Fat Quarter Shop's Jelly Snowflake QAL.

I did talk myself out of it at first, but among the boxes I had re-opened, this Makower Scandi fabric was sitting on top winking at me and pleading to be a snowflake!! Honest ;-)

Week 1 blocks

I think like the embroidery SALs in April, May and June, I have really enjoyed stitching along with something a little bit at a time. There's been no pressure to rush through anything because you do this week's section or blocks and the release of the next part is another week away.  It's a project progressing without pressure and it provided a little structure in a way; structure that Lockdown seemed to wipe clear from my days.

Week 2 blocks

Each week FQS popped up a free pdf for new blocks and each week I cut and sewed them happily. Even though I didn't know how the finished quilt would look - gasp! Risky business! Thankfully, each week was a pleasure - nice simple piecing and very satisfying 'ticking off the list' a little at a time.

Week 3 blocks

At week 3 it was possible to get a better idea of the quilt by laying out the story so far.

Week 4 blocks

At the end of week 4 the centre of the quilt remained a mystery.

Week 5 added centre and borders and sitched all the blocks together

It turned out to be just a 6.5" square of background.  Lots of folks in the IG # opted to piece alternative centres - lots of them look amazing - but I chose to add a square of the same cream/red contrast fabric that I used in the centre of the sawtooth stars.  It works well for me.

Since the Jelly Snowflake pattern finishes at just 50.5" square, I decided to use up the remainder of the Scandi fabrics by piecing some borders.  It was a bit of a brain tease to eek out the fabrics and leave enough for binding but I did manage (even with a cutting error).  It measures 61" square I think. I had to compromise on binding cuts though, as I only had enough of one fabric to cut binding strips at 1.75". So single fold binding it shall be, when the time comes.

I'm quite pleased to have gotten this quilt out of my stash.  Avoiding further purchases at this time feels like a positive achievement!

I'm not sure how I want to quilt this and I need to unearth wadding and backing supplies from somewhere in the box piles, so I'm going to leave it aside for a little bit, but I do fully intend to finish it before December, so that it doesn't become a long term UFO.

The other pleasure in this QAL was that some of my lovely sewing friends joined me on the journey.  It was fun to have stitchy chat about your common project and I'm sure that Trudi and Di and Shiela will have amazing quilts when they are finished, too!

This simple Christmas quilt pattern from FQS is still available if you'd like to have a try yourself!

Too many choices

Ever have trouble deciding which pattern to try out next?

I mentioned recently that I have another gift quilt to make for another aunt (yes, I come from a large extended family). I was hoping this book would be a good place to start in my search for a pattern as I've had the book for ages now but haven't made actually made anything from it yet.

Armed with my treasured Fandango Jelly Roll (I have hoarded this for over a year now) I sat down to decide.  But, I couldn't.  I love lots of these quilts but none of them just took my fancy for this quilt, with these fabrics and for this aunt.

Fantastic aquas, greens, corals, gold and rich browns in this Kate Spain Fandango Jelly Roll!

Then, I remembered having seen these amazing quilts by Fiona and Laura Jane a few months ago and after investigation and a quick online purchase I now have my Hopscotch pattern.

While the pattern is gorgeous, I was not so enamoured with the cutting (which I wasn't really planning on starting, but did anyway).  The templates were a bit skewed even though I changed the page to US letter format and set the scaling to 100%, and I ended up having to redraft more accurate ones myself.  It must be something to do with my computer or my printer or both, who knows?  So now I have more than just my fingers crossed that this will all work out well in the end!

All ready to piece together -

Sorry about the blur!

(And, in case you are feeling sorry for my overlooked Jelly Rolls pattern book I have another quilt in mind to make from it some time much later this year, possibly next.)

Quilt Progress

The only advantage to wet summer evenings is that it creates a little more space (and the excuse) to sneak off up to the sewing machine and get on with some stitching.  And getting on with things is exactly what I need to do as a number of unexpected family visits and plans for later in the summer have suddenly added to my quilting to-do list.

I have pieced together all the blocks from these little jelly roll strips I cut a few days back and now I have a crisp, clean quilt top.

It all came together nice and simply, though admittedly with a few wobbly strips in there (don't look too closely) and I really like it for its simplicity.

Now there's just the small matter of budgeting for wadding and backing and binding (groan) before I can finish it.

Something New

I am starting something new -

These fabrics are from a Joanns' mini-jelly roll I was given as a gift last year, and as my list of family gift quilts-to-make is beginning to grow again, I thought I'd put it to use.

They wouldn't necessarily be colours I'd choose for myself but I think the soft teal shades help to lift the browns, and there are a couple of the orange prints that I like a lot.

Anyway, I decided to cut into them to test drive some block measurements I drafted recently for a very simple quilt.

Nothing original about this, I just did some maths.  Fingers crossed it'll all come together as it should and become a gift for the very special person I have in mind for it.

More soon, I hope.

Can you believe it?

I have been working hard to finish up this Birds Nesting Jelly Roll quilt to take advantage of this week's glorious sunshine for some finished pics, but look

can you believe it?  It was practically too sunny for a decent photo!! (Though the backlight of sunshine does show up the pattern piecing quite well.)

