October Friday Night with Friends

For the first time in ages I was able to join in with Friday Night with Friends, hosted by the lovely but absent Cheryll.

I haven't been getting up to much with my evening stitching lately so am currently working on my Life Is Beautiful stitcheries (by HugsnKisses). These have been in the pipeline for a Very Long Time, and just get pulled out from time to time when I have nothing else planned.

Friday night saw the continuation of this block —

Recently I completed the applique for the next block —

Those hearts were really fiddly so I am pleased there were only four of them!

Saturday started off as a lovely day so I got a little bit of weeding done in the vege garden. Yes that is a very full wheelbarrow of weeds. Self seeded potatoes and comfrey already growing healthily. I'm going to transplant the smaller comfrey plants into another area...apparently the plant is really good for soil health and mining minerals so it can get to work elsewhere!

While I was gardening, I had my Christmas cake baking! 

"Wow" you must be saying - "imagine getting your cake made so early!!" The truth of the matter is that I have been meaning to make it since JULY when I found TWO nests of eggs between some bales of hay. 

Mum and I brainstormed ways to use so many eggs (they all passed the float test). Aside from everyday baking, we thought a good batch of Christmas cakes would also use a fair few.
The eggs have stored well in the fridge but I really do hope to make a couple more Christmas cakes to use the last of them. 

After lunch I pulled out my The Country Yard challenge quilt...I now have less than a week to get this finished so the pressure is on!!

I joined some batting pieces —

(I do like using this batting-joining tape!)

and got pinning —

I don't believe I have showed you this block yet. The challenge theme was "What's behind the shop door?" I finally decided on some fabric and a sleeping pussycat (stretching the truth a bit there!). A fun one to sew.

If you'd like to do a little bloghopping and see what other bloggers got up to on Friday night, visit Cheryll's blog *here*.

In the meantime, I have got a quilt to finish basting - and quilt!

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Raewyn

First FNSI of 2023

Friday night marked the first Friday Night Sew In of 2023...thank you Wendy of Sugarlane Designs for continuing on with this fun little sew along. It's always nice to connect with other crafters through the link up.

Friday nights are a push for me; after work (away from home) for the day, a visit to two 4 year olds and then a quick supermarket shop, I was more than happy to relax in my comfy chair and catch up with a little handwork. I work on Life Is Beautiful by Hugs n Kisses from time to time and just had the running stitch to do around the outside.

This is my previously completed block. I have a few lined up where I have done the applique element and they are waiting for the stitchery.

Once I completed that block, I continued on with this Christmas stitchery; it's a repeat block from the set I shared about *here*...I bought a second one of this design as I thought it would make a nice gift for someone one day —

A little progress —

And then I realised that I didn't stitch the flower in the corner of the sheep/kiwi block so I will do that before I forget about it again!!!

The rest of the weekend flew by (which is why I am posting this on Monday morning and not Friday/Saturday or Sunday as would be ideal!). On Saturday us 'girls' who work at The Country Yard went for a road trip down to our main wholesaler to top up on fabrics for our new projects for the year...we are currently trying to stitch up a storm for our upcoming New Year's Launch.

On Sunday we had family visiting - I did do a spot of sewing - YD had me do some remedial stitching on some new togs to improve their fit. Can't have them falling off in the pool —

It looks like another busy week is heading our way....

'til next time

Happy stitches,

Friday night Sew In in November

Friday Night Sew In was a week late this month, but that suited me. I was determined to make some time for myself as I had a busy weekend ahead of me.

I finished up another block of the Life Is Beautiful quilt; the project I work on when I have nothing prepped to stitch in the evenings. I didn't have too much left to do and it was satisfying to have it completed  —

Below is the next block I'll stitch for this project. The applique was done a while ago, so once again it won't take me long to compete. But I'll tuck it away until I have a few spare nights between other projects.

This is what I am usually stitching in the evenings at the moment - The Santa, The Tree, The Turkey and Me, by Anni Downs. I completed this one (block two) during the week.

I've done a little of block three but need to do some more prepping before I can continue.

(That's the start of a very long dog!)

The rest of the weekend was taken up by children children children. We had the two year old twins for their first ever overnight stay. Plus the next door three for a few hours. Oh and the 14 year old and two friends camped one paddock over from the house. It took a bit of juggling but it went pretty well. I got more sleep than I imagined I might but less than I needed! All children were returned to their parents unscathed by the experience ♥

(If you look carefully you should be able to see some of the bubbles that kept them 

entertained for ages!)

Thank you Wendy for hosting Friday Night Sew In. You can visit her blog and see the line up *here*.

'til next time,
Happy stitches,

Friday Night With Friends

I was pleased to be able to take part in Friday's virtual sew along. The last few times there has been a Friday night event I've had other things on and I look forward to seeing who else sewed along with me this time.

I had an exciting time this week, starting a new project. It's one I've had in the pipeline for a wee while but  I wouldn't let myself start it until I'd finished the applique for Foxley Village.

Wings and Pretty Things is one of Michelle Ridgeway's designs. It's not an official pattern but she has kindly shared her notes with me. Both her top and Fiona's top are at the quilting stage so I am far behind!

I've collected up a few scraps from earlier projects and hope that there will be enough of them to complete the quilt!

On Friday night I continued on with the centre block. There are flowers in the corners —

After Saturday evening as well, I'd completed the first corner —
Earlier in the week I had made the Dresden centre. I machine sewed the blades then handstitched them to the background fabric. I still have to make a decision on what colour circle I'll put in the centre of the Dresden plate.

Progress so far —

I had a few evenings where I didn't have anything prepped to stitch so pulled out my 'Life is Beautiful' stitching. I pull this out at times like this, between projects, etc. After more years than I can remember, I'm about halfway through the stitcheries. It's very slow progress!

