What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Nothing better than a deadline to get going, right? I bought 5m of Christmas jersey in October to make new PJs for the kids. With the rush to get presents finished and sent before Christmas, I didn't have time to start until this week. I started cutting on Wednesday night but didn't manage all 3 pairs. So after the Christmas cooking was all done on 24th, I decided to just do what I wanted and not what I needed to for a change! Leaving so late meant that I had to go with my stash. I was hoping ...

 Surely 2020 is not all gloom! I am joining Cheryl to look back on this so peculiar year and find some sparks of joy in my creative world.

So what are my best from this year? In no particular order:

1. The most unexpected project:

sewing scrubs for our local hospital

2. The long forgotten project:

2 quilts from blocks that were in a draw for over 15 years

3. The most satisfying dressmaking project:

Hubby's quadra jeans

4. The tiny-teeny mini piecing:

Mini series quilt-along with Alison Glass and Giucy Giuce

Hexie bear rug ...

 Since Sunday night, we have been placed in Tier 4 (out of 3? until Saturday) and full lockdown (what is the difference, apart from the name?) is looming for us but I think for the whole country too. Christmas plans have been smashed last minute for lots of people sadly. We knew that it would be very difficult/virtually impossible to go back to France so we had abandoned any plans to go a while ago. Nothing worse than a roller-coaster of emotions the week before Christmas with 3 children in the house. It felt it would be too much ...

 Every year I plan to make Christmas presents, and every year I run out of time! Well, this year I have managed some. I finally finished some Two in one pouches last night. I had cut them about 2 weeks ago and was tried to make them all in batches. Well I split my batches in two and I have managed to finish pouches so far. I first saw them on Instagram on Charlotte's feed and well, let's face it, masks are the new accessories of the season really.

So I made mine with a tick for clean ...

 One Christmas present ready! I have finished my bear rug for my little nephew. I used Ira Rott's pattern. The bear head is all made with 3 shirts that my husband was no longer wearing and I just used some fabric from my quilting stash for the eyes and nose.

After quilting, I trimmed the piece to ...

 And finally my Threadology quilt is finished! I quilted it in the Spring when I had my frame out for the 5 tops that were ready to go and it had been waiting for its binding since. I was hoping to find enough of the black fabric I had used on the top but I couldn't find much left so I used some plain black with it. In the end I think it's not very obvious and works well.

 Finished! This one has been such a long coming... I saw this picture on IG during the summer of 2017 (!) and duly bought fabric and pattern to make the same. Well said fabric and pattern was stashed away until last summer, when I finally got it out and cut the skirt. Before stashing it away again... until this month.

Finish along is on a pause at the minute but thankfully we can still Fettle Those Finishes with Archie the Wonder Dog. So instead of posting the laundry list, like I usually do with my quaterly FAL list, I have tried to really focus on what I might be able to / need to / would really like to finish or even make between now and the end of the year. Some are intended as Christmas presents so it would be very good to cross those off the list! And of course, depending on what happens at Christmas, whether we are able ...

Sometimes projects, particularly dressmaking ones, are done quickly, sometimes they take me ages, and for no real reasons... This last one definitely falls in the latter category. I made my first Sirroco by Deer and Doe Pattern in June last year and it was assembled from start to finish in about 3 hours. Happy with the pattern and enthused by the arrival of beautiful new Italian matte lycra at Fabworks online, I duly ordered some aubergine fabric and cut a new one last September (yes I know, that was a year ago). I am tall so learning from my first ...

With some free time on my hand, I have been trying to sort out some parts of the house. I have attacked different places like the office/sewing room, the living room, the storage room but also the loft! There is so much "stuff" everywhere and so much that we will realistically never use again. I have already filled 2 big recycling bin with some very old paperwork, sold a few things on that we will not reuse and pass some things of for others to love and enjoy. Of course, there is plenty more to go through but at ...

School starts back next week for all 3, not sure what to expect really after so long off! The girl's school has informed parents that there will be no school dinners so the kids have to bring their own lunch. I hate making packed lunches and the idea of doing it 5 days a week and still have variety is not necessarily appealing, but we have to adapt to the new reality. I decided to make some lunch bags for the girls to carry their lunch to school in style. They were happy to pick their fabric in my ...

Vintage Kitchen has been quilted for a few months now and was only waiting for the binding.

There wasn't such a massive length to sew but for some reason, I have only picked it up this weekend to finish it up.

I also embroidered on the pots and finished this afternoon, just in time for August One monthly goal!

Now it is all finished I don't have space to hang it. I will have to rethink some deco to make room for it.

Quilt stats:

Size: 39.5' x40.5'
Fabric from my stash (top and backing)
Quilted ...

Another request I had from my family was to make a bag to take their Bo to karate class. Bo are really long pieces of wood they occasionally use in their practice. And we have 3 of them at the moment, probably a 4th soon so it felt like a good idea to have them in a bag for transport. 

They're longer than the karateka so I needed a massively long piece of faux leather for it. 

Hubby requested a handle to carry the bag

as well as a strap

Of course, I met both requests! 

Bag finished and ...

After the trials on the face masks patterns, I moved to mass production. After all, I think masks are here to stay so we do need a stash for all the family. I had made a few for the kids to go on holidays with.

This weekend I made another batch of 19

10 adult size and 9 kids size. 

I modeled one recently and I find they are good with glasses, they don't steam too much. 

Another OPAM for August and this one was on my Q3 FAL list. 

Celine

With lockdown, I have discovered sourdough. I have made bread for years before but always with yeast. At the beginning of lockdown, I couldn't find yeast easily so I tried a starter sourdough following all the tips on The Perfect Loaf website. And i haven't looked back from my first loaf.

We've kept the bread in a tea towel to keep it fresh. My husband kept saying that it would be nice to have a bread bag. So finally, this weekend, I made one. I used a tea towel, cut the hems to avoid too much bulk ...

There are so many masks patterns and tutorials available online that it is hard to know which one to use. I made a few masks at the beginning of the lockdown with Bijou Lovely's pattern. 

I then tried to make some shaped face covering with the pattern on the Big Community Sew website. I tried adults and kids size for these ones.

My next try was the 3D masks using this youtube tutorial by Bilikis Signatures.

And while I was watching this tutorial, I found another one by Add Crafts which is shaped on the nose and more comfortable ...

I finally had some sewing time this week, and it felt so good to create again. I picked an easy project as I knew I would not have too much time, so a quick finish was a win-win. 

I had bought a lovely remnant from Jelly Fabrics a while ago, an organic cotton jersey, which I had just under 1 m off.

I still find it very difficult to find some sewing time. Either I am spending my evenings looking for a job or, when I am not, I find myself lacking motivation, energy, brain space to do anything at all. I am lucky that I have had interviews and am progressing with a few companies for now until I get finally an offer that works for me and for all but it is rather a draining process. Anyway, over a few sessions, I have finally managed to sew the binding down on this long-time UFO.