The Summertime Quilt

Earlier in the year, we at the shop started a Summertime Quilt sewalong. It began because three of us liked the pattern (by sew.be) and starting up a sewalong gave us a good excuse to make it.

We each started with a different fabric bundle and because it's essentially a scrappy quilt, we had the freedom to add other bits and pieces to it.

Here are our very first fabric pulls, one pile each (mine on the right) before we played around with them, 'borrowed' each others fabric, added more, and so on.

We then decided it would be fun to make the Summertime Dilly bag which uses blocks from the quilt - 

I got tied up with visits to Australia and Hawaii and have lost momentum on mine. I made a couple of blocks initially but haven't touched it for ages.

My first blocks - 

While the other girls got moving on their versions, I stalled and really needed to pull it out again.

In the last week I've grabbed moments in between calves and feel like I've finally made a more decent start.

I realised I didn't have enough medium value fabrics so raided my stash and threw a few more in.

Two more blocks - 

It wsa only today that I realised I placed some fabrics wrong - I have mediums where I should have lights and lights where I should have mediums (grey/white and yellow/white)! However I'm not changing it now and those two can stay and remind me that I just aren't perfect after all.

Another nearly finished block with correct fabric placement -

There are 8 of these blocks in the quilt so I'll continue on with these while I'm on a roll. There are lots of wide open spaces between the blocks (the 16-patch block in a previous photo) and I can see it's going to be quite a fun one to make if I can keep going!

Well, it's bedtime,

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Raewyn

Random Round up of Creating and Cats

The start of last week saw me basting Olive's baby quilt......she's now over 4 months old but there's been a serious lack of sew-jo around here for the last little while and I've only just gotten back to her quilt in the last week or so.

And some quilting has even happened!!

SO, watch this space😊

I've also put together a cloth book for Olive, using one of those easy-to-sew panels....cut the pages apart, layer with scraps of batting, sew around the outside, turn it through and sew the pages together —

A little bit of kiwiana for our Hawaiian baby ♥

I realise that I haven't yet shared the pouch I made as a gift for our Make It, Fake It, Bake It swap for our Scrub Stitching retreat. It's always fun to see what everyone comes up with.

I came across a pattern for a wee bag which looked a little different - and Christine ended up with it —

Luckily Christine is a better recorder than I am and I have stolen the photos of it off her blog!

The top folds up to open the pouch (Christine's Luna Lapin is modelling the bag) —

(I used leftover fabric from my kiwiana dress for it. Dress shown in *this post*.)
And I included a cute scissor keep that Mum had made.

I found the pattern for the *Malmo Pouch here*.

While Sue and I were travelling for retreat, I completed the last few rounds of the crochet cat blanket I'd started whilst spending time at the hospital with Mum last year.

I've made three of these simple Afghans now - I just love having something mindless to crochet and the cats really do appreciate them!!!

Last year, in preparation for the arrive of McGeorgeous I made a little cat cubby. It was such a fun make but sadly once I'd finished it, the cats barely waved a whisker at it. Recently I realised it needed better structure so it would look more like a cat house than a cat bag. I found and inserted some foam coated wires. (These are intended for gardening and I bought them for making a Barbie tent. That didn't eventuate and recently the kids have been using them to dangle toys off when playing with the cats.)

Look at Miss Tammy! Success!

I very nearly had a very sad tale about McGeorgeous to tell this time. One evening last week he suddenly disappeared. We looked for him for DAYS and had given up all hope of ever seeing him again.

Thank goodness our son looked up at just the right time and spotted him at the window of our little garden shed one morning!! (We hardly ever go in there and seldom leave it opened.) He's a shy boy and the men had to empty the shed to get him out - and then he shot under the house.

After a lot of food and water he returned to life as normal and is wondering what all the fuss is about!

I had been in town and had 11 missed calls from the MOML trying to let me know he'd been found.

I think Tammy may have missed him a little as I've caught her letting him sleep near her a couple of times now! —

This winter, to celebrate 10 years in existence, the NZ Premmie Knitting Club has had a publicity drive, encouraging people from all walks of life to pull out their knitting needles and make some peggy squares. They're then sewn together to make blankets for premature babies across the country. It's been quite fun to see politicians, sports people and TV personalities promoting the cause by knitting squares themselves.

I've made a few squares which I will send off this week, along with some tiny booties and a beanie which I knitted a couple of years ago. I would have liked to make a few more but I started a bit late (they want them all by the end of this month, I think) but have also been struggling with a minor wrist strain/inflammation which seems aggravated by the knitting motion. So I've been limiting myself to a few rows a night.

I'll finish with this lovely sunset we had last night —

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Raewyn

Some (sort-of) finishes

The Country Yard held its New Year's Launch on Saturday - I've been sharing lately about trying to get my Show and Tell quilt finished in time for it.