Anyway, back to the living room carpet for a pic which shows the colours of this quilt a little more realistically -

This quilt has grown on me as I've progressed it through the various stages and I like it a lot more than I thought at would at one earlier stage, and I could actually imagine keeping it now.  However, it will find a new home via Bee Blessed in due course and hopefully bring some peace and gentleness to someone.

Before Reality Kicks In

This week has been a lovely blip in the reality of our routine, which is why I've been able to sneak off so much and get stitchy!  So, just before the craziness kicks in again let me show you this afternoon's progress on the two quilts I've been working on for Bee Blessed.

First up is the jelly roll quilt -

It's had a double border added and is appealing to me much more than it did previously.  I made the outer border pieced with leftovers from the squares made for the main blocks - I think it adds a wee bit of interest to the very plain stone coloured border.  I've never pieced a border like this and now I'm feeling like one of the cool people 'cos I did it and it worked!  (I'm very sad, I know.)

And then this charm pack lovely -

I really do love this quilt top - it's probably the colours that really make it for me.  Maybe this would make a good quilt to donate to a male Bee Blessed recipient.

Aaaahhh. (Sound of a stitchily satisfied me.)

Nul Points!

No Eurovision hasn't come early.  Nul Points is simply what this quilt top has!

My Jelly Roll experiment with the Missouri Star Quilt Co video tutorial was moving along nicely until I opened the second mini jelly roll.

Here's what I've learned (the hard way) -

• Do not work with wonky, unevenly cut jelly roll strips! (Frustrated grrrrrrrrrrr!)
• Do not work up half a batch of blocks to completion before starting the second half (because the solution to the problems with the second batch could have been applied to all blocks at once).
• Do not despair - the world did not end just because my quilt has nul points!

I think that if I can find suitable border fabrics and add in a few pieces of the remaining pieced jelly roll strips this little (only 40" square at the mo) imperfect quilt might begin to look quite respectable.

Easter Catch Up

Hello out there!  How was your Easter?  I hope you all had some time to relax, breathe in deeply and maybe have some fun too.

My Easter looked a little like this ...

Sweaty men in Lycra - my men entered the JK International Orienteering Festival 2012 in Bonny Scotland.
Day 1 Racing - Urban Race in Livingston.

Day 1 Racing - Urban Race, Livingston.
I got to play cheerleader and chief photographer.

Day 2 Racing near Dunalastair Water.
I got to stand around on cold Scottish mountainsides for some considerable time.
This cheerleading lark isn't all glamour you know!

Since there was nobody to photograph for a LONG time, I snapped the scenery instead!
Somewhere in that forest my 10 year old was navigating his way to the finish
where I was freezing my bum off waiting for him.

Day 2 Racing - Then I got to be the proud Mum and official team photographer!
Nearly finished.  Yay!!!!

Day 3 Racing at  Craig o Barns, nr Dunkeld.
Proud of Hubs too,  even if this competition did test the theory
of "it's the taking part that counts".  Both of my boys like to WIN!

This was our first big Orienteering event as a family (please note, I play the support role only) and although the boys would like to have fared a little better I hope they enjoyed themselves.  It was really tough terrain and a much more testing standard that they are both used to.  I am so proud of my (not so) little one for buckling down and persevering through this really tough challenge, and though Hubs was frustrated by his own performance I'm proud of him too!

However, after three days in the Scottish outdoors I was desperate and itching to pick up a needle/touch some fabric/press my foot on a sewing machine peddle (yes, my name is Sarah and I am a sew-a-holic), so as soon as I could get the laundry loaded in the machine, the grocery shop in the cupboard and everybody fed and watered for lunch today I snuck back into the sewing room for a fix!

There is currently a huge list of 'To Dos' that must be done/caught up with but after ticking three small things off the list this afternoon I did a dangerous thing ...  yep, I started something new.  Totally unplanned and spontaneous, and probably stupid too!

Last summer I was gifted two mini jelly rolls like this one

and today I decided to play with one of them.  I have been wanting to make a little quilt top from them for Bee Blessed for some time but to be honest with you I have had my reservations about these fabrics.  One day I liked them, the next I wasn't so sure.  I wondered, too, if they were a little like that bit in the Sound of Music when Maria explains to the dashing Captain Von Trapp that when she entered the convent all her worldly clothes were given to the poor, and when he asks what about the ones she is currently wearing she has to admit that 'the poor didn't want these'.  If I'm not quite sure about the fabrics myself, would someone want them as a donated gift?

Anyway,  today I decided that it's not all of the fabrics I have concerns about, just two of them - so I set them aside -

See?  I think these could probably be categorised with the browns that get a lot of folks upset.  Anyway, be assured, I didn't use them.  Now the balance of colour has shifted significantly in favour of the aqua and stone colours and I'm a bit happier overall.

So, the plan is this:

With the remaining 16 strips from my mini-roll I stitched up 4 sets of 4 strips, like so

(there is a fourth set, it's just not in the picture) and tomorrow ('cos I have another day off work) I plan to do a little magic on them a la this video tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilting Company.







If the result is acceptable I will deploy the second mini jelly roll and go for it.  If not I shall just chalk it all up to experience!  I'll let you see how I get on.