My quilting thoughts and inspirations sprinkled with a glimpse of life down on the farm

Monday, October 22, 2018

Friday Night and Saturday and Sunday

Somehow my Friday night post has become a Monday post....
I was pleased to take part in Friday Night Sew In this week. We'd had a busy week so crafting with online friends from the comfort of my armchair sounded just perfect :-)
My goal was to finish the spring cardie I started last week. It's a while since I've knitted in 4-ply (8-ply/Double Knit is my go-to yarn) so this one had more stitches and more rows than I am used to!
But by the end of Friday night I had got this far —
(Ever wondered how people get a cute little picot edging on knitted cardies? I had, and now I know....knit a row with 'holes' in it then turn it over and stitch it down.....)
By the end of the weekend, barring the buttons, it was done!
Sunnyside Cardigan
Thankyou to Wendy of Sugarlane Designs for hosting us on Friday night. You can visit her, and the link-up, *here*.
My plans for a sewing Saturday were foiled by two long power cuts - we'd just got back home after weaning another mob of calves when the power went off!! A couple of hours later it was back on again, but later on it went off for several hours again!
However, I finally was able to finish this Santa hanging —
I didn't have much left to do on it and actually it still needs a couple of buttons on the tabs. I've stitched a couple of Xs in embroidery thread so it's useable and I'm calling it done (for now!).

I've stalled on quilting the Piglet quilt while I wait for another colour thread to arrive - silly me assumed I'd have the right colour in my thread boxes but none were right. (After making Mum's 80 hearts quilt this time last year I was sure I had enough reds/pinks to make do. No!)

Instead I've been concentrating on finishing my two dog cushions.
Have you ever made quilted backs for your cushions? Although extra work, they give the cushion a really nice finish. I decided to finish my two daog cushions with quilted backs so that I can have a fun time with some quilting.
Most of my quilting lately (not that I've done much) has been based around rulers so I decided to toss those aside and do 'pure' free motion quilting...fun fun fun.
During the week I'd sorted through scraps of fabrics and batting and made a quilting pile. I've decided to practise some different designs to those I've done more recently...sampler quilting really.
The bottom half of the back of one cushion
Of course I'm doing the backs scrappy and different coloured pieces mean different coloured threads so there's been a bit of changing and going between one project and another but I am making headway.
Red and black pieces here each have one edge bound and will be the two pieces
needed for the back of the Scottie Dog cushion(below).
The blue is one of the pieces needed for the second cushion, The Basset Hound.
Just about got the front done before duty called and I had to stop.
A productive weekend, on the whole :-)

I've shared photos lately of 'grandie time' - how lucky we are to have all our grandies living close by. We're currently baby sitting two more grandies while their mum and dad are away on holiday...these ones are the four-legged kind. Kit and Rollo are two big oversized pups! To say that it gets chaotic around here at the moment is an understatement but lucky for us the excitement of being at Ganma and Gandad's is wearing off and the boys have calmed down a little. After walks on the farm, they're happy to chill and sleep for long stretches of time.
A good hill climb -
- followed by a swim.
The only time I've managed to get all 4 dogs in one photo!
Our farm dog Emma is the perfect older cousin for our younger dog grandies. Loves to play like a puppy herself but knows the rules and the routines and keeps the younger ones under control.
One last photo —
I mentioned weaning another mob of calves. I wrote about it in my last post but I've taken another photo so you can see where the weaner calves end up after that big long walk....
(You may be able to tell I love taking scenic farm shots!)
Have a great week!
Happy stitches, 
 

22 comments:

  1. That little cardy is beautiful Raewyn, the edging looks fantastic. Always love to see photos of the farm, good to hear the grandies have settled in ok.

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  2. You chose a lovely colour for the little cardigan Raewyn. Definitely a full house at your place with the extra four legged family members staying with you.

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  3. That little cardi is gorgeous... & the edge is beautiful...
    & I LoVe your quilting... xox

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  4. Love the cardigan and nice to see phots of your other grandies
    Also enjoyed seeing the photos of the farm Took me back a bit
    Your quilting is lovely

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  5. The cardigan looks soooo cute! And also the stitching does,
    Greetings from Germany
    Rike

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  6. What a pretty little cardigan Raewyn. Love your quilting - they are going to make great cushion backs. Lovely to see pictures of your farm. xx

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  7. Lots going on at your part of the island..... lovely cardigan. I remember years ago doing the picot edges but had forgotten all about it.... so pretty.

    Yes I have often quilted backs for my cushions... its a great way to experiment some new designs (I hate sewing nothing just for practice)…
    Hugz

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  8. Love that little cardigan!! On my to learn to do list! Knitting mittens now!! Your Santa is a cutie! Always love to see your excellent hand work!! Great FMQ!

    Ah, love the granite dogs! A whole different type of babysitting!!

    Great farm scene! Nothing better than calves and green grass!

    Hugs from Texas!

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  9. What a sweet cardi. Oh the grand pups, they look like a bundle of energy. I have had a power outage almost every day, they are working at upgrading the equipment, poles, etc. Your pictures of your farm are always gorgeous.

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  10. Gorgeous wee cardi Raewyn. Great that your family still like the little ones wearing home knitted tops. Mine did also, until they got old enough to want bought clothes. :-)

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  11. Lovely stitching Raewyn and hight time I did some catching up in the blogging world.x

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  12. Beautiful little cardie...so,sweet! Your quilting is wonderful Raewyn. Lucky Grandie furbabies getting to holiday at your place and race about in all that space. The farm looks beautiful where the calves are.

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  13. love the cardie Raewyn..the colour is beautiful. Darn power cuts, lucky you had hand stitching. Loving your fmq too....I'm due to get a 'new' friend in my sewing room so Ill need some practice too! xox

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  14. I love the little pink knitted cardie, and like you, haven't knitted 4ply in ages.
    How nice to have "grand-dogs" come and visit.

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  15. Your cardigan is totally gorgeous. Love the picot edging and I didn't know how it was made until you explained.
    Great finish on the Santa hanging, too.
    I love the idea of quilting the back of the cushions. It makes a lot of sense that it gives them a firmer structure. Great advice.
    How great to see all the dogs getting along together. I can imagine all the fun.

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  16. Such a pretty little sweater! You have done a beautiful job, Raewyn! I do not have that skill set at all.
    Your Santa hanging is very fun. It is time to be getting ready for that stuff, isn't it?
    I love your FMQ. Great idea to practice on the backs of the cushions!
    Ah, such great shots of the local "wildlife". :)

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  17. I love the color of the little sweater. And no I didn't know how to make that edging. That is so cool. I love the pictures of the dogs, cows and farm. I do know that having an older dog teach the young ones is the way to go. The older ones love the younger ones.

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  18. Gorgeous cardi Raewyn! I love that colour ..... I remember having a jumper that same colour myself when I was a kid!
    Nice to catch up with you, and I enjoyed seeing the cows, and the weavers field, it looks very peaceful for them!
    Hugs,
    Barbara xx

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  19. A very pretty cardi, I love the colour too! Hope to catch up at the quilt festival in a couple of weeks.

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  20. Very pretty little cardigan, Raewyn! I’m envious of your skill. Your fun freemotion work looks great. It’s nice that you have such an assortment of colored thread. I enjoy your scenic farm scenes just as much as you like photographing them.

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  21. A very productive weekend. The cardigan is lovely and it looks like you whizzed through it

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