As time went on, with lots of life getting in the way, I realised that the best I could hope for was to get it to a 'presentable state' rather than completely finished.

That was a realistic goal which really took the pressure off me. (And being stubborn, I like to quilt my own quilts even though I don't always have the time or the skills for it!!)

If I could master Edge to Edge designs on my Sweet 16, it would make life easier. One day maybe.

Prior to quilting  - yes it's a big quilt! (The pattern has other size options but of course I went for the largest!) —

Anyway, I've had lots of requests to show the completed top and here it is —

The quilting I did achieve was outlining all the animals and their quilts, quilting the mini quilts, some in-the-ditch quilting to stabilise it, and then basting around the outside. And trimming the outer edges to 1/4".  (All the pins were removed!)

At the shop, we hung it above the door as it has great impact there. The incomplete quilting wasn't very noticeable, and quite a few of the ladies I spoke to on our open day didn't even realise that it wasn't quite finished.

(The twins' family has claimed this quilt when the quilting is done and shop has finished with it.)

I quilted the mini quilts with a variety of techniques - some were meander style quilting, others had a little bit of ruler work and some were cross hatched.

They don't need anything else doing to them, but I would like to quilt some features in the animals and of course come up with a suitable background fill.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of these four ladies discussing it from across the mezzanine floor —

[As encouraged by Andree, I have now linked up to her regular I Quilted This linky party, which celebrates free motion quilting (FMQ), ruler work and walking foot done on a domestic machine or custom quilting on a long-arm. I use a sit-down Sweet 16 for my quilting. You can visit Andree's linky party *here*.]

The launch was a good day; it was great to show off our new projects and ideas.

Another thing I completed for the launch was this bag using the blocks I shared in my last post—

It's a Sewbe pattern and once I'd made the blocks, it came together really nicely.

The pattern asks for sewn fabric ties but I preferred to use the cord - luckily I had the perfect colour at home.

The above blocks also appear in another Sewbe quilt which we are making as a sewalong - more on my version in another post.

I keep coming across things I haven't shared......last year a few online friends and I decided to make a Temperature Tree.

It used the high temperature from each day, each branch is a month and each leaf is a day. It was fun to do it and I actually kept up quite well and finished it not long after this year had started!

I would have liked to have done it with the low temperatures as well as the highs but I'll have to save that for another project....and besides I haven't quilted my 2020 temperature quilt yet!

It was interesting to make this with the Australian ladies whose daily highs were right off MY chart!

I have yet to decide how to finish this - I'm thinking it will probably end up in a frame?

I know I've bombarded you lately with Lily and George's sewing adventures (with school holidays and their mother attending a 2 week training course I've seen rather a lot of them recently) but I have one last make of theirs to show you.

Lily made this little pouch prior to making the cushion of my last post. At the time George was piecing a 'blanket' which I don't have a photo of.

Four squares of fabric and a strip for the flap. Totally designed by her. I suggested sewing Right Sides Together to neaten it, and of course I cut the fabric for her.

She chose the pretty button which I sewed on but it took a while to work out the loop for the button. I was going to use some cord or something but then came across the wee hair tie which worked perfectly!

I think I'll sign off here before I find more things to talk about!

'til next time,

happy stitches,

Raewyn

Bags Galore

The other day I had a bit of a play and made a wee bag. 

It's one of those pouches with metal in the casing at the top so that you can 'bend it open'. The reel of thread is holding it open in the photo below (and then it 'pings' shut again when you let go) —

I bought a cheap metal tape measure as advised by *this* tutorial. My pouch ended up larger than the tutorial's one as I was experimenting for another make and needed a certain size.

A completely scrappy make but I think it turned out rather well. 

As you can see I embraced our unmown lawn for the photoshoot....

I've also made Odie a book bag for school - his original one was perishing and leaving bits of blue stuff all over the classroom, the car, and his house!

Luckily I had some totally suitable fabric on hand - The Gruffalo!!

I used the old one as a template - and there's now blue stuff in my sewing room too! Odie was delighted ♥

Thinking of bags, I remembered some more makes that I haven't yet shared.

I made Kaliah and Saydee bags for Christmas (2024). 

These were so cool to make and ended up very 'professional' looking!!!

I used the *Aunt Gracie bag* pattern by Knot and Thread designs.

Christmas Day 2024 —

But wait there's more!!!

I haven't yet written all my posts from Scrub Stitching back in April (!!!). Which means I'm behind in sharing the gift I received from Lou in our Saturday night "Make It, Fake It or Bake It" swap.

She made this gorgeous set - a bag, a project pouch, and needle book.

I love that she used our Scrub Stitching logo —

Rest assured, Lou, that even though I've been slow to share these photos, I wasn't slow to use your gift! I love them, thank you!

'til next time,

Raewyn