What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

We are having a gorgeous Easter long weekend with beautiful sunny days. Even the resident magpie family agree and have been out and about checking out the Autumn foliage.

Easter decorating has been happening and there are a couple of new additions.

A little crochet bunny.

And a new hoop embroidery.

This is a Kathy Schmitz design that I was lucky enough to receive from Marina. ( Thanks, again, Marina.)

I reduced the size so that it would fit a hoop.It is ready to hang on the wall.

I found this cute little paper tree that I was planning to ...

Brrr and Good Morning from chilly North Carolina! The poor sea of daffodils are all weeping from this cold! Of course, for me, this means a day of sewing!

Two years ago I cam across a Twelve Days of Christmas ornament series made from felt. It was love at first site! Uncharacteristically, I ordered the full set of patterns (from Larissa Holland, mmmCrafts). At first the pattern set seemed pricey, but oh the detail, exquisite design and excellent instructions made it so worth it. I even ordered the set of felt to make them with. I printed the patterns out ...

January is such a great time to be outdoors, but it does mean I forget to blog. Our weather has been mild so far with only a few really hot days, so the garden often calls. But, I have been caught up at times watching the cricket, and now the Australia Open, so some stitching has been happening.

Not a lot of work was needed so I was able to finish this one – a little Wendy Williams Travel Threads.

These are such sweet designs. I always enjoy making them.

I have also been crocheting some mandalas with 8 ply cotton ...

The last day of the year crept up a lot quicker than I had expected. But here it is.

So before the New Year starts I managed to finish a couple of Christmas projects.

These are part of a series of wool stockings designed by Michelle L Palmer. Michelle kindly shares these designs freely each year just before Christmas. These are the two for 2021.

I have also shown the other two from previous years. These are the ones I have completed so far.

There are a couple of other designs in the set that I have yet to make ...

One week until Christmas day. And another year nearly behind us. Wow!

Lots of Christmas sewing has been happening, but I have also managed to finish my quilt top for Over The Hill by Wendy Williams. This was the last block.

When it was joined to the others in the row, there were a few overlapping pieces to be added, then the rows were all joined to complete the top.

I am very pleased with the end result. Lots of work but very enjoyable. The original pattern has a border but I am not sure if I want one. It ...

November has been a very busy time here. The weather has made sure we are very busy in the garden. The plants are enjoying the Spring rain and sunshine, and the weeds are flourishing!!! Lots of strawberries have been picked and turned into jam. And I think the grass grows behind us as soon as we mow.

The other part of being busy is that our state has opened up after lock down and we are able to catch up with family and friends. Masks are off outside and most venues are now open. So we started with family visits ...

Plenty of yarn being used in these projects. It’s a bit of a mixed bag. I have been making a few bits and pieces for gifts and have accumulated a little collection. Most will be baby gifts.

I am sure most of you have seen the octopus toy with the curly tentacles that bubs love hanging on to. I decided it was time to make a few.

These are great for using up yarn scraps and make up quickly.

It is a pattern from

crochet365knittoo.com/crochet-octopus-preemies

Then I had a go at making this fairy doll.

The original ...

It has been cold, wet and miserable here – but it is Winter! But out of the blue we have had two lovely, sunny days. Not warm, but appreciated. And I think it turns back to Winter normal tomorrow. So obviously lots of inside time. Sewing has been done but with the Olympics in the background. We are in a very similar time zone to Tokyo which means we get to see a lot of the events live. Much better that having to get up in the middle of the night.

I have been going back to some of my Marg ...

Surprising to think that we are already half way through 2021. Maybe I have been busier than I thought. Although not sure my stitching shows that. We are having some lovely sunny Winter days. Still very cold but great to see the sun shining. After having little opportunity to sew for a month or more, I am getting back to some stitching. I am choosing to get small projects done as these are easy to work on when I am the taxi service or am sitting in waiting rooms for doctor and hospital appointments.

These little Llama ornaments will turn ...

My finishes have been few and far between lately. Same with posts. And now they will all probably arrive in a rush. That’s the way it often works.

I have completed my colourful, woolly flower quilt. Blocks together and binding done.

It has been a pleasure to work with the wool for this quilt. It is so soft and stitches easily.

The backing is a black and white print.

And the binding is a black and white text print.

Not lot of quilting was needed so I kept to simple meandering.

Cornerstones in wool.

After all that work I ...

Time seems to be flying by with lots to do. Is it because we are all still catching up on things since our long lock downs? I know I am still putting in time with my sewing but progress is slow. I do have a few quilts sandwiched ready for quilting but they are a couple of weeks away from being ready. I do have some little finishes.

The rabbit block from Round The Garden Path is complete.

I am now working on the final block which sits in the centre. Nearly done.

I have been busy making doll clothes ...

Our tree out the front has been keeping a calendar and decided that on the first day of March it would start changing colours. It is still a very young Crimson or Scarlet Oak. This is what it looked like a week ago.

It has become a much deeper red and this is the colour today.

It will interesting to watch to see how deep the color goes before the leaves fall.

I have been working away on my woollen flowers. They are now ready to go together.

I have completed the stitching on all the corner stones so it ...

Yippee! My Dancing Chickens and Flying Pigs quilt has made it to the finish line. It has been a lovely quilt to work on and I am now looking forward to catching up with Anni Downs next design.

Quilting done and binding finished.

Lots of fun, quirky blocks in this quilt. They are all entertaining but here are a couple of favourites.

I think a quirky quilt needs a fun backing as well, so I chose these bicycles.

And to finish it off I used a blue batik for the binding, similar in colour to some of the wool used ...

After working on many projects last year with hardly any finishes, I seem to be finding that they are all now coming to an end within weeks of each other. Hence the light at the end of the tunnel. Or a mad rush.

I completed the last block for Dancing Chickens and Flying Pigs.

Last night I managed to trim up all the blocks, finish the outline stitching and start sewing the rows together. I need to look through my shelves to find a suitable backing so that it can be quilted.

Next up I finished another block from my ...

Nuno Felting!

Yes, Nuno Felting is so much fun! I started working on them when I got really sick from my negligent doctors, but now I am up and running with them! (My white blood cell count is now within normal range!!!!) They were so much fun to make, and it was nice, because when I was sick, it allowed me the chance to make something in stages, instead of all at once. I could felt it over 2 or 3 days, and it was a great experience! It’s not exactly the fastest thing in the world, but it ...

2020. Certainly a year that will not be forgotten in a hurry.

Here in Victoria, Australia we are having a lovely December. After our total lock down we have experienced 60 days without community transmission. That has been a wonderful achievement and well worth all those stay at home days.

With our new found freedom and a lot of sunny weather a lot of time has been spent outside. The garden is loving the attention. But the other side is that very little sewing has been done. There are a few bits to share. Even when I did have a ...

I realised October was getting away from me and if I didn’t post now I would miss it completely. I have been working away on lots of bits and pieces, but only one was a finish.

I am steadily getting the blocks done for the Sue Spargo quilt, Homegrown.

Lots more to go but a start has been made. At this stage I am putting down all the applique, then will return to complete the embroidery.

Next I have the first four blocks of another quilt from the book, Whimsical Wool Applique.

There are twelve blocks in this quilt ...