Thank you to Cheryll for hosting us for Friday Night with Friends. To visit her Gone Stitchin' blog and see who else sewed along, click *here*.

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Sewing away....

It looks like I've had my pedal to the metal when I go through these photos but I haven't really. Most of these projects are ones I have been working on for a while that are slowly coming together.
After our frosty week last week, the temperatures warmed up a lot but that was because we were having massive amounts of rain instead. A lot of the country suffered some pretty bad flooding - we had much more rain than we needed but didn't suffer the flooding that we thought we might.
 So why am I mentioning the weather yet again? Well it was the perfect excuse to spend some time sewing this weekend. I thought I was going to be partying up large with Chooky in her Chookshed Birthday Party but by the time I got my machine threaded, her party was nearly over. Nice that we had a long weekend (NZ 'celebrated' the Queen's Birthday on Monday) so I could carry on with my own little sewing party then :-)
I had a little handwork to do and finished the sheep block of the Barnyard quilt I've been making for The Country Yard this year —

And inserted it in the gap I had in the quilt top. It's got a nice mix of fiddly and simple blocks and has been a fun make.
The weather's too dodgy to get a decent photo - the colours are a little washed out/off in this but you get the general idea of it.

I also finished the last couple of EPP stars I needed to make for border 5 of Evandale.

It feels like I've been working on this one forever but once I settle and focus on it, it sews up relatively quickly.

There's one more border to do...it's a real scrap buster; it's the same as border two with the small EPP diamonds.

After getting these two tops under my belt, I switched to my latest baby quilt.
When my back was turned, Timmie managed to totally upset my tidy and carefully counted pile of cutting —

But I did manage to salvage the pieces and got a little sewing done on the next blocks.
When Piglet gets a mouth, I'll show the top properly :-)

In April I worked on my Omigosh! quilt as part of a 'List of 12' UFO-busting some friends and I are doing. The number drawn out in May saw me working on my Life is Beautiful project. Hardly UFO busting, but I managed two more blocks this month —

(Again please excuse the washed out photos).

There are 32 stitcheries altogether, I've done 19 so far.

Whew, like I say, it seems like a lot, but I have been working on all of these for a while!
It's cooling off so I'm away to fill up the wheelbarrow with some more firewood.

Happy stitches,

 

Bits and pieces

This could be called a bit of a mop-up post as I found a couple of photos that I haven't yet shared :-)
I started Life Is Beautiful a little while ago. It is what I work on at nights when I am between projects.

'That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet'.
[Needs a good press sorry.]

And I think the below will be my one and only complete finish for the month.

{OPAM sign up is this Friday 25th)

Bon-Bon by Anni Downs (Hatched and Patched).
Yes I probably need to replace the ribbon, it was all I could find at home.

[BONUS~This was a UFO from two Christmases ago!!]

I'm down at my Mum and Dad's at the moment as my dad isn't so well. Yesterday I attacked Mum's pile of mending.... she wanted her pot mitt patched....NO, not thrown out and replaced, but mended, as she loves this one so much (size, thickness, bendability)

Before photo.....

...after photo

As you can see I couldn't help myself and she has ended up with a Raewyn-style patched patchwork job!!
I felt quite the pioneer... I had one of my rulers but I had to use a pen to mark the squares and cut it out with the scissors too!! Obviously I am suffering from being away from my own sewing cave!!

Mum has a little tin of these suspender  hooks which are
perfect for this job!

I just love her old tin. It's been around forever!

 So now I'm all mopped up! Thank you for visiting; I hope you find (or found as the case may be) a bit of creative time today (even if it is just mending pot mitts!),

A Floral Mystery

How time flies!!
We've all said that before, I know, but when I realised that this is my first post for August (and it's halfway through the month) I couldn't believe it!! Seeing as I use my blog as a bit of a diary, that means theres's now a pretty big gap in my life :-)
A couple of posts ago I hinted at busy times coming up with the arrival of our first calf... well it's been all go since then. All of a sudden we are nearly three quarters of the way through calving - boy, have we been busy, but thank goodness, everything has gone fairly smoothly and we have lots of healthy calves and cows.

Sewing time recently has been spent finishing a quilt I made this year -I was lucky to make the shop sample for this year's Country Yard Mystery Quilt.
The fabric was a gorgeous Robyn Pandolf range, 'Fancy Hill Farm'.

I put together the quilt top a while ago but then needed to franticly quilt it in readiness for the grand reveal.

I sweated over the quilting - after all it had to hang in the shop so needed to be of a reasonable standard - and those of you who know me, know that I am still a "beginner quilter"!!
So I did a bit of stippling, free motion style. Then I carefully used the darning foot to go around the appliquéd and embroidered flowers.
I got stuck next, as my fmq wasn't up to fancy stuff in other blocks, but finally decided to use the walking foot to fill more gaps.

Megan made a second version, using a Nancy Halverson range. Here is her's (below), quilted by Leeanne (see more of it here).

As always, amazing to see two versions of the same quilt in different fabrics.

I've finished ONE more block of my Life Is Beautiful quilt. This is the project I pick up in between other ones - there's no time pressure or obligations with this one!!

The appliquéd heart appears grey, but is actually blue. There seemed to be more light than darks in the variegated thread this time.

 And it's back to Beanies by the Fire weather again!!!  We aren't as affected by the Polar Blast as other parts of the country (see here and here) - although we thought we saw a little snow on the hills in the distance this morning (??) - but for us it's still been pretty cold and miserable.
Once the farm jobs are done it's nice to come inside and stitch by the fire!